Title:  Send In The Clowns
Author:  Rosemary Klein-Robbins
Pairings:  None really specific, but implied
Rating:  PG-13
Spoiler:  Small one for Divide and Conquer
Summary:  Second in Kinsey Series. Jack accepts a court martial in order to protect a member of his team. SG-1, with the help of some friends, try to get to the bottom of it.
Disclaimers:  SG-1 and all that it entails does not belong to author. There is no financial gain from this story. It has been written for amusement.
Author's Note:  Once again my thanks to my Ghost Editor, Sarae and to the newest edition to the Ghost family, Aud.  To Sarae, Aud and Blue Topaz: Ladies, this one's for you.

Send In the Clowns
©2003 by Rosemary Klein-Robbins

“My poor body, madam, requires it: I am driven on by the flesh: and he must needs go that the devil drives.” (Clown-Alls Well That Ends Well: Act1, Scene 3-William Shakespeare)

Jack O’Neill had just put his fishing gear away for the day, when he heard his screen door slam. Taking his .45 from the locked drawer in his kitchen, he carefully went out the back door and around his cabin to the front. What he saw made him wonder if murder was the worth the price he would have to pay.

“What,” he asked in an acidic voice, “are you doing here?”

The well-dressed man and the U. S. Air Force officer accompanying him turned with some surprise and shock.

“Colonel O’Neill,” the well-dressed man addressed him.

“Kinsey?” Jack asked again. “What do you want?”

Senator Kinsey pointed to the front door. “Do you mind if we go inside?”

Shaking his head, Jack indicated to go ahead, but he did not lower his weapon.

He followed the two men into the house and indicated they should sit down, but made no other effort to be hospitable.

“Once again,” Jack said through clenched teeth, “what do you want Kinsey?”

Senator Kinsey settled himself in Jack’s recliner and put his feet up.

“Nice place you have here, Colonel.”

Jack was starting to see Kinsey’s game and decided that he would play.

“Thank you.” Jack decided to put on his happy go-lucky goof act for the Senator. The man already thought he was “nuts”, so, let him continue.

“Have you had this place long Jack? I can call you that, can’t I, Jack?”

Jack nodded and sat down on the ottoman near the sofa. Jack knew the Air Force Major with him - Gordon. That thought was followed by images of hanging Gordon upside down from the top of the Empire State building. Gordon sat on the sofa and kept his gaze on Jack.

“Guess you’re wondering why I am here?” Kinsey began. He was aware that Jack wondered, and he was aware that Jack was deliberately being obtuse.

“Well, yeah, actually I am,” Jack, answered, almost good-naturedly.

The Senator put his feet down and sat up. Putting his hands on his knees he leaned forward and gazed at Jack.

“I have a business proposition for you, Colonel.”

Jack sighed and wondered what Kinsey could possibly have that he’d want.

“You are aware, of course, that I am aiming to be President?”

Jack said nothing.

Without any fanfare or hem hawing around, the Senator came out and informed Jack what he wanted.

“I want your full and complete support. You will go public and you will let your co-workers know that you completely and totally support me.”

Jack broke out into a guffaw and was laughing so hard; he could barely get the words “Go to hell” out of his mouth.

“You have got to be kidding?”

Senator Kinsey waited for Jack to stop laughing before he continued. He reached his hand out to Major Gordon, who promptly handed him an envelope. The Senator looked at Jack.

Tapping the envelope he continued. “In here, Colonel,” he began, “I have some information that may change your mind.”

Jack’s eyes were still bright with the tears of laughter and he just shook his head.

“Why don’t you open it and look at it, Jack.”

Jack opened the envelope and it was only his Black Ops training that kept him from going for Kinsey’s throat.

“So…” Jack began. It was an effort for him to keep his voice even.

“I’ll make it easy for you Colonel,” the Senator said. “You either commit to me totally, take a Court Martial charge that will separate you from the service or the contents of that envelope will be made public.”

The Senator saw the calculations that O’Neill made behind his eyes.

“Your support and career for Major Carter’s.”

Jack looked down at the report in his hand. It was the report about the Zay’tarc testing he and Sam had gone through, but with one big difference. Instead of stating that each had made comments attesting to the fact that they cared for each other, it indicated that a full-blown affair had occurred between them and was still being continued. And not just that, it also stated they were ‘carrying on’ off world and had endangered their teammates because of their “undying” love for each other.
Although those in know, knew it was crap, there were still enough people who would love to see the SGC closed and the team, him in particular, busted in rank or discharged. He didn’t even want to think about what would happen to Teal’c or to Jonas. Even Daniel wouldn’t be safe. And Sam… he just didn’t want to even go there.

Jack re-read the report several times and tried to think of who would have given this to Kinsey. It was supposed to be classified. Hell, not even General Hammond admitted to knowing this.

Jack looked up at Kinsey. The Senator was eyeing him speculatively.

“Well, Colonel? Which will it be?”

“Go to Hell, Kinsey.”

“Jack, Jack, Jack,” Kinsey said in soothing tones. “I would much prefer your complete and total support. But barring that, my only other choice is, you out of the way.”

“I won’t let you ruin her Kinsey,” Jack said with some heat.

“No,” Kinsey acknowledged. “I thought that you would not. I had my doubts about you two, you know.”

Kinsey got out of the chair and walked to the mantle. Turning to look at Jack, he continued, “But this kind of erases them now. Don’t you think?”

Jack put the report back in the envelope and dropped it on the coffee table.

“I’ll take my chances with the court martial Kinsey, before I ever publicly support you.”

Kinsey sighed. A great sigh of satisfaction.

“I kind of figured that Jack,” he stated. “Your official papers will be waiting for you when you get back to the SGC. I am sure that Hammond will have a lot to say to you.”

“Get out!”

Kinsey headed to the door and signaled for Major Gordon to follow.

“I’ll leave you the report Jack. Just so you’ll understand, I have more.”

The screen door banged and Jack sat down on the sofa and put his head in his hands. He knew that Kinsey wanted his ass and retiring and/or resigning wouldn’t do. He decided that he might as well just cut his leave short and get back to the mountain. He didn’t even want to think about what Hammond and his team would have to say.

Hammond looked down in shock at the papers in front of him.

“Court Martial of Colonel John J. O’Neill, USAF.” Hammond was in shock. He looked up at the face of Major Samantha Carter.

He’d called the Major in to see if she knew what had transpired. They’d both used their Pentagon connections and could find nothing.

When Colonel O’Neill had returned to Cheyenne Mountain he’d been detained, arrested and taken to the brig. Sam had gone in to talk to him, but he’d remained unmoved and unreadable. Hammond had tried as well, as had Jonas, Daniel and Teal’c.

Hammond kept looking at the papers and knew that whatever JAG (Judge Advocate General) officer would be defending Jack would have to be good. Picking up the phone, he asked to be connected to General Adam Greene.

“General Greene.” The man who picked up the phone at first was happy to hear from his friend, but the longer he listened, the harder his face turned.

“George,” Adam interrupted. “I know just the man. Let me call the Admiral at the JAG headquarters. I’ll get back to you.”

“Thank you, Adam. I can’t tell you how much your help means. None of this makes sense.”

“No problem, George.”

Adam Greene hung up from his friend and asked May, his assistant, to connect him to the head of the JAG unit.

“That’s right, Admiral. I want Commander Samuels assigned as Colonel O’Neill’s defense attorney.”

The Admiral had asked Adam a few more questions and then told him to consider it done. General Greene called General Hammond and informed him that Commander Benjamin Samuels would be Colonel O’Neill’s defense attorney and that he would take care of things at this end.

Taking care of things meant calling his daughter. Not so much for telling her that Jon was getting court-martialed, but who was going to defend him.

“Beth, forgive me,” Adam Greene thought about his daughter’s reaction to this bit of news. “But he is Jon’s best chance.” He reached for the buzzer to ask May to connect him to Beth at her clinic.

“Fourth Street Clinic, this is Evie. How may I help you?” The receptionist picked up the phone and recognized the man on the other end. “Hello, General Greene.”

“Hello Evie. Is Beth available?”

“I think she is doing a physical right now. I’ll page. Hold on, please.”

In the examination room, Beth heard, “Dr. Greene, line 2. Dr. Greene, line 2.”

A few minutes later Dr. Elizabeth Greene picked up the phone in the examination room. Evie was right; she was doing a physical.

“This is Dr. Greene.”

“Beth, it’s Dad. Can you talk now?”

“No, not right now. May I call you back in a few hours? I am loaded here today.”

“Make it quick, Beth.”

Beth picked up the cue that her father was upset and that whatever it was he wanted to tell her must be really important.

“I have 15 minutes in between patients, Dad. I will call you as soon as this exam is done.”

Answering in the affirmative, General Greene hung up and then called George Hammond.

Things had to move fast. Whatever advantage they hoped to gain, they had to circle the wagons quickly. He only hoped that Ben wouldn’t give the Admiral a hard time, and that Beth wouldn’t add to it. Not to mention Jon’s response to all of this.

Beth called her father as soon as she got into her office. May didn’t lecture her about pleasantries this time and connected her immediately. As was her habit, Beth walked around her office with her phone while she waited, and she was watering her African Violets when her father came on.

“Hey Dad,” Beth said.

“Are you sitting?”

“Well, no. Actually I’m not,” Beth answered, though puzzled. Sitting??

“Well, you had better.”

Okay, she thought, this was interesting.

“Okay, Dad, I’m sitting.”

General Greene proceeded to notify Beth of what was going on with Jon and which JAG officer would be defending him.

At the same time that JAG officer looked at his director with wide eyes.

“Sir, I seriously believe that my representing this officer is a bad idea.”

The Admiral looked at the Commander in front of him. A tall and powerfully built man, it was his coloring that struck people first. Aside from the silver hair on his head, which matched his mustache and van dyke, it was his eyes that commanded the most attention: one blue eye, one brown eye. Genetics was an amazing thing.

“Are you questioning my assignment, Commander?”

“Well, in a way, Sir. I just don’t think that Colonel O’Neill will be particularly happy with me.”

“I am not concerned with whether or not Colonel is in love with you, Commander. I am only concerned with whether or not you are going to fight me on this.”

Commander Benjamin Samuels could say nothing to his CO. He was sure, however, that Colonel O’Neill would be saying plenty. He had known Jon O’Neill since they were 12. He was the only one in that group of boys that called him Jack. And in all honesty, Jack wouldn’t let him call him Jon. That was reserved for very few. And one of those few was the person that left the message on his answering machine when he came out of his office.

Before Beth made her call to Ben Samuels, she had an interesting discussion with her father.

“You want *who* to defend him?” Beth just didn’t know what to say.

“You don’t think that Ben would do a good job?”

“I think that Ben would do a great job. I’m not putting down his work or his ability.” Beth took a breath and continued, “However, this is Ben and Jon we are talking about.”

“That much, even I know, Beth,” Adam rebuked his daughter.

Stung by the tone, Beth remembered how very much Jon and Ben disliked each other. Some of that dislike had been instantaneous and some of it was because each man blamed the other for Ben and Beth’s dis-engagement.

“Dad, they don’t like each other. I just can’t see them working together.”

"Beth! They are older and, hopefully, wiser adults and will do what is best.”

“Older, perhaps,” Beth thought. “Wiser? Not bloody likely.”

“What is it, exactly, you want me to do?” Beth asked her father, praying that he wouldn’t ask her to insert her affection, attention and assertion towards both men.

“Make sure Ben does his best and talk Jon into cooperating.”

“Dad, why don’t you ask me to fly to the moon on my own steam?”

“You know, Elizabeth, there are times when your sarcasm is uncalled for.”

Beth put her head in her right hand and counted, slowly, to ten before she answered her father.

“I’m not being sarcastic, Dad.”

“You are still on good terms with both, are you not?”

“You know I am,” Beth responded, “considering you were turning cartwheels when Ben and I started seeing each other last winter.”

“So, what is the problem?” Adam knew he was pushing her hard. “Jon needs the best, Beth. Whoever pulled this is trying to destroy him. We need to find out why, while we are protecting him. You have to make both men see that they need each other.”

“Okay, okay,” Beth answered. “I will call Ben now.” Looking at her watch, she saw that her 15 minutes were up, but she could make a dinner date with Ben to discuss this.

Hanging up, she called Ben and was relieved that she didn’t have to talk directly with him. Leaving a message about a mutual acquaintance with a problem, she left her office for her next appointment. She would, at least, have some time to think about what to say before she saw Ben.

“Aye Aye, Sir!” Commander Samuels saluted and left the Admiral’s office. Entering his office, he saw the message light on his phone blinking. Dialing in the retrieval code, he heard Beth’s voice asking him to call her back and if he would like to join her for dinner.

“…to make a point here, Ben, you probably already know what and whom I am calling about, so I am not going to dance around the subject. I will be in office after 4:00 pm and will remain there until we can get together. Okay - anyway, I’ll talk to and see you later.”

Ben was smiling when he hung up the phone. Basically, Beth was called in to mediate. On the whole, she would probably rather eat worms than have to get between him and Jack O’Neill again.

He hung up from the voice mail and dialed Beth’s office. Evie put him through to her answering machine and he told her that he would meet her, at her office, around 7pm. “How about Jeffrey’s?” was the restaurant information he left for her.

At 4pm, Beth picked up her messages and smiled slightly at Ben’s suggestions for Jeffrey’s. “How about *not*?” She thought about the price of a dinner at that restaurant located at the Watergate. “$191.00-dinner for two. I don’t think so.”

When Ben picked her up at her office, she told him that as she had invited him to this “conference”, she was paying and that there was no way they were going to Jeffrey’s for dinner.

“I have a great love for Tex-Mex food Ben,” she began, “but there is no way I am going to pay that price for dinner or…” she stopped and noted that he was ready to indicate that he would, “…let anyone else do it either.”

They picked another place that was slightly more reasonable and Beth left in Ben’s car.

Sitting down in the booth, Ben took her hand. He knew that talking about Jack with him made her uncomfortable. She didn’t talk about Ben with Jack either. He didn’t look forward to taking Jack on in this court martial, but he knew that he would be Jack’s best chance, if Jack let him.

He looked at the woman in front of him. He took in the dark blonde curls that used to vex her when she was a child. Then he spoke.

“Beth, I know that you would much rather not be involved in this.”

“Really?” she started with a sarcastic tone and then continued, “I’m sorry. I guess I still get very touchy when it comes to the two of you. I would seriously much rather be…”

“…eating worms?” he asked.

Beth smiled and laughed. “Yeah, that.”

She picked up the menu and then he did the same. For a few minutes they were silent, and at that point a member of the wait staff came and took their order. After their drinks were served Beth looked up and started to talk.

"I don’t know what is going on,” she began, “but I can tell you that he is being set up. The trick is, getting Jon to open up and tell us what is going on. Other wise we will be working blind and backwards and that is going to be no fun.”

“From what I’ve heard and read, Jack has given them more than enough reasons for a court martial.”

“If that were true,” Beth responded, and her voice started to gain a little heat, “they would have never pulled him out of retirement or waited this long to do something.”

“Beth,” Ben tried to keep his voice even. He still could not keep himself from getting defensive when they talked about him. “Five counts of insubordination and one to a U. S. Senator. Not to mention two counts of disobeying a direct order. All this, for a man who works for a Deep Space Radar Telemetry Program?”

“Ben, I don’t care what they think they have on him. He is extremely valuable to his program and he is being set up. The thing we have to do is find out by whom, how and why.”

“Well, I do have some Pentagon contacts, as do you,” he said finally.

“Yes and Dad and General Hammond, who is Jon’s direct supervisor, also do.”

Looking down at her half eaten meal she frowned and looked at him. “We don’t have much time, do we?”

Ben shook his head. “No. I got the impression that this is being fast tracked. And you’re right, it probably is a set up.”

“Well, I guess we both have some phone calls to make.”

They finished their meals in silence and Ben insisted on leaving the tip when paid the bill. When they arrived back at the clinic, he walked her to her car. Taking her into his arms, he looked into her eyes.

“Beth, I…” he began.

She put her fingers to his lips and stopped him.

“I’m not ready to pick up where we left off, Ben. It has nothing to do with David or …with Jon,” she said. “It has to do with deciding if I want to get into a permanent relationship with anyone.”

Sighing, she kissed his cheek. “I’ve been single for four years and I find that I like it. I’m not sure whether or not I can share my life with someone on a more personal basis.”

“Hey, I have been 'single' for a little longer than you, since my divorce from Rita.”

“That is true and I am willing to play this out. But no talk of ‘feelings’ and other stuff. I think we need to get to know the individuals we are now and not remember who we were all those years ago.”

“Fair enough.” He kissed her cheek and let her into her car.

Watching her drive away, he remembered that discussion they’d had about their lives after their engagement. It was six months ago that they reconnected with each other and were able to have a conversation that didn’t have any hints of bitterness or regret.

He had blamed Jack for their breakup. But he knew that it had more to do with Beth and him. They were far too young and Beth had suddenly decided that she wanted no parts of being a military wife. She was fortunate enough to be born when her mother told her father that she didn’t care where he was stationed, she wasn’t raising a vagabond daughter. And when General Greene was deployed, the Greene family stayed in Chicago. After a few years, he stayed in Chicago as well.
Jack had come home on leave almost as if pre-ordained after they broke up. Beth wrote and told him they were engaged and by the time he got home, six months later, they were not. Jack had not even known. No sooner had he found out about it, he came home to find that it was ended.

Beth had quite a bit to say to Ben, when he complained about Jack getting in between them again. Beth, with quite a vocabulary picked up by being around 7 boys and the military in general, told him quite plainly her thoughts about how heartbroken he was not. She recalled that he had met and married Rita six months after their broken engagement.

He shook his head to clear the memories; he’d need his wits about him if he were going to take on O’Neill. He got the feeling that Jack was going to be as thrilled about this as he was.

O’Neill swore softly when they told him who was going to be his JAG officer. He also knew that Beth was going to be pushing him to talk and to, more importantly, listen. This was going to complicate too many things and he wondered if he couldn’t have coerced Kinsey into letting him retire and disappear into the wilds of Minnesota.

Ben stalked out of the room and was muttering to himself about whips, chains and maybe even a stun gun. Jack O’Neill could make him lose his temper in a way few people ever had.

They met, they saw, they hated. Each other. On sight. If anyone was to ask them why, neither man could answer. They didn’t know. He knew, as well as Jack, that some people thought they fought over Beth. That might have been true in later years. But the 9 year old that they both knew when he moved to town, wasn’t the heartbreaker people made her out to be.

Beth came into the room and looked at him. Closing her eyes she sat down. With a curt warning from the guard that no close physical contact was allowed, she looked at him.

“You know,” she began, “I just so love walking in the middle of your pissing contests with Ben. Seriously…”

Jack laughed.

“Yeah, go ahead and laugh,” she began angrily, “two bigger buttheads, I have yet to meet.”

Wiping his eyes he held up his left hand and tried to talk.

Beth sat back in her chair and shook her head.

“What is matter with you?” she began, “Can’t you see we want to help you. And that you need to help us?”

Jack sat back in his chair and considered his friend. She looked far different than the pesky 9-year-old that used to try and hang around the boys, who, at 12, were interested in a far different class of girls. Unkempt curly blonde hair, unsuccessfully in braids, wearing her brother Michael’s out grown play clothes and dragging her doll Emma everywhere. How anyone would believe that any boy would have been interested in her? He shook his head and answered her.

“There is nothing the matter with me, Beth. And yes, I can see that you want to help. But there is nothing to help here.”

Lowering her voice she began, “What are you trying to hide?”

Jack’s face gave nothing away. “Nothing, Beth.”

“I don’t believe you Jon,” she responded. Her amber gaze showed some gold glints in them. Not the soft and gentle color that they usually were.

He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter what you believe. I’m not hiding anything. I’m not protecting anyone. There is nothing that you or anyone can do. This is just the way it is.”

Shaking her head, she stood up.

“You’re a bad liar, John J. O’Neill. And I’m going to find out *why* you’re lying.”

With that, she signaled she was ready to leave.

Jack watched her walk out before he, himself, was lead back to his cell. She was like a terrier with a bone, he knew, and that scared him. And like her, were the members of his team. They were all going to go looking for information. He only hoped that they would not succeed. He couldn’t stand to see them, her, hurt because of Kinsey’s major hate for him.

“Orthopedics, this is Audrey, may I help you?”

“Hi Aud, this is Dr. Elizabeth Greene, is Dr. Ryan in?”

“Yes Dr. Greene. Would you like me to connect you?”

“Yes, please.”

Beth waited while Audrey connected her to her friend and long time colleague, Gwen Ryan.

After a few minutes.

“Dr. Ryan here.”

“Gwen, Beth.”

“Hey girl. What’s up?”

“Can’t tell you over the phone. Are you free for lunch?”

Gwen picked up that her friend sounded stressed and answered that she was and they agreed to meet in the cafeteria at Walter Reed at 1 pm.

Gwen Ryan, a petite and curly haired, green-eyed brunette, was already waiting her friend.

They went up, purchased their meals and sat down. Gwen had picked a table in the corner, far and away from others.

“Ok Beth…. Spill.” Gwen was a very direct individual. She minced no words, nor pulled any punches. She was a Lt. Colonel in the Air Force with a Colonel husband, assigned to the Pentagon. Her directness was not only part of her overall makeup, but also a matter of necessity.

Beth very briefly told her about Jon and what was happening.

Gwen’s eyes grew very large while Beth was speaking because she finally was able to put together some of the tales that had been going around.

“Whoa!” was all she could say and then she told Beth of the rumors.

“Do you remember Dr. Gaines?” Gwen asked.

“Angela Gaines? Beth asked. Frowning, she tried to remember what that woman looked like.

“You know, petite, bosomy, platinum, at least now, Angela?”

Beth sat back and thought and then smiled. “Oh yes,” Beth said with some humor.

“Well,” Gwen began, “she wanted to know if we’d heard the news about ‘Beth’s Jack’?”

“Beth’s Jack?” Beth started to laugh. “Oh boy.”

“Yeah, she seemed to take real pleasure in telling me about how ‘your Jack’ was in big trouble and that it didn’t surprise her. And how, she was sure, that you were involved.”

“Yeah, she would take pleasure in that. He really should have let her down a lot easier than he did.”

Gwen laughed. Both women were aware that Angela had had the major ‘hots’ for Jack O’Neill for years. She was shameless. She hadn’t cared that Jack was married or that Sara was there the times she flirted with him. After the sixth time of telling her ‘No thanks”, he’d finally put it into terms that someone from Venus would understand. Since then, if anything unsavory concerned him, she was on top of it.

“Well, the word is that Jack is being court martialed and that a major player behind this is your favorite senator and mine,” Gwen told her.

“I figured. But Jon wouldn’t budge,” Beth informed her.

Looking into her friends green eyes. “I need your help. I need “Buck’s” help too.”

Liam Ryan, Colonel USAF, was assigned to the Pentagon and had contacts in the most interesting places.

Gwen nodded. “We will be on it Beth. But please,” she told her friend, “be careful. This is one nasty man we are dealing with.”

Taking her friend’s hand in hers, “I know,” Beth said simply. “And I can’t thank you enough for caring and for helping without any details.”

“Hey,” Gwen said putting her hand on top of Beth’s, “that is what friends are for. Isn’t it?”

Both women finished their lunch and went to their respective offices.

While in her office, Beth ran through her conversation with Jon. He, very seriously, was going to throw it all away. She shook her head and reached for the phone.

“Lab, Major Carter speaking.”

“Hey girl!” Beth said upon hearing her friend’s voice.

“Beth!” Sam’s voice had a smile in it when she heard who was on the other end.

“You holding up ok?” Beth asked.

Sam took a breath and answered, “Yeah, I guess.” Sam hedged her comment. She was really not okay, but seriously confused, angry and feeling helpless. That feeling of helplessness was what upset her the most.

“I talked with 'himself' today,” Beth told her. “He was, as usual, a butt head.”

“Beth…” Sam cautioned.

“Hey, he’s your CO, not mine,” Beth responded with more than a little anger in her voice. “He’s hiding something.”

“Well, that we all figured out,” Sam told her.

They’d had that figured out almost immediately. They’d decided that Kinsey had something on him, but they weren’t sure what. In reality he had committed quite a few acts that could have led him to be court-martialed. However, he was so very vital to several alliances, not to mention all that he had done for his country and the planet. It had to be something really big for the Colonel to fold like he had.

None of them could imagine what the good Senator could have gotten a hold of that would counteract what they had on him.

Sam continued to tell Beth that they had all come up empty handed. Unless Colonel O’Neill would let them in on the problem, they were, to put it bluntly, “sucking wind.”

Beth told her that her father had even contacted some of his old pentagon cronies, along with every other crony he could think of. General Hammond had done the same. No one had been able to come up with anything concrete. Sam and Daniel had gone through some of the confidential files, including those held at Area 51, and had come up with nothing.

“Damn moles,” Sam said sharply. “We just can’t identify who they are.”

Beth had told Sam that they would still be “beating the bushes and rattling the cages.”

“Whatever it is,” Beth promised, “we’ll find it.” Sam knew that to be true, however, what she didn’t tell Beth was that when SG-1 and General Hammond met last night, that decided that rather than have Jack serve time at Leavenworth, they would have Thor take him away.

Commander Samuels found a hotel room in DC close to where they were holding the court martial. It confused him that it was being held in DC and not in Colorado Springs. The fine hand of the Senator had to be involved. The JAG officer that was prosecuting was a smart man, but Ben and some of the others felt him to be, well, the only word that came to mind was: smarmy. There was something unsavory about the man. He was correct, responsible, and quite good at his job. But something…

Ben looked over the charges and ran his right hand through his hair. He had been, at one time, a SEAL. His instincts had been honed by his time with them, and the fine hairs on his arms and on the back of his neck rose when he thought of this case and the charges. Jack was in trouble. The things that they were prosecuting him on, well, any one of them would be sufficient, but the fact was, Jack had been awarded, honored and the President had even commended him. Not to mention, Jack had not only a Special Ops background, but also one that went deeper below the radar than anyone knew. You don’t go that rout if you really are a buffoon. Jack O’Neill was many things, but a buffoon was not one of them.

“What?” Ben wondered again while looking at the papers in front of him, “What could they possibly prove or gain by doing this?”

Jack lay on his bunk in his cell. He went over the visit he’d had earlier with Sam, Daniel and Teal’c. Each had come to him individually. He really hated to see the confusion, pain and anger in their eyes.

Saying ‘No’ to Sam was the hardest thing he’d had to do. He had never been able to tell her ‘No’. He’d managed sometimes to evade answers when he could, but to come right out and say the ‘N’ word to her…

Remembering the sight of her moist blue eyes, the unshed tears… Shaking his head at the memory, he put his hands under his head and stared at the springs of the upper bunk.

They were not stupid people. They knew he was protecting someone or something. He only hoped they didn’t find out who he was protecting and why. There would be no living with them, her, if it was found out. None of them would let him take the heat, no matter what.

He closed his eyes and tried to will away the images. Beth was pissed. She’d managed to let him know in no uncertain terms. His JAG officer had tried to doggedly stay on the facts. Teal’c had done nothing more than lift an eyebrow and stare. Daniel had tried to do his psych/social thing - interesting move for an anthropologist/archeologist type. And Sam… God help him, Sam. As usual, she’d been very correct in her manner and her tone with him. But the anger simmering under the surface… If by some miracle, Ben was able to get him cleared, he would love to give her permission to speak freely, just to see if she would. The SGC would probably sell tickets to that performance.

Jack then decided that if he was going to get some sleep, he needed to think of something else. He thought about playing mental chess, but couldn’t focus. He finally decided to try the relaxation techniques learned by too many missions and had finally got himself to a point where he could sleep. It wasn’t a satisfying sleep, but it was sleep.

Jack woke up to find that his JAG officer was waiting for him. They’d given him 15 minutes to pull himself together and had taken him to the waiting room.

“Okay Jack, here’s the deal,” Ben started to inform him of when the hearings would start. He handed Jack his uniform, complete with all of his medals, patches, ribbons and bars. Ben wanted the jury of his peers to see the man that they were judging. He wanted Jack to shine. He wanted them to see what he had sacrificed for his country. It was important that they get the feeling he was being set up.

Ben had decided that was a key to getting Jack cleared. That and a very careful presentation of Senator Kinsey’s quite apparent antagonism towards him. He hoped that Jack would cooperate.

“Not bloody likely,” Ben thought to himself. “But, needs must when the devil drives.”

It was odd saying he had. He had picked it up for his use after he’d read Alls Well That Ends Well in high school. It embodied a lot in that one small phrase.
Jack understood what Ben was trying to do and he had to admit that Ben was throwing himself wholeheartedly into this defense. He had to admit, that even though Beth had probably strong-armed him into it, Ben hadn’t let his own feelings get in the way. Jack decided, that he wouldn’t let his either.

In that minute the two men appeared to understand each other. Beth always used to comment about them being “too soon old, too late smart” when they would meet up with each other when they were younger. She didn’t know how really true it was with them.

“Jack, it is really important that you at least act like you care,” Ben admonished.

“I know Ben,” Jack answered quietly.

“I wish…” Ben started, but Jack shook his head.

“If you’re going to defend me Ben, do it on my merits. Don’t go looking for answers that I won’t give you.”

“Okay…so tomorrow at 0900?”

Ben nodded to Jack and left, each man with their own thoughts.

Jacob Carter sat across from his old friend, George Hammond. Both men had known each other for a long time.

George was the first to break the silence.

“I can’t imagine what is going on in Jack’s head. Doesn’t he understand that we would do anything to help him?”

Jacob considered his friend and then thought about what he knew of Jack O’Neill. Stubborn, loyal, and very definitely tied into the 'no one gets left behind' mentality of Special Operations. However, at this time, Jack was leaving someone behind.

More than one someone, he left his team.

Jacob and Selmak discussed this situation and they had come to one conclusion. The only conclusion that they could come to: Jack was protecting someone and that someone was…

“…Sam.” Daniel concluded. “That is the only thing that makes any sense.”

Jonas and Teal’c looked at him.

Daniel’s face turned earnest. “Look, we all know what is going on here. Right?”

Daniel meant more than just the court martial and Jonas and Teal’c knew that.

“So…” Daniel continued, “what do you think they are holding over him that would make everything dear to him go out the window?”

Sam sat up on her stool. Even though she was focused on what was on her laptop screen, another part of her mind was turning over what was happening with Jack.

What made her sit up, also made her mad.

“Damn him,” She thought angrily. “O’Neill, you are such a jerk.”

She saved her material, turned off her laptop and headed to the cafeteria. She was hoping to find Daniel, Jonas and Teal’c. She smiled when thinking of Jonas. The minute he’d heard Jack was in trouble, he’d dropped what he was doing and had come back to the SGC.

When she arrived she noted that all three were there and as soon as Daniel saw her he motioned her over.

Almost at the same time, they had arrived at the same conclusion. It was the same conclusion that Jacob and Selmak had come to. The same conclusion Hammond had come to, but had refused to even acknowledge - don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t know.

Dr. Ryan got off the elevator and turned down the corridor to her husband’s office.

When she got there, she noticed that the door to his part of the office was closed and she gave Yuni a look when she walked in.

“He’s available for you Dr. Ryan,” Yuni said cheerfully.

“Thank you Yuni. How are you, by the way?”

“Good Doctor. The OB said that the baby is developing normally.”

Gwen smiled. “Glad to hear it. Hope it continues that way.”

Yuni had been her husband’s secretary and gatekeeper for ten years. She had suffered a miscarriage last year and had been devastated. The doctor’s had told her she would be able to try again, but that they would consider her high risk. Because she was an older mother, they didn’t want to take any chances.

Gwen knocked on the door and her husband’s deep voice told her to enter. He was on the phone and standing by the window. He smiled when he saw it was her, and motioned for her to sit down.

His body language told her all she needed to know. He was getting nowhere and very quickly. His right hand held the phone receiver in a death grip and his left hand kept running through his hair.

Finally he finished his conversation and by sheer strength of will, didn’t slam the phone down. He sat down heavily in his chair. He was a big man and built like a defensive back from a football team.

Gwen gave her husband a questioning look and he could only shrug before he answered her unspoken questions.

“Gwen,” he started slowly, “they want him bad.”

“What on earth could one Colonel working Deep Space Radar Telemetry do to cause this kind of upheaval?”

He shook his head and continued. “Whatever it is and whomever it is…”

His wife interrupted Liam. “Buck, you know who it is.”

Waving his right hand and giving her a warning look, he continued. “We have no idea, Gwen. Whatever it is that is going on, this court martial is being played by the book.”

Gwen understood his warning. Bugs! Damn! This was complicated and getting more so as time went on.

Gwen got up and went over to her husband. He pushed his chair away from his desk, so she would be able to sit on his lap. Ah the perks of being married. She leaned her head onto his left shoulder and he put his arms around her. The scent of her perfume teased at his nose and he inhaled. He then kissed her hair and continued to hold her.

Beth and Ben had talked the night before. Ben understood from her that she believed that Jack was protecting someone. Beth would have loved to tell him whom she thought he was protecting, but that would be giving away something she felt wasn’t right to give and, she didn’t want to give any more material to those prosecuting him.

“Can’t you tell me Beth?”

“No Ben. It isn’t my place to speculate on that. If Jon wants to tell you, he needs to be the one to do it.”

Ben agreed, but he wasn’t going to let it drop. He had one more phone call to make and hoped that it would provide him with he needed.

Beth had also figured out it was Sam that Jon was protecting. Whatever it was Kinsey was holding over him, it had to be about Sam.

She knew from her conversations with Jon, that he would in no way put Sam into any compromising situations that would destroy her career. Whatever future they would have, Jon told her, would come when one or both of them was re-assigned or retired.

As she was wondering if she should call the SGC, her doorbell rang. Then she was wondering who on earth would be calling so late. She was surprised and pleased to see whom her guests were. She didn’t recognize the fourth person, but liked his smile.

Sam, Daniel, Teal’c and Jonas had come to visit and to plan.

Sam began by introducing Jonas to Beth and then launched into their conclusions.

“It’s a safe bet,” Sam continued, “that whatever it is they have on the Colonel, involves me.”

They had agreed. Now they had to figure out what it was Kinsey had on Jack, how he had gotten a hold of it and if there was a way they could turn that knowledge to their advantage.

The men had returned to the hotel, Sam had stayed with Beth. The two women talked far into the night. Beth had questioned Sam about what off/on world activities would put them in jeopardy. Sam could think of a few and one in particular, but she didn’t want to talk about that one - painful memories of a good friend dying, by her hand, and admissions that started a long and painful silence placed in a room full of secrets.

Ben felt that the hearing went well. Just about everything the prosecution had asserted was countered by Ben. He had made a few good points and deflected a number of things.

Jack sat by, silent and stoic. The choice to wear his uniform, medals and all, made an impression on the room.

When they got back to where Jack was being held, they had another discussion. Ben had put together a witness list. Jack had made it clear that Ben was to be “gentle” with Major Carter and not to get too personal with his questions. When Ben pressed, Jack only said that the women always pay in the service. She had nothing to do with this, so why drag her through it?

Ben knew that Jack was right. The women always paid the price. He was hoping that would change. It was, but not fast enough. One of his cases concerned an army engineer that almost got discharged because of something her male co-worker had done and tried to pass off onto her. No one would listen to her. No one believed her. Until him.

Ben went back to his hotel room and saw that the message light on his phone was still dark.

He had hoped…well, there was still time. Not a lot, but some.

Jack considered Ben’s face when he told him to lay off Sam. He appeared confused and then it looked like comprehension dawned on Ben’s face. He had hoped that the comprehension he saw in Ben’s eyes was not what Jack was afraid it would be.

He rolled over onto his stomach and folded his hands so that his head could rest on them.

This was becoming more and more complicated. And more and more a cliché. Something he really and truly hated more than anything.

Beth sat quietly watching Sam just sit there and stare at her hands. They had stopped swapping dating horror stories and talking about what was going on. Sam was distressed because she was unable to get Jack to let them in, let her in. He’d said No to her.

Beth said that had to mean something really major. Excusing the pun, Beth said that Jon really had no major problems telling most people No. He only had a problem saying it when it was someone that he really wanted to say yes to. And from Beth’s perspective at the moment, that person was Sam.

Still sitting there and focusing on her hands, Sam thought back to that meeting with the Colonel.

She remembered looking at his large and long fingered hands, his fingers laced together and hers just itching to reach across and take them into her own hands. Those hands of his: strong and capable hands, gentle and soothing hands. She had seen both of them in her time spent with him. Gentle and soothing enough to calm a child, as well as strong and capable when he needed to use his weapons or his bare hands to protect his team or a civilian in need.

She had looked into his eyes as well. A deep and dark colored brown. Almost like dark brown velvet, but yet, there was something else in them. Usually there was a light that came through his eyes. The light that told you he was there, he was connected, and that he was aware. You could see what he was feeling and thinking when the light was there.

That day, however, his eyes were fathomless, dark. Unrelenting in their darkness. Unyielding. Almost as if, he was there, watching, but from behind his eyes.
Sam shuddered a little and that motion caused Beth to ask her if she was okay. Beth turned Sam’s face toward her and she saw the hint of tears lingering in the blue of her eyes. Beth reached out for her friend and could only murmur that it would be okay. That it would all be okay.

Jack O’Neill was aware on some level that his team was not going to let this go. How could he not be? They’d learned too well that no one gets left behind. He just didn’t want their careers to be left behind because of it.

Remembering his last meeting with Carter, he could only think about her eyes and her hands.

The bright blue of her eyes seemed to be almost misty that day. Major Carter rarely cried or let the fact that she was going to cry show. But he’d noticed the watery sheen when he’d bluntly told her that there was nothing she could do and nothing that he wanted her to do - just go back to the mountain and carry on.

He remembered looking at her hands. Long and tapered fingers. Her nails were short, but they were becoming: long, strong fingers that should be playing a piano, not mucking around in dirt and grease, fingers that should be calming a child and not loading a P-90. Strong hands. Gentle hands. Hands that he desperately wanted to take into his and hold while he looked into the eyes the color of blue sapphires. Hands and eyes that he dare not hold or gaze into for too long as he had wanted to do since the day she walked into the briefing room before they left for Abydos.

Senator Kinsey paced his office while he was on the phone. He had not expected the ranks to close around O’Neill this tightly. And for the first time, he wondered if he had come at this from the wrong direction.

“Are you sure that this is airtight?” He asked the person on the other end, for what was the ’nth time.

“Senator.” The voice on the other end had a smooth and oily tone to it. “There is no way that Colonel O’Neill will get out of this, unless you pull the strings on it.”

“Good. Good.” The Senator breathed a sigh of relief.

Hanging up, he sat down and looked at the closed door to his office. He had been slightly worried. He knew that there were some big guns working for Jack, but he didn’t realize how big they were. His people reassured him that any one of those charges against O’Neill would stick and short of having the charges dropped, which was unlikely unless Jack came his way, SG-1 and their former commander, would be history very soon.

Kinsey then took out a cigar and lit it.

After another harrowing day in the courtroom, Ben came back to his hotel and threw his hat, tie and jacket on the bed.

He had wanted to call Jack’s team in to testify, but had been stonewalled. He couldn’t understand why, but the only answer he’d received was National Security.
“National Security?” Ben was stymied. “Deep Space Radar Telemetry and National Security. An oxymoron if I ever heard one.”

He called Beth and gave her the blow by blow. She could only listen quietly and tell him to hang in. There has to be a way to settle this.

“Tell me something?” he asked suddenly.

“Well, if I can,” Beth answered slowly. She had been expecting him to have finally reached his limit with the secrecy.

“What does Jack do, Beth? I mean, what does he really do?”

Mentally crossing her fingers, Beth told him that Jack was working with Deep Space Radar Telemetry at a facility called Cheyenne Mountain.

Ben, trying hard to hold his sarcasm in, told her that Jack O’Neill and Deep Space Radar Telemetry was, as he had already stated to himself, an oxymoron, and that he didn’t believe her.

Her response had something to do with the moon, barking dogs and eating animal feces.

They had another few minutes of a heated conversation and they managed to return to some semblance of civility before they hung up.

Ben went into the bathroom to splash cold water on his face, when his phone rang again.

“What?” he barked into the phone.

A garbled voice on the other end laughed and asked him if he and Dr. Greene had had another one of their disagreements.

“Who is this?” Ben asked. He wasn’t about to be baited into a conversation about Beth.

“The one you have been looking for.”

Ben took a breath and let it out. Teddy came through. Finally.

“Teddy told you to call me?”

The voice on the other end laughed. It was almost computer like in its quality and tone

And Ben wondered what the individual had done to obscure it so completely.

“Teddy never tells me to do anything,” the voice responded. “You are going to owe him big time for this. He told me to pass that on to you.”

“Ok. What is it that you have for me?”

“Meet me in the Watergate parking garage. Basement level at midnight. Come alone Commander.”

He heard the other end click off and he stared at the phone. He wondered if he should tell anyone or have anyone wait for him. He also wondered if his phone was bugged.

Ben paced his room. He kept looking at the phone and wondered if he should call her and tell her he was going to be out tonight. He laughed ruefully. Yeah, that would work. She’d nag her way into finding out when and where and insist on coming and that, would not be a good idea.

Well, he got himself into this and he had to get himself out.

At 11:30 he got into his car and drove to the Watergate parking garage and prayed that he would be able to drive himself out.

He was there a few minutes early and had wondered if that would make a difference.

Suddenly, he heard a noise that caused to him to turn and look towards the area where the parking lot stairs were.

“Do not!” a voice called out to him abruptly. “Stay where you are and I will come to you.”

It was the same garbled voice of the phone.

“Do exactly as I say, commander.” The voice instructed. “It wouldn’t take much to kill you.”

Ben nodded, afraid to trust his voice.

“Now,” the voice continued, “I want you to walk to the sound of my voice until I tell you to stop.”

Ben walked deeper into the shadows of the parking lot. He could almost hear his heart pounding in his chest. “I am a jackass,” he was thinking as we walked.

”Good, now stop!”

Ben stopped.

“Face the front, commander.”

Ben turned around and faced front.

“Put your hands behind your back, palms open.”

Ben did as instructed.

He sensed the presence of someone, but could only hope they wouldn’t kill him.

“My name,” the voice told him, “is Blue Topaz. Whatever else you need or want to know is not important.”

The voice stopped for a minute and all that could be heard was the sound of two individuals breathing. Ben for minute wondered if Blue Topaz had borrowed Darth Vader’s costume. His or her breathing had that same quality to it.

“I am doing this, not because I care about what happens to Colonel O’Neill. I do not! He is an insignificant insect as far as I am concerned.”

The voice fell silent again and then: “I am doing this, because as insignificant as I find O’Neill to be, the one doing this to him is not…insignificant. He is a danger that I wish to see stopped. And so…”

The voice stopped again and placed something in Ben’s hands. “If you value the life of your friend, Dr. Greene, do not look to see what I have given you or where I have gone until I call you on your cell phone.”

Ben’s startled response made Blue Topaz laugh.

“I know everything about all of you Commander. Even your cell phone number. When it rings, do not answer, just get back into your car and go back to your hotel. And…” the voice hesitated, “Yes…of course. Call Dr. Greene. After you have read the information, some things may be clearer, but she will know to whom this information must be given.”

With a sigh and a whisper the presence was gone.

Ben stood there, with his hands behind his back, holding the envelope in a tight grip.

He had no sense of time. Suddenly, his phone rang and he sighed and walked to his car.

After driving back to his hotel, he called Beth.

“Don’t ask me any questions Elizabeth. I need you to come to my hotel *now*.”

Beth answered that she would, but then she wondered out loud, “Elizabeth, he called me Elizabeth. He never called me Elizabeth.” She kept muttering as she ran out of her house.

Arriving at Ben’s hotel, he let her in without a word and stood facing her with an envelope in his hand.

He had already read what was in it.

Looking into her eyes he considered what it was he wanted to say.

Finally: “Beth, I need you to honest with me.”

Beth raised her left eyebrow and cocked her head and motioned for him to go.

“There are two reports in here.” He said tapping the envelope. “One is easy enough to understand, it concerns the Senator. The other…”

He stopped and let the intent of his question sink in.

"And…” Beth was trying to control her breathing. The one envelope concerned the Senator that was good. What about the other?

“The other Beth.” Ben continued. “Concerns something I have no idea about.”

His two colored eyes settled on her, as if willing her to tell him everything. She could be quite obtuse if she felt like it. He hated having to pull this information out of her, but if it would help Jack, he thought she would give it up easily and easier.

“Give it to me Ben.” She answered him, while holding out her right hand.

Opening the envelope, Beth pulled out the report about some kind of testing. Zay’tar, Zan’Tac - what the hell? Beth shook her head. “What is this?”

She read the report and figured out that it was some kind of test to see if Jon and Sam were brainwashed assassins and that this machine the “Tok’ra?” used was to determine if it was true. Evidently, it supposedly proved only that Jack and Sam were having a torrid love affair. An affair that put everyone involved with them in mortal danger.

Beth read the report twice over and then looked up at Ben. Her eyes showed her confusion and her concern.

“I have absolutely no idea what this “thing” they are talking about is. And I can assure you, that the rest of this is just that much b.s.”

Ben looked at her hands while she held the report. There was a slight tremor to them when she got into the meat of the report. Of the affair between the two officers and what it cost their co-workers and team. He noted the white gold ring that she wore on the middle finger of her left hand. He knew it was David’s wedding ring and as child she had the habit of playing with her rings when she was stressed. She kept taking the ring and moving it from her middle finger to her ring finger to her index finger and finally to her thumb, before it went back on the middle finger of her left hand.

“Beth, I need to know if what that report says is true.”

“What? She asked. “About the testing or about the affair?”

“I need to know if Colonel O’Neill and Major Carter are having a court martialable relationship.”

“No, they are not,” Beth said carefully.

“Are they having an affair at all?”

“No.” Beth responded.

“Are they in love with each other.”

“I don’t know.”

She was lying. He knew it.

It wasn’t by anything she had said or by giving anything away. Not really. Her breathing changed on that last question.

“Beth…”

“No and No,” she repeated. “In any event-this is silly.”

She handed the report back to him.

“This reads like a bad Sci Fi script. A machine that can tell if your lying or not, that was developed by an alien race, in order to discover if they were assassins? Not even a lie detector can be that accurate.”

She shook her head. “If that is what they are using to hang over his head, that is pitiful.”

“Yes, Beth, it is.”

He looked at the report he held in his hands and muttered, “Needs must when the devil drives.”

Beth heard him and she knew that he was considering something. When pushed to the wall between what was right and what was fair, Ben always used that phrase.
Swallowing he handed the envelope to her.

“My contact told me that you would know to whom to give this to.”

“Your contact?”

Ben nodded and told her about his midnight visit to the parking garage and his benefactor, Blue Topaz.

“I know nothing about this individual and that it was more a concern about Senator Kinsey than it was about Jack O’Neill.”

Beth nodded. She knew exactly to whom to give this information to.

“I will fly out to Peterson tomorrow.”

“No, wait,” Ben said. “I will fly you. If this is as sensitive as they say, I don’t know if I want you on a public airplane. I can rent a small private plane.
Beth expressed surprise.

“Okay. I guess then you need to make arrangements and I need to cover my patients.”

“Stay here tonight, Beth. Please,” Ben asked her suddenly.

Her look of surprise and acquiescence followed almost simultaneously.

The next morning Ben dropped Beth off at her apartment to change and pick up some clothes and they headed to the Air Force Base.

Beth had notified Sam that they were coming and that she had something for them. Sam had asked if General Hammond would be put in any danger with whatever it was Beth had. Beth replied that she wasn’t sure. There was one report that might be a little touch and go for him and that she would talk with Sam and the others after Hammond saw the report on Senator Kinsey.

On arriving at Cheyenne Mountain, Beth left Ben in the commissary. He had promised not to push to be at the meeting, but he wanted as full an accounting as she was capable of giving.

“Ok, I will tell you what I can without jeopardizing the facility. But no more.”

She turned, left him there and went to the briefing room.

They were all there. Waiting.

“I am going to make this quite short.” Beth said as she handed out copies of the report on Kinsey.

“Commander Samuels obtained this information from an unknown informant.”

SG-1 and General Hammond looked over the information.

“How are we going to use this?” Hammond asked.

“I’m not sure, General,” Beth answered. “That will be up your team to decide what to do.”

“I think, “ Hammond said, as he stood up, “the less I know, the better.”

With that, he left.

“Dr. Greene?” Teal asked. “Will this require force?”

“I don’t know. But I do have a question that I need answered, before I give you the second part of this report.”

They all looked at her.

“What I need to know is…” Beth started slowly and took a breath before she continued. “How far would each of you go for the other members of your team? Would you lie for each other? Would you die for each other?”

Staring in their eyes, she added. “Will you kill for each other?”

Sam, without batting an eye answered, “Needs must, when the devil drives, Beth.”

The hair on the back of Beth’s neck seemed to lift at that response. Then she nodded. From Ben’s use of the phrase, she knew that you did what you had to do. She guessed then, that Sam felt the same way.

“Okay, then here,” she handed out copies of the Tok’ra testing. “I don’t understand what this is talking about. I am sure, at least for now, that I don’t want to. This is what they are holding over Jon.”

Daniel, Teal’c and Sam looked at each other.

“How?” Daniel began to ask but then stopped seeing Sam’s face.

“Never mind,” Sam answered quickly. “We have what we need to stop Kinsey.”“For now, Sam,” Daniel pointed out.

“Maybe, but it is something we can use to have the charges dropped and the record expunged.”

The SG-1 team shared a look, and told Beth to go back to D. C. and wait.

Beth nodded and left the room.

SG-1 had some planning to do.

The large granite building was built on 10 acres of land, but it was surrounded by 1,000 acres of beautifully maintained gardens.

The Evangelical Order that ran the Church was well known and well funded. They, in turn, well funded the well known, and one of the well known was Senator Robert Kinsey, Pretender to the Throne.

Unfortunately for Senator Kinsey, they sometimes well funded the well known, with not so legal ways and means. And also, unfortunately for the Senator, he was aware of it and as he was aware that letting out this particular piece of information would forever bar the throne to him.

He had, taken all precautions. Or so he thought.

SG-1 had managed to break into the Church’s office and obtain the corroborating information. Sam laughed when she hacked into the computer. Their security was laughable. Between the information on the computer and the files, SG-1 managed to obtain almost all the information the Church had. They were aware that they did not get it all, but that was okay. What they had was enough to hold over Kinsey’s head and to get the charges against the Colonel dropped. They would dance again with Kinsey. They knew that this wasn’t over and that the battle would be a long and hard one. But today, the battle was theirs.

Beth received the phone call late at night and Sam told her she was coming to DC to face Kinsey with what they had. Beth said that she wanted to make sure that Sam made the right impression when she did. When Sam asked her what she meant, Beth told her, “You’ll see.”

Beth called her friend Gwen, and when Sam arrived in DC they took her shopping and to a hairdresser.

“Beth, what on earth does doing this mean? What is it supposed to do?”

Beth and Gwen laughed. “When you are going to face off an arrogant pissant, such as the Senator, a woman’s best armor is her femininity. He won’t believe that you are going to take him down. What you are going to do is give him a memory he won’t soon forget. After that, every time he sees you, he will remember what you looked like, what you smelled like and what you said. That impression will remain with him until the day he dies.”

“And don’t worry about the suit,” Gwen added when Sam questioned when she was ever going to dress like this again, “There is a charity that gives out these types of suits to low income women who are attempting to return or get into the job market. They will make very good use of your suit and your shoes.”

And so it was.

Major Samantha Carter marched into the Senate office building and basically bullied her way into Senator Kinsey’s office. And by the time she was done with him, Beth and Gwen were correct. By the time he realized that this well dressed woman was more than just window dressing, he knew he had no choice. He made the call.

Commander Samuels was with Dr. Greene and her friends Colonel Liam Ryan and Lt. Colonel Gwen Ryan, when he got the call that the Judge in Jack O’Neill’s trial wanted him there immediately.

When Ben arrived he found Jack and the prosecutor waiting for him in the judge’s office.

“I got the strangest call,” the Judge said.

The two attorneys looked at each other and Jack just stood there looking quite concerned.

“Senator Kinsey called and said that Colonel O’Neill was the victim of a conspiracy and that he had just obtained the information that cleared him. To that end, I have been instructed to drop all charges against Colonel O’Neill and that his record will be expunged.”

With that the Judge got up and left the room.

Ben just grabbed Jack’s arm and dragged him out before he could say anything or ask any questions.

“Leave it, Jack. We have to talk.”

Ben dragged Jack out of the court area and took him to his car.

In the dark of the car, Ben told him about Blue Topaz and the reports he was given and that his team must have gotten whatever else they needed.
“What I want to know is, what is that testing they talked about.”

“I have no idea,” Jack responded.

“Now, you see…” Ben said, almost with some humor, “Your buddy Beth said the same thing and I have found, that when the two of you do that, it isn’t necessarily true. But I am going to leave it, for now.”

“So, what went on in there?”

“Whatever it was that your team was able to come up with was enough to call off the dogs. Let’s go over to the hotel and get you a room. Tomorrow we will make arrangements for you to return home.”

Ben started the car and drove off with both men deep into their own thoughts.

As all of SG-1 was in DC at the time, they opted to meet together in Jack’s room to leave together in the morning.

In the morning while Jack was changing into some clothes that they had brought with him, the team and Beth decided to talk with Jack before the trip back.
Beth knocked and Jack told whomever it was to come in.

He wasn’t surprised to see that she came first.

Without much more than a hey, how are you? Beth started in on him.

“What on earth were you thinking?” she asked.

“I did what I felt was necessary to protect my team.”

“My ass!” Beth responded. “You had to know that wouldn’t work.”

Jack looked at his friend and reached out and pulled on her curl.

“That wasn’t your choice to make or your decision to know.”

She hit his hand away and rounded on him.

“What you did was unfair,” she said angrily. “You had no right to take that kind of choice away. You betrayed your team and you betrayed me.”

Stopping for a breath she added, “And most of all, you betrayed yourself.”

Jack could only stand there and wait. He knew that she still had more to say.

“What did you think you could hope to accomplish?”

“I was handling it, Greene. I knew what I was doing. It was for the best.”

“And what,” she questioned, “did you hope to accomplish from Leavenworth? Did you not understand that they wanted to knock you down so low, you would need a ladder to scratch a caterpillar’s ass?”

Jack could only look at her. He knew that any answer he gave would not solve anything.

“You realize, of course, that blackmail never stops.”

“I know that Beth. But Kinsey hates me. I felt that if he had me out of the way, he would leave…”

Shaking her head she put her hands on either side of his face and looked into his eyes.

“I know, Jon, I know. I just don’t think that you had the right to make that decision, especially concerning her, without asking.”

Reaching out with his right hand, he played with the curls in her hair and nodded.

Taking her hands into his he squeezed them and remained silent.

After a few minutes, Beth told him that his friends were out there and each of them had something to say to him.

“Be prepared. They are none too happy with being left out of the loop.”

Jack laughed and agreed that they probably did have reason to be unhappy with him right now.

Beth leaned up and kissed his right cheek and he pulled her into a hug.

“I love you,” he told her quietly.

“I love you too,” she replied. “So does…” She left the sentence hanging.

He nodded and indicated that he was ready for the onslaught.

Beth went outside and told his team that Jon was ready for them. Daniel went in first and let Jack have it for shutting them out. He started to wonder if he learned nothing about them in the years they had together. Teal’c only looked at him and lifted the right eyebrow. Then Major Samantha Carter went in.

“If she ever gets the opportunity to really let him have it,” Daniel said to Teal’c and Beth, “I would like a percentage of the ticket sales.”

They all laughed while they listened to the voices rise and fall in the hotel room. They knew that very correct Major was, with permission to speak freely, correctly and directly letting her superior officer know just exactly what was on her mind.

Senator Kinsey had smashed the cigar box on his desk. And he wasn’t able to discern which distressed him more at the moment. The fact that he had given into his temper and destroyed something or the something he had destroyed was his illegally imported box of Cuban cigars.

He had no idea how Major Carter had known about his dealings with the Church, or who had even given them the initial information.

Major Carter had made it perfectly clear about what they would do with the information if he did not back off and quickly.

He had been, up until now, perfectly content to leave Major Carter alone. But not now. Not now. She had made the decision to play hardball with him and well, then hardball they would play. He now considered her, as well as Colonel O’Neill, fair game and in the way. Soon, he thought. Soon, he would find a way to make both of them pay for this setback. But now, right now, he needed to sit back and wait.

Colonel Ryan had contacted Commander Samuels several days after Colonel O’Neill and his team returned to Colorado.

“The circle,” Colonel Ryan told Commander Samuels, “is widening. More and more are determined to keep Kinsey from achieving his goals.”

“We will have to be careful. You know that.”

Colonel Ryan had assured him he did. His wife had already spoken with her friend, Dr. Greene, who had passed that information on to Jack O’Neill and his team.
The snake was lying low, but they were not sure for how much longer.

All they knew was that Senator Kinsey didn’t get mad, he got even.

Jack was well aware of that. He vowed to keep a closer eye on his team and recognized, from what Sam had told him they had on Kinsey and her part in it, that she was also in danger from Kinsey. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her and Kinsey’s life was forfeit if he hurt her…or any other member of his team. You see, Sam and Ben were not the only ones that recognized what “needs must when the devil drives” means. And the devil was driving now and Jack was determined to put a stop to him. At all costs. At any cost.

The End

Back to Rosemary's Fic

Feedback

Home