The Hunt for Babylon:
By cheekychaos
Chapter Fifteen:
General Hammond was indeed pleased to hear about the discovery of Babylon and the knowledge it contained. The prisoners, however, raised complications. Senator Kinsey was to be investigated to try and find out what else he had done and would be removed from office. Agents from the CIA also arrived to take Sloane and Anna into custody, but Sark was proving to be a complex issue.
At the moment, General Hammond was sitting in a meeting with Major Carter, Colonel O'Neill, Agents Vaughn and Bristow and the new arrivals from the CIA, Agent Jack Bristow and Assistant Director Marcus Dixon. Sark was also present, although everyone seemed to be keeping an extra eye on him and he had been thoroughly disarmed. Lara and Daniel were still in the infirmary being checked out by Doc Fraiser and Teal'c had gone to kel'no'reem.
"Sark is the enemy!" Vaughn snapped. "We can't let him walk free! He's a monster!"
"He's no more a monster than you are!" Sydney snapped back.
Sark looked amused at the exchange between the two agents and was smirking softly. "If you want to know the truth, I suggest you contact MI-6." He said mildly.
Sydney turned to gaze sharply at him. "You work for MI-6?"
Sark nodded. "Yes, as clichéd as it might sound, I'm a deep undercover agent."
"Great!" Vaughn muttered, rolling his eyes.
Everyone ignored him. "We already know that." Jack Bristow said, speaking for both himself and Dixon. "We were contacted as soon as British Intelligence heard about the leaked documents."
Hammond nodded, this already having been discussed with him. "Where do we stand with the documents?"
Dixon answered his question. "They've been discredited as hoaxes. You shouldn't have any further problems from them."
"Good." Hammond answered.
"As for Sark, both British Intelligence and the CIA have decided it would be best for him to continue as he is now." Jack Bristow said, causing Vaughn to narrow his gaze furiously. "No one else knows the truth of who he works for, but now that we know we can help pass on information."
"So we go back to normal, then?" Sydney asked with a wry smile.
Her father smiled softly at her. "Yes, that's the idea."
"Right." Jack O'Neill said from where he was slumped in the chair beside General Hammond. "Now that that's been decided, I'm hungry."
Sam smiled. "You're always hungry, sir." She commented.
Sydney grinned at her two new friends, as Hammond suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. He had been quite impressed that the Colonel had been as quiet as he had for so long. "I'm rather hungry myself." Sydney said.
"Permission to go to the commissary, sir?" Jack asked Hammond.
Hammond nodded. "I think we're about done here." He said.
"Great!" Jack said, leaping up.
Sam and Sydney followed him, as did Vaughn and Sark, just at a slower pace. Jack Bristow, Dixon and Hammond remained to discuss the more mundane details that remained.
Half an hour later, Sam, Sydney and Jack were sitting with Daniel and Teal'c in the commissary digging into quite an impressive amount of food. They were all rather hungry and there hadn't been much conversation for a while. But there was only so long Jack could remain quiet, and it hadn't taken long for the teasing and joking to begin.
Casting a measuring glance over Sam, Sydney noticed the blonde was being quieter than usual. "You okay?" she asked softly, in between mouthfuls of pancake as the three men continued to laugh and joke on the other side of the table.
Sam blinked, as if breaking her train of thought. "Yeah, fine." She smiled.
Sydney glanced across the table, finally realising what the Major had been staring at. "Are you ever going to do anything?" she asked.
Sam turned, startled. She blinked for a few seconds and then blushed slightly as Sydney added. "About Jack?"
"I can't." she replied quietly. "It's against regulations."
"Have you thought about talking to General Hammond." Sydney asked. "I mean, for someone who's saved the world as many times as you have, there's surely got to be a favour or two floating around."
"But…ah…" Sam stuttered.
Sydney smiled and winked at her. "Just think about it, okay?" she said. "Trust me on this."
"Okay." Sam agreed softly.
It was then that Lara walked up. She had managed to change from her dirty and torn clothes, like everyone else had as well, into jeans and a leather jacket. Her hair was freshly braided and she smiled somewhat wickedly at Daniel.
"Ready to go?" she asked, arching an eyebrow inquiringly.
Daniel, who had not been eating much as his friends dug into the food around them, smiled back at her. "Sure." He said. "Just give me a moment to change."
"And where are you going?" Jack asked, a teasing grin on his face.
"On a date." Daniel replied, a smug smile on his as he looked at his friend.
Jack's grin widened. "Well, have fun." He said, and opened his mouth to add a shameless comment, but Sam elbowed him gently.
"Carter?" he asked.
"Sir?" she replied innocently.
"So how long are you staying?" Sydney asked, smiling at Jack and Sam.
"I'm not sure." Lara replied. "How ever long I can, I guess. But then again, you may not get rid of me that easily. General Hammond offered me a job here."
Sydney laughed. "Will you take it?"
"I'm not sure." Lara said, before turning and winking at Daniel. "Shall we go?"
Grinning, Daniel nodded and the two walked off after saying their goodbyes to the others. Sydney turned back to the conversation with a smile. It was only a matter of time before everyone would go their separate ways again, each going about saving the world in their own ways. They all knew that there had been deep friendships forged by this adventure, and for now, that was enough.
Besides, who's to say there wasn't another adventure together in their futures?
The End