Chapter 2
Ok, Chapter 2! Yayy! Ive done what I can to fix spelling and grammatical errors but putting it through 2 programs. Im writing this on my Beta Chromebook, so I've only got access to Google Drive and the spell check here on FanFic.
Jacks Rooftop.
2030 Hours.
Jack sits on his roof, staring at the stars. Again. This night is just like any other night. Well, at least every other night since he returned through the gate from Abydos. Now when ever he looked through the telescope he couldn't help but grin. He'd always heard that the universe was big, but now, every time he heard someone say it, it took all of his military honed skills to keep from blurting out just how right they were. He spent many a night looking up trying to find the alien planet that had changed his life. He knew it was a long shot, but maybe he'd get to see that damn Space Monkey Daniel again. One day. The allergy prone archeologist had grown on him. More than he'd ever like to admit. And Skaara. That kid was a trip. He reminded Jack of Charlie. What Charlie would have grown to be.
Charlie.
Not a day when by that Jack didn't think of Charlie.
When Jack had come back from Abydos, he was a new man. Something changed in him. A renewed sense of life. He was no longer suicidal. He learned that there was something so much bigger than him and his life. Who the hell was he to not think of others? But, the night after the mission, when he pulled up to his home. Something was different. The lights were off. And all seemed too quiet. Not a dangerous quiet. An abandoned quiet. He got out of the car and walked up to the door. Unlocking it and looking around, everything was in it's place, but, the pictures... They were all turned face down. Half were missing too. His gut told him to go to the kitchen. He'd find his answer there. Sure enough, on the island, in the center, was a handwritten note. Dated 2 days after he had left for Abydos.
Jack,
I know you've gone on another mission, but I feel that now was the best time to do this. I've made the decision I've been struggling with for a month now. I've packed my things and moved back with my father. I've signed my portion of the divorce papers and left them on the counter next to this note. you know I love you, and I know you love me, but, the truth is, we can't keep going on like this. It's for the better. Maybe one day we can be friends again, but right now, we need to go our separate ways. I don't blame you for what happened. I did in the beginning, but now, I understand it wasn't your fault.
I love you Jack, Please always remember that. Take care of yourself.
Love, Always
Sara.
Next to her name, she drew a little heart. The same little heart she used to draw in the love notes she gave him when they first fell in love. It was the proof he needed to believe her that she didn't blame him. He picked up the manilla envelope to the side and opened it, it sliced his finger giving him a painful papercut. 'Ironic' he thought 'This is not emotionally hurting as much as I thought it ever would, so of course it has to become physically painful. Yippie.' Once he applied a bandage he walked back to the documents and viewed the pages. She was refusing spousal support, giving him the house, and had already dealt with dividing their monetary assets according to what each of them had brought into the marriage in an equal and responsible way. 'Always the responsible lawyer, that one.' According to the notes in the papers, she had only taken the percentage of income that she had made during their marriage. Leaving him with his own percentage of his wages and not touching any of his promotion bonuses, pension, and hazardous duty pay. And god knows there was a ton of that. Just the pay from his imprisonment alone in Iraq was a hefty sum and she hadn't touched a dime of it. She was an amazing woman, that was for sure. He signed the papers immediately. He had known this was coming. No real surprize.
He made his way upstairs and took a look in Charlies room. It was all the same. He'd call Sara's father tomorrow and tell him he had signed the papers already. Then he'd ask him to have Sara come over and they'd go over the things in Charlies room together. He already decided she could have everything she wanted out of the room. All he wanted was the baseball glove and hockey stick. Of course the pictures would have to be divided, but maybe he could get the prints and she could keep the negatives? He didn't see her having a problem with that. He walked into his bedroom. The room he and Sara had once shared. It felt strange. Empty. And why shouldn't it? It's not like he had even slept in it for a month before he left for Abydos. He was selling this house. That much was for sure. He couldn't handle living here anymore, especially not by himself. He would sell it and split it with Sara down the middle.
After changing into a set of pajama bottoms he grabbed his pillow and made his way to the couch, with a beer and turned on The Simpsons. But after having slept on the sleeping bags and sand on the desert planet the couch was too comfy. He fell asleep almost immediately.
Jack was so deeply caught up in the memory that he didn't hear the officers climb up the ladder to his roof. Even with all of his Black Ops training, the thought of Charlie made him oblivious to his surroundings.
"Colonel Jack O'Neill?"
"Retired." Jack doesn't take his eyes off the sky.
"I'm Major Samuels"
"Air Force?"
"Yes, sir, I'm the General's Executive Officer."
"Want a piece of advice, Major? Get re-assigned to NASA. That's where all the action's gonna be. Out there."
O'Neill doesn't turn around, his eyes now glued to the telescope. and Samuels looks to the Airman standing next to him, both exchanging a knowing look.
"I'm uh, I'm under orders to bring you to see General Hammond, Sir"
"Never heard of him"
"He replaced General West. He says it's important. Has to do with the Stargate."
Jack is now interested in what the lackey has to say.
"Ok, you now have my undivided attention."
Cheyenne Mountain
0300 Hours.
George sat at his desk, having just gotten off the phone with the President. His head in his hands. He had to bring in experts to help him with this. But, experts? On this non-existent project? He had his work cut out for him. But, in looking through the roster of people who even knew what the Stargate was, he tried to make some sense of the names. Then, he saw one he knew. One that made him grin proudly. He picked up the phone and dialed a number he knew by heart. The General needed to notify this officer himself.
Sams Townhouse
Washington D.C.
0507 Hours EST.
Sams phone rang just minutes after her alarm had woken her up and she had answered it on the first ring.
"Captain Carter speaking."
"Sam, It's George. How are you doing?"
"Uncle George- I mean, General Hammond, Sir!" She stuttered, shocked to hear from him at - she looked at her watch to be sure - it was 3 in the morning in Colorado?! "What? I uh? Are the girls ok?" She referred to his granddaughters, thinking that if he was there at that time, something personal had to be wrong.
"No, no Samantha, it's ok. I'm actually here on official business. It's about the Stargate."
Sam's eyes opened wide. She had been taken off of the Stargate project 6 months ago. A full year after the Abydos mission. The project had been scrubbed. After the team had returned they had attempted to send another probe through the gate, but it had been destroyed. There was nothing left on the other side. The powers the be decided that keeping people on the project was a colossal waste of money and scrapped it. She had been upset at first, but she had literally come to a wall. There was nothing more she could do.
"Are you telling me they re-opened the program?"
"Kind of. Get dressed in your blues and get to Andrews Air Force base. There will be a flight ready for you in 30 minutes. There will be documents you need to read on the plane."
Cheyenne Mountain Complex
Briefing Room
0800
Jack stood in the briefing room with Lou and Kawalsky waiting for Hammond to begin. He looked over towards Samuels. He did not like that guy. Got a bad feeling about him. Samuels was standing near Hammonds door and hovering like the little ass-kisser he was. Not much bugged Jack more than ass-kissers. Hammond excited is office and walked towards the table. All officers in the room straightened immediately and saluted their commanding officer.
"Gentlemen take your seats"
Jack stays standing. next to his chair.
"Where's Captain Carter?" Asks Hammond.
"Just arriving, sir."
Jack glances at Samuels with an inquisitive look."Carter?"
Hammond responds to Jack directly "I'm assigning Sam Carter to this mission."
Jack is skeptical "I'd prefer to put together my own team, sir."
"Not on this mission, sorry. Carter's our expert on the Stargate."
Jack grunts to himself and takes a deep breath. "Where's he transferring from?"
"She is transferring from the Pentagon."
Jack turned to see a tall, slender blonde woman stride with command towards the table. 'What the...?'
"I take it you're Colonel O'Neill?" She saluted to the man standing behind the chair. "Captain Samantha Carter reporting, Sir."
O'Neill saluted back. As Kawalsky and Ferretti began to verbally poke the woman, Jack started thinking. 'Wait a second, I know her. Where the hell do I know her from?' Jack began to rack his brain trying to remember, but Hammond pulled him back. "Lets get started. Colonel?" He and Sam and Jack sit at the same time.
"Thank you. Those of you on your first trip through the Gate, you should be prepared for what to expect."
Carter interrupted. "I've practically memorized your report from the first mission. I'd like to think I've been preparing for this my whole life."
Kawalsky scoffed. "I think what the Colonel is saying is, have you ever pulled out of a simulated bombing run in an F-16 at 8-plus G's?"
"Yes." Said Sam defiantly
Kawalsky wasn't sure how to respond next. "Well, its way worse than that."
Ferretti piped in this time. "By the time you get to the other side, you're frozen stiff, like you've just been through a blizzard, naked."
The 2 shared one of their stupid little grins. Jack rolled his eyes and smirked.
Sam responded quickly and succinctly. "That's a result of the compression your molecules undergo during the millisecond required for reconstitution."
There it was! Jack soooo did not need this. "Oh, here we go. Another scientist. General, please."
Sam interrupted him again. "Theoretical astrophysicist." Jack snapped back. "Which means?"
Hammond was the one to jump in this time. "Which means she is smarter than you are, Colonel. Especially in matters related to the Stargate."
Kawalsky and Ferretti started to snicker to each other, but made eye contact with Jack and stopped immediately.
Sam spoke again. "Colonel, I was studying the Gate technology for two years before Daniel Jackson made it work and before you both went through. I should have gone through then. But, sir, you and your men might as well accept the fact that I am going through this time."
"Well with all due respect, Doctor, I…"
"It is appropriate to refer to a person by their rank, not their salutation. You should call me "captain", not "doctor."
Hammond spoke up again. "Captain Carter's assignment to this unit is not an option, it's an order."
Sam was feeling beyond irritated at this point.
"I'm an Air Force officer just like you are, Colonel, and just because my reproductive organs are on the inside instead of the outside, doesn't mean I can't handle whatever you can handle."
Jack saw his opening. "Oh, this has nothing to do with you being a woman. I like women." 'Especially you right now, to tell you the truth.' "I just have a little problem with scientists."
"Colonel, I logged over a hundred hours in enemy airspace during the Gulf War. Is that tough enough for you? Or are we going to have to arm wrestle?" That was it. She watched his eyebrows raise and knew she had him.
The rest of the briefing argued the feasibility of burying the Gate and logistics of the trip.
After being dismissed, Jack stormed out and towards his new quarters. This new woman was infuriating! But, that was the thing, she wasn't new! He thought hard and after reaching the elevators, he realized who she was. She was the girl from the first mission to Abydos! The one who blathered on and on about the physics of the wormhole. But, wait, didn't she have longer hair? Why did she cut it? Jack liked it short even, but still, she chopped it all off. and still, that name. Where on earth did he know her name from? It was bugging him this time just as much as it did last time. By the time he made it back to his quarters she had completely consumed his thoughts.
Sam was leaving the briefing room after watching O'Neill storm out. She found herself lost in her thoughts of those chocolate eyes again. they same way she was lost in them 2 years ago. She had never forgotten those eyes, and more than once they had invaded her dreams. As she reached the elevators she felt a hand on her shoulder and pull her out of her trance. She turned to see Lou Ferretti.
"Yes?"
"Listen, Captain..." he started, unable to keep eye contact. "So, um, did you really have the Matt Mason doll?" Sam looked at him with suspicion. "Cause if you did that's really awesome. I had one too. It's what made me want to join the Air Force."
Sam studied him with hesitation, but realized he was being sincere. "Yeah, I did. And yes, I did have the backpack. Best part about him if you ask me." She smiled.
"Lou." He said offering his hand to her. "I know we didn't really come off the greatest in there, but, I mean, Jack and Charlie and I, we've all known each other for a while. we've got a sort of rapport going. And while I can't speak for the other 2, I can say that I have respect for you. I read some of your reports of the physics of the gate while we were on Abydos last time and I was very impressed. And I can tell the General has a great deal of respect for you, and for me, that's reason enough to be glad to work with you."
Sam was shocked. This man had been the most welcoming in the briefing this morning, and if she remembered correctly, he really did listen to her during her presentation 2 years ago.
"Thank you Major. That means a lot. Listen, I know it's going to take a lot to get the colonel and Major Kawalsky to even acknowledge my presence, but are there any tips you can give me? I can hold my own on the field plenty, but that's not to say some insider info wouldn't be helpful,"
"Well, Kawalsky, he's a tough nut to crack. Only being yourself and proving to be useful will make any difference with him. And that just takes time. As for the Colonel? Well, I can already tell you, he's very aware of your presence. believe me. Now, I need to get to my quarters and get changed. I'll see you in the gate room in an hour Captain." And with that he turned the corner and headed into his quarters, leaving Sam standing in the hall wondering what the hell he had meant. She had already made him aware? What? Did he actually remember her from before? Sam made her way to her quarters to change into her BDU's and get ready for the departure.
KAWOOSH!
Jack felt a strange rush of déjà vu. Standing here, in front of the Stargate with his team. Well, almost his team. Swap out one doctor for the other and yeah, you've got his team. He guessed he could deal with her for now. Maybe he could even make nice. Maybe then when they got back from this and he retired again he could ask her out. Even if she said no, so what, it's not like he'd see her again. He got the "lifer" feel from her. So once he left he wouldn't see her again if he didn't want to.
"Try to follow orders this time Colonel" The Generals voice broke his thoughts.
"Sir?"
"This time you bring Daniel Jackson back. Is that clear?
"Yes Sir."
The two officers saluted each other and Jack looks to his team. "Move out!"
Kawalsky, Ferretti walk with the marines immediately up the ramp and through the gate. Leaving only Sam and Jack at the base. Jack looks to Sam, "Captain?"
"Oh, don't worry sir, I won't let you down"
"Good, but I was going to say 'ladies first'"
She rolled her eyes, but started up the ramp, stopping at the edge of the Event Horizon. Sam turned to Jack, "You know, you really will like me once you get to know me."
"Oh, I adore you already Captain." And oh how true that statement really was!
Sam blushed discreetly and turned back to the rippling blue of the wormhole. "My God. Look at this! I mean, the energy the Gate must release to create a stable wormhole is…it's astronomical to use exactly the right word!" She reached out to touch the "water" and watched it ripple magnificently in response to her touch. "You can actually see the fluctuations in the event horizon!"
Jack grinned and knew this was his chance. He placed one hand on her shoulder and with a good push, sent her right through the wormhole.
