Circles - Chapter 6
Circles - Chapter 6
by Explosion_Of_Colour
Summary: Sometimes life just keeps going round in circles. until something breaks the pattern.
Category: Action/Adventure, Romance
Season: any Season
Pairing: Jack/Sam
Rating: G
Warnings: minor language
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s).
Archived on: 03/09/04
Circles
Chapter 6 - Good Morning, Beautiful
Sometime in the next few hours Jack woke to find himself alone in bed, reaching out to the still warm spot where the light blue covers had been thrown back. Before he could jump to all the wrong conclusions about Sam having left, regretting everything that had happened, the door opened quietly as she stepped into the room wearing his t-shirt and carrying a glass of water. Sam moved round to her side of the bed silently, setting the drink on her bedside table and slipping back under the covers.
"Sorry," She smiled apologetically when she realised he was awake, snuggling up to him and resting her head on his broad chest.
"'S 'kay." Came the sleepy reply, his arms enfolding her again, planting a tender kiss on her forehead before drifting off to sleep again.
**
Jack and Sam spent most of the day in bed, but by late afternoon neither could ignore their rumbling stomachs any longer. Jack suggested pizza., threatening to order pepperoni on it before she countered with a threat to throw him out.
"You wouldn't." He called her bluff adamantly, to which she stood in front of him, hands on hips and keeping a straight face.
"Watch me." She couldn't hold her serious face long, especially at his hurt expression. A happy smile broke through and Jack enveloped her in a hug, kissing her soundly.
"You smell nice." Sam commented, taking in his musky scent.
"You trying to get round me, Carter? 'Cause pepperoni is worth more than -"
She glared at him, the challenge in her sapphire eyes threatening him again. "Don't even think about it, sir." She said before thinking about it. The humour evaporated immediately, leaving them with the sobering reality that they had to deal with. Sam observed his downcast face, wishing she could take it back. Such a small word that caused so much angst and pain over the years, reminding them both of what couldn't - or at least shouldn't - do. Now they had, they had to deal with the consequences.
"I'm sorry." She apologised in a hushed voice.
Jack didn't reply, one hand reaching out to pull something from her kitchen table, inevitably to fidget with. Sam sighed, pulling a chair out from the table to sit down on, as she longed for the atmosphere to diminish back to only moments before. But she was the practical one, which meant she knew there had to be a time they faced this. The sooner, the better.
"What do we do now?" She thought aloud.
"Order pizza?" Jack quipped weakly, whilst taking apart what she realised was her favourite pen. Sam smiled in response, waiting to see if he would add a serious answer to her question. Tossing the pen - what was left of it - on the table absently, Jack sighed, wandering round the kitchen. "When are you going to tell Hammond about Karrington?" he asked her finally.
"I told you, I can't, even if General Hammond believes me and doesn't listen to what he'll say about you and me, I don't know if I can lie to the General."
Jack paced about again, seemingly deep in thought. "I think I should do some digging on this guy. The sooner he's off the team the better, and he will be out of the SGC one way or another." Jack decided, the dangerous look in his eyes again.
"S - Jack," Sam replied, catching herself just in time. "You won't do anything to get yourself in trouble will you? There's plenty of chauvinistic idiots in the Air Force that only see women one way."
Jack stared at her in surprise. "Are you saying this has happened before?"
"No! No, I just don't want you to get in trouble over this." She repeated.
"Me? Would I, Carter?" He feigned indignation and announced he was going to order pizza, disappearing for ten minutes to the hallway.
"The damn pizza guy didn't speak a word of English, for cryin' out loud! Would it be too much to employ an American for once?"
"I think it's half the fun, at least from their point of view." She laughed.
"And I am getting very worried about your sense of fun, Major."
There was a silence again, the air tense.
"Should we talk about last night?"
He looked at her, a wry smile on his face. "Last time we tried talking we kinda... moved on to... other things."
Sam watched his wild hand gestures as he tried to find the right words, finding it hard not to laugh. God knew why she found him so adorable, but she did - at times anyway. How many Air Force Colonel's could be classed as adorable? Next to none. Certainly not something to go down on their CV.
"No giggling, Major. I know that look."
That set her off, the complicated situation and her complex life suddenly seemed so funny. Damn that new brand of coffee she'd been drinking lately. Jack's hand covered hers as she managed to calm herself, a rare genuine smile adorning his handsome features.
"I don't regret last night, not for a second." He told her seriously.
She smiled brightly back at him. "Neither do I." They shared a gentle kiss and resolved not to think about it any more, instead enjoying each others company in a comfortable, platonic way.
**
Jack left a little after eight in the evening that night, after helping her clear away all the plates and glasses they'd used. After finding a movie to watch, they had sat together on the sofa to watch it. By half way through, Sam had leant against him and Jack had put his arm round her, both barely realising what they were doing. Once the film had finished, Jack made his exit, promising to return first thing in the morning to pick her up for work. Sam had to admit she'd not felt so relaxed in a long time.
The next morning they slipped back into Colonel Jack O'Neill and Major Samantha Carter, parting ways when they reached the commisionary floor. Sam went straight to her lab; wanting to assess exactly how much work she had lagged behind with due to her sick day. After the first hour, Jack turned up in the doorway, apparently for lack of anything better to do.
"Danny's back and grouchy." He announced suddenly, to make his presence known. She jumped, having not realised he was there whilst she worked on the newest acquisition from SG-12's mission. Jack looked around, searching out any new little gadgets she might have left lying around, before taking a seat opposite her.
"Really? I should go see him later." Sam replied, not looking up from her work. Jack leaned back in his chair, thrusting his legs up on her desk, which earned him a brief glare.
"Bored, sir?" She asked with a knowing smile.
"Like I said, Danny's grouchy. He threw me out of his office." Jack admitted, picking up a rubix-cube like object from her desk.
"Second choice was I, sir?" Sam laughed.
"Of course not, Major. I wanted to see how long it would take to annoy the good doctor enough for him to throw me out."
"It was all part of a cunning plan, was it, sir?" She replied, concentrating tinkering with the machine in from of her before continuing. "If you've got nothing to do, sir, you could always catch up on you memos."
"Oh, that was low, Major. And you know I could never be that bored."
"Sorry, sir." Sam smiled defiantly.
"So whatcha doin'?" Jack asked her, still turning the gismo over in his hands.
"You really want to know?"
He looked sheepish for a fleeting second before responding. "Nah, not really. You ready for a break?"
Sam debated for a second, and then finished the part she was working on. "Yeah, okay. We can swing by Daniel's office on the way."
"Ahh... maybe you should. Danny kinda threatened to throw things in my general direction if I came back within the next few hours."
She laughed at his expression; fairly sure Daniel had meant it. "I'll protect you, sir."
Jack bit back a lewd remark that instantly came to mind, instead choosing to raise an eyebrow. "You'd better, Carter. 'Cause he wasn't kidding."
She laughed at him again, making a mental note to find out exactly what the Colonel had done to annoy Daniel so much. Following him out of the lab, Sam suddenly spotted her coat on the hanger behind the door - the coat she'd left behind when Karrington attacked her. She stared for a second at the long dark material, trying to convince herself that it must have been an airman or someone else who had found it and returned it. But her door had been locked; she always locked her lab before leaving.
Jack had gone on ahead of her, unaware she'd stopped. Sam forced her eyes away and closed the door behind her, hurrying to catch up with him, an uneasy feeling turning her stomach.
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