Chasing The Wind

They moved silently through the base walking together. Both caught in their own thoughts. As they reached the final sign out on the ground level Jack waited for Sam at the front door as she signed out.

“We’ll take my truck or your car. Which one you want? Doesn’t matter to me.” Jack asked.

“Why not just follow me home?” Sam asked; she really didn’t understand his point. “Aren’t we safe enough now?”

“Yeah, I’m sure we are, but I just don’t want you out of my sight for the next few days. We go to my house and let me get my clothes and then to yours and get dressed there for our date.” Jack smiled at her. He really didn’t want to come across as over protective. He knew how much Carter hated that. But he really wasn’t ready to let her go without him.

She studied his face. She hated being treated like a helpless female. Hated it! She knew that Jack knew that. Was he going to try to keep her under his arm from now on? Jack spoke up as he watched the reflection of her thoughts fleet across her face. He did know her too well.

“It’s not that at all Sam. I just can’t think of letting you out of my sight yet. It’s all so new and I just want you close enough to touch for a little while longer. I know,” he spoke emphasizing the word know so that she would understand his meaning, “that you can take care of yourself, and kick my ass too!” He grinned at her. “I just want you close enough to do it for a while. Okay?”

Smiling up at him, she gave in. “Okay, as long as you don’t make a habit of this. You know even if we are together, we can’t spend every minute in each other’s sight? Right? And you’re right; I can kick your ass!” She giggled.

0o0o0o0o0o

While they were driving home Jack made reservations at the most expensive restaurant in Colorado Springs. He had to take a late time, but he didn’t care. He had plans for this night and he wanted it special. He asked for one of the tables in the back. The back section was secluded with candle light, soft music and the tables were enclosed in booths that were tall and private. There was a small dance floor and petition that separated the back part of the restaurant from the main dining room.

“You’ll need to dress for this place, Sam. It’s coat and tie.” He told her as he closed his phone.

“Believe it or not, I can handle that.” She smiled across the truck at him.

“I seem to remember that black dress, but I thought I tore it. Guess I owe you a new one.” He glanced side ways at her watching her face.

“You did and you do. But I have others.”

“Really? Why haven’t I ever seen you in anything like that before?” He was a little jealous thinking that other men had looked at Sam the way he had looked at her in that black dress. She reached over and took his hand squeezing slightly.

“You never asked me to go anywhere to ware anything but Dress Blues or jeans.”

“Well, that’s about to change.” He said gently pulling on her hand and leaning over to kiss her softly as she met his kiss.

“Promises.” She sighed softly.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Jack paced in the hall between Sam’s den and her bedroom. It seemed like she had been in there for hours. He knew he had been dressed and ready to go for at least an hour and a half. He looked at his watch again, “Sam, we’re gonna be late. Are you ready?” He called. He had asked twice already.

Sam smiled at herself in the mirror. She was as ready as she was going to be. She had spent even more time getting ready for this date with Jack than she had to go out with Pete the night Jack kidnapped her. But she wanted to look perfect; no she wanted to knock Jack’s socks off.

It was so unlike her to care about such things as make up, fancy dresses and girly hair styles. She was a dry, fluff and go girl. Nothing fancy. She knew Jack loved her. He’d seen her at her worst and still was attracted to her. Why was she worried about her appearance so much tonight? She wasn’t sure, but her intuition told her tonight was special. She wanted to reflect that in her appearance. Hey, even the geeky-smart scientist-soldier Sam wanted to feel like a woman sometimes. Tonight was definitely one of those times.

“Sam?!” There was anxiety in his voice, “Baby, we need to leave now if we’re to make our reservation time.” This was why Jack hated reservations to dine out. It always seemed to make the evening start out badly. He hated being late – for anything, but their reservations wouldn’t be held long at this place even at this late hour. It was the most romantic and most expensive place in Colorado Springs.

Jack watched at Sam walked from her bedroom down the hall. She stopped in front of him waiting for his eyes to reach her face. “You like?” She asked in a choked voice. He made her feel things that she’d never felt before.

“You could say that.” Jack answered as he kissed her softly. “The dress is gorgeous, but you make it even more so.” Sam wore a shape-fitted blue dress. The color was just darker than her eyes and the dress hugged her shapely body like a glove. The length of the dress hit just above her knees and the bodice had four small spaghetti straps that ran over each shoulder.

Two straps crisscrossed to the front sides of the dress starting just under her bust line holding the front of the dress tight across her midriff and two that crisscrossed to the waistline in the back of the dress. The front bodice was also tightly fitted to her bust line coming to a slight v-point that emphasized her cleavage pushing it up and together. She wore a simple diamond pendant that dropped at her throat and dangling two-stone diamond earrings.

She had fluffed her hair and it seemed to have wispy wings around her face and neckline. Its blonde color had sheen to it that Jack had never seen. It was perfect. He wondered what she did to make it shine so. Jack couldn’t seem to breathe as his eyes traveled her body from head to toe. Toes….Carter had painted toe nails and those three inch black strappy sandals. God! That was even sexier than the dress!

“You like great.” Sam purred as she watched Jack look her over. He was wearing a black expensive suit with a white shirt and a shiny jewel toned red tie. Sam had never seen Jack in civilian dress clothes. In all the years they worked together the few occasions that required that they dress up, he always wore his dress blues. He was so tall and the black suit fit his lean muscular body perfectly making him look like something out of a fashion magazine. He was so handsome. He literally took her breath away.

Jack took the wrap that matched the dress from the chair where she had dropped it and wrapped it and his arms around her shoulders. “Is this warm enough, it’s quite cold out.” He said speaking almost into her ear. Chills ran down her neck and back. She glanced at him over her shoulder and smiled.

“I have a long coat in the hall closet. It was my moms.” She said as Jack moved to let her open the closet. He took the long fur coat and helped her into it. He held his breath. Samantha Carter could have been a model. She was a picture of beauty. How could he ever deserve such a woman? But right now he didn’t care if he deserved her or not, she was his and he intended to keep her.

0o0o0o0o0o

After their waiter had taken their orders and left them alone, Jack held up his glass and smiled at Sam. As she tapped her glass to his their eyes locked and neither could say a word; but both ‘heard’ every unspoken word that fleeted across the darkest brown eyes and the deepest blue ones.

After a few long moments they each took a sip of the wine but their eyes never left each other’s. Jack cleared his throat, “So.”

“Yeah.” She answered after a few seconds and realizing he wasn’t going to say anything else. There was so much to talk about, but neither could find words. It was so like them. They’d had less than a week to really know how the other had felt and most of that time had been spent in actions which they both could make happen. Words—they still weren’t so good at.

“You okay with this?” Jack asked waving his hand between them.

“Us?” Sam asked. “Of course I’m okay.” She suddenly panicked her eyes becoming as wide and blue as the stargate’s open wormhole. “You’re not?”

“What!?... No…. Yes.... Of course…Yes. I don’t mean us. I mean the ….job.” Jack’s frightened voice and the fear in his eyes reassured her.

She giggled, “We’re a pair! You think we’ll ever get the hang of this talking thing?”

“I won’t promise you that. But I will promise to love you through every silent conversation we have.” He chuckled and grinned back at her taking her hand and squeezing it. “But I really meant us staying on the team together. You think it will work?”

“I think it’s best for the time being. The general gives us his full support and there’s just something in me that says we need to do this together for a while longer. I know it won’t last much after the new President, Hays, takes office, but…. I have this feeling that we still have something important to do. And my instinct says we have to do it as a team.”

“You think it has something to do with Daniel’s lost city?” Jack asked.

“I’m not sure what I think; it’s more an instinct than anything really scientific.” She tucked her head sideways and gave Jack that ‘I’m not sure look.’ Her eyes were bright and reflected the candle light from the table.

“What? Carter going with her gut and not science?” Jack smirked as he brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them softly glancing over them to look at her beautiful face.

“Yeah, maybe we should be afraid of that alone.” She giggled. “I’m not used to letting my heart nor my intuition make my decisions. You know how I have to analyze everything over and over.” Sam Carter always had to have time to think things through. She never made life changing decisions without thinking out various scenarios with a multitude of outcomes.

“Well let’s just agree to leave things with the team as they are until after this Hays takes office. We may need to changes things then. That is if Daniel and Teal’c both agree. But right now I think you may be right. It does seem to feel like there’s just something out there waiting with my name on it.” Jack had a sadly forlorn look.

“Jack?”

“Nothing. Anyway, let’s leave that for tomorrow. Tonight there’s something else……” Jack pulled away enough to reach into his pocket and handed her a small box. It was wrapped in bright gold paper with a tiny red bow on it. Sam looked up at him, as he held it out for her to take.

“A Present? It’s not Christmas yet? Is this a…a Christmas present?”

“You could say that. It’s only fair, since you’ve given me the best present ever in my life!” He exclaimed in a slightly teasing tone. But she could tell he was just as serious as he had been earlier.

“That….Us…. is just as good of a present to me, Jack.” She gave him her sexiest sweetest smile.

“Open it, please Sam?” He asked. He really wanted her to see it. He bought it off world several years ago, even before the silly zanex test-thing. He and Daniel had found it at one of the few markets they came across on their missions and had managed to barter it from the merchant.

Jack had tried to trade his best personal knife, his personal revolver, his gold pocket watch and the ring he’d worn all his adult life. It had three large diamonds in a 22K gold setting. It had been his father’s wedding band. His mother had given it to Jack at his death and his dad’s gold pocket watch to his older brother. Jack’s brother had been killed in Vietnam. He had been a pilot. The watch was returned and given to Jack.

The merchant had been especially pleased with the gun; he’d never seen one like it. The watch just looked like jewelry to him, something that was pleasing to the eye but he didn’t want it. It had no value as a time piece. But he recognized the quality of the ring on Jack’s hand and insisted that he trade it too. Jack wasn’t sure of the value of the ring he’d bartered for; he knew the stones were valuable as was the metal on many worlds. What he knew was that it would truly be one of a kind on Earth and that’s what he’d wanted for Carter. It was right for her. She was one of a kind.

Sam was afraid to open the box. She had a suspicion about its contents. Was she really ready for this? She had given him her answer, and she meant it. She knew how she felt about Jack, and she believed him when he said he loved her, but…. This was big, too big…..to move so quickly. She had every intention of marrying Jack O’Neill…..one day. The box and its supposed contents seemed to make it more of a current future reality rather than a future reality. And she wanted to know exactly what Jack would have to sacrifice to marry her now. If, indeed, that was what this was.

Jack was beginning to get really nervous. He’d jumped the gun he knew by asking her to marry him so soon. But he’d been so scared that she’d end up with someone else like that cop that he’d been willing to do anything, and he really meant anything to keep her.

“Uh.. Maybe.. I should’ve waited,” he said trying to take the box back, but she grabbed it before he could get a grip on it. She’d sensed that she’d waited too long, and that he was regretful of his present.

“Sam, we can wait for Christmas and just exchange gifts like we usually do, it’s only a couple of weeks away.” He was offering her a way out, and she knew it. She knew too, that whatever was in this box now, wouldn’t be in it on Christmas day.

“No, I’m sorry. I want it now. It just shocked me a little, that’s all.” She held the box tight in her fingers, she’d known by instinct this was the same as she’d felt when she’d called him Jack in the infirmary after her ‘lost in space’ trip. She knew well how fast her mind had shifted from wanting to go after Jack with all her being into thinking he didn’t want her from just his tone and the way he’d corrected her use of his name.

She didn’t want him to feel like that. It had hurt her deeply. So much so, that she’d let go of her dreams of having him in her life. She wouldn’t let that happen again. Not now after knowing just how much he meant to her and she to him. Not after what had happened between them. Not after already agreeing to marry him. She just needed time to work it all out, that’s all. If he needed for her to wear his ring while they worked it out, then she would give him that.

She opened the paper slowly, letting her fingers undo the tape from the box piece by piece. She was shaking, but no more than Jack.

She sled the paper off slowly. By the time she had the box in her hand free of its shiny paper she was sincerely hoping it was a ring inside. Maybe it was something else… ..and she’d just been wishfully scared.

It was. That is it was a ring. But the ring was unlike any ring she’d ever seen. She knew immediately it was made of an expensive rare metal and it wasn’t from Earth. It was a slightly darker metal than white gold or platinum, but it had such a shine to it. It looked much harder too. The scientist in her wanted to run tests on the metal to know exactly what it was.

The stones in the ring looked like diamonds, but not quite. They had a quality that seemed to draw you in, and had a slightly blue tone. They were the most beautiful stones Sam had ever seen.

The stones were set in a circle with a large lighter one in the middle. It could have been the most expensive diamond there was, but she knew it wasn’t like any diamond found on Earth. It was gorgeous, but she wasn’t sure it was supposed to be an engagement ring.

Now it was her turn to be hesitant. Had she second guessed him for no reason? She felt foolish, embarrassed.

“Do you like it?” Jack had watched her expression. It was not one he could read easily. He could tell she liked the ring, but something was off.

“Jack? Where did you get it? It really is just beautiful. The most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen.”

“Off world. Oh, don’t worry. Hammond approved it.” Well that answered her question, didn’t it? It couldn’t be an engagement ring if he’d shown it to Hammond. Could it?

“You showed it to the general?”

“Yeah, of course. You know he has to approve anything we bring back from off world.”

“He didn’t object?”

“No.”

“Did you tell him it was for me?”

“Not exactly.”

“Not exactly?”

“Not exactly.”

“What did you tell him?” Her curiosity was really going now.

“That it was for my favorite girl.”

“Oh.”

“Sam, what’s wrong?”

“I.. I.. Just don’t know what to say. I love the ring. But is it an engagement ring? Or a great Christmas present?”

“What do you what it to be?” Jack asked swallowing hard.

“I asked you first,” she answered, but Jack hesitated too long.

“Please, Jack. I need to hear the words if it’s for real.” Boy had she changed her way of thinking within five minutes. She had gone from not wanting to ear it was an engagement ring to almost begging him to ask her to marry him again. Was she really that confused?

“God, Sam how could you doubt it’s real. Of course it’s real. I love you. I want you. I need you. I want to marry you with all my heart and always have….. I want you to wear my ring…,” he paused for a few long moments. “I’ve had that ring for years. I’ve just been waiting for the right time to bring it out.” Their eyes locked. Sam’s were quickly filling with tears.

“So… Marriage?” She quietly asked. Jack could see the fear in her eyes.

“No, not unless it’s what you want. You… hell.. Sam. I’ll be satisfied if you just keep wanting me. You don’t have to make any commitments. I should have known it was too early for that.”

“Jack, it’s not even that. It just surprised me. I do want to marry you. I’ve already told you that. I’ve loved you for a long time too. It’s just that I can’t let you retire or give up what you love to be with me. Not yet any way. I guess I thought we’d keep this to ourselves until we could….”

“Hammond has already agreed that we can both stay at the SGC and on SG1.”

She looked at him. What she saw melted her to the seat. How could she doubt him or herself? Sam Carter suddenly knew that what she wanted most in the world was sitting as close to her as possible. He was real, flesh and blood and he loved her back.

She held out her left hand and handed him the ring. “Yes, I want to marry you as soon as possible.” She waited for him to catch up with her suddenness.

“You mean you’ll marry me after we work things out with the team and Hammond?”

“No. I mean yes. I mean I’ll marry you. I don’t give a damn what we have to do. I’ll marry you…tonight if that’s what you want. I want you too Jack. Always.”

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her only this time his kiss was gentle and loving. The kind of kiss that you give to the most cherished of partners. She pulled back and looked at his eyes, drinking in what was Jack O’Neill. Her Jack. All hers.

She quickly thought back to the afternoon when she was dressing for her evening out with Pete. She’d planned to seduce him because she wanted sex, hot sex and lots of it.

She planned every detail of her look, from the hairdo, the seductive heels and braless little black dress, the black lacy thong, the sweet sexy smelling perfume to the sparkling strawberry favored powder across her shoulders and body. She’d planned to bring him to her home with him so hot and bothered that he would stay all night, make love to her all night.

Maybe begin a new relationship that would last. All the time she had seen Jack O’Neill’s response of lust and desire in her mind, no matter how many times she’d tried to replace it with Pete’s face.

Never in a million light years would she have thought it would all end with Jack staying that night, with Jack waiting for an answer to the one question that she never thought he’d ask, with Jack giving her this ring.

Yet he had asked her, he was here with her and she was happier than she’d ever been. His wonderful sexy lovemaking had been enough to make her happy and content, but for the chance to actually spend the rest of her life as his wife. Well, maybe it was worth giving up something else, something important to her, her analytical brain reasoned.

Yes, it definitely was worth it to feel this wonderful man’s love any time she wanted. To be able to touch him, hold him, kiss him and have him return the affection any time he wanted.

Sam knew the minute he read her thoughts and saw in his eyes that he accepted her decision. However it turned out, if they made it legal or just emotional and spiritual between them and their friends.

Sam knew from this night on, she and Jack O’Neill would be together. They would function as one, one unit, one couple, and one ‘them.’ They would no longer be just Sam or just Jack, but ‘Sam and Jack.’

What a wonderful present. That was the best Christmas present ever for Sam, not forgetting the beautiful ring that he’d so thoughtfully picked out so many years ago.

She wrapped her body as tightly to him as possible and kissed his lips as passionately as she’d ever kissed anyone, even him, in her life.

When they could breathe and she could see through her tears, she whispered to him. “Take me home, Jack. I’ll need to get ready to give you your present. It’ll be the best present you’ve ever had. I can promise that.”

She winked at him with her most sultry smile. “I think I just caught the wind and I intend to hold on to it, I think it might just be the best ride of my life.”

“It’ll be the longest ride of your life. I’ll promise you that, my sweet Sammie, cause I’ll never let you go.” He looked at her as only Jack could. She knew he was absolutely correct, she’d never let him go.