Fanfiction: New Regimes

[rachel500]

Fandom: Stargate SG1
Series: Aftershocks
TAG to Episode: S7 Inauguration
Rating: PG-13
Author's Note: Sam/Jack UST. Sam/Pete. Team friendship.
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. Written for entertainment purposes only.

 

New Regimes

Her spare room looked different. The tasteful pale blue walls Samantha Carter had chosen had been replaced with a deep shade of purple. There was a matching bedspread and linen on the new double bed. The furniture was modern; steel and glass. It was not Sam's style at all but then the whole ensemble hadn't been chosen by her but by Cassandra Fraiser. Sam's hands clenched tightly around the box she held.

'It could be worse.' Jack O'Neill walked in behind Sam and nudged her with the edge of the box he was carrying – and she felt a rush of relief that he was healed enough to be carrying boxes at all.

Sam glanced in his direction inquisitively.

'One word, Carter: pink.' Jack pointed out with a smirk, dumping the box onto the bed and heading out to retrieve another from his truck.

Sam rolled her eyes. In some ways she had expected that Cassie would choose pink, something girly and feminine rather adult and unique. She reminded herself again that Cassie wasn't the same little girl SG1 had rescued from Hanka but a young woman, a college student. One who had just lost her Mom.

Janet Fraiser's death had hit the Stargate programme, and SG1 in particular, very hard. The late Chief Medical Officer had been such an integral part of their lives. Sam missed her friend inside and outside of work. Anna Brightman was an excellent doctor and a genuinely nice woman but she wasn't Janet. Sam shook off her melancholy.

Cassie was moving in with Sam. Well, moving in was probably too grand a description for providing Cassie with a room for the times she wasn't at her college dorm, but it was important to Sam that Cassie considered it a home, a place of safety and family to come back to. Cassie was selling her old house, unable to live there without Janet.

It had been Janet's Mom who had suggested that Sam allow Cassie to redecorate Sam's spare room to help her make the transition and give her a feeling of belonging. Sam and Cassie had taken a trip to see Margaret Fraiser in between Christmas and New Year. Cassie hadn't been up to the family holiday she had usually shared with the Fraiser family and the visit had been their way of making up for Cassie's absence on top of Janet's. Grandma Maggie had been warm, welcoming and as no-nonsense as Janet. Sam had found herself crying on her shoulder and sharing memories just as much as Cassie. It had been a good trip, and Maggie was a veritable storehouse of knowledge having raised five daughters. It had also been Maggie's idea to move Cassie into Sam's before they packed up Janet's house which had sold very quickly.

Sam gave a sigh and dropped her box next to Jack's. She glanced at her watch. Daniel Jackson and Teal'c were still back at the house with Cassie; they'd had the responsibility for bringing the rest of her stuff and Cassie herself.

'Carter,' Jack shuffled in with another box, 'not that I'm complaining but I seem to be the only one carrying boxes here.'

'Sorry, sir,' Sam winced at the automatic 'sir'; she'd actually been calling him 'sir' less since SG1 had moved into Janet's to be with Cassie. She shifted out of the way and made her way back to the truck to unload another box.

'You OK?' Jack asked as he helped her balance one box in her arms before taking another himself.

'Just…' Sam motioned towards her house with the box she held, 'it's weird, you know? I mean, don't get me wrong,' she started back up the path beside him, 'I don't regret making the offer at all but…it's just going to be…'

'Weird?' Jack offered when she hesitated a moment too long. He slid a knowing smirk her way.

'Weird.' Sam agreed with a laugh.

Jack nodded. 'You're doing a good thing, Carter.'

'It's not…I'm not doing it because of that.' Sam protested as they navigated their way to Cassie's room.

'I know.' Jack said, hefting the box onto the desk. 'You're doing it because you love her.' He turned around and stuffed his hands into the pockets of the green parka he wore. 'Cassie knows that too.'

'I'm just worried that she's going to hate it here with me.' Sam confessed as she set her box down gently and worrying at the loose tape end at the side.

'You're going to be great.' Jack said. 'You are great with her.'

Sam rubbed her nose. 'Maggie was brilliant with her and I…' she sighed and plucked at the loose tape again. 'I've had you guys to help at Janet's and I really don't know what I would have done without you – what I'm going to do without you helping out.'

'Hey, we're not going anywhere.' Jack said forcefully. 'You need us for anything; you call us. Anytime, day or night.'

She nodded jerkily because they already had an agreement to call each other, left over from when Daniel died and she'd needed a friend to call.

He took a step toward her, his hands moving out of his pockets. 'C'mere.'

Sam went willingly – too willingly, she mused, as she let herself be pulled into his embrace. She held onto him anyway. He was solid and real and alive. She felt him pull her closer and wrapped her own arms around him. She really shouldn't do this, Sam thought tiredly. She had promised herself that she was over Jack, over the idea of anything more than being friends. She had a boyfriend.

Boyfriend was probably too grand a term for the half-hearted dating she and Pete had been doing since Sam had forgiven him for running a background check on her and stalking her to a stake-out. Two coffee dates, a movie, and a dinner at Sam's favourite Italian weren't much but they were a beginning and Pete was being patient with her. They'd done nothing but exchange a couple of kisses and holding hands. It was a far cry from her inviting him into her bed – the stage they'd reached before Pete had confessed about invading her privacy.

Sam pushed Pete and their relationship out of her mind and focused on Jack who was still holding her, comforting her. She inched back. 'Thanks.'

'Anytime.' Jack said, letting go of her easily.

Sam attempted a smile. She'd once told a hallucination of Jack that it wouldn't be easy letting go of him; she'd underestimated how hard the reality was especially since she sometimes thought that maybe she was wrong…maybe Jack didn't just see her as a friend; maybe Jack still did have feelings for her. Or maybe not. He hadn't protested her relationship with Pete and had all but encouraged her to find a life outside of work claiming he was happy she was happy.

She headed back to the truck before Jack started questioning her state of mind again. She lifted another box into her arms and grimaced at how many were left to go.

'I swear she has more stuff than Daniel does.' Jack complained, reading her mind.

'I can't believe he's back in his old apartment block.' Sam commented.

Jack shrugged and she was pleased when it didn't cause him any pain. 'At least he's out of my spare room.'

Sam rolled her eyes. 'You guys haven't even been at your place for over a month.'

'It's the principle of the thing, Carter.' Jack said primly, elbowing past her and into the house.

'Uh-huh,' Sam followed after him, 'you're going to miss him.'

Jack stopped and looked back at her. 'Well, maybe I'll miss him helping me with the crossword.'

Her mouth fell open and she snapped it back shut. 'You told me you did the crossword yourself!'

A fleeting look of alarm shimmered through Jack's brown eyes before he snapped his head forward and continued into the house. 'I did. I do. I…'

'I will be having a chat with Daniel.' Sam said briskly.

It was Jack's turn to roll his eyes at her. 'Fine. He's useless anyway. He was the one who said two down was original.'

'It was original.' Sam said dryly. 'You got four across wrong.'

'That was definitely pluto.'

'It didn't even fit!' Sam said with exasperated fondness. It occurred to her that their competition over the crossword might be a form of flirting before she dismissed it. It was a friends' thing; a friendly competition between co-workers, friends. It was definitely not flirting.

The sound of another car pulling up outside the house had Sam glancing out of the window. Cassie bounded out of Daniel's Volvo and reached in to grab her suitcase. Teal'c, who had been driving, neatly divested it from her. Daniel seemed entranced by a newspaper in the passenger seat and made no move to get out. If he was pondering over a crossword, she might have to kill him, Sam thought wryly.

'OK,' Jack said slowly, taking in the stacked car, 'I don't think all her stuff is going to fit into this room.'

'I've room in the basement and attic to store some stuff.' Sam murmured. 'And I want her to put DVDs and books on the shelves in the den with mine.'

'That could work.' Jack nodded decisively.

They walked out to greet the others.

Daniel clambered out of the car and practically pushed the newspaper into Jack's body. 'Did you read this before you filled in the crossword?'

Sam sent Teal'c a questioning look and he replied with a long suffering frown that had Sam ducking her head to hide a smile.

'Hello to you too, Daniel.' Jack said, grabbing hold of the paper before it fell. 'And no; I did not.'

'They did an interview with Kinsey.' Daniel stabbed a finger at the newspaper. 'He's talking about oversight of government projects and shutting down some to review them, and there is no way he isn't referring to us.'

'It's hardly a surprise, Daniel.' Jack pointed out, shooting Sam a 'help me' look.

'Today's the inauguration, isn't it?' Sam murmured. 'General Hammond mentioned that he was on call to answer any questions Hayes had once he's been briefed.'

'I don't think it's going to be that easy.' Jack admitted as they walked back inside.

'Kinsey's a tool.' Cassie proclaimed with all of the absolute certainty of youth. 'You have to think the President knows that.'

'He probably does.' Sam agreed.

'Can Kinsey shut you down?' Cassie asked as she lugged her large duffel into her room.

Sam placed the bag she had carried on the floor and nodded. 'He's done it before.'

'It would be most inconvenient for him to do so again.' Teal'c said darkly. He placed the suitcase carefully on the bed. 'Our intelligence suggests that Anubis has once again begun to search for the Lost City.'

Sam lifted her eyebrow warningly. She didn't want Cassie overwhelmed with worry about the galactic situation. 'So we'll just have to find it first.'

'If I could only remember…' Daniel began.

'Stow it, Daniel.' Jack ordered. 'We'll find another way.'

'You guys can do it.' Cassie said firmly. 'Now, who's going to help me unpack my clothes? I think this bag's all underwear.'

All three men started to back out of the room, muttering about getting the rest of the stuff from the vehicles.

'Nice, guys.' Sam shouted after them.

Cassie laughed and Sam brightened at the sound of it. Cassie hadn't laughed all that much since Janet's death.

Sam shook her head. 'Men.'

'Mom always said that the quickest way to get a man to run was to talk about periods, tampons, or underwear.' Cassie opened her suitcase and began to transfer things to the closet.

Sam resisted the urge to smooth back Cassie's bangs. It was good that Cassie was beginning to talk about Janet. It meant the art therapy she was doing was working. 'I've always found that talking about the mathematical beauty of a black hole has a similar effect.' She winced at the haphazard way Cassie was filling the wardrobe and thought of her own neatly organised and pristine clothes in her own closet.

Cassie snorted as she untangled one sweater and added it to the pile on the closet shelf. 'Boys like smart girls these days.'

The phone rang in the hallway and Sam waved at Cassie to continue, signalling silently that she needed to answer it.

'Hey.' Pete greeted her cheerfully. 'How's it going?'

'OK.' Sam said, too aware of the guys traipsing past her and Cassie down the hall. One hand crept to the back of her neck to rub at the tension that had settled there. 'So…'

'I'm in town on Wednesday.' Pete said quickly. 'I wondered if you wanted dinner.'

'Wednesday's not good.' Sam answered. 'We're going to be packing up Janet's house over the next few days and…' And she had an audience, she realised.

Cassie gestured at her furiously.

'Hang on a second, Pete.' Sam covered the mouthpiece of the phone. 'What's wrong?'

'Invite him to dinner on Wednesday.' Cassie said, folding her arms over her chest and looking scarily like Janet. 'I should get to know him.'

'Are you sure it's going to be OK?' Sam said doubtfully. She figured that packing up the house was going to bring up a lot of memories for Cassie; a lot of emotions for them all.

Cassie shrugged. 'It'll be good to have something else to focus on.'

'I think it's a good idea.' Daniel added as he passed Sam, his arms filled with a vast array of cushions. 'We can go to the usual place and all get to know him better.'

Sam's eyes narrowed on Daniel speculatively.

'Sam! Please?' Cassie asked.

Sam nodded sharply and Cassie gave a whoop and disappeared back down the hall to her room. Her room, Sam thought again with satisfaction. She lowered her hand.

'You still there?'

'I am.' Pete said with a laugh. 'I think I caught some of that; dinner on Wednesday?'

'We'll go to the Italian.' Sam said briskly. 'It'll be me, the guys and Cassie.' She wondered for a moment to warn him that there was probably going to be hazing and decided against it. If Pete couldn't handle the hazing then… 'I'll call you to discuss the details.'

'Sounds good. I'm looking forward to it.' Pete said. 'I've missed you.'

It was her opening to say it back to him but she couldn't. 'I'll see you on Wednesday.' She said instead, ending the call. She bit her lip worriedly. She should have said something else, something romantic. She was in a relationship. She needed to start acting like it especially in light of the dinner they were all going to attend.

Pete, the guys and Cassie. There was absolutely no reason for her to be concerned.

None.

Daniel grinned at her as he walked past.

Oh yeah, Sam thought wearily; she was so screwed.

o-O-o

'I don't know what to tell you, George.' General Francis Maynard sighed heavily enough into the phone that Hammond heard it echo down the line. 'The President seems supportive of your efforts to date and wise to the Vice President's particular brand of ambition…'

'But?' prompted Hammond tiredly. The past few days had been an exercise in patience. From hearing confirmation that the President had been briefed on the Stargate programme to twenty-four hours later learning that Hayes had allowed his Vice President, Kinsey, to present Richard Woolsey's report into the SGC's decision-making to Richard Woolsey's surprise visit earlier that day – done with Maynard's blessing – to waiting for the outcome…it had been a long week and it was only Wednesday. Hammond had a suspicion it was only going to get worse.

'But he's taken on board some of the complaints that Kinsey has made regarding civilian oversight and he seems disinclined to dismiss Kinsey's point of view entirely.' Maynard's entire tone was an apology. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs evidently believed he had failed by not convincing the President immediately of the value of the SGC remaining under military command.

'We knew it was likely that he would, sir.' Hammond said evenly. 'Hayes is a good man but he's a politician. It's unlikely that he would risk alienating Kinsey this early in their term or risk his own popularity and credibility long term by not considering how the programme will go down with the general public.'

'Politics.' Maynard bit out with disgust that Hammond shared. 'He pretty much admitted to me that he was beginning to suspect the financing that Kinsey brought to the table with their election campaign wasn't kosher.'

Hammond's eyes drifted to his desk drawer where he had once kept a copy of the evidence of Kinsey's involvement with the rogue NID under lock and key. It was his ace in the hole. Earlier that day Hammond had handed that particular copy to Woolsey, who had apparently seen the light on Kinsey's motives and concluded Kinsey wasn't on the side of angels. Hammond wondered briefly if it would make any difference at all.

The Lieutenant Henry Hayes he remembered, that he had served with once upon another lifetime, had been an honourable guy. White collar to Hammond's blue; charming where Hammond had been genial; sharp as a tack where Hammond had been a workhorse. Truthfully, Hayes had been closer to Jacob Carter who had always been better at playing the politics side of things than Hammond. Hammond couldn't believe Hayes would allow Kinsey any real kind of power when he learned of the truth but from the sound of it Hayes was already considering making changes – a compromise perhaps between Kinsey's wants and what Hayes believed would be enough to appease the viper in his nest.

'So what's the situation, sir?' Hammond inquired.

'At the moment, you and the SGC are operational.' Maynard said briskly.

'But we don't know for how much longer.' Hammond surmised out loud.

Maynard breathed another sigh down the line. 'No, we don't.' There was a sound as though Maynard was changing position. 'I don't want you and the team getting distracted here, George, not with the latest intel we have on Anubis. Just have your people focus on doing their jobs.'

'They're as focused as always, sir.' Hammond promised him, pride at the men and women of the SGC seeping through his simple words.

'How about SG1?' Maynard asked pointedly. 'Are they back to full strength yet because I don't recall seeing them back on the mission rota.'

'Colonel O'Neill cleared for full duty a few weeks ago, sir, but both Major Carter and Doctor Jackson had base projects to complete before I could return them to the off-world missions.'

Maynard made a humming noise that might have been agreement or might have meant 'I know you've been allowing them to remain Earth-side because of Cassandra Fraiser;' Hammond couldn't tell.

'You know I think Kinsey lost the argument with Hayes when he suggested that O'Neill and Carter have an inappropriate relationship.' Maynard commented.

Hammond's eyes widened. He wasn't immune to the question buried in Maynard's statement but he ignored it anyway. 'Hayes served with Jacob Carter, General. I would suspect with his knowledge of her father, he would view any slur on the Major's character as grossly out of order.'

'Have we heard anything from General Carter since he left?' Maynard asked, changing subjects.

Hammond allowed a tiny breath of relief to escape him and shook his head even though the other man wouldn't see it. 'No, sir. We haven't had any contact with the Tok'ra at all.'

'Anything from the Asgard?' Maynard questioned.

'We've tried to reach Thor a number of times but he hasn't responded.' Hammond admitted. He shifted in his leather chair, enjoying the creak of the leather around him. 'I doubt we'd have any contact with the rebel Jaffa either if it wasn't for their relationship with Teal'c.'

'Anubis has done a good job of isolating us.' Maynard stated.

'Yes, sir.' Hammond didn't disagree and he didn't for one moment think that the Goa'uld wouldn't take advantage of their isolation. It was a hell of a time for a new President to come into office; a hell of a time for any changes to the SGC.

'You really think this Lost City is the answer to our problems?'

'I do, sir.' Hammond said firmly.

'Well, if anyone can find it, it's SG1.' Maynard said forcefully. 'Don't keep your best team on the bench any longer than you have to, George.'

'They'll be back on mission rotation this coming week, sir.' Hammond promised.

'Good. I'll leave you to it. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, George.' Maynard signed off and put the phone down.

Hammond placed the receiver down and tapped the red phone thoughtfully. He had a direct line to the President. He could call Hayes up, talk to him. His usual status calls with the President had been suspended in advance of the inauguration and the President's briefing; everything was being routed through the Joint Chiefs. If he could talk with Hayes himself…

No.

He sighed and turned his chair away from temptation. Maynard was a good officer for all that he was an Army man; they had a good relationship and Hammond wouldn't undermine Maynard by going over his head. Moreover, Hammond mused, if Hayes had wanted to talk to Hammond personally, the President would have called him. He just had to sit tight and let the politics play out.

His eyes drifted back to the desk drawer. He had done as much as he could to protect the SGC and Maynard was right; they needed to focus on the job of protecting Earth.

And the truth was that he had been letting SG1 get away with a light load after Janet Fraiser's death. But Earth needed its best team and there was none better. It was time to get SG1 back in the field.

o-O-o

'If I never see another box it will be too soon.' Daniel declared as he slapped tape over the closed flaps. 'Between moving into my new place and moving Cassie into Sam's and packing up here…' he looked around the den of Janet Fraiser's home with a sigh.

'I am in agreement.' Teal'c said solemnly, carefully wrapping another knick-knack in bubble-wrap and placing it in the only open box. He would never get this ritual of the Tau'ri of sorting through the minutiae of a dead one's life into organised piles. When they were able to, when the Goa'uld allowed a simple death, the Jaffa simply made use of the belongings that were left behind.

Daniel wrinkled his nose. 'So, you're still not sold on having your own place off base?'

'On the contrary, Daniel Jackson,' Teal'c replied, 'I have realised in the time we have spent living here with Cassandra that I would appreciate the opportunity to live off base.'

'Really?' Daniel's face brightened.

'Indeed.' Teal'c confirmed. He really had appreciated the experience for all he hated the reason why it had happened. Living in the Fraiser's house, riding into work with his team-mates, going grocery shopping, mowing the lawn…it had settled the ambiguity he had felt over whether he wanted to live away from the mountain. 'However, I still await the formal decision from the NID to be allowed to rent an apartment.'

'So move in with me until then.' Daniel suggested. 'I have a spare room.'

'Are you certain you are not tired of my company, Daniel Jackson?' They had been sharing the den for over a month.

'I think if we can share this room, we can share my apartment which is ten times bigger and we'd have our own bedrooms.' Daniel pointed out dryly.

Teal'c inclined his head. 'Then I accept your offer.'

'Good.' Daniel's face fell though. 'You're not going to need me to help pack any boxes are you?'

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. He turned his attention back to packing the ornaments from the display cabinet away.

'It's weird.' Daniel murmured. 'I can't believe that we're really doing this. Packing up Janet's life and…' he stopped, his breath catching in his throat.

'It is a sad day.' Teal'c said quietly, knowing his friend was thinking once again of the diminutive doctor's death.

'I can't believe that you all went through this with me when I, uh, Ascended.' Daniel murmured, flushing guiltily.

'We did not.' Teal'c felt compelled to be honest. 'We transported your belongings to storage in the hopes that you might once return to us as you have done.'

Daniel sat back on his heels and looked at Teal'c. 'Did it help make it any better?'

Teal'c thought back to the day he, Samantha Carter and O'Neill had solemnly boxed up their Ascended friend's belongings. He recalled Samantha Carter's stricken expression; the hurt that simmered in O'Neill's eyes; the ache in his own heart as he packed away treasured items. He shook his head once. 'No, it did not.'

Daniel flinched against the blow but nodded regardless. 'I sometimes wonder if it would be better if Janet had Ascended; if I knew she was out there somewhere. Then I think how Sam looked at me when I came back and…I know it wouldn't make a difference because Janet would still be gone.'

Teal'c wished he had the words to comfort his friend. He reached out instead and laid his hand over Daniel's forearm.

They sat quietly for a moment before a noise in the hall reminded them there was work to be done. Teal'c withdrew his hand and focused intently on wrapping another figurine.

Daniel glanced at the clock. 'We should finish up. We told Sam we'd meet her at the restaurant at seven.' He smoothed over the tape on the box he had finished. 'I'm going to take this out to the car.'

Teal'c nodded. He concentrated on his task. It was the last thing left to do in the den and he was determined to complete it perfectly.

Cassie tapped on the door, capturing his attention. 'Hey, you ready?'

'I am almost done, Cassandra.' Teal'c lifted the last figurine from the display cabinet. He paused as Cassie entered and dropped to sit beside him, reaching out for the small ceramic heart with the word 'Mom' written across it.

Cassie's hands trembled. 'I bought this for her my second Christmas here.'

Teal'c simply opened his arms and Cassie crawled into his lap, holding the ornament. He held as she cried on his shoulder, his t-shirt dampening with her tears.

'Sorry.' Cassie swiped at her face and sniffled.

Teal'c shifted his grip so he could retrieve the handkerchief he carried in his back pocket. He handed it to her. 'It is clean,' he informed her, 'and you have no need to apologise.'

'I miss her so much.' Cassie murmured. She blew her nose.

'I also miss your mother very much.' Teal'c comforted her gruffly. He missed Janet Fraiser every day. He missed her kind touch; her mischievous smile; her steadfastness. She had been one of the few anchors in his life and he could not help but feel adrift without her presence. He could only imagine how Cassandra felt. He remembered only too well the pain of his own mother's death.

Cassie snuggled against him for another moment before she shifted out of his arms. 'I'd better go repair my face before we head to the restaurant.'

Or before Daniel Jackson caught sight of her.

'By the way, what's the plan with Pete tonight?' Cassie asked, taking a step toward the door. She had not relinquished her hold on the ornament and Teal'c did not mention it.

Instead he focused on her question. 'There is no plan, Cassandra.'

'Oh, that's so not true!' Cassie proclaimed loudly. 'Daniel has been grinning like a loon every time tonight's come up in conversation and you've been raising your eyebrow at him for not doing it somewhere where Sam can't see.'

'If there is a plan, Cassandra,' Teal'c said calmly as he reached for the tape to close up the box, 'it is important that you should have plausible deniability.'

'Yeah, no. Look, I can help.' She tossed her hair over her shoulder. 'You're going to need to get Pete alone and I know a fool-proof way of getting Sam away from the table.'

Teal'c looked at her sceptically.

'Please.' Cassie said with a smile. 'Women go to the bathroom together all the time.'

The idea did have merit and it had the benefit of removing both Cassandra and Major Carter at the same time.

'See?' Cassie pointed at him.

'Very well.' Teal'c agreed. 'However, should Major Carter ask you had no prior knowledge.'

Cassie mimed zipping her lips shut and throwing away the key. She grinned wildly and dived out of the door.

Teal'c sighed as he heard her yell for Daniel, no doubt to update him on the plan. He frowned. He believed that the Major knew something was afoot; Cassandra was correct in her assessment that Daniel Jackson had been less than discreet. It was going to be an interesting evening not least because Teal'c had observed some reticence on the Major's part in continuing her relationship with Detective Shanahan, and an increased closeness between her and O'Neill as they had all shared the task of taking care of Cassandra and the house in the wake of Doctor Fraiser's death.

It did not take long for them to drop transport the boxes to the storage unit and to make their way to the restaurant. The Italian restaurant was a favourite of the Major's; it eschewed any kind of fancy finery, had a wonderfully warm ambience and had decent food.

Teal'c scented the aroma of fresh tomato sauce with a hint of basil, warm bread dough and greasy melted cheese as they entered. Pizza, he decided. He would have a very large pizza to himself with some spicy sausage and jalapeño peppers. He spotted the Major immediately and led the way to the booth.

Sam smiled at them nervously, slipping from the booth to welcome them and reintroduce them to the slim, sandy-haired man beside her. 'You all remember Pete.'

Pete gave a small wave. 'Hi.'

Daniel returned the wave and slid into the opposite side of the booth, Cassie alongside him, leaving Teal'c to take the outer edge of the bench as Sam retook her own seat just as Jack entered the restaurant.

'Sorry,' Jack said insincerely, 'traffic.' He glanced around the table, took in that the only remaining seat was beside Sam and slid in beside her.

Teal'c noted the development with satisfaction as the waitress came over to take their drinks order.

'So, how goes the big case?' Daniel said, stepping into his usual role as the team's diplomat.

Pete smiled tentatively and started to tell them about the case that had brought him to Colorado Springs in the first place. The topic sparked a discussion on drugs which took them into a discussion on South America and before Teal'c realised it they had finished their main course and were choosing desserts.

Cassie cleared her throat. 'Sam…' she tilted her head towards the bathroom and nudged Teal'c to move.

Sam sent Pete an apologetic look and shoved Jack who looked at her blankly before realising that she needed him to move.

'Right.' Jack got up and invited Sam out with a sweep of his hand and a smirk.

Sam chided him silently and fell into step beside Cassie.

Jack's cell phone rang as he made to sit down and he paused, mid-move as he checked the caller ID. 'Well, as much as I'd like to stay, I've got to take this.' He made his way out of the restaurant.

Teal'c allowed his face to settle into a threatening grimace.

'Alone at last.' Daniel stretched, sprawling in the space Cassie had left.

Pete settled back and picked up the beer he had ordered. 'I assume this is the 'if you hurt her, we'll hurt you' speech?'

'It is not.' Teal'c clasped his hands on top of the table and leaned forward slightly.

'It isn't?' Pete smiled widely but his eyes remained serious. 'Because I'm fairly sure Mark, her brother, already gave me it.'

'Well, we aren't Sam's actual brothers by blood.' Daniel pointed out in a reasonable voice. 'That's true.'

'We are more than her brothers.' Teal'c stated gruffly. 'We are her jakuali.'

Pete looked nervous as he sent a questioning glance toward Daniel, Teal'c noted with satisfaction.

'Jakuali translates as champions.' Daniel informed him. 'It literally means those sworn to protect to the death.'

'OK,' Pete said slowly, 'so this is the 'if you hurt her, we'll hurt you' speech.'

'No as Teal'c already said, it isn't that speech.' Daniel said, changing position and leaning forward over the table, the joviality falling away from his expression.

'This, Detective Shanahan,' Teal'c said holding his gaze forcefully, 'is the 'if you harm Major Carter in any way, at any time, I will kill you slowly and painfully over many days' speech.'

Daniel tilted his head in Teal'c's direction. 'And yes; he's serious.'

Teal'c smiled slowly, broadly, his eyes continuing to hold Shanahan's tightly. 'Do we understand each other, Detective?'

'I understand.' Pete said. He rallied, straightening his shoulders and his chin rising. 'I love her and I'm serious about her. I won't hurt her.'

'See that you do not.' Teal'c said gruffly.

Daniel's eyes darted to the side where the bathrooms were located and he coughed hastily. 'And speaking of vacations, where did you go last, Pete?'

Pete opened his mouth to reply but was cut off as Sam appeared by the table. Teal'c moved to allow Cassie to regain her seat.

Sam frowned at them, her eyes scanning the table and taking in everything. 'Where's the Colonel?'

'Taking a phone call.' Daniel motioned out to the front of the restaurant.

A buzzing sound emanated from Pete's pocket.

'Speaking of phone calls,' Pete plucked the phone from his pocket and pressed answer, 'Shanahan.' His face grew serious. 'Understood. No, I'll be right there.' He looked up at Sam apologetically. 'Sorry, our witness finally decided to flip on his bosses. I have to go to work.' He was already moving.

Sam smiled. 'It's OK. We understand.'

'It's been good to see you.' Daniel said cheerfully.

'Indeed.' Teal'c added.

Pete smiled ruefully and nodded at them. 'It was good to see you all too.'

'I'll walk you out.' Sam offered and Pete smiled gratefully, extending his hand to catch hold of hers.

Teal'c was satisfied that their message had been delivered and understood. He watched as the couple made their way out, passing a returning O'Neill in the doorway.

'So?' demanded Cassie. 'What happened?'

'We had a chat.' Daniel informed her, tapping her nose. 'That's all.'

'Uh-huh.' Cassie said, folding her arms and looking at them with disbelief.

'I may also have informed Detective Shanahan that I would kill him slowly if he harmed Major Carter.' Teal'c stated calmly.

Cassie's face brightened with a delighted smile. 'That's so cool.' Suddenly she sobered. 'Wait. Does this mean you said the same thing to Dominic?'

Teal'c caught Daniel's subtle shaking of his head and pressed his lips together thoughtfully. 'I believe I will need to plead the Fifth on this matter, Cassandra.'

'On what matter?' Jack slid back into the other side of the booth and picked up the dessert menu. 'Everything go OK?'

'As planned, O'Neill.' Teal'c said smugly.

'Who was on the phone?' Daniel asked, picking up his beer and taking a long gulp.

'Hammond.' Jack glanced at Cassie briefly. 'Hayes is still undecided apparently.'

Daniel grimaced openly and Teal'c allowed a glower to flicker across his face.

Sam rejoined them, nudging Jack further into the booth and simply swapping their drinks round. 'So, dessert?'

Teal'c was not surprised that the atmosphere was more relaxed without the presence of Detective Shanahan. Contentment filled him as they paid the bill and left the restaurant. He noted the subtle signal that O'Neill gave the Major as Cassie finished hugging them goodbye.

Sam handed her car keys to Cassie. 'Warm the car up for me?' She smiled encouragingly.

Cassie rolled her eyes. 'You could just say you need to talk to each other in private for a moment.'

'Fine,' Sam replied, 'we need to talk in private for a moment, so…'

Cassie sighed dramatically but she smiled and, with a final wave, walked off towards Sam's car.

Teal'c turned to O'Neill expectantly.

Jack cleared his throat. 'Hammond wants us back on mission rotation.'

'Sir…' Sam began to protest and Jack held up his hand.

'Not my call, Carter.' Jack said quickly, pushing his hands deep into his pockets. 'We're all fit and Hammond's pushed keeping us at the base as much as he can. The brass wants to see us back in action especially given Kinsey's push for civilian command of the programme.'

'Understood, sir.' Sam cast a look towards her car. 'I'll let Cassie know.'

'It'll probably be another couple of days before we have to go anywhere.' Jack said comfortingly.

'So, you'll have plenty of time to finish that cryptic crossword.' Sam teased. 'Double or nothing, remember?'

'Oh, I remember, Carter, and I am looking forward to receiving my cookies when you pay up.' Jack shot back, smirking.

Sam just grinned back at him.

Teal'c wondered why it was not evident to either of them that they were engaged in flirtation.

Daniel exchanged a knowing look with him regarding their team-mates before nudging Jack's arm. 'Come on, you're giving me a ride back to my place.'

Teal'c inclined his head in farewell.

''Bye, guys.' Sam waved them off. 'And Daniel; no helping him!' She turned to Teal'c with a smile as soon as they were out of earshot. 'He's so going to help him.'

'Indeed.' Teal'c said, amused.

Sam reached out to hug him goodbye and Teal'c accepted it with fond bemusement. She hugged him tightly for a long moment and inched back to regard him with affection.

'So, you get your 'if you hurt her I'll kill you speech' delivered to Pete OK?' She asked bluntly.

Teal'c could not prevent the flicker of surprise from careening across his expression before he wrangled his features into their usual impassivity. 'I have no knowledge…' he began.

'Please.' Sam's smile widened. 'You think I haven't given Ishta the 'if you hurt him I'll kill you' speech, Teal'c?'

He looked at her dumbfounded.

Sam patted his arm. 'See you tomorrow.'

Teal'c found himself speechless as she walked away with a jaunty salute. He shook himself as she got into her car and moved away to his own. Samantha Carter was indeed a worthy warrior, he mused with satisfaction; and he was proud to be her jakuali; her brother; her friend.

o-O-o

Henry Hayes stared at the fire in the hearth. He should be in bed, he thought tiredly, rubbing his chin and hearing the scratch of his stubble against his fingers. Presidents didn't get a lot of sleep; he'd known that going into the job. It was the most pressured of high pressure jobs; the most stressful with the fate of the US hanging on the decisions he made on the world and domestic stage. It was long hours and hard decisions ergo very little sleep. What he hadn't reckoned on was that the lack of sleep would be down to finding out that aliens really did exist; that Earth had been fighting them for years – making allies of other alien races in the meantime – and that he was now responsible for the future of the Stargate programme and the fate of humanity.

It was a hell of a thing.

'OK,' Melinda Hayes said brusquely, 'you are brooding.' His wife looked at him from the doorway separating their bedroom from an outer sitting room that was part of the bedroom suite. Her dark hair was down around her shoulders, out of the elegant chignon that she usually wore. She wore a practical flannel dressing gown over her cotton pyjamas. It was a far cry from the sexy lingerie that she'd worn in their first few years of marriage before the kids but he still thought she was beautiful. He wondered briefly what she made of his sleeping attire; t-shirt, sweat pants in winter, boxers in summer.

'I am not brooding.' Henry denied automatically. He'd slung an old dressing gown over his sleepwear when he'd left their bedroom. He hadn't wanted to disturb her.

Mel arched an eyebrow and walked over to sit in front of him on the matching footstool to the armchair he had chosen. 'What's wrong? You've been quiet since the inauguration and I don't think it's the ex-president of Toga that's bothering you.'

'I can't tell you.' Henry said. 'You don't have clearance, hell, I'm not even sure I should have clearance to know about it.'

She placed her hand on his knee and rubbed it sympathetically. 'So leave out the detail and tell me what's bugging you.'

They'd done it before when his work was classified; boiled situations down to the bare minimum so he could talk about the problem without giving away the content.

Henry sighed heavily. 'Well, generally what's bothering me is that there's a secret project,' he began, 'a very, very important secret project and I have to decide what to do with it now I know about it.'

'OK,' Mel said slowly, her dark eyes widening with curiosity, 'and specifically?'

'Specifically, Kinsey's a crook and he financed our election campaign with dirty money.' Henry said tersely. And damn if that wasn't the thing that bugged him the most because he should have seen it. He'd had suspicions, inklings, but he'd ignored them because he'd needed the votes Kinsey brought to the table and the money he'd brought to the campaign. Henry had thought himself better than that; more honourable than that.

'You have proof?' Mel asked.

Henry slid his hand over hers and entwined their fingers. 'I have proof.'

He thought of Richard Woolsey earlier that night, standing in front of his desk in the Oval office solemnly handing him the evidence. Henry had looked at it immediately; ordered his assistant to make several copies straight away and to lock them up. The evidence was damning; Kinsey was so dirty he made Henry's skin crawl. And he had a feeling where the evidence had come from; who had given it to Woolsey even if the man hadn't said it out loud.

'Kinsey wants this project.' Henry explained. 'Because whoever has control of this project is the most powerful man on Earth, and he expects me to give it to him like he bought and paid for it.'

'Which in his eyes he did.' Mel completed wryly.

Henry looked at her admiringly and pointed at her with his free hand. 'See, that's why I married you.'

'I thought it was because I looked hot in a bikini.' Mel teased.

'That too.' Henry tugged on her hand and she moved willingly to sit in his lap, cuddling into him. He wrapped his arms around her and snuggled into her, enjoying the warmth and familiar scent of her.

'If this project is so important, you can't let a man like Bob Kinsey get control of it.' Mel said eventually.

'It's so damn complicated.' Henry sighed, voicing the thought running through his head. 'On one hand, I know the guy who's in charge – we served together in 'Nam. It was a long time ago but from everything I've read on this project to date, he's still the same honourable man he was back then.'

Mel squeezed him. She hated him talking about 'Nam; hated remembering his deployment.

'All things being equal, I'd be tempted to leave this in his hands.' Henry admitted. 'His very safe, very experienced hands which have had several years of dealing with this…insanity.'

'But?' prompted Mel.

'I can't publish the proof I have on Bob without making this very secret project public.' Henry rested his head against hers. 'So I can't engineer a political scandal and have the media take care of him. And a direct confrontation isn't the way to go either. He's made it plain that I'll regret it. I have to wait for the right moment, get my ducks lined up so I can fire him without taking a hit myself.' He made an exasperated sound, somewhere between a hiss and tsk. 'Which sucks because it means I have to work with the guy in the interim and it means that I can't just leave this very secret project in the safe, capable hands of the people who know what they're doing.'

'So, what are you going to do?' Mel asked.

'Give Kinsey what he's asking for, civilian control of the project but without giving him control.' Henry said the solution out loud for the first time and breathed a sigh of relief. It could work, especially if he counterbalanced that decision with a new Department in Washington overseeing all things to do with Earth's security and put Hammond in charge of that.

Mel hummed underneath her breath. 'You'll need to find a credible civilian commander.'

Henry raised his eyebrows at his wife knowingly. 'You have someone in mind?'

'I was thinking of Elizabeth Weir.' Mel admitted.

'Your old professor's daughter?' Henry clarified, trying to call an image of her to mind and failing; he couldn't even remember if she was a blonde or a brunette.

'She's an international negotiator with several treaties under her belt. She's extremely intelligent, stubborn as a mule when she thinks she's right, and she's used to dealing with the political scum of the Earth over a conference table.' Mel pointed briskly.

'You think she'll be able to handle Kinsey.' Henry realised.

'I think she'll quickly get his number and call him on his bullshit.' Mel agreed. 'Elizabeth is also a poised, cultured woman who would play well if you made this project public especially given she's not particularly pro-military in her politics from what I remember.'

'The project is top loaded with men.' Henry said, considering the idea out loud. 'I could sell that to Kinsey; a woman to give a better public image, and he's chauvinistic enough to think that alone will mean he can control her.'

'More fool him.' Mel said. She tightened her hold and slid off his lap. 'Come on. You need to get some sleep.'

Henry got to his feet, still thinking. He could sell the idea to Kinsey in the morning; have Elizabeth Weir tracked down and briefed on the Friday; make the changes over the weekend and have the new regime at the SGC in place by Monday. The new Department – and he was liking Homeworld Security as a name – would take a little longer to come together but he could get Hammond on that.

It was a plan.

He only hoped they didn't get attacked by aliens in the meantime.

fin.