A/N: Thank you all again for your wonderful reviews. After such a long hiatus from fanfic (it was only like 10 days, but believe me I missed the little email alerts with their wonderful messages!) it was just awesome.
Ok, now I was always going to do an epilogue, but I changed this slightly to leave the door fully open for a sequel. It won't appear for a while though, because I've got to finish my other fic first – but I really need the time to figure out a plot anyway so that's probably a good thing from your point of view!
Oh and J.J.: moi c'est plutôt l'inverse – ma langue maternelle c'est l'anglais, mais je suis allée au collège et au lycée en France donc je suis plus à l'aise en français !
I promise I didn't say anything rude there… that reminds me though, I've spent the day writing a particularly annoying French essay and then speaking French for most of the evening so there might be some sentences that are a bit weird.
Here you go guys – this really is the end this time though!
Epilogue – New beginning
General Hammond waited impatiently for Major Davis to move through the various security checks at the surface and inside the Cheyenne Mountain complex. He had been alerted the instant the Pentagon's liaison with the SGC had arrived, and was slightly apprehensive as to what he was going to decide.
He'd made a decision not to call the members of SG1 – they were all on a well-deserved period of leave. Teal'c was hard to reach in any case, as he had gone off-world to visit his family. Jonas would surely be on base somewhere, as he imagined would be Major Carter, but he would bet fair money that the Colonel was currently sleeping in the sun on his deck, an unmoving fishing rod loosely clasped in his hand. They all deserved the rest after the stress of dealing with ancient enclosures buried underground and off-shore, not to mention Asgard ancestors and the dreaded Baal. The Australian operation was on-going, and both Jack and Sam especially would be needed in the near future – the Colonel for his 'capabilities' and Major Carter for her expertise with the applications of the newly acquired naquada stock – but for the moment SG13 and 15, and the Australian forces, led by Captain Hindmarsh, had the basics under control.
The General was snapped out of his musings by the tell-tale clipped pace progressing down the hall. He rose from his chair just as Major Davis rounded the corner, stopping briefly to knock on the General's door before entering and being seated opposite him on the chair in front of the desk.
"Major, it's good to see you." General Hammond saluted briefly before they both took their seats.
"You too General." Major Davis replied promptly, his mind on the discussion they were to have. Both men sat silently for a couple of moments, collecting their thoughts, before General Hammond finally spoke.
"I take it you have confirmation on the issues I put forward in the briefing?" he asked enigmatically, wanting to let the other take the lead.
"Yes sir." Major Davis nodded curtly. "On the face of it, everything looks to be in order – and the Australian government has been very cooperative. There is, however," he added with a wince, "one area that concerns some elements that I wish to clear up with you."
"And that is?" General Hammond had been waiting for this, and had made sure of the facts before Colonel O'Neill had departed on leave.
"You of course are aware that the nature promotion you're proposing would alter the status of two of your officers and effectively dissolve on of your off-world teams?" He asked carefully, trying to cover all bases.
"I never make recommendations without being advised of all the consequences of such action, Major." The General replied haughtily, impatient with the indirect line of questioning. "And you'd be wrong in thinking that this would spell the end of SG1."
"Well anyway," Major Davis continued unabated, "You would be aware as well that this recommendation could be construed as the remedy to an emerging problem."
General Hammond stiffened his back in the chair, his nostrils flaring with his annoyance at the implication. "If you are implying, Major Davis," he snarled ferociously, "that anything untoward has occurred between Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter, then I would caution you not to make ill-founded accusations against two officers to whom you owe your life!"
"General, I do not wish to imply anything of the sort, and I hope for both their cases that this is not the situation." The Major paled slightly in the face of the now irate Texan. "However, your recommendation that Major Carter's promotion be expedited in all urgency, coupled with the discovery of various articles of clothing belonging to both on the beach at Minnamurra, have raised some important questions."
"MAJOR DAVIS!" General Hammond roared. "No matter how you phrase it, you are implying an improper relation between these fine officers, something I hoped never to hear from someone such as yourself!" His breath rasped as he tried to keep from throwing the man out of his office. "I resent that I need to justify my or my officer's actions, and know that I will not do so again. So, for the last time: Major Carter should be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in all speed as she deserves it and furthermore is to take command of SG1 while Colonel O'Neill leads the current operation in Australia. As to your offensive allusion to any state of undress that my officers may have experienced, I will remind you that they had just swum half a mile fully clothed to reach the beach before they were transported onto Thor's ship. I don't think you yourself would retain your jacket and vest in such a situation, so I will hear nothing further on the question!"
"I apologise General," Major Davis uttered after a few minutes, time enough to let the General calm down, and to let himself gather the force to find his voice again. "Personally, I trust your judgement on such matters, however you appreciate there are those who concern themselves more than is strictly necessary when it comes to the SGC."
"I am well aware of the existence of enemies to the SGC and its personnel, Major." General Hammond seethed through clenched teeth. "However your sentiment is appreciated." He added more calmly. "Would I be correct in thinking that the other matters were approved without pause?"
"Yes sir," the Major nodded with relief as they moved on. He fished a piece of paper from the file that had been clasped under his arm upon his arrival and ran his eyes down as he counted off the new changes. "Captain Hindmarsh, with the assent of the Australian Government, will be reassigned to the SGC under a programme of partial disclosure with the Royal Australian Air Force, joining SG1" He mentally ticked off the item from the list. "Until the ancient structure under Uluru is fully explored, and until all the naquada stored at Minnamurra is retrieved, Colonel O'Neill is reassigned in charge of Operations in Australia under the command of General Marty. SG13 and 15 will remain at Minnamurra, while SG1 will properly document the Uluru site with the help of SG11." He hesitated upon mentioning the General's top team, well aware of the implications, but continued nonetheless. He continued reading the various provisions which concerned more mundane features, before reaching the final two. "Upon the completion of the Australian mission, SG1, with Colonel O'Neill and Major – I mean Colonel – Carter in joint command, will depart on mission with the alien Fodor as requested by the Asgard."
"I might remind you I didn't need authorisation for most of those items." General Hammond murmured without thinking. "And I would definitely send SG1 on mission with the Asgard whether you approved it or not."
"Understood General." Major Davis nodded quickly, casting his eye down the list again. "Everything else is pretty mundane. The only matter that caused concern was Major Carter's promotion, but this should be finalised tonight – you will be able to perform the ceremony upon her official return from leave."
General Hammond felt a jolt as he heard those words. No fanfare this time… but then her last promotion had been rather low key – for different reasons of course. He supposed it would be best to proceed quickly. The way she and Colonel O'Neill had been acting told him it was a task of some urgency. Shaking his head slightly so as not to reveal anything to the Major still sitting in front of him, he straightened his back before rising slowly to his feet.
"Thank you Major," he said, saluting promptly, thus ending their meeting. "You're dismissed."
Sam breathed in deeply as she awoke slowly to feel the warm glow of filtered sunlight on her face. She couldn't remember the last time she'd woken up to feel the sun on her face. Usually she was either on base, or awake well before the sun rose. It was a nice change. A fairly crisp breeze brushed over her still sleepy form and she nuzzled further into the blankets, reaching her arm across the now cold bed.
Abruptly, she opened her eyes to confirm that there was in fact a decidedly unwelcome absence from the bed. Discontentedly, she sat up, bunching the sheets around her to keep warm and ran a hand through her unruly bed hair. Yawning widely, she shuffled her well-rested body to the edge of the bed and fished a crumpled shirt off the ground and threw it over her head before moving lazily towards the window.
Blinking her eyes against the sunlight she wasn't surprised to see that Jack was ensconced on the deck, listless fishing rod lying next to him. What was surprising, however, was the fact that he was talking on his cell. He'd always claimed to be allergic to cell phones when they weren't for work – the fact that he had one and was talking on it was slightly concerning.
Sam stepped outside, kept warm by the duffle coat she'd found on the back of the front door to the cabin, and picked her way barefoot to stand next to where Jack was sitting on the deck. He saw her approach and smiled warmly, holding his free hand out to grasp hers, catching her off-guard and pulling her onto his lap.
"No sir, I'll call her." He mouthed to Sam that he was talking to General Hammond. "I don't think she's in her lab sir – I ordered her not to set foot in there while we were on down time… yes sir," he chuckled, "I guess it would be a first if she's listened to me on that one." He exchanged a few more pleasantries with the General before flipping the phone shut and throwing it into the lake. Wrapping his now liberated arm around Sam's waist, he leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips. "Lucky me you chose to listen this time, eh?" He grinned at her like an idiot while brushing an errant strand of hair from her face.
"Well if I'm going to risk my career, I may as well be following at least one order…" Sam said with mixed emotion. She didn't get a chance to become depressed at their confusing situation, however, because the look on Jack's face told her something was up. His eyes seemed actually to be sparkling, like he was a little kid with a fantastic secret. "Ok. I give up." She rolled her eyes. "What is it?"
"Well…" Jack drew out the word, content in the knowledge that he'd piqued her curiosity. "As of the day after tomorrow, there won't be a problem any more." He said mysteriously, his expression still strangely playful.
"You're not-?"
"No, no." Jack anticipated Sam's question and cut her off quickly. "They can't get rid of me into retirement – for a second time. We all know they'd just hunt me down in a year or so with some crazy mission to bring me back anyway." He saw the thoughts racing through her mind as she tried to decipher the puzzle and almost burst out laughing. She was so humble she would never actually think of it herself.
"You're getting promoted." He beamed at her, his eyes searching hers for the moment of realisation.
"Wha? Why? How?" Sam retorted. She hadn't done anything extraordinary – well not by her standards anyway – to merit such a thing in the recent past.
"Well Carter, it's simple." Jack said smoothly, notching up the irony in his voice. "I make a recommendation to Hammond, he talks to the brass, they agree with us, and hey presto: meet Lt Col. Carter." He bowed his head slightly in her direction, as if paying homage.
"But what about you? Surely if I'm going to-"
"Ah Sam," Jack tsked. "It's no secret that you're the brains behind our outfit… all I do is follow you around and shoot at hostile aliens while you do things like blow up suns!"
Before she could protest again, he covered her mouth with his in a long, lingering kiss. He milked it for all it was worth, and was satisfied to feel her relax into his embrace while eliciting a soft, contented moan. "Besides," he whispered breathlessly after some time – having only separated his mouth from hers by a couple of millimetres. "I'm willing to stay a Colonel forever if it means we get to do this…"
A/N: Let me say first, I know sweet NOTHING about the military, Australian, French, American, Martian... So if any of that seemed wrong, let's just ignore it, k?
Also, as you may have guessed, any future sequel that may appear will be firmly in the "what if" category of fanfics. I don't usually like to stuff up the timeline by finishing a fic like this – I prefer to leave the future to the reader's imagination. But since I do that because I'm pretty much afraid of writing a proper ending, I thought I'd face the fear. Whaddaya think of the effort?