Of Accidents and Cake
By: ShipperWriter
Summary: Sam has an accident and a secret. Jack has a secret ... and cake?
This is a fic I started writing a long time ago and never finished. Til now. My first official published S/J fic!
Dedicated to S/J Thread on GateWorld Forums.
All reviews appreciated. Might motivate me to dust off all my other S/J fics ... wink wink!
She didn't want to sleep.
Every time that she started to shut her eyes, she saw the black mountain she was driving against, the headlights of the other car blinding her eyes as she steered away from it, away from the khaki colored flash. She let out a strangled gasp and before she even had time to turn her head, the nose of the government issued vehicle had run into the guardrail against the inner curve.
The horn started blaring repeatedly - or was it something else? A constant blip. That blip was the only thing that told her that she was still alive . . . At least, that's what she kept telling herself as the sounds around her told her of her situation: she was in a hospital.
"Carter," she heard a quiet whisper among the throngs of people who had gathered. She opened her eyes, almost too suddenly, adjusting to the light, and saw a gray haired head making his way through the nurses and doctors and patients that crowded the Colorado Springs emergency room. And just like that, life started moving at full speed past her.
"'Cuse me, comin' through," he shouted at people, trying to force them out of his way.
She smiled slightly, not sure if what she was seeing was real or a figment of the concussion the doctor told her she had received due to the crash. She sat perched on the right side of the exam bed, watching as he came at her from the doors, and giggled as she watched Jack pull out his Air Force identification card, wave it around a few times, and the way opened up for him.
"Finally," he mumbled at them as he cantered up to her, arms flying around her but gently, mindful of her recent injuries. "God, Carter, you all right?"
She nodded her head against his chest. "Yes, sir - Jack - I'm fine. Really."
He planted a kiss atop her blonde, slightly disheveled head and looked at her, taking her face in his hands. He studied her face, her eyes with his brown ones. "You scared the crap outta me," he admitted softly.
"It was just a deer," she insisted. "And those Tahoes can take quite a beating. I'm fine, really."
"The deer survived, by the way." His lips quirked in a smile. It was amazing, the level of trust between them. They knew each other well enough that, even if they didn't give a completely honest reply, they could read between the lines and know the truth. Sam could think of anyone else she knew that had that kind of relationship with someone.
"Good." She knitted her hands back together as Jack rubbed her right shoulder, kissing her forehead.
"Ms. Carter?"
The kindly but young doctor stood at the foot of the bed, holding her chart. He smiled at the two of them. "Your husband, I presume?"
Jack smiled rather proudly as he extended his hand. "Jack O'Neill. And you are?"
"Dr. Simpson. I attended to your wife when she came in."
Jack gaped for a minute, then composed himself. "Homer?"
Sam elbowed him, then looked at the doctor with a "sorry-but-he's-really-only-five-years-old" look in her eyes.
He accepted it with a smile. "I wish. No, sadly enough, my first name is Luke. But," he added, glancing between the couple, "you can call me Homer if it'll make you feel better."
Jack grinned. "I like you, Doc."
"Doc works as well," Luke replied, smiling back and focusing again on his patient. "Well your x-rays came back, no skull fractures as we had assumed. You do have a slightly mild concussion, which I would recommend some TLC to help fix that. You told me that your doctor had ordered no unnecessary bloodwork, but I would recommend seeing them as soon as you can for a more complete physical. Otherwise, we can go ahead and discharge you."
"That's it? Really?" Sam asked as she stood up, feeling slightly disoriented but staying upright.
"Yep. You be safe driving home, and enjoy the new episode tonight, sir," he added, extending his hand to Jack.
He smirked. "Thanks, Doc, really appreciate everything you've done."
"No problem. I enjoyed having a cooperative and upfront patient . . . For once." Smiling, he faded away into the medley of ER personnel as Sam grabbed her purse and held Jack's arm on the way out the door.
"I'm amazed that he didn't want any bloodwork from you, Sam," Jack remarked once they were outside at his truck.
"Well, I told him that my doctor had me on blood thinners, and he called Dr. Lam and confirmed it, so he let it go. Jack, I think she might have told him something else."
"Oh?" he asked, settling into his seat and making sure his wife had her seatbelt fastened. "And what could Dr. Lam have possibly told Dr. Simpson that would have made him skip procedure like that?"
"That I am taking Lovenox. And I'm a high risk pregnancy."
Jack had just dropped the transmission into drive but his wife's words stopped him and he slammed it back into park.
"You're what?" he asked, incredulous at the words coming out of her mouth, jerking his head to look at her.
"Carolyn just confirmed it. Right before I left," she quietly confirmed. "I'm pregnant."
Jack's grey head turned straight back forward, staring out into nothing. And for the longest time, he couldn't hear anything coming from him. No heavy breathing. Almost no breathing.
"Jack. Breathe, please?"
"Yeah," he said nonchalantly, putting the truck back into drive. "Yeah."
The drive back to the SGC was silent. Sam kept her head perched on her hand as she stared out the window at the passing scenery heading back to Cheyenne Mountain. Jack had said, well, nothing, since they left the hospital. And now it was getting to her.
Was he mad? Scared? Happy? Pissed off?
She sighed heavily, using the palm of her hand to brush off a small tear making its way down her cheek.
"I'm alright, Carter." It was amazing how the man could read her mind.
"Jack, you haven't said anything. At all. Except, 'yeah'." Throwing him a searching glance out of the corner of her eye, she groaned again. "Just tell me something - anything, good or bad."
"Like I always say, I'm a man of few words."
"Oh c'mon, that's not gonna fly. Jack. I am pregnant. We are having a baby. Our whole life is about to change. And all you can say is-"
"Carter, you don't have to be a record player. I know what I said. It's just … oh for cryin' out loud."
Sam turned back to the window and sniffled. "If you don't wanna talk about it, then that's-"
"No, not that, my phone's vibrating but it's in the bag on the floor. Can you grab it?"
"Yeah. Sure." Fine. Just blow off the conversation.
She leaned down to open the front compartment on his duffel bag and found the phone. None of the keys were lit up, leading her to believe he'd missed the call. But when she touched the lock button, no evidence of a missing call was to be seen.
"Jack, there's nothing here."
"Oh, yeah, there is."
Jack had slowed the truck down without her notice. When she sat back up, Jack had a smirk plastered on his face.
"What?" she snapped with a sideways glare.
"There," he told her, nodding out the front window.
And standing in front of the tunnel to enter the mountain stood Cameron Mitchell, Daniel Jackson, Vala, Carolyn Lam and Hank Landry, holding a poster that said "CONGRATULATIONS" in baby pink and blue.
"Uh - wha, Jack?"
"Carter, you know there are no secrets in this mountain."
"Who?"
"The good doctor told Mitchell, Mitchell told Landry, Hank told Daniel, and-"
"Daniel told Vala?"
"No, Mitchell told Landry in front of Walter who then talked to Siler in a corridor with Vala hiding in a corner nearby."
The team flipped the poster around. "CAKE INSIDE" it now read.
Sam turned to look at her husband. "Cake?" she asked, an apprehensive look on her face.
Jack glowed. "My idea."
She grinned. Leaning over to kiss him on the cheek, she whispered, "Can't wait."