Ch 8
When Daniel arrived in the morning. Everything looked pretty much the same. Sam was dressed and sitting at the table with a cup of decaf coffee. Jack was watching TV, but there was a palpable difference in the atmosphere.
"Hi, guys. What's up?"
Sam smiled at him from the table. "Nothing."
"Uh, okay." he said. It was obvious the atmosphere had changed, but it was better, more relaxed, so he figured whatever had transpired the night before, it must have been a good thing.
Sam got up from the table. "I'll be back tonight, Daniel. You guys have fun." With that she left, leaving Jack and Daniel alone.
"Uh, hi Jack. How are you? Wanna talk about anything?"
"Hi, Daniel. I'm fine. No."
And so, they sat around watching sports and drinking beer.
Teal'c stopped by with Pizza later in the day and the guys just hung out and relaxed.
Sam returned around dinner time as promised, laden down with grocery bags.
"Who's hungry," she asked as she went into the kitchen.
Jack got up from the hockey game and joined her. Eventually, the guys wondered in and they all sat around and talked while Sam cooked. It was nice. People laughed and joked. It was good to feel the comradery again.
That evening, Daniel and Teal'c left. Sam and Jack were alone again.
"It's late," she said. "You should get some rest."
Jack grabbed her hand, "come with me."
She followed him to the back of the house and they each got ready for bed. You'd think they'd been doing this forever. They were so completely comfortable. Neither wanted romance tonight. Just company. And once again, they fell asleep side by side.
In the early morning hours, Sam awoke to Jack's tossing and turning. She spoke to him in a calm, soothing voice, and gently stroked his arm. She didn't want him to jerk awake at her touch. After a few minutes, he calmed and opened his eyes. He shirt was drenched with sweat.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.
He shook his head. "No. Just more of the same."
He got up and went to the bathroom. When he returned he had removed the sweat soaked shirt and dried his damp skin.
When he crawled back into bed, she could see the fresh healing scars on his chest and torso. She gently ran her fingers over the new skin. Neither of them spoke.
After a while, Jack reached up and touched her shoulder where the staff blast had hit her.
"May I see it," he asked.
She hesitated. She hadn't been naked with him since Vegas and she definitely didn't look the same now.
After a moment, she gave a subtle nod. He started to pull her shirt away from her shoulder, but she stopped him and simply removed it.
He stared at her for a moment. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, especially now with her round belly. He looked at the large scar on her shoulder. The skin was still red and inflamed looking. It would never be the same. He reached out his hand and gently touched the scarred skin. She grimaced. It was still tender. After a moment, his attention shifted and he looked down her body. Her breasts were larger than he remembered now that they were preparing for the baby. And then he reached out and placed his hands on her belly. The baby gently kicked him. He smiled. His baby. He never said anything more that night. He fell back asleep with his hands gently resting on the abdomen of the woman he loved and his unborn child.
