The Explanation
Chapter 9: Home again
PhDelicious

Disclaimer: Same as every other time. Not mine. Not making money.

A/N: I should beg more often. Thanks for the great response to the last chapter. I hope you guys enjoy this as well.

Jack

It wasn't until Jack raised his head in response to Teal'c that he realized they were now alone on the hillside. Jack quirked an eyebrow, a habit he had picked up from the Jaffa. Teal'c regally inclined his head.

"The others have gone on ahead. I felt it best that you not remain here alone."

"And now?"

"I do not wish to worry Colonel Carter further. It is time to return."

Jack nodded and rose.

"T, I'm going to need your help with some things when we get back."

I can't believe she didn't stay….though given that she's not even talking to me at the moment I guess I shouldn't be so surprised. What am I going to do?

Sam

Sam was staring in rapt fascination at the Stargate, despite the fact that she was not paying the slightest bit of attention to the scientific impossibilities of the shimmering blue pool in front of her. She'd had an odd feeling of déjà vu as they'd crossed the clearing towards the gate, similar to the one she'd experienced the first time she'd gone to Jack's cabin.

A cabin I dreamed of long before I knew it existed. A cabin where I knew where everything was before I'd ever been, just like I knew what Daniel was going to do here, even before he began dialing.

If the hillside she'd just climbed had been the last piece of Jack's puzzle than the Stargate was hers. But for all that it still didn't bring back concrete memories.

Why can't I remember reality and not the Collective? I remember feeling feelings…where did that come from? Has this happened before?

"Daniel?"

"Yes Sam?"

"Has this ever happened before?"

"This?"

"Us…loosing our memories?"

"Well…not quite like this before, but there was this one time…"

"Awe, you guys didn't have to wait for me. I had a tour guide, after all."

Jack's loud greeting rolled across the clearing. Daniel rolled his eyes for Sam to see.

"Just wanted to make sure Teal'c got home in one piece, Jack."

Jack stuck his tongue out at Daniel.

"Very mature Jack."

"Just for you Danny."

"That's enough children….Jack stop stalling…Daniel don't antagonize him. Can we just go home now?"

The bickering twosome turned and apologized as one.

"Sorry Sam."

I guess some things never change. No matter how old they get they still act like two year olds. Though their vocabulary has improved somewhat.

Teal'c gestured towards the Stargate.

"If you would Daniel Jackson."

Daniel smiled sheepishly and walked into the wormhole.

"Colonel Carter…"

Sam ran a hand over the event horizon, cast one last glance over her shoulder and stepped through. She turned back to watch as she exited and breathed a sigh of relief when Jack came through, followed closely by Teal'c.

"Welcome back SG1."

General Hammond's voice resonated through the Gate-room from his position at the bottom of the ramp.

oOo

Daniel had done most of the talking during the briefing. Matthais had answered the few technical questions General Hammond had asked and Sam had let Jack field those of a more personal nature.

Let him stick his foot in his mouth if he wants. He's better at being evasive anyways. And he is the General after all.

They'd actually gotten rather lucky. Hammond hadn't really been interested in what had happened in the Collective. He was more worried about the fact that the twosome had lost their memories yet again. He'd seemed satisfied by Matthais's insistence that they'd be back to normal in a few days, but they were confined to base and removed from the active duty roster until then. SO now Sam was sitting alone in her quarters contemplating the slate grey wall.

Well this is fascinating. No wonder I love my job. Oh geez! I sound like Jack. At least they could've left me a laptop!

A knock on the door interrupted Sam's complaining. Daniel and Matthais were standing in the hall.

"I thought it might help if we took a trip to your lab."

"Oh Thank God!"

Jack

Why are the walls in these places always grey? You'd think someone would be a little more creative than that. I'm bored! I want Samantha. I don't want to read mission reports. It's like having flashbacks.

Jack had been randomly pulling files out of the stack Hammond had given him and skimming them for the past hour. Generally he'd only had to read the first few sentences of a report before a Technicolor movie began playing in his head. Jack skimmed over an old fitness report.

Boy do we get hurt a lot. No wonder I feel so old. That's enough reading for one day!

Jack opened his door and stepped out into the hallway.

"General O'Neill!"

The two young airmen standing outside saluted him.

"At ease boys."

Jack turned to walk down the hall. The airmen fell into step behind him. Jack stopped and glared at them. The slightly older looking one replied.

"Sorry Sir. General Hammond's orders."

Jack sighed, rolled his eyes and continued on his way to Teal'c's quarters.

oOo

"You lasted longer than I expected O'Neill."

"I'm glad you have such faith in me big guy…I need to ask you a question."

Teal'c turned to fully face Jack.

"Yes O'Neill?"

Jack started to pace.

"Can you tell me…"

Jack stopped pacing and began to wring his hands.

"…about my relationship to Samantha?"

"Are you sure I am the person to ask O'Neill?"

"I know you'll give me a straight answer. And it's not like I can ask her…she doesn't remember herself."

"Very well."

Teal'c gestured for Jack to pull up a floor cushion and join him. Jack obliged.

"The relationship between yourself and Colonel Carter is very complicated even for the Tauri. As far as I know, you have never voluntarily crossed the line set by your military's regulations."

"Voluntarily?"

"Outside influences and memory loss have caused incidents in the past. I believe you and Colonel Carter have an understanding, despite the fact that it is not something that is spoken of."

"So you were not surprised by what you found in the Collective?"

"Indeed not O'Neill. You and Colonel Carter have been together in all of the alternate realities we have encountered."

"So the reports said. But now I'll remember what its like to have her every time I let my guard down. I'm tired of fight. It's time to fix this, permanently."

"I will aid you in any way possible O'Neill."

Sam

It had been a week since they'd returned from Judea and Sam was slowly going nuts. Her memories had returned days ago. It felt like she'd explained every 'doohickey' in her lab to Matthais at least twice. And now there were even any new objects being brought in. The entire SGC had been grounded for the past three days because Jack had returned to D.C. with General Hammond.

And that doesn't even begin to cover it. I wish whoever was doing this would stop. It's making it really hard to get over Jack.

Sam twisted the single red rose around in her hand and stared at the picture on top of the pile quickly forming on her desk. Every time she entered her quarters or her lab there would be a single rose: red, pink, or white, and a photo. This particular picture must have been taken within the past year because she was standing arm in arm with Pete.

God was that a mistake!

The photographer had caught her turned slightly away from Pete with her free hand resting lightly on Jack's forearm as she and Daniel laughed, presumably at one of Jack's jokes. Pete, on the other hand had bored eyes and a slight scowl.

Well, isn't that telling? I can't believe we've never been court marshaled. It is so obvious. Any one of these pictures is a dead give away. I may have been wrong about the Collective's impact on our feelings, but that doesn't change the fact that I can't have Jack.

Sam heaved a sigh and put down the rose to pick up the envelope that had been lying on her desk since her return. Jack was supposed to be back soon and Sam hadn't decided on her course of action yet. She'd narrowed it down to two options, complete avoidance or facing the music.

Of course they both suck!

"Colonel Carter, ma'am."

An airman interrupted her thoughts.

"I've been ordered to set this up for you. Would you prefer I do so here or in your quarters?"

Sam eyed the VHS tape in his hand warily.

"The unit the corner will be fine."

"Yes Ma'am."

The airman turned on the TV VCR combo unit, pushed play and withdrew from Sam's lab, shutting the door behind him.

What the…

The title screen appeared and Jack's voice began narrating over a sequence of shots of the mountain and the SGC interior.

"The Stargate Club. I accept that we had to sacrifice the past years of our live to our world. What we did was right. But what do we have to show for it? The world doesn't care. Even if they knew about us, people would still see us as they want to see us…in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. They would see a brain, and alien, an idealist, and washed-up old soldier. After all, that's how we saw each other eight years ago."

As Jack's speech wound up the images onscreen changed from location shots to photos of SG1 individually before stopping on an early group photo. A new voice cut across Jack's.

"I do not believe that is entirely accurate O'Neill."

"Not really the point T. It sounded good though, didn't it?"

The group photo was moved away form the camera to reveal Jack sitting behind his desk.

"Hiyya Carter."

On-camera Jack smiled sheepishly.

"Please don't turn this off. Just stick it out to the end. It'll be worth it. I promise. …Good. Sit back and try to relax. We're going to take a little journey here."

Sam cringed sensing that this was about to get truly embarrassing, but unable to bring herself to turn off the tape. Sam got up and quickly locked her lab door, before returning her attention to the spectacle.

"Why don't we begin at the beginning…"

Jack's voice died away to be replaced by General Hammond speaking over security footage of Sam's introduction to the SGC.

"I knew I had to assign Samantha Cater to Jack O'Neill's team from the moment I got the orders to restart the Stargate program. Not only was she our foremost expert on the gate's workings, but she was soldier enough to gain Jack's respect and calm and confident enough to balance his reckless streak. Jack was smart enough to learn to rely on her intelligence and bravery. Or so I hoped. Little did I know how quickly or how well my plan would work."

Suddenly the visual changed to show Daniel standing in the midst of his cluttered office.

"Hey Sam. I wasn't sure what to say at first when Jack asked me to do this, but I guess the truth is the best option. It has been an honor and a privilege to work with you these past years. You've been great for each and every one of us here at the SGC and for myself, Teal'c and Jack in particular. And I would have to say that despite Air Force regulations imply the bond that you and Jack share has saved all of us more times that I care to count. I know you've never been able to see this clearly, but I hope this tape and the photos you've been receiving help you to see it all as we've been able to."

And so it went. Most of the members of the SGC staff had contributed; Reynolds, Walter, Siler, a second appearance by General Hammond, and even some of the other women officers were included. Each person would comment on what it had been like to work with Sam and then offer their opinion on her relationship with Jack.

I didn't realize there were sooo many bets riding on us. Someone is going to get very rich one of these days. Damn soldiers will bet on anything.

Teal'c was the next to last of the interviews.

"Colonel Carter, you have fought had and sacrificed much for your people, but life is too short to postpone happiness indefinitely. I do not wish to see either yourself or O'Neill repeat my mistakes."

Wow, from Teal'c that was practically a novel.

Jack, of course, was last.

"So…Carter…whad'ya think? Oh and there's one last minor little detail, well all right two details. First, the reason I went to D.C. was so that I could discuss changing my job description with the President. Second, I love you."

After a few seconds of silence the screen went black as the tape ran out.

A/N: So I hope that wasn't entirely too cheesy for you all. And the only part of The Breakfast Club I own is the DVD, obviously. Let me know what you thought. And yes there is at least one more chapter coming. After that I had been planning on writing a fic. About what happened in the Collective, but that'll probably be put on hold for a while due to real life.