The Ties that Bind, by DrGemini86
Summary: Sam and Cam get drunk after the events of Fourth Horseman Part II. Sam/Daniel, mention of Sam/Jack.
Category: UST
Spoilers: Seasons 1-9
Rating: T
Author Notes: I did consider a Sam/Cam but I like their friendship too much. Also, please consume alcohol responsibly; these guys are battle seasoned Air Force officers with multiple traumas and poor psychological support.
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The bonds between SG-1 had always been strong; they had each gone through hell and back for one another, for the planet and the wider galaxy, and even beyond. The original line-up had quite literally been to hell, if Jackson's stories were anything to go by, especially during team nights when O'Neill would pepper Jackson's tipsy anecdotes and memories with inappropriate remarks. Cam lived for team socials: going to O'Malley's, doing shots with O'Neill – who would always be the last one standing; the occasional beer with Jackson; movie nights with the whole Scooby gang. He was still finding his feet as SG-1 leader, but they had made him feel as part of the team. He had got the band back together and though there was another bad guy, or bad guys, on the block – Jackson's fault, as he would remind the archaeologist when they were at least seven beers deep – he was confident that they would come out victorious; that they would do what SG-1 had always done.
This time, he had managed to prise Sam out of her lab. He hadn't spoken to her outside of the Mountain much since she had come back from Nevada. However, he sensed she needed a break after what had happened to Orlin. The Samantha Carter he had known before had been an open book, but since she had returned, he noticed she had become more guarded; maybe she felt out of place after being out of the team for a short while. Team leader responsibility aside, he wanted to get drunk after all that business with the plague, and she was the least likely to wave a translation at him or claim to be teetotal.
He carried a crate of beers from his kitchen into the lounge, where she was kneeling in front of the television, perusing his DVD collection. She looked up at him, remarking sceptically on seeing the crate, "How much do you plan on drinking?"
He rolled his eyes and glared at her semi-seriously as he placed the crate down next to the sofa behind her. He removed two bottles from the crate, and opened both before handing her a bottle. Kneeling next to her, he took a swig from his bottle and said, glancing at the DVDs, "Figure we need to get drunk. What are we watching?"
She shrugged, taking a swig from her own bottle, before looking at the DVDs. "Well, the Mummy is a little too close to home, and I'll just hear Daniel ranting in my head about the inaccuracies; I don't really care for Too Fast Too Furious..."
He snorted derisively, and when she looked at him curiously, he remarked, "Samantha, that franchise is a classic." He raised a finger. "And... that is rich coming from you; you're a bigger speed freak than I am."
She laughed, and shook her head in disbelief at him. Taking another swig, she said, reaching for a disc, "What about this? I've heard you talk about it at work, and I figure we won't have to concentrate on it too much."
He inclined his head as she put the disc into the machine and he remarked, sounding impressed, "Good choice. Thought we were going to watch Singing in the Rain again."
As they got up to sit on the sofa behind them, she said, a touch defensively, "Now that is a classic."
"Says you."
As the movie began to play, she placed the remote control down and relaxed back into her seat. He looked back at her and remarked, doing the same, "Making yourself at home?"
She replied with a smile, "It's just nice not being at work for once." She glanced around the room and asked, "What are we doing for food?"
He said with a shrug, "Meh, something will turn up."
She snorted with laughter, trying not to spit out the beer she had just swigged. Managing to swallow it, she laughed again, and remarked with a nudge, "Typical man." Her smile faded as her attention wandered back to the film. "It's nice just for once not having to be somewhere or do something..."
He retorted, glaring at her again, "Hey, don't jinx it." His gaze softened as he watched her. He said, "How are you feeling?"
She glanced at him, distracted. She replied with a shrug, "Fine, I guess."
He grimaced a little. He knew how closed off she could get. He may not have known her as long as the others had but he had known her longer than the others had known him. He knew she had a propensity to at least try to pretend everything was okay while everything went to hell in a handbasket or seven. She was always under pressure to work miracles with few resources and even less time. There had to be some fallout; he wouldn't let her hide.
"How was he?"
She replied, distracted again as she had some more beer, "Who?"
"Orlin."
Yeah, now he had her attention. She looked at him, her eyes glistening with tears he wasn't sure he was sober enough to handle. She spoke wistfully as she tried to focus on the screen. "He's fine."
He put his beer down on the coffee table with a slightly louder thud than he had intended. This got her attention again, and he said, seriously, "Don't shut me out."
She blinked back tears that she hadn't wanted to shed in company, regardless of who was present. She said, her beer still in hand, "He didn't know who I was." She sighed and took another swig, closing her eyes as she leaned back into the seat again. "After everything we've been through..." She shook her head, unable to accurately convey the depth of her feelings, partly due to years of military training and combat experience.
He nodded, picking up his beer again. He knew that feeling all too well. She hadn't finished her sentence but he knew. He took an extra long swig. Damn, he was going to end up with a sore head in the morning. He sighed as he sat back next to her, their shoulders touching. They said nothing for a long while as they watched the film, both of them laughing at various parts as they gradually started to deplete the crate.
Loosening up a little, she looked at him and asked, "How are you settling in?"
He nodded, feeling a little spacey, a voice in the back of his mind telling him that this is where he normally stopped drinking. He said with a shrug, "It's going alright." He shrugged. "I mean, we got some new bad guys, but it'll be fine." He looked at her. "I got you, Teal'c, and Jackson watching my back; you guys fought badder."
She snorted with laughter and remarked, "I wouldn't necessarily say badder; more dramatic, perhaps."
He smiled at her and said, looking back at the screen, "Did you meet anyone in Nevada?"
She looked at him sceptically. "How drunk are you?"
He shrugged exaggeratedly, looking as though he was trying to weigh up his answer. He said, looking at her, "Probably about as much as you." He glanced to the side. "Okay, maybe a bit more."
They laughed. He then looked at her semi-seriously again. "So...?"
She rolled her eyes and said, "So?"
"Anyone?"
She shook her head in disbelief and sipped some more beer. He reached from the remote and muted it, the film playing to itself in the background. She shot him a look that would have ordinarily had him considering insuring his manhood. He looked at her meaningfully.
"Samantha."
She matched his gaze before dropping it, and saying with a shrug, "Nope. No-one."
He retorted with a laugh, "Yeah, not buying it."
She shook her head. "Honestly." She shrugged again. "I took the job so I could be there for Cassie; she was going through a rough time." She sighed. "We forget that she lost her whole world, everything she knew at a very young age." She glanced at him. "And then she lost her adopted mother." Tears stung her eyes again, her gaze dropping. "I miss her every day."
He put his beer down again and pulled her into a hug as she began to cry. He said softly, "Hey, come on."
He let her go and she sniffed, drying her eyes with the tissue he offered her. She muttered her thanks, embarrassed at being so emotional in front of another soldier, regardless of their friendship. Regaining her relative composure – she was a touch inebriated after all – she said, clearing her throat, "She's doing much better anyhow. I couldn't support her very much when we were fighting the Goa'uld. I guess I grabbed the first chance I could when the opportunity presented itself."
They resumed watching the film, and he said, opening another bottle of beer, "Do you think you'd ever try it again?"
She frowned, her head swimming. "Try what again?"
"Dating."
She almost choked on her beer mid-swig. When she had recovered, she said, looking mortified, "What's brought this on?"
He said with a shrug, "Just taking an interest in my team. Me and you don't get to hang out much. And I can do emotions once we've had a few beers." He looked at her meaningfully. "So...?"
She rolled her eyes at him again, and said, a wistful expression on his face, "My default is work; I'm happy right now." She looked at him seriously. "I really missed going through the 'gate." She smiled slightly. "Thanks for getting us back together."
He replied with a smile, taking another swig, "Well, I wanted to work with the best of the best; not a blank slate."
She excused herself to go to the bathroom, and he resumed watching the film. On her return, he offered her another bottle which she reluctantly accepted. He asked, "So are the rumours about you and O'Neill true?"
She just about managed to stop herself from choking as she sat down. She said, incredulous, "What?"
He said with a shrug, feigning casualness, "You and O'Neill are apparently bumping uglies every time he comes over from Washington, and while you were in Nevada."
She looked even more incredulous. She shook her head eventually and said with a sceptical laugh, "You'd think I'd recall that." He looked at her, a little surprised. She said with a shrug as she sank back into the seat, "Nope, nothing ever came for that." She glanced at him cryptically. "... because there was always someone else in the way."
He looked at her, not quite believing what she had said. He said, his eyes widening a little, "Aw, now this I gotta hear." He paused. "Who?"
She shook her head and said, a soft smile on her lips, "Not telling."
"Now you can't leave me on the edge like that; we're supposed to be a team."
Her face heated up, her heart pounding as she looked at him. He looked at her meaningfully, or at least as meaningfully as he could in their state. She blinked and said, her words tinged with sadness, "It doesn't matter any more."
"Why not?" He reached for her hand. "Who is it?" Something gradually dawned on him and he silently prayed they wouldn't get summoned into action as he felt a lot slower than his usual professional self; not that General Landry would let either of them on duty in their present states, regardless of the drama of the week. "It's Jackson, isn't it?"
She smiled wistfully and took another swig. A little overwhelmed but not completely surprised, he remarked, "Aw, hell to the no."
She resumed watching the film, continuing to look wistful. He said, looking at her in concern, "Why didn't you say anything?"
She said sombrely, taking another sip, "It was never the right time." She looked at him. "When I first met him, he was married, then he lost Sha're and he spent so long looking for her." She sniffed back tears that were threatening to spill. "Then when I was building myself up to tell him, he died..." She closed her eyes briefly. "Well, he didn't die; he ascended or whatever he did, but he came back and he was trying to find himself again." She sniffed again. "He'd had to relive the pain of losing Sha're all over again; I... I just couldn't, and then we lost Janet. Then of course, everything else that was going on around that time."
He pulled her into a hug, a concerned expression on his face, his beer forgotten on the coffee table. She said, muffled, her eyes closed, "And plus even if he did feel the same way that I do, there's the frat regs."
He released her and she dried her eyes. He said, "I'm sure we could work around them; after everything you two have done for the planet." He shrugged. "Okay, so Jackson could be officially off the team but be a civilian consultant on paper."
She said, bemused, "Aren't we jumping the gun? I don't know if he feels the same way as I do."
He replied, still looking concerned, "Look, my point is, there is always a way." He shrugged again, looking a little cheeky. "I'm thinking you just don't want to tell him. Girl, you need to live a little."
She snorted with laughter and replied, "I live plenty."
"Plenty?"
She sighed and said, looking hopeful, "If I don't tell him, I don't disrupt the team dynamics. He doesn't need to know; we can carry on doing what we do best." She smiled a little. "I love my job; I missed everyone when I was out in Nevada. Research is great, but this is everything to me; exploration, discovery... I mean, I could do without the hundred yard dashes to the Stargate so often under fire..." she shrugged, "... but hey, I'm not fussy."
He raised a finger, the voice in the back of his mind screaming at him to stop drinking. He shrugged, thinking to himself that he ought to listen to it. He said, pointing at her, "You've got to tell him."
She said, scrunching up her nose, "Why are you so interested in it anyway?"
He said with a shrug, "I just want to see you happy and have a life outside of work for once. It's been all work work work since I've known you. Life is short."
She laughed and replied, "Work on yourself."
He said, trying to be serious, his head quite foggy now, "Hey... it'll happen for me; you can't rush these things." He remarked with smirk, "I'm just not going to hang onto someone for nine years and not say anything. Seize the day."
She tried to resume watching the film but found herself lost as to what was happening. Her eyes began to feel heavy and she found herself closing her eyes, leaning her head against his shoulder. She yawned, stretching a little, and said drowsily, "Seize your own day."