A/N: Inspired by something I read the other day, now one of my favourites poems. No beta, so mistakes are all my own. As usual I don't own any of the characters or show and don't claim to. Short and sweet I hope, enjoy.
Sam's lab on the base had become a safe and comforting place for her. The blinking lights and slightly metallic smell of the air were now familiar to her. With her head resting on her left hand, she sat staring at the blank computer in front of her but not seeing it. Her right hand lay relaxed across an old book, her thumb moving softly over the page. The room was dark save for the blinking lights and the light falling through the gap in the door where Daniel hadn't quite pulled it shut after his brief visit. The computer had already switched itself off after hours of neglect.
She'd given up on wiping the tracks of tears that had flowed down her cheeks, the stains now remained and her red eyes stood out from her pale complexion. She was lost in a world where her grief was taunted by bitter-sweet memories.
The light from the door was eclipsed suddenly and it was enough of a change in her surroundings to pull Sam from her daze. Lifting her head from her hand, she saw her commanding officer pushing the door open.
"Dark enough in here for you captain?" The colonel said as he pushed the door closed behind him.
"Oh, er, I guess I hadn't noticed sir." Sam leant over her desk and turned a lamp on. She turned towards Jack pulling the book with her into her lap, keeping her eyes on it.
He walked towards the table and took a seat on the opposite side to Sam. "Daniel told me about your friend's death. I'm sorry. He said that you were close when you were younger?"
She noticed that he hadn't asked her how she was feeling; she liked that. Taking a deep breath before she spoke, Sam said "Yeah, he was our next door neighbour when I was little, this was when Dad had a steady posting for a decent length of time. He was the one who first taught me about the stars and astronomy. He showed me the basic constellations and told me how one day we would all travel among the stars as if it were the most normal thing in the world. He was part of the reason I became an astrophysicist." Before Sam could stop them the tears began to fall again, streaming down her face and falling from her chin onto the book in her hands. She was past caring if her CO saw her in a 'weakened' state. She turned away, reaching for the crumpled tissue on the table. "I've been in written contact with him since we moved away from that neighbourhood. He would have loved everything we're doing here. I never got the chance to tell him." The tears continued but she didn't make another sound for several minutes.
"He would have been proud of you." A simple statement of fact and something that although subconsciously known, was good to hear out loud. She nodded her head.
A comfortable silence settled. She could feel the colonel watching her, sitting patiently and quietly, not expecting anything from her.
"Do you want me to leave?" The colonel said getting up from the stool – the silence had seemingly lasted for a reasonable amount of time.
Sam considered his offer. Strangely she felt calmer around him, the knowledge of the grief he'd felt previously (and probably still did feel) comforting her as a point in common between them. "No," - she turned to look at him - "please stay."
O'Neill sat back down again, finding something to keep his hands from fidgeting in his pocket. They sat in a steady silence for several minutes, the presence of this man she respected enough to soothe her.
"So what's the book?" He looked at her levelly, she thought he must be trying to keep her mind from wandering back to painful memories and possible regrets.
"It's something Daniel gave me. He came in earlier with Teal'c to check on me. It's an anthology of poetry but he pointed out one poem in particular out to me. Said I might like it. But you're probably not interested." She doubted very much that the colonel would be interested in a piece of Romantic poetry.
"Now how would you know that Carter?" The tone was playful not hurt. "What's the poem called?"
Sam returned the tissue to the tabletop and opened the book.
"The Old Astronomer by Sarah Williams. Do you know it?" But his only reply was a smile.
A few moments later he continued - "Has the poem helped?"
"It's really helped actually." She smiled sadly rubbing her fingers slowly over the lines of text. "Although I have to say sir, you deal with someone crying much better than Daniel does." Sam imitated the awkward hug that Daniel had attempted to give her earlier. She giggled and it was matched by a smirk from the other side of the table. Again she felt as if slowly, a weight had lifted from her chest. "I'll have to remember that." O'Neill said.
Sam looked over at him, meeting his eye for the first time since he'd entered the room. "Thank-you sir." She offered him a weak smile, not caring for the state her face must be in. He'd seen her in worse states before.
"You're welcome, although I think you're overestimating what I've actually done to help." He smiled back at her. "I'd better leave and get on with some paperwork. If you need anything you know where I am." He got up to leave, moving towards the door as Sam started to read the poem once more.
Sam looked up just as the colonel reached the door. He turned slightly to face her and stated - "You know the line I always liked in that poem? I have loved the stars too truly to be fearful of the night. Always made a lot of sense to me." He opened the door and stepped out into the corridor, whistling quietly.
Sam stared at the space where the colonel had stood. She considered what she'd just been told and smiled. There was still a lot she had to learn about this man, but she knew one thing for certain – she was glad that she would have the chance. Her thoughts returned to her old friend. She thought how well he and the colonel would have got on and chuckled.