Author: GateSeeker2
Disclaimer: All necessary information is listed prior to Part 1
"Waiting for the Dawn" - Part 3
It was still fairly early in the morning when Jack found himself walking up the drive way to his house. He had wanted to go for an early run to clear his head from his recent pain medication and refresh himself, but his ribs were still protesting too much. After all, it hadn't been quite a full week yet since he was hit full force with that staff blast at fairly close range. The new vest inserts had stopped the full force of the blast, but he still had a few severely bruised ribs and a couple of nice burns. 'Nothing good ever happened on a Monday,' Jack thought.
So much had happened during these last two weeks. The first week was hectic and spent avoiding Emmett Bergman and his documentary camera crew. This week was worse.
On Monday he was injured and Janet was killed. Then they had her memorial service on Wednesday, the investigation with Mr. Woolsey on Thursday, and then he had to endure that relentless documentary director extraordinaire's questions almost all day on Friday morning before Janet's funeral. Oh and let's not forget Tuesday! That was when Carter approached him as he was being released from the infirmary. Man, there was so much that he wanted to say to her, and he sensed that she wanted to tell him some things too. However, they weren't allowed. Regulations made sure of that. Nothing was ever said, and nothing was ever done. But he had hugged her, held her, given her comfort, felt her warmth, sensed her need, and he had never wanted to let her go – but he did – he always did.
This morning he had wanted to get away and relax, grieve, think, and hope. Therefore, he had settled for a nice walk. It had been some time since Jack had taken a nice leisurely walk around his neighborhood and nearby park while the dawn was breaking over the horizon. The walk had done much to awaken him and help him relax. The street was quiet in the early morning until he heard a screeching of tires and looked up from where he was now bending over to pick up the morning paper to see a small car rounding the corner. As Jack straightened up, he was surprised to see Cassie pull up hastily and somewhat haphazardly into his driveway.
He stared at her as she hurriedly exited the car and ran into Jack's arms. Jack winced slightly from the exuberant hug, but he quickly returned it. He could tell that something was bothering her and he wanted to be there for her. Jack thought of Cassie as a type of niece/daughter, and he loved spending time with her when opportunity presented itself.
They stood silently in the driveway for a few minutes while hugging each other. Finally, Jack spoke, "OK kiddo. What's up?"
Through her slowing sobs Cassie asked, "Can I stay with you?"
This question surprised Jack. He knew that she had been staying with Carter this last week. Besides Carter was supposed to become Cassie's guardian should anything ever happen to Janet. So, he wondered what happened to make Cassie want to leave her and come to him.
He pulled away from her and lifted her chin so that he could look into her eyes. "Why?"
Cassie just stared up at him with eyes full of hurt, confusion, anger, and loneliness.
"OK," Jack sighed, "You don't have to tell me right now. How 'bout breakfast?"
Cassie nodded and they turned toward the front door. Jack kept his left arm protectively around Cassie's shoulders as she continued to lean into him and hug him with her right arm around his waist.
As they approached the front door, Jack asked with his childish grin, "So, whatcha gonna' fix me?"
Cassie rolled her eyes, chuckled and smiled, "How about Fruit Loops2?"
"Ex-cel-lent," Jack replied mimicking a character from his favorite cartoon.3
They entered the house and proceeded to the kitchen. Jack retrieved the milk from the refrigerator and the cereal from the cabinet while Cassie got the bowls and spoons. She had been in his house enough times to know where everything was kept.
While growing up, Cassie would often accompany Janet to SG1 functions and barbeques that were held at Jack's house. Jack would also watch Cassie quite a bit especially when she had been younger. He often speculated that Janet was using him for free babysitting as a way of getting even with him since he had given Cassie a dog.
Cassie had grown to love Jack very much. She had stopped calling him "Uncle Jack" a long time ago because if she was honest with herself it was because she really thought of him more as a father figure. He was so wonderful with kids and new how to deal with them. She was so sad when Janet had told her years ago about how Jack's son had died. Cassie wished that she could have known Charlie and hoped that someday Jack could be a father again. She thought that he'd be great.
The two of them sat in the kitchen eating their cereal in total quiet. Jack was busily thinking of various reasons for why Cassie was here. The most obvious reason was that she and Carter had had an argument. Of course, then that brought up the question, 'What were they arguing about? Was Cassie resenting Carter? Was Carter trying to "parent" Cassie?' Jack was still deep in thought when Cassie finally spoke.
"I met him." Cassie said flatly while chasing small pieces of cereal around in her bowl with her spoon.
Slightly unsure, Jack thought, 'Him? Him who?' Then Jack realized who and what she must have meant. "Oh?"
"I can't believe Sam didn't tell me she had a boyfriend? I thought we were close." Then Cassie promptly looked up at Jack not knowing whether or not he knew. "Did you know?"
"Yeah – kind of." Jack placed his spoon in his now empty bowl and looked at Cassie. "I knew that she had started...dating."
"Yeah – well," Cassie said as she added with a slight "humph" on the end. "She's doing more than just DATING." Cassie hurriedly added. "He was standing there with just his pants on!"
Jack was a bit taken back and sucked in a quick breath at Cassie's words. His chest was hurting again, but not from his injury. The information Cassie just conveyed was hitting him as hard as any staff blast. He knew that Sam had gone out on a few dates with this Denver cop, but he didn't know that she had gone that far this quickly with this new guy. Besides, wasn't she the one that insisted in the elevator that day weeks previously, "Well it's not serious or anything." He had been so startled about her even having a date in the first place that he then went overboard like a hurt school boy and tried to be clever. "Oh, Carter it's none of my business. I'm just happy that you're happy about something other than...quarks." As Jack remembered this brief conversation, he knew that any hope he had for him and Sam ever being together was probably never going to come true. After all, he couldn't offer her anything – not now as situations and chain of command stood - and possibly not ever, but he had still hoped. At this moment though, hope was fading fast.
Jack remained silent, but Cassie continued, "He was there this morning when I got up. He acted like it was HIS house." She was quiet for a few moments then continued, "Have you met him?"
Jack nodded assertively and added, "He managed to get himself injured recently while interfering with an Earth bound mission."
"So..., did Mom meet him too?"
"Yeah, she patched him up."
Jack's words surprised Cassie. 'Mom knew and didn't tell me? Maybe she didn't now the details. Maybe she didn't want me to know. Why wouldn't she tell me?' Cassie reflected on this and began to feel hurt and betrayed by both Sam and now her mom.
The two just sat there staring at the table. Neither one knew what to say. Cassie could tell that although Jack admitted to knowing that Sam was dating that he seemed slightly startled by her news. There really wasn't much left to say. The silence drew out for a few more minutes.
"I argued with Sam. I told her that I didn't want to stay with her as long as HE was there. I just grabbed my stuff and left." Cassie was so startled by this morning's confrontation. "Why is she with HIM? She's ruined everything, Jack."
Jack wasn't sure what Cassie meant by "ruined everything," but he couldn't give her a reason for Sam not being with Pete. Sam was a vibrant intelligent beautiful single woman and had every right to pursue whomever she wanted. But, Jack was certainly willing to be there for Cassie if she needed him. However, he chose to ignore her last two statements.
"Well, kid. I'm more than happy to have you here, but we need to let her know where you are. We don't want her worrying or...." Jack was cut off by the phone ringing.
To Be Continued...
Footnotes:
2 "Fruit Loops" belong exclusively to Kellogg's corporation.
3 This is referencing a character from the "Simpsons" TV show.
NOTE: If you liked it, or if you didn't like it, please let me know. Thanks for reading.
Disclaimer: All necessary information is listed prior to Part 1
"Waiting for the Dawn" - Part 3
It was still fairly early in the morning when Jack found himself walking up the drive way to his house. He had wanted to go for an early run to clear his head from his recent pain medication and refresh himself, but his ribs were still protesting too much. After all, it hadn't been quite a full week yet since he was hit full force with that staff blast at fairly close range. The new vest inserts had stopped the full force of the blast, but he still had a few severely bruised ribs and a couple of nice burns. 'Nothing good ever happened on a Monday,' Jack thought.
So much had happened during these last two weeks. The first week was hectic and spent avoiding Emmett Bergman and his documentary camera crew. This week was worse.
On Monday he was injured and Janet was killed. Then they had her memorial service on Wednesday, the investigation with Mr. Woolsey on Thursday, and then he had to endure that relentless documentary director extraordinaire's questions almost all day on Friday morning before Janet's funeral. Oh and let's not forget Tuesday! That was when Carter approached him as he was being released from the infirmary. Man, there was so much that he wanted to say to her, and he sensed that she wanted to tell him some things too. However, they weren't allowed. Regulations made sure of that. Nothing was ever said, and nothing was ever done. But he had hugged her, held her, given her comfort, felt her warmth, sensed her need, and he had never wanted to let her go – but he did – he always did.
This morning he had wanted to get away and relax, grieve, think, and hope. Therefore, he had settled for a nice walk. It had been some time since Jack had taken a nice leisurely walk around his neighborhood and nearby park while the dawn was breaking over the horizon. The walk had done much to awaken him and help him relax. The street was quiet in the early morning until he heard a screeching of tires and looked up from where he was now bending over to pick up the morning paper to see a small car rounding the corner. As Jack straightened up, he was surprised to see Cassie pull up hastily and somewhat haphazardly into his driveway.
He stared at her as she hurriedly exited the car and ran into Jack's arms. Jack winced slightly from the exuberant hug, but he quickly returned it. He could tell that something was bothering her and he wanted to be there for her. Jack thought of Cassie as a type of niece/daughter, and he loved spending time with her when opportunity presented itself.
They stood silently in the driveway for a few minutes while hugging each other. Finally, Jack spoke, "OK kiddo. What's up?"
Through her slowing sobs Cassie asked, "Can I stay with you?"
This question surprised Jack. He knew that she had been staying with Carter this last week. Besides Carter was supposed to become Cassie's guardian should anything ever happen to Janet. So, he wondered what happened to make Cassie want to leave her and come to him.
He pulled away from her and lifted her chin so that he could look into her eyes. "Why?"
Cassie just stared up at him with eyes full of hurt, confusion, anger, and loneliness.
"OK," Jack sighed, "You don't have to tell me right now. How 'bout breakfast?"
Cassie nodded and they turned toward the front door. Jack kept his left arm protectively around Cassie's shoulders as she continued to lean into him and hug him with her right arm around his waist.
As they approached the front door, Jack asked with his childish grin, "So, whatcha gonna' fix me?"
Cassie rolled her eyes, chuckled and smiled, "How about Fruit Loops2?"
"Ex-cel-lent," Jack replied mimicking a character from his favorite cartoon.3
They entered the house and proceeded to the kitchen. Jack retrieved the milk from the refrigerator and the cereal from the cabinet while Cassie got the bowls and spoons. She had been in his house enough times to know where everything was kept.
While growing up, Cassie would often accompany Janet to SG1 functions and barbeques that were held at Jack's house. Jack would also watch Cassie quite a bit especially when she had been younger. He often speculated that Janet was using him for free babysitting as a way of getting even with him since he had given Cassie a dog.
Cassie had grown to love Jack very much. She had stopped calling him "Uncle Jack" a long time ago because if she was honest with herself it was because she really thought of him more as a father figure. He was so wonderful with kids and new how to deal with them. She was so sad when Janet had told her years ago about how Jack's son had died. Cassie wished that she could have known Charlie and hoped that someday Jack could be a father again. She thought that he'd be great.
The two of them sat in the kitchen eating their cereal in total quiet. Jack was busily thinking of various reasons for why Cassie was here. The most obvious reason was that she and Carter had had an argument. Of course, then that brought up the question, 'What were they arguing about? Was Cassie resenting Carter? Was Carter trying to "parent" Cassie?' Jack was still deep in thought when Cassie finally spoke.
"I met him." Cassie said flatly while chasing small pieces of cereal around in her bowl with her spoon.
Slightly unsure, Jack thought, 'Him? Him who?' Then Jack realized who and what she must have meant. "Oh?"
"I can't believe Sam didn't tell me she had a boyfriend? I thought we were close." Then Cassie promptly looked up at Jack not knowing whether or not he knew. "Did you know?"
"Yeah – kind of." Jack placed his spoon in his now empty bowl and looked at Cassie. "I knew that she had started...dating."
"Yeah – well," Cassie said as she added with a slight "humph" on the end. "She's doing more than just DATING." Cassie hurriedly added. "He was standing there with just his pants on!"
Jack was a bit taken back and sucked in a quick breath at Cassie's words. His chest was hurting again, but not from his injury. The information Cassie just conveyed was hitting him as hard as any staff blast. He knew that Sam had gone out on a few dates with this Denver cop, but he didn't know that she had gone that far this quickly with this new guy. Besides, wasn't she the one that insisted in the elevator that day weeks previously, "Well it's not serious or anything." He had been so startled about her even having a date in the first place that he then went overboard like a hurt school boy and tried to be clever. "Oh, Carter it's none of my business. I'm just happy that you're happy about something other than...quarks." As Jack remembered this brief conversation, he knew that any hope he had for him and Sam ever being together was probably never going to come true. After all, he couldn't offer her anything – not now as situations and chain of command stood - and possibly not ever, but he had still hoped. At this moment though, hope was fading fast.
Jack remained silent, but Cassie continued, "He was there this morning when I got up. He acted like it was HIS house." She was quiet for a few moments then continued, "Have you met him?"
Jack nodded assertively and added, "He managed to get himself injured recently while interfering with an Earth bound mission."
"So..., did Mom meet him too?"
"Yeah, she patched him up."
Jack's words surprised Cassie. 'Mom knew and didn't tell me? Maybe she didn't now the details. Maybe she didn't want me to know. Why wouldn't she tell me?' Cassie reflected on this and began to feel hurt and betrayed by both Sam and now her mom.
The two just sat there staring at the table. Neither one knew what to say. Cassie could tell that although Jack admitted to knowing that Sam was dating that he seemed slightly startled by her news. There really wasn't much left to say. The silence drew out for a few more minutes.
"I argued with Sam. I told her that I didn't want to stay with her as long as HE was there. I just grabbed my stuff and left." Cassie was so startled by this morning's confrontation. "Why is she with HIM? She's ruined everything, Jack."
Jack wasn't sure what Cassie meant by "ruined everything," but he couldn't give her a reason for Sam not being with Pete. Sam was a vibrant intelligent beautiful single woman and had every right to pursue whomever she wanted. But, Jack was certainly willing to be there for Cassie if she needed him. However, he chose to ignore her last two statements.
"Well, kid. I'm more than happy to have you here, but we need to let her know where you are. We don't want her worrying or...." Jack was cut off by the phone ringing.
To Be Continued...
Footnotes:
2 "Fruit Loops" belong exclusively to Kellogg's corporation.
3 This is referencing a character from the "Simpsons" TV show.
NOTE: If you liked it, or if you didn't like it, please let me know. Thanks for reading.