Title: Ain't No Sunshine
Author: MotatoPotato
Spoilers: vague 7-9.
Season: 10
Warnings: SJ Ship. Companion to 'Lean on Me.' Some language, some very mild sexual stuff - not much though.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Sadly. I only twist what is there.
Notes: This is the seventh in a series of same universe vignettes. Mild reference "Here's to Gramps"
Please tell me what you think...it's how I improve. Also thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I'm overwhelmed by the responses. Enjoy!
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Jack was staring blankly at the tabletop. Oh yes. She was evil. He had to stop this train of thought now. General Hammond sumo wrestling. Teal'c playing rugby in a dress. Baal giving Hathor a lap dance. //Oh yeah. That one did it.// He sighed inwardly as the pressure eased slightly. Carter was off limits in important diplomatic meetings. Evil woman.
Bad Jack.
He discreetly checked his watch again. Oh yeah, he so wasn't making it. Sam was gonna be disappointed. Knowing she'd understand didn't make him feel better about it though. He needed to think up an excuse to leave for a few minutes to call her. //Hmm. Carter giving him a la..// D'oh.
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Two weeks prior…
"Jack! You here?" Sam opened the door and looked around. Her eyes settled on the long jean-clad legs hanging over the edge of the couch. Jack popped his head over the back of the couch looking rumpled, sleep kissed and utterly adorable. His eyes were still heavy with slumber.
Nonetheless a smile snapped in their depths as she came over and, unable to stop herself, ruffled his hair as she sat. He looked up at her surprised. Sam wiped the expression from his face as she stroked both cheeks and drove every sane thought from his head with her lips and tongue.
When they broke apart they sat for a moment in silence sitting together, shoulder to shoulder.
"Jack?"
He met her eyes lazily. "Hmmm?"
She smiled. "I got invited to speak at Georgetown."
Jack smirked. "They just want to for your big br...ains."
She slapped him gently. "The Academy reunion is being held in DC the same weekend. An old friend of mine, Melissa, is going and pleaded with me to attend until I broke down."
Jack shifted his arms so they were spread in both directions along the back of the couch. He saw her slight hesitation and preempted her potential discomfort. "And you want me to go with?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Since I'm there I want to spend the time with you, but I'd also like to…" Jack waved his hand dismissively from behind Sam.
"I'll try and clear my schedule." They fell back into silence, enjoying the simple contact and each other's presence.
Sam again was the first to speak, wanting dinner. "Hungry?" Her body sprang to life at the immediate feral and wholly primal look, oozing with promises, that roared to life in his eyes. Before she had time to react (which is saying a whole hell of a lot) Jack was striding towards the bedroom with her slung over his shoulder. He was growling softly as he stroked her thighs daring her to fight.
She just grinned, trying not to moan as he wreaked havoc with her senses, and just bided her time. He'd get his.
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Present day...
So her talk had been the previous evening. The geeks had loved her and Jack nearly scoffed out loud at that thought. //Who doesn't love her?// He was supposed to meet her for this Academy thingy at 1900. Now it was 1845 and he was still in the damn meeting. He'd snuck out half an hour ago claiming a 'facilities' break. He'd almost said 'crapper' just to see how the stiffs reacted.
When he had called she'd sounded so cheerful. He'd never told her, but it secretly thrilled him that she always sounded happy to hear from him. Sometimes calling her lab at the SGC she'd answer sounding daggers. Only to do a 180 when she heard his voice. //God he was a lucky (and undeserving) bastard.// He shifted restlessly.
Which is why he was feeling distinctly reluctant to tell her. "Sam, I'm so sorry but I'm stuck h…"
She interrupted. "It's okay." His felt a pang of sadness as the happiness dimmed. He knew she was disappointed. Hell, he was disappointed and he hated parties like that.
"Carter…" She took a deep breath. Jack was not one for terms of endearment. Unless it was her last name said in a tone that made her heart skip a beat every damn time. She knew he was disappointed and frustrated.
So, she swallowed her own while the affection rose up. "Sir…" She practically purred and he shivered involuntarily. "We'll just have to meet up at home later, won't we."
Jack felt a rush of some overwhelming emotion he couldn't name. "Carter," The name washed over her. "Have I told you lately?"
She closed her eyes and smiled into her phone. "Have I?" she asked. His low chuckle brought on another twinge of regret and love. Both feeling let down they reluctantly hung up.
Jack dragged his feet as he trudged back to his meeting, the bane of his existence.
So here he sat, tired and frustrated listening to some guy from bumbletown in some country so small he'd never heard of it, unreasonably demanding unreasonable things with no leverage whatsoever. Jack mentally rolled his eyes. This could go on all night.
Sweet.
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Sam walked slowly up the stairs wishing he could have come. She reached to fiddle with her ring in unconscious reassurance. Only to panic momentarily until she remembered Jack took it to be engraved for their first anniversary. She smiled remembering his mischievous grin as he told her he was taking her ring back.
Sam was drawn from her pleasant thoughts when she heard someone calling her. "Sam? Sam Carter?" She whirled around to face Melissa Jenkins. She broke into a grin and hugged her tightly. She never got to see Melissa, but they'd been emailing and writing letters since they graduated, confiding wholly (in Sam's case a bit less so) in each other.
"Where's Pete?"
Sam looked stunned. "What? Pete?"
Melissa gave her an odd look. "Didn't you marry the guy? You said you were bringing your husband.."
She suddenly realized she must have left the breakup out of their correspondence. "Oh, no I…"
She was interrupted smoothly by another woman. "Now, now, making up husbands? Sam, darling, it's fine. You're a scientist. Married to your research. It's nothing to be ashamed of."
Sam gritted her teeth as she smiled, outwardly serene. "Hello Beth." The other woman reached for a hug which she politely returned. Melissa made a face behind the woman's back and Sam desperately tried not to laugh. Beth had gone out of her way to try and ruffle Sam throughout their years at the academy. It seemed not to have changed much. What Beth had been doing at the Academy had been a mystery until Sam heard that six months out she had married a General and promptly resigned.
Sam just smiled. "It's so nice to see you again, Beth." Melissa had headed towards the refreshment bar and Sam excused herself from Beth and her semi-pathetic posse and followed.
She sighed loudly. Melissa laughed. "So Mel, how's Bill?"
Her friend grinned widely. "He's wonderful. Just got a professorship at Harvard, if you can imagine."
Sam was genuinely pleased, thinking about Melissa's soft-spoken and friendly husband. "You sure got lucky with that one, Mel."
"Tell me about Pete," Mel broke the silence.
"Okay." Sam gathered her thoughts together. "One thing to clear up. Do you remember in my letters the guy I would mention from time to time?"
Melissa looked confused. "Daniel?"
Sam shook her head. "The guy...?"
Melissa's eyes grew wide. "The one you refused to name? Yes..."
Sam sighed. "I never told you, but the reason we never did or could have anything was because he was my CO. A little more than a year ago I transferred and we weren't in the same chain anymore." Melissa's mouth opened a bit in shock.
"Your CO?! You talked about both of them in your letters Sam! That was really clever!"
A smiled graced Sam's lips. "Stay with me, Mel. I broke up with Pete just after my dad died." She paused. "Jack and I married, a couple of months after the breakup, after an impromptu visit to 'talk'... " She smirked remembering the kiss that led to the brain numbing night that led to the road trip to Vegas. "...About our possibilities."
"We did it just in time too. He got promoted and transferred to the Pentagon a week later, to a position that put me back under him." Then she chuckled wickedly. "Not in a good way, though."
Melissa laughed knowingly and laid a hand on her arm, squeezing gently. "I'm glad you got it right, finally. Now where is this hot guy that I've been hearing about for so long?"
Sam's face dropped almost imperceptibly. "Stuck in a meeting."
Melissa smiled sympathetically. "Do I get to meet him tomorrow? You should bring him to lunch!"
Her face brightened. "I'm sure he'd love to. I need to check first though, I won't ask if he's too exhausted. He'd never admit it and come anyways."
Mel smiled. "I've never seen you like this." They both fell silent a moment.
Sam looked at Melissa when she started chuckling like crazy. "Don't look now but Beth looks like she's about to skin someone alive. Some suit just gave her the brush off big time."
Sam smiled a bit. "Yeah well, look at her husband." They both shrugged.
Mel rolled her eyes. "That's happens when marrying for power and money. There's no love."
Sam sighed sadly. "I can't help but feel bad for her. She doesn't know what she's missing."
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Jack placed his pen down, completely fed up. He interrupted surprisingly diplomatically and then continued. "Listen fellas, I have a proposal..."
Ten minutes later it was all he could do not to run down the hallway towards the exit. What he was doing was vital to the SGC and the planet, he knew it was. He continued to do it although he really didn't like it because Sam, Danny, Earth and Teal'c needed him to have their backs. He would always watch them if he had anything to say about it. He shook his head as he stepped into the cool night air and glanced at his watch.
He started to smile a bit. He hopped in his truck (nobody here could understand why he insisted on driving it when he could have a perfectly good car and driver) and headed for the hotel where the Academy party was being held. Hopefully she was still there.
Fifteen minutes later he was climbing the stairs oblivious to the looks he was getting.
He was exhausted. But he really didn't want to wait to see her for her to get home. Jack wondered again at what a lucky bastard he was.
He couldn't always tell her what she was to him. Or how to talk about most thing emotional. He did try but he always knew how to show her. In fact that was often how they held discussions; with a touch or a look. He called her Carter fairly often which had people scratching their heads. To him it was a reminder of how long they had loved. The love that had managed not to fail or pass in nine long years of untouchability. He couldn't always give her what she deserved. But he would tell her any way he could. She understood.
That really was the thing. She knew him better than anyone ever had. Where most people simply saw the face he put on she could find the truth, as he could in her. It surprised him to no end that she knew what he needed before he himself often figured it out. God, he wanted to see her this damn second.
Finally reaching the ballroom doors he signed in and slipped inside scanning the crowd. An hand slipped along the arm. Jack looked down absently. He had know someone was there but he also knew it wasn't Sam.
Sam who always sent a feeling through him the second they were in the same room. A coy smile greeted him. He carefully untangled himself at the first touch and continued scanning, as she spoke to him. "What on earth is a man like you..." She eyes the stars and multitude of medals on his jacket. "Doing here at a party like this?"
He spared her a glance and a mental eye roll at the cliche. "Lookin for someone."
Her eyes narrowed and Jack turned, rolling his eyes for real out of her line of sight. "I'm Beth. So happy to meet such a handsome man here." She noticed with satisfaction there wasn't a wedding band. She of course couldn't know that Jack had just gotten them back from the jeweler and had absently forgotten to replace it.
"Jack."
"So, you feel like getting out of this place? I know a..." Her face deepened in a scowl as he turned back to her distractedly.
"No thanks...It was nice talking to you." He gave her a slight smile, unbuttoned his jacket and ducked around in an arc towards Sam, privately relishing the element of surprise. As he approached her he shook his head a bit at the redhead speaking with his wife. She looked at him strangely and Sam turned only to find herself face to face with Jack.
Her eyes opened wide. "Jack!" His eyes deepened with affection. She wrapped her arms around his chest and squeezed. Turning back around his grip rested around her waist and her hand found its way under his jacket to his. "Melissa this is Jack."
Melissa looked as though she were trying not to laugh. "What?" Sam asked.
She ignored her and turned to Jack. "Pleasure. I see you've met Beth..."
He gave her a lopsided smirk. "Pleasure's all mine. Yes, Briefly."
Sam snuggled into his side and the two looked at each other a long moment. Mel had an unsettling feeling they were conversing. "Mel, I think we're gonna go. We still on for lunch? You can get to know Jack a bit better then?" She nodded her agreement.
Watching them leaning together she felt a smile erupt. They were even moving in sync. Must be a field thing. Maybe a love thing. She shrugged to herself. Maybe both. She did see Beth glaring and then slipping out after them. She rolled her eyes. Some things never change.
When they reached Jack's truck he spun her gently so her back was to it. His body leaned into hers, one hand flat on the surface by her head, one on her waist trailing up to her hair. His lips hovered a moment before brushing a kiss across her lips.
She brought her arms to circle his neck. Jack's eyes started to twinkle with humor. "You got me into trouble," he said dryly. "I couldn't have stood for most of the meeting, even if I'd had too."
She grinned widely. "So you found them, huh?"
His eyes narrowed playful. "Oooh yeah."
She smirked knowingly. "There's more where those came from."
Jack moaned roughly as she yanked him down for a kiss. Totally evil of her to stick those innocent white lace scraps into his pocket. He pressed her fully into the door. Sam groaned as something hard hit her rib. "Jack what's in your pocket?"
He grinned. "Oh yeh. Look what I picked up." He pulled out their rings.
She smiled brilliantly. "So do I get to know what you put on them?" He kissed her and slipped hers back on her finger, and then his on as well.
She smacked him playfully and first pulled his off to look at the inside band. Her breath caught. There was one word. Carter. Slowly sliding it back on his finger she pulled her own off. Her eyes snapped to meet his which were raking over her face intently. Again, only one word. Sir. From anyone else she would be furious and offended.
The thing was, he didn't mean it in a possessive or dominating way. These were words they had used for years. Symbols. Even though they could be Jack and Sam now, they had begun with Sir and Carter. It was the last thing she expected to find written, and yet it was now the only thing she could have imagined.
He felt himself being flipped and knocked backwards as she took possession of his lips. He grunted and pulled her close as she stood between his slightly parted thighs. She pulled back and dragged her lips along the lines of his neck and whispered breathlessly "Awaiting orders, Sir." Jack was stunned not only by her playful words but by the bolt of highly erotic shivers that hit him forcefully. Sam felt him shuddering. "Or should I be Sir tonight..." Jack's already darkened eyes were now pools of black.
"Guess we'll just have to take turns," He breathed into her ear, chuckling huskily as he felt her knees give slightly. Nipping at her jaw, he swung her up and opened the door, tossing her up onto the seat and forced her in backwards to scoot down the bench. She started laughing as he said "Sooo, I take it you like the rings...OOOF!" He grunted as she pushed him playfully against the door.
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Beth watched from where she was standing across the street. She had come to give Sam a hard time, feeling the sting to her pride. But she stopped short as she watched them whisper and laugh, kiss and brushing. She wanted to turn but couldn't make herself. She watched as he slipped a ring on her, and then her stunned look of love as she fingered and read them.
She was suddenly sad, knowing what she'd missed out on in her marriage. That man must be something. She'd always been jealous of Sam. So pretty and smart. He was handsome, very easy on the eyes. But there must be more, so much more, for him to have landed her. Beth squeezed her eyes in sorrow, in a grudging happiness for Sam, and in envy.
She watched as they moved, every movement screaming love, hurriedly into the truck and drive off, Sam's laughter hanging in the night. Beth pulled herself together and made her way back into the hotel. She had a husband to call.