Chapter 5 - Moving forward
"But as I supposed, my visit brought even more suspicions," Jack sighed.
2008
"General O'Neill, sir," John called as he rushed towards Jack.
"Yes, Colonel?" Jack asked, stopping to wait for him.
"Do you mind if I ask why are you really out here, sir?"
"You mean for more than to take the place of a good friend of mine as her temporary replacement? Or to take the chance to analyze her command on her sixth-month review?"
"Sir, Woosley could've done the review, and I could've been her temporary replacement. I'm not sure there's a need to send someone as high ranked as you, sir."
"True," Jack agreed readily.
"The IOA doesn't want me to take command," John said.
"Not true. Look, Sheppard, the fact is you made it to the shortlist back then. You didn't get the command, because I was sure you would try to go after Dr. Weir, and the IOA was under the same impression."
"And you recommended, Sam."
"No, I didn't. The IOA found that Alexia Carter has the most impressive ATA lectures. They decided they needed Carter's kid here."
"I don't get it," John frowned.
"The only way of having Alex here was…"
"Ordering Sam to take this command."
"Pretty much. Do you know what bothers me? She gave everything she has for the country, Earth, and let's face it; she even saved the Ida galaxy. Still, orders were waiting for her after she finished fixing Midway."
"She said that much, sir."
"Did she said they didn't have the guts to tell her right away that Alex was coming with her? They waited for her to ask, so it seemed it was her idea to bring her here. Now, the truth Carter doesn't tell is that she came here with orders to let her child play with the ancients stuff to see if we learn something from this base from her kid. So, here she is, once again going beyond her duties to accomplish those orders. And, she still has to hear bullshit from her crew."
"What do you mean, General?"
"If on my first day here I heard that she is a cold-hearted bitch who made her way up by sleeping with whom knows whom. Don't you think she hears it too?"
"She hears that?"
"Of course she does! Carter wouldn't be a good commander officer if she didn't listen to the things going on at the base, rumor mills included. Carter knows everything, from who is coming or going to which one is the latest placed bet. Hell! She even knows what they say about you."
"They say nothing about me. If they do and I find out, I'll kick their asses."
"And that's why she is the CO, and not you. Look, Carter knows what is being said, but she chooses not to confront it. Otherwise, it will mean she is giving the rumors importance they don't have, and that can ruin her career. She doesn't mind being called a heartless, cold-blooded bitch because she knows who she is and what is at stake here. That's something you need to learn, and then you will have your chance as CO."
2050
"That month came and went too fast. So, I talked to Vala to encourage enough people to make a Christmas party at Atlantis and did the same with Keller on Atlantis. By December, I was back at Atlantis for my youngest kid's first Christmas."
"Didn't that bring more suspicions?" Malcolm asked.
"No. It was a surprise for Sam. And since the whole gang was there, it passed as an SG-1 thing," Jack grinned.
"They believed that SG-1 was the soft spot of the President, and that was correct. I didn't complain about it; I was grateful that my kids didn't have to spend a Christmas away from their dad."
2008
"Dr. Jackson! It's great to have you on-board."
"On-board? John, you know we just came for the Christmas Party, don't you?" Daniel smiled.
"Yeah, about that…" John trailed off as Mitchell, Teal'c, and Vala joined them.
"Don't tell me Sam canceled it! It took a lot of convincing to come to Atlantis. You have no idea all the time we invested in convincing General Landry and the Joint Chiefs, not to mention the IOA itself! Teal'c spoke to them!" Daniel said as they started to walk.
"No. Sam didn't cancel it. I was wondering…"
"What is it, John?"
"Nothing," he dismissed. "I bet you are hungry. Colonel Carter and the kids are already in the mess hall."
"What about General O'Neill?" Mitchell asked. "I thought he was already here."
"The General went to his quarters. He said he would meet us at the mess hall."
"Aww, so the almighty SG-1 is here," came a voice from behind the group. Daniel grinned.
"Rodney, it has been not long enough," Daniel said.
"And, who exactly are you?" Vala asked, squinting at Rodney.
"I am the foremost expert in Stargate and ancient technology." Rodney grinned.
"Really?" Vala asked, enthusiastically. "And here I thought Sam Carter was a woman. Oh, wait! She's a woman, and she happens to be my best friend."
"Rodney, this is my wife, Vala. Vala, this is Dr. Rodney McKay. He is the R&D chief at Atlantis."
"I see. So, Rodney, tell me, the ego came with the position or existed even before?"
"We are here," John said, thankfully stopped the discussion before it started.
They all stopped in front of the doors leading to the mess hall, but no one dared to enter it. They didn't want to interrupt the moment they knew didn't happen often enough.
Inside the crowded mess hall, all the tables on the right side were full of Atlantis personnel. The loud sounds created by them didn't diminish the quality of the image they were seeing.
The left side of the room was almost empty as if no one dared to go near the only occupied table on that side. At that table, there were two adults, a kid, and a baby seat. The foursome was so far inside that the group observing them couldn't listen to what they were saying.
Outside the room, Vala's head fell over Daniel's shoulders, and she awed. Daniel smiled sadly at the view.
It was surprising for them to be allowed to see what "a family" could have been but never was for their friends. The deep love shielded behind enough walls shocked them once again, and the way it felt right watching them together left them feeling fluffy on the inside. But then, they noticed them and the moment was lost.
"Daniel! Teal'c! You've made it!" Sam stood up as she spotted them, beaming with joy. Beside her, Jack moved to stand at the same time.
"Vala, Mitchell," Jack said, politely shaking their hands while Sam hugged their two oldest friends before they exchanged friends to greet.
"I can't believe I finally get to meet my godson!" Vala exclaimed as she hugged Sam tightly.
John took his leave then, not because it was his commanding officer table, but because it was his commanding officer family time.
2050
"I don't know what happened that night. What I know is that something changed after it. Starting the next day, I was part of the Atlantis crew and not the cold-hearted bitch that I was getting used to being during all that time."
"I did nothing!" Jack said.
"We agreed something happened after we left the mess hall, but we never knew what exactly it was."
"What we know is that if someone followed us to our rooms, they would be very disappointed. That night, Sam took the kids and went to her room while I went to mine. What no one ever knew those rooms had adjoined doors, but that's none of the matter," he smiled cheekily.
2008
Hours later, Sam had excused herself for the night, pointing to the sleeping Alex and Terran. Jack took that opportunity to call it a night and offered to take Alex as Sam took Terran. SG-1 looked at them part with bittersweet smiles on their faces.
They were about to end their night when John came to sit with SG-1. His team followed close. SG-1 team members smiled at them.
If their experiences taught SG-1something was the way things worked in any base. For them, and their current visit to Atlantis, they knew it was imperative being accepted by Sheppard's team to avoid being treated as the pariahs of the ship, much of that was valid at the SGC with SG-1 acceptance.
"Mind if we sit with you guys?" John asked, and Daniel smiled at him and his team before he nodded, and they took a seat in front of Cam.
"So, we are in?" Vala asked anxiously.
"You are in... in what exactly?" McKay asked.
"You know, all this tribal crap that seems to repeat throughout the galaxy," she rolled her eyes. "You need to accept us, so everybody else does."
"I guess you are in then," John said with a confused frown, and then he felt Vala's eyes on him.
"Good to know we are in, not that it helps Sam."
"What are you talking about?" Keller asked, feeling as confused as Sheppard looked.
"You approved her, right? Yet, even with your approval, she's not thought as part of your crew; therefore, she is a pariah." Vala explained before she took a sip from her glass.
"Why would you say that?"
"I've been the pariah enough times to know a fellow," Vala shrugged. "Sam isn't here to replace your Doctor; you should know that by now."
"Yeah, we know," McKay said.
"It doesn't show," Vala finished, and silence took over the table for a bit.
"So, what's up with those two?" Sheppard asked, pointing over his shoulders to make his point.
"You mean General O'Neill and Sam?" Mitchell asked.
"Yeah. We all heard the rumors of their undying love. Even though I know Sam has lusted after me since she met me," McKay answered
"Their undying love?" Mitchell asked, incredulously. "I don't think the General's wife would like that. Come to think about it, Sam's husband wouldn't like to hear it either."
"See! That' doesn't add to me. For what I know of them, they sure don't look like people who'll settle for less than they want," Sheppard said.
"What choice did they have left? Your military didn't allow them much space to follow their hearts. Settling was the only option left," Vala said, and the whole table turned to watch her.
"Why would you say something like that, honey?" Daniel asked.
"Well, when I got to SGC, I hacked the database so that I could learn more about my teammates," Vala justified. "I reached Sam's file, and I couldn't believe I was dealing with a coward! The definition of a coward didn't go with what I knew of her. However, her record was full of resignation and retirement letters."
"What?" Daniel asked, surprised.
"You didn't know that? Sam tried to get out of the Air Force for years. She still is trying. Sam told me she had filed yet another resignation letter before they ordered her here. Anyhow, back then, I was to know if more people were trying to leave, so I would know what was going on. I did a count to know who else had tried to retire or resign, to see if there were many people on her situation."
"Well, Jack would be on the list. He retired twice before," Daniel said.
"So, you don't know that either," she grimaced.
"Vala?"
"When I did that search, 'Major Carter' had the most significant number of attempts to resign, while 'Colonel O'Neill' held the most considerable efforts to retire. She had presented around fifty resignation letters and forty-five retirement ones. He had fifty retirement letters and forty-five resignation ones. It's safe to say that I need not tell you what the answer to those was."
"You are telling us that the Air Force didn't allow them to quit?" Sheppard asked.
"Sam said she was granted retirement," McKay added, remembering the time when Sam had told them about Alex's superpowers.
"Yeah, but it didn't last. Sam was retired for a whole three days before they recalled her to active duty. The same happened around the time we screwed it up, and the Ori situation started," Vala added.
"Wait, you mean to tell me that we are responsible for Sam being recalled?" Daniel asked in disbelief.
"Yes, and no, they were going to recall her anyway."
"But why do you say the Air Force forced them to settle?" Keller asked.
"Well, I asked Sam about the whole resignation-retirement thing, and she confessed that the rumors of them being in love were true. But they wouldn't do anything about it if that meant to harm each other. Therefore, they were effectively out of limits for the other unless they resigned or retired. When that didn't happen, the only solution they got left was to settle. They didn't have a chance of being together. Now, they agreed that by remaining single, they were too much a temptation for the other."
"They love each other? I don't know you, but I would jump the bones of the one I love, regulations or not," Keller grinned.
"So you never were in love, Jennifer," Daniel stated. "I'm not talking about the 'I'll love you forever' and then break it up six months later because you found out he had a habit that didn't suit you. I mean the kind of love for which you would kill or die, the love that never grows old," Daniel said, finally understanding their friend's position. He couldn't believe he didn't see that before!
"I don't think I got that kind of love."
"Well, that's the love they share," Vala stated.
"We knew they loved each other before they even admitted to themselves, Teal'c and I saw them fight against it. We both were there when they accepted their love for each other, and we experienced the moment in which they let the other know about that love. We were witnesses of how that love grew every day, and how they sheltered it, and we watched them place every one of the bricks that made the walls around them," Daniel said.
"Make no mistakes, they will love each other forever, but they will do everything to keep each other out of peril," Teal'c added.
"Despite all we lived with them, we wondered why they didn't give up and resigned, you know? Just for a few months and then return already married. Or why they didn't escape to another planet to never come back. But we understood that is who they are. Sam and Jack can place everything aside to protect the world, even if it meant to die a little every day by being apart. Even if it meant that they would have to settle." Daniel grimaced, then he kissed his wife's cheek. "Thanks, honey, for letting us know that they've tried. That only puts them higher on my scale of bravery."
"Indeed."
2050
"A few months after that party, I went back to Earth for my yearly checkup and found out they transferred me out of SGA," Sam continued. "I didn't have a new commission yet. They were still deciding what to do with me. They allowed me to return to the SGA two days later if only to bring back my stuff and pick up the kids."
" Why didn't they give you a commission straight away?" Malcolm asked.
"I was too prepared to be a 2IC and didn't have the qualifications to be promoted again."
"That's when the need for another base was brought up, and the brass decided Sam was the one perfect for taking that position. To my complete happiness, I wouldn't have my wife on Earth, again," Jack said sarcastically.
"They designed the Gamma Site to be a self-sustainable scientific base, with science and engineering teams as the main population. The plant had a Naquadah mine; it was a unique place to have R&D working 28/7. It was even useful that days were longer at Gamma," she smiled.
"I went there for her first-year inspection. It's a beautiful place, entirely different from the rest of the sites. If someone offers you a chance to visit it, take it," Jack commented.
"How was it? To be apart again?"
"Those two years were awful," Jack stated. "We didn't have weekly meetings as we had when she was in Atlantis. Instead, we only could have bimestrial ones. When General Landry finally retired, and the brass decided that Sam was already fit to be SGC CO, they brought her back to Earth, and I couldn't be happier."
"Sasha and Allistair were born in my first year back on Earth." Sam continued. "Dr. Lam was still at the SGC, so there weren't many issues. I guess third has a charm, this time Jack could come to the birth on time because of an issue at the SGC training facility. We were still living in different parts of the country, but at least we were a flight away and not a galaxy apart."
"Before the twins, there was that mess with General Jumper's daughter, remember?"
"Oh, yes! That was awful," Sam scrunched up her nose.
"What happened?" Malcolm asked.
"I guess it will be tomorrow's topic."