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rachel500
Wheels Back in Motion
Day Seven - P3X234
Sam poked the fire desolately. The gate hadn’t worked again and she was beginning to think that they were facing the worst case scenario; that the new gate was having problems talking with the computer. She didn’t know what they were going to do if that was true; she should talk to the Colonel, discuss their options. She glanced toward the cave where he had gone to change.
To say things were awkward between them would be an understatement, Sam thought ruefully. They were both making an effort to pretend that their confessions of the day before hadn’t happened but their easy banter and flirting had been abandoned. They had both lapsed back into their usual addresses of ‘sir’ and ‘Carter.’ They had both flinched when they had accidentally touched reaching for the mugs the previous evening during dinner. He had sat right across the camp from her after that.
She had made her excuses and turned in early but she had barely slept. Her mind had raced over their conversation; over the pleasurable and shocking fact that Jack felt something for her; that the attraction between them was real and not as one-sided as she had believed. But it didn’t make any difference; they were both needed on SG1.
She gave the fire a violent stab and sparks flew into the air. Sam glared at it. What had she expected? That he would declare his love for her and abandon the mission, abandon his duty just to be with her? Jack wasn’t that type of man; if he was she wouldn’t have fallen in love with him. His honour and sense of duty were part of the reason why she loved him so much. And, in truth, he hadn’t actually declared his love for her the day before…just acknowledged that there was something more than he should feel as her CO. Just as she had done the same.
Sam bit the inside of her lip. She hadn’t exactly offered to leave the Air Force either, she mused dejectedly. She wouldn’t abandon their mission either and she hoped her sense of duty was equal to his; her proposal to leave the team had been completely rooted in her own concerns about her ability to make the right decisions; about being equal and fair to Daniel and Teal’c; about being objective about Jack in order to complete their mission. He obviously believed she could handle it and she didn’t want to let him down. So, she would stay on SG1 and so would he. They would continue as they had before, pretending to be nothing more than team-mates.
It sucked.
A sharp cry filled the air and had Sam abandoning the fire; her gun was in her hands and ready as she raced into the cave.
Jack was staring at the ground with a suspicious expression, his own gun trained on the shadows; he was breathing deeply.
‘Sir?’ She inquired urgently.
‘There was a snake.’ Jack said. ‘A big snake.’
Sam looked at the ground; the dirt covering the rocky floor of the cave seemed undisturbed. ‘I don’t see anything, sir.’
‘It was there,’ Jack said defensively, ‘and I’m telling you it was huge.’
Sam shot him a sceptical look.
‘I’m not making this up, Carter.’ Jack snapped, waving one hand at her; the other kept his gun solidly trained on the shadows.
‘What did you see exactly, sir?’ Sam asked briskly.
‘A snake.’
She rolled her eyes and prayed for patience. ‘Exactly, sir.’ She prompted.
Jack shot her a look but he relented. ‘I just finished changing; went to put my pants on the clothing pile and I saw something move out of the corner of my eye in the shadows here.’
‘And you’re sure it was a snake?’ Sam checked.
‘It was definitely snake-like.’ Jack muttered. There was a creeping look of embarrassment making its way across his face. He turned to her sheepishly. ‘I guess it might be, somewhat possible that it wasn’t a snake, exactly.’
Sam pressed her lips together to stop the bubble of laughter from passing her lips.
Jack lowered his gun and gestured at her. ‘Go ahead; laugh it up.’ He encouraged her.
‘You’re probably just tired.’ She offered generously. She nervously raised her hand from her weapon. She didn’t think he had slept any better than she had.
His eyes dropped away from her.
Sam began to turn away when she saw something move along the cave ceiling above Jack’s head. She whirled and aimed her gun. ‘Sir! Get down!’
Jack followed her instruction, falling to the floor and pointing his own weapon above him.
They both shot at the same time; the flashes of light were bright in the darkness of the cave. A long, thick object dropped to the ground with a thump.
Jack scuttled back out of the way, landing next to Sam. She helped him off the floor.
‘Holy Hannah! Look at it.’ Sam muttered, breathing deeply; her heart-beat pounding in her chest. She suddenly realised that her hand was holding onto Jack’s arm. She let go reluctantly.
‘Holy crap more like it.’ Jack muttered. He reached out tentatively and poked the black serpent with his gun.
‘Is it dead?’ Sam asked bluntly.
‘It’s dead.’ Jack confirmed. He looked at her triumphantly. ‘So. A snake.’ He waggled his eyebrows at her.
Sam smiled. ‘I apologise for doubting that you saw a snake, sir.’
Jack shrugged. ‘You could have been right; I didn’t get much sleep.’
She didn’t know how to reply to that. ‘Well, I should get back to the fire.’ She said hurriedly. She jerked her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the entrance.
‘Carter.’
She stopped and turned back.
Jack gestured at her awkwardly, his eyes shadowed in the dim light. ‘Thanks for the save.’
Sam smiled at him and started out again.
‘Carter.’
She turned back again to find him staring at the snake with a speculative look.
‘Do you think we can eat it?’ Jack poked it again with his gun.
She grimaced. ‘You want to eat it?’
‘I don’t know about you but I’m getting bored with vegetable stew.’ Jack pointed out. ‘What do you think?’
Sam pulled a face and gave the snake a doubtful look. ‘I guess.’ She said.
‘Come on, Carter, where’s your sense of adventure?’ Jack teased.
She arched an eyebrow. ‘OK, sir, on one condition.’
‘Name it.’ Jack said.
‘You clean it and cook it.’ Sam said, sure he would decline.
‘OK.’ Jack agreed easily. He grinned as though he had guessed at her reasoning.
She gave in gracefully and six hours later, she sat around the camp fire and accepted a piece of barbequed snake from the Colonel.
He watched as she took a hesitant bite.
‘Actually,’ she said chewing thoughtfully, ‘this isn’t half-bad, sir.’
‘I keep telling ya,’ Jack said exasperated, ‘it’s Jack.’
Sam slowed in her chewing and gestured with her greasy fingers. ‘Do you really think I should? I mean, under the circumstances.’
‘Well, maybe not in front of the General.’ Jack quipped.
She couldn’t help smiling. They’d both been more relaxed with each other since the snake incident. Maybe they hadn’t quite recaptured the same flirty atmosphere of the previous few days on the planet but they had definitely not regressed to the rigid formality of their first couple of days there either.
‘I guess it’s probably not a great idea.’ Jack said regretfully.
Sam nodded jerkily.
‘Of course, if we’re stuck here for months…’ Jack waved a wedge of snake at her.
‘If we’re stuck here for months, I’ll call you Jack.’ Sam promised.
Jack frowned and he swallowed his food quickly. ‘The right answer, Carter, was that we’re not going to be stuck here for months.’
She took a bite of her snake to delay answering him.
‘You think they would have fixed any physical issue by now.’ Jack surmised.
‘It has to be technical.’ Sam confirmed.
‘I guess we should talk about how long we keep trying to get home through the Stargate.’ Jack said, taking another bite of the snake. ‘If the gate doesn’t work tomorrow, we should discuss it with Teal’c.’
Sam nodded in acknowledgement and licked her fingers. She glanced up to find Jack watching her. The desire in his eyes had her flushing and wondering how she had missed him looking at her like that before; she guessed he had never been as open about it before. She lowered her fingers self-consciously.
Jack looked away. ‘You know in a couple of years, Carter, you’ll be leading your own SG team.’
Sam’s eyes snapped to him questioningly.
‘And I’ll be too old for field work.’ Jack continued conversationally as though he was discussing the weather.
‘Sir…’
‘I’m just saying that maybe, one day.’ Jack said quickly, looking back at her with a guarded yet wistful expression. ‘If you were single and I was single and we happened not to be in the same chain of command then maybe, one day.’
She smiled at him. ‘I’d like that.’ She hesitated before she added quietly, ‘Jack.’
Jack lips quirked into a quick smile. ‘And, until then, there’s nothing wrong with two team-mates being friends.’
‘Friends.’ Sam agreed.
He turned back to the fire and threw the remains of his meal into it before settling back beside her. For a while they sat in a comfortable silence, the fire popping with the snake grease and the smell of the charred flesh mixing with the wood.
Jack suddenly yawned and Sam looked at him amused. ‘If you want to get some sleep, sir, I’ll take first watch.’
Jack looked back at the cave and gestured at her. ‘I think I’ll sleep out here.’
‘I’ll protect you from the snakes.’ Sam promised with a smile.
He winked at her as he grabbed a nearby blanket and stretched out on the ground. ‘You already do, Carter.’
Sam watched as Jack closed his eyes; in a few moments, his breathing became deep and regular. She leaned back against the log, pulling her knees up to her chest as she looked up at the stars.
Friends.
A sense of peace settled over her. She could do that.
Day Seven – The SGC
‘…so you do see what I’m saying, General.’ Daniel concluded as he tapped the folder he had placed on top of Hammond’s desk.
The portly General looked up at him blankly. ‘I’m afraid I have no idea, Doctor Jackson.’
‘It’s not what the Russians are saying; it’s what they’re not.’ Daniel expanded his point, waving his arm at the folder. ‘In all of their communications there’s not a single mention that the ship could be of alien origin.’
‘So?’ Hammond prompted with a frown. ‘I would have thought that was good news.’
‘Well, yes,’ Daniel admitted, ‘it is good news in some ways.’ He wrapped his hands around his torso and looked at Hammond earnestly. ‘But doesn’t it strike you as odd?’
‘Odd?’
‘Well, if you heard that an object came from, uh, space and entered the atmosphere on a controlled entry…’
‘You think an alien ship would be the likely conclusion.’ Hammond gave a small laugh. ‘There are any number of explanations.’
‘Name them.’ Daniel shot back. He caught Hammond’s shock at his retort and raised a hand in apology. ‘Uh, sorry, sir, I just meant what other explanations are there? And even if there are other explanations wouldn’t there be at least one mention that it might possibly be of an alien origin?’
Hammond stood up and paced over to the small internal window. ‘I take your point, Doctor. So you think they know it was an alien ship?’
‘I don’t know.’ Daniel admitted. ‘I just find it…odd.’
Hammond sighed. ‘I don’t have to tell you that the situation with Russia is very sensitive.’
‘No, sir.’ Daniel agreed quietly.
‘It’s not going to help if I tell the Pentagon we think the Russians might be aware that the incident was alien.’
‘I don’t suppose we can just ask them?’ Daniel suggested half-seriously.
‘Not without exposing our own knowledge.’ Hammond shook his head and pursed his lips thoughtfully. ‘Thank you for your observations, Doctor.’
Daniel heard the dismissal in the General’s voice and headed for the door. He made his way down to the control room.
‘…and do not touch the code I have just sent you. Just load it into the file I have specified. Can you do that, hmmm?’
Daniel raised his eyebrows at the strident tone coming from the telephone speaker the technicians were huddled around.
‘Thanks for your help. We’ll contact you if there’s any problem.’ Walter responded briskly.
‘Contact me? No, wait…’
Walter exchanged a look with Siler and the Sergeant stabbed a button to end the call, silencing the still protesting man on the other end.
Daniel frowned. ‘Who was that on the phone?’
‘The new Stargate technology guy at Area 51.’ Walter responded absently as he turned back to the computer and started tapping on his keyboard. ‘I want to say McCoy but that’s not it.’
‘That’s Star Trek.’ Siler commented. ‘You’re thinking of the doctor.’
‘Oh right.’ Walter responded absently.
Daniel cleared his throat noisily. ‘So.’ He said, trying to get the conversation back on track. ‘How’s it going?’
‘Well, we now have a new subroutine to help the computer’s dialling programme talk with the new gate.’ Walter explained. ‘I’m just loading it now.’
‘And this guy at Area 51 wrote it?’ Daniel checked.
‘If he’s half as good as he thinks he is, it should work.’ Siler commented dryly.
Walter turned to him. ‘We should be ready for a test in five minutes.’
Siler nodded. ‘I’ll check on the power couplings.’
Daniel hovered nervously as the final preparations were made. Hammond appeared as the technicians finalised their work.
Walter turned around and nodded at the General. ‘We’re ready, sir.’
‘Dial it up, Sergeant.’ Hammond ordered.
The gate began to spin.
‘Chevron One…’ Walter intoned.
Daniel pinned his blue gaze on the Stargate and prayed.
‘Is encoded.’ Walter said in disbelief as the chevron lit up. ‘Chevron One is encoded.’
Hammond slapped Daniel on the shoulder and the archaeologist rocked forward unexpectedly. The military man grinned back at him happily.
‘Chevron Seven locked.’
Daniel let out a shaky breath as the wormhole blossomed like a beautiful blue flower into the room below.
A cheer went up from the technicians and Daniel barely heard Hammond congratulate them all on a good job. The gate was working and the rest of SG1 could come home.
If they’d made it.
Daniel pushed the doubt to the back of his mind.
They had to have made it and they had to come home.
They wouldn’t leave him behind.
Day Eight – P3X234
‘I’m telling you it was a really big snake.’ Jack said, his brown eyes twinkling mischievously at the Jaffa stood in front of him and Sam. He spread his arms out wide. ‘Really big.’
Teal’c looked at Sam as though to gain her opinion on Jack’s veracity concerning the size of the reptile.
‘Tell him, Carter.’
‘He’s telling the truth, Teal’c.’ Sam said, pressing the first symbol on the DHD down firmly. ‘But I admit I didn’t believe him either at first.’ She darted a light-hearted look at the Colonel. ‘There was nothing there when I got to the cave initially.’
‘That’s because it slithered off before you got there.’ Jack retorted brightly.
‘It must have been frightened when you squealed.’ Sam commented, her blue eyes sparkling back at him as she hit the next two symbols of the gate address.
‘I did not squeal!’ Jack protested to Teal’c. ‘Hey, some respect here, Carter.’ He poked her arm. ‘I did not squeal.’
She shot him a look as she hit another symbol.
‘I may have cried out in a manly way.’ Jack said defensively to Teal’c.
The Jaffa raised an eyebrow. ‘I see.’ He murmured clasping his hands behind his back.
Sam laughed out loud.
Jack’s lips twitched as a warm feeling of contentment stole over him. He sneaked a look at Sam. She looked beautiful. The morning light touched her blonde hair turning it to gold. He took a breath; he had the promise of one day…it was enough; it was more than he had ever believed or hoped was possible.
Jack looked at his Jaffa friend. ‘How are you going to explain that?’ He asked, pointing at the gold strip of hair adorning his friend’s chin.
‘I do not intend to explain.’ Teal’c said firmly.
Sam smiled again at Jack’s taken aback expression and her hand hit the orange centre. The familiar swoosh had them all staring at the rippling blue centre with pleased astonishment.
‘They must have got the gate connected.’ Sam said wonderingly.
‘Send the IDC.’ Jack ordered.
She fumbled for the GDO but her fingers quickly entered the correct code. ‘Receiving confirmation, sir.’
The three of them moved forward.
‘So, do you think they’ll have a band, streamers, maybe a cake?’ Jack asked idly.
‘Sir?’
‘Well, we did save the world again.’ Jack pointed out.
‘I’m just hoping Daniel’s there.’ Sam said. ‘He should have recovered from his surgery now.’
‘I am looking forward to seeing him also.’ Teal’c said.
‘Me too.’ Jack smiled. ‘Not that this hasn’t been fun.’ His eyes caught Sam’s.
Sam smiled at him reassuringly.
He nodded as they reached the wormhole. ‘Let’s go home.’
fin.
