(no subject)
Ever since Jack and Sam found William wandering around New Atlantis with no sign of Vala or Daniel, things had been just one long blur. As far as Sam could tell, they'd just disappeared, the way people did here. Sam had seen so many people come and go that were part of the Stargate program, and knew there were others before she got here, but she never thought Vala or Daniel would be the next to go.
Even now she was kind of expecting Daniel to show up from out of nowhere, probably with a little grin and no clothes, apologizing for making everyone worry. It wasn't like he hadn't set a precedent for that or anything. But the days went on and Sam slowly gave up on that hope.
William hadn't, though. He was still asking for Mama and Dan'l several times a day, and Sam hadn't yet found the words to explain to him just what happened. How did you explain this to a two year old? Sam wasn't really even sure how to explain it to herself. She and Jack had tried to distract him and keep things as normal as they could, and while it was sort of working, it sort of wasn't working. Yesterday was William's second birthday and she and Jack had tried their best to give him a happy day despite everything. Jack had made him some new wooden toys and Sam had baked him a birthday cake (it had taken three tries and the horrible feeling that it probably wasn't nearly as good as what Vala would have done) and had a very small party during which William spent most of the time petting Socks the cat and asking for Mama.
Sam tried to get him out a little bit every day to play, just to get out of the house and distract him a little. Some days he wouldn't go and just clung to Sam or Jack, but today he seemed okay with digging in the damp sand on the beach. Sam had found a little pair of swim trunks and a t-shirt for William, along with a little sun hat printed with fish that looked enough like Jack's fishing hat that William said 'unca Jack hat' when she put it on him. She sat with him a little while in a tank suit and shorts, helping him build a sandcastle with little wooden molds, and then when he started trying to eat more sand than build with it she took his hand and they went to look for seashells.
William picked up a big purple shell with a long crack down the side. "Pretty," he said.
"Yes, it's very pretty," Sam agreed.
"Give Mama," William said, and put it in Sam's bucket.
Sam's eyes stung a little. "Yes, I think your Mama would like that very much," she said.
Even now she was kind of expecting Daniel to show up from out of nowhere, probably with a little grin and no clothes, apologizing for making everyone worry. It wasn't like he hadn't set a precedent for that or anything. But the days went on and Sam slowly gave up on that hope.
William hadn't, though. He was still asking for Mama and Dan'l several times a day, and Sam hadn't yet found the words to explain to him just what happened. How did you explain this to a two year old? Sam wasn't really even sure how to explain it to herself. She and Jack had tried to distract him and keep things as normal as they could, and while it was sort of working, it sort of wasn't working. Yesterday was William's second birthday and she and Jack had tried their best to give him a happy day despite everything. Jack had made him some new wooden toys and Sam had baked him a birthday cake (it had taken three tries and the horrible feeling that it probably wasn't nearly as good as what Vala would have done) and had a very small party during which William spent most of the time petting Socks the cat and asking for Mama.
Sam tried to get him out a little bit every day to play, just to get out of the house and distract him a little. Some days he wouldn't go and just clung to Sam or Jack, but today he seemed okay with digging in the damp sand on the beach. Sam had found a little pair of swim trunks and a t-shirt for William, along with a little sun hat printed with fish that looked enough like Jack's fishing hat that William said 'unca Jack hat' when she put it on him. She sat with him a little while in a tank suit and shorts, helping him build a sandcastle with little wooden molds, and then when he started trying to eat more sand than build with it she took his hand and they went to look for seashells.
William picked up a big purple shell with a long crack down the side. "Pretty," he said.
"Yes, it's very pretty," Sam agreed.
"Give Mama," William said, and put it in Sam's bucket.
Sam's eyes stung a little. "Yes, I think your Mama would like that very much," she said.