Red-Handed
by John O'Connor
Disclaimer:  Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the
property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom,
 MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko 
Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes
only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright
 infringement is intended. The original characters,
situations, and story are the property of the author.
Rating: PG-13.
Note: This is a sequel to Han's story "Caught" which
can be found in Area 52 (www.area52hkh.net/spam.html)
or the Alternate Realities Archive
(www.ma-at.net/ARarchive/archive/1/caught.html).  I
hope this lives up to her story.
Sam Carter felt her heart leap into her throat while
the rest of her vital organs shrank into a dead weight
in her stomach. From the tenseness in Janet Fraiser's
body beneath her, she was obviously feeling the same
way. She immediately leaped to her feet.
The cause was a red-faced Major General George
Hammond, their commanding officer, standing in the
doorway of Janet's office. He seemed at a loss for
words after his first surprised shout.
Sam was pulling her t-shirt down with one hand while
holding the waistband of her fatigue pants with the
other. She saw out of the corner of her eye, Janet
attempting to pull her uniform skirt down over her
body as she slid off her desk.
"Uh, General...I, uh..." Sam stuttered and then froze
at the look in Hammond's eyes.
Taking a deep breath, Hammond spoke in a low,
threatening voice. "Doctor, Major, I want you both in
my office in one hour!" Then he turned and left.
"Oh God, Sam! I'm so sorry!" Janet said, her eyes
filling with tears. "I was just so happy to see you
and I missed you..."
"Sssh! It's as much my fault as yours. I could've gone
home and waited for you. I could've stopped you at any
point. The fact is I didn't, because I missed you
too." Sam shook her head slowly as she considered the
effects of their rash actions. She forced down the
panicky feeling that was threatening to overwhelm her.
"What do you think he'll do?" Janet's voice held more
than a trace of fear.
"He's mad enough to throw the book at us," Sam
replied. "We could be out of here so fast..."
Janet wrapped her arms around Sam and held her tightly
for comfort, all thought of lust and sex chased away
by Hammond's appearance. Sam hugged her lover just as
tightly, fearful of what they would hear in an hour.
* * * * * *
Sam and Janet walked into the Command Center of the
SGC and saw Sergeant Siler. Sam threw him a
questioning look, indicating the closed door to the
general's office.
Siler shook his head and said, "He's in a bad mood for
some reason. He basically just told Colonel O'Neill to
piss up a flagpole. Uh, excuse me, Doctor." Siler just
noticed the smaller brunette behind his friend and
fellow cycle enthusiast.
Janet smiled ruefully, "That's okay, Sarge. We better
get this over with, Sam."
Sam nodded wearily and Siler realized that both women
were agitated, apparently nervous. His eyes followed
them to Hammond's door and beyond when they heard the
gruff response to Sam's knock.
Siler glanced towards Harriman, "What the hell is
going on?" Harriman shrugged and continued a
diagnostic he'd been running.
As the women stepped into Hammond's office, they saw
him looking at a paperbound book. "Air Force regs,"
Sam said under her breath to her companion.
Without looking up, Hammond said, "Close the door."
As Sam and Janet stood in front of his desk trying not
to fidget from nerves, Hammond continued to peruse the
book in front of him, occasionally flipping back to
passages he'd already read, as he filled out a
disciplinary report form.
Sam took Janet's hand briefly, and gave it a quick
squeeze trying to reassure her lover. Janet returned
the gesture quickly before releasing Sam's hand.
Finally, after a seeming eternity, Hammond cleared his
throat and looked up. "Well? What do you have to say
for yourselves?"
"Uh, General, I don't have any excuse to offer," Sam
began before Hammond waved her to silence.
"Before you say anything, let me tell you what you've
done." Hammond glared at Sam and then at Janet, "You
have been discovered in a blatant violation of every
fraternization regulation there is. Not only are you
fellow officers, but you're women! I don't think I
have to remind you how the Air Force or the DOD view
such activities."
His next words cut right into the women, "I can't
begin to tell you how disappointed I am in both of
you. I thought you were both intelligent, sensible
officers. Obviously I was wrong in my assumptions."
Sam felt a horrible sense of guilt at this. She looked
up to the general and to lose his respect was
devastating.
"Now, do you have anything to say before I continue?"
Hammond asked.
Janet stepped forward and said, "General, this is all
my fault. I saw Sam, the major here and..."
"Janet," Sam said, interrupting her. "General, it was
not Janet's fault. We both acted irresponsibly. I
won't try to deny what you saw."
"Major, be careful what you say. Any admission of
wrongful behavior could be used in disciplinary action
against you," Hammond warned.
"Sir, I appreciate that, but, with all due respect,
your word carries more weight than any admission or
denial Janet or I could make. I won't compound the
problem by blantantly lying to you. We were in a
passionate moment..."
Hammond groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose
tightly. "Major..."
"Sir, I happen to love Janet. There's nothing that
will change that. I love her and I've missed her
terribly while I was offworld." Sam stopped,
momentarily stunned. She had never told Janet how she
felt, she'd always held back before. She just wished
it could have been in a more romantic, and private,
setting.
Janet spoke up, "General, I love Sam too." Sam felt
her heart race at the brunette's words, thrilled even
at such a dire moment. "And I missed her. We should
have been more careful, but we were overcome by the
moment. I don't apologize for how I feel. I do
apologize for putting you in this position."
Sam looked at Janet and said, "Janet, I had no
idea..."
"Major, Doctor, you are still both in a lot of
trouble." Hammond looked directly at Sam and asked,
"What would your father say?"
"Dad already knows and he told me he was happy that
I'm happy, sir." Sam stood a little straighter, filled
with pride for her father.
Hammond sat and stared for a long moment then turned
to Janet. "Doctor, have you given any thought to
Cassandra? What effect this might have on her?"
"Yessir, General," Janet responded, standing
straighter as she talked about her daughter. "Cassie
is fully aware of Sam and I and supports us. She, like
Sam's father, is happy for us."
"You do realize that I could have you both drummed out
of the service. You'd lose your benefits, any accrued
pension, and possibly even Cassandra," Hammond stopped
when he saw the look of fear in Janet's and Sam's
eyes. "Doctor, if Cassandra is removed from your care,
she quite easily could be put into a secure facility
by the NID. You never considered that, did you? Or
you, Major?"
Janet shook her head weakly as she dropped her gaze to
the floor. "No sir, I hadn't thought of that," she
said in a very weak voice.
Sam said nothing, glancing at Janet before returning
her gaze to the general.
Hammond sat back and regarded the two women before
him. He did respect and admire them. The work they'd
done had been often above and beyond. They had both
laid their lives on the line many times and helped
keep the Goa'uld threat at bay. And, beyond the
professional level, he liked them as well. But at the
moment that was all overshadowed by his anger at them
for the position they had forced him into.
"As I see it, there are four options. It remains to be
seen which will be implemented." Hammond sat forward,
leaning his arms on the desktop, his fingers
interlaced over the report. "The first is the obvious
procedure. I file these charges, you are brought
before a tribunal, and you will both quite likely be
stripped of your ranks, privileges, and careers. And,
as I mentioned, Cassandra would almost certainly be
taken from your care and possibly even end up in
Colonel Maybourne's hands."
Janet felt like she could barely stand up. Take
Cassie? They couldn't. Cassie was her daughter. She
loved her. At that moment, Janet realized she would do
anything to keep Cassie with her. Anything at all.
Hammond continued, "The second option, as I see it, is
for one of you to request a transfer out of the SGC.
If you are not together, you will not be a potential
problem for this Command. If you choose this option, I
will let you decide which is to go.
"The third option is for you both to resign your
commissions and request civilian duty status here at
the SGC."
Sam looked at Janet, leaving the military itself might
not be so bad as long as she still had Janet and
Cassie. And her work.
Hammond, as if he was reading her mind, went on, "Of
course, as civilians, you would have restricted
duties. Major, you would no longer have active duty
status or be allowed through the gate. Doctor, your
responsibilities would transfer to whichever officer
the Air Force designates to replace you and you would
become more of a consultant with no ability to
practice in the Med Center."
Hammond paused while he let his words sink in. He
could see the two women weighing the options. He
decided to give them another moment before he said
anything else.
Finally, Janet came to a realization. "General, sir,
you said there were four options. You only gave us
three. May I ask what the fourth is?"
Hammond gave them a humorless smile, "Are you sure you
want to know?"
"Yes sir," Janet said. Sam nodded.
"Very well, this is possibly the hardest. You both
must agree to this. After this moment, you will have
nothing to do with each other except for official
business. No fraternitization in the facility. No
visits to each other's labs except on official
business. There will be no indication of impropriety
between you at all. If you can abide by these terms, I
will bury this report I have to make. No one will see
it." Hammond paused briefly again then said, "If, on
the other hand, you ever do anything like this again,
I will personally throw the book at you, and my report
will be used in evidence as well. There will be no
third chances."
Sam looked at Janet, already feeling the loss of her.
"Sir, isn't there another way? I lov..."
"We outlined the options already, Major."
"Yessir. Understood, sir."
"Sir?" Janet asked. "May I ask a question?"
"Yes Doctor. What is it?"
"You said official business only here in the Mountain.
What about when we're off duty?"
Sam shot Janet a glance, a surge of hope welling in
her breast. Was it possible that she wouldn't lose
this special woman just as Sam found out how much
Janet meant to her? How much they meant to each other?
Hammond fixed Janet with his eyes. 'Like a deer in a
sight,' Sam thought and proudly added, 'But this deer
isn't scared.'
Hammond finally cleared his throat. "Doctor, I don't
have the time or the resources to monitor either of
you twenty-four hours a day. All I can tell you is
that any, and I do mean any, infraction, on- or
offbase, will be dealt with harshly. Do you
understand?"
Janet finally dropped her eyes and nodded, "Yessir.
Understood, sir."
Hammond turned to Sam, "Major? Do you understand what
I'm saying?"
"I believe so, sir. Thank you, sir," Sam replied.
"You are both dismissed."
As they turned to leave, he stopped them, "Wait. There
is one other thing. Major Carter, you have some
accumulated leave coming to you. Doctor, I believe you
do as well. I'm ordering you both to take a week off
and go away from the SGC and even Colorado Springs.
And remember, when you get back, there are no third
chances."
Sam and Janet both smiled, stood at attention, and
crisply saluted the general. Then they turned and left
his office.
Hammond sat down and smiled as he shook his head. That
should put the fear of God, or at least Hammond, into
them. As he reflected that his plan to panic them
worked, he shredded the report and let the thin strips
fall into the incinerator slot.
'After all, who am I to stand in the way of true
love,' the Texan reflected.
As they left the Command Center wordlessly, Siler
looked up. "So, did you two screw up a lab report or
something?"
The women walked out without responding, each lost in
her own thoughts. These thoughts included the fact
that not only had they dodged the proverbial bullet
but that each woman loved the other.
Siler looked at Harriman, "What was that all about?"
Harriman shrugged, adjusted his glasses, and returned
to his diagnostic work.
 (c) John O'Conner
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