General Jumper's phone call had pretty much made up Jack's mind. Like he had a fricking choice? However, he wasn't about to let Sam off that easily. Even though he'd most definitely withheld information regarding the cloned Shanahan from her, she'd withheld from Jack that she'd accepted Landry's request to for her to sign on with SG-1.
Now, she'd gone to some extra work to visit him here officially, which included that Landry's scrubbed SG-1's mission today for her to do so. Yeah, he'd gotten his ear burned by Hank, again. Sometimes, like now, working with friends was a pain in the family jewels.
Jack's secretary buzzed him.
"What, Bertha?"
"Colonel Carter is here for her 010:30 meeting, General." Bertha spoke professionally over the intercom, but Jack knew the little Hitler was grinning on the other end.
"Fine. Send her in." Tenting his fingers beneath his chin Jack drew a breath of resolve, and settled back in his chair. Bertha opened the door and escorted Sam in as if this were her first time. He couldn't help notice how Bertha's gray eyes crinkled and then she had the nerve to wink at him. Although, he didn't believe in reincarnation, Jack wondered if God had pulled a fast one on him and sent Janet Fraiser back as a middle-aged secretary that looked like a bulldog.
Sam entered in her Class A's with an 8x10 envelope in hand. Jack shoved to his feet. Sam in dress blues meant trouble. Worse, he was wearing his comfy Green BDU's, figuring they'd go for coffee afterward. She smiled and saluted, standing at attention. He gave a half-fast return and waved her down.
"At ease, Colonel. Now what's going on?" He surprised himself that he'd not called her Sam. Must be her uniform.
"Request permission to speak freely, sir?"
Jack gaped then cleared his throat. "You know you can—"
"I've requested a transfer from Area 51, General." She handed over the yellow sealed envelope. "To the SGC."
Crap! His gut ache worsened. He glanced at the paperwork on his desk, he'd been avoiding for two days. Not to mention the five phone calls from Landry in the last hour. He knew where this was going. He didn't like it.
"And I suppose you got a release from Area 51?"
"No, sir. Apparently there's some red tape that you need to clear. General Landry faxed over my transfer papers and called you—"
"Sam, we agreed." Jack verbally let go and tramped around the desk to lord over her.
"Sir." She kept her military persona while her clenched fists tapping her thighs, gave away her growing frustration.
"Quit the 'sir' crap!" He scrubbed a hand over his face and into his hair, screwing his eyes shut.
"Jack?" she said firmly. "Take a deep breath and look at me."
No, he whined in his head at her.
"We agreed no head-hopping, Jack."
Frick! He opened one eye slowly. She smiled warmly at him. Dang! He opened the other.
"Now breathe," she stated in her calm voice that always well, calmed him.
"Sam?"
"I couldn't sleep last night either."
"Sweet." He yawned and patted his open mouth with the back of his hand.
"I think you forgot just what we agreed upon, honey." She reached up with both hands and her fingers instinctively located his knotted shoulders. She gently massaged him. Honey? Oh, yeah, he was being setup, big time.
"Did not. We agreed neither of us would return to field duty on or off world . . ."
"Unless Earth became at risk again."
"Yes." He slouched knowing he'd lost the battle. "But Baal's dead." He picked up his sunglasses and began to fidget with them. Open. Close. Open. Close.
"You really believe that?" She yanked his distraction from his hands. "Or that the Ori aren't gaining a foothold in the galaxy?"
"No, but, why you?" He replaced the glasses with his yoyo then set it down and concentrated on his wife's determined expression. "I can understand Daniel and Teal'c, but," He captured her right hand and brought it to his mouth and brushed her fingertips across his parted lips. "We were going to start a family, Sam."
"And we will." She assured him. "This is just for a while, Jack. Just to help Mitchell get SG-1 situated. I already told him, that my return is short term."
"Oh, for cryin' out loud! That's what we said nine years ago and look where it's gotten us."
Sam yanked her hand from his and blinked tears, that didn't fall. "Together, Jack. We've always been together, even when we didn't understand the reasons."
"Don't sugar coat it, Sam. We spent plenty of time apart, not being a couple, and at this point, we'll never start a family. Need I remind you there's little girl called, Grace, who's on hold in Heaven because we can't get our act together."
"I could never forget that, Jack. I think about Grace everyday."
"Well obviously, not enough to walk away from this job." He proceeded to stalk the office, realizing there wasn't enough stalking room. He jammed his hands into his pockets and proceeded to pace.
"That was cruel." She countered.
"Fine. It's cruel. It's also the truth." He turned to face her.
"Don't yell at me, Jack."
"I'm so not yelling, simply stating facts. Do you or do you not want another child with me, Sam?" He turned and rocking on his heels stared at her.
"Of course, I do." She unbuttoned her dress jacket and dropped into his chair then looked up at him. "This isn't about us having babies, Jack. That's a given. We both know it."
"Then what is it about? You tell me, Carter, coz I'm plum out of reasons for your decision to return to off-world duty."
"Please, Jack, I don't want us to fight. You said yourself it's what we do. And I really want to do this. I miss—" she caught herself but too late.
"Ah hah! Now they were getting somewhere." He turned sharply and stared in feigned shock. "You miss the alien butt kicking action, the adrenaline rush of stepping through the gate and not knowing what'll greet you on the other side?"
"Yes. Don't you?"
"Sure! But things change and, for once in my life, I'm willing to put us above everything else, including the daily high of kicking Goa'uld ass. Geez, Sam, if anyone's got a score to settle with Baal, it's me. But this isn't just about that life-sucking scum bag or the Ore Eyes Dahs is it?"
"No." She shut her blue gaze and folded her hands in her lap. "I need this, Jack, one more time. And this time without you watching my six or commanding the SGC."
"Now you sound like Daniel." He sniffed realizing that's exactly what this was about. "You've had your own command, Sam."
"Yes, but it was under you, Jack. You watched me leave and watched me return. I can't think of one instance when you weren't waiting at the gate."
"I always tried to be there when my teams returned," he defended.
She gave him that 'Holy Hannah' look.
"Okay, so I always made it a point to be there when SG-1 left and returned."
"Exactly. Even if you weren't leading me off world, I knew you were always there for me."
"And I still am," he said softer, gazing down at her with a pained smile. "Always."
Sam closed her eyes and nodded. She opened her eyes and smiled up at him. "I know and I appreciate that as your wife and subordinate. But this time it'd be very different. I want—need to do this without your shadow, Jack."
Despite how bitter the pill, Jack knew that his 'caring more than he was supposed to' back then, had held Colonel Carter back. He'd never really let her fly. He swallowed that pill and tested her.
"I see. So you're willing to be 2IC to Mitchell under Landry?"
"Actually, Cameron and I agreed to share command. You just need to approve it, sir." She pointed to the envelope, he assumed to be a duplicate of what he already had in his drawer—signed.
"Ah." He saw all too clearly. "Look, can't we talk about this later, at home?"
"No." Her voice remained firm. "This is about work, Jack." She shoved to her feet and faced him with her stubborn Carter chin. Her gray-blue gaze Carter determined, just like Jacob. She wanted this. He feared she wanted SG-1 more than she wanted him. What the hell was happening to them?
"Work that affects us, Sam." He tried not to sound like General O'Neill, but like a husband.
"As usual, you're right." She took a step forward. "And I could bat my eyes and shed more tears. I know you hate when I do either."
"Yes, I do." Because he always caved-in.
"But I won't."
"Why?"
"Because, despite your reservations, you know I'm the best qualified person for the job. You know I'm needed there."
"And you know I'll get a bleeding ulcer worrying about you."
"No you won't. Ancients don't get ulcers." She smiled.
"Funny." He sniffed and reached out fingering a misplaced strand of hair from her face and slipping it behind her left ear, then caressing her cheek. "Let me think about it."
"The ulcer?" she teased, leaning into his touch.
"Samantha." He looked into her pleading gray blues and caressed her face. "I don't want to lose you, again. Especially out there." He looked at his window with a view. There were rumors he was about to fly his desk ten levels below ground. Double crap!
"You aren't going to lose me, darling. I have it upon supreme authority."
"Oh, really." He sniffed and scratched his lower back.
"Yes, Daniel assured me that we are going to grow old together and have a dozen grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Something about our Ancient genes--"
"Daniel's full of hot air."
"Jack?" She cupped his stubborn jaw and turned his face to hers. "Give me one year."
"And then?"
"And then we'll revisit this discussion. I mean, by then we should have been given the go-ahead to go public, get a marriage license and legally wed."
"We're already wed, got a Chulak marriage license as evidence. And far as I'm concerned, we don't need do anything but scream the news to the world." He made a face.
She smiled. "And I agree. But for our kids' sake, I'd like that piece of paper as evidence."
"Sure, but evidence of marriage is not the issue here, Carter. Remember you're the one with the ticking clock syndrome."
"I know, but the doctors gave me a clean bill of reproduction health months ago. And," she blushed and looked at her hands.
"What?"
"Last week, I had Doctor Lamb run a batch of tests."
"Carter?" Jack growled. "You should have told me."
"I planned too, but then Baal showed and--."
"Spill." He softly ordered.
"Okay." She did her Turtledove chin tuck. "Apparently, I've the internal body of a twenty-two year old woman, whicht includes reproduction organs. Lamb thinks it's a combination of Jolinar's blending and," Sam looked him in the eyes. "That I've had some significant um . . .DNA intercession from an Ancient donor that caused rejuvenation of my body. Almost like spending time in a sarcophagus. She wants to run further tests and, to answer your probe, Landry doesn't know. I assume you are the donor."
"Oy! I didn't think that . . ."
"Making love to me would further alter my DNA?"
"Yeah that." He blew out his mouth then grimaced.
"Me either."
"Are you sure this hasn't something to do with Nirrti's tinkering when you were unconsciousness?" He wiggled his hands at her like a magician then took a slow survey of her from head to toe.
"Anything's possible, but I don't think so. Jack, I'm okay with this, if you are. It means my clock is not ticking down as fast as it should for a woman my age."
"Oh, I'm fine, I think." His hands directed traffic. "I mean I'm not aging like everyone and now apparently you aren't either. Hopefully, we don't do that, 'Highlander' thingy, where he doesn't age but his wife does and she dies in his arms an old woman and he never loves that way again."
"No, we aren't going to do that, Jack."
"Well, that's a relief!" he chuckled. "So back to you and SG-1. You're saying that no matter what's happening out there, you'll just walk away from SG-1 and we will make babies?"
"Yes, General O'Neill, that's what I'm saying."
He chewed his lower lip and considered her suggestion. "One year? Twelve months? Three-hundred-sixty-five days? Um. not aleap year, is it?"
"Yes and no." she giggled as he counted on his fingers.
"No more? No less? Wait, I like the less part." He grinned back.
"No more, no less." She added with a wink. "Unless, of course, mother nature intervenes."
"Anything is possible, Dorothy." He drew her into an embrace then reached over and opened the envelope. "First, let me sign this before I come up with an excuse you can't talk your way out of, Colonel."
"Hey." She swallowed hard. "Let me explain before you read that." She reached to yank the papers out of his hand.
Jack pulled away and held tight to the document lifting it over his head, out of her reach. He scrunched his face with his typical O'Neill glint of suspicion. "You mean this isn't a transfer request?" He scanned the cover letter then paled.
"Carter," his voice bottomed out, "This is a formal resignation from the Air Force, signed by Landry. Crap, it's yours!" He flung it on the desk, turned and gaped at her.
"Um, well, yes. I decided last night after you walked out on me."
"I didn't walk out on you. I came here to think."
"Whatever. I'd been willing to make a truce but found you'd left. When you were in my head, you had already beamed over here. That's when I realized that nothing out there," she waved a hand toward the window, "was worth losing you over, again, even rejoining SG-1."
He started to speak, but she pressed her fingertips against his open mouth. "Let me finish." She then blew out between her polished lips.
Stunned by the sacrifice she'd been willing to make, Jack sat on the edge of his desk and watched his wife pace. For a brief second, he admired her stocking covered legs and his thoughts wandered due south but it didn't last. Geez, men really do think more about sex than saving the world.
"For the greater part of our relationship I've been very selfish and usually gotten my way. While you, on the other hand, have made countless sacrifices and continue to do so. I know that taking this position in Washington has been hard for you, far harder than when you resigned your commission as SG-1's CO and became the SGC CO. Your heart has always been in field-command and walking through the gate. More than anyone, I know you made those choices to accommodate my ambitions."
"Sam, I--" He adamantly shook his head.
"Shush!" she held up a hand. "I also knew that despite all the bickering we did last night, that in the end, you'd step aside and let me have my way. I love you more than ever for that. But we agreed when I went back last month that my assignment at the SGC would be temporary. I broke our pack and your trust, Jack. I won't do that again. Which is why I want to join the civilian population and become a regular working wife, and eventually, a mother. I talked with General Jumper this morning. He assured me that I could head R&D as a civilian and,--"
"He what? Why, that snarky, dirt-eating, underhanded, lying—" Jack slammed his fist against the desktop.
Sam leaped in her shoes. "Jack?"
He reached over and tore her resignation form in half, then walked to the shredder with in his tight grasp.
"No! Don't! What are you doing?"
"Settling this issue once and for all, Colonel Carter."
The shredder began to chomp down her papers and she tried to yank them free, but failed as the shredder's motor spit and sputtered.
"Now I'm confused." She exhaled a weary sigh, turned and gestured at him. "I thought this was what you wanted? Us making babies and—"
"Oh, it's exactly what I want. But when we both want it, Sam, and not before." He walked over and cradled her face in his hands. "This obviously isn't that time. I haven't been any less selfish than you." He let go with one hand and pressed his intercom, "Bertha, would you come and get those transfer papers for Colonel Carter."
"Yes, sir."
"Jack, no! I've made up my mind."
"So have I. Unless something's changed, I still outrank you. I'm your superior." He winked and opened his drawer, removed a folder and opened it.
Sam glanced down and gawked when she saw he had signed them hours ago.
"Why you two-timing blowhard . . ."
"Na ah," he wagged a finger of reprimand but winked.
Bertha knocked and Sam put distance between her and Jack.
"Enter," he acknowledged, but hadn't stopped smiling at his wife's flabbergasted expression as she turned to look out the window.
Bertha took the signed forms and gestured to leave. "I'm about to go on break, General, would either of you like me to get more coffee, donuts, or order you lunch?"
"No, that won't be necessary, Bertha. In fact, why don't you lock up shop for the remainder of the morning and then take an extra hour for lunch?"
Bertha's gray eyes rounded with suspicion but she didn't argue. "Why thank you, General O'Neill, but don't forget your three-thirty p.m. congressional meeting."
"How could I forget with your constant nagging, Bertha." He chuckled.
"That's my job, sir." She laughed softly. "And, Colonel Carter, it's nice to see you again."
Sam swiveled her blonde head and smiled warmly at the older woman. "Good to see you too, Bertha. Don't forget we have a lunch date next Thursday."
"Oh, I won't forget." She beamed and winked at Jack as she sauntered out.
Jack gaped. "You and Bertha – lunch?"
Sam turned from the window and grinned. "Yes. We've been having lunch once month since you took this position."
"Ah, hello! Why am I always the last to know these things?"
"Um, didn't know she had to get her lunch dates cleared by you."
"Well, okay, no, she doesn't. I'm just saying . . ."
"Jack, it's not like she's spying on you and then reporting to me. Remember she was Dad's secretary before she retired from the Air Force and went civilian. We've been friends for years."
"Well, there you go. I didn't know." He made a face and turned his hands palms up.
"Liar." She teased.
"Guilty." He laughed as they gravitated back to each other.
"So now what?" She cleared her throat.
"I spoke with Landry. As of zero hundred hours tonight, you and Mitchell share command of SG-1."
"Wait, even if I do stay, that's not what I intended."
"I know. Professionally, I think Mitchell is a loose cannon. He's may be one hell of a pilot, but he has zilch field experience and no black ops commands. He's too gung-ho to be calling the shots out there. Not only do I have you to worry about, but there's Daniel and Teal'c. They both expressed their preference for you to lead SG-1. If it weren't for the fact, I stupidly promised then encouraged Mitchell to reactivate SG-1—heck, I never meant the original team."
"I know. And I don't want Cameron thinking I'm walking over him, especially because of you."
"Um, he doesn't know about 'us', right?"
"No. He's heard rumors, but whenever he's approached the topic with me, I've shut him down. He knows we 'have' feeling for each other, nothing more."
"Nice. So there's really no conflict of interest. You two can share command until it becomes an issue. Then Landry will have to make a judgment call, that doesn't include my two cents worth. It'll be good for Hank to see more of your excellent decision making skills and . . ."
"I'm not staying that long, remember."
"So you've said. Ya know, Carter, whenever we make definite plans for something personal it never goes down that way."
"Isn't that the truth?" She snorted and toyed with the stars on his shoulder.
So I'm thinking." He scratched his jaw and tipped his hand upward.
"Is that wise, sir?"
"Careful," he warned with smirk.
"Always." She kissed his leathered cheek and he settled on the desk, urging her between his eagle-spread legs. Sam accepted the invitation and draped her arms around his neck and smiled upward. "Well?"
Jack squeezed his thighs together to make sure she stayed put. "How 'bout we learn from experience? Take things one day at a time? Kinda like that song, Que sera sera, whatever will be, will be, the future's not ours to see, que sera sera?"
"You mean, wing it?" She feigned a blanched look.
"Hey it's worked so far." He grinned at her dubious expression and held her closer.
"So no one-year from today absolute?"
"Nope." He waggled his brows. "We trust each other and trust the Keeper of the Stars that Daniel's prophecy about us growing old together with kids and grandchildren comes true."
"You believe that's possible?" She tested him.
"Anything's possible, Samantha O'Neill."
"Yes, it is." Sam nibbled his lower lip while her fingers toyed with the hair at the nape of his neck. Jack leaned into her, his hand slipping under her jacket and tugging her blouse free. The moment his hands touched bare skin, Sam's breath hitched and her nibble became a passionate kiss.
Jack was so getting into their hot kiss until wet moisture warmed his cheek. Sam made a muffled gasp and pulled back, swiping at her tears.
"Hey, you alright?"
"I--m sorry." She sniffed and shook her head with that self-loathing look he'd seen before.
"What?" He cradled her face and turned her face back to his.
"I keep thinking about Joy Shanahan and the real Pete."
"Oh, that." He nodded, easing his hands out from under her blouse. "Yeah, nasty mess. We can't undo the horrible things that happened to them, but I made certain she'd be financially taken care of." He grimaced. "It's all we can do, babe."
"I know. But I should have realized last year. . ." She snagged her lower lip and shut her eyes as if in regret.
"What?"
"The day Pete proposed to me," Sam set her hands on Jack's thigh-master hold and he reluctantly let her go, then she walked to the window and turned to face him. "There was a woman at the park, watching us." After I said I needed to think about his proposal, I excused myself and went to the park's restroom. When I came back Pete was arguing with the woman, quite loudly. He was really angry.
"She was petite and dark haired, very pretty and crying. I remember she looked at me and shook her head as if in regret, for whom I don't know.
When she walked away from Pete he called out to her. Jack, he called her, Joy."
"Dang!" Jack dragged a hand through his hair.
"Yes. When I asked Pete who she was, he said, 'It was old family business from Denver, but had nothing to do with us.' Oh, Jack, I should have gone after her. I never once called her or tried to look her up."
"Why would you? You believed Pete. He said his marriage was over."
"We both know marriages are never truly over, Jack. Look, how long it took you to get over Sara. I know you still think about her, about the good days of your marriage, even the bad after Charlie died."
"Well, yeah, but rarely anymore. We've both moved on, you know that."
Sam sniffed and swiped a flat hand across her wet cheek. Jack pushed off the desk and quickly took her back into her arms.
"Jack, Joy needs to know more than Barrett's going to tell. She needs to know the real Pete loved her and didn't cheat on her."
"Well, Barrett was going to emphasis that as well. What are you proposing?"
"That you and I make an unofficial visit to her. Reinforce that he was undercover like the FBI's and CIA reports will state and that day, she saw me with the clone Pete in the park we were posing undercover. And that her showing up almost blew his cover, so he had to publicly make a scene."
"Okay."
"Just like that?" Sam lifted her head and stared wide-eyed at him.
"Yep. Got a problem with that, Carter?"
"No, sir. None whatsoever." Still, she didn't look completely convinced.
"What?" He scrunched his face and looked down at her.
"Jack, when we were on Nirrti's ship, she said something that well . . . I can't stop thinking about."
"And?" He coaxed with a hand motion.
She glanced at a spot over his shoulder. "Because Nirrti was in Janet's clone, she had access to Janet's memories."
"Sure." He nodded.
"She said that when I was with Pete, you and Janet had an affair."
"Did she now?" He snorted but resisted rolling his eyes.
"Yes." Sam looked at him. "If that happened, I understand. I don't blame you or Janet. I just want to know the truth."
"You already know." He smiled at her, shaking his head.
"I do?"
"Sam," he cradled her trembling chin in his hand and lowered his face to hers. "Janet was a close friend to both of us. I admit I talked to her about us, mainly because she had a mean bedside manner when she wanted to meddle. Remember when we entered that Ancient cave of dreams and got what we wished for?"
"Who could forget? It was horrible!" Sam shuddered.
"Well, along with the fact I was not kind to Janet, she saw more than I cared for anyone to see of me, even you. More importantly, she saw how much I love you. After we'd returned to ourselves, she took me aside and . . ." He cleared his throat and shuffled his feet. "Sam, despite Hammond's support for our continued working relationship in SG-1, Janet could have gone over his head and ended it right there. She didn't. She told me that she envied what we had and her resentment had clouded her judgment. She also threatened that if I ever hurt you, she'd find the biggest honking needle and jam it up my ass. I believed her." He made a full body shudder.
"Geez Louise!" Sam shook her flaxen hair.
"Yeah, she was a beautiful, intelligent, and caring woman -- everything I'd ever want. Except . . ."
"What?" Sam's fingers coiled around his right wrist and met his sincere gaze.
"She wasn't you."
"Oh." Her breath rushed from her lungs and she lowered her eyes.
"Sam," he eased her face back toward his. "I couldn't handle a relationship behind your back with Kerry, let alone attempt one with your best friend. I can't speak for Janet but I never loved her as anything more than a faithful friend, coworker, and my CMO."
She nodded and offered a frail smile. "I'm sorry, I should have known better. That was Nirrti, not Janet."
"Yeah," he sniffed. "Big, big difference." He stretched out his hands then brought them back to her shoulders.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Nirrti played head games with all of us, and more than once. I sure hope she's getting her just rewards."
"We don't know she's gone."
"No, but I incinerated her myself and . . ."
Sam blanched.
Whoops. He shut his eyes and breathed out, then slowly opened one eye.
"Jack. I know." She smiled slightly.
"Oh." This was his turn to go red and look at a spot over her shoulder.
"It didn't take much reading between the lines of Teal'c and Rodney's reports to figure out what happened. So anymore Ancient secrets up your sleeve?"
"No, but then I didn't know about that ability until I sensed and envisioned it happening. I swear!" He raised a hand as if taking an oath. Don't even know if I can do it again."
"Well, how many wives can say they literally married a hot date?" Sam's eyes sparked with mischief.
"Funny. Then you're not mad?"
"No. Just don't use it to start the fireplace, gas grill, etc."
"Cross my heart. Besides I don't think it works that way." He chuckled, looping his arms around her waist to draw her close.
"Good. Coz, it's bad enough Cassandra can move objects and read minds. I can't imagine what'd happen if she learned she could ignite combustible matter. Oh, now, where were we?" She reached out for him, but he let go and gingerly sidestepped her.
"We were making out on my desk. But I've got a better idea."
"Really?" She scowled at his evasive maneuver.
"Yeah sure yabetcha." He locked his desk drawers and made a neater pile of the foot high folders on his desk, walked over and made sure his door was locked from the inside.
"Jack, we've initiated your desk and George's chair about a dozen times and to be honest my back and butt prefer softer padding."
"Whine, whine," he teased.
"I'm not whining." She started to tuck her blouse back into her skirt.
"Don't." He flagged her action, and then urged her to the middle of the room. "Now reach into my left pant's pocket."
"Jack?" she asked suspiciously but did as told. "You know I've given up chocolate. What else could you have in your pocket?" She fished around the cloth aperture then gasped.
"Hold that . . . thought," he chuckled and glancing over her shoulder he pressed the Asgard shell.
"Jack, that's so not your. . ."
White light flashed. Seconds later they were in his townhouse bedroom.
" . . . Sidearm!" She finished, then blinked in surprise while he waggled his brows at her.
"Nope, sure isn't." He turned and they toppled onto their bed.
"Holy Hannah, sir!" Sam laughed.
"Carter, stop giggling and kiss me!"
She did.