See Chapter One for full disclaimer and author's notes.
Chapter Two
Jack slammed the phone receiver down with a resounding crash. He had been met with one brick wall after another in his quest to keep Sam at the SGC; this last call was to General Hammond asking for his advice. Unfortunately, the General had reiterated what he had been hearing all morning. Once the Chief of Personnel signs off on an assignment, that's it. Game Over. It was hardly what Jack had wanted to hear.
Deciding he needed a break from his phone marathon, Jack decided to take a break and head down to the commissary for a fresh cup of coffee and if he was lucky a nice freshly baked piece of cake.
As he pushed through the double doors, Jack made a beeline for the coffee urn and after filling his cup full and selecting a piece of double chocolate cake turned and looked for a good place to sit and think through what he was going to do next. As he let his eyes sweep the room he found his gaze pulled inexorably toward one table toward the back wall and discovered his feet moving in that direction of their own accord.
Sam looked up as Jack approached, her eyebrows rising. Jack silently pulled up a chair across from her and sat down, unwrapping his cake and digging in with his fork. With the bite half way to his mouth he paused and looked over at Sam's face. Noting the expectant look in her eyes, he lowered the fork back down to his plate.
"No joy yet. But I'm not through yet. Got a couple more calls I can make."
Sam's face fell at the news. After spending a near sleepless night, she had convinced herself that O'Neill would be able to pull some strings for her so that she could stay at the SGC. "Nothing? What about General Hammond? Can he help?"
"Just got off the phone with him. He pretty much gave me the same song and dance I've been listening to all morning. Once the Chief signs off on a change of station, it is usually a done deal."
Sam's shoulders slumped, General Hammond had always been her ace in the hole, able to put off General Greene at Area 51 the last couple of times this issue had arisen. Now it seemed her run of luck had been exhausted and only one option was left to her. Take the position and leave SG-1 and the SGC behind, however reluctantly. The needs of the Air Force, Colonel. It's all about the needs of the Air Force.
"So that's it. I start packing?"
"Not quite. General Hammond did have one suggestion."
"And that would be?"
"That I call General Greene directly. Try to work out some sort of compromise with him."
Sam couldn't help but allow some hopefulness to creep into her voice. "Do you think he'll go for that, sir?"
"Not sure. But it's worth a shot."
Sam nodded.
Digging back into his nearly forgotten cake, "Let's just hope General Greene is a reasonable man. I'd hate to have to threaten to send Teal'c down there to use some of his more persuasive Jaffa interrogation techniques on him."
Sam smirked, having seen for herself the effects that even one steely eyed look from the Jaffa could have on someone.
"Well sir, if you'll excuse me, I've got a mission briefing to finish up before tomorrow morning," Sam pushed back her chair and prepared to leave. "And sir?"
Jack looked up from his coffee. "Yeah?"
"Thank you. I really do appreciate everything you're trying to do for me."
"Yes well, I have purely selfish reasons for it."
"You do?" Sam asked, her surprise driving her eyebrows nearly up to her hairline.
"Yeah. Last thing I need is to have to replace another SG team leader. Most especially the CO of SG-1."
"Of course sir," Sam replied, her smile reaching all the way to her eyes as she stood and turned toward the doors.
"Carter?"
"Sir?"
"I'll call you when I get this worked out. And I will get it worked out. Count on it."
Sam nodded once, then turned and headed back toward her lab. She didn't doubt O'Neill's willingness to "work this out", but she wasn't so sure that General Greene would give up on her, especially after going to such lengths to secure her transfer to Area 51.
SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1
Sam sat at her laptop, her attention wandering yet again. Not generally given to distractions, she found she was becoming somewhat annoyed with herself. Shaking her head, she bent again to her task, determined to finish her briefing and have it ready for the General's review within the hour. Just as she was putting the finishing touches on her work, a soft knock pulled at her attention and she looked up expectantly.
"Daniel, hey," Sam said, slightly disappointed.
"Hey, Sam. Had lunch yet?"
"I grabbed a bite a little while ago, but thanks anyway."
"No problem. Just thought you'd like to take a break for a while. We could get a cup of coffee or something if you'd rather."
"Nah. Last thing I need right now is caffeine."
"Okay, well. If you're sure…" Daniel said, trailing off somewhat as if there were more he wanted than just a friendly cup of coffee. Standing just to the side of her desk, Daniel stood shifting his feet, looking more than a bit nervous.
"So, we heard you're leaving to take command of the R&D at Area 51," Daniel blurted.
Sam was surprised enough that word had spread so quickly, that for a moment she didn't reply. Blinking, she took a breath to reply, but was cut off by Daniel.
"God, it's true isn't it? They're really going to send you to Nevada? I told Teal'c there was no way, I never thought the rumor mill was right. How the hell can they do that?" Daniel ranted on, becoming more agitated by the moment.
"Daniel, calm down. Nothing's set in stone just yet. General O'Neill is working on it for me."
"Of course, of course. Jack'll never let them take you away from us that easily."
Sam was a bit uncomfortable with the sentiment, but didn't contradict him either.
"Well, hopefully I'll hear something soon."
Daniel took in the nervous flutter of her hands, the way Sam's eyes wandered repeatedly over his shoulder to glance out into the hall and then back to him again, and knew her outward calm was a façade, and one that she was working hard to keep in place. Reaching out to still her restless hands, Daniel sought to reassure her.
"Don't worry, Sam. I'm sure it'll be fine."
Sam mustered up a small smile for him. "Yeah, it will be."
Daniel smiled in return then grasped her hands and pulled Sam to her feet. "Come on, let's get out of here. Waiting in here by yourself would make anyone a bit nuts."
Shaking her head but not resisting either, Sam followed Daniel down the corridor toward the commissary. Daniel was right about one thing, waiting with friends was always better than waiting alone.
SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1
It was nearly three hours and two phone calls later that Jack found himself once again standing outside Carter's lab with what he hoped would be a compromise they all could accept. It had taken some strong arming on Jack's part, but in the end General Greene had been more accommodating than he had expected and the final solution had actually been Greene's suggestion.
Sam was once again bent low over her laptop, but her typing seemed half hearted at best compared with her enthusiasm from the day before. Jack knocked on the door jam, pulling Sam's attention away from her project.
"Sir. Come in."
Jack strode in, his hands jammed deep into his pockets. Stopping just short of Sam's workbench, he met her gaze squarely.
"You've worked it out," Sam said matter of factly.
Jack squinted his eyes slightly. "Sort of. General Greene has agreed to a sort of compromise. You'll officially be under his command and will work one week a month out of Area 51. You'll be expected to review all alien technology brought back during SGC missions and make out reports to the folks back at Area 51 prioritizing the stuff you think deserves the most attention."
"But the rest of the time, I'm here, right? I get to keep SG-1?"
"Yep. We'll work out the details of the mission schedule to be sure you get that week in Nevada every month, but otherwise you're still here."
Sam's surprise couldn't have been more complete. He really had worked it out. After seeing the General's dejection in the commissary earlier that day, she hadn't held out much hope.
"Thank you, sir," The sincerity in her heart communicated in her voice.
"Yeah, well. Don't mention it. Remember, selfish motives. It's gonna mean a lot of extra work for you. But it was the only way I could get Greene to agree."
Sam smiled, "Don't worry, sir. I can handle it if it means I can keep SG-1," The fear that her team could be stripped from her just when she was getting comfortable with command had been enough to strike fear into her heart. When she had first taken command, it had all seemed a bit overwhelming, but now her life in command of her team seemed as natural to her as her former role as 2IC had been.
As Jack turned to head back to his office and the ever growing pile of paperwork on his desk, Sam's voice caught his attention.
"Sir? The guys and I were going to get together tonight, have dinner and maybe a cheesy sci-fi movie. Interested?"
"Cheesy sci-fi? Will it have Mary Steenburgen in it?"
"Not sure she's ever done sci-fi, sir, but I'll see what I can find. 1900, my place?"
"Well now that's the best offer I've had in a while. I'll be there," Jack replied, a genuine smile creasing his face for the first time in far too long. The relief he felt at coming to an agreement with Area 51 was enough by itself to put a smile on his face. The reasons for his profound relief he chose not to think about. Much.
TBC…