Title: The Pictures

Author: kachina@ecis.com

Type: Jack and Sam Romance

Spoilers: None really, but some time during the first season.

Summary: Jack and Sam receive the wedding pictures.

Archive: Sam and Jack, Heliopolis

Disclaimer: Sam, Jack and company do not belong to me. (No matter how much I wish they did, especially Jack. =] They belong to, duh… MGM/UA, Showtime Inc, Gekko and anyone else who has money, .. I mean copyrights I just like to play with them once in a while.

Authors notes: Sequel to “On Leave”, email me if you need it.

BIG THANKS goes to my beta readers: Demezla, Sam, Shirley and Arnise.

Feedback: Please. It makes my day!
 

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Colonel Jack O’Neill sat in his office having about 30 minutes before the next mission’s briefing. He looked down at the growing stack of mail he had brought in from home that morning.  Whenever he could, he tried to use the few extra minutes he had every once in awhile to pay some of his personal bills. As he sorted through the stack, he discarded the advertisements and set aside his favorite fishing magazines. ‘Maybe I’ll be able to look at
those tonight,’ he hoped. A thick legal size envelope slipped from the stack to the floor. Reaching down to pick it up, he noticed that it was hand addressed to Jack O’Neill. Not Colonel or Mr., just Jack O’Neill. He didn’t recognize the handwriting but he wondering who was writing him. As he ripped the short end open, he realized it was the wedding pictures. ‘Finally! I had
almost forgot about them’ he lied to himself. The wedding had been almost three months ago, ‘Man that photographer is slow!’ he thought.  Jack looked at the small picture proofs, and smiled as he recalled that weekend like it was a dream.

One of the pictures was of Sam…’Samantha’ he reminded himself in her floor length blue dress, standing in the lobby amid four other bridesmaids handing them each their small bouquet of white flowers. That was when he first saw her, he remembered. That nearly backless dress knocked him for a loop. It was stunning, he reminiscenced. ‘I wonder if she still has it?’ Jack
reflected.

Getting up from his desk, he nervously paced around his office all the while his attention was focused on the pictures. A few pictures more were all the bridesmaids together and Sam was hamming it up for the camera in them. ‘Funny, I didn’t think she was the type that would like getting her picture taken.  But there she was making faces for the camera.’ That made Jack smile.

Another picture was where he and Sam were in the lobby, standing very close to each other, face to face, almost touching. There was only a couple of inches between them. He was looking down into Sam’s eyes. He remembered like it was just yesterday the blush that accented Samantha beautiful face, and the intensity of bright blue eyes. So much emotion caught in one instant. Jack just stared at this one for a few long minutes. It was too bad that the proof number was written across her face, he would have liked to have this one.

Stopping his pacing for a moment, Jack thought, ‘Ahhh, here’s the one I was hoping that he took.’ This particular picture was the one that Jack had stopped the photographer for – the one where Sam was about to shed a rare tear as she watch the ceremony of her two old Pentagon buddies get married. Jack just looked at Sam for a while. Her eye’s misting up. Of course, he didn’t like to see any woman cry, because he didn’t know what to do, but he hoped that this was what they would have called a ‘happy tear.’

Jack continued his familiar pacing of his office. There was another one with the two of them hiding a quick smile from the bride and groom from the joke Jack had just made. Jack laughed again remembering his joke.

‘For crying out loud’, Jack muttered, getting pissed shoving his desk chair into a corner. Anger started to fill his soul, and he didn’t understand why. He looked over the many different pictures he held in his hand and it shocked him. At that moment when he realized why he was getting pissed. ‘Why had the photographer taken so many photos of his Samantha?’ He was jealous.

Jack, not wanting to deal with the unfamiliar emotion, filed it away into his subconscious.

He finished looking at the pictures. There was only one picture left that he hadn’t looked at yet and it floored him. Falling into his chair, he was absorbed back into the moment.  The picture showed the two of them kissing. His heart filled with overwhelming joy and warmth. The passion for each other was evident in their body language. One of his arms was wrapped around
her waist, holding her perfectly against his body, and his other hand was caressing the back of her neck, wanting her more.

It was then he realized that he’d been looking at these pictures his office on base, and he had proof in his hands that he had followed Sam on her leave to the wedding.  And there, they broken the regs!

“Hey Jack, it’s almost time for…”

Startled, Jack nervously shuffled the pictures out of sight into his other paperwork, and into an open drawer.

“Ah.. what was that?” Daniel asked looking up from his notebook just in time to see Jack trying to guiltily hide something. ‘Just like a kid that just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar – but more.’ Daniel thought.

“Nothing.” Jack barked back at him shutting the desk drawer with a sharp clank.

“No, really.. I think I saw pictures. What are they from?”  Daniel reached passed Jack who was rising to block Daniel from his desk. Jack’s attitude and posture made Daniel reconsider barreling past him to find out what Jack just hid. Daniel started to wonder if it was some birthday present for him, or maybe even a Christmas present. Both events were just a short few weeks away. Daniel looked at his friend, ‘No, he’s not really in the gift giving mood. He’s too guilty… and teed off’.

Attempting to distract his buddy,Jack groaned, “Really Daniel, they’re nothing… Really. Is it about… “

“Uh huh.  I don’t believe you.” He sat down in the chair on the opposite side of Jack’s desk.  Daniel glared at his friend daring him to fess up. “What are you hiding?”

“Daniel,  Go Away!” Jack commanded, but Daniel just continued to sit patiently. He had seen Jack in his different moods, and he knew that if he just waited, Jack would work his way to opening up to what was bothering him. Besides, that commanding tone Jack took with him didn’t work that way on him. He wasn’t military. Daniel just waited.

Turning away from Daniel, Jack debated on whether to pull the pictures back out or not. He was struggling at the memory, wanting, and needing to share with his friend. Jack was worried about showing the pictures to anyone, let alone Daniel.

‘He’s a good friend, and not military’, Jack deliberated. ‘ Pictures of both me and Sam breaking them.’ ‘He won’t blab’ ‘Yeah he will’ ‘You’ve trusted him with more, your life even.’
‘This is more – Sam’s career, my career.’ ‘Trust. This is about trusting Daniel. He’s a friend and besides – he sent you to the wedding in his place. He already knows.’ ‘Well, most of it.’

Jack turned back to Daniel, paused looking his friend’s quiet demeanor.

“Shut the door, Daniel.” Jack ordered.

Daniel leaned back and casually flipped the door shut to Jack’s office. Turning back to his friend, he raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

Jack let a long slow exhale out and sighed. “Daniel, what I’m about to show you has be …” Jack paused, looking at his friend with all seriousness. Whispering, he continued “…Classified. Only you and me. Got that?”

‘Why was he whispering,’ Daniel thought, ‘And in his office with the door closed. This must be pretty bad if he doesn’t want just any one to know about it’. Daniel gravely nodded his understanding. Jack picked through the papers pulling out the offending envelope and slid it out and over to him. Daniel reverently opened it up and pulled out the pictures. Relieved Daniel sighed and said  “They’re pictures! Of the DC wedding you guys went too!! What’s so classified about these?” He mocked and started to flip through them slowly.

Jack knew that the first ones were of the bride and bridesmaids. “Oh look, there’s Sam.’

‘Samatha,’ Jack unconsciously reminded himself.

“Wow that dress is beautiful. She cleans up good!” Daniel joked as he continued to look at them. “Oh, look at you two. You clean up well too, Jack.” He said making fun of Jack’s torment. Hearing Jack’s moan, Daniel glanced up before continuing. He saw that his friend, one that had pulled him out of the jaws of death, was in distress. Jack’s face looked like he was in front of a firing squad. Daniel shook his head, still trying figure him and trying to put all the Jack O’Neill puzzle pieces together.

Jack was in agony. ‘For crying out loud—get on with it!’ He was dreading the next picture.’He had to be getting to that last picture by now.’ It took every morsel of control for Jack to refrain from ripping the pictures out of Daniel’s hands.

“Ohhh.. “ Daniel exclaimed a bit too loud for Jack, even though Daniel did not raised his voice at all. “That’s why… Wow…” He looked up to his beleaguered friend. Daniel smiled warmly and announced, “You’re kissing Sam…”

Duh, Jack thought, rolling his eyes.

“Shut-up!” Jack had finally had enough! He was so infuriated with the slowness of Daniel’s inspection that he finally lost control and ripped the pictures from his hands. “Get out!”

Not sure what he had done wrong or why Jack was so pissed, Daniel got up gradually and snuck out the door. Jack shoved the pictures into his jacket’s breast pocket and tried to forget all about them while he worked on his personal paperwork.

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Sam had her mail being forward from the Pentagon. She had this forward going on since she had started working at the Stargate Command, she just never bothered to go to tell the Pentagon post office to take it off.

Sam had received her pictures too.  Her picture proofs came in a small manila envelope.  She had a few more because she was in the wedding party. There were of different shots with all the bridesmaids, the bride and groom in them. In her lab, she sorted them to be all face up on the table before her. She saw the ones of Jack and her, and put them in a separate pile. She replaced all the others back into the envelope they came in, except for the pictures with just her and Jack. Leaning on her elbows she gazed down, taking in all of them in at the same time.

She looked at each one, examining in detail every line and look… every hand and gesture caught on the film. She looked at them in chronological order. Sam remembered the feelings she had when she looked at each one. She looked at the bride and bridesmaids’ pictures remembering that she had felt out of place at the start of the wedding ceremony, but started to relax, as she started to feel needed and useful.

Sam picked up the picture that had her and Jack standing very close to each other, almost touching. It was a beautiful shot, from the blurred images in the background, that softened the whole shot, giving it a romantic feeling, Sam figured out that this was the lobby of the hotel, just after they had first seen each other in their formal wear. She held it for a long time running a finger lightly over Jack’s image, just staring at it. ‘Like a dream’ she thought, feeling the blush rise to her cheeks. Remembering how close they had been standing. Grudgingly, she put the picture down and picked up the next. It was the one where she and Jack had just shared a joke in the reception line. She laughed out loud remembering; ‘Damn, Jack in a tux. Handsome and that’s one sexy smile,’ and the photographer caught it perfectly.

The next one was when she had asked the photographer to take a photo for her. It was the James Bond one. She laughed. She was going to have to show that one around. But, not yet. She was going to have to find the perfect moment for that one. The last picture she had in front of her was the most marvelous yet. Jack was kissing her, and she wanting more – even now. She remembered the embrace clearly, like it had just happened.

Just then, Daniel came traipsing into her lab with a bounce to his step. He had a secret about Jack, but a promise is a promise, he couldn’t share it, even with Sam. ‘But it was such a happy secret!’ He grinned. ‘Too bad I can’ t tell Janet! She would have a field day with this one!’

Sam heard someone come in from behind her and quickly stuffed the pictures into the rest of her paper work. Daniel caught a glimpse.

“Hi Sam, whatcha got there?” He smiled at her, and reached for the wedding party photos before she had a chance to sweep them under her files.

“Just pictures…”

“…From the wedding! How cool! Aww, look at you Sam, you’re beautiful.” She tried to grab them from him but he just turned his back to her and walked away with the pictures in his hands. “That blue dress is much better than anything else I’ve seen you in recently,” he taunted like a big brother and Sam just groaned.

“Daniel, give’m back…” Sam attempted to reach to get her pictures back, but Daniel dodged her reach easily.

He flipped through the pictures, and figured out that the photographer had sent Jack almost an entirely different set. The basic shots were there, the ones of the wedding party all lined up, the one of Jack and Sam standing looking at each other, and of course the one he was particularly looking for, the kiss. But he also saw the James Bond one. He pulled it out of the
stack and started laughing. “Is this our infamous Colonel Jack O’Neill?”

Daniel was holding the picture out showing it to Sam, and she quickly grabbed it and made a move to take possession of the rest. Daniel turned his back on her like an older brother would keep a love letter from a younger sister. “Daniel” she complained.

“What? Trying to keep something from me?” He continued to taunt her.

“Yes, as a matter of fact. Now give those back to me.” She realized a commanding voice was not going to work on Daniel, so she amended with, “Please?”

Daniel saw that she was in agony over the pictures he was holding. ‘Almost a mirror image of Jack’, Daniel reflected. He reluctantly passed them back to her. “So, what are those numbers written across them like that?” He inquired.

“They’re tracking numbers for the proofs. These are only proofs.”

“Are you going to get any? That James “O’Neill Bond” one would be good for blowing up and framing, if you know what I mean?” he hinted.

She turned around and looked at him, questioningly.

‘She’s still paranoid that I saw the two of them kissing picture.’ He laughed to himself.  “Framing. Blackmail… you know…a practical joke or something” He offered grinning at her.

“Oh, you’re right.” She said off-handedly. She had never thought about that, she just wanted to hide them all. She thought to herself, ‘I need to get that post office mailing system straightened out ASAP!’

Teal’c came in, interrupting them. “General Hammond has requested our presence.” All he got was blank stares. “For the tomorrow’s mission briefing.”

“Oh, of course Teal’c. Thank you, we’ll be right there.” Daniel answered for the both of them. Having delivered his message, Teal’c turned and went off to find Colonel O’Neill.

Sam and Daniel started for the door, but Sam paused at the opening and pushed Daniel out the door as she said, “I’ll be there in a minute Daniel.” locking it behind him.

Daniel looked at the closed door, shook his head and walked away, ‘Love makes you crazy.’

Sam quickly went over to her desk digging a pen out of the draw, and a credit card from her briefcase. She carefully filled out the form for 5x 8 sizes of each one of the pictures that had both her and Jack in them. Pausing she looked again at one of them. Taking a leap, she filled out the next line on the form for a 8x10 of the James Bond-look-a-like. She paused, and saw the kiss picture peeking out from the stack. She thought for a moment, and jotted down its number and 8x10 beside that one too. After reviewing the form for accuracies, she stuffed the form and the proofs into the supplied envelope, addressed and sealed it.

Looking at the envelope in her hand, she thought, ‘I’m making a big mistake here.’ Sam held it at the mouth of the mail drop box, debating – send it? Or not? ‘Dreams are fine, but at least I’d have this one moment of proof that he cares.’ With that thought, she dropped the envelope down the mailbox slot.

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Sam rushed in just as General Hammond was calling the briefing to order. “Captain Carter.” He reprimanded.

“Sorry sir.” She quickly sat down across from Colonel O’Neill, who was sitting between Teal’c and the general.

“Please get us started with your briefing, Doctor Jackson.” General Hammond requested from the head of the table.

“Yes, well… Of course, your all aware…” Daniel standing up from the conference table and launched into his lecture mode.

Jack struggled to keep his attention on Daniel. He normally would tune him out. All of his talk about ancient culture just wasn’t interesting to him, and this briefing for tomorrow’s mission was strictly a meet and greet affair.

‘Affair…’ Jack’s thoughts wandered to the bulky envelope in his breast pocket. He tried to causally glance around the room, wondering if the other members of his team, and even his general knew what he carried. He’s eyes fell on to the top of Sam’s blonde hair. ‘She’s not here’, Jack noticed Sam’ s lack of attention on topic. ‘There’s hair in her eyes. If I could only reach over and brush it..”

Sam looked up, trying to focus on what Daniel was saying. It was difficult today. She absently brushed a stray bit of hair out of the way, looking over at Jack at the same time. She had caught Jack suddenly looking away, and Sam followed his gaze. ‘Teal’c’s tattoo. Something new about it Jack?’ She stifled a small grin. ‘He’s even more distracted that normal. Does he know?’

General Hammond asks, “And what effect does that have on today’s culture, doctor?”

Daniel paused, not so much thinking about the question the general asked, but watching his two good friends react to each other.  ‘Having a hard time, guys?’ “Well, General, my theory is…” he continued, watching his teammates and answered the question at the same time. ‘This is fun!’

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After the briefing Jack made a lame excuse to leave the base. He got in his car and drove north. He didn’t know where he was going, and he had almost 24 hours before he had to be back, so he didn’t care. He cranked up his stereo with some classic hard rock, pulled onto I-25 and ‘got-the-hell-outta-dodge’ . About 2 hours out of Colorado Springs there was a rest stop, he pulled in and parked. Getting out, he stretched. He always could think clearly in the mountains. He reached in behind his seat, took out his backpack, and went to the bathroom. After he changed into jeans and a sweatshirt, he went back to his car, throwing his belongings on the passenger seat next to him. What am I doing here, he questioned himself.

‘You know,’ his little voice answered.

‘Yeah, I do.’ He thought sarcastically.

He looked over to his fatigues jacket like it was crawling with bugs. He carefully reached into the pocket and pulled out the envelope. Jack looked at each picture again. He loved all of the pictures, but he was looking for a particular one. Once he found it, he just stared at it. He looked at his Samantha’s image and how her head was tilted, and how their lips were pressed to each other. He looked at himself and remembered how she looked that day, and how she felt to him at that moment in time. He also remembered dancing with her the rest of the evening, refusing anyone who wanted to cut in. She was his. ‘It was the best leave I ever had,’ he reminisced.

After awhile his small voice invaded his thoughts, ‘Get this one.’ It calmly whispered to him.

He continued to look at the photo. Just staring.

He had made the decision and said, “Sweet.” He then pulled out his checkbook, and filled out the form, getting set to mail off for an 8 x 10 of him and Sam kissing.
 

To Be Continued… (Don’t you hate that phrase!! * grin *)

Watch for “The Christmas Wish” in the next couple of days

Christina MacKenzie
kachina@ecis.com
http://www.remingtonsteele.org
http://www.ecis.com