CHAPTER SEVEN
Daniel's report on the events that resulted in his capture of Osiris left everyone shaking their heads in amazement. It greatly impressed the president, though he was also concerned by how close Daniel came to being made a host. He assured Hammond, however, that he would not reverse his decision to allow the archeologist to remain on SG-1. This newest incident had proven even more how valuable Daniel's abilities would be on missions.
A whole lot of people were also delighted about Daniel coming back with an Al'Kesh with Asgard beaming technology. There was a hitch that the command codes were all written in Ancient, meaning that Daniel would have to translate them, but it was still a major acquisition.
Much to the archeologist's dismay, he had apparently earned a new nickname on the base: Rambo Jackson. Jack explained that it was because of his one-man army act. How many other humans had bested a Goa'uld and captured an Al'Kesh all by themselves? Daniel thought that the colonel was having entirely too much fun over the whole thing.
Daniel was presently in his office, working on some translations that desperately needed doing. Janet had agreed to allow him to get the work done on condition that he go home at five o'clock on the dot and relaxed for the rest of the day. The fact that he had agreed to the vacation helped sway her as well.
The archeologist had to admit that a little time off would do him some good. He was feeling more than a bit frazzled, what with everything that had been happening in his life. He also had to admit that, though it would be great to go somewhere with Jack and Teal'c, it would be a lot less enjoyable if Sam wasn't with them. Yes, the fact that she had a boyfriend was still upsetting, but Daniel was now beginning to hope that maybe Jack was right, that he still had a chance with her.
Daniel wasn't certain from where this new feeling of hope had come. Perhaps it was because he'd actually managed to save Sarah. Tomorrow, she would be free and Osiris would be dead. Daniel knew that it would be a long time before Sarah was fully recovered from her ordeal, but he was determined to do all he could to help her. In fact, he was going to insist that his vacation be put on hold until after she was well on the road to recovery. There was no way that he was going to abandon her when she needed him.
Daniel had just completed one translation and started another when a very unwelcome visitor came walking in.
"Good morning, Doctor Jackson," said Major Rice.
"What do you want, Major?" Daniel asked bluntly, deciding that there was no good reason to be polite to the man who had wanted to experiment on him like a lab rat and force him to work for the NID.
"I just heard about your success in capturing Osiris. Congratulations. This does, however, prove that it is extremely dangerous not having you kept in a secured location. If you had been in such a facility, we'd have been aware of Osiris' visits to you immediately and captured her days ago."
"Forget it, Major Rice. It isn't going to work. General Hammond has already spoken to the president, who assured him that he was not going to change his mind about me staying on SG-1."
"Yes, I already assumed that. I came here about another . . . concern. It has come to my attention that your loyalty to Earth and the SGC has come into question."
Daniel's brow knit. "Excuse me?"
"Several weeks ago, you had every intention of abandoning your duty to Earth and the SGC and giving your services to the Tok'ra."
Daniel stared at him, feeling his anger starting to kindle. "I don't know how you found out about that, but I planned on making that offer in exchange for a Tok'ra ship to be sent out to look for the Prometheus."
"Yes, I am aware of that. It does not change the fact that you were going to skip out on Earth and go to work for the Tok'ra, who have proven themselves to be unreliable allies at best, a hindrance to how we do things at worst."
Daniel glared at the man. "Look, I don't know where you're going with all this, but let me make two things clear. First of all, I had no intention of abandoning Earth or the SGC. Though I was going to offer the Tok'ra my services, it would have been under the condition that it would not interfere with missions scheduled for SG-1. I wasn't planning on going off and living with them. I'd still have been here, doing my job most of the time. Secondly, though the Tok'ra do things differently from us and have, at times, not given us information we could have used, they have still been a valuable ally and have helped save quite a few human lives."
"Nevertheless, your intentions have made me and several other people begin to wonder where your loyalties lie. This is not the first time that you've chosen to help aliens instead of doing what was good for Earth."
Daniel had just about had enough of this. "Spit it out, Rice. Why are you really here?"
"To suggest that you reconsider coming to work for the NID. If you come work for us, all these concerns about your loyalty might disappear."
Daniel's anger escalated dramatically. It was bad enough to be accused of being disloyal to Earth, but this really was the last straw. "I think you had better leave, Major Rice," he said.
"Doctor Jackson. . . ."
Daniel slowly got to his feet. "I asked you to leave. If you thought that you could come in here and blackmail me, you were sadly mistaken. I wonder what General Hammond and the president would think if they found out about this. I don't think they'd be very happy. Do you?"
"Don't threaten me, Doctor Jackson."
"Why not? Isn't that what you just did? Actually, if what you're accusing me of really was true, then you coming here and confronting me wouldn't have been very bright."
Rice glared at him. "And why is that?"
"Well, think about it. If you honestly believed that I have no loyalty to Earth, then, by extension, you'd have to believe that I would do whatever was necessary to serve my own purposes. If that was true, then it would be in my best interest to make sure that you didn't cause me any more problems. And, as we both know, it would be extremely easy for me to do that."
Rice stared at him, mouth hanging open, the tiniest hint of fear in his eyes. The fear was quickly replaced by anger. "You're bluffing," he said.
"No, I'm not, Major. I never said that I'd do something like that. I said that, if I really was disloyal to Earth, as you claim, then I wouldn't hesitate to get rid of you. But, since I'm not that kind of person, as you well know, you don't have to worry. However, I will report this to General Hammond if you ever try something like this again or if you cause any trouble for me. Now, please leave my office. I may not kill you, but that doesn't mean that I won't throw you out."
"This isn't over, Jackson. You have no proof of what I just said, and I will deny it if you tell General Hammond. I, on the other hand, have plenty of proof for my allegations. Sooner or later, you will come to work for the NID or you will be fired."
Turning, Rice strode out of the room.
Infuriated, Daniel paced around his office. He couldn't help but wonder if there was some truth to Rice's statement. Not the part about Daniel being disloyal to Earth and the SGC. It was the other part he wondered about, the last thing that the man had said. Could Rice really make people believe that Daniel's loyalty couldn't be trusted?
Daniel remembered his first encounter with Colonel Simmons, when all the members of SG-1 were basically brainwashed into believing that there was a fifth man on their team, when, in fact, the so-called fifth man was an alien. Simmons had virtually accused Daniel of being sympathetic toward the Goa'uld. Now, Major Rice comes along and accuses him of being more interested in helping aliens than helping Earth. Simmons' accusations never resulted in anything. Would Rice's?
Deciding that he shouldn't let it bother him, Daniel sat back down. It wasn't until then that he thought of something. He'd been furious with Rice, yet there had been no repeat of the incident that happened with Jack. Maybe Janet was right. Perhaps the exhaustion had been a big contributing factor.
Choosing not to think about it anymore, Daniel got back to work.
Pete pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and got out. As he approached the entrance, he noticed a familiar face.
"Hey, Chuck," he greeted with a smile.
Officer Charles Greenburg smiled and shook Pete's hand. "Hi, Pete. What are you still doing around here? I thought you wrapped up your case several days ago."
"I did. I met someone and decided to take some time off to get to know her better."
Chuck laughed. "Lucky dog. Hey, did you hear about that weird kidnapping case?"
"No, I didn't."
"Some guy named Doctor Daniel Jackson apparently got snatched out of his house. There were signs of a big struggle in the bedroom. Neighbors didn't notice anybody come in or go out after Jackson got home, but that isn't all that strange. What is strange is that the house was all locked up tight from the inside. Nobody could figure out how Jackson was taken out of the house. Neighbors reported seeing a bright flash of light in the bedroom, then silence after that. What makes things even more interesting is that the military came in and took over the case."
"Is this Jackson military?"
"No, he's a civilian, but he does work for the military. MacGregor was on the case, and he was not happy about having to turn it over. But when you get a call from the governor himself telling you to do so, there's not much you can say about it. The two people who showed up and took over were from the Air Force, a Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter. Whoever their superior is, he must have a lot of pull."
Pete had to hide his surprise at the sound of Sam's name. How was she involved in this? Wait a minute. Daniel Jackson. Could he be the Daniel that Sam talked about?
"So, have you heard anything else?" he asked, trying not to show how interested he was.
"Nope. Once the military took over, we were cut completely out of the loop."
"Interesting."
"Yeah, isn't it? Derrick Meeks thinks that Jackson was abducted by aliens, and the military is doing a big coverup, like they did at Roswell."
"Meeks is a fruitcake," Pete said with a laugh.
"Yes, but you have to admit that the case is kind of weird."
Pete nodded. "Well, it was great to see you again, Chuck."
"You too."
Pete got some food to go and drove to his destination. He parked the car and started eating, his eyes on the house across the street. He'd been on a lot of stakeouts during his years as a cop, but this was the first time that he'd staked out a girlfriend's place. He was here last night as well, but Sam never came home. If she had, he had been intending to follow her to work in the morning to see if she really did work in Cheyenne Mountain.
The background check that Pete's friend with the FBI conducted confirmed that Sam was involved in a heck of a lot more than deep space radar telemetry. Dan Farrity believed that it was something like Black Ops or some covert unit. He had advised Pete to back off, saying that this was way out of the cop's league. But Pete didn't want to back off. He was determined to find out what the woman he was dating really did for the government. However, this new information about Sam and her friend, Daniel, had changed his plans. Now, he intended to confront Sam openly and find out what was going on.
Pete had been sitting there for two hour when Sam came home. As soon as she was parked and out of the car, he got out and approached her.
"Pete, what are you doing here?" Sam asked. "I said I'd call when I could talk."
"I'm sorry, Sam, but we need to talk now."
"What's going on?"
"Let's go inside."
Sam studied Pete's expression, seeing the determination there. Nodding, she led him into the house.
"Okay, what's this all about?" she asked.
"Have you found him yet?"
"What? Found who?"
"Your friend, Daniel Jackson."
Sam stared at him in astonishment. "How did you know about him?"
"I happened to bump into a friend, a cop with the Colorado Springs department. He told me all about this mysterious kidnapping case involving a Doctor Jackson who works for the military. He said that you were involved."
Sam walked into the kitchen and got a glass of water to hide how upset she was. She had not anticipated this happening, and she didn't know what to do now.
"Sam, I know that what you've been telling me about your job with the military is a lie," Pete said.
"Pete, I can't talk about it. I told you that already."
"I'm sorry, but that's not good enough. So, what is it? Black Ops? Covert Ops? Some top secret unit? It's gotta be something pretty big and super secret."
Sam slowly turned around and stared at him narrowly. "Why would you come to that conclusion? What would make you think. . . ." Her eyes widened. "You did a check on me, didn't you."
The cop didn't answer, which confirmed Sam's suspicion.
"Dammit, Pete! What gave you the right to do that?!"
"You wouldn't tell me!"
"Because it's classified! Don't you understand that? What, you think that just because you're dating me, it means that I should spill my guts to you about everything? How egotistical can you be?!"
Pete suddenly knew that he'd made a very big mistake. He had to fix this or he was going to lose Sam. He stepped toward her.
"Sam, I'm sorry. Yeah, okay, it was stupid. I'm a cop, and I couldn't stand not knowing. My curiosity and cop instincts got the better of me. Just call me a pig-headed idiot. I promise that I'll never ask you anything about your work again. I swear. Forgive me?" He laid his hand on her arm. His heart sank when she pushed it away.
"No, Pete, I don't forgive you. You betrayed my trust by doing what you did. Not only that, your actions also prove that you don't trust me. If you did, you'd have accepted that I couldn't tell you about my job because of security issues and left it at that. Instead, you went behind my back and tried to find out on your own. I can't date a man who would do something like that."
"Sam, please. Won't you give me a second chance?"
Sam shook her head. "I could have forgiven you for a lot of things, Pete, but not for betraying my trust like that. I was already starting to wonder if things were going to work out between us, and, now, I have my answer. It's over."
"Sam."
"Please leave. Now."
The steel in Sam's voice and the cold glint in her eyes made Pete realize that nothing he said or did was going to fix this. Their relationship was over, and he had no one to blame but himself.
Sam and Pete were both startled by a knock on the door. Sam answered it. Pete saw that the visitor was a brown-haired, blue-eyed man with glasses whose neck was marred by bruises and what looked like scratches. The expression of mild concern on the man's features deepened dramatically upon seeing Sam's face.
"Sam? What's wrong?" he asked immediately.
"It's okay, Daniel. Everything's fine," she told him, not sounding very convincing.
At the sound of the name, Pete's gaze sharpened. So, this was Daniel. Pete didn't spare much thought about the obvious fact that, if Daniel had been kidnapped, he'd apparently been retrieved. At that moment, the cop was more interested in studying the man Sam had called a really good friend. Around six feet tall, with a strong, well-muscled body, Daniel Jackson had a face that Pete could not deny was handsome. He was just as Sam had described, and Pete experienced a sharp jab of jealousy even though he no longer had the right to feel it.
All these things passed through the cop's mind within the space of about three seconds, which was all the time he had before Daniel's eyes turned toward him. For a split second, something flashed across Daniel's face that made Pete wonder if the man's feelings for Sam were more than friendship. That expression, however, was quickly replaced by something else, something that made Pete stiffen. Some indefinable instinct beyond conscious thought sent a tiny frisson of fear through the cop, warning him of danger. A brief wish that he had his gun flitted through his mind.
Feeling surprisingly nervous, Pete did not move as Daniel stepped past Sam and entered the house. The man's expression was hard and intense, blue eyes locked onto Pete like the laser sight of a rifle.
"Sam? Is there a problem here?" Daniel's voice was very quiet but held a note that Pete could not mistake for anything but a challenge.
Sam laid a hand on Daniel's arm. "It's all right, Daniel. Pete and I just . . . had an argument. He was just leaving."
Daniel's eyes remained on Pete, and the cop had a feeling that, if he or anyone else ever tried to hurt Sam, nothing would protect them from this man.
"Please go, Pete," Sam said. "We have nothing more to talk about."
Choosing to exit gracefully, Pete headed for the door, passing by Daniel and Sam. The man's gaze did not leave him. Pete walked to his car, got in and started the engine. Glancing over at Sam's house, he saw that both Daniel and Sam were outside on the porch, watching him. With a last look at the woman he had fallen in love with and had now lost, Pete pulled away from the curb and drove away.
Daniel watched Pete Shanahan drive away. It wasn't until the car had disappeared from sight that he allowed himself to relax. The moment Sam opened the door, he'd known that something was very wrong. Actually, he'd had an odd feeling even before then that something wasn't quite right with her, which was the reason why he detoured to her place.
As soon as Daniel saw the man in Sam's living room, he'd known that it was Pete, and he'd felt a brief moment of jealousy. On the heels of that came something else, his instincts or perhaps his sixth sense telling him that Pete was the reason why Sam was so upset, that the cop had done something that hurt her in some way. An intense feeling of protectiveness had arisen within Daniel, stronger than anything he'd ever felt before. All his senses went on high alert, his body tensing and his mind preparing to take Pete down if the man made any threatening moves. Fortunately, that hadn't been necessary.
Daniel turned to Sam, who was watching him. "Sam, what happened? And please don't tell me it was nothing."
With a little sigh, Sam motioned for Daniel to come back into the house. She headed for the couch, thinking about what just happened. Daniel had just gone alpha male. Okay, maybe that wasn't quite accurate, but there was no doubt that he had been in full "hurt her and I'll rip your throat out" mode. That kind of reaction was something that Sam would expect from Jack, but not from the peace-loving Daniel, who usually preferred to use words in volatile situations. What was really scary was that, if Pete had actually tried something, he wouldn't have lasted five seconds.
Sam had known for a long time that Daniel had changed over the years. His naivete was left behind long ago, his gentleness tempered with the strength of a warrior, his idealism diluted by far too much pain, disappointment and loss. He had grown, strengthened and matured a great deal in these six and a half years, and, now, Sam had seen another facet added to the progressively more complex psyche of Daniel Jackson. Were his psychic abilities responsible for it or was it something else?
Putting that question out of her mind, Sam sat on the couch, Daniel settling beside her. She knew that she was going to have to tell him what happened. He wouldn't give up until she did.
"Pete did a background check on me," she told him.
Daniel's face showed his surprise. "Why?"
"Because he couldn't stand the fact that I wouldn't tell him all about what I do for the military. I had told him that there were things I couldn't talk about, but he couldn't accept that. He's suspected for a while that the cover story was just that, a cover story, and I guess he decided to find out the truth."
"So, he went behind your back and looked at your file?"
"He couldn't have gotten my file, not the real one. All he would have been able to find was the cover story about deep space radar telemetry and information on me that was not connected to the Stargate Program. I doubt he did this himself. He wouldn't have the proper access. Whoever did do it, if they were smart enough or looked closely enough, they would probably have figured out that something was fishy. In fact, they must have, judging by what Pete said. He wanted to know if I was in Black Ops or some covert unit."
"He had no right to do that, Sam," Daniel told her, angry about what Pete had done. "He betrayed your trust."
Sam stared down at her hands. "I know, and, on top of that, he showed that he didn't trust me. I couldn't . . . I can't forgive him for that. I told him it was over between us."
Daniel took Sam's hand in his. "I'm sorry, Sam," he murmured.
A single tear slid down Sam's cheek. Daniel pulled her into his arms and held her close. She wrapped her arms around his waist tightly. Daniel's heart ached for Sam, feeling her pain as if it was his own. But there was another part of him, a part deep inside, that was rejoicing, and that shamed him. He shouldn't be happy about what happened since it was hurting Sam, but he couldn't help it. The fact that she no longer had a boyfriend meant that there was more of a chance for him. Right now, though, what was most important was helping Sam get through this.
"I'm sorry this happened, Sam," Daniel told her. "I know you cared a lot about him. I wish there was something I could do to make you feel better."
Sam drew back and looked at the face of her dearest friend, seeing there how much he cared. A powerful wave of love for him swept through her.
"You are making me feel better, Daniel," she told him. "You being here makes me feel better."
Daniel gently wiped the tears from her face. "I'll always be here for you, Sam."
As she sat there in Daniel's arms, Sam realized that, as long as she had him and the rest of her team, she could survive anything. Yes, the end of her relationship with Pete hurt, but she was going to be okay. She still had what was most important in her life, and that's all that really mattered.
Daniel stayed with Sam the rest of the evening, trying his very best to cheer her up. He fixed dinner for them, then ran down to the store afterwards for some fudge ice cream and chocolate syrup, of which they both ate entirely too much. He talked endlessly about dozens of subjects, taking her mind off her sadness. By the time he left at ten o'clock, Sam loved him even more than she had before, thinking that nobody could have a better friend than him.
As Sam lay in bed, thoughts of Pete returned, and she found herself crying again, wishing that things could have been different. The tears finally dried, however, and she drifted off to sleep, her dreams not of Pete, but of a man with beautiful blue eyes and a smile that filled her heart with warmth and love.
