***SG1***SG1***
"McMurdo?" The exasperation in Jack's voice was clear. "Sir," he began, only to stop when General Hammond held up a hand.
"You didn't let me finish," George interjected. "Yes, McMurdo is an option, but there are also potentials at Nellis or Laughlin," he said handing Jack over a folder. Watching as he opened it, he added, "Are you sure you want to do this, Jack? I really hate to see you take a step back in your career like this."
A small smile passed by Jack's face as he looked up at his commander. "Never thought I'd get this far." Looking down, he added, "I appreciate everything you've done, Sir, but we both know that Carter's more valuable here."
"You're both valuable here, Colonel," George assured him.
A small nod acknowledged and thanked him for the sentiment. "Fraiser says my knees aren't going to take much more anyway," Jack said softly. "This way, I go out on my terms."
Looking down, George nodded. Seeming to make up his mind, he rested his hands on his desk and clamped them together. "There may be a way to stay here and your knees won't matter, if you're interested."
A quirk of Jack's eyebrow asked what his voice was not.
"I've been thinking about retiring myself," George said lowly. "Planned to do it years ago, but then this," his hand gestured toward the Stargate, "came up and they pushed, so I took it. Might be time to find out what else there is to do in the world. Maybe take my granddaughters on a trip or two."
"You deserve it, Sir," Jack said honestly before a crease pulled on his forehead. "But what does that have to do with me?"
"You could take over."
"Excuse me?" Jack replied, his face telling of his shock and doubt.
A chuckle passed Hammond's lips. "You could take over," he repeated. "I'm serious. Hell, most days you run this place more than I do now."
Jack looked down at the folder in his hand. "Sir, as much as I appreciate your confidence, I don't think that's a good idea." A wince passed his face as he added, "Recent events have shown that."
"You know there's no guarantee that she'll be able to or want to come back here," George said softly. "You'll be leaving for nothing if that happens."
"Carter's strong," Jack countered. "She's not going to let what happened keep her from what she wants. If she decides she wants to come back here, she will. I'm not going to stay and jeopardize that for her."
"And if she doesn't want to come back?" Hammond pushed.
"Then," Jack said, the word coming on an expelled breath, "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."
The General shook his head at the obvious O'Neill avoidance technique. "Just think about all your options, okay?"
A sigh escaped Jack's lips before he conceded and nodded to let him know he would. Holding up the folder, he said, "Thank you, Sir. I'll read over these and let you know what I decide."
"No rush," George breathed out softly to the retreating form.
***SG1***SG1***
Handing the paper in his hand to Teal'c, Daniel picked up the next one. "Think it's safe to say this one's not an option," he retorted, scanning the duties entailed with overseeing north pacific nuclear activity monitoring from Alaska. "Unless you're into mind numbing inactivity, wool and arctic gear," he added dryly.
A tight sarcastic smile plastered itself on Jack's face. "Oh yeah. Ranks right up there with freezing my," he stopped himself from what he was going to say and changed it. "Nose off."
A snort of amusement escaped Daniel. "Been there, done that?" he jested dryly back, knowing full well, both the answer and what Jack really meant. Shifting to the final piece of paper, he said, "That leaves, let's see, Del Rio, Texas. Training new pilots." With a slight rocking of his head and pursing of his lips as he considered the potential, he added, "Thinking of new ways to torment cadets and new officers? Might be fun for awhile."
"If you are to train pilots, I believe Nellis Air Force Base is a better choice for you, O'Neill," Teal'c stated, laying the paper he had been reading down. "To win this battle, we will need exceptionally well-trained pilots to fly the F-302s. They could benefit greatly from your wisdom and experience."
"And you could prepare them for when it goes wrong too," Daniel quipped, only after the fact realizing how that sounded by the look from both Teal'c and Jack. "Not that... that would happen," he added slowly, trying to salvage it. Gesturing, he sighed. "You know what I mean. What does General Hammond think?"
A sigh escaped Jack. "That I'm hurting my career," he confessed. Taking longer than necessary to shuffle the papers back into the folder, he glanced back up at them as he added, "He thinks I could take over here." The stillness and the slightly panicked look shared between the two men that met his words had him adding, "Yeah, I thought the same thing."
"No, it's not that," Daniel countered. "You'd be good at it," he added giving Jack a tight nod and smile before sobering. "I was more thinking about Sam. About what that might mean for," he stopped, his hand gesturing toward Jack.
Jack scrubbed his hands over his face realizing too late that his actions were probably telling them he had been thinking about it too. A lot. "Yeah," he sighed. "It's bad enough being two ranks between us. If there was three steps and one of them ending in General," Jack did not finish the statement verbally, instead shaking his head.
Daniel frowned. "But if she's not here?"
"Won't matter." Jack cut him off, another slow shake of his head accompanying the words. "Just the fact that she's involved with a General will be enough. There'll always be a question, a hint, that she didn't earn her way."
"MajorCarter is a formidable warrior. I would be most displeased with anyone who disparaged that."
A grin pulled on Daniel and Jack's faces at Teal'c words and tone. A Jaffa vendetta was something not to be tinkered with.
"Me too, buddy," Jack agreed.
"Jack," Daniel said, drawing his attention. Sobering, he asked about the elephant in the room. "What about retiring? Have you thought about that? No one could say anything about Sam then."
Jack paused, his fingers tapping on the paper below them. "I considered it," he said, his voice low. "But," he shrugged. "I would loose access and there'd be no possibility of helping if one of you got in trouble or something," a hand gestured in the air around him, "bigger happens." Flashing a tight smile, he added, "Besides, never was a fan of leaving in the middle of a fight." Sighing, he stood up and tapped the folder on the counter. "Guess it's settled then. Go Lobos."
***SG1***SG1***
The round of chuckles permeating the room caused Matt to smile self-consciously as he shuffled to the middle of the exercise mat. "Yeah, yeah, pick on the civilian," he retorted, shifting the protective headgear cradled in his arm. Gesturing to the padded gear protecting his body, he added, "You didn't think I was going to let you guys pound on me without some protection did you?"
"Wimp," Rick called out teasingly, catching Sam's eye and seeing his own amusement and nervousness reflected in her eyes.
Waving off the taunt, Matt sobered. "Okay. Here's the deal. Each of you," he nodded to the women and men standing around him, "will have an opportunity to do some basic hand to hand moves. We'll start with no take downs and pull your punches," he ordered. "Pair up, okay?"
Shifting of the bodies told the counselor there was mixed feelings among the members. Reading this, he continued. "I just want you to see how you're doing," he offered. "How you'll react, okay? As there's an odd number, I'll be somebody's partner."
Matt watched as the group paired off, some having no apparent issues, while others did so reluctantly. Catching a signal from Nikki across the room, he noted that Carter appeared like she was going to bolt. "Sam?" he called to redirect her. Wide eyes told him she was not doing well with the thought of the exercise.
"Mike, how about you pair up with Wes," Matt threw out, already moving to get closer to Carter. Tipping his head toward her, he made sure she was seeing him, the room for what it was - a hospital gym with a few exercise mats thrown on the floor. Seeing a slight nod from her at his silent question, he glanced over her shoulder at Nikki and gave a slight nod. Refocusing his gaze, he said, "Go easy, Major. It's been a while for me."
Feeling the tension role off of her, Matt gestured for them to move out of the way of others. Placing himself a comfortable distance from her, he turned to watch the rest of the room. "Tell you what, let's make sure everyone else is doing okay first." Waiting a few minutes, he said quietly, "I can ask Leticia or Amy to do this with you if that would help."
"Why?" The question was low, tense.
"Good job, Melissa," Matt called out into the room at the activity going on before he lowered his voice and continued speaking. "Muscle memory is one of the most powerful there is. Every move you make is recorded and stored away to be used in the future. What worked, what didn't, what hurt, what felt good," he said his voice low, confidential. "For most of you, your last memory of this," he gestured to the offensive and defensive moves being made, "didn't turn out like you wanted." Shrugging, he added, "Sometimes the last ones are what's held onto, given meaning. Held up as the new norm."
A snort met his words. "And this will do..."
"Start to replace those memories, kick start the more ingrained ones," he said, glancing at her in his peripheral vision. "Remind your body and mind that not every situation will end up the same." A nervous lick of her lips told him she was weighing his words. An encouraging yell erupted from his mouth at an escape move that would have disarmed an offender. "State wrestling champ or something there, Wes?"
"And if it does?" she asked. A frown crossed her forehead, "End up like last time?"
Turning to face her, he looked her in the eye. "It won't," he said solemnly. "You're safe here, Sam." Letting those words sink in, he refocused his gaze back to the larger group. "It's your choice. We can sit this out today if you need to."
Drawing in a shuddered breath, Sam willed her body to move.
***SG1***SG1***
Coming around the corner, Major Hitch spotted his target and picked up his speed. "Sir," he called out, hoping to get him to stop.
Glancing back at the call, Jack pulled up and turned to wait for the advancing airman. "Major," Jack said in greeting, adding "at ease" when he saw Hitch's arm moving up to salute. "Welcome back."
"Thank you, Sir," Hitch replied, falling in step with the superior officer as he continued on his way. "I understand that you are being transferred."
"Yeah, well, you know how it is. Gotta keep it fresh," Jack retorted, waving off the solemness of Hitch's tone. "Going to go fly F-302s. Can't go wrong there."
"Yes, Sir," Jon agreed. Waiting by the elevator, Hitch licked his lips nervously.
"What's on your mind, Major?" Jack asked, reading the desire to say something in the junior officer's countenance.
"I just wanted to thank you, Sir. For what you said after the hearing," Jon said softly. "About not letting what happened destroy everything. To find someway to make up for it." Looking away, he added, "It helped."
Embarrassed, Jack used his foot to rub on an imaginary spot on the floor. "Not a problem, Major," he finally said, meeting his eyes. Clearing his throat, he diverted attention from himself. "The General said you'd asked about getting another team."
"Yes, Sir," Hitch stated. "Maybe resettlement or engineering," he said with a self-conscious shrug. "Somewhere I can give back."
A small smile pulled on Jack's face. "Sounds good," he said quietly. The chime of the bell told him the elevator had arrived. "Gotta go," he quipped, tossing a thumb over his shoulder toward the open doors. "Last day here. Lots to do."
"Sir?" Hitch called one more time to halt him. Waiting until the Colonel had turned back, he straightened. "It's been an honor, Sir."
***SG1***SG1***
"I need a favor."
The quietly spoken words coming through the telephone caused Teal'c's eyebrow to rise. It wasn't the words; rather the hesitancy that rang in the words that drew the reaction. "I am at your service MajorCarter," he said solemnly.
"There's an exercise... we've been doing in therapy," Sam began, blowing out a breath nervously. "Sparring, really," she rushed out, trying to figure out how to explain what had been happening so he could understand what she needed from him. "And next week we're going to change it up, become more physical."
"Physical exercise can be most beneficial," Teal'c stated confidently.
"Yeah, it's helped," she replied, chewing on her lip. "See, the thing is," she started only to stop. The silence lingered on the line.
"MajorCarter? Are you there?"
"Yeah," Sam said low, "I'm still here." Taking in a deep breath, she squared her shoulders, fighting off the instinct to hide her insecurity - her weakness - lest she disappoint him. "I need a partner to practice with before then. Someone I implicitly trust. Someone I know won't hurt me if he pins me to the floor. So I know I can do that without," she blurted out, leaving the rest unsaid. Pausing for only a moment, she added, "Can you come out here for a couple days? To help me?"
Watching from across the room and wondering what was being said, Daniel's eyes widened at the tenderness that appeared on Teal'c features.
"It would be my honor," Teal'c replied softly.
***SG1***SG1***
AN2: Felt the need to check in on Major Hitch and give some resolution for him. Hope you didn't mind.
