Ficlet: Threads Redux
Fandom: Stargate SG1
Summary: Missing scene from S8's Threads
Rating: PG-13
Author's Notes: Sam/Jack. Originally written for the Sam/Jack Ship Family over at Gateworld in response to the debate of whether Jack and Jacob would have spoken before he died and whether Jacob would have said anything to Jack about Sam.
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. Written for entertainment purposes only.
Missing Scene from Threads
Jack hovered in the infirmary corridor, just outside the partially open door. Given Sam's hasty exit from his backyard and the awkward tableau just before her call about Jacob, there was a part of him that didn't want to run into her just yet. He needed some time to get his head around what she had said to him; what she had been prevented from saying by Kerry's sudden appearance. He winced. Of all the ways Sam could have found out...
Not that it should have mattered. To either of them; Sam was weeks away from being Mrs Pete Shanahan and Jack had Kerry.
Only it did matter and therein was the problem.
That and the fact that Sam was having doubts, opening up possibilities that Jack had thought had been lost. It could be cold feet but he knew her and for the first time in a long while he felt like he'd seen her clearly rather than through a haze of his own preconceptions about her relationship with the cop; Sam was unhappy...and wasn't that a kick to his gut? All of Jack's well-intentioned letting go so she could be happy and he'd been wrong.
'General.' Doctor Brightman's greeting jerked him from his thinking abruptly and he froze, glancing at the part open doorway.
'Doc.' Jack sighed. He'd had his own call moments after Sam had departed. He had been called in. Brightman had alluded to the fact that Jacob's collapse was serious and required decisions that as base commander he needed to make. So here he was doing his duty, regardless of the state of his relationship with Jacob's daughter. No change there, he thought wryly. 'How is he?'
'Why don't you get in here and ask me yourself, Jack?' Jacob's irritated call had both Jack and the doctor sharing a look.
Jack waved her away and pushed open the door tentatively. Jacob was alone and Jack thanked God Sam was elsewhere. He walked in slowly until he was by Jacob's side.
'So.' Jack gestured. 'How are you?'
'I'm dying.' Jacob said bluntly.
The two men looked at each other for a long moment.
'Can't...' Jack began.
'Selmak is dying.' Jacob explained tersely. 'It's too late for him to save me so I'm going with him.'
Jack rocked back on his heels. 'Does...'
'I just told her.' Jacob's face flickered with pain. 'She...she went to get changed.'
Jack nodded, unable to speak and unsure what to say even if he could. Sam. He looked down at his feet as though to hide from Jacob that he was thinking about her. Sam was going to be devastated.
'I need you to take care of things. After.' Jacob said awkwardly, grabbing Jack's attention again. 'Funeral, the official stuff. I don't want Sam bothered by all that.'
'Of course.' Jack waved a hand vaguely as though to say Jacob hadn't needed to ask. He stared at him. 'Jacob.' He began again. 'Are you sure we can't do...anything to, you know?'
'Save me?' Jacob seemed amused. He shook his head. 'It's time.' He regarded the younger man soberly. 'I'm OK with it. It's just...' he cut himself off.
Sam. Jack filled in the blank. Jacob would want to know Sam was going to be OK. He shuffled, uncomfortable with his newfound knowledge. There was no way he was going to dispell Jacob's belief that Sam was happy, on her way to being settled. And no way he could give Jacob promises he wasn't sure Sam really wanted or that Jack wasn't sure he could keep given his own situation; Kerry deserved better, he thought with a twinge of guilt.
'I should...' Jack indicated the door with his head. He was still dressed in civvies; he should change, start on the paperwork Jacob's situation created.
'Jack.' Jacob stopped him as he turned to leave. 'I know we haven't always agreed on everything and when you and I first met, I...well, let's just say you're not who I would have chosen as the person watching over my daughter's life.'
Jack fidgeted, suppressing the urge to make a funny quip to cover his unease with the other man's words; understanding Jacob was saying goodbye.
'But now,' Jacob held his gaze solemnly, 'I wouldn't choose anyone else. You're a good man.'
There was something in Jacob's eyes that made Jack's stomach lurch. Did he mean? He couldn't mean what Jack thought because that would mean Jacob knew and that was just weird on so many levels. Best to take it at face value, Jack determined. Jacob was simply thanking him for keeping Sam safe over the years as her CO; that was all - and Jack understood as a father himself that it was the highest compliment Jacob could have paid him. A lump gathered in his throat.
'It's been an honour serving with you too, sir.' Jack said quietly.
Jacob smiled tightly and there was a flicker of disappointment as though Jack had missed something in his words but he nodded and turned away, dismissing Jack without words.
Jack backed away and walked out slowly. The urge to seek out Sam, see how she was doing nibbled at him but...the weight of the afternoon's events landed on him heavily. He had no idea if she would even want to see him after what had happened.
He glanced behind him at Jacob lying in the infirmary bed one last time before he pulled the door back to its previous half-closed position. Jack headed to his locker room; he had some thinking to do.
fin.
Summary: Missing scene from S8's Threads
Rating: PG-13
Author's Notes: Sam/Jack. Originally written for the Sam/Jack Ship Family over at Gateworld in response to the debate of whether Jack and Jacob would have spoken before he died and whether Jacob would have said anything to Jack about Sam.
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. Written for entertainment purposes only.
Missing Scene from Threads
Jack hovered in the infirmary corridor, just outside the partially open door. Given Sam's hasty exit from his backyard and the awkward tableau just before her call about Jacob, there was a part of him that didn't want to run into her just yet. He needed some time to get his head around what she had said to him; what she had been prevented from saying by Kerry's sudden appearance. He winced. Of all the ways Sam could have found out...
Not that it should have mattered. To either of them; Sam was weeks away from being Mrs Pete Shanahan and Jack had Kerry.
Only it did matter and therein was the problem.
That and the fact that Sam was having doubts, opening up possibilities that Jack had thought had been lost. It could be cold feet but he knew her and for the first time in a long while he felt like he'd seen her clearly rather than through a haze of his own preconceptions about her relationship with the cop; Sam was unhappy...and wasn't that a kick to his gut? All of Jack's well-intentioned letting go so she could be happy and he'd been wrong.
'General.' Doctor Brightman's greeting jerked him from his thinking abruptly and he froze, glancing at the part open doorway.
'Doc.' Jack sighed. He'd had his own call moments after Sam had departed. He had been called in. Brightman had alluded to the fact that Jacob's collapse was serious and required decisions that as base commander he needed to make. So here he was doing his duty, regardless of the state of his relationship with Jacob's daughter. No change there, he thought wryly. 'How is he?'
'Why don't you get in here and ask me yourself, Jack?' Jacob's irritated call had both Jack and the doctor sharing a look.
Jack waved her away and pushed open the door tentatively. Jacob was alone and Jack thanked God Sam was elsewhere. He walked in slowly until he was by Jacob's side.
'So.' Jack gestured. 'How are you?'
'I'm dying.' Jacob said bluntly.
The two men looked at each other for a long moment.
'Can't...' Jack began.
'Selmak is dying.' Jacob explained tersely. 'It's too late for him to save me so I'm going with him.'
Jack rocked back on his heels. 'Does...'
'I just told her.' Jacob's face flickered with pain. 'She...she went to get changed.'
Jack nodded, unable to speak and unsure what to say even if he could. Sam. He looked down at his feet as though to hide from Jacob that he was thinking about her. Sam was going to be devastated.
'I need you to take care of things. After.' Jacob said awkwardly, grabbing Jack's attention again. 'Funeral, the official stuff. I don't want Sam bothered by all that.'
'Of course.' Jack waved a hand vaguely as though to say Jacob hadn't needed to ask. He stared at him. 'Jacob.' He began again. 'Are you sure we can't do...anything to, you know?'
'Save me?' Jacob seemed amused. He shook his head. 'It's time.' He regarded the younger man soberly. 'I'm OK with it. It's just...' he cut himself off.
Sam. Jack filled in the blank. Jacob would want to know Sam was going to be OK. He shuffled, uncomfortable with his newfound knowledge. There was no way he was going to dispell Jacob's belief that Sam was happy, on her way to being settled. And no way he could give Jacob promises he wasn't sure Sam really wanted or that Jack wasn't sure he could keep given his own situation; Kerry deserved better, he thought with a twinge of guilt.
'I should...' Jack indicated the door with his head. He was still dressed in civvies; he should change, start on the paperwork Jacob's situation created.
'Jack.' Jacob stopped him as he turned to leave. 'I know we haven't always agreed on everything and when you and I first met, I...well, let's just say you're not who I would have chosen as the person watching over my daughter's life.'
Jack fidgeted, suppressing the urge to make a funny quip to cover his unease with the other man's words; understanding Jacob was saying goodbye.
'But now,' Jacob held his gaze solemnly, 'I wouldn't choose anyone else. You're a good man.'
There was something in Jacob's eyes that made Jack's stomach lurch. Did he mean? He couldn't mean what Jack thought because that would mean Jacob knew and that was just weird on so many levels. Best to take it at face value, Jack determined. Jacob was simply thanking him for keeping Sam safe over the years as her CO; that was all - and Jack understood as a father himself that it was the highest compliment Jacob could have paid him. A lump gathered in his throat.
'It's been an honour serving with you too, sir.' Jack said quietly.
Jacob smiled tightly and there was a flicker of disappointment as though Jack had missed something in his words but he nodded and turned away, dismissing Jack without words.
Jack backed away and walked out slowly. The urge to seek out Sam, see how she was doing nibbled at him but...the weight of the afternoon's events landed on him heavily. He had no idea if she would even want to see him after what had happened.
He glanced behind him at Jacob lying in the infirmary bed one last time before he pulled the door back to its previous half-closed position. Jack headed to his locker room; he had some thinking to do.
fin.