Disclaimer: I do not own 'Stargate: SG-1', 'The 4400' or any of the characters associated with either show.
Chapter Six
The alarm blared shrilly, jolting him from sleep. Groaning, Jack reached out a hand, slamming it down on the offending clock and silencing it, at least for another seven minutes before its bleeping began afresh.
'Alright, already!' He glowered at it, kicking aside the covers and sitting up. 'I'm awake - you happy now?'
After more than thirty years of the Air Force, Jack was no stranger to early risings and once out of bed, he moved swiftly through his morning routine, showering and dressing in less than fifteen minutes before making his way to the kitchen.
After briefly rummaging through his fridge, he withdrew a carton of eggs, sniffing them suspiciously. Once satisfied that they were fresh, he reached for a bottle of Tabasco sauce then, setting eggs and sauce aside, he turned on the stove and took a bowl from the cupboard, cracking several eggs into the bowl, whisking them lightly before adding a generous splash of sauce and then thoroughly blending the ingredients before pouring the mixture into a frying pan and setting it on the stove.
Pausing a few times to turn the cooking omlette, he brewed a pot of coffee and laid the table. Once the omlette had been browned to his satisfaction, he turned off the stove and carefully lifted the frying pan, moving towards the table.
It wasn't until he was dishing put the omelette that he realized that he had laid out two place settings instead of one.
'What the…'
"It was weird." He complained to Teal'c and Mitchell once he reached the SGC and ran into his friends on their way to the briefing. "It was just… automatic - I don't know why, I haven't had any house guests since I moved in."
"It is indeed strange, O'Neill." Teal'c agreed soberly, although after nine years, he had come to the conclusion that there were quite a few things about human behaviour that he would never understand.
"Maybe you're going senile… sir." Mitchell tacked on the honorific, trying and failing to keep the humour from his expression.
"You might be right about that." Jack agreed with a slight smile, leading the way to the control room and up the stairs that lead to the briefing room, where the last member of their team was already waiting, explaining to General Hammond – in minute detail – why SG-1 absolutely had to go to this particular planet.
Hammond acknowledged the three men with a nod, gesturing for them to take their seats, trying to call the meeting to order but unable to get a word in edgewise.
To his credit, Jack managed to hold his tongue for a good three or four minutes before interrupting, but there was really only so much scientific talk he could take.
"For cryin' out loud, Carter!" He snapped, "would it physically kill you to keep it short and simple?!"
Every eye in the room was suddenly on him, Mitchell's registering surprise, Teal'c and Hammond 's a combination of shock and concern and 'Carter's' anger and annoyance.
"I can understand why you haven't been able to master my name yet – I've only been on your team a year after all," Dr Rodney McKay remarked in an irritated tone, "but could you not call me 'Carter'?" He exhaled impatiently, looking across at Hammond and Teal'c and seeing the expressions on their faces. "The woman's been gone more than seven years, for God's sake! She's not coming back!"
"Are you alright, O'Neill?" Teal'c's concern for his friend was apparent.
Of all those at the SGC, Jack had taken Sam's disappearance hardest, leaving no stone unturned in his efforts to find her, enlisting the aid of every ally they possessed to locate her whereabouts but finding no trace. He had not given up, not even when the Asgard had confirmed that she was no longer on Earth.
Although his friend had never said anything, Teal'c suspected that he had hoped that she had been one of those who had been returned to Highland Beach the previous year.
"Y'know," Jack's tone was thoughtful as he looked around the bare room. "I lost count of the amount of times I had to chase Carter out of this lab."
"O'Neill," Teal'c was careful to keep his tone even, "this was not Captain Carter's laboratory. Dr Reardon currently occupies the room she used."
"I know that, Teal'c," Jack's tone was frustrated. "So why do I remember coming down to this room to drag Carter away from her toys? Why does it feel like I did it yesterday?"
"I have been thinking of Captain Carter a great deal also." Teal'c told him quietly. "The thoughts seem as vivid as true memories. These past weeks have been difficult for us both."
"I know, buddy."
When the seventh anniversary of Sam's disappearance came and went with no sign of her and without the slightest hint of where she might be, proceedings had begun to have her declared legally dead.
Had there been any way that it could have been avoided, Jack would gladly have taken it.
Legally dead meant giving up on her, case closed, no hope of return, over… and he had been powerless to stop it.
Sam's will had been executed the previous week.
He had been surprised by some of its contents; that she had named Cassie as the beneficiary of her life insurance fund had surprised nobody but she had left the remainder of her estate divided between himself and Teal'c – aka. Murray Teal – and named him as executor.
"What are we supposed to do with it all?" He asked, not expecting an answer. Most of Sam's things had been carefully packed away in boxes, left in storage in the hopes that their owner would one day return to claim them. Motorcycle, car, house, they hadn't been able to get rid of any of them.
"You've got permission to live off base if you want to," Jack observed, "if you want the house…"
Teal'c shook his head decisively. "I do not. It would be…" he trailed off, unable to find a suitable word to encompass his feelings at the thought of taking up residence in the abode of his lost friend. Jack could understand his feelings and knew that those who had known Sam would probably share them. "Perhaps, if neither of us wishes to live in Captain Carter's home, it would be wise to sell it and place the proceeds in a trust for Cassandra Fraiser." He suggested.
"That's a good idea." Jack agreed. The young woman was doing well in college and had her heart set on becoming a doctor. Medical school wasn't exactly cheap.
"We can discuss it at another time." Teal'c suggested, seeing from Jack's demeanour and expression that the last thing he needed or wanted was to deal with the business of settling their friend's estate.
"Yeah," Jack said quietly, his gaze fixed on the desk in front of him, remembering things that he knew he had never seen on it before.
He didn't even hear Teal'c leave the room.
Evening
There was no answer when they knocked on Jack's door but he never locked it, so Mitchell simply pushed the door open, allowing Teal'c, who was carrying the pizzas, to precede him into the house.
"McKay's not going to be able to make it tonight," Mitchell said, following Teal'c into the living room. "He's got to work and… hey!" He was cut off abruptly when he bumped into Teal'c, who had stopped dead in his tracks. "What did you stop fo… oh." His eyes widened when he saw what his commanding officer was doing.
The living room had been transformed. Several half-full cardboard boxes lay to one side and Jack was rummaging through another, unearthing a quilt and spreading it out over the couch. Some of the furniture had been moved, with new pieces taking their place.
"What are you doing, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked, looking more shocked than any of them had ever seen him.
"Just a little redecorating," Jack responded absently, not even looking up at him, completely absorbed in his task. "I picked up some of Carter's things from storage on my way home." He explained, as though this was the most natural thing in the world.
"O'Neill…"
"In a minute!" Jack cut Teal'c off before he could speak, setting a crystal ornament on the mantel, trying it in a couple of different places. "I think it was a little more to the left… perfect." He murmured to himself before stepping back to survey the finished effect. "I think that's about right – what do you guys think?"
"That was on the other side." Mitchell responded automatically, pointing at a small coffee table to the right of the couch. "Over there."
"Right." Jack immediately moved the table to the location indicated, before exhaling, surveying the room in satisfaction. "That's it, that's the way it was."
"What do you mean, O'Neill?"
"Wow, Sam really had you whipped, didn't she?" Mitchell remarked good-naturedly, "this room is more her than you."
"Major Mitchell, you never knew Captain Carter."
"Didn't I?" He frowned at Teal'c's words before looking to Jack for confirmation. "I didn't, did I?"
"No." Jack responded before meeting his friends' eyes. "What the Hell is going on here?"
TBC.
