"General, you and Colonel Carter are needed at the White House in fifteen minutes. There will be a car waiting." Jack hung up without bothering to answer.
"We have to go, Sam," he groaned quietly, reaching out to her limp form on the chair and touching her hair softly. Another day in Washington had already begun.
Sam was a few steps behind Jack as they exited the building and looked around for the car sent to take them to the White House. The sun was not quite up yet and the resulting dimness only served to emphasize that they were missing some much longed-for sleep. Jack looked over his shoulder at her and then nodded in the direction of their ride, indicating without words that she was to get in.
"Good morning," Sam said sweetly to the young airman driving the vehicle. "How are you doing this morning?"
"Just fine, thank you, ma'am," the youthful officer replied.
"White House, Sir, Ma'am? I understand you two are going to the press conference about the aliens. It's quite a story!"
"So what do you think about this news about the Stargate program?" Jack asked innocently, curious as to how the 'man on the street' was taking it all.
"War of the Worlds," the driver replied with a wry grin. "They're pullin' our leg."
"You don't believe it's true?" Sam asked, surprised.
"No, do you?" he responded incredulously.
"Why would the government make up something like this?" Sam questioned.
"They're politicians. That's what they do." The airman smiled confidently. Sam grabbed at the back of the seat in front of her as he careened wildly around a pedestrian on 14th Street.
"Sorry, Ma'am."
Jack raised an eyebrow for Sam's benefit.
"I suppose a story like this could get the President some votes, if everyone decides he's the one to keep us safe from the aliens. But I don't believe in aliens. Or ghosts, or ESP or any of that stuff. Here, we are, sir, ma'am," he announced at the end of his speech, pulling up next to the guard house.
"1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," he announced grandly.
"Well he sure warmed up," Jack observed quietly as they stepped out of the car. "Hey, if everybody thinks the President is lying, we may not have as big a problem as we thought," Jack continued in her ear.
"He is lying, just not about this," Sam chuckled.
"General O'Neill, Colonel Carter, good morning. This way, please."
A second press conference in as many days.
Oy.
Jack was amazed in an impatient sort of way at the variety of ways reporters could ask the same thing, over and over. He pointed with a frustrated wave of his hand at a brightly dressed woman standing on the edge of the room.
"You." He commanded wearily. He was fast becoming an expert at this press stuff, he prided himself mentally.
"Thank you, sir. My question is for Colonel Carter. Ma'am, what scientific discoveries have been made through the Stargate program that could significantly improve life on our planet?"
Sam smiled. Finally, a friendly query that she could sink her teeth into. As she began, Jack began to doodle on his speech and sighed loudly.
These reporters would have to learn, Jack mused inwardly, you don't ask Carter open-ended questions. He got comfortable for the long haul.
"...in danger from enemy attack, and how can Earth defend itself in such an event?"
Jack jerked back to the reality of the conference room, aware he was being addressed. Sam was watching him through slightly narrowed eyes. She was picking up on the fact that he'd zoned out while she was talking.
"Are you asking what defense plan is in place right now for the Earth?" Jack asked for clarification, hoping like crazy that it would cover up the fact that he had simply not been listening.
"Yes, sir, in the event of an alien attack, is Earth capable of defending itself?"
"Earth has only just begun to develop weapons capable of defending itself. This is why the Stargate program is so important. Earth is still a baby in comparison to the other cultures in our galaxy. I think it's fair to say that, at the present time, our allies are the key to our defensibility. As a wise man once said, we don't need their stuff. We do need them."
Sam rolled her eyes at the arrogance Jack subtly displayed by quoting himself. He smiled an impish grin meant just for her.
The President's press spokesman stood amid the renewed roar of questions.
"Tomorrow at 0800 hours there will be another press conference. No more questions at this time. An official statement in response to the questions asked here this morning will be put out sometime later today. That's all."
Sam and Jack were hurriedly escorted away from the hubbub of the crowded room and found themselves walking down a back hallway of the White House on their way to an unobtrusive exit.
"It didn't take the press long to adjust to the idea that we are not alone in the galaxy, did it?" The staff person walking with them observed wrily. "Myself, I can hardly believe it. It's science fiction."
"No, it's reality. I just hope it's a reality that the world is ready for." Sam replied.
"These are compliments of the President," the man added as he ushered them into the waiting car. He handed Sam an envelope. Inside she found a gift certificate to a local steak house and tickets to a play that evening at the Kennedy Center.
"This is great! Thanks so much." Sam smiled at Jack. They, the General and the Colonel, were going on a 'date' and it was officially sanctioned.
The day passed quickly. A series of meetings at Andrews ate up the majority of the day. Jack found himself with the nearly impossible task of having to constantly make judgment calls on what information was too sensitive to reveal. He found himself incredibly grateful for Sam's vast expertise and common sense more than once as they sloughed through all the complicated facets of the disclosure project. More than that, just having her next to him throughout the day's activities gave him a sense of stability and confidence that everything would indeed be okay in the end. She was his ally, his confidante, his sounding board.
But, more importantly, she was hungry and grumpy.
"Sir, I need chocolate or I quit," she whispered to him as they sat in on yet another international conference call.
"Uh, we're going to take a break," Jack said quietly to the officers in the room when the call finally ended. He motioned to Sam and they made their escape.
"Do all commissaries come from the same place?" Sam moaned. She was staring at the selection of snacks with a frown.
"You mean, the hot place?"
"Yes, sir," Sam deadpanned.
"Then, yes. Just pick something chocolate and let's eat."
They both grabbed some cake and juice and slipped into two chairs in the corner so as to be as far out of sight as possible. Jack had grabbed a paper on his way through the line and was now perusing the headlines to see what impact the disclosure was having today.
"Huh."
"Aah."
After the fifth time he had 'hmmmed' intriguingly, Sam looked up, exasperated.
"Care to share?"
Jack smiled triumphantly. He'd been baiting her, waiting with juvenile glee to see how long it would take her to bite.
"Hansen's been busy. Very busy."
"Aaannnd?"
"He's organized a million-human-march on the Mall for tomorrow afternoon. Let's see: to 'protest the military's failure to develop weapons with which to defend Earth.' He seems to think that the SGC's emphasis on exploration has 'done nothing but invite trouble.'"
Jack read on silently for a few seconds.
"Here he says you-"
"Me?"
"Yes, you, as in Colonel Samantha Carter. You have already been responsible for several deaths because of your recklessly jury-rigged Stargate dialing system. He goes on to explain what a DHD is and how Earth has compensated, mainly through your programs, for not having one."
"Jack. Did you mention the DHD specifically in any of your statements yet?"
"No, I'm sure of that. I never mentioned it, although I think you briefly discussed in last night's press conference how we obtain different viable Gate addresses through the SGC's computer dialing program."
"So he couldn't have learned what a DHD is from us. That means Jonas must have told him about the DHD."
"It would seem so."
"I wonder what else he knows. And what else he's going to say."
Jack rubbed a hand across his face. "Well, Jonas has been dead for over six years now. So this Gil Hansen wouldn't be aware of the progress we've made with our allies since that time. Which means he probably has a pretty negative opinion of the program, after losing his brother to it and then never knowing exactly how he died."
"We've got to talk to him, find out what he knows. Before this march on the Mall occurs."
Jack sighed again. He really didn't like where this was going.
"Yeah."
Their snack forgotten, Jack followed Sam back out to the hall and they made their way to one of the unoccupied offices, where Sam dialed the SGC.
"General Landry, please. This is Colonel Carter." There was a brief pause while she waited for the General to pick up.
"Hello sir. Yes, we're doing well, thank you. We do have a situation here, however, and need your advice and authorization on what to do about damage control..."
Late that evening, Jack and Sam were staked out across the street from the Senator's residence, watching the lights in the spacious home go on and then off again, first in the downstairs rooms, and now the upstairs.
"Boy, that steak would have tasted great right about now," Jack moaned, watching the house.
"And that play would have been fun." Sam pulled the black stocking cap down over her ears a little further.
After waiting a generous amount of time for all to get quiet and remain quiet, Jack got out of the SGC issue van and stretched.
"Ready," he keyed his radio. Jack vanished in a flash of light.
Within a few minutes, Jack and a groggy Senator Hansen had reappeared, this time inside the back of the black van, safe from accidental discovery.
"Go," Sam heard over her ear piece. She gunned the motor and sped off into the night.
Author's notes:
Okay...so maybe I've been watching too much 'Alias.'
For those of you who haven't seen every show from every season twenty times, here's a few explanations of what's going on: Jonas Hansen worked on an SGC team back in Season One. He went crazy on a planet where he set himself up as a god to a primitive society, and SG1 came in to fix things. In the process of rescuing his team and freeing the primitives, Jonas Hansen was killed. Of course, the interesting twist was that Sam and Jonas had been engaged at one time, although his crazy tendencies had driven her away and she had broken off the engagement long ago.
If anyone wants to expound on my interpretation of that episode, entitled 'The First Commandment', feel free. I found it interesting as it is in this episode where Jack tries to quote the Bible to comfort Sam. 'Tries' because he doesn't quite get it right, which Sam (that smarty) is quick to correct. But it's just a very sweet scene.
Also, General Landry and Senator Fisher are characters who will be introduced in Season 9 so since this fic is set in between Seasons 8 and 9 I decided to introduce them myself. Please forgive my boldness.
As far as the concerns some of you voiced about the frat regs, I see your point, and I'm still trying to figure that out. Right now I'm more obsessed by the main part of the plot- what would happen if the Stargate actually became public knowledge.
So what do you think so far? Thanks so much for reading!
FYI- I'm going away for a while tomorrow morning- next update will be delayed. Happy Summer to all!