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“Okay, kids, gather ‘round.” Jack clinked a spoon against his glass of champagne several times to get everyone’s attention. SG-1 past and present (plus Cassie and Hammond) were scattered around his living room, celebrating Carter’s recent promotion to full-bird colonel and her appointment as commander of the Atlantis expedition. She was due to leave tomorrow, and had thus far refrained from imbibing excessively, citing the need to keep a clear head the next morning.Unlike Daniel, who had never been able to hold his liquor and was already leaning sideways in Jack’s easy chair after only two beers, the champagne in his own glass threatening to spill over onto the carpet. Vala was sitting on one arm of the chair, hovering over Daniel and playing with his hair, which had started to grow out a bit again. Daniel feigned annoyance as he made feeble attempts to bat her hands away, and Jack wondered how long it would take for them to get their act together. It had taken eight years and external intervention from several people for something to finally happen between him and Carter; but unlike him and Carter, there were no ranks or regulations standing between Daniel and Vala.“Hey!” He clinked his glass several more times until the last of the chatter finally died down. “Thank you. Now, you all know how I normally feel about the IOA, but in this case I can’t find any fault with their decision-making process. They picked a damn good leader for the Atlantis expedition.” He met Carter’s eyes, and she smiled at him before ducking her head, her cheeks flushing a faint pink. “You’ve more than earned this, Carter. I know you’re gonna do a great job out there.”He raised his glass, and everyone else followed suit, Daniel suppressing a curse in a language Jack didn’t recognize as a small amount of champagne splashed onto his brand new khaki pants. “To Colonel Carter. May your new command be a resounding success.”A chorus of ‘hear, hear’ punctuated by whooping cheers echoed around him as they all toasted Carter, who for once looked only mildly embarrassed to be the center of attention. She’d gotten much better at accepting praise over the years, but the little voice in her mind that whispered self-doubt still occasionally reared its ugly head.Jack wasn’t sure at what point he’d made it his mission to permanently silence that voice. All he knew was that every time he saw Carter thriving in her element, whether as a scientist, a soldier, or a leader, it added decades to his lifespan.
I’m gonna miss her like crazy, though.
– – – – – – – –
God, I’m gonna miss these people.
Sam watched as Cassie tried to explain to Jonas and Vala the rules of beer pong, her attempts marred by earnest interjections from an extremely inebriated Daniel as he drew comparisons to similar games from various ancient cultures. Cam had brought a deck of cards, and he, Teal’c, and Jack were in the process of building an elaborate tower on the coffee table. Hammond was standing by the fireplace, quietly sipping a glass of bourbon as he observed the festivities, and Sam made her way over to him.“I’m glad you were able to make it, sir,” she said.“One of the many joys of retirement.” Hammond smiled. “I’m always glad to have a chance to see you folks. It never fails to amaze me how far you’ve all come.”“Me neither,” Sam admitted. “I–” Her breath caught in her throat. “I still can’t believe it, sometimes. You’ve all come to mean so much to me over the years…”“And now you’re leaving the nest.” Hammond smiled again, and Sam blinked back tears. “Jack was right, Sam. You’ve earned this. Jacob would be proud of you.”Sam nodded. “I know,” she whispered. Her gaze wandered across the room to capture Jack’s, whose attention had drifted momentarily from the card tower in front of him. He smiled at her in that soft way that came mostly from his eyes, which always stirred something warm and fuzzy in her chest.Hammond followed her gaze. He put a hand on her shoulder, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to; he’d been there since the beginning, since arm wrestling and reproductive organs, through alternate realities and za’tarcs and feelings, and ultimately to a misty spring morning in Minnesota, where vows were exchanged and promises that had really been made a long time ago were made again, openly and wholeheartedly, before the same patchwork of family which surrounded her now.She brought a hand to her chest, feeling the outline of the ring which dangled from a chain under her shirt. In a way, he was going with her. That was the nature of the connection which bound them; it transcended time and space, and defied any notion of logic or reason.First regulations had separated them, then two thousand miles, and now several billion light-years and a series of ‘gate hops. They had let the first barrier matter more than it should’ve, until it had almost been too late. Luckily, they had both come to their senses, with more than a little help from various parties who were invested a frankly abnormal amount in the outcome of, to quote President Hayes, ‘whatever the hell you two have going on’.Sam wasn’t going to fool herself into thinking this would be easy. She’d known from the moment she signed the transfer paperwork to Area 51 that this was going to be hard, but they had both survived much worse than mere physical distance.They would survive this too, she was sure of it.– – – – – – – –As the party began to wind down, Jack found Carter on his roof, her head tilted back as she gazed at the stars.“You know, you’d be able to see Pegasus a lot better with that,” he said, indicating his telescope.“Actually, Pegasus is on the far side of the planet right now, so I wouldn’t be able to see anything regardless.”“Oh.” He came to stand beside her, his arm sliding easily around her shoulders. “So whatcha looking at, then?”Carter shrugged, her head falling back to rest against his shoulder as if it belonged there. As far as Jack was concerned, it did. “Nothing, really. Just thinking.”“Have I ever told you that you think too much?”She laughed in that way that made his chest go all soft and gooey, that the first time he heard it had instantly made him want to hear it again, and again and again and again, until it left him a molten puddle on the floor. “Frequently.”Jack hugged her a little closer, and she leaned into him, snaking her arms around his waist. “You’re gonna be just fine, Carter. You’ve got some good people under your command. Well, most of them, anyway,” he amended, thinking of McKay.Carter must have been thinking the same thing, because she snorted. “Yeah, I know, I just… it’s a big responsibility.”“One you’ve earned a thousand times over. You can do this, Sam. I know you can.”She raised her head slightly and beamed at him, and Jack felt a rush of satisfaction at seeing the effect his words had on her. “I know… but I can’t shake the feeling that I’m leaving so much behind.”Jack knew Carter wasn’t just talking about him, but he couldn’t help but flash back to the day he’d left for Washington, when they’d had a similar conversation beneath the stars. “And you’ve got so much ahead of you. Think of all the Ancient technology just waiting to be uncovered…”“And all the Wraith and Replicators lurking around every corner…”“They have absolutely no idea what they’re in for.”Carter giggled. “There won’t be many dull moments, that’s for sure.”Jack kissed the top of her head, allowing his lips to linger. “I’m gonna miss you,” he murmured into her hair.She blinked up at him, tears clinging to her lashes. “I’m gonna miss you, too.”They held each other tightly as the stars shone down upon them. “Send me a postcard?” Jack whispered, struggling to speak around the sudden lump in his throat.Carter pulled back just enough to give him a slow, sweet, passionate kiss. Her lips tasted like salt and love and hope and promises. “Always.”– – – – – – – –The next morning, Sam stood in the ‘gate room at the SGC, the mesmerizing shimmers of the event horizon beckoning to her. She could feel the gazes of SG-1 on her from the control room, giving her strength even as they tugged her backwards to what had been her home for ten years.
“Draw from your past, but do not let your past draw from you.”
She looked back at her team– her family– and smiled. Daniel waved, looking a little bleary-eyed as he smiled back, a cup of what was surely extra-strength coffee in his other hand. Vala grinned and gave her two thumbs up. Teal’c nodded stoically, smiling in that subtle way of his. Cam and Jonas waved, the latter holding up his other hand to show two crossed fingers.Jack stood behind them all, quiet pride in his face as his hand came up in a crisp military salute. She saluted back, feeling a renewed surge of courage.It was still there several hours later as she lay in her quarters on Midway Station, gazing out the viewport at the Pegasus Galaxy.Whatever came next, she knew she was ready for it.
Atlantis, here I come.