**CORRECTED CHAPTER**
Thanks go out to Miscbills for catch my Daniel faux pas.
Chapter 11
Standing in the airport luggage carousel area, Samantha Carter still hadn't decided if
she was pissed as hell or deeply touched that her friends were coming up for a visit.
Jack had been so crafty in broaching the topic that Sam was still reeling from the
news. She glanced at her watch expectantly. The puddle-jumper with Janet, Cassie
and Daniel should be landing soon. Sam hoped she had made the right decision in
agreeing to their visit. Not that she didn't miss them or enjoy their company, it's
just she was painfully aware of the underlying reason for it. Herself.
It wasn't often that Sam was affected so profoundly from a mission. She could feel
the hysterical laughter bubbling up within her. **Yeah, but how many times have
you been stripped naked and mauled by pygmy Goa'ulds?** Usually the only time
she lost her cool exterior was when one her teammates were injured or missing.
And even then, it usually was handled quietly and in private. Unfortunately for
everyone involved, she DID have a pattern. It wasn't a conscious decision or
anything, but Sam almost always threw herself into her work (either to forget or try
and find an answer) and she usually forgot to eat. That's just how she was. So why
everyone was so concerned that she had dropped a pound or two was ludicrous! It
wasn't as if all of this was a big surprise or anything; this was standard operating
procedure when it came to Samantha Carter.
Sam sighed and sat down on one of the hard plastic chairs. She knew she wasn't
quite being truthful here. This wasn't your normal SGC traumatic event, and never
had it hit her so intimately. She knew Jack was worried- hell she was worried too.
Janet might think it was great that she was beginning to have nightmares, but Sam
wasn't too sure. These nightmarish memories had been brutal. In the one last night
Temur had been the one who raped her and Jack was forced to watch. God it had
been so horrible! She had wanted to cry when Jack followed her into the bathroom
that first night. Sam didn't remember a single word he had said but the tender act
of just being there with her was nearly enough to break her heart. God she loved
the man.
Sam swiped her eyes absently as she checked her watch for the third time.
**Anytime now guys…** Sam sat watching as another small planeload of passengers
arrived to claim their luggage. Nope, didn't look like it was their plane. She ran a
hand through her slightly longer than normal blonde hair and sighed. Jack had been
so damn sly about all of this!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
24 hours earlier
"Morning Sunshine!" A very chipper Colonel greeted her as she stepped into the
divinely smelling kitchen.
"Pancakes?"
"Homemade waffles actually." Jack said waving a small paring knife in the air.
"With fresh strawberries and whipped cream. He wiggled his eyebrows at her
suggestively.
Sam smiled as she sat down on a stool near the breakfast nook. "Sounds
wonderful." She picked up the morning paper scanning for anything interesting to
keep her occupied. Truthfully she wasn't all that hungry but she would make a
gallant effort to try and eat some of the food being made for her.
"So…" Jack began glancing furtively at Sam as he poured some more batter into the
waffle iron. "How'd you feel about a little more company up here?"
Sam looked up from the front page. "Jack?"
Jack turned and gave her a somewhat nervous look. "I'd like to say for the record
that it isn't entirely my idea."
"Go on." Sam said crossing her arms across her chest.
"See, the Doc has the next three days off and wanted to take Cassie to Southern
California for a little vacation. Cas wanted to see Disneyland before she got "too old"
to enjoy it and the Doc was looking forward to the sunshine."
"But.." Sam began.
"El Nino." Jack said simply as he pulled out the now cooked waffle and placed it with
the others in the oven to warm. He took another moment to pour Sam a fresh cup
of coffee and placed it on the counter in front of her. He then leaned over and gave
her a quick kiss on lips as he sat down on a stool next to her.
"Apparently Southern California is rather soggy right now. Record rains and cool
temperatures. Since she and Cassie were going on a frequent flyer flight, CASSIE
asked if they could go someplace else."
"Cassie, huh?"
"I swear to god Sam, Cassie asked if there were another place to go besides the wet
pacific coast."
"Uh-huh." Sam blew on her coffee and took a small sip. Nirvana. Daniel had
definitely showed Jack the finer points to brewing a good cup of coffee.
"And that's when Janet asked Cassie about coming up to the cabin." Sam just gave
him a look and Jack rushed on before she could say anything. "You know how Cassie
has always wanted to come up here. Heck, I was planning on using the kid at some
point as a way to get you up here. But seeing as THAT'S not necessary any longer…"
"So did Janet ask to bring Cassie up before or after you called her Jack O'Neill?"
Uh oh. Maybe he wasn't as crafty as he thought- Sam was good.
Jack looked at her sheepishly. "After." He admitted. Sam took another sip of the
coffee and audibly sighed.
"Jack, am I that much of a basket case that you need Janet's help?" Sam sounded
hurt.
"No!" Jack said forcibly setting down his coffee cup a little too hard. "You are NOT a
basket case." He said adamantly. He placed both hands on Sam's knees. "But I AM
worried about you Sam. When SG-1 gets cleared for our next mission, I want you at
my side. But that's not going to happen until you start to come to terms with what
happened on '415."
"I HAVE come to terms with what happened on that god-forsaken planet!" Sam
yelled standing up. "It was a fucking gang-bang Jack! With you doing all the
banging and everyone else just drooling on the sidelines! I have NEVER been so
mortified about anything in my entire life!" Sam suddenly realized she was
shouting. Loudly. At the one guy who really didn't deserve to be shouted at. She
quietly sat back down. "Never." She whispered.
Jack did his best to swallow the large lump in his throat and not show how shaken
Sam's words had made him. It was the first time she had shown anger and while
logically Jack knew this was a good thing, inside he was cringing and already piling
the blame heavily on himself.
"Remember what Hammond said?" Jack said in a hoarse voice. He cleared his
throat. "We won't be cleared for duty until we talk to someone and that's not going
to happen unless we make the effort to actually see folks other than ourselves." He
took one of Sam's slightly shaking hands in his own.
"We will get through this Sam and you are probably the strongest individual I have
EVER met. But we both could use a little help here. Janet offered and I accepted.
Although I did say I needed to discuss it with you first." He looked at her
expectantly with those big chocolate brown eyes of his. As if Sam honestly had a
chance of saying no to him.
"Ok." Sam whispered.
"Janet and Cassie can come?" Sam nodded. Jack squeezed her hand. Sam looked
at this man who cared for her so much through moist eyes. She leaned over and
placed a tender kiss on his lips.
"You mentioned breakfast?"
"Coming right up m'lady!" Jack said standing up with an audible click of his knees.
As if remembering something, Jack suddenly turned back around and grinned
cheekily at Sam.
"So how'd you feel about Danny coming up and joining this party as well?"
Sam could do nothing but roll her eyes. "Wouldn't be a party without Daniel." With
that she picked up her coffee and began to read about the latest Washington
scandal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Present
"Sam!" Cassie said wrapping herself around Sam's waist. Sam bent down and
hugged her favorite-orphaned alien back. She gave her a huge smile. "It's great to
see you Cassie."
"Casandra!" Her mother admonished kindly coming up behind the pair. "Give Sam
some space to breathe now, ok?"
"I'm fine Janet." Sam said standing up. Over Janet's head, Sam could see a very
disorganized archaeologist approaching them. "Hey Daniel."
"Sam! Please tell me they have decent coffee in this town." Daniel said somewhat
breathlessly dropping his shoulder bag heavily on the ground.
"He's been suffering from withdrawal symptoms for the last four hours." Janet
whispered conspiriously. "I never quite realized the extent of his addiction before."
Sam laughed out loud. "Somehow Janet, I doubt that."
"Hey, I heard that. It wasn't my idea to leave so darn early."
"Daniel, you were late, which is why we didn't have time to stop at Starbuck's before
catching the flight." Daniel muttered something under his breath as he looked
around hopefully for an espresso stand. Why couldn't Jack's cabin be in some place
civilized, like say- Seattle?
"Worry not Daniel, you have taught Jack well and a freshly brewed pot of Italian
Roast is waiting for you back at the cabin."
"Thank the non snake infested gods." Daniel said happily as he awkwardly picked up
his bag using his left hand. "What are we waiting for? Let's head it out!"
"Is he like this off-world?" Janet asked linking one of her arms through Sam's.
"Jan, you have NO idea."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jack had indeed cooked up a feast in the 90 minutes that Sam had been gone.
Daniel of course paid no mind to the freshly grilled steaks or potato salad and went
straight for the aromatic beverage perched on the edge of the counter.
"Just poured Daniel." Jack said smiling. Daniel was such a cliché when it came to
coffee.
"Thanks Jack." Daniel said blissfully breathing in the heady smell. Never did he so
desire a second hand in order to bring the heavenly smelling liquid to his lips.
**Why'd Janet have to be here! It's much easier to break a few 'Doctor's Orders'
when the doctor in question isn't standing right behind you!** He groaned
appreciatively as he took his first careful sip. Jack resisted the urge to cover Cassie's
ears. Geesh Daniel- get a room!
"Colonel Jack!"
"Heya Cassie-o-pia!" Jack said swinging the not so small teenager in a small circle.
Another couple of months tops and his child swinging days would be over.
"Colonel, stop that!" Janet said absently going into doctor mode as Jack lowered the
dizzy girl to the ground. "You still have some tender ribs and rough housing with an adolescent
child is not…"
"I am NOT a child." Cassie interrupted glaring at the adults present and hastily
scrambling to her feet.
Jack laughed. "I'll be good Doctor, promise." He offered Cassie a hand up. "And
you are definitely not a child anymore Cass. Just remember that all perspective
dates have to be approved by me, ok?" Cassie nodded trying not to blush.
"Lunch is about to be served, but first I think everyone needs to see this great sign I
have hanging over my front door…."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tbc.
Thanks go out to Miscbills for catch my Daniel faux pas.
Chapter 11
Standing in the airport luggage carousel area, Samantha Carter still hadn't decided if
she was pissed as hell or deeply touched that her friends were coming up for a visit.
Jack had been so crafty in broaching the topic that Sam was still reeling from the
news. She glanced at her watch expectantly. The puddle-jumper with Janet, Cassie
and Daniel should be landing soon. Sam hoped she had made the right decision in
agreeing to their visit. Not that she didn't miss them or enjoy their company, it's
just she was painfully aware of the underlying reason for it. Herself.
It wasn't often that Sam was affected so profoundly from a mission. She could feel
the hysterical laughter bubbling up within her. **Yeah, but how many times have
you been stripped naked and mauled by pygmy Goa'ulds?** Usually the only time
she lost her cool exterior was when one her teammates were injured or missing.
And even then, it usually was handled quietly and in private. Unfortunately for
everyone involved, she DID have a pattern. It wasn't a conscious decision or
anything, but Sam almost always threw herself into her work (either to forget or try
and find an answer) and she usually forgot to eat. That's just how she was. So why
everyone was so concerned that she had dropped a pound or two was ludicrous! It
wasn't as if all of this was a big surprise or anything; this was standard operating
procedure when it came to Samantha Carter.
Sam sighed and sat down on one of the hard plastic chairs. She knew she wasn't
quite being truthful here. This wasn't your normal SGC traumatic event, and never
had it hit her so intimately. She knew Jack was worried- hell she was worried too.
Janet might think it was great that she was beginning to have nightmares, but Sam
wasn't too sure. These nightmarish memories had been brutal. In the one last night
Temur had been the one who raped her and Jack was forced to watch. God it had
been so horrible! She had wanted to cry when Jack followed her into the bathroom
that first night. Sam didn't remember a single word he had said but the tender act
of just being there with her was nearly enough to break her heart. God she loved
the man.
Sam swiped her eyes absently as she checked her watch for the third time.
**Anytime now guys…** Sam sat watching as another small planeload of passengers
arrived to claim their luggage. Nope, didn't look like it was their plane. She ran a
hand through her slightly longer than normal blonde hair and sighed. Jack had been
so damn sly about all of this!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
24 hours earlier
"Morning Sunshine!" A very chipper Colonel greeted her as she stepped into the
divinely smelling kitchen.
"Pancakes?"
"Homemade waffles actually." Jack said waving a small paring knife in the air.
"With fresh strawberries and whipped cream. He wiggled his eyebrows at her
suggestively.
Sam smiled as she sat down on a stool near the breakfast nook. "Sounds
wonderful." She picked up the morning paper scanning for anything interesting to
keep her occupied. Truthfully she wasn't all that hungry but she would make a
gallant effort to try and eat some of the food being made for her.
"So…" Jack began glancing furtively at Sam as he poured some more batter into the
waffle iron. "How'd you feel about a little more company up here?"
Sam looked up from the front page. "Jack?"
Jack turned and gave her a somewhat nervous look. "I'd like to say for the record
that it isn't entirely my idea."
"Go on." Sam said crossing her arms across her chest.
"See, the Doc has the next three days off and wanted to take Cassie to Southern
California for a little vacation. Cas wanted to see Disneyland before she got "too old"
to enjoy it and the Doc was looking forward to the sunshine."
"But.." Sam began.
"El Nino." Jack said simply as he pulled out the now cooked waffle and placed it with
the others in the oven to warm. He took another moment to pour Sam a fresh cup
of coffee and placed it on the counter in front of her. He then leaned over and gave
her a quick kiss on lips as he sat down on a stool next to her.
"Apparently Southern California is rather soggy right now. Record rains and cool
temperatures. Since she and Cassie were going on a frequent flyer flight, CASSIE
asked if they could go someplace else."
"Cassie, huh?"
"I swear to god Sam, Cassie asked if there were another place to go besides the wet
pacific coast."
"Uh-huh." Sam blew on her coffee and took a small sip. Nirvana. Daniel had
definitely showed Jack the finer points to brewing a good cup of coffee.
"And that's when Janet asked Cassie about coming up to the cabin." Sam just gave
him a look and Jack rushed on before she could say anything. "You know how Cassie
has always wanted to come up here. Heck, I was planning on using the kid at some
point as a way to get you up here. But seeing as THAT'S not necessary any longer…"
"So did Janet ask to bring Cassie up before or after you called her Jack O'Neill?"
Uh oh. Maybe he wasn't as crafty as he thought- Sam was good.
Jack looked at her sheepishly. "After." He admitted. Sam took another sip of the
coffee and audibly sighed.
"Jack, am I that much of a basket case that you need Janet's help?" Sam sounded
hurt.
"No!" Jack said forcibly setting down his coffee cup a little too hard. "You are NOT a
basket case." He said adamantly. He placed both hands on Sam's knees. "But I AM
worried about you Sam. When SG-1 gets cleared for our next mission, I want you at
my side. But that's not going to happen until you start to come to terms with what
happened on '415."
"I HAVE come to terms with what happened on that god-forsaken planet!" Sam
yelled standing up. "It was a fucking gang-bang Jack! With you doing all the
banging and everyone else just drooling on the sidelines! I have NEVER been so
mortified about anything in my entire life!" Sam suddenly realized she was
shouting. Loudly. At the one guy who really didn't deserve to be shouted at. She
quietly sat back down. "Never." She whispered.
Jack did his best to swallow the large lump in his throat and not show how shaken
Sam's words had made him. It was the first time she had shown anger and while
logically Jack knew this was a good thing, inside he was cringing and already piling
the blame heavily on himself.
"Remember what Hammond said?" Jack said in a hoarse voice. He cleared his
throat. "We won't be cleared for duty until we talk to someone and that's not going
to happen unless we make the effort to actually see folks other than ourselves." He
took one of Sam's slightly shaking hands in his own.
"We will get through this Sam and you are probably the strongest individual I have
EVER met. But we both could use a little help here. Janet offered and I accepted.
Although I did say I needed to discuss it with you first." He looked at her
expectantly with those big chocolate brown eyes of his. As if Sam honestly had a
chance of saying no to him.
"Ok." Sam whispered.
"Janet and Cassie can come?" Sam nodded. Jack squeezed her hand. Sam looked
at this man who cared for her so much through moist eyes. She leaned over and
placed a tender kiss on his lips.
"You mentioned breakfast?"
"Coming right up m'lady!" Jack said standing up with an audible click of his knees.
As if remembering something, Jack suddenly turned back around and grinned
cheekily at Sam.
"So how'd you feel about Danny coming up and joining this party as well?"
Sam could do nothing but roll her eyes. "Wouldn't be a party without Daniel." With
that she picked up her coffee and began to read about the latest Washington
scandal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Present
"Sam!" Cassie said wrapping herself around Sam's waist. Sam bent down and
hugged her favorite-orphaned alien back. She gave her a huge smile. "It's great to
see you Cassie."
"Casandra!" Her mother admonished kindly coming up behind the pair. "Give Sam
some space to breathe now, ok?"
"I'm fine Janet." Sam said standing up. Over Janet's head, Sam could see a very
disorganized archaeologist approaching them. "Hey Daniel."
"Sam! Please tell me they have decent coffee in this town." Daniel said somewhat
breathlessly dropping his shoulder bag heavily on the ground.
"He's been suffering from withdrawal symptoms for the last four hours." Janet
whispered conspiriously. "I never quite realized the extent of his addiction before."
Sam laughed out loud. "Somehow Janet, I doubt that."
"Hey, I heard that. It wasn't my idea to leave so darn early."
"Daniel, you were late, which is why we didn't have time to stop at Starbuck's before
catching the flight." Daniel muttered something under his breath as he looked
around hopefully for an espresso stand. Why couldn't Jack's cabin be in some place
civilized, like say- Seattle?
"Worry not Daniel, you have taught Jack well and a freshly brewed pot of Italian
Roast is waiting for you back at the cabin."
"Thank the non snake infested gods." Daniel said happily as he awkwardly picked up
his bag using his left hand. "What are we waiting for? Let's head it out!"
"Is he like this off-world?" Janet asked linking one of her arms through Sam's.
"Jan, you have NO idea."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jack had indeed cooked up a feast in the 90 minutes that Sam had been gone.
Daniel of course paid no mind to the freshly grilled steaks or potato salad and went
straight for the aromatic beverage perched on the edge of the counter.
"Just poured Daniel." Jack said smiling. Daniel was such a cliché when it came to
coffee.
"Thanks Jack." Daniel said blissfully breathing in the heady smell. Never did he so
desire a second hand in order to bring the heavenly smelling liquid to his lips.
**Why'd Janet have to be here! It's much easier to break a few 'Doctor's Orders'
when the doctor in question isn't standing right behind you!** He groaned
appreciatively as he took his first careful sip. Jack resisted the urge to cover Cassie's
ears. Geesh Daniel- get a room!
"Colonel Jack!"
"Heya Cassie-o-pia!" Jack said swinging the not so small teenager in a small circle.
Another couple of months tops and his child swinging days would be over.
"Colonel, stop that!" Janet said absently going into doctor mode as Jack lowered the
dizzy girl to the ground. "You still have some tender ribs and rough housing with an adolescent
child is not…"
"I am NOT a child." Cassie interrupted glaring at the adults present and hastily
scrambling to her feet.
Jack laughed. "I'll be good Doctor, promise." He offered Cassie a hand up. "And
you are definitely not a child anymore Cass. Just remember that all perspective
dates have to be approved by me, ok?" Cassie nodded trying not to blush.
"Lunch is about to be served, but first I think everyone needs to see this great sign I
have hanging over my front door…."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tbc.