Chapter 12 - Dealing with Politics
"Mom? Dad?" Alex called as she walked towards them. Malcolm turned around and found the brunette looking at them with her eyes shielded by a sunglass.
"Is everything all right, Alex?" Sam asked.
"Yup. I just wanted to let you know the kids will be arriving in two days. Terran is staying, Hunter and I, we are returning to see how can we help Sash. I don't think there's much we can do more than wait. But hey, if the JCS can't help, I don't know who can," she grinned.
"Maybe Thor," Jack added with a smile.
"Sometimes, I wish it could be that simple, dad. So, where are they now?" Alex asked Malcolm.
"They were telling me about the proposal from the Joint Chiefs."
"Oh, I remember those days. I was thirteen back then, had my first crush at the end of that year, and when I was about to have a boyfriend, we moved to DC and blew out my chances," Alex sighed dramatically.
"Well, it was a good thing," Jack grinned. "You are too young to have a boyfriend."
"Dad," she rolled her eyes. "I am married, and I do have three kids," she stated, grinning.
"Yeah, well, but Greg is a good man. I can't say the same of that first crush of yours," he said. Sam giggled "What?"
"Greg was her first crush," Sam grinned.
"Really?" Jack asked, astounded. The women nodded. "And you didn't think about telling me?"
"According to your mother, HomeWorld security offices were in Colorado. Why did you have to move to DC?" Malcolm asked. Alex smiled and went to the limits of the "set" and sat next to her parents.
"Well, when they asked dad to retire, finally, if I might add. They tried to bring someone else, the guy from the Alpha site? I think Reynolds was his name?" she frowned.
"Yup, good guy. General Reynolds was an SG-3 commander for quite a while. Then he was moved to the Alpha site," Jack explained.
"He took Jack's place at the JCS," Sam explained. "But Al wasn't one for taking too much political crap. So, he resigned, and the JCS had no better idea than appoint me to take his place, while Jack paraded around the country."
"Thus, we moved from Colorado to DC. It was fun, though. I remember having to hide from the paparazzi so they wouldn't know us," Alex grinned.
2019
"The only issue General Carter is that you can only appear as a public figure next to Candidate O'Neill the day he takes his place as the President," the JCS announced to her as they were finishing the details of their proposal.
"And if he doesn't?" Sam asked.
"Then, you wouldn't need to appear as a public figure next to him."
"And that means?"
"Whatever you do to see each other, keep it as it was until now. No one can know."
"Candidate O'Neill, the same goes to you."
"I am no longer a military officer as of two days ago, so you can't order me anything anymore," he grinned.
"But you can still be recalled to active duty, and you wouldn't want that, would you?"
Under such blunt blackmail, Jack clenched his jaw.
2050
"They bullied us into keeping it quiet again, so to speak, and we used extreme methods to see each other," Sam explained.
"Mom would drive us to a nice restaurant, and we would have the back table, you know? The furthest away from the windows and near to the back door and half an hour later; dad would arrive and get lost in the background," Alex added.
2019
A black van with dark tinted windows rode to "Luigi's" parking. Luigi's, like the other restaurants they now resorted to using, had underground parking. Sam drove the van, parked near the elevator doors, and exchanged a smile with her oldest daughter.
"We are here, " Alex said with a bright smile.
"Yes!" came from the back seat where the eleven-year-old Terran sat with the eight-year-old Sasha and Allistair. Sam and Alex went to the back to pick the little Nadia and Aidan out. Together they caught an elevator to the 20th floor.
"Table for Fraiser?" Sam asked once they reached their destination.
"Of course, this way. Table for eight it was?"
"Yes."
Meanwhile, a limo being chased by paparazzi rode into the entrance of the building. Doors opened, and Candidate O'Neill went out. Soon, he was surrounded by white lights, and he had to stop himself from touching his body to check it wasn't Thor or a beam to whatever ship was on Earth's orbit. He smiled and then disappeared into the elevator.
"Good Evening, sir."
"Hi, there," he grinned. "Fraiser party?"
"Of course, sir. I believe they are waiting for you. Might I say that you resemble a lot to Candidate O'Neill, Mr. Fraiser?"
"Yeah, I've been told that… poor guy. If he has half of my sense of humor, he will so lose the elections."
Then a round of "daddy!" took place, he ruffled his sons' hairs and kissed his daughters' foreheads before leaning in to kiss Sam while the kids giggled happily.
Dinner was a lovely affair for them, they exchanged experiences and talked about their weeks, the adults would kiss every time they thought no children were looking and that mostly resulted in a round of giggling and a chorus of "no giggling!"
Then, leaving was the complicated part. Often, one would go first, and the other would remain there for at least 10 or 20 extra minutes, or they would wait until they could see people from several tables leaving, giving them a chance of running away with the mix of people.
The black van rode out of the parking with little issue. The black limo was once again parked in front of the building, creating a good distraction. Paparazzi were disappointed once more by their Candidate walking out of the restaurant alone.
2050
"I guess during that time; I learned a lot about strategy. I grew up surrounded by a lot of planning to see each other. I mean, I remember scrambling with the subspace video, remember the visits dad made to whatever place mom was deployed. But, nothing was more calculated or well thought that the encounters on Earth. I mean, it's easy moving around two people. Even three, but by 2019 we were already eight!" Alex said.
"Well, we planned," Sam dismissed
"A lot," Jack grinned
"What about the economy? How did you sneak around and keep such a large family?"
"Well, we had seven years of not being on Earth too much. We also got lucky when a friend introduced us to a friend of his who worked in finances. This was around our second year at the SGC, seeing we already had some savings, we all put some money into it. By the end of the second year, most of our salaries were going full and straight to them. We passed so much time on base that the expenses we had were mostly house related," Sam explained.
"We even dropped out of the gym and opted for the base gym. We didn't do it thinking of the money. We did it because it was easier to deal with everything happening on the base while we were at the base. Being able to go home was awesome, but we all hated when we finally got home, and then, minutes after stepping in, get a call from the base for whatever reason," Jack grimaced.
"That happened a lot," Sam agreed.
"Then, for the kids first years, they didn't need much," Jack said.
"The USAF provided most of the stuff the kids needed. The protection treaty was there, and there was no way for me to buy things like diapers or pacifiers being in Atlantis. When we finally were all on Earth, we had enough money for more than a decent living. It was 13 years of investments on both ends, and we never needed much to live."
"See, we grew up knowing we didn't need much," Alex added. "We visited the Hak'tyl's world and experienced another kind of life, one where you didn't need the stuff to go around. So, coming back, we had what we needed for school, a few toys, and that was it. More than that, priorities in our home were always different, I got my first cellphone at 14, but I got my first science kit at 2. Anyway, to answer your question furthermore, in October 2019, we, as in my siblings and I, moved out with dad, and that's when Uncle Daniel found out."
"Why did you move with your dad?" Malcolm wondered.
"They sent me on a mission to babysit a crew of politicians on a trip from Earth to Ida and back," Sam explained. "They wouldn't allow the kids to travel with me. Not when Jack could take care of them."
2019
"Honey, I'm home!" Jack shouted as he entered the house they had bought when she moved to DC since the small house he owned before was too small for all of them.
There were a few days of pause on his schedule, and of course, since that meant he and Sam would be together, someone came up with a mission for her. At least, they had gotten them two days to settle things before she had to go.
"Welcome home, Jack," Sam said with a smile, and Jack walked to wrap his wife in a tight hug and kissed her with all his might. "You know? I am still surprised by how they manage to do this to us," she whispered in his ear.
"Yeah, tell me about it. Hey, this is the first time I get the kids," he smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Well, there's that. What are your plans?" Sam asked as they walked to the kitchen hand in hand.
"Well, we have some debates going on, and then the elections and…"
"Sam! Are you here?" Daniel's voice reached her from the entrance.
"Kitchen!" She yelled at Daniel.
"Hey! I heard that" Daniel stopped dead on his track. "Jack?"
"Daniel," they both said.
"What are you doing here?" He frowned.
"I'm getting the kids," Jack shrugged.
"Sam?"
"He's getting the house and the kids this time."
"What does that mean?" Daniel frowned.
"Daddy! Can you help me with my English homework?" Sasha asked timidly; then, she noticed the third person in the room. "Uncle Danny!" she ran to hug Daniels' leg.
"Daddy?" Daniel mouthed. They both just shrugged. "Ok, guys, I want to hear it," he said seriously, picking Sasha up.
"Hear what?" Alex asked, entering the room. "Mom, have you seen my red and black skirt. I have a date," she grinned.
"Alexia Grace Carter-O'Neill! Who you might think you are going to date?" Jack said before thinking.
"The math club, dad? Every Wednesday at 17hs at the school library," Alex smirked.
"Oh, okay. You can go then," Jack conceded. Daniel looked at them as if they all had grown another head.
"Alex, honey. Can you help Sasha with her homework? I think we are in dire need of a chat here," Sam grinned.
"You are talking," Alex answered, and Sam arched an eyebrow before she looked at Daniel. Alex followed her mother's line of sight, and her eyes widened. "Oh! That chat! Sure, we can do that. Come, Sash."
"Ok. What's going on here? Why both Alex and Sasha are calling you daddy? And why…"
"Ack! Will you question us, or would you prefer the answers, space monkey?" Daniel remained silent. Sam sighed, and Jack looked at both before sighing too.
"We didn't want you to learn it this way, Daniel," Sam said calmly.
"But..."
"All my kids are Jack's kids," she confessed.
"WHAT!? Are you insane? What about regulations! And all that crap about being military and… and your HUSBAND!? You got married! And he got married, are you each other lovers' or something?" Daniel blurted out mostly in panic.
"Well, yes, I'm married, Daniel. Jack is married too."
"Then?"
"We are married… to each other," Jack said.
"We've been married for 14 years."
2050
"Daniel," Sam sighed. "Well, he stormed out of the house when he found out. He didn't give us time to explain it all to him. Then I got a call from Vala."
2019
"So, you finally are free to tell?"
"Hi Vala, I miss you too."
"Hi Sam, my husband just came ranting about his friends lying him for 14 years. He is still at it as you can see him in the background. So, will you tell me why is he doing it?"
"Well, he got surprised by my husband," Sam giggled.
"Oh! You know, you paraded around with those kids, and he went to visit you and kept in touch with Jack. I don't know how no one figured it out a long time ago," Vala rolled her eyes.
"You know, Vala, not everybody has your observation skills," Sam pointed.
"Oh yeah! That's true. I'll talk to him so you can explain to us why you never told us in the first place," she said, laughing.
"Thanks, Vala, please do it soon. I'm leaving in two days."
2050
"Vala had connected all the dots not too long after that Christmas at Atlantis; she knew we were an item. She didn't know how or how long since we happened, yet she was sure that both Alex and Terran were Jack's. So, she was pretty pleased with herself when she learned she was right. After that, she talked to Daniel, and at the end of the next day, we went to dinner."
"It was the same affair; you know, Cassie took care of the kids this time, and Sam drove first to the restaurant and then Daniel and Vala, and finally, I got there. We talked, explained to them how things happened, and the next day Sam left," Jack shrugged.
"We did all the debates, and we were there in early November," Alex said. "We were there in early January when they counted the votes. We got to do that with dad, while mom was entertaining politicians somewhere in the deep space."
2019
They filled the warehouse that would be the extraction point for the mission, with politicians from all over the country, and people that made Sam wondered how got their permission granted.
There she was waiting for them to shut up to start with her instructions. She allowed them a couple of minutes, but when they didn't stop, she summed up her best training officer voice and shouted, "Attention!"
The commanding tone in her voice was enough to make the military around her stand in attention, and that created enough surprise that the crowd finally got quiet. She grinned.
"Ladies and Gentleman, I am General Samantha Carter, and I'll be your security officer once we are on board. Before we go, I need to set some ground rules. First and foremost, whoever calls me General Carter would get me a ticket to the first planet with a Stargate, and I'll be returning Earth. At that point, they will give you another Security Officer," some mumbling went out. "I mean it."
"Two, in case of any emergency, if I say jump, you jump. I don't care how high, do it. Three, if anything mechanical happens to the ship, and I am recalled to work on a solution for it, you will let me do it. I don't want or need anyone breathing over my shoulders. If you do, I'm gating back Earth on the first planet with a Stargate, and you will get another security officer and good luck finding someone who will be able to work in the issue at hand, which means you would most likely get stuck there for a long while. Did we get that clear?" She asked.
"Yes."
"Great. Now, we will travel on the USAFS IVANHOE, which is the latest ship added to our fleet. The Ivanhoe is entirely human-made; it has a reverse-engineered Asgard computer system with some perks. In there, you will find seven decks of living quarters, three mess halls, medical bays, gyms, and a pool. Enjoy all the accommodations provided."
"If you are all ready, I'll give the sign to be beamed up," she saw a couple of nods, and soon, they were in the cargo bay of the Ivanhoe. General Lexter was expecting them. Once he spotted Sam in the crowd, he saluted her.
"General Lexter, may we have a chat?" Sam asked, saluting him quickly. He nodded and showed her his office.
"How may I help you, General?" he asked
"Alec, I have a request. I need you to call everyone who knows me as General Carter to a room and tell them that, as long as this trip goes, I am only Sam Carter, Security Officer, and political babysitter."
"Yes, ma'am!" Alec grinned. "May I ask why?"
"Alec, you know me. I am not about to spend almost three months with a bunch of politicians working on my nerves, and with a crew that's too scared of my rank to do some training with me," she sighed.
"Samantha Carter, are you saying you want to beat the crap out of my crew?" he smiled, she beamed at him.
"No, I just want to make them better in hand to hand combat," she beamed.
"What about them?" he said, pointing with his head to the newest addition to the crew.
"If someone calls me, General, I am out of here. We stop on the first planet with a gate, and I go back home, understood?"
"Yes, ma'am."