2005
by Wally
TITLE: 2005
AUTHOR: Wally
EMAIL: jam_sack@hotmail.com
CATEGORY: S/J, Sam/other (Joe)... Jack/Joe (mwhahaha - nah, now I'm just teasin' ya'll
SPOILERS:
SEASON / SEQUEL: S4, maybe '2010', but at the mo it would just be spoilers for the spoilers, as the ep hasn't aired yet
RATING: G
CONTENT WARNINGS: m/f (nothing graphic), angst for SJ shippers :(
SUMMARY: What happens before 2010?
STATUS: Complete
ARCHIVE: Heliopolis
DISCLAIMER: This is not my ant farm. I'm just taking a few liberties with some of the tunnels to make them run in the right direction, I promise I won't flood it. Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Could we please have a round of raucous applause for my beta Sue - she polishes until it gleams
This is the first fic I've posted, so I would love a bit of feedback, *sticks out tongue and waves metaphoric tail madly at the prospect of mail*
DEDICATION: This was inspired by the discussions about the ep '2010' on the samandjack list. I know most SJers already want to hate the mysterious 'Joe', but since Sam actually marries the guy, I thought we should give him a fair go
The actual dedication would have to be for the lovely people (read: lucky buggers) who got to go to GateCon 2000, and came home armed with, among other things, tantalising spoilers for this much-feared, much-anticipated ep. Thanks for sharing guys; it made my day, so I hope this improves yours :)
She wandered out onto the balcony, champagne glass in hand, to escape the revelry inside for a short while. She was uncomfortable being the centre of attention, even on an occasion such as this. Sam leant against the balcony railing and gazing up at the clear night sky, she sighed gently. A sad smile formed on her lips as she remembered the times she had been out there, when SG-1 had traversed the galaxy as the SGC's finest team...When it was still a secret.
"60 Minutes interview for your thoughts?" came a joking voice just off to her left.
"Colonel! You startled me, I didn't realise anyone was out here."
"Trying to escape the circus, huh?" He smiled, walking towards her before stopping at her side.
She grinned ruefully; feeling more relaxed than she had all day. "I think all those years underground have made me a little antisocial."
Jack returned her grin and they simply stood there, taking in the night sky in a comfortable silence. At least, Sam felt comfortable. Jack, however, kept shooting furtive glances in her direction.
After a few minutes he spoke up, his voice clear in the crisp night air. "I, ah...did I tell you how beautiful you look today, Sam?" He rushed on, as she turned to face him, "Jacob would be proud."
"Thank you sir," she replied, smiling gently. "And...I just wanted you to know that it...It means a lot to me that all of you are here today."
They lapsed back into silence until Jack cleared his throat gently. Obviously there was something more he wanted to say, but Sam knew he'd get to it in his own time.
He began hesitantly, almost embarrassed. "You know Sam, for awhile there I thought this might've been us." As he spoke, Jack's voice had taken on a more reflective tone, and Sam felt a pang of guilt which urged her to respond.
"Colonel..." she began, only to be cut off by him.
"No, Sam - just let me finish here, okay?"
She nodded gently, offering him a small smile.
He inhaled deeply, arranging his thoughts for once before he spoke them. "I..." he began, "I'm really happy for you Sam - I mean that." Sam could see the sincerity in his face even as he hurriedly continued, "If anyone deserves to be happy, it's you. And Joe's a great guy."
Sam smiled unconsciously at his words, replying somewhat wistfully, "I've been lucky, Colonel, I have a lot of great guys in my life."
Jack smiled back at her, refusing to let any of the deep sadness he felt permeate his expression on what was meant to be the happiest day of Sam's life.
He wanted to say more, to give her the approval she had been silently seeking from him ever since she announced her engagement...to tell her things never would've worked out between them. But he couldn't. He was afraid that if he said the words, his face would betray him. Even now, when all hope for them was truly lost, he knew he could not perpetrate that lie convincingly. He also knew inherently that any attempt to do so would only make things more strained between them, and at the very least he wanted to preserve their friendship.
But he had to say more, give her some reassurance. He opened his mouth to speak, not knowing himself what would come out -
"Sam!"
They both turned. That man had timing second only to Daniel, Jack thought sighing inwardly.
"Hey, I've been looking all over for you." Joe smiled good-naturedly, putting an arm around his new wife. "Hey Jack."
"Joe." Jack nodded, with a small smile, "I was just telling Sam what a lucky lady she is to have you."
Joe chuckled, giving Sam a light squeeze as he replied, "Jeez Jack, the way you talk me up I think I should've married you."
Jack played along, mocking disappointment but wishing, not for the first time, that he didn't like this guy so much. "If only the law wasn't keeping us apart," he sighed dramatically.
Joe grinned, shaking his head; "From the stories Daniel's been telling me I'd have thought you'd contravened your fair share of rules and regulations Jack."
The older man grinned sardonically, his mood mellowing. "Well the way things turned out with the Stargate Program I wonder if I shouldn't have broken a few more."
As soon as he'd spoken, Jack regretted his words, realising too late their implications to his ex-2IC.
Joe seemed oblivious to Sam's uncomfortable shifting beneath his arm as Jack quickly muttered something about Daniel and spiked punch as an excuse to return inside.
Sam was lost in thought as Joe hugged her closer, kissing her temple.
"He's right, you know," he said solemnly, interrupting her reverie.
"About what?" Sam replied, an edge of nervousness to her voice.
"You are lucky to have me."
He grinned as she shoved him with mock indignation. "Maybe the two of you *should* get married, " she said. "You could spend all day cracking bad jokes for one another."
He gave her the most charming look he could summon replying honestly, "But we'd have no-one to laugh at them."
Sam just rolled her eyes, smiling once more.
Joe, glad that he had managed to lift her mood, enquired gently, "You ready to go back inside?"
"Yeah."
As they turned to do so, she gave him 'his' smile. He loved that smile, it was the second brightest in what was a large array of happy expressions. Joe felt a familiar pang of sadness however when he recalled that he only ever saw her very brightest smile from afar, but he shook the feeling away as he took her hand in his, gazing contentedly at the treasure that was now his. "I love you, Sam."
"Same here, " she replied sincerely.
Joe knew she loved him with as much of her heart as she could possibly spare and that made him feel like the luckiest man alive. But as they walked back towards their reception, his beautiful wife on his arm, Joe also knew there was a corner of her heart he would never have access to. Someone else had emblazoned their name on that part years ago, and he knew that as much as Sam loved him, she would still go to the ends of the earth, and beyond, if Jack so asked of her.
Although he had accepted this fact long ago, secretly it still scared the hell out of him, and he desperately hoped the truth of it would never be tested.
THE END
Feedback please? ...pretty puh-lease with chocolate-covered colonels on top?!
If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to Wally