Title: Stand
Rating: G
Summary: When she looked for ground to stand on, she found something else entirely.
Author's Note: Once in Motion is a ficlet collection dedicated to my OTP: Sam & Jack. Since watching the first episode, I have been an avid fan of the pairing, and it was only a matter of time before I started to write about it. So welcome; I hope you enjoy.
Well, doesn't the image of a boat instead of solid ground seem to fit the SJ pairing perfectly?
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So she stumbles in her words and looks desperately for ground to stand on.
Only there is none-
She's drowning.
For all her years of training, her experiences and her skills, she cannot swim.
She flounders, water stinging her eyes, sliding down her throat, choking her.
And then he is there.
One hand outstretched-
To help her.
She meets his eyes as another wave swamps her.
The boat he's in is so frail, so easily torn apart by forces they can't control-
And she could-
Should-
Turn and try to swim to shore herself.
But the shore is far away-
(Rip tides have dragged her out)
And all the while she's been fighting them, trying to deny they existed.
So here he is, waiting.
They always thought she was the one who waited.
'They' were wrong,
Because she went on with her life and he waited for her.
It's a chance, but she takes those every time she walks out her door.
It's a promise that no matter what, he'll be there.
It is…
Salvation.
She reaches out, and he takes her hand, and pulls her up.
"Carter?" Her eyes flick up to his. She seems, in that instant when her heart nearly ran out on her, to… have found firm ground to stand on.
Or maybe it's a gently rocking boat.
"Sorry, sir." She turns to leave, papers under one arm. His hand touches her shoulder and he meets her curious gaze.
"Don't be." And she grins and he lets her go…
But she doesn't go far.
She never has.