Authors Note: This is a story set after Jacob's death and Sam's breakup with Pete. I know it's been done to death..but I want to try my hand at it. If it's horrible, I'm so sorry since this is my first foray into writing fanfiction in the Stargate world. I don't know why it's taken me so long to write one.
Disclaimer: I own nothing..but I would love to own Syfy and bring back Stargate Universe so we could get a proper ending.
She couldn't believe he was actually gone. Growing up, she never imagined her life turning out the way it has. There have been good things to happen, mainly everything having to do with the Stargate program. But she never imagined pushing forty and being single, childless and without either parent. It depressed her to think about it really. She only had her brother left, and they weren't close. They were going to have to change that soon; maybe at the funeral.
Day of Jacob's funeral
Sam awoke to a piercing sound and shot up out of a deep sleep. She looked over at her alarm clock and saw that that was the noise. She sighed, turned it off and laid back down. She really didn't want this day to happen. She wished she had a fast forward button to get through it.
Her phone started ringing and she turned over to where it was lying on her bedside table and looked to see who was calling. It was her brother.
Sam answered, trying to sound cheerful. "Hi, Mark-"
Mark sounded angry, cutting her off, "Sam, where the hell are you? You're supposed to pick us up from the airport."
She groaned, "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, it completely slipped my mind, I'll be there in a half hour."
Still sounding angry, he agreed reluctantly and hung up on her.
"This is soo not going to be my day", she mumbled.
She hurriedly threw on some clothes, not really caring if they matched or not, ran a comb through her hair and ran out to her car. She got in, put the key in and turned it. Nothing. Not even a sound of the engine trying to turn over. She hit the steering wheel, "shit!" That's when Sam heard the rumbling of a truck. She lifted her head from where it was lying on the steering wheel and saw General O'Neill's green Ford.
Sam looked down at herself and groaned. She picked a great time to not care about her appearance. She reluctantly got out of her car to see Jack walking towards her looking perfect. Non-baggy clothes on, hair cut short and combed nicely and clean shaven. In other words, like a freaking dream (not that she ever dreams about him). She sighed and walked towards him.
"Sir, what are you doing here?"
He walked closer to her and she saw that he was eying her wardrobe choice of holy jeans and an old oversized Air Force shirt; she was internally dying of embarrassment. He chose not to say anything about it, just smirked and said, "Carter, it's your Dad's funeral today", he rubbed his hand across the back of his neck and sounded unsure about himself, "and I just was on my way to the mountain to make final arrangements for the funeral and came to see how you were doing. So..how are ya doin?"
She blushed, "Of course Sir, I'm Oka-"
Don't lie to me Carter, ya just lost your Dad. It's okay to be upset."
"Really Sir, I'm just glad I got the time with him that I did. It's hard, but not as hard as it would have been if he had died six years ago."
"Good to hear, Carter." They stood there awkwardly for a few seconds just staring at each other. Sam was the first to break the silence.
"Sir, I'm actually glad you're here. I was supposed to pick Mark and his family up from the airport an hour ago and I completely forgot. I went to leave, but my car won't start. Is there any way you could help me out and take me so Mark doesn't have to take a cab? She was embarrassed to ask, but she didn't see any other option at the moment.
Jack smiled, "Of course, I'm happy to help."
She smiled again, "Thanks so much Sir, you're a life saver."
He smirked, "anytime Carter. It's no problem, really."
They headed for his truck and he surprised her by opening her door for her and offering her a hand up into his truck. She took his proffered hand, still extremely embarrassed about her clothing choices, and stepped up into his truck. He further surprised her by patting her knee before closing the door and walking around to his side. "Why all the sudden touching?" She thought.
She didn't have time to ruminate about it though before she felt his hand on her arm again, startling her. "Sorry Carter, didn't mean to scare ya. I was just asking how long your brother was planning on staying?"
"Just today and tomorrow, he has to be back to work by Monday." His hand was still on her forearm, but she didn't mind, so she didn't move her arm or say anything to bring his attention to it.
He nodded his head and moved his arm to turn on the radio, some kind of talk show, and started the truck. She would never say it out loud, but she missed the warmth of his hand when he moved it. She sighed.
They didn't say much on the trip over, mainly talking about work and funeral arrangements. She liked when she got to talk to "Jack" and not the "General". It reminded her of why she fell for him in the first place, and why it was still a messed up situation between them. Neither of them were willing to break the rules, but neither could bring themselves to transfer so they wouldn't be in each other's chains of command. So here they were, stuck in limbo. She leaned her head on the glass and looked out the window at the passing scenery, wishing this day was over with.
They arrived at the airport, actually making really good time considering everything that had happened already. He parked the truck in short-term parking and told her to sit still. She was confused until she realized that he was going to open her door for her again. Pleasantly surprised, she waited and took the hand he once again offered and stepped out of the truck. He closed the door behind her, but didn't let go of her hand. She was wondering what he was playing at, but figured he was just coddling her because she had just lost her Dad.
Just as she was about to pull her hand away he moved his hand and interlocked his fingers with hers. She looked up at him and he stared back at her with an unreadable expression. She was so damn tired of fighting her feelings for him, so she decided that she was just going to enjoy it while it lasted.
They walked hand in hand to the front doors of the airport and started walking to the terminal that Mark and his family had flown into. The airport was really busy and they kept getting jostled by random strangers trying to make their flight. More than once they got pulled apart, and she was getting annoyed. After the third time of that happening, she felt him put his arm around her waist and pull her tight against his side. Once again she looked up at him, and he leaned down and spoke in her ear, "Sorry Carter, this is just so much easier than trying to keep a hold of your hand."
She turned her head and came within inches of his face. She could see the flecks of gold in his dark brown eyes and found herself mesmerized by them. Someone ran into them and broke the spell. She cleared her throat and said, "Sir, what's going on?"
He had an innocent look on his face and said, "what do you mean, Carter?"
She was frustrated. He knew exactly what she meant, but if he didn't want to tell her, she wasn't going to force him. "Never mind, Sir. Let's just go find Mark."
"Sounds good to me, Sam." Once again surprising her by using her first name. Getting increasingly more curious as to what he was playing at.
As they got into view of the gate, he pulled his arm from around her waist and placed his hand on the small of her back.
She quickly spotted her brother and his family and sped up her walk, leaving Jack to fend for himself.
She walked up to her brother and hugged him. "Mark, it's so good to see you."
He hugged her back. "It's good to see you too Sammy. I'm sorry I was so short with you on the phone, it's just been really hard for me since I found out about Dad's death."
She hugged him again and said, "it's ok, I understand completely."
Sam saw Mark's wife, Trisha, and their two kids Colby and Stephanie, and hugged them all in turn.
She saw Mark eying someone behind her and quickly realized that she had forgotten about Jack.
"Mark, this is my commanding officer, General Jack O'Neill. My car broke down and he was kind enough to give me a ride here so I could pick you up.
Mark looked wary, but shook hands with him. He seemed to be sizing Jack up, probably trying to figure out why her commanding officer was willing to take her anywhere.
Jack spoke up, "it's nice to finally meet you, Mark. I've heard nothing about you." He smiled and it seemed to break the ice between the two and they shared a laugh. Jack clapped Mark on the back and turned to Trisha and the two kids and shook their hands as well. "Nice to finally meet all of you." He was smiling.
Mark spoke up, "let's get going, as much as would love to sit and talk, we have a long day ahead of us." Sam agreed and helped them with their luggage. Jack picked up a suitcase and started leading them out of the airport. She was glad that he wasn't being touchy feely with her family around. She was so not in the mood to answer questions about Jack from her family.
She sighed and followed her family to the truck. She really wished it was Monday already.
Author's Note pt. 2: This is just the first part, there's more to come. Was it completely horrible? Please review and let me know how I can improve and what you liked. Oh and whether you think I should continue or not. Thanks for reading! :)