First Day
Summary: Sam Carter counted the seconds before she would have to leave the greatest project in her life; the one thing she would trade for all the nuclear reactors in the world. (SJ) Pure fluff
Disclaimer: I a poor one am. Nothing do I have, Freely do I give.
For Luvnjack and the ship family at Gateworld
Sam Carter pottered around the kitchen as she waited for the clock to roll around to 7:45.
7:44 and 15 seconds…
7:44 and 20 seconds…
Through her life (or to be more exact, in the last decade or so) she had come to realize that sometimes it was more harmful to pay strict attention to time than to not. True, being a member of an elite team in the Air Force, adherence to time was invaluable. Even leaving three seconds late might mean blowing the left side of your face off, if not blowing yourself to pieces entirely. As a civilian however, she had learnt that being on-time was sometimes no more than a let down. Other people seemed to have no problems with turning up to meetings ten minutes late, or to their own wedding half an hour before the reception was supposed to start. Sometimes it was just easier to forget about the clock on the wall or the watch on her wrist and go with the flow of the day. Meeting her husband for lunch at four thirty in the afternoon was fine, as long as she hadn't been waiting impatiently for him for four hours and thirty-two minutes.
This morning however, Sam Carter lapsed back into an old habit. She counted the seconds before she would have to leave the greatest project in her life; the one thing she would trade for all the nuclear reactors in the world. Jess.
She looked over her shoulder as her daughter idly fiddled with her fingers, so like her father. She had her tiny backpack on her equally tiny back, and was waiting very patiently for her mommy to take her to her first day of school. Sam looked at the clock again.
7:44 and 40 seconds…
Sam took in a deep breath and pulled her hair back from her face. She tied it in a loose knot at the base of her head and checked the clock one more time. She had already figured out hoe long it would take her to drive to Jess's new school. Allowing time for traffic lights and the occasional early morning traffic jam, it would take approximately twelve minutes, give or take a few seconds. That would get her to school in time to settle her things and possibly play with some other children before class officially started at 8.30. However, if she didn't leave at 7.45, it was likely that the early morning traffic would increase, given that adults would be heading off to work. If she left even five minutes late, it was possible that Jess would get to school no earlier than 8.20, leaving only ten minutes to sort herself out and say goodbye to her mother.
She looked at the clock again.
7:44 and 55 seconds…
Sam raced into the hall to her daughter and held her hand.
"It's time to go to school, Jess," she said, smiling nervously.
Jess smiled back at her mother, looking far more excited about her first day at school.
"Now, have you got everything you need, honey?" Sam asked.
"Yes Mommy," little Jess answered.
"Have you got your crayons?"
"Yes."
"Your pencils?"
"Yes."
"Your paper?"
"Yes."
"Your lunch?"
"Ummm…"
"Did Daddy forget to pack your lunch, Jess?"
Jess grimaced at her mother and nodded.
"Did not!"
Sam whirled around to see her husband waving a Dora the Explorer lunch box in his hand.
"Jack, we're going to be late," Sam whispered at her husband as he unzipped his daughter's school bag and popped in her lunch.
Jack just chuckled and shook his head at his wife. He bent down and kissed his daughter on the forehead.
"Are you ready for school today, sweetie?" he asked.
"Yes Daddy," Jess answered and took her father's hand.
"See? Ready to go." Jack smirked at Sam. "And just in the nick of time."
Sam rolled her eyes back at him and took her daughter's other hand, as they walked out to the car for Jess's first day of school.