Chapter 4 - The Ties That Bind
Everyone knows that the first time for lovers is a magic affair, an unending sexual passion that transcends everything that's gone before and is utterly memorable. Right?
Wrong. Well, not completely wrong, but often it's not so when those same lovers have experienced every side of each other, except for intimacy, for so long - like eight years, for example. The fiery emotion of the first embrace is what overwhelms, releasing feelings that they have been afraid of and longing for since the first realisation that the other was *special*. Some people move to intimacy straight away, the desire to consummate overcoming all else. Others become lost in the flood of pure joy and emotion, and lose track of time. So it was with Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter.
They rose together from the sofa, still holding hands. The flow of blood in Jack's head seemed to be singing in his ears and instead of leading her away to bed, he stood stock still, staring into the eyes he had known in every waking and sleeping moment. His throat was choked up and he wasn't sure if he could speak coherently. He raised his free hand to stroke her cheek, her eyes never leaving his. Without a sound they both leaned forward and kissed, gently at first but more passionately as the moments passed. Eventually they pulled back, holding each other tight and not moving. She rested her forehead against his cheek and was surprised to learn that he too was crying, and gasped softly.
The warmth of the fire held them there, for how long they didn't know. For both, this was *the* moment, and they knew it. Instead of moving away, Jack looked round to sit back on the sofa but canine Sam had quietly left the rug and was now stretched full-length on the seat, lying on her back fast asleep, paws folded in the air, snoring gently. Neither could resist a joyful laugh, and somehow they both knew to sit down on the rug, but not before Jack had placed another couple of logs on the fire. They leaned back against the sofa, his arm round her shoulders as she leaned her head on him. He reached across for her hand and raised it to his lips. She smiled and looked up at him.
"I... I love you, Samantha Carter." he whispered. "I never thought I'd get to tell you."
"I love you too, Jack." she replied in a slightly firmer voice. "I've been running away from believing that for so long. I'm so sorry."
"Don't be." he said softly. "I don't deserve you. You could do anything you want, you know. But if you're going to leave again, do it now, because if you stay I'll want it to be forever."
She pulled his head down and kissed him gently. "I'm not going anywhere, Jack. Be sure of that."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Somehow, though neither could remember quite how it came to be, they woke up at dawn, fumbling through the folds of the quilt that had somehow made its way from the bedroom to the hearth rug. Foolish grins were on both their faces as they surveyed each other's sticking-up hair and lived-in expressions.
"No nightmares." she stated plainly, kissing his forehead. He didn't reply, but ran his fingers softly up and down her back.
The chill air of the room brought goose bumps to naked flesh and they dressed quickly before Jack opened the door to let Sam 2 out for her first morning outing.
"I'll get the range fire going to heat the water." said Jack. "Then you can take a shower and we've time for a quick breakfast before I have to get back to the school. You want to come with today?"
"Oh yes." said Sam. "I'm up to my fourth course of bricks. Can't disappoint Jimmy, now, can we? But will there be enough hot water for you?" She giggled. "Unless you want to share?"
"Love to, but you can see there's not enough room in there to make it interesting. I don't often light the fire in the mornings, anyway, unless it's bad weather and I'm not going out for a while."
"So, er, how do you.."
"Just watch!" he grinned, and to her surprise he took off his shirt in one smooth movement, followed to her astonishment by his pants and boxers, and ran swiftly to the door. Throwing it open, he sprinted, gloriously naked, to the jetty. Then a few paces along it, and an ungraceful leap into the lake. A sound like a whoop or a scream - she couldn't be sure which - rent the air as the spray flew up. He surfaced a few moments later and climbed back onto the dock. Grinning like crazy, he strode nonchalantly back towards the cabin, expecting to have impressed her like no other man before.
His face fell when, only a few yards from the door, she suddenly grinned back at him and produced her camera, which she had rushed to get out of her bag as soon as she realised what he was planning. The flash went off before he had time to do anything other than change his facial expression.
"Carter!" he yelled. "You wouldn't dare!"
"Wouldn't I?" she yelled back. "Do bears shit in the woods? Anyway, it'll do wonders for your caveman reputation. I hope they're careful with the staples when you make centrefold!"
He couldn't help but smile as he re-entered the house. "Light your own fire." he mumbled. "Unless you want to?....."
"No way today, Jose!" she laughed. "OK, I will admit I'm impressed at some deep level. Is it one of those things that you do because it's nice when you stop?"
"Trade secret." he called back from the bathroom where he'd fetched a towel. "At this time of year, the water is warmer than the early morning air. The dash across the open kind of sets you up for it."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
On the school building site Jimmy picked up straight away that something was very different between the two of them. Sam was just as determined to make a good job of the wall as before, but Jack's occasional comments were softer and quieter. His suspicions were confirmed when Mrs. McReadie delivered lunch. "How's your apprentice doing?" she enquired.
"That was before." said Sam, smiling at the old woman. "I'm his *young lady* now." she added, nodding in Jack's direction.
"'Bout time too." replied Mrs. McReadie. "He ain't had nobody to care for since Sara left him. I knew you were special." Sam blushed furiously, and wondered how Jack had come to confide in this sprightly lady when he had never been able to talk to others. "He's got a whole lifetime of carin' to give to someone. Just be glad it's you." she said as she turned to leave.
"Believe me, I am." said Sam quietly.
Later that afternoon, as they finished clearing up for the night, Sam stood gazing proudly at her red brick creation. Jack came to stand beside her, placing his arm across her shoulders. "We can call it Sam Carter's wall, if you like. Get a stone with an inscription on it. Generations of Minnesota school kids will wonder who the heck you were."
She smiled. "No, you're wrong. They'll wonder who Sam O'Neill was." Jack was dumbstruck, and found little to say on the journey home or during the evening. Sam on the other hand, felt absurdly pleased with herself.
That night, they lay in a real bed together and felt the deep satisfaction of making love with someone you'd live and die for, and experienced the sensation of being in love rather than just being infatuated with someone. She listened for a while to his brief, confused outpourings of hidden knowledge in his dreams, but there was no repetition of the nightly terror she seen when she had first arrived. 'I wonder if I can harvest some of what he's saying?' she thought before falling asleep herself.
And if Sam 2 thought it strange that someone else should be sharing her master's bed, she didn't allow it to prevent her nestling between their feet when they had finally stopped moving around under the covers. After all, a dog's got to keep warm too, hasn't she?
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Everyone knows that the first time for lovers is a magic affair, an unending sexual passion that transcends everything that's gone before and is utterly memorable. Right?
Wrong. Well, not completely wrong, but often it's not so when those same lovers have experienced every side of each other, except for intimacy, for so long - like eight years, for example. The fiery emotion of the first embrace is what overwhelms, releasing feelings that they have been afraid of and longing for since the first realisation that the other was *special*. Some people move to intimacy straight away, the desire to consummate overcoming all else. Others become lost in the flood of pure joy and emotion, and lose track of time. So it was with Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter.
They rose together from the sofa, still holding hands. The flow of blood in Jack's head seemed to be singing in his ears and instead of leading her away to bed, he stood stock still, staring into the eyes he had known in every waking and sleeping moment. His throat was choked up and he wasn't sure if he could speak coherently. He raised his free hand to stroke her cheek, her eyes never leaving his. Without a sound they both leaned forward and kissed, gently at first but more passionately as the moments passed. Eventually they pulled back, holding each other tight and not moving. She rested her forehead against his cheek and was surprised to learn that he too was crying, and gasped softly.
The warmth of the fire held them there, for how long they didn't know. For both, this was *the* moment, and they knew it. Instead of moving away, Jack looked round to sit back on the sofa but canine Sam had quietly left the rug and was now stretched full-length on the seat, lying on her back fast asleep, paws folded in the air, snoring gently. Neither could resist a joyful laugh, and somehow they both knew to sit down on the rug, but not before Jack had placed another couple of logs on the fire. They leaned back against the sofa, his arm round her shoulders as she leaned her head on him. He reached across for her hand and raised it to his lips. She smiled and looked up at him.
"I... I love you, Samantha Carter." he whispered. "I never thought I'd get to tell you."
"I love you too, Jack." she replied in a slightly firmer voice. "I've been running away from believing that for so long. I'm so sorry."
"Don't be." he said softly. "I don't deserve you. You could do anything you want, you know. But if you're going to leave again, do it now, because if you stay I'll want it to be forever."
She pulled his head down and kissed him gently. "I'm not going anywhere, Jack. Be sure of that."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Somehow, though neither could remember quite how it came to be, they woke up at dawn, fumbling through the folds of the quilt that had somehow made its way from the bedroom to the hearth rug. Foolish grins were on both their faces as they surveyed each other's sticking-up hair and lived-in expressions.
"No nightmares." she stated plainly, kissing his forehead. He didn't reply, but ran his fingers softly up and down her back.
The chill air of the room brought goose bumps to naked flesh and they dressed quickly before Jack opened the door to let Sam 2 out for her first morning outing.
"I'll get the range fire going to heat the water." said Jack. "Then you can take a shower and we've time for a quick breakfast before I have to get back to the school. You want to come with today?"
"Oh yes." said Sam. "I'm up to my fourth course of bricks. Can't disappoint Jimmy, now, can we? But will there be enough hot water for you?" She giggled. "Unless you want to share?"
"Love to, but you can see there's not enough room in there to make it interesting. I don't often light the fire in the mornings, anyway, unless it's bad weather and I'm not going out for a while."
"So, er, how do you.."
"Just watch!" he grinned, and to her surprise he took off his shirt in one smooth movement, followed to her astonishment by his pants and boxers, and ran swiftly to the door. Throwing it open, he sprinted, gloriously naked, to the jetty. Then a few paces along it, and an ungraceful leap into the lake. A sound like a whoop or a scream - she couldn't be sure which - rent the air as the spray flew up. He surfaced a few moments later and climbed back onto the dock. Grinning like crazy, he strode nonchalantly back towards the cabin, expecting to have impressed her like no other man before.
His face fell when, only a few yards from the door, she suddenly grinned back at him and produced her camera, which she had rushed to get out of her bag as soon as she realised what he was planning. The flash went off before he had time to do anything other than change his facial expression.
"Carter!" he yelled. "You wouldn't dare!"
"Wouldn't I?" she yelled back. "Do bears shit in the woods? Anyway, it'll do wonders for your caveman reputation. I hope they're careful with the staples when you make centrefold!"
He couldn't help but smile as he re-entered the house. "Light your own fire." he mumbled. "Unless you want to?....."
"No way today, Jose!" she laughed. "OK, I will admit I'm impressed at some deep level. Is it one of those things that you do because it's nice when you stop?"
"Trade secret." he called back from the bathroom where he'd fetched a towel. "At this time of year, the water is warmer than the early morning air. The dash across the open kind of sets you up for it."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
On the school building site Jimmy picked up straight away that something was very different between the two of them. Sam was just as determined to make a good job of the wall as before, but Jack's occasional comments were softer and quieter. His suspicions were confirmed when Mrs. McReadie delivered lunch. "How's your apprentice doing?" she enquired.
"That was before." said Sam, smiling at the old woman. "I'm his *young lady* now." she added, nodding in Jack's direction.
"'Bout time too." replied Mrs. McReadie. "He ain't had nobody to care for since Sara left him. I knew you were special." Sam blushed furiously, and wondered how Jack had come to confide in this sprightly lady when he had never been able to talk to others. "He's got a whole lifetime of carin' to give to someone. Just be glad it's you." she said as she turned to leave.
"Believe me, I am." said Sam quietly.
Later that afternoon, as they finished clearing up for the night, Sam stood gazing proudly at her red brick creation. Jack came to stand beside her, placing his arm across her shoulders. "We can call it Sam Carter's wall, if you like. Get a stone with an inscription on it. Generations of Minnesota school kids will wonder who the heck you were."
She smiled. "No, you're wrong. They'll wonder who Sam O'Neill was." Jack was dumbstruck, and found little to say on the journey home or during the evening. Sam on the other hand, felt absurdly pleased with herself.
That night, they lay in a real bed together and felt the deep satisfaction of making love with someone you'd live and die for, and experienced the sensation of being in love rather than just being infatuated with someone. She listened for a while to his brief, confused outpourings of hidden knowledge in his dreams, but there was no repetition of the nightly terror she seen when she had first arrived. 'I wonder if I can harvest some of what he's saying?' she thought before falling asleep herself.
And if Sam 2 thought it strange that someone else should be sharing her master's bed, she didn't allow it to prevent her nestling between their feet when they had finally stopped moving around under the covers. After all, a dog's got to keep warm too, hasn't she?
XXXXXXXXXXXX