Name: Get Carter
Part: 2 of 3
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Feedback: Please do feedback! With each of my stories I try to explore areas I haven't previously experienced, and this one is no different. I can't thank you enough for the feedback received for Part 1! Your response was overwhelming and greatly appreciated.

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and the characters are the property of MGM et al. There is no infringement intended and no profit made.

Part 2
Reason & Regulation

"You're kidding," Daniel blurted out in disbelief. "He's going to be put on trial?"

Teal'c's brow darkened as Sam nodded soberly. The three members of SG-1 were gathered in Daniel's lab, discussing the unfortunate turn of events. Sam, having just returned from General Hammond's office, found herself reporting nothing but bad news.

"Ferdinand Colburn's father wants to press charges," she said: "improper conduct and unjustifiable treatment of a civilian."

Teal'c enquired: "What evidence has he to substantiate these claims?"

Sam slumped down on a nearby stool and closed her eyes with a sigh, gesturing for Daniel to explain. She had forgotten Teal'c hadn't been there to witness Jack's display of unprovoked aggression.

"When I injured my hand, Sam sent me back inside to ask Jack about the buffer," Daniel said. "I found him pointing a gun at Colburn. The guy looked scared to death, like Jack really was going to shoot him. Major Harman shouted something about the device and Jack yelled at me to get Sam. The situation sounded pretty serious, so I did. We came back in, Sam went to help Harman… Jack was still there holding the gun. I started trying to talk some sense into him but he told me not to bother and lowered the weapon. Then he asked how things were holding up outside, almost as if nothing had happened."

"I spoke to Major Harman a few minutes ago," Sam told them, folding her arms and leaning forward onto Daniel's desk. "He was waiting outside the General's office. As far as he's aware, Colburn did nothing to warrant that kind of reaction from Colonel O'Neill."

"Well, he must have done something," Daniel replied.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed. "I do not believe O'Neill would conduct himself in such a manner without firm reasoning."

"Neither do I," said Sam, "and neither does General Hammond. He's given Colonel O'Neill two weeks' leave to give him time to reconsider his refusal to issue a formal apology."

"If Jack's decided something, thinking about it isn't going to change his mind," Daniel replied. "If anything he'll become more convinced he's right. What will happen if he doesn't apologise, and he's court-martialled?"

Sam paused. She didn't like having to give these answers; didn't like having to voice them, make them into real possibilities. She sighed. "Colonel O'Neill will be disciplined. He'll probably be removed from his position as CO of SG-1. He may even be forced out of the SGC."

"What? But that'd be like kicking him out of the Air Force altogether!" Daniel exclaimed. "We can't let that happen."

"I know," Sam replied. "That's why General Hammond has asked us to try and talk him round."

Teal'c considered this carefully in the way he always did, head angled in thought. "That may be a long and arduous task," he said, deep foreboding in his tone. "And yet it seems we cannot afford to fail."

They all agreed to that. Deciding they could do nothing until they'd all had a good night's sleep, they deferred any efforts till the next morning, when they hoped Jack would be calm enough to listen.

It was not to be.

"I gave him an order, Carter."

O'Neill's words invaded the air between them, full of force and firm resolve. Sam matched his stony glare with a determined look, letting his words settle atop the coffee table before offering her reply.

"So he defied it. We all defy orders from time to time. Besides, he's not even military."

"No, Carter, you never defy orders," Jack returned, and for some reason it felt like an accusation. "Daniel's not military – he follows orders. Okay, so he pushes the boundaries sometimes, but Colburn…" He shook his head and repeated, "I gave him an order. A direct order."

"And that was reason enough to pull a weapon?" Sam questioned. "Colonel, it wasn't even a zat you were threatening him with."

"So I went for the left holster instead of the right," Jack retorted, waving her point aside, "what difference does it make?"

"With respect, sir," Sam replied, "it makes all the difference. One shot from a zat stuns. One shot from a Beretta kills."

"I'm your commanding officer, Carter. I don't have to explain myself to you." He turned away from her slightly as he said it, but his sharp tone didn't relent. He regretted it the next moment when her voice portrayed injury.

"No, sir, you don't," Sam threw back, stung. She paused a moment to gather herself, then strode round the coffee table to remove his physical safeguard. He turned back to her as she challenged, "But I know you always have a reason. We're putting together all we can in your defence."

"Big whoop," Jack answered, snubbing her attempts at reconciliation. "I'm sure Daniel's putting together his award-winning rhetoric as we speak."

"Colonel."

And suddenly he was that much more irritated. She had come here to offer him some kind of support, and here she was, calling him Colonel.

"You want a reason?" Jack snapped, rounding on her. "He defied an order. I overreacted."

Not to be warded off by the flaring of Jack's fury, Sam didn't move. They were standing close now, and Sam realised that she should be feeling more threatened by this than she was. She found his darkened gaze and held it. The anger burned between them.

"I don't buy it, sir."

There was a long and ominous pause. At first she thought he was going to shout and snarl; then the cold silence lengthened and she realised she would have preferred it if he had. His eventual reply was shot through with icy finality.

"Well, that's your choice, Carter," he told her. "Now I think your soon to be ex-CO wants to get some rest, so if you don't mind…"

Sam didn't even try to respond to that. Jack sank down onto the sofa behind him and kicked back, draping an arm over his face to decisively block her out. Smothering her own anger at his stubbornness, Sam turned on her heel and left.

Jack opened his eyes and sat up slowly. He could see her through the open door, marching away down the path. She slid gracefully into her car, and though she didn't look back, he could see the hurt on her face being reflected in the paintwork.

In his heart, he almost apologised; then he caught himself, and his eyes harshened their resolve once more.

-------------

Daniel emerged from the kitchen of his apartment into the living room with a fresh pot of coffee. He paused, casting an enquiring look towards Teal'c. The Jaffa warrior hadn't moved from the balcony window since Sam had called, feeling more content with sentry duty than submitting to the enticing comfort of Daniel's sofa.

"You don't have to keep watch, Teal'c," Daniel told him, setting the coffee pot down on the table. Teal'c didn't reply, apparently considering it an attempt to coerce him into the sofa's devious grasp. Daniel rolled his eyes and sat down, refreshing his coffee cup. He considered the caffienated substance for a moment, then poured a drink for Sam. By the sounds of her phone call, she would be needing it.

Daniel took a sip of his own coffee and settled back onto the sofa. He closed his eyes briefly, enjoying the taste; he opened them again as Teal'c spoke.

"Major Carter has arrived."

Daniel replaced his mug on its coaster and stood to join Teal'c at the window. Below, Sam slammed her car door closed.

A minute or two later, she was sitting beside Daniel, a coffee cup in her grasp. She let out a long, controlled breath.

"He wouldn't listen," she said, the annoyance still sharp in her tone. "Completely blocked me out."

"What did he say?" asked Daniel curiously, reaching across the table for a biscuit. "Cookie?"

"No," Sam replied, smiling briefly at the offer, "thanks. He just said that Colburn defied an order and he overreacted – but if that's all there is to it, why doesn't he just apologise?"

"Well, you know Jack," Daniel answered as Teal'c advanced on the plate of cookies with a suspicious eye. "And anyway, no-one likes to admit it when they're wrong."

"But that's exactly what he is doing," Sam protested after another sip of coffee. "He's willing to take the punishment without even trying to attest his innocence."

There was a slight pause as they watched Teal'c pick off one of the weaker cookies of the pack.

"Perhaps O'Neill simply believes that the truth would amount to little gain," he said, inspecting his catch. "And yet he cannot conceive to give a false apology to one who does not deserve it."

"Sounds like Jack," Daniel remarked.

"Why won't he let us help him?" asked Sam, still jilted by her commander's rebuff. Teal'c had no answer for that, so took a decisive bite from his cookie instead. Daniel hastened to offer him a plate as a wave of crumbs rained down on the carpet.

"You tell me," Daniel shrugged; "you spoke to him. Maybe he just doesn't think it'd do any of us any good. If Teal'c's right, he might not think we can help."

"But we're a team!" Sam exclaimed, sitting up in earnest. "We've been through more than this before."

There was another thoughtful pause as Teal'c consumed the rest of his cookie. Daniel finally stood up and began to collect together the empty coffee cups.

"So, assuming there's some deeper meaning to all this," he said, "how are we supposed to get to the bottom of it?"

Teal'c held out his plate of crumbs and replied: "Allow me to speak with him."

Sam looked up at the black man's sober expression and nodded. "Be my guest, Teal'c," she told him wearily. Then she turned to Daniel, and asked him for another cup of coffee.

-----------

Jack's house was a mess.

This in itself was no great surprise; Jack rarely made any special effort to tidy, though he liked to ensure things were in order during his work-related 'absences'. Still, there was something unusual about the sheer amount of half-finished activities lying abandoned around the house.

Since Sam's visit, Jack had spent his time trying to distract himself; since Sam's visit, Jack had spent his time trying not to think.

When he did begin to think – which was inevitable, even for Jack – he was caught between self-assurance and a nagging guilt. He was right in upholding his morals. He was right in protecting her. So why did he feel so awkward?

The answer was perhaps in the fact that he had been so convinced that Sam would side with Colburn. When she had arrived bringing waves of support, it had thrown him. Why had she been so confident that there was a deeper cause for his actions? Why hadn't she rebuked him with reason and regulation, as he'd expected she would?

Jack slammed the fridge door closed in frustration. He set his beer down on the counter and removed the bottle top almost violently before gulping down as much as he could. He was going to lose his job and it was all Colburn's fault.

Jack caught himself and, taking the bottle away from his lips, lapsed into yet another phase of self-induced guilt-tripping. He remembered Sam's face as he'd told her to leave. She hadn't deserved that and he wished he could bring himself apologise.

When the doorbell rang, it came as both a disappointment and a relief to find that it was Teal'c on the doorstep.

"O'Neill." The hat he was wearing almost made the large man look comical, but the gravity of his voice and his expression prevented Jack from seeing the funny side.

"Teal'c," he said, intoning his surprise. Teal'c looked at his friend's ruffled greying hair and asked,

"Have I woken you?"

"Uh, no." Jack raised a hand to flatten the rebellious tufts of hair but they sprang back into place almost instantly. He had spent half the afternoon lying on the sofa with a beer and a couple of bad TV movies. He stepped away from the doorway and added, "Come in."

Teal'c bowed his head slowly and stepped smoothly over the threshold. Jack went ahead of him into the living room, grabbing the more conspicuous evidence of his lethargy. The rubbish reminded him that he should start recycling someday. Maybe after I've retired, he thought grimly.

"Carter send you?" he asked as he stuffed the wrappers and empty plastic containers into the bin.

"I came of my own free will, O'Neill," Teal'c replied, and it was impossible to tell whether he was being defensive or just stating the fact.

"But you've spoken to her, right?" Jack asked, sitting down heavily in his armchair.

"That is correct."

"Figures."

Teal'c considered this cynical response, then sat down slowly on the edge of the sofa. "I am here as your friend, O'Neill," he said. "I pose no threat to the decision you have made. I merely wish to understand it."

"There's nothing to understand," Jack replied, with feeling. "Colburn deserved a very real threat because somehow he couldn't grasp the very imminent threat back on that ridge. Hopefully Daddy has also realised that sometimes we can't all come back smelling of roses. Sometimes we have to get our hands dirty just to survive out there. And frankly, I am finished with adhering to a code of conduct that could get my men killed."

Teal'c listened, and as a former commander, he understood.

"Y'know, this wouldn't have happened if Colburn's father wasn't top dog in the military," Jack continued. "Hammond would have put a stop to it. I did what I had to do to keep my men alive and if I get punished for it, then fine. I am sick and tired of the government treating us like freakin' handpuppets! I am not going to fold to them, Teal'c, I am not gonna let them win!"

Teal'c had already formed his response, but he let the pause stretch out before offering his answer. Eventually he replied: "Is not your removal from SG-1 the bigger victory, O'Neill?"

Jack could not deny the truth in that statement. He sighed.

"Yeah, well, maybe," he muttered, trying not to care. "But hey. My retirement is long overdue."

It was beyond Teal'c to understand why his friend was giving up so easily. Earth politics meant nothing to him; there was only one thing that mattered to a rebel Jaffa warrior, and he voiced it. "The battle against the Goa'uld is not yet won."

"Nope, you're right," Jack agreed, hauling himself to his feet. "But somehow I don't think the galaxy will be at that much of a disadvantage without me."

"I do not agree."

"You don't have to, Teal'c." His tone was characterised by the same finality he had used with Sam. Teal'c heard it.

"Very well," he said, and rose to his feet. He bowed his head calmly and left with swift, dignified strides. Jack sighed and took another swig of beer. Two down, one to go. He wondered what arguments Daniel would come up with.

"Why can't they accept my decision?" he muttered to himself. "Why do they have to be so darn difficult?"

He knew the answer to that, but it was easier to blame their stubbornness rather than acknowledge his own. Becoming aware he was once again dangerously unoccupied, he began to tidy the overcrowded coffee table. The worst thing he could do now was start thinking again.

----------

Daniel hadn't hoped to gain much from his visit the next day. After Teal'c's lack of success, he had hardly expected much of a positive result – but he was to be surprised. Jack had become so aggravated by his team mates' questioning (and his own self-doubt) that he presented Daniel with his reasons almost as soon as he walked through the door.

"You wanna know what happened?" Jack demanded. "Wanna know why I overreacted? We were in the middle of a combat situation. The lives of my men were at stake, not to mention the whole damned galaxy. The whole place was about to blow and the only person alive that could stop it was Carter."

He remembered the buffer, the way she had rigged it together with bits from the MALP.

"You and Teal'c were outside; Harman and his scientists were busy staving off imminent death. The only other guy in the room was Colburn.

"I yelled at him to get Carter. All he could do was make some dumb quip about the movie. I lost it."

And now he said it, it sounded like a stupid reason to threaten a man with a gun; but the feelings of disbelief remained with him and he still didn't regret it.

"I was never going to shoot him, Daniel, but he was putting us all at risk just by being there, never mind ridiculing my orders. That man could have got us all killed. I believe that strongly enough not to care about the consequences."

Daniel's answer was sharp. "Even when the consequences mean losing your life at the SGC?"

Jack tried to sound more resolute than he actually felt. "Yes."

"What about SG-1?"

Jack ran his fingers through silvering, untidy hair. "I'm recommending Carter for command. She deserves it."

Sitting in the chair opposite him, something clicked for Daniel. His frown cleared into something resembling comprehension.

"This is about Sam, isn't it?"

Jack's gaze snapped to Daniel's curious face.

"What, you think I'm giving up my job so Carter can get a promotion?"

"No," Daniel replied with a slow shake of his head. "I think you reacted so badly because Colburn made a joke about her."

"Oh, right, so suddenly I felt compelled to defend her honour?" Jack sneered. "Carter can look after herself." There was something bitter in the way he said it.

"I know you hated the way he was around her," Daniel persisted. "This is Sam."

"Yes – Carter – a member of my team."

"Give me some credit, Jack!" Daniel exclaimed in response. "And give me some trust. I'm here as your friend."

"Could've fooled me," Jack muttered darkly. Daniel chose to ignore it.

"Are you seriously trying to tell me that if Ferdinand Colburn had made that kind of a joke about me or Teal'c you'd have done the same thing?"

Jack dropped his head, neglecting to answer. Daniel, unwilling to let the pause develop into a silence, continued:

"I think you should talk to her."

"Carter?"

"Yeah."

Jack raised his head. "Oh, I don't think so, Danny."

Daniel sat forward in his chair, frown reinstated. "I don't think you realise how much of an effect you had on her yesterday."

Quick to brush that notion aside, Jack muttered, "Whatever," and began to study the patterns on the ceiling.

"I'm serious, Jack," Daniel replied, trying to recapture his friend's attention by the force of his tone. "Anyway, I still don't believe you really don't care about your place at the SGC."

"Why?" asked Jack, shifting his gaze back to the archaeologist. "Think I'll regret it?"

"Yeah. I think you will."

Whatever witty response Jack had for that was chased away by the fact that Daniel was right. He would regret it.

Daniel stood and surveyed Jack's expression. Then he said: "I'll make a deal with you."

"A deal?"

"Yeah. You talk to Sam. Resolve whatever it is that's making you willing to give up SG-1. Meanwhile, I'm going to have a word with Ferdinand Colburn, Jr."

"I'm not apologising," Jack told him quickly.

"To Colburn, or to Sam?"

The words rang in Jack's ears as a stark challenge. Daniel gave him a look as if to say, 'it's up to you.' Eventually, Jack gave a sigh and a reluctant nod.

"Sam's staying at her house tonight, but she'll be going back to the SGC in the morning," Daniel told him. "I'll let you know what Colburn has to say for himself."

And Daniel made his way quickly out of the door, not willing to risk giving Jack the chance to change his mind.

A/N: Ooh, I loved writing this part! I hope it's continued to be realistic and in-character. Thanks again for your feedback and I'm really hoping you'll keep me going with some more!