***
He had stood in the doorway of her lab for only a few seconds, assessing the situation and he didn't like it one bit. She was standing in the middle of her lab looking as lost as any first year cadet did their first day on campus.
"Carter?" he asked as he stepped into her lab.
"Sir?" she replied automatically. He shut the door behind him and wandered farther into the room.
"Sam?" he tried again. He had a feeling that she needed to have a conversation with a friend, not her CO.
"I can't do it," she finally said, holding the ring box in her hand. He glanced down at her hands and noticed that the ring was missing.
"Don't do this just because your dad. . . "
"It's not because of that, not exactly," she said, her brow furrowed slightly in confusion and he desperately hoped her wasn't going to have to figure that statement out. "Dad didn't like Pete. He was polite and patient with him, but he didn't like him."
"I'm sure he would have warmed up to him in time." Sam shook her head.
"Then he started asking if I was happy and if this was what I really wanted and even though I told him that I was and it was, I'm not so sure. And the fact that he started going on about not letting honour and duty get in the way. . . " That last statement got his attention and Jack's head jerked up. He had always wondered if Jacob had heard about the Zatarc Incident but had never known for sure. Hell, he wasn't exactly sure who on base knew the truth behind their confessions.
"Sam," O'Neill tried again, moving a few steps closer to her.
"I can't marry him," she said, finally looking him in the eye. "I can't."
"Ok," he said quickly as soon as he saw the wild, desperate look in her eyes. She took a deep, shuddering breath as she tried to center herself again and pull together the few threads of control she had left. She fidgeted where she stood for a moment and it was killing him to see her so uncertain. "It's going to be ok," he finally said, reaching out to grab her by the arms and pull her close. She snaked her hands around his waist and hid her face in his neck, using him as an anchor. He held her close and stayed silent, waiting for her to decide what to do next.
"I haven't stopped, you know?" she asked him quietly after a long moment. "I made myself forget for a while, but I never really stopped." O'Neill stayed quiet for a long moment, debating how he should respond to this. He hadn't stopped loving her either and he had used Kerry as an attempt to move on from his Carter infatuation, but it hadn't worked.
"I know," he finally decided, squeezing her a little tighter. "George said there's a rumour they want to promote me out of here," he told her. Since they seemed to be having this conversation, he figured they should have it all the way. "To Washington," he finished and he felt her tense, grab him a little tighter.
"Washington?" she asked. He was a little surprised that she didn't jerk away from him and start listing pros and cons. He decided that this must be what an emotional exhausted Sam looked like.
"The one and only." A heavy silence fell on them again as they both considered the ramifications of what he had just said. "It is only a rumour," he reminded her as he realized that somewhere during this conversation, his hand had started running up and down her back. "What's Cassie up to?" he asked her. She was quiet for a long time as her brain switched gears.
"With friends. She said something about studying, but I'm pretty sure that translates to gossiping about boys and painting toe nails." Jack couldn't help but smile at that.
"Let's go then," he said, pushing her away from him slightly. She eventually nodded at him and he threw an arm over her shoulders, leading her out of her lab and the base.
***
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 ]