The microwave beeped, signaling Sam's oatmeal was ready. She pulled it out and stirred it a few times before setting it on the counter to cool down. It was just after five, and Sam was still tired. Sleep had not come easily the night before.
Sam's heart picked up its pace as she placed her hand on the bedroom door. She'd gotten dressed from clothing she'd found in the laundry room, but her shoes were in the bedroom closet. Besides, she needed to wake Jack. They had to talk.
She moved quietly into the darkened room. Turing on the bedside lamp, she gently shook Jack's shoulder. He muttered something and rolled over.
"Jack. Jack!"
"Wha?" he mumbled, resting on his back, rubbing his sleep filled eyes.
"Hey," she said tenderly.
"Sam? What time is it?"
Sam took a peek at the clock radio. "5:12."
"For cryin' out loud. What?" he grumbled.
Sam pursed her lips. "I have a mission this morning, remember? And I wanted to talk to you before I left."
"Yeah, yeah. Okay." Sam moved as Jack threw the sheets to the side. He half walked, half stumbled to the bathroom. Sam shrugged, then grabbed her shoes from the closet.
Sam returned to the kitchen and began to poke at her oatmeal. Actually, she wasn't hungry. She pushed the bowl towards Jack as he leaned next to her on the counter.
"Yum." There was an air of sarcasm in his voice and he shoved the bowl away.
Sam had been hoping sleep would have bettered his mood. She gathered up as much courage as she could before speaking. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not," Sam disagreed. "You're not acting fine."
"What's wrong then?" Jack asked, staring directly at her.
Sam tried to calm her nerves. This was Jack. But at the moment, she felt like a cadet being stared down by the general. "I don't know. But something is. Could you possibly humor me and let Dr. Lam check you out?"
"Excuse me?" Jack almost laughed in disbelief.
"Jack, don't deny you've been acting strange. Maybe you're stressed. Maybe-"
"No! I'm not seeing Lam and don't even mention McKenzie," Jack spat, jamming a finger in her direction.
"Then explain last night to me, Jack. That wasn't you," Sam said, trying to stay calm.
"I was just playing around," Jack shrugged, crossing his arms.
"Playing around?" Sam asked incredulously. She thought of the slight bruise she'd seen on her shoulder that morning. "Don't give me that excuse. Don't."
"What do you want from me, huh? What do you want me to say?"
"I want you to tell me the truth, Jack. That's all. I'm worried about you. I just want to help." Sam studied her husband closely, watching for his reaction.
"I don't need help," he finally responded. He turned away and Sam grasped his arm.
"Jack, please. I don't want to leave with you angry at me," she pleaded.
"You're upset at me!" he said loudly as he faced her once again.
"No, I'm not. I just want to understand why-"
"Why what?!"
"Why this!" Sam yelled, waving her hand between them. "You won't even listen to me! You claim there is nothing wrong, but you won't give me the time of day!"
"Did you ever think you were doing the same thing? Look at you, running off on your mission," he said bitterly.
"It's my job, Jack. You knew that when you married me. It was part of the deal."
"Bad deal."
Sam's mouth dropped, stunned. There were a few beats of silence before she managed to respond. "When I put this ring on my finger, I signed on for better or for worse. I love you. I want to believe this is something that we can fix. We worked too hard for this, Jack!"
Jack jerked away from her hold, but Sam grabbed him with her other hand, catching him before he could leave. He spun around angrily, his free arm swinging through the air. There was a crack as his open palm connected with her cheek.
Sam stumbled back, more from surprise than the actual force of the impact. Her hand instinctively went to her face and her mind struggled to comprehend what had happened. She looked up to Jack, her lips parted in shock. His dark eyes met hers, unforgiving.
She felt rage, not fear, rise up. Her hand left her face, and before she even realized, she was retaliating. Jack's head snapped back at the blow. She imagined he was just as surprised as she was.
Sam could see him lift his hand again, but then he balled it into a fist. "Go to work, Colonel."
He turned and left, and this time, she made no attempt to stop him.
"DanielJackson."
"Huh?" Daniel replied as he flipped through his notebook.
"I feel there is something amiss with ColonelO'Neill," Teal'c stated solemnly. Sam had gone to check the perimeter of the building again, even though the planet was uninhabited.
Daniel paused and considered the Jaffa's words. "Yeah." He closed his binder and set it on his pack. "She seemed upset this morning."
"Indeed. When I questioned her, she was adamant nothing was wrong."
"Me, too." Daniel sighed. "I wonder what it is. She's been so happy lately, Teal'c. Happier than I've ever seen her."
Teal'c nodded in affirmation. "However, I believe something has been upsetting her longer than just this morning."
Daniel was about to respond, but he turned his attention to Sam as she walked in.
"It's all clear," she reported, shifting her P-90.
"As it was the last five occasions you checked, Colonel," Teal'c said in a slightly teasing manner. Then he grew serious.
Sam saw the change in his demeanor immediately. "What?"
"Sam, are you okay?" Daniel asked gently.
Suddenly, Sam felt very much like a deer in the headlights. "Yeah," she replied, almost too quickly. As Daniel got to his feet and walked over, Sam shifted uncomfortably. Teal'c even moved a hair closer.
"It seemed like something was bothering you earlier," Daniel told her.
"I'm alright now, Daniel. It's nothing."
"We believe it is something, ColonelO'Neill. Did someone distress you?"
Sam opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again. She was lying to them, just like Jack had to her. She was no better. They must have seen the uncertainty on her face, because Daniel pressed on.
"Was it something at work?"
Sam shook her head slightly. Of course Daniel and Teal'c would know something was wrong. They'd been best friends going on ten years. She'd been trying to go about her business as usual; she had a team to lead. But the image of Jack slapping her played over and over in her mind. It had done nothing but wear down her mood and morale, and now she was being called on it.
"Is it Jack?" Daniel asked quietly, searching her eyes. He didn't know why he felt compelled to ask her that. Surely it wasn't anything at home. But there was a nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right there. Sam's eyes confirmed his suspicions, even if words didn't.
Teal'c put an encouraging hand on her shoulder. "He is not here, ColonelO'Neill. You are only surrounded by friends who wish to help. You may speak freely."
Sam could not make herself form the words to tell them. It was hard enough to think it, but to say it? It would be confirming something she was hoping was just a nightmare.
"He…" Sam grappled with her emotions and forced her mouth to cooperate. "He hit me."
A stunned silence fell over the ancient ruins. It was so unthinkable that Jack O'Neill would harm her, so completely unbelievable, that for a fleeting moment, Sam wondered if they believed her.
"He hit you?" Daniel managed to get out.
The tears Sam had done such a good job of keeping at bay were threatening to break through the floodgates. "We, ah, got in a fight this morning…and he…slapped me."
"God…Sam." Daniel looked as though he wanted to pull her into his arms, but then decided against it.
Teal'c's hand moved to the center of her back, lending physical and moral support. "What transpired?"
Sam shrugged indecisively. "I don't know. He's been…he's not been himself lately. I asked him about it. We got into a fight and…"
"I can't imagine Jack doing that." Daniel saw the look on Sam's face and quickly reassured her. "I believe you…but what on Earth could possess him to do that?"
"I'm not sure of anything except he's been acting different towards me and it just came to a head this morning," Sam replied, thankful for her friends' support. She felt better knowing they had her back.
"I admit, I haven't been around Jack lately, but I noticed at team night he was…" Daniel motioned with his hand. "You know…"
Sam bobbed her head up and down. She knew exactly what he was talking about.
"What will you do?" Teal'c queried; his hand had not moved.
An overwhelming sense of sadness hit Sam. "I honestly don't know. I…I always swore that if a man ever hit me, I'd walk away from that relationship and never look back."
This time Daniel did pull her to his chest, her P-90 digging into his abdomen.
"But this is Jack," she choked out. "I love him, Daniel. I can't…" Sam squeezed her eyes shut, trapping the moisture. She wasn't going to cry.
"It'll be okay. You're not alone in this," Daniel said soothingly.
"I cannot comprehend O'Neill harming you. Perhaps he is unwell?" Teal' pondered.
Sam moved away from Daniel, but his hands still rested on her arms. "I considered that. This morning I asked Jack to see Dr. Lam, but he wouldn't hear it. He's been irrational, angry, possessive… Maybe it's me. Maybe I've done something to-"
"Sam, no. I know how much you mean to each other and how long you've waited for this. That man would die before he purposefully hurt you. Something else has to be at work here," Daniel contemplated.
The blonde smiled slightly. She hoped he was right. "So what now?"
"What do you want to do? I'm just translating."
"All that meaning of life stuff?" Sam asked.
"No. Actually, it might tell us where a cache of weapons are." Daniel returned.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I told you. Remember?"
Sam blushed. "Sorry."
"You have much on your mind, ColonelO'Neill. It is understandable," Teal'c pardoned her.
"Well, let's stay. You translate and I'll take another look around. Wanna come, Teal'c?" Sam looked to her friend.
"Indeed. Perhaps a walk would help you sort your thoughts."
Sam broke into a genuine smile. "Thanks guys."
She wasn't alone in this struggle anymore. Sam felt more confident that whatever was amiss with her husband was something that could be dealt with and fixed. She loved Jack more than she'd ever thought possible and she would do anything to help him. No matter how harsh or uncaring Jack had been, or wherever the path would lead them, she knew she'd be right there with him.
Sam drove up to her house, yawning. Watching Daniel translate was not tiresome, but worrying about your loved ones was. They had left the planet with a lead on the whereabouts of new technology and weapons. Hopefully, their next mission would be to retrieve them.
Her teammates had asked if she wanted them to stop by the house, but Sam had turned them down. She was tired and not prepared to deal with Jack that night. She was certain he was asleep anyway. Sam had promised to give them a call in the morning. It was then, after getting some much needed sleep, that Sam felt they could best help Jack. Before leaving, she'd told Dr. Lam they'd probably be seeing her the next day. All of them. It was going to be a team effort.
Sam shut the front door as quietly as she could. She continued through the house, fully intending to head straight to bed, when she noticed the living room in disarray. DVDs were scattered on the floor, the couch cushions ripped, and the rocker turned on its side. And that was just scratching the surface. Sam glanced to the kitchen. The same scenario had played out there as well. It was a mess.
Sam backed cautiously towards the study. She had a gun hidden away there. She peered into the room, her eyes scanning the area. Sam thought she heard something, and she froze in her tracks. She felt a sharp pain moments before her world became dark.
