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. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.

Jedidiah Bartlet.

The president finished signing his name to the, what was it, oh yeah, Tau'ri/Tok'ra treaty with a flourish and stepped back to allow Per'sus to do the same. He forced himself not to stare at the be-robed man. Good grief, he was actually in the same room with an alien. An honest to god, living breathing being from another planet.
And he looked just like anyone else in the room.

In a tiny corner of his mind he wondered of his chief of staff Leo McGarry was playing a trick on him. If he was, it was a mighty elaborate one.

He glanced through the conference room windows at the device below. So that was the stargate he'd heard so much about. It looked so simple, so benign. Who would believe the ring made of...what ever they called it, was capable of transporting people to other worlds?

Heck, he hadn't even believed it when he'd first been briefed about it. But it was true. The paper he'd just signed was tangible proof.

Per'sus finished signing the treaty, at least Jed hoped he had signed it. He sure as hell couldn't read the language. And it'd probably be a bad thing to ask someone to translate the alien's writing.

Yeah, definitely bad form.

"I hope this will be the beginning of a long and profitable alliance," Per'sus said, in that funky voice Jed had been warned about. He knew the Tok'ra were dual creatures, two sentient beings in one body, but he still couldn't get used to it. At least this guy had more personality than the last world leader he'd spent time with, Indonesian President...what the hell had the boring man's name been? Oh well, Jed sure wasn't going to invite him to dinner again anytime soon so what did it matter?

"I'm sure it will," Jed replied. "The Tok'ra have helped us out in so many ways already. I hope we can return the favor and together we can work to stop the ..." Jed drew a blank.

"Goa'uld," Leo prompted from his left shoulder.

"Goa'uld," Jed finished, cursing himself on his problem with names. He really needed to work on that.

"I do indeed hope so," Per'sus replied, bowing his head in respect, a gesture Jed returned. "And now, pray do not perceive this as rudeness, but we need to return to Vorash," Per'sus said. "There are several matters we must deal with."
Jed felt a pang of regret shoot through him as he recalled exactly WHAT those matters were. An autopsy on one of the Tok'ra, Mar...something, who had been killed when he had tried to murder him...well a stand-in for him.

"High Councilor Per'sus, I wish to again extend my sincerest sympathies for the loss of your operative. It has truly been a tragic day. And I am gratified that you chose to go through with the treaty summit despite the unfortunate events of this afternoon."

"President Bartlet, I bear no ill will towards the Tau'ri for the death of Martouf. Major Carter and the rest of SG-1 did what they had to. General Hammond was correct when he said the Goa'uld were ultimately responsible. Just as I bear no ill will towards Major Graham for attempting to kill me. In fact, these two attempts confirm for me this treaty is indeed a good thing, else the Goa'uld would not have expended resources trying to prevent it."

"I agree with you there High Councilor," Jed said as the two men picked up their respective copies of the treaty and left the conference room, each followed by their entourage and a group of the SGC personnel.

They made their way down to the...oh yeah, gateroom. Jed just loved military creativity.

As they stepped into the room, he saw the last of the Tok'ra were waiting for their leader. A young blond woman was standing by a shrouded stretcher, which Jed assumed contained the body of the victim, Martouf, that was his name. My goodness, these aliens dressed strangely, he thought as he took in what the young woman was wearing, rather what she wasn't wearing. Now, now, let's not judge. Maybe she's from a desert planet. Or maybe she'd had to come straight out of bed and hadn't had time to change out of her pajamas. Those pants were so tight, he wondered if she could even sit down. Jed, you're a married man, plus it's not polite to stare he told himself as he looked around the room.

They may have mopped up the blood, but the room still bore the scars of the firefight. A chunk was missing from the wall, one of the light panels on the ramp leading up to the gate was missing, and the air was still tainted with a tang of ozone and gunpowder.

Jed looked to the stargate as it began to spin and cycle. He was so caught up in fascination with the device that he barely noticed when Per'sus began to talk with General Hammond.

"Please convey to Major Carter my deepest sympathies. I know she and Martouf were close friends, a fact which had to have made her act even more difficult."

"I will do that," General Hammond promised.

"I know it sounds callous, but please convey our gratitude to her." The woman spoke up. Maybe she was an aerobics instructor. Did the Tok'ra have those? Perhaps an exotic dancer. "By being able to study Martouf and Lantash, hopefully we will be able to save other Tok'ra lives. That is indeed what Martouf would have wanted," she finished quietly as the seventh chevron engaged and the stargate opened with a dramatic whoosh.

Though he knew it was coming, Jed still felt himself jump. Trying to ignore his bounding pulse, he took a moment and forced himself to mutter some appropriate platitudes to Per'sus which the Tok'ra High Councilor returned.

He saw two of the Tok'ra pick up their sad burden and follow Per'sus through the gate.

The wormhole snapped shut and Jed felt the tension in the room drop...several hundred notches. He clapped his hands and turned to General Hammond. "Well, now that that's over general, what say you give me that tour you once promised me," Jed suggested.

"Sir," Leo cut in. "We are scheduled to be back in DC by 5pm. You have a meeting."

Jed turned to his chief of staff and best friend, a sparkle in his eyes. "I've been unavoidably detained," he said with a straight face.

"But Mr. President..."

"Leo, they can wait. I've been wanting to see this place for months. And I'm going to," he declared in a fit of Presidential pique.

Leo recognized the tone of his friend's voice and knew he'd have no choice but to give in. Jed was like a terrier with a bone when he got in this mood. "You're no going to give up on this sir?" he asked indulgently.

"No. I'm not Leo. Tell the fine secret service agents to take five. I think I'm pretty safe here and join me. You can't tell me you're not curious about this place too?"
Leo looked sheepish . "The thought HAD crossed my mind sir."

"Excellent," Jed said, clapping his friend on the shoulder. He turned to General Hammond as Leo convinced the properly paranoid secret service agents they could honestly take a break. That the incident with the doppleganger was more an aberration than normal and the President was 100% safe.

Leo rejoined his friend as he was being introduced to a group of people.

"Colonel O'Neill, I'm glad to hear you're well," Jed said as he shook the hand of the middle aged officer. So this was O'Neill. The intrepid, moderately irreverent leader of the infamous SG-1. Leo was impressed, though he thought he'd be bigger.

"Oh yes Mr. President. I'm feeling much better now," O'Neill quipped, earning him a deadly glare from the general.

Jed noticed the glare. "You know General, I made it my mission to surround myself with eminently capable smart asses. It keeps the pressures of dealing with the fate of the free world from blowing up in my face." He saw O'Neill flash the mollified general a brief, slightly apologetic look. "I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about the exploits of you and your team. In fact, I've been guilty of reading them during a policy meeting to two. Keeps me awake."

"Glad we can be of service sir," Jack said, his eyes dancing with laughter.

"And this is?" Jed asked, stepping in front of a suit clad man, who looked like he wanted nothing more than to rip off the tie.

"This is Dr. Daniel Jackson. He translated the first coverstone permitting us to open the gate. In fact, I think it's safe to say, if it wasn't for him, none of us would be here right now."

"Aah, yes Dr. Jackson. I was sorry to hear about your wife. Abby and I seem to spend more time apart than together but I honestly have no idea what I'd do if anything happened to her."

Jack watched amazement flit across his friend's face. "Thank you sir," Daniel said, seemingly at a loss for words.

"And this must be..." Jed looked back at Leo.

"Teal'c," he supplied.

"Oh, yes Teal'c. The...Jafo?"

"Jaffa sir," Leo corrected.

"It is an honor to meet you," the large man intoned in a rich baritone voice, inclining his head.

"The honor's all mine," Jed said. "So you have a...," he said, motioning towards Teal'c's stomach.

"I carry a symbiote within me," Teal'c responded. If he was getting tired of this constant need of the Tau'ri to question the presence of 'junior' he didn't show it.
"I imagine that takes some getting used to."

"Indeed."

Jed turned to General Hammond. "And the fourth member?"

"Major Carter," General Hammond supplied. Jed saw a look pass amongst the group. "Regrettably she is...otherwise occupied. Perhaps you would like to see the control room?" he suggested.

"Please, lead on," Jed ordered as he followed the portly general out of the gateroom and up the short flight of stairs to the computer laden control room, the members of SG-1 following him.

The lone technician popped to his feet as the group entered. Even after a year, Jed still fought to smother a grin at the astonished looks on peoples' faces whenever he entered the room. God he was glad Leo and his depreciating comments were around. It kept him from getting a swelled head. "And this is..."

"Master Sgt. Davis sir," the older man offered.

"Don't you have a first name son?" Jed asked. His question remained unanswered as klaxons began to blare. The technician plopped himself back down in his chair, all business and ignoring the guest. Good. That was exactly how it should be.

"What now?" Hammond muttered as he turned to Jed. "Sir, perhaps you should..." the general started.

"The glass is bulletproof?" Jed asked as he saw a troop of heavily armed men dash into the gateroom.

"Of course sir but..."

"Then I'll stay," Jed declared as the wormhole opened, illuminating the back wall of the gateroom with a shimmering blue light.

"Receiving Tok'ra IDC sir," Sgt. Davis said.

"Open the iris," Hammond ordered as he turned an inquiring gaze to the members of SG-1.

Jack shook his head. "Dad?" he suggested as a young woman walked into the control room.

"Sir?" she asked the general, not noticing the two strangers in the back of the room.

"It's the Tok'ra major," Hammond said.

"So, this must be the elusive Major Carter," Jed said, stepping forward.

Sam turned her shocked gaze to the man approaching her, instinctively raising her hand to meet his proffered hand shake. "Mr. President, Sir. I...was sure you would have left by now," she stammered out.

"Since it seems to be easier to get all 400+ members of congress to agree on something than to meet SG-1, I figured I'd hang around a bit."

"Yes sir," she said quietly.

"If I remember correctly, this whole Tok'ra/Earth alliance can be attributed to you."

"Um...you could say that sir."

"Well, consider the fact that I owe ya one. You ever want your own national park or something you just call me. I can do that you know. In fact, did you know Pikes Peak National Park..."

"Sir," Leo cut off the impending lecture, motioning through the glass at the figure emerging from the stargate.

"Defense teams, stand down," Hammond ordered over the intercom.

"And this is?"

"General Jacob Carter sir. Our Tok'ra liaison."

"Dad?" Jed asked the group.

"My father sir," Sam answered, no small note of pride in her voice.

"Well, I'm just accomplishing all sorts of things today. He's the only ambassador I've never met," Jed said as he left the control room and entered the gateroom once again, just as Jacob reached the bottom of the ramp.

"Mr. President," he said, clearly surprised. Jed watched his head bow. "It is a great honor to meet you," Selmac intoned.

"And you are?" Jed asked as SG-1, General Hammond and Leo filed into the room.

"I am Selmac. Jacob Carter is my host."

"Aah yes. Selmac. I've heard...well not much about you, but I'm sure it would be good."

"Jacob thinks highly of you, though he no longer cares much for Tau'ri politics. His mind is occupied with far more important matters. Jed watched Jacob nod his head. "Mr. President, please forgive Selmac. She is rather...blunt."

"Don't worry about it General Carter. It's not like I can replace you or anything. Can I?" he turned and asked Leo.

"No sir."

"Thought so."

"Mr. President. We REALLY must go," Leo spoke up. His tone insistent this time.

"We must?"

"Yes sir."

"OK," Jed said, turning to General Hammond. "You and your people really should come to the White House for dinner. Colonel, I think you and CJ would get along famously. And I promise we won't have salmon."

"That sounds good sir," General Hammond answered. "If you will follow me, I'll show you to your escorts."

"Thank you general," Jed said. He turned to the members of SG-1. "Keep up the good work,"

"We will sir," Jack answered as General Hammond led President Bartlet and Leo McGarry out of the room.

"Still regret voting for him?" he asked Daniel

"Jack," Daniel said, in mock annoyance.

"Hey kid," Jacob said, moving towards his daughter.

"Hey Dad," she answered, her voice strained.

The male members of SG-1 looked at each other. "Come on, Danny, Teal'c let's go..."

"Perhaps we should see if the secret service agents left any pie in the mess hall," Teal'c suggested.

"Pie. Yeah pie works," Jack agreed, latching onto the excuse. He looked at Jacob. "You know where to find us."

Jake nodded and watched the men leave the room. He then turned to Sam and opened his arms, pulling her close as the emotional events of the last few hours came to the surface.

Neither one of them noticed the maintenance crews, charged with returning the gateroom to it's non-ceremonial status silently turn and leave. They could clean up later.

~fin~

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