The document in her hand screamed its title at him. Request for Transfer. And she wouldn't explain until and unless he signed them.
He had to convince her to stay. He had to get this exactly right. Which was doubly hard, since all his supposed understanding of her was right out the window.
"Carter…" he began.
"Sign them first, sir," she repeated. "Then I'll explain everything."
"There has to be another way."
"I've been thinking a lot about this, sir. It's the only way. Please sign them."
"Look, Carter…" He stood up, feeling like he shouldn't be behind his desk at a time like this. But now he was standing over her. Not good, either. He perched on the edge of his desk, his head now just below hers as she stood there.
"Carter… I've been hard on you, and I'm sorry." If he had to eat some crow to keep her, then bring it on. Crow a la mode, with whipped cream and a cherry, if that's what it took. There had to be some way to appease her, to keep her both here and safe.
She looked surprised. Jack O'Neill did not apologize often.
"If I went too far, it's just because I care about you." She was staring at him. This was not going well. It had to go well. He had to Make it go well. "I mean, not like that, you know…" he twisted a pencil in his fingers. "I mean… I just…"
You just sound like an idiot, Jack! He yelled at himself in his thoughts. Just take a deep breath and say it. Is that really so hard? Harder than losing her? Losing part of the magic that was SG-1? He took his own advice, and a deep breath.
"Carter, I care about the people on my team. It makes me crazy that someone hurt you and you didn't stop them. Crazy enough to do everything else I did. It was to protect you. Do you know I've been on base the whole time, too? Watching your six."
She was open mouthed, still staring.
He leaned forward, putting one hand gently on her arm, imploring her. "Talk to me, Carter. If this guy has something over you, tell me. Or just tell me who he is, and I'll get you something to hold over him. We can work this out. We're a good team. I want us to stay a team."
"Sir…" she moved the papers a bit, crinkling them as she held them toward him again.
Damn. Still not good enough. "Carter, we're a good team, SG-1. A lucky team." Military people, even Carter, never discounted luck on the battlefield. Whether it came from true happenstance or from a particularly strong combination of team members, the end result was the same. And SG-1 was undeniably lucky; they should have been dead ten times over.
"I want us to stay a team. What can I do, short of that," he waved at the papers, "to make you happy?"
oOo
Jack strode toward Carter's lab, anxious to tell her that he'd done his part and to find out if she'd done hers. Well, that wasn't strictly true; he knew she would have. She was finally as eager as he to end this, and the mechanics had already been put into motion. What Jack really wanted now was to be at the lab until the stunning story Carter had told him came to its final conclusion. It shouldn't be necessary, he had no reason to believe there would be any further problems, but a soldier learned never to assume anything.
Jack had already been delayed by the painters on the stairs. Well, it wasn't really their fault, beyond the pointlessness of dumping more grey paint on the already grey stairs, as if anyone cared what color they were. He'd actually been blocked by the painters cleaning up from the last hurrying person taking a header through their precious paint cans and down a flight of stairs a few minutes before. He'd had no choice but to go back up and wait for the elevator to inch its crawling way back down.
He picked up his pace, pulling ahead of Daniel. He knew full well that the archaeologist was accompanying him to be the Voice of Reason in case things got ugly. Fine with him. Jack would be happy to let the Voice of Reason be heard as soon as his own Fist of Warning ensured everyone was safe.
He pushed open the heavy metal door to the lab.
"Hey!" Jack shouted when he saw the officer bent over a limp body. It couldn't be! After everything they'd been through in the past two weeks, was he just minutes too late on the last day?
Majors' head whipped up so fast that the breeze moved blonde hair as well as his own brunet. When he saw who was coming at him, he leapt away. "I didn't do it! I swear to God!I didn't!" He dodged back, putting a table between himself and the furious Colonel, then lunged for the panic button, slapping it with all his might and praying help would come before O'Neill killed him. The klaxons blared.
Jack turned a swift 360, scanning the room. Teamwork kicked smoothly in; without a word, he and Daniel split the duty. Jack on defense, Daniel checking the wounded.
Daniel crouched and felt for a pulse on the still-warm neck. His practiced hand found a weak beat racing so fast as to feel like a vibration.
"She's alive," he informed Jack with relief.
Jack glanced at the pair. "Stay with her, Daniel. Majors," he looked up and the petrified man moved further away, arms rising defensively.
SFs swarmed in at that moment, some crouched low, others standing tall, still more waiting in the hall as backup. They swiveled around, weapons half raised, but unsure of the appropriate target. Some pointed at Majors, suspicious of his half-surrendering posture, others pointed away in case some unseen alien enemy had Majors in its sights.
The medical team wasn't far behind security. Jack waved them in.
"Daniel, stay with her," he repeated for their benefit, so the medical team would not try to chase him away. "Majors," all heads turned toward the man, whose arms inched up higher. "You're with me."
Majors closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief, only half listening as the Colonel quickly gave orders. Two of the SFs were dispatched to inform security at all exits, the others were sent out to hunt their quarry. Jack waved to Majors to follow him out to join the search.
They walked in relative silence for long minutes, checking and sealing rooms and corridors as they went. Jack deliberately alternated who took point as they entered each new area, even though his hackles raised to know that the man he had threatened was behind him. He suspected that Majors was not especially happy to have Jack at his back, either. Too damn bad for them both; the only way to regain trust was to offer it. He hadn't chosen Majors to accompany him for his good looks. Gradually, their teamwork smoothed out as they made progress without incident.
"Sir…" Majors was ready to try to talk about the situation.
"I was wrong to suspect you, Majors, and I admit it." He didn't say he was sorry, because he wasn't. He'd taken preventive action to defend his own, and he'd do it again in a heartbeat.
"Thank you, sir." The man smiled.
Jack looked at him sideways, one side of his mouth quirking up in a half smile, half warning. "I meant what I said."
Majors' smile wavered.
"We just have to find the right guy to say it to."
As if on cue, a young SF trotted toward Jack, clearly bearing news.
Teal'c had been arrested.
oOo
Next: Janet gives Jack the news