Safekeeping
by Shane Vansen
TITLE: Safekeeping
Author: Shane Vansen
Email: the_fourth_dimension@hotmail.com
Category: None
Pairing: UST, Sam/Jack
Spoilers: none (okay, well, a vague reference to Brief Candle, but not really a spoiler. You just won't get the lame joke)
Season: any
Rating: G
Content Warnings: none
Status: Completed
Summary: Jack's been eating cake off-world again
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters belong to MGM, Gekko Film Corp and Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment purposes and no money exchanged hands. No copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Author's notes: Just a little scene that came to me when I should be finishing a big, honkin' story that I've been working on since February/01. What can I say, my muse is pushy (but at least she's back). Big thanks to Sue for betaing and the title (always the hardest part of any fic, eh?)
Sam stood slightly apart from the celebration, watching the revelers with a small smile as she sipped her water. The impromptu party was quite entertaining and under most circumstances she would have been mingling with the natives of VaSharri, talking, learning and laughing, but there was something about this night, an almost magical feeling in the air that leant an aura of unreality to the situation. And Sam knew herself well enough to realize that such a feeling could lead to dangerous circumstances if she didn't keep a tight reign on herself.
Even as the thought crossed her mind, she found her gaze wandering over to the precise reason why she drank a non-alcoholic beverage and kept back in the shadows. Jack was trading stories with their liaison and was laughing just loud enough for her to suspect that he'd indulged in at least one glass of the local brew. Not that he was inebriated -- she knew he'd never be less than able to make coherent decisions while on duty -- but still, she felt safer keeping a bit of a distance between them right now.
He looked up then, straight into her eyes, and even across the clearing she felt the familiar tingle of awareness. He raised a forkful of the cake he was eating in acknowledgement, a barely detectable smile coming to his lips, and the tingle became a shiver.
Yup, definitely safer to keep her distance.
She raised her own glass in return before gesturing that she was returning to their camp. At his understanding nod, she gave a last wistful look at the partygoers and turned to follow the path that led to their tents.
***
It was only an hour or so later that the rest of her team arrived; by that time she had a fire blazing merrily away and was heating a cup of instant coffee. Daniel and Teal'c headed straight for the tent, but Jack took a seat by the fire, his presence doing nothing to dispel the fantastical mood that surrounded her. She wondered absently if anything would -- aside from a battalion of Jaffa, of course.
Jack made a small sound then, barely audible over the popping of burning wood, and she finally glanced over at him, struck almost immediately by the paleness of his face; despite the orange glow of the fire he was nearly white. It also didn't escape her notice that although the night was warm he was clutching his jacket about him tightly, shivering. "Are you okay?" she asked, concerned; her voice was startling in its suddenness.
"Fine," he muttered, just seconds before he took off running for the surrounding tree line. She could hear him retching even as she grabbed her canteen and rose to her feet to follow.
He was on his knees, bent over double as he continued to dry heave, and she knelt next to him, placing a comforting if hesitant hand on his back. He continued to shudder beneath her touch for a few minutes more before he finally sat back, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth. She silently handed him the canteen and he swished a mouthful of water around before spitting it out. "Thanks," he said, his voice weak, as she helped him up and slid an arm around his waist to walk him back to their camp. Sam watched as he made himself comfortable in his sleeping bag, and then ignoring the annoying little voice in the back of head, sat down beside him and began running her fingers through his hair. "Carter?" he murmured, his voice sleepy.
"Sir?" She continued to touch him gently, hoping to soothe him into sleep.
"Remind me to never eat cake on an alien planet ever again." Sam snorted softly, and then all was quiet except for the crackling of the fire. She was content to sit next to Jack as he slowly drifted off to sleep, secure in his unspoken trust for her to look after things -- and him -- until morning.
--end--
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