“This is great...”
“I told you...” he replied nonchalantly, slowly reeling the line in.
“I can’t believe we didn’t do it years ago!”
“Yes, well... Let’s not dwell...” he replied, smiling at her.
She smiled back and they continued fishing until a rather big bass leaped up and fell back into the pond with a splash.
Sam looked at him intrigued. “Didn’t that tape say there were no fish in your pond?” she asked suspiciously.
Jack thought fast: as a matter of fact, he had never caught a fish. However, he had never actually checked to see if there were fish in his pond... “Close enough...” he replied casually.
His musings were interrupted by the arrival of Teal'c and Daniel along with the groceries they had bought in town that morning.
Daniel took two beers from the cooler. Teal'c carried and opened them for his friends before taking one for himself and reaching for his pole.
After a while of quiet fishing, Jack was getting a little fidgety. Strange, considering the fact that he was finally at his cabin with Sam... And Teal'c... And Daniel...
Well, at least there was some improvement! He mused
“There’s a beautiful small hike we could take now...”he suggested.
“A hike?” Daniel asked.
“There’s a fantastic view of the lake and the mountains in the distance, with the beautiful weather we have...”
“Jack, we’re on vacation!” Daniel interrupted.
“So?” Jack asked, nonplussed.
“We ‘hike’ all the time on missions!” Daniel said, aggravated.
Jack did not get it. “That’s off-world, Daniel, we’re in Minnesota...”
Sam chuckled at the faces their two friends made and decided to put an end to the fruitless discussion that could go on forever. “I’ll go with you, I need to stretch my legs a little,” she said smiling as she stood up.
“See, Daniel, Carter gets it! T’, wanna come?”
“As a matter of fact O'Neill, I rather enjoy fishing this time,” the big man said, relaxing more into his deck chair while pulling the line slowly.
Jack rolled his eyes. “Okay, fine! See you in an hour, and don’t drink all the beer!” he said almost stomping towards the path as Sam followed him shaking her head and smiling broadly.
They took the forest path, which ran around the edge of the lake for a short distance before going up to a small hill overlooking the cabin. They walked silently until they reached the overlook. As she drew abreast of Jack, Sam’s breath caught in her throat.
The sun was beginning to set in the west, casting orange tones on the light brown and snowy white of the highest peaks, as well as the top of the forest. The lake and the cabin further down were bathed in the deep green of the surrounding fir tress, contrasting with the orangey of the mountains and the deep blue of the sky.
A small smile tugging at his lips. Jack turned to face her.
She looked at him and back at the landscape. “It’s beautiful!” she breathed.
“I told you...” he replied softly.
They stood admiring the view for a while, observing Daniel ensconced in his chair with his hat over his eyes, probably sleeping as Teal'c continuously threw his line and drew it back.
Sam jumped a little when she felt Jack’s hand touch hers and met his gaze.
He drew her closer and pushed a few bangs from her forehead, gently nudging them behind her ear. He dropped his gaze before meeting her eyes again with a serious face. “I’m leaving the SGC, Sam,” he said in a low voice, almost regretfully
“What?... But you said...”
“Shhh...” he said, laying a silencing finger on her lips. “Hammond’s retiring and he’s asked me to take over Homeworld Security. I don’t have much choice in the matter My replacement, General Hank Landry. has already been assigned. I’ve worked with him back in Iraq, he’s a fair commander. I think he’s great for the SGC and probably better suited to paperwork than me.” He chuckled. “Hammond said Homeworld Security would probably suit me better than sending teams out while doing paperwork in the bowels of that mountain.”
“And what about...?” she left the subject hanging.
Jack smiled and caressed her cheek with the back of his finger. “Hammond also said I’d be in Colorado Springs more often than not but I’m guessing the first times will be tough,” he said, raising his eyebrows in an encouraging manner.
Sam pondered the information for a moment, before throwing her arms around him. “I’ll miss you!” she said, her voice muffled by his neck.
Jack hugged her tightly, one of his hands stroking her back. “You’ll manage, Sam. You’ve been on your own this last year, and you’ve done great. I couldn’t be prouder,” he said soothingly.
“It doesn’t make it any easier,” she raised her head and met his eyes, her own unusually brighter.
He smiled and framed her face with his hands. “Then marry me?”
She looked at him quizzically, then a small smile crept upon her lips.
“I don’t have any big diamond and this is quite out of the blue but...” he stammered.
“When?” she cut in.
“What?”
“When do you want to get married?”
“Well, I haven’t... I didn’t...” he stammered more, obviously surprised at her reaction.
Sam laughed then and hugged him.
He hugged her back and rested his head on hers, breathing in the scent of her shampoo.
After a moment, she looked at him and laid a chaste kiss on his lips. “I’ll choose the date and you’ll choose the settings?” she asked in a soft voice.
He smiled in response “Yeahsureyabetcha!”
“Shouldn’t we head down before the sun sets for good?” she asked, squeezing his fingers between her own.
He nodded, a bit dazed. Then suddenly reached out for a wild purple flower and cut it. He took her left hand and wrapped the flower around her ring finger.
She looked at him quizzically.
“Don’t start with me, Carter. There’s no jewelry store in the vicinity,” he said huskily, before drawing her into his arms and kissing her less chastely than she had few minutes ago.
Things were getting out of hand, he realized dimly when one of her hands crept underneath his sweater. He didn’t want anything like that, at least right now and right here. So he released her, panting a little and looked her in the eyes.
“What was that you were saying about heading down?”
She laughed softly and linked her hand with his before they strolled down the trail.
When they finally reached the cabin, Daniel and Teal'c were folding the deck chairs to put them under the shed for the night.
Daniel observed them approaching, frowning.
“Sam?”
“Daniel?” she replied, smiling broadly.
“You have a flower around your finger and you’re holding Jack’s hand...”
“Oh for crying out loud!” Jack exclaimed, rolling his eyes.
Sam smoldered a laugh until Jack frowned at her, then relaxed and looked at his friends.
“Kids, I’m leaving the SGC... I’ve been offered Homeworld Security. You will soon meet General Hank Landry, my replacement at the mountain.”
“Wow! That was...” Daniel started.
“Most unexpected, O'Neill,” Teal'c concluded.
Jack smirked.
“Yeah, I bet it was, Teal'c... Furthermore...” he squeezed Sam’s hand as they both locked gazes. “Sam and I have decided to explore a new direction and we... Ahh...” he fidgeted.
“We’re engaged,” Sam interrupted.
“Wow! That was... fast!” Daniel managed to articulate through a good goldfish impression.
Teal'c just smiled and bowed his head slightly.
Jack rolled his eyes again and shook his head. He was about to make a swift reply to Daniel when his cell phone buzzed.
“O'Neill?”
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 ]