a/n: I know it has been forever, but at least I'm finally back to this story, right? I had a lot to fit into this chapter so it jumps a lot. Hope you enjoy it!
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Chapter 10
"Axania! Dial up the gate, NOW!" Sam yelled from her position a few yards away from the DHD. A group of them had been sent to a supposed abandoned world to retrieve leftover alien technology. Unfortunately, the abandoned planet wasn't so abandoned afterall, and Sam and her team had been fighting their way back to the gate for over an hour.
Katie reached the DHD and immediately started dialing the coordinates to their base. Just as she pressed the last button and the gate whooshed open, a blast hit her right in her shoulder, slumping over the DHD, Katie moaned in pain, feeling darkness begin to surround her.
The next thing she felt was a tug as she was lifted off the DHD, opening her eyes, she used all her energy to get to the wormhole, leaning on the body of the person half-carrying her.
"We're almost there," Sam's voice sounded in her ear over the noise of staff blasts and gunfire.
Katie closed her eyes, building up the strength to make it the few extra steps to the gate, the blast to her arm was causing pain all throughout her body and she was very close to passing out.
Stepping through the gate, the euphoric feeling swept over her and the familiar quiet of their base wafted into her senses, the last thing she remembered was Sam yelling as the gate shut off.
"Damn it, Neumann! Who the hell is Maybourne getting his info from?"
"What the hell happened?" Neumann yelled back as Riley and Jones took Axania from Sam and laid her on a gurney.
"We were under fire, what do you think happened," Sam sneered back, trying to catch her breath. "This is the third time in a month, we've already lost Dickinson and Monroe. Are they trying to get us killed?"
"No!" Neumann yelled back, though the thought was starting to run through his head. "I better get in contact with Maybourne."
Sam snorted in disgust and then headed to the washroom. The base did not have showers, so they had to use large basins of water to wash themselves. The water was considered a luxury and they often had to go weeks in between bathing. Sam could hardly remember what it felt like to be totally clean anymore.
It had been a year now since she had seen Jack last, since she almost made it back home with him. Locking the door behind her, Sam stripped out of her muddy, bloodied clothes and soaked a rag in the large basin. Wringing it out and lathering the soap on it, she started washing her body from head to toe.
She missed him. She missed earth. Lattes, hot showers, take-out, cheesy Friday night movies, air-conditioning, lounging on her sofa with a pint of ice cream. Yeah, she missed it all! But, mostly, she missed Jack. His smile, his warm eyes, his gentle touch, the feel of him, the smell of him. She just wanted to go home. Home to Jack.
Wiping away the tears that had formed in the corner of her eyes, Sam finished cleansing herself and dressed in a fresh set of clothes before heading out to see what new information Neumann received from Maybourne.
She sighed as she walked back into the main room.
"Carter," Neumann started as soon as she walked in. "I have a job for you."
Sam sighed again, resisting the overwhelming urge to roll her eyes. There was only so much of this bullshit she could take and she had been at her wit's end for months now.
"A member of SG-1 has been trapped off-world for a month now. Maybourne wants to know if you can figure out how to get him home."
"Who?" Sam immediately asked, her face showing the concern that was pumping through her veins.
"Don't know, he didn't say. But, he did give me the information you'll need on what's going on," Neumann replied, handing her handwritten notes.
Sam took the pile of paper from the grubby man. "Thanks," she said, already going over the notes. Without any more acknowledgement, Sam walked out of the room, her eyes on the papers in her hands as she read up on the incident that had taken place on a planet called Edora.
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Three months later……..
"Rob, I just don't feel right about this."
"Oh, come on, you've been doing this for over a year!" Makepeace replied. "Now, you're going to grow morals? Don't you want your CO back?"
"Of course I do! But, what if this doesn't work? What if it needs tweaked at the last minute and I have no idea how to do it? The truth is, I have no idea how she came up with this? It completely denies the law of physics! I don't even know what this is based from?"
"Claire, all her notes are here. All you have to do is build it. You're an engineer! You can do this. Just look at the damn blue prints Carter drew up and build the damn thing!"
Claire licked her lips and nodded her head. "Fine," she snapped in annoyance, taking the notes from Makepeace.
"Good," Makepeace breathed, leaning into Tobias. "Now that that's settled," he leered, pressing himself into the lieutenant, his hands finding their way under the waistband at the back of her pants.
Tobias opened her mouth to him, allowing his tongue to roam her mouth. She hated herself. Hated her need for this man, the need for his approval, his love. She would do anything for him, was doing anything for him. And, she hated herself for it.
An hour later, Claire was wiping herself off and pulling her pants back on. Makepeace was passed out on his bed in his quarters and Tobias quietly picked up Sam's notes on the particle beam accelerator and left the marine's quarters.
She headed to her lab and started copying Sam's notes into her own handwriting.
The next day, she stood at the front of the briefing room and lied through her teeth to General Hammond, Teal'c and Daniel, as she explained "her" idea to build a device that would shoot a beam into the stargate and create a hole through the molten barrier on the other side. With General Hammond's go ahead, Claire was started on the project by the end of the day.
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Two months later…….
Jack woke up and turned to the woman next to him in the small bed. He lifted his arm and rubbed her flat stomach, wondering if his child was growing inside.
Laira woke up at his touch and laid her hand on top of his. "Hmmm," she moaned with a smile, squeezing the warm hand on her belly.
Jack leaned over and kissed his wife on the forehead. "How are you feeling?" he whispered.
Laira's face fell briefly. "The same," she replied sadly.
"You might not be able to tell immediately," he returned, rubbing his hand softly on her stomach.
Laira smiled. "I knew right away with Garan."
"We'll keep trying," Jack replied in a gentle voice.
Laira's smile grew. "I like the sound of that," she said and leaned up to kiss her husband.
The kiss was short and Jack pulled away, getting out of bed. "You stay and rest, I've got to help Paynan today with the new well. I should be gone most of the day."
Laira nodded and laid back down. "Be well, Jack."
Jack nodded as he slipped his shirt over his head and started out the door. It had taken him over three months to accept his life here. Three months to give up his dream of finding Sam and living happily ever after. She was gone, who knew where, and he was stuck on a planet on the other side of the galaxy.
He thought of her everyday, prayed to whatever benevolent being was listening that someone would find her and get her home safely. But, with him stuck on another planet, cut off from the rest of the universe, he knew it wouldn't be he who rescued her. He had failed her. And now, he was starting a new life. A life he would have never chosen for himself, but was quickly becoming content with.
He had married Laira a month ago. She wanted him to father her a child, and the thought of being a father again was very appealing to the stranded colonel. With a few strong drinks in his system, he consented to Laira's request and, after many nights of trying to conceive a child, he agreed to marry her as well.
He followed the path towards the new well the village men were digging when he heard a name he had not heard in over six months. "O'Neill!"
Jack, his heart stopping at the sound of the voice, briefly wondered if he was still in bed dreaming. Slowly he turned his head and took in a sight he never, before now, would have considered a beautiful sight.
"Teal'c!" Jack cried in disbelief.
"It is I, O'Neill," Teal'c replied, walking in long strides to reach his long-lost friend. He was covered in dirt and mud from his long dig up to the surface, but Jack failed to see it. All he saw was the beautiful, magnificent sight of his friend standing before him.
Without another word, Jack lunged himself at Teal'c, hugging the large jaffa very uncharacteristically.
"It is good to see you as well, O'Neill," Teal'c replied, pulling the colonel off of him.
"You're one hell of a sight for sore eyes, Teal'c!" Jack cried, tears, unknowingly, cascading down his weathered cheeks.
After the reunion, the village men joined Jack and Teal'c and dug up the stargate. Within the week, the stargate and DHD were back up and working, the Edoran refugees finally coming home after half a year away.
Jack was confused as to what to do. He had made a commitment to Laira. He had agreed to spend the rest of his life with her. But, that was when he had no hopes of going home. No hopes of regaining his life, no hopes of finding Sam. How could he tell her that? How could he tell his wife that now that he had the chance to resume his life, he wanted to go back? Go back without her.
He couldn't. He knew he could not do that to the woman who had given him a place to live, who fed him and sheltered him and loved him even when he no longer loved himself. He could not just leave her and break her heart.
He wasn't that type of person.
He couldn't just leave her.
"Come back with me."
"My place is here."
"Please, Laira, I have to go back. Come with me. We will come back whenever you want to. Come, see my world."
Laira smiled up at her husband as he smirked at her with his sexy grin. "Okay."
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"Colonel," Hammond said with sad eyes as he gestured for his subordinate to have a seat in his office. "What I'm about to order you to do is going above and beyond the call of duty. I never would have even considered you turning it down before, but now, with you bringing home a wife and starting a new life, I have my doubts."
"What is it, sir?"
Hammond sighed and leaned forward in his leather chair. "Many of our alien allies have complained about stolen technology. We believe it has to do with the rogue group holding Captain Carter. The joint chiefs and our allies are insisting you go under cover to find this rogue group. I know what this will mean for you, son. I wish it wasn't an order."
"I understand, sir. I promised to find Sam, sir. Now that I'm finally back on earth, I'm not going to turn down an opportunity to do that."
"And Laira?" the general asked.
Jack looked at his CO with lost eyes. "I don't know, sir."
Hammond nodded. "We'll figure it all out, son."
With that, the two men started planning Jack's undercover op.
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Sam was in her quarters, reading the blackened pages of SGC mission reports at the small desk. It was frustrating to have so many words and names blacked out, but at the same time, it was better than nothing, and Sam thrived on the knowledge she was gaining from the reports Maybourne managed to get through to her.
A light tap on the door interrupted her reading and, in an annoyed voice that had been the norm for her as of late, she called out, "What?"
The door opened and Neumann's head poked in. "Hey, Carter, Maybourne sent you a surprise," he announced with a huge grin plastered on his smug face.
Sam sat up a little more on her chair. She wasn't expecting anything from Maybourne for another month, so this was quite an unexpected surprise. Sam's face brightened at the thought of something new to play with.
"Surprise," Neumann said and opened the door wider.
There, standing just slightly behind Neumann, was Jack.
Sam gaped at the man. Her eyes wide and her mouth open, unable to close and form words.
Jack smirked and stepped into the room. "Miss me?" he asked, stepping closer to her.
As if his voice was proof that the man before her wasn't some sort of extreme hallucination, Sam shook herself out of her stupor and jumped into Jack's arms.
Neumann left the two alone.
"What are you doing here?" Sam breathed into his neck.
"Undercover," he whispered back.
"It's about time."
"I know, baby, I know."
When Lt. Katie Axania opened the door to her quarters after returning from a mission, she was not expecting to get yelled at. She was also most definitely not expecting to see what she saw.
But, with two voices yelling "Get out!" and the sight of a man's naked back and a woman's bare leg on Sam's bed, she quickly complied and shut the door.
Grinning, she walked away from the closed door, muttering, "You go, Sam," and wondering who she could corner to tell her who the naked man was in her room.
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It didn't take long for Jack to discover that Makepeace was the leak, and as soon as he did, he dialed the stargate to earth and walked through with Sam.
Sam had told him that many of the rogue agents had been forced into working for Maybourne off-world, and with her overwhelmingly long time off world with them, she was able to tell Jack which operatives should be arrested and which ones were as innocent as she in the whole mess.
Jack held the gate open as the operatives walked through the gate to earth, many getting arrested immediately. The rest mostly breaking out in tears of relief at finally coming home.
After all the operatives were through the gate, Jack pulled his hand out and the wormhole disengaged. Walking down the ramp, he took a set of zip-cuffs from Makepeace and proceeded to put them on the disgraceful marine.
Makepeace started yelling and threatening Jack while Tobias looked on with wide, shocked eyes, desperately worried that she would be the next to be arrested. She locked eyes with Makepeace and almost cried aloud when she saw the look of fear there. Her face paled even more at the sight and her own body shook uncontrollably as she realized how much trouble she was going to soon be in.
Sam hugged Daniel, Teal'c, General Hammond, and Janet and then found her way back into the arms of Jack. She leaned up and kissed him on the lips, every ounce of her soul dancing in glee that her misery was finally over.
A few seconds later, she felt Jack's grip lessen on her and she turned to see a brown-haired woman walk into the gate room and approach the group of merry people. Sam saw the guilty look on Jack's face as he peered at the strange woman. "Who is that?" Sam asked him in a low voice.
"My wife," Jack told her, his eyes refusing to meet hers.
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Hee hee! (hides behind chair from flying objects being thrown directly at me) Hee hee! Look at the bright side, Sam's back home! Hee hee!
