Chapter 7: Sara
Sam headed to her car and drove to the closest grocery store. She picked up the few items Jacob had requested, and then went back to his house. When she got there, she put the food in the refrigerator and headed upstairs to change out of her uniform. Sam wondered if Sara O'Neill had a job that traveled a lot. When Jack and Charlie were together and Charlie mistook Sam for Sara, Charlie seemed sad at being wrong, but not unused to Sara's absences. Sam ended up deciding to just let the idea drop and not worry about it.
"Sam, you home?" Jacob called from downstairs.
"Yeah, I'm just changing, be right down!" Sam called back. She pulled on her shoes and went downstairs.
"Did you talk to O'Neill?" Jacob asked when Sam arrived in the kitchen.
"Yes I did, Jack and Charlie are definitely coming, Sara might, I don't know," Sam replied.
"I'll make an extra just in case," Jacob decided.
"Dad, if you don't need any help, there are some results I want to look over," Sam said.
"Go ahead Sam," Jacob smiled at his daughter. He knew she had more intelligence than anyone he knew. Sam could evaluated and solve equations that gave Jacob a headache if he looked at them. He was very proud of his daughter.
At seven o'clock sharp, Jack rang the door bell. Sam answered it.
"Hi Jack, hi Charlie! Come on in, Dad just put the brats on the grill," Sam invited them inside.
"Thanks. Sara isn't home yet so I don't think she's going to make it," Jack said apologetically.
"Well, we'll just have as much fun as we can without her. Right Charlie?" Sam asked the little boy who was watching everything from where Jack held him.
"Up!" Charlie demanded and stretched toward Sam. She reached over and took Charlie from Jack.
"You certainly are cheerful," Sam said as she tickled Charlie's side with her free hand. He giggled and squirmed away from her hand.
"I could say the same about you Sam," Jack said as he pt Charlie's bag on a chair.
"That's because she spent the last hour and a half looking at results and calculations that give me a headache if I look at them!" Jacob teased as he headed into the kitchen from outside. "Hi Jack."
"Hello Jacob," Jack shook the hand Jacob offered.
"This must be Charlie, hi there Charlie," Jacob offered a hand to the little boy. Charlie, thinking it was for a high five, hit Jacob's hand. Sam, Jack, and Jacob all laughed. "Well Charlie, I do believe you and your father have the same sense of humor."
"Poor Charlie," Sam teased.
"Hey, are you getting me back for teasing you the last time I was here?" Jack teased back.
"Of course. Dad, shouldn't you check on the brats?" Sam asked.
"Oh, right, I'll be right back," Jacob excused himself.
"Okay Charlie, how 'bout I feed you now so I can clean up before dinner?" Jack asked his son.
"Foo!" Charlie said.
"Okay, let's put you on the table huh?" Jack took Charlie from Sam and set him on the table. While Jack got something for Charlie to eat, Sam kept him entertained. "We've got carrots, bread, and apple juice. Sounds good. Oh, and we also have hot dogs!" Jack mad a big production of dinner and Charlie loved it. By the time Jacob returned, Charlie was happily eating his dinner. After Charlie had finished, Sam, Jack, and Jacob ate their dinner. During dinner, Jack and Jacob told first time father stories. When everyone was finished, Charlie took a nap tucked safely into the guest bed upstairs. Sam, Jack, and Jacob sat in the living room and talked for several hours. Finally, Jack said he and Charlie should head home. He went upstairs, picked up Charlie, and carried him downstairs.
"Thank you for inviting us over Sam, Jacob," Jack said after he grabbed the bag he'd brought.
"Thanks for coming Jack," Jacob said as he opened the door.
"Jack, do you want to meet at the gym tomorrow for a little sparring?" Sam asked.
"How 'bout 7:30?" Jack replied as he went through the door and looked back.
"Great, see you then, bye!" Sam called after him.
"Bye Sam, Jacob," he called back. Jack put Charlie into his car seat and backed out of the driveway. Sam and Jacob headed back inside the house.
"Goodnight Dad," Sam said as she hugged her father.
"Night Sam," while Sam headed upstairs, Jacob made sure all of the lights were off.
Jack drove home in silence. He thought about his evening spent with the Carters. Jack had felt more at home with Sam and her father than he did in his own house. Jack continued on that train of thought for the rest of the drive. When he got to his house, there were lights on and Sara's car was in the garage. Jack carefully got Charlie out of his car seat and headed to the backdoor. He walked into the house to see Sara sitting on one of the couches in the living room. He took Charlie upstairs to his room before going to talk to her.
"Hello Jack? Where have you been" Sara said rather sharply.
"I could ask the same of you Sara," Jack replied.
"I was at my parents, and you were?" Sara trailed off.
"I was at a friend's house. We had dinner and talked. Jack decided not to bring Sam and Jacob into anything.
"A female friend? Who is she Jack? I know you were at a woman's house, or else you would have said whose house it was!" Sara was shouting.
"Sara, calm down, Charlie's asleep," Jack tried to calm his wife.
"Who is she Jack?" Sara refused to calm down.
"Sam Carter, Colonel Carter's daughter. I was invited by them both to dinner," Jack told her.
"Until eleven o'clock!"
"Charlie fell asleep for a while, and Jacob and I were trading 'dad' stories while Sam finished up her paper for her doctorate. Nothing happened Sara," Jack's voice sounded as tired as he felt about fighting with Sara. He went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. When he returned, Sara was holding a stack of papers.
"What are those Sara?" Jack asked, even though he knew what they had to be.
"I want out Jack. I can't stand living here and talking care of Charlie, never knowing when you'll be back, or even if you'll be back. You can have everything; all I want are my car and a few pictures. Just sign them Jack," Sara told him, confirming his belief as to what the papers were.
"Sara, why don't we talk about this," Jack started.
"Jack, I don't want to talk about this. I though I could handle being an Air Force wife, but I can't. I can't handle being a wife or a mom right now. Its not you Jack, its me. I'm not ready for this life yet. Maybe in a few years it might have worked. Please Jack, let me go. I need to have my freedom for a while before I settle down," Sara's eyes and voice pleaded with Jack.
"I'll sign it, just let me read through it. I'll sleep later," Jack said as he sat down.
"I'll sleep in the guest room," Sara started to say.
"No, take the bedroom. I'll be fine in the guest room," Jack didn't want to make Sara's last night in the house be in the guest room that had the ugliest wallpaper either had ever seen.
"Thanks Jack," Sara headed upstairs.
Jack sat and looked at the papers in his hand. Eventually he read them and signed where he was supposed to. Leaving the stack on the table in the kitchen, he headed upstairs, and flopped tiredly onto the guest bed.