A/N Well I am glad this is coming across as I intended it to, thank you so much for all the lovely reviews, you are so sweet! So I am thinking about a hundred different things I won't to put in this...does anyone have an objection to Pete getting hit in the face haha!
Shanks-Away!
CaptainDoctor
"Why are we here?" Sam asked her mom.
"The scene of the crime." Her mom said.
"Toby Conners." Sam said with smile.
The bustling corridor was exactly as she remembered it. Lockers lined the walls on both sides, the groupings separated by various doors. The water fountain had a line of people waiting to use it. Three girls in cheerleader uniforms stood in a small circle gossiping, another group of girls stood on the opposite side of the hall glaring at the cheerleaders with a look of disdain and envy.
Sam took in the scene and was over come with the feelings of nostalgia. She remembered being here like it was yesterday.
"You were such a pretty girl." Her mother said.
"More awkward, painfully shy, bored with the curriculum from second grade and constantly getting in trouble for not paying attention and then being able to prove the teachers wrong." Sam replied. Anything else she went to say was silenced when she saw a familiar blond figure coming down the hall.
The girl was average height, had white blonde hair and large blue eyes. Samantha Carter, age 15.
Sam watched herself walk up to a brown haired boy about the same age as she was then.
"Hi Toby." She watched herself say quietly.
"Uh, hi." The boy replied.
"You left this in the library, I was trying to find you this morning but you weren't around." She said handing him a notebook that had more doodles and squiggles in and on it than actual notes.
"Right." He said taking the book form her.
"So, um there is this Picnic Day this weekend for the local Air Force families. It's pretty fun for what it is, a lot of food, games and stuff. I was wondering if you'd like to come. My dad could pick you up and drop you if it's a problem..."
"Ah no thanks...thanks for the book." Toby slammed his locker and walked off leaving Sam standing there. Adult Sam felt that same familiar sting as she looked up to see the cheerleaders snicker and share a giggle just as her younger self did.
"I wanted to talk to you that day." Sam said quietly.
"I know baby, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." Her mother said taking her hand.
"It's not your fault. I came home and started making pies. I must have done about six by the time dad got home."
"You got that from me. I used to bake whenever your father made me angry."
"I could never make cookies after you..." Sam couldn't finish the sentence.
"I know, you wouldn't eat them or months either." Her mother said.
"When Dad came home and asked me what was wrong, he didn't understand. He was happy, said I should be focusing on my school work, that I was not going to get into NASA by chasing boys."
"He didn't know better Sam. He was never good with matters of the heart, you know that."
"He was too busy dealing with Mark...or not dealing with Mark to be truthful." Sam said.
"He did his best Sam. But it was hard, and Mark did not help. You were both growing up so fast, you were so quiet and Mark was getting into all sorts of trouble. You were something he couldn't control, and that is a horrible thing for a hardened military man, even worse for a father."
"I know, and I don't fault him for anything, but he still couldn't open up after you died."
"He was grieving. And he was scared." Her mom said softly.
"Scared of what?" Sam asked.
"Losing you as well." Tamara replied.
"What do you mean?"
"My death was a very harsh reminder for him Sam. You were not invincible. He was always torturing himself over the thought that it was so easy to lose me, it would be so easy for the same thing to happen to you and Mark."
"He never said anything." Sam replied.
"He never would." Tamara said with a sigh. "So back to this, Toby Conners was an may have seemed harsh, but in the grand scheme of things he made the right choice." Tamara said.
"Embarrassing me in front of the most horrible girls in school was the right choice?" Sam asked with a laugh.
"No Sam. You were never able to get the full story. Toby's grandfather had been very sick and they were going to visit him that day. He passed away that night and if he had gone to the picnic with you, he would not have got to say goodbye." Tamara said softly.
"I never knew, I just assumed he thought I wasn't worth it."
"Actually, he was very fond of you. He wanted to go but he knew that being with his family was important, and afterwards you avoided him and he never had the courage to just come and tell you. He was like your friend Jack in a lot of ways." Tamara said, Sam's tried to hide her reaction to the mention of him.
"How so?" Sam asked as calmly as she could.
"Well, had been able to be open up, he would have told you the truth when you asked him. But he was very private and did not know how to appraoch you."
"What happen to him?" Sam asked.
"Oh the girl who sat two rows back form him in college would not take no for an answer when she asked him to coffee. They have two sons and he is a successful psychologist." Tamara told her smiling.
"Good for him." Sam said.
"So what have we learned?" Her mother asked her.
"I still don't like cheerleaders."
"Sam!" Tamara said with a chuckle. "Why do you think I showed you this?"
"Boys are like bikes, keep riding them till you find the right one..." Sam said with a cheeky grin.
"Excuse me Samantha, I am still your mother here. You have spent too much time with Jack O'Neill. Anyway, the point of this was to show you that you shouldn't take things at face value. Humans are strange, male humans even more so, and if you just accepted things as the way you saw them, you may miss something wonderful." Tamara.
"This was just a fancy way of telling me not to judge a book by its cover." Sam said smiling.
"Pretty much! Had enough of high school?" Tamara asked.
"Oh yeah." Sam said.
Shanks-Away!
CaptainDoctor
"Why are we here?" Sam asked her mom.
"The scene of the crime." Her mom said.
"Toby Conners." Sam said with smile.
The bustling corridor was exactly as she remembered it. Lockers lined the walls on both sides, the groupings separated by various doors. The water fountain had a line of people waiting to use it. Three girls in cheerleader uniforms stood in a small circle gossiping, another group of girls stood on the opposite side of the hall glaring at the cheerleaders with a look of disdain and envy.
Sam took in the scene and was over come with the feelings of nostalgia. She remembered being here like it was yesterday.
"You were such a pretty girl." Her mother said.
"More awkward, painfully shy, bored with the curriculum from second grade and constantly getting in trouble for not paying attention and then being able to prove the teachers wrong." Sam replied. Anything else she went to say was silenced when she saw a familiar blond figure coming down the hall.
The girl was average height, had white blonde hair and large blue eyes. Samantha Carter, age 15.
Sam watched herself walk up to a brown haired boy about the same age as she was then.
"Hi Toby." She watched herself say quietly.
"Uh, hi." The boy replied.
"You left this in the library, I was trying to find you this morning but you weren't around." She said handing him a notebook that had more doodles and squiggles in and on it than actual notes.
"Right." He said taking the book form her.
"So, um there is this Picnic Day this weekend for the local Air Force families. It's pretty fun for what it is, a lot of food, games and stuff. I was wondering if you'd like to come. My dad could pick you up and drop you if it's a problem..."
"Ah no thanks...thanks for the book." Toby slammed his locker and walked off leaving Sam standing there. Adult Sam felt that same familiar sting as she looked up to see the cheerleaders snicker and share a giggle just as her younger self did.
"I wanted to talk to you that day." Sam said quietly.
"I know baby, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." Her mother said taking her hand.
"It's not your fault. I came home and started making pies. I must have done about six by the time dad got home."
"You got that from me. I used to bake whenever your father made me angry."
"I could never make cookies after you..." Sam couldn't finish the sentence.
"I know, you wouldn't eat them or months either." Her mother said.
"When Dad came home and asked me what was wrong, he didn't understand. He was happy, said I should be focusing on my school work, that I was not going to get into NASA by chasing boys."
"He didn't know better Sam. He was never good with matters of the heart, you know that."
"He was too busy dealing with Mark...or not dealing with Mark to be truthful." Sam said.
"He did his best Sam. But it was hard, and Mark did not help. You were both growing up so fast, you were so quiet and Mark was getting into all sorts of trouble. You were something he couldn't control, and that is a horrible thing for a hardened military man, even worse for a father."
"I know, and I don't fault him for anything, but he still couldn't open up after you died."
"He was grieving. And he was scared." Her mom said softly.
"Scared of what?" Sam asked.
"Losing you as well." Tamara replied.
"What do you mean?"
"My death was a very harsh reminder for him Sam. You were not invincible. He was always torturing himself over the thought that it was so easy to lose me, it would be so easy for the same thing to happen to you and Mark."
"He never said anything." Sam replied.
"He never would." Tamara said with a sigh. "So back to this, Toby Conners was an may have seemed harsh, but in the grand scheme of things he made the right choice." Tamara said.
"Embarrassing me in front of the most horrible girls in school was the right choice?" Sam asked with a laugh.
"No Sam. You were never able to get the full story. Toby's grandfather had been very sick and they were going to visit him that day. He passed away that night and if he had gone to the picnic with you, he would not have got to say goodbye." Tamara said softly.
"I never knew, I just assumed he thought I wasn't worth it."
"Actually, he was very fond of you. He wanted to go but he knew that being with his family was important, and afterwards you avoided him and he never had the courage to just come and tell you. He was like your friend Jack in a lot of ways." Tamara said, Sam's tried to hide her reaction to the mention of him.
"How so?" Sam asked as calmly as she could.
"Well, had been able to be open up, he would have told you the truth when you asked him. But he was very private and did not know how to appraoch you."
"What happen to him?" Sam asked.
"Oh the girl who sat two rows back form him in college would not take no for an answer when she asked him to coffee. They have two sons and he is a successful psychologist." Tamara told her smiling.
"Good for him." Sam said.
"So what have we learned?" Her mother asked her.
"I still don't like cheerleaders."
"Sam!" Tamara said with a chuckle. "Why do you think I showed you this?"
"Boys are like bikes, keep riding them till you find the right one..." Sam said with a cheeky grin.
"Excuse me Samantha, I am still your mother here. You have spent too much time with Jack O'Neill. Anyway, the point of this was to show you that you shouldn't take things at face value. Humans are strange, male humans even more so, and if you just accepted things as the way you saw them, you may miss something wonderful." Tamara.
"This was just a fancy way of telling me not to judge a book by its cover." Sam said smiling.
"Pretty much! Had enough of high school?" Tamara asked.
"Oh yeah." Sam said.