Epilogue for "I was Reminded"
For the "not mine" (disclaimer) please see the first chapter.
Author's Note: …yeah, I know, the Princess Bride References are getting ridiculous (and that I don't know the difference between a prologue and an epilogue… sigh)
***
Jack took another bite of his military ration bar. What was it suppose to taste like? Apples? Bananas? Some odd combination of both?
The entire gang was in the back of the Tok'ra ship (so sweet). Eating, teaching Teal'c to play poker (absolutely hilarious) and having sort of an informal debrief.
"Well after Mert and Runihura abducted me from P3…" she stumbled on the gate address.
"X972," helped the Colonel. Like he could ever forget that planet.
She gave him a quick grin, "Yeah..."
"Who's Mert?" interrupted Jacob.
"She was Runihura's servant..." and Kamilah's friend.
"And she helped us escape," added the Colonel.
"O'Neill," interrupted Teal'c, "If I have three women and two A's, what should I do?"
"If you have three queens and two aces, Teal'c, it's called a full house. That means that you 'stay pat' while the rest of us fold," replied Jack, throwing his cards down on the table.
"Hey," said Daniel after the laughter subsided, "Anybody notice that Christmas is in a
week?"
***
It took a while, but the whole story came out eventually: Kamilah, Runihura, Mert, Nephthys, Abayomous… everything. Well, almost everything. He didn't mention how she'd stopped breathing in the prison cell (he'd tell Janet, honest) and she certainly glossed over what happened in those three months that she was Kamilah, saying only that she had had strange dreams and flashes of memories. The fact that she'd been tortured to death was toned down for the audience as well (probably for Jacob's sake, if anyone). Their feelings for one another? Definitely not mentioned.
It still was a pretty exciting story even with only half of it told, and if anyone suspected otherwise, they were wise enough not to press for details (…yet).
They were alive. They were safe. Right now, none of the other stuff really mattered.
It was after they'd finished their apple/banana food rations and Teal'c had won about five games in a row (card shark!) that the Jaffa stood up and said bluntly that he had to kelnoreem. Within minutes, Jacob also left the room to "catch up on some Tok'ra paperwork". Daniel stuck around for a bit, but once he was assured that Sam and Jack really were alright, he snuck off feigning that he was tired, leaving the colonel and major alone. Funny that.
Jack picked up a card and after spending a sufficient amount of time pretending to look incredibly interested, discarded it into the pile in front of him (they were playing Gin Rummy now). Cards definitely were the ideal "passing time in outer space" activity.
Sam smirked, "So, stamp collection, sir? That was the best you come up with?"
The colonel pretended to be upset. "I'll let you know, Carter, I take pride in my hobby. I have stamps from around the galaxy!"
"The galaxy has postage?" she asked, playing along.
"Yeah, but it's not very reliable. Things tend to get lost. And the zip codes are a mile long."
She laughed, and the Colonel felt like a million bucks.
The carefree mood sobered quickly though. Carter glanced down at her cards, discarding one eventually.
Should he say anything? She knew how he felt. Heck, he knew that she felt the same (not that he hadn't suspected before, even considering the za'tarc incident, but over time, feelings change).
She'd been tortured. She'd died, only to be brought back to life. She had lived a lie for several months; she'd been brainwashed and been another person! How she wasn't in serious shock right now was a miracle. That she was laughing…
He should say something, but damn it, he never really was any good at that sort of thing.
He should really say something. Obviously, the thought was nagging at him. He should really really say something.
"Carter…" Well, that was saying 'something'.
The woman in question made a slight grunting noise, or maybe it was a "Yeah?" he couldn't tell.
He really should say something more.
"Sam." When was the last time he'd said her first name? …Oh yeah, the time she stopped breathing on him. "If you want to," he paused, searching for her eyes, "Talk." Yeah, talking, that was good. "You know I'm here for you, right?"
As a friend, as somebody who wants to understand (that last part he just tried to 'will' her to understand intuitively).
She was avoiding his eyes. "Yeah, I know. Thanks. It's just a little confusing right now, you know?" He had no clue, but he nodded 'yes' anyway. His hand somehow had found hers and was lightly touching her fingertips (probably not a good idea).
She smiled slightly, "Kamilah, Thera, Jolinar, Sam… when I get them all sorted out, I'll let you know." It was disturbing, but it was the truth.
"Don't you dare start developing multiple personalities on me!" he pretended to threaten.
"I wouldn't dare," she told him. She stared at their hands, which without Jack's knowledge (or permission) had clasped each other. She didn't pull away.
"I think being MIA for a few months gives me right for a couple of weeks of leave, you think?" she asked conversationally.
"MIA and presumed dead? Nah," he joked, "But I think Hammond has a soft spot for you."
"Really?" Carter replied, and in a complete change of subject, she asked, "How's your cabin? Have you been up recently? I seem to remember somebody mentioning that you had some good fishing…"
God, is she saying what I think she's saying? Is she suggesting that she wants to come to my cabin--?
"Now that you mention it, I haven't been up there in a while… I've been meaning to pay a visit. Maybe, after Christmas and everything you wanna come up with me?" It didn't mean anything. He asked her all the time! (Just because you know that she can't come… that she won't come.) Her hand was tracing gentle circles on his, and he almost didn't realize that she was answering him.
"…sure, but there isn't going to be much fishing in the middle of December, is there?"
She said yes. Wow.
"There's always ice fishing," he suggested.
Sam made a face, "Maybe you could show me some of those 'galactic stamps' of yours instead."
This wasn't happening… (Their hands were tenderly massaging each other) …okay, maybe it was.
"You know I was just kidding about the stamp collection, right?"
It couldn't be happily ever after, not yet at least, but right now it felt pretty close.
The End
C'est fini… please write a review (comments/suggestions/etc). I would love to hear what everyone thought.
(Happy Easter/Passover/Holidays!)