What Life Throws at You Part Seven Declaration
"So what can I get you this evening?" The waitress in the restaurant asked.
"Umm. I'll have the roast lamb but with no gravy with a side order of chips with chocolate sauce." Sam replied.
"Excuse me ma'am did you say chocolate sauce."
"Yes the dessert topping." The waitress looked at Jack.
"Cravings." He offered. "Don't ask. I'll have the steak medium rare please."
"Can I get you a drink?"
"Sam?" Jack asked.
"A large orange juice and a glass of milk."
"I'll have a beer."
"So what did you want to talk about?" Sam asked as soon as the waitress had gone.
"We'll talk after we've eaten. But for now did you have a nice day? Apart from me being an insensitive jerk?"
"Small talk eh? To start with I don't think you were an insensitive jerk sir. I overreacted because I thought you went against what I asked you to do. Sgt. Siler explained everything to me. I'm the one who should apologize."
"Firstly you don't need to apologize, I know what it looked like. Second my name is Jack and third I trust you implicitly you've saved my ass more than once. I know you can handle yourself. The President's right you're an important part of the unit, we can't do without you."
"There's something I should probably tell you about why the President has such a high opinion of me." She hesitated as the waitress brought their drinks. "Thank you. When I was a kid we moved around a lot. With Dad being in the Air Force we were never stationed anywhere for more than three years. When I was fifteen we got transferred to Lauchlan Air Force Base. The President was stationed there, he was a Captain. At the time he was engaged to the first lady, Elizabeth. It was about three days before their wedding when the President was injured in a training accident and Elizabeth got cold feet. She figured if he could land in hospital just in training what would happen if he was in the field."
"What's this got to do with you?" Jack asked.
"I was walking back to the base and I spotted her sat under a tree crying her eyes out. I recognized her so I went to see if she was alright. She needed someone to talk to. She told me what she was scared of and I told her about how Mom, Mark and I felt every time Dad went away and how we knew whatever happened he loved us and he was doing what had to be done to protect us and to keep the world a safe place for us to grow up in. Anyway the President got out the hospital in time for the wedding and Lizzy got over her cold feet. So he's always been grateful and followed my career I guess this is his way of saying thank you."
"Isn't the President's oldest son call Sam?"
"Yep. He was a cute kid; Lizzy used to send me pictures after we moved. Though I haven't seen them both for years until about eight months ago."
"Friends in high places. Does your Dad know about this?" Jack sipped his beer.
"I doubt he remembers it was almost twenty years ago. I didn't even think of it until he was sworn in then I recognized Lizzy."
"Here you go." The waitress brought over their food.
"Thank you." Jack smiled at her.
"I didn't realize I was so hungry." Sam stated as she dipped a chip in the chocolate sauce and put it in her mouth.
"Is that nice?" He asked.
"Yes. Here try one." She dipped another chip and handed it to Jack. He accepted it tentatively and put it in his mouth."
"It needs vinegar." Sam cracked a smiled.
"Well it gets rid of my chocolate cravings."
"Chocolate. I guess you should be grateful it wasn't something worse."
"Hannah told me when her mother was pregnant she had this obsession with the smell of fresh asphalt. Jo-D had to drive her half way round Minnesota to find some every weekend."
"I didn't know that. But I do remember Hannah just after she was born. She threw up over my mom." The conversation remained light for the rest of the meal.
"So can you tell me the real reason why you brought me here?" Sam as the waitress cleared their plates.
"Don't you want dessert? Chocolate ice-cream?" He asked trying to distract her.
"No I've had enough junk food for one day. I've already put on all the weight I lost and more anymore and I'll never get my waistline back."
"I don't know. I think you look beautiful."
"Thank you. I don't feel beautiful though I just feel fat. But it goes with the territory I guess. So?"
"So what?" Jack asked.
"I'm waiting for an explanation."
"After I got back this morning I did some thinking. I realized a few thing which I need to tell you."
"I'm listening." She ran her finger round the edge of her glass.
"I want to repeat what I said earlier that I do trust you, I know you'd never knowingly put yourself in danger your too good a soldier for that."
"Thank you." She rested her chin in her hand.
"I also wanted to tell you, you never had to try and prove anything to me. I always thought you deserved to be where you are, you work hard, you're conscientious and good at what you do and I respect that."
"Have you been speaking to Janet?" Sam asked.
"Maybe. She had to give me a physical after my five minute trip so she decided to call me an idiot."
"What else did she tell you?" Sam asked suspiciously.
"Not a lot. She did tell me not to upset you and to send your blood pressure up. I want to ask you something so I need you to keep calm."
"What do you want to ask?"
"I want you to move into my house, it's bigger it's in a better neighborhood and it's got good schools near it."
"God. I don't believe you Jack. You want me to move into your house so you can watch me. I don't think so I'm going home." She got up to leave. He grabbed her wrist.
"No I want you to move in because I love you." She stopped before mumbling.
"I need to sit down." He helped her back to her seat and handed her a glass of water.
"Take a deep breath." He encouraged.
"Can you repeat what you said?" She said as she sipped her water.
"What about taking a deep breath?" Sam half smiled.
"Funny Jack. No the other bit."
"I love you Sam. I think I always have."
"Why. Why are you telling me now?"
"Because I had the feeling if I let you walk out that door I'd never see you again and I couldn't handle that. I love you to much." A tear rolled down her face. " Don't cry Sammy. I didn't mean to upset you."
"I'm not crying because I'm upset I'm crying because I'm happy. I love you too Jack."
"Do you want to get out of here?" Jack asked. Sam nodded. "Okay I'll pay the bill, I'll be back in a minute." Sam wiped her eyes. Her pager bleeped, she dug it out of her bag, it was the SGC 911G.
"You ready to go?" Jack asked.
"We have to go back to the base."
"Why?" Jack as confused.
"I got paged. There's something wrong with the gate."
"Let's go." A few minutes later as he started the car began to drive back to the base. "So have you thought about my offer?"
"What offer? I was getting passed the implications of you telling me you love me."
"What implications are they?" He asked as they pulled up at the lights.
"I don't know maybe a little thing like the military regs."
"The President could change that, if it's a case of what makes you happy."
"He offered to when I was in Washington last time. Apparently he picked something up from our reports."
"And what did you tell him?" Jack asked curiously.
"That with all due respect I wasn't going to allow him to make an exception just for me. If the rule got changed then it changed for the entire base."
"What did he say?"
"That he'd look into the feasibility of it. The regulations don't just affect us. Even though we're the subjects of the betting pool. A lot of feelings have to be suppressed because of regs."
"Such as who?" Jack was intrigued, he like gossip as much as next person.
"Daniel and Janet. Colonel Sharp and Captain Hunt, Lieutenant Saunders and Ensign Hardwick."
"Danny and the Doc? Danny isn't military. No regs to worry about."
"But he's on a front line team so he's as good as. Janet wouldn't do anything to jeopardize either of their careers." As they pulled up to the base, they flashed their ID at the guard.
"Thanks for dinner Jack. I'll see you tomorrow." Sam said as she got out the car.
"I'm going with you." Jack got out and locked the doors.
"I thought we talked about this."
"We did, but I drove you in this morning so I'm going to drive you home. I've got a pile of paperwork to do so just yell when you're done." They signed in and took the elevator down the SGC.
"Fine. Thank you but I could have got one of the airmen to drive me home. I'll see you later." She went down another floor to the control room after letting Jack out.
"So what can I get you this evening?" The waitress in the restaurant asked.
"Umm. I'll have the roast lamb but with no gravy with a side order of chips with chocolate sauce." Sam replied.
"Excuse me ma'am did you say chocolate sauce."
"Yes the dessert topping." The waitress looked at Jack.
"Cravings." He offered. "Don't ask. I'll have the steak medium rare please."
"Can I get you a drink?"
"Sam?" Jack asked.
"A large orange juice and a glass of milk."
"I'll have a beer."
"So what did you want to talk about?" Sam asked as soon as the waitress had gone.
"We'll talk after we've eaten. But for now did you have a nice day? Apart from me being an insensitive jerk?"
"Small talk eh? To start with I don't think you were an insensitive jerk sir. I overreacted because I thought you went against what I asked you to do. Sgt. Siler explained everything to me. I'm the one who should apologize."
"Firstly you don't need to apologize, I know what it looked like. Second my name is Jack and third I trust you implicitly you've saved my ass more than once. I know you can handle yourself. The President's right you're an important part of the unit, we can't do without you."
"There's something I should probably tell you about why the President has such a high opinion of me." She hesitated as the waitress brought their drinks. "Thank you. When I was a kid we moved around a lot. With Dad being in the Air Force we were never stationed anywhere for more than three years. When I was fifteen we got transferred to Lauchlan Air Force Base. The President was stationed there, he was a Captain. At the time he was engaged to the first lady, Elizabeth. It was about three days before their wedding when the President was injured in a training accident and Elizabeth got cold feet. She figured if he could land in hospital just in training what would happen if he was in the field."
"What's this got to do with you?" Jack asked.
"I was walking back to the base and I spotted her sat under a tree crying her eyes out. I recognized her so I went to see if she was alright. She needed someone to talk to. She told me what she was scared of and I told her about how Mom, Mark and I felt every time Dad went away and how we knew whatever happened he loved us and he was doing what had to be done to protect us and to keep the world a safe place for us to grow up in. Anyway the President got out the hospital in time for the wedding and Lizzy got over her cold feet. So he's always been grateful and followed my career I guess this is his way of saying thank you."
"Isn't the President's oldest son call Sam?"
"Yep. He was a cute kid; Lizzy used to send me pictures after we moved. Though I haven't seen them both for years until about eight months ago."
"Friends in high places. Does your Dad know about this?" Jack sipped his beer.
"I doubt he remembers it was almost twenty years ago. I didn't even think of it until he was sworn in then I recognized Lizzy."
"Here you go." The waitress brought over their food.
"Thank you." Jack smiled at her.
"I didn't realize I was so hungry." Sam stated as she dipped a chip in the chocolate sauce and put it in her mouth.
"Is that nice?" He asked.
"Yes. Here try one." She dipped another chip and handed it to Jack. He accepted it tentatively and put it in his mouth."
"It needs vinegar." Sam cracked a smiled.
"Well it gets rid of my chocolate cravings."
"Chocolate. I guess you should be grateful it wasn't something worse."
"Hannah told me when her mother was pregnant she had this obsession with the smell of fresh asphalt. Jo-D had to drive her half way round Minnesota to find some every weekend."
"I didn't know that. But I do remember Hannah just after she was born. She threw up over my mom." The conversation remained light for the rest of the meal.
"So can you tell me the real reason why you brought me here?" Sam as the waitress cleared their plates.
"Don't you want dessert? Chocolate ice-cream?" He asked trying to distract her.
"No I've had enough junk food for one day. I've already put on all the weight I lost and more anymore and I'll never get my waistline back."
"I don't know. I think you look beautiful."
"Thank you. I don't feel beautiful though I just feel fat. But it goes with the territory I guess. So?"
"So what?" Jack asked.
"I'm waiting for an explanation."
"After I got back this morning I did some thinking. I realized a few thing which I need to tell you."
"I'm listening." She ran her finger round the edge of her glass.
"I want to repeat what I said earlier that I do trust you, I know you'd never knowingly put yourself in danger your too good a soldier for that."
"Thank you." She rested her chin in her hand.
"I also wanted to tell you, you never had to try and prove anything to me. I always thought you deserved to be where you are, you work hard, you're conscientious and good at what you do and I respect that."
"Have you been speaking to Janet?" Sam asked.
"Maybe. She had to give me a physical after my five minute trip so she decided to call me an idiot."
"What else did she tell you?" Sam asked suspiciously.
"Not a lot. She did tell me not to upset you and to send your blood pressure up. I want to ask you something so I need you to keep calm."
"What do you want to ask?"
"I want you to move into my house, it's bigger it's in a better neighborhood and it's got good schools near it."
"God. I don't believe you Jack. You want me to move into your house so you can watch me. I don't think so I'm going home." She got up to leave. He grabbed her wrist.
"No I want you to move in because I love you." She stopped before mumbling.
"I need to sit down." He helped her back to her seat and handed her a glass of water.
"Take a deep breath." He encouraged.
"Can you repeat what you said?" She said as she sipped her water.
"What about taking a deep breath?" Sam half smiled.
"Funny Jack. No the other bit."
"I love you Sam. I think I always have."
"Why. Why are you telling me now?"
"Because I had the feeling if I let you walk out that door I'd never see you again and I couldn't handle that. I love you to much." A tear rolled down her face. " Don't cry Sammy. I didn't mean to upset you."
"I'm not crying because I'm upset I'm crying because I'm happy. I love you too Jack."
"Do you want to get out of here?" Jack asked. Sam nodded. "Okay I'll pay the bill, I'll be back in a minute." Sam wiped her eyes. Her pager bleeped, she dug it out of her bag, it was the SGC 911G.
"You ready to go?" Jack asked.
"We have to go back to the base."
"Why?" Jack as confused.
"I got paged. There's something wrong with the gate."
"Let's go." A few minutes later as he started the car began to drive back to the base. "So have you thought about my offer?"
"What offer? I was getting passed the implications of you telling me you love me."
"What implications are they?" He asked as they pulled up at the lights.
"I don't know maybe a little thing like the military regs."
"The President could change that, if it's a case of what makes you happy."
"He offered to when I was in Washington last time. Apparently he picked something up from our reports."
"And what did you tell him?" Jack asked curiously.
"That with all due respect I wasn't going to allow him to make an exception just for me. If the rule got changed then it changed for the entire base."
"What did he say?"
"That he'd look into the feasibility of it. The regulations don't just affect us. Even though we're the subjects of the betting pool. A lot of feelings have to be suppressed because of regs."
"Such as who?" Jack was intrigued, he like gossip as much as next person.
"Daniel and Janet. Colonel Sharp and Captain Hunt, Lieutenant Saunders and Ensign Hardwick."
"Danny and the Doc? Danny isn't military. No regs to worry about."
"But he's on a front line team so he's as good as. Janet wouldn't do anything to jeopardize either of their careers." As they pulled up to the base, they flashed their ID at the guard.
"Thanks for dinner Jack. I'll see you tomorrow." Sam said as she got out the car.
"I'm going with you." Jack got out and locked the doors.
"I thought we talked about this."
"We did, but I drove you in this morning so I'm going to drive you home. I've got a pile of paperwork to do so just yell when you're done." They signed in and took the elevator down the SGC.
"Fine. Thank you but I could have got one of the airmen to drive me home. I'll see you later." She went down another floor to the control room after letting Jack out.
