Threadbare
by Bren Ren
Rating: PG
SPOILERS: Season Eight, Spoiler-based for the ep, Threads
Disclaimer: Not mine, not making anything more than the delighted smiles of my readers!
Summary:Ironically enough, this was written prior to the much-anticipate episode, before we knew the fate of Jacob Carter. And this is a scene we'llnever see at the end of Threads. Buthope springs eternal... There's always flashbacks!
Threadbare
by Bren Ren
She sat in the dark briefing room for a long time, collecting her thoughts, trying to get a solid grip on her emotions. She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there, it could have been for hours now. Her mind was in turmoil, her thoughts racing on too many tracks at once. Over and over, she's been telling herself, "If you can just get through the next few days... it will get better..."
This too shall pass.
Sam gasped. For the first time in longer than she could remember, she heard her mother's voice. Clear as a bell, soft and warm, ringing in her ears. Samantha closed her eyes, inhaling slowly and deeply. A small calm began to fill her, but it was gone the moment she opened here eyes once again.
She watched the frenzy of activity below with blank eyes, not really seeing what was happening until General O'Neill entered the room. Her heart knew it before her brain had fully registered his presence. It skipped a beat, then another, then started racing, pumping her blood through her body fast and hot. She watched him, not daring to blink, nearly holding her breath, as the Gate engaged and one of the SG teams ran through. She watched O'Neill speak with a technician, then finally leave the room right after the Gate was deactivated. He would be returning to his office now. It was time.
She turned away from the window, walked around the long table and left the room. She walked through the narrow corridors with even, measured steps. She acknowledged all the countless well wishes and condolences absently, her mind already reaching the destination her body was traveling towards. There were too many things she wanted to say, but none of them fit quite right. When it came to scientific techno babble, she could prattle on for hours. When it came to matters of the heart, her tongue twisted into knots, the butterflies waging war inside her stomach made it hard to choke back the flood of emotions threatening to wash her away.
She reached the base commander's office and tried to swallow her heart back down into her ribcage. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. After an interminable pause, she heard a grumbled "Come in!" from inside. She opened it slowly, hesitating when she saw him sitting behind his desk.
"Carter? Can I help you?"
As soon as he looked up and saw her, he dropped his pen down on the six-inch stack of paperwork in front of him. She stepped fully into the room and closed the door behind her. She was certain she looked terrible, her eyes still puffy and swollen from crying, her complexion unusually pale, dark circles under her eyes. What she didn't know, couldn't know, was how achingly beautiful she appeared to him now.
Instead of taking a seat, as he indicated, she turned to look at the photographs and honorariums hanging on the walls. She walked the small perimeter of the room, finally pausing to touch one picture of an early American space capsule.
"Hard to believe we've come so far in so little time..." Her voice was a soft murmur.
Jack had watched her silently, giving her the time she needed to voice her thoughts. To say the last few days were sheer hell would be a gross understatement. There was a small, private place in his heart that was bleeding for her. When she finally turned to face him, the hardness he saw in her eyes caught him completely off guard.
"I just wanted to let you know, I'll be leaving for San Diego in the morning, 06:00. Thank you again for letting me be the one to tell him. I know it's not exactly... standard protocol, but... I really need to be the one to tell him."
"It was no problem. A nightmare in the paperwork department, but no problem." He paused, needing to say something more, but cautious and wary of her. "If there's anything you need... anything I can do..."
Her eyes softened suddenly. "You have no idea how much that means to me." She looked down, unable to speak for a moment. When she lifted her eyes again, she bared her soul to him for just a moment, and as always, she stole his breath away. Her next words were very soft, very slow, and very deliberate.
"I gave him back his ring." She paused to let the words ring in the air between them. "It never fit right. I thought you should know." The gauntlet had been thrown down. She turned and walked around his desk, got all the way to the door and had her hand on the knob before he spoke.
"Sam." She stopped. Turned around, eyes closed. Very slowly, she opened them to meet his gaze. "When you get back... give me a call."
For a split second, she thought she caught a glimpse of his heart and soul. She braved a small smile, a slight nod, then she turned around, opened the door, and walked away. She left the door wide open; she left Jack with a smile that was full of hope.
The end...?
Love and hot fudge,
Bren Ren
