Don't Come Knockin'
By: Sasusc
Spoilers: General knowledge of Season 9 (takes place after Babylon)
Status: Completed
Summary: Mitchell knocks on Carter's door early in the morning. He receives a surprise when someone unexpected opens the door. SJ centered.
Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell was excited. He didn't even bother to call his friend and teammate to warn her that he was coming over. He knew he should have called, but his excitement got the best of him. He jogged up the few short steps and knocked on the door. He glanced down to check the time. 0512 hours. Carter should be getting up soon anyway. She wouldn't mind being woken early. She may even already be up, he thought.
He rubbed his hands together as he waited. It was slightly chilly outside. Fall was just around the corner. He reached out and pressed the doorbell twice. Carter probably hadn't heard his knocking.
General Landry had given SG-1 permission to join SG-12 on their current mission of recovering technology on an abandon planet. Already the team had recovered several known and unknown advance pieces from the ruins. General Landry had been decided if another team was needed to help Major Smythe's unit to uncover the ruins, when Dr. Lam and himself had informed him of SG-1's change of status.
Dr. Daniel Jackson had caused SG-1 to take three weeks of downtime due to an unfortunate accident involving the wall he had been translating on their last mission. Daniel's weight on the wall caused it to collapse. The three weeks it took the archaeologist to recover was slow. Mitchell couldn't remember another time he was as restless has he had been. He noticed his teammates were also becoming restless due to the downtime. When the general had asked him if SG-1 would be interested in joining, SG-12, he had immediately agreed. The mission would occupy everyone. For Teal'c and himself, the mission would allow them to get out and enjoy another planet. As quiet as the mission would be, the two of them could even practice their one-on-one combat. He had several tricks he learned from the Sodan he wanted to try on Teal'c. Carter would be engrossed in the ancient devices being discovered while Daniel would be transfixed on translating the library along with Lt. Dunell.
Cameron grinned. He couldn't wait to tell Sam of his news. She had been happy with the small devices SG-12 had already sent back to the SGC, but she had heard reports of much larger machines Capt. Conwell had been playing around with. They were much to large to fit through the Stargate, and some were to much interconnected with other machines to even attempt to disconnect them all and bring them back home. This mission would allow her to gain access to those machines she only read about before.
PX3-682 operated on a different time zone. SG-12 had started their day about four hours ago. SG-1 was planned to arrive there about five hours from now. SG-12 would probably be eating their dinner when they finally meet up. Cameron figured if SG-1 could be ready earlier, they could arrive just after SG-12's lunch. He was sure he could convince General Landry to allow them to take off early.
He reached out and touched the doorbell once again. What was taking Carter so long to answer the door? She had to be home. She had mentioned yesterday as they were leaving the base that she had plans to stay home. She had important business waiting for her at her house. She wouldn't answer him when he pressed to know what was so important to cause her to leave early. She gave him a huge grin and began humming in the elevator. She must have taken care of it by now.
He heard the locks turn as someone unlocked the front door. His grin returned to his face as the door opened. Finally!
"Took you long enough!"
"Mitchell? What the hell are you doing here?"
Cameron took a step back. That gruff voice did not belong to Carter, and that was not her body standing in the doorway wearing Homer boxers and an Air Force T-shirt. The man's spiky grey hair suggested that he had just rolled out of bed. That was probably the truth. The man probably did just roll out of bed.
He snapped into attention as his common sense overrode his surprise. This was an Air Force General standing in front of him. "I'm sorry, sir," he said stiffly. "I--"
"At ease, Colonel. What are you doing here?" Jack O'Neill asked again, this time in a much nicer tone. The general ran a hand through his hair as he waited for the man to answer him.
"I wanted to inform Colonel Carter that SG-1 has a go for a mission at 1000 hours."
"And you couldn't call?"
"I was excited, sir. I thought Colonel Carter would be happy to hear my news."
Jack shook his head. "Come in," he said standing aside and gesturing for Cameron to enter. Jack led Cameron to the kitchen. He yawned as he pointed towards the coffee machine. "Make yourself useful. There should be coffee packets in that cabinet there."
Cameron did as he was told. He covertly watched the former leader of SG-1 walk around the kitchen with an air of familiarity as the man set about making breakfast. General O'Neill and Samantha Carter? Were they a couple? He had known SG-1 was a close team. The mission reports he had read before he arrival to the SGC had even shown a close bond between O'Neill and Carter, but he hadn't thought anything inappropriate had happened between the two of them. Sam had been engaged awhile back to some cop. He had never asked for details on the broken engagement, but could Jack have been the reason for it?
"Did you have any breakfast yet?"
"No, sir," he replied.
"How about some eggs and bacon?"
Cameron shook his head. "Maybe I should leave. She'll hear about it as soon as she gets to work."
"Nah, stay. Carter won't mind."
"Carter won't mind what?"
Mitchell watched as Jack's face softened as Sam walked into the kitchen. Sam, herself, looked totally relax unlike anything he had ever witness on the woman. This was not the same Samantha Carter that had watched his back out in the field and fought along side of him. That Samantha Carter was a soldier and a scientist. This Samantha Carter was all woman.
Jack grinned at her as he turned on the stove to fry the bacon. "Having Mitchell stay for breakfast."
"Mitchell stay for breakfast?" she repeated. It was only then did she realize there was someone else in the room with them. She tugged at the hem of the shirt she was wearing as a nightgown. She had found that she enjoyed wearing Jack's shirts as nightgowns. Although the shirts were long enough to cover everything, she felt uncomfortable to be wearing only the shirt in front of Cameron Mitchell.
She flashed him a smile. "Stay. I'll just go and change." She quickly retraced her footsteps.
Jack called out to her. "One or two eggs?"
"Two," she called back. "And don't burn the bacon!"
"I like it crunchy," he yelled. He turned around to glance at Cameron. "How about you?"
"Three eggs, scrambled."
"So, what's so excitable about this mission that you have to show up at 0500?"
"Nothing much," he replied as he watched the general cook. "Did you want some help?"
Jack waved the spatula in the air. "I think I got it under control. You just sit over there and watch the coffee make itself."
Cameron decided to withhold his laughter. "This mission is mainly to get off world."
"Ah, going through 'gate withdraw?"
"You can say that, sir."
He knew he should keep his mouth shut and ask questions later, but he couldn't help himself. All of his self-restraint must have flown out the window this morning. "Are you and…?"
Jack placed the Cameron's scrambled eggs onto a plate. "Seeing each other? Dating? Playing some hanky-panky?"
"All the above, sir."
The general took his time on how to word his answer. "We've been together since she transferred to Area 51. It's a long distance relationship, so we grab time together when we can."
Cameron understood everything he hadn't said. General O'Neill had been Carter's CO for almost a decade. The military must wondered how long ago they started the relationship. As O'Neill had mentioned, Carter had been transferred to Area 51. As far as he knew, the transferred there would place her out of his chain of command. Colonel Carter had even mentioned that she had her own reasons for transferring away from SGC. In hindsight, this could be her reason for the move and her earlier reluctance to rejoin SG-1. He doubt that they're relationship had crossed the line while she was still under O'Neill's command.
He frowned as he realized that when Sam had rejoined SG-1 it had placed her back into the older man's command once again. How did their relationship and the regs exist with their current situation?
Jack must have read his mind because before he could ask, Jack answered it. "The president had reviewed our situation and granted us leave to pursue a relationship. I guess saving the world has its perks."
Sam entered just in time to smell the bacon burning. "Jack!"
"What? What did I do?"
She hurried and turned off the burner. She shook her head at him. She was going to have to live with burnt bacon. Jack had burnt the bacon yesterday morning as well. She had burnt bacon two weeks go, too, she recalled. Either she had to learn to eat burnt bacon, or she'll need to learn to wake up before Jack to cook breakfast.
She gathered the plates Jack had made for them and set them at the kitchen table. Jack pulled out three coffee mugs and poured the finish coffee into them. She waited until everyone was seated and eating before she asked Cameron why he had joined them.
Cameron cleared his throat. "Daniel has been cleared for active duty."
"That's great! Daniel's been demanding a clean bill of health for a week. Has General Landry given us a new mission?"
"Yep, we leave at 1000 hours."
Sam checked the clock on her wall. 0530. She stared at Cameron. "You came knocking on my door this early for a mission that doesn't start for five hours?"
He flushed at the tone in her voice. "I thought we could convince the general to allow us to leave early. You know, it's been three weeks since our last mission. Don'tcha want to get out and explore?"
Sam stood up. "Do you know how long it has been since I seen Jack?"
He shook his head. "How long?" he asked. He really didn't want to know, did he? He quickly stood up and started backing out of the kitchen.
"Two weeks!" She followed the younger man. "I was planning to enjoy the rest of my morning alone with Jack." She was silently amused as she watched Cameron grab for the door. "Don't come knocking next time, Cam. Call first. I'll just have to shoot you if you prevent me from spending alone time with my husband."
Cameron hurried and slammed the door behind. He grinned as he leaned against the door and heard laughter. Yep, he knew he had a reason for his missing restraint. Sam Carter had announced her secret as she was throwing him out of her house. He whistled as he walked towards his truck.
He had driven halfway to the base when he decided to pull out his phone.
"General Landry."
"General, sir," Cameron said. "It's Mitchell."
"Mitchell? What is it?"
"Would you mind holding off the mission for another twenty-four hours?"
"Why?"
He grinned. He tried to disguise his happiness in his voice. "Well, sir, I just went to visit Carter. She's not feeling well. She says it's probably one of those twenty-four hour flu. She'll be feeling better for the mission in a day."
"Alright. SG-12 can wait for reinforcement. I'm surprised that Colonel Carter hasn't called me yet."
"I'm sure, sir, she would have thought of that if she wasn't stuck in bed." He almost choked on his words.
"Good bye, Mitchell," Landry said before hanging up.
Hank Landry placed the phone on the receiver with a twitch of his lips. He should give Jack a call later today. He hadn't realized the other man was in town. He shuffled the papers on his desk before picking the phone back up. George Hammond owed him fifty dollars.
The End.