I was trying to make one big final chapter, but I'm kind of stuck on the ending, so here's the beginning of the end. Enjoy xx
They were on the road by 0600, Daniel and Teal'c took the back seats, using each other as pillows to catch more sleep while Sam and Jack rode silently in the front. Sam had offered to drive first, but Jack had declined, saying he loved to watch the sun rise over the horizon as they drove east. Sam had simply nodded her agreement and took second seat, tracking their journey on the obsolete map she'd brought with them. She'd known that Jack wouldn't need it, but she loved knowing exactly where they were and where they were going. Perhaps she was overcompensating for the uncertainty of the rest of the aspects of their lives, but she didn't give it too much thought, instead commenting the next upcoming town and asking him about each of them. After nearly three hours they pulled into the lot of a small fuel station and cafe just past Sioux Falls. Jack jumped out of the car, followed by Sam who watched the guys stir and take in their surroundings.
She followed Jack to the pump. "I'm going grab the two sleeping beauties some coffee and donuts. Want some?"
Jack looked pensive. "Definitely coffee, but can you see if they have something savoury instead? Maybe a toasted sandwich..." he reached for his wallet and pulled out some cash. "Mind paying for the gas when you're in there?"
By the time she'd returned, Teal'c had taken the front passenger seat as they'd discussed when they loaded themselves in this morning. Rotating the extra leg space only seemed fair. Daniel offered to drive, an offer that was quickly shot down as Jack threw the keys over his head to Sam.
It was late afternoon by the time they arrived at Jack's cabin, the sun was lowering itself behind the mountains bathing the landscape in a warm orange tone.
"Campers, we're here." Jack announced to rouse Daniel from his doze. Sam stepped out of the truck with a stretch and looked around her, listening to the loud silence that came with the woods filled with life. Immediately she saw the attraction, and why Jack came here to get away from the world.
"So, what do you think?" a soft voice came from just over her shoulder. Turning she found herself precariously close to Jack's face. She inhaled sharply, drawing her attention away from the curve of his lips and the stubble that had formed over the past two days. She took a step back. "It's... very quiet."
A smirk crept over his lips. His eyes darted down to his hand and he seemed to remember he was holding Sam's luggage. "Good quiet, or we're about to be ambushed quiet?" he quipped as he passed his bag to her.
"Good quiet; the sort of quiet from our weeks' vacation off world. You know, after we saved the planet?" she grinned at him cheekily before taking stride toward the cabin. Daniel had pulled himself out of the truck and was pacing slowly behind them, still trying to wake himself.
"Again," he winked at her.
"It really is beautiful, sir. Thank you for bringing me... us... here." She blushed gently, thankfully he was too busy opening the door to notice.
They walked into an open living space, Daniel and Teal'c joining them. "T, Daniel. Your room in down the hall there and to the left. Carter, take the one on the right. I'll make camp out here. I need to turn the generator on and the fridge."
"Gas fridge?" Sam queried. Jack nodded vaguely. "Right, I'll get that. You get the generator. Anything else you need done?"
Jack looked around pensively. "Would you mind hooking the gas bottle up to the barbeque if I'm not done before you?"
Sam gave a soft smile, turning her attention to the fridge. "Sure."
Forty minutes later found all four of them out the back, Teal'c and Daniel were watching a pair of ducks sitting on the lake ducking their heads under occasionally, while Sam supervised the cooking of her steak. Unlike the General in charge of cooking, she preferred her steak slightly less than charred.
"I do not understand the behaviour of these animals, Samantha Carter. Why do they keep wetting their faces?" This elicited a snort of laughter from an already tipsy Daniel.
"They're catching food, T." Jack said by way of an explanation. Teal'c seemed to accept it, simply bowing his head and continuing his observation.
"Right, Carter. Your steak is disgusting and done."
Sam rolled her eyes. "I like to limit my intake of charcoal when I can avoid it."
Daniel and Teal'c turned their attention back to the food. "Mmm potato salad," Daniel muttered as he scooped some onto his plate and digging in without hesitation.
"Hold up a second there Danny-boy." Jack waved a steak and him before dumping it onto the proffered plate.
Dinner was a quiet affair, with all of them too tired from the journey to offer much to a conversation; it wasn't until the night chill drove them inside by the fire that Jack broke his news to his former team, and good friends. "I've been reassigned."
The news was met with blank face. "Where to, sir?"
"Er... Homeworld, actually."
Sam pursed her lips. "D.C.?"
Jack gave a small nod. "Yup. Hammond wants to retire, finally. They needed someone with as much experience and knowledge with the 'gate as him so... I was prime candidate."
"Who's taking your place?" Daniel blurted out, once he'd recovered from his shock.
Jack shrugged. "It's not 100% yet, but an old buddy, General Landry, looks like the choice at the moment. Provided he takes it."
"You will be missed, O'Neill." Teal'c was sombre.
"When do you go?" Sam looked saddest of them all, though she'd never admit it.
Another shrug, Jack took a long sip from his near empty bottle of beer before grabbing a fresh one from the table in front of him. "There's a few details to work out before I head to D.C., but Reynolds is in temporary control of the SGC. Technically, I'm on leave until my reassignment goes through. A few weeks, maybe a month. I just thought you should all know, I don't have all the details yet. I only found out the day we left Colorado."
Daniel let out a long yawn, drawing amusement from his company.
"Are we boring you, Daniel?" Jack quipped affectionately.
Rolling his eyes, Daniel stood and placed his empty bottle on the table with the rest. "Nuh, I'm just exhausted. I think I'll call it a night."
Teal'c stood, "indeed, it has been an eventful day."
After bidding their goodnights, Teal'c and Daniel disappeared down the hall and silence settled over the lounge room. Sam ran her finger over the edge of her wine glass pensively, enjoying the gentle hum of the glasses vibrations. Jack simply watched her, knowing she'd speak when she'd sorted her own thoughts out in her mind. Fifteen minutes later, she broke her reverie and reached for the wine bottle, filling her glass slightly and running her finger around the rim again, smiling softly when it elicited a different tone.
"Physics." Jack stated in a very matter of fact manner.
This made Sam grin, and his heart fluttered as she locked eyes with him. "Yes, sir. Physics."
He returned her smile. "See, I knew that!"
"I knew that you knew that."
"I knew that you knew that I knew that."
"I knew that you knew that I knew that you knew."
Jack grabbed his head dramatically. "That hurts."
Sam laughed softly. "So... D.C.?"
"Mmm... not my first choice. Personally I wanted to retire."
"Again?"
"Yes, and for real this time. Unfortunately, Hammond had first dibs on retirement."
"They offered me a position at Area 51."
Jack nodded slowly. "I know... and?"
"And what?"
Jack glared at her. "And are you going to take it?"
Sam returned her attention to the glass, this time drinking rather than playing with it. "It has certain advantages."
Ah the burning question! He didn't want to push her, instead waiting for her to continue.
"I'll be 100% research, imagine how much I could get done if I didn't have field work. I'd head up R and D. I'd also miss the snow, and Daniel. He wants to work on the Atlantis project you know." Jack made a face at her that told her he knew, and he didn't approve. "Teal'c is going to spend most of his time of Dakara now. It's where he's needed most."
"It'd take you out of my chain of command." Jack blurted it out without meaning to. Sam looked like she was about to choke on the sip of wine she'd just taken, thankfully managing to swallow it without incident.
"Yes, there's that. What do you think?"
"I think you shouldn't let me play a role in your decision to leave the SGC. I think R and D would satisfy the inner geek you've had to suppress."
"I've hardly been 'non-geeky' since we've been at the SGC."
"True," Jack conceded. "I still think there's plenty more 'geek' to go around though."
"If you call me geek one more time, I will hit you... sir."
Jack grinned at her. "My point is that once you got over the initial shock of the change... I think you could be happy there..."
Sam nodded her agreement. "Yes, I think so too."
"So, to Area 51 then?" Jack raised his bottle in a mock toast.
"To D.C. and maybe Area 51." Sam joined his toast solemnly, thinking about how her life was about to change. No more SG-1, these three people had been so much more than teammates. No, they'd died for each other, time and time again each of the four had shown their strongest and their weakest, and never had they truly given up on each other, on her. They were her family now, and the thought of being without them made her feel incredibly vulnerable. "I'd like to keep in touch."
Jack looked surprise, "of course, I wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, if you take up R and D, we'll still have to meet regularly. It's not like we won't ever see each other again. It might be different, Sam. That doesn't necessarily mean it'll be worse. We've given our lives to a cause that was so much more important than any of us, or any solitary person, could ever be. Every one of us has given something up. Teal'c gave up his family and his home, Daniel lost his wife, heck, he even died multiple times. While you've given your life to the Air Force, you're a scientist. This job... it's perfect for you. The fight is over now."
Sam bit her cheek, trying not to tear up. "What did you give up?"
Jack was silent for a moment. "I think I've gained more than I've lost. Before Abydos, I was... purely ballistic. I had no guidance, I had lost everything that held me here. I met Skaara, and he showed me an innocence I'd forgotten could exist. After that, SG-1 was my compass. Daniel with his unwavering sense of morality, Teal'c with his nobility, and you... You made me think again. Really think. I doubt I'll ever meet someone as intelligent as you, but it was more than that. You combined Daniel's morality and Teal'c's nobility, your intelligence... You could always find the answer that was right, if not easiest. I suppose if there's one thing I've given up, it's what you and I might've been... if it had all been different."
She couldn't stop the tears from falling as she listened to him, she'd tried so desperately to build a world of normality that she could escape to when the day was done, and in the end she'd ended up with nothing but a tally of broken hearts and shattered dreams. Jack shuffled closer to her, placing his beer on the table and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Hey, that was supposed to be a pep talk."
"Sorry, sir. It's just... I suppose I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that I have no one left, You, Daniel, and Teal'c are just part of it. Dad's gone, I left the one person willing to marry me, not that I'm saying it would've been right to... I've just never been very good at being alone."
Jack pulled himself away slightly, just enough to turn her toward him and lift her chin up to look her in the eye. "Sam, you aren't alone. Danny and Teal'c... they'll visit."
"And you?" Blunt is probably easiest.
"I'll be wherever you want me to be."
She simply nodded, leaning forward and burying her face in his chest, letting every tear for every loss she'd felt in the past eight years fall freely. They sat there silently, his arms tight around her, knowing there wasn't anything more to say right now. At this very moment, they needed each other's friendship.
Their reverie was broken a while later by a flash of light, followed by a whirring that sounded suspiciously like a Polaroid camera. Jack's suspicions were confirmed by a quick glance to his side to see Daniel standing there looking like the cat that got the canary. Sam was the first to react, jumping over the back of the couch and tackling Daniel to the ground without a word.
"Ah, Jack? Little help here?" Daniels voice was muffled, and Sam was trying to reach for the photo in his outstretched hand without losing her control over him.
"Yes, Jack. A little help?" she echoed, jutting her head toward the photo she was trying to recover. Jack strolled over, contemplating his options. He reached a decision when he saw the camera lying discarded a foot from the wrestling pair. Picking it up, he quickly snapped another of Carter overpowering Daniel before lying down to grab the photo out of Daniel's hand. The other photo printed and a fit of laughter overcame him at the image of Daniel's horrified look at the camera and Carter's determination.
"You can get off him now, Sam. I think he's learnt his lesson."
"On the contrary," came a deep voice from the hall. "Did I not tell you your plan would be unsuccessful, Daniel Jackson?"
Sam laughed as she relinquished her hold on Daniel and stood, overing him a hand up.
"Oh come on, it was a sweet moment."
Jack just glared at Daniel. "I thought you were going to sleep."
Daniel huffed, attempting one more grab at the photo. Unsuccessful, he relented. "I was cold, I came out for more blankets."
"He then proceeded to wake me to inform me of his plan." Teal'c sounded slightly put out by the whole matter.
Jack turned his attention to the photo. It was sweet, he had to admit. Carter looked peaceful, snuggling against him. He too looked content. Smiling softly, "well, I guess I'll have to thank you for the photo." He slid it into his back pocket before making his way to the hall closet and grabbing a blanket that he lobbed at Daniel's face, successfully knocking his glasses askew.
"I will return to bed now," Teal'c stated, unceremoniously dragging Daniel with him back to the room.
Jack waited until the door clicked shut before turning his attention back to Sam. "Well... I should get the sofa set up..."
Sam shuffled on her feet. "You could... you know..." she gestured down the hall to the room he'd designated hers for their stay.
"Erm... maybe not tonight."
"Nothing has to happen. I just feel somewhat better when you're around. It makes it easier to sleep."
Jack relented easier than he would have liked, grabbing his duffel bag and excusing himself to change. When he entered the room he found Sam sitting up in the bed, her head leaned back and eyes closed.
"Whatcha thinking about?"
Sam didn't open her eyes. "Actually, nothing oddly enough. Just enjoying the sound of the night." He noted that she'd opened the window, allowing a cool breeze in. He slid into the bed next to her, lying down. She followed suit, facing him, watching his features. "Thank you for inviting me here."
He smiled softly. "Sam, I've been asking you for years. Thank you for agreeing." He was entirely unprepared for her to lean forward and place a soft kiss just next to his lips. Innocent enough, but saying much more than words ever could. He reached his hand out and stroked her cheek. "Good night."
She closed her eyes and inhaled softly. "Good night, Jack."
His hand slid between them to grasp hers as they drifted into sleep, surrounded by the peace of nature.