New York City

by the female apophis

Sam flies out to New York City. Jack follows in her wake, but doesn't expect what he sees when he gets there. I swear it gets better as it goes along...

New York City

By: the female apophis

Disclaimer: Define owns...

Rating: uh, PG-13 would be my guess. Just to be on the safe side.

Pairings: Do you really have to ask me that?

Spoilers: Let me know if you see some.

Summary: Sam flies out to New York for the weekend. Jack follows in her wake, but doesn't expect what he sees when he gets there. It gets better as it goes along, I swear...

Archive: Sure, just let me know ahead of time.

A/N: After listening to a CD recently released that features Norah Jones before she got big, I thought of the idea for this story. It seems that music is the inspiration for most of my work...

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She sat by the fire anxious for her watch to be over. She wanted to get a good night sleep before they left tomorrow. She could be sure that she wouldn't sleep much, if at all, on the plane tomorrow. She could never relax on them, never had been able to.

Teal'c soon relieved her, and she gratefully crawled into her sleeping bag. She was out within minutes.

The next morning, Jack roughly awakened her.

"Time to get up Carter. We've gotta be back at the 'gate in two hours. We gotta still check out the temple before we go though. If we don't Danny's gonna go nuts."

"Yes sir."

She soon joined her teammates outside in front of the recently made fire. She was soon ready to once again face the world and began packing up her tent and the rest of her gear.

On time for once, the team stepped back into the 'gate room back on Earth. Hammond came down and greeted them.

"Welcome back SG-1. I hope you had a successful mission?"

"Yes sir. Danny found a bunch of new rocks to play with, and the rest of us had fun watching him."

"Glad to hear it. Go get yourselves checked out. We'll debrief in two hours."

"Yes sir."

SG-1 strode quietly down the halls on their way to the infirmary. It had been like this more recently. It wasn't an awkward silence, more of a relaxed one.

"Something on your mind Carter? You seem awfully quiet the past couple of days."

"I'm just anxious to get out of here."

"Ready for that downtime eh?"

"Yes sir."

"What're you planning on doing?"

"I was going out to New York. I got some friends there that I'm meeting up with. How about you?"

"Probably fishing again. You know me..."

She smiled in response. She didn't smile very often these days. Not since the incident with her now ex-boyfriend a few months ago.

Her teammates had noticed that she had become more withdrawn into herself. She chose to spend time in her lab, only coming out when absolutely necessary. She never just 'hung out' with them anymore. She was even beginning to spend less and less time with Janet.

Three hours later, one very grateful SG-1 made their way down to the locker room. All of them were looking forward to some much-needed downtime. The last one they had had was taken six months previously.

As she left the base that evening, she climbed into her Volvo and made her way home.

Upon reaching her house, she made her way to the bedroom where she quickly shed her clothing and crawled between the sheets.

She had to be at the airport by five o'clock. It was three o'clock now, and she was ready to go. She hadn't slept much the night before, not surprising considering the nature of the dreams she had been having of late. They involved one very attractive Colonel, herself, and a tub of blue Jello.

As she made her way to the airport, she cursed her luck. She kept getting caught by every red light. If she didn't hurry she was gonna miss her plane.

The plane had a smooth take-off, and Sam pulled out her notebook. She glanced over the words in it, and began to work on the last song she had started. She liked the way it was turning out.

Six hours later, she made her exit. She immediately spotted Tom and rushed into his awaiting arms.

"Sammie!"

"Tom! God, it's been too long. How have you been?"

"Good. I got engaged two weeks ago."

"Oh my god, Tom, that's great! When's the wedding gonna be?"

"We haven't set a date yet. But she's coming to the club tonight. She wants to meet you."

"Well, I'm looking forward to meeting her as well. What time do I need to be there by?"

"Seven. That's...um...1700 by your time."

"Actually it's 1900. But don't worry about it. I'll be there by six. I gotta get warmed up, and I'd like to see the guys again so we can get back into our old rhythm. How long did you say this was supposed to last?"

"Until around ten. That okay?"

"Yeah, I can handle that. Well, I'll see you later. I gotta go get cleaned up before I meet up with you all. See you later."

"Sure thing Sam."

While the two of them had been talking, Tom had driven her to her hotel. As he drove off, she made her way to the front desk and signed in.

At six o'clock that evening, Sam strolled into the club, clutching her notebook to her chest looking around for signs of the guys. She soon found them and made her way to their table.

"SAM!"

She smiled at the warm reception and sat down to catch up on the happenings of her friend's lives. She told them some about hers but left out the whole of the SGC. After catching up with them she showed them the notebook.

"Still writing your songs down in these old things eh? You haven't changed a bit Sam."

"Well, this is the only thing in my house that's guaranteed to not be read by anyone but me. So, what do you guys think of it?"

"It's brilliant. You wanna do this one tonight?"

"Sounds good to me. We better start getting warmed up. We go on in fifteen minutes."

"Oh, your right. Come on guys; let's get warmed up. Sammie, you lead us."

"What? Me?"

"Yes you. You've always been good at it."

"Okay. I'll try. But keep in mind I haven't done this in a while."

"We'll get through it. Promise."

She smiled again at Tom and made her way to the stage.

Jack walked into the small bar, not really expecting much. He had heard that this place had really great live music on Friday nights, but a lot of places advertised that these days.

He soon found a seat in the crowded bar and ordered his drink from the waitress.

As the band stepped onto the stage, he was caught off guard by how much the lead singer looked like Sam.

No, it couldn't be...could it?

Sure enough, she turned around to face the audience and he saw the scar that ran down her neck clearly in the stage-lights.

"Um...hello. Welcome to Friday Night Band Stand. I'm Sam Carter, and this is the Peter Malick Group. We hope you all enjoy the show. So, just sit back, relax, and enjoy a nice drink from the bar."

She counted off for the band and they quickly started up.

Soon her voice was filling the air of the smoky little club.

I can't remember what I planned tomorrow

I can't remember when it's time to go

When I look in the mirror

Tracing lines with a pencil

I remember what came before

I wanted to think there was endless love

Until I saw the light dim in your eyes

In the dead of night I found out

Sometimes there's love that won't survive

New York City

Such a beautiful disease

New York City

Such a beautiful, such a beautiful disease

Laura kept all her disappointments

Locked up in a box behind her closet door

She pulled down the blinds and listened to the thunder

With no way out from the family store

We all told her things could get better

When you just say goodbye

I'll lie awake one more night

Caught in a vision I want to deny

And did I mention the note that I found

Taped to my locked front door

It talked about no regrets

As it slipped from my hand to the scuffed tile floor

I rode the train for hours on end

And watched the people pass me by

It could be that it has no end

Just an action junkie's lullaby

New York City

Such a beautiful disease

New York City

Such a beautiful, such a beautiful disease

We were full of the stuff that every dream rested

As if floating on a lumpy pillow sky

Caught up in the whole illusion

That dreams never pass us by

Came to a tattooed conclusion

That the big one was knocking at the door

What started as a mass delusion

Would take me far from the place I adore

New York City

Such a beautiful disease

New York City

You are my beautiful, such a beautiful disease

As the last notes of the song died away, the audience rose to clap out their approval for the song and the singer. Sam blushed and smiled before turning to the band and counting them off for the next song.

Three hours later, and after a last singing of New York City Sam made her way off the stage. She was stopped suddenly by a hand on her shoulder.

"Nice job Sam."

She turned around and looked into his eyes.

"What are you doing here sir?"

"Well, I got sent up here by Hammond to make sure you were okay."

"I don't need a baby-sitter."

"I know that. And I tried to tell that to Hammond, but in the end he ordered me to come here."

"Well, I'm fine."

"I can see that. I like the song. Where did you get the idea for it from?"

"An old love."

"Cryptic. Do I know this guy?"

"You should. You see him every time you look in a mirror."

With that she turned away and made her way back to her friends. Mac was the only one left.

"Sam, I couldn't help but notice the scar on your neck. What happened?"

"I, uh, met this guy. He was really nice, at first. But about two months into the relationship he came by my place one night drunk. When I told him to go home and sleep it off, he grabbed me. I had company at the time, and of course, he didn't know them. The next thing I know, he's got a broken bottle to my neck. When Jack tried to stop him, he cut me with it. He missed my artery by centimeters. Janet still can't believe how close I came that night."

"Who's Jack and Janet?"

"Jack's my CO. Janet is my best friend back at the base. She also happens to be my doctor."

"I see. And what were they doing at your house that night?"

"Well, the two of them, Daniel and T all came over to my house to unwind. We'd had a rather rough day and needed to just relax."

"So, what happened to the guy?"

"Well, he was sent to prison. When he gets out, I have a restraining order on him. If he ever sets within fifty feet of me again, the police will lock him up for good."

"God, Sam, that must have been so hard on you. Come here."

Mac grabbed her into her arms and let Sam cry quietly on her shoulder. She knew that something was going on in Sam's life, but she didn't know what it was. Her songs had been deeper and more meaningful of late, and now she knew why. Just them a tall, graying man approached the table.

"Um, Carter?"

Sam rose her head and slid out of the booth. She walked past the tall stranger and quickly made her exit.

"Who are you? How do you know Sam?"

"I'm Jack O'Neill. I'm her CO."

"So you're the commanding officer she was telling me about. I'm Martha. People call me Mac though. What are you doing here in New York?"

"Making sure she's okay."

"Orders?"

"I didn't want to bug her like this, but yeah. She's been so withdrawn into herself lately. She never wants to hang out with anyone. She spends all her time in her lab, not that that's much different, but she never wants to come out anymore. I'm just trying to figure out what happened to her."

"Well, you tell me. What else happened that night that she didn't tell me?"

"She told you about it?"

"Yeah. So what didn't she tell me."

"Okay, her boyfriend was extremely jealous. He didn't like me cause I got to see her everyday."

"Ah, but he got to see her every night."

"Don't remind me." Jack winced as the words hit him. Mac took it all in and let him regain his composure before he continued. "When he showed up he was drunk. We heard Sam tell him that he needed to go home and sleep it off. I heard someone mumbling, but wasn't able to make out the words. The next thing any of us knew, she's being shoved into the room, this guy holding her and a broken beer bottle to her neck. When I went to help her, he jerked the bottle away and made to attack me. Janet ran to Sam but I ran to him. I don't know how Janet kept her alive, but it's a miracle that I'm still thankful for."

"She means a lot to you doesn't she."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I saw the look you got when I said that he got to see her every night. And then your answer kinda gave you away too. 'Don't remind me.' You're in love with her aren't you."

He rose from his seat and stuck out his hand.

"It was a pleasure meeting you Mac. If you see Sam, have her call me if she wants to talk."

"Will do. And thanks for answering my question."

"I didn't..."

"You didn't have to. I can see it in your eyes."

He gave a brief smile and walked off.

"Sam, what have you gotten yourself into?" Mac mumbled to herself.

The next morning, Sam woke to a pounding on her hotel door. She rose and crept to the door. After peeking out she unlocked the door and stood there gaping at the man in front of her.

"What do you want?"

"Good morning to you too. Carter, we need to talk."

"Come on in."

She opened the door wider and watched as his tall frame came through her door.

"So. What did you want to talk about?"
"Last night. Look, Sam, I'm really sorry about having to follow you like this. You know that if it were up to me, I wouldn't be here now. I don't like dwelling into your personal life like this. I can understand that you're a bit mad at me right now, and I respect that. But please, will you at least talk to me? You're more and more distant these days."

She sighed and sank into a chair next to her. Jack made his way over to her and crouched down in front of her. He just ignored the protest coming from his knees.

"That night, I don't know why..." she trailed off, and Jack took her hand into his larger one, willing his strength to go to her.

"Why what?"

"Why you did what you did. I mean, you could have gotten killed, and then what? I would have to live with your death on my conscious for the rest of my life."

"You're worth it Sam. I would do anything for you, without even thinking twice about it. So what if something had have happened to me that night? At least you would be safe."

She was stunned beyond words. She had never heard him say something so heartfelt before. Well, one other time, but that was a life or death situation.

A confession like this was extremely dangerous, and yet she knew exactly how to answer it.

"I'm glad you did what you did that night. I would hate to have to lose you when we're so close to you and I being an 'us'."

His eyes got wide when he realized what it was she was trying to say. She looked like she was on the verge of tears so he sat up far enough to wrap his arms around her.

She was enjoying this far too much, she knew. But she didn't care. She pulled him even closer to her, her tight hold ensuring that he was going nowhere.

"So there's gonna be an 'us' one of these days huh?"

"Yes there is. If you still want there to be."

Despite her tight hold, he was still strong enough to pull back and look her in the eye. He lifted her chin up slightly with his hand and traced her chin gently with his thumb. He then proceeded to cup her cheek, and eventually his fingers found her hair and he pulled her head closer to his own.

She could feel his breath on her skin and she found her eyelids drooping of their own accord.

When their lips met, passion flew between them. Fireworks exploded overhead, and both found that they wanted more.

At almost the same time, their mouths opened to the other, and tongues dueled it out.

After a few minutes, they pulled back, resting their foreheads together, allowing their breath to even back out.

"I should go."

"Stay."

"Sam, you know what would happen if I did. I can't take that risk. Not yet at least."

"When?"

"Soon, I promise."

He rose to his feet pulling her up with him. Their hands still entwined they shared one last kiss before he made his exit.

As he left, she found she couldn't stop the tears that were flowing down her cheeks. She wiped at one absently before crossing to her suitcase and pulling out some clothes. She was going to give one last goodbye to the group and then fly back home.

She had found a new reason to live, and it came in the form of a tall, graying, sarcastic man with beautiful eyes, and a smile that made her go weak in the knees whenever she was graced with seeing it.

Life was great.

~fin~

Okay, so what did you think? Was it good? Do you want more? Do you want me to delete this entirely? Just review and let me know.

"Damn the butter spoon, the slave of the turtle god."-Jennifer Cook (a friend of mine)