In civilian clothes and carrying two cups of coffee, Sam walked through the corridors of the SGC, intending to join her fiancé and her friends in the Infirmary as they continued a vigil at Cam's bedside. She nodded and smiled at various people that she knew who passed her. She had turned at a junction in the corridor when she heard Landry's voice.
"Colonel Carter."
She stopped and turned to see the General coming towards her. She helplessly glanced down at the cups that she held, a little embarrassed at being so informal in front of him in general appearance. "General Landry."
He smiled slightly as he stood in front of her. "Before you incur my daughter's wrath by sneaking in coffee for Colonel Mitchell, I would like to have a word with you in my office."
She looked a little awkward. "Right now, Sir?"
"If it's not a problem."
"Of course, not, Sir." She walked with him towards the lifts, inwardly disappointed that she wouldn't be with her friends when she had hoped to be. She asked, trying to look more curious than inconvenienced, "Any particular reason?"
"Don't worry. It's good news... most of it anyway."
When the lift doors opened, he gestured for her to go in first, and he followed her before selecting a floor. As the lift doors closed, a troubled Sam could contain herself no longer as she glanced at her superior officer. "Is there anything wrong, Sir?"
He looked at her, giving nothing away. "No, nothing wrong, Colonel." He paused. "How is Colonel Mitchell? I was only able to visit him very briefly last night."
She frowned briefly at the swift change in subject and replied, not wanting to challenge him, "Much better than he has been in the past week, Sir. He's definitely improving. He was able to walk the length of the Infirmary with a cane earlier, but he's still in considerable pain. Carolyn said that he could be discharged soon so he could rest at home."
He nodded as the lift stopped his descent into the bowels of the mountain. "I heard about that. It's good." They left the lift and he looked at her. "Then he and Vala, you and Doctor Jackson, and Jack and Sara can finally get back on track."
She smiled, a touch embarrassed at discussing such matters with someone who preferred to keep a professional distance from his subordinates when it came to matters of a social nature. "Yes, Sir."
"I've got to wonder whether Teal'c will join in."
"Not sure about that. He and Ish'ta have a very volatile relationship at present."
"Which man and woman in a long-term relationship doesn't?" They entered the briefing room, walking through it to his office. He stepped aside and held the door open for her as she went in. She stopped in surprise on seeing Jack seated at the desk.
Jack remarked, raising his eyebrows slowly on seeing the coffee, "Buttering up your commanding officers, Carter?"
Sam looked confused for a moment and then glanced down at the coffees that she was holding as Landry sat down near the other General. "Oh, these are for Daniel and Vala. I was on my way back to the Infirmary." She smiled slightly as she sat down. "You wouldn't like either, I'm sure, Sir, because one's a Sumatra Mandheling with one cream and two sugars, and the other's a Mocha Latte with seven sugars."
As Landry mildly smirked, Jack raised his eyebrows again. "Excuse me? Seven? Don't tell me that's Danny's... you know what happens when he gets a sugar rush."
She smiled slightly. "That's Vala's."
"Damn." He glanced at Landry and then said, leaning forward a little, his hands clasped on the surface of the desk as Sam put the cups down. "Anyway, Colonel." Sam immediately straightened up in her seat on detecting the formal tone in his voice. "You've been called here for a reason. Quite a big reason." He paused as he gauged her reaction, which, for the moment was general but polite bewilderment. "How are those medals of yours doing?"
Bemused, she smiled a little as she remembered a medal ceremony in the gateroom, and then in the Infirmary for Cam. "Uh... they're fine, Sir."
"How many Purple Hearts do you have now?"
"I think it's about thirty-eight... but Ca... uh, Colonel Mitchell's catching up."
"I'll bet." He levelled his gaze. "Carter. How do you feel about getting another promotion?"
She blinked in surprise. "Of rank or command, Sir?"
Jack smirked a little as he glanced at Landry. "How about both?" Her eyes widened and he continued as he pushed a small white envelope across the desk, towards her, "You've been an L T Colonel for long enough." Awe-struck, she turned the envelope over in her hands for a long moment before slowly opening it. "You're now a full bird Colonel. Ceremony and such later. Got some business to get down to for now."
Sam stared at him in shock, overcome by the fact that she was being promoted. She asked haltingly, fighting for some control over her voice, "Business?"
"Oh yeah." Jack appeared awkward and then looked at Landry. "It's your base... and I'd rather not do this bit anyhow."
Sam looked at Landry curiously, the SGC commander saying after a moment of hesitation, "As you already know..." He slid a file across the desk towards her. "... Midway is nearing completion. It isn't much, but we're looking for someone to supervise the final stages of completion. Doctor Lee is already on-board... however, we would like someone with your level of expertise, and with your standing and reputation, to co-ordinate and manage the construction to ensure that the station is completed on time."
She stared at Landry. She couldn't believe her ears. While she was excited at the prospect of visiting Midway in such a capacity, she knew what it would entail. She would be leaving everyone behind. She would be leaving Daniel behind. She knew it wasn't permanent. She had tried to keep up with the reports of the station's development and knew that it was only a few months from completion, but that length of an absence from everyone that she loved... it would be too much.
She closed her eyes and hung her head, torn between duty and her personal feelings as the Generals exchanged an awkward glance, knowing what she was going through her head. She finally shook her head and looked at them, and then at Landry.
"With all respect, Sir, I'm going to have to talk this over with Daniel. It's a long way... and by my estimations from the last report that I was forwarded, the station isn't due to be completed for another four or maybe five months. That is a long time... present circumstances considering."
Jack waved awkwardly. "Well, Carter... I hate to say this, but you're the only person for the job. You've got the sciency stuff going down as well as the leadership experience. This could be a stepping stone for other commands."
Sam nodded. "Yes, Sir. I understand. And I would like to thank you for the offer... but if I agree to go, I'm going to have to leave soon, which, with all respect, is impractical."
"I hear ya. Just as well Mitchell's coming along in leaps and bounds." He lightly patted the surface of the desk, his tone lifting. "Well, think about it, talk things over with Daniel, and let us know what you're doing."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
A concerned Daniel left the Infirmary when Sam didn't return from the Commissary after a long time. Ignoring odd looks from various personnel, he checked the Commissary and then took the lift back down to the level where he had come from, to go to Sam's lab. He found the door closed and he gently pushed it, calling softly,
"Sam?"
He found her sat at her work table in the dark, turning what looked to be a piece of paper in her hands. Concerned that she didn't seem as upbeat as she had the last time he had seen her, he switched the lights on and closed the door. He sat down next to her and noticed on further inspection that she was holding an envelope. Slowly taking it from her to give her a chance to stop him from doing so, he noticed the Air Force logo on the front, in the top right corner, and Sam's name and the address of the base printed in a no-nonsense font. He opened it, pulling out a piece of paper, which he unfolded.
His jaw almost dropped in surprise on realising what it was. He gave her hand a squeeze and said with a proud yet still concerned smile, "Congratulations."
He realised then that she had been crying when she leaned against him, her head against his shoulder. She whispered, trembling, "They want me to go to Midway for a few months... to supervise things until the station's finished."
His stomach felt as though it was sinking as he stared at her, her words and their relative implications sinking in. "That's... that's... When do they want you to go?"
She sniffed as he put an arm around her. "Generals Landry and O'Neill don't want to rush me, but I know that the station's nearly finished. They'll want me to go soon... or at least after Cam's health improves so SG-1 isn't without a fit military lead. I don't know what I'm going to do. They need me out there... that much I know." She began to cry again. "I know it's important, but I don't want to go... not now. It just seems like each time we want to get married, something else comes up or tries to get in the way." She sniffed again as she held onto him. "If I go, we'll end up rushing things... and we can't. Not now. Cam's still not a hundred percent, and..." She sighed, feeling overwhelmed by everything in their lives.
He held her in his arms, and sighed too, unsure of how to feel. He kissed her brow and whispered as he gazed down at her, "Sam... listen to me. We're going to be fine. We can get married when you come back. It's okay. Maybe we could talk to Mitchell and Vala, and Jack and Sara about the whole thing. We won't have that triple wedding, but let's be honest here... it would have been an amazing feat to pull off, having three weddings at the same time, of mostly SG-1 members... especially taking into account our track records."
She shook her head. "Daniel... I don't want to screw our plans up." She groaned softly. "But I don't want them to have to wait for me... that would be seriously lame... taking into account that anything could happen between now and when I come back. We've done so much work already for our collective big day before the business with the Ark... and now this."
"Oh Sam..." He rested his head against hers as he tried not to let his guard down enough to cry. He felt the need to support her in a difficult decision right now. Tears could come later when he was alone, or when Sam wasn't as emotionally fragile as she was now. "... it's okay... or at least it will be." He hugged her. "We've already waited to get married... we can wait a little more. Perhaps we could persuade Mitchell and Vala to go ahead without us. Jack's definitely not going to agree to get married without us, but..." He smiled briefly. "Finally you're getting a command, temporary as it may be, that appeals to your scientific side as much as this is going to. You've always wanted to go to Midway again. This is your chance."
"I'll be gone for..."
"It doesn't matter. I'd wait for you forever. I think they need you almost as much as I do, which is a lot."
She smiled through her tears, her head against his chest, the Astrophysicist soothed by the sound of his heartbeat. "Well... I'm glad and a little worried that you're openly admitting that you need me." She kissed him on the cheek. "You always seem to know what to say to make me feel better."
He looked surprised. "You feel better after my insane rambling?"
She smiled and ruffled his hair affectionately as he scowled. "You know what that does to me." Her smile faded. "You do realise what this means, don't you, Daniel?" Her completely vanished, replaced by an expression of dread and barely concealed pain. "Midway is between the Milky Way and Pegasus. The Wraith have made it to Earth before now... it's possible that they could reach Midway."
He shook his head, not wanting to think about the negative implications of her leaving for Midway. His voice sounded congested, his tone forceful. "No, they're not going to, okay? They're not. You're only going for a few months." He suddenly blinked back tears. "I'm not going to lose you. You're just there to make sure things go as planned and then you're coming back." He held onto her tightly, closing his eyes as he tried to shore up memories of her for what he knew would be a hard few months for him at least.
She hugged him too, whispering, "Daniel... I'm coming back."
"That's the spirit." He gazed at her, trying to keep the sadness from his gaze, but failing. "Come on, let's go break the news to Mitchell and Vala."