Title: Never Forget

Author: Malinne

E-Mail: malinne@sbcglobal.net

Web: http://www.livejournal.com/users/malinne_sj_fic/

Rating: Everyone

Spoilers: S9

Summary: Sam is numbed by events in her life.

Disclaimer: Stargate and the characters are not mine. This story is written in appreciation of the program.

Archive: Yes…S/J, SJNC17, and anyone else who wants it.

Dedication: To my friend Audrich, who has experienced some life changing events this past year.

Sam Carter felt empty...totally drained...as if a black hole had sucked her very being from her. She had lost her father--stood silently, holding his hand and watching as his life faded from him, Selmac unable to heal the wounds he and Jacob had suffered. Later, she had said goodbye to her dream--watched it die as she was confronted with the reality that she couldn't marry a man she didn't love, clinging instead to the vague whispered promise of "I'll always be here for you."

Only hours later, she wasn't aware of the sound of Jack's truck pulling up to park behind her. Nor did she have a clue as to how long she had been sitting in her car, parked on the street in front of her house. To be perfectly honest, she couldn't even remember driving home.

What she does recall is her car door being opened, and a warm hand gently guiding her out. She remembers arms lifting her--along with the weight of her emotional burdens. She remembers slipping her arms around his neck, and the feeling as he held her in a close embrace, fingers stroking through her hair as he placed a light kiss on the side of her neck. She remembers being carried into her house and down the hall to her bedroom, where he laid her on the bed and went directly to her dresser.

Sam watched in silence as he searched, returning a moment later, with a tank top and pajama bottoms. She doesn't remember him helping her change or when he tucked her beneath the covers. Nor does she remember the cup of soup he made for her...the soup she couldn't bring herself to touch.

But Sam Carter does remember the warmth of his body as he spooned himself behind her. She remembers the weight of his arm across her waist and the touch of his hand on hers through the covers. And she remembers the words he whispered as he coaxed her to rest. "I'll always be here for you, Sam. I love you."

There were many things she didn't clearly remember, but there was one thing she would never forget.

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