Shippy Novel Review: Alliances

I strongly encourage you when you like the shippy bits to go out and buy the book!

'She' is always Sam and 'he' is always Jack unless stated otherwise by me.


Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp, Double Secret Productions and Showtime.

 Novel Alliances written by Karen Miller

*** "Seen Carter or Teal'c yet?" Behind his glasses, Daniel's eyes were intent, their gaze fixed on the dancing doodad. "Sam's in her lab making love to the naquadah generator. I don't know where Teal'c is. Jack-"

"Daniel?" he said innocently. "By the way, d'you think it's wise to discuss Carter in those terms? Last time I looked she was pretty damned handy with that P90 of hers."

*** "Sorry, Daniel. Gotta go. The General awaits." And, shoving his hands in his pockets, O'Neill slouched away. Going to see Hammond, yes, but taking the scenic route.

"Morning sir," said Carter, who was indeed making love to the naquadah generator. No accounting for taste... "Could you go away, please?"

"Ah-" She flipped a switch on the generator's casing, hurried round the bench and shoved him backwards out of her lab, pulling its door closed behind them. 

"Sorry. It's just I'd rather not be in there if the circuits overload."

*** "So," he said. "I'm off to Washington in the morning. To meet with Kinsey and a bunch of other stuffed shirts."

"Just you, sir?" Carter said quietly. "Because I'm not doing anything urgent. If you want back-up...some moral support..."
Their eyes met. He let himself smile, just a little bit.

*** Then she turned. "Sir..." 
She never called him by his first name. Not any more. Even at times like this, when they were off-duty. In her head he no longer had a first name. Or maybe she'd just switched it out, scrubbed the 'Jack' and replaced it with 'sir'. Maybe she had a point. He didn't very often call her Sam. It was...safer...that way.

*** "Jacob! What the hell are you doing here? Come in!" He'd (Jacob) been to Jack's home only once before, during a rare and too-brief visit with Sam. 

Dropping her off for what she'd said was an important meeting, he'd discovered it was actually a pizza and sci-fi movie night and he'd been brought along under false pretenses. He'd stayed, curious to know more about the man who'd risked his life on Ne'tu to save Sam Carter's father. 

The man who so often was responsible for keeping his little girl alive.

*** (Jacob's musings) Teal'c clearly shared a close camaraderie with O'Neill. So did Sam. His daughter called Jack sir and he called her Carter, but it was clear they were close. Comfortable.

*** He threw himself onto the sofa opposite, cracked his own bottle's seal and held it up. "Cheers. Does Carter - Sam - know you're here?"
"On Earth?" Jacob said, returning the salute. "I don't think so, George said she's off-world at the moment."

"She is," said Jack, and took a deep swallow. "Futzing around in the dirt with Daniel on some ancient dig somewhere."
"Really?" Jacob let a cool mouthful of beer trickle down his throat. "Wouldn't you rather be with them, than hanging around here?"
Jack pulled a face.

*** If he'd been anyone else Jacob had no doubt he'd have been thrown out of the house before finishing his last sentence. But because he was Sam Carter's father, Jack just sat there looking at him.

*** Pulling aside the curtain he looked into his flowering garden. "Does Sam know about this yet?"
"No. Jack, we both know she'll go without you if she has to, but she'll be a lot more enthusiastic about this mission if she knows you're on board. Your whole team will be."
"I know," he said, not turning. "Why do you think I'm thinking twice?"

*** She snapped the lid back onto her canteen. "Let me put it this way, then. Do you think Jack is a murderer?"

She almost never did that. Refer to Jack by name, instead of rank. Not even when he wasn't around. It was a measure of how strongly she felt.

*** "-because Daniel, I don't know who else he'd listen to about stuff like that. There's no-one. Not even-" She stopped, her intent gaze flickering away, then back again. "He listens to you."

*** Teal'c shook his head. "I disagree, Daniel Jackson. I am confident O'Neill will do nothing to jeopardize the crucial alliance between Earth and the Tok'ra."
"Really?" said Daniel, surprised. "I'm not." Sam hit him. "Ouch," he added, and turned to her. "Look, Sam, you can hit me all you like but-"

"I'll do more than hit you, Daniel!" she snapped. "If you keep this up I'm going to take out my weapon and shoot you!"
He stared, impressed. "Wow. You sounded just like Jack, then."
"Good!"

*** The colonel smiled back at her. "Go, Dad. The last time I ate Tok'ra rations my guts went on strike for a week."
She laughed. "Said the man who thinks beer and pizza form four of the five major food groups."
"And so they do, Carter, so they do," he said comfortably, refusing to be baited.

*** "There is no invasion!" Jacob said.
"Really?" he (Jack) demanded. "Tell that so Sam! You weren't around, Jacob. You didn't see what having Jolinar stuck in her head against her will did to her! And the nightmares? Ask her about the nightmares, sometime. She used to wake up screaming. Crying. She-"

"Jolinar was desperate," said Selmak. "Fighting for her own life."

He was too angry to be creeped out about the switch. "Forcing Carter to carry her in the first place was exactly the behavior of a Goa'uld! he spat. "We've got a saying on Earth, Selmak. 'Blood will out.'"

"It's clear you take what happened to Major Carter very personally, Colonel O'Neill."
"Damn straight I take it personally! I saw what that Ashrak did to her because it wanted to kill Jolinar! I saw her dying in front of me! I sat with her in the infirmary three night running because she was too afraid to go to sleep."

*** Lord Rebec nodded, satisfied. "Here is more of Yu's property, Boaz. The woman is Serena (Sam). The men are Joseph (Jack) and David (Daniel). All three are highly valued by our god. Yu decrees Serena and Joseph be mated together, and David be put to a woman of this village. (they're going undercover but the Tok'ra left some parts out xD)

*** The woman Serena lost her wits, falling silent. Hol'c next touched the fire-brand to David and then, when he too was mercifully delivered from torment, finally to Joseph. Joseph didn't scream. "When the new blood wakes, explain to them the rules of this farm. They will share your roof until there it time to build new dwellings for them. Joseph and Serena are to mate from this night forth, tell them. Tell them she will quicken with his get by one month's end or both will be punished."

*** The man Joseph rolled over. "Crap," he said vaguely, forearm shading his eyes. "How much do I hate those things?"

"You okay, Joseph?" said Daniel. "Don't sit up too fast."

"Who's sitting up?" said Joseph. Turning his head, he touched the woman on her bare ankle. "Serena?"

"I'm fine...Joseph," she said.
Boaz stared. They were so easy with one another. And there was warmth in their voices that spoke of some affection.

*** "You'll be here," Boaz said to Joseph and Serena, opening the door to the room that until that morning had been his.
"It looks occupied," said Serena. "Is it yours?"
"It is the room with the mating bed," Boaz said, "I have no mate. The room is yours."

"Ah..."Joseph cleared his throat. "You know, Boaz. About this whole 'mating' thing. I was thinking maybe Serena and I could kin of wait on that for a while. You know. Since we only just met..."

Boaz stepped back and looked this Joseph up and down. "You are a stupid man," he said, not hiding his contempt. "And if you are not plowed into the barely field before the moon grows fat I shall be most surprised."

"Look, s - Joseph," said Serena, and laid her hand on her mate's arm. "I know this is difficult but we are sworn to obey Lord Rebec, servant of Mighty and Everlasting Yu."

*** "I should call Jacob. Someone better keep an eye out, just in case Boaz and Mikah come back," He ducked into the bedroom Boaz had assigned him and Carter, tried not to look at the double bed, and retrieved his communicator. "Hey, Jacob, you there?" he said, wandering out again. Carter had positioned herself by the window, and was keeping an eye on the street.

"Jack? Thank God, Martouf and I were starting to worry. You all right? Sam? Daniel?"
"Oh, we're all peachy," he said. "You know, this is some serious deep stinking crap you've landed us in here, Jacob!"

"We're living in the head man's house, for now," he said. "The three of us. And oh - yes - your daughter and I have been ordered to mate, thank you so very much!"

"I had to make sure at least two of you were together at consistent times," said Jacob. "Don't worry, Jack. You know I trust you."
As Carter made an incoherent sound of outrage, O'Neill glared at the communicator. "Jacob, I swear to God, when this is over I am going to punch you on the nose!"

Jacob laughed. "Let me talk to Sam."
"And when he's punched you on the nose, Dad, then it'll be my turn!"

*** "You don't have to tiptoe," said Carter's voice in the bedroom's dense darkness. "I'm still awake."
He pushed the door till the latch clicked shut. "There's no lamp in here?"
"Couldn't find the matches."

Inching his way forward till he bumped the bed, he sat down on its very edge. "It's all right, Carter. I'll take the floor. Just chuck me a pillow and a blanket."

"And if Boaz decides to look in on us at some point?" she said. "I wouldn't put it past him, he's obsessed with making babies. And I don't think he was kidding about Hol'c, sir. Do you?"
He heaved a heavy sigh. "No."

There came the sound of blankets being pulled back. "Come on. There's no point delaying the inevitable. You're just going to get cold, sitting there."

"Yeah," he said. "I suppose I am." He kicked off his shoes, slid beneath the covers and let his head drop onto the pillow. It felt strange, lying next to a woman after so long. Huh. How long had it been, anyway? Not since Kinthea...or Antarctica. That had been Carter, too. God. Don't think about Antarctica, or Kinthea. Don't think, full stop.

"What's that?" she whispered. He listened. "The front door," he whispered back. "Boaz. And Mikah."
She made a small sound in her throat. "Pity we don't have a headboard," she muttered. "We could bang it, suggestively. That'd keep him happy."

"We could bounce, instead," he muttered back.

"And moan," she replied, then rolled over to muffle a giggle in her own pillow.

He swatted the nearest bit of her he could reach. "Shhh! Shhh!" Paralyzed with silent hysterics, they listened to Boaz and Mikah retire to their own rooms. "Oh, God," she said, when it was safe to speak. "I knew I should've stayed at the Pentagon."

He snorted. "I should've stayed retired."
"Huh," she said, and shifted a little away from him. "Coulda, woulda, shoulda."

He tried not to care that her hip no longer touched his. The darkness was absolute, pressing him flat to the mattress like an enormous velvet hand.

"You know," she said, after a little while. "This could be worse."
He rolled his head on the pillow, even though he couldn't see her. "You're joking, right?"
"No. I'm not joking."
"Carter, how could this possibly be worse?"
He felt her shrug. "There could be ice."
Again, the danger of hysterics. "There could be Daniel."
"And Teal'c."
"There were four in the bed," he warbled softly, "and the colonel said-"

She dug her elbow in his side, shaking with repressed laughter. "Stop it! Stop it!"

"I've stopped! I've stopped!" He dropped a forearm over his face. "Okay. That's it. Serious now. We need to sleep." He took a deep breath. Let it out. "Good night...Serena."

"Good night, Joseph."

On cue, together: "Good night, John Boy."
More muffled laughter. A slow sinking into quiet. Then:
"God, Jack," she said, her voice small and lost in the darkness. "All the poor babies..."

He wanted to hold her hand. He didn't dare. "I know, Sam," he whispered. "But we'll save them. Somehow, we'll save them."
Silence. And finally, sleep.

*** Mikah's hand crept inside his shirt and pulled out a stunted, withered cob of corn. "It has weevils, Master Hol'c," he said, his eyes wide with trepidation. "It would've been thrown away. I want to make a doll. For Serena's baby, the one that will come after Joseph has quickened her."

Daniel looked at Sam. Saw that Jack was looking at her too, as though he'd always known where she was.

*** Beside them Jack sprawled insensible. Sam pressed a hand to his face then looked at the charred mark on his chest.

*** But he (Daniel) didn't think he'd mention it to Jack. The mood Jack was in, he wouldn't take kindly to contradiction. And he wouldn't tell Sam, either. For all he knew she talked in her sleep. Ha! Wait till he told Teal'c about that one. Jack and Sam, bunked in the same bed and ordered to procreate for the glory of Yu. Teal'c would laugh for a week...

*** Sam surprised him (Daniel), then, by folding him to her in a swift, fierce hug. By whispering in his ear, "Go see Jack. Make sure he's all right."
She hardly ever hugged him. She never called Jack 'Jack'. Not any more. It told Daniel just how upset she was.

*** "And what of you, Serena?" Boaz asked after a moment. "Are you worried for Joseph?" Even with the burning lamp it was hard to see her expression. "Yes," she said simply. "I'm very worried."
"Do you love him?"
"What?" Now she sounded shocked. Flustered. "Boaz, I hardly know him."

*** "You do that, Marty. O'Neill out." He clicked off the communicator, shaking his head. "The Tok'ra should hold a raffle and raise some money so they can buy that guy a clue.

"Be fair," said Sam. "You do it on purpose, just to confuse him." A small spark of amusement glinted in jack's eyes. "You say that like it's a bad thing, Carter."

Sam pulled a face at him, and he pulled one back. Daniel made sure his own expression stayed studiously blank.

*** Jacob stifled an impatient sigh. Martouf would never admit it but he was worried for Sam too. "I know."
"In addition, she has Colonel O'Neill watching her back. He will not let any harm come to her. Indeed, I have observed he is quick to put himself in danger to protect her."

"I know that too." And he did. In fact, it was something he kept meaning to talk to Sam about. Because he had some nasty suspicions in that department...a strong hunch there were things brewing beneath the surface of her professional relationship with Jack that could get messy if everyone involved wasn't extremely careful.

*** The sound of Hol'c's palace exploding into smithereens almost burst his eardrums. The sight of the uncloaked al'kesh sent him sprinting for the babyhouse, and Carter. He never reached her.

*** "Shh, shh, I know," said Janet, soothing. "But you're okay? You're not injured?"
"No, no, I'm fine, I'm just tired, the colonel's a really bad sleeper and he hogs the bed, I-"

"Sam," said Janet, delicately. "Is there something you need to tell me?"
She felt her face heating. "Damn. I wasn't going to say anything about that. Um. Look. Janet. It's not what you think. Nothing...happened. We just got stuck sharing a bed. In our clothes. I even kept my socks on. All perfectly innocent. And out little secret, okay?"

"Hmm," said Janet, and looked at the enclosing curtain. "Hey, Teal'c. You still out there?"
"I am."
"Did you hear any of that?"
"I did not."
"Good. Let's keep it that way."

*** Leith said, sounding uninterested, (to Jack) "If it concerns you, Jacob managed to rescue his daughter."
Thank God, thank God. Carter was safe. "It concerns me."

*** "I don't know. You understand Jacob, don't you?"
Jack grunted, and with some difficulty eased himself onto the floor. "Jacob's different. Now can we please be quiet?"
"Sure. But you know..."
"What?"

Daniel nodded at the bloodstain. "I was just thinking. Probably the details of how Leith died aren't something Sam needs to read in your report."
Jack's expression softened. "Yeah. Probably you're right."

*** "You have devised an excellent plan, Major," he (Teal'c) said quietly. "O'Neill will be impressed and proud."
Okay. If she wasn't careful this could get embarrassing. Breathing carefully, subduing treacherous emotion, she brought all her focus to bear on her interlaced fingers. "Thank, Teal'c. That means something, coming from you."

*** (Daniel and Jack are rescued by Sam out of some torture prison)
Sam flashed Daniel a taut smile, looking like an Amazon, and dropped to a crouch beside Jack. Her narrowed eyes swept over him, noting every singe, every blood smear.


"But the room's paid up till the end of the week!"
"Sir-" Sam let out a harsh breath, and touched Jack lightly on the arm. "Teal'c can you manage him on your own?"
"I can," said Teal'c. "If he does not cease talking I will club him unconscious and carry him to the Stargate."

Daniel took Sam by the arm and shuffled her a couple of paces sideways. Lowered his voice. "He's running a fever. I think he's delirious."
She rolled her eyes. "How can you tell?"
"Sam-"
"Save it, Daniel." She gave him her sidearm and a spare ammo clip. "Let's get out of here."

*** (Jack's in the infirmary)
"Sam wanted a minute in private first. Is that okay?"
A longer hesitation. "Yeah," he said at last. "Yeah, send her in."

Carter must've been hovering in a nearby corridor; she turned up in less than three minutes. Spick and span, as usual. The faintest air of unease beneath her pleasure at seeing him. He was pretty damned pleased to see her, too.

*** (they're talking about the Eurondan mission; the one where Jack ordered the iris closed; killing the man that was following them)
"When you ordered the iris closed..." She took a breath then let it out, incrementally. "Were you hoping I'd countermand you?"

"Countermand me?" He lifted his eyebrows. "You're a major, Major. I'm a colonel, you can't countermand me."

She frowned. "You know what I mean." Yes. He knew what she meant. "Were you hoping I hoped that?"
"Sir-"
"I'm serious. Did you want me to want you to-"
"No," she said flatly. "I thought - think - you made the right call."
Until she said it, he'd had no idea how much that mattered. "Okay."

She leaned forward, just a little. "Do you think you made the right call? Sir, do you wish I'd stopped you? Now that some time's gone by, and we've had a chance to...think about it. Should I have argued to let Alar through?"
He shook his head. "Not in a million years."

She relaxed, as though relieved of some terrible burden.

*** "I've got some goodbyes to say too," said Carter. "Berez, and Qualah. Sir, it's good to see you looking so much better. I'll stop by again this evening, if you'd like."
"Yeah," he said. "You do that."

*shippy sigh*