Jaffa Jack: Step Forward
Title: Step Forward
Summary: Janet’s having a cookout to celebrate her adoption of Cassie.
Timeframe: Post ‘Singularity’. (Keep in mind, it’s still AU)
Characters/Pairing: Established SJ, Team, Janet, Cassie
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Family, General
Rating: G
Step Forward
Sam had noticed quite a few changes in Jack since he’d gained his symbiote, other than the obvious. He spent more time in the gym, for one thing. She supposed he grudgingly liked the fact that his strength had increased with the Goa’uld larva inside of him. Sam also had a feeling that his extra time spent in the gym was a chance for her husband to get away, to have some time to himself. She tried hard to prevent him from going off and brooding, as it was still early days yet.
Despite the front that he put up for his friends and Dr. Mackenzie, mostly so they didn’t take him out of the field, Sam knew that Jack still had constant moments of loathing for himself and what had been done to him. Sam made it her personal mission to show him every day that he wasn’t alone, that she was with him and together they would make it through this. Together they could live with the drastic, unwelcome change to their lives.
Today was going to be a day for celebrating, and though it wasn’t a day where Jack was particularly in the mood to be around a bunch of people, Sam was grateful that he’d been so willing to come to Janet’s for the cookout. SG-1 had played a big part in rescuing Cassandra, and in convincing General Hammond that Fraiser would be the perfect parent for the little girl. Janet was glad for their help to ease Cassie into their little SGC family, and the eleven-year-old had already grown attached to them all, especially Sam and Jack. Sam knew that Jack was quite fond of Cassandra already as well, just as she was.
-
Jack and Daniel helped carry the food out to the table by the grill while Janet followed with a big bowl of salad. Teal’c was manning the grill while Sam sat with Cassie at the picnic table and drank fruit punch. She talked to the young girl about school, and asked if she was adjusting okay living with Janet and learning Earth customs.
Sam watched Cassie’s attention shift, and the eleven-year-old looked from Teal’c to Jack and then back to her again. “What’s the matter kiddo?”
“Sam,” Cassie tilted her head, brows furrowing curiously with pure child-like innocence in her grey-blue eyes. “Janet says Jack is like Teal’c, and that‘s why I get a funny feeling when I‘m around them. She said it‘s ‘cuz of the Goa‘uld they carry and the naquadah stuff in my body.”
Sam froze. She felt herself nodding, but didn’t know why. Her mouth was dry and she was surprised that Cassandra had absorbed all this information in stride. “Cassie, you know that Jack and Teal’c are not bad, even though they carry the larval Goa’uld, right?”
“I know.” Cassie smiled at her and shifted on the bench so she was facing Sam better. “I like Jack and Teal’c.”
“Oh.” Sam was a little confused now. She wasn’t sure why Cassandra would bring this up. “Did you have a question, then?”
Shrugging, Cassie’s voice got quiet and she looked around unsurely. “Well, Janet said I shouldn’t talk to Jack about his symbiote, but I could ask Teal’c if I had any questions. Only if Jack's not there though.” She glanced back to where Fraiser was carrying out plastic forks and plates. Daniel had sat down in one of the lounge chairs and Jack was now helping Teal’c with the food on the grill. “I wanted to know how come?”
“And you thought you could ask me?” Sam wanted to know. She was silently pleased that the child would confide in her.
Cassie shrugged and shyly said, “Yeah, because you’re married to Jack.”
“Oh.” Sam smiled, though she was a little dumbfounded, not quite knowing how to answer. She didn’t even know if she could tell this poor innocent child why Jack was so sensitive about the subject of his symbiote. Did she even have the right to explain to Cassie what had happened to Jack?
Luckily, Sam was saved by any explanation as Janet came over to the table, cheerfully exclaiming, “Food’s ready! Come get something to eat guys.”
Cassie got off the bench quickly and went over to the food table, seemingly having forgotten her question to Sam due to the rumbling of her stomach.
-
Jack reached for an ear of corn to add to his heaping plateful of food which matched Teal’c’s. Sam had noticed that her husband now ate much more than he used to as well. She was a little ashamed that it made her jealous how much he could put away without gaining an ounce of weight. He looked more fit than ever, and if he wasn’t so self-conscious about his pouch, Sam realized she might have been able to enjoy the view a little more.
Eating her own food thoughtfully while the others chatted, Sam’s gaze strayed to Jack constantly. It wasn’t until Cassandra spoke up with an unexpected question that Sam’s attention strayed from her food and her husband.
“Jack,” Cassie swallowed the mouthful she’d been working on and put down her cornbread. "Can I ask you something?"
“Hrm?” He rose an eyebrow, burger half-way to his mouth.
Sam tensed and watched as Janet visibly did so as well.
Cassie’s gaze drifted from Jack to Teal’c and back again. She pointed at the gold emblem unhidden on Teal’c’s forehead. Since they were in Janet’s backyard, he hadn’t needed to disguise it. “If you’re like Teal’c, how come he has one of those and you don’t?”
“Cassandra!” Janet admonished with wide, shocked eyes.
Sam’s sharp eyes were intensely fixated on her husband. He stiffened immediately and looked as though he wanted to get up and leave the picnic table, but he appeared to force himself to remain in place. She was proud of him for that.
Daniel faltered for a moment before forcing his fork back into his mouth and slowly chewing on the mouthful of potato salad rather than letting it spill out of his gaping trap.
“What?” Cassie looked over at Janet, appearing unsure why the doctor had used that tone. She hadn’t asked Jack about the symbiote, so she didn’t think she was disobeying. The young girl had no idea that her innocent question was on the very subject Janet had warned her about.
Janet was looking worriedly at Jack, unsure how he would react, but as he began to open his mouth, Teal’c interjected with a steady, calculated response.
“The emblem on my forehead is a symbol of slavery to a false God. Colonel O’Neill has been fortunate not to be enslaved by such false God.”
Cassandra simply nodded, and everyone at the picnic table seemed to breathe a sigh of relief that she had accepted the answer without saying anything else about it.
Sam thought she was the only one who caught the contradiction in Teal’c’s answer. Despite having never gone through the Jaffa ranks, Jack was indeed a slave to the Goa’uld. There was no false God to him, but he was enslaved by the larva he reluctantly carried in his gut, for the foul creature was being used to keep him alive.
“I wasn’t born this way, like Teal’c was,” Jack said steadily, his sudden low voice startling nearly everyone at the table. Sam noticed the faint twitch of his jaw. “A very bad Goa’uld made me this way, Cassandra. I didn’t have a choice,” he explained softly in a pained tone.
“Oh.” A sad look washed over the child’s face. “Are you mad, Jack?”
Sam couldn’t tell if Cassie was asking if he was mad for what the Goa’uld had done, or mad because she had asked the question.
Jack sighed. “Yes,” he said with conviction, staring blankly at his plate. Then he lifted his chin and managed a smile for the girl, and Sam felt like it was genuine. His hard, dark eyes had softened. “But I’ve got to deal with what I’ve got and try to look at what good I can take from it. Just like you’re doing now.”
Cassie smiled, and Sam’s heart was filled with warmth. She was so very proud of Jack at that moment, and felt as though he’d come a long way today. He’d taken another step forward, and that couldn't be a bad thing.
-The End-