Last Chapter. Once again many thanks to my wonderful beta Barbara, who revised it extra quickly!
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The rental jeep finally exited the forest and parked behind Jack's truck. The area was calm and the birds were chirping happily in the trees surrounding the small pond.
Daniel exited the car and went around it to pick his travel bag from the behind seats as Teal'c breathed in calmly.
"Come on Teal'c, they probably have a lot to tell…" came the excited voice of Daniel.
He left the side of the car and stepped onto the porch.
Teal'c came behind him as he was about to open the entrance door, and Daniel stopped, suddenly self conscious.
"You think we should announce our presence?" Daniel asked.
"It would be wise indeed," came Teal'c's answer.
"Jack? Sam!" Daniel shouted before entering the cabin.
The noise of a door shutting awoke Jack's senses. He strained his ears and heard Daniel talking to Teal'c outside. He opened his eyes; the blond sleeping beauty was breathing softly, still in the realm of dreams. It would be a shame to wake her now.
Cautiously, he left the bed. He opened the cupboard silently and retrieved a tee-shirt and a pair of sweats before silently exiting the room.
When Daniel entered the common room, Jack was already at the sink preparing coffee.
"Hey Jack!" Daniel said.
"Daniel, Teal'c," Jack acknowledged.
"Where's Sam?" his friend asked.
"Sleeping. I woke up to the sound of the car door shutting," Jack replied, yawning.
"Oh, sorry about that. You're… you're okay?"
Jack finally turned towards both men with a broad smile.
"Oh yeah!"
"I see…" Teal'c deadpanned; his simple words still heavy with meaning.
"So, you and Sam err…." Daniel asked tentatively, with far less subtlety than their alien friend.
"Me and Sam err… yes, Daniel," Jack answered, fetching mugs in a cabinet above the sink and putting them on a tray with a pot of milk and sugar. "It's not as if it's a surprise anyway, huh?"
Daniel was a bit taken aback by Jack's frank reply.
"So neither of you is bothered by the Air Force regulations anymore?"
"Nope!" Jack waggled his eyebrows, smiling cockily.
"What changed?"
"Hank didn't brief you?" Jack asked, genuinely surprised.
"What was he supposed to brief us about?" Daniel asked, not understanding.
"Jack is going to Washington to lead Homeworld Security, came Sam's voice from Jack's bedroom door.
She was wearing a loose tee-shirt and worn jeans, and she was barefoot, her hair all mussed. Jack thought he could get used to that vision for the rest of his life.
"Sam!" Daniel said enthusiastically.
"Colonel Carter," Teal'c nodded.
"Hey guys…" she smiled before coming to kiss them both hello, surprising them in the meantime. Then she tiptoed to Jack and peeked above his shoulders to the contents of the tray. "Mmmm coffee…."
"Go take your shower and I'll have breakfast ready," Jack said, giving her a quick kiss on the lips.
Daniel was surprised by the familiarity their friends already displayed, but maybe that had something to do with the week they had gone missing, which reminded him of another urgent matter…
"Homework security? You were gone a week, you and Sam have decided to pursue a relationship, you act as if nothing ever happened, and you drop this now!"
"Yup… Look Daniel, I know your mind must be reeling with questions. Let me have a shower, drink my coffee, and then we'll spend the entire day relating our adventures in a galaxy far, far away. I promise," Jack said, carrying the tray to the wooden dining table. "Want some breakfast?" he asked his friends.
Sam put her mug down and dabbed at her mouth softly with a napkin. Taking a deep breath, she then started to recount their abduction by An'ok, their discovery of the planet and the Ancient village, the restoration of the machine, and finally the doomed experience.
"I think An'ok was genuine in his intention, but we don't know if, and to what extent the Goa'uld in him controlled things," she concluded before taking another helping of coffee.
"One thing for sure, the machine didn't do what we all expected, me included," Jack resumed. "And we had trouble understanding why An'ok's symbiote was a larva one minute, and an adult the next. We had to go to the secret library and search for hours before finally getting a possible answer."
"Jack found a sort of diary written probably by one of the makers of the machine. It clearly stated that the machine would not work on several subjects at once, hence the problems we had with An'ok," Sam said. "The symbiote's growth was indeed modified, and for a brief moment, it was back to being a larva, but An'ok's metabolism was utterly disrupted by the use of the machine, as well as the larva's. As An'ok started aging rapidly, the larva's metabolism matched his own and reached adulthood."
"Wow…" Daniel exclaimed, nonplussed.
"We made an interesting discovery too, actually Jack made it…" she resumed, prompting Jack to explain.
"You will never guess what kind of lab rats the Ancient used for that machine…"
"Local rodents?" Daniel guessed.
Jack rolled his eyes.
"Daniel, for once in your life, try to be original! Remember those primitive larvae we found on P 3X-888"
"The Unas planet, of course I do," Daniel nodded.
"Those were the lab rats the Ancient used, we saw precise drawings at different stages of evolution. We did not explore the planet, but there's a high probability that there is or was a lake with Goa'uld larvae inside. So not knowing what they were dealing with the Ancients were not as cautious as they should have been, and of course, the larvae matured and infested them. So there are actually two parallel stories to the birth of the Goa'uld, one with the Unas, and one with the Ancients. Maybe that's the primary cause of the shift in their ranks when the Tok'Ra appeared," Jack concluded, satisfied with the effect he had produced.
"Then why didn't they stay on the planet and use the machine?" Daniel asked.
"Well, they probably used and stole several other machines, including a sort of prototype for the rings –at least that's what Sam thought. That's how they got certain technologies, and they put the Stargate into one of their vessels so they could be able to transport it. They probably found a bank of gate address and used it to their advantage. The guy who wrote the diary Sam mentioned also stated that he was among the last scientists alive. I suppose when those scientists realized they were a lost cause, they decided to hide all this data in that secret room."
"Well at least that solves several mysteries…" Daniel agreed.
"It sure does," Jack resumed, "so back to my story, apparently the Goa'uld tried to turn the machine to their advantage, but the best they could do was have larvae mature and then infest hosts. During their sick experiments, they found a larva could survive and grow into some large kangaroo-like animals. They couldn't take these with them, so they started experimenting on the Ancients as well, and created the Jaffa there and then in order to keep a stash of immature larvae with them. The side effects were that the Jaffa developed a bulky musculature and bellicose behavior, and the rest is history…"
"Wow!"
"Monosyllabic, Daniel?" Jack chuckled.
"That's a huge step forward in understanding the expansion of the Goa'uld. It would be interesting to know at which precise date in Ancient History this happened, and to see if it's possible to put this in parallel with the Unas origin…"
"Oh you'll do that very well, my dear friend!" Jack said, resting his back on the chair.
"Now O'Neill, you must give us the detailed reason of your transfer," Teal'c pointed out.
"Ah, that… Okay, I'll tell you everything, but we have all day. What do you say we go fishing?" he said, rubbing his hands together.
"No. In for a penny, in for a pound, Jack… Fishing, after the story…" Daniel shook his head.
"Oh come on, Daniel, give me a break! I…" he was interrupted by Sam's hand on his arm.
"It's nearly lunch time, Jack. Tell him. We'll have lunch and go fishing then…"
"I planned on having fish to lunch!" Jack pouted.
"Jack? You said yourself there's no fish in the pond," Sam admonished playfully.
"I'm not sure; there could be…" he said, still pouting.
"Jack…" she murmured something in his hear, causing Daniel to turn his head.
"Shouldn't you two get a room?" he said, annoyed.
"Oh we'll come to that, Daniel, don't worry about it!" Jack smirked, making the archaeologist roll his eyes. "Hey, payback's a bitch! You wanna hear the story? You pay for it…" he retorted. "Okay… To make a long story short, Hammond's retiring, he's offered me the position, and quite frankly, it was more of a relief than a pain."
"Oh that's nice!" Daniel said indignantly.
"Nicer than you think, Daniel… I'm not accepting for the amount of paperwork and political crap I'll have to deal with on a daily basis, nor because I couldn't stand seeing you guys have fun while I was stuck in that big comfy chair. I'm accepting because for once in my life I have decided to do the right thing, and that was not an option if I remained at the SGC…"
"Oh?"
"I have decided to make an honest woman of Miss Carter, here…"
Teal'c smiled softly while Daniel's mouth hit the floor.
"Daniel, you'll catch flies if you don't shut your mouth…" Jack quipped.
"Well that's a lot to take in…" Daniel said, trying to reorganize his thoughts "and you're okay with this, Sam?"
She squeezed Jack's hand and rested her head on his shoulder for a short time.
"Yes, Daniel. I myself have an announcement to make. Cassie's going through a hard time and I've decided to be there for her for a while at least. I've asked for a reassignment at area 51."
"Looks like SG-1 is being dismantled," Daniel said disgustedly.
"We all knew it couldn't go on forever, Daniel" Jack said gently, "and look at the bright side, there's a brand new starship with Asgard propulsion, ready to depart for Atlantis with the ZPM we found in Egypt."
"You're not going to use the ZPM to power the wormhole?
"Nah… It's far more useful to them there than to us here. So anyway… maybe you can ask for a ride?" he winked.
"Really!" Daniel's eyebrows skyrocketed. "What about Teal'c?"
Jack sighed. "Teal'c, maybe you should answer this one…" he said.
"I wish to be part of the beginnings of the New Jaffa Nation, Daniel Jackson, I will not forget my friends, but my presence is required beside Master Bra'tac at present," he answered calmly.
"It is really the end of SG-1 then…" Daniel said sadly.
"But it's not the end of our friendship, Daniel," Sam said reassuringly.
"Indeed..." Teal'c concluded.
Jack clapped his hands.
"Okay, this old fart is hungry!" Jack announced, standing up. "What did you guys bring with you?"
"Bring? We had to bring something?" Daniel asked, confused.
"Well, surely after a week you'd think of bringing some fresh things with you? You probably noticed the nearest food store is 30 minutes away? It wasn't like we could have gone shopping ourselves…"
"No, we didn't bring anything," Daniel replied aggravated.
Jack rolled his eyes.
"We were worried about you, in case you didn't know!" he defended himself.
"All right all right! I must have a few canned things in the cabinets, but I've got news for you T, you're driving Daniel to pick up some groceries and beer after lunch!... And coffee… Fresh coffee… I want the real stuff, not so lyophilized version of it."
Daniel was staring at him disbelieving.
"Lyophilized, Jack?"
Jack rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, linguist wonder, I do know words beyond three syllables!"
"On that note!" Daniel exclaimed before turning to Sam "How did you manage to read all those Ancient documents?" he asked suspiciously.
Sam smiled teasingly.
"The general hides many talents, Daniel, actually, he's a living wonder…" she said with innuendo, throwing a mischievous look towards Jack who smirked.
"How did you, how could you…"
"Stop stammering, Daniel, it does not become you, and you've been doing that a lot this morning… Turns out I did not only retain the faculties to pilot a ship or use Ancient machinery during my last download…" he said, waggling a finger next to his temple. "I can read Ancient. I cannot translate it into English, but I can understand, and I can also understand Ancient designs…"
"So Thor did not erase all of it then. Do you think he did it on purpose?" Daniel asked.
"I'm not sure Thor even knows I've still got certain knowledge. Apparently my limited brain can manage that anyway, so…" Jack said dismissively before opening a cabinet beside the sink. "Let me see… Corned beef… Beans… Well, we've got enough for lunch… But Teal'c gets to be the last because we won't have anything to eat if he goes first! Daniel, you open the cans, Teal'c, you lay the table, Sam, you're with me. We're gonna pick blackberries in the woods for dessert."
"Yes sir!" she teased.
He silenced her with a kiss. "Told Daniel Carter, remember: payback's a bitch!" he murmured playfully.
She chuckled and they headed for the woods.
The meal was festive, despite the variety of it, and bathed in laughter as Daniel told Jack he had called general Landry to tell him he would have a 100 page report to read when he got back to the SGC. Then Daniel and Teal'c left for the grocery store, while Sam and Jack went to take a nap, rediscovering the sensual pleasures of the night before.
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The afternoon sun was warmly bathing the cabin and its surroundings. Sam and Jack were seated, side by side, a fishing pole in their hands.
Sam sighed contentedly.
"This is great!" she said, looking at him briefly.
"I told ya!"
"We should have done this years ago," she stated.
"Yeah well… Let's not dwell…" Jack dismissed.
At that moment, a rather big fish –probably a bass- leaped out of the water, causing both to pause before looking at each other.
"I thought you said there were no fish in your pond," Sam asked nonplussed.
Jack thought about it for a second. He had always wondered, having felt something brush his legs once or twice when he had been swimming, but was it real?
"Close enough," he replied, as Daniel and Teal'c rounded the house with a pack of fresh beer and their fishing gear.
"Nice!" Jack murmured.
THE END