Keep the streets empty
Title: Keep the streets empty
Author: ardvari
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: Wrote this after thinking about how weird it must be to try and settle into a normal life after years on SG-1, as commander of Atlantis, and then on the Hammond.
Keep the streets empty
Memory comes when memory’s old
I am never the first to know
Following the stream up North
Where do people like us float?
- Fever Ray
It felt weird, packing her things for the last time. Earlier today she had handed over command to Colonel Kendrick after a month of working with her, walking her through the motions of commanding the Hammond. It wasn’t going to be easy for the younger woman but then again, it hadn’t exactly been easy for her either.
Nothing had, not since she’d left SG-1, had taken command of the Atlantis expedition and had inadvertently become a pawn in someone else’s political game. No amount of reasoning, no amount of Jack trying to shield her had been able to prevent that. She didn’t regret the opportunities she’d gotten, her brief stint as commander of the SGC, having had command of the Hammond for a couple of years. But all of those opportunities had come at a cost, and that was one thing she did regret.
Walking through the ship, up to the bridge, she tried to shake herself out of her reverie. Kendrick smiled, her young face lighting up, making Sam wonder when exactly they’d started promoting teenagers to Colonels. Kendrick was brilliant, no doubt, and she’d been in the field for a couple of years on SG-8 to prove her worth, but underneath the veneer of Air Force officer there was still a young girl. A young girl having been ordered to fill shoes everybody doubted she could ever fill.
“All packed, ma’am?” she asked, hands clasped behind her back.
“Told ya not to call me that, Colonel,” Sam smiled.
Kendrick smiled back, holding out her hand for Sam to shake.
“We’ll miss ya up here,” she said, speaking for the rest of the crew as the ship lingered in Earth’s orbit.
Sam nodded, there had been a big surprise farewell party yesterday, one that was partially to blame on Jack, no doubt. There’d even been a piñata.
“You’ll do fine, Colonel. And I’ll be on the ground covering your six,” Sam said quietly.
“I sure hope so.”
She was beamed directly down into the heart of Homeworld Security, surrounded by boxes and her duffel bag. Harriman smiled at her over the screen of his computer, already in the process of coordinating the Hammond’s first interstellar flight under its new commander.
“Well Carter, here you are,” Jack grinned.
“Here I am, sir,” she replied, smiling crookedly.
“Ma’am, sir, the President’s waiting for you,” Harriman reminded them, watching Sam come to stand next to the General.
He nodded, gesturing for her to follow him out to the car that would no doubt be waiting for them. She fell into step beside him, her heels clicking on the polished floors. She’d changed into her dress blues on the ship, aware that she wouldn’t have much time to change once she was on solid ground again. The next few weeks would be stressful, taking over command of Homeworld Security from Jack, working her way through the paperwork that had come with her promotion to General, with handing over the ship to Kendrick.
Jack’s steps had grown lighter ever since he’d put in his resignation, as if the weight of the world no longer rested on his shoulders. She envied him for that, though he deserved it, more than anyone else. They’d talked about it half a year ago, a night spent to discuss options, to figure out where life could take them. It had been easy, according to Jack, to convince the President to hand over Homeworld Security to her. He’d thrown in her promotion as a bonus, something Jack swore up and down he’d had nothing to do with; reminding her that she deserved it.
Their chauffeur held the door open for them and she found herself sliding into the back seat after Jack, the leather cool against her skin.
“So, how does it feel?” he asked, eyeing her carefully.
“Weird. Good weird but… weird,” she said, furrowing her brow as she tried to work out exactly how she felt about being back on Earth permanently.
“I know the feeling. You’ll be fine, Sam. Trust me.”
She nodded, reaching out her hand to him, smiling when he took it and squeezed gently.
Of course the meeting with Hayes took longer than expected. By the time they climbed back into the waiting limousine, the sky was dark and a cool fall breeze sent a shiver down her spine. Somebody had probably already dropped off her private things at Jack’s apartment, leaving the boxes of files for her to sort when she officially took over Jack’s position on Monday. His suggestion to leave the Hammond on a Friday had been a good one, giving her a weekend to settle in again.
He ordered Chinese food on the drive home, knowing she’d die for General Tso’s chicken. The food on her ship had been equally as bad as the food at the SGC, which generally meant a large intake of blue jell-o and not much else.
“Home sweet home,” he said, his tone mocking, when he pushed open the door to their apartment.
She knew he hated the place and its Air Force décor, knew he couldn’t wait to look for a house now that she was here. They’d talked about that, too, about settling down somewhere now that she had a job that came as close to normal as anything ever would.
“Not for long,” she grinned, pushing a couple of her boxes out of the way.
Whoever had dropped them off had left them sitting in the middle of the hallway, perched precariously on top of each other. Thankfully nothing she’d brought was breakable, most of her electronic stuff now sitting at her new lab at Homeworld Security.
“About that… You know how impatient I am. We could, if you wanted to, look at a couple of houses tomorrow. No pressure, if you’re not up for that we could…”
“Let’s do it,” she interrupted softly, coming to stand in front of him.
He took her hands, held on to them as he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. They’d waited for this for so long, had fought for this so hard. It had taken them eight years to finally start their relationship, another five to get to where they were now, on the same planet permanently. A waste of time, really, had the fate of the galaxy not depended on them. She wouldn’t have been able to get out any earlier, just like it had taken him years to leave the SGC behind and not feel the pull the Stargate still had on him.
She was moving from an intergalactic key position to a desk job and he was pretty sure she’d be reeling for a while, longing for the thrill of her ship entering hyperspace, even the feeling of being demolecularized by the ‘gate. Pulling her closer, he wrapped his arms around her and buried his nose in her hair, breathing in the scent that had, for years, caused him to take extra deep breaths when she’d walked by.
“You sure you’re okay?” he finally asked, his hands on her shoulders as he looked at her.
“I will be,” she answered, smiling wryly.
Once she got used to sitting back on Earth while someone else out there risked their life, while Kendrick was off fighting the battles she’d fought for years. She would be okay eventually, when the thrill of a life in active duty faded, when she got used to hearing cars and sirens at night instead of the steady hum of the air conditioning on the Hammond. She was glad he was here, that he understood how she felt.
“How’d you do it? Coming to Washington while we continued to go through the ‘gate?”
“Badly. It’s tough Sam, sitting back and watching someone else go off to someplace, hoping they’ll come back alive. It’s tough knowing someone else is risking their life in the job you used to do yourself,” he explained. “But eventually you get used to it. You realize there are things you can do for those people here, trying to make their lives easier. And eventually, knowing that is enough.”
“It’ll take a while,” she said, looking down.
“Yes, it will.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead, felt her hand reach up to cup his cheek, guiding his mouth down to hers. It would probably take her years to stop wondering if she should have been out there still, if her presence would have made a difference. She wasn’t in this alone though, in this attempt at a normal life. He was there with her and that was really all that mattered in the long run.
Author: ardvari
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: Wrote this after thinking about how weird it must be to try and settle into a normal life after years on SG-1, as commander of Atlantis, and then on the Hammond.
Keep the streets empty
Memory comes when memory’s old
I am never the first to know
Following the stream up North
Where do people like us float?
- Fever Ray
It felt weird, packing her things for the last time. Earlier today she had handed over command to Colonel Kendrick after a month of working with her, walking her through the motions of commanding the Hammond. It wasn’t going to be easy for the younger woman but then again, it hadn’t exactly been easy for her either.
Nothing had, not since she’d left SG-1, had taken command of the Atlantis expedition and had inadvertently become a pawn in someone else’s political game. No amount of reasoning, no amount of Jack trying to shield her had been able to prevent that. She didn’t regret the opportunities she’d gotten, her brief stint as commander of the SGC, having had command of the Hammond for a couple of years. But all of those opportunities had come at a cost, and that was one thing she did regret.
Walking through the ship, up to the bridge, she tried to shake herself out of her reverie. Kendrick smiled, her young face lighting up, making Sam wonder when exactly they’d started promoting teenagers to Colonels. Kendrick was brilliant, no doubt, and she’d been in the field for a couple of years on SG-8 to prove her worth, but underneath the veneer of Air Force officer there was still a young girl. A young girl having been ordered to fill shoes everybody doubted she could ever fill.
“All packed, ma’am?” she asked, hands clasped behind her back.
“Told ya not to call me that, Colonel,” Sam smiled.
Kendrick smiled back, holding out her hand for Sam to shake.
“We’ll miss ya up here,” she said, speaking for the rest of the crew as the ship lingered in Earth’s orbit.
Sam nodded, there had been a big surprise farewell party yesterday, one that was partially to blame on Jack, no doubt. There’d even been a piñata.
“You’ll do fine, Colonel. And I’ll be on the ground covering your six,” Sam said quietly.
“I sure hope so.”
She was beamed directly down into the heart of Homeworld Security, surrounded by boxes and her duffel bag. Harriman smiled at her over the screen of his computer, already in the process of coordinating the Hammond’s first interstellar flight under its new commander.
“Well Carter, here you are,” Jack grinned.
“Here I am, sir,” she replied, smiling crookedly.
“Ma’am, sir, the President’s waiting for you,” Harriman reminded them, watching Sam come to stand next to the General.
He nodded, gesturing for her to follow him out to the car that would no doubt be waiting for them. She fell into step beside him, her heels clicking on the polished floors. She’d changed into her dress blues on the ship, aware that she wouldn’t have much time to change once she was on solid ground again. The next few weeks would be stressful, taking over command of Homeworld Security from Jack, working her way through the paperwork that had come with her promotion to General, with handing over the ship to Kendrick.
Jack’s steps had grown lighter ever since he’d put in his resignation, as if the weight of the world no longer rested on his shoulders. She envied him for that, though he deserved it, more than anyone else. They’d talked about it half a year ago, a night spent to discuss options, to figure out where life could take them. It had been easy, according to Jack, to convince the President to hand over Homeworld Security to her. He’d thrown in her promotion as a bonus, something Jack swore up and down he’d had nothing to do with; reminding her that she deserved it.
Their chauffeur held the door open for them and she found herself sliding into the back seat after Jack, the leather cool against her skin.
“So, how does it feel?” he asked, eyeing her carefully.
“Weird. Good weird but… weird,” she said, furrowing her brow as she tried to work out exactly how she felt about being back on Earth permanently.
“I know the feeling. You’ll be fine, Sam. Trust me.”
She nodded, reaching out her hand to him, smiling when he took it and squeezed gently.
Of course the meeting with Hayes took longer than expected. By the time they climbed back into the waiting limousine, the sky was dark and a cool fall breeze sent a shiver down her spine. Somebody had probably already dropped off her private things at Jack’s apartment, leaving the boxes of files for her to sort when she officially took over Jack’s position on Monday. His suggestion to leave the Hammond on a Friday had been a good one, giving her a weekend to settle in again.
He ordered Chinese food on the drive home, knowing she’d die for General Tso’s chicken. The food on her ship had been equally as bad as the food at the SGC, which generally meant a large intake of blue jell-o and not much else.
“Home sweet home,” he said, his tone mocking, when he pushed open the door to their apartment.
She knew he hated the place and its Air Force décor, knew he couldn’t wait to look for a house now that she was here. They’d talked about that, too, about settling down somewhere now that she had a job that came as close to normal as anything ever would.
“Not for long,” she grinned, pushing a couple of her boxes out of the way.
Whoever had dropped them off had left them sitting in the middle of the hallway, perched precariously on top of each other. Thankfully nothing she’d brought was breakable, most of her electronic stuff now sitting at her new lab at Homeworld Security.
“About that… You know how impatient I am. We could, if you wanted to, look at a couple of houses tomorrow. No pressure, if you’re not up for that we could…”
“Let’s do it,” she interrupted softly, coming to stand in front of him.
He took her hands, held on to them as he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. They’d waited for this for so long, had fought for this so hard. It had taken them eight years to finally start their relationship, another five to get to where they were now, on the same planet permanently. A waste of time, really, had the fate of the galaxy not depended on them. She wouldn’t have been able to get out any earlier, just like it had taken him years to leave the SGC behind and not feel the pull the Stargate still had on him.
She was moving from an intergalactic key position to a desk job and he was pretty sure she’d be reeling for a while, longing for the thrill of her ship entering hyperspace, even the feeling of being demolecularized by the ‘gate. Pulling her closer, he wrapped his arms around her and buried his nose in her hair, breathing in the scent that had, for years, caused him to take extra deep breaths when she’d walked by.
“You sure you’re okay?” he finally asked, his hands on her shoulders as he looked at her.
“I will be,” she answered, smiling wryly.
Once she got used to sitting back on Earth while someone else out there risked their life, while Kendrick was off fighting the battles she’d fought for years. She would be okay eventually, when the thrill of a life in active duty faded, when she got used to hearing cars and sirens at night instead of the steady hum of the air conditioning on the Hammond. She was glad he was here, that he understood how she felt.
“How’d you do it? Coming to Washington while we continued to go through the ‘gate?”
“Badly. It’s tough Sam, sitting back and watching someone else go off to someplace, hoping they’ll come back alive. It’s tough knowing someone else is risking their life in the job you used to do yourself,” he explained. “But eventually you get used to it. You realize there are things you can do for those people here, trying to make their lives easier. And eventually, knowing that is enough.”
“It’ll take a while,” she said, looking down.
“Yes, it will.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead, felt her hand reach up to cup his cheek, guiding his mouth down to hers. It would probably take her years to stop wondering if she should have been out there still, if her presence would have made a difference. She wasn’t in this alone though, in this attempt at a normal life. He was there with her and that was really all that mattered in the long run.