Hi folks! Hope that you had a Merry Christmas and that you're fine. I'm back with 3 new chapters, enjoy!
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Jack O'Neill got out of a cubicle, to reach one of the washbasins in front of him. He was in a bathroom. Urinals were on the right.
The mirror above the row of washbasins made Jack see he was back in his Air Force service dress, as a lieutenant general.
Physically, he looked good. Inside, it was totally different.
The general came to the sink, washed his hands and face. He needed something fresh, even cold, right now. He noticed a wedding ring on his finger.
He turned off the faucet.
He looked at his reflection in the mirror and glimpsed the ring.
That was enough. He was tired of this.
Jack saw on the left a metallic dustbin almost as tall as his legs. He suddenly rushed to it, grabbed the top of it and violently threw the object to the floor.
O'Neill was furious. The poor trashcan had been his punching bag. The man leant his back against the wall adjacent to the entrance door and slid to sit onto the floor, legs stretched forward.
He didn't want to play anymore. He didn't have the strength to figure out where he was anymore. Even to confirm if he was married to Sam. If he was, what would it mean? It would just mean another situation that wasn't real. He wasn't interested in being married to a simulation of Sam anymore. What could possibly be this time? A Sam with red hair and tattoos all over her body? A civilian Sam working for the Stargate Program? A Sam who had become a Goa'uld host? A Sam who was having second thoughts about living with an older man? Whatever the message would be, that was enough.
Jack wanted to be with the real Samantha Carter again. If he couldn't get back to the real one, then, maybe it meant he didn't deserve a happy ending with her. Thus, why couldn't he just have a clear and straightforward confirmation? Were all these situations necessary?
Jack had lost his energy. Therefore, he would stay right here, sitting on the floor of the bathroom in that building, not caring about anything, just eyeing the cubicles and washbasins.
The general ignored the man who entered the toilets. A man with short brown hair and glasses. The man whose theory about pyramids being used as landing platforms by aliens' ships had made him be laughed at by the whole community of archeologists.
"Jack?" Daniel Jackson exclaimed, surprised to see Jack on the floor.
O'Neill passively turned his head to the left. Jackson, in a suit, was looking at him.
"Hi, Daniel," Jack intoned to be polite.
Daniel gave Jack a startled look. He didn't really know what to think about this situation. "Uh, Jack, what are you doing?" Daniel eventually asked.
Jack eyed the cubicles again. "Just thinking..." he intoned.
"Uh, okay..." Daniel frowned. "You know there are more comfortable places for that?" he teased.
Jack gave a jaded look to the civilian. Seeing that Jack seemed not to have any other reaction, Daniel sat on the left side of Jack, and looked at the cubicles.
O'Neill broke the silence for a reason he didn't know, maybe he just felt like saying, "I miss her."
The general expected everything but that reaction from Jackson. "I know. I can't imagine how hard it is for both of you."
O"Neill, caught off guard, stared at Daniel.
"And I admire you," Daniel confided. He looked at his friend. "I admire how you've made through the distance and done this together. The SGC and D.C., Atlantis and Earth, and now," Daniel smiled and ended, "You should be proud of you."
Jack remained silent. He had an idea of what Daniel was talking about. He wanted to confirm but the neon at the ceiling above the two men flashed.
Daniel glanced at the neon. "Interesting... Maybe it's the sign we should go," he said, then, looked back at the man in blue. "I'd love to talk with you about life, but right now, Jack, you need to go back to your office."
Daniel was smiling. Jack wasn't.
"Come on!" Daniel encouraged, waiving a hand, before he stood up.
Jack had no other choice. He stood up and followed his friend out of the bathroom.