Disclaimer: See Default Chapter
Chapter Twelve: Midnight
Sam didn't remember making the conscious decision to go back to Cheyenne Mountain, or to get out of her car and go inside. She barely noticed the glances the airman at the entrance gave her, didn't really care.
She stood at the base of the ramp, staring up at the Gate. Sam remembered the awe and amazement she had felt the first time she heard the Chevrons lock, felt the power of the loud 'kawoosh' of the event horizon opening. Before she ever stepped through, ever walked into the briefing room eight years before, she had known who Colonel Jonathan O'Neill was. He was ... a hero. An honest to goodness hero.
Now, standing in almost the same place she had eight years before, she thought about him again. He was still a hero, even though most of the world – hell, the galaxy – didn't know it. Still an amazing man. But so much more.
She turned and looked to the wall beside the control room observation window. The hole had been patched and painted over, but she still knew it was there. The spot where an alien device had imbedded itself into the concrete, taking Jack with it. It was the first time she realized she could lose him, and how terrifying a thought it had been.
More than once, she had almost lost him.
Now, she could have him. All of him. Forever.
So, why was she here? And not with him?
Maybe she was overanalyzing things. Maybe the conversation today in the debriefing room had just been that... a conversation. Laced with their usual flirting. That was all.
No. Today was more than flirting. He had touched her. Held his hand on her. Looked at her with those incredible eyes.
She walked up the ramp, stood beneath the arc of the Gate. With a smile, she thought about their first trip through together, when they went to Abydos to retrieve Daniel. She had stood at the threshold of the event horizon, mesmerized by the rippling surface. Excited at the possibilities, yet almost too overwhelmed to step through.
And what did Jack do?
He shoved her through.
Sam wrapped her arms around her body and smiled.
"I get it, Jack," she said to the empty room.
All the fear and anxiety that had haunted her washed away, left with a sweet rush. Like stepping through the Gate. Again and again.
She turned on her heels and ran down the ramp.
Chapter Twelve: Midnight
Sam didn't remember making the conscious decision to go back to Cheyenne Mountain, or to get out of her car and go inside. She barely noticed the glances the airman at the entrance gave her, didn't really care.
She stood at the base of the ramp, staring up at the Gate. Sam remembered the awe and amazement she had felt the first time she heard the Chevrons lock, felt the power of the loud 'kawoosh' of the event horizon opening. Before she ever stepped through, ever walked into the briefing room eight years before, she had known who Colonel Jonathan O'Neill was. He was ... a hero. An honest to goodness hero.
Now, standing in almost the same place she had eight years before, she thought about him again. He was still a hero, even though most of the world – hell, the galaxy – didn't know it. Still an amazing man. But so much more.
She turned and looked to the wall beside the control room observation window. The hole had been patched and painted over, but she still knew it was there. The spot where an alien device had imbedded itself into the concrete, taking Jack with it. It was the first time she realized she could lose him, and how terrifying a thought it had been.
More than once, she had almost lost him.
Now, she could have him. All of him. Forever.
So, why was she here? And not with him?
Maybe she was overanalyzing things. Maybe the conversation today in the debriefing room had just been that... a conversation. Laced with their usual flirting. That was all.
No. Today was more than flirting. He had touched her. Held his hand on her. Looked at her with those incredible eyes.
She walked up the ramp, stood beneath the arc of the Gate. With a smile, she thought about their first trip through together, when they went to Abydos to retrieve Daniel. She had stood at the threshold of the event horizon, mesmerized by the rippling surface. Excited at the possibilities, yet almost too overwhelmed to step through.
And what did Jack do?
He shoved her through.
Sam wrapped her arms around her body and smiled.
"I get it, Jack," she said to the empty room.
All the fear and anxiety that had haunted her washed away, left with a sweet rush. Like stepping through the Gate. Again and again.
She turned on her heels and ran down the ramp.