The Gift
Chapter 6
A couple of hours later Thor beamed them down to the gate room, where several medics and Teal'c were waiting for him. He walked towards them slowly, arm slung around Carter's neck, ostensibly for support although both knew better.
"It is good to see you again, O'Neill," Teal'c said. He smiled broadly and held up a small plastic container filled with water.
"What's this?" O'Neill asked.
"The infants your fish bore in your absence," Teal'c said.
O'Neill peered closely, not seeing much of anything but pretending to. "Why, how wonderful. How many are there?"
"You did not see for yourself?"
"Uh, they were moving too fast."
"There are four. I must return them to the tank. What shall we name them?"
"George, George, John and Ringo." Teal'c nodded and left to return the babies to the tank.
"George and George? What about Paul?" Daniel asked.
"He's pissed me off a lot these past few years," O'Neill said. He looked up at the control room. "Walter!"
"Hello, sir. Good to have you back."
"Things going well, I take it?"
"Actually, sir, there've been several problems with – "
"Good, good, knew you'd take care of it. I'm relieving myself of duty, Walter, you're in charge until tomorrow morning."
"Fine, sir, but you really should read these – "
"Off to the infirmary! Bye now!"
Walter sighed, looking down at Siler who was working again on the mainframe.
"He always does that to me," he said. "He ignores me, thinking I'll go away."
Siler paused and looked up at Walter. "That's what I try to do, too."
"Hey!" Walter said, kicking Siler fiercely.
Siler sighed. "Don't ever work, though."
Carter entered the infirmary.
O'Neill smiled. "All clear. Just in need of R&R."
"He shouldn't be driving, though," Dr. Ballinger said. "I'll arrange for someone to take him home."
"No, that's not necessary," Carter said. "I'll drive."
O'Neill looked up from a game of catch he was playing with himself with a roll of gauze. His eyes glittered and his grin had predatory overtones.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
She shivered.
She helped him into the house and on to his couch, where he immediately collapsed.
"Tired, sir?"
"Jack, will ya? And, yeah, I'm exhausted. Kind of scared to go to sleep though." He punched at the pillow beneath his head.
She sat in a chair across from him. "Are you ready to tell me what happened?"
He stared at her for a moment. "Some of it was awfully ugly, Carter. Are you sure you're ready to hear it?"
She nodded.
"Do we have provisions?"
"What kind of provisions?"
"Beer."
She shook her head and went to look. "You have a case," she yelled from the kitchen.
"Thank God," he said. "Bring me one and you'd better bring one for yourself."
She cracked them both open, keeping one and handing him the other.
He took a long swallow and looked at her. "You ready?"
She nodded. "As I'll ever be."
He took another swallow and began.
By the time he was done a wet washcloth was covering his forehead and Carter was staring out the window into the darkness that had fallen.
"And Thor said this is all actually happening?" she asked for the third time, crushing another empty beer can and moving to toss it into the recycle bin.
"Yes," O'Neill, voice hoarse. "The good and the bad. To other O'Neills and Carters somewhere out there."
He sat up suddenly, staring at her intently. "I can't stand it, Sam. I absolutely cannot stand the thought of those things happening to you."
She knelt in front of him. "But they're not happening to ME, Jack. I'm here, I'm fine, I'm with you." She grasped his hand and brought it to her face.
He cupped her jaw and ran his thumb across her mouth. "But it FELT like you. It may as well have been you. It WAS you. Just by fate or grace or chance, we ended up HERE, but it just as easily . . ." He stopped. "I can't . . . I can't get it out of my mind."
"You have to," she said firmly. "You'll drive yourself crazy if you don't."
He started to protest but she shushed him. "No more," she said. "Not tonight. Do you have anything I can sleep in?"
His jaw dropped.
"Well, I'm not leaving you here alone tonight," she said. "Now, focus on the GOOD things that you saw while I go rummage through your dresser."
He stared into the empty space where she'd stood a moment before. Somehow, he hadn't expected it to be that easy.
She hadn't thought twice about it. They'd been heading in this direction for years now, facing down death every day and they'd been damn lucky to make it this far. And damn foolish for not having followed their hearts sooner.
She returned shortly, wearing nothing but one of his old t-shirts. "Oh, Sam . . ." he murmured.
"You're exhausted," she said briskly. "Let's go to bed."
She started to help him up from the couch but he stopped her, pulling her down to sit beside him, trying not to notice the glimpse of pink panties her new position gave him.
"Sam . . . are you SURE about this? It could ruin your career, your life, maybe."
"Don't be ridiculous. I love you. And you love me, I assume?" He turned away from her, nodding his assent. She smiled. "Jack, are you blushing?"
"Of course not, I'm a grown man."
"Of course," she said, grinning. "Anyway, the SGC means a lot to me. But YOU mean even more, you have for a very long time. I think you know that."
Again, he nodded.
"Besides," she said teasingly. "You're the boss now. You can do anything you want."
He turned to her, a slow smile spreading across his features. "Yeah," he said. "I'm the MAN."
She grinned. "Now, enough. You've had plenty to deal with for one day. Whatever happens, happens, but right now I need to get you into bed."
He cringed. "I'm awfully tired, Sam. I may not be . . . up, so to speak, for any kind of fireworks."
"I know," she said gently. "Let's go to SLEEP."
He stood unsteadily, again flinging his arm around her shoulder. "Sleep," he said. "Actually starting to sound good."
But of course once they got into bed, they did a bit more than just sleep.
"Jack," she whispered in the dim light of his bedroom. "This – THIS is real."
He paused in mid-touch, taking in her beauty, reveling in her generosity, relieved by her patience – this WAS real.
"I love you," she said.
"I love you," he answered. "And will until the day I die."
"Good morning, everyone!"
"Good morning, Jack. Feeling better, I take it?"
"I feel wonderful! Better than I ever have before. As if I've been given a gift, if you will," he said, gesturing broadly. "A really, really cool gift. The best gift ever."
"I see," Daniel said, glancing discreetly at the faintly blushing Carter, who was chewing her lip and scribbling in a notebook. He smiled. "Well, that's great. Best news we've had in a while."
"Ain't it, though?" said O'Neill, flipping through the morning's mission report. "So what's on the agenda for today?"
"PXP-934," Daniel said.
"And what's there?"
"We don't know, sir," Carter said. "That's why we're going."
"Hmmmmm. Doesn't that sound kind of dangerous?"
"Well, perhaps, but not any more dangerous than any other mission we've been on."
"Still . . ."
"Jack, it's just an exploratory mission," Daniel said. "Four hours out from the wormhole, tops."
"Well, what about booby traps, or alien viruses, or hiding Goa'uld?"
"We could encounter those on any mission, O'Neill," Teal'c said.
"Sir, we've taken every precaution," Carter said.
He looked at her. "Carter, have you ever thought about staying on the base full time? You know, doing all that science stuff you love so much?"
He seemed unaware of the dangerous glint in her eye.
"Jack," she said warningly, not realizing her slip of the tongue. "Don't start this."
"Really, Carter, it'd be great! Think of all the scientific breakthroughs and . . . things you could do!"
Daniel sighed and slid around to face Teal'c. "We've got a good news/bad news situation here." O'Neill and Carter were still arguing in the background.
Teal'c arched an eyebrow.
"Good news: Jack and Sam are finally together," Daniel said.
Teal'c inclined his head. "I had assumed as much."
"Bad news – we're going to have to listen to this until the day we die."
Teal'c smiled. "I think you exaggerate, DanielJackson. This – "And he nodded towards Carter and O'Neill who were still arguing furiously, even though she had his hand gripped tightly in her lap while his other was in her hair. "This," he continued. "Is a small price to pay for such a precious gift."
Daniel looked back at them, smiling ruefully. "You're right, as always. So, do we wait this out?"
Teal'c looked again at the arguing twosome, who were getting quieter and closer to one another by the moment.
"I think we should adjourn, DanielJackson," he said. "I suddenly find myself very hungry."
"Agreed," Daniel said. "We stay here any longer we're liable to witness a make-out session that's against regulations, and I'd hate to be witness at any courts-martial."
The two left, and the make-out session Daniel predicted occurred, and while the lovers were slightly abashed at letting themselves get carried away, they didn't really care.
Because The Gift was real.
The End