Jack was anxiously tapping his desk with a pen, looking at the clock on the wall every three second. How can one minute feel so incredibly long? he wondered. The frequency of the tapping increased. Jack was now permanently staring at the clock on the wall. COME ON!!
The minute hand stood straight up, and Jack immediately turned his attention to his computer screen. Nothing. OK, so he knew that it would take a few second for any potential e-mails to appear, considering they were sent from another galaxy and all, but come on!! After three minutes of staring at the screen, Jack picked up the phone. 'Gate room, Sergeant Siler speaking,' the reply came.
'Has Atlantis checked in yet?' Jack asked immediately.
'Yes, Sir, they just checked in two minutes ago,' Siler replied.
'Great, thanks,' Jack replied sarcastically and threw the phone down before Siler could reply.
Jack didn't get home until late. Very late. In order to distract himself, he had decided a healthy (even though the doctors would probably contest that) amount of overtime was needed in order to catch up on some paperwork. He took a beer out of the fridge and plopped down on the sofa, turning on the TV.
He awoke in much the same position several hours later, from the sound of someone knocking on his door. Reaching for the remote, he turned off the TV. No hangover, at least… he thought to himself, as he sleepily walked over and opened the door, revealing a Lieutenant with a clipboard and a small package. 'General O'Neill?' she asked as she saluted him.
'Yes, what do you want, Lieutenant,' Jack replied, sloppily saluting back.
'Sir, special delivery from the Cheyenne Mountain,' the Lieutenant said, giving Jack the package and the clipboard. 'If you could just sign please, Sir.' Jack signed for the package, and absentmindedly dismissed the Lieutenant, more focused on the package, which had his name on it, and written in the handwriting on none other than Sam. As he closed the door, Jack ripped open the package, revealing a letter, a DVD and another envelope, which said 'Do not open.' He unfolded the letter and started reading.
Dear Jack,
Thought I'd try something different, and check out how well the US Postal Service works between galaxies. Not that this package will ever go outside the workings of MPSA, but that's beside the point. Watch the DVD.
Love,
Sam
Jack put on the DVD, which turned out to be what he had been waiting for yesterday. Another one of the by now endless video messages that he and Sam used to communicate between each other. A video lasted quite a bit longer this time around, clocking in at nearly an hour. A lot had apparently been going on in Atlantis, and while Jack had read all of Sam's reports on the various matters, she always liked providing a more personal touch with the video messages. Then, of course, there was the matter of the more… personal. Things that the US Air Force and the IOA didn't need to read in their reports.
At the end of the DVD, Sam said 'You can open the envelope that says "Do not open" now. I love you, Jack,' and the screen went blank. Jack reached over to the envelope, and carefully, as if it were sacred, opened it. Inside he found a single item; a picture of Sam standing on one of the piers of Atlantis, with the city towering in the background. She was smiling with the special smile only reserved for Jack. Jack smiled back at the picture. I just found myself a new picture for my desk, he thought to himself, as he continued smiling at the photograph.