Disclaimer; I don't own Stargate…but if I could just borrow them for a day that would be great…!!
No Need For Goodbyes
"Hello Jack," Her voice is old and he has to wonder why he never saw, she really was beautiful, in every sense of the word, "It's been so long Jack…maybe too long."
"Maybe!" it's the first word he's spoken since he got here, and yet he doesn't know why because there's so much to be said.
She nods and smiles, chuckling to herself softy.
She hasn't changed a bit, he notices.
"So, why now, why come to see me after so many years?" her eyes search his, and he feels a familiar sense of comfort run through his veins.
The woman who held me when I cried at night!
"It was time…!" he answers. He can tell she doesn't believe his words, but then neither does he.
"Jack, no lies; please," her face remains soft but he can see the regret in her eyes and he can hear the age in her voice.
He looks at his feet like a boy scorned.
He blushes.
"So…what's her name?"
His eyes snap up to her face, who would have thought that after so many years she could still read him so easily.
"Don't look so shocked Jack; you haven't changed as much as you think!" she's quiet, but Jack knows she hasn't finished talking; she hasn't changed much either, "Now, are you going to tell me about her, or am I going to have to find out by myself? You're not the only one with contacts you know."
He takes a deep breath, "Samantha." the name rolls of his lips softly, lovingly.
She smiles, "She must be beautiful then, otherwise her mother wouldn't have chosen such a pretty name."
He nods, there's so much to talk about, but he just can't find the words. He wants to tell her he's sorry, just like he did all the other times he came to visit, but he's just too scared.
"You'd like her."
"She must be smart, tough too if she has to put up with you," a small chuckle escapes him, because putting up with Jack O'Neill is tough work, "big eyed, and curious."
Sinful in bed, he thinks with a smirk.
"A good lover…I can tell by that smile on your face that you're thinking about it."
The smirk on his face vanishes.
She sighs, "Why are you here, Jack?"
"I want you to meet her; I would mean a lot to me…to her." She smiles, just like he remembers.
The memory of her face as she would taste the first home baked cookie to come from the oven, and how she'd share it with him, he misses those memories the most.
But he has new memories now, ones of Sam. He remembers the time she tried to bake cookies, and how they'd ended up burnt, the flour fight in the kitchen just as she'd put the tray in the oven, and how they'd ended up in bed afterwards; they'd talked of have kids, and then the smoke alarm had gone off…
"I'd like to meet her too. She's special, isn't she? And I don't mean Sarah special…a disaster that woman…bored me to death."
He can't help but smile, Sarah was special enough to put a smile on his face, but Sam… walking into a room with her in it still made him nervous, sometimes he feels that he could fall in love with this woman all over again, even though he's in love with her now.
"She's the best thing that's ever happened to me!"
"Then if she's special to you, she's special to me…!"
He can feel tears threatening by her words, and that in itself surprises him.
"Thank you." It's not much he realises, but for her he knows it more than enough.
She smiles, and nods lightly, "I'd like to meet her Jack, is this weekend okay?"
He nods, "Sure. That's great." His tone is distant, and she picks up on it instantly.
"She's a workaholic isn't she?"
"Yeah"
They laugh together, just like they used to do.
"It was nice seeing you again Jack."
He nods, not knowing if he wants to say goodbye, there's so much to talk about, so many words unsaid between them during the years. It hurts.
"How's dad have you visited him recently?"
She smiles, "We're not talking at the moment…" and she feels compelled to leave it at that.
But he doesn't, "Mom…?"
She sighs, "Those darn flowers are being a nuisance again."
He laughs, "Yup! Sounds like dad alright."
"He maybe dead, but that doesn't mean you can be disrespectful." She says softly, and she smiles, and so does he.
"I'm sorry." His smile is gone and she can hear the seriousness of his tone.
"So am I Jack, but let's not dwell in the past."
He nods, and only now can he understand her reasons for resenting his choice of career, because in her eyes he can see the fear that was once there, the fear that she might have lost her only son, the way she lost he husband.
"If I hadn't joined the air force, I would never have met Sam."
"Then some good came from it." And she smiles again, and he has to think, maybe now we can have a fresh beginning.
"Saturday?" She says behind him as he heads for the door to leave.
"Saturday." he replies.
There are no goodbyes, because he knows that this is not the last time he'll she her.
And she knows it to.