For better or worse
Title: For better or worse
Author: ardvari
Rating: PG
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: Sequel to Shine a little light.
For better or worse
In January she doesn’t come home for two weeks straight. Somehow the Lucian Alliance has managed to smuggle kassa to the base and now half the base is in withdrawal. Daniel, who loves corn, ate the most of it and has to be sedated. Sam didn’t eat any because she simply didn’t eat anything at all that day.
There’s a blizzard, too, and they all get stuck on base for another week. It’s during that week that she checks through her calendar and realizes she’s late.
"Shit," she says to the emptiness of her office.
Her hand automatically flies to her stomach but it’s flat and she doesn’t feel strange either. Still, she slowly makes her way to the infirmary. Most of the beds are still occupied by kassa addicts and they still don’t know how the Lucian Alliance managed to get it onto the base. It hasn’t cropped up anywhere else on Earth.
"General," Caroline says and nods to her.
Sam nods back, smiles, and points to Daniel. He’s still passed out in one of the beds and his face is as white as a sheet.
"How is he?" she asks, knowing that she’s stalling.
"Getting better. He ate about four times the amount of kassa everyone else ate," Caroline explains.
Sam can’t help but grin at that. Daniel’s always been good at getting sick, falling into things, getting kidnapped. It’s just what he does. He says of himself that he dies well, too, and they all give him dirty looks for that.
"Is that the only reason why you’re here?" Caroline asks.
Just like Janet she seems to have a sixth sense when it comes to the people she’s responsible for. Sam shakes her head, bites her lip.
"I... can you do a pregnancy test, please?" Sam whispers, deciding that she can’t beat around the bush with this.
Caroline stares at her for a moment, then nods and motions for Sam to follow her into her office. Caroline asks her the standard doctor questions while taking her blood and Sam feels uncomfortable. She’s been on base for too long and now this... She wants kids, she wants to be pregnant but there’s so much else going on and she always thought that if she was pregnant, she’d know. Her body would tell her. This is not how she expected this all to pan out. She feels betrayed by her body and knows it’s stupid.
"I can have the results for you in an hour. Want me to come up to your office?" Caroline offers, pulling Sam back to this reality.
She nods thankfully and leaves, feeling adrift and out of place. She needs air; she needs to take the dog for a run. She needs something, anything. Instead of heading back to her office she stops by the gym, watches Cam and Vala play basketball. They’re rough with each other and their faces are flushed.
"Sam!" Vala exclaims when she sees her, stopping in her tracks.
Cam almost runs into her and sidesteps around her at the last moment. He grins at Sam, breathing heavily.
"No more lock down?" he asks hopefully.
She shakes her head and watches his face fall. Cam’s like a little boy, he needs to be out there playing in the mud, getting dirty, shooting things. He hates being cooped up on base.
"Couple more days," Sam says.
"Good. You know, SG-1 is ready to go out there and... kick some Lucian Alliance ass," Cam says, bouncing on his heels a little.
"Daniel’s still out cold," Sam reminds him.
Cam cringes and looks down at his feet.
"How long is that going to take?" Vala asks in his place.
Sam shrugs.
"Depends on when Daniel wakes up and stops talking about corn," she smiles.
She leaves her former teammates to their game of basketball. She wishes Teal’c was here but he took off to Chulak the moment the base got locked down. He’s probably already working on finding out how the kassa got to the base. That’s one of the reasons why he gets permission to leave during these things.
Caroline’s already in front of her office, tapping her foot by the time Sam gets there. The doctor follows her into the office and sits down across from her. She raises an eyebrow at Caroline.
"Nope," Caroline says. "But your iron levels are down and you should probably try and eat a little more regularly if you really want to get pregnant."
Sam sighs and isn’t sure whether it’s a sigh of relief or defeat.
"How long have you been trying?" Caroline asks softy.
"Since last summer. Give or take a few months," Sam says and starts fiddling with the pen in front of her.
"That’s not that long considering all the things your body’s been through and the fact that you’ve been on birth control since the dawn of time."
"The dawn of the Stargate," Sam corrects and the doctor smiles.
"I’m going to monitor you a little more closely now that I know you’re trying, and you really need to eat better. And General, you really should have told me about this," Caroline says sternly.
Sam nods, watches the doctor leave, and leans back in her chair. She hasn’t told anyone about the baby thing. Neither Jack nor she has wanted to.
She slowly works her way through the paperwork that marks the kassa fiasco. She’s fairly sure someone has brought it with them through the gate but they’ve questioned every single person on base and came up empty. This is going to be a headache for quite a while.
Two days later the lockdown is lifted but Daniel’s still under the weather. He’s shaky and pale and maybe Vala enjoys carting him around in a wheelchair a little too much. Sam sends them all home, herself included. She wants to have a bath, she wants to just be home. She feels like she hasn’t really talked to Jack in months even though they do talk on the phone every day.
She gets an airman to get her car out of a snow bank and helps Daniel into the passenger seat. She offers to let him stay at their place until he feels more like himself but he waves her off.
"I just need sleep," he says.
She’s not happy about him going home alone but he won’t budge and in the end she makes sure he gets into bed alright and leaves the phone on his pillow and makes him promise he’ll use it.
She drives home and still feels a little weird. She hasn’t told Jack she’s coming. The driveway is cleared and there’s a lot of snow pushed up into a pile beside the garage. His truck is in there and she parks her car beside it.
He comes up from the basement with a basket full of clean laundry just as she pushes the door open. Thor bounds down the stairs and rubs up against her legs excitedly.
"Hello stranger," he says.
"Hello you," she replies and leans down to rub the dog’s ears.
Jack follows her up the four stairs into the kitchen, along the hallway and up the stairs to their bedroom. She peels off her uniform and he hands her sweatpants and a shirt that are still warm from the dryer.
She puts them on and sits down on their bed, smiling up at him.
"I thought I was pregnant," she says softly.
He puts the laundry basket down on the floor and sits down beside her.
"No?" he asks.
She shakes her head, brushes a strand of hair out of her eyes.
"Just stress," she says.
She tells him all the things Caroline told her and he doesn’t chastise her for not eating right because she knows it already and he doesn’t want to rub it in.
"How’s Daniel?" he asks instead and picks up the laundry basket from the floor.
She watches him fold their laundry and put it away.
"He said he feels like death warmed over. I offered to let him stay here but he wanted to go home," she says.
"Fair enough. We can check on him later," Jack answers.
He walks into the bathroom and runs her a bath. She loves this about them, the fact that she doesn’t have to say anything; he just knows exactly what she needs. He helps her pull off the clothes she’s just put on and his index finger circles the ring he gave her for Christmas. They haven’t even made any plans for the wedding yet.
"Do you think we’ll ever...?" he trails off, his voice hopeful.
"We will. I promise," she answers and leans up to kiss him.
She doesn’t know when, can’t possibly give him a timeline. There’s the Lucian Alliance problem now and once they’ve solved the kassa issue and are out there actively fighting again she has no idea what the universe will throw at them then.
He kisses her back and then ducks out of the bathroom. Sometimes he hangs around when she has a bath and she’ll talk to him about whatever pops into her head. Sometimes she invites him into the hot water with her. And sometimes, like today, she needs to sort herself out, she needs to just sink down into the bubbles and forget about the world for a few short moments. She’ll be okay again when she climbs out and he leaves her alone because he knows. He always knows with her.
When she comes downstairs again he hands her a mug of hot chocolate. He’s made macaroni and cheese and they eat on the couch, their feet entangled.
"Feels good to be home," she sighs and blows on her food.
"Feels good to have you home," Jack says and nudges her foot gently.
"What do you do when I’m not here?" she asks curiously.
It’s freezing outside and the house is spotless and there’s nothing for him to work on. His telescope is all wrapped up in the basement and she finds him staring at it longingly sometimes.
"I watch the Simpsons a lot," he confesses. "And I do laundry. And I clean a lot."
She giggles. He’s probably bored out of his mind half the time.
"Any luck with any of the hockey teams?" she asks.
He shakes his head. All of the teams have trainers for this year and he’ll have to wait for next year.
"They did ask me if I wanted to coach the little league baseball team this March," he says excitedly.
He’ll just have to get through February without losing his mind then. She finishes her bowl of mac and cheese and nestles against his side. Unless something goes wrong on base, she gets to actually spend the night here. She’s really tired, more tired than she thought she was.
Jack puts his bowl next to hers on the coffee table and wraps his arms around her. He really, really likes it when she comes home.
Author: ardvari
Rating: PG
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: Sequel to Shine a little light.
For better or worse
In January she doesn’t come home for two weeks straight. Somehow the Lucian Alliance has managed to smuggle kassa to the base and now half the base is in withdrawal. Daniel, who loves corn, ate the most of it and has to be sedated. Sam didn’t eat any because she simply didn’t eat anything at all that day.
There’s a blizzard, too, and they all get stuck on base for another week. It’s during that week that she checks through her calendar and realizes she’s late.
"Shit," she says to the emptiness of her office.
Her hand automatically flies to her stomach but it’s flat and she doesn’t feel strange either. Still, she slowly makes her way to the infirmary. Most of the beds are still occupied by kassa addicts and they still don’t know how the Lucian Alliance managed to get it onto the base. It hasn’t cropped up anywhere else on Earth.
"General," Caroline says and nods to her.
Sam nods back, smiles, and points to Daniel. He’s still passed out in one of the beds and his face is as white as a sheet.
"How is he?" she asks, knowing that she’s stalling.
"Getting better. He ate about four times the amount of kassa everyone else ate," Caroline explains.
Sam can’t help but grin at that. Daniel’s always been good at getting sick, falling into things, getting kidnapped. It’s just what he does. He says of himself that he dies well, too, and they all give him dirty looks for that.
"Is that the only reason why you’re here?" Caroline asks.
Just like Janet she seems to have a sixth sense when it comes to the people she’s responsible for. Sam shakes her head, bites her lip.
"I... can you do a pregnancy test, please?" Sam whispers, deciding that she can’t beat around the bush with this.
Caroline stares at her for a moment, then nods and motions for Sam to follow her into her office. Caroline asks her the standard doctor questions while taking her blood and Sam feels uncomfortable. She’s been on base for too long and now this... She wants kids, she wants to be pregnant but there’s so much else going on and she always thought that if she was pregnant, she’d know. Her body would tell her. This is not how she expected this all to pan out. She feels betrayed by her body and knows it’s stupid.
"I can have the results for you in an hour. Want me to come up to your office?" Caroline offers, pulling Sam back to this reality.
She nods thankfully and leaves, feeling adrift and out of place. She needs air; she needs to take the dog for a run. She needs something, anything. Instead of heading back to her office she stops by the gym, watches Cam and Vala play basketball. They’re rough with each other and their faces are flushed.
"Sam!" Vala exclaims when she sees her, stopping in her tracks.
Cam almost runs into her and sidesteps around her at the last moment. He grins at Sam, breathing heavily.
"No more lock down?" he asks hopefully.
She shakes her head and watches his face fall. Cam’s like a little boy, he needs to be out there playing in the mud, getting dirty, shooting things. He hates being cooped up on base.
"Couple more days," Sam says.
"Good. You know, SG-1 is ready to go out there and... kick some Lucian Alliance ass," Cam says, bouncing on his heels a little.
"Daniel’s still out cold," Sam reminds him.
Cam cringes and looks down at his feet.
"How long is that going to take?" Vala asks in his place.
Sam shrugs.
"Depends on when Daniel wakes up and stops talking about corn," she smiles.
She leaves her former teammates to their game of basketball. She wishes Teal’c was here but he took off to Chulak the moment the base got locked down. He’s probably already working on finding out how the kassa got to the base. That’s one of the reasons why he gets permission to leave during these things.
Caroline’s already in front of her office, tapping her foot by the time Sam gets there. The doctor follows her into the office and sits down across from her. She raises an eyebrow at Caroline.
"Nope," Caroline says. "But your iron levels are down and you should probably try and eat a little more regularly if you really want to get pregnant."
Sam sighs and isn’t sure whether it’s a sigh of relief or defeat.
"How long have you been trying?" Caroline asks softy.
"Since last summer. Give or take a few months," Sam says and starts fiddling with the pen in front of her.
"That’s not that long considering all the things your body’s been through and the fact that you’ve been on birth control since the dawn of time."
"The dawn of the Stargate," Sam corrects and the doctor smiles.
"I’m going to monitor you a little more closely now that I know you’re trying, and you really need to eat better. And General, you really should have told me about this," Caroline says sternly.
Sam nods, watches the doctor leave, and leans back in her chair. She hasn’t told anyone about the baby thing. Neither Jack nor she has wanted to.
She slowly works her way through the paperwork that marks the kassa fiasco. She’s fairly sure someone has brought it with them through the gate but they’ve questioned every single person on base and came up empty. This is going to be a headache for quite a while.
Two days later the lockdown is lifted but Daniel’s still under the weather. He’s shaky and pale and maybe Vala enjoys carting him around in a wheelchair a little too much. Sam sends them all home, herself included. She wants to have a bath, she wants to just be home. She feels like she hasn’t really talked to Jack in months even though they do talk on the phone every day.
She gets an airman to get her car out of a snow bank and helps Daniel into the passenger seat. She offers to let him stay at their place until he feels more like himself but he waves her off.
"I just need sleep," he says.
She’s not happy about him going home alone but he won’t budge and in the end she makes sure he gets into bed alright and leaves the phone on his pillow and makes him promise he’ll use it.
She drives home and still feels a little weird. She hasn’t told Jack she’s coming. The driveway is cleared and there’s a lot of snow pushed up into a pile beside the garage. His truck is in there and she parks her car beside it.
He comes up from the basement with a basket full of clean laundry just as she pushes the door open. Thor bounds down the stairs and rubs up against her legs excitedly.
"Hello stranger," he says.
"Hello you," she replies and leans down to rub the dog’s ears.
Jack follows her up the four stairs into the kitchen, along the hallway and up the stairs to their bedroom. She peels off her uniform and he hands her sweatpants and a shirt that are still warm from the dryer.
She puts them on and sits down on their bed, smiling up at him.
"I thought I was pregnant," she says softly.
He puts the laundry basket down on the floor and sits down beside her.
"No?" he asks.
She shakes her head, brushes a strand of hair out of her eyes.
"Just stress," she says.
She tells him all the things Caroline told her and he doesn’t chastise her for not eating right because she knows it already and he doesn’t want to rub it in.
"How’s Daniel?" he asks instead and picks up the laundry basket from the floor.
She watches him fold their laundry and put it away.
"He said he feels like death warmed over. I offered to let him stay here but he wanted to go home," she says.
"Fair enough. We can check on him later," Jack answers.
He walks into the bathroom and runs her a bath. She loves this about them, the fact that she doesn’t have to say anything; he just knows exactly what she needs. He helps her pull off the clothes she’s just put on and his index finger circles the ring he gave her for Christmas. They haven’t even made any plans for the wedding yet.
"Do you think we’ll ever...?" he trails off, his voice hopeful.
"We will. I promise," she answers and leans up to kiss him.
She doesn’t know when, can’t possibly give him a timeline. There’s the Lucian Alliance problem now and once they’ve solved the kassa issue and are out there actively fighting again she has no idea what the universe will throw at them then.
He kisses her back and then ducks out of the bathroom. Sometimes he hangs around when she has a bath and she’ll talk to him about whatever pops into her head. Sometimes she invites him into the hot water with her. And sometimes, like today, she needs to sort herself out, she needs to just sink down into the bubbles and forget about the world for a few short moments. She’ll be okay again when she climbs out and he leaves her alone because he knows. He always knows with her.
When she comes downstairs again he hands her a mug of hot chocolate. He’s made macaroni and cheese and they eat on the couch, their feet entangled.
"Feels good to be home," she sighs and blows on her food.
"Feels good to have you home," Jack says and nudges her foot gently.
"What do you do when I’m not here?" she asks curiously.
It’s freezing outside and the house is spotless and there’s nothing for him to work on. His telescope is all wrapped up in the basement and she finds him staring at it longingly sometimes.
"I watch the Simpsons a lot," he confesses. "And I do laundry. And I clean a lot."
She giggles. He’s probably bored out of his mind half the time.
"Any luck with any of the hockey teams?" she asks.
He shakes his head. All of the teams have trainers for this year and he’ll have to wait for next year.
"They did ask me if I wanted to coach the little league baseball team this March," he says excitedly.
He’ll just have to get through February without losing his mind then. She finishes her bowl of mac and cheese and nestles against his side. Unless something goes wrong on base, she gets to actually spend the night here. She’s really tired, more tired than she thought she was.
Jack puts his bowl next to hers on the coffee table and wraps his arms around her. He really, really likes it when she comes home.