Two Paths One Couple- Chapter 3
Andd....chapter 3...:P
Time: After D&C
Spoilers: Divide and Conquer, Window of Opportunity.
Pairing: Sam/Jack.
Rating: T
Summary: A mission goes wrong, two different paths are formed but will they meet each other at the end?
Disclaimer: I own nothing, just my imagination for writing this fanfic.
Have fun reading
Chapter 3
“I want to retire.” Jack said after sitting for a while in Hammond’s office.
“Why would you want to retire now?” he replied in surprise.
“Sir, it’s the best option. You read the report on the Zanax stuff. Carter and I have gotten too close and it's been dangerous out in the field. ”
“Jack, you’re still needed on SG1. You’re the best field officer I have and I want you as the leader of my front line team.” Hammond's bald head had some throbbing veins that Jack was sure he had caused. The man was clearly frustrated.
“Sir, we can’t go on like this and you know it.” Jack leaned a bit forward in his chair.
“I know, but what about Major Carter, what are her feelings on the matter?”
“This is about me sir. I’m making this decision. I want to retire. ”
“SG1 works very well like this; I hate to break it up. I don’t want to do this; you’re very valuable to the SGC. Most of our allies trust SG1, with you as leader, the most.” Hammond said putting his hands on the desk before him.
“But sir, I can’t deny this. You saw how our last mission ended.”
“This wasn’t the first time that SG1 came back with half of the team hurt," he countered while leaning forward.
He understood Jack’s concern and it weighed heavily on his mind. Under normal circumstances they never would have worked together for this long but SG1 had formed a special bond which was something Hammond had not come across before. The unique abilities the people on this team had were perfect for a front line SG team.
“She ignored my order because of this…thing sir.” Jack’s shoulders sagged. Hammond looked a bit confused and so he continued: “You know…the feeling feelings thing.” Jack raised his eyebrows hoping that the General would understand him now and seeing a look of comprehension appear on his face, it was clear he did.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes sir.” Jack sat a bit more straight up.
“You were injured and she wasn’t. She could have just wanted to save a fellow team member,” Hammond stated.
“It happened because we have these unprofessional feelings for each other!” Jack almost jumped out of his chair and started to pace in the room. “General, you know just as much as I do that Carter normally doesn’t disobey orders. We've become too close!”
Jack knew he would win this one because Hammond couldn’t ignore the fraternization regulations. He had a responsibility and he would have to transfer Jack.
“I should transfer Carter out of your command. She has a lot of potential and I think she's even ready to lead her own science team.”
“Sir, don’t do that. Carter is a strong asset to SG1 and they still need her on the front lines. Transfer me. Carter is not only a great scientist but also a good combat officer. You know just as much as I do that's a rare combination.” Jack sat down in the chair on the other side of Hammond’s desk again.
The General wanted an option where both of them would be happy when a thought occurred to him. He went through some papers and laid one of them before Jack.
“There is another option,” he said while pointing at the paper, “The SGC is starting a training program for new SG team members. You could become the Chief SG Training Instructor. I was going to assign Reynolds, but with you mentioning this…” He didn’t finish but Jack understood.
Jack stared at the piece of paper. He hadn't thought of that. This way he could stay at the SGC and still do what he enjoyed. He could still go off-world when Hammond needed him. Carter would never know the full reason and thus it was the best option Jack had for both of them. He pondered it for a bit, but decided it was the only real option he had.
“That sounds good sir.” Jack and Hammond both relaxed a bit in their chairs. He continued: “Just to be clear, this won’t come up in any official records then?”
“You came to me before anything actually happened between the two of you, so technically there's nothing to report.” Hammond assured him.
“Thank you sir.”
Jack stood up, knowing that the conversation was almost over. He knew Carter could go far with her military career. Soon she would become a Lieutenant Colonel and maybe even the leader of SG-1. Jack had no doubts whatsoever. The only thing that stood in her way was him and he was clearing the path for her.
“But if I ever find a good reason to put you back on SG1, I will. So far nothing wrong has happened yet and I do understand your concerns but I would prefer you as the leader of SG1 than this new assignment. As I said before, you’re one of the best field officers I have.”
“But sir…” He bowed forward and put his hands on Hammond’s desk.
“Colonel!” Hammond stood up and leaned forward a bit.
“Yes sir.” Jack sighed and he backed off again.
“I hope you’re making the right decision son.” Hammond added softly. Jack nodded, he knew he was.
SJSJSJSJSJSJ
A few days later when the transfer was approved Jack decided it was time to tell Carter.
He walked into the lab and saw her working on one weird doohickey. It was a metal box that now had all kinds of different colored wires coming out of it. They had recovered it from P3X… something or other last week. Carter had determined that it was some type of energy device after working on it for three days straight.
“Carter.” No reaction. “Major.” He said forcefully.
She stopped and looked up.
“Oh hi sir, sorry I didn’t notice you came in. This device is so interesting. Somehow it transforms the naquadah for power, but it works very differently than our naquadah reactors. It’s way more efficient and…”
“Ah Carter…it all has to do with magnets right?” Jack said while stepping more into the room.
She stared at him for a while, then blinked and nodded.
“Sir?” she asked when he remained standing on the other side of the desk without saying or doing anything. Normally when he came in she knew why, but he was behaving differently this time.
“Do you need anything?”
“No not really...” he started to say.
She smiled. “So that begs the question, why did you come here?”
“Yes well…” Jack started again.
“Sir, is there something you would like to discuss?” she said while raising her eyebrows.
Jack knew eventually they would have to talk about what happened at his house. So far they had ignored it. Sam knew that Jack was temporarily removed from SG1, but Janet hadn’t told her when the Colonel would be back in the field. Sam was sure he would be back soon; he was Jack O’Neill, he came out of every fight without a problem.
Jack found a small metal ball on Sam’s desk to fiddle with and Sam continued to wait for a response from him. “So, first mission back today?” Jack said in the end.
“Yes, Colonel Reynolds is going to accompany us.”
“He’s the right replacement for me.”
“Sir?”
“I talked with Hammond and…” he stopped again, searching for the right words to say. Sam just waited. “I’ve been reassigned as the Chief SG Training Instructor. Reynolds will be your permanent commander.” He winced as he spoke.
Sam understood the Colonel, but she was confused.
“Sir, you can’t be serious. You've been reassigned from SG1?”
“Yes.”
Sam stared at him for a minute, trying to figure out why the Colonel would be reassigned from SG1. She couldn’t think of a good reason why Hammond would do this to him.
“Did you ask for reassignment?” She inquired suspiciously.
“I did.”
“You can’t do that.” She shouted.
“And why not Major?” he growled back.
“Because we still need you at the front lines. The war isn’t over yet and SG1 needs you, Colonel Jack O’Neill, as their leader”
Her heart was beating fast as she tried to figure out why Jack needed to leave SG1. Sam had grown accustomed to his command. There was order in the chaos for her but with Jack leaving it felt like her heart was shattering. Not only was she going to miss her commander, but also her friend, in the field. She felt safe with him and that was a rare. They both trusted each other with their lives and would die for each other.
Sam wanted to shout at him, tell him not to do it, that she needed him.
She looked at her device and then at Jack not knowing what to do or say. In her hand she still had a pencil with which she had been writing notes. With force she threw it on the table; surprising Jack who out of instinct took a step back.
“Look how long it took me to gain your respect sir. From what I remember when I met Reynolds at Area 51 all he saw was merely a scientist and he completely ignored my status as a combat officer.” She glared at Colonel O’Neill.
He apparently hadn’t expected her sudden outburst and she saw him trying to stay calm.
“I know Reynolds too Carter and he will treat you the same as I do," he replied without showing any emotion
“You really believe that?” She challenged.
“Yes, I do.”
She just stared at him. Was this all her fault? Had she caused this? She didn’t like to doubt herself, but she couldn’t stop the questions from flooding her mind.
Sam bit on her lip. “But he isn’t you.” She stopped, thinking of what happened on their last mission; “Sir, is this…is this because of us?”
Jack sighed and Sam already knew his answer. He looked into her eyes and she could read a ‘yes’ in their dark brown depths.
“No sir. Please," she pleaded softly, her voice breaking slightly.
“Decision is made.” Jack stood up and put the small round metal ball he was playing with back down on the table.
“You can go back to Hammond and request to undo this transfer.”
“No, Carter I can’t. It won’t change what I feel…what we feel. What happened in the field four weeks ago, that can never happen again. It’s too dangerous, this is the best way.”
“I won’t accept it.” Sam responded softly without even adding a “sir” in the mix.
“I’m out of your chain of command. You will report to Reynolds from now on.” He snapped harshly.
“You can’t do this sir!” Sam tried.
“I can and I did.” He glared at her and left the room.
She quickly stood up afterwards and left her lab too. She needed to walk around and escape the scene that had just played out.
This was all her fault; she ruined SG1 by not wanting to leave him behind. She had needed to know that he would be safe. She shouldn’t have ignored his order. When did she become this obstinate? In the end she ended up going to the bathroom and closing herself in a stall.
Soon after she went in she heard a few other people coming in as well.
“Did you hear about Colonel O’Neill?” Sam heard someone say; she sounded like Sergeant Fisher. This sounded interesting and Sam didn’t dare to move.
“No, what happened?” someone asked with a surprise. Sam thought this voice came from Sergeant East.
“The Colonel has been reassigned.”
“No way! Do you know why?”
“Well, I think it has to do with Major Carter. You know about her and Colonel O’Neill right?” There was a small pause, in which Sam imagined East nodding at Fisher. “I mean I don’t know it for sure and all, but I’ve seen how they look at each other. Hammond must have seen it too and reprimanded O’Neill.”
"I wonder if he required her to sleep with him to get her a permanent position on SG1? I wonder if he would put me on an SG team if I offered him a blow job?" Fisher laughed at that comment.
Sam didn’t want to hear more. She was astonished by what she just heard. The water from the sink ran and soon the two gossiping Sergeants left.
Sam knew she had fallen for Jack O’Neill, but she hadn't wanted to. She wasn’t the kind of person who fell for her commanding officer. Sam stood up and walked quickly back to the safety of her lab .
Once there she stared at her newest gadget, the energy generator, but she wasn’t thinking about how it worked. The conversation of the two Sergeants was playing over and over in her head. When had it happened that people started to think like this about her? Hadn’t she shown time after time that she deserved her position here in the SGC? Some people clearly already thought she was sleeping with him and the Colonel leaving SG1 would only further those rumors.
Sam tried to start working again on her metal box. She also tried to ignore the thoughts that within two hours she would start her first mission on SG1 with Colonel Reynolds and that for now there was no hope of Jack returning with them. Sam sighed once again.
Unfortunately, as hard as Sam tried she just couldn’t ignore what she had heard. She felt indignant, but she felt helpless too. She thought of Colonel Reynolds; her new CO. She was nervous that he would be her new commander. From her experience Colonel Reynolds was the complete opposite of Colonel O’Neill. He wouldn’t be as gentle to civilians as the Colonel and wouldn’t let Daniel challenge him. She did hope that Reynolds wouldn’t still see her as an inept scientist like he had when she visited Area 51. There Colonel O’Neill had corrected Reynolds by surreptitiously mentioning that she was a Major. After that Reynolds had backed off but she hadn’t spoken to him since.
Sam cut another cable in frustration while her mind chose this moment to replay the moment of the Colonel telling her that Reynolds was her permanent CO from now on. He even implied that he trusted Reynolds. That said something about the man; Colonel O’Neill didn’t trust people that easily.
Could this mean that she was actually the problem here? Was she the weak link and not the Colonel? What should she do now? There was apparently only one option for her; she needed to start thinking straight again and that meant she had to distance herself from Jack O’Neill.
Sam watched the clock again; one hour before her mission with Colonel Reynolds. It also meant one hour till she would prove herself again. She was determined that she would show everyone that she got her position on SG1 because she deserved it.
TBC
Time: After D&C
Spoilers: Divide and Conquer, Window of Opportunity.
Pairing: Sam/Jack.
Rating: T
Summary: A mission goes wrong, two different paths are formed but will they meet each other at the end?
Disclaimer: I own nothing, just my imagination for writing this fanfic.
Have fun reading
Chapter 3
“I want to retire.” Jack said after sitting for a while in Hammond’s office.
“Why would you want to retire now?” he replied in surprise.
“Sir, it’s the best option. You read the report on the Zanax stuff. Carter and I have gotten too close and it's been dangerous out in the field. ”
“Jack, you’re still needed on SG1. You’re the best field officer I have and I want you as the leader of my front line team.” Hammond's bald head had some throbbing veins that Jack was sure he had caused. The man was clearly frustrated.
“Sir, we can’t go on like this and you know it.” Jack leaned a bit forward in his chair.
“I know, but what about Major Carter, what are her feelings on the matter?”
“This is about me sir. I’m making this decision. I want to retire. ”
“SG1 works very well like this; I hate to break it up. I don’t want to do this; you’re very valuable to the SGC. Most of our allies trust SG1, with you as leader, the most.” Hammond said putting his hands on the desk before him.
“But sir, I can’t deny this. You saw how our last mission ended.”
“This wasn’t the first time that SG1 came back with half of the team hurt," he countered while leaning forward.
He understood Jack’s concern and it weighed heavily on his mind. Under normal circumstances they never would have worked together for this long but SG1 had formed a special bond which was something Hammond had not come across before. The unique abilities the people on this team had were perfect for a front line SG team.
“She ignored my order because of this…thing sir.” Jack’s shoulders sagged. Hammond looked a bit confused and so he continued: “You know…the feeling feelings thing.” Jack raised his eyebrows hoping that the General would understand him now and seeing a look of comprehension appear on his face, it was clear he did.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes sir.” Jack sat a bit more straight up.
“You were injured and she wasn’t. She could have just wanted to save a fellow team member,” Hammond stated.
“It happened because we have these unprofessional feelings for each other!” Jack almost jumped out of his chair and started to pace in the room. “General, you know just as much as I do that Carter normally doesn’t disobey orders. We've become too close!”
Jack knew he would win this one because Hammond couldn’t ignore the fraternization regulations. He had a responsibility and he would have to transfer Jack.
“I should transfer Carter out of your command. She has a lot of potential and I think she's even ready to lead her own science team.”
“Sir, don’t do that. Carter is a strong asset to SG1 and they still need her on the front lines. Transfer me. Carter is not only a great scientist but also a good combat officer. You know just as much as I do that's a rare combination.” Jack sat down in the chair on the other side of Hammond’s desk again.
The General wanted an option where both of them would be happy when a thought occurred to him. He went through some papers and laid one of them before Jack.
“There is another option,” he said while pointing at the paper, “The SGC is starting a training program for new SG team members. You could become the Chief SG Training Instructor. I was going to assign Reynolds, but with you mentioning this…” He didn’t finish but Jack understood.
Jack stared at the piece of paper. He hadn't thought of that. This way he could stay at the SGC and still do what he enjoyed. He could still go off-world when Hammond needed him. Carter would never know the full reason and thus it was the best option Jack had for both of them. He pondered it for a bit, but decided it was the only real option he had.
“That sounds good sir.” Jack and Hammond both relaxed a bit in their chairs. He continued: “Just to be clear, this won’t come up in any official records then?”
“You came to me before anything actually happened between the two of you, so technically there's nothing to report.” Hammond assured him.
“Thank you sir.”
Jack stood up, knowing that the conversation was almost over. He knew Carter could go far with her military career. Soon she would become a Lieutenant Colonel and maybe even the leader of SG-1. Jack had no doubts whatsoever. The only thing that stood in her way was him and he was clearing the path for her.
“But if I ever find a good reason to put you back on SG1, I will. So far nothing wrong has happened yet and I do understand your concerns but I would prefer you as the leader of SG1 than this new assignment. As I said before, you’re one of the best field officers I have.”
“But sir…” He bowed forward and put his hands on Hammond’s desk.
“Colonel!” Hammond stood up and leaned forward a bit.
“Yes sir.” Jack sighed and he backed off again.
“I hope you’re making the right decision son.” Hammond added softly. Jack nodded, he knew he was.
SJSJSJSJSJSJ
A few days later when the transfer was approved Jack decided it was time to tell Carter.
He walked into the lab and saw her working on one weird doohickey. It was a metal box that now had all kinds of different colored wires coming out of it. They had recovered it from P3X… something or other last week. Carter had determined that it was some type of energy device after working on it for three days straight.
“Carter.” No reaction. “Major.” He said forcefully.
She stopped and looked up.
“Oh hi sir, sorry I didn’t notice you came in. This device is so interesting. Somehow it transforms the naquadah for power, but it works very differently than our naquadah reactors. It’s way more efficient and…”
“Ah Carter…it all has to do with magnets right?” Jack said while stepping more into the room.
She stared at him for a while, then blinked and nodded.
“Sir?” she asked when he remained standing on the other side of the desk without saying or doing anything. Normally when he came in she knew why, but he was behaving differently this time.
“Do you need anything?”
“No not really...” he started to say.
She smiled. “So that begs the question, why did you come here?”
“Yes well…” Jack started again.
“Sir, is there something you would like to discuss?” she said while raising her eyebrows.
Jack knew eventually they would have to talk about what happened at his house. So far they had ignored it. Sam knew that Jack was temporarily removed from SG1, but Janet hadn’t told her when the Colonel would be back in the field. Sam was sure he would be back soon; he was Jack O’Neill, he came out of every fight without a problem.
Jack found a small metal ball on Sam’s desk to fiddle with and Sam continued to wait for a response from him. “So, first mission back today?” Jack said in the end.
“Yes, Colonel Reynolds is going to accompany us.”
“He’s the right replacement for me.”
“Sir?”
“I talked with Hammond and…” he stopped again, searching for the right words to say. Sam just waited. “I’ve been reassigned as the Chief SG Training Instructor. Reynolds will be your permanent commander.” He winced as he spoke.
Sam understood the Colonel, but she was confused.
“Sir, you can’t be serious. You've been reassigned from SG1?”
“Yes.”
Sam stared at him for a minute, trying to figure out why the Colonel would be reassigned from SG1. She couldn’t think of a good reason why Hammond would do this to him.
“Did you ask for reassignment?” She inquired suspiciously.
“I did.”
“You can’t do that.” She shouted.
“And why not Major?” he growled back.
“Because we still need you at the front lines. The war isn’t over yet and SG1 needs you, Colonel Jack O’Neill, as their leader”
Her heart was beating fast as she tried to figure out why Jack needed to leave SG1. Sam had grown accustomed to his command. There was order in the chaos for her but with Jack leaving it felt like her heart was shattering. Not only was she going to miss her commander, but also her friend, in the field. She felt safe with him and that was a rare. They both trusted each other with their lives and would die for each other.
Sam wanted to shout at him, tell him not to do it, that she needed him.
She looked at her device and then at Jack not knowing what to do or say. In her hand she still had a pencil with which she had been writing notes. With force she threw it on the table; surprising Jack who out of instinct took a step back.
“Look how long it took me to gain your respect sir. From what I remember when I met Reynolds at Area 51 all he saw was merely a scientist and he completely ignored my status as a combat officer.” She glared at Colonel O’Neill.
He apparently hadn’t expected her sudden outburst and she saw him trying to stay calm.
“I know Reynolds too Carter and he will treat you the same as I do," he replied without showing any emotion
“You really believe that?” She challenged.
“Yes, I do.”
She just stared at him. Was this all her fault? Had she caused this? She didn’t like to doubt herself, but she couldn’t stop the questions from flooding her mind.
Sam bit on her lip. “But he isn’t you.” She stopped, thinking of what happened on their last mission; “Sir, is this…is this because of us?”
Jack sighed and Sam already knew his answer. He looked into her eyes and she could read a ‘yes’ in their dark brown depths.
“No sir. Please," she pleaded softly, her voice breaking slightly.
“Decision is made.” Jack stood up and put the small round metal ball he was playing with back down on the table.
“You can go back to Hammond and request to undo this transfer.”
“No, Carter I can’t. It won’t change what I feel…what we feel. What happened in the field four weeks ago, that can never happen again. It’s too dangerous, this is the best way.”
“I won’t accept it.” Sam responded softly without even adding a “sir” in the mix.
“I’m out of your chain of command. You will report to Reynolds from now on.” He snapped harshly.
“You can’t do this sir!” Sam tried.
“I can and I did.” He glared at her and left the room.
She quickly stood up afterwards and left her lab too. She needed to walk around and escape the scene that had just played out.
This was all her fault; she ruined SG1 by not wanting to leave him behind. She had needed to know that he would be safe. She shouldn’t have ignored his order. When did she become this obstinate? In the end she ended up going to the bathroom and closing herself in a stall.
Soon after she went in she heard a few other people coming in as well.
“Did you hear about Colonel O’Neill?” Sam heard someone say; she sounded like Sergeant Fisher. This sounded interesting and Sam didn’t dare to move.
“No, what happened?” someone asked with a surprise. Sam thought this voice came from Sergeant East.
“The Colonel has been reassigned.”
“No way! Do you know why?”
“Well, I think it has to do with Major Carter. You know about her and Colonel O’Neill right?” There was a small pause, in which Sam imagined East nodding at Fisher. “I mean I don’t know it for sure and all, but I’ve seen how they look at each other. Hammond must have seen it too and reprimanded O’Neill.”
"I wonder if he required her to sleep with him to get her a permanent position on SG1? I wonder if he would put me on an SG team if I offered him a blow job?" Fisher laughed at that comment.
Sam didn’t want to hear more. She was astonished by what she just heard. The water from the sink ran and soon the two gossiping Sergeants left.
Sam knew she had fallen for Jack O’Neill, but she hadn't wanted to. She wasn’t the kind of person who fell for her commanding officer. Sam stood up and walked quickly back to the safety of her lab .
Once there she stared at her newest gadget, the energy generator, but she wasn’t thinking about how it worked. The conversation of the two Sergeants was playing over and over in her head. When had it happened that people started to think like this about her? Hadn’t she shown time after time that she deserved her position here in the SGC? Some people clearly already thought she was sleeping with him and the Colonel leaving SG1 would only further those rumors.
Sam tried to start working again on her metal box. She also tried to ignore the thoughts that within two hours she would start her first mission on SG1 with Colonel Reynolds and that for now there was no hope of Jack returning with them. Sam sighed once again.
Unfortunately, as hard as Sam tried she just couldn’t ignore what she had heard. She felt indignant, but she felt helpless too. She thought of Colonel Reynolds; her new CO. She was nervous that he would be her new commander. From her experience Colonel Reynolds was the complete opposite of Colonel O’Neill. He wouldn’t be as gentle to civilians as the Colonel and wouldn’t let Daniel challenge him. She did hope that Reynolds wouldn’t still see her as an inept scientist like he had when she visited Area 51. There Colonel O’Neill had corrected Reynolds by surreptitiously mentioning that she was a Major. After that Reynolds had backed off but she hadn’t spoken to him since.
Sam cut another cable in frustration while her mind chose this moment to replay the moment of the Colonel telling her that Reynolds was her permanent CO from now on. He even implied that he trusted Reynolds. That said something about the man; Colonel O’Neill didn’t trust people that easily.
Could this mean that she was actually the problem here? Was she the weak link and not the Colonel? What should she do now? There was apparently only one option for her; she needed to start thinking straight again and that meant she had to distance herself from Jack O’Neill.
Sam watched the clock again; one hour before her mission with Colonel Reynolds. It also meant one hour till she would prove herself again. She was determined that she would show everyone that she got her position on SG1 because she deserved it.
TBC