My response to an awesome Twitter challenge!
Hurray for my Twitter ladies who won't let a good idea pass them!
Thanks to the ever fabulous Shoequeen for her bitchin beta skills.
He can see it as if it were happening in front of him all over again. The shining oak beams, the long red carpet, the multicoloured orchids, a gift from Tuplo, the people of P3X 797. The music begins, 'Canon in D' by Pachelbel and the doors open, the July sunshine flooding into the expanse. He sees her nieces first, Sophie and Ellie, then Jill, Marks wife, Cassandra and, finally, Janet. They glide, smiling uncontrollably, up the long walk towards him. Jack stands, along with the congregation, and smooths his tux, adjusting the silver grey tie, the one that she's always loved on him. He looks to his left, towards Daniel, Teal'c and George, watching the procession, smiles beaming from their faces. Daniel rests his hand on Jack's shoulder.
The doors open once more, and the music strikes up again, louder this time; 'Wagner's Wedding March' and suddenly she appears in the doorway on the arm of Jacob, the sunlight illuminating her from behind, as if the heavens themselves are ushering her towards him. Jacob looks every inch the proud father and he kisses her cheek before they slowly make their way towards her waiting groom. She's smiling, that big beautiful smile, the 'Carter grin' and Jack can't help but fall in love with her even more. This amazing person, the woman he loves more than anyone else on this or any other planet, on her dad's arm walking towards him. They lock eyes momentarily, and he smiles weakly at her as she walks past him towards the altar, where Joseph Faxon stands waiting. He turns to face the front, fighting back the emotions building inside him. He's not sure how, but he manages to hold it together when the pastor asks 'Who gives this woman to this man?' As if anyone could 'give' Samantha Carter to anyone. He notices the very slight hesitation in her voice when she's asked if 'she takes this man to be her husband'
And when the congregation is asked 'if anyone knows of any lawful impediment why they should not be joined,' he feels the pain, the gut wrenching devastation, as it takes over him once again, knowing that it's over. She doesn't want him; she has chosen another. He stands as she kisses her groom, applauds like everyone else and when the wedding party retreats down the aisle, he follows, walking out of the church and her life forever.
For the fifth night in a row, Jack O'Neill starts awake from the nightmares made up of his own memories.
The Aschen had so cleverly hidden their true intentions that no one ever suspected. Well, not no one, she thinks. He had suspected. He'd always suspected them.
"Too good to be true Carter" he'd said, a soft pleading look in his eyes.
He'd warned them all and they'd told him he was crazy. And now look where they were. Right where he said they'd be: up against a wall, with no weapons to shoot their way out.
"Bare assed and unarmed," as he always said. They could fix it though, or try, at least, they'd decided that last night. Right after they'd realised that that General Hammond had been murdered to keep the Aschen secret. And now here she was.
She watches as the JR Reed Space Terminal vanishes before her eyes and the Central Minnesotan terminal appears. She blows out the breath she has been unknowingly holding and makes her way to the rental.
She sees the cabin in the distance, dark wood and lush green trees, and regrets the fact that she never took him up on his numerous offers of a weekend here or there. She taps gently on the front door, waiting in silence, her stomach turning at the very thought of seeing him again after so long. His mistrust of the Aschen had split them. His decision to leave Colorado Springs for a simpler life, away from the Aschen and their technology has ensured that they hadn't seen each other after her wedding. He'd made it clear, if they accepted the Aschen and their way of life, he was gone and, despite her attempts to contact him, he had all but fallen off the radar.
She makes her way around the cabin and stops dead in her tracks when she's faced with him, all 6 ft 2 of unshaven, scruffy Jack O'Neill. If he's startled by her sudden appearance, he doesn't show it, and simply stands staring at her, like he's pretty sure he's imagining her presence.
"So this is the place you kept threatening to take me. It's good to see you, Sir." She says quietly, looking at the surroundings and then at him, a small smile pulling on the corners of her lips.
He stares back at her, emotionless.
"I'm retired, Carter. Lose the 'Sir,'" he snaps, sitting down on the wooden Adirondack chair on the porch.
"Right," she says cautiously, taking the other empty chair, "Jack." His name feels dangerous on her lips, like a forbidden password that only a select few are privileged to use. He tries to hide it, but she sees the way his body tenses. and his eyes stay closed that extra few seconds, when she lets it fall from her lips.
"What are you doing here?" He asks,suddenly raising his gaze to her face.
"It turns out we made a mistake. A big one."
"Which one?" He asks sarcastically. "We made a few."
She knows exactly what mistake he means of course. The kiss, the declaration, the sudden 'early retirement' he took to avoid a court martial and to save her career, when their little slip was reported.
"Our alliance with the Aschen." She clarifies.
"Oh, that. Not working out, is it? Gosh, I wish I'd seen that coming. Oh, wait…" he says, his words dripping with contempt. "I did see that coming."
"It isn't what you thought. A couple of days ago I found out that I can't ever have children."
His eyes soften and she sees a flash of the old Jack O'Neill rising to the surface. "I'm sorry to hear that.
"So was I," she says sadly. "According to the Aschen doctors, I was fine. But not according to Doctor Fraiser. We got into the Aschen computer network; they keep statistics on everything. In the past couple of years, without our even knowing it, they have managed to sterilize over ninety percent of the world's population. The other ten percent are probably just a matter of time. We don't know how they've done it, or even how they've even managed to keep it a secret this long…
"So what d'you want me to do about it?"
"Help us."
"Do what?"
"We can undo this."
"Oh, here we go." He snaps, before standing and turning to leave.
Sam follows him, talking as she goes.
"We send a message back through the Stargate to ourselves ten years ago. We stop this from ever happening."
Jack stops dead in his tracks and spins to face her once again. She's caught off guard and almost walks into him.
"Stop this from happening? How?"
"Jack, we know it's possible."
"Why am I having this conversation with you? Just out of curiosity, say we do this. What happens to everything that's happened the past ten years?"
"It won't happen." She answers and she knows that even though he wants desperately for 'it' to sound like he means the alliance with the Aschen, he means with her and him, with her and Joe.
"So, Sam, we don't go to P4C-970. We don't meet the Aschen, then…what?"
"I don't know." She says honestly. She knows what he's getting at. Does she still end up with Joe, doe he still end up with his heart broken.
"Let me tell you something, Carter. You want to erase your mistakes? That's your business. My conscience is clear. I warned everybody, I threw up the red flag and everybody—including you—shut me down.
In more ways than one, she thinks to herself.
"I'm asking you to put that behind us Jack."
"You're not happy with the way things turned out…I'm sorry to hear that. Personally, I like things the way they are. No more saving the world, just a nice pond with no pesky fish in it, and the single most pressing issue in my life is whether or not to get a dog…There are a lot of pros and cons to consider.
"Jesus, Jack. I'm talking about the future of the human race here"
"So was I." He says defiantly.
"We're doing this and our chances are a lot better with you than without you."
"Let me know how it turns out."
"Jack..."
"Tell me Carter, what does your dearly beloved Ambassador think about all this?"
"I haven't had a chance to tell him yet." She answers truthfully, turning on her heels and walking away.
She makes it to her car, switches on the engine, and leans her head on the steering wheel momentarily. The radio bursts to life and the dulcet tones of Biffy Clyro spill out.
"Our broken fairytale, so hard to hide,
I still believe, it's you and me till the end of time...
When we collide we come together,
If we don't we'll always be apart"
"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me with this." She mumbles to herself.
Jack stands on the porch of his cabin, twisting the fishing wire in his hands watching her walk away from him again and getting into her car.
"Dammit to hell," he mutters and throwing the fishing line down, follows her, watching as she lays her head against the steering wheel. He walks to the driver side door and taps gently on the window, startling her. He tilts his head, beckoning her out of the car. Once she's out and leaning against the closed door, he runs a hand through his hair before speaking.
"Look, Sam, I'm sorry. I'm a grouchy old guy with no fish, no dog and a rather large chip on my creaky old shoulder. You were the last person I expected to see when I rounded that corner."
"I get it," she says quietly. "You didn't want to see me, I should have known better. Daniel should have ... Even Teal'c... Not me..." She trails off.
"I'm glad it was you." He says, taking a step towards her, closing the gap between them some more. "What you said earlier, that if we can get this done, all of this," he says, waving his hand nonchalantly around...
"Won't ever have happened," she finishes.
"None of it will have happened?"
"No, Jack, not yet anyway. Some of it will be inevitable, obviously, but it will go back to where it all started." She clarifies.
"Ok so if none of it will ever have happened, it won't matter if I do this?" He asks, taking a final step towards her and covering her lips with his own.
The last thing Sam expected was for Jack to kiss her. He was still kissing her, she was kissing him back and dammit the man could kiss. She knew she should be feeling guilty but she wasn't and she didn't care. She suddenly knows this is where she should have been all along, like something had always been wrong and Jack kissing her was somehow making it right. His hands reach into her hair, his tongue caressing her lips, begging entrance to her mouth, then dancing with her own. She pulls on his hips and she can feel how hard he is already, pressed against her belly.
The cabin is a mere 15 feet from where they stand, and Sam pushes off the car door and starts walking them backwards towards the privacy of the dwelling. She knows exactly what she wants to do, what she's always wanted to do, but there's no way she's doing it out in the open, against a rented car. Jack takes two steps backwards, but then lifts her, his hands grasping her ass, lips still on hers, and carries her to the cabin, the results of the initial demonstration of the Aschen's healing prowess still evident in his now perfectly healed knees and back. Sam yelps and throws her head back laughing when he swats at her backside as they cross the threshold of the building and Jack kicks the door closed behind them, his lips crashing down on hers once more. She wriggles free of his embrace, and takes a step back, her breathing fast and uncontrolled.
"Wait," she says, and sees the momentary flash of worry on his face. She admires him, from crown to toe, a wicked smile appearing on her face as her gaze lingers a few extra seconds on the quite evident bulge in his jeans.
She closes the gap once more and kisses him softly, pulling a moan from his throat. Her hands wander to his chest, undoing the buttons on his flannel shirt and then to his belly, his breath catching in his throat when she fingers the tiny disk of silver and pops it free. She slowly pulls at the zipper and snakes her hand inside feeling the hard length under the soft cotton of his boxers. He mumbles her name against her lips and she pushes gently on his chest with her free hand until he's flush against the front door.
She sinks to her knees, kissing a trail down his chest as she goes until she's kneeling before him. She positions her hands under the waistband of his boxers and then painfully slowly, runs her hands down his muscular thighs, taking his boxers and jeans with them. His erection springs free and bumps her chin. He chuckles nervously and mutters something like "Sorry, Carter." She doesn't reply, she's too busy focusing on the sight before her, to care about apologies. He's long and thick, and standing as proud as any 25 year old man's cock would be. The only tell tale sign of his age is the tuft of silver hair at the base. The shining silver patch is sexier than anything she's ever seen and she can't help but moan her approval. She runs her fingertips back up his thighs, settling her hands on his hips and looks up into his eyes. Leaning forward, she let's the tip of his cock bump her lips once, then again and then a third time. Jack bites his lower lip and whimpers so licks her lips and snakes her tongue across the head of his cock, wetting it as much as she can. Sam opens her mouth and takes him in slowly, barely an inch before she pulls her mouth away and his cock twitches in anticipation of the next contact with her lips.
"Touch yourself," she says. "Show me what you like." He reaches down, grasps his cock firmly in the centre, and slowly starts to pump his hand up and down the thick shaft. His eyes instinctively close and his head falls back against the door. Watching him pleasuring himself inches from her face is making her belly quiver. She feels a sudden wetness pool between her legs, so she leans forward, takes the head of his cock between her lips and sucks gently. His eyes open suddenly at the unexpected sensation and his hand stills as he stares, mesmerised at the sight before him. She pulls back and watches his technique, how his thumb runs over the very tip, the way his hand tightens when he bottoms out, the little flick of his wrist before he starts the whole slow ascent over again.
"Like what you, ah, see, Carter?" He asks, looking down at her, the words catching in his throat when she reaches for him, wraps her own hand around his, intertwining their fingers,and starts to move them both up and down his shaft, while her mouth follows. He's as hard as she's ever felt any man, yet his skin is so very soft, like warm musky velvet.
She bats his hand out of the way and licks the underside of his cock from base to tip, swirling her tongue around the sensitive head.
"HolyfuckinhshitSam," he moans in one long syllable.
She mimics the same action over again, pumping him as her tongue follows and removes her hand fully, replacing it with her mouth. She takes him in, as much as she can manage in one long motion and his hands fist into her hair, his hips lifting reflexively from the door. She moans, the vibrations causing his cock to twitch in her mouth and her name to fall from his lips in the way she's always wanted it to. She finds a rhythm she's comfortable with, neither fast nor slow, because, despite the fact that she wants to make him spill the most intimate part of him, the longer she can draw this out, the longer she can be with him. His breathing is quickening, his belly tensing under her fingertips and she's sure he's not going to last much longer.
She cups his balls and squeezes gently.
"Sam," he cries, his voice tight with pleasure."I'm close, Sam."
His words cause a giddiness in her that she's never felt and her mouth floods with wetness when she tastes the first drops of his desire, salty and warm.
She sucks him as far into her mouth as she can manage, looks up at his face, watching as her strangled name tumbles from his lips and is then suddenly aware or his hands in her hair, holding her gently in place while he thrusts into her mouth. She feels him still and he spills his release over her lips, a hard gush that drips down her chin and onto the floor between her legs. She laughs; he swears, blowing out a long breath and sinks back against the door.
"Sorry," he says sheepishly, pulling his pants up from around his thighs.
"Sorry for what?"
His eyes fall to her chin and he tilts his head and smiles.
"Ya know," pointing at his own chin.
"Well it was a first, I'll give you that, " she tells him, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a tissue.
"Probably the best god damn 20 minutes of my life Carter. Not gonna lie," he admits, reaching for her hand and helping her to her feet.
He takes her in, studies her face, and she knows he's looking for any hint of regret but he finds none.
She reaches for his face and kisses him. His arms encircle her waist and he pulls her to him, afraid to let go, afraid of losing her all over again. Their lips part moments later and she leans her forehead against his.
"I should go," she says quietly, reaching for the door.
"I don't want you to go."
"Maybe if we fix this," She whispers, kissing him a final time, "I won't ever have to leave again. Maybe we can have a second chance."
He watches as she walks towards her car, and his decision is made in that moment. There is no way the love of his life will ever walk down the aisle with another man again.
He would rather risk his life for a chance of happiness with her, than live the rest of his life without her in it.
***Authors Note- Song referenced is "Many of Horror (When we Collide )" by Biffy Clyro.
I deliberately chose a song that had been released around 2010 and that would have realistically been getting radio AirPlay at the time.
Some lines of dialogue taken from Season 4, Episode 16- "2010"