Sam Carter and Jack O'Neill stood in the engine room of the teltac, temporarily speechless. The intensity of the moment had Carter and O'Neill seemingly mesmerized by each other, memorizing features at their close proximity.
Despite the flashing light within the room, Jack noticed that Sam looked as tired as he felt. She had a sadness about her, like she wanted to continue on with what she was trying to say, but held back for fear of scaring him away.
Sam, on the other hand, found Jack difficult to read, but he had always been good at hiding his emotions around her. She could see the weariness of the changes starting to show, but beyond that he was a closed book.
What she didn't know was that Jack was tempted to go further past the "I know", but decided to let that lay where it was for now. He worried that if Sam continued on with what she was saying, she might regret it later if they were able to "fix" him.
Jack quickly looked down at the engine casing as he realized his staring at his now-former 2IC could also end up being a dangerous thing. Especially considering how much he'd like to take away that sadness.
Sam felt nervous and silly as the moment passed once he looked away, and she couldn't help but joke to try and lighten the mood.
"You know something, sir?"
'Drop the sir,' he thought, but reconsidered actually saying it. 'Another bit of dangerous territory.'
O'Neill looked up. Even in the strobing light of the engine room he could see a hint of mischief in her blue eyes, which helped him to relax.
"Do I ever?"
Sam laughed at his bit of self-deprecation, and he smiled in return. "What, Carter?"
"You've watched 'The Empire Strikes Back' with Teal'c too many times," she replied, grinning.
He gave her a wry smile. "What can I say, the big guy likes the romance."
The major started laughing again and looked away, shaking her head. He always made her laugh, even in the most tense situations. She was going to miss that.
She sighed tiredly, the humour slowly seeping from her expression. She could only keep the façade of everything being okay up for so long before reality hit hard. Feeling that point coming close, she moved to leave the engine room, but Jack stopped her with a touch on her arm. She turned and gazed at him, keeping her expression curious so as not to give away what she was really thinking.
"Don't worry about it, Carter, things'll work out like they're supposed to."
Sam was surprised at his comment. 'Too fucking easy to read,' she chastised herself. Her expression turned slightly sad again. "I wish I could believe that, sir."
He stepped closer to her. "Don't talk like that. You're scaring me, Carter."
"This is some scary shit. Sir," she added belatedly.
His features softened. "Like I don't know that? Who's the one going all Ancient here?" He paused, and when she didn't say anything, he continued, "I know it's not going to be easy, hell, nothing we do ever is. But when it's all said and done, this was the right thing to do. I'm sure of it."
Sam pursed her lips, crossing her arms in front of her chest in a defensive posture as she felt tears well up. She was *not* going to cry, dammit. She looked away in an attempt to stop the tears, figuring that if she didn't look at him, it wouldn't happen. The next thing she knew he had her wrapped in his embrace.
O'Neill knew this was crazy, he was going against everything he was trying to avoid, but he could never let her go away hurting, especially when it was because of him. When Sam didn't immediately wrap her arms around him too, Jack began to wonder if he hadn't pushed too far this time. But just when he was about to pull back, he felt her slowly move her hands down his chest and around to his back, then she lay her head against his chest. She didn't cry, even though he knew she was on the verge, but he was just happy to give her some sort of comfort, no matter how temporary.
Sam stood relaxed in his arms, closing her eyes as she allowed all her senses to slowly focus on him. First were the sounds around her: the thrumming of the engine, their steady breathing, the rhythm of his heartbeat. Then, the smell of him: a mixture of sweat and a scent she could only describe as 'Jack'. No matter how clichéd that sounded in her mind, it was the truth. And lastly, the tactile sensations of his body pressed against hers, hands rubbing her back in soft, comforting circles.
'These are the moments I should remember,' she told herself.
Carter pulled back, but kept her arms encircling O'Neill, loathe to fully move away.
He loosened his grip on her, equally reluctant to let her go. Who knew when he'd be able to do this again?
They stood there in a loose embrace, both their expressions showing some regret mixed with sadness. Sam didn't seem to want to look him right in the eye, so Jack moved his right hand under her chin, tipping it up so that she had no choice but to keep eye contact. He then slid his hand to her shoulder, letting it rest there.
"It'll be okay, Carter. Anyway, who said you could get rid of me so easily?" he teased, and she gave him a half-hearted smile.
After a moment, Sam stated, "I should probably get back."
"Yeah, sure," he replied. Jack hesitated briefly, but then slid his arms around and back to his sides, slipping his hands into his pockets, hunching his shoulders slightly.
Sam stepped back and turned, starting to walk out of the engine room, then stopped again. She turned slightly and said, "I really do hope you're right, Jack."
O'Neill showed surprise at her use of his name, but he didn't have time to respond as she quickly turned back and headed toward the pel'tac, leaving him to return to his unfathomable work.
**THE END**
Story Notes: Email: pixiesio@livejournal.com
Archive: SJD, my site, Jackfic, otherwise please ask first.
Warnings: some swearing
Spoilers: "Lost City"
Season: 7
Copyright: (c) Siobhan Gormley 2004
Feedback: Be kind, feed me. :D
Author's Note: I felt that the end of a certain scene during "Lost City, Pt. 2" needed a little something more, so this is what the Muse came up with. Thanks to Sue, Lola and Lisa for the beta, and to Extreme for the fic title (gotta love it when your brain is full of song lyrics ;).
Archive: SJD, my site, Jackfic, otherwise please ask first.
Warnings: some swearing
Spoilers: "Lost City"
Season: 7
Copyright: (c) Siobhan Gormley 2004
Feedback: Be kind, feed me. :D
Author's Note: I felt that the end of a certain scene during "Lost City, Pt. 2" needed a little something more, so this is what the Muse came up with. Thanks to Sue, Lola and Lisa for the beta, and to Extreme for the fic title (gotta love it when your brain is full of song lyrics ;).
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]