STARGATE SG-1
Have You Now
By Gen Varel
Category: Romance
Season: After the end of Eight
Rating: Older Teens
Pairings: Jack & Sam
Warnings: Sexual Situations
Summary: Sequel to Need You Now. How Jack and Sam got together after he got promoted and went to DC. The song in this sequel is I Run to You, by Lady Antebellum.
Author's Note: Lyrics of song indicated by italics and bold.
My thanks to my betas, Laura and Renee, who did their usual great jobs in catching all my mistakes.
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are not my property. I have written this story for the enjoyment of Stargate SG-1 fans all over the world. No copyright infringement is intended and no monetary gain is expected.
I run my life, or is it running me?
I run from my past, I run too fast,
Or too slow, it seems.
When lies become the truth
That's when I run to you.
Jack could hear the music blaring inside as he lifted his fist to knock, but Sam opened the door of her apartment before he could, clearly not caring that he would see how eager she was for his arrival. She had probably been waiting by the window and seen his cab drop him off at the curb, in front of her building.
This world keeps spinning faster into a new disaster
So I run to you, I run to you
Disasters or not, here he was, running to her side as soon as he had been given the green light, and he wanted to be nowhere else. All barriers and secrets had been discarded and forgotten, it seemed.
Sam stood there, barefoot and staring up at him with a mixture of shy restraint and open desire, looking as hot as ever with her blue-gray eyes shining with blatant anticipation. He wanted to sweep her off her feet and kiss her silly, to hold her tight and make love to her like a starving man offered his first meal in ages, but he just stood there, wondering how to best proceed.
When it all starts coming undone,
I run to you, I run to you, baby
He was not good at expressing his feelings, and he was definitely out of practice. He was not sure what would be the most appropriate greeting under their current circumstances, so he chose banter, as usual.
"You're not listening to our song, Carter?"
She smiled brightly at him. She knew him so well! She had probably expected something like that to come out of his mouth before he had even said it.
"I was earlier," she replied, reaching for his hand and gently pulling him inside. As she closed the door and faced him, confidently walking into his arms as if she had been doing that for years, she explained, "This is another song by the same band, but I think it also applies to us."
He dropped his duffel bag to the floor and readily welcomed her, locking his hands behind her back as she hugged his waist and told him with a dreamy smile, "Listen to it."
It was hard to concentrate on the song with her leaning against him so intimately, letting her soft form mold to his, but he tried.
We run on fumes.
Your life and mine, like the sands of time
Slipping right on through,
And our love's the only truth,
That's why I run to you
"You're right. It does," he said, his voice softening with emotion. He then could not help himself and lowered his mouth to her waiting lips, unable to resist temptation. She closed her eyes and readily met him half-way.
He kissed her softly at first. This was their first real, honest kiss; no wiped memories, no alternate realities. This was his first real taste of Sam Carter, soft and willing in his arms, kissing him back with abandon, and it was heaven. He savored it with relish, not wanting to stop.
This world keeps spinning faster into a new disaster
So I run to you, I run to you
He paused breathlessly to whisper against her lips, "I hope there're no disasters coming anytime soon, though, because I have plans for tonight."
She smiled happily; then she softly replied, "Me too. More, please."
He obliged, deepening the kiss and letting it become passionate this time. They had not even really greeted each other yet, but this was working quite fine.
When it all starts coming undone,
I run to you, I run to you, baby
Jack's body was clamoring for a lot more than delicious kisses, but he reminded himself that this was a special moment, their first ever physical interaction as lovers and not as commanding officer and subordinate. He did not want to ruin it by rushing like a teenager with no control, so he pulled away and gripped her arms without pushing her away.
"I'm sorry. You said we needed to talk," he remembered, swallowing hard and struggling to restrain the urge to tear off her top right there in the hallway. Sam, however, surprised him.
Grasping his jacket and pushing it off his shoulders, she hoarsely commanded, "We'll talk later. Take this off."
Jack did not need step by step instructions. His libido took over and his hands obeyed her. There was really no need for words at that moment. They had waited for this moment way too long, and they already knew how they felt about each other.
He dropped his jacket and went for her top, pressing her body against the wall as he continued to kiss her ravenously. She responded with equal enthusiasm, letting him pull off her t-shirt and in turn going for his buckle.
Moments later, a trail of discarded garments littered the floor all the way to her bed, and they fell on it with limbs entangled, tongues battling and hands exploring wildly.
Jack had imagined their first time differently. He had loved Sam Carter for so long, always admired her and respected her so much, that he had envisioned their first time as a slow and intense but reverent encounter culminating in soul-baring revelations about their feelings. This was totally different, and so much better!
Their bodies had been released from the bonds that had kept them so tightly restrained for so long, allowing for their souls to soar as their feelings were laid bare with the frantic intensity of their caresses, the naked hunger for each other's touch, and the genuine joy in their smiles as they let go of inhibitions and finally made sweet love to each other.
Later, they held on to each other tenderly but securely. It was as if they were both afraid that what they had just experienced had been nothing but an illusion that would desert them and leave them feeling bereft and alone all over again. He lifted his head to look at her face, still marveling at having her in his arms, soft, warm and completely naked, an old fantasy finally made a reality.
She slowly opened sated eyes and met his, followed by a contented, sensuous smile as her hand reached for his face and stroked his cheek as if she were thinking exactly the same thoughts. It was such a moving, tender moment, that Jack was at a complete loss in how to react to it. There were no words that could match the utter honesty of her touch, so he again resorted to his usual banter.
"So… now that you've had your way with me… should we talk?"
She responded with amusement, laughing freely as she raised her arms to circle his neck and pull him into a close hug. After a moment, she let him go and looked at him with unguarded delight.
"So you're willing to talk, huh?" she challenged in an incredulous tone.
"I am," he replied in a rather indignant tone. "For the record, I came here with the purest of intentions, but a blonde napalm bomb fell on me at the door, and this is what's left of me," he explained dramatically.
She laughed again, clearly enjoying the moment.
"Okay. If you're willing to talk, then we should," she agreed with a wide smile.
"Okay, then… talk!" he said, giving her a little squeeze.
"Oh, no! You brought it up, so now you'll have to start!"
"Talking is a girl thing, not a guy thing. You gals do it a lot better, so you start," he argued.
She chuckled, but then she caved. "Okay, then… I want to know what you're thinking right now."
"Aw, that's not fair!" he moaned, burying his face in her wonderfully soft chest.
"Tell me!" she demanded, starting to tickle him, which made him jump and grasp her wrists.
"Hey! No tickling allowed in bed! It makes Superjack shy," he joked.
"Superjack? Don't tell me you have a name for your…"
"Of course he has a name! And don't make fun or he won't be making an appearance again tonight," he threatened goofily.
"Oh, my God! You're such a guy!"
"You weren't expecting differently, were you?"
"No, not really, but a girl can only hope."
"Was that a complaint, Carter?"
"Absolutely not. There's nothing I can complain about right now. Superjack did an awesome job."
"Glad to hear it."
"I'm so glad you're here!" she suddenly said, sounding relieved.
"We're glad, too," he retorted with a dirty smile, making her laugh again.
"Well, tell Superjack to give us some privacy while he recovers so that we can talk seriously. How's that?"
"Sounds great," he agreed with a smile.
"I'm really sorry that it took me this long to gather the courage to call you," she said, suddenly serious.
"I'm just glad that you did call. I thought I was gonna have to come down here and grovel."
"Now I'm sorry I called. That would have been a fun scene."
"You're evil, Carter."
She chuckled, but then she said, "So… what do you think our superiors will have to say about this?"
"It doesn't matter. It's none of their business. We're not really in the same chain of command," he responded.
"You're way at the top of my chain of command, Jack," she pointed out.
"No, not really. There's a dotted line to me, but I have nothing to do with your performance evaluations or any of that crap. We can date if we want, and I have that cleared all the way to the top, for your information."
"What do you mean?" she asked in a puzzled tone.
"I had a brief phone conversation with the President this morning. He has our back."
"Oh, God! You bothered the President about this?" she exclaimed, sounding mortified.
"He had told me more than once to call him if I needed anything! So I called. This was the first time I took him up on his offer, and he sounded very happy to finally be doing something for us. He sends his regards, by the way."
"So… we're okay," she said, sounding as if she could not believe it but quite delighted about it.
"We're okay. We're more than okay," he said, lowering his lips to her chest and dropping a gentle kiss on soft skin, then meeting her lips briefly. "We're finally okay."
"Jack," she said in a slightly hesitant tone.
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry for hurting you. I'm sorry about Pete, about the wedding…" she sighed. "I know it must have been painful if you still felt this way about me."
"It was, but I understood. I've always wanted you to be happy, Sam, even if it meant I couldn't have you."
"I know. I'm still sorry I hurt you. I didn't mean to. I really thought… that it was best for both of us. I thought that we would never be able to be together, and that I was also holding you back from having other relationships."
"When did you change your mind, and why?" he asked, honestly curious.
"I'm not sure when it started, but I was getting more and more anxious as the wedding date approached. I kept thinking about you… and dreaming about you. I started to dread being with Pete because I was afraid that he would notice how stressed I was. He did notice, but he thought it was all about the wedding arrangements and my job, not about doubts regarding our relationship."
"So… what happened?"
"Agent Johnson happened," she confessed, lowering her eyes. Jack, however, still caught the flash of pain in her eyes. He wasn't sure he understood, and his frown of confusion made her explain.
"I came to your place that day to talk to you, hoping that you'd help me sort things out and… in a way… you did. Finding her there with you proved to me how I really felt about you."
"How?"
"Up to that point I had been doing my best to convince myself that what I felt for you was nothing but friendship mixed up with hero worship, plus the affection you feel for someone that will always be special to you, but seeing you with her…" she hesitated, her voice breaking.
"Sam?" he said with concern.
"It hurt," she admitted. "It hurt a lot, and I couldn't lie to myself anymore. I couldn't marry Pete after that. I couldn't continue to live a farce, and he understood. He was really nice about it. In fact, he wasn't that surprised at all. I think he had known how I felt even better than I did. He said that he had suspected about my feelings for you, but that he had hoped that I'd get over them eventually."
"I'm glad he didn't give you a hard time about it," he honestly said.
"I still felt horrible, but I knew that I was doing the right thing. Even if you had already moved on, I couldn't marry him feeling the way I did about you."
"Then I'm glad I hooked up with Ms. Johnson."
"I'm not, but you're right… it shocked me into my senses."
"I didn't mean to hurt you, either, Carter," he said.
She smiled, tracing his jaw with a delicate touch. Her eyes conveyed the feelings she had been suppressing until that day. "I know. I'm just happy that you're here now."
"I can't believe this came about because of a song," he said with a smile.
"It just gave me the push I needed. I was missing you so much!"
When it all starts coming undone,
I run to you, I run to you, baby
They now could hear the lyrics clearly as they lay silently entangled, holding each other in the darkness and stroking each other's skin leisurely. The same song he had heard upon his arrival was still playing in Sam's living room stereo, clearly in a loop. She was right; the words seemed to echo his feelings.
"I'll always run to you, baby," she whispered half-jokingly, but her arms tightened around him with feeling.
"And I'll always be here for you, Carter. Always."
The End