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More String Theory: An AU Series
Dr. Samantha Carter joins the SGC and discovers a life she never expected.
Action/Adventure, Drama, Angst, Romance, S/J
Teen: minor language and violence
Ficlet 25: Still Waters
Daniel, Evan and Teal’c watch the rapid unraveling of Sam and Jack’s relationship from a distance, never commenting more than shared glances now and again.
None of them have any details, but as Daniel watches Sam pack up and step through the gate, he braces himself for the resurgence of Jack at his most unpleasant. God knows the man never dealt particularly well with loss.
But pissed-off Jack never materializes. Anything having to do with Sam is predictably dropped from his vocabulary almost overnight, but rather than belligerence, Jack leans towards silence, maybe even introspection.
Jack deals with every member of his team with almost limitless patience, hardly raising his voice, let alone giving the bad guys lip. It’s terribly unnerving. Daniel’s pretty sure any of them would prefer being yelled at.
Not that Jack has lost his edge or anything. His expertise now just shows an edge of economy that none of them have witnessed before. Daniel watches his friend’s intense concentration on the details of his job and all he can think is ‘still waters run deep.’
None of them are looking forward to finding out just how deep that is.
* * *
Jack signs the last memo and adds it to the appropriate pile. Leaning back in his chair, he takes a moment to admire the tidy stacks of completed paperwork. This is probably the first time he’s been completely caught up since he first set foot in this place.
That should feel like an accomplishment.
With a sigh, Jack reaches for the briefing notes about SG-1’s upcoming mission. Being responsible isn’t nearly as much fun, and frankly, it gives him a headache. Which naturally explains why Daniel chooses this exact moment to appear in the doorway.
“I’m not a very good friend,” he announces without preamble.
“What?” Jack says, feeling his headache give a particularly nasty throb at Daniel’s confusing words.
“Although, I did help Sam pack and move all her stuff into storage,” he continues as he walks into the office. “That has to be worth something.”
Jack sighs, resigning himself to the fact that Daniel is here to stay and wants to talk about Sam. Honestly, he’s surprised he hasn’t had to deal with this conversation before now. Daniel’s curiosity doesn’t often let him keep his mouth shut for two whole months on any topic, let alone something as potentially juicy as a break-up must be.
“Dare I hope there is actually a point to this ramble?” Jack eventually asks.
Daniel ignores him and drops a small box on the desk, scattering what semblance of order Jack has managed to wrest. He’s ready to work himself up to mild indignation when he notices that the box is labeled with the name Samantha Fleming. And it’s been opened.
Jack peers up at Daniel in askance.
“Sam asked me to throw this out while I was helping her pack, but I kept it,” Daniel explains. “I guess that makes me a bad friend.”
Jack doesn’t respond, or move to touch the box, but Daniel reaches over, pulls it open and begins spreading the objects over the desk.
The first is a photograph of Sam standing in front of a large turkey, pristine white apron tied around her waist. A bountiful feast spreads out in front of her like some Norman Rockwell painting and a teenaged boy leans in devilishly next to her, his fingers stuck in the mashed potatoes. Sam looks like she is seriously considering rapping the kid’s knuckles with a spatula.
Against his will, Jack feels a smile creep across his face. But then Daniel slaps down another photo and another, giving the effect of a slide show of Sam’s life before the SGC.
There’s one of Sam in a long, black evening gown on the arm of a handsome laughing man Jack registers as Jeff. Sam sitting with an older man and woman who must be her parents. A much younger Sam in her doctorate robes, clutching her degree, her eyes wide and staring at something outside the frame of the picture.
“Why would she throw these out?” Jack asks when he finally finds his voice.
Daniel reaches into the box and pulls out one last photo from the bottom. In the picture is Sam standing by a window, gazing serenely out the window, her hands splayed over her obviously protruding stomach.
“Sam has a kid?” Jack asks.
“Or had,” Daniel replies carefully, looking distinctly disappointed at Jack’s response.
“What makes you think-.”
Daniel turns the photo over and points to a date stamp. “This was taken a year before she started working here. I know she left Jeff to come here, but does she really seem the type to leave her child?”
Jack shook his head. “I didn’t know. She never said anything.”
“And that surprises you?”
Jack doesn’t particularly like the accusatory edge to Daniel’s voice. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Did you ever tell her about Charlie and Sara?”
“I don’t see what that has to do with this.”
Suddenly Daniel looks exhausted. “No, you wouldn’t, would you?”
“Daniel,” Jack warns.
“I guess it’s just disappointing,” Daniel continues as if Jack never spoke. “Everything looked so nice from the outside, but you really didn’t know anything about each other.”
Jack’s not in the mood to debate the relative strengths and weaknesses of a relationship barely cold in the ground. Two months isn’t nearly enough to take the edge off yet.
“Must have been some great sex.”
The comment catches Jack completely off guard, something snapping and his fist slams against the top of his desk before he’s even aware of the impulse. He stares at the offending hand, feeling the throb of pain through the unexpected pulse of pure rage.
“Daniel,” he forces through his clenched jaw, “you want to leave this office right now.”
The soft click of the door is Jack’s cue that Daniel has taken his advice. Blissfully alone once again, he is left with Sam’s discarded box of secrets and Daniel’s words ringing in his ears.
He wishes to hell he didn’t have either.
next
Dr. Samantha Carter joins the SGC and discovers a life she never expected.
Action/Adventure, Drama, Angst, Romance, S/J
Teen: minor language and violence
Ficlet 25: Still Waters
Daniel, Evan and Teal’c watch the rapid unraveling of Sam and Jack’s relationship from a distance, never commenting more than shared glances now and again.
None of them have any details, but as Daniel watches Sam pack up and step through the gate, he braces himself for the resurgence of Jack at his most unpleasant. God knows the man never dealt particularly well with loss.
But pissed-off Jack never materializes. Anything having to do with Sam is predictably dropped from his vocabulary almost overnight, but rather than belligerence, Jack leans towards silence, maybe even introspection.
Jack deals with every member of his team with almost limitless patience, hardly raising his voice, let alone giving the bad guys lip. It’s terribly unnerving. Daniel’s pretty sure any of them would prefer being yelled at.
Not that Jack has lost his edge or anything. His expertise now just shows an edge of economy that none of them have witnessed before. Daniel watches his friend’s intense concentration on the details of his job and all he can think is ‘still waters run deep.’
None of them are looking forward to finding out just how deep that is.
* * *
Jack signs the last memo and adds it to the appropriate pile. Leaning back in his chair, he takes a moment to admire the tidy stacks of completed paperwork. This is probably the first time he’s been completely caught up since he first set foot in this place.
That should feel like an accomplishment.
With a sigh, Jack reaches for the briefing notes about SG-1’s upcoming mission. Being responsible isn’t nearly as much fun, and frankly, it gives him a headache. Which naturally explains why Daniel chooses this exact moment to appear in the doorway.
“I’m not a very good friend,” he announces without preamble.
“What?” Jack says, feeling his headache give a particularly nasty throb at Daniel’s confusing words.
“Although, I did help Sam pack and move all her stuff into storage,” he continues as he walks into the office. “That has to be worth something.”
Jack sighs, resigning himself to the fact that Daniel is here to stay and wants to talk about Sam. Honestly, he’s surprised he hasn’t had to deal with this conversation before now. Daniel’s curiosity doesn’t often let him keep his mouth shut for two whole months on any topic, let alone something as potentially juicy as a break-up must be.
“Dare I hope there is actually a point to this ramble?” Jack eventually asks.
Daniel ignores him and drops a small box on the desk, scattering what semblance of order Jack has managed to wrest. He’s ready to work himself up to mild indignation when he notices that the box is labeled with the name Samantha Fleming. And it’s been opened.
Jack peers up at Daniel in askance.
“Sam asked me to throw this out while I was helping her pack, but I kept it,” Daniel explains. “I guess that makes me a bad friend.”
Jack doesn’t respond, or move to touch the box, but Daniel reaches over, pulls it open and begins spreading the objects over the desk.
The first is a photograph of Sam standing in front of a large turkey, pristine white apron tied around her waist. A bountiful feast spreads out in front of her like some Norman Rockwell painting and a teenaged boy leans in devilishly next to her, his fingers stuck in the mashed potatoes. Sam looks like she is seriously considering rapping the kid’s knuckles with a spatula.
Against his will, Jack feels a smile creep across his face. But then Daniel slaps down another photo and another, giving the effect of a slide show of Sam’s life before the SGC.
There’s one of Sam in a long, black evening gown on the arm of a handsome laughing man Jack registers as Jeff. Sam sitting with an older man and woman who must be her parents. A much younger Sam in her doctorate robes, clutching her degree, her eyes wide and staring at something outside the frame of the picture.
“Why would she throw these out?” Jack asks when he finally finds his voice.
Daniel reaches into the box and pulls out one last photo from the bottom. In the picture is Sam standing by a window, gazing serenely out the window, her hands splayed over her obviously protruding stomach.
“Sam has a kid?” Jack asks.
“Or had,” Daniel replies carefully, looking distinctly disappointed at Jack’s response.
“What makes you think-.”
Daniel turns the photo over and points to a date stamp. “This was taken a year before she started working here. I know she left Jeff to come here, but does she really seem the type to leave her child?”
Jack shook his head. “I didn’t know. She never said anything.”
“And that surprises you?”
Jack doesn’t particularly like the accusatory edge to Daniel’s voice. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Did you ever tell her about Charlie and Sara?”
“I don’t see what that has to do with this.”
Suddenly Daniel looks exhausted. “No, you wouldn’t, would you?”
“Daniel,” Jack warns.
“I guess it’s just disappointing,” Daniel continues as if Jack never spoke. “Everything looked so nice from the outside, but you really didn’t know anything about each other.”
Jack’s not in the mood to debate the relative strengths and weaknesses of a relationship barely cold in the ground. Two months isn’t nearly enough to take the edge off yet.
“Must have been some great sex.”
The comment catches Jack completely off guard, something snapping and his fist slams against the top of his desk before he’s even aware of the impulse. He stares at the offending hand, feeling the throb of pain through the unexpected pulse of pure rage.
“Daniel,” he forces through his clenched jaw, “you want to leave this office right now.”
The soft click of the door is Jack’s cue that Daniel has taken his advice. Blissfully alone once again, he is left with Sam’s discarded box of secrets and Daniel’s words ringing in his ears.
He wishes to hell he didn’t have either.
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