Summary: Ficlet for Thanksgiving. Been workin' too much to write anything decent.
Time Frame: Right after Season 8's episode, "Sacrifices" (where Rya'c marries and Teal'c disagrees with Ishta). I know the original air date was earlier, I am just fudging the timeline a little bit.
Notes: Not beta-ed, just wanted to post and run. Sorry, betas!
Relationship: Jack and Sam–UST & Angst
Rating: PG
Archive: SJFic only, unless I put it somewhere myself.
A Little Thanks
By: Lynda Mayfield
November 26, 2004
Sam opened the door with an exaggerated sigh. The Thanksgiving holiday was over, and it had been a long one. She had flown to California to see her brother and his family, without Pete . . . he had to go to Denver to pack up some things, since they were now engaged and Sam wouldn't move far from the base. When Mark asked about their father, she told him he simply couldn't make it because of a stomach virus and that he sent well wishes. Her brother seemed to wonder at that but couldn't prove her wrong, either.
They all had a wonderful time reconnecting. Sam had forgotten the joy of being a kid, lately, but the shenanigans of her niece and nephew brought it all flooding back. There were games of chase in back yard, tickling sessions before dinner and stories before bed. The meal on the big day had been delicious, filling and for dessert there was chocolate pie with whipped cream.
After two days and a plane flight, Sam was home again. She already missed Nicky and Jordan, but had the digital pictures to remind her of the event. After exchanging e-mail addresses with Mark again–he always seemed to lose hers, and she wasn't good at keeping him updated–they both promised to keep in touch.
Sam made quick work of unpacking her clothing, pouring the dirty laundry directly into the washer and starting it. She went to raid the refrigerator for a quick snack and checked to see if she had any messages on her answering machine. There were none.
It had been a quiet weekend where work was concerned. No one had called her. Pete had kissed her goodbye before his trip. Daniel had plans with a girl he had seen a few times, Teal'c was staying on base and Cameron hadn't said much, other than Happy Thanksgiving. Thinking about it, even her cell phone never rang.
Sam settled in front of the TV with a bowl of Moose Tracks ice cream, flipping channels and trying to decide what to do tomorrow. It would be Sunday and Pete wasn't coming home until Tuesday. She set the remote down when she came across an episode of the Andy Griffith Show in color. It was the type of mindless viewing that would allow her to organize her thoughts.
The phone rang before Sam's fourth mouthful of ice cream. "Hello?"
"Hi, Carter," came the voice of a very awake and lively General O'Neill.
"Sir, hi. What is it?" Her blood raced at the sound of his voice. Maybe there was something one of the teams off world had brought back for her to work on.
"Did you have a good trip?"
What? That's it? No Carter-we-need-you-to-save-the-world-and-right-now? No Carter-can-you-look-at-this-thingamabob? Just how was your trip, huh? "It was fine, sir."
"Oh, okay. Good."
"Did you call me for something, sir?" Sam's mind had turned to other things. She had a fiancé, and it was wrong, she knew, to hope the general would want to join her in TV watching and ice cream eating, but she hoped, anyway.
"Just saying Happy Thanksgiving, Carter."
"That was two days ago, sir." Two days ago and she would have loved to spend time with him.
"I know! I'm a slacker with the holiday and birthday greetings. You know that."
He was right. "Yes, sir. Happy Thanksgiving."
"Goodnight, Carter."
"See you on Monday."
Sam put the remote phone back into the handset, picked up her ice cream and returned to watching TV. Leave it to General Jack O'Neill to put a little grin on her face by saying the simplest thing. No, he hadn't spouted poetry or exclamations of love. A simple happy holiday greeting was the reason for his call. She'd take what was offered and she was thankful for it.
The End