Max 7: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Max 7: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
by Tropical
Title: Max 7: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Author: Tropical
Email: autumngirl300@hotmail.com
Category: Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Season: Season 5
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Summary: How does Max feel with his mother gone?
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).
Max 7: Twinkle Twinkle little star
Max was kneeling by the window in Steve's bedroom, staring out at the sunset. His mother was meant to pick him up before supper, and it's been a long time since he ate. Time for sleep was approaching and even though Steve was excited with the idea of having a friend over for the night, he couldn't help but worry for his mother. It was unusual of her to be gone for so long and not even giving him a call. She promised she'd be back for supper.
She never broke a promise before.
"Max?" Steve appeared in the entrance and frowned at Max staring out the window, "Come on! The film is about to start!" he whined.
Max sighed and glanced to his friend looking annoyed, "I told you, I don't want to watch a movie!"
"My mom said you shouldn't worry" Steve repeated his earlier words. He couldn't understand why Max didn't find this situation "cool". His own mom would never let him sleep at a friend's house. If he had been in Max's place, he would have felt like jumping from roof to roof in joy.
But no.
Not for Max.
Poor boy wanted to sit by the window, watching the sun disappear from the sky, thinking where his mom was.
"You're boring!" Steve spat.
Max ignored him and pushed himself to his feet, "I'm going outside"
"Fine!"
Max stepped down the stairs and was able to sneak out of the house without Maria noticing. Once outside, he lifted his head to watch the remaining part of the sun lower beyond the houses.
Sam never came so late before.
He sat down on the cement stairs in front of the house and brushed away his tears. He didn't want to look like a cry baby in front of Steve and his mother. But the hurt he felt inside was just too much for his little heart to handle.
He missed her.
Was she missing him?
Was she even thinking about him?
Had she really forgotten about him?
Tears came more often and very soon his cheeks were damped with tears.
The sound of a car approaching quickly made him stand up. Clumsily wiping away his tears with the back of his hands, he took a couple of steps closer to the sidewalk. It wasn't a car but a truck. His mother didn't own a truck.
Meaning that wasn't her.
The truck stopped in front of Maria's house, causing Max to step away. It took a while for the person inside to come out, giving Max plenty of time to remember who's truck was this. It looked fairly familiar but couldn't place it anywhere in his memories. The door finally open, and a man came out.
"Jack" Max breathed, not knowing whether to be angry, sad or worried.
"Hey, buddy"
His voice.
There was something in his voice that just wasn't right.
Jack was never neutral.
"Where's mommy?"
"I'll tell you later, ok? I need to speak with Maria for a moment"
"I want to know where's mommy" he asked again between hard coming sobs. Jack stepped forward and gently picked the sobbing boy in his arms. This was going to be a lot harder than he expected.
"Your mom is working late. No need to cry waterfalls now, ok?" Jack whispered in the boy's ear, stroking his back with a comforting hand.
"Why didn't mommy call?"
The boy was as smart as his mother. It was evident. Jack kissed Max's forehead and opened the passenger door of his truck "Wait here, ok? I'm gonna have a little chat with Maria, get your puppy and I'll be right with you" he promised, wiping his tears away. He was answered by a sob and a nod.
He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. So many emotions passed through him he couldn't keep his head straight. Everything was just so wrong. Why hadn't Sam ask Janet to keep him? He loved spending time with Cassandra and her dog.
Why Jack?
Why choose the second person he loved the most, who had abandoned him and his mother several weeks ago, to baby-sit him for the night?
He was so confused. So lost.
He wanted to call his mother and ask her to come home.
Back with them.
Him and Star.
Eat pizza and watch another movie.
Play in the bathtub with the bubbles and his toys.
Going to sleep with the sound of her voice, singing:
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Hot tears cascaded his cheeks. He missed her more than he let on. A lot more.
Sam was bored and tired, without forgetting sick almost all the time. She had nothing else to do but stare at the dull ceiling and walls that surrounded her. She was unable to go to sleep, not matter how exhausted she was, with all the thoughts that tormented her.
Was it really a good idea to give Earth's coordinates to this 'man' she knew nothing about? He did nothing to gain her trust. For all she knew, Earth could be in great danger by now. And she'd be responsible for everything.
Absolutely everything.
The thought made her sick. Or was it her pregnancy? She didn't want to know. This wasn't how her life was suppose to turn out to be. Away from her son, her friends, the people... the man she loved. The thought caused her to lower her eyes and gently stroke her stomach. Tears welled up in her eyes, yet she was smiling. She would rather be in the arms of a certain man than sit here alone with her unborn child, locked in a metal room, trapped on an alien ship on the other side of the universe.
Jack was making his bed, taking off the already used blankets and replacing them with clean ones. Max would have to sleep in his bed for the night, Jack didn't mind sleeping on the couch at all. In fact, he didn't think he could sleep very well if it had been in his bedroom. Sleeping alone in a huge bed was out of the question for now, not when the only thoughts penetrating his head were focused on Sam and her alone.
He made a bath for Max half an hour ago, and that's where he still was. Jack felt sorry for the kid. No child should experience the loss of a parent, and worse yet, both of them. Max wasn't handling things well, he was thinking too much and didn't talk much about his feelings. Maybe Jack should talk to him before bed, at least clear several things out so he wouldn't die of worry.
"Max? Is everything alright?" Jack asked, knocking on the bathroom door.
No answer.
He slowly opened the door and stepped inside. He stopped dead when he saw the little boy wrapped around a towel, sitting on the floor and shivering.
"You'll get sick like this!" he gasped, grabbing another towel and pulling it on his head. He took the boy in his arms and brought him to his bedroom where he put him down on his bed. He knelt down so he could stare in Max's eyes and frowned.
"Max, why are you so quiet?"
"Because you're lying!" he accused.
"And what am I lying about?"
"Mommy! She's not working late! She's gone, isn't she?"
"Don't..."
"No, she's gone and she's not coming back! She doesn't love me anymore!" he shouted angrily, pushing Jack away and crawled under the blankets, throwing the towel on the floor.
"Max..."
"Go Away!" he shouted, closing his eyes tightly, trying not to listen to another word of what Jack was saying.
"Please, listen..."
He wasn't listening. Didn't want to either.
"You're right, Max, your mom is in trouble. But it's not what you think!" Jack admitted, his frustration rising.
He hummed a song. Blocking Jack's words away.
"Your mommy is... how can I put this..." he whispered impatiently, "Is lost. She's not gone, she's just lost right now and we need to find her and get her back"
He stayed silent. Motionless. Humming a song.
Jack gave up. It wasn't the time to get angry. Patience was the key.
"Your clothes are in the bag next to the bed. Everything's in there..." Jack grabbed the wet towel Max threw on the floor earlier and stepped away.
"Your mother loves you very much, Max. More than you think. She'd do anything in her power to keep you safe, loved and happy. Don't ever ever think otherwise, is that clear?" he faltered before facing the silent boy once more, "I love you too, kiddo. And I know you're angry at me and you have all the reasons to be, but no matter what happens, I'll always be there for you"
Despite how tightly his eyes were closed, tears found their way to the surface.
The door closed and footsteps faded away.
He lifted his damped face from the pillow and glanced around to the now empty room. The air was cool, making his body shiver. He quickly stepped off the bed and grabbed the bag containing his clothes. As he pulled his pants out, a teddy bear fell on the floor.
Mister Poo was his name.
It was a present from Jack when they all went out to a carnival. It stayed with him ever since. After pulling on his PJs, he bent down and grabbed the teddy bear in his hands before sitting on the edge of the bed.
"I guess it's just you and me, Mister Poo" he whispered. The teddy bear stayed motionless in his hands, his glassy eyes staring lifelessly back into Max's watery blue eyes. Taking a deep breath, the boy pulled his little legs underneath the blankets and lowered himself down. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and brought Mister Poo closer to his chest.
Jack changed clothing for the night and laid down on the couch. With an arm beneath his head and the other resting on his chest, he stared at the ceiling with no intentions of going to sleep. There was still no words from the SGC showing any progress of finding Sam. The brothers didn't seemed to understand the gravity of the situation.
Sighing, he shook his head in disbelief and closed his eyes.
His thoughts wandered to something completely different.
He was going to be a father again.
Again.
What a feeling!
He had to admit to himself he was scared to death. This was the last thing he'd expect from his days together with Sam. Not that he wasn't happy. He was thrilled. He could hardly control his inner excitement.
But something big was missing.
The child itself and most of all, the mother. She should have been here, in his arms, talking baby names with him. Talking about how everything was going to be ok and how they'll work things out. But it wasn't the case. She was out there. Alone. Where everything was just not ok.
He finally managed to fall asleep.
Max was another story. The room was too dark and silent.
He was scared.
His mom wasn't here if he'd wake up in the middle of the night from an horrible bad dream. If he believed Jack's words, she was lost. That puzzled him to no end. How can his mother be lost? Surely she knew her way back home, she lived here for a long time now.
Another noise.
The floor cracked.
Max stayed still.
Slowly after pulling himself together, he stepped down the bed and brought Mister Poo along with him. Star lifted his head to watch his master walk to the door before lazily standing on his paws and following him out.
The house was very quiet. So quiet Max thought Jack had left him here alone. All thoughts of that quickly faded away when he saw a figure sleeping on the couch. Softly, the boy stepped beside him and carefully climbed on the couch and cuddled himself between Jack and the couch.
"Max?" Jack mumbled tiredly, looking confused at Max snuggling beside him.
"Is everything ok, kiddo?"
"I can't sleep" the boy mumbled against his chest. Jack closed his eyes and moved a little to give Max a little more space to sleep in. He brought his hand down and reached for the blanket before pulling it on them. Sighing, he smiled and kissed the boy's head.
"It's ok now, go to sleep"
He felt Max nod and soon later his breathing slowed, showing he was already asleep.
Sam watched as Marielle walked out of her room. She came to inform her that their ship would orbit Earth in only a day. She also explained the device that was going to be used to send a recorded message from them to Earth. At least they weren't going to land somewhere. That would have been a terrible mistake! But much to Sam's surprise, Ve'ir promised to cloak the ship so no one could detect its existence.
Now alone again, in the middle of the night, unable to sleep. She wondered what she was going to say in her message that was going to be sent. Something quick, simple and clear.
Sam grew more and more nervous as the ship neared her planet. They were still far from it, but she could feel its presence approaching.
She took a deep breath and leaned back in her bed. She needed rest. Marielle had insisted on it and told her if she wouldn't even try, she'd send her father to 'lecture her' back to sleep.
How threatening did that sound, Sam mused sarcastically. At least the girl had a sense of humour..
. unless Ve'ir's lectures were indeed boring people to sleep...
She wondered how Max was spending his night on Earth. How he was feeling without her around. She knew Jack wouldn't let anything happen to him, he loved him as much as she did.
"Max, honey..." she whispered to herself, her eyes glued on the ceiling above her, "Mommy is coming back... Don't worry, sweetie, mommy will be home soon... I love you" she let the tears run down her cheeks, them being her only comfort for the moment.
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky."
Sam's barely audible voice faded away, her last memory before slumbering the night away was the face of her son, smiling down at her.
-TBC-
-Tropical-
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