Between the lines - STARGATE SG1

Chapter 4: Beachhead

A sigh escaped him as he closed the last mission report of a new SG team. The reports piling up on his desk about the Ori were no laughing matter, almost every report mentioned a preacher and a new people converted to Origin. He was the commander of Homeland Security, the one to whom all the other generals in the various programs that flowed from the Stargate program answered. He had to make decisions. And the Ori were a thorn in his side that he could have done without. The only reason he hadn't retired from the SGC was because Samantha had insisted. He knew the SG program better than anyone, he had been its commander of course, but more importantly he was the first active duty soldier who had been sent through the Gate. Therefore, she had argued, he was in the best position to know what the program entailed, the best position to defend the budget allocated to each of them, and the best position to coordinate all the SG services: the SGC, Area 51, Alpha and Beta sites, the space programs... Nevertheless, he had not expected this, that a new enemy would emerge from another galaxy, that the Earth would be in danger again. And that he would have to send her back to the field. If he stopped lying to himself, that was the biggest thorn in his side. Samantha Carter. He had served with her for ten years. He knew she was irreplaceable. He knew that if Earth was in danger, Samantha Carter would find a way to save it. He knew he would have to give in. Landry was pushing hard for her to join the SGC. But Landry didn't have much of a say in the matter, when Samantha flatly refused to join Cheyenne Mountain. Jack was a star general, but in front of Samantha Carter, he was just a man. A man in love who couldn't come up with any arguments to convince her to return to the SGC.

"General?" Jack turned his head in the direction of the door.

"Lieutenant?"

"A new report from Stargate Command just came in. The latest mission report from SG1." She handed him the file, Jack retrieved it, pushing aside the other files waiting on a corner of his desk.

"Thank you, Lieutenant."

With a new sigh Jack opened the report and immersed himself in the writings of his former team members. In each report he saw the urgency that was looming, the decision he would soon have to make. He knew that the sword of Damocles was hanging over him and that soon he would have to make his decision.

WASHINGTON D.C. - JACK O'NEILL'S PENTHOUSE - 6:45 PM

She had two more days of leave before returning to Nevada. The two weeks she'd spent aboard the Daedalus had seemed like a long time, even though she'd loved every second of tinkering with the ship's systems. But for the first time in years, Samantha Carter was happy to be away from her lab and her experiments, she didn't even think about it. She was taking advantage of the five days of leave she'd been granted. Five days she had spent in this apartment, enjoying life as much as possible. Today, she was wearing jeans and an oversized T-shirt, she was barefoot, the radio was playing American classics in the background, she was chatting while preparing dinner. Jack should be here any minute. Jack, the simple fact of allowing herself to think of him by his first name still surprised her. Yet their relationship had been going on for several months now. He had left early this morning, she had spent the day doing some sport, visiting the Smithsonian again, reading at the terrace of a café. Then, she had taken advantage of a small farmer's market in the neighborhood to buy some food to prepare dinner. Jack's fridge had the distinction of being filled with beer and leftover take-out food, habits that had been well established for ten years. But she had to admit it, the beer omelette of Jack O'Neill was a delight, especially after a night of love with the said Jack O'Neill. Two arms slipped around her waist as she stirred the contents of a pan, and two lips placed a tender kiss on her neck.