Summary: Jacob Carter had one last thing to do…
Spoilers: Threads
Pairings: Sam/Jack
Author: Angel of Fire SG1
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Blah blah…not mine…
A/N: Just had to write something along these lines…
Bound Threads
Jacob Carter closed his eyes. He'd been stupid to think he could hold on till her wedding. But that was Jacob, he had always been a stupid, determined person. No one could ever persuade him to do other than what he thought was the right thing. He sighed inwardly, he had to hold on for a little longer, he had to know what decision Sam made.
Because at the moment she was making the wrong one…
He heard a noise and opened his eyes, moving his head slightly so he could see the entrance to the room. Jack O'Neill was standing in the doorway, looking cautious. Having decided not to enter the room he turned around to walk back out.
"You can stay Jack," Jacob said, surprised at the way his voice sounded raspy.
"Oh," Jack said as he turned back around. "Thought you were asleep."
"No, Sam just left to have a shower and change into her uniform," Jacob said.
"Ah," Jack said, wandering in slowly, for some reason looking kind of nervous.
"You were looking for her weren't you?" Jacob asked.
The obvious falter in his step as Jacob said it showed that that was exactly what Jack had been doing. "Uh…"
"Don't try denying it, Jack," Jacob said.
Jack winced and walked over, sitting down in the chair next to Jacob's bed. "So, what's wrong…?"
"Selmak's dying," Jacob replied.
Jack's eyes widened slightly, but he hid whatever his full reaction was. Jack was good at that.
'So am I," Jacob added.
"But…can't Selmak do whatever the hell it was that Jolinar did with Carter?" Jack asked.
"It's too late for that," Jacob replied.
Jack mouthed an 'oh' but remained silent for a few moments, fidgeting with his hands.
"I wanted to hold on till the wedding," Jacob said.
Obviously discomfort came over Jack. Exactly what Jacob had expected.
"Jack…" he said.
Jack looked up. "Yeah?"
"Why exactly were you looking for Sam?" he asked.
Blunt, but seemed to work.
Jack looked down at his hands again, before looking up and meeting Jacob's eyes. "She turned up at my house…I had someone over…she was about to say something before Kerry walked out and interrupted her…"
"Any idea what she was going to say?"
"A pretty good one, yeah," Jack looked back down at his hands.
They fell into silence. Jacob watched him for a long time. This was the man his daughter should be marrying. He'd known it since he'd first met the man. There was something between them, even if they hadn't known it at the time, he'd seen it immediately. For a few moments he fell back into the memory of the ceremony, or non-ceremony, where he had first met Jack O'Neill. Boy had everything changed so much since that moment.
Especially Sam. She had grown so much in the years since he'd become a Tok'ra. Or maybe it was that he had gotten to know her as the person she was, rather than his daughter. He really wanted her to be happy.
"I want her to be happy, Jack," Jacob stated.
"What?" he asked, his voice quieter than usual, looking up.
"You heard me," Jacob said.
Jack didn't reply.
"Jack, she loves you."
It was as if someone had fired a gun off in the room. His head shot up and his body went rigid. His expression was unreadable, but to Jacob that said everything it needed to.
"I'm sorry…I…what?"
Jacob smiled slightly. "I know how you feel about each other, Jack…I've always known."
"Yeah," Jack said quietly.
"But I think she needs to hear it from you…"
"I just…wanted to let her have her life. Be happy…she always seemed happy with Pete," Jack sighed.
Again they fell into silence. There was another noise at the entrance to the room and they both looked to see Sam walk into the room. She stopped when she noticed Jack.
"Sir…I…uh, what're you doing here?" she asked.
She was nervous, Jacob observed. He watched the interaction carefully, always curious.
"Just coming to say hi to Dad," Jack replied, standing up.
Sam looked at Jacob.
He could see her thinking. Why did he object to Pete calling him 'Dad' but not to Jack. He hoped she took it as a hint.
"But I'll let you two have some private time," Jack said, moving away from the bed, avoiding looking directly at Sam.
"Jack," Jacob called after him.
He stopped and turned back to look at Jacob.
"Remember what I said…"
"Always," Jack replied.
Sam looked curiously between the two of them, before moving to the chair next to Jacob's bed and sitting down. Jacob didn't miss the caring glance Jack gave Sam before he walked out of the room. He turned his attention back to his daughter.
"Hi Dad," she said.
He smiled at her. "Hi kiddo…"
"Did you make it to Mark's?" she asked.
He nodded slightly. "Just got back when I checked myself in here."
OoO
Tag'ri stood by his side, he knew who it was, but he wasn't paying much attention to what Tag'ri was saying. Instead he was watching his daughter, worrying about her, hoping she would understand what he'd been trying to tell her. His heart leapt for joy as he saw Jack walking into the observation room and sitting next to Sam.
For a few moments they just sat there, in silence. Then he could see them talking, Sam was crying. He was glad Jack was there and not someone else. He felt even more glad as Jack placed his arm around her, drawing her towards him.
What struck him as the most surprising thing was that Sam took his hand in hers and pulled it towards her face, leaning her head against it. She was rubbing her thumb across the back of his hand, at least Jacob could swear that's what she was doing, he could barely see it. Jack was staring at her, that he could see clearly enough.
He spoke and she turned to look at him briefly, before resting her head again on his hand.
In that moment Jacob knew, his job there was done. He whispered to Tag'ri to get Sam.
Suddenly she was by his side. Everything was going blurry, he was letting go.
"I love you," he managed to say.
Sam leaned down and he felt her kiss his forehead.
Then everything went dark.
Jacob Carter died knowing his daughter would be happy.
He died being happy…