Disclaimer: 'The song Beauty And The Beast' isn't mine its from the Walt Disney movie. I just borrowed it to help tell a story.
Spoilers: Small reference to some first half season six episodes but nothing to bad.
Occasionally when he was around he'd sneak a quick glimpse of Carter as she soothed her to sleep in this very room, he never let on that he watched her, mostly he saw it out of the corner of his eye as he passed.
She'd always have that look in her eyes full of pride and happiness even after been up half the night seeing to her. It was a unique thing to see in Carter, fine he'd seen her deal with Cassie and other kids in the past, Alex was different she was her own flesh and blood, even if she didn't believe in herself to do a good job sometimes, that look was all that was needed to know it would work out in the end.
He pressed the remote again so the cd player would start over again and play 'Alex's tune' as he'd dubbed it since he cared for her the night before they left.
Ooh...
Tale as old as time
True as it can be
Barely even friends
Then somebody bends
Unexpectedly
Just a little change
Small, to say the least
Both a little scared
Neither one prepared
Beauty and the beast
He tried, he did asked her to stay....everything....he'd even helped with Alex, although he knew it would take more than one night to fix their friendship. Right from the word go in this whole thing, after getting drunk much like right now, whatever happened he had promised to be there to help her when needed or at best to make sure Alex did ok. Truth be told he, Jack O'Neill was scared, scared for what he'd lost and scared for what he gained because of it. Jack O'Neill would never in a million years be prepared to fall 'in love' with Carter she was in his opinion out of his league and yet in those months before Alex somewhere along the line he had. Sure they cared more than they should, it came with the job the only way to deal with it. Caring more meant a person wasn't just a number, a statistic on a piece of paper, but a person made of flesh and blood, something worth fighting for should they fall in battle to make sure they are never forgotten or to fight harder so that situation never played out to get them home.
Ever just the same
Ever a surprise
Ever as before
Ever just as sure
As the sun will rise
Ooh...ooh...ooh...
If the gate opened right now and she stepped through, at her word he'd find a way to forget to reset start again but with the obvious package deal that she now came with anything that meant she'd be here and she was safe. He didn't want her to love him or even care in the slightest about him, regardless of what his feeling were she deserved way better, but here at home he had a chance to keep her safe.
Ever just the same
Ever a surprise
Ever as before
Ever just as sure
As the sun will rise
Ooh...ooh...ooh...
Then maybe he wouldn't have this damn action replay nightmare thing floating round in his head again. Four weeks they had been gone and for four weeks he'd wake, usually calling out to her, but the result was always the same, he'd see her engulfed by the flames around her or she'd die cradled in his arms.
Tale as old as time
Tune as old as song
Bittersweet and strange
Finding you can change
Learning you were wrong
He would change or at least try, Being open about his feeling was never his strong point and honestly anyone who really knew him knew that to well....she chose to walk through that gate, still part of his life in some way, yet not in his life to spare them both pain.
Certain as the sun
Certain as the sun
Rising in the east
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the beast...
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the beast...
Oh...oh...
Uh..
Beauty and the beast
Above everything else in a world that knew nothing about what's really going on in space, friendship is the most important especially in the SGC's line of work. Trusting that against all odds even around a man like him is probably second
In many ways at times he was pig-headed in the 'I'm hurting' department, he'd make a show of life the O'Neill way hiding behind sarcasm appearing like everyone wanted when they were down or in need for moral...but flip that into reverse and the subject was closed as quick as it was opened.
Take the Tok'ra, his encounter once was a little to close for personal liking, thankfully he was still all there, all him but he never really talked about it to anyone especially her. Jacob was the only one to get anything from him regarding the whole sorry affair.
The real personal stuff like Charlie, that never gets out never gets talked about under any circumstance. In all these years Daniel has been the only one to get the most from him, but that's the past a dark place in his life, never forgotten, but never dragged up because of pain and guilty never released to this day.
He'd never regret telling her of Connor, in a way it helped him as much as it did her, but even that was messed up, he couldn't bring himself to tell the whole story, holding stuff back to protect her in some way. The real truth of the matter was he regretted what it had done to him.
Sam Carter could hold her own the same as any man he knew that and yet it still plagued his mind. Fear of the 'what if' situations that meant she was no longer here or what loosing Alex would do to her, he never wanted to see that
He was only a gate trip away if she called, but he just had this feeling and it wasn't good.