Love and Duty – Chapter 1

 

Sam stopped in the middle of her tirade to Daniel as the phone in her office began to ring. She glared at the offending device and began to mutter to herself about bad days, PMS, and evil phones.

 

Daniel could’ve almost sworn that she had growled at the phone and would’ve smirked if it had not been for Sam anticipating his move and throwing a well-aimed eraser in his direction, causing him to duck before she turned to pick up the phone. He righted himself onto the stool he was sitting on and picked up his coffee cup, savoring the richness and heavenly texture that was unique to the coffee made by Sam’s percolator. He glanced at his watch and grimaced as he saw the time, dear God, had he and Sam been here that long?  His attention became drawn to Sam as he saw her face him with a puzzled expression on her face. He raised his eyebrows in a silent question only to receive a shake of her head and a shrug.

 

The silence of Sam’s lab continued for a few seconds until it was broken by Sam’s reply, “Yes sir, I’ll be right there.” Sam hung up the phone and ran a hand through her hair.

 

“What’s up?” Daniel asked, blinking his eyes, a habit he had yet to get rid of.

 

“I have no idea. General Hammond wants to see me in his office right away.” Sam looked uncharacteristically nervous.

 

“Uh oh, Sam, maybe the General finally found out who it was that posted all those embarrassing pictures of him playing dress-up with his granddaughter on the SGC website or maybe it was the time when you hacked into the SGC cafeteria account and ordered 500 boxes of blue jello or maybe the time when-“

 

“Daniel…” Sam warned, rolling up her sleeves of her black shirt.

 

“You looped the tape in the gym to play ‘Macho Man’ over and over or remember the time at Jack’s house, Jack got so drunk and we thought it’d be funny to try to dress him in drag complete with lipstick-”

 

“I knew that was your lipstick, Carter!” Colonel O’Neill’s voice yelled from Sam’s lab door where he stood, hands shoved in his pants pockets and his eyebrows waggling sternly.

 

Sam flushed and glared at Daniel, who had fixed a who-me? I’m innocent look on his face. Sam gritted her teeth and raised an eyebrow as if to say, two can play this game.

 

“Sir, I can explain…just as soon as Daniel explains why he’s been deliberately typing up ridiculous, made up reports and placing them in your Inbox to read and fill out.”

 

Sam allowed herself a smile of triumph as she watched Daniel’s jaw drop and the colonel’s eyebrows raise to depths that Teal’c hadn’t even reached yet.

 

“Now if you guys will excuse me, the General wants to see me.” Sam held her giggles in until she was out of their sight. After all the bad things that had happened to her today, it looked as if things were turning out for the better.

 

~~~~

 

“Enter.” General Hammond’s voice sounded through the door to his office in response to Sam’s knock. Her earlier apprehension returned as she wondered what the General wanted to talk to her about.

 

She braced herself and turned the knob to open the door and nearly fell over as she saw who was with the General.

 

Oh. My. God.

 

Standing in front of her was a ghost from her past and one she had thought was dead.

 

“Hello Samantha.”

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