Title: Faith

Chapter: 3 of ?
Email: S/J

Category: Angst/Romance
Spoilers: Jack's a General; Sam's a Colonel and engaged; one minor reference to Affinity. General spoilers up to season eight.
Content Warnings: None
Summary:

Rating: Suitable for all.
Disclaimer: I do not own SG-1. Stamps foot and tosses hair childishly.
Archive: SJFic - Yes. My site, Anywhere else - Yes.

Author's Note: Please feedback me, I'm greedy.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Jack?" Daniel asked, before Lewis could speak.

"I'd like to know the answer to that." Lewis said, studying Jack's face.

"They're right." Jack said, not looking up.

"Jack, there's a time and a place for honesty. This isn't it." Lewis said, gently. "These people want your blood."

Jack gave a short, derisive laugh. "Nothin' new there."

"I did some interesting reading while you were out disobeying orders, Jack." Lewis said.

"Oh yeah?" Jack asked, disinterested.

"Yeah. Your file. You've been busy these past few years haven't you?"

"Little bit. Got some fishing in."

Lewis smiled. "You can't do this, Jack. We can't afford to lose you yet."

"You wanna know who you can't afford to lose?" Jack asked. "Carter." He said, answering his own question. "Foremost expert on the Stargate, leader of the flagship team. Trust me when I say that you can't afford to lose her. Me? I'm not such a loss."

"Sir." Sam said.

Jack turned to look at her. "Carter?"

"This is wrong."

"Tell me about it. I was gonna send search and rescue after you until Daniel yelled at me."

Hurt flashed across Sam's features, only briefly visible before she got herself under control. She cast her eyes downwards, unable to look at anyone in the room.

Jack was the only one who didn't notice.

He scrubbed a hand through his hair and sighed. "Carter, they're not here because I came after you. That was just the final straw."

Lewis nodded. "I told you they were after your blood, Jack." He cleared his throat. "However, I think we can avert this crisis."

"How?" Daniel asked.

"When we first got here you showed us to the guest quarters. Colonel Fredericks was content to rest, secure in the knowledge that Jack O'Neill was a dangerous risk for the Air Force to be taking. I, however, explored the base."

"And?" Daniel asked.

"I spoke to a few people. Sergeants Harriman and Siler, Colonel Reynolds, a few others. The commissary staff."

"I am so dead." Jack muttered.

"Shut up, Jack." Daniel snapped impatiently. "You know everyone on this base would follow you any…where." Daniel's speech slowed as he worked out what General Lewis was saying. "You think we can use that?" He asked the General, some of the hostility his tone had previously held dissipating.

"I do." Lewis said, smiling at Daniel.

"I don't." Jack said, finally looking up at Lewis. "I don't want to do this anymore, Tom. I'm sick of overanalysing every decision I have to make to see if it's a purely tactical one or not."

Lewis looked at Jack empathetically. "What if I told you George is working on it?" Sam's head snapped up at this.

But Jack was quick to dismiss any hope that had flared in her mind. "What if I told you its too late?" He asked Lewis. Sam looked down again, unnoticed by Jack.

"Too late?"

Jack just nodded. "Look, if the Pentagon doesn't want me in charge here, I can live with that. I agree with them."

"The Pentagon doesn't always know what's best, Jack. General Hammond seems to think we need you here. All of you." He added looking at each member of SG-1 in turn, his eyes lingering on Sam for slightly longer than on the others. "After seeing the base, and meeting you all, I'm inclined to agree."

He stared at Jack for a long moment. "All right, O'Neill. Cut the crap." Jack's head snapped up. "I'm not buying this defeatist attitude, not from you."

"It's been a long time, people change."

Lewis laughed out loud at that. "People might, but you don't."

"I'm glad I'm so predictable." Jack snapped.

"Yeah, you can always count on Jack O'Neill to do something truly stupid to mess up anything good he has going." Lewis snapped back.

"There's that." Jack replied.

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing. I told you. There's nothing I can do. Nothing I want to do."

"Stop sulking and think, Jack."

"I do not sulk." Jack protested, oblivious to the grins of both Daniel and Teal'c.

"You do. Never met a surlier officer in my life." Lewis said.

Jack merely shrugged.

"How am I supposed to help you if you're intent on self-destruction?" Lewis said, frustration finally creeping into his tone.

"There's no point in my being here, Tom. Anyone could run this place."

"That isn't true, Jack. You know why you're here." Lewis said, his tone indicating that the reason was more than just the fact that Jack had been General Hammond's second in command.

"Remind me."

"Don't be an ass, Jack." Lewis snapped. Jack continued to wear his patented blank look. Lewis narrowed his eyes. "You are here, General O'Neill, because General Hammond knew that you would take care of his people, no matter what the personal cost. Including the little stunt you just pulled to rescue Colonel Carter." He paused, looking at Jack with something akin to empathy in his eyes. "How the hell are we going to get you out of this?"

"You shouldn't be talking like that," Jack said, "Fredericks won't like it."

"It is really quite simple to defend O'Neill in this case." Teal'c said, ignoring Jack.

Daniel nodded. "He would have done what he did for any of us."

"It's not the act itself that bothers them, its the motives behind it." Lewis said, shaking his head.

"Time's up." Jack said, nodding towards the door.

Clarke and Fredericks were re-entering the briefing room.

Lewis glared at them. "You're early."

"Only a few moments, General. I trust we didn't interrupt anything important?" Clarke said, the recess having done nothing to improve her tone.

"Nah, nothing important." Jack said amiably as Fredericks and Clarke retook their seats.

"Now," Clarke began officiously, "if we could just get back to the matter at hand?"

Before anyone could answer her there was a knock at the door and Walter peered around it.

"Yes, Walter?" Jack asked.

"General, there's a call for Colonel Carter."

Jack looked at Sam and nodded his permission for her to leave the room.

Sam hesitated. She didn't want to leave, but the call might be important.

Reluctantly, she rose, nodding respectfully to Jack and General Lewis, and managing to completely ignore Fredericks.

As she left the room she heard the investigation resume.

She followed Walter to the nearest telephone, before she picked it up, she asked, "Who is it?"

"It's a detective Shanahan, ma'am." Walter told her, before turning and leaving her to her phone call.

Sam stared at the phone as though she'd never seen one before. Pete. Since her revelation in the cell she hadn't really given him a second thought.

Not that she didn't care about him, or that she was callous, it was just that things were seldom so clear as they had been in that cell.

Pete Shanahan was not Jack O'Neill.

He never would be.

And for all the logical reasons that Pete was the "better" choice, she knew that he could never mean as much to her as Jack did.

Sometimes, when she was feeling cynical, she mused that she felt this drawn to Jack because he was just as fucked up as she.

Jerking herself back to the present, Sam sucked in a deep breath and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

The conversation was not one of the most pleasant Sam had ever had.

She had been stilted, distracted. Pete had noticed.

He had asked her what was wrong. She had told him that she needed to see him, at her home, tonight.

He had agreed, worry and fear infusing his tone.

She hung up, hating herself for doing this to him.

But she had to. No matter what was going on with her and Jack right now. No matter what happened from here on out regarding 'them', she had to do this.

It was unfair to Pete and to herself to continue living a lie.

Sam sighed deeply, shaking herself, and walked back to the briefing room.

She passed a small office. Hearing voices, she looked inside.

Lewis, Fredericks and Clarke were all inside, standing around a telephone, obviously listening to someone on speakerphone.

She headed for the briefing room.

As she reached the door she heard Daniel say, "What about Sam?" She paused at the door.

Evidently he had been addressing Jack, as it was he who answered, "This has nothing to do with Carter, Daniel. I don't think I'm ever gonna speak to her again."

Sam froze in the briefing room doorway.

Jack and Daniel were sitting with their backs to her, Daniel looking inquisitively at Jack, while the General avoided his eyes, apparently engrossed in the design of the table top.

"There's nothing to stop you being friends, Jack." Daniel pointed out.

Jack gave a bitter laugh. "Isn't there?"

"Jack…" Daniel began.

"Daniel, can it, will ya? This whole thing with Carter and me is just flogging the proverbial dead horse."

Sam stood stock still. Jack's words and the tone of voice he used had shaken her. They couldn't even be friends?

She realised her fears in the cell had been justified.

He doesn't care anymore.

She sucked in a breath as though physically pained.

Daniel heard and turned towards the door. "Sam!" He exclaimed in the tones of one who is not quite sure what the other has heard.

His greeting had finally gotten Jack's attention away from his study of the briefing room table. "Carter-" He began, trying to explain.

Sam stared at him for a second. Then spun on her heel and left, stalking unseeing through the SGC corridors until she reached the elevator. She hit the button that would take her up, and leant back against the wall as the elevator began to move.

Back in the briefing room Jack's head hit the table. "Shit."

"Nice going, Jack." Daniel said sarcastically.

Jack didn't reply, just kept his head on the table, his eyes closed. "Crap."

"Is there a problem, General O'Neill?" Clarke asked.

Jack looked up to see that she and the two Air Force officers had re-entered the room and were re-taking their seats.

"Oh yeah. Big problem. Huge." Jack muttered.

Lewis shot him a quizzical look, but Jack just ignored him.

Daniel cleared his throat. "What was that all about?" He asked, referring to their phone conversation.

"That was a conference call with General Hammond and President Hayes." Lewis said, unable to keep the smile from his face. "They had some interesting things to say. "

Clarke spoke, distaste flavouring her tone. "They did indeed. Apparently the President has made his own decision about who he wants running this base, regardless of what his advisors have to say in the matter."

Lewis smiled. "Both the President and General Hammond feel that this base will only run at its optimum under the command of Brigadier General Jack O'Neill."

Fredericks gave a small cough to attract attention to himself. Daniel and Teal'c turned to look at him.

Jack preferred to keep his eyes on the tabletop.

"There will be, of course, new rules and regulations for the SGC, specifically a fine tuning of the fraternisation regulations."

Daniel saw the corner of Jack's mouth quirk up slightly. "Of course there will." He heard his friend mutter under his breath.

General Lewis also appeared to notice Jack's less than enthusiastic reaction. "Yes, well," he began, "that will be discussed at a later date. Today, however, we are pleased to tell you that it is the finding of this enquiry that General O'Neill's actions, while still a cause for concern, pose no threat to this project. "

"It is my duty to inform you, General O'Neill, that the Pentagon will be keeping a close eye on you from now on, just to ensure that this facility continues to run as smoothly as ever." Clarke said, flavouring her last words with sarcasm.

"Don't bother." Jack said, finally looking up. His eyes met Clarke's.

"I'm sorry?" She said, obviously not believing what she'd heard.

"I said, don't bother." Jack pushed himself away from the table and stood. He looked at General Lewis. "General Lewis I would like to inform you of my resignation, commencing immediately."

"You can't resign, Jack." His friend told him, disbelief in his tone.

"I can, General. I am well within my rights. As a superior Air Force officer you have a duty to hear my verbal resignation, I will submit a written resignation to General Hammond ASAP."

"You have no reason to-" Lewis began.

"I do, sir. Obviously there are certain parties that feel I am unfit for this command. Their opinion of me could affect their opinion of the Stargate program and cause them to be disinclined to support it." Jack paused before continuing, "Also, sir, if I may speak freely?"

Daniel was openly staring up at his friend, shocked at both the resignation and the uncharacteristic formality coming from Jack.

Lewis nodded wearily.

"I am not entirely sure I want to work for and with people who do not trust me and the people under my command." He looked at Clarke and Fredericks. "While I have no problem with my work being under scrutiny, I refuse to allow my emotions to be analysed by people who don't know me."

There was shocked silence in the briefing room.

Daniel saw a small smile form on Clarke's face and looked away, disgusted.

"I could refuse you, you know." Lewis told Jack, anger darkening his tone.

"You won't, 'cause you know I'll just get myself in more trouble if you do." Jack said, confident, his tone losing the formality it had adopted.

Lewis nodded. "Fine. Your resignation is accepted, General. But be warned: You might not be able to come back this time, Jack."

"I don't care." Jack replied., then he smiled at his friend. "Thanks, Tom."

Lewis nodded.

Jack turned to Clarke and Fredericks. "And thank you." He said mockingly.

He turned and, grabbing his BDU jacket, headed for the door.

"Jack?" Lewis called, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Jack paused. "Oh, yeah." He said softly. He held his jacket up and tore the velcro SGC patches from the sleeves. "Haven't got time to change, anyway." He said, tossing them to the table.

"What? Why?" Daniel finally found his voice.

Jack just smiled, a genuine, if somewhat weak, smile, and stalked out of the room.

Clarke began to gather her papers, Fredericks following her example. Lewis just sat and stared at his hands.

"Where's he going?" Daniel asked, looking at Teal'c, who didn't look even mildly disturbed at his friend's behaviour.

"He's gone to find Colonel Carter." Lewis said. "He's got some explaining to do."

Clarke stilled in her paper-tidying.

"How do you know that?" Daniel asked.

"I passed her in the corridor as we came back." Lewis explained. "Only Jack makes people that angry."

"Indeed." Teal'c said, not opening his eyes.