The Gift
Chapter Two
He was driving, a warm feeling in his chest like he'd been laughing.
They were on a desert road, top down, sun setting to their left.
He looked at her, amazed at the way she glowed in the light of the sun going down. She smiled at him and held back her long hair with one hand as she reached down to turn up the music. Satisfied, she sat back, bare feet on the dash, chipped pink polish on her toes.
"Carter?"
She looked at him. "Carter?" she asked, smiling. "You haven't called me Carter in ages."
"What is this?" he asked, looking over his sunglasses.
She rolled her eyes. "It's Keith Urban. You should know that by now, you bitch all the time about me saying he's a hottie." She fluttered her eyelashes.
"No, I mean – and he is not a hottie. What are you, twelve?"
"You're one to talk!" she said, laughing.
He pulled to the side of the road and she turned down the music. He stopped and looked at her. She smiled uncertainly. "What, Jack?"
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Are you all right?" she asked, lines of worry appearing around her eyes.
"Just tell me what we're doing."
She looked puzzled. "Well, we got up this morning and you said let's go for a drive, since we have nothing better to do. And here we are. Ever since the government shut down the SGC we've been . . . well, bums kind of."
She looked at him closely. "Are you okay?"
He looked around. The red-gold light of the setting sun painted the desert a rich, vibrant ochre, and gave Sam's skin and hair a luminescence that he'd never forget. He wished he had a camera.
He reached out to grab her leg below her skirt. Warm and smooth and very much alive.
He smiled at her. "Tell me a story."
"A story," she said, looking at him quizzically.
"Yes. The story of us. Tell me how we got to this place."
"Don't you remember? Have you sustained a head injury of some sort?"
"Just humor me."
She smiled and leaned back in her seat.
"Well, once upon a time we met at Stargate Command. And YOU fell in love with me immediately, of course."
"Of course," he said, grinning.
"However, due to Air Force regulations, you were unable to declare your love for me. At least, not in those specific terms."
"And when did you fall in love with ME, princess?"
She grinned. "Before I even met you, I think. Now shut up and let me finish the story."
He did.
"Anyway, one day last year, skipping all the boring details, you saved the world."
"Wow! I must be some kind of superhero or something."
She rolled her eyes.
"Anyway, once Anubis had been defeated, the Asgard were able to regain control of the galaxy, with their new fleet of faster-than-light ships, one of which is in constant orbit around Earth." She cast her gaze upward. "The Daniel Jackson. And the Goa'uld were a threat no more."
"The Daniel Jackson?"
"The newly-built O'Neill is in another star system on a scientific research mission."
He snorted. "Typical."
"Anyway, after we were sure the Goa'uld could be kept at bay by the Asgard, the administration stripped the SGC down to the barest minimum of a crew."
"But what about the Replicators?"
"The who?"
"Never mind. Go on."
"Teal'c went home, Daniel took a teaching position on the East Coast, you retired and I sat around trying to decide if I wanted to take a new commission."
"And?"
"And one cold, stormy night, you showed up at my door."
"That's it?"
"No, that's not it." She smiled, eyes darkening. "You touched my mouth with your thumb. Like this."
She reached over and stroked her thumb gently across his lips. He caught it between his teeth.
"And you cried," she said.
He released her thumb to protest. "I never!"
"Yes, you did. I did, too. And we've been together ever since. And then yesterday we found out about George."
"George?" he asked, suddenly worried something happened to Hammond.
"Yes, George," she said, looking down at her abdomen and caressing it lightly. "He's about four months old, from what I can tell. You picked the name."
His mouth fell open as realization dawned. God. He had her back. And the baby, too.
"And this morning you herded me into the car, and here we are. You said something about making an honest woman of me."
He breathed deeply and looked around. "Vegas?"
"That's what you said, unless you're having second thoughts," she said. A note of uncertainty had crept into her voice. "Jack, are you sure you're okay?"
He looked at her, absolutely aching with joy. None of this is real, can't be, he thought, but he did not care. He might be dead, he might be dreaming, but he was staying here forever. He had her back.
"Am I okay?" he whispered. "I've never been better."
She smiled, reassured, and he slid across the seat and pulled her onto his lap and they made love on the side of the road as the sun went down.
TBC