EIGHT
"Samantha, will you marry me?"
There, he'd said it. Clearly and without hesitation.
Sam's blue eyes enlarged with the sudden proposal, and he sat waiting like a naïve pup. Either way, the wall lifted, granting them passage to move forward.
Jack stared at her, shocked and at a loss for words. Not that he had plenty to say, still, her decision mattered. She wanted it. Dammit, she wanted him, of all people.
"Yes?"
"Mm-hmm."
"You're saying yes?"
"Yes."
"For real? That's a yes?"
Sam laughed, with tears in her eyes and embraced him. He returned the embrace and held on tightly, sharing the same enthusiasm and joy.
They did it, they'd finally transcended that boundary which kept them firmly in place. They'd bridged the gap. They actually did it.
Slowly, the surroundings faded and they woke to the group of scientists sharing in their celebration. It was a haze at first, and Jack and Sam felt the strain of the trial, he in particular, but they managed to hold hands and share the relief of it being over together.
Both had found what they were looking for. And they were looking at it.
Later on, with both of them rested, Sam sent a message through to the SGC.
The General had been in good hands and another day was requested to stay and to further strengthen the relationship between the two planets. It was merely an excuse to enjoy more time together, and to help in ironing out the kinks for the foreseeable future.
Upon the closest hill to the city in the valley, Jack and Sam stood holding hands.
"Just look at that sweet view."
"It's beautiful."
"Yeah, imagine a cabin right here." His hands gestured before them. "With the clouds over the mountains and a view of the lakes below."
"You're already wondering what's in them."
"Of course."
Sam squinted her eyes, gaging the naughty look upon his face. "You didn't, did you?"
"I might've mentioned something to the mustard guy about a piece of land."
"He threw a wrench in your plans, didn't he?"
"I see what you did there. And no, Colonel Mustard did not mind me asking. In fact."
"Oh boy."
"Let me finish. Free of charge, he'll even do the construction for us, granted I design it. Always wanted to do that."
"You really think a General of Homeworld Security will be allowed to gate through to his vacation home on another planet. With his wife."
"I like that. His wife."
"You barely get to go to Minnesota."
"Don't remind me."
"And we've decided to keep us . . ." She gestured between them. "A secret. How will it look if we use the gate for our own leisure? Us, professional Air Force personnel? Mmm?"
"A man can dream."
"And we haven't decided what we'll do after we go home."
"Ugh, do we have to? Can't we just enjoy this sweet view?"
"Jack, we need to talk. Mitchell's been hounding me to come back to SG1."
"I did not know that."
"You've been absent for three weeks."
They stared at one another, knowing the why, with him being apologetic since completing the trials. She didn't hold it against him, not now, but she had when he'd left her in the lurch. This too, bothered him. It was unlike him, to just leave her hanging. Nevertheless, he needed to get over the hurdle which kept him from committing to a full-time relationship.
In the backdrop, Sam looked at the scenery, remorseful for bringing up his unforeseen absence, though admitted to herself it helped them take the next step. It hurt deeply, to the heart, and dredged up old wounds, and in doing so, reminded her why she chose him. She needed his support, strength and encouragement, and it seemed he needed hers, too. Plus, they were independently dependant. Separate, but not apart from one another.
Unbuttoning his green BDU shirt at the top, he retrieved a pair of dog tags and let it hang from his fingers. With interest, she watched them and then frowned as Jack slipped them over her head. It cradled in his hand while she looked to him for an explanation.
"I made 'em specifically for you. You know, when you decide it's time to return to SG1."
She took the dog tags and inspected their engravings. Three of them hung from the same loop. 'Samantha Carter O'Neill Jonathan 'Jack' O'Neill'. It read. The other two contained her original military tags.
"Wow, I'm flattered. I am, but they'll see this, Jack. I'll probably be dead by then. Still . . ."
"You've got nothing to worry about." He whispered in her ear.
Sam narrowed her eyes, scolding him silently.
"Bad timing."
"No kidding."
"We're in this together now. You and me. Whatever comes next."
"And what if certain folks of the male kind ask me if I'm single?"
"Oh, I'm sure you'll figure it out."
She looked at it again and let it fall from her hand. "Thank you. It's sentimental and thoughtful."
"Sentimental? Hmm."
"Not you?"
"You're the expert."
Draping his arm over her shoulder, they watched the scenery together, but he sensed the discord. He thought tying the knot here would make her happy, not that she was, still, visible tension ran along her jaw. She thought deeply and alarmingly so.
"What?" He whispered.
"Re-joining might not be on top of my priority list. And this Ori threat may be greater than our usual slew of bad guys. How am I going to do this without you, Jack? I'm accustomed to you being there in the thick of things, next to me. And the other way around. It's different retraining myself to step-in line with another person I have not come to rely upon as much as I have you, Daniel and Teal'c."
"Carter, you led SG1 for a year. I wouldn't have promoted you if I thought you weren't ready or had the leadership skills to do it. You're doubting yourself, again, and you haven't even started yet."
"I'm in my head again?"
"It's exhausting, I should know. Reading more into something you don't completely understand. Oy, there's too much time overthinking all possible odds."
"What about you?"
"What about me?"
"We're a unit now."
"Oh." Lowering his arm to her lower back, Jack exhaled loudly. She smiled. "We've had years of practice. I'm sure we can settle into a comfortable rhythm."
"Not what I am referring to, and you know it."
"What do you want me to say, Sam? It's gonna be difficult being in Washington, wondering if my wife is safe or if she's taking unnecessary risks."
"Me, take risks?"
"Oh ssh you. It's not the SGC, where we saw each other every day. We're States apart. Eventually, we'll be planets apart. Why do you think I gave you these?" He took the dog tags between thumb and forefinger. "To remind you I am committed, to you."
"And to remind me of my commitment to you."
"And when you're lonely or if things get hairy, I'm there in the same boat. I feel the same way, too." Jack smiled charmingly. "There's always fishing."
"Good memory."
"Precisely. It fixes everything."
"Remember when we were at the cabin, upon the dock looking up at the stars?"
"Sure, we had that hideous blanket over us."
He smiled wickedly. Chuckling, Sam elbowed him in the ribs.
"Well, it hid us holding hands from Teal'c and Daniel."
"Even though they knew."
Her smile faded. "No, they didn't."
"Yeah, they did. They were just too polite to admit it."
"Anyway, in that moment, we were in perfect sync. We knew what we wanted. Us being married is a testament to it. But when we acted upon it . . . look at where it took us. I'm scared of us repeating the same path."
"Come here." Jack pulled her closer, embracing her like he'd done in the past. "We'll be okay, Sam, I promise."
MEANWHILE, back at the suite adjoining the monitoring station, Zeke watched their exchange upon a translucent screen.
"I'm afraid it won't be."
"It won't?" Dejon stood beside him. "What won't be?"
"We hid the programme's ability to lay bare the future."
"Oh."
"In the end, she'll live on nostalgia alone. What it was like to be together before circumstances force them beyond galaxies, to be reunited only to ripped apart by time. Again, and again."
Westfall entered, with reports in hand, but stopped when the supervisor glared at her.
"She knew?" Dejon said in a thin voice.
"Of course, Westfall knows. Monitors see all before the supervisors are informed, you know this."
Dejon turned on her. "And you kept this from them, even when they were saying their vows?"
She nodded innocently. "The vows confirmed it perfectly. Whatever comes next, they've had plenty of experience in the past to get through it."
"I can't believe she knew. I stood there oblivious and I married them."
"You're more worried about looking like a fool, than celebrating two individuals who are committed to sharing their lives together. Come what may."
"Until you ruined it."
Zeke shrugged. "Sad as it may be, Sir, General O'Neill fulfils his promise to her. He remains committed. He keeps her grounded, even when time separates them and even when their marriage is tested, he will remember this promise. Because this is the happiest day in his life since the death of his son."
FINIS
It's been interesting, mysterious and challenging.
- For those who stuck around, I hope you enjoyed it, and thank you to those who reviewed along the way.
Much appreciated,
Innovare