Back-up Fic: Remember Me
Title: REMEMBER ME
Author: sjhw_tolerance
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Sam & Jack
Warnings: None
Prompt: Sam, Jack and a telescope
Summary: She dealt with her feelings by cleaning; he looked through his telescope at the stars.
Author’s notes: Missing scene for Fire and Water; for moonshayde and the sjficathon, v2.0. Just something short and hopefully sweet.
REMEMBER ME
Sam stood in the doorway and waved goodbye to the last of the guests that had lingered into the evening hours. She wasn’t sure when she’d become the unofficial hostess for the wake, but in light of the Colonel’s disappearance soon after his earlier outburst, she should have expected it. The remaining mourners had naturally gravitated to her and Teal’c, and between the two of them, well mainly her since Teal’ had very little to say on the subject of Daniel’s death, she had listened to memories of Daniel, been the recipient of and offered condolences and ensured the smooth flow of the rest of the afternoon. She hadn’t been a general’s daughter for nothing and she knew how to make a social gathering work, even one as unusual as Daniel’s wake.
What she couldn’t do though, was ignore the nascent feeling that he wasn’t really dead. But he had to be, she had seen him caught up in the flames…heard him calling for help. However every time someone had come to her looking for comfort and reassurance, repeating the words, “I can’t believe he’s really gone”, she had found she wanted to scream at them that he wasn’t gone, he was still back there on that planet, and why were they all here drinking, eating and celebrating his life when they should be back there, looking for him?
But she hadn’t. She had smiled graciously and accepted their condolences and said all the right words. Sighing softly, she realized she’d been standing motionless in the open door; closing it, she looked around Jack’s house. It was a mess, not a night in with the boys drinking beer and watching hockey mess, or a teenage party while the parents are away mess, but still a mess. And somehow she ended up being the last party guest, Teal’c had left earlier with one of the technicians who was pulling an evening shift and who had offered the Jaffa a ride back to the SGC, which left her on her own.
Sam walked into the dining room while she retrieved her purse where she’d tucked it on the sideboard, she debated going to find the Colonel. She stood indecisively in the quiet room, curiously reluctant to leave now that everyone was gone and when the house was in such a mess. Or maybe she was just reluctant to go home to her empty house where there was nothing to mask the cries and pleas she heard in her head as Daniel called to them for help. Setting her purse back down, Sam decided the least she could do before she left was to clean up. Taking off her sweater, she started clearing away the empty bottles, food, paper plates and the accumulated debris of an afternoon spent mourning Daniel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sam took one last wipe of the now sparkling kitchen counter with her dishcloth and surveyed her handiwork. Jack’s kitchen shined, not that it had been horribly dirty to begin with, he was evidently a good housekeeper or he employed a good housekeeper. It had taken her close to two hours, but the kitchen, living room and dining room had both been set to rights, all traces of the afternoon’s festivities put away or thrown into the garbage. She caught herself unexpectedly tearing up at the unbidden image of Daniel thrown away by his team and quickly sniffed, dabbing at her eyes with the hem of the kitchen towel she’d fastened around her waist in lieu of an apron. Not that it had done much good, she realized dismally, her dress would still have to go to the cleaners.
Surprisingly, the entire time she’d been hard at her therapeutic cleaning, she hadn’t seen hide or hair of the Colonel. Of course, she hadn’t ventured any further than the main rooms and the guest bathroom just off the front entrance. Taking off her faux-apron and laying it neatly next to the other towels and linens that needed to be laundered, she ventured down the hallway that led to the rest of the house.
“Sir?” she called, cautiously peering in the first doorway, only to find what looked like a guest bedroom. She continued on to the closed door at the end of the hall and knocked lightly. “Colonel? Are you in there?”
When she didn’t receive an answer, she slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open, revealing his bedroom. She looked around curiously, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the sight of his rumpled bed, a couple of socks scattered on the floor and a pair of jeans dangling over the back of a chair. Her fleeting impression was that it was a very masculine room and she wondered if this house had been his and Sara’s, before she shut the door on the room-and that thought.
So, she decided practically, if he wasn’t indoors that only left outdoors. She hadn’t taken her cleaning endeavors out onto the deck and she walked back to the front of the house, flicking on what she hoped were the outside lights before stepping out onto the deck. Luckily they were and glancing around quickly at the leftover debris littering the deck, she realized she still had her work cut out from her when she heard an irritated voice call out.
“Shut out the damn light, will ya?”
Startled, Sam looked around wildly for the source of the voice. “Colonel?” she called. “Is that you?”
“Sam?”
She finally localized the sound of his voice and it was coming from…the roof? “Sir? Where are you?” She moved to the far edge of the deck and looked back towards the roof.
The night was quiet and still and she winced when she heard the clink of bottles hitting against each other and a muffled curse. O’Neill’s face suddenly appeared from around the far corner of the roof and she realized he was looking at her over the edge of some kind of platform.
“Up here, Carter. Ladder’s around the side.” He disappeared again, his voice floating back to her. “Bring up a beer, will ya? And shut out the light!”
Sam shut off the outdoor lights as requested and fortunately, while the tub on the deck was mostly full of water now and the ice long melted, it was still cold when she stuck her hand in and fished out two long necks. Her eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness and she made her way off the deck, walking cautiously through the grass to the south side of the house. Once she rounded the corner, she saw the wooden ladder that sat almost flush with the house and looking up, she could just make out the railing on the platform.
Glancing at the ladder and then at the two beers in her hands, she called out, “Colonel?” A shadow moved along the edge of the platform and then he was there, looking down at her from his aerie. It was awkward, what with juggling the long necks and having only one hand to hold onto the ladder, but she finally made it up two steps and stretched, handing the beers to Jack. Their fingers brushed briefly and then he disappeared, leaving her to make her way up the rest of the ladder, only hampered now by her skirt.
When she reached the platform, she tugged unobtrusively at her skirt and looked around in wonder. From the roof of his house, Jack had an unobstructed view of the surrounding neighborhood and the countryside. As much as she liked her cozy house in the city, she envied Jack all the land and open space he had. Plus, the night sky was brilliant with stars, another benefit to living outside of the city. Finally turning from the amazing view, she found Jack sitting at the far end of the small platform, looking through an impressive telescope that was hooked to a laptop.
“Here,” he said, still looking through the telescope and holding the second beer out in her general direction.
“Thanks,” she said, taking the few steps that brought her to him, carefully avoiding the cluster of empty soldiers on the floor the platform. Taking the beer from him, she sat down on the only place to sit-right by his side.
“Wow, sir,” she said. “This is nice.”
He grunted and kept his eye pressed to the telescope eye piece, one hand now holding his beer while he used the other to make adjustments to the various knobs and dials on the telescope.
“Everyone’s left,” she said, starting to feel distinctly uncomfortable the longer he ignored her presence. “I’ve cleaned up a bit, but not out on the deck.” She took a long swallow of her beer and sat silently, trying not to notice the press of his thigh against hers as he shifted on the bench, punching several keys on the laptop with one hand.
“You didn’t have to do that,” he finally said, looking back in the eyepiece.
“I didn’t mind.” She sighed, wanting to talk, but not sure how personal to make the conversation. She was only really beginning to know him and part of her was frightened by the depth of her feelings over Daniel’s death because she was also only beginning to realize her feelings for the taciturn man currently ignoring her went way deeper than anything she felt for Daniel. “I really didn’t want to go home,” she finally confessed.
He stopped and looked at her then. The ambient light was enough that she could see the understanding and concern in his dark eyes and she felt herself relax. “I understand,” he said, sitting back and taking a swallow of his beer. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I shouldn’t have deserted the wake, but I just couldn’t take it anymore….”
It was her turn to say, “I understand.” She dealt with her feelings by cleaning; he looked through his telescope at the stars.
His lips curved in a slow smile and feeling emboldened by the intimacy of the moment, hidden away on his roof, she leaned her head against his shoulder, seeking the comfort and warmth of his presence. Jack shifted, slipping his arm around her and she snuggled closer. “I can’t believe he’s gone,” she whispered. “It just doesn’t seem possible.”
She felt his cheek move against her hair and his arm tightened around her. “I can’t either, Sam. But I promise you one thing, we’ll get through this together.”
THE END
Author: sjhw_tolerance
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Sam & Jack
Warnings: None
Prompt: Sam, Jack and a telescope
Summary: She dealt with her feelings by cleaning; he looked through his telescope at the stars.
Author’s notes: Missing scene for Fire and Water; for moonshayde and the sjficathon, v2.0. Just something short and hopefully sweet.
REMEMBER ME
Sam stood in the doorway and waved goodbye to the last of the guests that had lingered into the evening hours. She wasn’t sure when she’d become the unofficial hostess for the wake, but in light of the Colonel’s disappearance soon after his earlier outburst, she should have expected it. The remaining mourners had naturally gravitated to her and Teal’c, and between the two of them, well mainly her since Teal’ had very little to say on the subject of Daniel’s death, she had listened to memories of Daniel, been the recipient of and offered condolences and ensured the smooth flow of the rest of the afternoon. She hadn’t been a general’s daughter for nothing and she knew how to make a social gathering work, even one as unusual as Daniel’s wake.
What she couldn’t do though, was ignore the nascent feeling that he wasn’t really dead. But he had to be, she had seen him caught up in the flames…heard him calling for help. However every time someone had come to her looking for comfort and reassurance, repeating the words, “I can’t believe he’s really gone”, she had found she wanted to scream at them that he wasn’t gone, he was still back there on that planet, and why were they all here drinking, eating and celebrating his life when they should be back there, looking for him?
But she hadn’t. She had smiled graciously and accepted their condolences and said all the right words. Sighing softly, she realized she’d been standing motionless in the open door; closing it, she looked around Jack’s house. It was a mess, not a night in with the boys drinking beer and watching hockey mess, or a teenage party while the parents are away mess, but still a mess. And somehow she ended up being the last party guest, Teal’c had left earlier with one of the technicians who was pulling an evening shift and who had offered the Jaffa a ride back to the SGC, which left her on her own.
Sam walked into the dining room while she retrieved her purse where she’d tucked it on the sideboard, she debated going to find the Colonel. She stood indecisively in the quiet room, curiously reluctant to leave now that everyone was gone and when the house was in such a mess. Or maybe she was just reluctant to go home to her empty house where there was nothing to mask the cries and pleas she heard in her head as Daniel called to them for help. Setting her purse back down, Sam decided the least she could do before she left was to clean up. Taking off her sweater, she started clearing away the empty bottles, food, paper plates and the accumulated debris of an afternoon spent mourning Daniel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sam took one last wipe of the now sparkling kitchen counter with her dishcloth and surveyed her handiwork. Jack’s kitchen shined, not that it had been horribly dirty to begin with, he was evidently a good housekeeper or he employed a good housekeeper. It had taken her close to two hours, but the kitchen, living room and dining room had both been set to rights, all traces of the afternoon’s festivities put away or thrown into the garbage. She caught herself unexpectedly tearing up at the unbidden image of Daniel thrown away by his team and quickly sniffed, dabbing at her eyes with the hem of the kitchen towel she’d fastened around her waist in lieu of an apron. Not that it had done much good, she realized dismally, her dress would still have to go to the cleaners.
Surprisingly, the entire time she’d been hard at her therapeutic cleaning, she hadn’t seen hide or hair of the Colonel. Of course, she hadn’t ventured any further than the main rooms and the guest bathroom just off the front entrance. Taking off her faux-apron and laying it neatly next to the other towels and linens that needed to be laundered, she ventured down the hallway that led to the rest of the house.
“Sir?” she called, cautiously peering in the first doorway, only to find what looked like a guest bedroom. She continued on to the closed door at the end of the hall and knocked lightly. “Colonel? Are you in there?”
When she didn’t receive an answer, she slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open, revealing his bedroom. She looked around curiously, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the sight of his rumpled bed, a couple of socks scattered on the floor and a pair of jeans dangling over the back of a chair. Her fleeting impression was that it was a very masculine room and she wondered if this house had been his and Sara’s, before she shut the door on the room-and that thought.
So, she decided practically, if he wasn’t indoors that only left outdoors. She hadn’t taken her cleaning endeavors out onto the deck and she walked back to the front of the house, flicking on what she hoped were the outside lights before stepping out onto the deck. Luckily they were and glancing around quickly at the leftover debris littering the deck, she realized she still had her work cut out from her when she heard an irritated voice call out.
“Shut out the damn light, will ya?”
Startled, Sam looked around wildly for the source of the voice. “Colonel?” she called. “Is that you?”
“Sam?”
She finally localized the sound of his voice and it was coming from…the roof? “Sir? Where are you?” She moved to the far edge of the deck and looked back towards the roof.
The night was quiet and still and she winced when she heard the clink of bottles hitting against each other and a muffled curse. O’Neill’s face suddenly appeared from around the far corner of the roof and she realized he was looking at her over the edge of some kind of platform.
“Up here, Carter. Ladder’s around the side.” He disappeared again, his voice floating back to her. “Bring up a beer, will ya? And shut out the light!”
Sam shut off the outdoor lights as requested and fortunately, while the tub on the deck was mostly full of water now and the ice long melted, it was still cold when she stuck her hand in and fished out two long necks. Her eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness and she made her way off the deck, walking cautiously through the grass to the south side of the house. Once she rounded the corner, she saw the wooden ladder that sat almost flush with the house and looking up, she could just make out the railing on the platform.
Glancing at the ladder and then at the two beers in her hands, she called out, “Colonel?” A shadow moved along the edge of the platform and then he was there, looking down at her from his aerie. It was awkward, what with juggling the long necks and having only one hand to hold onto the ladder, but she finally made it up two steps and stretched, handing the beers to Jack. Their fingers brushed briefly and then he disappeared, leaving her to make her way up the rest of the ladder, only hampered now by her skirt.
When she reached the platform, she tugged unobtrusively at her skirt and looked around in wonder. From the roof of his house, Jack had an unobstructed view of the surrounding neighborhood and the countryside. As much as she liked her cozy house in the city, she envied Jack all the land and open space he had. Plus, the night sky was brilliant with stars, another benefit to living outside of the city. Finally turning from the amazing view, she found Jack sitting at the far end of the small platform, looking through an impressive telescope that was hooked to a laptop.
“Here,” he said, still looking through the telescope and holding the second beer out in her general direction.
“Thanks,” she said, taking the few steps that brought her to him, carefully avoiding the cluster of empty soldiers on the floor the platform. Taking the beer from him, she sat down on the only place to sit-right by his side.
“Wow, sir,” she said. “This is nice.”
He grunted and kept his eye pressed to the telescope eye piece, one hand now holding his beer while he used the other to make adjustments to the various knobs and dials on the telescope.
“Everyone’s left,” she said, starting to feel distinctly uncomfortable the longer he ignored her presence. “I’ve cleaned up a bit, but not out on the deck.” She took a long swallow of her beer and sat silently, trying not to notice the press of his thigh against hers as he shifted on the bench, punching several keys on the laptop with one hand.
“You didn’t have to do that,” he finally said, looking back in the eyepiece.
“I didn’t mind.” She sighed, wanting to talk, but not sure how personal to make the conversation. She was only really beginning to know him and part of her was frightened by the depth of her feelings over Daniel’s death because she was also only beginning to realize her feelings for the taciturn man currently ignoring her went way deeper than anything she felt for Daniel. “I really didn’t want to go home,” she finally confessed.
He stopped and looked at her then. The ambient light was enough that she could see the understanding and concern in his dark eyes and she felt herself relax. “I understand,” he said, sitting back and taking a swallow of his beer. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I shouldn’t have deserted the wake, but I just couldn’t take it anymore….”
It was her turn to say, “I understand.” She dealt with her feelings by cleaning; he looked through his telescope at the stars.
His lips curved in a slow smile and feeling emboldened by the intimacy of the moment, hidden away on his roof, she leaned her head against his shoulder, seeking the comfort and warmth of his presence. Jack shifted, slipping his arm around her and she snuggled closer. “I can’t believe he’s gone,” she whispered. “It just doesn’t seem possible.”
She felt his cheek move against her hair and his arm tightened around her. “I can’t either, Sam. But I promise you one thing, we’ll get through this together.”
THE END