Alternate Politics
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a/n: This chapter covers the last three episodes from season one, including the two-parter that continued into season two. I hate commentating, so anything that is the same in both realities is either not mentioned, or briefly summarized. I hope this doesn't confuse anyone. Forgive me for any mistakes.
This chapter is for MAYOGATE for her subtle badgering about this chapter, and for Katie and Equinox who both just wanted to see their names in bold.
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Chapter Six:
For the next several weeks, Jack had returned to the angry, bitter man he was before the first Abydos mission. Daniel was more worried about him than ever. He had even tried to call Sam to find out what happened between the two, but she was tight-lipped and only talked to him very briefly before claiming she was needed elsewhere and hung up.
After several unanswered phone calls, Sam finally responded to Jack's incessantness. She didn't talk directly to him, but left him a voicemail claiming she wasn't in a place in her life right now where she could be in a relationship. She went on to tell him that he was a great man and she hoped they could remain friends. Jack was furious!
It wasn't just the fact that the first woman he had opened his heart to after his son's death had rejected him, but that she had also rejected Cassie. He was well-aware that the adoption had been completed and Janet Frasier was now the sole guardian of Cassandra. As wonderful as he was sure Janet would be with Cassie, it wasn't the point. Sam had promised to always be there for the little girl, and then she just ups and leaves, no explanation, no real good-bye, just gone. He felt a small amount of hatred rapidly growing in his gut over Sam. Everything he thought she was, turning out to be the complete opposite.
That's why, when they had finally found Daniel on the toxic planet the goa'uld had destroyed and got him back to earth and to the infirmary so the doc could tend to the burn on his shoulder, Jack was shocked to see Samantha Carter talking with Janet.
"Carter, what the hell are you doing here?" he sneered as he stared her down.
"Ja-Colonel, it's good to see you," she said in a low voice, her body quaking slightly over his angry sneer.
Daniel crawled up on the bed and Janet went over to investigate his wound. "How did you get this, Daniel?" she questioned.
"Teal'c did it," Daniel answered.
Everyone turned shocked looks towards Teal'c.
"I did not," Teal'c stated in his monotone voice, his head held high.
"No, he didn't," Daniel continued. "I was in an alternate reality. That version of Teal'c did this."
"An alternate reality?" Sam piped up, her interest piqued.
Jack glared over at the captain, angry that she just assumed she could jump right in to SG-1 business. "What are you doing here, captain?" he barked.
Sam jumped a little at the tone of his voice. She looked at him, her bright blue eyes showing a sadness Jack had previously missed. "The president has asked me to come and speak on behalf of the SGC for the hearing."
"What hearing?" Jack and Daniel both asked.
"You don't know?" Sam asked in surprise.
"Uh, no," Jack snapped in irritation.
"Senator Kinsey and Lt. Colonel Samuels are trying to close down the stargate."
"What?" Jack, Daniel and Tobias all shrieked simultaneously.
"They can't!" Daniel protested as a nurse tried to bandage his wound. "Don't you see? The goa'uld are coming! They were already attacking in the alternate reality. We have to go to these coordinates and stop them before the same thing happens here!"
"Daniel," Sam spoke up. "If you really were in an alternate reality, by definition our realities are different. Just because they attacked there, doesn't mean they will attack here."
"But, they were close, Sam," Daniel defended.
"Okay, so there were similarities. What were the differences?" Sam asked, much to the irritation of Jack who just wanted to get as far away from her as possible.
"Uh, let's see….Teal'c was leading the attack on earth. Claire and I weren't even a part of the program. You and Jack were engaged to be married…"
"Excuse me," Jack cut in, his eyebrows shooting up his forehead.
"What?" Sam gasped in surprise.
The two exchanged a look, both understanding the attraction their alternate versions had for each other.
Sam shook herself back to the matter at hand and turned back to Daniel, but before she could continue, General Hammond and Lt. Col. Samuels entered the infirmary, abruptly ending the debate on alternate realities.
No one was happy about the hearing with Senator Kinsey. As SG-1 went to don their dress clothes, Sam took the opportunity to lock herself in her old quarters and try to calm her beating heart back to it's normal, steady pace.
Sam's nervousness returned in the briefing room a half-hour later as she waited with SG-1 for the hearing to start. Now that the alternate reality discussion was over, the fact that none of SG-1 wanted to see or speak to her hitting her like a slap in the face. She sat down nervously next to Teal'c, the stoic warrior the only one Sam could trust not to start an argument with her.
When he tilted his head to her, a warm look flashing briefly across his large face, Sam immediately felt her body start to relax. At least she still had one friend in the room.
Jack stood tensely awaiting the arrival of the senator, his eyes constantly being pulled to the beautiful captain like a magnet. He was pissed that she was here for this. She chose not to be a part of this program! Why the president would consider her opinion as worthy as his team's, he couldn't comprehend, and this angered him even more.
Just when he was about to snap at Sam again for her intrusion on their base, the senator and his entourage came strolling into the briefing room.
An hour later and the hearing was not going well for the SGC at all. It was quite obvious to everyone that Kinsey had already set his mind to closing down the program and nothing or no one was going to change his mind. All of SG-1 along with General Hammond and Captain Carter were frustrated beyond belief.
Sam took advantage of the slight pause in between the debate currently flaring between Colonel O'Neill and Senator Kinsey. "Senator, the advances in science and technology we can acquire through the stargate is reason enough to keep it running," she stated.
"Is that so, captain?" Kinsey quickly turned on her, his voice patronizing at best. "Tell me, captain, exactly how much technology has this program brought back to earth?"
Sam lowered her head, a response to his sarcasm not necessary.
"And, correct me if I'm wrong here, captain. But, as the very person who worked aggressively to get the stargate program up and running, weren't you denied your rightful place on SG-1 simply because Lt. Tobias here made a fuss that your personal connections in the military and to General Hammond gave you an unfair advantage in getting the post?"
Sam lifted her head and glared at the senator, her reasons for not getting the spot on SG-1, no one's business but her own. "That has no bearing on this hearing, whatsoever, senator," she cooly stated. "I am behind this program one hundred percent because it gives us an enormous advancement in our understanding of the universe. Where I am assigned doesn't change the fact that this program is worthy of every penny spent on it!"
"Says you!" the senator sneered.
"Says everyone but you and Sparky!" Jack roared back.
"I have found not ONE good reason to keep this program open. It is being closed!" Kinsey heatedly announced, gathering his files and marching off.
Daniel chased after him, trying to get him to change his mind by telling him about his tale of an alternate reality. Sam stepped in and tried to explain the physics behind Daniel's story, but the senator didn't understand a word that came out of her mouth. Not wanting to look ignorant, he blew up at them both and stormed out of the room.
Not knowing what to do now, Jack found his eyes drawn back to the captain. "What the hell was that about, Carter?" he barked.
"Sir?" Sam questioned, hurt by his anger and not knowing to what he was referring.
"You were supposed to be on SG-1?" he asked, his voice lowering, but still filled with anger.
Sam bit her lip and gazed over at Tobias who had her head lowered, still sitting at the table.
"No, sir. It was never my spot. I was asked to join SG-1 by Gen. Hammond, but certain people thought that I was being favored and so, for political reasons, a decision was made to keep me at the pentagon."
"Tobias!" Jack roared, causing the young woman to bolt upright in her seat. "You complained that Carter didn't deserve a position on SG-1?"
Sam answered without giving Claire a chance. "It was more than one person, Jack. Tobias got the position because she was right underneath me at the pentagon."
Jack's eyes bored into Sam. He fully understood that Sam was sticking up for Tobias. A little of the frost that had been forming in the place Sam had been in his heart started to melt. She had every right in the world to be angry and resentful towards Tobias, but she never was. Even now, when the truth of how a lieutenant came to be on SG-1 was out, Sam still remained neutral.
His eyes left her and traveled over to Tobias. The young lieutenant cringed at the look of utter disappointment that flashed in his eyes, directed solely at her. She had seen that same look often in the eyes of General Hammond, he being the only other one on base who knew how she got her position on SG-1.
Jack didn't know what to think. First, he was furious with Sam, then he was furious with Tobias. Deciding he really needed to get away from the female population, he retreated to Hammond's office, the thought of trying to get the senator's decision overturned taking up precedence in his mind.
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Unable to get the senator's decision overturned, the SGC officially started the process of shutting down. Captain Carter remained on base to help with the computers and the file transfers to Area 51. Jack paced the halls, trying to scour a reason to keep the program up and running. Tobias was already packing her lab and Daniel and Teal'c were sulking in the control room.
Sam joined them there when she was finished with her work. The covered computers giving a ghostly feel to the previously active control room. She sat down in one of the chairs, her own disappointment over the end of the program as strong as Teal'c and Daniel's.
A few minutes later, Jack came strolling in. He and Sam glanced at each other, a look of surprise on his face that she was there. "Well, it's officially being shut down the day after tomorrow. Nothing Hammond can do to stop it," Jack announced, his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the wall behind Sam.
"Then I must depart through the stargate," Teal'c announced.
"We all must go through the stargate!" Daniel exclaimed. "To these coordinates. To stop the attack!"
"Daniel, how do you even know the coordinates are the same in this reality?" Sam asked calmly from her seat.
"There's one way to find out!" he challenged.
"We should enter the coordinates and attempt to open the gate," Teal'c replied.
Daniel nodded his head at Teal'c.
"Okay, hold on," Sam started, rubbing her hand across her forehead. "Has anyone realized that we would be in gross violation of orders, Jack, you and I would both be court-martialed the second we got back."
"If we got back," Jack corrected, leaning slightly forward with his hands still wedged in his pockets. "But, that is irrelevant for you, captain. You're not going. Teal'c, Daniel and I can handle this."
"I don't think so, colonel," Sam exclaimed, her eyes burning into his.
"You said it yourself, Carter, we would be defying orders. There is no reason for you to risk your career. You can help us get the computers back up and running and then we're off," Jack stated.
"I'm going!" Sam exclaimed.
"Carter…"
"Sir, it's all the same. Whether I only help with the computers, or go through, I will still be defying orders. I'm going with you."
Jack, not sure how to respond, just turned away from her. She could shake him up so easily and he needed to get his balance back.
"What about Claire?" Daniel asked.
"She doesn't need to know," Jack replied, turning back around to face the group. "No reason for us all to wreck our careers."
Sam nodded and the four of them set off to organize their mission.
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After everything was organized and gathered, it didn't take Sam anytime at all to get the computers back up and running. With Jack's security code, she was able to close and lock all doors in the immediate vicinity to the gate room, and they soon connected the stargate to Daniel's coordinates.
Even Teal'c was surprised when the four of them discovered they were on Apophis' ship, rather than a planet. Battling to save their world, Carter, the men of SG-1 and Bra'tac destroyed Apophis' two motherships and escaped by way of two goa'uld death gliders.
The destruction of the motherships made them heroes and any thought of court-martials was thrown out the window. Once all of SG-1 was reunited and the stargate program was reinstated by the president himself, Hammond ordered a party in celebration. The commissary was decorated and cake and alcohol was brought in from off-base.
Jack was working through a keg with the marines of SG-3 when he caught sight of Cassie sitting on Sam's lap in the corner. Sam was hugging her and stroking her long hair. Her mouth moving as she talked to the little girl, but Jack was too far away to hear what she was saying.
Seeing Sam with Cassie and the reminder that the woman just gave her up, reignited the anger in Jack once again. With quite a bit of beer in his system, Jack stood up and made his way over to the woman and child. "Carter," he growled, coming up and standing in front of her.
Sam and Cassie looked up at the colonel. Sam immediately noticing the alcohol-induced glaze in the man's eyes. "Cassie, sweetie, why don't you go see Janet. I'll catch back up with you in a little bit, okay?"
"Okay, Sam," Cassie replied, hopping off of Sam's lap and running over to Janet across the room. "Colonel?" Sam responded once Cass was out of earshot.
"What the hell are you playing at, Carter? You think you can just push us all away and hide out in DC and then mosey your little butt back here whenever you want and expect us to come running, arms wide open!"
Sam had been waiting for this, ever since she saw the hateful look in Jack's eyes when he saw her in the infirmary. "This is not the place to have this discussion, Jack," she hissed between her teeth, trying to keep her voice down.
"That's colonel to you, captain!" Jack growled, stepping beside her and opening the door to the corridor. "Then let's take this somewhere else," he ordered, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her out of the room.
Sam went willingly, after everything, she owed him that. They ended up outside his quarters and after sliding his card in the slot, he opened the door and pulled Sam into his room.
Sam looked around the small quarters. Being second-in-command of the base had afforded Jack a few luxuries the rest of the base didn't have. "Sit!" he barked, pointing to an overstuffed chair in the corner.
Sam walked stiffly to the chair and sat. "I'm sorry, Jack. I never meant to hurt you, or anyone else for that matter…"
"Then why?" Jack cut in, whipping his body around to face her, a look of desperation evident on his face.
Sam bit her lip, her own heart breaking upon seeing the look on his face. "I-I didn't have a choice. You have to believe me," she whined.
"Believe you? How can I believe you when you won't even tell me what's going on, Sam?" he cried out.
Sam almost cried when she heard him finally use her first name again. Something he hadn't done the entire time she had been back. "Don't you think I want to?" she cried, her eyes welling up with unshed tears. "Don't you think I would love to have you take care of all this for me, Jack. The fact is, you can't! No one can. I have to take care of this on my own."
"What, Sam? What is going on?" Jack broke down and sunk his knees to the floor, his arms resting on Sam's legs as his hands grasped her thighs and he stared into her watery eyes. "Tell me something, please," he cried in a broken voice.
"I can't, Jack. I'm so sorry!" she cried, moving forward and burying her face in his shoulder. "God, I want to! I want it all to go back to the way it was!"
Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. He let go of his grip on her thighs and wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her practically out of the chair as he hugged her to him. "I want to help you, Sam," he whispered through his own sobs. "Please, let me."
Sam kept her face buried in his shoulder, tears running down her cheeks and wetting the colonel's shirt. He lifted her up and switched positions, taking the seat in the chair and setting her down on his lap. He kept her hugged to him, his hand playing with her short strands of hair that kept covering her face.
They stayed like that until Daniel came beating on the door, wanting to make sure everything was okay. After being told that Hammond wanted to give a speech and they all needed to be there for it, Sam and Jack stood up and made themselves presentable again.
Daniel returned to the commissary ahead of them, wanting to inform everyone that they were on their way. Sam reached for the knob when Jack stopped her. He took her hand off the knob and turned her back around to face him. Cupping her face with his large, warm hands, Jack gazed in her beautiful eyes before lowering his mouth to hers.
It was like he couldn't stop himself. He wanted to be mad at her, but for some reason, his body just wanted to touch her, anyway he could. His hands moved to the back of her head and fisted in her hair as he pulled her even closer to him.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and opened her mouth to him, wanting his tongue inside her as much as he did. As the kiss deepened, their hands started wandering all over each other, the contact, somehow, healing both of their hearts.
They finally pulled away, Jack letting go of her hair, but still wrapping his arms around her waist and keeping her close. He rested his forehead against hers. "Please, Sam, you have to tell me something," he pleaded with her. I can't go through this without knowing why."
Sam brought her hands up and settled them against his cheeks, her thumbs lightly caressing his heated skin. "I don't know what to tell you," she confessed in a low voice. "It's the NID, Jack. They're, they're up to something. I don't know what yet."
"We'll figure it out," Jack told her, his hand coming up and capturing one of hers.
"No, Jack! You can't. I have to do this alone. Too many people involved and they'll catch on. Please!" she pleaded.
Jack kept his eyes locked with hers, he understood why she wanted to do this alone, but at the same time, felt an intense need to protect her. He let out a loud sigh. "Okay, Sam. For now, but please, don't push me away anymore."
Sam gave him a small smile and nodded her head. Just having Jack back making her whole life seem worth living again.
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a/n: Hope it wasn't too bad. I hate following the show, but with the way I have this going, the show is kind of working as the skeletal structure. If it was really bad, let me know and I'll try to fix it up some.
