Summary: Jacob's last act
Time Frame: Possible Season 9/probable AU.
Notes: All the changes to Seasons Nine & 10
take place as usual.
Thank you, thank you to my beta readers:
Janna and Terry. You're
wonderful!
Relationship: Jack and Sam
Rating: 7 and up
Archive: SJFic
Letters
By:
Lynda Mayfield
March, 2005
Jacob awoke to the sound of
a female nurse moving around his sick
bed in the SGC. She was
pretty, young, brunette; just the person for
the job.
"What's your name?" his voice was a hoarse whisper.
The young
lady put down the chart she had been reviewing. "I'm
sorry,
sir?"
"Your name?" He was able to voice more loudly.
"Oh, sorry. It's Lieutenant Jadek, sir. Did you
need something?
Anything I can get for you?"
"I--I need a favor."
"Of course, sir," she readily agreed.
"Check the bag I brought in with me on my
arrival. It should be
stowed in the cabinet there, with the rest
of my things. There are
two envelopes. I'll tell you what to do
with them. . ."
April 12, 2005
After running some errands, Jack O'Neill had stopped
for dinner at a
fast food joint around the corner from home. He
now pulled the mail
from its box by the door, sorting out bills
from junk and not
expecting to find much else. The letter with no
return address was a
surprise, particularly when he noticed his
address in what seemed to
be a woman's handwriting.
After
flipping the envelope over a couple times, he opened it and
pulled
out a one-page note. He skipped to the bottom and found the
signature
line --Jacob Carter:
Jack,
I'm writing to you because
Selmak is dying. Knowing that, there are
some things I want to
tell you, assuming you receive this. I want
something from you,
General. I want you to take care of my girl,
Sam. If that means
marrying her, then do it, because I know you love
her.
I
bet you are wondering how I know. The first time I saw you with
her,
I knew you were the one. Don't be shocked. I did take your age
into
consideration, but there's more to love than that. From the
very
second you said, "Sam's dad?" I could tell you cared for
her --
very much.
The difference is, your feelings for her
have grown deeper than
before, Jack. Those feelings show in the
look of admiration in your
eyes when she speaks to you and in your
feigned hurt when she
corrects you. I know for a fact you wait for
her to correct you
JUST so you can pretend to have hurt feelings
or ignorance of the
subject.
She's yours, Jack. I have
taken full measure of her so-called
fiancéé. He's
not the one for her just as whoever you may be with is
not the one
for you. There's no arguing in your mind against Selmak
and me
when you know we're right.
I consider you a friend, Jack, and
already my son-in-law. Will you
remember one thing for me? I loved
her first, I held her first:
from the first breath she breathed to
the woman before us both.
She's never let go of my heart. A piece
of me will always reside
within her as a piece of her is always
with me. Be careful with
her. Don't hurt her if you don't have to.
After all, what father
wouldn't tell you that?
Have no
doubt that she loves you, Jack. I have seen that, too. Do
not feel
guilty for loving her. Just do love her and never let
her
down.
Remember me,
Jacob Carter
and
Selmak
Jack put the letter down on the counter, got a beer
from the kitchen
and then picked up the letter again. He kept
drinking the beer as he
read the letter to himself twice
more.
How could Jacob have known? Were he and Carter that
obvious? Jack
thought not. They had never once crossed the line,
never done
anything that would put their careers on the line. He
couldn't hurt
Carter like that and he knew she would never reveal
her feelings for
him. Not even to her father.
Whatever the
reason, it was there, in Jacob's handwriting. The man
had known,
gotten a vibe or something and now he was sending Jack to
her.
She'd broken up with Pete recently and Jack had been mulling
over
paying Carter a visit, anyway. Kerry had already been gone
even
longer than Pete.
Sighing, he folded the letter and carefully
put it back in its
envelope. Then he grabbed the keys to his truck
and was out the
door.
The
letter from her father lay, barely touched, next to Samantha
Carter
on the bedspread. Sam sat against the headboard, clutching a
pillow,
tears streaming down her face. Her father had known. She
couldn't
believe it. She didn't think he would ever understand and
had
never told him her feelings. Wiping her eyes, she picked up
the
letter to read it again:
Dear Sam,
By now, I
have just left your life. I hope you are ready for this
letter.
You're probably still angry with me for not telling you I
was
dying, but I hope you can forgive that, knowing I had your
best
interests at heart.
As I do, now. The reason for this
letter is to tell you that I know----
have known for a long
time----that Jack O'Neill is the man for you.
Don't rush off and
get upset with Jack, he doesn't know about this
letter. I could
just tell by looking at the two of you that you are
right for each
other.
I know you might have thought I would not accept Jack
as your
husband. I learned by watching the two of you just how far
out of
your way you will go to conceal your feelings for each
other. It's
almost comical to watch you two interact very
carefully,
particularly when Teal'c and Daniel aren't there as
barriers for
your feelings. Don't be ashamed of that, Sam. You two
have protected
your careers well.
Take my advice and do not
push him away. Let him be yours and do not
feel guilty about all
the years you have waited for him. You two are
good together. If
you can get the chance to remove yourselves from
the direct chain
of command, you should. Do it and be happy.
One more
thing----I told you before I was united with Selmak, and I
still
feel the same way----I am very proud of all that you
have
accomplished in your career, Sam. My heart has been filled
with
pride for you for years. You have never let me down. Never
believe
that you have.
I love you, Sammy baby.
Dad
Sam
let go a sob, and clutched the pillow a few moments more. As
she
reflected on her father's words, reality slowly returned to
her. Her
face felt flushed and tight from her drying tears and she
was still
in her grungy BDUs. The day had been a long one, and now
she felt
physically and emotionally drained. A hot shower was just
the
solution she needed.
Wearing a black tank top and light
blue pajama bottoms, Sam was much
more comfortable. She read her
letter a third time. Their respective
relationships aside, how her
dad could have known that the General
could or would give up his
post at the mountain, she had no idea.
General O'Neill was
scheduled to move to D. C. in three months.
General Landry had
already taken over his duties in the mountain and
had been meeting
with the SG teams regularly. She would have her own
lab in Area 51
next week. It was almost too perfect.
Sam didn't know if she
should call General O'Neill-Jack- about the
letter. Mentally, she
cringed at the slip. Not that it was really
a slip, either way.
She was a creature of habit and order. His
rank was General and
her habit was to call him by that. However,
something had happened
to futz with her normal mode of thinking.
Right after his last
day at Cheyenne Mountain, and Sam recalled it
was at 5:02 p.m., he
had pulled her aside in her lab, knowing she
never left the
mountain before 7:00. He had told her point blank to
call him
Jack, saying they were friends first, now. Not General and
Lieutenant
Colonel. As if he had ever called her anything other than
Carter.
She attempted to insist he call her Sam, reasoning it was
the
least Jack could doSam shook her head, continuing to examine
the situation. Instead of
calling, she made herself a pot of
coffee, preparing a cup for
herself when it was ready. She didn't
want to call Jack or try
driving to his house.
What if the
General was in the middle of something? Let alone it
was after
seven at night. Whenever she stayed up past, it was Hell
waking at
four a.m. the next morning. Also, if she wasn't
interrupting him,
chances were that she would be stopped mid-
sentence by something.
It was a law of Murphy that never failed in
her life
Sam
put the issue aside for tomorrow and sat at her kitchen
table,
editing a report she'd started to prepare for General
Landry earlier
in the
day.
Jack had
parked the truck and practically jumped out as quickly as
he
could. If he had allowed himself to sit in the cab, thinking
about
it, he might have turned around and gone home. Now he stood at
her
door, knocking with his left hand, Jacob's letter clutched in
his
right. He could have used the doorbell, but in his haste, he
forgot
she had one.
The door opened and he spoke, "I think that--"
"I still love you----" she blurted.
"--your dad was right." He noticed a paper
in her hand and assumed
she'd gotten a letter from Jacob, too.
"Can I come in?"
"Yeah," she opened the door wider for him.
In the foyer, he turned and immediately
pulled her into a tight
embrace, whispering a soft, "Come
here."
She hugged him back, and it felt good. No longer
would he have to
cap his feelings----he hoped. Wordlessly, he
followed her to the living
room.
"Dad sent you a
letter?" she asked as she sat down on the couch. He
joined
her.
"Yeah."
"I wonder how? Who--"
"Must have been someone on base. Your dad was
always clever. So,
what do you want to do about this?"
She shrugged. "I still start at Area 51 next week."
"I'm still flying to D.C. It'll be long distance." He nodded.
She
took his hand and held it. "But, it'll still be us. Together.
We
don't have to leave it' anywhere, anymore. Do you agree?"
"I
do." Jack leaned in and kissed her lips, holding her to
him.
"God, this is going to be fun."
Her reply made them both giggle, "Ya, sure, you betcha!"
The End