FOR TOMORROW

CHAPTER 1

TITTLE: "For Tomorrow"

CHAPTER: One.

AUTHOR: fresitaazul

RATING: OLDER TEENS for sexual situations and sexual innuendo.

CATEGORY: Angst/Romance/Friendship

PAIRING: Sam and Jack

RELATED EPISODES: Future, maybe season 10 or 11?

SUMMARY: Some good news for Sam and Jack could mean very difficult choices for the Universe's fate.

WARNINGS: language, sexual situations and sexual innuendo. Read further at your own discretion.

DISCLAIMER: The characters used in this story, DO NOT belong to me; I'm just borrowing them for fun. I am not gaining any money for this and don't expect to either.

FEEDBACK: Is always very welcome and appreciated, thank you!

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

This is my first story outside of the S/J only based plots I've written to far. I has been a bit of a challenge since I have off world situations and many characters involved. It is and will always be Sam/Jack centered, so don't you worry!

To my wonderful Beta Lennie, thank you for your constant interest and encouragement, as well as for helping me with grammar and ideas.

To my readers, thanks for taking the time to read my work. I hope you enjoy it!

Have fun!

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Major General Jack O'Neill walked down the Stargate Command corridors, thundering emotions fueling him. He cursed continuously as he entered the elevator that would take him to the base commander's office, and his fist hit the wall in anger and frustration. The heavy doors opened as he reached his destination, and a young lieutenant saluted the senior officer respectfully. The look on the older man's face was frightening, and as the gray-haired general continued his determined fast pace walk through the corridor, the other turned to a short man who approached him, both watching as said general climbed up the stairs and out of sight.

"Isn't that General O'Neill?"

"Yes, I believe it is," Walter said.

"What's the matter with him? He looks like he's about to kill someone with his bare hands!"

Walter looked down to the files he held in his hands and took a deep breath. "I'm afraid he would if he could." The two men looked at each other and then walked in opposite directions, Walter following the angry general.

Jack knocked on the door in front of him once, and didn't wait for the occupant's permission to enter; he opened the door abruptly and stood close to the wide wooden desk.

"What the hell happened, Hank?" he yelled.

"Jack, calm down," General Landry replied, still seated on his chair, not too surprised by the other man's outburst.

"If you know ANYTHING about me, you know I hate to be patronized," Jack continued with a stern voice.

"I know a lot about you, and that is exactly why you will sit down and listen!" Landry watched the other man with careful eyes, as a silent pause followed.

With a murmured curse, Jack pulled one of the chairs and sat, his big hands rubbing his face hard and then ruffling his short silver hair. Finally, after a long and tortuous stillness, he looked up and focused his dark brown eyes on his fellow general.

"Colonel Mitchell and Dr. Jackson will be happy to brief you on the details of the matter at hand, but I want you to understand, Colonel Carter knew the stakes and chose to go ahead with the mission anyway."

"Yes, she did, didn't she? But what happened with the authority of the base commander? Did that have any weight in her going through with this madness?" Jack countered in a challenge.

Landry began to look more upset after the accusing comment but chose to ignore it, given the circumstances and the feelings he knew were involved. "I'm hoping you didn't just insult me on purpose, given the fact that you were commander of this place once, and you know more than anyone, the blonde colonel in question can make you change your mind quite easily."

Jack looked down, embarrassed at how much his own insecurity and fear was clouding his judgment. He shut his eyes for a moment and then looked up again. "Sorry, Hank. I…" He stopped and ran his hands through his hair once again. "Crap! She just…" he trailed off, not daring to finish the sentence with what his heart was telling him. Sam was the smartest, brightest, most capable officer he knew, but she was also stubborn, just like him. When she wanted something, she went out there and got it. He knew, deep down, she had made the right choice at the time. But at the present moment, that choice had turned out for the worse and they were faced with a more, complicated and difficult situation because of it.

Looking towards the room visible through the glass of his office and the people occupying the chairs, the SGC's commander turned to Jack one more time. "If you feel you are ready, we will meet the rest of SG-1 in the briefing room now." Hank Landry gave him a wary look, which Jack quickly understood. "They are upset too, you know? Please, try to listen."

Jack nodded briefly and stood, following the general into the room ahead.

Dr. Daniel Jackson, Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell and Teal'c, were sitting at the table, waiting patiently for Landry to appear from his office. Their faces were filled with concern and sadness, especially Daniel's.

Jack took a seat next to General Landry and looked at Daniel for a fraction of a second. He lowered his gaze then, trying his best to not let his personal feelings get the best of him again, and do what he needed to do as a two-star General and Head of Homeworld Security.

"Colonel Mitchell, General O'Neill would like to know what happened and how this regretful situation got so out of hand." Landry spoke in a steady but troubled voice. He did feel guilt for allowing SG-1 to undergo such a crazy mission, but after more than a year of running the secret base, he had learned that most of the time, the more idiotic the idea, the more they could get the right results, especially if that idea came from Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter.

Cameron Mitchell looked between Jack and Hank, his own eyes reflecting the angst he was experiencing. He cleared his throat and swallowed hard. "Sirs, with the help of the Jaffa allies, we learned that the Ori would be making an appearance on one of the planets in this galaxy, followed by an attack on Earth." He exchanged a look with Daniel, who sat in front of him. "Dr. Jackson, Colonel Carter told you first about her plan to prevent this two weeks ago, correct?"

"Yes, she did," the archeologist replied. "She found a way to make the devices we found in Camelot work; it seems it could be used to track down the Ori."

"Track them down?" Jack echoed.

"Yes. At first, I thought it was impossible. But then, she showed me how the technology could detect ascended beings and pin point their specific location, if needed."

"And just, how did she show you that, Daniel?" Jack pressed, his patience beginning to fade.

Daniel gazed at the older man and shook his head. "Jack, before you jump to conclusions like you always do…"

"I asked you a question, Daniel. I'm NOT jumping to conclusions," Jack said, as he interrupted the other man hastily.

Jack and Daniel gazed at each other for a moment, until Landry continued. "Dr. Jackson, please answer the General's question."

"She proved it with me," the younger man responded, his eyes still locked with Jack's.

"Excuse me?" Jack said, confused. "With you? How? Last I checked, you are not ascended!"

"But I was… used to be… at some point."

Jack shut his eyes tight, trying to collect himself. Daniel could kill his patience quite easily, but he knew nothing good could happen if he exploded. "Ok.… so, I'm assuming there's some ascended… trace, left in you."

"Right. She was able to calibrate it correctly, so when Sam turned it on, I appeared on the hologram screen."

"Hologram… like with the out-of-phase device," Cameron added, explaining to O'Neill who looked very puzzled.

"The device in question was Merlin's, too," Hank Landry clarified to Jack. "We think he left behind a number of devices in his effort to destroy the Ori. And you know of course, this was done behind most of the other ascended beings' backs."

Jack ran his hands over his face and shook his head a couple of times, trying his best to understand where they were going with the extended explanation. "Well, thank God for good ol' Merlin, then!" He began to raise his voice then. "Now, we lost one SG team and our lead Stargate specialist has disappeared!"

The group was quiet, looks flying from one person to the other, until all of them were looking at Jack. Teal'c tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "O'Neill, no one in this room is to blame for the unfortunate results of ColonelCarter's plan. You know better than anyone we take risks in our efforts to fight our enemies."

"Yes, Teal'c, I know. But that doesn't mean we throw ourselves into the open wolf's mouth every time we think we have a brilliant, insane idea!" Jack replied, his voice firm and authoritarian.

"Really? Didn't we do that back in the day when the four of us gated to Apophis' ship, without knowing where we were going or what we would do to stop his assault on Earth?" Daniel replied, his own voice edgy and angry. "Or when we asked for Yu's help to defeat Anubis? Then, there was the time when you got your head sucked by the ancient download device and, once again, saved Earth from imminent attack? Or how about the time that Sam blew up a sun!" Daniel stood from his chair then, his eyes glaring at Jack with fury. "Our continuous success and your obvious approval and actions could've fooled me!"

"Dr. Jackson! Please, take your seat," Landry said, putting an end to what could be a bitter discussion between the two friends. "Jack, I understand the reasons behind your concern…"

"If you think I'm only worried because of my relationship with Carter, you are wrong, Hank," Jack countered immediately, his eyes still glued on Daniel. "This mission was a mistake from the get go."

Everyone turned to Landry, whose eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. His face turned red and he stood up from his chair with determination. "General O'Neill, I do not care for your constant criticism over my decisions or SG-1's, for that matter. The choice was made, and the inevitable happened. I advise you clear your head and put yourself together before I respectfully have to ask you to leave."

Jack shot him a wide look, his lips pursed tight. He knew he was screwing up, big time. He was also aware his emotions were getting in the way, but he couldn't stop them. With a final deep breath, he turned his attention to Mitchell. "So, Carter made the device work. Then what?" he asked, trying to continue on without confronting Landry any further.

Mitchell glanced at Landry for approval to continue. "Well, she briefed us on what she thought would be the perfect plan to destroy the Ori fleet before they made it here… an ambush."

"A plan we thought in every way could work," Landry added, looking sharply at Jack.

'Not every way', Jack thought, but chose to swallow the words. Instead, he looked down to the table for a number of minutes. Without looking up, he sighed. "So you went to this planet, mingled with the locals, and got caught."

"The plan was to become part of the locals for a day or so, this to not raise any suspicions, sir. Colonel Carter needed time to locate all the Ori who were close to the planet to be able to trace them with the device and destroy them with the weapon. But one of the villagers was a spy for the Prior and he blew the whistle."

"Next thing we knew, the Prior was on to us and we had to gate out as quickly as possible," Daniel said and glanced at Mitchell and Teal'c. "Sam was gone by then."

"So, this weapon also kills the Ori?" Jack asked, trying his very best to remain objective and calm.

"No, sir. Sam needed to calibrate that device and the other weapon found in Camelot to kill the Ori. According to her, both devices had to be used together in order to work. Neither one had been tested, so all this was in theory." Mitchell shut his eyes because he had also thought the plan was flawed and incredibly risky.

Jack raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "So let me get this straight, you went to an Ori infested planet that was clearly a target, to TEST BOTH WEAPONS for the first time?" He turned to Landry, who was now looking down to the table.

"It was our only shot, Jack," Daniel said softly and defeated, his own guilt flourishing then.

"The only shot indeed, Daniel!" Jack was as enraged as he could get, so he got up and leaned his body on the table looking at Mitchell. "You left her. You left her behind!"

"Sir, with all due respect, I did not leave her behind," Mitchell said defensively.

"SG-3 pulled ColonelMitchell, DanielJackson and myself out against our will, O'Neill," Teal'c added, his eyes full of disappointment and guilt as well.

"She could still be out there!" Jack yelled to the group.

"She isn't, Jack. I'm sorry," came Landry's crushed voice from where he sat.

"We saw her go, sir," Mitchell replied before Jack could shoot another scream. "She… glowed."

Jack's face turned pale, his eyes empty and his heart stopping. "Did she…"

"Ascend? We don't know," Daniel completed for him.

"For all we know, either the Ori or the Ancients could've taken her, sir," Mitchell said.

"This can't be happening…" Jack said very softly, while both his hands grasped his face and he let his body drop to his seat once again; the others only heard him because of the deep silence that surrounded the briefing room.

"Jack, we'll find her," Daniel said as he stood from his chair and sat next to his ex-commanding officer, his friend, his brother.

The older man turned to look at the blue-eyed archeologist with lost, helpless eyes. "How, Daniel?"

There was no response then. Only silence and regret.

"I… should go," Jack finally spoke, standing up.

"Where?" Daniel asked with profound concern.

"Home. Her… home," he corrected. With a few long steps, he was out of the room and down the stairs, disappearing from view.

General Landry turned to Daniel with apprehension. "Dr. Jackson, would you…"

"I was planning on it, General," the younger man added and stood up as well.

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Jack stepped out of the car in front of Sam's house. It was 2200 hours and the place was pitch black. He had driven her Volvo from where she had left it parked at the mountain, the smell of her flooding his senses and drowning him more into his profound despair.

As he walked inside and switched the foyer light, he made his way into the house and looking to his right to the small table at the entrance, he found a white, long envelope addressed to her. It said it was urgent and it seemed that she had already opened and read the contents. He wondered if it had anything to do with the voice message she left him three days ago, before they embarked in the horrendous mission that resulted in her disappearance. She had said they needed to talk, that it was important, and she didn't want to do it on a voice mail or over the phone. Jack had been away visiting the Antarctica outpost and his phone had been out of range the entire time. They had not talked for almost a week, leaving mutual messages for each other. He hated that, he hated not communicating with her, and when he got word about the crazy mission SG-1 had left for, he had returned to Washington and called Landry. That was when he was informed Sam was missing.

Jack had been able to visit Colorado Springs four weeks ago, and he remembered their conversation the night before he left so clearly, he found himself expecting her to appear from the dark hallway…

Sam was lying on her side, a strong, possessive arm surrounding her waist, caressing her stomach and belly button playfully. She turned her head slightly in search of his lips, and they stopped kissing her neck to attend her wondering mouth.

"Mmmm… I really like this, Jack," she said gently as the passionate kiss ended.

"What, the kiss or the part of me that is now pressing against your back?"

She giggled and turned on her side to meet his face. "Both." She began to kiss his face with great detail; his eyelids, his cheekbones, his nose, his lips, his chin. "I like all of it. All of you. I'll never get enough of you."

He detected something different in her voice, so he pulled back a little to look into her blue eyes. "Sam, you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've just been… thinking."

"Really? Don't say… I'm shocked, Sam. You thinking? No way!"

She laughed and shortly after, she shifted her body on top of his. "Jack, I want to ask you something. It's kinda important."

"Alright, shoot!"

"We've been together for more than a year now, we've known each other in every way possible for almost ten, and we both agree we have the most incredible sex imaginable."

"Oh, yeah!" he added, smirking and expecting her question with curiosity.

"Marry me?" she blurted out.

He blinked repeatedly and finally gazed at her. Her blue eyes were filled with expectation and hope and he also detected fear in them. "You're proposing, Samantha Carter?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Why?… I mean… huh?" He was confused. Very confused and astonished.

"I figured my two previous times were such a failure. I want our moment and our future to be right, just like this. Just like the past year and the ones yet to come."

"And you knew I was too chicken to ask you, huh?" he added.

"Yeah… I guess," she said as she blushed.

He watched her carefully for a moment. A wide, happy smile painted his lips then, and he claimed her mouth for a slow, wonderful and loving kiss. As they came apart, he caressed her hair and face with tenderness and brought her head closer to kiss her nose. "Yes, Sam. Let's get married."

She smiled as well, her eyes and heart filled with joy and peace. They made love again, joining each other as they always did, in the wonderful rhythm and dance that characterized their sexual connection. As they both climaxed and collapsed onto the mattress, he turned to her and whispered. "I love you so very much, Sam… so much, it hurts sometimes."

This declaration was shocking to her. Jack's emotions were continuously in check, never saying too much, not expressing more than necessary, especially with words.

"Hurts?" she asked, astonished.

"I…I'm sorry." He was now caught in a vulnerable situation and he hated it. His only way out was to tell her what had been haunting him for the past year, when she returned to SG-1. "I can't be there to protect you anymore." There, he admitted it. All that time, he had not intervened once on her career or decisions. He had remained afar, giving her the space she needed, because nobody could do her job better than Samantha Carter.

She looked into his brown depths and smiled tenderly. "Jack, I don't need you to…"

"You don't need me to, I know. But that's my instinct. Same as yours is to solve devices and explain difficult scientific theories."

A small laugh came from her, but soon died, as his eyes were very serious. "Jack. Our jobs, the Ori…"

"Yeah, it doesn't end, does it? The Goa'uld, the Replicators… it never will either." He was now bitter and he looked away from her.

"What is going on, Jack?" She sat up to search his eyes as he stared to the window and into the night. "Look at me." Her hand grasped his face gently and pulled it toward her. "We'll be fine, you tell me that all the time."

"I lied. I'm more pessimistic than you think."

"Please don't say that." The happiness that filled her minutes ago was quickly gone. Now, fear and angst were resurfacing.

He sat up, ran his hands over his face and buried them in his hair. "I'm sorry, Sam. I just have a very bad feeling, what can I say?"

"Bad feeling? Come on! Jack O'Neill doesn't believe in that!" she tried to joke.

He turned to her as she sat next to him, her smile trying to stay placed in her lips and she looked at him. "What if something bad happens? What if destiny finally catches up with us and we fail?"

Sam was scared now. Could it have been her proposal that put Jack in such a horrible, dark mood? Thinking all of the sudden about the worse case scenarios? She felt guilty then. He was not one to be pushed, and maybe he needed to propose to her when he was ready. All that time, she had thought he was waiting for her to be ready, when maybe it was the other way around.

"Jack, we don't have to get married if you're not sure. It's ok, really," she finally said, her words hurting as she spoke them, but with all the honesty she could handle.

Jack looked at her apologetically and pulled her into a tight hug. "Oh, no, Sam. Of course I'm sure! More than I'll ever be in my life. I'm sorry." His face nuzzled her neck and he kissed it. "I'm sorry."

She pulled back a little to look at him. "Then, why are you saying these things?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I'm an insecure, old general, I guess?"

"You're not insecure," she said with a smirk. "And definitely not old."

"You sure you want to marry me? I'm a load of emotional baggage, if you know what I mean," he said in his usual self-deprecating way.

"Jack, I don't need a piece of paper to justify how I feel about you. If I had to confess to anyone, I feel I've been married to you for a very long time. Load of emotional baggage and everything."

He looked at her with admiration and gratefulness. Jack felt his heart was beating at a faster pace than he thought would be healthy, but smiled anyway. "Y'know, I don't think I ever felt this way for anyone. Not even Sara."

Her eyebrows raised high, a surprised expression on her face. He never spoke of his previous marriage; it was a topic she considered off limits with him.

"I'm a complete sap tonight, so I might as well just open up, given it's our engagement night, right?" Jack cracked a smile, as she looked at him, speechless. "I loved Sara very much. But, the secrecy in my life put a strain on our relationship from the beginning. Then Charlie's death drew us apart even more. I shut down and she let me."

"Jack, I'm sure she would've wanted things to be different," she said sincerely.

"Maybe. But it added to our already accumulated problems and pain." His eyes burned deep into hers and he leaned over to kiss her on the lips. "You know everything about me, Sam. All of it. I am vulnerable with you." She widened her eyes and breathed fast. He smiled and framed her face with his hands. "I don't care if I am. And the truth is, and has been for the past six or seven years, I would rather die than lose you."

Their eyes locked for a long moment, as he laid them back onto the bed, on their sides, facing each other.

"Jack…" she finally said, but he silenced her with a gentle finger placed on her lips.

"Shush… we'll be fine. I know it." He kissed her one more time as she smiled and turned to her other side, allowing him to spoon against her and hold her through the night.

When he heard her breath slow down and detected she was giving in to the inevitable need for sleep, he whispered in her ear. "I can't wait to tell everyone about how and when you proposed." A mischievous smile appeared on his face then.

Sam giggled once again and brought the hand that had been placed on her belly to her mouth for a kiss. "Night, Jack."

"Night, Sam." He closed his eyes and fell asleep shortly after, when he was certain she had given in first.

A knock on the door brought Jack back to reality and he walked out of her bedroom, where his feet had taken him while lost in the memory.

"What the hell?" he said grumpily as he approached the front door and opened it fast. "What!" he grunted.

"Hey, Jack," said Daniel calmly, as he stood on the porch.

Jack watched him for a while. He didn't move from the door, nor did he invite his friend inside.

"Well, could I please come in?"

"Why?"

"Because…"

"Because, why?"

The younger man looked at the older one with a determined but sad gaze. He blew out a breath and looked down to his feet. "I know how you feel. I want to help."

"You mean, besides for the pity you and everyone else at the SGC feel for me?"

"Jack, stop being so childish and listen to me for once in your life!" Daniel finally yelled, as his exasperation with his friend grew stronger.

Jack raised his eyebrows and opened the door wider to let the archeologist in. He walked to the kitchen and came back with two beer bottles, giving one to the younger man.

"Speak," Jack pronounced dryly.

"I talked to Sam before the mission. I suspect there is something else going on," Daniel drank a long sip of his beer and looked for Jack's reaction.

"Daniel, cut the crap! Go to the point or get out. I am NOT in the mood for your little guessing games tonight, alright?"

"She was hiding something." Daniel narrowed his eyes and looked at Jack with suspicion, as he ignored the other's outburst. "I think it involves you."

Jack's brown eyes were masked with his anger and deception. Daniel's gaze could not get through, so Jack took a long sip of his beer as well and sat down in a chair opposite to him. "What are you talking about?"

"She said things would change soon. In her life, she meant. She wanted this to be her last off world mission."

Mayor General Jack O'Neill was unbreakable when it came to revealing his feelings or his secrets. Sam and he had agreed to keep their engagement secret until both of them could tell their family in person, meaning Daniel, Teal'c, Cassie, and her brother. He was planning on traveling that weekend and getting the gang together for the official announcement. Now that Sam was missing, the thought of it made him sick. Daniel knew that, somehow, they were hiding something together. But, Sam had never mentioned anything about quitting SG-1, so this shocked him.

"Anything you can tell me, Jack?" Daniel asked as he watched his friend cautiously.

"Other than the fact that you're setting your hopes in the wrong direction? No. Nothing."

"I'm sorry to hear that," the younger man responded because he was prepared for that kind of answer from his old friend. "I think she's pregnant."

Jack spit the beer out of his mouth and stood up immediately. "WHAT!"

Daniel didn't respond. They looked at each other until Jack walked to the table where the white envelope sat and picked it up. He held it in his hands and looked back at Daniel before staring at it once again and beginning to open it quickly.

TBC….