Author's Note: Ok guys, I have a feeling I'm losing ya'll here. I'm sorry for that. To be honest with you, I have no idea where this story is going. Ok, I do, but I have no clue how to get there. The pieces I have figured out I've written, but the connecting chapters? No idea. Please bare with me.
Also, this is an unbeta'd chapter, as Macisgate is on vacation.
Spoilers/Disclaimers: Rochelle belongs to me. Everything else doesn't. I'm only borrowing them. Spoilers up through "New Order."
The entire base was plunged into darkness, and only the red emergency lights glowed, casting a menacing pall over everyone. Technicians were frantically pounding away at their computer terminals, trying to figure out why the hell they had no power.
"What now?" Jack barked. His first full day of command was barely twelve hours old, and he just kept getting slammed. A new member of the facility who was way more than she appeared; proposed negotiations with their fiercest enemy, and now a power outage. He was beginning to wish he'd just stayed in bed. With Sam.
She was right behind him as once again they all dashed down to the control room. He could smell her perfume wafting from behind him, teasing his nostrils. He heard her breathing, the hairs on the base of his neck coming to attention. Despite the situation at hand, his mind was beginning to wander more and more to the subject of being in bed with Sam and he had to keep other parts of him from coming to attention as well.
"We just lost all power, sir. I'm getting reports of a wide spread outage, coming from all over the base!" Walter reported the minute they entered the barely lit control room.
"Thank you, Walter, I gathered that," he snipped. Sam brushed a hand over his as she slid into the seat beside Davis, trying to see if she could discern anything. The gesture was subtle, yet comforting, and Jack knew she wanted him to remain calm. She had faith in him and in his abilities. They all did. She wanted him to take a deep breath and command, just like he always had. It was still amazing to him, that even with eight years of field experience together, she could convey so much with such a little gesture, at such an early stage in their relationship; in their romantic relationship, that is. If he had the time to stop and think about how well worn their "new" relationship already was, he'd probably be astounded. Unfortunately, he was too busy trying to figure out why the world was going to hell in a hand basket at warp speed. Hyperspeed. Whatever.
Rochelle stepped up beside him, glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes. He tried figuring out the expression that crossed her face as she returned her eyes front, a slight up-turning at the corners of her mouth. Was she amused? She found this funny?
"You mocking me, Mac?" he asked, trying out the same name for her he called her uncle. He didn't like it.
She shook her head apologetically, "Not at all sir. I was just thinking it's good to see things are proceeding as normal around here on my first day."
"Sad that this is normal," Daniel muttered.
Jack sighed, "Just another day at the office."
"Indeed," agreed the stoic Jaffa who stood just off to Jack's left.
Then, as abruptly as they had gone down, all the lights came back up, and the entire base sprung to life as electricity once more surged through the twenty-eight levels of the facility.
"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Jack asked.
"We lost power," Sam replied, sounding confused as her fingers flew over the computer keys. She was running a diagnostic, or something, he was sure.
"Yes, Carter, thank you for restating the obvious," he snarked.
She shot him a disparaging glance that said "Be patient, asshole". Her tone was calm, however, when she reported, "All diagnostics are normal."
"Maybe it was just a power surge?" Daniel said hopefully. "Or a blown fuse."
"For crying out loud, Daniel, Teal'c didn't leave his hair dryer plugged in and then tried to run the microwave! The most secure military base on this planet just lost power and I want to know why!"
"Allow me to explain, O'Neill," came a disembodied, yet familiar voice, from virtually out of thin air. "I unintentionally caused your power disruption."
The airmen in the control room snapped to, drawing their weapons to protect their commanding officer from...thin air.
Jack frowned, looking at his friends, and teammates. "Anyone else think that sounded like..."
"Supreme Commander Thor," Teal'c responded, making Jack glad he wasn't going crazy. Well, any crazier.
The General nodded, "That's what I thought." He looked up. "Thor? Little buddy? Where are ya?"
At his query, a barely discernible holographic image of the Asguard Supreme Commander appeared before them. "O'Neill," Thor's image crackled. "I am pleased to see you survived your encounter with the Ancients and Anubis unharmed. I am sorry we could not do more."
Jack shrugged, "No big. I thawed out on my own. No harm, no foul." He crossed his arms, "Why do I get the feeling this isn't a social call?"
If a four foot tall gray being could sigh dramatically, Jack couldda sworn he'd just seen Thor do it. "You are correct, O'Neill. It is not. The Asguard need SG-1's help."
At that, Sam gave him a worried glance. It was rare that the Asguard came to them for help. And when they did, it was generally for the same reason. Scratch that; Sam wasn't merely worried, Jack realized, as she stood from her seat at the computers. She was terrified.
Looking around, Jack noticed there were a few bystanders, who, while cleared to, well, be on the most secure military base on Earth, weren't cleared to know all everything, including some details of their missions with the Asguard. While all teams were briefed on the foes they had encountered during their relationship with the little gray creatures, the magnitude of their accomplishments--and failures--had been kept closely guarded. With one gruff and decisive, "Everyone, dismissed," and a good number of confused looks, Jack cleared the control room.
Only when they were alone, did he say, "Thor, you're not going to tell me what I think you're going to tell me, are you?"
The hologram flickered. "I am sorry O'Neill, but I must report that--"
"The Replicators have escaped the dilation device," Sam said, her voice full of dread.
Jack sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oy." Yep. Definitely should have kept him and Sam in bed today. All warm and cozy and naked and not having the fate of the Universe rest on their shoulders--again. This time, it was his hand that brushed hers in a soothing gesture.
"Indeed, Major Carter," Thor said.
"Actually," Jack said helpfully. "It's Colonel Carter now. And I'm a General."
"That is most exciting," Thor said emphatically. Well, as emphatically as a monotone, difficult to phase, gray alien with big black eyes and a "been there, done that, bought the T-shirt" attitude could.
"What happened?" Daniel asked.
"Unfortunately, I do not have enough power needed to sustain this transmission for the length of time it would take to explain everything to you. Suffice it to say, we are in dire need of any expertise you might have to offer." Thor's black, hollow eyes, however distorted by the bad transmission, seemed almost regretfully, begging.
"Commander Thor, are you near Othalla?" Teal'c asked.
Thor took a minute to consider his answer, eventually responding with a "Yes."
"We have a ship that could get us there in about a week," Sam said, her voice rote and even, all business. Jack knew she was detaching from the situation. Work first. Personal consequences later. Much later. Probably along with a lot of beers, and a bubble bath.
"A week is a great deal of time," Thor said, disappointed. "Unfortunately, I must remain here and keep an eye on the situation at hand. I cannot come retrieve you. And the nearest planet with a Stargate is too far from my current position."
Jack shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on his feet. He felt an unfamiliar tugging at his heart and he knew it was something he was going to have to get used to. He had to send his team out, into the field, into danger, risk their lives, and he wouldn't be there to protect them. Wouldn't be there to watch Sam be the brilliant commanding officer he knew she could be. Wouldn't be there and know Teal'c was, as always, watching their six. Wouldn't be there and keep Daniel from getting his ass shot off--again. Having Rochelle on the team should have been somewhat of a comfort to him, but her hard-to-killness wouldn't do them a damn bit of good if the ship got shot out of the sky. And he didn't want to explain to his very old, very hand with a sword friend why she was floating around in another galaxy.
Sam looked at him, and in her eyes, he saw in 2IC looking back at him, not his lover. Even though they were one in the same, Sam had gone frighteningly all business, even though he knew she was dreading what was on the other side of this rainbow. He had a feeling if she clicked her heels three times and got in the Wizard's balloon, she still wouldn't be able to get herself out of this one and back to Kansas the same as when she had left. At that moment, Jack resolved that from here on out, he'd be there for her, no matter how the missions changed her, no matter what happened while she was away and he was sitting behind a desk reading memos and being generally useless. A generally useless General.
His lover took a deep breath, "The modifications you made to the scout ship might get us there in under a week, if we really punch it. But it'll burn out the engines and we'll have no way to get back."
"I will return you all home safely, once the mission is completed," Thor promised.
Jack frowned, "Unfortunately, little buddy, your timing couldn't be worse. We have a rather...tense situation brewing with the Gou'uld. They wanna negotiate. And I run this place now. I can't just go flitting about the galaxy." The last he said with a measurable amount of regret. "And I'm keeping Daniel here for his prowess at the negotiating table." He cracked a smile. "Since you can't be here to help me out."
"I wish you luck with the Gou'uld, O'Neill," Thor said. "Shall I expect to see Colonel Carter and Teal'c in less than a week?"
Rochelle cleared her throat, subtly of course.
Jack huffed, "I'll be sending our newest team member along for the ride too. She gets to play with the big kids her first day out of the sandbox."
If Thor missed the metaphor, he didn't say so. He merely nodded, "Very well. Make haste my friends. There is no time to lose."
And with that the transmission was cut.
"Just another day at the office," Rochelle echoed.
"Indeed," Teal'c replied.
Jack shook his head tiredly and turned to his 2IC. "Colonel Carter, prepare your team. Get your ship ready and be prepared to move out ASAP."
"Yes sir," Sam replied. She motioned for Davis to reenter the control room, and set him getting the necessary wheels in motion to have the modified ship ready and stocked in under an hour. To her teammates, she said, "Gear up. Rochelle, I want you to hit the Mess and tell them we need a week's worth of rations. Standard fare for one of our away missions. They'll know what to give you. Teal'c, get all the necessary medical supplies. When you're both finished, report to munitions."
Rochelle and Teal'c made eerily similar nodding gestures, turned on their heels, and left to perform their assigned tasks, leaving Daniel, Jack, and Sam in the control room.
The moment they left, Daniel felt like the third wheel on Lance Armstrong's bicycle. He cleared his throat. "Well, big negotiations coming up! If anyone needs me, I'llbeinmyoffice." And with that he was gone.
Bless his little linguist heart.
"Davis," Jack ordered. "Call Dr. Weir and tell her that we've had an unexpected delay. My visit to Antarctica is going to have to wait till next week."
Davis nodded and reached for the phone.
Turning to his 2IC, Jack said, "Colonel, my office." He did an about face and retreated up the stairs before she had a chance to argue. But he heard her soft footfalls on the stairs behind him as they climbed wordlessly up to his office. Once she was safely inside, he shut the door and locked it. "You ok?" he asked softly.
"Fine, sir," she replied, staring straight ahead, her eyes unblinking.
He sighed, "Door's locked Sam. No one can hear us." He took a tentative step towards her. "C'mon, it's me here. You don't hafta keep this up for my benefit."
With a heavy sigh, she closed her eyes. He wanted to close the distance between them and take her in his arms, but he refrained. The door may have been locked, but the window between his office and the briefing hadn't turned to lead, and therefore didn't protect them from prying eyes.
"You'll be fine," he said confidently. "I have absolute faith in you." It was all the comfort he could give her.
"We left him there," she said quietly. "I betrayed him. And he's had all this time to dwell on that. He's going to be gunning for me." Hunched over, she leaned against the edge of his desk, arms folded across her chest.
Jack nodded, and crossed the room to lean beside her. "I thought of that. But what else can we do? Thor needs our help." He cracked a smile for her benefit. "Calvary comes to the rescue again."
"Hi-ho Silver," she replied mirthlessly. She turned her head to look him in the eye, and he was taken aback by the fear and regret he found in them. "He could have engineered this entire thing."
"You mean they knew Thor would call us when they escaped?"
She nodded.
He paused, "He's had a long time to think about it. Maybe he got over it, met some nice Replicator chick. Remember Sixth? Or was it Seventh? If you see him, you really should tell him I think he should consider giving them real names. You know. Like Mike. Sue. Jim-Bob. R2D2."
Sam chuckled. It wasn't much, barely qualifying as a full scale chuckle, but it was enough for him. It had made her laugh. Mission accomplished.
She sighed and slapped her thighs, "All right, I'm off to lead my team into a trap."
He took her hand and squeezed it, briefly, hoping to instill in her some of his confidence, and remind her of his love. And it didn't hurt to try to shore up her confidence, either.
"Go get 'em, tiger," he said encouragingly.
She was almost at the door when she turned back and looked at him. "You did these cat and mouse games for so long. How did you survive?"
He shrugged, "I made sure I was outta the maze before the other guy realized he was the cat."
At that, Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter nodded and left her commanding officer's office. He didn't see her again until the ship was ready to disembark. It was going to rise out of another sliding ceiling in the complex similar to the one they'd gotten the Stargates in and out of. As he entered the docking room, he observed Daniel helping Teal'c, Rochelle, and some airmen load the last of the things onto the ship. Daniel and Rochelle paused at the top of the ramp and exchanged a few words.
Jack made his way over to the ship. "No rides for you, Danny-boy. You're Earth bound."
Daniel rolled his eyes at Rochelle and walked down the ramp. "Good luck, guys," he said to his teammates.
"Thank you, DanielJackson," Teal'c answered for them as he emerged from the cargo hold.
Jack held Sam's gaze for a long couple of moments. He searched her face for any of the trepidation he had seen earlier, merely so he could help her banish it. He found none, and felt an overwhelming pride well up inside him. He nodded, and she nodded back, and with those two simple gestures, they said all they needed to say.
"SG-1, you have a go," he said, his voice booming. "Good luck."
"Thank you sir," Carter replied, and led her team into the belly of the modified ship. By the time Jack and Daniel had reached the door of the room, the ship had already risen to the top and was ascending through the hatch doors.
"Wish you were going with them?" Daniel asked quietly.
"Nah," Jack lied. "What's to miss when I've got a crap load of snakeheads to negotiate with?" With that, he turned and meandered out into the hall. Daniel shook his head and chuckled before trotting after his friend, wondering which group of them had drawn the shorter straw this day.
Also, this is an unbeta'd chapter, as Macisgate is on vacation.
Spoilers/Disclaimers: Rochelle belongs to me. Everything else doesn't. I'm only borrowing them. Spoilers up through "New Order."
The entire base was plunged into darkness, and only the red emergency lights glowed, casting a menacing pall over everyone. Technicians were frantically pounding away at their computer terminals, trying to figure out why the hell they had no power.
"What now?" Jack barked. His first full day of command was barely twelve hours old, and he just kept getting slammed. A new member of the facility who was way more than she appeared; proposed negotiations with their fiercest enemy, and now a power outage. He was beginning to wish he'd just stayed in bed. With Sam.
She was right behind him as once again they all dashed down to the control room. He could smell her perfume wafting from behind him, teasing his nostrils. He heard her breathing, the hairs on the base of his neck coming to attention. Despite the situation at hand, his mind was beginning to wander more and more to the subject of being in bed with Sam and he had to keep other parts of him from coming to attention as well.
"We just lost all power, sir. I'm getting reports of a wide spread outage, coming from all over the base!" Walter reported the minute they entered the barely lit control room.
"Thank you, Walter, I gathered that," he snipped. Sam brushed a hand over his as she slid into the seat beside Davis, trying to see if she could discern anything. The gesture was subtle, yet comforting, and Jack knew she wanted him to remain calm. She had faith in him and in his abilities. They all did. She wanted him to take a deep breath and command, just like he always had. It was still amazing to him, that even with eight years of field experience together, she could convey so much with such a little gesture, at such an early stage in their relationship; in their romantic relationship, that is. If he had the time to stop and think about how well worn their "new" relationship already was, he'd probably be astounded. Unfortunately, he was too busy trying to figure out why the world was going to hell in a hand basket at warp speed. Hyperspeed. Whatever.
Rochelle stepped up beside him, glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes. He tried figuring out the expression that crossed her face as she returned her eyes front, a slight up-turning at the corners of her mouth. Was she amused? She found this funny?
"You mocking me, Mac?" he asked, trying out the same name for her he called her uncle. He didn't like it.
She shook her head apologetically, "Not at all sir. I was just thinking it's good to see things are proceeding as normal around here on my first day."
"Sad that this is normal," Daniel muttered.
Jack sighed, "Just another day at the office."
"Indeed," agreed the stoic Jaffa who stood just off to Jack's left.
Then, as abruptly as they had gone down, all the lights came back up, and the entire base sprung to life as electricity once more surged through the twenty-eight levels of the facility.
"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Jack asked.
"We lost power," Sam replied, sounding confused as her fingers flew over the computer keys. She was running a diagnostic, or something, he was sure.
"Yes, Carter, thank you for restating the obvious," he snarked.
She shot him a disparaging glance that said "Be patient, asshole". Her tone was calm, however, when she reported, "All diagnostics are normal."
"Maybe it was just a power surge?" Daniel said hopefully. "Or a blown fuse."
"For crying out loud, Daniel, Teal'c didn't leave his hair dryer plugged in and then tried to run the microwave! The most secure military base on this planet just lost power and I want to know why!"
"Allow me to explain, O'Neill," came a disembodied, yet familiar voice, from virtually out of thin air. "I unintentionally caused your power disruption."
The airmen in the control room snapped to, drawing their weapons to protect their commanding officer from...thin air.
Jack frowned, looking at his friends, and teammates. "Anyone else think that sounded like..."
"Supreme Commander Thor," Teal'c responded, making Jack glad he wasn't going crazy. Well, any crazier.
The General nodded, "That's what I thought." He looked up. "Thor? Little buddy? Where are ya?"
At his query, a barely discernible holographic image of the Asguard Supreme Commander appeared before them. "O'Neill," Thor's image crackled. "I am pleased to see you survived your encounter with the Ancients and Anubis unharmed. I am sorry we could not do more."
Jack shrugged, "No big. I thawed out on my own. No harm, no foul." He crossed his arms, "Why do I get the feeling this isn't a social call?"
If a four foot tall gray being could sigh dramatically, Jack couldda sworn he'd just seen Thor do it. "You are correct, O'Neill. It is not. The Asguard need SG-1's help."
At that, Sam gave him a worried glance. It was rare that the Asguard came to them for help. And when they did, it was generally for the same reason. Scratch that; Sam wasn't merely worried, Jack realized, as she stood from her seat at the computers. She was terrified.
Looking around, Jack noticed there were a few bystanders, who, while cleared to, well, be on the most secure military base on Earth, weren't cleared to know all everything, including some details of their missions with the Asguard. While all teams were briefed on the foes they had encountered during their relationship with the little gray creatures, the magnitude of their accomplishments--and failures--had been kept closely guarded. With one gruff and decisive, "Everyone, dismissed," and a good number of confused looks, Jack cleared the control room.
Only when they were alone, did he say, "Thor, you're not going to tell me what I think you're going to tell me, are you?"
The hologram flickered. "I am sorry O'Neill, but I must report that--"
"The Replicators have escaped the dilation device," Sam said, her voice full of dread.
Jack sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oy." Yep. Definitely should have kept him and Sam in bed today. All warm and cozy and naked and not having the fate of the Universe rest on their shoulders--again. This time, it was his hand that brushed hers in a soothing gesture.
"Indeed, Major Carter," Thor said.
"Actually," Jack said helpfully. "It's Colonel Carter now. And I'm a General."
"That is most exciting," Thor said emphatically. Well, as emphatically as a monotone, difficult to phase, gray alien with big black eyes and a "been there, done that, bought the T-shirt" attitude could.
"What happened?" Daniel asked.
"Unfortunately, I do not have enough power needed to sustain this transmission for the length of time it would take to explain everything to you. Suffice it to say, we are in dire need of any expertise you might have to offer." Thor's black, hollow eyes, however distorted by the bad transmission, seemed almost regretfully, begging.
"Commander Thor, are you near Othalla?" Teal'c asked.
Thor took a minute to consider his answer, eventually responding with a "Yes."
"We have a ship that could get us there in about a week," Sam said, her voice rote and even, all business. Jack knew she was detaching from the situation. Work first. Personal consequences later. Much later. Probably along with a lot of beers, and a bubble bath.
"A week is a great deal of time," Thor said, disappointed. "Unfortunately, I must remain here and keep an eye on the situation at hand. I cannot come retrieve you. And the nearest planet with a Stargate is too far from my current position."
Jack shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on his feet. He felt an unfamiliar tugging at his heart and he knew it was something he was going to have to get used to. He had to send his team out, into the field, into danger, risk their lives, and he wouldn't be there to protect them. Wouldn't be there to watch Sam be the brilliant commanding officer he knew she could be. Wouldn't be there and know Teal'c was, as always, watching their six. Wouldn't be there and keep Daniel from getting his ass shot off--again. Having Rochelle on the team should have been somewhat of a comfort to him, but her hard-to-killness wouldn't do them a damn bit of good if the ship got shot out of the sky. And he didn't want to explain to his very old, very hand with a sword friend why she was floating around in another galaxy.
Sam looked at him, and in her eyes, he saw in 2IC looking back at him, not his lover. Even though they were one in the same, Sam had gone frighteningly all business, even though he knew she was dreading what was on the other side of this rainbow. He had a feeling if she clicked her heels three times and got in the Wizard's balloon, she still wouldn't be able to get herself out of this one and back to Kansas the same as when she had left. At that moment, Jack resolved that from here on out, he'd be there for her, no matter how the missions changed her, no matter what happened while she was away and he was sitting behind a desk reading memos and being generally useless. A generally useless General.
His lover took a deep breath, "The modifications you made to the scout ship might get us there in under a week, if we really punch it. But it'll burn out the engines and we'll have no way to get back."
"I will return you all home safely, once the mission is completed," Thor promised.
Jack frowned, "Unfortunately, little buddy, your timing couldn't be worse. We have a rather...tense situation brewing with the Gou'uld. They wanna negotiate. And I run this place now. I can't just go flitting about the galaxy." The last he said with a measurable amount of regret. "And I'm keeping Daniel here for his prowess at the negotiating table." He cracked a smile. "Since you can't be here to help me out."
"I wish you luck with the Gou'uld, O'Neill," Thor said. "Shall I expect to see Colonel Carter and Teal'c in less than a week?"
Rochelle cleared her throat, subtly of course.
Jack huffed, "I'll be sending our newest team member along for the ride too. She gets to play with the big kids her first day out of the sandbox."
If Thor missed the metaphor, he didn't say so. He merely nodded, "Very well. Make haste my friends. There is no time to lose."
And with that the transmission was cut.
"Just another day at the office," Rochelle echoed.
"Indeed," Teal'c replied.
Jack shook his head tiredly and turned to his 2IC. "Colonel Carter, prepare your team. Get your ship ready and be prepared to move out ASAP."
"Yes sir," Sam replied. She motioned for Davis to reenter the control room, and set him getting the necessary wheels in motion to have the modified ship ready and stocked in under an hour. To her teammates, she said, "Gear up. Rochelle, I want you to hit the Mess and tell them we need a week's worth of rations. Standard fare for one of our away missions. They'll know what to give you. Teal'c, get all the necessary medical supplies. When you're both finished, report to munitions."
Rochelle and Teal'c made eerily similar nodding gestures, turned on their heels, and left to perform their assigned tasks, leaving Daniel, Jack, and Sam in the control room.
The moment they left, Daniel felt like the third wheel on Lance Armstrong's bicycle. He cleared his throat. "Well, big negotiations coming up! If anyone needs me, I'llbeinmyoffice." And with that he was gone.
Bless his little linguist heart.
"Davis," Jack ordered. "Call Dr. Weir and tell her that we've had an unexpected delay. My visit to Antarctica is going to have to wait till next week."
Davis nodded and reached for the phone.
Turning to his 2IC, Jack said, "Colonel, my office." He did an about face and retreated up the stairs before she had a chance to argue. But he heard her soft footfalls on the stairs behind him as they climbed wordlessly up to his office. Once she was safely inside, he shut the door and locked it. "You ok?" he asked softly.
"Fine, sir," she replied, staring straight ahead, her eyes unblinking.
He sighed, "Door's locked Sam. No one can hear us." He took a tentative step towards her. "C'mon, it's me here. You don't hafta keep this up for my benefit."
With a heavy sigh, she closed her eyes. He wanted to close the distance between them and take her in his arms, but he refrained. The door may have been locked, but the window between his office and the briefing hadn't turned to lead, and therefore didn't protect them from prying eyes.
"You'll be fine," he said confidently. "I have absolute faith in you." It was all the comfort he could give her.
"We left him there," she said quietly. "I betrayed him. And he's had all this time to dwell on that. He's going to be gunning for me." Hunched over, she leaned against the edge of his desk, arms folded across her chest.
Jack nodded, and crossed the room to lean beside her. "I thought of that. But what else can we do? Thor needs our help." He cracked a smile for her benefit. "Calvary comes to the rescue again."
"Hi-ho Silver," she replied mirthlessly. She turned her head to look him in the eye, and he was taken aback by the fear and regret he found in them. "He could have engineered this entire thing."
"You mean they knew Thor would call us when they escaped?"
She nodded.
He paused, "He's had a long time to think about it. Maybe he got over it, met some nice Replicator chick. Remember Sixth? Or was it Seventh? If you see him, you really should tell him I think he should consider giving them real names. You know. Like Mike. Sue. Jim-Bob. R2D2."
Sam chuckled. It wasn't much, barely qualifying as a full scale chuckle, but it was enough for him. It had made her laugh. Mission accomplished.
She sighed and slapped her thighs, "All right, I'm off to lead my team into a trap."
He took her hand and squeezed it, briefly, hoping to instill in her some of his confidence, and remind her of his love. And it didn't hurt to try to shore up her confidence, either.
"Go get 'em, tiger," he said encouragingly.
She was almost at the door when she turned back and looked at him. "You did these cat and mouse games for so long. How did you survive?"
He shrugged, "I made sure I was outta the maze before the other guy realized he was the cat."
At that, Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter nodded and left her commanding officer's office. He didn't see her again until the ship was ready to disembark. It was going to rise out of another sliding ceiling in the complex similar to the one they'd gotten the Stargates in and out of. As he entered the docking room, he observed Daniel helping Teal'c, Rochelle, and some airmen load the last of the things onto the ship. Daniel and Rochelle paused at the top of the ramp and exchanged a few words.
Jack made his way over to the ship. "No rides for you, Danny-boy. You're Earth bound."
Daniel rolled his eyes at Rochelle and walked down the ramp. "Good luck, guys," he said to his teammates.
"Thank you, DanielJackson," Teal'c answered for them as he emerged from the cargo hold.
Jack held Sam's gaze for a long couple of moments. He searched her face for any of the trepidation he had seen earlier, merely so he could help her banish it. He found none, and felt an overwhelming pride well up inside him. He nodded, and she nodded back, and with those two simple gestures, they said all they needed to say.
"SG-1, you have a go," he said, his voice booming. "Good luck."
"Thank you sir," Carter replied, and led her team into the belly of the modified ship. By the time Jack and Daniel had reached the door of the room, the ship had already risen to the top and was ascending through the hatch doors.
"Wish you were going with them?" Daniel asked quietly.
"Nah," Jack lied. "What's to miss when I've got a crap load of snakeheads to negotiate with?" With that, he turned and meandered out into the hall. Daniel shook his head and chuckled before trotting after his friend, wondering which group of them had drawn the shorter straw this day.