Title: You Deserve More

Author: Saramund

Season: 7

Spoilers: Chimera and Grace

Rating: PG

Archive: S&J, Heliopolis, anyone else please ask.

Disclaimer: Stargate SG1 and its characters are property of Stargate (II) productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story was written for entertainment purposes only and absolutely no money was exchanged. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations and story are property of the author. This story may not be posted anywhere else without the consent of the author.

Authors Note: Something that was triggered by a SamandJack Group discussion of Grace.

-o0o-

"You deserve more."

More. One word that could mean so much. It could mean quantity. It could mean quality. It could mean superiority. It could mean enhancement. It could mean anything.

But what did it mean to me?

"You deserve more." Those were the words that haunted me now. I'd tried for more. I'd tried for quantity and quality, and had failed. Oh, don't get me wrong. Peter was all that I was looking for in a companion. Attentive, loyal, gorgeous, adventurous, strong, gentle. I could go on, but that's not the point. I'd tried for more with Peter, and hadn't found it.

He'd given me more than I'd had before. More attention, more conversation, more time. More of everything I thought I was after. But the one thing he hadn't given me was the one thing that I needed more of. And it was something that he could not give me, no matter how hard he tried.

Because it wasn't his to give.

"You deserve more." Those three words that I misinterpreted. I thought I was telling myself that I deserved someone else, someone who could give me what He couldn't. Someone like Peter. But that wasn't what I was saying.

"You deserve more." Three words that were so easy to say, yet so hard to understand. My 'more' was not Peter, nor was it anyone else. It was Him. It was more of Him. Not just his loyalty, his silent devotion. It was all of him. All of Jack.

"I deserve more." I said out loud. He looked at me, his brown eyes solemn in his weathered face. "I want more. But he wasn't what I wanted or needed." He blinked, unmoving. I swallowed and finished what I wanted, no what I had to tell him. "Our careers are important to us, but my life, my heart is more so. We have to figure this out before there is nothing left for either of us."

He was silent for a long time, staring past me towards my house, towards the empty bedroom and empty life that I had created - waiting for more. Then he nodded and took my elbow, guiding me back towards the warmth of the entry way.

"You're right." Jack said softly before closing the door on the outside world.

"You deserve more." And this time, I intended to get it.

-fin-

Feedback welcomed and encouraged.