Chapter 8 - All That Really Matters
In the still air of the frozen Minnesota winter's night, Sam could hear a vehicle approaching up the long winding track through the wooded hills from some distance away. 'Who's coming to see us at this hour?' she thought. She smiled at the realisation that they really were an 'us' now, and she hadn't considered for a moment that someone would just be coming to see Jack alone. As her breath misted in the yellow glow of the kerosene lamp, she knew she really ought to get up from where she sat in the straw-covered corner of the barn, well-wrapped in blankets, but she couldn't leave her canine namesake at this critical time, and continued to cradle the dog's head as she panted and whined. 'Jack will deal with them.' "There, shush now Sam, won't be long now." she whispered, stroking the dog's ears gently.
She heard the vehicle pull to a stop and the doors open and slam shut. Then footsteps to the front door and a loud knock, and muffled voices when the door opened and the visitors entered.
The noise at the door had woken Jack from deep comfort on the sofa by the log fire and he was still drowsy as he opened it to admit the callers. The shock of seeing the first visitor pulled him suddenly into full consciousness.
"Jacob! What are you doing here?" asked Jack, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "And who's this?"
"Jack." replied Jacob Carter. "This is my son Mark and this is Pete Shannon, Sam's fiancé. Is she here?" Jacob showed none of the friendliness he had when he had previously encountered Jack in his time as leader of SG- 1.
Jack glanced sharply at the two other men, who were strangers to him. He stayed silent a moment, his eyes taking in every detail of their faces. The first had several of the features he knew so well in Sam and her father, and was clearly her brother Mark. The second was a man in his thirties, with piercing eyes and short blond hair. He stared back for a short while at Jack with an obvious air of distaste for what he was seeing, and then looked quickly round the room in the way that only a police professional would.
"Where's Sam?" repeated Jacob.
"Nice to see you too, Jacob." said Jack wearily. "She's outside. Sit yourselves down and I'll go tell her you're here. But don't keep the door open - it let's out too much heat at this time of year. Got to keep the place warm, haven't we?" But before he went outside, he entered the bedroom and came out moments later putting on his outdoor jacket and woollen comforter. "Sit down if you can find room." he said as he departed.
He walked across the open space, his boots making a sharp crunching sound on the icy gravel. He entered the barn and went across to where Sam was huddled with Sam 2. They smiled at each other and he asked, "How's she doing now?"
"Not long to go, I think." replied Sam. "She's really exhausted. Who's calling at this hour?"
"Well, you know we discussed who was likely to be turning up unannounced? This is a variation we never thought of. Your father, your brother and *your fiancé*." he said in a deadpan voice. "Looks like a hanging party."
"What the hell?" exclaimed Sam in shock. Then she looked back at the prone dog and it was obvious that her loyalties were divided. "Did you tell them that this is a crisis? They'll have to wait a while."
"I'll take over here for now." he said. "You'd best go find out what they want. Call me if you need me."
Sam looked at him and suddenly embraced him. "I love you, Jack." she said, to his surprise. "And I'll need your help pretty soon. But we're not leaving her."
"Just go, Sam." he sighed. "And call when you need me, OK?"
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With a last look back towards her man and their dog, she closed the barn door and walked quickly across to the front door. She hesitated a moment before opening it and took a deep breath. Through the window she saw her father and her brother looking round at the ornaments she had brought to the cabin, while her ex-boyfriend Pete appeared back in the lounge from what must have been a complete tour of the other rooms.
"Well this is a surprise!" she said as her father got up at her entrance. "Hello Dad, Mark." She just glared at Pete and nodded in his direction. "Pete." she said softly. "What brings you all out here?"
"Sammie!" cried Jacob, moving towards her to take her into a hug. "I'm so glad to see you after all this time. But you look frozen. Where have you been? What are you doing out in the middle of nowhere?"
"Out in the barn. We've got.."
"But look at you!" he continued before she could finish the sentence. "Sam, you're frozen!"
Sam unwrapped the thick woollen scarf and discarded her thermal overjacket. It felt uncomfortably warm in the room after spending the last three hours outside, and her cheeks were a bright red colour.
"Never mind that. You don't notice it after a while." she said dismissively. "Well, how are you Dad? Just come back into *the country*? You haven't been around for nearly a year, have you?" She turned to her brother, who was hovering beside their father. "Mark! How are you? Everyone well at home?"
"Fine, Sam." he replied. "We've all been very worried about you, you know. Especially Pete." he added, nodding in his direction. "He explained how you suddenly broke off your engagement and fled up here. He told us how much stress you were under. O'Neill's your former boss, isn't he? He explained how you looked up to him. It's understandable why you might want to take a break away from it all, but it's time to come home now."
Sam looked puzzled and then angry, while Pete had the courtesy to look highly embarrassed. Jacob however was not to be sidetracked from his own agenda, not being used as a father and a now a Tok'ra leader to having others contest his authority.
"Sam, I'm so sorry to hear about you leaving the Air Force." he interjected. "But you know the people I'm with could help you overcome your battle-stress. You could be back on active duty before you know it. Or heading up a scientific section - you know they'd welcome you. There's no need to hide away up here any more. Jack's a loner - he'll understand that he can't keep you here for ever. You can come back with us tonight if that's what you want, or maybe you'd like to take a little longer to..."
"No!" Sam shouted, breaking away from Jacob. He was surprised at the look of pure anger, her eyes a steely blue. She paused a moment to breathe deeply and turned towards Pete. "Enjoy snooping round, did you? Did you manage to work out which side of the bed I sleep on?"
"Sam, I.." was as far as Pete got.
"So we were *engaged*, were we? Remind me of when that was exactly, because with all the stress, I don't actually recall the moment it happened!" She turned to her brother. "And what do you mean by dragging him up here? What were you hoping to accomplish? My life is my own, and I'll thank you to keep whatever plans you have for fixing me up with your friend there to yourself!"
"That's not fair!" retorted Mark. "You were sure as hell happy with Pete when I gave him an introduction to you. Look, you've been through hell, I know, and it's only natural to get confused about your feelings for someone."
"Well there's no confusion on *my* part!" Sam shouted back at him. "For the record, we were *never* engaged and we broke up months ago. I came here because I wanted to.. No, I *needed* to. And I'll be damned if you think you're all going to waltz in here and drag me back to your definition of civilisation. I make my own god-damned choices!"
"That's enough!" Jacob shouted, and a sudden silence fell. He continued in a quieter voice. "Mark, and you, Pete - take the car and go back to that motel we passed an hour or so back. I'm going to spend the night here with Sam. Mark, we need to talk things over and it seems that your friend hasn't been exactly truthful in his reasons for being here. Just go, both of you. I'll get a lift back there in the morning. Wait for me." His son knew when not to argue, and beckoned to his friend.
"Sam, can we talk, please, just for a little while?" asked Pete, a pleading expression in his eyes.
She stared back at him, unflinching. "What's the point? I've nothing to say to you." She felt sorry at his crestfallen look, but knew that there was no point in prolonging the conversation.
They turned in surprise at the sound of Jack's gentle cough as he stood in the doorway. "Now that it's down to a dull roar... Sam, I think you'll want to come back to the barn."
"How is she?" said Sam, getting up in sudden alarm and reaching for her coat. "Are things OK?"
"Well, yes and no." said Jack. "The first two didn't make it, but we're not done yet by any means. Bring a bowl of warm water and some old towels." Without waiting, he turned and closed the door behind him, disappearing back into the darkness. Sam headed for the kitchen, leaving the three men standing in the lounge, somewhat more than a little puzzled by events.
Jacob saw that he would have to bend to Sam's wishes if he wanted to get her to listen to him, and ushered the other two out. "Mark, why don't you explain the facts of life to your friend here? I'll see you in the morning." Pete made to go towards the kitchen where they could hear Sam filling a metal bowl and opening cupboard doors, but Mark pulled him away and they left. The car doors slammed and the engine noise diminished as they rounded the first corner.
Sam left the kitchen carrying the bowl with care, with three worn and faded multi-coloured towels slung over her shoulder. "Open the door for me, please, Dad." she asked, and he moved quickly to let her out. "If you want to come and see, put your coat on but please be very quiet and still when you're there."
"Sammie, I can see whatever's going on must be important to you. Care to explain?" he asked as he followed her out.
"It's Sam." she replied, not looking round. "Sam the dog, that is. I'll explain about that later. She's gone into labour tonight. Jack figured she'd choose the barn to whelp in, so we put straw on the floor. We're looking out for her because the local veterinary got called away to see a sick horse. I took the last watch while Jack got some sleep. He's been having a bad day today - I'll explain about that later too."
They entered the barn and Jacob stood back, watching his daughter and her ex-CO, as he still thought of him, crouched over the brown form of a dog in the circle of light from the kerosene lamp. He took in how attentive they were to the animal, little caring for anything but it and each other as they soothed and fussed away. The sound of whining and squeaking came and went, and suddenly Sam looked round at her father, an expression of utter joy on her face, like in the happy times when she was young and they had been a complete family. They kept talking in low voices to the dog and to each other, and he smiled when he saw her suddenly embrace Jack and kiss his head, laughing, before they both returned their attention to the new parent and her litter. Realising that a whole new set of facts about her life was unwinding before his eyes, and also seriously beginning to feel the cold, he turned and quietly left, walking back to the welcoming light and warmth of the cabin.
Jacob took off his coat, and observing that the fire in the hearth was getting low, selected two larger logs from the antique wooden box at the side and placed them carefully on the glowing embers. He sat on the edge of the sofa until he was satisfied that they were taking light before deciding that he really needed the bathroom. He couldn't help but notice that every corner of this small dwelling contained Sam's intimate possessions, ranging from the old photos and mementos that he remembered from long ago, to newer unrecognised ones that were still obviously hers and not his. He entered the kitchen in search of coffee, and was pleased to find a warm pot on the range. He added a couple of smaller logs to this fire as well and then started looking round for a clean cup.
He'd started thinking about what he was going to say to Sam and how his first assumption, encouraged by his son and Sam's erstwhile boyfriend, that she wouldn't take much persuading to go back to Colorado Springs, was so wrong. It was then that he noticed something on the draining board, partly hidden by an upturned dish, that sent his senses reeling to the point that he held on to the edge of the sink for a few moments recovering from the shock.
As his shadow moved away, the light of the oil lamp caught the ornate gold patterning and diamonds of a matching set of wedding and engagement rings. Hers.
"Told you so." said his symbiote.
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In the still air of the frozen Minnesota winter's night, Sam could hear a vehicle approaching up the long winding track through the wooded hills from some distance away. 'Who's coming to see us at this hour?' she thought. She smiled at the realisation that they really were an 'us' now, and she hadn't considered for a moment that someone would just be coming to see Jack alone. As her breath misted in the yellow glow of the kerosene lamp, she knew she really ought to get up from where she sat in the straw-covered corner of the barn, well-wrapped in blankets, but she couldn't leave her canine namesake at this critical time, and continued to cradle the dog's head as she panted and whined. 'Jack will deal with them.' "There, shush now Sam, won't be long now." she whispered, stroking the dog's ears gently.
She heard the vehicle pull to a stop and the doors open and slam shut. Then footsteps to the front door and a loud knock, and muffled voices when the door opened and the visitors entered.
The noise at the door had woken Jack from deep comfort on the sofa by the log fire and he was still drowsy as he opened it to admit the callers. The shock of seeing the first visitor pulled him suddenly into full consciousness.
"Jacob! What are you doing here?" asked Jack, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "And who's this?"
"Jack." replied Jacob Carter. "This is my son Mark and this is Pete Shannon, Sam's fiancé. Is she here?" Jacob showed none of the friendliness he had when he had previously encountered Jack in his time as leader of SG- 1.
Jack glanced sharply at the two other men, who were strangers to him. He stayed silent a moment, his eyes taking in every detail of their faces. The first had several of the features he knew so well in Sam and her father, and was clearly her brother Mark. The second was a man in his thirties, with piercing eyes and short blond hair. He stared back for a short while at Jack with an obvious air of distaste for what he was seeing, and then looked quickly round the room in the way that only a police professional would.
"Where's Sam?" repeated Jacob.
"Nice to see you too, Jacob." said Jack wearily. "She's outside. Sit yourselves down and I'll go tell her you're here. But don't keep the door open - it let's out too much heat at this time of year. Got to keep the place warm, haven't we?" But before he went outside, he entered the bedroom and came out moments later putting on his outdoor jacket and woollen comforter. "Sit down if you can find room." he said as he departed.
He walked across the open space, his boots making a sharp crunching sound on the icy gravel. He entered the barn and went across to where Sam was huddled with Sam 2. They smiled at each other and he asked, "How's she doing now?"
"Not long to go, I think." replied Sam. "She's really exhausted. Who's calling at this hour?"
"Well, you know we discussed who was likely to be turning up unannounced? This is a variation we never thought of. Your father, your brother and *your fiancé*." he said in a deadpan voice. "Looks like a hanging party."
"What the hell?" exclaimed Sam in shock. Then she looked back at the prone dog and it was obvious that her loyalties were divided. "Did you tell them that this is a crisis? They'll have to wait a while."
"I'll take over here for now." he said. "You'd best go find out what they want. Call me if you need me."
Sam looked at him and suddenly embraced him. "I love you, Jack." she said, to his surprise. "And I'll need your help pretty soon. But we're not leaving her."
"Just go, Sam." he sighed. "And call when you need me, OK?"
XXXXXXXXXXXX
With a last look back towards her man and their dog, she closed the barn door and walked quickly across to the front door. She hesitated a moment before opening it and took a deep breath. Through the window she saw her father and her brother looking round at the ornaments she had brought to the cabin, while her ex-boyfriend Pete appeared back in the lounge from what must have been a complete tour of the other rooms.
"Well this is a surprise!" she said as her father got up at her entrance. "Hello Dad, Mark." She just glared at Pete and nodded in his direction. "Pete." she said softly. "What brings you all out here?"
"Sammie!" cried Jacob, moving towards her to take her into a hug. "I'm so glad to see you after all this time. But you look frozen. Where have you been? What are you doing out in the middle of nowhere?"
"Out in the barn. We've got.."
"But look at you!" he continued before she could finish the sentence. "Sam, you're frozen!"
Sam unwrapped the thick woollen scarf and discarded her thermal overjacket. It felt uncomfortably warm in the room after spending the last three hours outside, and her cheeks were a bright red colour.
"Never mind that. You don't notice it after a while." she said dismissively. "Well, how are you Dad? Just come back into *the country*? You haven't been around for nearly a year, have you?" She turned to her brother, who was hovering beside their father. "Mark! How are you? Everyone well at home?"
"Fine, Sam." he replied. "We've all been very worried about you, you know. Especially Pete." he added, nodding in his direction. "He explained how you suddenly broke off your engagement and fled up here. He told us how much stress you were under. O'Neill's your former boss, isn't he? He explained how you looked up to him. It's understandable why you might want to take a break away from it all, but it's time to come home now."
Sam looked puzzled and then angry, while Pete had the courtesy to look highly embarrassed. Jacob however was not to be sidetracked from his own agenda, not being used as a father and a now a Tok'ra leader to having others contest his authority.
"Sam, I'm so sorry to hear about you leaving the Air Force." he interjected. "But you know the people I'm with could help you overcome your battle-stress. You could be back on active duty before you know it. Or heading up a scientific section - you know they'd welcome you. There's no need to hide away up here any more. Jack's a loner - he'll understand that he can't keep you here for ever. You can come back with us tonight if that's what you want, or maybe you'd like to take a little longer to..."
"No!" Sam shouted, breaking away from Jacob. He was surprised at the look of pure anger, her eyes a steely blue. She paused a moment to breathe deeply and turned towards Pete. "Enjoy snooping round, did you? Did you manage to work out which side of the bed I sleep on?"
"Sam, I.." was as far as Pete got.
"So we were *engaged*, were we? Remind me of when that was exactly, because with all the stress, I don't actually recall the moment it happened!" She turned to her brother. "And what do you mean by dragging him up here? What were you hoping to accomplish? My life is my own, and I'll thank you to keep whatever plans you have for fixing me up with your friend there to yourself!"
"That's not fair!" retorted Mark. "You were sure as hell happy with Pete when I gave him an introduction to you. Look, you've been through hell, I know, and it's only natural to get confused about your feelings for someone."
"Well there's no confusion on *my* part!" Sam shouted back at him. "For the record, we were *never* engaged and we broke up months ago. I came here because I wanted to.. No, I *needed* to. And I'll be damned if you think you're all going to waltz in here and drag me back to your definition of civilisation. I make my own god-damned choices!"
"That's enough!" Jacob shouted, and a sudden silence fell. He continued in a quieter voice. "Mark, and you, Pete - take the car and go back to that motel we passed an hour or so back. I'm going to spend the night here with Sam. Mark, we need to talk things over and it seems that your friend hasn't been exactly truthful in his reasons for being here. Just go, both of you. I'll get a lift back there in the morning. Wait for me." His son knew when not to argue, and beckoned to his friend.
"Sam, can we talk, please, just for a little while?" asked Pete, a pleading expression in his eyes.
She stared back at him, unflinching. "What's the point? I've nothing to say to you." She felt sorry at his crestfallen look, but knew that there was no point in prolonging the conversation.
They turned in surprise at the sound of Jack's gentle cough as he stood in the doorway. "Now that it's down to a dull roar... Sam, I think you'll want to come back to the barn."
"How is she?" said Sam, getting up in sudden alarm and reaching for her coat. "Are things OK?"
"Well, yes and no." said Jack. "The first two didn't make it, but we're not done yet by any means. Bring a bowl of warm water and some old towels." Without waiting, he turned and closed the door behind him, disappearing back into the darkness. Sam headed for the kitchen, leaving the three men standing in the lounge, somewhat more than a little puzzled by events.
Jacob saw that he would have to bend to Sam's wishes if he wanted to get her to listen to him, and ushered the other two out. "Mark, why don't you explain the facts of life to your friend here? I'll see you in the morning." Pete made to go towards the kitchen where they could hear Sam filling a metal bowl and opening cupboard doors, but Mark pulled him away and they left. The car doors slammed and the engine noise diminished as they rounded the first corner.
Sam left the kitchen carrying the bowl with care, with three worn and faded multi-coloured towels slung over her shoulder. "Open the door for me, please, Dad." she asked, and he moved quickly to let her out. "If you want to come and see, put your coat on but please be very quiet and still when you're there."
"Sammie, I can see whatever's going on must be important to you. Care to explain?" he asked as he followed her out.
"It's Sam." she replied, not looking round. "Sam the dog, that is. I'll explain about that later. She's gone into labour tonight. Jack figured she'd choose the barn to whelp in, so we put straw on the floor. We're looking out for her because the local veterinary got called away to see a sick horse. I took the last watch while Jack got some sleep. He's been having a bad day today - I'll explain about that later too."
They entered the barn and Jacob stood back, watching his daughter and her ex-CO, as he still thought of him, crouched over the brown form of a dog in the circle of light from the kerosene lamp. He took in how attentive they were to the animal, little caring for anything but it and each other as they soothed and fussed away. The sound of whining and squeaking came and went, and suddenly Sam looked round at her father, an expression of utter joy on her face, like in the happy times when she was young and they had been a complete family. They kept talking in low voices to the dog and to each other, and he smiled when he saw her suddenly embrace Jack and kiss his head, laughing, before they both returned their attention to the new parent and her litter. Realising that a whole new set of facts about her life was unwinding before his eyes, and also seriously beginning to feel the cold, he turned and quietly left, walking back to the welcoming light and warmth of the cabin.
Jacob took off his coat, and observing that the fire in the hearth was getting low, selected two larger logs from the antique wooden box at the side and placed them carefully on the glowing embers. He sat on the edge of the sofa until he was satisfied that they were taking light before deciding that he really needed the bathroom. He couldn't help but notice that every corner of this small dwelling contained Sam's intimate possessions, ranging from the old photos and mementos that he remembered from long ago, to newer unrecognised ones that were still obviously hers and not his. He entered the kitchen in search of coffee, and was pleased to find a warm pot on the range. He added a couple of smaller logs to this fire as well and then started looking round for a clean cup.
He'd started thinking about what he was going to say to Sam and how his first assumption, encouraged by his son and Sam's erstwhile boyfriend, that she wouldn't take much persuading to go back to Colorado Springs, was so wrong. It was then that he noticed something on the draining board, partly hidden by an upturned dish, that sent his senses reeling to the point that he held on to the edge of the sink for a few moments recovering from the shock.
As his shadow moved away, the light of the oil lamp caught the ornate gold patterning and diamonds of a matching set of wedding and engagement rings. Hers.
"Told you so." said his symbiote.
XXXXXXXXXXXX