Fic: Operation Stepford
Once again - am terribly sorry for my tardiness. It seems that the minute you finish exams your boss seems to think "ooooo! MINE!" and not let u go. :S
ANYWAY! Here is the FINAL PART :) Thanks for sticking with me guys
nb: please forgive my plotholes and concentrate on the indulgence??? :S
Title Operation Stepford
Part: Four
World: Stargate
Pairing: Sam/Jack (... have I ever written anything else?)
Summary: When given a mission by themselves in a world that they're not sure they understand - Col. O'Neill and Maj. Carter are forced to navigate the dark, and treacherous waters of Operation Stepford
The drive back to their house was spent discussing possible plans Robert might have. The information they had gathered indicated that there was a shed at the back of the Pollack’s house that connected to Lucia’s house. It had to be at least a point of entry, if not a basement or containment facility of some sort.
They were running through everything they knew about the Pollacks (again) when they reached their electricity bill. They had noted before that it was beyond anything either of them had seen. “Although,” Sam now noted, “My bill was about that much when Orlin put a Stargate in my basement.”
Jack pulled over to the side of the road and looked at her. She stared at him. “Fuck.”
He pulled back out onto the road and began speeding towards home. It was Jack the soldier back again; the impressive and impassive man intent on a single goal. He was silent and deadly, intent only on getting back to that house, barging through the door and unplugging that Stargate. It was another half hour before he pulled over again, dug out his cell phone and called the SGC.
Jack didn’t say much, but she could hear the voice on the other end shouting orders. Eventually he hung up and looked at her. “They need proof,” he said. “That’s the deal they’ve made with the powers that be. We can screw with Rebecca’s diplomatic shit if we have proof.”
Sam hit the dashboard quickly, the ball of her hand throbbing for a few moments. Jack smirked, “Feel better?”
She shrugged, “A bit.”
He leant over and quickly kissed her, leaving her a little shocked (but suddenly giddy) and smiled. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out. It’s just going to take longer than we thought. And for all we know, they’re not making a Stargate in their basement.”
She raised her eyebrows, “That sort of electrical output means they’re not making the Stargate Jack. It means they’re using it. They’re using it Jack!”
He grabbed her hand and nodded, “I know. But it’s not our game anymore. This is a political game now.”
“It sucks.”
He nodded, “This is why Black Ops should have been given this.”
“Why weren’t they?”
He just shrugged, “Probably because they wanted people who knew what to look for I suppose.”
They reached their neighbourhood as the moon was coming up and the coffee seemed to have almost completely left their systems. Jack turned onto their street with a deep feeling of dread; unlike Sam (who was sleeping in her seat) he had seen the flashing lights from around the corner. Blue and Red. He knew far too well what that meant.
Shaking Sam awake, he pointed down the street, “Wake up Sam,” he murmured. “Something’s happened.”
He parked quickly along the side of the road and they both jumped from the car and ran towards the centre of attention. “Dianne,” Sam muttered as they reached the house. The police and the ambulance were surrounding Dianne and Terry’s house. Sam’s heart plummeted to the centre of her stomach and, Jack right next to her, she ran towards the nearest cop. “What happened?”
The cop just turned and tried to have them move away but Jack had caught Jasper’s eye and they sprinted over to him. “What’s going on?”
Jasper shook his head, his hands both clutched tightly in Tim’s. Jack turned to Tim and asked him the question. “They found two bodies,” Tim told them.
“What?” Sam grabbed hold of Jack’s arm and gave him a terrified look. “Who?”
“Di and Terry,” Tim murmured. “They found Di and Terry.”
“Jack!” They had barely heard the voice before the small bundle had leapt into his arms. Jack stared at Sam for a minute or so, trying to gage who had just jumped at him before he realised. “Luke?”
The crying boy nodded into Jack’s knee and Jack knelt down to be at his level. “Luke, are you alright?”
The boy nodded again, still crying - but there was the sound of another child crying and Sam turned to the cop who had come up behind her. “Ma’am? The boy has not said a word before seeing you and your husband. Would you mind?” He held out Grace to her, the girl screaming bloody murder and Sam couldn’t say anything but take the baby.
“Can you tell us what’s going on?”
The cop shook his head, “Why don’t you take those children and we’ll come to you when we have more details?”
Jack picked Luke up and nodded, giving the Cop their address before leading Sam, Jasper and Tim towards their house.
Jasper immediately set about finding his way around their kitchen, taking out some bread and peanut butter while Jack sat in a chair, with Luke on his lap. “It’s going to be alright,” he whispered and held him tightly as the cries turned into hiccupping sobs. Sam came in followed by Tim, she still held Grace in her arms but it seemed the girl had fallen asleep somehow. “I’d forgotten they could do that,” Jack murmured as she came to sit next to him. Sam rested a hand on Luke’s back, rubbing circles over the boy’s shirt.
Tim stood and watched them for a moment before going to help Jasper. “Do you guys know anything?” Jack asked.
Jasper shook his head, “We were in bed,” he told then, “Heard the sirens and came out to find out what was going on. Nobody would tell us anything.”
Jack nodded and thanked him for getting food ready. “Where have you two been anyway?” Tim asked, “We came over earlier today to try and organise something but you were gone.”
Sam smiled softly, knowing it looked bad for them. “We’ve been under a lot of stress lately,” she told them, “Jack has this cabin a couple of hours out of here and we just went there last night. We just needed to get away.”
Jasper stopped immediately and came around to stand next to her, “Oh I didn’t mean that! I don’t think you-“ he took a quick glance at Luke who was watching them sleepily, “I don’t think you did anything. We were just curious.”
Jack smiled and nodded, “We know.”
They managed to have Luke eat a sandwich before he fell asleep in Jack’s arms. Jack quietly took the boy into the spare room and tucked him in. Sam handed Grace to Jasper and quickly followed.
She found Jack watching from the door as the boy slept and her heart almost broke at the sight. “How is he?” she whispered.
He didn’t say anything but took her hand and pulled her into one of those hugs that made everything seem immediately bearable. She clung to him tightly as he buried his face into her neck. “I love you too,” he whispered. “I forgot to say that.”
She kissed his temple and let go, watching Luke sleep for a moment. “We have to figure out what to do.”
Jack nodded, “I know.”
They walked back, hand in hand, to the living room and sat on the couch across from Jasper and Tim. “What’s going to happen now?” Jasper asked.
“The police will take statements,” Jack said, “Figure out how they … died.”
“I didn’t mean that,” Jasper said. “I meant with the kids.”
They remembered Dianne’s comment from the dinner party (was that really only a couple of night’s ago?) - that there wasn’t anybody to take the kids. “We can’t,” Jasper swore softly. “The twins are arriving tomorrow and we just …”
Sam nodded, “I know. It’s too much.” It was so much easier to think about this logical problem then the death of a couple she considered her friends. She looked at Jack and had to smile. She knew exactly what he was thinking, and she agreed completely. “But it would be wrong,” she told him aloud.
“How?”
She just raised an eyebrow, “Our jobs?”
“Things would have had to have changed anyway,” he told her - they seemed to forget for a while that the other two men were even in the room. “I’m not going back to the way things were.”
She nodded, “So it’s within the realms of possibility?”
“Within the realms?” Jack nodded and smiled “Definitely.”
“But it’s a big decision. I mean, we’ve only just started what we talked about at the cabin …”
Jack turned to her and knelt across from her, “Sam. Those two kids …”
She just nodded. “I know Jack.” She turned to Jasper and Tim, “Do you two want a cup of tea? Coffee? While we wait?”
Jasper nodded, “Coffee sounds good.”
“Yeah, me too.”
She nodded to Jack who followed her into the kitchen. He gave her a sly grin, “So subtle.” She shrugged and said that it did the job.
“We need to talk about this,” she said. “We can’t take them.”
“Why not?”
“Because we don’t exist!”
He nodded slowly, “Then we’ll do it after everything’s finished.”
She bit her lips and suddenly it seemed to make sense to him. “You’re scared.” He murmured.
“Aren’t you?”
“Terrified,” he told her candidly. “But I’ve never seen something you can’t do.”
“It’s not so much that,” she said, “I’m scared they won’t let us keep them.”
Jack wasn’t naïve. He knew they were less than perfect candidates for adoptive parenthood. His history alone would have sent up warning bell after warning bell. Sam’s was definitely much better - but the fact that they couldn’t divulge anything about their jobs would never be good. “Sam, do you want to look after these kids?”
“It’s a big decision Jack,” she told him, “Not one to be made on coffee and adrenaline.” He nodded. “But, preliminary answer is yes.”
He chuckled and kissed her lightly, “Preliminary answer?”
She just whacked his arm gently, “Yes Jack, preliminary answer.”
It was just past 0200 hours when the police finally knocked on their door. Luke was still asleep, while Grace was fussing in Sam’s arms. “She’s hungry,” Jack told her as he greeted the police.
Sam looked a little lost as the Police walked in. There were two men, one was older with barely any hair and he had a warm smile and kind eyes. The other was younger with long dark hair, Sam was a bit wary of him - not entirely sure what to make of the man.
“My condolences,” the older cop said. “I’m Captain Lewis, this is Officer Calves. We need to ask you a few questions, then maybe figure out what to do with the children.”
Jack led them into the living room while Sam went and heated up a small cup of milk. She had a vague idea that normal cow’s milk wasn’t good for small children, but she didn’t have anything else. When she came back she sat next to Jack and dipped her finger into the warm milk before letting Grace suck on it. She didn’t really know where the idea had come from to do that, but it seemed to work for now.
“Dianne and Terry were shot,” Jack told her quietly. “A 9mm from what they’ve figured.” He stood and nodded to the cops, “I’ll go get mine and the registration.”
They had documentation to carry concealed, both of them, so Jack grabbed the documents and the cases with both guns and brought them back into the living room. Both were brand new, Sam doubted if even their fingerprints were on them yet. Jack immediately agreed to let them take it, trying to be as helpful as he could to make up for the fact that they didn’t exactly have alibis.
Sam explained where they had been, telling them about the cabin while Jack gave them the name of the guy he’d borrowed it from (while praying that Joe remembered he was Jack Denton and not O’Neill).
They took down names and numbers and once they had satisfied the policemen’s’ curiosity about their whereabouts (at least until their alibi came up with as many holes as they thought it might) the older one, Captain Lewis looked at Grace sadly. “There aren’t any next of kin;” he told them. “They’ll be put in the system.”
Sam bit her lip and held Grace a little tighter. “What would we need to do to have custody?”
“Apply with Child Services,” Officer Calves told them. “You would need references, medical history - the whole lot. We can award you temporary custody now, so that we know the children have people to care for them.”
Jack nodded, “We can do that.”
Both the cops left at about 0300 and both Sam and Jack trudged their tired bodies upstairs and into bed. Tim had lent them one of the cots they had bought for the twins, so Grace was able to sleep comfortably that night. Jack put on a CD of Opera quietly (Madame Butterfly) and he faced Sam in the bed. “What’s up?”
She just gave him a look, “Got a couple of hours?”
“Yes.”
She leant over and kissed him before turning to stare at the ceiling. “I don’t like lying to them Jack,” she whispered. “I never have, but it’s different now.”
He reached over and pulled her close to him, kissing her lightly on the temple. “I know,” he murmured. “And I wish we didn’t have to.”
“What about the kids? When everything ends?”
Jack shrugged; he didn’t have a clue what would happen. “Trust me, the second we can tell them what’s happened - we will alright?”
“And tell them what?”
Jack gave a significant look to the CD player and just said, “Everything we can.”
The next morning Jack woke bright and early and tried desperately not to realise that he’d only had two hours sleep. He padded down the hall and tried to figure out what it was that had woken him. He had recognised the noise, but hadn’t expected it in his house - not for ten years anyway.
He poked his head into the spare room and it all made sense. Luke was sitting on top of the sheets, a pillow in his arms as he hugged it tightly and tried to stop crying.
Jack bit his lip before pushing open the door and moving to sit next to the boy who looked up at him shakily. “Hey Luke.”
“Mummy and Daddy aren’t here,” the boy sobbed. “Why aren’t they here?”
Jack picked the boy up and held him in his lap, rubbing circles over his back in a way that had always helped with a young Charlie. “Do you know what happened last night?” The boy shook his head. Captain Lewis had explained that neither of the children had been present to the actual shooting. Grace had been asleep upstairs and Luke had been with at a friend’s birthday party. Jack remembered the Captain’s disgusted look as he told them that Luke’s friend’s parents had dropped him off at the road and kept driving even though the house was deserted. The tip off had come only a few seconds later and they had reached the house as Luke had come back from looking around the back garden for his father.
“Your Mummy and Daddy were hurt,” he said slowly. “They died last night.”
“They’re coming back though.”
Jack shook his head, picked the boy up and walked out to the front garden. “No, they’re not.” He said. He pointed up into the sky and waited till the boy followed his gaze. “My Grandpa told me, when I was about your age, that when people die - they turn into the stars in the sky,” he said, remembering his grandfather’s weathered look as he had explained this to a very young Jack. “They go up, up, up into the sky and watch over us. They make sure that we’re okay.”
Luke just stared up into the early morning sky in wonder. Jack knew it would take longer than one early-morning conversation for Luke to get through this; but he was glad to see a start in the boy’s eyes.
Monday and Tuesday were spent quietly in their house. The police released some of Luke’s things to them; clothing, toys, books and games as well as some clothes and formula for Grace so Sam and Jack spent the next couple of days focussing on the children. One of them would be with Luke, playing a board game or watching a movie, or reading a book while the other sat nearby with Grace.
Sam still hacked into Robert’s bank accounts and those of his department at Sibuna; noting down everything and anything that seemed relevant. It looked like they might have enough evidence for the powers that be to authorise an intervention sometime in the next decade.
Jasper and Tim were really busy with Harry and Mandy. The twins were simply adorable and Sam and Jack couldn’t stop grinning at the way Luke told them that Grace was cuter … but the twins were older and more fun to play with.
There are some days you just know are going to be difficult. It must be something in the air, because the minute you open your eyes - you just know. As Wednesday dawned - Sam knew that something was going to happen.
Jack had been up for a lot of the night with Luke, finally at 0200 letting the boy come and sleep in their bed. So he could probably have slept in until at least midday and she could easily see herself joining him. Since the school had given them the week off to be with the kids there was really nothing to stop either of them. Except for a stringent military training and regime that had them both alert and awake at 0600 sharp.
She glanced over and sure enough, his eyes were open and he was smiling at her. Oh what she would have done if Luke weren’t between them.
Sam was lulled into a false sense of security as she helped Luke up and Jack went to get Grace. She was helping Luke to his cereal when the she heard the front door banged open, then slammed shut. She stood up straight and silent, looking to Jack for orders. He signalled her to stay put and he snuck around the corner into the hall.
There were a hundred things he expected, the majority of which were dangerous, some of which were catastrophic and all of which were wrong.
None of Jack’s possible situations included a twelve-year-old sitting in his hallway curled into a small ball, biting back tears. James finally looked up at him and Jack had to fight back the sick feeling in his stomach. There was a cut through James’s eyebrow and an angry bruise forming over his left eye. “Shit James,” Jack muttered before he could stop himself. “What happened?”
“Dad got angry.”
Jack nodded and helped him to his feet. “Come on, we’ll get Sam to have a look at you.”
“Is she a doctor too?
Jack caught her eye as they came into the kitchen and squeezed James’s shoulder. “When it counts. But be glad you don’t have a broken leg.”
“Why?”
“She splinted mine once - it wasn’t pretty.”
Luke looked up from where he was moving his cereal around in his bowl and stared at James. “What happened to you?” he asked.
James looked lost and Jack spoke up, “He fell down,” he explained. Sam quickly set up a movie in the living room and settled Luke in front of it before coming back to look at James.
They sat at the kitchen table as Sam inspected his eye and wrist (something Jack had missed). She seemed okay with his eye - wrapping some ice in a towel and telling him to hold it steady. She was more worried by his wrist but couldn’t see what she could about it yet.
“What happened James?”
Jack had never directly asked before. He had decided earlier that if James wanted to tell him exactly what happened, he would - until then, Jack would leave him be. But things had changed.
“Dad went into his shed this morning with Mom. He came out when I had breakfast. He was so angry. He kept saying that the fucking SGC were getting in the way. He needed something from them. He needed something called Carter. Then I got in the way.”
Jack squeezed the boy’s shoulder and leant down to his eye line. “Do you trust me?” In a move that was eerily reminiscent of Re’tu Charlie; he immediately nodded. “I am going to fix this.” At the look James gave him, Jack grinned. “I think this calls for cake! I’ll be back soon.”
He kissed Sam’s cheek before whispering in her ear, “Be careful. For God’s sake be careful.” He saw some of the colour return to Sam’s cheeks and figured she was okay enough for now. The look on her face when James had mentioned Robert needing ‘Carter’ had honestly scared him more than he wanted to admit.
She nodded as he grabbed his cell phone and was in his car within seconds.
Sam locked the front door and took James by the hand to the living room. She sat between him and Luke, keeping an eye on Grace as she waited.
Jack drove to the same park he and Sam had gone to for prep for the dinner party. He didn’t pull out his cell phone and dial the number until he was positive that he was completely alone. Citing his ID number - he was immediately put through to the General.
“I have the proof we need General,” he said as a greeting. “I’ll need a full team by 0500 tomorrow and Danny and T to take the next possible flight. We are expecting four hostiles but believe they have access to a fully functional Gate.” The General was completely silent for almost an entire minute as he registered what his 2IC was saying.
“I’ll do my best Colonel. I will have Dr Jackson and Teal’c on the next available flight with supplies. Sergeant Siler will collect your plan at 1800 tonight and I will contact you for the go ahead. Godspeed.”
The General hung up and Jack headed back to the house.
James and Sam met him at the door, James with a sad look. “You forgot the cake.”
Jack nodded, swearing internally. “Thought it might be fun to make one,” he said. James’s face lit up and he went to get Luke so they could get started.
“Those guests you organised should get into DCA at about 1400,” Sam told him as they followed. “They called.”
“Perfect,” Jack said. “These are just the guys,” he told her - “the real guests should arrive some time tomorrow.”
They reached the kitchen where a mock argument was occurring over whether they should have a chocolate or vanilla cake. Both soldiers paused for a moment to appreciate that even until the shittiest of circumstances - these kids managed to joke about cake.
“Why do we need the guys?” she asked. “Not that I don’t miss them, but their specialities lie elsewhere right?”
Jack leant in close, covering the sound of his whisper with the loud discussion by the boys. “We’re a team Sam. We need our team.”
She smiled and kissed him before going back to get Grace.
Once chocolate was agreed on, Sam set about organising the cooking while Jack set up his laptop to face away from the others and he began to plan.
It seemed to be a given that James was going to stay with them for the time being (a fact the boy was perfectly happy with). When it came time to go to the airport to pick up Danny and Teal’c the quiet boy had somehow managed to organise Luke into banding together, standing at the front door and begging Jack to take them with him.
Sam leant against the wall looking over Jack’s plan, trying not to look as the two boys hung off Jack. “Sam! Help!”
She smirked and watched finally, wondering if perhaps (just perhaps) this might be something she could get used to. But the feel of the paper in her hands brought her back to reality and she shrugged, “Just take them Jack,” she said. “You guys won’t be able to talk in the car anyway and if they’re going to stay here - they’ll meet them eventually.”
Jack sighed theatrically and picked Luke up, resting the boy on his hip. “Fine, road trip it is,” and he led the way out to the car. Sam turned back to the house with the plan, making a couple of annotations before turning to Grace, who was asleep on the floor and smiled.
Jack had only explained that Daniel and ‘Murray’ were old friends. He had said that he and Sam thought it might be a good idea to have some more people around, and Danny was a pretty good cook - so there would be no more pasta. Luke grinned, “I don’t’ like pasta,” he said.
“I know,” Jack murmured - remembering hours of trying to find something the boy might like to eat when neither were fantastic cooks; nor did they have a lot of time on their hands. “We’ll see what Danny can come up with alright?”
The look on Daniel’s face as he walked through the terminal was enough to make a little of the stress on Jack’s shoulder s lift. He shifted Luke on his hip and waved with his free hand. “Danny boy!” Daniel’s face fell and he rolled his eyes while James smiled up at Jack.
“Jack,” Daniel said as they reached them. “How are you?”
Jack smiled, “Good. You?”
“Tired.” Daniel took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes for a moment, then peered at the boys. “Okay, so I’m not hallucinating. There are actually two children with you.”
“I’m not a child,” James spoke up proudly.
Daniel smirked softly, “Aah. They speak too.”
Luke was giggling and even though Jack could tell his friend was completely thrown by the situation, he was proud at how he was handling it. “James, Luke this is Daniel and Murray. Guys, these are James and Luke - Sam and I are looking after them for a while.”
Daniel quickly gave Jack the universal we’ll talk about this later look while Teal’c merely bowed low. “It is a pleasure to meet you James and Luke.” He seemed confused for a moment, “Which child belongs to which name?”
After Jack cleared up the introductions, they quickly made their way to the car. Daniel seemed to rise to occasion of entertaining the boys on the trip back to the house. He told them story after story of what he, Jack, Teal’c and Sam had gotten up to. Rather than tell stories of their voyages through the gate (or even a covered version of those stories) he told them about their team nights (well, he didn’t call them team nights) where they’d fight over yet another viewing of Star Wars. “Can you believe it?” He said, “Murray had never seen Star Wars before we saved him.”
Jack nodded sagely, “It was a great day. An honorable day. A day that went down in history.”
James giggled and looked at Teal’c. “Have you seen the Bond movies?”
“I have not.”
“Jack! Can we please get a Bond movie tonight? Please??”
Jack shrugged, “Sure, we’ll grab a couple.”
Daniel and Teal’c were barely through the front door before they were engulfed in a hug from Sam. It had long been accepted that those two were her brothers more than Mark ever could be. “I’ve missed you,” Sam smiled as she stepped back. “How are you?”
Daniel looked around the living room, noting the baby on the blanket surrounded by toys and Tarzan paused on the TV. “I think the question here is, since when did you have a baby? Did something happen that we should know about?”
Sam smirked, “I didn’t have a baby in two months Daniel.”
He just shrugged, “Then who’s is it?”
She was quiet for a moment, watching as Jack had Luke occupied with the film. “Come and help me make lunch you two.”
She explained, in the quiet of the kitchen, about Dianne and Terry’s death and James’s problems. “So you’ve what? Adopted them? And you’re just going to take them home with you in your suitcase? Sam!”
She blushed, “Daniel don’t be stupid. This is serious.”
He nodded. “Sam. This is me. I know how serious this is.”
Shit. She’d forgotten. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t think.”
He came around the counter and hugged her lightly, “I know. I just want you to think this through. Don’t let these kids get their hopes up. It’s a tricky situation even if you and Jack were together.”
Something else she should get around to mentioning. “We know Daniel. We’ll get to it.”
“After you save the world,” he smirked.
“Yup, one physics test at a time.”
As they put the kids to bed, Jack turned to Daniel with a frown. “Tomorrow we’re going out,” he told him quietly. “But we can’t leave the kids alone.”
Daniel gave him a blank look for a moment - but it didn’t last long. “I’m here to babysit?”
Jack nodded. “Look at it from my point of view Daniel. “I have to leave them here with somebody I trust-“
“But who doesn’t really need to come tomorrow.” His friend sighed. “Don’t worry Jack, I get it.”
Jack was ready to argue, he had his points all lined up and was ready to get into it with him. So when Daniel seemed so calm, Jack wasn’t entirely sure what to do. “You’re … okay with this?”
“It makes sense,” Daniel shrugged.
Downstairs, Sam handed Sergeant Siler Jack’s finished plan (complete with her and Teal’c annotations). Siler looked past her to see Daniel and Jack coming down the stairs, and Teal’c on the couch watching the last of From Russia With Love and smiled. “It’s good to see you all together Ma’am,” he whispered. “We’ve missed having you all around.”
She grinned, “Thanks,” she said and waved him goodbye.
She turned back with a smile to the boys and had to agree with Siler, she had missed being with her team. “Reynolds will be here at o-dark-hundred-hours,” Jack said. “We should get some sleep while we can.”
“Oh, “Daniel remembered, “I have yours and Sam’s gear in my bag.”
“How’d you get it on the plane?”
Daniel just shrugged, “Just showed some ID and they let me do it.”
Jack’s eyes rose into his forehead and he shared a look with Sam, “Okay, that’s going to need looking into.” He glanced at the clock and groaned, “You guys might as well head to bed. I’ll stay up and wait for the go ahead.”
Teal’c bowed his head and silently made his way towards the den, where a camp bed had been set up for him. Daniel looked at Sam and Jack for a moment, before giving them a quiet smile and following Teal’c.
Jack smiled at Sam, “Think they’ve caught on?”
She giggled (yes, that giggle - the giggle that made him more weak than he cared to admit) and kissed him. “I’m going to get some sleep.”
Colonel Reynolds and SG3 arrived a few minutes after 0300 hours. Unlike everybody else, they had taken military transport to the suburbs and arrived in full black combat gear. Their jeep parked a block down and they slipped through the streets until they leapt over the fence and into the backyard. To the young boy watching out his bedroom window - this was so cool! There were ninjas in the garden!
Jack met Reynolds at the back door, letting him in and leading him to the dining table. They had the plan laid out along with the complete blueprints of the Pollack’s house, along with the one next to theirs. He left them there, trusting SG3 to handle themselves while he went to gear up. They were setting up some sort of scrambling gear, which (as far as Jack could tell) would broadcast a loop of a quiet house while they were moving out.
While the room was a little different (it being the master bedroom) - the scene could have been from any mission over the past seven years. Jack checked over everyone’s gear, while Daniel, Teal’c and Sam went through last minute details of the mission. When their Colonel pronounced them fit for duty, they’d move out.
Downstairs, Reynolds was waiting for them while his men unpacked their gear. “Ready and waiting Jack.”
Jack nodded and inspected the marines of SG3. “Everybody got the plan?”
They nodded and Jack was satisfied. He’d requested SG3 because they were used to quick missions, used to taking in what little information they had and using it the best they could. “Good,” he said and pulled the beanie over his head. “We move out in 5 minutes.”
Sam caught Daniel watching them for a moment, as Jack went over a final run through of the plan. She pulled him aside and smiled, ‘What’s up?”
“I don’t like this,” Daniel whispered. “I mean … I understand, really, I understand. But I still don’t like it.”
“Don’t like being left behind?” He just nodded and she bit her lip. “Daniel …”
He smiled lightly to her, “Sam, its okay. I don’t have to like it, but I’ll stay here and baby-sit.”
“They’re … important,” Sam murmured to him. “Really important.”
Daniel seemed to study her face for a moment and she wasn’t quite sure what he was looking for. Whatever it was, he seemed to find it because he smiled and hugged her. “I’ll keep them safe. You concentrate on the rest of the world.”
Jack looked over at them and silently asked Sam if everything was alright, she smiled at him and he nodded. “Aright folks. Move out. And Godspeed.”
The plan was simple really; Reynolds and his team would guard the exits to the houses, while Jack, Teal’c and Sam went into the shed. Well, it was a bit more complicated than that - with set positions and objectives. But essentially, that summed it up.
Jack, Teal’c and Sam waited for the two clicks on the radio to signal that Reynolds’s team was in place before setting out themselves. Teal’c and Sam slipped down the side of the fence that belonged to Lucia and her unknown male companion while Jack slipped down the Pollack’s side. They kept to the darkest parts, slithering between the shadows as the sun just began to consider rising.
Jack relished in the thrill of a covert op again. This, he remembered, was why he was so good at Black Ops. This was what he was good at.
He could almost feel his teammates moving against the fence behind him and had to smile - they were back!
There was a soft knock, which he could tell was Sam’s, to indicate that everything was clear on their side. He knocked quickly back and took a deep breath.
Without another sound, the three of them stood at the two doors to the shed and after a silent count of three - went in.
The two doors met inside before a staircase took them underground. It was solid cement (as far as Jack could tell) with cigarette butts all over the place. Once they’d reached the bottom of the stairs, Sam looked like she wanted to say something, but they had decided earlier on making this as silent as possible - to keep the element of surprise as long as they possibly could; so she closed her mouth and turned to the door.
It was a large steel door that could have been anything from a few inches to several feet thick. Despite Jack’s wishes, they couldn’t blow it up - the explosion would simply engulf anybody and everybody within a few hundred feet and it mightn’t even have destroyed the door in the process. Sam examined the lock intently, occasionally turning to look at the readings on the doohickey she took on every mission. When a final smile she turned to Jack and took his hand. He gave her a look that was both curious and a little mortified that she would choose now to be romantic.
She raised an eyebrow before rolling her eyes while he looked sheepish. With a gentle tug, she pressed his hand against the palm scanner on the door. With a knowing look, Sam watched as the entire door lit up with that golden glow Jack had gotten used to with his ancient DNA.
Jack held up three fingers, counting down as they got into position. Him behind the door to open it, Sam and Teal’c ready to strike.
Jack opened the door, and they all winced at the smell that plumed towards them. “Bananas?” Jack mouthed to the others. Sam shrugged, and they jumped inside.
It was immediately clear that a Goa’uld had been around, the gold drapes and throne spoke volumes. Otherwise, they were in a fully functional lab - just like the ones in the SGC, or those that Adrian Conrad had used a couple of years ago. With Sam to his right, and Teal’c to the left, Jack turned to the man lounging in the throne. He wore a dark suit, with brown hair swept to one side. He looked at them with a sleepy sort of glance before smiling.
“Hello,” Jack smiled at him. “And you are?”
Sam and Teal’c both quickly gave him their hand sign to tell him that everything was clear in their areas, so Jack concentrated completely on the man.
Sam immediately saw the Gate. It looked a lot like the one Orlin had built in her basement - she had to check if any images or specs of that had been leaked from Area 51. It was smaller than the real gate, looking definitely a lot more homemade
The man seemed to find them interesting for a while, before standing up and walking closer. “I am all of your fears, all of your pathetic tau’ri nightmares.”
Jack just gave him a look and thought really? “Oh? That’s nice. I’ve had this recurring dream about bananas lately. You got anything to do with that?”
The man’s face changed, his entire body shifted and he seemed to stand taller, with broader shoulders. His eyes flashed gold and Jack seemed to smile a little. “And you would be?”
“Your God!” the man proclaimed. Jack shook his head.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, “But there’s so many of you - which one would you be.”
Sam had to stop herself from rolling her eyes as she studied the contents of the lab. Jack seemed to find taunting megalomaniac sociopaths incredibly entertaining (and yes, she knew he did it for a very good reason, but sometimes she wondered if most of it wasn’t just because he liked to tease them).
The man raised his hand, the familiar hand devise strapped to his wrist. “Anubis.”
Shit.
“How did you get a body?” Sam asked, trying to keep the ‘god’ talking.
“Last we heard you were a bundle of energy,” Jack said and kept the man’s attention on him while Sam and Teal’c slipped off deeper into the lab to find what they needed to get it shut down.
“These pathetic worms managed to make me one,” Anubis hissed at him. “Confined by petty Tau’ri restrictions, when I am a GOD!”
“For a God, you’re not doing so well,” Jack had to mention. “I mean, where are the soldiers? Where are the Jaffa? The minions! Please, you’re nothing more than a has-been.”
Sam gave him a quick look from her place to his right, even at this distance he could tell her look said: do NOT call ANUBIS a has-been; there are some bad gags that just aren’t worth it.
“I have no need for mutinous Jaffa,” the ‘God’ spat the word to the ground. “The power of the universe lies in my hand.”
To illustrate the man threw Teal’c across the room, the former Jaffa being thrown through a couple of tables and into a wall of test tubes.
Jack had realised by now that something was definitely off. This man (he found it difficult to believe that the God Anubis would be hiding out in a basement in the suburbs) had yet to make any definitive move against them. Sure he had thrown Teal’c across the room but in Goa’uld terms that was just a party trick.
Jack stole a glance around the room, noting the screens on the walls. If at all possible, he wanted to keep those intact (well, okay, not him personally but he was sure some geek would want them).
Sam watched Jack for a second, keeping him within her eye line as he took in the situation. A glance from him; and she immediately knew what to do. It seemed that even through everything that had happened lately, Colonel O’Neill could still talk to Major Carter without using words. With Teal’c doing the same from his position amongst the debris of two tables, she started to move closer to the man, keeping away from Jack so as not to divert attention to them.
Sam couldn’t believe that this was Anubis. The great God of the Afterlife, the King of the Dead - the Goa’uld who had swiftly taken control of the System Lords and the largest army of unbeatable soldiers the universe had ever seen! That God was sitting here? In a basement? With no Jaffa, no evident plan, in fact; he seemed to be trapped under the ground - too weak or tired or something to move.
She couldn’t have been further than three feet away from this ‘God’ and yet, he hadn’t seemed to have noticed that both she and Teal’c were so very close. She vaguely registered that Jack was still talking and silently thanked him. She silently raised her 9mm and caught Teal’c’s eye. He nodded to her, and taking careful aim - she fired.
Part of her expected the man to be protected by his own personal force shield. She honestly expected the bullet to ricochet off the shield, for him to turn and for all hell (literally) to be unleashed. She expected Jaffa to come crawling from the cracks in the concrete, eyes to flash and to be thrown in a Mother Ship’s holding cell. She hadn’t expected the man to grab his bleeding leg and turn to stare at her. “You shot me!” The voice of the God was gone, replaced with that of a petulant child. “You actually shot me!”
Sam stared for a moment, quietly wondering what the hell was going on - while Teal’c stepped forward and picked the man up. “You will come with us,” Teal’c calming monotone rang around the basement. The man, who had looked at least thirty in his throne, looked no more than nineteen in Teal’c’s arms.
They marched back up the stairs, Jack taking point and Sam following Teal’c and the man.
The mission started at 0500 hours and finished at 0615. Honestly, Sam and Jack agreed that it was rather anticlimactic. “He’s a decoy,” Sam murmured as they came out of the shed and back into the cold air of the early morning. “There has to be more to it.”
Jack just nodded and led the way to the road where Reynolds was waving to them. “Look at this Jack,” the Colonel smiled. “Look what we found!”
Jack followed his gaze to find Robert and Rebecca Pollack tied up on the curb next to Lucia who had her hands in front of her and was being cuffed by Reynolds’s second, they all had dangerous glares etched onto their faces. “You have no idea what you’ve done.” Rebecca snarled as Teal’c dumped the man next to them.
Jack just smirked, “Really? I have a pretty good clue.”
Rebecca just turned to Robert and stayed silent while Jack put a call through to the General. “General Hammond?”
“A job well done Colonel?”
Jack turned and walked across the road, coming to stand outside the house he and Sam shared. Daniel was watching from the doorway, and smiled slightly at him. “I’m not sure General. It was too easy. We have apprehended a man claiming to be Anubis, but Carter managed to shoot him in the leg so he didn’t have a shield or even Jaffa. There was a fully functional lab, which I want a tech to come and look at, but other than that - this was not the main operation. I maintain what I said four weeks ago Sir, the business; Sibuna, needs to be looked into. I suggest a task force Sir.”
“Copy that Colonel, I will have Dixon orchestrate the mission. Bring your people back Colonel, debrief at 1600 hours this afternoon.” Jack was relieved, he trusted Dixon to command the mission and let the stress lift off his shoulders.
He glanced at the house for a moment and bit his lip, “Sir? Request one more day.”
“Why?”
“Sam and I have some loose ends to tie up here Sir. We have to explain to a couple of the residents why we’re leaving at so short notice.”
“Colonel… You cannot disclose the nature of your mission.”
“I know Sir, but do I have your permission to give a cover story that includes Major Carter and my own positions in the Air Force.”
He could hear that sigh that had long become known to be purely for those ‘Colonel O’Neill Moments’. “Yes Colonel. But I want you all back on the base by 1300 tomorrow”
Jack agreed and hung up, smiling at Daniel. “We’ve got our guys,” he told his friend, “But it’s not the big fish.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow, “Big Fish?”
Jack nodded, “This is just an outpost. I tried to get them to sanction us going into the offices about a month ago,” Jack shrugged, “The IOA didn’t like it.”
“Why not?”
Jack just sighed, “Basically, it costs a lot more money to get a task force big enough to take a twenty-eight storey office building than to have two people undercover looking over houses. Sam managed to get a look into the lobby once, but she wasn’t able to get any further than the bathrooms before being stopped. Hammond’s sending a taskforce in now that he has proof it’s not here.”
Jack turned back to Reynolds and his men with a smile, “Good work Reynolds. Can you take all of this back to the base? Maybe gift wrap them, I think they’d look lovely with a nice ribbon.”
Sam smirked and looked over at their captives. “Do you think the Diplomatic Immunity will hold?”
Jack shrugged, “Dunno, but we’ll try all we’ve got.”
Sam looked up at him before turning to stare at one of the windows of their house. “James,” she whispered. Jack followed her gaze to see the curtains of the spare room that James shared with Luke. Daniel quickly indicated that the boy was still asleep but Jack bit his lip and turned to their captives. “What do we tell him?”
Sam shrugged, “We’ll talk to him later this morning. Maybe Daniel and Teal’c can take care of the other two for a couple of hours.”
They watched as the truck pulled up and Reynolds and his team pilled their three captives inside. Jack waved as Robert swore loudly and the truck drove away. Once they were out of sight, Jack sank to the ground, not caring how cold it was looked up at the others. “That’s that,” he sighed. “All done.”
Sam smiled softly, “See, you can do undercover missions without ditching us,” she smirked. Jack gave her a shocked look for a moment, hoping that his previous mission undercover would never be mentioned again. When he saw her smile he sighed, “Yup. This one was much better.”
She sat next to him and pulled one of his hands over into her lap and held it tightly.
“Jack? Samantha?” Jack hung his head as he heard the voices while Sam looked up sadly. Jasper was coming towards them, Tim standing at the door to their house - no doubt staying to listen for the twins. “What’s going on?”
Sam stood up, dusting her black combat trousers as she did and looked towards him. “Come inside,” she said warmly. “We’ll try and explain there.”
Jasper waved back to Tim and followed them inside. A quick look asked Daniel and Teal’c to wait outside.
Sam took off her jacket and threw it over the couch before walking into the kitchen and turning on the coffee machine; hoping to at least have the prospect of coffee before facing this conversation.
“We’re not teachers,” Jack said simply. “That was our cover.”
Jasper nodded and indicated their uniforms, “I’d guessed that.”
“What did you see?” Sam asked curiously.
“Your friends taking the Pollack’s and that other couple away. Where they the ones living next door to them?”
Sam nodded, “Yes.”
“What’s going on?”
“We tried to tell the truth as much as we could,” Sam began. “We didn’t like lying to you all.”
“We’re with the Air Force,” Jack told him. “We work for NORAD in Colorado Springs. We got intel that there was a group here who might be planning anther terrorist attack on the United States.”
“But due to Ambassador Pollack’s diplomatic immunity, we required proof before we could get the go ahead for a retrieval.”
Jasper nodded and looked at them closely. “And the kids? … I don’t know …”
Jack seemed to understand and stepped forward, touching the other man’s elbow and smiling. “Everything about us that you saw is exactly the same. Sam is a science geek-“
“Astrophysicist,” Sam butted in.
“Yeah, that,” Jack said throwing her a small smile. “And I’m … well I’m not a history teacher, but I have a degree in it. I’m a soldier.”
“Are you two?”
Sam’s face fell and she shook her head. “There are regulations,” she explained. “That, so far, haven’t let us be together.”
Jack nodded, “Yes, but things are going to change.” Sam’s face shot up and she stared at him intently. “I’m going to retire,” Jack told Jasper but everybody could tell he was speaking just as much (if not more) to Sam. “I’ll work in some sort of consulting position, but will stay at home and help them all out.”
“Sir,” Sam spoke up after the silence that followed Jack’s statement. “We haven’t talked about this - I can’t let you-“
“Yes you can Sam,” Jack smiled at her and then at Jasper. “Jasper, I love those kids. And I know I don’t technically need your approval to try to adopt them - but I would really like it. They will -“ Jack had meant to say that they would always be safe with him, but the resounding sound of a gun shot rang through his ears and his own voice screaming CHARLIE ran through his memory for a moment.
Sam seemed to notice, because she grabbed his hand and spoke clearly, “they will always be safe with us”.
Jasper studied them for a moment before looking around the house. He thought through the mornings he had spent having coffee here, or the times he had gone for a run and everything he had learnt about this couple in front of him over the past two months. Eventually he nodded, “I want a wedding invitation,” he told them. “And visitation.”
“Visitation?” Sam asked.
Jasper just nodded, “Yes. I’m not letting this man get primary custody of you Sammy,” he said putting on the camp voice he used whenever joking around. “You are just too lovely. So Tim and I will come and visit you both for the wedding, and then it’ll be your turn to visit us.”
Sam bit her lip before hugging her friend tightly; Jack knew how important his friendship had been for her during their time here. Jasper had become an almost surrogate Daniel for Sam and he knew that Jasper’s approval (or at least acceptance) meant a lot to her.
“Go explain to Tim,” she told him. “Then come over for dinner tonight. We’ll be leaving in the morning.”
Jasper nodded and left them, letting Daniel and Teal’c inside as he went. “That went well,” Jack murmured and Sam nodded.
As their friends rounded the corner she turned him, immediately serious and a look that was never a good omen for Jack. “Did you mean it?” she asked.
“Mean what?”
She just crossed her arms and glared. Jack smiled. “If you’ll have me,” he told her. “Of course I meant it Sam. I’ll take on some consulting position and get to keep my clearance, you’ll be CO of SG-1 and I’ll be your kept man, the house husband or whatever.”
“You’d go insane,” she told him as though that was all she could think of to say.
He shrugged, “Doubt it. Three kids? I’ll be run off my feet. Forget the Goa’uld and the System Lords, I’ll be doing soccer practice and ballet lessons. I’ll be fine.”
As Sam stepped into his arms and soundly kissed him, Daniel subtly handed Teal’c a 50-dollar bill with a glare. “I hate you,” he muttered.
“Indeed,” Teal’c smiled.
ANYWAY! Here is the FINAL PART :) Thanks for sticking with me guys
nb: please forgive my plotholes and concentrate on the indulgence??? :S
Title Operation Stepford
Part: Four
World: Stargate
Pairing: Sam/Jack (... have I ever written anything else?)
Summary: When given a mission by themselves in a world that they're not sure they understand - Col. O'Neill and Maj. Carter are forced to navigate the dark, and treacherous waters of Operation Stepford
The drive back to their house was spent discussing possible plans Robert might have. The information they had gathered indicated that there was a shed at the back of the Pollack’s house that connected to Lucia’s house. It had to be at least a point of entry, if not a basement or containment facility of some sort.
They were running through everything they knew about the Pollacks (again) when they reached their electricity bill. They had noted before that it was beyond anything either of them had seen. “Although,” Sam now noted, “My bill was about that much when Orlin put a Stargate in my basement.”
Jack pulled over to the side of the road and looked at her. She stared at him. “Fuck.”
He pulled back out onto the road and began speeding towards home. It was Jack the soldier back again; the impressive and impassive man intent on a single goal. He was silent and deadly, intent only on getting back to that house, barging through the door and unplugging that Stargate. It was another half hour before he pulled over again, dug out his cell phone and called the SGC.
Jack didn’t say much, but she could hear the voice on the other end shouting orders. Eventually he hung up and looked at her. “They need proof,” he said. “That’s the deal they’ve made with the powers that be. We can screw with Rebecca’s diplomatic shit if we have proof.”
Sam hit the dashboard quickly, the ball of her hand throbbing for a few moments. Jack smirked, “Feel better?”
She shrugged, “A bit.”
He leant over and quickly kissed her, leaving her a little shocked (but suddenly giddy) and smiled. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out. It’s just going to take longer than we thought. And for all we know, they’re not making a Stargate in their basement.”
She raised her eyebrows, “That sort of electrical output means they’re not making the Stargate Jack. It means they’re using it. They’re using it Jack!”
He grabbed her hand and nodded, “I know. But it’s not our game anymore. This is a political game now.”
“It sucks.”
He nodded, “This is why Black Ops should have been given this.”
“Why weren’t they?”
He just shrugged, “Probably because they wanted people who knew what to look for I suppose.”
They reached their neighbourhood as the moon was coming up and the coffee seemed to have almost completely left their systems. Jack turned onto their street with a deep feeling of dread; unlike Sam (who was sleeping in her seat) he had seen the flashing lights from around the corner. Blue and Red. He knew far too well what that meant.
Shaking Sam awake, he pointed down the street, “Wake up Sam,” he murmured. “Something’s happened.”
He parked quickly along the side of the road and they both jumped from the car and ran towards the centre of attention. “Dianne,” Sam muttered as they reached the house. The police and the ambulance were surrounding Dianne and Terry’s house. Sam’s heart plummeted to the centre of her stomach and, Jack right next to her, she ran towards the nearest cop. “What happened?”
The cop just turned and tried to have them move away but Jack had caught Jasper’s eye and they sprinted over to him. “What’s going on?”
Jasper shook his head, his hands both clutched tightly in Tim’s. Jack turned to Tim and asked him the question. “They found two bodies,” Tim told them.
“What?” Sam grabbed hold of Jack’s arm and gave him a terrified look. “Who?”
“Di and Terry,” Tim murmured. “They found Di and Terry.”
“Jack!” They had barely heard the voice before the small bundle had leapt into his arms. Jack stared at Sam for a minute or so, trying to gage who had just jumped at him before he realised. “Luke?”
The crying boy nodded into Jack’s knee and Jack knelt down to be at his level. “Luke, are you alright?”
The boy nodded again, still crying - but there was the sound of another child crying and Sam turned to the cop who had come up behind her. “Ma’am? The boy has not said a word before seeing you and your husband. Would you mind?” He held out Grace to her, the girl screaming bloody murder and Sam couldn’t say anything but take the baby.
“Can you tell us what’s going on?”
The cop shook his head, “Why don’t you take those children and we’ll come to you when we have more details?”
Jack picked Luke up and nodded, giving the Cop their address before leading Sam, Jasper and Tim towards their house.
Jasper immediately set about finding his way around their kitchen, taking out some bread and peanut butter while Jack sat in a chair, with Luke on his lap. “It’s going to be alright,” he whispered and held him tightly as the cries turned into hiccupping sobs. Sam came in followed by Tim, she still held Grace in her arms but it seemed the girl had fallen asleep somehow. “I’d forgotten they could do that,” Jack murmured as she came to sit next to him. Sam rested a hand on Luke’s back, rubbing circles over the boy’s shirt.
Tim stood and watched them for a moment before going to help Jasper. “Do you guys know anything?” Jack asked.
Jasper shook his head, “We were in bed,” he told then, “Heard the sirens and came out to find out what was going on. Nobody would tell us anything.”
Jack nodded and thanked him for getting food ready. “Where have you two been anyway?” Tim asked, “We came over earlier today to try and organise something but you were gone.”
Sam smiled softly, knowing it looked bad for them. “We’ve been under a lot of stress lately,” she told them, “Jack has this cabin a couple of hours out of here and we just went there last night. We just needed to get away.”
Jasper stopped immediately and came around to stand next to her, “Oh I didn’t mean that! I don’t think you-“ he took a quick glance at Luke who was watching them sleepily, “I don’t think you did anything. We were just curious.”
Jack smiled and nodded, “We know.”
They managed to have Luke eat a sandwich before he fell asleep in Jack’s arms. Jack quietly took the boy into the spare room and tucked him in. Sam handed Grace to Jasper and quickly followed.
She found Jack watching from the door as the boy slept and her heart almost broke at the sight. “How is he?” she whispered.
He didn’t say anything but took her hand and pulled her into one of those hugs that made everything seem immediately bearable. She clung to him tightly as he buried his face into her neck. “I love you too,” he whispered. “I forgot to say that.”
She kissed his temple and let go, watching Luke sleep for a moment. “We have to figure out what to do.”
Jack nodded, “I know.”
They walked back, hand in hand, to the living room and sat on the couch across from Jasper and Tim. “What’s going to happen now?” Jasper asked.
“The police will take statements,” Jack said, “Figure out how they … died.”
“I didn’t mean that,” Jasper said. “I meant with the kids.”
They remembered Dianne’s comment from the dinner party (was that really only a couple of night’s ago?) - that there wasn’t anybody to take the kids. “We can’t,” Jasper swore softly. “The twins are arriving tomorrow and we just …”
Sam nodded, “I know. It’s too much.” It was so much easier to think about this logical problem then the death of a couple she considered her friends. She looked at Jack and had to smile. She knew exactly what he was thinking, and she agreed completely. “But it would be wrong,” she told him aloud.
“How?”
She just raised an eyebrow, “Our jobs?”
“Things would have had to have changed anyway,” he told her - they seemed to forget for a while that the other two men were even in the room. “I’m not going back to the way things were.”
She nodded, “So it’s within the realms of possibility?”
“Within the realms?” Jack nodded and smiled “Definitely.”
“But it’s a big decision. I mean, we’ve only just started what we talked about at the cabin …”
Jack turned to her and knelt across from her, “Sam. Those two kids …”
She just nodded. “I know Jack.” She turned to Jasper and Tim, “Do you two want a cup of tea? Coffee? While we wait?”
Jasper nodded, “Coffee sounds good.”
“Yeah, me too.”
She nodded to Jack who followed her into the kitchen. He gave her a sly grin, “So subtle.” She shrugged and said that it did the job.
“We need to talk about this,” she said. “We can’t take them.”
“Why not?”
“Because we don’t exist!”
He nodded slowly, “Then we’ll do it after everything’s finished.”
She bit her lips and suddenly it seemed to make sense to him. “You’re scared.” He murmured.
“Aren’t you?”
“Terrified,” he told her candidly. “But I’ve never seen something you can’t do.”
“It’s not so much that,” she said, “I’m scared they won’t let us keep them.”
Jack wasn’t naïve. He knew they were less than perfect candidates for adoptive parenthood. His history alone would have sent up warning bell after warning bell. Sam’s was definitely much better - but the fact that they couldn’t divulge anything about their jobs would never be good. “Sam, do you want to look after these kids?”
“It’s a big decision Jack,” she told him, “Not one to be made on coffee and adrenaline.” He nodded. “But, preliminary answer is yes.”
He chuckled and kissed her lightly, “Preliminary answer?”
She just whacked his arm gently, “Yes Jack, preliminary answer.”
It was just past 0200 hours when the police finally knocked on their door. Luke was still asleep, while Grace was fussing in Sam’s arms. “She’s hungry,” Jack told her as he greeted the police.
Sam looked a little lost as the Police walked in. There were two men, one was older with barely any hair and he had a warm smile and kind eyes. The other was younger with long dark hair, Sam was a bit wary of him - not entirely sure what to make of the man.
“My condolences,” the older cop said. “I’m Captain Lewis, this is Officer Calves. We need to ask you a few questions, then maybe figure out what to do with the children.”
Jack led them into the living room while Sam went and heated up a small cup of milk. She had a vague idea that normal cow’s milk wasn’t good for small children, but she didn’t have anything else. When she came back she sat next to Jack and dipped her finger into the warm milk before letting Grace suck on it. She didn’t really know where the idea had come from to do that, but it seemed to work for now.
“Dianne and Terry were shot,” Jack told her quietly. “A 9mm from what they’ve figured.” He stood and nodded to the cops, “I’ll go get mine and the registration.”
They had documentation to carry concealed, both of them, so Jack grabbed the documents and the cases with both guns and brought them back into the living room. Both were brand new, Sam doubted if even their fingerprints were on them yet. Jack immediately agreed to let them take it, trying to be as helpful as he could to make up for the fact that they didn’t exactly have alibis.
Sam explained where they had been, telling them about the cabin while Jack gave them the name of the guy he’d borrowed it from (while praying that Joe remembered he was Jack Denton and not O’Neill).
They took down names and numbers and once they had satisfied the policemen’s’ curiosity about their whereabouts (at least until their alibi came up with as many holes as they thought it might) the older one, Captain Lewis looked at Grace sadly. “There aren’t any next of kin;” he told them. “They’ll be put in the system.”
Sam bit her lip and held Grace a little tighter. “What would we need to do to have custody?”
“Apply with Child Services,” Officer Calves told them. “You would need references, medical history - the whole lot. We can award you temporary custody now, so that we know the children have people to care for them.”
Jack nodded, “We can do that.”
Both the cops left at about 0300 and both Sam and Jack trudged their tired bodies upstairs and into bed. Tim had lent them one of the cots they had bought for the twins, so Grace was able to sleep comfortably that night. Jack put on a CD of Opera quietly (Madame Butterfly) and he faced Sam in the bed. “What’s up?”
She just gave him a look, “Got a couple of hours?”
“Yes.”
She leant over and kissed him before turning to stare at the ceiling. “I don’t like lying to them Jack,” she whispered. “I never have, but it’s different now.”
He reached over and pulled her close to him, kissing her lightly on the temple. “I know,” he murmured. “And I wish we didn’t have to.”
“What about the kids? When everything ends?”
Jack shrugged; he didn’t have a clue what would happen. “Trust me, the second we can tell them what’s happened - we will alright?”
“And tell them what?”
Jack gave a significant look to the CD player and just said, “Everything we can.”
The next morning Jack woke bright and early and tried desperately not to realise that he’d only had two hours sleep. He padded down the hall and tried to figure out what it was that had woken him. He had recognised the noise, but hadn’t expected it in his house - not for ten years anyway.
He poked his head into the spare room and it all made sense. Luke was sitting on top of the sheets, a pillow in his arms as he hugged it tightly and tried to stop crying.
Jack bit his lip before pushing open the door and moving to sit next to the boy who looked up at him shakily. “Hey Luke.”
“Mummy and Daddy aren’t here,” the boy sobbed. “Why aren’t they here?”
Jack picked the boy up and held him in his lap, rubbing circles over his back in a way that had always helped with a young Charlie. “Do you know what happened last night?” The boy shook his head. Captain Lewis had explained that neither of the children had been present to the actual shooting. Grace had been asleep upstairs and Luke had been with at a friend’s birthday party. Jack remembered the Captain’s disgusted look as he told them that Luke’s friend’s parents had dropped him off at the road and kept driving even though the house was deserted. The tip off had come only a few seconds later and they had reached the house as Luke had come back from looking around the back garden for his father.
“Your Mummy and Daddy were hurt,” he said slowly. “They died last night.”
“They’re coming back though.”
Jack shook his head, picked the boy up and walked out to the front garden. “No, they’re not.” He said. He pointed up into the sky and waited till the boy followed his gaze. “My Grandpa told me, when I was about your age, that when people die - they turn into the stars in the sky,” he said, remembering his grandfather’s weathered look as he had explained this to a very young Jack. “They go up, up, up into the sky and watch over us. They make sure that we’re okay.”
Luke just stared up into the early morning sky in wonder. Jack knew it would take longer than one early-morning conversation for Luke to get through this; but he was glad to see a start in the boy’s eyes.
Monday and Tuesday were spent quietly in their house. The police released some of Luke’s things to them; clothing, toys, books and games as well as some clothes and formula for Grace so Sam and Jack spent the next couple of days focussing on the children. One of them would be with Luke, playing a board game or watching a movie, or reading a book while the other sat nearby with Grace.
Sam still hacked into Robert’s bank accounts and those of his department at Sibuna; noting down everything and anything that seemed relevant. It looked like they might have enough evidence for the powers that be to authorise an intervention sometime in the next decade.
Jasper and Tim were really busy with Harry and Mandy. The twins were simply adorable and Sam and Jack couldn’t stop grinning at the way Luke told them that Grace was cuter … but the twins were older and more fun to play with.
There are some days you just know are going to be difficult. It must be something in the air, because the minute you open your eyes - you just know. As Wednesday dawned - Sam knew that something was going to happen.
Jack had been up for a lot of the night with Luke, finally at 0200 letting the boy come and sleep in their bed. So he could probably have slept in until at least midday and she could easily see herself joining him. Since the school had given them the week off to be with the kids there was really nothing to stop either of them. Except for a stringent military training and regime that had them both alert and awake at 0600 sharp.
She glanced over and sure enough, his eyes were open and he was smiling at her. Oh what she would have done if Luke weren’t between them.
Sam was lulled into a false sense of security as she helped Luke up and Jack went to get Grace. She was helping Luke to his cereal when the she heard the front door banged open, then slammed shut. She stood up straight and silent, looking to Jack for orders. He signalled her to stay put and he snuck around the corner into the hall.
There were a hundred things he expected, the majority of which were dangerous, some of which were catastrophic and all of which were wrong.
None of Jack’s possible situations included a twelve-year-old sitting in his hallway curled into a small ball, biting back tears. James finally looked up at him and Jack had to fight back the sick feeling in his stomach. There was a cut through James’s eyebrow and an angry bruise forming over his left eye. “Shit James,” Jack muttered before he could stop himself. “What happened?”
“Dad got angry.”
Jack nodded and helped him to his feet. “Come on, we’ll get Sam to have a look at you.”
“Is she a doctor too?
Jack caught her eye as they came into the kitchen and squeezed James’s shoulder. “When it counts. But be glad you don’t have a broken leg.”
“Why?”
“She splinted mine once - it wasn’t pretty.”
Luke looked up from where he was moving his cereal around in his bowl and stared at James. “What happened to you?” he asked.
James looked lost and Jack spoke up, “He fell down,” he explained. Sam quickly set up a movie in the living room and settled Luke in front of it before coming back to look at James.
They sat at the kitchen table as Sam inspected his eye and wrist (something Jack had missed). She seemed okay with his eye - wrapping some ice in a towel and telling him to hold it steady. She was more worried by his wrist but couldn’t see what she could about it yet.
“What happened James?”
Jack had never directly asked before. He had decided earlier that if James wanted to tell him exactly what happened, he would - until then, Jack would leave him be. But things had changed.
“Dad went into his shed this morning with Mom. He came out when I had breakfast. He was so angry. He kept saying that the fucking SGC were getting in the way. He needed something from them. He needed something called Carter. Then I got in the way.”
Jack squeezed the boy’s shoulder and leant down to his eye line. “Do you trust me?” In a move that was eerily reminiscent of Re’tu Charlie; he immediately nodded. “I am going to fix this.” At the look James gave him, Jack grinned. “I think this calls for cake! I’ll be back soon.”
He kissed Sam’s cheek before whispering in her ear, “Be careful. For God’s sake be careful.” He saw some of the colour return to Sam’s cheeks and figured she was okay enough for now. The look on her face when James had mentioned Robert needing ‘Carter’ had honestly scared him more than he wanted to admit.
She nodded as he grabbed his cell phone and was in his car within seconds.
Sam locked the front door and took James by the hand to the living room. She sat between him and Luke, keeping an eye on Grace as she waited.
Jack drove to the same park he and Sam had gone to for prep for the dinner party. He didn’t pull out his cell phone and dial the number until he was positive that he was completely alone. Citing his ID number - he was immediately put through to the General.
“I have the proof we need General,” he said as a greeting. “I’ll need a full team by 0500 tomorrow and Danny and T to take the next possible flight. We are expecting four hostiles but believe they have access to a fully functional Gate.” The General was completely silent for almost an entire minute as he registered what his 2IC was saying.
“I’ll do my best Colonel. I will have Dr Jackson and Teal’c on the next available flight with supplies. Sergeant Siler will collect your plan at 1800 tonight and I will contact you for the go ahead. Godspeed.”
The General hung up and Jack headed back to the house.
James and Sam met him at the door, James with a sad look. “You forgot the cake.”
Jack nodded, swearing internally. “Thought it might be fun to make one,” he said. James’s face lit up and he went to get Luke so they could get started.
“Those guests you organised should get into DCA at about 1400,” Sam told him as they followed. “They called.”
“Perfect,” Jack said. “These are just the guys,” he told her - “the real guests should arrive some time tomorrow.”
They reached the kitchen where a mock argument was occurring over whether they should have a chocolate or vanilla cake. Both soldiers paused for a moment to appreciate that even until the shittiest of circumstances - these kids managed to joke about cake.
“Why do we need the guys?” she asked. “Not that I don’t miss them, but their specialities lie elsewhere right?”
Jack leant in close, covering the sound of his whisper with the loud discussion by the boys. “We’re a team Sam. We need our team.”
She smiled and kissed him before going back to get Grace.
Once chocolate was agreed on, Sam set about organising the cooking while Jack set up his laptop to face away from the others and he began to plan.
It seemed to be a given that James was going to stay with them for the time being (a fact the boy was perfectly happy with). When it came time to go to the airport to pick up Danny and Teal’c the quiet boy had somehow managed to organise Luke into banding together, standing at the front door and begging Jack to take them with him.
Sam leant against the wall looking over Jack’s plan, trying not to look as the two boys hung off Jack. “Sam! Help!”
She smirked and watched finally, wondering if perhaps (just perhaps) this might be something she could get used to. But the feel of the paper in her hands brought her back to reality and she shrugged, “Just take them Jack,” she said. “You guys won’t be able to talk in the car anyway and if they’re going to stay here - they’ll meet them eventually.”
Jack sighed theatrically and picked Luke up, resting the boy on his hip. “Fine, road trip it is,” and he led the way out to the car. Sam turned back to the house with the plan, making a couple of annotations before turning to Grace, who was asleep on the floor and smiled.
Jack had only explained that Daniel and ‘Murray’ were old friends. He had said that he and Sam thought it might be a good idea to have some more people around, and Danny was a pretty good cook - so there would be no more pasta. Luke grinned, “I don’t’ like pasta,” he said.
“I know,” Jack murmured - remembering hours of trying to find something the boy might like to eat when neither were fantastic cooks; nor did they have a lot of time on their hands. “We’ll see what Danny can come up with alright?”
The look on Daniel’s face as he walked through the terminal was enough to make a little of the stress on Jack’s shoulder s lift. He shifted Luke on his hip and waved with his free hand. “Danny boy!” Daniel’s face fell and he rolled his eyes while James smiled up at Jack.
“Jack,” Daniel said as they reached them. “How are you?”
Jack smiled, “Good. You?”
“Tired.” Daniel took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes for a moment, then peered at the boys. “Okay, so I’m not hallucinating. There are actually two children with you.”
“I’m not a child,” James spoke up proudly.
Daniel smirked softly, “Aah. They speak too.”
Luke was giggling and even though Jack could tell his friend was completely thrown by the situation, he was proud at how he was handling it. “James, Luke this is Daniel and Murray. Guys, these are James and Luke - Sam and I are looking after them for a while.”
Daniel quickly gave Jack the universal we’ll talk about this later look while Teal’c merely bowed low. “It is a pleasure to meet you James and Luke.” He seemed confused for a moment, “Which child belongs to which name?”
After Jack cleared up the introductions, they quickly made their way to the car. Daniel seemed to rise to occasion of entertaining the boys on the trip back to the house. He told them story after story of what he, Jack, Teal’c and Sam had gotten up to. Rather than tell stories of their voyages through the gate (or even a covered version of those stories) he told them about their team nights (well, he didn’t call them team nights) where they’d fight over yet another viewing of Star Wars. “Can you believe it?” He said, “Murray had never seen Star Wars before we saved him.”
Jack nodded sagely, “It was a great day. An honorable day. A day that went down in history.”
James giggled and looked at Teal’c. “Have you seen the Bond movies?”
“I have not.”
“Jack! Can we please get a Bond movie tonight? Please??”
Jack shrugged, “Sure, we’ll grab a couple.”
Daniel and Teal’c were barely through the front door before they were engulfed in a hug from Sam. It had long been accepted that those two were her brothers more than Mark ever could be. “I’ve missed you,” Sam smiled as she stepped back. “How are you?”
Daniel looked around the living room, noting the baby on the blanket surrounded by toys and Tarzan paused on the TV. “I think the question here is, since when did you have a baby? Did something happen that we should know about?”
Sam smirked, “I didn’t have a baby in two months Daniel.”
He just shrugged, “Then who’s is it?”
She was quiet for a moment, watching as Jack had Luke occupied with the film. “Come and help me make lunch you two.”
She explained, in the quiet of the kitchen, about Dianne and Terry’s death and James’s problems. “So you’ve what? Adopted them? And you’re just going to take them home with you in your suitcase? Sam!”
She blushed, “Daniel don’t be stupid. This is serious.”
He nodded. “Sam. This is me. I know how serious this is.”
Shit. She’d forgotten. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t think.”
He came around the counter and hugged her lightly, “I know. I just want you to think this through. Don’t let these kids get their hopes up. It’s a tricky situation even if you and Jack were together.”
Something else she should get around to mentioning. “We know Daniel. We’ll get to it.”
“After you save the world,” he smirked.
“Yup, one physics test at a time.”
As they put the kids to bed, Jack turned to Daniel with a frown. “Tomorrow we’re going out,” he told him quietly. “But we can’t leave the kids alone.”
Daniel gave him a blank look for a moment - but it didn’t last long. “I’m here to babysit?”
Jack nodded. “Look at it from my point of view Daniel. “I have to leave them here with somebody I trust-“
“But who doesn’t really need to come tomorrow.” His friend sighed. “Don’t worry Jack, I get it.”
Jack was ready to argue, he had his points all lined up and was ready to get into it with him. So when Daniel seemed so calm, Jack wasn’t entirely sure what to do. “You’re … okay with this?”
“It makes sense,” Daniel shrugged.
Downstairs, Sam handed Sergeant Siler Jack’s finished plan (complete with her and Teal’c annotations). Siler looked past her to see Daniel and Jack coming down the stairs, and Teal’c on the couch watching the last of From Russia With Love and smiled. “It’s good to see you all together Ma’am,” he whispered. “We’ve missed having you all around.”
She grinned, “Thanks,” she said and waved him goodbye.
She turned back with a smile to the boys and had to agree with Siler, she had missed being with her team. “Reynolds will be here at o-dark-hundred-hours,” Jack said. “We should get some sleep while we can.”
“Oh, “Daniel remembered, “I have yours and Sam’s gear in my bag.”
“How’d you get it on the plane?”
Daniel just shrugged, “Just showed some ID and they let me do it.”
Jack’s eyes rose into his forehead and he shared a look with Sam, “Okay, that’s going to need looking into.” He glanced at the clock and groaned, “You guys might as well head to bed. I’ll stay up and wait for the go ahead.”
Teal’c bowed his head and silently made his way towards the den, where a camp bed had been set up for him. Daniel looked at Sam and Jack for a moment, before giving them a quiet smile and following Teal’c.
Jack smiled at Sam, “Think they’ve caught on?”
She giggled (yes, that giggle - the giggle that made him more weak than he cared to admit) and kissed him. “I’m going to get some sleep.”
Colonel Reynolds and SG3 arrived a few minutes after 0300 hours. Unlike everybody else, they had taken military transport to the suburbs and arrived in full black combat gear. Their jeep parked a block down and they slipped through the streets until they leapt over the fence and into the backyard. To the young boy watching out his bedroom window - this was so cool! There were ninjas in the garden!
Jack met Reynolds at the back door, letting him in and leading him to the dining table. They had the plan laid out along with the complete blueprints of the Pollack’s house, along with the one next to theirs. He left them there, trusting SG3 to handle themselves while he went to gear up. They were setting up some sort of scrambling gear, which (as far as Jack could tell) would broadcast a loop of a quiet house while they were moving out.
While the room was a little different (it being the master bedroom) - the scene could have been from any mission over the past seven years. Jack checked over everyone’s gear, while Daniel, Teal’c and Sam went through last minute details of the mission. When their Colonel pronounced them fit for duty, they’d move out.
Downstairs, Reynolds was waiting for them while his men unpacked their gear. “Ready and waiting Jack.”
Jack nodded and inspected the marines of SG3. “Everybody got the plan?”
They nodded and Jack was satisfied. He’d requested SG3 because they were used to quick missions, used to taking in what little information they had and using it the best they could. “Good,” he said and pulled the beanie over his head. “We move out in 5 minutes.”
Sam caught Daniel watching them for a moment, as Jack went over a final run through of the plan. She pulled him aside and smiled, ‘What’s up?”
“I don’t like this,” Daniel whispered. “I mean … I understand, really, I understand. But I still don’t like it.”
“Don’t like being left behind?” He just nodded and she bit her lip. “Daniel …”
He smiled lightly to her, “Sam, its okay. I don’t have to like it, but I’ll stay here and baby-sit.”
“They’re … important,” Sam murmured to him. “Really important.”
Daniel seemed to study her face for a moment and she wasn’t quite sure what he was looking for. Whatever it was, he seemed to find it because he smiled and hugged her. “I’ll keep them safe. You concentrate on the rest of the world.”
Jack looked over at them and silently asked Sam if everything was alright, she smiled at him and he nodded. “Aright folks. Move out. And Godspeed.”
The plan was simple really; Reynolds and his team would guard the exits to the houses, while Jack, Teal’c and Sam went into the shed. Well, it was a bit more complicated than that - with set positions and objectives. But essentially, that summed it up.
Jack, Teal’c and Sam waited for the two clicks on the radio to signal that Reynolds’s team was in place before setting out themselves. Teal’c and Sam slipped down the side of the fence that belonged to Lucia and her unknown male companion while Jack slipped down the Pollack’s side. They kept to the darkest parts, slithering between the shadows as the sun just began to consider rising.
Jack relished in the thrill of a covert op again. This, he remembered, was why he was so good at Black Ops. This was what he was good at.
He could almost feel his teammates moving against the fence behind him and had to smile - they were back!
There was a soft knock, which he could tell was Sam’s, to indicate that everything was clear on their side. He knocked quickly back and took a deep breath.
Without another sound, the three of them stood at the two doors to the shed and after a silent count of three - went in.
The two doors met inside before a staircase took them underground. It was solid cement (as far as Jack could tell) with cigarette butts all over the place. Once they’d reached the bottom of the stairs, Sam looked like she wanted to say something, but they had decided earlier on making this as silent as possible - to keep the element of surprise as long as they possibly could; so she closed her mouth and turned to the door.
It was a large steel door that could have been anything from a few inches to several feet thick. Despite Jack’s wishes, they couldn’t blow it up - the explosion would simply engulf anybody and everybody within a few hundred feet and it mightn’t even have destroyed the door in the process. Sam examined the lock intently, occasionally turning to look at the readings on the doohickey she took on every mission. When a final smile she turned to Jack and took his hand. He gave her a look that was both curious and a little mortified that she would choose now to be romantic.
She raised an eyebrow before rolling her eyes while he looked sheepish. With a gentle tug, she pressed his hand against the palm scanner on the door. With a knowing look, Sam watched as the entire door lit up with that golden glow Jack had gotten used to with his ancient DNA.
Jack held up three fingers, counting down as they got into position. Him behind the door to open it, Sam and Teal’c ready to strike.
Jack opened the door, and they all winced at the smell that plumed towards them. “Bananas?” Jack mouthed to the others. Sam shrugged, and they jumped inside.
It was immediately clear that a Goa’uld had been around, the gold drapes and throne spoke volumes. Otherwise, they were in a fully functional lab - just like the ones in the SGC, or those that Adrian Conrad had used a couple of years ago. With Sam to his right, and Teal’c to the left, Jack turned to the man lounging in the throne. He wore a dark suit, with brown hair swept to one side. He looked at them with a sleepy sort of glance before smiling.
“Hello,” Jack smiled at him. “And you are?”
Sam and Teal’c both quickly gave him their hand sign to tell him that everything was clear in their areas, so Jack concentrated completely on the man.
Sam immediately saw the Gate. It looked a lot like the one Orlin had built in her basement - she had to check if any images or specs of that had been leaked from Area 51. It was smaller than the real gate, looking definitely a lot more homemade
The man seemed to find them interesting for a while, before standing up and walking closer. “I am all of your fears, all of your pathetic tau’ri nightmares.”
Jack just gave him a look and thought really? “Oh? That’s nice. I’ve had this recurring dream about bananas lately. You got anything to do with that?”
The man’s face changed, his entire body shifted and he seemed to stand taller, with broader shoulders. His eyes flashed gold and Jack seemed to smile a little. “And you would be?”
“Your God!” the man proclaimed. Jack shook his head.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, “But there’s so many of you - which one would you be.”
Sam had to stop herself from rolling her eyes as she studied the contents of the lab. Jack seemed to find taunting megalomaniac sociopaths incredibly entertaining (and yes, she knew he did it for a very good reason, but sometimes she wondered if most of it wasn’t just because he liked to tease them).
The man raised his hand, the familiar hand devise strapped to his wrist. “Anubis.”
Shit.
“How did you get a body?” Sam asked, trying to keep the ‘god’ talking.
“Last we heard you were a bundle of energy,” Jack said and kept the man’s attention on him while Sam and Teal’c slipped off deeper into the lab to find what they needed to get it shut down.
“These pathetic worms managed to make me one,” Anubis hissed at him. “Confined by petty Tau’ri restrictions, when I am a GOD!”
“For a God, you’re not doing so well,” Jack had to mention. “I mean, where are the soldiers? Where are the Jaffa? The minions! Please, you’re nothing more than a has-been.”
Sam gave him a quick look from her place to his right, even at this distance he could tell her look said: do NOT call ANUBIS a has-been; there are some bad gags that just aren’t worth it.
“I have no need for mutinous Jaffa,” the ‘God’ spat the word to the ground. “The power of the universe lies in my hand.”
To illustrate the man threw Teal’c across the room, the former Jaffa being thrown through a couple of tables and into a wall of test tubes.
Jack had realised by now that something was definitely off. This man (he found it difficult to believe that the God Anubis would be hiding out in a basement in the suburbs) had yet to make any definitive move against them. Sure he had thrown Teal’c across the room but in Goa’uld terms that was just a party trick.
Jack stole a glance around the room, noting the screens on the walls. If at all possible, he wanted to keep those intact (well, okay, not him personally but he was sure some geek would want them).
Sam watched Jack for a second, keeping him within her eye line as he took in the situation. A glance from him; and she immediately knew what to do. It seemed that even through everything that had happened lately, Colonel O’Neill could still talk to Major Carter without using words. With Teal’c doing the same from his position amongst the debris of two tables, she started to move closer to the man, keeping away from Jack so as not to divert attention to them.
Sam couldn’t believe that this was Anubis. The great God of the Afterlife, the King of the Dead - the Goa’uld who had swiftly taken control of the System Lords and the largest army of unbeatable soldiers the universe had ever seen! That God was sitting here? In a basement? With no Jaffa, no evident plan, in fact; he seemed to be trapped under the ground - too weak or tired or something to move.
She couldn’t have been further than three feet away from this ‘God’ and yet, he hadn’t seemed to have noticed that both she and Teal’c were so very close. She vaguely registered that Jack was still talking and silently thanked him. She silently raised her 9mm and caught Teal’c’s eye. He nodded to her, and taking careful aim - she fired.
Part of her expected the man to be protected by his own personal force shield. She honestly expected the bullet to ricochet off the shield, for him to turn and for all hell (literally) to be unleashed. She expected Jaffa to come crawling from the cracks in the concrete, eyes to flash and to be thrown in a Mother Ship’s holding cell. She hadn’t expected the man to grab his bleeding leg and turn to stare at her. “You shot me!” The voice of the God was gone, replaced with that of a petulant child. “You actually shot me!”
Sam stared for a moment, quietly wondering what the hell was going on - while Teal’c stepped forward and picked the man up. “You will come with us,” Teal’c calming monotone rang around the basement. The man, who had looked at least thirty in his throne, looked no more than nineteen in Teal’c’s arms.
They marched back up the stairs, Jack taking point and Sam following Teal’c and the man.
The mission started at 0500 hours and finished at 0615. Honestly, Sam and Jack agreed that it was rather anticlimactic. “He’s a decoy,” Sam murmured as they came out of the shed and back into the cold air of the early morning. “There has to be more to it.”
Jack just nodded and led the way to the road where Reynolds was waving to them. “Look at this Jack,” the Colonel smiled. “Look what we found!”
Jack followed his gaze to find Robert and Rebecca Pollack tied up on the curb next to Lucia who had her hands in front of her and was being cuffed by Reynolds’s second, they all had dangerous glares etched onto their faces. “You have no idea what you’ve done.” Rebecca snarled as Teal’c dumped the man next to them.
Jack just smirked, “Really? I have a pretty good clue.”
Rebecca just turned to Robert and stayed silent while Jack put a call through to the General. “General Hammond?”
“A job well done Colonel?”
Jack turned and walked across the road, coming to stand outside the house he and Sam shared. Daniel was watching from the doorway, and smiled slightly at him. “I’m not sure General. It was too easy. We have apprehended a man claiming to be Anubis, but Carter managed to shoot him in the leg so he didn’t have a shield or even Jaffa. There was a fully functional lab, which I want a tech to come and look at, but other than that - this was not the main operation. I maintain what I said four weeks ago Sir, the business; Sibuna, needs to be looked into. I suggest a task force Sir.”
“Copy that Colonel, I will have Dixon orchestrate the mission. Bring your people back Colonel, debrief at 1600 hours this afternoon.” Jack was relieved, he trusted Dixon to command the mission and let the stress lift off his shoulders.
He glanced at the house for a moment and bit his lip, “Sir? Request one more day.”
“Why?”
“Sam and I have some loose ends to tie up here Sir. We have to explain to a couple of the residents why we’re leaving at so short notice.”
“Colonel… You cannot disclose the nature of your mission.”
“I know Sir, but do I have your permission to give a cover story that includes Major Carter and my own positions in the Air Force.”
He could hear that sigh that had long become known to be purely for those ‘Colonel O’Neill Moments’. “Yes Colonel. But I want you all back on the base by 1300 tomorrow”
Jack agreed and hung up, smiling at Daniel. “We’ve got our guys,” he told his friend, “But it’s not the big fish.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow, “Big Fish?”
Jack nodded, “This is just an outpost. I tried to get them to sanction us going into the offices about a month ago,” Jack shrugged, “The IOA didn’t like it.”
“Why not?”
Jack just sighed, “Basically, it costs a lot more money to get a task force big enough to take a twenty-eight storey office building than to have two people undercover looking over houses. Sam managed to get a look into the lobby once, but she wasn’t able to get any further than the bathrooms before being stopped. Hammond’s sending a taskforce in now that he has proof it’s not here.”
Jack turned back to Reynolds and his men with a smile, “Good work Reynolds. Can you take all of this back to the base? Maybe gift wrap them, I think they’d look lovely with a nice ribbon.”
Sam smirked and looked over at their captives. “Do you think the Diplomatic Immunity will hold?”
Jack shrugged, “Dunno, but we’ll try all we’ve got.”
Sam looked up at him before turning to stare at one of the windows of their house. “James,” she whispered. Jack followed her gaze to see the curtains of the spare room that James shared with Luke. Daniel quickly indicated that the boy was still asleep but Jack bit his lip and turned to their captives. “What do we tell him?”
Sam shrugged, “We’ll talk to him later this morning. Maybe Daniel and Teal’c can take care of the other two for a couple of hours.”
They watched as the truck pulled up and Reynolds and his team pilled their three captives inside. Jack waved as Robert swore loudly and the truck drove away. Once they were out of sight, Jack sank to the ground, not caring how cold it was looked up at the others. “That’s that,” he sighed. “All done.”
Sam smiled softly, “See, you can do undercover missions without ditching us,” she smirked. Jack gave her a shocked look for a moment, hoping that his previous mission undercover would never be mentioned again. When he saw her smile he sighed, “Yup. This one was much better.”
She sat next to him and pulled one of his hands over into her lap and held it tightly.
“Jack? Samantha?” Jack hung his head as he heard the voices while Sam looked up sadly. Jasper was coming towards them, Tim standing at the door to their house - no doubt staying to listen for the twins. “What’s going on?”
Sam stood up, dusting her black combat trousers as she did and looked towards him. “Come inside,” she said warmly. “We’ll try and explain there.”
Jasper waved back to Tim and followed them inside. A quick look asked Daniel and Teal’c to wait outside.
Sam took off her jacket and threw it over the couch before walking into the kitchen and turning on the coffee machine; hoping to at least have the prospect of coffee before facing this conversation.
“We’re not teachers,” Jack said simply. “That was our cover.”
Jasper nodded and indicated their uniforms, “I’d guessed that.”
“What did you see?” Sam asked curiously.
“Your friends taking the Pollack’s and that other couple away. Where they the ones living next door to them?”
Sam nodded, “Yes.”
“What’s going on?”
“We tried to tell the truth as much as we could,” Sam began. “We didn’t like lying to you all.”
“We’re with the Air Force,” Jack told him. “We work for NORAD in Colorado Springs. We got intel that there was a group here who might be planning anther terrorist attack on the United States.”
“But due to Ambassador Pollack’s diplomatic immunity, we required proof before we could get the go ahead for a retrieval.”
Jasper nodded and looked at them closely. “And the kids? … I don’t know …”
Jack seemed to understand and stepped forward, touching the other man’s elbow and smiling. “Everything about us that you saw is exactly the same. Sam is a science geek-“
“Astrophysicist,” Sam butted in.
“Yeah, that,” Jack said throwing her a small smile. “And I’m … well I’m not a history teacher, but I have a degree in it. I’m a soldier.”
“Are you two?”
Sam’s face fell and she shook her head. “There are regulations,” she explained. “That, so far, haven’t let us be together.”
Jack nodded, “Yes, but things are going to change.” Sam’s face shot up and she stared at him intently. “I’m going to retire,” Jack told Jasper but everybody could tell he was speaking just as much (if not more) to Sam. “I’ll work in some sort of consulting position, but will stay at home and help them all out.”
“Sir,” Sam spoke up after the silence that followed Jack’s statement. “We haven’t talked about this - I can’t let you-“
“Yes you can Sam,” Jack smiled at her and then at Jasper. “Jasper, I love those kids. And I know I don’t technically need your approval to try to adopt them - but I would really like it. They will -“ Jack had meant to say that they would always be safe with him, but the resounding sound of a gun shot rang through his ears and his own voice screaming CHARLIE ran through his memory for a moment.
Sam seemed to notice, because she grabbed his hand and spoke clearly, “they will always be safe with us”.
Jasper studied them for a moment before looking around the house. He thought through the mornings he had spent having coffee here, or the times he had gone for a run and everything he had learnt about this couple in front of him over the past two months. Eventually he nodded, “I want a wedding invitation,” he told them. “And visitation.”
“Visitation?” Sam asked.
Jasper just nodded, “Yes. I’m not letting this man get primary custody of you Sammy,” he said putting on the camp voice he used whenever joking around. “You are just too lovely. So Tim and I will come and visit you both for the wedding, and then it’ll be your turn to visit us.”
Sam bit her lip before hugging her friend tightly; Jack knew how important his friendship had been for her during their time here. Jasper had become an almost surrogate Daniel for Sam and he knew that Jasper’s approval (or at least acceptance) meant a lot to her.
“Go explain to Tim,” she told him. “Then come over for dinner tonight. We’ll be leaving in the morning.”
Jasper nodded and left them, letting Daniel and Teal’c inside as he went. “That went well,” Jack murmured and Sam nodded.
As their friends rounded the corner she turned him, immediately serious and a look that was never a good omen for Jack. “Did you mean it?” she asked.
“Mean what?”
She just crossed her arms and glared. Jack smiled. “If you’ll have me,” he told her. “Of course I meant it Sam. I’ll take on some consulting position and get to keep my clearance, you’ll be CO of SG-1 and I’ll be your kept man, the house husband or whatever.”
“You’d go insane,” she told him as though that was all she could think of to say.
He shrugged, “Doubt it. Three kids? I’ll be run off my feet. Forget the Goa’uld and the System Lords, I’ll be doing soccer practice and ballet lessons. I’ll be fine.”
As Sam stepped into his arms and soundly kissed him, Daniel subtly handed Teal’c a 50-dollar bill with a glare. “I hate you,” he muttered.
“Indeed,” Teal’c smiled.