Mysterious Distance

Part 6

Jack was waiting. He hated waiting. He'd left orders for Carter to report to him immediately upon arriving. He tried to work, but he couldn't. He was too nervous. He hated being nervous even more than waiting. So he stared at his desk before him and hoped it looked like he was reading.

After an eternity there was a knock on his door. "Enter," he called out as casually as he could. Carter walked in followed closely by Daniel.

She smiled nervously at him, "Good morning, sir."

He smiled slightly in return, "Morning." He glanced at Daniel who seemed as nervous as Carter, "Can you give Carter and I a few minutes, Daniel?"

"Actually, Jack…um… Sam and I have some news for you." He stared down at his feet and his hands were stuffed securely in his pockets. That wasn't a good sign. Daniel never had a problem facing off to Jack. Case in point: jumping him and telling him off last week.

"Bad news?" Jack queried keeping his face neutral. Carter wouldn't meet his eyes either. She seemed fascinated by the pictures on the far wall.

"No!" Daniel responded quickly. "Good news."

"Okay. Let me have it then," Jack told him, but later in retrospect he would think he could have chosen his words more carefully.

Daniel finally made eye contact and 'let him have it,' "Sam and I got married." He pulled his left hand out of his pocket held it up for confirmation. And there it was: a plain gold band glittering on his finger.

"Congradulations," he responded automatically. He was really glad that some strange reflexive part of his brain took over and immediately set about repressing his feelings. Otherwise he might burst out sobbing or laughing hysterically. Neither response was really fitting for a US Air Force General.

Carter pulled her gaze from the pictures and looked at him sharply. Strangely, she hadn't anticipated his stoic response. He held her gaze and asked in a teasing tone that he was extremely proud of, "Does this mean I have to call you 'Jackson' from now on?"

"No, sir. I'm not changing my name."

"Good. There's a lot of paperwork involved in name changes," He leaned back in his chair and studied their perplexed expressions. He was really happy that he was shocking them by not completely breaking down as the seemed to expect, not to mention being completely amazed at his ability to think and speak rationally. "You know what this means, don't you, kids?"

Daniel eyed him warily, "What does it mean, Jack?"

"SG-1 can't remain the same."

"Oh." Daniel paused considering. He hadn't thought of that. "Well, why not? We're not breaking in any regulations. And we have been 'involved' before with out it affecting our working relationship."

"What does Teal'c say about this?"

"We haven't told him yet.," Carter answered evidentially getting over her dumb struck confusion. "You were the first to know, sir."

"Well, discuss it with him and if he agrees, I'll consider it."

"Thank you, sir." She gave him a small grateful smile.

"I guess you haven't told Cassie yet either?"

"No, sir."

"Why don't you two come over the house tonight for dinner? Cassie's home this weekend. You can tell her then."

"Thank you, sir. That's very nice of you."

"We're going to have to have some kind of shindig too."

"That's not really necessary, Jack." Daniel sighed. They really hadn't want to make a big deal about their impromptu marriage. Rumors would abound enough as it was.

"Sure it is. We must have cake."

"That'd be great, sir," She gave him a bigger smile. She was pleased that he didn't seem to be taking it as badly as they assumed he would. She guessed that that illustrated the fact that when dealing with Jack O'Neill you never knew what to expect.

"That settles it then. Congradulations again. I hope you'll be very happy." Jack smiled at them but Daniel thought he could detect the barest trace of bitterness in his voice. "Send in Walter on your way out." With that they knew they had been dismissed and left as quickly as possible still slightly afraid he might still explode.

Jack had just enough time to breathe out a heavy sigh before Walter stepped quickly into his office, "You wanted to see me, sir."

"Yeah, you've got a wedding reception to plan. Carter and Daniel have gotten married."

Walter started laughing, "With all do respect, that's a really stupid joke, sir. Even for you."

"It's no joke, Walter."

His assistant stood gaping at him for a moment. "Shit. This is going to throw the betting pool into an uproar, sir."

"No doubt," Jack replied calmly, still very proud of the fact that he wasn't visibly freaking out. He really liked this failsafe his brain had.

"Sir-" Walter began but he was cut off by the red phone ringing. "Excuse me, sir," he said leaving the general to his call.

Jack picked up the receiver and answered. "O'Neill."

"Jack, would you care to tell me why I'm holding your letter of resignation?" George Hammond bellowed into his ear.

"Oh, that. Would you mind shredding that for me? It was a mistake."

"A mistake? Jack, you want to tell me what the hell is going on in that mountain."

"Actually we're getting ready for a party. We've just had a bit of surprising news. Turns out Carter and Daniel have gotten married while they were on leave."

"Are you serious!"

"Couldn't be more, George."

"Shit. This is going to throw the betting pool in an uproar."

"That's what Walter said."

There was a pause on the line and Jack heard Hammond's sigh. "Jack, I'm sorry."

"What for?" Even if he had automatically numbed himself, it didn't mean he wanted to discuss his 'feelings'.

"Jack…"

"Say, George, you should come out for the reception. I'll let you know when it is."

"Jack…"

"Hey, let me ask your opinion on something. This Daniel/Carter thing has apparently been going on for about five years. Off and on. Teal'c and I never knew it was going on. Anyway they want to keep SG-1 the same and if Teal'c doesn't see a problem, I'm inclined to let them stay as is. What do you think?"

There was another pause as Hammond considered his answer. "Well, it's really your call, Jack. Perhaps you should give them a probationary period and some light missions to see how they adjust to their new circumstances."

"That's what I was thinking. Thanks. Don't forget to shred that letter, will ya?"

-

Author's Note: I know this has been short and a long time coming, but it's just so damn hard to write Sam/Daniel stuff. I'm afraid this chapter isn't very good and kind of glossed over. Updates will be quicker(and better) on the Sam/Jack moments. Thanks for all the lovely reviews as well. This fic has been tougher to write than Intergalactic Event. Thanks for your patience and kind words.