A/N Thank you again to everyone who is following this story and have written reviews, it truly means a lot to me :). This chapter is kinda long and it bounces from scene to scene, I hope it's not annoying. And, I love that y'all are guessing about who Onica is, all will be revealed shortly, in the next chapter I think. Please keep in mind that this story is already entirely written so the plot is set. I really hope y'all keep enjoying this story and if you're really nice with your reviews I might be convinced to add another chapter sooner...hint hint hahaha :D

Chapter 5: The unexpected

Although he had gone to bed early, it was nearly 0030 before Jack finally fell asleep, only to be woken up by a phone call at just after 0400. He jerks awake and begins searching for the phone, it isn't on the receiver by the bed, so he turns the light on and finds it on the floor. It must have fallen during the night somehow. By the time he picks it up and answers it, he's irritated that someone would have the audacity to call at this ungodly hour.

"O'Neill," Jack says roughly into the phone.

He perks up when he hears the voice on the other end of the line. He listens for a moment then replies, "Oh, is he alright sir?" Another pause, then, "That's good news sir." Jack nods his head and says, "Of course, sir, it's not a problem." Jack goes quiet for another moment as he listens again before replying, "Yes sir, you're welcome, bye."

Jack hangs up the phone and looks at the clock, 0407. He buries his face in his hands, Sam is not going to like this. He sighs, gets up, and proceeds into the shower to get ready, deciding he'll call Sam after he's dressed.


Sam is startled out of an uneasy sleep by her phone ringing, she answers with a distracted, "Hello?"

"Hey," she heard the voice on the other end say.

"Hey yourself, what are you doing up so early?" She asks the man she loves.

Jack takes a breath and all he says is, "Hammond called."

She knows what that means, so she states simply, "You have to go in."

She didn't say it with accusation, but Jack could tell she is disappointed. He pauses for a moment, then with a sigh, he says, "His son-in-law was in a car accident on his way to work this morning,"

"Oh, is he alright?" Sam asks, concern evident in her voice.

"Yeah, he's alright, but he got pretty banged up and the Drs want to keep him for a few hours to make sure he doesn't have a concussion," Jack answers her.

"Wow, I'm glad he's alright. What does the General want you to do?" She asks.

Taking a breath, Jack says, "His daughter is at the hospital with her husband so the General has to watch the grandkids. He needs me to go in and handle the debrief with SG-3, who's scheduled to return at 0600."

"So you're not coming over this morning." She states flatly.

"I should only be gone for a few hours, I can meet you wherever you decide to go," he offers in reply.

"I understand, though I was really counting on you being here," Sam tells him.

"I know, I'm sorry," he says before saying again, "It's only gonna be for a few hours, I might not even have to stay for the debrief. Hammond said if his daughter and son-in-law get home then he'll head in and I can go."

"And what happens if there's a delay?" Sam asks, getting irritated.

"It's going to be fine Sam, don't worry. Hammond will get there and SG-3 will return on time, and I'll be out of there." He says, trying to reassure her.

"Right, because nothing ever goes wrong," she says sarcastically.

"I know this isn't what you wanted, but it could easily have been you that got called in," he tells her.

She knows that he's right and says sheepishly, "I know, I'm sorry. I don't mean to be grouchy, I guess I'm already on edge about everything and now you won't be here. I know it's not your fault."

"I'll get done as soon as I can, just call me and let me know where you want me to meet you." Jack says.

"Alright," Sam said with a sigh.

He hates disappointing her more than anything in the world. Especially with her brother constantly harassing her. He knows she's upset, he also knew that she does understand why he has to go in. No one could have predicted that the General's son-in-law, James, or Jim, or maybe it was Gary, Jack couldn't remember, would be involved in an auto accident so early in the morning. As second in command of the base, it does fall to Jack to fill in when the General is otherwise unavailable. Sam was an Air Force brat so she understands the chain of command, doesn't mean she likes it, but she does understand it. She knows there's more responsibility that comes with being a colonel then just telling others what to do. General Hammond had picked Jack to be his second, not just because he holds the appropriate rank, but because he has consistently proven to be dependable. He also knows how things need to be handled, and as a trained field soldier, he knows how to make quick, smart decisions. Jack also commands respect, and knows how to give orders that those under him know better than to question. Still, he hates to hear the disappointment in his girlfriend's voice.

"I'll be as quick as I can." Jack says as he gathers his keys.

"I know you will be, I'll let Mark and Onica know in a little while and see what they want to do." Sam says in reply, sounding calmer now.

"Alright, well, I guess I get to take the bike, seems as though you have my truck and all." Jack reasons.

"Oh you poor thing." Sam teases, then adds, "I'll keep you updated on what we do." Sam says, smiling into the phone, then adds, "I love you."

"Love you too." Jack says as he starts the motorcycle.

Sam hears the motorcycle start up before Jack disconnects, and she thinks back to the first time she saw Jack's Harley Sportster 1200, and how surprised she was that he owned one.

About 3 years ago, Jack had invited the whole team to his house, and when Sam arrived she noticed the garage door was open. As she walked up to the front door, she saw the Harley parked in the garage. She abandoned her path to the door and went into the garage instead. She knew she shouldn't have, but she just couldn't resist. She was examining the bike, when suddenly, she heard Jack clear his throat. She jumped so fast she was pretty sure she had left her skin behind.

"Sir, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be in here, I know, I just saw this beauty and couldn't resist," Sam said sheepishly and smiled awkwardly as she gestured to the motorcycle.

"Yes, that's what brought me out here too." Jack said and looked directly at her.

Sam's eyes got really big at his statement, and she was pretty sure she turned all different shades of red.

He noticed her reaction, he clarified, "The bike, I mean." Then after a moment of silence Jack added, "This is awkward."

"Yeah," Sam said, looking anywhere but at Jack.

Jack cleared his throat and said, "So, you like it?" he asked, pointing at the Harley.

"Yeah, it's a beautiful bike!" Sam responded, grateful for the change in subject. Then added, "I didn't know you rode."

"Me, oh, yeah, been riding these things since I was a teenager." Jack answered her.

"Wow, you've never said anything," Sam said looking at him.

"There's a lot I don't say anything about," Jack said.

"How long have you had this one?" She asked, instead of thinking too hard about whether what he had just said had a double meaning.

"Oh, for about a year, or so," he replied.

"What did you have before that?" She asked.

"I had a Shadow, it was smaller, but it was the first bike I ever bought," he said with longing in his voice.

"Why did you get rid of it?" She asked with curiosity.

"Sara wasn't a big fan, thought they were 'too dangerous.'" Jack said, making air quotes with his fingers.

Sam just nodded in response. The subject of his ex-wife was kind of taboo, Sam never brought it up, and said very little the few times when he did.

"So when we divorced, I bought this," he said gesturing to the Harley, then added, "figured, why not?"

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Sam said, "Well, it was nice of you to get rid of the Shadow to make her happy, that had to be hard. I'm not sure I could've done that."

Smiling slightly, Jack said, "Yeah, ya know, it seems none of my past girl friends liked me riding motorcycles."

Taking a chance, Sam said, "I guess you just haven't found the right one then."

Looking her in the eye, Jack said, "Guess not."

Sam smiles at the memory, that was the day she thought for sure that he had feelings for her. He always acted a little differently when it was just the two of them. He let his guard down just a little, but as soon as anyone else was in the room, even Daniel and Teal'c, he was back to keeping her at arm's length.

But that's over now, and she smiles thinking about the fact that she is his first girlfriend that doesn't just like his motorcycle, but owns one of her own. They've gone riding together several times now, in fact their first date was a motorcycle ride. She hopped on behind him and they just cruised through the mountains, he even let her drive at one point. It was the best first date she had ever had, and it's just gotten better and better since then.

Sam checks the clock and it's now nearly 0500, she could go back to sleep for a couple hours, but she figures she's up and may as well stay up. She sits down with a science magazine and reads for a bit, but finds that she can't concentrate, so she decides to go for a morning run, hoping that will help her keep her nerves in check for when her brother wakes up.

When Sam returns home from her jog, she's covered in sweat, and she feels great. She walks into the kitchen for a glass of water and checks the clock again, it's now 0630. She can't believe she was out running for that long, so she checks her watch and her phone, both confirming the time on the stove. She decides to go get a quick shower, as she knows that Mark is an early riser too, and she doesn't want to hear him complain that she's in the bathroom.

After her shower, Sam wraps herself in a towel and goes back into her room and dresses in a pair of jeans and an orange top, nothing fancy, but Jack says she looks good in orange, so she's been wearing it more often. She also applies light makeup, Jack tells her that she doesn't need any to be beautiful, but she still likes to wear it. When she's all done, she walks back into the kitchen and notices the time is now just after 0700. A couple minutes later, Mark walks in and silently goes over to the coffee maker and turns it on.

"Hey," Sam says by way of greeting.

"Morning," is all Mark says in reply.

"So," Sam starts, then after sighing, she continues, "Jack called. The General had a family emergency and Jack has to go to work for a few hours."

"Hmph," Mark grunts, "so what are we supposed to do, wait until he's done working?" He asks, starting to feel aggravated.

Taking a breath in an effort to remain calm, Sam says, "No, we can make a plan and Jack will meet us, but there's also a chance he'll be done at work before we leave."

Mark looks at her like she's crazy, "Yeah right, since when are any of you military types where you say you'll be, when you say you'll be there?"

Taking another, deeper breath, Sam says, "He just had to go in for a meeting at 0600, yes it could be delayed, but," Sam pauses as her phone vibrates. She looks at it, then back at Mark, and finishes, "That was a text from Jack, the meeting was delayed, but they're going to start soon. He'll call when it's over."


After the short 20 minute drive, Jack arrives at The Cheyenne Mountain Complex. He is greeted by the sergeant at the gate, and proceeds to make his way inside to the sign in desk. After signing in he rides the first elevator, then gets on the second elevator for the even longer ride down. As soon as the door to the second elevator opened, Jack is bombarded by Daniel Jackson. Jack wonders what Daniel is even doing here. Sam was always the one who seemed to never leave, however, after she and Jack started dating, Sam made more of an effort to actually leave at the end of the day. Apparently, Daniel is now taking the place of the member of Jack's team that never leaves. Trying to not think too hard about it, Jack starts walking down the hall with Daniel close on his heel.

"You'll never believe it, Jack!" Daniel says with enthusiasm.

"Daniel, it's," Jack pauses, looks at his watch and adds, "it's 0530…..in the morning! I don't believe I'm even here, let alone whatever you're about to say."

"Yeah, I know, but take a look at this." Daniel says, shoving his phone into Jack's hands.

Looking at the phone and mocking Daniel's enthusiasm, Jack says, "Oh yes, it's very important."

"Jack," Daniel whined, then adds, "Do you know what this means?"

"Daniel, it's your text messages, I don't care what it means." Jack takes a breath, then continues, "You know what else I don't know? How did you know I was here? What are you doing here for that matter?"

"Look at who I'm texting. I heard Walter say that you were coming in place of General Hammond, and I started the translation on this tablet and wanted to finish." Daniel says, answering all of Jack's questions in one breath. Then as an afterthought Daniel asks, "What are you doing here anyways? I thought Sam's brother was in town."

"Sam's brother is in town, and I'm here because the General had a family emergency. And you're texting Teal'c." Jack answers Daniel, then adds, "Wait….when did Teal'c get a phone?"

"Is everything alright with Hammond?" Daniel asks with concern.

"Everything is fine." Jack says, then tells Daniel about the car accident.

"I'm glad the General's son-in-law is alright. And Teal'c got a phone last night, I took him to get one," Daniel says all proud of himself, then asks, "So, how long do you have to be here?"

"Just until the General is able to come in," Jack replies.

"And what about Sam's brother?" Daniel asks.

"What about him?" Jack asks in confusion.

"Won't he be upset?" Daniel counters.

"He'll have to deal with it, besides, I'm more concerned with upsetting Sam than her brother," Jack retorts.

"Yeah, I suppose so, I guess she's ok with it then?" Daniel inquires.

"She's not thrilled, but she understands. I'll be out of here soon enough and will meet them somewhere. It'll be fine," Jack answers, then changes the subject with, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go see if SG-3 is going to return on time."

Jack gets to the control room to where the gate technician informs him that SG-3 has not checked in yet. Jack grumbles a little and goes into Hammond's office and waits until 0600. He walks back into the control room, where there is still no word from SG-3. He waits a few more minutes before announcing that he's going to the commissary to grab some breakfast, and will be back shortly. After all, standard procedure is to wait for a team to be 2 hours overdue before dialing the address to the planet they went to, and if he knows Colonel Albert Reynolds, he has plenty of time for breakfast.

He stops by Daniel's office on his way and invites him to join him for breakfast, and asks, "Teal'c in his room?"

"Uh, probably." Daniel says distractedly.

"Let's go get him so he can eat breakfast with us," Jack suggests.

"Ahh let's text him." Daniel counters, then adds, "I taught him how to do it last night and he seems to really enjoy it."

After texting Teal'c to meet them in the commissary, the 3 members of SG-1 sit at their favorite table, after filling their trays. Daniel is eating eggs with bacon and a coffee, Jack has a piece of toast and some oatmeal, and Teal'c has a plate full of all kinds of meat and fruit.

Looking at Teal'c's plate, Jack says sarcastically, "I see you're going light this morning."

Teal'c lifts his eyebrow and says, "It is my normal amount O'Neill."

"I...nevermind." Jack said, shaking his head. "So, I hear you have a phone now," he tries instead.

Teal'c smiles and bows his head and says, "I do indeed O"Neill. I will text you my phone number."

"So, Jack, what do you and Sam have planned with her brother and his family?" Daniel asks, by way of changing the subject.

"Actually, it's just Mark and his wife, Onica. Apparently they decided to leave the kids at home." Jack says.

"Oh, I bet Sam wasn't happy about that." Daniel replies.

"Indeed, Major Carter appeared very excited to see her niece and nephew," Teal'c adds.

"Yeah, she was. And to answer your question Daniel, I don't know what the plan is. Things will probably change now that the kids aren't here," Jack says in reply to Daniel's question.

"Well, I hope the 4 of you have a good time with whatever you'll be doing," Daniel says, trying to be helpful.

"Indeed," Teal'c adds.


Jack sits in Hammond's office and looks at his watch for the umteenth time. SG-3 was sent on a 48 hour mission, and they are now on their 49th hour. He's supposed to wait 2 hours, but he's feeling impatient. Besides, Sam already called him once to tell him that she, Mark and Onica will probably go out for breakfast once they're all up and ready. He hopes Mark isn't driving Sam too crazy. Jack is just about to go order the gate dialed when suddenly he hears Walter say over the speaker, "Unscheduled off world activation." Jack gets up and walks into the control room.

"Is it SG-3?" Jack asks Sargent Harriman.

"I'm not sure sir, I haven't received an IDC yet." After a brief pause, Walter adds, "Wait, I've got it . It's SG-3 sir."

"Open the iris," Jack orders as he heads down to the gate room.

SG-3 steps through the gate just as Jack gets to the bottom of the ramp, Jack says dryly, "Reynolds, you're late."

"Sorry sir, we ran into a little trouble returning to the gate," Reynolds replies.

"Yeah well, I don't have all day," Jack retorts, with mock annoyance.

"What are you doing here anyways Jack? I thought you had the weekend off, something about spending time with your girlfriend's family." Reynolds says teasingly.

"Shut up Reynolds," Jack says as Reynolds laughs, and Jack continues, "Hammond had a family emergency so you're stuck with me. Now go get your post op check up, debrief in 30." Jack orders.

"Yes sir." Reynolds says as he and his team start heading out the door.

"By the way Al, if Hammond isn't here by time the debrief is over, I'm leaving you in charge." Jack hollars at Colonel Reynolds, who just shakes his head smiling.


As SG-3 all saunter into the briefing room, Jack looks at the clock, 0745, not too bad he thinks. If he can get the debrief moving and only focus on the important aspects of the mission, then maybe, just maybe he can get out of here at a decent time. After all, Daniel and Sam are not part of this debrief, so things should move along fairly quickly.

He was wrong, 2 hours later, the debrief is finally over. Jack looks at his watch and mentally rolls his eyes. He just can't understand how anyone can talk about old rocks for so long, despite Jack's best effort to hurry the guy up. He briefly wonders if Daniel is giving all the junior archaeologists tips on how to prolong briefings and therefore, make Jack miserable. Hammond called and said he was going to be later than he thought, so Jack filled Reynolds in on what's been done and what still needed to be done. Jack goes to the locker room and changes back into his civies, and checks his phone, sure enough Sam had sent him a text. He opens the messages and reads it.

'Hey, we're going into town to get some breakfast.'

'Ok, just finished, heading home now.' Jack sends in reply.

'Perfect, we just finished, we'll meet you there.' Sam sends back almost immediately, then he notices her first text was sent over an hour ago, no wonder they're ready to meet up with him.

Jack gathers his phone and helmet and heads out. Today will be a good day, he thinks. Sam will see that there is nothing to worry about after all.


As they pull into the driveway, Oncia can't help but notice how nice the house is. She's not sure what she was expecting, but this wasn't it. The yard is neatly manicured, with a nice floral arrangement, and good sized shrubs all around for privacy, she assumes. The house itself is large, well, not overly large, but large enough, and well kept. She figures it probably costs more than she and Mark could afford. Though with Mark's new job promotion, he will also be receiving a pay increase. Maybe they could afford a bigger house, though after this weekend, a bigger house might not be needed.

Sam brings the truck to a stop and Onica's hands are shaking as she opens the door. Sam had suggested that they use Jack's truck today so they would be more comfortable, besides, Sam needed to return it anyways. Jack could take them all back to Sam's house at the end of the evening. But for now, they were at Jack's house and Onica had to be ready. She pauses for a moment, trying to get herself under control before Mark or Sam notices how nervous she is. She is so caught up in calming herself down that she missed most of what Sam was saying. All she heard was 'Jack and home' and she started panicking all over again.

"And how long will that take?" Mark asks.

Before Sam can answer Mark's question, Onica blurts out, "How long will what take?"

"Sam just said that Jack is finished working and on his way home, weren't you listening hon?" Mark says in response to his wife's question.

Shaking her head to try and clear her thoughts, Onica asks, "So when exactly will he be here?"

"In about 10 minutes, depending on traffic." Sam answers, then adds, "But we can wait inside, he won't mind."

She's been dreading this, getting in his truck was hard enough, but going inside his house….it just seems wrong...especially considering the last time she was in his house. She suddenly realizes that this is the moment, her chance to get Jack alone. Onica briefly registers the fact that Mark is saying things under his breath about Sam having a key to Jack's house, she can also tell that Sam is aware of what he's saying. A thought suddenly comes to her and she almost shouts, "I'm going to check in with Tiffany."

Mark nods at her in response and Onica pulls her cell phone out of her bag and makes the call, or rather she sends a text message but tries to look as though she's on the phone. She gets a reply almost instantly telling her that the kids are fine, and that Tiffany is planning to take them all to the park after breakfast. Onica smiles a little as she thinks about how much the kids love going to the park, Luke likes to show off how strong he thinks he is by climbing on the monkey bars, he usually only makes it about half way before letting go, but he feels accomplished. Aubry loves the swings, though she goes a little too high for Onica's liking, but the smile on the girl's face is worth it.

Onica is pulled out of her musings by the sound of an engine, or rather, a motorcycle, if she's not mistaken. Her heart beat speeds up and she almost feels dizzy. This is it, Jack is here and she's about to come face to face with her past.

She turns her back so that he won't be able to see her face, but from the corner of her eye, she watches as he pulls all the way up to the open garage. Somewhere in the back of her mind she wonders when exactly the garage door opened, she was standing outside since they arrived, but she missed it. Too busy worrying about how things are going to go down to have noticed the large 2 car garage door opening.

She hears the bike shut off and watches as Jack climbs off. He had had a motorcycle long ago, she had never liked it but she had to admit, he did look good on one. Onica takes a breath and steps closer to the garage door, it's now or never.

She can see him clearly now, his back is turned and his head is down, probably looking at his phone. Onica musters up all the courage she's going to get, and as clearly as she can, she says, "Jack."

As soon as she says his name she sees him freeze and visibly tense up. Then ever so slowly, he lifts his head and turns around. When he turns to face her, her breath catches. He's always been very good looking, and now, some 20 years later, is no exception. She suddenly thinks back and wonders what things could've been like. No, she can't think about the past, and 'the might have beens', she has to face the present, 'and the what is'. She can tell that he tries to hide his emotions, but it doesn't quite work. Then ever so faintly she hears him say in disbelief, "Ronnie?"