General Hammond waited patiently his hands knotted together before him on the desk as he sat watching SG-1 assemble before him.
Teal'c had followed the general from the security room to his office and he took his place behind on of the chairs before the general, standing stoically and un-phased as ever.
The silence was bearable, barely. Though it was disrupted only a few short minutes later by the busy hushed voices of the rest of SG-1 meandering down the corridor outside.
They were all apprehensive and they took their positions next to Teal'c all standing to attention with Sam and Jack in the middle, and Daniel making sure the door was firmly closed before standing next to his teammates.
The general took his time to begin, taking a short while to mull over his thoughts and what he had seen through the day.
Most of the team were beginning to worry is the general was going into a state of shock – but thankfully (or unthankfully) he began to speak.
"Would anyone like to explain just what the hell has been going on today?"
It was so strange how someone could seem so calm at the beginning of a sentence and by the end of said sentence it looked at though you could fry an egg on the bald part of the speakers head. Thankfully this thought never came to any member of SG-1. No one answered, all three Tau'ri not daring to look the Texan rage in the eye, while Teal'c was impassive, as usual.
"That question was not rhetorical!"
Still there was no answer.
So having no choice Hammond asked the only member of the team who he actually had a case about.
"Jackson."
"Ah." He spoke so very quietly recoiling from the man before him.
"Explain."
"Ok...um…iherdsamanackinisarismornanfoteywuravinexanen…"
" Daniel!" shouted the colonel.
"Well, I do believe we have a volunteer. Jack if you'd like to tell me what's going on?" said the general glad on an excuse never to here another millisecond of that mash of vowels.
"It was all a miss understanding sir." He said simply. " Carter was playing with my new PSP."
"Your what?" the general asked in confusion.
"Play Station Portable, sir" he said removing said object from his pocket and waving it around a little before laying it on the desk.
"Well that is a relief." He said and the room breathed a collective sigh, "However that does not solve the problem of half the base believing that accusation Dr Jackson just made in your lab, Major."
"Half the base?" exclaimed Sam and Jack in unison.
"Well... the entire base by now most likely. News travels rather fast through concrete."
"But Teal'c was supposed to secure the security room!" exclaimed Daniel.
"Ah well this goes a little further than just a simple misunderstanding." Said the general.
Daniel closed his eyes to his mistake, but it didn't make it go away.
"Teal'c if you would care to explain."
"Indeed. Daniel Jackson spoke to me after lunch today and told me he believed that Major Carter and O'Neill were having romantic relations. I did not believe him at first however after hearing a conversation from outside SG-1's locker room I was convinced. From there we devised a plan to stop The Major and Colonel from meeting up that evening by delaying our return. At which time we had to inform Janet Frasier of our suspicions."
"Ah well, let's just get her in here then. Dr Frasier, if you would kindly remove your ear from my door and get yourself on the other side of it."
SG-1 were all surprised when they seen the Doc enter the room as if she had her tail between her legs.
"Yes, sir." She said as she added herself to the end of the group.
"Please continue Teal'c." said the general happy to hear the entire tail from someone who was talking in whole sentences and didn't leave anything out.
"Very well. From here we formed another plan to confirm our suspicions and if found true try to dissuade Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill for their actions. Dr's Frasier and Jackson were to confront them together and I was to go to the security room and relay their position and watch over the events." Teal'c spoke finishing his small speech.
"While I admire your loyalty as friends I am very disappointed in all of you as you knew that IF what you suspected was transpiring that regulations were being broken. And you were going out of your way to conceal it." He sighed and looked over the group before him. "Because technically none of you have actually broken military regulations no charges can be brought before you however do not think that this behaviour will go unpunished. Your are dismissed for the moment, report to my office at 08.00 tomorrow and we shall discuss it then."
SG-1 and Dr Frasier began to file out of the room before the General called to them.
"Major, Colonel please stay behind."
They turned back to face their commanding officer as their friend poured out of the room, both could almost feel the sympathy radiating from them.
The door closed and they waited.
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Teal'c, Daniel and Janet filed out of the generals office in silence and before they could even begin to start a conversation over the events that had just transpired they were faced with a wall of officers and airmen. Walter the official spokes person and bookkeeper of the SGC stepped forward.
"Well?"
"False alarm." Said Janet.
There was an audible groan from the group numbering 50 something. But none moved or let the others through. There were still questions to be answered.
"So what was 'it' then?" someone called from the back.
"I believe it was some sort of hand held gaming device." Said Teal'c.
" A PSP." Said Daniel clarifying.
"Ah." They said in realisation.
"Let's inform the gamblers." Said Walter.
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Again he waited a moment just for the dramatic effect it seemed to have on the situation, as if he wanted to build up the tension once again.
"Sam, Jack, Just what did you think you were doing?"
"But sir, it's harmless, you've let me on base with my game-boy before, what's the difference now." said Jack in their defence.
"Yes, now that never has been a problem, but could you please explain to me how your conversations over this thing," he said brandishing it at his officers as if some piece of evidence, "could be construed as flirting and dare I say it pointing to the fact that you two could be having a romantic relationship. And on my base none the less!"
Silence reigned once again.
The general sighed every so slightly.
"While I accept SG-1 is a closer team than most, and that there are some strange missions in your history, your conduct is professional and …"
At this point a new voice entered the room via the phone-like contraption on the generals desk that is a direct link to the control room. Now, while it did look like a phone, it acted like a radio and as such only one person could converse at a time.
"General sir, I regret to inform you that the terms of your bet have not been made today and in fact due to the events which have transpired you owe the president $50."
Walter was so going to be fired tomorrow.
"Take this." He said holding out the object that had been the bane of his life all day to its owner. "Dismissed."
In a daze the two officers left the room, the door closing behind them.
However it did nothing to quieten the sound of the general's scream of "Walter!"
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It was only much later as the two officers sat next to each other in the quiet of Sam's lab did they find their voices once again.
"Can you believe they all thought…?" said Sam.
"Yeah, no…" said Jack confused, "I know what you mean."
"And there were bets." She continued.
"The General." Replied Jack
"The President." Sam counted.
" Hmm."
"Yeah."
"Do you…" Jack started but then gave up half way through.
"What?" she asked looking at him for the first time since they'd last left her lab.
He looked towards her. Then looked her up and down as if to try and gage what her answer would be.
A glint in his eye and a grin forming he asked.
"Do you think we could get away with it?"
The End!
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So it was a PSP! Congrats to all those who guessed!
Reviews keep me warm at night so keep 'em coming and if I get enough I've got one hell of a short epilogue that's begging to be read.
Thanks so much for all your support and hope you like it!
Mishy
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