[SG-1 + Eureka] [Het] [K] Transitions
Title: Transitions
Genre: Romance
Length: approx 1500 words
Rating: Safe
Pairings: light clone!Jack/clone!Sam
Credits: With grateful thanks to my SG-1, v. 2.0 beta-reading team, pixie_on_acid, daisycm83, and control_freak80.
Follows: Buy You a New Life
Summary: The clones arrive in Eureka.
Transitions
“A white-picket fence?” Jack’s voice was incredulous. “Carter, we have a house with a white picket fence.”
Sam looked up at the towering three-story Victorian house, framed by two large oaks, and rested her hand against his arm comfortingly. “Try to view it as ironic.”
“Whoa.” Cam climbed out of the car and stood behind them. As the others stepped out of the second vehicle, they gathered around Jack and Sam, staring up at the house.
“Okay, that is… huge,” Daniel said succinctly.
Vala looked as though she couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. “This? It’s the second smallest palace I’ve ever seen.”
A woman - a petite brunette in a perfectly tailored suit - walked out of the house and across the lawn. “Hello, I’m Allison Blake. Welcome to Eureka.” She drew closer and looked over the group. “Are Colonel Carter and Doctor Jackson not with you?”
“They met us at the airstrip, but they’re taking our belongings through your security check,” Daniel explained. “They should be here shortly.”
“I wouldn’t count on that,” Ms. Blake said with a wry smile. “We’re very thorough. Well, come in - let me show you the house.”
Allison led the way into the house and the group followed, trailing her through all the rooms as though they were touring a museum. When they’d seen the entire house, she showed them how to access the online ordering system for groceries from the kitchen terminal, and how to work the panel that controlled the environmental and security systems for the house. “In addition to our standard security system, the Air Force has installed some sort of jamming technology - I assume you know what that’s about.”
Jack quickly assured her that they did, not sure if she was fishing.
“Then I think that’s everything you need to know.” While her tone was friendly, there was just the slightest emphasis on the word ‘you’ and Jack suspected she wasn’t thrilled with the amount of information the Air Force had provided. “I’ll be by on Monday morning to go over the employment paperwork for those of you who will be working with Global Dynamics.”
Everyone said their goodbyes and Jack walked Allison out.
“I’m not trying to pry,” Allison asked Jack as he escorted her to the door, “but I have to wonder what you people will be doing in that house that requires signal jamming. I feel I should know if there’s any potential danger to the community.”
Jack was glad that she was straightforward enough to ask, so he gave her the best answer he could. “The technology isn’t anything to do with us, it’s meant to block threats from the outside, and it’s just a precaution. I promise you, Ms. Blake, the most dangerous thing we’re doing is attempting to live under one roof.”
By the time Jack returned to the den, the effort to live under the same roof was off to a bad start.
“It only makes sense for the women to take the downstairs bedrooms. Two women, two bedrooms,” Daniel insisted.
“I want to be upstairs,” Vala demanded. “The closets are bigger.”
“Hey, she can take my room. I’d rather be down here - next to the kitchen and the big screen TV.” Cam was trying to make peace, but Daniel was adamant.
“It doesn’t make any sense!”
Cam tilted his head and squinted at Daniel. “I think you’re just worried about having her in the room next to yours.”
“You are acting like children,” Teal’c told them disapprovingly.
Vala scowled at Teal’c. “We are children.”
“Everyone in the den, now,” Jack barked, giving them his most authoritative stare. It proved to be unnecessary; they responded immediately. He wondered how much of that was a residual effect of his having outranked them and how much was a result of Baal tinkering with their genes to make them less resistant. It was a disturbing question.
In the den, Jack gave them all a moment to find a seat and settle down, then laid down the law. “The ground floor is the most likely point of entry for intruders, so I will be taking a room on the ground floor.”
“Jack?” Sam spoke up quickly.
“Carter?”
“I’d like the other.”
“That’s exactly what I was going to suggest.”
It wasn’t until Mitchell cleared his throat that Jack realized he and Carter had been staring at each other. Looking up, he found Daniel and Cam wearing matching grins. Jack reflexively snapped back into command mode.
“Teal’c and Mitchell will take the rooms closest to the stairs, and Daniel and Vala will take the rooms on the opposite ends of the hall. We’ll figure out third-floor space later. Are we all clear?”
“Yes, Sir,” Cam replied automatically.
“Mitchell, that’s the third time today,” Jack sighed. While the authorities in Eureka were aware of who the clones really were, it couldn’t become common knowledge. Even in Eureka, the existence of the stargate was classified information. “If you do that in public, it’s going to raise questions.”
“Sorry, Jack.” Cam emphasized the name, then began practicing - Jack, Jack, Jack - under his breath.
“I want the room on the west end,” Vala declared. “I can’t stand to be awakened by the sun.”
“No problem,” Daniel agreed.
“I think we should talk about division of labor,” Sam suggested.
Daniel chuckled. “You mean chores?”
Sam gave him a shove. “Yes, okay, chores.”
“We’re going to have to help you learn to speak Civilian,” Daniel grinned.
Jack thought for a moment. “Everyone does their own laundry, cleans their own rooms, puts their own dishes in the dishwasher. Now, who can cook?”
No hands went up. Jack rolled his eyes. “Great. We’re going to starve.”
Cam sighed. “I can cook.”
Sam looked at him curiously. “Why didn’t you say so?”
“Well, ’cause my cooking will kill you.”
Jack was quickly losing patience. “So, you can’t cook?”
“No, I can cook,” Cam assured him. “Fried chicken, biscuits and sausage gravy, shepherd’s pie. My grandma taught me. It all tastes good, but it’s like a heart attack in a pan.”
“You have the skill, that’s the important thing,” Sam said. “We’ll buy a cookbook.”
“Okay,” Jack drew their attention again. “So, Mitchell and I will take care of the cooking. Daniel and Vala will take care of cleaning the common areas, and Teal’c and Sam, you’ll take care of the lawn and the vehicles. Fair enough?”
There were no objections. Just then, they heard a knock and Colonel Carter calling from the foyer. “We’re here!”
Everyone sat looking at Jack, and he stared back, not understanding what they were waiting for. “Go!” he snapped. “Go get your things and unpack.”
They got up and began to file out. “Sorry, s.. Jack.” Cam corrected himself mid-sir. “We’re used to being dismissed from a briefing.”
Jack muttered to himself, “I think we’re all going to need lessons in Civilian 101.”
When Jack brought the final load of his possessions in from the truck, he found Sam sitting on his bed. He kicked the door shut behind him and set down the box on the floor. “Hey.”
“That was some excellent parenting out there.”
Jack grimaced. “We call that ‘leadership’ in the Air Force, Carter.”
“Jack, civilians don’t have COs, they have parents.”
“I don’t look old enough to be a parent,” Jack protested. “Can’t we call it big-brothering?”
Sam quirked an eyebrow at him.
“Too Orwellian?”
“A little.”
With a sigh, Jack sat down on the edge of the bed next to Sam. “This is going to be a big adjustment.”
Sam leaned in to rest her head on his shoulder. “We’ll get through it.”
Jack peered at her out of the corner of his eye. “The fact that there’s a ‘we’ is a big part of the adjustment. I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it.” Reaching up, he gently brushed his fingers against her cheek, as though checking to see if she was real. “When I left four years ago, I never thought I’d see you again. And I certainly never could have imagined we’d find ourselves here, like this.”
Sam sat back and grinned at him. “Then you’re much less imaginative than I thought!”
Jack smirked back at her. “Okay, okay. So I did imagine you as a sixteen-year-old. But the rest of the team didn’t figure into the fantasy.”
“C’mon.” Sam stood up and pulled him up with her. “I’ll help you unpack your stuff, then you can help me with mine.”
They worked together with their usual efficiency, until suddenly Jack’s attention was caught by something outside the window. Sam came up beside him and they stared out at the view. He turned to look at her, a tiny hint of wonder in his voice. “A white picket fence.”
Sam nodded. “One big happy family.”
Genre: Romance
Length: approx 1500 words
Rating: Safe
Pairings: light clone!Jack/clone!Sam
Credits: With grateful thanks to my SG-1, v. 2.0 beta-reading team, pixie_on_acid, daisycm83, and control_freak80.
Follows: Buy You a New Life
Summary: The clones arrive in Eureka.
Transitions
“A white-picket fence?” Jack’s voice was incredulous. “Carter, we have a house with a white picket fence.”
Sam looked up at the towering three-story Victorian house, framed by two large oaks, and rested her hand against his arm comfortingly. “Try to view it as ironic.”
“Whoa.” Cam climbed out of the car and stood behind them. As the others stepped out of the second vehicle, they gathered around Jack and Sam, staring up at the house.
“Okay, that is… huge,” Daniel said succinctly.
Vala looked as though she couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. “This? It’s the second smallest palace I’ve ever seen.”
A woman - a petite brunette in a perfectly tailored suit - walked out of the house and across the lawn. “Hello, I’m Allison Blake. Welcome to Eureka.” She drew closer and looked over the group. “Are Colonel Carter and Doctor Jackson not with you?”
“They met us at the airstrip, but they’re taking our belongings through your security check,” Daniel explained. “They should be here shortly.”
“I wouldn’t count on that,” Ms. Blake said with a wry smile. “We’re very thorough. Well, come in - let me show you the house.”
Allison led the way into the house and the group followed, trailing her through all the rooms as though they were touring a museum. When they’d seen the entire house, she showed them how to access the online ordering system for groceries from the kitchen terminal, and how to work the panel that controlled the environmental and security systems for the house. “In addition to our standard security system, the Air Force has installed some sort of jamming technology - I assume you know what that’s about.”
Jack quickly assured her that they did, not sure if she was fishing.
“Then I think that’s everything you need to know.” While her tone was friendly, there was just the slightest emphasis on the word ‘you’ and Jack suspected she wasn’t thrilled with the amount of information the Air Force had provided. “I’ll be by on Monday morning to go over the employment paperwork for those of you who will be working with Global Dynamics.”
Everyone said their goodbyes and Jack walked Allison out.
“I’m not trying to pry,” Allison asked Jack as he escorted her to the door, “but I have to wonder what you people will be doing in that house that requires signal jamming. I feel I should know if there’s any potential danger to the community.”
Jack was glad that she was straightforward enough to ask, so he gave her the best answer he could. “The technology isn’t anything to do with us, it’s meant to block threats from the outside, and it’s just a precaution. I promise you, Ms. Blake, the most dangerous thing we’re doing is attempting to live under one roof.”
By the time Jack returned to the den, the effort to live under the same roof was off to a bad start.
“It only makes sense for the women to take the downstairs bedrooms. Two women, two bedrooms,” Daniel insisted.
“I want to be upstairs,” Vala demanded. “The closets are bigger.”
“Hey, she can take my room. I’d rather be down here - next to the kitchen and the big screen TV.” Cam was trying to make peace, but Daniel was adamant.
“It doesn’t make any sense!”
Cam tilted his head and squinted at Daniel. “I think you’re just worried about having her in the room next to yours.”
“You are acting like children,” Teal’c told them disapprovingly.
Vala scowled at Teal’c. “We are children.”
“Everyone in the den, now,” Jack barked, giving them his most authoritative stare. It proved to be unnecessary; they responded immediately. He wondered how much of that was a residual effect of his having outranked them and how much was a result of Baal tinkering with their genes to make them less resistant. It was a disturbing question.
In the den, Jack gave them all a moment to find a seat and settle down, then laid down the law. “The ground floor is the most likely point of entry for intruders, so I will be taking a room on the ground floor.”
“Jack?” Sam spoke up quickly.
“Carter?”
“I’d like the other.”
“That’s exactly what I was going to suggest.”
It wasn’t until Mitchell cleared his throat that Jack realized he and Carter had been staring at each other. Looking up, he found Daniel and Cam wearing matching grins. Jack reflexively snapped back into command mode.
“Teal’c and Mitchell will take the rooms closest to the stairs, and Daniel and Vala will take the rooms on the opposite ends of the hall. We’ll figure out third-floor space later. Are we all clear?”
“Yes, Sir,” Cam replied automatically.
“Mitchell, that’s the third time today,” Jack sighed. While the authorities in Eureka were aware of who the clones really were, it couldn’t become common knowledge. Even in Eureka, the existence of the stargate was classified information. “If you do that in public, it’s going to raise questions.”
“Sorry, Jack.” Cam emphasized the name, then began practicing - Jack, Jack, Jack - under his breath.
“I want the room on the west end,” Vala declared. “I can’t stand to be awakened by the sun.”
“No problem,” Daniel agreed.
“I think we should talk about division of labor,” Sam suggested.
Daniel chuckled. “You mean chores?”
Sam gave him a shove. “Yes, okay, chores.”
“We’re going to have to help you learn to speak Civilian,” Daniel grinned.
Jack thought for a moment. “Everyone does their own laundry, cleans their own rooms, puts their own dishes in the dishwasher. Now, who can cook?”
No hands went up. Jack rolled his eyes. “Great. We’re going to starve.”
Cam sighed. “I can cook.”
Sam looked at him curiously. “Why didn’t you say so?”
“Well, ’cause my cooking will kill you.”
Jack was quickly losing patience. “So, you can’t cook?”
“No, I can cook,” Cam assured him. “Fried chicken, biscuits and sausage gravy, shepherd’s pie. My grandma taught me. It all tastes good, but it’s like a heart attack in a pan.”
“You have the skill, that’s the important thing,” Sam said. “We’ll buy a cookbook.”
“Okay,” Jack drew their attention again. “So, Mitchell and I will take care of the cooking. Daniel and Vala will take care of cleaning the common areas, and Teal’c and Sam, you’ll take care of the lawn and the vehicles. Fair enough?”
There were no objections. Just then, they heard a knock and Colonel Carter calling from the foyer. “We’re here!”
Everyone sat looking at Jack, and he stared back, not understanding what they were waiting for. “Go!” he snapped. “Go get your things and unpack.”
They got up and began to file out. “Sorry, s.. Jack.” Cam corrected himself mid-sir. “We’re used to being dismissed from a briefing.”
Jack muttered to himself, “I think we’re all going to need lessons in Civilian 101.”
When Jack brought the final load of his possessions in from the truck, he found Sam sitting on his bed. He kicked the door shut behind him and set down the box on the floor. “Hey.”
“That was some excellent parenting out there.”
Jack grimaced. “We call that ‘leadership’ in the Air Force, Carter.”
“Jack, civilians don’t have COs, they have parents.”
“I don’t look old enough to be a parent,” Jack protested. “Can’t we call it big-brothering?”
Sam quirked an eyebrow at him.
“Too Orwellian?”
“A little.”
With a sigh, Jack sat down on the edge of the bed next to Sam. “This is going to be a big adjustment.”
Sam leaned in to rest her head on his shoulder. “We’ll get through it.”
Jack peered at her out of the corner of his eye. “The fact that there’s a ‘we’ is a big part of the adjustment. I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it.” Reaching up, he gently brushed his fingers against her cheek, as though checking to see if she was real. “When I left four years ago, I never thought I’d see you again. And I certainly never could have imagined we’d find ourselves here, like this.”
Sam sat back and grinned at him. “Then you’re much less imaginative than I thought!”
Jack smirked back at her. “Okay, okay. So I did imagine you as a sixteen-year-old. But the rest of the team didn’t figure into the fantasy.”
“C’mon.” Sam stood up and pulled him up with her. “I’ll help you unpack your stuff, then you can help me with mine.”
They worked together with their usual efficiency, until suddenly Jack’s attention was caught by something outside the window. Sam came up beside him and they stared out at the view. He turned to look at her, a tiny hint of wonder in his voice. “A white picket fence.”
Sam nodded. “One big happy family.”