Coffee Breaks part 4
May. 2nd, 2005 05:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dimity_blueI'll try to remember to add more fic tomorrow. At least this one's done!
Daniel was sitting at his desk, scribbling away at a translation, when he heard Jack approaching. Each footstep was a model of military precision and Daniel knew that he'd been rumbled. "Damn!"
With one superhuman leap, Daniel was inside his cupboard, the door shut tightly behind him. He heard the door to his office open.
"Daniel?"
Jack's voice sounded so reasonable, so calm, but Daniel could barely breathe. How did he know it was him? He heard the click of his coffee mug as Jack picked it up, took a gulp and set it back down.
'He knows I know about the coffee. I am so dead... I wonder how long I can live in this closet?'
Jack settled himself into Daniel's chair and stretched out his legs. He glanced at the still warm coffee and the translation on the notepad which broke off halfway through a word. He could wait for one geeky archaeologist to give up hiding in the cupboard. He was good at waiting.
An hour passed.
Jack amused himself with reading Daniel's translations, looking at his various artifacts and (when he got really bored) flicking spitballs at the said artifacts.
Daniel remained inside the cupboard. Surely Jack would go soon? Suddenly he felt an itch. Damn! He wanted to sneeze. 'No, not now. Not now.' The sneeze was building. 'Oh God, not now!'
Jack was in the process of seeing how many pencils he could balance on his finger when a muffled sneeze disturbed the silence.
"Gesundheit," he said calmly, not a trace of surprise in his voice.
The pencils dropped as Dr. Daniel Jackson, PhD., emerged from his cupboard at a rate roughly the speed of light and headed for the door.
Jack was ex-Special Forces, and geeky archaeologists had nothing on him when it came to speed. Even ones with fear adding nuclear power to their getaways.
Daniel came to an abrupt halt as one long arm snaked out and grabbed his collar.
Jack reeled him in but didn't speak until he could see the whites of Daniel's eyes. "Doctor...Jellyfish, I presume."
"Hey, Jack." Daniel gave a half smile which faded as Jack looked him in the eye.
"Okay...Dandelion. I think you are going to fix all of my reports, don't you?"
Daniel swallowed. "Um...."
"That's a yes, Daniel."
Daniel remained silent as he was towed towards the door.
~*~
It took Daniel considerably longer to fix all of Jack's reports than it had to scramble them. Especially as Jack insisted on sitting on the desk right next to the computer, casually snapping pencils in half. Daniel found the noise to be annoying and the look on Jack's face definitely ominous.
"So, Daniel. You're back to drinking full strength coffee." Snap. Another pencil broke.
Daniel gulped.
"Enjoying it are you?" Snap.
Daniel glanced at the broken pencil lying by his arm.
"Had fun this morning?" Snap.
Daniel cleared his throat to speak, but another look at Jack's face stopped him.
"Renaming everyone." Snap.
"Um...."
"Making up funny names for all my files." Snap.
"Uh...."
"Did you really think that I wouldn't figure it out?" Snap.
"You uh...asked Sam...."
"Yes, I did." Snap. "And I think you'd better not make any kind of smart alec replies in case I get more annoyed than I am at the moment!" Snap. Snap.
"Uh...okay."
Finally, Daniel deleted the files which only contained smileys and numbers. They'd been fake ones that he'd thrown into the mix to wind Jack up further. He had to admit that he'd succeeded.
"Done," Daniel murmured in a small voice.
Jack remained silent, so Daniel took it as his cue to leave. He half rose from his seat then fell back down as Jack clamped one hand on his shoulder.
"Where ya goin', Daniel?"
"Uh...."
"Don't wanna miss the fun that I've got planned, do ya?"
Daniel seemed to be having trouble talking, but he managed to echo hoarsely, "Fun?"
"Oh yeah. You and me, buddy." Jack slipped an arm around Daniel's neck and hugged him. "Doin' lots of... military stuff."
Daniel's breath caught in his throat (partially due to the necklock Jack had on him).
"That's right, Danny boy. You and me. Practisin' shootin'. Practisin' duckin'. It'll be fun!"
There was silence from Danny boy which could have been due to air deprivation. Fortunately, Jack released his stranglehold and slapped Daniel on the back. "Let's go eat."
"Oh God." Maybe, if he was lucky, the Goa'uld would start an all out assault... or SG-11 would bring some weird alien back who'd try to take over the base... or maybe, just maybe, he'd managed to escape while Jack was ordering lunch. Maybe. It was promising to be a very long day...maybe even a very long week.
~*~
Fortunately for Daniel's sanity, the very next day SG-1 had a briefing to go to, (in which Major Connor played a large and very vocal part), and a mission to go on.
A UAV had been sent through the 'gate to PR7-207. It hadn't shown much of the world before its systems had malfunctioned and it had crashed; SG-1 were to find and retrieve the missing equipment. They were naturally extremely cautious as they left the wormhole. The MALP hadn't shown anything suspicious, but as Jack stepped out, he had his P90 at the ready. There was nothing to be seen. Just the DHD, lots of grass and plenty of green trees with their leaves gently wafting in the breeze.
Major Connor tracked the signal from the UAV, and within 20 minutes they had reached it. It had not malfunctioned.
It had been hit by a blast from a staff weapon.
"Heads up." Jack took a few steps back from where the UAV lay, his eyes scanning the woods surrounding them.
Major Connor carefully checked over the UAV. It was damaged beyond repair, its internal system blown apart. All she could take back would be scrap metal. She shook her head and stood up.
"Okay. Teal'c, you go first. Let's see if we can find out who we're dealin' with here."
Teal'c nodded and took the point, the major then Daniel falling in behind him, Jack bringing up the rear.
They made their way through the woods mostly in silence. Suddenly, Teal'c stopped, he could see something just ahead where the woods thinned out and ended. Major Connor slid off to one side, while Jack made his way to the other. Daniel approached Teal'c and, keeping their heads down, the four of them gazed out on the scene before them.
As usual, it was the slaves who were doing all the work, while the Jaffa stood around, waving their staff weapons at any slave who didn't look as though he was doing his best to serve his God.
Daniel sighed. Many, many people were enslaved to the Goa'uld. And too many people were having their lives taken from them so the Goa'uld could have naquadah for their weapons. Jack glanced over at him. He knew that Daniel had a propensity to go wading in where angels feared to tread - quite literally in several cases. And Jack did not want Daniel to go leaping to the rescue in this case. They didn't have the manpower or firepower to take on that many Jaffa.
"Teal'c? Any idea who they're workin' for?" Jack murmured.
"I believe it is the Goa'uld Nurti."
"Nurti? The Hindu Goddess?" Connor asked quietly.
"Yeah. She must have wriggled her way out of trouble," Daniel said, referring to the last time they'd run across her.
"Ya think?" Jack sighed. Nurti was one Goa'uld, well, one among many, that he had a personal grudge against. Cassandra was an orphan thanks to Nurti's plans to destroy the SGC. "Okay, kids. Let's wrap it up and go home."
The four of them quickly and quietly began to withdraw to the Stargate. If their luck held, the Jaffa would never know that any of the SGC members had been there. Well, not until long after SG-1 had gone.
They managed to make it back to the 'gate and Daniel started to dial up. As he pressed the fourth symbol he became aware of movement in the trees to the right of him. His hand reached for the fifth symbol even as his eyes were turning to scan the woods.
"Jack!"
Jack turned in time to see Teal'c take out the lead Jaffa. Instinctively, his P90 came up and he added his firepower to Teal'c's. As the lead Jaffa went down, the ones behind him scattered in an effort to avoid Teal'c's staff blasts, and the two officers' bullets. Daniel used the DHD for cover, even as he continued dialling; his head popping up every few seconds to locate the next symbol and press it.
Jack and Teal'c had both dived for cover, Teal'c ending up near Major Connor, who was wiping out as many of Nurti's Jaffa as she could. Teal'c rolled into the bushes by her and turned, his staff weapon ready. He knew they had to give Daniel enough cover to allow him to complete dialling. He also knew that the odds were on their side as long as no more Jaffa showed up.
The snap of a broken twig made both Teal'c and Major Connor turn. A large Jaffa stood, his staff weapon rising, his eyes fixed on the Shol'va. Teal'c, having been expertly trained by Master Bra'tac, had already brought his weapon to bear upon the Jaffa. His finger was tightening on the trigger, when Major Connor (being exceptionally heroic), knocked him out of the way. Teal'c was shoved one side, the staff blast searing across his shoulder, as Mary Lou used her P90 to put an end to the Jaffa.
Daniel, having finished dialling, sent SG-1's code through. Receiving confirmation that the SGC knew it was them and they would not get the iris slammed in their faces (well, not unless Hammond was having an exceptionally bad day), Daniel yelled to let them know the 'gate was open and they could go.
"Daniel! Go!" Jack yelled. As Daniel threw himself into the wormhole, Jack skidded to the DHD and took his place. Teal'c and Connor were still on the edge of the woods. The look on Teal'c's face made Jack wonder, but he put it to one side as he blasted as many Jaffas (apart from Teal'c) that he could see into oblivion.
Connor hesitated, obviously waiting for Teal'c to leave first. A shouted "Go!" from the large man made her move. Continuing to fire at the surrounding woods, she passed Jack at a run and was through the wormhole in seconds. Once she'd gone, to Teal'c's great relief, (he had no desire to see her enact yet more heroics), Teal'c followed. As he passed the DHD, Jack joined him, and they entered the SGC knowing that there were several Jaffa on their tail.
"Lock it up!" Jack yelled as he skidded to a halt.
The iris slammed shut and a few seconds later Daniel winced as several loud thuds were heard before the wormhole disengaged.
"Teal'c? You okay?" Jack had had time to notice Teal'c's shoulder.
"I will be," Teal'c replied quietly.
"Yeah, I shot the Jaffa who had him bang to rights," Mary Lou interrupted. She slapped Teal'c on his uninjured shoulder. "You okay there, big guy?" Fortunately for her self image he managed to restrain the growl that erupted from his throat until she was out of earshot.
~*~
"Okay, what happened?" Jack demanded as soon as Connor had left the Infirmary.
"Major Connor was mistaken," Teal'c replied, his voice stiff with indignation. "I was the one who would have fired first. She believed that I was in danger and pushed me to one side, disrupting my aim. I...missed. The Jaffa fired. Major Connor disposed of him. That is all."
Jack jerked his head at Teal'c's shoulder. "You gonna be okay?"
"My symbiote will repair the damage." Teal'c paused then added, "This time."
Jack sighed. Turning, he looked Janet in the eye. "How long before Carter's back on her feet?" he demanded.
~*~
Seeing as he hadn't got the response from Janet that he wanted, (two seconds or less being his hoped for reply), O'Neill headed straight for General Hammond's office when he left the Infirmary. Marching straight into the General's office, he was brought up short by the sight of Hammond on the phone.
Hammond covered the mouthpiece with his hand. "Come in, Colonel," he murmured, then returned to the phone. "Yes, sir... yes, sir, I understand that.... Very well, sir." Hammond replaced the receiver and looked at O'Neill. "Son, I'm afraid I've got bad news."
Jack leaned forward and gripped the edge of Hammond's desk. "Connor's replacing Carter permanently?" he asked fearfully.
Hammond looked confused. "Why would you think that?" He shook his head. "Major Connor is being transferred."
Jack let go of Hammond's desk. Transferred? 'Maybe there is a God after all.'
"To the Pentagon. Effective immediate."
"Immediately?" A grin was spreading across Jack's face, which he tried desperately to rein in. "Uh... I uh... don't know how we'll manage without her, sir, but I know that...that... erm..." the grin was getting bigger, "we'll manage somehow."
"I'm sure you will, son." Hammond frowned. He hadn't seen Jack this happy in quite a while.
"I'll uh...just go and tell Daniel and Teal'c, sir. I know they'll be as sorry to see her go as I am." The joy on Jack's face showed his true feelings.
"All right, Jack. I'll inform Major Connor myself."
"Yes, sir!" In his enthusiasm, Jack saluted the general and exited the room with a grin plastered all over his face.
Hammond frowned. What was going on with Jack lately? Hammond shook the thought from him then frowned even more as he watched Jack tap dance his way along the walkway. 'Definitely something going on with Jack.'
~*~
Teal'c was meditating when there was a bang on his door.
"Teal'c?" Jack opened the door and looked around it.
Teal'c opened his eyes and looked back at O'Neill.
"Ah. Sorry. Just thought you'd wanna know - Major Connor is being reassed."
Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "Reassed?" he echoed.
"Reassigned," Jack said then added excitedly. "She's goin' to the Pentagon!"
"I see."
Jack could see that Teal'c did not realise the importance of the news. "She's off SG-1 as of now," he explained. He grinned as Teal'c subtle smile appeared and he inclined his head towards his superior officer.
"I'll leave you to your meditation. But don't forget, we gotta celebrate!" Jack shut the door behind him and went to spread the good news.
"Daniel? Daniel!"
Daniel looked up as his door was thrown open and a very happy Jack O'Neill filled the doorway. "Jack?"
Jack took a deep breath. "Isn't it a beautiful day?" he asked, conversationally.
"Jack?" Daniel was perplexed. He didn't know when he'd seen his friend this happy.
Jack put his hands on Daniel's desk and leaned forward. "Major. Connor. Is. Being. Transferred. To. The." Jack paused even longer for special effect. "Pentagon!"
A grin made its way across Daniel's face. "The Pentagon? When?"
"Effective immediate!"
"Now? Now?!"
Jack nodded, grinning like the proverbial Cheshire Cat.
"Are you sure?" Daniel looked as though he hardly dared believe it.
"Just got the news from Hammond himself."
Daniel's grin got bigger and bigger.
Jack suddenly had a thought. "Does this mean you'll be able to give up coffee now?"
Daniel's grin turned into a laugh, which stopped as there was a knock on the door. He looked around Jack, still smiling, and saw Major Connor. "Major!"
Jack turned. "Major Connor, I believe congratulations are in order."
"Yes sir, thank you, sir." Connor smiled at the pair of them. "General Hammond just told me, sir. The Pentagon! I'm... I'm speechless."
"Yeah, the Pentagon tends to do that to people," Jack grinned.
"Yes, sir." Connor couldn't stop grinning. Although she'd dreamt of the Stargate since she'd first heard about it, she'd always seen it as a step on the ladder to the Pentagon. The place where the real power lay. And now, she was going. "I've just got to go and clear out my office, sir. I can't believe it."
"Nor me, Major. But," Jack approached her and laid a hand on her shoulder, "it couldn't happen to a more deserving person."
"Thank you, sir. That means a lot to me."
"I hope you'll be really happy there, Major," Daniel offered.
"I'm sure I will be, Dr. Jackson. Thank you. Anyway, I've got to go."
"See you later, Major." O'Neill felt almost affectionate towards her now that she was actually going. He shut the door behind her and turned back to Daniel. "We gotta celebrate tonight. I've already told Teal'c."
Daniel grinned again. "I'm looking forward to it."
~*~
Mary Lou packed her box happily. 'The Pentagon!' She laughed to herself as she placed Sam's naquadah reactor in the box, then realised that she didn't quite have room for her 573 different varieties of herbal tea. Packing her favourite ones, she left the others on the desk, then paused. She knew what she should do with them.
Daniel looked up as yet another knock on his door interrupted the translation he was attempting to get through. "I'll be there in a minute, Jack."
The door opened. "It's not Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Jackson, it's me."
Daniel looked up. "Major?"
"I just... I know that we didn't get off to a very good start, but I hope that you'll accept these in the spirit in which they're offered."
Daniel looked down as she emptied a box containing 521 varieties of herbal tea onto his desk.
"I hope you get to like some of them."
Daniel forced himself to smile. "Thank you, Major. I'll certainly give some of them a go."
She smiled widely. "That's all I ask, Doctor. Well," she held out her hand, "it was a pleasure working with you."
"Thank you, Major. And you." Daniel shook her hand and watched as she left, then looked down at his desk. 'What am I going to do with all these?' A thought occurred to him and he smiled.
~*~
Hours later, the game was almost over, the pizza had been finished and Jack (being a good host) was offering beer or coffee to his guests.
"It's not still that decaf stuff, is it, Jack?" Daniel asked.
"Nah, I binned that stuff. Couldn't stand the taste."
"Great...."
"Yeah, I know. You'll have coffee. Teal'c?"
Teal'c picked up the bottle of Coca Cola he'd been drinking. "I will remain with coke."
"That's 'stick with', Teal'c," Jack told him, then grinned as Teal'c attempted to understand the difference. "Okay, Daniel, one coffee comin' up!"
Daniel smiled. He listened as Jack crossed the kitchen and heard the cupboard door swing open.
Jack stood in unbelieving shock as 521 varieties of herbal tea rained down upon him. "What the...?" Two seconds worth of thought gave him the answer he was looking for.
He leapt at the doorway and saw his front door swinging shut as one archaeologist made good his escape this time. "Daniel!"
The End
Daniel was sitting at his desk, scribbling away at a translation, when he heard Jack approaching. Each footstep was a model of military precision and Daniel knew that he'd been rumbled. "Damn!"
With one superhuman leap, Daniel was inside his cupboard, the door shut tightly behind him. He heard the door to his office open.
"Daniel?"
Jack's voice sounded so reasonable, so calm, but Daniel could barely breathe. How did he know it was him? He heard the click of his coffee mug as Jack picked it up, took a gulp and set it back down.
'He knows I know about the coffee. I am so dead... I wonder how long I can live in this closet?'
Jack settled himself into Daniel's chair and stretched out his legs. He glanced at the still warm coffee and the translation on the notepad which broke off halfway through a word. He could wait for one geeky archaeologist to give up hiding in the cupboard. He was good at waiting.
An hour passed.
Jack amused himself with reading Daniel's translations, looking at his various artifacts and (when he got really bored) flicking spitballs at the said artifacts.
Daniel remained inside the cupboard. Surely Jack would go soon? Suddenly he felt an itch. Damn! He wanted to sneeze. 'No, not now. Not now.' The sneeze was building. 'Oh God, not now!'
Jack was in the process of seeing how many pencils he could balance on his finger when a muffled sneeze disturbed the silence.
"Gesundheit," he said calmly, not a trace of surprise in his voice.
The pencils dropped as Dr. Daniel Jackson, PhD., emerged from his cupboard at a rate roughly the speed of light and headed for the door.
Jack was ex-Special Forces, and geeky archaeologists had nothing on him when it came to speed. Even ones with fear adding nuclear power to their getaways.
Daniel came to an abrupt halt as one long arm snaked out and grabbed his collar.
Jack reeled him in but didn't speak until he could see the whites of Daniel's eyes. "Doctor...Jellyfish, I presume."
"Hey, Jack." Daniel gave a half smile which faded as Jack looked him in the eye.
"Okay...Dandelion. I think you are going to fix all of my reports, don't you?"
Daniel swallowed. "Um...."
"That's a yes, Daniel."
Daniel remained silent as he was towed towards the door.
~*~
It took Daniel considerably longer to fix all of Jack's reports than it had to scramble them. Especially as Jack insisted on sitting on the desk right next to the computer, casually snapping pencils in half. Daniel found the noise to be annoying and the look on Jack's face definitely ominous.
"So, Daniel. You're back to drinking full strength coffee." Snap. Another pencil broke.
Daniel gulped.
"Enjoying it are you?" Snap.
Daniel glanced at the broken pencil lying by his arm.
"Had fun this morning?" Snap.
Daniel cleared his throat to speak, but another look at Jack's face stopped him.
"Renaming everyone." Snap.
"Um...."
"Making up funny names for all my files." Snap.
"Uh...."
"Did you really think that I wouldn't figure it out?" Snap.
"You uh...asked Sam...."
"Yes, I did." Snap. "And I think you'd better not make any kind of smart alec replies in case I get more annoyed than I am at the moment!" Snap. Snap.
"Uh...okay."
Finally, Daniel deleted the files which only contained smileys and numbers. They'd been fake ones that he'd thrown into the mix to wind Jack up further. He had to admit that he'd succeeded.
"Done," Daniel murmured in a small voice.
Jack remained silent, so Daniel took it as his cue to leave. He half rose from his seat then fell back down as Jack clamped one hand on his shoulder.
"Where ya goin', Daniel?"
"Uh...."
"Don't wanna miss the fun that I've got planned, do ya?"
Daniel seemed to be having trouble talking, but he managed to echo hoarsely, "Fun?"
"Oh yeah. You and me, buddy." Jack slipped an arm around Daniel's neck and hugged him. "Doin' lots of... military stuff."
Daniel's breath caught in his throat (partially due to the necklock Jack had on him).
"That's right, Danny boy. You and me. Practisin' shootin'. Practisin' duckin'. It'll be fun!"
There was silence from Danny boy which could have been due to air deprivation. Fortunately, Jack released his stranglehold and slapped Daniel on the back. "Let's go eat."
"Oh God." Maybe, if he was lucky, the Goa'uld would start an all out assault... or SG-11 would bring some weird alien back who'd try to take over the base... or maybe, just maybe, he'd managed to escape while Jack was ordering lunch. Maybe. It was promising to be a very long day...maybe even a very long week.
~*~
Fortunately for Daniel's sanity, the very next day SG-1 had a briefing to go to, (in which Major Connor played a large and very vocal part), and a mission to go on.
A UAV had been sent through the 'gate to PR7-207. It hadn't shown much of the world before its systems had malfunctioned and it had crashed; SG-1 were to find and retrieve the missing equipment. They were naturally extremely cautious as they left the wormhole. The MALP hadn't shown anything suspicious, but as Jack stepped out, he had his P90 at the ready. There was nothing to be seen. Just the DHD, lots of grass and plenty of green trees with their leaves gently wafting in the breeze.
Major Connor tracked the signal from the UAV, and within 20 minutes they had reached it. It had not malfunctioned.
It had been hit by a blast from a staff weapon.
"Heads up." Jack took a few steps back from where the UAV lay, his eyes scanning the woods surrounding them.
Major Connor carefully checked over the UAV. It was damaged beyond repair, its internal system blown apart. All she could take back would be scrap metal. She shook her head and stood up.
"Okay. Teal'c, you go first. Let's see if we can find out who we're dealin' with here."
Teal'c nodded and took the point, the major then Daniel falling in behind him, Jack bringing up the rear.
They made their way through the woods mostly in silence. Suddenly, Teal'c stopped, he could see something just ahead where the woods thinned out and ended. Major Connor slid off to one side, while Jack made his way to the other. Daniel approached Teal'c and, keeping their heads down, the four of them gazed out on the scene before them.
As usual, it was the slaves who were doing all the work, while the Jaffa stood around, waving their staff weapons at any slave who didn't look as though he was doing his best to serve his God.
Daniel sighed. Many, many people were enslaved to the Goa'uld. And too many people were having their lives taken from them so the Goa'uld could have naquadah for their weapons. Jack glanced over at him. He knew that Daniel had a propensity to go wading in where angels feared to tread - quite literally in several cases. And Jack did not want Daniel to go leaping to the rescue in this case. They didn't have the manpower or firepower to take on that many Jaffa.
"Teal'c? Any idea who they're workin' for?" Jack murmured.
"I believe it is the Goa'uld Nurti."
"Nurti? The Hindu Goddess?" Connor asked quietly.
"Yeah. She must have wriggled her way out of trouble," Daniel said, referring to the last time they'd run across her.
"Ya think?" Jack sighed. Nurti was one Goa'uld, well, one among many, that he had a personal grudge against. Cassandra was an orphan thanks to Nurti's plans to destroy the SGC. "Okay, kids. Let's wrap it up and go home."
The four of them quickly and quietly began to withdraw to the Stargate. If their luck held, the Jaffa would never know that any of the SGC members had been there. Well, not until long after SG-1 had gone.
They managed to make it back to the 'gate and Daniel started to dial up. As he pressed the fourth symbol he became aware of movement in the trees to the right of him. His hand reached for the fifth symbol even as his eyes were turning to scan the woods.
"Jack!"
Jack turned in time to see Teal'c take out the lead Jaffa. Instinctively, his P90 came up and he added his firepower to Teal'c's. As the lead Jaffa went down, the ones behind him scattered in an effort to avoid Teal'c's staff blasts, and the two officers' bullets. Daniel used the DHD for cover, even as he continued dialling; his head popping up every few seconds to locate the next symbol and press it.
Jack and Teal'c had both dived for cover, Teal'c ending up near Major Connor, who was wiping out as many of Nurti's Jaffa as she could. Teal'c rolled into the bushes by her and turned, his staff weapon ready. He knew they had to give Daniel enough cover to allow him to complete dialling. He also knew that the odds were on their side as long as no more Jaffa showed up.
The snap of a broken twig made both Teal'c and Major Connor turn. A large Jaffa stood, his staff weapon rising, his eyes fixed on the Shol'va. Teal'c, having been expertly trained by Master Bra'tac, had already brought his weapon to bear upon the Jaffa. His finger was tightening on the trigger, when Major Connor (being exceptionally heroic), knocked him out of the way. Teal'c was shoved one side, the staff blast searing across his shoulder, as Mary Lou used her P90 to put an end to the Jaffa.
Daniel, having finished dialling, sent SG-1's code through. Receiving confirmation that the SGC knew it was them and they would not get the iris slammed in their faces (well, not unless Hammond was having an exceptionally bad day), Daniel yelled to let them know the 'gate was open and they could go.
"Daniel! Go!" Jack yelled. As Daniel threw himself into the wormhole, Jack skidded to the DHD and took his place. Teal'c and Connor were still on the edge of the woods. The look on Teal'c's face made Jack wonder, but he put it to one side as he blasted as many Jaffas (apart from Teal'c) that he could see into oblivion.
Connor hesitated, obviously waiting for Teal'c to leave first. A shouted "Go!" from the large man made her move. Continuing to fire at the surrounding woods, she passed Jack at a run and was through the wormhole in seconds. Once she'd gone, to Teal'c's great relief, (he had no desire to see her enact yet more heroics), Teal'c followed. As he passed the DHD, Jack joined him, and they entered the SGC knowing that there were several Jaffa on their tail.
"Lock it up!" Jack yelled as he skidded to a halt.
The iris slammed shut and a few seconds later Daniel winced as several loud thuds were heard before the wormhole disengaged.
"Teal'c? You okay?" Jack had had time to notice Teal'c's shoulder.
"I will be," Teal'c replied quietly.
"Yeah, I shot the Jaffa who had him bang to rights," Mary Lou interrupted. She slapped Teal'c on his uninjured shoulder. "You okay there, big guy?" Fortunately for her self image he managed to restrain the growl that erupted from his throat until she was out of earshot.
~*~
"Okay, what happened?" Jack demanded as soon as Connor had left the Infirmary.
"Major Connor was mistaken," Teal'c replied, his voice stiff with indignation. "I was the one who would have fired first. She believed that I was in danger and pushed me to one side, disrupting my aim. I...missed. The Jaffa fired. Major Connor disposed of him. That is all."
Jack jerked his head at Teal'c's shoulder. "You gonna be okay?"
"My symbiote will repair the damage." Teal'c paused then added, "This time."
Jack sighed. Turning, he looked Janet in the eye. "How long before Carter's back on her feet?" he demanded.
~*~
Seeing as he hadn't got the response from Janet that he wanted, (two seconds or less being his hoped for reply), O'Neill headed straight for General Hammond's office when he left the Infirmary. Marching straight into the General's office, he was brought up short by the sight of Hammond on the phone.
Hammond covered the mouthpiece with his hand. "Come in, Colonel," he murmured, then returned to the phone. "Yes, sir... yes, sir, I understand that.... Very well, sir." Hammond replaced the receiver and looked at O'Neill. "Son, I'm afraid I've got bad news."
Jack leaned forward and gripped the edge of Hammond's desk. "Connor's replacing Carter permanently?" he asked fearfully.
Hammond looked confused. "Why would you think that?" He shook his head. "Major Connor is being transferred."
Jack let go of Hammond's desk. Transferred? 'Maybe there is a God after all.'
"To the Pentagon. Effective immediate."
"Immediately?" A grin was spreading across Jack's face, which he tried desperately to rein in. "Uh... I uh... don't know how we'll manage without her, sir, but I know that...that... erm..." the grin was getting bigger, "we'll manage somehow."
"I'm sure you will, son." Hammond frowned. He hadn't seen Jack this happy in quite a while.
"I'll uh...just go and tell Daniel and Teal'c, sir. I know they'll be as sorry to see her go as I am." The joy on Jack's face showed his true feelings.
"All right, Jack. I'll inform Major Connor myself."
"Yes, sir!" In his enthusiasm, Jack saluted the general and exited the room with a grin plastered all over his face.
Hammond frowned. What was going on with Jack lately? Hammond shook the thought from him then frowned even more as he watched Jack tap dance his way along the walkway. 'Definitely something going on with Jack.'
~*~
Teal'c was meditating when there was a bang on his door.
"Teal'c?" Jack opened the door and looked around it.
Teal'c opened his eyes and looked back at O'Neill.
"Ah. Sorry. Just thought you'd wanna know - Major Connor is being reassed."
Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "Reassed?" he echoed.
"Reassigned," Jack said then added excitedly. "She's goin' to the Pentagon!"
"I see."
Jack could see that Teal'c did not realise the importance of the news. "She's off SG-1 as of now," he explained. He grinned as Teal'c subtle smile appeared and he inclined his head towards his superior officer.
"I'll leave you to your meditation. But don't forget, we gotta celebrate!" Jack shut the door behind him and went to spread the good news.
"Daniel? Daniel!"
Daniel looked up as his door was thrown open and a very happy Jack O'Neill filled the doorway. "Jack?"
Jack took a deep breath. "Isn't it a beautiful day?" he asked, conversationally.
"Jack?" Daniel was perplexed. He didn't know when he'd seen his friend this happy.
Jack put his hands on Daniel's desk and leaned forward. "Major. Connor. Is. Being. Transferred. To. The." Jack paused even longer for special effect. "Pentagon!"
A grin made its way across Daniel's face. "The Pentagon? When?"
"Effective immediate!"
"Now? Now?!"
Jack nodded, grinning like the proverbial Cheshire Cat.
"Are you sure?" Daniel looked as though he hardly dared believe it.
"Just got the news from Hammond himself."
Daniel's grin got bigger and bigger.
Jack suddenly had a thought. "Does this mean you'll be able to give up coffee now?"
Daniel's grin turned into a laugh, which stopped as there was a knock on the door. He looked around Jack, still smiling, and saw Major Connor. "Major!"
Jack turned. "Major Connor, I believe congratulations are in order."
"Yes sir, thank you, sir." Connor smiled at the pair of them. "General Hammond just told me, sir. The Pentagon! I'm... I'm speechless."
"Yeah, the Pentagon tends to do that to people," Jack grinned.
"Yes, sir." Connor couldn't stop grinning. Although she'd dreamt of the Stargate since she'd first heard about it, she'd always seen it as a step on the ladder to the Pentagon. The place where the real power lay. And now, she was going. "I've just got to go and clear out my office, sir. I can't believe it."
"Nor me, Major. But," Jack approached her and laid a hand on her shoulder, "it couldn't happen to a more deserving person."
"Thank you, sir. That means a lot to me."
"I hope you'll be really happy there, Major," Daniel offered.
"I'm sure I will be, Dr. Jackson. Thank you. Anyway, I've got to go."
"See you later, Major." O'Neill felt almost affectionate towards her now that she was actually going. He shut the door behind her and turned back to Daniel. "We gotta celebrate tonight. I've already told Teal'c."
Daniel grinned again. "I'm looking forward to it."
~*~
Mary Lou packed her box happily. 'The Pentagon!' She laughed to herself as she placed Sam's naquadah reactor in the box, then realised that she didn't quite have room for her 573 different varieties of herbal tea. Packing her favourite ones, she left the others on the desk, then paused. She knew what she should do with them.
Daniel looked up as yet another knock on his door interrupted the translation he was attempting to get through. "I'll be there in a minute, Jack."
The door opened. "It's not Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Jackson, it's me."
Daniel looked up. "Major?"
"I just... I know that we didn't get off to a very good start, but I hope that you'll accept these in the spirit in which they're offered."
Daniel looked down as she emptied a box containing 521 varieties of herbal tea onto his desk.
"I hope you get to like some of them."
Daniel forced himself to smile. "Thank you, Major. I'll certainly give some of them a go."
She smiled widely. "That's all I ask, Doctor. Well," she held out her hand, "it was a pleasure working with you."
"Thank you, Major. And you." Daniel shook her hand and watched as she left, then looked down at his desk. 'What am I going to do with all these?' A thought occurred to him and he smiled.
~*~
Hours later, the game was almost over, the pizza had been finished and Jack (being a good host) was offering beer or coffee to his guests.
"It's not still that decaf stuff, is it, Jack?" Daniel asked.
"Nah, I binned that stuff. Couldn't stand the taste."
"Great...."
"Yeah, I know. You'll have coffee. Teal'c?"
Teal'c picked up the bottle of Coca Cola he'd been drinking. "I will remain with coke."
"That's 'stick with', Teal'c," Jack told him, then grinned as Teal'c attempted to understand the difference. "Okay, Daniel, one coffee comin' up!"
Daniel smiled. He listened as Jack crossed the kitchen and heard the cupboard door swing open.
Jack stood in unbelieving shock as 521 varieties of herbal tea rained down upon him. "What the...?" Two seconds worth of thought gave him the answer he was looking for.
He leapt at the doorway and saw his front door swinging shut as one archaeologist made good his escape this time. "Daniel!"
The End