Endings and New Beginnings

"What are you trying to say, General O'Neill?"

Jack flinched when the voice of General Hammond on the other end of the line sounded anything but happy.

"I will not accept your retirement."

"With all due respect, Sir," Jack started, "I have already made my decision."

"Your proposal to lead the SG-C as a civilian is unacceptable and I can honestly not see any way to convince the committee of the usefulness of such an agreement. Furthermore the SecNav will not be pleased either, nor will the president." Hammond continued. "Hell, Jack, what has gotten into you? I have always known you wouldn't be happy with a desk job, but…"

"General Hammond – George, this is really not about that. They are strictly personal reasons."

"Would you care to explain that, General? What difference would it make if you were leading the SG-C as a civilian?" Hammond demanded, and Jack sighed. He had to be really careful here.

"Sir, it is Colonel Carter. We would both like to pursue a relationship that is not permitted in our current chain of command, at least not without ending both our careers and ending up in prison."

There was silence on the other end, and for a moment, Jack thought that the call had been disrupted, when eventually he heard Hammond's voice again.

"I see. Are you sure about that, Jack?"

"I have never been surer about anything in my life, General."

"Okay… listen. This might be a bit more complicated. I am not sure that the president or the committee will be happy to hear that you have an intimate relationship with a subordinate…"

"Actually Sir, there is no relationship whatsoever yet," he interrupted the general with the convincing lie. It was a fine line that he was walking, he knew that, but if he and Carter both insisted, that there was no relationship between them yet, and they had merely discussed the subject over dinner, neither of them risked being court-martialed.

"I see, but it will still be a little bit more complicated than that." General Hammond replied calmly. "Give me a couple of days, to resolve the matter."

"Yes, Sir."

"And Jack? Please hold that letter of resignation back – just for a bit longer."

"Understood, Sir."

~~~ About 3 days later ~~~

Sam checked her uniform for what felt like the millionth time, while she hurried along the corridor of the Stargate Center towards the briefing room. She had been summoned to a meeting not only with the General, but also with a representative of the committee present as well as some Air Force Generals that came directly from the pentagon's office in Washington. Someone flying in from Washington plus Woolsey - that could not be good. She nearly ran into Jack at the next corner and looked at him slightly worried.

"What's this about?" Her voice betrayed her concerns and nervousness and he shrugged.

"No idea."

"Do you think they know?" she hissed quietly a moment later, after checking that they were alone in the hallway. Jack shook his head gently.

"No, how could they?" He looked at her, and sighed. There was guilt written all over her features, from the way she tensely walked, over the way she nervously played with her fingers, up to her face which basically read 'I've committed a criminal offense'. He stopped and grabbed her shoulders. "Relax Carter, and don't look so guilty for crying out loud. It's gonna be fine."

"Yes Sir."

They went up the stairs to the control room and then further up into the briefing room where General Hammond and a senator along with Mr. Woolsey from the committee were seated and waiting for them already.

"Ah, General O'Neill, Colonel Carter, please come in. Be seated." Mr. Woolsey greeted them in his usual strange mixture of civilian cheerfulness and superior grumpiness.

They both sat down at the far end of the table and then Mr. Woolsey opened a file in front of him. "General Hammond has briefed us about the – um – situation you're in, and after a long and extensive discussion, we have reached an agreement that satisfies both the committee and the current administration." He pulled two smaller files out of his folder and then handed them over to them. "Due to the sensitive nature of the subject, we have reached the conclusion that we cannot allow both of you to keep working here. Please don't consider this punishment," Woolsey hurried to inform them, "This is merely a precaution meant to protect both your careers – which are way too important to both the air force and the committee, I assure you."

"What is this?" Sam asked, shooting Jack a confused side-glance while she opened her file.

General Hammond smiled. "We have provided both of you with an option for reassignment. Colonel Carter, your help would be invaluable at area 51, where we examine most of the artifacts retrieved from other work. You're the most qualified for the job. General O'Neill, I have suggested you personally to be the new liaison officer for the Stargate program in Washington D.C., and they have taken up my suggestion. If you want the job, it's yours."

"Please be assured," Woolsey stated again with a smile, "that we understand your situation, but it is impossible for you to keep working in a chain of command if you plan to pursue a more personal relationship in the future. That would inevitably lead to conflicts within the establishment. We want to prevent those kinds of conflicts and make sure, that both your decisions regarding your work remain objective, impartial, and uninfluenced by feelings which you might have for each other."

Jack inhaled angrily, his first instinct being to tell this arrogant little committee clown, that their decisions had been uninfluenced despite their feelings during the past years as well, but a warning glance from Carter stopped him. Inwardly he had to admit that she was right. Rubbing it in their faces, that they had had feelings for each other – and worse of all, that they both had been aware of the other's feelings for all this time – was probably not going to make their point.

He looked down at his file, and then looked over at Carter. She looked at him just as clueless.

"Generals, Mr. Woolsey," he finally started, "thank you for the opportunities, but Washington, Sir? Area 51? Either way, one of us is going to be halfway across the country and that is not an ideal…"

"They are both 9 to 5 positions, Jack," General Hammond informed him with a smile. "with weekends off, and the option to use the Prometheus' or Daedalus transports or navy air transports whenever possible. Within 2 seconds up to 30 minutes, you could be wherever you wanted to be. The navy is willing to pay for your expenses, as well as a completely furnished home."

Carter and O'Neill both looked at each other. Then Jack cleared his throat.

"In that case, General Sir, I will accept the position."

"What? No!" Sam interrupted and looked at him. "With all due respect Sir," she added quickly, remembering they were in a work-setting. "You love the SG-C and your job here. I cannot let you give that up! General Hammond, I will accept the position."

"What the…? No way, Carter! You are much too important here, besides you love your job just as much as I do!"

"Yes, Sir, but I will be just as happy working at area 51!"

"And who is going to get our asses out of trouble when the SG-C is about to be blown up again?" Jack asked, more forceful now. "No, General Hammond, Sir, I will accept. The decision has been made."

"Excuse me… Sir!" Sam looked at him – actually glared might be a better description - and Jack winced inwardly; whether she had said Sir or not, this look sure qualified for an insubordination charge.

"General Hammond…" Jack started, holding her eyes in a dark, warning look, "could we have a few moments, please? In private?"

"Um, Sure, General," Hammond offered and pointed towards Jack's office. "Take all the time you need."

"Carter! My office! Now!" Jack commanded in a deadpan voice, as he got up and hurried out of the room into his office.

Sam Carter followed him, metaphorically steaming, although she realized in the back of her head that her behavior was completely out of line. They were at work after all, and regardless of their private relationship, at work he outranked her. Big time.

However, she was unwilling to just let him make the decision on this subject; after all it concerned the both of them.

Woolsey followed the two of them with his eyes, with a shocked and very intimidated expression on his face. "Wow…" he commented when the door was closed. "And you're telling me those two want to be romantically involved?"

"Carter!" Jack snapped, as soon as both doors to his office were closed as well. "Are you out of your mind? You were seconds away from forcing me to throw you into the brig for insubordination! Don't forget that officially we only have a work relationship at the moment!"

"You are right, Sir," she agreed, calming down now. "And I am sorry for that, but I had to voice my disagreement with your decision."

Voicing, my ass, he thought quietly, but decided to let it go. Instead he changed the subject, "Yeah, about that: There is no way I am going to let you…"

"Let me?" she interrupted him, and then hurriedly added a belated, "Sir". "We might have a problem if you think that you have the power to "let me" do something!"

"Colonel!" Jack snapped, "Did I give you permission to speak, yet? Let alone interrupt me?"

"Sorry, Sir!" She saluted briskly. "But I really don't think…"

"Ah… Carter!" He silenced her. She pressed her lips together and remained silent. Despite their relationship she had no doubt that O'Neill would not hesitate to send her to the brig for insubordination if she pushed him too far. And he would have every right to, she knew that. However, this was a decision that affected both their lives – not only professionally, but also personally, and she would not allow him to leave her out of it.

"You are too valuable here," O'Neill eventually started to reason with her. "I can be replaced by another general, but I would be able to sleep a lot better at night if I knew that you were still here to keep an eye on all of those nutjobs down in the science labs."

"Permission to speak freely, Sir?" she asked, her voice calm and her tone reasonably now, and he nodded.

"Go ahead," he said, sitting on the edge of his desk now.

"I don't think this is your decision alone to make… Sir! This involves me as much as you, and not only our professional lives, but more than that our private lives as well."

He nodded. "You're right."

"You are really doing a good job at the Stargate Center, Sir, and frankly, the program needs you. I can still be consulted, even if I am at area 51. You however…"

"I can be replaced by somebody else, who will do their job just as good, maybe better," he interjected gently. "In Washington I might be able to raise some interest for the program."

They both sighed and looked at each other. "Great," Jack nodded. "Here we are… I promised you it wouldn't come down to this, and I meant it, Sam. I cannot - hell, I don't want to let you sacrifice your career for me. That is the one thing I promised you, and I intend to keep it."

"Jack," Sam replied softly. "It would not really be a sacrifice. Actually the job at area 51 is quite attractive. I get to play with all the amazing technologies that the SG teams bring back from off-world – something that I always complain about not being able to do here. And the job brings much fewer risks – which would be good for Cassie. Ever since Janet died, she is worried sick about me. So maybe it is time for me to change career-wise, at least for now."

He looked at her seriously, scanned her face and, after a short moment, eventually burst out, "Ah fer crying outloud, Carter, don't give me that! You love this job. You love going through that gate, and I don't know who you are trying to fool here, but…"

"Yes!" she snapped with an angry undertone again. "Yes, I do love it and so do you!" Then she sighed. "But to be honest, I love you more," she added almost whispering.

He raised his eyebrows and looked at her like he hadn't heard her right. "What?"

He really shouldn't be surprised to hear that from her, given their past, and all that had happened, but ever since their date three days ago, they had barely had time alone together, and none of them had said the L-word up until now. It was not that he didn't like hearing it – on the contrary. But hearing it from her in this context was definitely and absolutely not acceptable.

She realized how her statement sounded and winced, closing her eyes, "Okay, that came out wrong."

"Oh no! No! No! And again no! Are you saying, you are sacrificing your job here for me, Carter?" He got up and started pacing up and down. "This is exactly what I promised you would not happen. This… whole thing!" He gesticulated around and then grabbed her shoulders. "And it is exactly why I won't let you do it."

"Well Sir, what would your reason be?" she asked, holding his eyes desperately. "Don't tell me you're looking forward to having a desk-job in Washington, I know how much you hate the paperwork. You can barely stand the paperwork here."

"But I wanted to retire anyway. What's a few more years in Washington?"

"Yes, but you wouldn't even consider it, if it weren't for me! Neither Washington, nor retirement. So inevitably, at some point, when you become unsatisfied with your decision – and knowing you, I am sure you will - it would fall back on our relationship."

"So, I guess we reached an impasse then?" he interrupted her with his blank question, which was more a statement of the obvious than a serious question.

"Yes, Sir," Sam affirmed sadly.

"There's a third option, you know. We could both keep working here and… return things to how they were – maybe for another year or two until they will let me retire," he offered softly, his eyes reflecting his fear that she was going to agree to this option. He wasn't willing to go on even another month like they had for the past four years, keeping their feelings locked up in some kind of imaginary room. It felt like an entire mountain range was lifted from his heart when she shook her head.

"No, Sir, I don't think that's an option. At least not for me." Her eyes locked with his, and momentarily he could read fear in them. Fear that he was going to end it here and now. Fear that he was going to choose their careers (or rather hers) over their relationship. Fear that he would break up with her.

"Glad we agree at least on one thing," he replied, making sure that she understood that breaking up was not an option for him. The hint of a smile played around the corners of his mouth and she smiled back weakly.

At that moment, a knock interrupted their conversation. Jack got up from the edge of his desk and then impatiently snapped "What?" towards the door.

The door opened, and Daniel peeked in. "Hi Jack! Sam!"

"Daniel, not now!" At Jack's impatient tone, Daniel raised his eyebrows.

"Um, Jack, actually I didn't even want anything from you. Sam, if you're done here, you're needed down in the lab. Something about irregular radiation readings from one of the artifacts SG-9 brought back that they need your input on, before they start the experiment," Daniel said, and Sam nodded.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," she replied somewhat sadly, and hearing her tone just as edgy as Jack's had been, he opened the door wider now and stepped in.

"Everything okay?"

"No, Daniel, not everything is okay!" Jack said snappily, his eyes telling his friend and the base's regular-pain-in-the-butt archeologist to leave – a notion which apparently was lost on him, for now Daniel came in fully and closed the door behind him.

"What's going on, guys?"

"They offered us reassignments," Sam replied. "One of us has to accept, if we want to be together - and we cannot decide who will."

"Oh." Daniel nodded, putting his hands in his pockets. "I take it, it's mandatory?"

"If we want to be together, it is," Jack said, and Daniel nodded again. Then he shrugged.

"Well, why don't you compromise then?"

"Daniel…" Jack said, still somewhat snappily. "I thought, we just said that this was the problem. We cannot decide who of us will accept."

"Yes, but that would not be a compromise, would it? And since you obviously cannot agree anyway upon who gives up their job and who doesn't, there's really only one thing you can do."

Jack growled. "Yes, we both keep our jobs and either return to the way we were, or keep our relationship a secret with the constant threat of a court-martial hanging over our heads. I really wouldn't care if it was just for my career, but I am not willing to risk Carter's. So the only option seems to be to return things to how they were."

"Or…" Daniel started looking up at the ceiling with narrowed eyes. "You could just both accept the reassignments – at least for a while. That way neither of you will feel that they – or the other one – is making more of a sacrifice. And who says that those reassignments will be permanent? I mean, you're in the military, aren't you constantly reassigned?" Both of them stared at Daniel literally open-mouthed, which made Daniel frown. "Right?"

Slowly, both Sam and Jack averted their eyes from him and looked at each other. A soft smiled played around the corners of Jack's mouth, and he folded his arms. Sam smiled back, her face lighting up. Neither of them said a word, but their silence and the expression in their eyes and on their faces said more than an entire speech could have.

After a long moment of silence, Daniel nodded, and pulled one of his hands out of his pocket to turn and open the door.

"Alright, since that is obviously resolved, I will just wait down in the lab, Sam. As soon as you're done here… um…"

Realizing that his words were lost anyway, he shrugged and stepped out of the door. He had just left the room and was about to close the door, when Jack's voice reached him.

"Thanks Daniel, you're a genius!"

"Glad to be of assistance – as always." Daniel commented, somewhat ironically, and with these words he shut the door.

"That is exactly why he got so many women on different planets, and was chosen to ascend - twice," Jack announced jokingly, and Sam couldn't help but giggle. Then he asked, "Well, what do you think?"

"I still think you should stay in command of the SG-C – but at least his option would resolve this discussion. And as Daniel said, who said that they are going to be permanent reassignments?"

"We could just pretend they were mandatory," Jack added, and smiled boyishly like he had just outsmarted the entire secret service. Sam chuckled and nodded in agreement.

After a moment, Jack looked at her with concern in his eyes, "Are you going to be okay with that? I mean, working with all the eggheads at area 51 and not being involved in the live action deal?"

"Actually, yes." The expression on Sam's face reflected her growing satisfaction with the arrangement. "I will get to work with all the technologies – a lot more than I get the chance now. And I might even have the time to start some of the research involving Goa'uld technologies that I always dreamed of. Plus, frankly, Sir, it might be a good thing, if for a while neither of us is in any immediate danger. I know it's what we signed up for… we both know that… and I'm okay with that in general… but…" She looked at him, suddenly not knowing how to express her feelings because she felt what she was going for was one of the stupidest clichés out there.

They were soldiers. It was part of the job – a calculated risk – that every trip through the Stargate might be their last. It had not been a problem for her to live with that thought in the past. But over the course of the previous years, she had lost so many friends, she had lost her father – she had almost lost Jack a couple of times, and almost died herself just as often. And now, that they had just started dating, she desperately longed for something to count on; some kind of safe haven that she did not have to fear of losing any minute.

She was a soldier. Even remotely having those kind of thoughts seemed to be incredibly selfish given that their job was to protect earth. But after all that they had been through, after all they had done for the world, after all this fighting to keep earth and its inhabitants safe, didn't they deserve just a little bit of safety as well?

Jack was looking at her intently, knowing quite well what was going through her mind, and when he realized what she was hesitant (yes, nearly afraid) to express he nodded gently. "I know, Sam. If we want to make this work, we need time where we don't have to worry about each other dying, at least for now."

She exhaled relieved, happy that he understood her without words, and nodded. After another moment of silence that was spent with them just looking at each other Jack eventually lifted.

"Alright then! Let's give those clowns our answer," he straightened out. "Colonel!"

"General!" She saluted and then went to open the door into the briefing room.

Jack stepped out behind her. "General Hammond," he stated gravely, "We have reached an agreement."

The older man smiled openly. "I am glad to hear that." He held his hand out to their seats at the end of the table, signaling them to sit back down.

"With your permission, Sir, we will both accept the reassignments." Jack replied, while he and Sam sat back down.

For a moment the four men looked at them somewhat baffled, and then eventually General Hammond nodded. "Wonderful!" he announced. "Congratulations on the new jobs and… well, you know." He smiled at them, implying their new relationship, and then closed the files on the table in front of them.

Mr. Woolsey nodded, "Not what we expected, but congratulations from me as well!"

"You will find all necessary information in your files. General O'Neill, your job starts Monday one week from now at 9am. I will see you in Washington. Colonel Carter, I will make sure all the necessary arrangements for you are made on area 51. I would prefer if you stayed here for a few more weeks, until the general's replacement has arrived. He might need a bit of time to take over the job, and it would be good if some familiar faces could make sure the transfer runs smoothly."

"Of course, Sir," Carter nodded. "If you don't mind me asking, General Hammond, what will happen to SG-1?"

"Well…" The old man sighed and got up. "It seems like there will not be much left of SG-1. Teal'c is on Chulak most of the time trying to organize the new Jaffa government, and with you gone, only Dr. Jackson remains – who, I am sure, will welcome the opportunity to devote more time to his studies of the ancient's language. I would not be surprised to find his request for a transfer to Atlantis on my desk very soon. With the Goa'uld and replicators largely out of the picture, it seems there is not much left to do anyway. In due time, we will probably form a new SG-1 team, but until then SG teams 2 through 15 will have to do."

"I understand," Sam nodded.

"Well if that is all…" The three men lifted from their chairs. They saluted, and then watched Woolsey and the second general walk towards the door. Hammond stayed behind for a moment longer, and, when the others had left the room, looked at them seriously.

"General O'Neill, Colonel Carter, a word please?" He directed them into Jack's office. The two of them followed the General inside and watched as he closed the door. Then he turned towards them with a serious expression on his face.

"I hope you both understand that this is an absolute exception that you two owe to your exemplary service in the past, and the fact that the president still feels that he owes you something."

"We understand, Sir," Jack replied and nodded. "And we're very grateful."

General Hammond looked from one to the other and then went on, "There's another thing: I advise you to be discreet about this. Don't forget, officially, the transfer doesn't happen until a week from now; until then you are still in each other's chain of command. And after your transfers I don't think it would benefit either one of you – especially not your careers – if word got out that this was a necessary transfer due to your relationship. Officially, I put "personal reasons" into the file, so I think it would be better if you both came up with a reason other than having a relationship."

"Yes, Sir," Jack nodded, but Sam looked at him somewhat bewildered.

"Sir, with all due respect, but how long are we supposed to keep this a secret? It is going to be hard as it is with the distance between us, but having to keep this a secret?"

Before Jack could answer, Hammond stepped in and smiled, "Don't worry, Colonel. This wasn't meant as a permanent suggestion. Just give it a few months – maybe half a year. Just not right away. You have made a few enemies in Washington in the past – both of you – and I would hate seeing them turn this into a black spot on your records that might hinder promotions in the future or, worse, end your careers all together."

"Yes, Sir," Sam nodded. "I understand. Thank you Sir."

"Well…" Hammond nodded at both of them. "I have a meeting with Woolsey coming up, so I should probably not keep him waiting. He tends to get impatient very quickly. General…" He narrowed his eyes and looked at Jack. "…I trust you to behave yourselves until your transfer."

"Of course, Sir. You know me." The instant he said that and saw the general raise his eyebrows, he winced. Bad example. "We will behave, Sir." Jack hurried to assure, and with a smile the general turned around, shaking his head in amusement. They both watched as Hammond left the room and closed the door behind him.

"He expects us to behave, yet he closes the door…" Jack remarked dryly and turned around to look at the beautiful colonel in front of him. Sam smiled at that comment, and was just about to throw a witty answer at him, when he unexpectedly closed the distance between them and pulled her close into a deep kiss, that muffled her shocked little shriek. He slightly dipped her down to turn the kiss into a long, languid and passionate seduction.

"So…" he then murmured against her lips after he had thoroughly explored her mouth, and she was left breathless and painfully aware that she had another six hours of duty ahead of her, before they could be alone, "not exactly how I dreamed it to end up."

"Well, you know what they say, Sir, life is not perfect," Sam replied smiling, her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

"True," Jack nodded. "But I really don't feel like complaining about the outcome."

"Neither do I, Sir," she smiled and Jack winced.

"Carter, will you stop with the Sir already?"

"Sorry, S… Jack." Then she pulled him into another searing kiss that was only interrupted by the base-alarms going off and Daniel storming into the office without knocking.

"Sam! They… oh my God… guys… I'm sorry!"

"One of these days I'm gonna kill him," Jack muttered against Sam's lips and then let her go. They both straightened out immediately. With a somewhat grumpy expression on his face, Jack looked at the archeologist. "Daniel?"

"Jack?" Obviously still taken aback by having stormed in on his two friends kissing, Daniel could merely stare at him.

"Why does it sound like red alert out there?" O'Neill finally asked snappily.

"Sorry… um… Sam! Felger just blew up half the laboratory with the artifact in the radiation experiment… He didn't want to wait for you, because he thought he had it under control," he informed them.

"That damn…" Jack didn't speak the rest of his curse out loud, but instead asked, "Did somebody get hurt?"

"Um, luckily not, they realized in time that things were getting out of control."

"Carter," Jack snapped and looked at her. "Get down there, and throw that idiot in the brig for the rest of the day, will ya? And if he resists, shoot him! Or even better, get him up here into my office so that I can do that myself."

"Yes, Sir." Sam nodded and was about to follow Daniel out the door when Jack's voice held her back.

"One more thing… got any plans this weekend?"

"Um…" She froze, just staring at him completely put off by this change of subject, and the way the tone of his voice suddenly had an intimate edge to it. "No."

Jack was sitting down behind his desk smiling. "Would you like to come to the cabin with me? Ya know… celebrate, and get a little bit of time alone together before I leave for Washington? We could leave Friday evening and get back on Sunday evening – that would leave us two entire days for things like fishing, talking – seeing what records I can break."

She laughed softly at his last remark, and her face brightened up. The smile that she gave him made his pulse speed up a little. "I would love that."

"Great, then it's a date." With a smirk, he looked down at the files on his desk, picking up a pen to start working. When she just kept standing there, looking at him, with the alarms sounding all around them, he finally cleared his throat, and looked up at her again. "Carter?"

"Sir?"

"Didn't you have something to do?" he asked with his eyebrows raised while he gesticulated towards the sound speakers in the ceiling, through which the alarm could still be heard.

"Oh! Of course. Sorry, yes Sir!" With those words she turned around and hurried out of the room, leaving a chuckling general behind. If it was that easy for him to distract her, it really shouldn't be difficult to set new records, he mused to himself. Then he remembered something.

"And Carter! Find out what went wrong, and report back!" he yelled after her, not sure that she could even hear him over the alarms. Nonetheless, he added, a little louder, "And tell Siler to turn those damn alarms off!"

Then he leaned back in his chair, and pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes. His concerns had been justified; the SG-C would be doomed after Carter's transfer.

The End (23/07/2013)

End Credits: Thank you so much everybody for reading! I was really overwhelmed by the positive feedback.

An ebook version of the story will be made available on my website during the course of this week, that way you can download and save the story, and read on your favorite mobile devices like iPad or Kindle.

If anybody out there is good with English grammar and spelling, I would also be happy if somebody assisted me in polishing over the rough edges of the story. I am not a native speaker of English, and I don't have a beta-reader, so I realize, that there are probably a lot of hidden mistakes in it that I simply overlooked or didn't even identify as such.

Also thinking about a short sequel, but I won't promise anything here. I kinda have my eye set on a bigger project, and I'll have to see if I can squeeze it in. (Squeeze it in - kind of a dumb term, seeing that even this story took me 4 months of work: 1 month writing, 3 months rewriting and revising. . )