Going Fishing
Going Fishing
by Jackie W.
Summary: Will Sam ever make it to Jack's cabin?
Category: Romance
Season: future Season
Pairing: Jack/Sam
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: none
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: 09/03/03
Title: "Going Fishing"
Author: Jackie W.
Email: jackiesfic@aol.com
Rating: PG
Classification: S/J Angst/Romance
Season: Season 7, After Homecoming
Spoilers: Nothing major, small ones through Homecoming
Summary: Will Sam every actually get to that cabin?
Sequel to: Giving Notice and Getting a Life
As always feed back craved!
Going Fishing
Sam looked at the calendar. June 8th. It had been almost seven months since she had left SG1. She shook her head in dismay. Seven months and she still hadn't made it up to Minnesota to go fishing with Jack.
Six months ago, after they had shared that first kiss, she had envisioned a future where the two of them slowly got to know each other as Sam and Jack while he continued on as CO of SG1 and she worked in the lab. She couldn't possibly envision the changes that fate had in store for them. Considering how rocky things had started out, she really shouldn't have been surprised.
After that first kiss, things had gone relatively well for several months. Jack had looked a bit panicked when they finally had come up for air, as if he had no clue what to do next, but he'd eventually managed to stammer out a dinner invitation for the following Friday night. Then he'd left, only to return a minute later.
"Carter, you know that it's January and we can't actually go fishing anytime in the near future," he told her.
"It was just a figure of speech, Sir," she said with a grin. "Dinner will be fine for a start."
"Just checking," he shrugged. Then he'd swept in for another kiss before telling her he'd be back first thing in the morning, and slipping out of the room.
The next morning Jacob had gotten to the infirmary bright and early figuring that Sam would be dying to get her casts off. He was surprised to find Jack already there taking his daughter's breakfast order.
"What can I get for you Jacob?" he asked before heading off to pick up the requested items from the commissary.
"Why is Jack waiting on you hand and foot?" Jacob inquired giving Sam a kiss.
"He's trying to make amends," Sam informed him, not really wanting to get into the subject just yet.
"He's your CO. What does he have to apologize for? You told me this was a lab accident, so he can't be feeling guilty about you getting hurt," Jacob asked, his curiosity peaked.
"I was in the lab on a Sunday alone because the guys had gone off without me. The Colonel and Daniel were both being pigheaded jerks," Sam explained. "Besides, the Colonel isn't my CO anymore."
Jacob sat in shocked silence for a moment. "I can't believe that Jack stepped down as CO of SG1," he finally proclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief.
"He didn't," Sam corrected. "I transferred off."
This time the silence was ominous. Finally Selmak spoke. "Your father is quite upset Samantha, and frankly your presence on SG1 will be missed by the Tok'Ra as well," she acknowledged.
"Thank you Selmak. But this is for the best. It's a good thing, really," Sam insisted. "I'm very happy."
"Why Sam?" Jacob finally was able to ask. "How in the world could it be a good thing for you to transfer off of a team like SG1? It can't do your career any good," Jacob stormed.
"Well, for one thing, I'm now the head of the new Science Department of the SGC, so I don't think my career will suffer too much. And my career is not the only thing that I was concerned about. It was time for me to start thinking about the other things I want out of life," Sam informed him, trying to stay calm.
"Please tell me you didn't do this because of some guy," Jacob protested.
"No Dad, although the chance to actually have a relationship like a normal person was definitely in the plus column when I was making my decision," she admitted.
"So there is a guy?" he demanded.
"There's a possible guy," Sam confided. "And I really want to talk to you about it, but do you think it can wait until I am up and around?"
"Why? It's easier for me to argue with you when you can't walk out on me," Jacob confessed.
Sam rolled her eyes at that and then breathed a sigh of relief as Jack returned with their breakfasts. But if she had hoped that her father would drop the subject with O'Neill's return she was mistaken.
"Jack, will you please tell my daughter that she can't drop a bombshell like this and then say we should talk later. We should have talked before she did something so stupid," Jacob insisted.
"Yeah, see that's where I blew it too, Jacob. I got all upset that she didn't come to me before requesting a transfer. But it's her life, her career, it has to be her decision," Jack pointed out.
"Don't tell me you're ok with this?" Jacob demanded in disbelief.
"I'm getting there. I miss having her on SG1, but I don't want her out there if she's not happy," Jack acknowledged.
While they had been talking, Jack had set up Sam's food for her and had automatically cut up her pancakes. Now as she listened to the two men her stomach started to growl.
"Ok guys, I need to eat, so let's have breakfast before it gets cold, and then we can continue this debate," she requested.
While eating his meal and watching Sam struggle to eat hers one-handed Jacob realized that she was right. The first order of business was to get her healed, and then they could talk. At the same time he was starting to notice that there was something definitely going on between his daughter and her former commander.
'You've always suspected that he had feelings for her, Jacob,' Selmak reminded him.
'I never thought she reciprocated them though,' Jacob answered.
'She's very good at hiding her feelings,' Selmak commented without accusation.
Jacob however immediately felt guilty. 'That would be my fault.'
'She's obviously willing to share them with you now, so don't make her sorry. Besides you like him,' Selmak pointed out with a chuckle. 'She could do a lot worse and she does look happy.'
Jacob grudgingly had to agree. He did like Jack, even if he was constantly glad that George was the one that had to deal with keeping him in line. He admired the Colonel's combat abilities and the way that he had molded a group of individuals with such diverse backgrounds and talents into one of the most cohesive teams he'd ever seen. Plus he had to admit that Jack had always treated his daughter with respect. If Jack O'Neill was Sam's 'possible guy' it wouldn't be all that bad. He looked over at Jack who was clearing away Sam's breakfast dishes while teasing her about losing the Egyptian Mummy look. Yep, this could even be fun. Sam hadn't had a boyfriend he could torture in a long time.
"So, Jacob, is Selmak ready to finish fixing up Carter?" Jack asked interrupting Jacob's musings.
"Yes, Colonel," Selmak replied.
Jack went off to find Dr. Fraiser so she could supervise the proceedings. Soon Selmak was working on Sam's shoulder, wrist and leg. After the Tok'Ra was done, she and Jacob went off to rest promising to find Sam in her lab when they awoke. Janet insisted that Sam have another set of x-ray's before she removed the casts, so Jack left her in the Doc's hands with his own promise to meet up with her in her lab later.
Having finally regained her mobility after a week, Sam practically skipped towards her lab. However once there she stopped at the door, suddenly unable to enter. Confused flashes of lying in that room in pain, unable to move or call out overwhelmed her, so she turned on her heels and made her way to Daniel's lab instead.
"Sam! You're back on your feet. That's so great!" he exclaimed jumping up and giving her a hug.
"Thanks Daniel. I have a favor to ask you," she stated nervously.
"Sure Sam, anything," he agreed in concern.
"Could you come with me to my lab? I'm sure there's a mess in there that needs to be cleaned up, but," she hesitated to admit how freaked out she was.
"It's not your favorite place to be alone at the moment," Daniel finished for her.
"I couldn't make it through the door," she admitted with an embarrassed shrug.
"I'm not surprised," he sympathized. "Come on. Let's go see how much damage was done."
Her lab was practically spotless. All of the debris had been cleared away, new lights installed, and test tubes and lab equipment all repaired or replaced. One pile of alien technology lay on her work bench, each piece labeled as to whether the function was known or still to be researched, and a note attached as to possible damage. One other pile of papers sat next to her PC waiting for Sam to go through it and re-organize the files.
"Wow," Daniel exclaimed in amazement. "I wish whoever did this would come organize my lab."
Just then one of the other scientists walked in and greeted Sam enthusiastically. "Major! It's so good to see you up and about. We were all very worried about you."
"Thank you Dr. King. Do you happen to know who cleared up my lab?" Sam inquired.
"Colonel O'Neill had Sgt. Siler and a couple of the lab techs in here for days getting everything fixed and organized," Kay King replied. "They brought the alien tech to us and we checked over each piece."
"Thanks so much for helping. Now what can I do for you?" Sam asked.
After Sam had dug out the files that Dr. King had been stopped by to try to find and the women had departed, she looked around the lab bemused.
"He really cares about you," Daniel said finally breaking the silence. Then he watched as a smile and a blush both appeared on his friend's face.
"I know," she whispered. Then she looked up at him and he was bowled over by the look of joy on her face. "I really care about him too, Daniel," she admitted with a smile.
"So what are you going to do about it?" he pushed gently, and then was surprised to see her look slightly embarrassed. "Sam...has something already happened between you two?"
"We kissed. Last night in the infirmary. And we have a date Friday night," she confided.
"It's about time," Daniel teased. "Does Janet know?"
"Not yet. I haven't been able to get her alone, so don't say anything. I'm hoping to grab her at lunch time," Sam pleaded.
"My lips are sealed. What about Teal'c, ooh, and Jacob?" Daniel asked grinning at the thought of Jack facing up to Sam's Dad.
"You can tell Teal'c if you want to, although he probably already knows. He's been pretty much in the loop on my feelings about the Colonel for months - long story. As for my Dad, I sort of let slip that there might be a guy, but if he has any clue as to who it is he didn't say anything. I'm sure he will be coming to see me as soon as Selmak is rested," Sam explained.
Daniel kept her company while she sorted through the paperwork, helping her file and chatting about the latest translation he was working on. They'd been working for about 20 minutes when Jack appeared.
"Hey. How's everything going in here?" he asked.
"Fine. Thank you for getting everything cleaned up and organized, Sir. It's making it so much easier to finish up," Sam acknowledged gratefully.
"No problem. There was no way we were going to let you try to clean up that mess yourself. Is there anything I can do to help now?" he asked hopefully.
Daniel handed him a stack of reports. "These need to be filed," he stated, then added with a grin, "And I need to get back to my lab." With that he not so subtly departed.
"He knows?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Sorry. He asked and I couldn't lie," Sam apologized.
"That's fine. I don't imagine it's going to be long before everyone finds out," he commented with a grin.
"Really, why?" Sam asked.
"Because it was killing me to stay away from you before. Now with no regs in the way, it's going to be impossible," he smirked as he backed her into a corner out of view of the security camera and gathered her in for a kiss that made her toes curl.
They were just breaking apart to take a much needed breath when they heard a cough from the doorway.
"Is there something you two want to tell me?" Jacob bellowed using his best outraged father voice.
"I'm so dead," Jack whispered before he and Sam turned to face her Dad.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Jacob tried to maintain the glare as Sam and Jack turned to him. But the deer-in-the-headlights looks on their faces caused Selmak to laugh which made Jacob's lips twitch as he attempted in vain to hold onto his ominous look. Sam noticed the change in his features and broke out into a slightly embarrassed grin.
"Yes, Dad. There is something we want you to know," she admitted with a chuckle.
Not wanting to let Jack off the hook too easily, Jacob looked as displeased as he could and turned to the younger man. "And what exactly do you have to say for yourself, Colonel?" he bellowed, stopping just short of letting his eyes flash as he figured that would be a bit over the top.
Jack only hesitated for a moment. He almost blurted out that he was in love with Jacob's daughter and had been for quite some time, but he really didn't want to say those words for the first time to Sam with an audience. Instead he went for something a bit more old-fashioned.
"Jacob, Sam and I would like to start seeing each other, um socially, now that she's no longer under my command. I hope we have your blessing," he stated simply.
"You know of course that if you make her unhappy in any way Selmak and I will have to hurt you," Jacob warned still looking stern.
"As you should," Jack acknowledged.
"Then you have my permission to see each other, how did you put it? Socially?" Jacob finally broke down and chuckled.
"Thanks, Dad," Sam said giving him a hug.
"Just be happy, kiddo," Jacob whispered to her as he returned the embrace. "Now, I think Jack and I need to go off and have a little chat, man to man."
Sam looked like she was going to protest, but Jacob assured her that he would be good. A few hours later they saw Jacob off, and Sam headed home for the evening. Jack had originally offered to drive her but Hammond had called him in for a meeting on some personnel issues that had come up.
Sam was only slightly disappointed. On the one hand she would have loved to spend the evening with Jack and perhaps find out what he had discussed with her father. But on the other hand she thought it would be sensible to take things slowly. And there was a huge part of her that wanted to jump the man as soon as they were alone together off of the base. She needed to get those impulses under control. Besides, she figured that she would need to clean up her place a bit after being gone over a week. But she was surprised to see that like her lab, someone (and she bet she knew who) had been to her house and had neatly piled up the mail on her kitchen counter, and had cleaned out the fridge of any nasty surprises that might have been waiting. Since the cleaning lady had been by on Thursday, the house was in pretty good shape. That had allowed her to order a pizza and spend some time paying the bills, do a couple of loads of laundry, and catch up on a few of her science journals. She came back to base on Monday rested and ready to face the gossip that was bound to be widespread by now. Thankfully she had gotten to Janet on Sunday before any rumors had started floating around.
She smiled at the memory of her friend's reaction. She had cornered her in her office right after the scene with her Dad.
"Sam, how are you feeling? Any lingering symptoms?" Janet had inquired.
"No, I'm feeling great. Selmak fixed up everything and I got a whole week of rest. I'm raring to go," Sam replied.
"Good. Then we are on for our wild night out on Friday?" Janet had asked hopefully.
"Jan, I'm so sorry. I have a date," Sam apologized.
"What? You've been in the infirmary for a week. You can't possibly have a date. Come on Sam, you can't back out... Oh!" Janet had stopped suddenly her eyes wide. "Really?!"
Sam's grin had threatened to crack her face as she nodded.
"Oh. My. God. You have to promise to tell me every detail," Janet had insisted.
"I'll probably be so nervous that it will be a total bust," Sam admitted. "First dates are bad enough, but this one is something I've been dreaming about for years."
"Just be yourself and you'll be fine. It's not exactly like a real first date anyway," Janet had sympathized.
As it was, neither Sam nor Jack had much time to get nervous over the thought of their upcoming date. SG1 had a scheduled planet survey on Monday, and they had barely gotten back when they had been called out to help with negotiations on a planet that SG1 had made first contact with several months ago. For her part, Sam had finally managed to take apart the device that had injured her. Her father had been able to identify it as a predecessor to the stun grenades currently used by the Goa'uld. The older model had long ago been abandoned because of it's unpredictability. Now she was able to study how the device had created the powerful energy surge.
Then as things were starting to quiet down on Thursday SG1 was sent on a rescue mission to provide backup for SG6 who had been pinned down away from the gate by a herd of animals similar to Earth's elephants. These animals were impervious to bullets as their hides where so thick they were like Kevlar. And the zats had proved useless as something in the planet's atmosphere was dissipating the energy to a harmless level. Sam and her team had quickly adapted new trinium tipped darts they had developed and made a version with a long enough tip to penetrate the inch thick hide. Then they had filled them with a powerful tranquilizer. SG1 had then gone through the gate and used the darts to sedate the animals long enough to get SG6 back home safely.
Only once during the week did Sam give the upcoming evening more than a passing thought, and that was when she had gotten the not unexpected call from Cassie demanding to know if it was true. When told that it was, the teen had squealed making Sam feel ancient, but she had felt an internal squeal in response. Yep, she really needed to get those hormones under control.
On the big night, Sam made it home with an hour to spare. Just enough time to dash into the shower, shave her legs (which her practical side insisted was totally unnecessary, they were taking it slow after all) and to quickly change into a casual skirt that fell below the tops of her boots, and a long sleeve top that was feminine without being revealing. Besides shaving her legs, she had also appeased that little hopeful voice (the one that was insisting that she could have sex tonight if she wanted to) by wearing her sexiest black lace underwear beneath the sedate outfit.
Jack rang the bell exactly at 19:00. He had debated on the wisdom of getting Sam flowers and had finally decided to get her a single long stem pink rose as a compromise. He was glad he had made the gesture when she answered the door looking beautiful. If nothing else than because handing her the flower gave him something to do while he recovered from the shock. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen Carter in a skirt other than her dress blues. One of Daniel's wakes maybe?
They both had been a bit nervous at first and the drive to the restaurant had been mostly silent. But shortly after they had ordered the wine they'd overheard two couples at a nearby table having a debate over the possibility of life on other planets. Sam's eyes had widened in disbelief and Jack had desperately tried to hold back his laughter. They both had broken down and laughed though when the wine arrived and Jack had toasted "To Thor."
After that they had been a lot more comfortable other than the few times that they had stumbled over using each others first names (old habits are hard to break). They chatted about their early days in the force, and compared notes on planes they had flown. Sam learned a bit about his family, and she told him about some of the different places she had lived as a child. And as they relaxed they fell into the teasing and flirting that had always seemed to come naturally between them. By the time they left the restaurant it no longer felt like a first date. Sam couldn't help but think that Janet had been right.
On the drive home Sam asked Jack about his private chat with her Dad. Jack told her that he had assured her father that they had never broken the regs while she was under his command, but that he'd admitted to having unprofessional feelings for her for years. He didn't tell her that he'd actually told Jacob that he loved Sam, and that he wanted to marry her, but thought a bit of wooing was in order before he proposed.
It was the good doctor phoning her the next morning that woke Sam from her very pleasant dreams. As she reached for the phone she glanced at the clock. Holy Hannah, it was 0900. She never slept that late.
"Carter," she answered groggily.
"Tell me everything," her wide-awake friend insisted.
Just then a strong arm reached out to pull her back against the warm body behind her. The very nice naked body.
"Sam are you there?" Janet asked in concern.
"Yeah. Just not awake. Jan can I call you back later?" Sam managed to reply trying to ignore the lips nibbling at her neck.
"Sure but just tell me quick, was it good?" Janet pushed.
"Very good," Sam said unsuccessfully biting back a moan.
"Sam? Sam! Just one question and then you can tell me the rest when you come over later. Did he stay the night?" Janet demanded.
The phone was suddenly removed from Sam's hand. "She'll see you later Doc," Jack told an astonished Janet, and then he reached over and hung up the phone.
"Good morning, Major," he murmured as her turned her over so he could kiss her properly.
Her plan to take it slowly had lasted until the moment Jack had leaned in for a good night kiss at her front door the night before. Luckily she had already unlocked the door and opened it a bit because the kiss had quickly escalated out of control and she had grabbed Jack and hauled him into the house closing the door behind them all in one swift motion.
Remembering that first frantic coupling, Sam couldn't help but blush. She never would have believed she could be so wanton. But now as she returned Jack's kiss she was glad she had been. Last night had been the most incredible of her life, especially when they had made love a second time, much slower, much more in control, but somehow infinitely more intense as it was accompanied by soft admissions of love. Besides, she thought, her wild behavior had resulted in her waking up right where she belonged, in Jack O'Neill's arms.
"So what did Doc want," Jack asked when they came up for air.
"She wanted to know how our date went," Sam told him.
"Pretty damn well," Jack replied with a grin.
"I think she figured that out since you were still here. I'm supposed to be over there at 14:00. Cassie and I have a standing date. I suppose today's will consist of me being grilled for details," Sam sighed.
"Do you have to go? I was kind of hoping we could spend the day in bed. Besides I'm not very comfortable with Doc knowing that much intimate detail about me. It's embarrassing," he admitted.
"Well, you will just have to bribe me to maintain my silence," Sam suggested.
"What did you have in mind?" Jack asked with a smile.
Sam proceeded to show him.
&&&&&&&&&&&
Over the next couple of months Sam and Jack spent all of their free time together, either with their friends or alone just enjoying each other's company. Daniel, Teal'c and Janet were all amused at the number of times they had caught the two officers in compromising positions, although it was always off base. After that one kiss that Jacob had walked in on in Sam's lab, they were extremely discrete while at work. Sam's possessions began a slow migration to Jack's house, and she only ever slept at her place when Jack was off world. Their transition to a couple was surprisingly easy considering how independent they both were. Of course it helped that they already shared a common set of friends and that they knew each other's quirks and bad habits. Six years of missions off world had been great preparation for living together.
That's not to say that they didn't have their share of squabbles. But they were both mature enough to recognize petty disagreements for what they were. Things were going so well that Jack had actually bought a ring and was planning on proposing when several things happened to throw their lives into chaos. First Sam caught a flu bug and spent several days battling nausea and tiredness. Then they had their first real fight.
They had been in a briefing going over MALP footage from a planet that showed signs of having once had underground tunnels. Hammond had made a point of asking Carter to get a list of previously occupied planets from the Tok'ra the next time they were in communications and Jack had made one of his sarcastic comments about their allies. Sam had bit back a retort during the meeting, but later as they made their way out to his truck to head home she had made her displeasure known.
"Come on Sam, you can't really tell me that you trust any of them other than Dad?" Jack accused.
"I think they are just like us, Jack. We have to build trust on a person by person basis. As a whole I trust them because I have to. As individuals, I reserve judgment until I get to know them," Sam tried to reason.
"Well on the whole I distrust them. And other than Jacob and Selmak, I can't stand being around any of them for any length of time. They are Goa'uld no matter what they say," Jack protested loudly.
Sam had been in the process of getting into the passenger side of the truck when he made the last statement and something inside of her snapped. Maybe it was some remnant of Jolinar or maybe it was just the knowledge that as much as she tried to ignore the fact, she did carry the remnants of a Goa'uld inside her, but she felt like he had just personally insulted her. She stepped away from the truck and slammed the door, and headed back inside informing Jack she would be staying on base for the night.
His first instinct was to go after her, but he was angry that she couldn't see that he had good reason for feeling the way that he did. So he went home to a house that was way to quiet and tossed and turned in a bed that felt terribly empty. It had only been in the last two months that the house had felt like a home he realized. He thought about the ring sitting at the back of his nightstand drawer. He finally fell asleep after promising himself to make things right with Sam the next day so he could follow through on his plan to put that ring on her finger. He wasn't about to screw this relationship up.
The next day SG1 was assigned an unplanned mission to a planet that showed signs of previous mining activity in the hopes that there would be naquada remaining there. Jack realized that he wouldn't have time to talk things over with Sam before he shipped out, but was relieved when she came to see him in his office. Sam had heard that they were going to be heading out and wanted to make sure that they talked. She would never let him go off world with their last words being spoken in anger. So she went and found him.
"Hey," she started out nervously.
"Hey," he answered back.
"Jack, I'm sorry about bailing on you last night, but I just didn't have the energy to argue with you. I know we can't resolve this debate now, but I wanted to let you know that while I might be upset with you, I still love you," she told him.
He let out the breath he had been unconsciously holding. "Same here," he acknowledged. "We may not ever agree on the Tok'ra, Sam, but I'm sorry I didn't even listen to you."
He took a minute to look her over carefully. She looked even more worn out than she had the day before. "You still felling sick?" he asked reaching out to lay his hand against her forehead, relieved that it was cool.
"Yeah," she admitted.
"Make sure you see the Doc today would you please?" he requested pulling her into a hug.
She nodded into his shoulder ad he kissed the top of her head before pulling away. As much as he wanted to kiss her he was mindful of the security cameras recording their every move. Making up correctly would have to wait until he got back and they could go home.
"I need to get changed. Come see us off in the gateroom?" Jack requested.
"Of course," Sam agreed with a smile.
After seeing SG1 off, she kept her promise to Jack and headed down to the infirmary. Janet drew some blood and prepared to look at it under the microscope.
"I know you haven't been off world, but you could still pick up an alien bug from some of the technology you work on, or from one of the soil samples," she explained.
She also decided that Sam was a bit dehydrated, so she hooked her up to and IV and let her work on her laptop while she got some fluids into her. An hour later she reported that she hadn't found anything unusual, but would send a sample off to the lab to see if they came up with any bacteria or viruses.
"Hopefully this thing has just about run it's course and the fluids should make you feel much better," she assured her friend.
A few hours later Sam was feeling better. But as the afternoon wore on a she found herself continuously looking at the clock. SG1 wasn't due back until the next day, but she had a very bad feeling that was growing stronger by the minute. When the Klaxons sounded she was out of her lab and down to the gateroom in record time. She arrived just in time to see Teal'c haul an unconscious Jack O'Neill through the wormhole and lay him on the ramp. Before he was surrounded by medical personnel she got a good enough look at his battered body to make it necessary for her to lean against the nearest wall and slide down until she was sitting. She had to take several long slow breaths before her vision cleared and she no longer felt like she was going to pass out.
Teal'c and Daniel helped her down to the infirmary. They explained to her and to General Hammond that the natives had not been receptive to their presence on the planet and had been chasing them back to the gate. Jack was on SG1's six, occasionally firing over the natives heads hoping to keep them scared enough that they wouldn't get too close, when the path they were running on suddenly crumbled throwing Jack over the side into a steep ravine. He had reached out for tree limbs to break his fall but one had struck his head, and then he had continued to tumble until a pile of rocks had broken his fall and shattered his left leg.
They had just finished recounting how Captain Jameson had managed to scramble down and secure a rope around Jack and then had supported the unconscious man as Teal'c had pulled him back up while Daniel had held off the natives, when Dr. Fraiser came out to give them an update. They were whisking Jack into surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain that the head injury had caused. They would simply be splinting his leg until they could deal with the more threatening inter cranial pressure.
An hour later Jack was out of surgery. Two hours after that Fraiser reported that the pressure was building again and that they were going to have to take him into surgery a second time. That was when Sam stepped in. Since her failure using the healing device on Daniel she had been working with the piece of technology. She had tried it out on Jonas once when he had sprained his wrist, and once on Sgt. Siler when he had slipped off a ladder and wrenched his back. She had even tried it on herself when she'd gotten an electrical burn in her lab. Each time she'd found it easier to control the device, realizing that unlike the ribbon device, the trick to the healing device was to relax and let a sense of peace and well being flow throw it. So Janet was willing to let her give it a try, especially since she really didn't like the idea of subjecting the Colonel to another surgery when his vitals were still a bit erratic. So while Dr. Warner and the nurses scrubbed, Sam stood over Jack and closed her eyes trying to relax. She conjured up thoughts of the two of them at his cabin, sitting on the dock drinking a beer and fishing. Soon she felt the device begin to glow. Janet carefully watched the machines for any sign of change. After a minute she saw a small improvement.
"Keep going Sam, it's working," she coaxed never taking her eyes from her patient or the readings on the screens.
When she was satisfied that the pressure had been reduced she turned to Sam to let her know that she could stop and just barely caught her friend as she collapsed.
Ironically, Jack regained consciousness before Sam did, although Janet assured him and the others that Sam was simply sleeping. Apparently using the healing device on top of having the flu had exhausted her. Jack's vital signs were all much improved, so the orthopedic specialist was brought in to work on his leg. Jack ended up back in surgery, as it was determined that putting the shattered bone together again was going to take two pins. He was going to have a long rehab unless he got lucky and one of the Tok'ra stopped by and could speed up the healing process, an irony that was not lost on the Colonel considering what he and Sam had been arguing about a couple of days before. Janet flatly refused to let Sam use the healing device again any time soon. Jack was just coming out of recovery when Sam finally decided to wake up.
"Hey there sleeping beauty," Daniel commented on seeing her eyes flutter open.
She was momentarily confused, but as she remembered what had happened she sat up in a panic. "Jack!" she cried out.
"He's fine, Sam. They should be bringing him back in here soon," Daniel assured her.
Sure enough a few minutes later they wheeled Jack in. He was slightly groggy but glad to see Sam awake.
"Sam, thank goodness. Doc kept telling us you were just tired, but you were out for so long we were worried," he told her.
"How long did I sleep?" she asked realizing that Jack's leg was now in a cast.
"Sixteen hours," Daniel confirmed looking at his watch.
"That's impossible!" Sam declared.
"That's why I'm going to be running several more tests on you," Janet said as she entered the room.
So as a nurse came to draw blood from Sam, Daniel took off to find Teal'c and let him know that both Sam and Jack were awake. In the mean time Jack debated on whether to thank Sam or yell at her for putting her own health at risk. Luckily even in his slightly altered state he realized that the first option was the proper one.
"Sam, thank you for saving my sorry ass once again," he told her.
"You're welcome, even though I really didn't save your life. If I hadn't gotten the device to work they would have just operated again," Sam explained.
"But you did save my life. Janet said the second surgery would have been very risky given my vitals signs," Jack insisted.
Sam looked at Janet for confirmation, and the Doctor nodded. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want to put too much pressure on you Sam," she admitted.
Sam managed to hide the fact that the news shook her to the core. She had come really close to losing Jack. It was two hours before Janet let her leave the infirmary with the promise that she would stay on base. As soon as Sam got to her quarters she grabbed her garbage can and heaved. Images assaulted her of all of the men she had lost over the years. Jonas Hansen, Narim, Martouf, and Orlin. Even Joe Faxon who had only made the fatal mistake of asking her out. And those were quickly followed by the thoughts of those other realities where Jack O'Neills had died while in a relationship with alternate Sam Carters.
She and Daniel had once speculated that there was a blight on the love lives of SG1, but she had never taken it seriously. Now she only had one thought as she curled up on her bed.
Maybe she really was cursed.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Sam's first instinct was to run as far away as she could. Maybe Jack would be safe if she put enough distance between them. But she was confined to base until her test results came back, so she decided to put the time to good use. After sixteen hours of sleep she didn't think she would be tired again for days, so she headed for her lab. She was going to make sure all of her paperwork was handed in, and all of her projects were ready to hand over, so she could make a quick get away as soon as she was able to.
The routine task of clearing her desk gave her time to calm down and think. Several hours later she was no longer in a panic. She really didn't believe in curses, and even if she did, the evidence suggested that the damage had already been done. He was in love with her, and that was all it would take to seal his fate. After all, she had broken up with Jonas long before his death. At that point she laughed at herself. She was actually trying to reason through the ramifications of being cursed in a logical fashion. Maybe she should have Janet check her for a fever.
In the mean time, Jack was in the infirmary having his own crisis of confidence. The orthopedic specialist was not very optimistic about his chances of a full recovery and the prospect of retirement or flying a desk was not very appealing. On the other hand, it would make Sam's life easier if she wasn't always worried about him being off world. He hadn't missed the quickly disguised look of horror on her face when she had realized how serious his head injury could have been without her help. General Hammond stopped by to see him after he got the medical update to try o to put his mind at ease. He would always be needed at the SGC, and depending on his fitness level, he could either take an advisory role, helping out with their allies (after all would Thor really trust anyone else?) or he could help train new recruits.
Sam was finally distracted from her musings in the late afternoon when her stomach loudly complained. She must be over the flu, she thought with a smile. It was the first time she could remember being hungry in over five days. Realizing that it had been six hours since she left the infirmary, she decided that she would stop there and see if Jack wanted anything before she headed to the commissary. She checked in first at Janet's office where she found her friend wolfing down a sandwich and going over some charts.
"Sam! Your test results are back but I haven't had a chance to go over them yet," she apologized.
"Take your time Jan. I thought I'd check to see if your favorite patient was allowed food before I went down to get something myself," Sam explained.
"Your appetite is back? That's a good sign. And I'm sure the nurses will welcome you with open arms if you can distract that man for a bit. The Colonel can eat, but keep it bland," she warned.
"Ok, after we eat and talk a bit I'll stop back in," Sam told her.
Jack was relieved to see Sam. Teal'c and Daniel had both abandoned him a while ago and he was bored, even though he had a lot of thinking to do about his future. He had also begun to worry since she had been gone so long. He gladly took her up on her offer of food, as the clear liquids and Jell-o he'd had after recovery hadn't done much to fend off starvation. He was happy to see that Sam was eating too. She never had any extra weight on her, and she was definitely beginning to look like she was wasting away after being sick for several days. They sat and chatted about trivial things while they both practically inhaled their food. When they were done she asked what the prognosis was on his leg.
"A minimum of six weeks in the cast, then rehab," he moaned. "And even with that the Bone Doc wasn't too enthusiastic about me passing the physical. But Hammond assures me that I can always 'Consult'," he grimaced.
"You'd hate that. Don't worry, as soon as I'm cleared I'll use the healing device to see if we can't speed up that recovery a bit," she promised.
"No way. Janet says she has no clue why you had such a bad reaction this last time. I am not letting you do that again," Jack ordered.
Sam started to protest, but she knew there was no sense arguing at this point. "Fine, then one of the other Tok'ra will fix you up the next time they show up. They are about due to need our help with something," Sam shrugged.
Jack gave her a funny look. "You mean one of the Tok'ra," he corrected.
"What did I say?" she asked looking confused.
"One of the other Tok'ra," he told her.
"Oh!" she said eyes wide as she realized her slip.
Jack sat there in stunned silence for a moment, and then he swore. "That's why you are always so upset when I bad-mouth the Tok'ra. Do you think I am insulting you?" he asked in dismay.
She couldn't meet his eyes as she answered him. "Yes." She got up to pace around the small space with her arms wrapped protectively around her front. "It's stupid, but it always feels like a personal insult. I am, after all physiologically a Goa'uld, except for actually having a live snake in my head," she acknowledged.
"A pretty big exception. Sam you are not a Goa'uld or a Tok'ra," Jack insisted.
She finally turned and looked him in the eyes, and he could see the tears she was fighting to keep at bay. "I'm not exactly human anymore either. You need to accept that Jack," she pleaded.
"God, Sam Come here," he implored as he patted the right side of his bed.
She sat down facing him, trying to be cautious so as not to jar his leg, but he reached out and pulled her into a tight hug. He couldn't believe he and his big mouth had been hurting her like that. And although the whole blending thing wasn't something he ever talked about, he knew she deserved at least this much.
"I love you. All of you. Including the parts that Jolinar left behind, and especially the way you've handled those parts. I've always marveled at how you could possibly be strong enough to handle all of the crap she dumped on you, and so damn proud of the fact that you did handle it," he admitted.
She pushed off from where her head was buried in his shoulder and brushed a soft kiss across his lips. "Thank you. That means the world to me," she told him.
But he could see that she still looked upset by something. "What else is bothering you, Sam?" he asked in concern.
"I almost lost you today," she whispered.
"But you saved me, just like you always do. I'm going to be fine," he assured her.
"But for how long?" she wondered, and then was startled to realize she had said it out loud.
"I'm not planning on going anywhere. And I've been thinking. Even if my leg heals, I'm going to step down from SG1. Hammond will let me do training if I'm fit, keep my hand in as it were. Then I won't be putting my life on the line on a daily basis," he explained.
"I don't want you to give up SG1 for me. Besides I don't think it would matter. I'm cursed you know," she informed him only partially joking.
"Cursed?" he inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"Love me, and die. It's a proven fact in this reality and at least two others," she confirmed.
He couldn't help but laugh.
"It's not funny!" Sam protested.
"No it's not," Jack agreed trying to maintain a serious face. "But I guess I'll just have to take my chances," he said with a shrug.
She looked like she was about to argue, but he stopped her with a swift kiss. Pulling back he just shook his head. "Without you in my life I'm a dead man anyway. So I'll take whatever time we have together whether it ends up being one year or thirty. Personally I plan on being in this for the long haul," he said with a sexy grin and a twinkle in his eyes.
For a moment Sam could only beam one of her biggest smiles back at him. Then he saw her smile curve into a slightly wicked grin.
"Was that a proposal, Jack?" she asked tilting her head to one side as if to ponder the question.
Jack was stunned into silence. This scenario wasn't even close to any he had imagined when planning to pop the question.
"Because I could run home and get the ring out of your nightstand," she prompted.
He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Darn it! I knew I should have hidden it in my underwear drawer!" he lamented. Then he opened his eyes and they bore into hers filled with love and desire. "Yes, it was a proposal. Marry me?!" he urged.
Her enthusiastic "Yes" was out almost before he had finished the question, and then she threw her arms around his neck to pull him in for a passionate kiss.
That's how Dr. Fraiser found them a few minutes later, wrapped in each other's arms, Sam awkwardly lying across Jack's right side, lips still locked in a kiss.
"Do you two ever let up?" she quipped.
Jack threw her one of his most charming grins. "She said yes," he explained cryptically.
Janet didn't take long to catch on. She looked at Sam with wide eyes for confirmation. From the shelter of Jack's shoulder Sam nodded. Then she untangled herself from his embrace.
"You and Cass are going to need to go shopping for bridesmaid dresses," she told her friend.
Janet instantly pulled her into a hug. "Congratulation, you two!" she exclaimed. Then she turned to her patient. "You had better take good care of her," she warned.
"Don't worry Doc. There are too many people that would hurt me it I didn't. I don't have a death wish," he proclaimed.
"I'd love to be around when you tell Jacob," Janet admitted with a gleam in her eyes.
"Actually he knows that I intended to propose. I told him two months ago when he was here," Jack confessed.
Sam head snapped up to meet his slightly embarrassed gaze. "You did?" she asked in surprise.
"I knew it was what I wanted, I just wasn't sure about how you felt," he told her with a shrug and a grin.
"Well I hate to break up this happy moment, but the Colonel needs to get settled for the night. A nurse will be in with your meds soon, Sir. And Sam, we can go over your lab results and then I'll let you go home. I'll even drive you home if you need a ride," Janet said.
"She can take my truck. I won't be driving it any time soon," Jack offered. "The keys are in my locker."
Sam looked at him to see if he was kidding. He was almost as protective of his tuck as she was of her bike.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
He nodded. "Just stay out from under the hood. I don't want to find any of the timing belts have been played with," he warned her, knowing she would be tempted fiddle.
"You are no fun," she commented with a pout.
Janet gave them five minutes to say goodnight, which they reluctantly did. Just before she left Jack told her to be sure to bring the ring in the next day.
"It's going on my finger the instant I get home," she said with a wink and a grin as she headed for Janet's office.
True to her word, Sam headed to Jack's house, and after locking up she headed to the bedroom and dug out the ring. She had just barely peeked into the box when she had found it accidentally two weeks ago. Now she put it on and openly admired it. The setting was antique in design, silver, the main stone a sapphire with a diamond on either side. Despite her earlier thoughts on not being able to sleep for days, she actually curled up hugging Jack's pillow and slept peacefully for seven hours.
She arrived in the infirmary bright and early having kept her left hand firmly in her pocket as she made her way into the mountain, to find Daniel and Teal'c already sitting having breakfast with Jack. Slipping her hand out into plain view she gave her fianc a kiss and than sat back to wait for one of the two visitors to notice. She was swiping a piece of bacon from Jack's plate when Teal'c raised an eyebrow and pointed to the new addition.
"Are congratulations in order, Major Carter?" he inquired.
"Most definitely, T," Jack replied.
Daniel's "It's about time" could be heard out in the corridor, so after joyously giving their friends the details of their engagement, Sam scurried on down to Hammond's office to give him the news before the grapevine worked it's magic. Luckily he had been in an early morning briefing, so while the announcement wasn't a huge surprise, it was still good news. Hammond broke protocol to pull her into a hug and let her know how happy he was for both her and Jack. He told her he would send a message to the Tok'ra asking Jacob to stop by when he could, and he'd be sure to stop by and congratulate his 2IC as soon as he could.
Through lunchtime the infirmary had a constant stream of well-wishers that kept Jack occupied. After lunch he was worn out enough from all of the excitement that he took a nap, so it wasn't until dinner time that he began to get bored and started to bug the Doc to let him out. Sam had been prepared for this and had already recruited the other three members of SG1 for a night of poker. By the time Jack was bedded down for the night, the medical staff was thinking of giving Sam Carter a medal. They couldn't remember the last time a conscious Jack O'Neill had made it through a day in the infirmary without driving them crazy. But they held off on their thanks. After all, Jack would be their guest for one more day until Dr. Connors returned to do the follow up x-rays and release him.
Sam however had an ace up her sleeve. Not too long after breakfast, when Jack's complaining was beginning to cause the nurses to questions their career choices, Sam signaled Janet that she wanted some privacy. The two nurse's relief at being given a break was almost funny, but Jack's dismay when they left the room was hysterical.
"Hey! Where did everyone go?" he sulked.
"You drove them all away. Jack you need to let them do their job and not fight them every step of the way," Sam scolded him.
"Yes, Mom," he mocked, not looking at all repentant.
"I'm serious, Jack. We have a lot to do in the next few months. There's a wedding to plan, and we need to clear out my house and sell it. Plus we need to set up a nursery. I need you to do everything the doctor's say so you can get back on your feet as soon as possible," Sam ranted.
He'd started to zone out when she began to lists things, so he wasn't really sure he had heard correctly.
"What did you say?" he demanded.
She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Well if you would pay attention," she admonished with her hands on her hips.
"Sam!" he exclaimed grabbing her hand to pull her closer. "What. Did. You. Say?" he pleaded.
"I said that I need you up on your feet because there is a lot to do in the next eight months before the baby comes," she explained gently, fighting back a grin.
Jack closed his eyes as a wave of emotions passed over him. When he opened them Sam swore he was fighting back tears. She momentarily panicked thinking that she might have been mistaken about him being happy about this news. Then his features began to change, and soon he was sporting the biggest smile she could ever remember seeing on his face, and she knew it was alright. Before she could say another word she had been pulled into a kiss and just as their lips parted she heard Jack whisper "Thank you". She suspected that the invocation was offered not just to her, but to whatever higher power had regarded him worthy of a second chance at fatherhood. She silently added her appreciation as well.
Then he was full of questions. "When did you find out? Are you ok? How far along are you?" he fired off in rapid succession.
She finally leaned in to kiss him, a tactic he loved to use on her to gain silence. She sat back and told him about her conversation with Janet just thirty-six hours ago.
<<<<<
"Well, it wasn't the flu," Janet had said flipping though Sam's lab work once they were safely in the Doctor's office with the door closed.
Sam was instantly concerned. "Alien?"
"Oh, no, definitely a human condition," Janet had told her with a twinkle in her eye.
It had been Janet's demeanor that had made Sam pause. She didn't look like she was about to deliver bad news, a posture Sam had seen her friend adopt way too many times. The pieces had started to fall into place. This was good news.
"I'm pregnant?!" Sam had whispered in amazement.
"I'd say about a month along," Janet confirmed with grin.
>>>>>>
"So she had me see Dr. Peterson the OBGYN yesterday. She confirmed that everything is fine, and that I am about five weeks pregnant," Sam grinned.
They spent the next twenty minutes quietly talking, wrapped in each others arms, pausing now and then to grin stupidly at each other and kiss. When Janet walked in she just shook her head.
"I believe it's this kind of behavior that got you into your present condition, Sam" she teased.
"Doc, you better brush up on your medical training. You can't get pregnant from kissing," Jack smirked.
"Stop right there, Colonel. I don't need a vision of you two doing anything else in my head," Janet warned.
"Jan, we've decided to keep this news quiet for now. Just SG1, and maybe Dad until I'm further along," Sam told her.
"Probably a good idea. Even in a normal pregnancy the first trimester is risky," Janet said nodding her approval.
Needless to say, Jack had been in too good of a mood to give any of the nurses or Dr. Conner a hard time that day, which had confused the heck out of those nurses used to dealing with him. Not that they were complaining. Jack had gotten clearance to go home with strict instructions to not over do it and to use his crutches to get around. Teal'c and Daniel had helped him home the next morning, and once there had been given the news that they were going to be 'uncles'. Both men were so happy for their friends that they instantly went out and bought a book of baby names, and spent the rest of the day (and frankly the next couple of months) 'helping' Sam and Jack pick out names.
Jacob came through the gate about a week later, and he and Selmak did their best to heal Jack's leg. He still was going to need PT to get it back to full strength, but at least he was able to get the cast off, and progress to a cane. Jacob and Selmak were both thrilled at all of Sam and Jack's news (although Jacob had a few choice words for Jack on the subject of getting his daughter pregnant out of wedlock). They set a date while he was there so that he could come back for the wedding.
And so on a brisk day in late April, Sam and Jack were married. They kept the ceremony small and intimate, and because it was still cold in Minnesota and Jack didn't want to skip any therapy they chose to just take a long week-end at a nearby resort as their honeymoon. It was June before they both were able to get away again and they were finally heading up to Jack's cabin for two weeks. Jack was going to use the time to consider what he wanted to do when he came back as it was likely that he would be cleared for active duty. Truthfully, he already knew he would not be going back to SG1 and had told Teal'c, Daniel and Captain Jameson that before he'd left base the day before. As much as he wished to continue the fight, his body wasn't getting any younger, and with Sam waiting at home and a baby on the way, his heart wouldn't be in it anymore either.
As she finished packing, Sam caught site of her reflection in the mirror, and turned to look ruefully at her slightly bulging abdomen. She wouldn't be wearing her bikini on this trip. Pity. She had a couple of really good fantasies involving Jack removing that bikini while they were 'fishing'. Then she had to smile. Jack certainly didn't seem to find her any less sexy now that she was starting to show. If anything he found her fuller figure even more of a turn on than before. But then the man had once admitted that he thought she looked sexy in BDU's so his judgment was a bit clouded.
Suddenly two strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her gently back into an embrace.
"Are the bags all ready to go?" Jack asked kissing her neck.
"Yeah, I just need to grab my purse and jacket," she replied.
"Well then, Mrs. O'Neill, let's go fishing."
The end
If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to Jackie W.
Heliopolis Main Archive
A Stargate: SG-1 Fanfiction Site
Going Fishing
by Jackie WSite Navigation
Support Heliopolis