Reinvention
Title: Reinvention
Author: ardvari
Rating: PG
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: Having crawled out of my post-NaNo cave, I bring you this. It's a sequel to Keep the Streets Empty and it's been stuck in my head for a while. Concrit, as always, welcome!
Reinvention
"Honey I’m home," he quips when he walks in through the door balancing the newspaper and Chinese takeout.
Hockey nights are his favorite, when he gets to come home to find her already there, when they decide on a different kind of take out every week and he picks it up on his way home from the skating rink.
"Hi," she answers from the kitchen, where he finds her at the already set table stirring her tea absent-mindedly.
He drops the bag with the takeout on the counter and then turns to look at her. She’s been home for a while; she usually comes home just after his hockey practice starts. Sometimes she comes to watch, but she usually likes coming to the games on the weekends better. She sits on the bench with him then, huddled in her winter coat, cheering on his team. The kids love her and when she can’t make it to one of their games they ask him where she is.
He leans down to pet the dog, who came to greet him at the door, his whole body wagging in time with his tail. His eyes never leave Sam, still deep in thought. She hasn’t really acknowledged him yet and that worries him. Worries him and excites him.
She’s been off birth control for a couple of months now and even though neither of them talks about it, they do get excited. He sees the sliver of disappointment in her eyes every time she gets her period even though she knows it’ll take a while for the hormones to leave her system completely. She’s tricked her body into thinking it was pregnant for years.
Jack starts unpacking the food, pours it from the containers into bowls because he knows she likes that. She’s not one to eat anything but pizza out of a cardboard box. He gets himself a beer and sits down across from her, stares into her far away eyes for a moment and finally clears his throat. She snaps to immediately, years of being a soldier, years of working with him have given her the ability to clear the cobwebs from her mind instantly.
"Hm?" she asks, smiling at him.
Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes and he cocks his head at her.
"What’s up?" he asks, pushing the sweet and sour chicken towards her.
Sam can talk better when her hands are occupied with other things; he has learned that over the past few years.
"They asked me to take over Stargate Command."
She doesn’t elaborate and just cuts her chicken into pieces.
"Landry?" Jack finally asks because he hopes his old friend is okay.
"It’ll be a switch," she says quietly, furrowing her brow.
He doesn’t say anything more, he can see that she’s thinking and whatever she’s thinking about will eventually burst out of her. It’s like techno babble; Sam has never been able to not tell him things that worry her this much. Sometimes, in the past, he had to prod her a little. Now he knows she’ll talk to him eventually.
He pulls the bowl with the chicken towards him, pushes the bowl with the chop suey towards her. They eat in silence, he doesn’t interrupt her thoughts with stories about his hockey team, tries to grasp the fact that they want her at Stargate Command more firmly himself.
He’s been there, too. While he was at Homeworld Security, her name was tossed around a lot. Her name was on top of every list and everyone wanted her. Maybe he was even a little surprised when they settled on her taking over Homeworld Security. He had forever seen her at Stargate Command.
This really doesn’t surprise him as much as it surprises her. Just the timing throws him off.
"Why do they want me there now?" she finally asks, looking up from her plate.
She’s pushing a piece of broccoli through the sweet and sour sauce and pops it into her mouth. She chews it thoughtfully, slowly, her eyes finding Jack’s. This is his cue, his signal to give her some input.
"They’ve always wanted you there," he says. "Your name has always been at the top of their list."
"I know that. I just... I expected that years ago. I expected the offer when they pulled me off the Hammond. But I though this, Homeworld Security, would be where they’d want to keep me," she explains.
He watches her take a sip of her tea. She grimaces because it’s cold now and pushes it away.
"You’re destined for the Stargate program, Sam," he says softly, getting her to think about the possibility at least.
She’s gotten used to working at Homeworld Security but he knows she isn’t completely happy. She’s content and getting used to this life, but she’s not really happy. He watches her chew a piece of carrot, her fork hanging in the air between her plate and her mouth.
"What about all this? What about this house? And the pond you dug? And your hockey team? What about us?" she asks, her blue eyes swimming for a moment.
He shrugs, takes a swig of his beer and pushes the bottle towards her. She takes a sip, too, smiling gratefully.
"We’ll sell the house. I can dig another pond, Colorado Springs has hockey teams, too, and what about us?" he asks back.
It’s her turn to shrug and she lifts the beer bottle to her mouth again.
"I just thought... with this baby thing..." she trails off.
He likes that she calls it "this baby thing". It’s like this baby thing is between them and they don’t know what it is quite yet but it’s there and so she named it. She’s always been good at naming things eloquently.
"Sam... you’re not pregnant yet. I find it... maybe a little early to wrap our life around something that’s not there... yet," he says.
He knows that there is no good way to put this into words, no graceful way, he watches her face fall before she realizes that he’s right. That he didn’t say this to hurt her. That he didn’t say this because he doesn’t want it, but because it’s true.
"But what if?" she asks.
She’s always wanted kids. He knows that, has known this for as long as he’s known her. Kids have always been at the back of her mind and now her priorities have shifted and having kids has become a distinct possibility.
"Then we’ll... cross that bridge when we come to it," he says, and blinks at himself.
She snorts, takes another sip of their beer.
"Sam... if you had to make this decision right now, no questions asked, what would you choose?" he asks.
She furrows her brow again, puts the beer bottle down on its wet ring on the table.
"Stargate Command," she says honestly.
Her eyes dart to his, away again and back. He smiles at her, reaches out across the table and laces his fingers through hers. She rubs her thumb along his and smiles back.
"To tell you the truth, I’d much rather raise any potential kids in the Springs," he says quietly. "Snow, mountains, less politics..."
She smirks at that, then giggles. He really likes it when she giggles; he thinks she has a wonderful giggle. Her giggle makes him happy... unless he has a broken rib.
Author: ardvari
Rating: PG
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: Having crawled out of my post-NaNo cave, I bring you this. It's a sequel to Keep the Streets Empty and it's been stuck in my head for a while. Concrit, as always, welcome!
Reinvention
"Honey I’m home," he quips when he walks in through the door balancing the newspaper and Chinese takeout.
Hockey nights are his favorite, when he gets to come home to find her already there, when they decide on a different kind of take out every week and he picks it up on his way home from the skating rink.
"Hi," she answers from the kitchen, where he finds her at the already set table stirring her tea absent-mindedly.
He drops the bag with the takeout on the counter and then turns to look at her. She’s been home for a while; she usually comes home just after his hockey practice starts. Sometimes she comes to watch, but she usually likes coming to the games on the weekends better. She sits on the bench with him then, huddled in her winter coat, cheering on his team. The kids love her and when she can’t make it to one of their games they ask him where she is.
He leans down to pet the dog, who came to greet him at the door, his whole body wagging in time with his tail. His eyes never leave Sam, still deep in thought. She hasn’t really acknowledged him yet and that worries him. Worries him and excites him.
She’s been off birth control for a couple of months now and even though neither of them talks about it, they do get excited. He sees the sliver of disappointment in her eyes every time she gets her period even though she knows it’ll take a while for the hormones to leave her system completely. She’s tricked her body into thinking it was pregnant for years.
Jack starts unpacking the food, pours it from the containers into bowls because he knows she likes that. She’s not one to eat anything but pizza out of a cardboard box. He gets himself a beer and sits down across from her, stares into her far away eyes for a moment and finally clears his throat. She snaps to immediately, years of being a soldier, years of working with him have given her the ability to clear the cobwebs from her mind instantly.
"Hm?" she asks, smiling at him.
Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes and he cocks his head at her.
"What’s up?" he asks, pushing the sweet and sour chicken towards her.
Sam can talk better when her hands are occupied with other things; he has learned that over the past few years.
"They asked me to take over Stargate Command."
She doesn’t elaborate and just cuts her chicken into pieces.
"Landry?" Jack finally asks because he hopes his old friend is okay.
"It’ll be a switch," she says quietly, furrowing her brow.
He doesn’t say anything more, he can see that she’s thinking and whatever she’s thinking about will eventually burst out of her. It’s like techno babble; Sam has never been able to not tell him things that worry her this much. Sometimes, in the past, he had to prod her a little. Now he knows she’ll talk to him eventually.
He pulls the bowl with the chicken towards him, pushes the bowl with the chop suey towards her. They eat in silence, he doesn’t interrupt her thoughts with stories about his hockey team, tries to grasp the fact that they want her at Stargate Command more firmly himself.
He’s been there, too. While he was at Homeworld Security, her name was tossed around a lot. Her name was on top of every list and everyone wanted her. Maybe he was even a little surprised when they settled on her taking over Homeworld Security. He had forever seen her at Stargate Command.
This really doesn’t surprise him as much as it surprises her. Just the timing throws him off.
"Why do they want me there now?" she finally asks, looking up from her plate.
She’s pushing a piece of broccoli through the sweet and sour sauce and pops it into her mouth. She chews it thoughtfully, slowly, her eyes finding Jack’s. This is his cue, his signal to give her some input.
"They’ve always wanted you there," he says. "Your name has always been at the top of their list."
"I know that. I just... I expected that years ago. I expected the offer when they pulled me off the Hammond. But I though this, Homeworld Security, would be where they’d want to keep me," she explains.
He watches her take a sip of her tea. She grimaces because it’s cold now and pushes it away.
"You’re destined for the Stargate program, Sam," he says softly, getting her to think about the possibility at least.
She’s gotten used to working at Homeworld Security but he knows she isn’t completely happy. She’s content and getting used to this life, but she’s not really happy. He watches her chew a piece of carrot, her fork hanging in the air between her plate and her mouth.
"What about all this? What about this house? And the pond you dug? And your hockey team? What about us?" she asks, her blue eyes swimming for a moment.
He shrugs, takes a swig of his beer and pushes the bottle towards her. She takes a sip, too, smiling gratefully.
"We’ll sell the house. I can dig another pond, Colorado Springs has hockey teams, too, and what about us?" he asks back.
It’s her turn to shrug and she lifts the beer bottle to her mouth again.
"I just thought... with this baby thing..." she trails off.
He likes that she calls it "this baby thing". It’s like this baby thing is between them and they don’t know what it is quite yet but it’s there and so she named it. She’s always been good at naming things eloquently.
"Sam... you’re not pregnant yet. I find it... maybe a little early to wrap our life around something that’s not there... yet," he says.
He knows that there is no good way to put this into words, no graceful way, he watches her face fall before she realizes that he’s right. That he didn’t say this to hurt her. That he didn’t say this because he doesn’t want it, but because it’s true.
"But what if?" she asks.
She’s always wanted kids. He knows that, has known this for as long as he’s known her. Kids have always been at the back of her mind and now her priorities have shifted and having kids has become a distinct possibility.
"Then we’ll... cross that bridge when we come to it," he says, and blinks at himself.
She snorts, takes another sip of their beer.
"Sam... if you had to make this decision right now, no questions asked, what would you choose?" he asks.
She furrows her brow again, puts the beer bottle down on its wet ring on the table.
"Stargate Command," she says honestly.
Her eyes dart to his, away again and back. He smiles at her, reaches out across the table and laces his fingers through hers. She rubs her thumb along his and smiles back.
"To tell you the truth, I’d much rather raise any potential kids in the Springs," he says quietly. "Snow, mountains, less politics..."
She smirks at that, then giggles. He really likes it when she giggles; he thinks she has a wonderful giggle. Her giggle makes him happy... unless he has a broken rib.