They spent the evening doing what they liked to do best when they were together. Absolutely nothing. Jack made popcorn – since Sam liked the stuff – and he and she cuddled on the sofa with Jaffer and watched a movie. Sam was stretched out with her head in Jack's lap, and Jaffer was on the end of the couch where Jack could lean against him and use him as a great big furry throw pillow – that he couldn't have really thrown.
Sam didn't make it through the movie. Unlike Jack, she hadn't slept in that morning, and she'd had a long weekend playing hostess to an active little girl. She was tired, and warm and comfortable, and less than halfway through the movie all of those things caught up to her and she dozed off, safe and secure in Jack's loving arms.
He left her like that for a while, although he wasn't really all that interested in the movie. Running his fingers gently along her cheek, he watched her sleep, instead. It was far more interesting to him. He loved times like this, when she was in his arms and asleep. He would probably never tell her that, but he really liked the fact that she was so relaxed around him that she could fall asleep like that. It'd taken them so long to get to this point. Years of just longing for her, watching her and making jokes or sarcastic remarks to keep his desire for her at bay because they couldn't do anything about it, even if he had acknowledged what he'd felt.
It was all different, now. While they didn't really bandy the relationship around on base, there was no hiding it. He saw it in the way she looked at him, and the way she'd turn and smile when he entered the room. He wasn't completely aware of it, but she saw it in his eyes as well, and the people around them who knew them the best had never seen either of them look more content.
"We'd better get her to bed, eh, little man?" Jack finally whispered to Jaffer. The black lab snorted, softly in agreement, and held still while O'Neill scooted out from under Sam and gathered her up into his arms.
"Jack?"
She woke, but only a little.
"Shhh... we're going to bed..."
She nodded, and rested her head against his shoulder, secure in his arms. It was nice to be carried to bed sometimes. She dozed off again as he went down the hall and to his bedroom.
He undressed her and covered her warmly, then left her alone long enough to take Jaffer out for a last chance to pee that night. While the black lab was outside, Jack set the coffee pot to automatic so it'd be brewing about the same time Jaffer woke him up in the morning, then he went and let Jaffer in, and went back to his bedroom, undressed and slid under the covers next to Sam.
As if she'd been waiting for him, Sam mumbled something in her sleep and scooted closer. He wrapped his arms around her, but didn't kiss her like he wanted to, since it'd have most likely woken her up. He could hear Jaffer in the living room making final rounds of the house, and heard the popcorn bowl fall to the carpeted living room floor. With a smile, Jack realized that was one less bowl of popcorn. No wonder Jaffer hadn't followed him to bed like he normally did. Jack closed his eyes, his hand resting lightly on Sam's stomach and her cheek pressed against his shoulder, and he allowed himself to fall asleep as well.
Again, he dreamed...
Xara was there, looming over him as if she'd been waiting for the chance to see him again. This time, though, Jack woke up in his dream and looked at the Seer.
"What are you?" He asked.
"I was going to ask you the same question."
"I'm nobody."
"You're hardly that, Jack." Even in his sleep he could hear a certain awe in her voice, and it annoyed him. He scowled.
"I'm no one special."
"You're blanketed with protections. No one needs protections like yours, but you have them. Why?"
He shrugged, having absolutely no clue what she was talking about. He turned and saw Sam sleeping next to him, apparently unaware of the conversation that was taking place beside her. Jack sat up in his bed.
"Why are you here?"
"I just want to see..." Xara told him, sitting quietly on the edge of his bed next to him and reaching her hand out to him.
"See what?" He moved slightly away from her hand. He wasn't all that fond of being touched by strange women. Too many bad things had happened to him in his past dealings with strangers. She noticed, and smiled.
"I won't hurt you."
"Yeah?"
"I just want-"
A low growl echoed through the room, and Jack and Xara both turned toward the door. As they watched, a shadow broke free from the other shadows in the doorway, and Jaffer walked into the room, his head low, his teeth bared and impossibly white and sharp in the faint light that seemed to be coming from nowhere.
"See how he protects you?" Xara said to Jack. "For some reason he will not let me finish what-"
"Enough!"
Again she was interrupted. Jack turned from her to Jaffer, but the voice that had interrupted was decidedly female. Another shadow dislodged itself from the doorway, and this time Dotty Adams walked into the room, her hand resting lightly on Jaffer, who ceased his low growls, although he didn't lift his head, and the deadly serious gleam in his brown eyes remained.
"Dotty?"
Shawn's mom nodded, walking over to his bed, but her eyes were on Xara, who was pale – even more so than usual.
"What are you?" The Seer asked.
"Jack is off-limits to the likes of you," Doty told her, firmly. There was no anger in her expression or her voice – not at all like Jaffer, who was ready to pounce if given the signal. The black lab was still standing next to Dotty, having walked over with her, and up close he looked even bigger and more imposing.
"He's-"
"Unique. And loved. And he has too much on his plate to be constantly distracted by you."
"I haven't hurt him." Xara said. "I don't mean to hurt him. I'm just curious... you don't see the power he has... the protections that are-"
"I put them there."
"What?"
"What's going on?" Jack was tired of the women talking about him like he wasn't there. Nothing annoyed him more than that. Well, no, that wasn't true. Lots of things annoyed him more, but this was annoying, too.
The women ignored his question, although Dotty reached out and rested her hand lightly against Jack's cheek. A lover's touch, he knew it immediately, and he frowned.
"I won't allow you to come here again," Shawn's mother said, gently, to Xara. "You don't understand what you're dealing with and if you succeed in what you're attempting, you could very well kill him. That isn't acceptable."
"Kill...? I've helped him."
Dotty nodded. "In one respect you have, which is why I'm going to allow you to live. I cannot allow anyone to interfere. I will not allow anyone to interfere. Don't come back here, no matter how curious you are. Or you will not live to regret it."
She looked at Jaffer, who was watching intently, and there was no mistaking the animosity in the black lab's expression.
"What is he?"
Jack wasn't sure if Xara was talking about him, or Jaffer, and again he scowled. He was getting heartily tired of this conversation. Before he could say anything, though, Dotty snapped her fingers and Xara was gone without a sound.
Shawn's mom turned to look at Jack, and noticed the frown on his face.
"Don't look so annoyed, Jack. She was only curious."
"About what?"
"You, of course. She's gone, now, though. And I doubt she'll return."
"Did you-"
"She's not hurt. I merely sent her away. She was right; she did help you. For that, I'd never hurt her."
"Help me?"
"She made you aware of something I wasn't, and now that it's been brought to my attention, we can fix it. Some of it now, some of it later."
"What are you talking about?"
Dotty didn't answer. Instead, she moved to the other side of the bed and rested her ethereal hand lightly against Sam's lower abdomen.
"What are you doing?" Jack started to move to get between Dotty and Sam, but Dotty's other hand came up to stop him.
"Hush, Jack. I'm trying to concentrate."
He scowled, and Jaffer jumped up onto the bed next to him.
A cold nose in the small of his back woke him up, and Jack sat up with a start, looking around his room, wildly.
It was dark, and quiet, and all he felt nearby were Sam and Jaffer.
"Jack?" Sam's voice was sleepy, and she lifted her head off the pillow, woken up by his sudden movement. "Are you okay?"
He turned to look at her, frowning in the dark, trying to catch the last fragments of a dream that was fading so rapidly he couldn't even remember what it was about.
"Yeah..." he said, softly, looking down at Jaffer, who was already flopped down on the bed and getting comfortable. There were a few tiny popcorn crumbs stuck in the black lab's whiskers, gleaming white against the darkness. "Just a... dream, I guess..."
"Nightmare?" Sam asked, running her hand along his bare chest, soothingly.
"I don't know..."
She pulled him close, and he went, cuddling against her warm body easily.
"Serves you right," Sam whispered, pressing a tired kiss against his shoulder, already almost asleep once more. "No one should ever eat two lunches back to back. No matter how hungry the dog is..."
He nodded against her soft skin, and closed his eyes. She was probably right. Jaffer snorted softly, and sighed, his head coming to rest on Jack's thigh, and O'Neill was asleep again almost immediately. This time, he didn't dream.
Sam didn't make it through the movie. Unlike Jack, she hadn't slept in that morning, and she'd had a long weekend playing hostess to an active little girl. She was tired, and warm and comfortable, and less than halfway through the movie all of those things caught up to her and she dozed off, safe and secure in Jack's loving arms.
He left her like that for a while, although he wasn't really all that interested in the movie. Running his fingers gently along her cheek, he watched her sleep, instead. It was far more interesting to him. He loved times like this, when she was in his arms and asleep. He would probably never tell her that, but he really liked the fact that she was so relaxed around him that she could fall asleep like that. It'd taken them so long to get to this point. Years of just longing for her, watching her and making jokes or sarcastic remarks to keep his desire for her at bay because they couldn't do anything about it, even if he had acknowledged what he'd felt.
It was all different, now. While they didn't really bandy the relationship around on base, there was no hiding it. He saw it in the way she looked at him, and the way she'd turn and smile when he entered the room. He wasn't completely aware of it, but she saw it in his eyes as well, and the people around them who knew them the best had never seen either of them look more content.
"We'd better get her to bed, eh, little man?" Jack finally whispered to Jaffer. The black lab snorted, softly in agreement, and held still while O'Neill scooted out from under Sam and gathered her up into his arms.
"Jack?"
She woke, but only a little.
"Shhh... we're going to bed..."
She nodded, and rested her head against his shoulder, secure in his arms. It was nice to be carried to bed sometimes. She dozed off again as he went down the hall and to his bedroom.
He undressed her and covered her warmly, then left her alone long enough to take Jaffer out for a last chance to pee that night. While the black lab was outside, Jack set the coffee pot to automatic so it'd be brewing about the same time Jaffer woke him up in the morning, then he went and let Jaffer in, and went back to his bedroom, undressed and slid under the covers next to Sam.
As if she'd been waiting for him, Sam mumbled something in her sleep and scooted closer. He wrapped his arms around her, but didn't kiss her like he wanted to, since it'd have most likely woken her up. He could hear Jaffer in the living room making final rounds of the house, and heard the popcorn bowl fall to the carpeted living room floor. With a smile, Jack realized that was one less bowl of popcorn. No wonder Jaffer hadn't followed him to bed like he normally did. Jack closed his eyes, his hand resting lightly on Sam's stomach and her cheek pressed against his shoulder, and he allowed himself to fall asleep as well.
Again, he dreamed...
Xara was there, looming over him as if she'd been waiting for the chance to see him again. This time, though, Jack woke up in his dream and looked at the Seer.
"What are you?" He asked.
"I was going to ask you the same question."
"I'm nobody."
"You're hardly that, Jack." Even in his sleep he could hear a certain awe in her voice, and it annoyed him. He scowled.
"I'm no one special."
"You're blanketed with protections. No one needs protections like yours, but you have them. Why?"
He shrugged, having absolutely no clue what she was talking about. He turned and saw Sam sleeping next to him, apparently unaware of the conversation that was taking place beside her. Jack sat up in his bed.
"Why are you here?"
"I just want to see..." Xara told him, sitting quietly on the edge of his bed next to him and reaching her hand out to him.
"See what?" He moved slightly away from her hand. He wasn't all that fond of being touched by strange women. Too many bad things had happened to him in his past dealings with strangers. She noticed, and smiled.
"I won't hurt you."
"Yeah?"
"I just want-"
A low growl echoed through the room, and Jack and Xara both turned toward the door. As they watched, a shadow broke free from the other shadows in the doorway, and Jaffer walked into the room, his head low, his teeth bared and impossibly white and sharp in the faint light that seemed to be coming from nowhere.
"See how he protects you?" Xara said to Jack. "For some reason he will not let me finish what-"
"Enough!"
Again she was interrupted. Jack turned from her to Jaffer, but the voice that had interrupted was decidedly female. Another shadow dislodged itself from the doorway, and this time Dotty Adams walked into the room, her hand resting lightly on Jaffer, who ceased his low growls, although he didn't lift his head, and the deadly serious gleam in his brown eyes remained.
"Dotty?"
Shawn's mom nodded, walking over to his bed, but her eyes were on Xara, who was pale – even more so than usual.
"What are you?" The Seer asked.
"Jack is off-limits to the likes of you," Doty told her, firmly. There was no anger in her expression or her voice – not at all like Jaffer, who was ready to pounce if given the signal. The black lab was still standing next to Dotty, having walked over with her, and up close he looked even bigger and more imposing.
"He's-"
"Unique. And loved. And he has too much on his plate to be constantly distracted by you."
"I haven't hurt him." Xara said. "I don't mean to hurt him. I'm just curious... you don't see the power he has... the protections that are-"
"I put them there."
"What?"
"What's going on?" Jack was tired of the women talking about him like he wasn't there. Nothing annoyed him more than that. Well, no, that wasn't true. Lots of things annoyed him more, but this was annoying, too.
The women ignored his question, although Dotty reached out and rested her hand lightly against Jack's cheek. A lover's touch, he knew it immediately, and he frowned.
"I won't allow you to come here again," Shawn's mother said, gently, to Xara. "You don't understand what you're dealing with and if you succeed in what you're attempting, you could very well kill him. That isn't acceptable."
"Kill...? I've helped him."
Dotty nodded. "In one respect you have, which is why I'm going to allow you to live. I cannot allow anyone to interfere. I will not allow anyone to interfere. Don't come back here, no matter how curious you are. Or you will not live to regret it."
She looked at Jaffer, who was watching intently, and there was no mistaking the animosity in the black lab's expression.
"What is he?"
Jack wasn't sure if Xara was talking about him, or Jaffer, and again he scowled. He was getting heartily tired of this conversation. Before he could say anything, though, Dotty snapped her fingers and Xara was gone without a sound.
Shawn's mom turned to look at Jack, and noticed the frown on his face.
"Don't look so annoyed, Jack. She was only curious."
"About what?"
"You, of course. She's gone, now, though. And I doubt she'll return."
"Did you-"
"She's not hurt. I merely sent her away. She was right; she did help you. For that, I'd never hurt her."
"Help me?"
"She made you aware of something I wasn't, and now that it's been brought to my attention, we can fix it. Some of it now, some of it later."
"What are you talking about?"
Dotty didn't answer. Instead, she moved to the other side of the bed and rested her ethereal hand lightly against Sam's lower abdomen.
"What are you doing?" Jack started to move to get between Dotty and Sam, but Dotty's other hand came up to stop him.
"Hush, Jack. I'm trying to concentrate."
He scowled, and Jaffer jumped up onto the bed next to him.
A cold nose in the small of his back woke him up, and Jack sat up with a start, looking around his room, wildly.
It was dark, and quiet, and all he felt nearby were Sam and Jaffer.
"Jack?" Sam's voice was sleepy, and she lifted her head off the pillow, woken up by his sudden movement. "Are you okay?"
He turned to look at her, frowning in the dark, trying to catch the last fragments of a dream that was fading so rapidly he couldn't even remember what it was about.
"Yeah..." he said, softly, looking down at Jaffer, who was already flopped down on the bed and getting comfortable. There were a few tiny popcorn crumbs stuck in the black lab's whiskers, gleaming white against the darkness. "Just a... dream, I guess..."
"Nightmare?" Sam asked, running her hand along his bare chest, soothingly.
"I don't know..."
She pulled him close, and he went, cuddling against her warm body easily.
"Serves you right," Sam whispered, pressing a tired kiss against his shoulder, already almost asleep once more. "No one should ever eat two lunches back to back. No matter how hungry the dog is..."
He nodded against her soft skin, and closed his eyes. She was probably right. Jaffer snorted softly, and sighed, his head coming to rest on Jack's thigh, and O'Neill was asleep again almost immediately. This time, he didn't dream.