[Stargate: Drabble] "Not to Blame" [Sam/Jack, G]
Title: Not to Blame
Author: Ami Ven
Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Pairing: Sam Carter/Jack O'Neill
Genre: het.
Prompt: 100_tales #080 ‘forgiveness’
Rating: G
Word Count: 500
Setting: post-episode tag to “Abyss”
Summary: Sam had been acting weird lately, and Jack was beginning to worry.
Not to Blame
Sam had been acting weird lately, and Jack was beginning to worry. Oh, he was sure she wasn’t an alien clone, an alternate reality evil twin, or a replicator duplicate, but that still left a whole range of perfectly ordinary yet still terrifying Earth-based reasons for her recent twitchiness.
Except that Sam only seemed twitchy around him. When she was with Teal’c, Janet, Jonas or even the general, she was her usual cheery self. And she was also fine if he was just one of a group, completely collected and professional.
So, whatever it was, it had to do with him. Which would have been more helpful if he knew what, precisely, it was. Jack gave himself two more days to try and figure it out, then gave up and went to Sam’s lab.
“Sir,” she said, surprised, but didn’t look up from whatever she was working on.
“Jack,” he corrected.
That made her look up, sharply. “Sir?”
“This is off the record, Carter. Sam. Can we just talk, like two people? Two friends, if you will?”
She set her tools down on the workbench. “Yes, of course, s- Jack.”
“Good,” he said. She just looked at him, expectant but not impatient, and he blurted, “If I don’t know what I’m apologizing for, does the apology still count?”
Sam blinked at him. “Sir?”
“Ah- Carter.”
“I know, I know, off the record, but-” She was still looking a little shocked. “How could you possible think I was mad at you?”
Jack considered several different variations, each sounding equally offensive, and decided on the truth. “You’ve been acting weird since I got back, Carter. It’s a reasonable assumption.”
“No, it’s-” She broke off, abruptly. “I talked you into it, Jack. I talked you into becoming host to Kanan and it nearly got you killed. It did get you killed!”
Jack took a deep breath. “Hey,” he said, softly. “You had no way of knowing that snake would hijack me for a kamikaze run, then leave me hanging. I knew the risks when I agreed to it.”
“Did you really agree, though?” Sam asked. “I thought we hadn’t given Dad enough time to decide, but you…”
“I don’t blame you, Carter,” said Jack, firmly. “And I don’t blame the Tok’Ra. I’m not even sure I blame Kanan, not for all of it.”
“Sir?”
“Oh, I blame him for a lot of it,” he said. “But ‘leave no one behind’ is our motto, Carter. How many times have SGs 2 and up risked their lives to save our butts? How many of them have died doing it?”
“More than should have,” Sam admitted.
“Right. So, wanting to go back for the slave lady who’d been helping him, that I understand. But ditching me when things went south and leaving me for Ba’al? Not cool.”
Sam’s face clouded again. “Sir…”
“I don’t blame you, Carter,” Jack repeated. “So quit blaming yourself. It’s starting to upset Teal’c.”
She managed a smile. “Yes, sir.”
THE END
Current Mood:
mellow
Author: Ami Ven
Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Pairing: Sam Carter/Jack O'Neill
Genre: het.
Prompt: 100_tales #080 ‘forgiveness’
Rating: G
Word Count: 500
Setting: post-episode tag to “Abyss”
Summary: Sam had been acting weird lately, and Jack was beginning to worry.
Not to Blame
Sam had been acting weird lately, and Jack was beginning to worry. Oh, he was sure she wasn’t an alien clone, an alternate reality evil twin, or a replicator duplicate, but that still left a whole range of perfectly ordinary yet still terrifying Earth-based reasons for her recent twitchiness.
Except that Sam only seemed twitchy around him. When she was with Teal’c, Janet, Jonas or even the general, she was her usual cheery self. And she was also fine if he was just one of a group, completely collected and professional.
So, whatever it was, it had to do with him. Which would have been more helpful if he knew what, precisely, it was. Jack gave himself two more days to try and figure it out, then gave up and went to Sam’s lab.
“Sir,” she said, surprised, but didn’t look up from whatever she was working on.
“Jack,” he corrected.
That made her look up, sharply. “Sir?”
“This is off the record, Carter. Sam. Can we just talk, like two people? Two friends, if you will?”
She set her tools down on the workbench. “Yes, of course, s- Jack.”
“Good,” he said. She just looked at him, expectant but not impatient, and he blurted, “If I don’t know what I’m apologizing for, does the apology still count?”
Sam blinked at him. “Sir?”
“Ah- Carter.”
“I know, I know, off the record, but-” She was still looking a little shocked. “How could you possible think I was mad at you?”
Jack considered several different variations, each sounding equally offensive, and decided on the truth. “You’ve been acting weird since I got back, Carter. It’s a reasonable assumption.”
“No, it’s-” She broke off, abruptly. “I talked you into it, Jack. I talked you into becoming host to Kanan and it nearly got you killed. It did get you killed!”
Jack took a deep breath. “Hey,” he said, softly. “You had no way of knowing that snake would hijack me for a kamikaze run, then leave me hanging. I knew the risks when I agreed to it.”
“Did you really agree, though?” Sam asked. “I thought we hadn’t given Dad enough time to decide, but you…”
“I don’t blame you, Carter,” said Jack, firmly. “And I don’t blame the Tok’Ra. I’m not even sure I blame Kanan, not for all of it.”
“Sir?”
“Oh, I blame him for a lot of it,” he said. “But ‘leave no one behind’ is our motto, Carter. How many times have SGs 2 and up risked their lives to save our butts? How many of them have died doing it?”
“More than should have,” Sam admitted.
“Right. So, wanting to go back for the slave lady who’d been helping him, that I understand. But ditching me when things went south and leaving me for Ba’al? Not cool.”
Sam’s face clouded again. “Sir…”
“I don’t blame you, Carter,” Jack repeated. “So quit blaming yourself. It’s starting to upset Teal’c.”
She managed a smile. “Yes, sir.”
THE END
Current Mood:
mellow