Hindsight
He knew it now. The moment he'd started caring more than he should. When he held her tight against him, her breath warm and harsh against his palm.
Or maybe it was later, holding her again, clinging, desperate to feel something after the cold, the pain, those seconds of panic and adrenaline and fear - inexplicably, terrifyingly glad it was her in his arms.
Two distinct moments so intertwined he'd stopped separating them a long time ago. That should have been a clue, but he was notorious for forgetting to notice little things like that.
There were other, bigger moments he had noticed (alternate universes and particle accelerators and force fields), but he knew now that they were the outcome, not the impetus. He wondered if there was an equation, an elegant string of numbers and decimals and integrals that would explain it all.
She'd have known. She knew everything that mattered.
"Jack?"
Daniel. He looked strange in the somber suit, his face drawn and pale. His glasses were smudged; he'd been taking them off every few minutes to rub at his eyes.
"What?"
"You haven't said a word since..."
Since he stepped away from the hole they'd put her in, brushing the dirt from his hand. The hand that once held her against him, fingers trailing from her lips along the cool skin of her throat. Not wanting to ever let go.
It didn't feel clean, even though he'd washed it a dozen times since.
"What am I supposed to say, Daniel?" Jack took a swig from the glass someone had pressed into his hand hours ago. Its contents were watery and warm. He finished it anyway.
"Nothing. I'm sorry. I just..."
Jack sighed. "I know."
And he did. Knew everything that mattered.
Clarity was such a bitch, sometimes.
END
Story Notes: Season: Any time after "Divide and Conquer"
A/N: This one's for Liv, because she wanted more of them. Hasn't been betaed.
Website: http://www.potameides.com/sgshipfic/
Email: splash_the_cat@potameides.com
A/N: This one's for Liv, because she wanted more of them. Hasn't been betaed.
Website: http://www.potameides.com/sgshipfic/
Email: splash_the_cat@potameides.com
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 ]