Summary: Sam tells Jack about her will, and decides to leaves something more behind.
A/note: I watched 'Entity' and wondered exactly when Sam mentioned her living will. Set right after 'The Enemy Within'. I don't own 'The King and I' either. Was supposed to be one thing but came out completely different. Eh, it works. Enjoy!
~ To Sir, with love ~
Print.
Sam sat back on her stool and rubbed her tired neck. Pulling the left sleeve of her BDU shirt back, she groaned as she realised it was almost twenty-three hundred hours. Sam rubbed her face and let out a yawn through her fingers. She slumped her shoulders and waited for her printing job to finish.
"Do you even have a home, Carter?" Colonel O'Neill's bark made her jump in her seat. Sam looked over her shoulder and glared at him for a moment before answering.
"Yes Sir, I do," she replied, turning back to the printer, which finally spat out the pieces of paper.
"Then what are you doing here?" he asked, biting down on a sandwich as she entered her lab and leaning on the workbench beside her, his shoulder brushing hers gently.
"Drafting a living will," she rubbed the corner of her eye. Jack grimaced and looked to the computer screen.
"A bit morbid, isn't it?" He took another bite of his sandwich. Ham, if her nose was working properly. "I know this line of work has certain risks, Carter, but you're not going to die tomorrow."
"No, Sir," Sam closed her eyes and shook her head, "a living will is - basically - a set of instructions left to someone in the instance I can't make decisions for myself. I choose a person to decide what actions should be taken in regards to my health."
"Oh..." her Colonel replied with an understanding whisper. "So, who'd you choose?"
"Well, normally I would have my brother make the decisions for me-"
"You have a brother?" he interrupted with a curious frown.
"Yes, Sir," she nodded, "but since I could be taken by the Goa'uld or something like that, I thought Doctor Frasier would be more appropriate."
"Frasier?" he stuffed the last corner of bread into his mouth.
"Yes Sir, I trust her to do the right thing. Besides, now that I've taken some time to get to know her, she's turning out to be a very good friend."
The Colonel tilted his head and brushed the crumbs off his fingers.
"I could do it," he offered casually.
"I thought of you, Sir, but I realised that if something happened to me that warranted the use of my will - like being severely injured offworld - there is a high probability that you would be injured too. You be in no condition to make rational choices on my behalf. At least Janet is here all the time."
Colonel O'Neill nodded in acceptance and something ached in her chest. Just a little.
"But thank you for the offer, Sir. I appreciate it," she added with a tiny smile. He finally looked up at her and shrugged. That small ache melted away when he met her gaze and she felt a new bond form with her Commanding Officer. Working on the front lines of a dangerous battle, it paid to know the man you needed to trust with your life.
"I updated my normal will the other day. Actually it was pretty much after Kawalsky..." he left his hand gestures to finish his sentence. "Besides, I have to remove some beneficiaries, add some new ones... Etcetera etcetera etcetera..." he pronounced with a defined accent that made Sam smile.
"Giving Yul Brenner a run for his money, Sir?" she grinned, rolling her shoulders.
"The Captain knows her movies?" he smiled and stood up, stepping back to allow her to escape her seat.
"There is more up here than numbers and formulae, Sir," Sam waved her fingers at her head.
"There may be hope for you yet," his smile was genuine and Sam revelled in its warmth.
Sam briefly wondered if he still thought she was adorable, but instantly chastised herself for thinking such a thing. It would be highly inappropriate to ask that of her commanding officer. However, another thought quickly occurred to her.
"Actually, Sir, I have one more thing I really need to do tonight." she turned back to her computer, leaving the Colonel at the door.
"Carter, do I have to order you to bed?" He asked. The innuendo was not lost on her but she dismissed it as part of his strange sense of humour.
"No Sir. You don't. I don't think it will take long. I'll be fine," she assured him and created a new file on her hard drive.
"Alright then," the colonel shrugged and left the lab. Once he was gone, Sam noticed the crumbs on her desk and swiped them away with a frown.
She opened up a new Word document, but hesitated as her fingers hovered over the keyboard.
Nobody was going to see these documents, unless she died. So really, there was no harm in creating them. Sam clenched her jaw firmly and began to type.
"To Sir," she dictated as she began her letter. For some reason, she felt she needed to say something. She had to leave something behind. They couldall die tomorrow and her thoughts and ideas would die with her. Sure, she would make one for Daniel and hell, even one for Teal'c and Janet; however, right now, she needed to write something for the Colonel.
'When I worked on the Stargate program at the Pentagon, you were just a name which graced a report that came across my desk. But, having met you in person, I find you to be so much more. I confess when I was assigned to SG-1, I was anxious to meet you.
I can foresee this war with the Goa'uld lasting a long time. Please know, that no matter what the outcome, it was an honour to serve with you. We don't know each other very well... yet. So far, you have been an excellent Commanding Officer and one day, you will be a great friend. This, I would consider another honour.
I trust you with my life. I can't say that about many people. But I can about you.
With that thought in mind, I find I can only end these parting words in one way. I certainly don't mean this in a romantic sense, but it is said with sincere emotion and gratitude.
With love,
Carter.'
Sam tapped the keys lightly, not actually pressing down on any of them. She could delete this letter and forget it ever existed. Sam shook her head and clicked the 'save' icon, saved it in the newly created folder and encrypted the file. She shut down the computer and finally departed her lab, switching the light off and locking the door.
Sam didn't know it, but she would write many more letters in the years to come. She wrote than one letter for every person close to her. But to the Colonel, she wrote several times a year. The content always changed, but it began and ended the same way:
'To Sir... With love, Carter.'
~ SG-1 ~
Such a random little diddy. Reviews are always welcome. Save