Fix you
Title: Fix you
Author: ardvari
Rating: PG
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Spoilers: Small ones for Line in the Sand, bigger ones for Road not taken; set during Bad Guys.
A/N: Starts out thoughtful, then turns fluffy. *picks feather out of mouth*
Fix you
There were very few times she actually did make it out to Washington, and essentially none without an agenda. She hadn’t realized how very little downtime they really had until now, until more downtime would have been convenient. As it was they hardly saw each other anymore. Granted, they talked on the phone almost daily, and things might start to look up as soon as the fate of the galaxy wasn’t hanging by a thread anymore.
Bracing herself for yet another lengthy session with President Hayes, she smoothed down the skirt of her dress uniform. This was day three of watching the President not get over the fact that he hadn’t been President in the alternate reality she’d visited. Day three of her wanting so desperately for him to worry about something more consequential than that. Most likely she’d be spending the entire week here sitting in the oval office getting a very, very good grasp of just why Jack hated politics so much.
Taking a deep breath, she followed the President’s Chief of Staff into the office, hoping that this time she’d get to share some of her actual findings. The kind of stuff that might prove useful in their fight against the Ori, stuff other than who had been President in the other United States, on the other Earth.
When she left the White House later, much later, the unmarked black government limousine was waiting for her again, looking foreboding and far too important. She’d give anything to have Jack’s truck here, to climb into the comfortably worn passenger seat and relax. Instead she slipped into the limo’s back seat, nodding to the driver with a smile that bordered on impolite.
The limo cut through the slow early evening traffic, swimming along on the steady current of other cars as she watched children strapped into backseats pointing fingers at it. She wondered what they thought, which rock star they suspected behind the tinted windows. Probably someone much more glamorous than an astrophysicist who’d been on the brink of death one too many times, one who saved the planet and got nothing for it but the peace of mind for having tried, really tried, to save humanity.
The doorman at his apartment building nodded to her, holding the door open as she stepped through. Her heels clicked loudly on the marble floors as she walked towards the elevator with its shiny golden doors. This wasn’t the place she’d ever imagined him in. It wasn’t the kind of place he’d have imagined himself in either. This was all Air Force and prestige and the make belief of a two star General having to live up to certain expectations.
She was tired of that, tired of all of it. Her side still ached from the Ori warrior’s staff weapon blast, even though the only thing reminding her of having almost died again was a scar that would fade eventually. It shouldn’t have ached but it did, like phantom pains reminding her of all the things she was doing so that other people could have a normal life. All the things she was doing that prevented her from ever coming even close to a normal life herself.
Fumbling with her key for a moment, she finally opened the door to his apartment. Even though the Air Force had fully furnished this place, he’d managed to mingle his stuff with the sleek design they so cherished. It was a comfortable place, although she knew that he still preferred his secluded cabin to anything they could offer him. One day that’s where they would live. That promise, his promise, was what kept her going. That was the reason the password to the most important file on her computer was fishing; to remind her that one day, sooner or later, she’d be able to worry about nothing but Jack and herself, and about whether or not the generator would last through a cold November night.
He was waiting for her, sitting on the couch in civilian clothes, his jacket beside him. His smile, sincere and full of feeling, made her cheeks flush and her eyes sparkle.
“How was it?” he asked, getting up and walking over to her.
She shrugged, shaking her head. Nothing new, nothing he needed to know about. This was his life; he had to deal with the President on a near-daily basis. She couldn’t have told him anything he didn’t already know.
Cupping her face in his hands, he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips and rested his forehead against hers. She wrapped her arms around his waist, breathing in the clean scent of him as it enveloped her.
“Get changed, I have a surprise,” he whispered.
She let go of him reluctantly before she headed to the bedroom, stripping off her uniform. Just like him she pulled on jeans and a sweater, grabbing her jacket on the way back into the living room.
“Ready,” she said, smiling when he took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers while he grabbed his car keys with the other.
Somehow they managed to get down to the underground parking lot without letting go, holding on to each other until he unlocked the car, kissing her gently before he opened her door for her.
She didn’t ask where they were going, knowing him well enough by now to know that he wouldn’t tell her. He was good at keeping secrets, liked surprising her with things. They drove through the brightly lit streets of his neighborhood to the edge of the city, where the lights slowly faded and finally disappeared behind them. He drove towards the ocean, that much she knew as the quiet countryside of Maryland flashed past outside.
Closing her eyes, she rolled down her window despite the chilly night air. The wind whipped strands of hair around her face, making her feel alive for the first time in months. She couldn’t see the knowing look he threw her, the smile that edged onto his face.
An hour later they had reached a small town on the edge of the Atlantic and she could hear the waves washing up onto the shore as he stopped the car on a narrow parking lot by the beach.
“Go down to the water, I’ll be right behind you,” he promised, smiling at the questioning look in her eyes.
He watched her take a couple of steps in the sand, finally pulling off her shoes and socks despite the cold so she could dig her toes into it. She stopped at the water’s edge, gasping as the icy water hit her toes. When she turned around, a smile on her face that made her eyes sparkle, he was already behind her, a cooler in one hand and a blanket in the other.
“Picnic?” she asked softly, taking the blanket out of his hand.
“Yep, he nodded, walking back up the beach a bit before he set the cooler down.
She opened the lid, grinning at the beer cans and the container of shrimp and cocktail sauce. Typical, after a week of White House food and longing for something far more down-to-Earth, he knew exactly what she wanted.
They wrapped the blanket around their shoulders, eating cross-legged and leaning against each other. She sighed finally; popping open a second can of beer and taking a long sip.
“Why?” she asked, knowing she wouldn’t have to elaborate, that he’d know exactly what she was asking.
“Because every time I see you, I wanna make sure you’re happy. I wanna make sure you never forget what you’re fighting for and that, no matter what, I’ll always be here, feeding you shrimp with cocktail sauce when you need me to,” he said with a smile.
She knew he was serious despite his playfulness. This really was what made it all worth it, what got her through those tedious days, and the days when she wasn’t sure if she’d ever come home.
He was the reason she kept trying, despite the odds stacked against her.
Author: ardvari
Rating: PG
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Spoilers: Small ones for Line in the Sand, bigger ones for Road not taken; set during Bad Guys.
A/N: Starts out thoughtful, then turns fluffy. *picks feather out of mouth*
Fix you
There were very few times she actually did make it out to Washington, and essentially none without an agenda. She hadn’t realized how very little downtime they really had until now, until more downtime would have been convenient. As it was they hardly saw each other anymore. Granted, they talked on the phone almost daily, and things might start to look up as soon as the fate of the galaxy wasn’t hanging by a thread anymore.
Bracing herself for yet another lengthy session with President Hayes, she smoothed down the skirt of her dress uniform. This was day three of watching the President not get over the fact that he hadn’t been President in the alternate reality she’d visited. Day three of her wanting so desperately for him to worry about something more consequential than that. Most likely she’d be spending the entire week here sitting in the oval office getting a very, very good grasp of just why Jack hated politics so much.
Taking a deep breath, she followed the President’s Chief of Staff into the office, hoping that this time she’d get to share some of her actual findings. The kind of stuff that might prove useful in their fight against the Ori, stuff other than who had been President in the other United States, on the other Earth.
When she left the White House later, much later, the unmarked black government limousine was waiting for her again, looking foreboding and far too important. She’d give anything to have Jack’s truck here, to climb into the comfortably worn passenger seat and relax. Instead she slipped into the limo’s back seat, nodding to the driver with a smile that bordered on impolite.
The limo cut through the slow early evening traffic, swimming along on the steady current of other cars as she watched children strapped into backseats pointing fingers at it. She wondered what they thought, which rock star they suspected behind the tinted windows. Probably someone much more glamorous than an astrophysicist who’d been on the brink of death one too many times, one who saved the planet and got nothing for it but the peace of mind for having tried, really tried, to save humanity.
The doorman at his apartment building nodded to her, holding the door open as she stepped through. Her heels clicked loudly on the marble floors as she walked towards the elevator with its shiny golden doors. This wasn’t the place she’d ever imagined him in. It wasn’t the kind of place he’d have imagined himself in either. This was all Air Force and prestige and the make belief of a two star General having to live up to certain expectations.
She was tired of that, tired of all of it. Her side still ached from the Ori warrior’s staff weapon blast, even though the only thing reminding her of having almost died again was a scar that would fade eventually. It shouldn’t have ached but it did, like phantom pains reminding her of all the things she was doing so that other people could have a normal life. All the things she was doing that prevented her from ever coming even close to a normal life herself.
Fumbling with her key for a moment, she finally opened the door to his apartment. Even though the Air Force had fully furnished this place, he’d managed to mingle his stuff with the sleek design they so cherished. It was a comfortable place, although she knew that he still preferred his secluded cabin to anything they could offer him. One day that’s where they would live. That promise, his promise, was what kept her going. That was the reason the password to the most important file on her computer was fishing; to remind her that one day, sooner or later, she’d be able to worry about nothing but Jack and herself, and about whether or not the generator would last through a cold November night.
He was waiting for her, sitting on the couch in civilian clothes, his jacket beside him. His smile, sincere and full of feeling, made her cheeks flush and her eyes sparkle.
“How was it?” he asked, getting up and walking over to her.
She shrugged, shaking her head. Nothing new, nothing he needed to know about. This was his life; he had to deal with the President on a near-daily basis. She couldn’t have told him anything he didn’t already know.
Cupping her face in his hands, he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips and rested his forehead against hers. She wrapped her arms around his waist, breathing in the clean scent of him as it enveloped her.
“Get changed, I have a surprise,” he whispered.
She let go of him reluctantly before she headed to the bedroom, stripping off her uniform. Just like him she pulled on jeans and a sweater, grabbing her jacket on the way back into the living room.
“Ready,” she said, smiling when he took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers while he grabbed his car keys with the other.
Somehow they managed to get down to the underground parking lot without letting go, holding on to each other until he unlocked the car, kissing her gently before he opened her door for her.
She didn’t ask where they were going, knowing him well enough by now to know that he wouldn’t tell her. He was good at keeping secrets, liked surprising her with things. They drove through the brightly lit streets of his neighborhood to the edge of the city, where the lights slowly faded and finally disappeared behind them. He drove towards the ocean, that much she knew as the quiet countryside of Maryland flashed past outside.
Closing her eyes, she rolled down her window despite the chilly night air. The wind whipped strands of hair around her face, making her feel alive for the first time in months. She couldn’t see the knowing look he threw her, the smile that edged onto his face.
An hour later they had reached a small town on the edge of the Atlantic and she could hear the waves washing up onto the shore as he stopped the car on a narrow parking lot by the beach.
“Go down to the water, I’ll be right behind you,” he promised, smiling at the questioning look in her eyes.
He watched her take a couple of steps in the sand, finally pulling off her shoes and socks despite the cold so she could dig her toes into it. She stopped at the water’s edge, gasping as the icy water hit her toes. When she turned around, a smile on her face that made her eyes sparkle, he was already behind her, a cooler in one hand and a blanket in the other.
“Picnic?” she asked softly, taking the blanket out of his hand.
“Yep, he nodded, walking back up the beach a bit before he set the cooler down.
She opened the lid, grinning at the beer cans and the container of shrimp and cocktail sauce. Typical, after a week of White House food and longing for something far more down-to-Earth, he knew exactly what she wanted.
They wrapped the blanket around their shoulders, eating cross-legged and leaning against each other. She sighed finally; popping open a second can of beer and taking a long sip.
“Why?” she asked, knowing she wouldn’t have to elaborate, that he’d know exactly what she was asking.
“Because every time I see you, I wanna make sure you’re happy. I wanna make sure you never forget what you’re fighting for and that, no matter what, I’ll always be here, feeding you shrimp with cocktail sauce when you need me to,” he said with a smile.
She knew he was serious despite his playfulness. This really was what made it all worth it, what got her through those tedious days, and the days when she wasn’t sure if she’d ever come home.
He was the reason she kept trying, despite the odds stacked against her.