Camping for Dummies, Part II
Camping for Dummies, Part II
Gen, J/S, OC pairings
Season: Ten
Summary: The whole gang is hanging out, with an unexpected guest now in tow.
This is for majorsamfan. :)
When Jack all but begged Hayes to let him take the weekend off, saying he deserved it, he had not envisioned his weekend starting out like this. For one thing, when he’d last spoken with Carter from Dallas, she’d said she was on her way to pick up a stranded Cassie and some friends from some park. He’d disregarded the non sequitur of it all, and had proceeded to his connecting flight to Colorado Springs, never once imagining that those friends included his Not-Such-A-Runt-Anymore clone and Nyan.
Of course, he could’ve dealt with all of that, had he not had to claim said clone as his son, just to keep his non-cleared girlfriend from flipping out. He supposed finding out that one’s significant other is really a clone would be a bit of a downer, so he didn’t blame any of them for their censure.
Still… It was all way weirder than he wanted to think about.
He was sitting on Carter’s deck, enjoying the cool and the quiet of the Springs air, when he suddenly felt a soft hand on his shoulder squeeze tightly and let go. The house was quiet. The kids had all camped out in the living room, Teal’c and Vala had hunkered down on Carter’s computer in her office to play some Witches with War-Sticks game, and Daniel and Mitchell were watching some movie in her bedroom - which just added, of course, to the immense weirdness of it all.
That left one other person. And she was currently chuckling slightly as she found a seat next to him.
“Aren’t you glad you came?” Sam asked as she wrapped her sweatshirt tightly around herself.
“Yes,” Jack answered without hesitation. “That kind of insanity keeps me on my toes, dontcha think? There are only so many brown-nosing politicians one can stand before it all gets kinda stale.”
“Of course,” Sam acquiesced to his griping.
“Of course,” he agreed. “So…”
“So…” she repeated softly.
He opened his mouth, closed it, then smiled enigmatically. “Got any Guinness?”
“Cameron drank the last one,” Sam replied with a shrug. “Sorry.”
“Ah!”
“If you’d been one hour earlier…” Sam smiled again and turned slightly towards the yard. After a moment, she noted, “This is nice.”
Jack glanced out at her drenched lawn, inhaled the fresh rain scent and nodded. “Yeah, it is. Peace and quiet.”
“Oh…” Sam swallowed and her eyes fluttered with indecision. “I meant…”
Jack frowned. “What?”
“I meant… It’s nice that we’re all here together. As twisted as it all is… It fits.”
Jack thought about that for a moment and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it does.”
Silence reigned for a moment, as Jack thought about Cassie and John and Nyan, and how they had grown so close in such a short time. He thought about the young student, Melissa, who’d instantly reminded Cassie, Daniel and Teal’c of Carter, and he grinned. She was certainly a bubble of energy, eager to please, ready to serve… It was no wonder she practically followed Sam around the house, asking her seemingly inane questions about sub-atomic whatsits, all night long. Sam was just happy to talk to someone who understood it all.
The four of them certainly looked good together, he surmised. He pictured John in thirty years, and could obviously see himself. Cassie would grow up to be their equivalent to Daniel. Melissa would obviously be their Sam. Undeniably, Nyan would be their Teal’c.
Jack grinned to himself. Yeah, they’d certainly fit the mold.
“What’s so funny?” Sam asked, catching his look.
Shrugging, Jack leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table. “I was just thinking about the kids…”
“Yeah, they’re funny.”
“They’re us,” Jack said simply.
Sam thought about it for only a moment, before he knew she understood what he meant.
“They are,” she agreed. “Poor guys. They don’t stand a chance.”
Jack chuckled as he picked up the empty vase in the middle of the table and twirled it around. “Yeah… So, how are Cassie and Nyan?”
Sam didn’t miss the neutral look he seemed to be giving her. Evidently he wasn’t going to give her a hard time about last Sunday, even if he didn’t agree with what she’d done. For some reason that she could not explain, it irritated her.
“They seem to be fine,” she answered shortly.
Jack looked up when it became clear that she wasn’t going to give him any more information. “What?” he asked.
“What?” she repeated. “I said they’re fine.”
“No, I heard that. I meant… the tone.”
“Tone?” Sam asked dubiously.
“What are you, a parrot?” Jack demanded, his hackles rising. Then, quietly, “I just asked a simple question.”
“Oh, but it wasn’t what you asked,” Sam clarified. “It’s how you asked it.”
Jack was at a loss for several seconds. Then, “What?!”
“Everyone, from Daniel to Teal’c to Cameron to Vala has given me a hard time for what I did to Nyan last Sunday. They either made a joke about it, or in Teal’c’s case, flat out told me that they thought I was a little tough on him.”
“I’m sorry, let me get this straight.” Jack paused. “You want me to give you a hard time? For making sure Nyan, an older guy, had his priorities straight before he started dating Cassie?”
Sam thought about it for a moment, recognized its flaw, but nodded all the same. “Yes.”
Jack scoffed and pointed at her. “You’re nuts.”
“I’m not nuts!” Sam insisted.
“Yeah,” Jack reiterated. “You are.”
Sam held up her hand and continued, “All I’m saying is, if you’re not comfortable enough with me to tell me that you disagree with me, just like everybody else, I really don’t see the point...”
Narrowing his eyes, Jack leaned forward even more. “The point in what, Sam?”
“In this,” she replied, motioning between the two of them, “in trying to go any further than… what we’ve always been.”
Jack sat back with a huff and rubbed his hand over his face. It amazed him sometimes how incredibly different Carter was from Sam. Carter was logical, calculating, confident; Sam was unsure and self-doubting.
He supposed the same could be said for the differences between O’Neill and Jack, but he opted not to go down that path.
“For the record,” Jack muttered through his hand, “I don’t disagree with you.”
Sam frowned and tried to find his eyes between his fingers. “You don’t?”
“No.” Jack shook his head and let his hand fall. “Nyan’s like, what? Seven or eight years older than Cassie? That’s why I encouraged you to do it. I would’ve done it myself… But part of me wanted to see if you could.”
Now it was Sam’s turn to sit back. “Huh. That’s… twisted.”
“Hey, it’s me we’re talking about here,” Jack replied.
“True.” Sam raised an eyebrow with a smirk and sighed. “So, you weren’t just censoring yourself in order to avoid a fight?”
“No!” Jack cried. “And look: The fight still found me!”
Sam muttered, “Sorry,” and scooted closer, leaning her head against her hand. After a moment of silence, she broached the other issue that had been on her mind all evening. “We need to talk to John more. Teal’c’s the only one who’s treated him well over the past three and a half years.”
“Mm...” Jack wasn’t convinced as he drew an imaginary dog on the table with his finger.
Sam shook her head as she thought about it even more. “When he first left the base, I told myself that I would check up on him every once in a while. You know, just to make sure he was doing OK.”
Jack shrugged and kept his glance straight ahead. “We got busy. It happens.”
“But… Jack.” Sam moved so she was in his line of sight. “Jack… How would you have felt had we thrown you into a whole new environment, alone, and rarely - if ever - checked to see how you were doing?”
Turning his gaze to her, Jack said, “Sam, that’s what Teal’c and Cassie are for. We can keep tabs on the guy through them. If it’d been me, I would’ve wanted to keep to myself, and stay as far away from you guys as possible. Especially you and Daniel.”
Keeping her face free of expression, Sam asked, “Why me and Daniel?”
“Because you guys ask too many questions, serious questions, the kinds of questions that’d make a guy feel even worse about the situation.” He noted her silence and tried to explain, “It’s nothing bad, necessarily… That’s just how you guys are. But you gotta understand, the kid was probably feeling bad enough about the situation as it was. If you guys were always calling him, writing him letters, sending him emails, and asking him personal questions about his ‘feelings’, I think he would’ve had an even harder time getting over his loss... Ya know what I mean?”
Sam nodded. “Yes. But doesn’t that mean he wouldn’t have had to get over his loss, if he knew we were there for him when he needed us?”
“Sam, come on now.” Jack shook his head once more. “Let’s get real. Things were never gonna be the same with us. Thinking about the ‘what ifs’ now is pointless.”
Sam folded her arms and lifted her chin indignantly. “Well, I think it’s easy to say that when you’re not the one who was left behind.”
“Maybe so, but I can tell you right now that John hasn’t lost any sleep over the fact that you forgot to drop him a line for three years.” Jack jabbed a thumb in the direction of the living room. “If anything, he’s probably been better off for it. It’s less painful that way.”
Frowning, Sam fixed her eyes on Jack’s and tilted her head. “I’m confused: Are you trying to convince me, Jack? Or yourself?”
************************************************************************
The next morning found Sam’s house in utter disarray. She’d woken up at 6, her conversation with Jack - the first heart-to-heart they’d had in a long time - still on her mind. She’d made it to her bed that evening, but had had to snuggle on the edge next to Vala and Cameron… Teal’c and Daniel had claimed the guest room, while Jack slept in Cassie’s. She couldn’t believe they all fit. She couldn’t believe any of it really.
If she’d thought her life was odd three years ago, nothing had prepared her for this level of weirdness.
As she walked through the halls, her bare feet cold from the morning chill, she wondered how things had ended up this way. If someone had told her a year before that one evening she’d have to fight for blanket space in her own bed because Vala and Cameron were hogging it all, she never would have believed them…
In fact, she would’ve said they were crazy.
The reality of the situation was, Sam was ready for a change. She’d spent 10 years of her life dedicated to serving her country and her planet. Lately, she hadn’t bothered to descend into the sort of pity party that she had dwelled in years before. Back then, she would silently lament about her sacrifices, albeit briefly, as she justified her feelings of emptiness.
It wasn’t that she’d never been happy. However Sam could not deny that she’d spent a good portion of her life feeling somewhat unfulfilled. And while her dad, Daniel, Jack, Teal’c, Janet and Cassie had played an incredibly important part in filling those gaping holes, she had had to deny herself quite a bit along the way. They all had, to be fair.
Family had a fluid meaning to her. She’d decided three years before that she was going to take the opportunity to have a nuclear family, the kind of family that would kiss her goodbye in the mornings and excitedly greet her at night. Pete had been that one opportunity, and, true to form, she had squandered it.
So she’d wanted kids. She could admit it in her head, and very briefly in passing in front of the guys, when it looked like they might not question her or try to read too much into it. But that opportunity had long since gone - before Nirrti, before Conrad, before she was killed and revived numerous times, and even before Jolinar.
The truth was, if Sam was honest with herself, that opportunity dissipated as soon as she signed her life away to the Stargate program.
Which left her here. With her family. Without Janet. And with Jack, left to discuss how they would continue to love and foster Cassie in her absence. Before, during Pete and after Janet’s death, Sam convinced herself that Janet had done all the work, and that any contribution she could make would be moot. Yet here she was, wondering if there was still more to do for Cassie, still needs to be met.
Enter Jack and his equal stake in Cassie’s future. Enter Daniel and Teal’c, who would also do whatever was necessary to ensure Cassie’s safety and happiness.
And perhaps the opportunity wasn’t completely gone.
Only now, instead of raising a child from infancy with one man, she would continue caring for a young woman with three.
For some strange reason, Sam found this arrangement to be quite acceptable.
The kitchen was dark, but she could still see the hunched over figure making coffee. Or trying, at least.
“Daniel?” she croaked. “What are you doing up so early?”
Daniel whirled around, an empty mug in hand. “I could ask you the same question.” He looked back at the coffee machine and frowned. “Why is that so complicated?”
Laughing slightly, Sam walked over and turned the coffeemaker on. “It’s not.”
Daniel pouted and sighed as he cracked his back. “Yeah, right... You know Teal’c is a blanket hog?”
“No, I never would’ve guessed that,” Sam deadpanned sarcastically. “But so are Vala and Cameron.”
Raising an eyebrow, Daniel glanced up at her. “You, Vala and Cameron shared a bed?”
“Hey, it was my bed,” Sam replied as she grabbed a mug out of her cupboard. “And by the time I got there, they were asleep. I didn’t have the heart to wake them up and kick them out, which is what I wanted to do.”
Daniel narrowed his eyes and smirked. “Oh yeah, you and Jack were the only ones awake after we all went to sleep.”
“Oh, bite me, Daniel,” Sam ordered, though her eyes revealed her mirth.
Daniel laughed and glanced up as Cameron stretched and walked into the kitchen, closely followed by a well-rested Teal’c.
“Man, I slept good last night,” Cameron announced as he swiped Sam’s mug off the counter.
“Sshhh!” Daniel and Sam whispered, indicating the kids in the other room.
“Oooh, sorry!” Cam whispered. “Anyway, that is one helluva bed you’ve got there, Sam.”
“Yeah, thanks, it’s new,” she replied smugly. “I’m glad you and Vala enjoyed it.”
“Oh, don’t remind me!” Cameron rolled his eyes. “That woman is such a blanket hog.”
Sam nodded blankly. “Tell me about it.”
“I heard that!” Vala cried as she practically stormed into the kitchen.
“Ssshhh!” Daniel, Sam and Cameron hushed in tandem. Teal’c merely blinked before helping himself to a mug in the cupboard.
“Sorry!” Vala whispered. “And I am not a blanket hog!”
“Riiight,” Cameron retorted, shooting Sam a knowing look. Sam simply rolled her eyes and shot both Daniel and Teal’c a knowing look of her own.
“Actually Sam,” Vala began as she snatched Daniel’s mug from his hands, “I was a bit surprised to find that you came to bed with us.” She waggled her eyebrows and grinned.
“You know Vala, when you say, ‘came to bed with us,’ it almost makes me a little sick,” Cameron told her.
Sam and Vala both shot him dirty looks for that remark. Then Vala turned back to Sam and smiled, “But no, really. No one would’ve minded!”
“The only available bed was in Cassie’s room,” Sam explained. Daniel coughed, having not expected her to qualify why she and Jack hadn’t… He gulped and glanced at Cameron, who looked just as surprised.
“So?” Vala asked. “She wouldn’t have cared. She’s young! She’d understand.”
“Probably not,” Sam replied, squirming slightly under their collective gaze. Even Teal’c seemed to be looking at her funny.
“You know, Sam,” Cameron said, suddenly enjoying her discomfort, “Vala does have a point.”
“What?” Sam turned to Cameron in disbelief, shocked that he’d agree to something so asinine.
“Uh, yeah,” Daniel said with a nod of his head as he followed Cam’s lead. “I think so, too.”
“Daniel!” Sam hissed, her eyes widening. “This is ridiculous. I’m not having this conversation with you guys.”
Teal’c turned to Sam and placed his cup on the counter thoughtfully, his lips turned ever so slightly upwards. “Is copulation not common and indeed healthy in such intimate relationships?”
“That’s it,” Sam declared as she held her finger over the ON/OFF button of the coffee machine. “One more word, and no coffee. For any of you.”
“Hey, hey, hey,” Vala cried. “There’s no need to be rash.”
Daniel motioned apologetically. “Yeah, Sam, we’re just saying…”
“Just saying what?” Jack asked from across the kitchen.
“Nothing,” Daniel, Vala and Cameron replied in unison, before they each guiltily turned towards the coffeemaker. Only Sam and Teal’c remained facing Jack.
He frowned. “Did I miss something.”
“No,” Sam assured, her expression bleak. “Trust me.”
Teal’c bowed his head. “You have indeed arrived in time for the morning beverage.” If Sam didn’t know any better, it seemed he was smirking her way. That little…
“Good!” Jack said. “What’s on?”
“House blend,” Daniel replied, his back still to Jack as he fumbled with some Splenda packets.
Taking a quick look back at the silent living room, Jack grinned. “So they haven’t roused yet?”
“Not that I know of,” Sam said absently as she fished through the cupboard for more mugs. She wasn’t sure if she had enough…
“Mitchell,” Jack called to the younger man’s back.
“Uh, yes, General, sir,” Cameron answered as he quickly spun around and straightened. “What can I do for you, sir?”
Jack paused to eye the man’s guilty stance and decided that he’d allow the ‘sirs’ for now. “You know how to make eggs benedict?”
Cameron slowly shook his head.
“Oh!” Vala’s hand shot up in the air eagerly. “I do!”
“Really?” Jack was skeptical.
Vala smiled impishly and shrugged. “I may have learned a thing or two about certain Tau’ri cuisine during my time with the SGC’s commissary personnel.”
Jack’s eyes narrowed and he sighed. “Why does that not surprise me?”
“I’m sorry,” Daniel cut in, “let me understand this: Not only have we managed to sort of invade Sam’s house amongst Cassie and her friends, overstay our welcome, and quite possibly thoroughly exhaust her entire caffeine supply, but we’re also going to cook breakfast here as well?”
“Daniel, it’s OK,” Sam reassured. “Really.”
“Are ya sure?” Daniel asked. “Because there’s an IHOP just down the street.”
“Mmm, IHOP?” Vala exclaimed. “I love IHOP!”
“There ya go.” Cameron indicated Vala’s excitement.
Sam opened her mouth to gently confirm her permission, but not before Jack interrupted with a flick of his wrist. “Nonsense. We’ll all eat here. Vala, you’re on eggs duty.”
Vala saluted dutifully - and sloppily - before heading for the fridge. “Yes, sir.”
Jack pointed to Teal’c. “T, we all know you can make a mean pancake.”
“I can,” Teal’c confirmed, as he headed for the cupboard, though he was at a loss as to how Jack could be so sure that Sam had the necessary ingredients. Sure enough, an open box of mix was there in plain view on the middle shelf. Teal’c raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Neither Sam nor Cassie ever made pancakes if Teal’c wasn’t there. As far as he knew.
“Daniel,” Jack ordered, “you’ve got… coffee duty.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow and nodded briefly, shifting his gaze from Sam to Jack. “Er… OK.”
“Mitchell?” Jack turned to Cameron, wondering where he could put the uneasy colonel. “You good with meat?”
“Uh… absolutely, sir,” Cameron answered awkwardly.
Jack nodded. “Good. You get the sausages and bacon. In the freezer door, top shelf.” With that, Jack turned around, through with giving commands for now.
“Uh…” Sam piped up above the increasing din. “What do I get to do?”
Wincing slightly, Jack turned around and smiled awkwardly. There was no way he was letting her near the food. “As the hostess... You get to relax. And you can wake up the kids when it’s all done.”
He didn’t miss the look on her face when she instantly realized that he wasn’t going to give her something important to do, but he ignored it as he headed back to the bedrooms. He’d dropped off his duffel somewhere the night before, and it was only a matter of finding it amongst all of the crap…
As he passed Sam’s room, he saw it along the wall, unmoved. “Ah!” Bending down to pick it up, Jack saw a shadow pass over him. He straightened, knowing it was her without having to turn around. “You know, it was nothing personal, Carter.”
“Of course not,” she agreed sardonically from behind. Jack couldn’t see her face. “You just didn’t want anyone to get food poisoning. Understandable.”
Slowly he turned around, realizing immediately that they were completely out of sight for only the second time since his arrival. He also didn’t fail to notice that they were mere feet away from her bedroom. Jack caught the look of realization as it hit her as well, and stifled a grin. “Is there anything else?” he inquired.
Sam shook her head numbly and almost whispered, “No.”
“Are we good?” he asked. “After last night, I mean?”
She nodded, seemingly a million miles away as if deep in thought. “It’s OK if we disagree on something. We’ve been doing that well enough for 10 years.”
He didn’t respond, too focused on that odd look in her eye to continue. She seemed to be coming to some sort of conclusion, yet her gaze was intensely focused on his own, her eyes boring a hole into his soul.
Then, as quickly as it came, the moment passed, and she simply stared at him with that same indulgent look on her face that he’d long since come to appreciate. It had taken her nearly a decade to perfect it, and he’d loved every variation of it along the way.
“So, you’ve already commanded my teammates to completely destroy my kitchen,” Sam recounted softly, a twinkle forming in her eye even as she feigned annoyance. “What else do you have planned for today?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Jack replied with a shrug, coming to a realization of his own. “I was thinking we could all pile into a couple of cars and head out to Pike National Park. The sky’s clear, and we've gotta pick up the kids' car anyway... Plus, it’s a great day for fishing.”
The End :) Thanks for reading!
Part Two is here: http://spazmeister.livejournal.com/9361.html#cutid1
Gen, J/S, OC pairings
Season: Ten
Summary: The whole gang is hanging out, with an unexpected guest now in tow.
This is for majorsamfan. :)
When Jack all but begged Hayes to let him take the weekend off, saying he deserved it, he had not envisioned his weekend starting out like this. For one thing, when he’d last spoken with Carter from Dallas, she’d said she was on her way to pick up a stranded Cassie and some friends from some park. He’d disregarded the non sequitur of it all, and had proceeded to his connecting flight to Colorado Springs, never once imagining that those friends included his Not-Such-A-Runt-Anymore clone and Nyan.
Of course, he could’ve dealt with all of that, had he not had to claim said clone as his son, just to keep his non-cleared girlfriend from flipping out. He supposed finding out that one’s significant other is really a clone would be a bit of a downer, so he didn’t blame any of them for their censure.
Still… It was all way weirder than he wanted to think about.
He was sitting on Carter’s deck, enjoying the cool and the quiet of the Springs air, when he suddenly felt a soft hand on his shoulder squeeze tightly and let go. The house was quiet. The kids had all camped out in the living room, Teal’c and Vala had hunkered down on Carter’s computer in her office to play some Witches with War-Sticks game, and Daniel and Mitchell were watching some movie in her bedroom - which just added, of course, to the immense weirdness of it all.
That left one other person. And she was currently chuckling slightly as she found a seat next to him.
“Aren’t you glad you came?” Sam asked as she wrapped her sweatshirt tightly around herself.
“Yes,” Jack answered without hesitation. “That kind of insanity keeps me on my toes, dontcha think? There are only so many brown-nosing politicians one can stand before it all gets kinda stale.”
“Of course,” Sam acquiesced to his griping.
“Of course,” he agreed. “So…”
“So…” she repeated softly.
He opened his mouth, closed it, then smiled enigmatically. “Got any Guinness?”
“Cameron drank the last one,” Sam replied with a shrug. “Sorry.”
“Ah!”
“If you’d been one hour earlier…” Sam smiled again and turned slightly towards the yard. After a moment, she noted, “This is nice.”
Jack glanced out at her drenched lawn, inhaled the fresh rain scent and nodded. “Yeah, it is. Peace and quiet.”
“Oh…” Sam swallowed and her eyes fluttered with indecision. “I meant…”
Jack frowned. “What?”
“I meant… It’s nice that we’re all here together. As twisted as it all is… It fits.”
Jack thought about that for a moment and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it does.”
Silence reigned for a moment, as Jack thought about Cassie and John and Nyan, and how they had grown so close in such a short time. He thought about the young student, Melissa, who’d instantly reminded Cassie, Daniel and Teal’c of Carter, and he grinned. She was certainly a bubble of energy, eager to please, ready to serve… It was no wonder she practically followed Sam around the house, asking her seemingly inane questions about sub-atomic whatsits, all night long. Sam was just happy to talk to someone who understood it all.
The four of them certainly looked good together, he surmised. He pictured John in thirty years, and could obviously see himself. Cassie would grow up to be their equivalent to Daniel. Melissa would obviously be their Sam. Undeniably, Nyan would be their Teal’c.
Jack grinned to himself. Yeah, they’d certainly fit the mold.
“What’s so funny?” Sam asked, catching his look.
Shrugging, Jack leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table. “I was just thinking about the kids…”
“Yeah, they’re funny.”
“They’re us,” Jack said simply.
Sam thought about it for only a moment, before he knew she understood what he meant.
“They are,” she agreed. “Poor guys. They don’t stand a chance.”
Jack chuckled as he picked up the empty vase in the middle of the table and twirled it around. “Yeah… So, how are Cassie and Nyan?”
Sam didn’t miss the neutral look he seemed to be giving her. Evidently he wasn’t going to give her a hard time about last Sunday, even if he didn’t agree with what she’d done. For some reason that she could not explain, it irritated her.
“They seem to be fine,” she answered shortly.
Jack looked up when it became clear that she wasn’t going to give him any more information. “What?” he asked.
“What?” she repeated. “I said they’re fine.”
“No, I heard that. I meant… the tone.”
“Tone?” Sam asked dubiously.
“What are you, a parrot?” Jack demanded, his hackles rising. Then, quietly, “I just asked a simple question.”
“Oh, but it wasn’t what you asked,” Sam clarified. “It’s how you asked it.”
Jack was at a loss for several seconds. Then, “What?!”
“Everyone, from Daniel to Teal’c to Cameron to Vala has given me a hard time for what I did to Nyan last Sunday. They either made a joke about it, or in Teal’c’s case, flat out told me that they thought I was a little tough on him.”
“I’m sorry, let me get this straight.” Jack paused. “You want me to give you a hard time? For making sure Nyan, an older guy, had his priorities straight before he started dating Cassie?”
Sam thought about it for a moment, recognized its flaw, but nodded all the same. “Yes.”
Jack scoffed and pointed at her. “You’re nuts.”
“I’m not nuts!” Sam insisted.
“Yeah,” Jack reiterated. “You are.”
Sam held up her hand and continued, “All I’m saying is, if you’re not comfortable enough with me to tell me that you disagree with me, just like everybody else, I really don’t see the point...”
Narrowing his eyes, Jack leaned forward even more. “The point in what, Sam?”
“In this,” she replied, motioning between the two of them, “in trying to go any further than… what we’ve always been.”
Jack sat back with a huff and rubbed his hand over his face. It amazed him sometimes how incredibly different Carter was from Sam. Carter was logical, calculating, confident; Sam was unsure and self-doubting.
He supposed the same could be said for the differences between O’Neill and Jack, but he opted not to go down that path.
“For the record,” Jack muttered through his hand, “I don’t disagree with you.”
Sam frowned and tried to find his eyes between his fingers. “You don’t?”
“No.” Jack shook his head and let his hand fall. “Nyan’s like, what? Seven or eight years older than Cassie? That’s why I encouraged you to do it. I would’ve done it myself… But part of me wanted to see if you could.”
Now it was Sam’s turn to sit back. “Huh. That’s… twisted.”
“Hey, it’s me we’re talking about here,” Jack replied.
“True.” Sam raised an eyebrow with a smirk and sighed. “So, you weren’t just censoring yourself in order to avoid a fight?”
“No!” Jack cried. “And look: The fight still found me!”
Sam muttered, “Sorry,” and scooted closer, leaning her head against her hand. After a moment of silence, she broached the other issue that had been on her mind all evening. “We need to talk to John more. Teal’c’s the only one who’s treated him well over the past three and a half years.”
“Mm...” Jack wasn’t convinced as he drew an imaginary dog on the table with his finger.
Sam shook her head as she thought about it even more. “When he first left the base, I told myself that I would check up on him every once in a while. You know, just to make sure he was doing OK.”
Jack shrugged and kept his glance straight ahead. “We got busy. It happens.”
“But… Jack.” Sam moved so she was in his line of sight. “Jack… How would you have felt had we thrown you into a whole new environment, alone, and rarely - if ever - checked to see how you were doing?”
Turning his gaze to her, Jack said, “Sam, that’s what Teal’c and Cassie are for. We can keep tabs on the guy through them. If it’d been me, I would’ve wanted to keep to myself, and stay as far away from you guys as possible. Especially you and Daniel.”
Keeping her face free of expression, Sam asked, “Why me and Daniel?”
“Because you guys ask too many questions, serious questions, the kinds of questions that’d make a guy feel even worse about the situation.” He noted her silence and tried to explain, “It’s nothing bad, necessarily… That’s just how you guys are. But you gotta understand, the kid was probably feeling bad enough about the situation as it was. If you guys were always calling him, writing him letters, sending him emails, and asking him personal questions about his ‘feelings’, I think he would’ve had an even harder time getting over his loss... Ya know what I mean?”
Sam nodded. “Yes. But doesn’t that mean he wouldn’t have had to get over his loss, if he knew we were there for him when he needed us?”
“Sam, come on now.” Jack shook his head once more. “Let’s get real. Things were never gonna be the same with us. Thinking about the ‘what ifs’ now is pointless.”
Sam folded her arms and lifted her chin indignantly. “Well, I think it’s easy to say that when you’re not the one who was left behind.”
“Maybe so, but I can tell you right now that John hasn’t lost any sleep over the fact that you forgot to drop him a line for three years.” Jack jabbed a thumb in the direction of the living room. “If anything, he’s probably been better off for it. It’s less painful that way.”
Frowning, Sam fixed her eyes on Jack’s and tilted her head. “I’m confused: Are you trying to convince me, Jack? Or yourself?”
************************************************************************
The next morning found Sam’s house in utter disarray. She’d woken up at 6, her conversation with Jack - the first heart-to-heart they’d had in a long time - still on her mind. She’d made it to her bed that evening, but had had to snuggle on the edge next to Vala and Cameron… Teal’c and Daniel had claimed the guest room, while Jack slept in Cassie’s. She couldn’t believe they all fit. She couldn’t believe any of it really.
If she’d thought her life was odd three years ago, nothing had prepared her for this level of weirdness.
As she walked through the halls, her bare feet cold from the morning chill, she wondered how things had ended up this way. If someone had told her a year before that one evening she’d have to fight for blanket space in her own bed because Vala and Cameron were hogging it all, she never would have believed them…
In fact, she would’ve said they were crazy.
The reality of the situation was, Sam was ready for a change. She’d spent 10 years of her life dedicated to serving her country and her planet. Lately, she hadn’t bothered to descend into the sort of pity party that she had dwelled in years before. Back then, she would silently lament about her sacrifices, albeit briefly, as she justified her feelings of emptiness.
It wasn’t that she’d never been happy. However Sam could not deny that she’d spent a good portion of her life feeling somewhat unfulfilled. And while her dad, Daniel, Jack, Teal’c, Janet and Cassie had played an incredibly important part in filling those gaping holes, she had had to deny herself quite a bit along the way. They all had, to be fair.
Family had a fluid meaning to her. She’d decided three years before that she was going to take the opportunity to have a nuclear family, the kind of family that would kiss her goodbye in the mornings and excitedly greet her at night. Pete had been that one opportunity, and, true to form, she had squandered it.
So she’d wanted kids. She could admit it in her head, and very briefly in passing in front of the guys, when it looked like they might not question her or try to read too much into it. But that opportunity had long since gone - before Nirrti, before Conrad, before she was killed and revived numerous times, and even before Jolinar.
The truth was, if Sam was honest with herself, that opportunity dissipated as soon as she signed her life away to the Stargate program.
Which left her here. With her family. Without Janet. And with Jack, left to discuss how they would continue to love and foster Cassie in her absence. Before, during Pete and after Janet’s death, Sam convinced herself that Janet had done all the work, and that any contribution she could make would be moot. Yet here she was, wondering if there was still more to do for Cassie, still needs to be met.
Enter Jack and his equal stake in Cassie’s future. Enter Daniel and Teal’c, who would also do whatever was necessary to ensure Cassie’s safety and happiness.
And perhaps the opportunity wasn’t completely gone.
Only now, instead of raising a child from infancy with one man, she would continue caring for a young woman with three.
For some strange reason, Sam found this arrangement to be quite acceptable.
The kitchen was dark, but she could still see the hunched over figure making coffee. Or trying, at least.
“Daniel?” she croaked. “What are you doing up so early?”
Daniel whirled around, an empty mug in hand. “I could ask you the same question.” He looked back at the coffee machine and frowned. “Why is that so complicated?”
Laughing slightly, Sam walked over and turned the coffeemaker on. “It’s not.”
Daniel pouted and sighed as he cracked his back. “Yeah, right... You know Teal’c is a blanket hog?”
“No, I never would’ve guessed that,” Sam deadpanned sarcastically. “But so are Vala and Cameron.”
Raising an eyebrow, Daniel glanced up at her. “You, Vala and Cameron shared a bed?”
“Hey, it was my bed,” Sam replied as she grabbed a mug out of her cupboard. “And by the time I got there, they were asleep. I didn’t have the heart to wake them up and kick them out, which is what I wanted to do.”
Daniel narrowed his eyes and smirked. “Oh yeah, you and Jack were the only ones awake after we all went to sleep.”
“Oh, bite me, Daniel,” Sam ordered, though her eyes revealed her mirth.
Daniel laughed and glanced up as Cameron stretched and walked into the kitchen, closely followed by a well-rested Teal’c.
“Man, I slept good last night,” Cameron announced as he swiped Sam’s mug off the counter.
“Sshhh!” Daniel and Sam whispered, indicating the kids in the other room.
“Oooh, sorry!” Cam whispered. “Anyway, that is one helluva bed you’ve got there, Sam.”
“Yeah, thanks, it’s new,” she replied smugly. “I’m glad you and Vala enjoyed it.”
“Oh, don’t remind me!” Cameron rolled his eyes. “That woman is such a blanket hog.”
Sam nodded blankly. “Tell me about it.”
“I heard that!” Vala cried as she practically stormed into the kitchen.
“Ssshhh!” Daniel, Sam and Cameron hushed in tandem. Teal’c merely blinked before helping himself to a mug in the cupboard.
“Sorry!” Vala whispered. “And I am not a blanket hog!”
“Riiight,” Cameron retorted, shooting Sam a knowing look. Sam simply rolled her eyes and shot both Daniel and Teal’c a knowing look of her own.
“Actually Sam,” Vala began as she snatched Daniel’s mug from his hands, “I was a bit surprised to find that you came to bed with us.” She waggled her eyebrows and grinned.
“You know Vala, when you say, ‘came to bed with us,’ it almost makes me a little sick,” Cameron told her.
Sam and Vala both shot him dirty looks for that remark. Then Vala turned back to Sam and smiled, “But no, really. No one would’ve minded!”
“The only available bed was in Cassie’s room,” Sam explained. Daniel coughed, having not expected her to qualify why she and Jack hadn’t… He gulped and glanced at Cameron, who looked just as surprised.
“So?” Vala asked. “She wouldn’t have cared. She’s young! She’d understand.”
“Probably not,” Sam replied, squirming slightly under their collective gaze. Even Teal’c seemed to be looking at her funny.
“You know, Sam,” Cameron said, suddenly enjoying her discomfort, “Vala does have a point.”
“What?” Sam turned to Cameron in disbelief, shocked that he’d agree to something so asinine.
“Uh, yeah,” Daniel said with a nod of his head as he followed Cam’s lead. “I think so, too.”
“Daniel!” Sam hissed, her eyes widening. “This is ridiculous. I’m not having this conversation with you guys.”
Teal’c turned to Sam and placed his cup on the counter thoughtfully, his lips turned ever so slightly upwards. “Is copulation not common and indeed healthy in such intimate relationships?”
“That’s it,” Sam declared as she held her finger over the ON/OFF button of the coffee machine. “One more word, and no coffee. For any of you.”
“Hey, hey, hey,” Vala cried. “There’s no need to be rash.”
Daniel motioned apologetically. “Yeah, Sam, we’re just saying…”
“Just saying what?” Jack asked from across the kitchen.
“Nothing,” Daniel, Vala and Cameron replied in unison, before they each guiltily turned towards the coffeemaker. Only Sam and Teal’c remained facing Jack.
He frowned. “Did I miss something.”
“No,” Sam assured, her expression bleak. “Trust me.”
Teal’c bowed his head. “You have indeed arrived in time for the morning beverage.” If Sam didn’t know any better, it seemed he was smirking her way. That little…
“Good!” Jack said. “What’s on?”
“House blend,” Daniel replied, his back still to Jack as he fumbled with some Splenda packets.
Taking a quick look back at the silent living room, Jack grinned. “So they haven’t roused yet?”
“Not that I know of,” Sam said absently as she fished through the cupboard for more mugs. She wasn’t sure if she had enough…
“Mitchell,” Jack called to the younger man’s back.
“Uh, yes, General, sir,” Cameron answered as he quickly spun around and straightened. “What can I do for you, sir?”
Jack paused to eye the man’s guilty stance and decided that he’d allow the ‘sirs’ for now. “You know how to make eggs benedict?”
Cameron slowly shook his head.
“Oh!” Vala’s hand shot up in the air eagerly. “I do!”
“Really?” Jack was skeptical.
Vala smiled impishly and shrugged. “I may have learned a thing or two about certain Tau’ri cuisine during my time with the SGC’s commissary personnel.”
Jack’s eyes narrowed and he sighed. “Why does that not surprise me?”
“I’m sorry,” Daniel cut in, “let me understand this: Not only have we managed to sort of invade Sam’s house amongst Cassie and her friends, overstay our welcome, and quite possibly thoroughly exhaust her entire caffeine supply, but we’re also going to cook breakfast here as well?”
“Daniel, it’s OK,” Sam reassured. “Really.”
“Are ya sure?” Daniel asked. “Because there’s an IHOP just down the street.”
“Mmm, IHOP?” Vala exclaimed. “I love IHOP!”
“There ya go.” Cameron indicated Vala’s excitement.
Sam opened her mouth to gently confirm her permission, but not before Jack interrupted with a flick of his wrist. “Nonsense. We’ll all eat here. Vala, you’re on eggs duty.”
Vala saluted dutifully - and sloppily - before heading for the fridge. “Yes, sir.”
Jack pointed to Teal’c. “T, we all know you can make a mean pancake.”
“I can,” Teal’c confirmed, as he headed for the cupboard, though he was at a loss as to how Jack could be so sure that Sam had the necessary ingredients. Sure enough, an open box of mix was there in plain view on the middle shelf. Teal’c raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Neither Sam nor Cassie ever made pancakes if Teal’c wasn’t there. As far as he knew.
“Daniel,” Jack ordered, “you’ve got… coffee duty.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow and nodded briefly, shifting his gaze from Sam to Jack. “Er… OK.”
“Mitchell?” Jack turned to Cameron, wondering where he could put the uneasy colonel. “You good with meat?”
“Uh… absolutely, sir,” Cameron answered awkwardly.
Jack nodded. “Good. You get the sausages and bacon. In the freezer door, top shelf.” With that, Jack turned around, through with giving commands for now.
“Uh…” Sam piped up above the increasing din. “What do I get to do?”
Wincing slightly, Jack turned around and smiled awkwardly. There was no way he was letting her near the food. “As the hostess... You get to relax. And you can wake up the kids when it’s all done.”
He didn’t miss the look on her face when she instantly realized that he wasn’t going to give her something important to do, but he ignored it as he headed back to the bedrooms. He’d dropped off his duffel somewhere the night before, and it was only a matter of finding it amongst all of the crap…
As he passed Sam’s room, he saw it along the wall, unmoved. “Ah!” Bending down to pick it up, Jack saw a shadow pass over him. He straightened, knowing it was her without having to turn around. “You know, it was nothing personal, Carter.”
“Of course not,” she agreed sardonically from behind. Jack couldn’t see her face. “You just didn’t want anyone to get food poisoning. Understandable.”
Slowly he turned around, realizing immediately that they were completely out of sight for only the second time since his arrival. He also didn’t fail to notice that they were mere feet away from her bedroom. Jack caught the look of realization as it hit her as well, and stifled a grin. “Is there anything else?” he inquired.
Sam shook her head numbly and almost whispered, “No.”
“Are we good?” he asked. “After last night, I mean?”
She nodded, seemingly a million miles away as if deep in thought. “It’s OK if we disagree on something. We’ve been doing that well enough for 10 years.”
He didn’t respond, too focused on that odd look in her eye to continue. She seemed to be coming to some sort of conclusion, yet her gaze was intensely focused on his own, her eyes boring a hole into his soul.
Then, as quickly as it came, the moment passed, and she simply stared at him with that same indulgent look on her face that he’d long since come to appreciate. It had taken her nearly a decade to perfect it, and he’d loved every variation of it along the way.
“So, you’ve already commanded my teammates to completely destroy my kitchen,” Sam recounted softly, a twinkle forming in her eye even as she feigned annoyance. “What else do you have planned for today?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Jack replied with a shrug, coming to a realization of his own. “I was thinking we could all pile into a couple of cars and head out to Pike National Park. The sky’s clear, and we've gotta pick up the kids' car anyway... Plus, it’s a great day for fishing.”
The End :) Thanks for reading!
Part Two is here: http://spazmeister.livejournal.com/9361.html#cutid1