Worst Case Scenario by Alice J. Foster

Worst Case Scenario

By: Alice J. Foster

CATEGORY: General

SEASON/SPOILERS: Set during Season 10

WARNINGS: None

AUTHOR’S NOTES: This is sort of set in the same universe as Ad Infinitum but there is only one very, very minor reference to that. So you can absolutely read it without having read Ad Infinitum or any of the companion pieces.

AUTHOR’S WEBSITE:

http://obsessionscorner.shipperfey.net/

As he heard Daniel flip his phone shut, Jack returned his attention to the icy pond water behind his cabin. He could hear Mitchell inside the cabin, celebrating one of his rare victories over Teal’c in Fantasy Football, but he was mostly interested in the phone call Daniel had just gotten.

Daniel pulled his jacket around him tighter and sat back down on the chair next to Jack’s.

"Work?" Jack asked, trying to sound uninterested.

"What?" Daniel replied, seemingly confused.

"The phone call… was that the SGC?"

"Uh, yeah. Vala, actually."

"Oh," Jack feigned surprise.

"She still has a cold and she’s apparently putting everyone on base through hell." Daniel explained.

"The, uh, same cold you had last week?" Jack asked with legitimate interest.

Daniel wore the deer-in-headlights look quite well. "It’s going around."

Jack snorted into his beer. "I’m sure it is."

Daniel knew Jack well enough to ignore him. "At least Sam hasn’t caught it yet," Daniel pointedly said.

"I know," Jack replied before he could stop himself. "I mean, she sounded fine last I talked to her. Not that I talk to her often. Or recently… at all. So from all I know, she could be sick now, but you said she isn’t, so I’m glad." Jack briefly wished the Asgard would beam him up right now, foot-in-mouth and all.

"I’m sure Sam appreciates the concern… She seemed upset she couldn’t make it on this trip, but when we mentioned the flight, she started to look very green, kind of the same look she’s been getting for the past two weeks whenever we mention gate travel, potatoes and red-colored foods. Ever since she came back from D.C., actually."

Jack decided to continue playing dumb, especially with Mitchell only a few hundred feet away. "She was in D.C.?"

"For the third time in two months… but I’m sure you knew that already."

"Oh," Jack said simply.

"And I also know Landry called Sam into his office as soon as her plane landed from D.C., and she was there for two hours… and SG-1 has been grounded since."

"Oh."

"So when’s she due?" Daniel asked and Jack had the decency not to spill his beer.

"July-ish," Jack mumbled around his beer bottle. He’d known about Daniel and Vala since Alexandria, but he figured he and Sam had been more discreet. He hoped they’d been more discreet—what if Mitchell knew too?

"And I didn’t know this... why?" The hurt in Daniel’s voice made Jack feel guiltier than ever.

Jack lowered his voice so neither Teal’c nor Mitchell could hear them from inside the cabin. "We didn’t want to put you in a position where you would be forced to testify against us or lose your job; they can’t court martial you, but they can threaten you and they can split up SG-1."

Daniel knew just how strict the regulations were, but Jack could tell that he was still upset they’d kept this particular cat in the bag.

"Landry’s grounded SG-1 until he gets an answer from the Pentagon on whether Sam can remain on duty."

Daniel raised his eyebrows in surprise: "That’s—"

"It’s no big deal," Jack dismissed him. "Gate-travel, or the mere thought of it, is making her nauseous enough as it is, so she’s fine with it. She’s just feeling guilty that you guys are being punished too."

Daniel shook his head, "She shouldn’t—especially since we’ve all been getting sick, we appreciate the time off-- and why’s she worrying about us anyway?"

"It’s Carter," Jack said, matter-of-factly.

"Point taken," Daniel conceded.

"So, what's the deal with Vala?"

Daniel shrugged. "There's no deal. There is just-- a big ball of complicated."

Jack laughed. "Twenty-seven languages and that's the best you can come up with?"

"She's... intense."

"I'll believe that," Jack added.

"...and gorgeous and downright insane."

"She has to be if she's traveled across the galaxy for you, knowing your track record. She does know your track record, right?"

Daniel frowned, "Mostly, yes, but I did not fell inclined to share every failed relationship with her. She may be crazy, but I don't wanna push it."

Jack nodded and the two enjoyed a comfortable silence for a few minutes. "She's gonna need you guys, you know?"

“What about you? Aren’t you moving back to Colorado?” Daniel looked like someone had just shot his puppy.

Jack sighed; somehow, the job of exposing the universe’s cold truths to Daniel never got easier. “No… not yet, anyway.”

Daniel frowned again. “Who knows?”

“So far? Landry and Hammond. George’s the one pulling the strings in D.C. in our favor, and Hank’s bargaining with the IOA. Best case scenario, I get 6 months a year in Colorado, she gets to go to D.C. every few months and our kid gets to live the military life, getting shuffled around the country all the time.”

“And worst case scenario?” Daniel asked, worried.

Jack sighed, even as a smirk threatened to appear. “She and I get court martialed, sentenced, Thor beams us up and drops us off at the nearest planet with a Stargate.”

Daniel shrugged, “I guess it could be worse.”

“Yeah,” Jack snorted. “There could be no fish in my pond. That would definitely be worse.”

** The End **

Feedback to: alice_j_foster@hotmail.com

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