In Time: Acceptable Consequence
Title: Acceptable Consequence
Summary: An accident on the job involving Sam leaves Jack contemplating his and his wife’s future.
Timeframe: Takes place in “The Changeling” fireman-verse of season six, with the same basic set up as in my ficlet ‘As Long As She’s Smiling’. Jack and Sam are married.
Pairings: Sam/Jack
Genre: Drama, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, AU
Rating: PG13
Acceptable Consequence
“The Captain’s trapped!”
That’s all he needed to hear. Jack was half-dressed in protective fire gear and a helmet nearly before the words had finished leaving the young probationary firefighter’s mouth.
His buddy T was fast on his tail as they rushed through the collapsing rubble.
As Chief of the Coquitlam fire department, Jack wasn’t really supposed to be involved in the action anymore, but instead giving orders from the sidelines. He couldn’t do that this time, with his wife in danger.
He knew he was just proving the reason why married couples weren’t supposed to be in the same firehouse, but he decided he’d rather be forced into retirement after this was all over instead of losing his wife.
“Where?!” Jack hollered after Jonas, ducking as concrete crumbled above them while they dashed through what was once the second level of a parking garage.
“Just over here!” the Probie yelled back, taking a corner and gesturing at a slab of concrete that had fallen over a narrow gap in the floor where a staircase appeared to have been.
Jack came to a skidding halt, his heart stopping painfully in his chest and fearing the worst; she’d been crushed.
Then a delicate, dirty hand shot up from the small hole, waving frantically, followed by a familiar voice. “In here!”
“Sam!?” Jack slid to his knees in the debris, just next to the concrete slab that blocked the gap in the floor she was apparently trapped in. “Are you hurt?” he questioned frantically.
“A little shaken up and bruised, but I’m fine!” she answered in a muffled, relieved voice. Sam had never been happier to hear her husband’s voice. “This damn chunk of cement’s got me trapped in here!” For a moment she could hear Jack discussing something with T and Jonas. Her ankle was sore from when she fell into the stairwell, but she’d gotten lucky enough not to be squashed and it wasn’t worth complaining about, in her opinion.
“Hang in there, we’ll get you out!” Jack called to her, looking around frantically for something they could use for leverage. He spotted a thick iron bar on the floor, half-covered by dust and crumpled debris. “Probie, grab me that rod over there!”
“Got it Chief!” Jonas hurried to grab the bar. More of the third level would be coming down on top of them if they didn’t hurry and get Sam out.
“T, gimme a hand, will ya?” Jack took the iron rod from Jonas and jammed it under the slab of concrete. “We need some leverage!” he hollered over the roar of collapsing structures nearby.
“Here!” Jonas shoved over a cinderblock he’d found nearby. “Will this work?”
“We’ll find out!” T told him as he moved the block in place and glanced at O’Neill to see if he was ready.
“Alright, let’s do this,” Jack nodded determinedly, then reached down into the hole, Sam’s hand finding his. He squeezed it reassuringly. “Okay Sam, get down as much as you can, just in case,” he instructed her with forced calm.
Sam tucked herself down by the stairs, holding her helmet firmly atop her head. “Ready!”
Jack and T leaned all their weight down on the bar, straining to force more pressure down as the concrete slab slowly began to lift. They managed to lever the slab up over the hole a little more than a foot. It should have been enough crawlspace for Sam to get through. At least, that’s what Jack hoped.
“Go Sam! …Go!” Jack yelled in a strained voice. He and T were quickly losing their leverage as the iron rod began to slip, the cinderblock shifting beneath it. “Probie! Get her outta there! NOW!”
Nodding frantically, Jonas launched himself to the ground and reached into the gap to help the Captain.
Sam managed to grasp one of Jonas’ hands as her feet found purchase within the cracks in the stairwell wall. She grit her teeth at the pain in her left ankle and scrambled up, squeezing out of the hole, her thick, fire-proof jacket making the task more difficult.
Struggling to hold the iron bar steady, Jack turned his head to see Sam dragging herself from the hole where the stairwell was. He saw Jonas grab at her jacket and drag her the rest of the way out.
“She’s clear!” Jonas shouted, helping the Captain to her feet and back away a little more.
“Okay T, drop it!” Jack and T released the bar at once and jumped back as the cinderblock slipped and the concrete slab smashed back down over the hole, sending up a huge cloud of dust.
He didn’t even have time to check if his wife was okay. It was much too dangerous to stay in the parking garage, and Jack still had to make sure the four of them lived through this. Grabbing Sam by the upper arm, he pulled her toward the way they had come. “Probie, T! C’mon, let’s get our asses outta here!”
A little more than ten seconds after they cleared the building, the entire second level became part of the first.
Having to force back his emotions a little longer, until he could be with his wife in private, Jack stood staring at her for a moment as if in shock. Her face and hair was covered in dirt and dust, as was her jacket, and she looked as though she was favoring her left foot. The helmet she wore was now tucked under one arm, and she matched his gaze with bright, watery blue eyes.
They shared a silent communication with only their expressive eyes.
That had been way too close.
-
In the privacy of their home that night, Jack made love to Sam as though he nearly hadn’t been able to see her ever again, which, in his mind, was frighteningly accurate.
Afterwards, as they lay in bed together, he clung to her desperately, holding her to his chest as he fell asleep. Their puppy, Boomer, was curled up in a ball at the foot of the bed, snoring quietly.
Sam had stayed awake, her head resting against her husband’s chest, one arm draped across his stomach. He had both arms wrapped tightly around her, and even while he slept, Jack didn’t appear to be letting go anytime soon. She didn’t move, but she was worried.
She knew instinctively how scared he must have been when he was told she was trapped. She knew because it had scared her too, and because he must have felt that very same way a couple months back when he ran into a burning building to find her.
Knowing the department heads wouldn’t be too happy with Jack once they found out about what happened didn’t help ease Sam’s concerns any, but despite all that, she managed to fall asleep, secure in her husband’s arms.
-
Waking to the uncomfortable and persistent throbbing of her left ankle, Sam groaned and rolled onto her back, brows furrowing slightly when she noticed that Jack’s side of the bed was empty. She already missed the feeling of his arms around her, keeping her close and safe.
Throwing back the covers and gingerly flinging her feet over the edge of the bed, she sat up, leaning over to massage the slightly-swollen ankle. She hadn’t bothered wrapping it before going off to bed, and now she was regretting that decision a bit. Sam knew she should’ve iced the ankle as well, but she’d refused to go see the doctor after they all left the parking garage the previous day, and had decided for herself that she was fine.
Jack hadn’t even tried to get her to go to the hospital to get checked out. He’d just been too shocked and relieved to argue with her, and only wanted to get his wife home.
When she looked up, Sam saw Jack striding back into the bedroom holding a pair of aluminum crutches, Boomer trotting happily along the floor beside him. She rose both eyebrows at Jack, but he opened his mouth before she had the chance to speak.
“Now I know you haven’t needed to use a pair of these since you were fifteen, but me on the other hand…. Well, you know,” Jack just held the crutches out to her as she gave him that ‘Yeah, I know’ look. He offered up a lopsided smirk as she took them from him. “Think you can manage?”
“Uh-huh,” she nodded, rolling her eyes at him. Her blue eyes softened at his thoughtfulness, and she smiled back at him sincerely. “Thanks Jack,” Sam levered herself to her feet and began hobbling toward the door as he stepped aside.
Grateful for the two days they had together before their next twenty-four hour shift, Jack and Sam both had time to relax, enjoying one-another’s company without having to stifle their emotions around their co-workers.
Jack had an Ace wrap and icepack handy when Sam hobbled into the kitchen and took a seat at the table.
Sam didn’t protest as he pushed a chair to sit in front of her and gingerly pulled her left foot onto his lap. She knew he need to do this as much as she needed the support of the bandage. He needed to take of her, and she understood.
Carefully setting her foot back down once he was done, Jack pushed back his chair and stood, heading for the refrigerator and digging around. “Want me to make something for breakfast? We’ve got…ah…eggs, and um…. Eggs?” He pulled his head out of the fridge and turned to her.
“It’s okay Jack, I’m really not that hungry,” she insisted softly.
Jack’s brows furrowed as he closed the refrigerator door and eyed his wife with concern. “You feel okay?” Changing direction again, he went to the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of Tylenol, tipping a couple pills into his hand and taking them to her with a glass of water. “Here,”
Sam nodded, dry-swallowing the pills and then sipping at the water. “Thanks,” she smiled thinly. “And I’m fine Jack, really,”
He stood in front of her, hands stuck into the pockets of his sweats. His dark eyes studied her almost warily.
When she watched Jack sit down, a serious, solemn expression on his face, she knew there was something on his mind. Reaching across the table, she lightly touched his hand. “What is it?”
He sighed, hung his head. “My supervisor called last night,”
Her brows furrowed slightly. “George?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, took a deep breath. “He caught a lot of flak over my actions yesterday. The higher ups had a nice long chat with him about me,”
Sam tensed at his words, squeezing his hand. “And?” she prodded gently, knowing that whatever he needed to say was going to be difficult.
Jack rose his head slowly, looking into his wife’s eyes. “And… I’m retiring Sam,”
She frowned, dragging her hand away from his. “You mean they’re forcing you to retire,” she stated, angry that they would do this to him.
He nodded, swallowed the lump in his throat. “If I go willingly, Hammond pushed for you to get a promotion,”
“What?” Sam looked at him, bewildered. “You mean-?”
“You’ll be Chief.” He nodded again, then rose his eyebrows and gestured with one hand, “And T gets to move up to Captain of course,”
Sam was still staring at him in disbelief. “But Jack, I…”
“It’s okay,” he smiled gently at her. “It’s better this way,” he paused briefly, tilting his head a little. “Besides, this promotion will keep you outta trouble,”
She knew what he meant by that, and it had her on the verge of being angry. But she couldn’t be mad. He was afraid of losing her, and she was afraid of dying and leaving him as well.
“How’s your ankle?” Jack asked her suddenly, breaking Sam’s train of thought and not-so-subtly changing the subject.
Blinking, she mentally shook herself and daftly glanced down at her foot beneath the table. Eyes flicking back up again after a moment, she smiled tightly at him and said, “It’s fine,”
He knew she felt guilty, that she was blaming herself. He needed to change that right away. His own reckless actions ever since he’d become Chief were to blame, and it would have happened sooner or later, even if she hadn’t gotten in trouble those times he’d run headlong into a burning building or some other disaster to rescue her.
Jack knew that she really hadn’t needed rescuing, especially that time a few months back when she’d rescued the little bedraggled puppy that had become the newest addition to their family. No, Sam hadn’t even really been in trouble that time.
He knew that the other guys in the firehouse were perfectly capable of looking after his wife when he couldn’t be fighting fires or performing rescues alongside her, and that she could clearly take care of herself most of the time, but Jack just couldn’t sit back and do nothing. It just wasn’t his way.
Sam knew it too. Her husband just wasn’t cut out for a desk job.
There’d even been times he’d geared up with the rest of the guys to help out when Sam wasn’t even in danger. It wasn’t just her. There was no need for her to blame herself or feel guilty about her upcoming promotion. This was the way it had to be.
“Jack?”
Dark brown eyes lifted to meet her blue ones, and he smiled reassuringly at her, giving her a look that would make her understand. “This is gonna be okay Sam. It’ll be good for us, I promise,”
Nodding in conformation, Sam reached for his hand again and squeezed it, smiling lovingly back at him. She sighed wistfully, nodding to herself again. “I know, Jack. I know.”
-The End-
Summary: An accident on the job involving Sam leaves Jack contemplating his and his wife’s future.
Timeframe: Takes place in “The Changeling” fireman-verse of season six, with the same basic set up as in my ficlet ‘As Long As She’s Smiling’. Jack and Sam are married.
Pairings: Sam/Jack
Genre: Drama, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, AU
Rating: PG13
Acceptable Consequence
“The Captain’s trapped!”
That’s all he needed to hear. Jack was half-dressed in protective fire gear and a helmet nearly before the words had finished leaving the young probationary firefighter’s mouth.
His buddy T was fast on his tail as they rushed through the collapsing rubble.
As Chief of the Coquitlam fire department, Jack wasn’t really supposed to be involved in the action anymore, but instead giving orders from the sidelines. He couldn’t do that this time, with his wife in danger.
He knew he was just proving the reason why married couples weren’t supposed to be in the same firehouse, but he decided he’d rather be forced into retirement after this was all over instead of losing his wife.
“Where?!” Jack hollered after Jonas, ducking as concrete crumbled above them while they dashed through what was once the second level of a parking garage.
“Just over here!” the Probie yelled back, taking a corner and gesturing at a slab of concrete that had fallen over a narrow gap in the floor where a staircase appeared to have been.
Jack came to a skidding halt, his heart stopping painfully in his chest and fearing the worst; she’d been crushed.
Then a delicate, dirty hand shot up from the small hole, waving frantically, followed by a familiar voice. “In here!”
“Sam!?” Jack slid to his knees in the debris, just next to the concrete slab that blocked the gap in the floor she was apparently trapped in. “Are you hurt?” he questioned frantically.
“A little shaken up and bruised, but I’m fine!” she answered in a muffled, relieved voice. Sam had never been happier to hear her husband’s voice. “This damn chunk of cement’s got me trapped in here!” For a moment she could hear Jack discussing something with T and Jonas. Her ankle was sore from when she fell into the stairwell, but she’d gotten lucky enough not to be squashed and it wasn’t worth complaining about, in her opinion.
“Hang in there, we’ll get you out!” Jack called to her, looking around frantically for something they could use for leverage. He spotted a thick iron bar on the floor, half-covered by dust and crumpled debris. “Probie, grab me that rod over there!”
“Got it Chief!” Jonas hurried to grab the bar. More of the third level would be coming down on top of them if they didn’t hurry and get Sam out.
“T, gimme a hand, will ya?” Jack took the iron rod from Jonas and jammed it under the slab of concrete. “We need some leverage!” he hollered over the roar of collapsing structures nearby.
“Here!” Jonas shoved over a cinderblock he’d found nearby. “Will this work?”
“We’ll find out!” T told him as he moved the block in place and glanced at O’Neill to see if he was ready.
“Alright, let’s do this,” Jack nodded determinedly, then reached down into the hole, Sam’s hand finding his. He squeezed it reassuringly. “Okay Sam, get down as much as you can, just in case,” he instructed her with forced calm.
Sam tucked herself down by the stairs, holding her helmet firmly atop her head. “Ready!”
Jack and T leaned all their weight down on the bar, straining to force more pressure down as the concrete slab slowly began to lift. They managed to lever the slab up over the hole a little more than a foot. It should have been enough crawlspace for Sam to get through. At least, that’s what Jack hoped.
“Go Sam! …Go!” Jack yelled in a strained voice. He and T were quickly losing their leverage as the iron rod began to slip, the cinderblock shifting beneath it. “Probie! Get her outta there! NOW!”
Nodding frantically, Jonas launched himself to the ground and reached into the gap to help the Captain.
Sam managed to grasp one of Jonas’ hands as her feet found purchase within the cracks in the stairwell wall. She grit her teeth at the pain in her left ankle and scrambled up, squeezing out of the hole, her thick, fire-proof jacket making the task more difficult.
Struggling to hold the iron bar steady, Jack turned his head to see Sam dragging herself from the hole where the stairwell was. He saw Jonas grab at her jacket and drag her the rest of the way out.
“She’s clear!” Jonas shouted, helping the Captain to her feet and back away a little more.
“Okay T, drop it!” Jack and T released the bar at once and jumped back as the cinderblock slipped and the concrete slab smashed back down over the hole, sending up a huge cloud of dust.
He didn’t even have time to check if his wife was okay. It was much too dangerous to stay in the parking garage, and Jack still had to make sure the four of them lived through this. Grabbing Sam by the upper arm, he pulled her toward the way they had come. “Probie, T! C’mon, let’s get our asses outta here!”
A little more than ten seconds after they cleared the building, the entire second level became part of the first.
Having to force back his emotions a little longer, until he could be with his wife in private, Jack stood staring at her for a moment as if in shock. Her face and hair was covered in dirt and dust, as was her jacket, and she looked as though she was favoring her left foot. The helmet she wore was now tucked under one arm, and she matched his gaze with bright, watery blue eyes.
They shared a silent communication with only their expressive eyes.
That had been way too close.
-
In the privacy of their home that night, Jack made love to Sam as though he nearly hadn’t been able to see her ever again, which, in his mind, was frighteningly accurate.
Afterwards, as they lay in bed together, he clung to her desperately, holding her to his chest as he fell asleep. Their puppy, Boomer, was curled up in a ball at the foot of the bed, snoring quietly.
Sam had stayed awake, her head resting against her husband’s chest, one arm draped across his stomach. He had both arms wrapped tightly around her, and even while he slept, Jack didn’t appear to be letting go anytime soon. She didn’t move, but she was worried.
She knew instinctively how scared he must have been when he was told she was trapped. She knew because it had scared her too, and because he must have felt that very same way a couple months back when he ran into a burning building to find her.
Knowing the department heads wouldn’t be too happy with Jack once they found out about what happened didn’t help ease Sam’s concerns any, but despite all that, she managed to fall asleep, secure in her husband’s arms.
-
Waking to the uncomfortable and persistent throbbing of her left ankle, Sam groaned and rolled onto her back, brows furrowing slightly when she noticed that Jack’s side of the bed was empty. She already missed the feeling of his arms around her, keeping her close and safe.
Throwing back the covers and gingerly flinging her feet over the edge of the bed, she sat up, leaning over to massage the slightly-swollen ankle. She hadn’t bothered wrapping it before going off to bed, and now she was regretting that decision a bit. Sam knew she should’ve iced the ankle as well, but she’d refused to go see the doctor after they all left the parking garage the previous day, and had decided for herself that she was fine.
Jack hadn’t even tried to get her to go to the hospital to get checked out. He’d just been too shocked and relieved to argue with her, and only wanted to get his wife home.
When she looked up, Sam saw Jack striding back into the bedroom holding a pair of aluminum crutches, Boomer trotting happily along the floor beside him. She rose both eyebrows at Jack, but he opened his mouth before she had the chance to speak.
“Now I know you haven’t needed to use a pair of these since you were fifteen, but me on the other hand…. Well, you know,” Jack just held the crutches out to her as she gave him that ‘Yeah, I know’ look. He offered up a lopsided smirk as she took them from him. “Think you can manage?”
“Uh-huh,” she nodded, rolling her eyes at him. Her blue eyes softened at his thoughtfulness, and she smiled back at him sincerely. “Thanks Jack,” Sam levered herself to her feet and began hobbling toward the door as he stepped aside.
Grateful for the two days they had together before their next twenty-four hour shift, Jack and Sam both had time to relax, enjoying one-another’s company without having to stifle their emotions around their co-workers.
Jack had an Ace wrap and icepack handy when Sam hobbled into the kitchen and took a seat at the table.
Sam didn’t protest as he pushed a chair to sit in front of her and gingerly pulled her left foot onto his lap. She knew he need to do this as much as she needed the support of the bandage. He needed to take of her, and she understood.
Carefully setting her foot back down once he was done, Jack pushed back his chair and stood, heading for the refrigerator and digging around. “Want me to make something for breakfast? We’ve got…ah…eggs, and um…. Eggs?” He pulled his head out of the fridge and turned to her.
“It’s okay Jack, I’m really not that hungry,” she insisted softly.
Jack’s brows furrowed as he closed the refrigerator door and eyed his wife with concern. “You feel okay?” Changing direction again, he went to the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of Tylenol, tipping a couple pills into his hand and taking them to her with a glass of water. “Here,”
Sam nodded, dry-swallowing the pills and then sipping at the water. “Thanks,” she smiled thinly. “And I’m fine Jack, really,”
He stood in front of her, hands stuck into the pockets of his sweats. His dark eyes studied her almost warily.
When she watched Jack sit down, a serious, solemn expression on his face, she knew there was something on his mind. Reaching across the table, she lightly touched his hand. “What is it?”
He sighed, hung his head. “My supervisor called last night,”
Her brows furrowed slightly. “George?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, took a deep breath. “He caught a lot of flak over my actions yesterday. The higher ups had a nice long chat with him about me,”
Sam tensed at his words, squeezing his hand. “And?” she prodded gently, knowing that whatever he needed to say was going to be difficult.
Jack rose his head slowly, looking into his wife’s eyes. “And… I’m retiring Sam,”
She frowned, dragging her hand away from his. “You mean they’re forcing you to retire,” she stated, angry that they would do this to him.
He nodded, swallowed the lump in his throat. “If I go willingly, Hammond pushed for you to get a promotion,”
“What?” Sam looked at him, bewildered. “You mean-?”
“You’ll be Chief.” He nodded again, then rose his eyebrows and gestured with one hand, “And T gets to move up to Captain of course,”
Sam was still staring at him in disbelief. “But Jack, I…”
“It’s okay,” he smiled gently at her. “It’s better this way,” he paused briefly, tilting his head a little. “Besides, this promotion will keep you outta trouble,”
She knew what he meant by that, and it had her on the verge of being angry. But she couldn’t be mad. He was afraid of losing her, and she was afraid of dying and leaving him as well.
“How’s your ankle?” Jack asked her suddenly, breaking Sam’s train of thought and not-so-subtly changing the subject.
Blinking, she mentally shook herself and daftly glanced down at her foot beneath the table. Eyes flicking back up again after a moment, she smiled tightly at him and said, “It’s fine,”
He knew she felt guilty, that she was blaming herself. He needed to change that right away. His own reckless actions ever since he’d become Chief were to blame, and it would have happened sooner or later, even if she hadn’t gotten in trouble those times he’d run headlong into a burning building or some other disaster to rescue her.
Jack knew that she really hadn’t needed rescuing, especially that time a few months back when she’d rescued the little bedraggled puppy that had become the newest addition to their family. No, Sam hadn’t even really been in trouble that time.
He knew that the other guys in the firehouse were perfectly capable of looking after his wife when he couldn’t be fighting fires or performing rescues alongside her, and that she could clearly take care of herself most of the time, but Jack just couldn’t sit back and do nothing. It just wasn’t his way.
Sam knew it too. Her husband just wasn’t cut out for a desk job.
There’d even been times he’d geared up with the rest of the guys to help out when Sam wasn’t even in danger. It wasn’t just her. There was no need for her to blame herself or feel guilty about her upcoming promotion. This was the way it had to be.
“Jack?”
Dark brown eyes lifted to meet her blue ones, and he smiled reassuringly at her, giving her a look that would make her understand. “This is gonna be okay Sam. It’ll be good for us, I promise,”
Nodding in conformation, Sam reached for his hand again and squeezed it, smiling lovingly back at him. She sighed wistfully, nodding to herself again. “I know, Jack. I know.”
-The End-