The Shipper's Anthology of Penguin Literature
Contributors: XFChemist, selene0789, amaradangeli, sasha713, fems, Cairistiona, Wild Flower, hlndncr, A. Karswyll, Akamaimom, and trinity3
Disclaimer: The contributors claim no rights to these characters. No remuneration of any kind has been exchanged in relation to this work of fiction. All rights are retained by the legal owners of the Stargate franchise, its subsidiaries, licensees and assigns.
This is a series of drabbles, all approximately 100 words, that were written in celebration of the Tenth Annual Sam/Jack Ship Day on the GateWorld Forum. Each chapter has a theme and each of the stories in that chapter somehow relate to or follow that theme. In addition to prose, some stories also include a haiku. The stories may be happy, sad, sweet or a little naughty (but still T rated or below). Together they showcase the many facets of the beautiful relationship shared by Sam and Jack throughout the years.
Chapter 1: Lost in a Storm
By XFchemist
Years ago he was lost and alone, like a boat in a storm.
He saw only darkness around him.
No light.
No hope.
Then she came in his life.
Her smile like a beacon for his lonely and scarred soul.
Her loving kindness enfolded his spirit, easing his pain.
The shadows of his past began to release their grip on his aching heart.
He learnt that to keep living was worth it if she was in his life.
She was his rock, his harbour.
He left the tempest behind his shoulders.
Now, lying in her arms, he knew he was finally home.
By selene0789
For years she played it safe. Focusing on school, then the military, she gave everything she had, and still it wasn't enough. Nothing was ever given back.
But it was predictable, soothing in its regularity. She knew where she was, knew her purpose.
Then, one day, it all changed. No. Not one day. Nothing so finite. It happened so slowly, she barely felt it happen. With a nudge and a smirk, she slid deeper into the stormy chaos of emotion until there was no longer a her and him. It was a them.
And she was lost.
By amardangeli
She looked out at the wide spaces around her. Rain fell in sheets so she could scarcely see. Thunder boomed milliseconds after lighting split the sky. Somewhere, out there, the colonel was holed up underneath one of the large bushes that dotted the plain.
She'd relished the opportunity to go off-world with him. Alone. And here they were, just an hour away from the nearest miss of a kiss they'd never had.
Rain soaked her clothes and water pushed the feel of his hands down her arms to settle with the heavy fabric of her trousers on her hips. Perfect.
By sasha713
She had always felt that he was her safe harbour. The one person that would keep her tethered when everything was swirling around her like a tempest. The eye of her storm. Completely calm in the face of the chaos that darkened their existence.
She had come to associate him with safety. With the unflinching belief that he would always be there, no matter what storm threatened to jolt them apart. Because that was just what they did for each other.
When she was lost, he was the guiding light that brought her home. And to her, that was more important than any words.
By fems
Jack:
He had spent most of his adult life serving his country. Did some damn distasteful things.
Some threatened to overwhelm him. Stained his soul.
Losing his little boy by that fatal gunshot had sent him over the edge.
His first mission through the Stargate gave him back his sanity.
The second a new life.
Unlikely friends.
Her.
At first he'd thought nothing of how her smile chased away the lingering darkness.
Until they were separated by a force field. Realization came crashing down on him in a storm of emotions.
He couldn't leave her behind.
Never.
He loved her.
Always.
Sam:
She was a woman in a man's world. Had to work twice as hard to prove herself. Get less credit.
The pressure and expectations made her strive for success.
It paid off.
She was assigned to SGC.
He turned her world upside down by simply trusting her.
Without the pressure she thrived.
She fell hard for him. Couldn't imagine life without him.
It was complicated yet simple.
He was the safe haven when she got lost in the storm.
It was more than that.
He accepted her for who she was.
Would rather die than lose her.
It was love.
By Cairistiona
She was talking now what felt for him like hours. Something about solar flares and magnetic fields. He wondered if he could go to the cabin for the weekend.
'Sir!'
He realized that she had addressed him several times now.
'What?'
'Everything ok?'
'Sorry Carter, I must have got lost in this storm of science somehow.'
By Wild Flower
The wind was howling and the rain was pouring.
Yet here they were, holding each other like the world had dropped away and left them alone in this moment.
He could feel the water pouring over her back but his lips were on hers and it didn't matter.
She felt the thunder crash in her chest but all she knew was his body crushed against hers.
They could have been in any storm on any world in the universe.
Yet, like a force of nature their love was timeless and infinite.
By hlndncr
Lock'd in her embrace
Rescue comes by faithful friends.
The storm rages on.
Their shelter was barely a hole in the ground with a thicket for cover. The whole sky seemed to catch fire in an instant. They lost their packs in a mudslide. There was no time to return to the gate or find Daniel and Teal'c. Entwined together for protection, Sam tried to explain the phenomena, a way to push back her fears. Jack let her technobabble sooth away his own.
After the tempest their teammates found them cold, drawn, and clinging to one another.
With effort they trudged back to the gate, not letting go until they were safely home.
By A. Karswyll
"Listen to this," Sam complained, "'they were lost in a storm of passion'—"
Jack plucked the book from her hands and held it over the end of the couch.
"Hey! Jack, give that back!" Sam squirmed over him.
"Nah-uh," Jack wiggled his eyebrows at her.
"Jaack," Sam stretched further and protested nosily when Jack dropped the book onto the floor and wrapped his arms around her. Flush in body and face, her breath caught at the intense look in his eyes.
"Forget the book," Sam breathlessly murmured and got lost in the storm of passion her husband could create.
By Akamaimom
For a moment, the world shifted. He could see her in the muddle of it, just behind the machine, her eyes his salvation. He couldn't breathe. Couldn't speak. His jaw clenched against the whirlwind of realization that crested within.
He'd rather be anywhere than here—rather be lost in an actual maelstrom than sit bound to this chair with her cerulean gaze boring into his soul.
"Why?" The other voice seemed to come from beyond the storm.
He battled-only to surrender to the chasm he saw before him.
"Because I care about her."
Falling.
Falling.
Lost.
By trinity3
He should run from it. This feeling. It was wrong on every level but the one that transcended right and wrong.
Jack knew he loved Sam, whether he could admit it out loud or not. Together they'd been through dog fights, ambush, torture, death and life; but even then, in the midst of the chaos, he'd never lost his center.
Yet, sitting alone now, in the torturous tranquility of his living room without Sam, Jack couldn't explain why he felt like he was somehow, lost in a storm.