Hopefully things get clearer… Lucky you! You got a 2x1 today :P

Enjoy!

M.

Chapter 4

"I feel I must apologize on his behalf," she managed to say, after a while of being stared at. Gaped at, one could have said.

"Why? You have just joined us? Why would you have anything to say?" The girl, the one who was speaking when she spotted him asked.

"Because I've known him… for a long time," the woman smiled at her. "Also, let me assure you, despite what I must look like, General O'Neill is married."

"Then why she's never here?"

"I don't really know why you have all this interest in him, Miss…"

"Vanessa Rockfield," she smirked. The woman couldn't recognize the name, even if she tried.

"Well, Miss Rockfield, General O'Neill wife… she's been out of the country for a while now," she smiled politely. Watching Jack's reaction from the corner of her eye.

"So, you know her?" Vanessa questioned, embracing her middle, "Have you have seen her? Miss…"

"Carter…" She smiled, "Colonel Carter." She smiled brightly, and Jack couldn't help it but smile at her actions.

The young woman looked at Sam with a frown, scanning her from head to toe and back, and raising an eyebrow when she finished. The Colonel waited for the girl to finish her ogling, feeling quite grateful for what she was given to wear, and of course, from her current extremely well fit situation. She felt more than saw Jack eyes doing the same, and her heart skipped a beat.

"Now that I have your attention back," she continued when Vanessa's gaze was back at eye level, "yes, of course I know Mrs. O'Neill. I was present the day they got married. It was a beautiful ceremony." She added, remembering that day and biting her lip. Jack smiled at her and offered her his arm, which she quickly took, not quite believing she was there.

"Carter? Fancy seeing you here." He managed to say. Somehow it felt like he had never left SG-1 or SGC or that she had never gone to 51, or to… Atlantis. Except, maybe, because he had noticed she was struggling with words, it took her a couple more seconds to come up with answers she would have ready back then.

"Same back at ya…" she grinned, "I thought you hated these things, General. Good evening, by the way," she nodded to the group, "I didn't want to intrude, I couldn't help myself when I saw General O'Neill with you. I wasn't expecting to be rude… I do hope, you all find a way to forgive my interruption."

Jack knew from before, that forgiving her, was an easy task to many. She was a beautiful woman, and of course, one of the few masterminds behind the Stargate program. But, the thing that probably made the whole deal even more easier, at least for the military crew, was the fact she had saved the world more times that they were willing to count. Or that she wasn't supposed to be there in the first place…

"You are right, Carter, Hayes orders... what's your excuse?" Jack asked, with a frown. Sam bit her lower lip and the girl huffed, annoyed with the fact she was completely forgotten by her prey. Sam's expression changed after his last comment. A small frown appeared on her forehead, but the girl managed to intrude enough to bring her back from her thoughts.

"Colonel Carter, I thought you were supposed to wear your uniforms when in here, this is a military Gala after all," she resorted to try and attack Sam.

The Colonel looked down at her dress, it was nothing too fancy. She wasn't wearing anything that could compete with what the girl was wearing, it wasn't shiny nor expensively embroidered. It was just a plain dress, the fabric hugged her toned body in all the right places, the strapless cut was both not too revealing and at the same time showed enough skin. The only things that had made her doubt when she was donning it were that there was a long time since the last time she wore one and… the color, red always attracted too much attention. But at the end, she had shrugged as she stepped into it. It was that or going naked.

"Hmm, this is hardly the fanciest dress around. And yes, I could have come in my mess dress uniform… but I didn't." She made an oops face, making the others chuckle. "Truth to be told, I can't remember where I stored it. It might be in Colorado, or in Vegas, I also have a storage room, here in DC…" she squinted and then shrugged. "I feel, I should confess I don't go out in the fancy uniform that much, it's easy to lose track of where you left it the last time you had to use it, especially if you move as much as we do"

"Well, they all managed it. It shouldn't be that hard," The girl pointed annoyedly, Jack cleared his throat. Sam grinned at the couple that had made their way towards their group.

"I didn't. But if we are going to keep talking about dressing code, I must say Carter, you still look good in red. As a matter of fact, you look better than I remember."

"Why thank you, sir," she grinned. "It's been a while since I have seen you in a tux, I'm surprised."

"Don't 'sir' me, Carter." He rolled his eyes, making her grin, "You've got here just in time to save me from awkward questioning. I've already managed to piss someone today telling him I don't really like deep space and radar telemetry." She chuckled, it was so easy to forget how long it has been since the last time they had spoken.

"Oh, well. DSRT had its perks."

"It's that from where you know each other?"

"Yeah, she's into it, Mrs Johnstone. I'm not. I was there as 2IC, she was there as overall nerd."

"But you look like you know each other better than just 2IC and officer should," she pointed.

"That's a long story," he hissed, "I'll guess it will suffice to say, I expended a good amount of time in her lab, while she technobabbled about everything. She figured out I wasn't really interested in it, or understood half of what she was saying, and always found a way to explain things so I would understand. We can say we bonded over my inability to process science, and her ability to explain it"

"It sounds like a team effort"

"Oh, yes. She saved my ass more times than I'm willing to confirm," she blushed. She knew what he was really talking about. She was always amazed by how easily he could change the truth into something manageable to present to the unsuspecting audience. He always did that, most of the time to look dumber than he was, other times to angry whomever was in power.

"Colonel Carter, what's that you do? Are you still at the Telemetry thing?"

"Ah, I'm waiting for a definition at the moment." She sighed.

"Why is that?"

"Well, Coronel Carter experience and knowledge had always managed to place her in a very uncomfortable situation. She has enough experience to be a base commander, which was her last post. And the brains to be in charge of R&D in any base we need her."

"My rank, it doesn't quite fit what I do, did… what I can do. And my pasts years aren't helping. Anyhow, I can't explain much more about my current situation, going further would mean you need to know."

"Does anyone in the military able to talk about everything without finding one or two subjects that are need to know?" The laughter coming from all the military members was enough answer.

"Oh, honey, if you reach up this high, there's always need to know," General Johnston had answered placing a quick kiss on his wife cheek. "Colonel Carter, when did you arrive?" he asked. Truth to be told he had directed his wife to the group because he spotted her. He knew the real situation in which she was and all they knew her were struggling to get to terms with her situation.

"Ah," she bit her lower lip, and looked at Jack, "Four days ago," she saw the pained expression on him. "I was placed under quarantine for the living conditions of the place I was in the past years"

"What?" Jack asked, outraged, he wasn't informed. He was supposed to be informed when someone related to Home world security returned. Especially if he knew them as he knew her!

"I thought it would be known in all the necessary places by now," she chewed her lower lip and frowned, "this base was my last stop, before I was out, I assumed given my situation, all the right channels would be informed," she explained, hoping to change the betrayed expression in Jack's eyes. "I wasn't supposed to be out yet, but someone ordered the CMO to free me. Don't worry, I'm not sick nor have any trace of anything contagious. The truth is I was under medical surveillance for over forty something days on two different bases, before I arrived at my last stop." She smiled as she heard some sighs of relief, "Anyhow, today I learned that the base CO had received his own set of orders around what to do with me, and that was to put me and my… stuff… on a transport to DC. I arrived two and a half hours ago, give it or take, and I was dropped straight here. I was pushed straight to the Oval office where I found that the man behind the order was President Hayes"