Rating: K
Characters: Jack O'Neill and Sam Carter
Disclainer: I don't own them, ok? Plots, OC's, never-before-seen planets/people/critters etc, yes - this are mine. But I only borrow the team.
Author's Note: One of my earliest fics for SG1 written at the beginning of April 07, this was born after watching the episode of the same name. My first ship.
Beneath The Surface
He felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle and a small smile graced his lips. She was looking at him again. He knew it was her – it felt different. He wasn't sure what it felt different to but he didn't feel threatened by her watching him. Hell…he wished he could watch her more. When he got the chance, he would look out from under his lashes, from the corner of his eye, and follow her around the plant. She always moved with a graceful purpose, even when she was exhausted. And she never stopped thinking of ways to help people, to improve the plant. He was impressed. He was more than impressed.
She watched him. Half the time she didn't even realise she was doing it but she watched him. If he moved to pick up a tool, she saw it. If he stretched she noted which muscles he was easing. When he stood up and turned round, she was always careful not to be looking at him, but she knew he knew she had. She couldn't stop herself. She had tried, although she didn't know why. She told herself that any relationship down here was going to be difficult – the noise, the heat, no where to go for privacy – but it didn't stop her from watching him. It didn't stop her from wondering if he watched her.
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He was watching her. She didn't know how she knew but she was sure that if she turned, he would be staring at her. A cool thrill crept up her spine and she tried not to shiver – she didn't want him to realise she could feel his eyes on her. When she turned around, she caught his gaze. He didn't even blink, just raised an eyebrow and half-smiled as if to say 'Well? You caught me. You okay?'
She was smiling. She'd caught him staring and she was smiling. She didn't mind. It was such a relief to know that she didn't mind. And considering that she had moved to work closer beside him, it seemed that whatever he was feeling was echoed in that fast-moving brain of hers. And when his fingers brushed the back of her hand, she didn't flinch away. But she did smile.
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She was waiting for her meal. Standing just in front of him. Both so aware of the other being there. If he moved forward half a step, he could almost smell her hair. If she slowed just a little, she could feel the heat of his body behind her. They both had to swallow hard and bear down on their feelings. It wouldn't do for the newest people to the plant to be seen getting too close. When she stumbled on her way to a seat, his hand shot out, wrapping around her arm, steadying her. When she smiled up at him gratefully, his heat thumped, the softness of her face and the colour of her eyes stabbing at him. She caught the brief flash in his eyes, knew that he was as jolted by her as she was by him. But it wouldn't do, it really wouldn't do.
When that poor man got Nightsick and began shouting and screaming at them, it was he who stepped up. Jonah. She watched as he moved in front of her, protecting her a little. She thought she should be annoyed but it made her feel protected. She knew that he would do what he could and let her get involved if she wanted to. He knew that she, Thera, would watch his back while he dealt with the threat, trusted her to do the right thing while his attention was elsewhere. In that moment, the pair of them recognised something in each other and just as quickly dismissed it. He could see that. It wouldn't do. They really couldn't do.
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A few days. In the few days from that first recognition, the strength of their bond grew. Deliberately brushing past one another. Fingers touching when there was no real need. Small smiles as they caught each others' gaze and unspoken comments would drift in the air between them. He would make her laugh with his quirky humour, she making him smile with her plans. He knew she was brilliant, that she could improve the plant so much. And she knew that whatever happened he would be in her corner, backing her, fighting for her. It was only a matter of time – they were both content to wait.
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They'd known each other for a while, he was sure. Not like this, not so comfortable. This was new. Sitting together at meals, working as close as they could. Little looks, little smiles, awkward moments of saying things without actually saying them. And when lights went out, sneaking away to sit together, his arm around her, just savouring a moment. This was new to them, he was sure. He felt content, sitting there, her head on his shoulder. She felt safe, his arm around her, pressed in against his side. She simply enjoyed the closeness, the smell of him, the feel of him – strong, sturdy – and would sigh softly. That's when he would look down at her face, her sleepy face, and smile, brushing a kiss on her forehead before making sure she was awake and sneaking back to their bunks. He would smile at her, the pleasure he got from being with her turning his eyes to molten chocolate. And she would smile back, her feelings turning her eyes to liquid topaz.
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Just a few days. It was only a few days. But it had been a glimpse of what could have been, what would have been if their situations had been different. When they looked at each other now, their faces were closed, their eyes veiled. They were faced with reality – the looks, the meals, the stolen moments after lights out had been a dream, a holiday from the real world. A brief interlude of simplicity amongst the sea of chaos upon which they sailed.
Themselves once more. Bound by rules. Trapped again as the major and the colonel. And no words to express the sorrow they both felt, the pain of having been allowed a look into the mirror to see a different reflection of their lives…and having to leave that mirror behind.