Birthday Fic for the Lovely Skydiver on Gateworld! I've had this kicking around in my head for a few weeks and I finally sat down and wrote it :P It's purely coincidental that it happens to be this :D
Unending tag, but something I think could have really happened. Sam/Teal'c Friendship/Preship :D
Stepping through the Stargate, Teal'c found himself enthralled with the SGC once more. Then again, it had been fifty long years that he'd been away from it. Everything felt nostalgic, like remembering a cherished childhood memory. Everyone was curious, some more than others and for various different reasons.
"So where's the next clue to this Ark, Jackson? Somewhere that isn't festering with rodents please?"
Cameron Mitchell had been oddly correct in his assumption that he'd go in his own words "stir-fry crazy" in such a long and arduous situation.
Daniel often asked about the Asgard Core itself, seeing if there was anything to it that wasn't available to him during his first go at it. Teal'c had learned a little about the Asgard Core as well, but not to the degree Daniel had during their ordeal.
"Uhh, not quite sure. I need to clear the next few sites with General Landry first. Might be more dangerous than these."
Nobody asked about General Landry though, with the General already on in years, it was a simple assumption. Teal'c was glad that nobody asked.
"Dangerous? That squirrel stole my sleeping bag! What kind of animal steals a sleeping bag!?"
Vala on the other hand was nothing but questions; quick, rapid-fire questions about everything from what did they eat, to whether Teal'c had ever given into the temptation that Vala knew she'd have given him. It was odd that these people seemed to know so well how they would react in the circumstances. Teal'c merely related it to their shared experiences, the long and hard road it had taken to get here.
Everyone was silent as they went to the armory to check their weapons back in. Not silent in words, the joking and teasing and friendly banter continued without pause. Teal'c had often thought of these people as his extended family, only now, they meant more to him that he'd ever have imagined. They meant more than they could understand. They were silent because Teal'c was now a large nosed mammal in the room. Something they could see, but choose to ignore.
He'd finished changing into something more comfortable, and was looking forward to a quiet meal. Many times on Odyssey did they all get together to have a feast, birthdays, anniversaries of the most ridiculous nature. Having celebrated the anniversary of Cameron Mitchell's first broken bone had been an odd thing to feast over, but it helped to keep their spirits up.
Taking the tray of high protein foods, Teal'c looked around the mess hall for a place to sit. Not surprisingly, Samantha Carter was on her own at a table reading a book. She spotted him quickly and waved him over.
Hesitation. It was unbecoming, this was not the Samantha Carter he'd spent fifty years with on a silent and frozen in time ship. That Samantha Carter no longer existed in this universe. None of the SG-1 he'd come to know over the years existed. It was strange to see these people as he remembered them from decades past. The clock had indeed been reset for all but him. It was an odd and truly unique pain. "Samantha Carter."
Smiling at Teal'c as he took his seat, Sam sighed softly and set her book down. Staring at his plate, she slyly quipped. "Did you leave any of the cow behind?"
Teal'c shrugged and picked up a tater tot. "A balanced meal is important. Doctor Lam often comments that we do not have enough vegetables or grains." He smiled just as slyly, and recalled a similar conversation that never existed. "At my musculature, a lack of high protein foods would result in a loss of mass; dangerously so in fact."
Sam didn't buy it for a second. "Sure, that's why you slop it in ketchup."
How did she know this? How could this Samantha Carter know him that well? Teal'c found himself being forced to remain silent, fifty years was a long time and with only limited entertainment, quickly he'd learned much about his friends. "I believe it was Ronald Reagan who said 'Ketchup is a Vegetable.'"
Sam chuckled and shook her head. "It was the administration that tried that. Not Reagan himself." Seeing Teal'c sly grin, Sam continued with a softer voice. "Then again you already knew that…didn't you?"
Another thing she shouldn't know, how Teal'c had learned to make his friends laugh with his unique perspective and view of their world. Unable to give her a proper reply though, Teal'c simply quirked the corner of his lip up and popped a tater tot into his mouth. "Indeed."
Snickering softly, Sam picked up her book again and continued reading and eating her small veggie plate. It only lasted a few seconds, as when the sergeant who was at the table next to them left, Sam set the book down again and looked at Teal'c pensively. "Teal'c?"
Teal'c looked up and acknowledged her. It was strange to look into a face he hadn't seen in 50 years. She had retained most of her beauty in that time. An ageless quality to her. Granted the medicines the Asgard Core created were partially to blame, but Teal'c didn't care.
Sam took a long and deep breath through her nose then spoke softly but confidently. "I know you aren't going to tell me anything that happened on Odyssey. But I've been doing some thinking and I've come to a few conclusions."
She was quite adamant, and Teal'c could see that she had in deed been thinking about it. Deciding to try and "skirt" the issue as O'Neill would say, Teal'c replied evenhandedly. "Such as?"
Seeing that Teal'c was giving her leeway to speak, Sam put it all out. "Well… I've always wanted to learn the Cello. I can't see myself working for fifty years on a problem without taking some time for myself." Teal'c gave her an incredulous narrowing of his brow and Sam chuckled. "Okay okay, maybe not for the first few years."
Teal'c resisted his chuckle. To laugh or give any emotive response would just confirm her suspicions. To do so would only exacerbate the situation. No, the only thing he could do was remain silent, never again speaking of the knowledge he had.
Sam continued. "And well… after the Cello, I really think I would have started writing. I've spent so much time out in the field that I've never been able to write down my thoughts. Actually, I might have done that before learning the Cello."
Again, she was correct. Teal'c recalled often seeing Samantha sitting and typing furiously on one of Odyssey's computer consoles. When the time had come to send him back, she had been torn over whether to send her many books worth of material through. She had decided not to in the end, preferring to not burden her younger self with visions of what could have been. It seemed to have been for naught though, as Teal'c now listened to said younger self pick it all apart from little more than a logical examination of her personality and experiences.
Seeing that Teal'c wasn't going to reply, Sam continued her guess work. "Well… I'm guessing it took a few years to learn the Cello and I probably got really irritable and grouchy with all the writing. So I know I would have learned to cook." Seeing the slight tension in Teal'c eyes, Sam knew instantly it was the truth. She wasn't going to let him know his body had betrayed him and instead pushed on. "I'm guessing Cameron must have helped with that. We might have even come up with the perfect macaroon recipe."
That was a long time ago, around the time his friends had begun to accept their lives. Teal'c had always been there to support them, and on more than one occasion, he'd sworn he needed an extra dose of tretonin after trying some such kitchen creation. Still, he said nothing.
"I'm guessing we made you taste them all. Vala and Daniel too." Sam wanted to ask about Vala and Daniel, but she knew it was better not to pry, so she instead moved on to the less pleasant aspects of her thoughts. "I also know that I probably stuck to myself a lot. I was the only one who knew how to use the Asgard Core properly. I'm sure the others learned, but they wouldn't have gotten into the meat of programming the shut down code."
Many times Teal'c had found Samantha… the one who didn't exist anymore, in her lab, a pot of tea brewing, soft classical music playing, and the silent snores of her exhaustion. She'd often chided him when he found her like that, but never seriously.
"I don't know if I could take that. I mean… obviously somehow I pushed through, we wouldn't be here if I hadn't, but…" Sam froze. This was the hardest part of the entire conversation. She'd taken weeks to figure this out. She'd examined every shred of evidence, whether hard or circumstantial but there was no denying it anymore. "…but I get the distinct feeling I should thank you."
To this, Teal'c simply could not remain quiet. "What for?"
Sam smiled almost ruefully, it was something she'd always known subconsciously, but only recently had it really become clear to her. "Because I know you were there for me. You always have been." Sam didn't push it any further. She knew Teal'c understood sub-communication and this was about as sub as it got. "Am I right?"
Teal'c didn't dare say anything. Few things had ever gotten under his skin like this. Samantha had quite simply deduced it from logic. Something he should have anticipated, something they both should have anticipated. How many times had he found her in her lab, silently having a small emotional moment? The whole group had had them, but none liked to talk about it.
She had often griped about being carried, but the times Samantha had worked herself ragged, sometimes for no reason but to become so tired that she could sleep without dreaming of her home that was so near yet so far… Teal'c never mentioned it to anyone, keeping it silently between themselves as he'd take her to get much needed sleep.
Fifty years was a very long time for such a friendship, and on more then one occasion, Teal'c had done exactly what Sam was now implying. He was… there for her. It had taken a long time for it to happen, and when it did, neither really said anything. It was one of the few things Teal'c still cherished from his memories… memories of something that never existed. But didn't it? He could still recall the smell of her hair, the feel of her hand as she pushed him away or pulled him closer in those dark moments that she lost her control on her silently brewing emotions.
Truthfully did it matter anymore? Was there any reason to tell Samantha Carter just how he felt? How they had both felt?
Silently, Teal'c finished his last tater tot and picked up his tray. Sam looked at him almost expectantly, and Teal'c had finally thought up an answer. "You will not enjoy the ending of the book you are reading. Good day, Samantha." Without any more words, Teal'c walked away.
Sam took a few deep breaths, and knew that she'd been right. It had been a little awkward to think about it. Especially given that Cam and Daniel would have been there as well. But logic and experiences didn't lie, and Sam knew she'd come to the right conclusion. Turning back to her book, Sam read another two sentences and put it down.
If she read till the end, she'd know what Teal'c had meant with his parting comment. Did she truly want to know? Was it something she could handle? Was that even what Teal'c had meant? What if her finishing this book meant that she hadn't trusted what he just said, Teal'c would never lie to her. God, this was the most infuriatingly complex situation she'd ever found herself with. Teal'c had been adamant about not revealing anything, but in his sub-conscious method of communicating with her, had he given her one morsel of a future that no longer existed?
Staring at the book now, Sam wondered. Should she? Sam sat there for a long time, completely unsure of anything now. It was just like Teal'c too, to say so much with only a single lateral sentence. Daniel's comment of Teal'c being deep had been right, but Sam didn't think Daniel truly understood that now, none of them did.
Taking another long and deep breath, Samantha got up and left the book on the table. She was going to assume that Teal'c had trusted something precious with her, and now she was going to trust him.