NeverEnding 8/?
A/N: So yeah, *blushes* I won't even begin to explain why it's been over a month since the last update... There's just no way I could explain it. LOL - any-hoo, here is the next part!
Sorry for the angst, I swear the next part is actually light-hearted.
NeverEnding 8/?
Title: Letting Go
Author: Chozen Rogue
Rating: Teen; language, sexuality, character death
Characters: Jack/Sam; Team; Landry; Thor
Summary: What if Jack was on the Odyssey during the events of “Unending?”
Spoilers: Unending (Duh!); whole series, will specify if anything major comes up
Disclaimer: Stargate: SG-1 belongs to MGM, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Films. I just took the characters out for a spin.
Previous chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
“It’s been a month since the attack and it seems that Sam isn’t anywhere closer to finding a way out of this situation than she was when we started.”
Daniel leaned back in his chair and sighed into the recorder. “Though it’s not as if she’s had any help with finding a solution. I’ve been combing through the Asgard database in hopes that I’ll be able to find something, anything, that could benefit her but since I’m not an astrophysicist, I might just be looking in the wrong place.”
His eyes scanned the room that he had now come to call his home, and shrugged, “I guess we’ve all come to deal with what has happened in our own way.”
“Cameron has become an exercise-fiend, always pushing his body to its limits so he doesn’t have to deal with the reality of being stuck and not able to help in finding a way off this ship.”
Leaning forward, Daniel rested his elbows on his desk, cradling the device to his mouth. “Vala has become even more eclectic, wondering through the ship during the day trying to keep busy doing things only Vala would dream of doing, but most of the time, she’s in Sam’s lab or quarters. Actually, Sam told me that Vala has started sleeping in her quarters...” Daniel closed his eyes, and whispered, “I think this place scares her.”
He stared at the desk for a moment, before shaking his head and clearing his throat. “General Landry and Teal’c,” he continued, “have both shown impossible patience to all of the neurotic behavior going around. Teal’c spends most of his time in the exercise rooms sparring with Cam or helping Sam clear out the debris from the lower levels; there was even a week where he helped Jack with his rehabilitation after his side had healed enough.” A smile spread over his mouth as the next words left his mouth. “Plants have become the General’s new obsession, tending to them day or night. Reminds me of when Jack use to tease Sam for talking to her plants.”
“Which now bring me to the last individuals on the Odyssey, who at this point, are not on the best terms.” Getting up off his chair, Daniel walked over to the window and looked out to where the Ori missile stood frozen in space. “I’m still not quite sure how they’ve gone two weeks without saying more than ten words to each other since the incident in the lab. I mean this is Jack and Sam, they strive for the other’s attention at all times; hell, it even seems instinctual now.”
“With Jack, I think it’s a combination of loosing Thor, being stuck on this ship, and being completely removed from everything he enjoyed...” An evil smiled crossed his face, “That is, except for Sam,” but it fell from his face as soon it had came about. “When she kicked him out, I think it hurt him because she was removing that one last thing that was keeping him from thinking about all that had happened. Jack doesn’t deal with loss, he runs away from it, ergo, his avoidance of Sam.”
As he sat down on the edge of the bed that was near the window, Daniel’s expression became somber. “It’s like we’ve gone back in time to when we were on Abydos the first time, always withdrawn and only talking when addressed to. Hell,” he threw up a hand in a frustrated gesture, “Teal’c can’t even get him have a conversation.”
Shaking his head, “So now, with Sam and Jack not talking, she spends all of her time working on simulations and he spends his time in the sparring rooms watching Cam and Teal’c, or jogging through the ship with Cam. But the upside is, I think there might be a reconciliation in the works; Sam came to me today and told me that she has finally - “
A chimed echoed through the quarters, signaling that someone was at his door. Hitting the stop button on the recorder, he crossed over to the entrance wondering who would be at his door at this hour. Praying that it was Sam coming to tell him that she had a solution, he thumbed the keypad.
As the doors slid open, Daniel blinked. It definitely wasn’t Sam.
He slowly took in the sight of Vala standing there in a pink teddy holding... Dear God, were those handcuffs?
As his mind registered what was happening, he noticed she was about to open her mouth to say something and his hand shot up to the keypad, effectively cutting her off as the doors slid shut.
Turning away, Daniel brought the device that he still held to his mouth and hit record. “Much longer and this place will be a mad house.” He raised an eyebrow in contemplation and added, “If it isn’t already.”
*****
Sam’s head dropped back against the door leading to her lab; they were late and she had more research to do. Closing her eyes, she sighed heavily. One goddamn month they had been marooned on the Odyssey and she was no closer to a way of getting them off it than she was when she had started.
Plus, they still weren’t talking; two weeks and not ten words had passed between the two of them.
It was his fault, he had broken the magnifying glass, and that had been enough to get him kicked out and within good reason; at the time, she had thought the thing had been irreplaceable. Things had a way of breaking, exploding, or disappearing when General Jack O’Neill got involved and she hadn’t wanted another incident. Apparently, this had warranted his avoidance of her, something he hadn’t done in a long time, three years to be exact; not since…
The sound of running feet and harsh breathing startled her out of her thoughts as Cameron rounded the corner and slowed as he neared her till he came to a stop in front of her, “Sam?”
“Hey, is the General with you today?” Sam peered over his shoulder curiously.
He was about to answer when Jack rounded the corner, hair plastered to his forehead with sweat, and Cam pointed to him, “There he is.”
Sam gave a pointed look to Colonel Obvious, and then turned her attention to the man moving closer to them. “Sir!”
At the sound of Sam’s voice, Jack stopped suddenly and his head snapped up, eyes immediately finding her. As the man walked hesitantly toward them, Cam looked at Jack and said, “Sir, I’m gonna keep going if you don’t mind.”
Jack waved him off, “Go on Mitchell, the knees are acting up anyways.”
At Cam’s nod, he threw a smile at Sam and mouthed, ‘Good luck.’ Her eyes widen as he started back down the hallway; did everyone know about the animosity between her and Jack?
Though the prospect of everyone knowing bothered her, Sam was glad to see that Cameron was in a good mood, something that the crew aboard the Odyssey had seen very little these past few weeks.
Turning towards Jack, Sam opened her mouth to tell him the news she had stopped him for but her train of thought ended abruptly at the sight of him. Taking in his heavy breathing, sweat slicked face, unruly hair sticking up in all directions, Sam began to think that a nice cold shower was in order.
Holy Hannah, even with the newly healed scar that stretched over his left eye and extended about an inch down his face mixed with the three thin scars on his right cheek, he was something to look at.
“Carter, did you need something?”
Her eyes snapped to his and she could feel her face heat up as he arched an eyebrow. “Uh,” she cleared her voice. “I wanted to tell you,” she fumbled for a second as she tried desperately to remember what she had to tell him, “um, that I’ve finally gotten the level your original quarters were on cleared.”
His eyes lit up and he said, “You mean I can actually retrieve my stuff without getting sucked into space or something?”
Sam was tempted to explain to him that getting sucked out into space wasn’t a possibility where his quarters were, more like dying in a vacuum, but she held her mouth shut. Instead she answered with, “Yes, sir; you can start moving your stuff to the upper levels whenever you want.”
“Thanks!” His face had split into the first smile she had seen on his face in nearly two weeks and it felt even better knowing that she had caused it. “Well, I think I have some moving to be doing.” He started towards the elevator, but stopped and turned back to her, “Hey, Carter?”
“Sir?”
“Really, thank you; I know how much you had to do to get that level cleared.”
Sam felt the distinct feeling of butterflies in her stomach as she read genuine sincerity and warmth in his eyes. “Not a problem, sir.” They stood there for a moment till Sam shrugged and asked, “Do you need any help?”
An easy smile appeared on his face, “Only if you have the time.”
She looked at her watch and then met his eyes, “I still need to do some things but I’ll be done in about thirty minutes.”
“I may be done by then, but if you still want to, look me up.” And with that, Jack headed back down the hallway.
Sam couldn’t help but laugh when she heard the distinct sound of him whistling. As she turned and entered her lab, she knew that things with the General were looking up.
*****
Stepping over the beam that crossed the corridor, Sam made her may through the debris toward Jack‘s quarters. It had taken her a full week of nonstop work to get the levels that had been breached cleared to at least gather whatever usable supplies were still there. Thankfully, both Teal’c and Daniel had helped and soon the levels had been deemed safe.
As she reached the VIP room entrance, Sam saw that it was still open and there was the soft sound of paper being moved coming from inside. Rounding the corner, she smiled as Jack came into her view.
He was sitting against the bulkhead between the desk and the night stand, the only area in the room that looked like it had not been damaged in some way. The bed was bent out of shape by the heavy book shelf that had fallen on it, not to mention that glass that was strewn across it and the floor from the mirror that had obviously been smashed.
She turn her attention back to the man, who she realized still had not seen her because of the leather bound book and data pad resting across his outstretched legs. “What are you reading?”
His eyes lifted to hers in a startled gesture, “Hey!” Jack’s gaze traveled back to his lap and then picked up the book to show her it, not bothering to keep his place. “It’s the book Thor gave to me before...” He trailed off, his eyes staring off at an image only he could see.
At this, Sam moved into the room and over to him. Crouching down to his level, she gently reached out to take the book that was still raised. As her fingers met his, he looked up at her, the pain in his eyes shocking her as he let go of the book and brought his knees up to rest his head against, not caring as the data pad fell to the floor nor to the fact that Sam was still there to see his moment of weakness.
She knew Thor’s death would affect them and had known that it would affect Jack worst of all, but it was starting to look like he hadn’t fully realized it till this moment. Quietly, Sam moved to sit beside him, not bothering to remember how much space should be between them as she sat with her side flushed up against his.
At this touch, Jack turned his head and watched as she ran fingers over the book’s title. The symbols that made up the name were foreign to her and when she opened the heavy tomb, she only saw a mixture of Asgard and Ancient. “Sir, this isn’t in English.”
“I know.”
Hearing the smile in his voice, she looked up to find his eyes closed, “How were you reading it?”
“The data pad has a translation in it, and besides, I wasn’t reading.” At this, he reached over and flipped through several pages till he found the right page and pointed to it. “I was looking at the description.”
Sam felt her breath leave her as she stared at the beautiful images decorating the open pages. They reminded her of ancient Celtic texts: slightly distorted images that were rich in color like they had been done in stain glass instead drawn on parchment. “My God,” turning to the man beside her, she asked, “Thor gave this to you?”
“Yeah.” Straightening to lean against the wall once again, legs still drawn up, he said, “I once asked him, on one of my diplomatic missions, if there were any books on his world.”
Arching an eyebrow, Sam said, “Any advanced culture would have to have a written works.”
“I realize that, but he stopped me when I said something about Harry Potter,” at this, Sam nudged him with her shoulder causing him to stop. “What?”
“You told Thor about Harry Potter?”
“It was relevant!”
“In a diplomatic discussion?!” There was no way Sam could hold in her laughter at his reproachful look and in retaliation; he knocked her shoulder with his own causing her to have to brace herself against the floor or else she would have fallen completely. After a moment of trying to reign in her laughter, she pushed herself back into a sitting position against his side, smiling wildly at him.
“Are you finished?” He asked his tone serious but his eyes bright with amusement. At her nod, he continued, “Anyways, I told him it was a popular series of books and he said as a child...” He stopped suddenly and turned his body towards her, “By the way, how can a clone be a child?”
Still grinning, she answered, “Yes, Thor was a clone but he part of race who had long given up procreation which would mean that Thor could have been quite old.”
“How old?”
“Heimdall said they had been cloning for a thousand years, stands to conclusion that Thor would be at least that.” She shrugged, “He could have been talking about actual childhood even if it was over a thousand years ago, sir.”
“Uh, wow.” Jack blinked and shook his head, “Ok, with that confusing fact dealt with, lets continue.” She made a motion to do just that, which he nodded to and went on, “Thor told me about this book that use to interest him when he was a child. Said that writing on paper was an extinct form of writing and that books were rare and kept in libraries open to all of the public.”
He shifted his left leg and Sam was suddenly aware that his thigh was now resting along hers; she willed herself to keep listening to his explanation. “His family had special privileges and as a gift for something his father had accomplished, they were allowed to pick one book to keep as their own. Thor’s father had asked him to be the one to pick and Thor picked this one.”
Sam’s attention was directed back to the beautiful mural and let her fingers trace the delicate lines that ran through the image. “This must have meant a lot to him.”
“It did.”
Suddenly, Jack’s fingers joined hers on the page, making her tense at the sudden intimate gesture. Pulling back at the change in her body, Jack threw her a look and was unsure at what to do until she lifted her eyes to his and smiled.
Turning her hand from the book, her fingers caught his and brought his hand down to hers. Both of them stared at their entwined hands and Sam, without thinking, moved to lean her head against his shoulder.
Sam willed herself to stay relaxed as her eyes stayed focus on their hands. Jack’s body was still rigid and she had no intention of scaring him off; she knew if he could only get past the fact that this was an extremely intimate gesture between a superior officer and a subordinate, he would calm down.
Plus, it wasn’t like this was the first time they had crossed this line.
Slowly, his muscles began to relax and she felt him lay his head against her own.
Watching the thumb that was stroking the inside of her palm, she whispered, “I’m sorry.”
He shifted and with his voice muffled by her hair, asked, “What?”
“For everything, for us, for Thor…“ His hand tightened in hers and she added, “I’m sorry that he’s gone.”
“Me too.” And with that, she felt him lay a kiss upon her hair, and neither of them moved for quite some time.
Continue to Chapter 9
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- - Leave comments; tell me if you love or hate... Your fav parts or whatever!
Sorry for the angst, I swear the next part is actually light-hearted.
NeverEnding 8/?
Title: Letting Go
Author: Chozen Rogue
Rating: Teen; language, sexuality, character death
Characters: Jack/Sam; Team; Landry; Thor
Summary: What if Jack was on the Odyssey during the events of “Unending?”
Spoilers: Unending (Duh!); whole series, will specify if anything major comes up
Disclaimer: Stargate: SG-1 belongs to MGM, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Films. I just took the characters out for a spin.
Previous chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
“It’s been a month since the attack and it seems that Sam isn’t anywhere closer to finding a way out of this situation than she was when we started.”
Daniel leaned back in his chair and sighed into the recorder. “Though it’s not as if she’s had any help with finding a solution. I’ve been combing through the Asgard database in hopes that I’ll be able to find something, anything, that could benefit her but since I’m not an astrophysicist, I might just be looking in the wrong place.”
His eyes scanned the room that he had now come to call his home, and shrugged, “I guess we’ve all come to deal with what has happened in our own way.”
“Cameron has become an exercise-fiend, always pushing his body to its limits so he doesn’t have to deal with the reality of being stuck and not able to help in finding a way off this ship.”
Leaning forward, Daniel rested his elbows on his desk, cradling the device to his mouth. “Vala has become even more eclectic, wondering through the ship during the day trying to keep busy doing things only Vala would dream of doing, but most of the time, she’s in Sam’s lab or quarters. Actually, Sam told me that Vala has started sleeping in her quarters...” Daniel closed his eyes, and whispered, “I think this place scares her.”
He stared at the desk for a moment, before shaking his head and clearing his throat. “General Landry and Teal’c,” he continued, “have both shown impossible patience to all of the neurotic behavior going around. Teal’c spends most of his time in the exercise rooms sparring with Cam or helping Sam clear out the debris from the lower levels; there was even a week where he helped Jack with his rehabilitation after his side had healed enough.” A smile spread over his mouth as the next words left his mouth. “Plants have become the General’s new obsession, tending to them day or night. Reminds me of when Jack use to tease Sam for talking to her plants.”
“Which now bring me to the last individuals on the Odyssey, who at this point, are not on the best terms.” Getting up off his chair, Daniel walked over to the window and looked out to where the Ori missile stood frozen in space. “I’m still not quite sure how they’ve gone two weeks without saying more than ten words to each other since the incident in the lab. I mean this is Jack and Sam, they strive for the other’s attention at all times; hell, it even seems instinctual now.”
“With Jack, I think it’s a combination of loosing Thor, being stuck on this ship, and being completely removed from everything he enjoyed...” An evil smiled crossed his face, “That is, except for Sam,” but it fell from his face as soon it had came about. “When she kicked him out, I think it hurt him because she was removing that one last thing that was keeping him from thinking about all that had happened. Jack doesn’t deal with loss, he runs away from it, ergo, his avoidance of Sam.”
As he sat down on the edge of the bed that was near the window, Daniel’s expression became somber. “It’s like we’ve gone back in time to when we were on Abydos the first time, always withdrawn and only talking when addressed to. Hell,” he threw up a hand in a frustrated gesture, “Teal’c can’t even get him have a conversation.”
Shaking his head, “So now, with Sam and Jack not talking, she spends all of her time working on simulations and he spends his time in the sparring rooms watching Cam and Teal’c, or jogging through the ship with Cam. But the upside is, I think there might be a reconciliation in the works; Sam came to me today and told me that she has finally - “
A chimed echoed through the quarters, signaling that someone was at his door. Hitting the stop button on the recorder, he crossed over to the entrance wondering who would be at his door at this hour. Praying that it was Sam coming to tell him that she had a solution, he thumbed the keypad.
As the doors slid open, Daniel blinked. It definitely wasn’t Sam.
He slowly took in the sight of Vala standing there in a pink teddy holding... Dear God, were those handcuffs?
As his mind registered what was happening, he noticed she was about to open her mouth to say something and his hand shot up to the keypad, effectively cutting her off as the doors slid shut.
Turning away, Daniel brought the device that he still held to his mouth and hit record. “Much longer and this place will be a mad house.” He raised an eyebrow in contemplation and added, “If it isn’t already.”
*****
Sam’s head dropped back against the door leading to her lab; they were late and she had more research to do. Closing her eyes, she sighed heavily. One goddamn month they had been marooned on the Odyssey and she was no closer to a way of getting them off it than she was when she had started.
Plus, they still weren’t talking; two weeks and not ten words had passed between the two of them.
It was his fault, he had broken the magnifying glass, and that had been enough to get him kicked out and within good reason; at the time, she had thought the thing had been irreplaceable. Things had a way of breaking, exploding, or disappearing when General Jack O’Neill got involved and she hadn’t wanted another incident. Apparently, this had warranted his avoidance of her, something he hadn’t done in a long time, three years to be exact; not since…
The sound of running feet and harsh breathing startled her out of her thoughts as Cameron rounded the corner and slowed as he neared her till he came to a stop in front of her, “Sam?”
“Hey, is the General with you today?” Sam peered over his shoulder curiously.
He was about to answer when Jack rounded the corner, hair plastered to his forehead with sweat, and Cam pointed to him, “There he is.”
Sam gave a pointed look to Colonel Obvious, and then turned her attention to the man moving closer to them. “Sir!”
At the sound of Sam’s voice, Jack stopped suddenly and his head snapped up, eyes immediately finding her. As the man walked hesitantly toward them, Cam looked at Jack and said, “Sir, I’m gonna keep going if you don’t mind.”
Jack waved him off, “Go on Mitchell, the knees are acting up anyways.”
At Cam’s nod, he threw a smile at Sam and mouthed, ‘Good luck.’ Her eyes widen as he started back down the hallway; did everyone know about the animosity between her and Jack?
Though the prospect of everyone knowing bothered her, Sam was glad to see that Cameron was in a good mood, something that the crew aboard the Odyssey had seen very little these past few weeks.
Turning towards Jack, Sam opened her mouth to tell him the news she had stopped him for but her train of thought ended abruptly at the sight of him. Taking in his heavy breathing, sweat slicked face, unruly hair sticking up in all directions, Sam began to think that a nice cold shower was in order.
Holy Hannah, even with the newly healed scar that stretched over his left eye and extended about an inch down his face mixed with the three thin scars on his right cheek, he was something to look at.
“Carter, did you need something?”
Her eyes snapped to his and she could feel her face heat up as he arched an eyebrow. “Uh,” she cleared her voice. “I wanted to tell you,” she fumbled for a second as she tried desperately to remember what she had to tell him, “um, that I’ve finally gotten the level your original quarters were on cleared.”
His eyes lit up and he said, “You mean I can actually retrieve my stuff without getting sucked into space or something?”
Sam was tempted to explain to him that getting sucked out into space wasn’t a possibility where his quarters were, more like dying in a vacuum, but she held her mouth shut. Instead she answered with, “Yes, sir; you can start moving your stuff to the upper levels whenever you want.”
“Thanks!” His face had split into the first smile she had seen on his face in nearly two weeks and it felt even better knowing that she had caused it. “Well, I think I have some moving to be doing.” He started towards the elevator, but stopped and turned back to her, “Hey, Carter?”
“Sir?”
“Really, thank you; I know how much you had to do to get that level cleared.”
Sam felt the distinct feeling of butterflies in her stomach as she read genuine sincerity and warmth in his eyes. “Not a problem, sir.” They stood there for a moment till Sam shrugged and asked, “Do you need any help?”
An easy smile appeared on his face, “Only if you have the time.”
She looked at her watch and then met his eyes, “I still need to do some things but I’ll be done in about thirty minutes.”
“I may be done by then, but if you still want to, look me up.” And with that, Jack headed back down the hallway.
Sam couldn’t help but laugh when she heard the distinct sound of him whistling. As she turned and entered her lab, she knew that things with the General were looking up.
*****
Stepping over the beam that crossed the corridor, Sam made her may through the debris toward Jack‘s quarters. It had taken her a full week of nonstop work to get the levels that had been breached cleared to at least gather whatever usable supplies were still there. Thankfully, both Teal’c and Daniel had helped and soon the levels had been deemed safe.
As she reached the VIP room entrance, Sam saw that it was still open and there was the soft sound of paper being moved coming from inside. Rounding the corner, she smiled as Jack came into her view.
He was sitting against the bulkhead between the desk and the night stand, the only area in the room that looked like it had not been damaged in some way. The bed was bent out of shape by the heavy book shelf that had fallen on it, not to mention that glass that was strewn across it and the floor from the mirror that had obviously been smashed.
She turn her attention back to the man, who she realized still had not seen her because of the leather bound book and data pad resting across his outstretched legs. “What are you reading?”
His eyes lifted to hers in a startled gesture, “Hey!” Jack’s gaze traveled back to his lap and then picked up the book to show her it, not bothering to keep his place. “It’s the book Thor gave to me before...” He trailed off, his eyes staring off at an image only he could see.
At this, Sam moved into the room and over to him. Crouching down to his level, she gently reached out to take the book that was still raised. As her fingers met his, he looked up at her, the pain in his eyes shocking her as he let go of the book and brought his knees up to rest his head against, not caring as the data pad fell to the floor nor to the fact that Sam was still there to see his moment of weakness.
She knew Thor’s death would affect them and had known that it would affect Jack worst of all, but it was starting to look like he hadn’t fully realized it till this moment. Quietly, Sam moved to sit beside him, not bothering to remember how much space should be between them as she sat with her side flushed up against his.
At this touch, Jack turned his head and watched as she ran fingers over the book’s title. The symbols that made up the name were foreign to her and when she opened the heavy tomb, she only saw a mixture of Asgard and Ancient. “Sir, this isn’t in English.”
“I know.”
Hearing the smile in his voice, she looked up to find his eyes closed, “How were you reading it?”
“The data pad has a translation in it, and besides, I wasn’t reading.” At this, he reached over and flipped through several pages till he found the right page and pointed to it. “I was looking at the description.”
Sam felt her breath leave her as she stared at the beautiful images decorating the open pages. They reminded her of ancient Celtic texts: slightly distorted images that were rich in color like they had been done in stain glass instead drawn on parchment. “My God,” turning to the man beside her, she asked, “Thor gave this to you?”
“Yeah.” Straightening to lean against the wall once again, legs still drawn up, he said, “I once asked him, on one of my diplomatic missions, if there were any books on his world.”
Arching an eyebrow, Sam said, “Any advanced culture would have to have a written works.”
“I realize that, but he stopped me when I said something about Harry Potter,” at this, Sam nudged him with her shoulder causing him to stop. “What?”
“You told Thor about Harry Potter?”
“It was relevant!”
“In a diplomatic discussion?!” There was no way Sam could hold in her laughter at his reproachful look and in retaliation; he knocked her shoulder with his own causing her to have to brace herself against the floor or else she would have fallen completely. After a moment of trying to reign in her laughter, she pushed herself back into a sitting position against his side, smiling wildly at him.
“Are you finished?” He asked his tone serious but his eyes bright with amusement. At her nod, he continued, “Anyways, I told him it was a popular series of books and he said as a child...” He stopped suddenly and turned his body towards her, “By the way, how can a clone be a child?”
Still grinning, she answered, “Yes, Thor was a clone but he part of race who had long given up procreation which would mean that Thor could have been quite old.”
“How old?”
“Heimdall said they had been cloning for a thousand years, stands to conclusion that Thor would be at least that.” She shrugged, “He could have been talking about actual childhood even if it was over a thousand years ago, sir.”
“Uh, wow.” Jack blinked and shook his head, “Ok, with that confusing fact dealt with, lets continue.” She made a motion to do just that, which he nodded to and went on, “Thor told me about this book that use to interest him when he was a child. Said that writing on paper was an extinct form of writing and that books were rare and kept in libraries open to all of the public.”
He shifted his left leg and Sam was suddenly aware that his thigh was now resting along hers; she willed herself to keep listening to his explanation. “His family had special privileges and as a gift for something his father had accomplished, they were allowed to pick one book to keep as their own. Thor’s father had asked him to be the one to pick and Thor picked this one.”
Sam’s attention was directed back to the beautiful mural and let her fingers trace the delicate lines that ran through the image. “This must have meant a lot to him.”
“It did.”
Suddenly, Jack’s fingers joined hers on the page, making her tense at the sudden intimate gesture. Pulling back at the change in her body, Jack threw her a look and was unsure at what to do until she lifted her eyes to his and smiled.
Turning her hand from the book, her fingers caught his and brought his hand down to hers. Both of them stared at their entwined hands and Sam, without thinking, moved to lean her head against his shoulder.
Sam willed herself to stay relaxed as her eyes stayed focus on their hands. Jack’s body was still rigid and she had no intention of scaring him off; she knew if he could only get past the fact that this was an extremely intimate gesture between a superior officer and a subordinate, he would calm down.
Plus, it wasn’t like this was the first time they had crossed this line.
Slowly, his muscles began to relax and she felt him lay his head against her own.
Watching the thumb that was stroking the inside of her palm, she whispered, “I’m sorry.”
He shifted and with his voice muffled by her hair, asked, “What?”
“For everything, for us, for Thor…“ His hand tightened in hers and she added, “I’m sorry that he’s gone.”
“Me too.” And with that, she felt him lay a kiss upon her hair, and neither of them moved for quite some time.
Continue to Chapter 9
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- - Leave comments; tell me if you love or hate... Your fav parts or whatever!