One Reason
By Badgergater
Email: [email protected]
Category: Drama, Sort of a missing scene, sort of a Romance but not really. I'd call it more a relationship fic
Pairing: Jack/??? (you figure it out) canon relationship (and for those of you who know me, this isn't gonna be who you think it is)
Season: 9
Spoilers: Threads, Avalon, Origins
Warning: None
Rating: Teens and up
Summary: A phone call changes Jack's life: a believable reason he might go to Washington (since the show's ‘writers’ seem to be totally unwilling/unable/uncaring to give the fans one, I will)
Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate, none of us fans do, we just support it; and if I wrote it, it would at least make sense and keep the characters in character. No copyright infringement intended, no money changed hands. This fic is the property of the author and may not be posted elsewhere without permission.
Author's Pledge: The real Jack O'Neill, always and only, presented with honest, accurate information so that the potential reader has the facts to make an informed decision on whether or not to read.
Author's Note: Fans of Jack O’Neill deserve an explanation for why he took at job in Washington. What would make Jack leave the SGC and go to Washington, a place we know he would hate? This was the only explanation I could envision that makes any sense for the character we knew for eight seasons. The ‘writers’ of the show seem to think it’s too trivial to deal with (okay, yes, I have issues with them). Thanks as always, to all those who feedback, it’s always appreciated.
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The message on his answering machine was a complete surprise. Even a shock.

"Hi, Jack. Call Me. It's important. Here's my new number. Please call soon." She hadn't said her name but she didn't have to. He knew that voice. And the area code of the new phone number that followed was a dead giveaway.

He wasn't expecting to hear from her. He hadn't talked to her since, well, since the day they'd gone their separate ways. They'd had such a short time together, intense and exhilarating as it had been. Those few days had been among his best of the last nine years.

She was special.

Very special.

He'd never stopped thinking about her. Regretting the way they'd parted, the chance he'd let escape him because of his inability to say all the things he should have said.

He hoped things were going well for her on her new assignment, and that their relationship, once revealed, hadn't damaged her career.

He closed his eyes and remembered how it had felt to touch her face, let his fingertips brush across her smooth skin and run his hands through her hair, and how their bodies had fit together when he made love to her.
/-----x-----\

It took two days of phone tag before he finally got to talk to the actual, real her, rather than he talking to her machine and she to his. When she answered, her voice had sounded tentative and uncertain, and that worried him because it was so unlike her.

"Hi," he said awkwardly, wondering what this was all about.

"Hi yourself. Sorry I've been so hard to catch at home, but it's been hectic, adjusting to my new assignment, moving here and getting settled in."

"No problem."

Her voice suddenly sounded shaky. "So I suppose you're wondering why I called."

"Ah, yeah."

He heard her take a deep breath. "Jack, I-" she paused. "I, we, I-- I just can't discuss this over the phone."

"Well, that's our only choice unless you're coming here sometime soon."

"I can't. Could you come here? I know sometimes you do."

He shook his head no, then realized she couldn't see the movement. "It's not easy getting away when you're the boss. I was just out your way, and I really don't have a reason to be going back-"

"I think you might," she countered cryptically.

"Look, why don't you just tell me what this is about? You can tell me anything," he added, gently.

"It's too personal to tell you this over the phone."

Her tone worried him. "It's not bad news?"

She laughed nervously. "God, no, no. It's good news actually. Very good."

"Then whatever it is, I'm happy for you. So why don't you just go ahead and tell me? I *am* sitting down."

"I don't know how to say this," she warned.

"Use words. They usually work," Jack suggested lightly, realizing the irony of it, him telling her to do what he was totally incapable of doing himself.

She laughed again. "I didn't think this would be so hard, telling you--"

He suddenly had a sinking feeling that her good news would be bad news for him, and resorted to the humor he always used to mask his feelings. "So who's the lucky guy?"

"No guy. Other than you."

He was flattered. He'd thought she was over him.

"Though I don't know how you'll feel about the commitment."

Now he was puzzled. "Commitment?" That was something he'd seriously avoided for the past nine years.

"Jack," she blurted out the news. "I'm pregnant,"

He didn't know what to say. His heart hammered in his chest, his mouth was dry, he was pretty sure his legs would be shaking so bad he couldn't stand up if he tried. It *had* been a good thing he'd been sitting down.

"Jack?"

"I'll be there tomorrow."

He hung up the phone and sat, staring off into space. A baby. Holy buckets, a baby. He wasn't ready for this. He was too old for 4 a.m. feedings, changing diapers, teething, the terrible twos, potty training. For cryin' out loud, he'd be 70 when the kid graduated from high school!

Of course, scary thought, in 18 years, he'd be 70, even if she and the child weren't part of his life.

/-----x-----\

He made one quick stop before leaving Colorado Springs, and hoped he'd made a good selection.

On the plane, he had a long time to think and plan and practice the words exactly as he was going to say them to her.

/-----x-----\

Her apartment was small but neat and feminine. It fit her, he thought as she ushered him in.

He felt the weight of the box in his pocket as he stepped inside, greeting her with a brief hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. She looked happy and healthy. He was pretty sure he looked nervous and scared half to death.

"Thanks for coming," she told him quietly.

"How could I not?" He smiled nervously, and looked around. "Nice place."

"I like it. Though it doesn't seem like mine yet."

"It will." He paused.

"Did you have a good trip?"

He nodded. "All the way here, I was thinking about what you said."

She smiled and patted her only slightly bulging stomach. "I shouldn't have told you that way. I know it was a shock. *I* was shocked by the news and at least I got it in person."

He nodded, stumbled awkwardly on the words he'd carefully practiced, and quickly abandoned them. "Kerry, I want, we should--" He stopped. "I know this isn't the way it's done, but my knees aren't up to the traditional-" and unable to say any more, he simply pulled the box out of his pocket and handed it to her.
/-----x-----\

She took the box in shaking hands and her heart skipped a beat. The ring *was* beautiful. Kerry looked from it, up to his face and the uncertainty written there, and did the one thing she knew would hurt him. But she had to do it. "Jack, I won't marry you just because I'm pregnant."

He took it hard. She saw his eyes flinch in the split second before he controlled his expression.  The pained look nearly overwhelmed her resolve.  "Please, believe me, I didn't plan this and I really didn't expect this."

"Neither did I," he answered candidly.

She looked at the glittering diamond. "This is beautiful. It's very sweet of you. And very old-fashioned."

"I'm an old-fashioned kind of old guy," he explained quietly.

She sighed, and chose her words carefully. "Jack, you know I care for you. Very much. I thought maybe we could build something together, but--"

"Lieutenant Colonel Carter has moved on. She's taken a new R&D assignment at Area 51. In Nevada."

"That's good. But--"

His face clouded and he nodded suddenly, taking a step back as he spread his hands out in front of him. "Look, I understand why you wouldn't want me around this kid--" He stopped, his mouth snapping shut, his jaw going rigid.

She knew what he was thinking. Stepping forward, she placed her hands on his shoulder, feeling the tension there. "Jack, I would *never* shut you out of this child's life. Never."

His retort was sharp. "I understand."

"You think it's because of what happened to your son--"

"I'm the reason Charlie died."

"Jack, don't. What happened to him--"

He closed his eyes, as if unable to relive the horror of that day. "Was my fault."

"It was a long time ago," she said softly, sliding her hands up to cup his face.

"Not long enough."

"You can't undo your past." She brought her hands back down to touch her stomach. "I know what this child means to you."

"No, you don't," he said softly.

He could be so difficult, so closed and bitter, she knew that much about him. It was the thing about him that worried her, the way he kept so much emotion walled up inside of him. "Okay, I'll admit it, maybe I don't, probably I don't. Not in that way. But my biological clock has been racing along. I was beginning to think that I'd waited too long, that I'd never have a child." She paused and added, honestly, "Maybe I took advantage of you."

"Not hardly." He grinned crookedly. "I was a willing participant."

The silence stretched.  The kitchen clock ticked loudly, and the muffled sound of traffic wafted up from the street below.

Finally, not looking at her, he waved a hand at the small box.  "I was serious, about the ring--"

She sighed. "I know you were. But be honest. You wouldn't be asking me to marry you if it wasn't for the baby."

He made fleeting eye contact with her before looking away. "True."

"A baby can't make up for a lack of love between its parents, no matter how much we'd both love him or her."

"We could try."

Jack's suggestion surprised her.  "What are you saying?" Kerry asked.

"If you won't marry me, we could keep seeing each other. Live together. Give ourselves some time."

"For the baby's sake?"

"Ours, too. Maybe things would happen." He waggled one eyebrow.

She laughed. "*Things* already did."

"And could again," he suggested hopefully.

"Living together would be hard, since you work in Colorado, and I work here."

"There are better places to raise a child than Washington."

"I just got transferred here, Jack. They won't give me another transfer for a year, maybe two."

He rolled his eyes and grimaced. "I could always give in to Hayes-"

"Hayes?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah, you know, *President* Hayes, important guy who lives in that big white house with the fancy oval office, downtown. My boss. The Commander in Chief. He's asked me to become head of Homeworld Security. I've been turning him down because I didn't want to leave the SGC. Or move here." He raised his gaze to look into her eyes. "But I could rescind my refusal. Be here for the baby. And you."

Eyes wide, knowing what she was risking and willing to take the chance on him, she nodded slightly.

He pulled  his cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number. "General O'Neill for the President." He waited, not looking at her as he paced nervously. Several minutes ticked past.  "Mr. President, thank you for taking my call. I was wondering if the Homeworld Security job was still open." He was silent, listening intently for another moment. "Yes, Sir, I know I was adamant. And I know I said-" Jack  listened again. "I did mean it at the time.  But something's come up. Something important. And personal, Sir." There was another pause. " Yes, Mr. President. Thank you Sir. " He listened again, nodding, and turning to her, his words both for the President, and for her. "You can count on me. I will do my best. I won't let you down."

*****The End*****