Title: Safe Bet
Chapter: Let the Truth Be Told
Summary: She sighed and picked her fork back up, "I just hope that saving the world seven or eight times is enough to earn us some happiness."
Disclaimer: Not my story and not my characters!
Authors Note: I know it's been awhile, but I'm back now, and hopefully I'll have the time that I used to... Not sure though, because I have to get a job!
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As the plane prepared to touch down, Hammond shut off his laptop and turned of his cell phone, having already phoned Doctor Jackson and letting him know of his arrival in Colorado Springs. The young archeologist declared that he as on his way, and Teal'c would be along for the ride. Jacob Carter had wanted to come with, but decided against it, in case his daughter got curious and wondered where he was.
Hammond was slightly upset by that fact, he had wanted to gauge his old friend's reaction to the relationship between his daughter and O'Neill before the news came out, but now it would have to wait. He intended on going directly to Jack's office upon his arrival. Looking at his watch, he let out a soft sigh. The plane was touching down a little under half an hour early, and he guessed that was as much of a break he was going to get that day.
Waiting for Daniel to arrive, he glanced around the airport with an odd fascination. His time with the SGC had changed his outlook on life, and the nature of humans. He watched CNN and had a hard time not scoffing at the petty differences that cause earth wars, even though, at one time, he had been willing to give his life for those same differences. Or the way certain groups of people would shy away from others, without even realizing they were doing so. Older women looked in shame at the way teenage girls dressed and in turn the teenage girls made fun of their old fashioned clothes, not knowing that at any moment, their lives could be over– the entire planet could be gone.
When Daniel and Teal'c arrived, George had to keep himself from laughing. A small child near him, a two or three year old boy, looked up at the large Jaffa with awe and amazement. "Mommy," he said, pointing at the man, "a giant!"
Daniel snorted slightly, trying to hide laughter, and Teal'c simply raised an eyebrow and inclined his head towards the small child. The boy's eyes widened, and he scooted closer to his mother, although Teal'c had made no threatening movements. The mother looked mortified, and apologized over and over again for her child's 'imagination'.
"All is well," Teal'c informed her.
Slightly confused by his statement, but thankful he wasn't upset, the woman picked up her child and moved away. Hammond, Teal'c, and Daniel then proceeded to pick up the General's luggage, and head back for Stargate Command.
"You can drive, George," Daniel said, throwing his keys at the man, after his bags had been put into the back of his CR-V. Hammond caught them with the ease of a young man, and grinned. "I'll sit in the back," he continued, smirking to himself. "Wouldn't want Goliath to be d cramped, now, would we?"
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When Sam came to Jacob, asking him where he wanted to go eat, it took a lot of convincing to get her to stay on base, and eat in the commissary. He needed to be around for the other Tok'ra, he claimed, and wasn't she working on something important in her lab anyway? Taking the bait, she agreed... she did need to figure out what the device found on P6A-331 was, anyway. And there was a new Tok'ra on earth, and that was hardly ever a good thing.
As they walked into the commissary, she was praying that he wouldn't notice the looks from the other airmen, but two times in a row? She should be so lucky! Of course, this time, he understood why they were looking, and smirked. But, in his defense, he did nothing more, at least to her. After throwing a few evil looks at the staring military men and women, they went to their table, free from any prying eyes and open ears– the flashing eyes of a Tok'ra were enough to keep the gossips at bay.
"Thanks dad," she said, soft enough that only he could hear her, even though no one even dared look their way. "You have no idea how annoying that was getting."
He smiled and took a sip of his drink, "So, how goes work?"
"I've been busy," she replied, with a tired grin. "But it's nothing that I can't handle."
Jacob nodded, "And this thing with Jack?"
"It's not a thing dad. I think that, for once, this is the real deal. I'm just mad at myself for pushing him away for as long as I did, and thankful he didn't forget about me all those years ago, when it became obvious that I wasn't interested."
"I don't think forgetting about you was ever an option in his mind, Sammie," he replied. "No sane person would ever even consider it."
Smiling sheepishly, she ran her fork through her mashed potatoes, suddenly not feeling all that hungry. "What if he can't find another way though, dad? What if this is the only way, and he figures out how much we need him, and decides that maybe he was wrong about us?"
"He's not going to do that, baby."
"How do you know, though?" she asked, setting down her fork and looking at her father. Jacob was surprised to see fear flash across them, but as quick as it had appeared, it was gone. It hurt him to know that she would hide her feelings from even her father. It hurt him even worse knowing he was one of the reasons she had become that way.
He leaned across the table, placing his hand over hers, "Because I've seen the way he looks at you. I know that look, he loves you, Sammie, and that kind of love is hard to find. It's the kind you'd sacrifice anything for, no matter what the consequences. He looks at you the way I used to look at your mother."
She sighed and picked her fork back up, "I just hope that saving the world seven or eight times is enough to earn us some happiness."
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Jack looked up at his door at the sound of a light knocking, then the sound of the knob being twisted. Thinking it was Daniel, who was the only one who ever had the courage to open the door without his permission, he looked back down at his paperwork, and waited for the man to make start whatever conversation he was in for. But when there was the sound of someone sitting, and no voice to follow, he looked up slightly and knew instantly it wasn't Daniel. The man wasn't buff or anything, but even through the fatigues Jack could tell the difference between female legs and male ones.
He pretty much knew who it was, but looked up to make sure. Relieved that she didn't look angry, he set down his pen and leaned back in his chair. "You didn't wait for permission to enter, Colonel." he claimed, trying to look stern.
"What are you going to do about it, sir?" she countered. "Court marshal me?"
Shrugging, he allowed a small grin to appear on his face, "I guess not. Just don't make it a habit... we might send the kids into a tizzy. And the last thing we need is more gossip, eh?"
"Right, sir."
"Was there something you wanted to talk about, Carter?" he asked. Not that he didn't want to see her. He was just curious as to why she had come– when he had been certain she was upset with him earlier.
"I wanted to apologize, sir," she claimed. "For the way that I acted earlier. My father and I talked– and I guess I understand where you're coming from. I would be hesitant in your circumstance, as well."
"I'm not hesitating, Sam," he told her, leaning forward. "I'm just taking the time to exhaust all of my options. I told you before, nothing is going to keep me from you. If the President wants me here so badly, he'll just have to have me without a title. If I am that important, and everybody around me seems to think so, then they'll do me at least that."
She nodded, standing up and sighing to herself, "Anyway, that's all I needed to say, sir. If you don't mind, I have some things I need to work on."
He smiled, "Not at all, Colonel. Go– experiment."
A grin stretched across her face, the one that showed the only emotion she ever let people see– excitement, and she left his office. He watched her go, wondering how in the world he had managed to have such a wonderful person fall in love with him, and then quickly pushing them aside. He was selfish, and if she wanted to settle for him, then there wasn't a thing he was going to do about it.
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The drive to the SGC was relatively quiet, Daniel had asked him about his flight and that had been pretty much it. Teal'c mentioned a Star Wars marathon that Daniel, Jacob, and he were having later that night, and invited him to join them, and Hammond was actually considering it. He didn't have to be back in D.C. that day, and he could put his flight off until the morning. Besides, he didn't get to spend much time with his old friend, and he wanted to talk to him about Sam and Jack.
They had to be fairly hush-hush getting him into the compound. Of course, he was asked for his clearance, even though every single one of the airmen knew he was an important man who had every right to be there. After having Teal'c inform them to keep Hammond's arrival private (with his best 'mean' look, although Daniel couldn't tell the difference between that and his 'happy look') and they entered the complex, their mission clear. Get Hammond to Jack's office without distraction, and then make sure Sam is alone after the General hears the news. And of course, bribe the men in the security room to watch the live footage of what happens.
A few passing airmen recognized Hammond immediately, but didn't stop to make idle chit-chat, for fear that he was here on important, classified Pentagon business. They simple inclined their heads at him, acknowledge his presence, and a few saluted. George did the same back, and they continued their journey to O'Neill's office.
At one point, they were worried that they would be found out. When they entered the elevator there were two men already occupying it. Walter and Jacob Carter. The Tok'ra's eyes flashed knowingly, and Jacob grinned at them, but Walter had instantly struck up a conversation with Hammond about why he was there, when he had heard no mention of it. Luckily, Hammond had grace under pressure, and made up a believable story. They all got off at the same level and went their separate ways, but not after receiving another smirk from Jacob.
When they made it to Jack's office, George dismissed Teal'c and Daniel, they had other things to do, anyway. Sam had to be isolated, and although that might not be such a hard thing to do, not being suspicious about it was. Carter was smart– she would more likely than not see the conspiracy plain as day, and that was what they had to work past.
"I'd wish you good luck," Daniel said, "but that doesn't really seem appropriate in this situation."
"I disagree," Teal'c said. "O'Neill is a complex man. When dealing with him, in my experience, luck is always required."
Hammond snorted, and knocked at the door to his office. "Go on son," he said to Daniel. "I'll be just fine."
"Door's open!" Jack's voice called from the other side.
"Indeed, it is not," Teal'c said, slightly confused, as he and Daniel walked off towards the elevator.
"Come on, Goliath," Daniel replied with a grin, "Let's go find Sam."
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"General Hammond," Jack said, standing up as George entered his office. "We weren't scheduled to meet, were we?"
"No, son," Hammond replied. "This is an impromptu meeting."
"Ah," the younger man replied, "thought I was back to misplacing memos."
"It's been awhile, hasn't it?"
"Since I misplaced a memo?" Jack asked, sitting back down.
Smiling the older man followed suit, "Since we've been alone."
"Oh, that... Yeah, it's been a couple of months."
"How have you been?"
Jack returned the smile, "Let's cut the small talk, huh, George?" he asked. "So we can get down to why you're really here... You want the desk back, too? Because in a few days I probably won't need it anymore, so I can have it shipped up to D.C."
Anybody else, and Hammond would have expected those comments to be insubordinate. "No, son. I'm not here about the desk. I like my new one just fine."
"So, if it's not the desk, then what brings you out to Colorado Springs?" O'Neill asked, leaning back in his chair.
George did the same, letting out a small sigh, "It's about your retirmeent."
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A/N: I realize it has been forever since I update this, and I'm sorry! I've had a hectic past couple of weeks and the next few are going to be much worse! School starts back in like a week from tomorrow and I've got to find a job! However I won't let that take away from my writing, I'll still find time to update, I promise! Anyway, you know what to do– leave me a review!
