Chapter 3: Coming Into Your Own
The next morning, Sam was the first to wake. As she opened her eyes to the sunlight streaming across her face through the shades, she decided that she would go downstairs into the kitchen and make some coffee. She knew that she would be able to do this because she had been to Jack's house enough times that she had a pretty good idea of where he kept things.
As she walked quietly down the hall, Sam decided to make a stop by the other bedroom and look in on Jonas before heading downstairs. Opening the door quietly, she peeked her head in the room and smiled at what she saw. Jonas was still sound asleep, his head snuggled deep into the pillow and the blanket wrapped around his body like a sort of cocoon, snoring softly. Closing the door back, Sam retreated into the hallway and headed quietly down the stairs into the kitchen.
Once Sam was at the bottom of the stairs, she paused to listen for signs that anyone else was awake. Peering around the corner into the living room, she saw Teal'c meditating on the couch and giggled quietly when she heard the thunderous, buzz saw type noises coming from the bedroom at the end of the hall, indicating that Jack was still asleep. Then she crept into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee and waited for the other three to awaken.
It didn't take long for the invigorating aroma of coffee to begin to waft through the house and start awakening its slumbering inhabitants. A few minutes later she heard Teal'c awaken and walk into the kitchen.
"Good morning, Major Carter. Did you sleep well?" Teal'c asked cheerfully, coming over to sit in one of the kitchen chairs.
"Yeah. I got up this morning and decided that I would come down here and make a pot of coffee for all of us. Judging from the number of empty beer bottles on the coffee table in the living room, I'd guess that the Colonel and Jonas are probably going to need some coffee when they finally wake up. I didn't disturb you, did I?"
"You did not."
"Morning, campers." Jack greeted, leaning in the kitchen doorway with a sleepy smile.
"Greetings, O'Neill." Teal'c smiled with a small nod of his head.
"Morning, sir. I made a pot of coffee. Would you like a cup?" Sam asked, smiling back at her friend.
"Yeah, that'd be great, Carter." Jack said as Sam handed him a hot cup of coffee. "Thank you."
"That should help you wake up a little and take care of any headache you may have from drinking last night."
"Do you ever get tired of being right?"
"Uh, no, sir. I don't think that will ever get old." Sam laughed, sticking her tongue out at her commanding officer playfully.
"Well, you two go on in the living room and relax. I'm going to get started making us something to eat for breakfast. I don't know about you but I'm hungry."
"Do you need any help, sir?"
"Nope. I'm taking care of this. You're my guests so I'm going to wait on you guys. Hey, wait a minute. We're missing a team member. Where's Jonas?" Jack asked, the fact that the young Kelownan man was missing suddenly occurring to him.
"He's still sleeping upstairs. I checked up on him before I came down and started the coffee. When I went to bed last night I heard him behind the door and knew he was still awake so I went to talk to him. He had a lot weighing on his mind that he's apparently been harboring since he arrived on Earth. He opened up to me and broke down. I comforted him the best I could and he wanted me to stay with him for a while and I sat with him until he finally fell asleep. I don't think he's had a decent night's sleep the entire month he's been here on Earth with us. He's physically and emotionally exhausted so I think we need to let him sleep for a while. If he hasn't come down by the time you finish making breakfast then I'll go up and wake him." Sam explained.
"That's a good idea to let him rest, Carter. Maybe he'll feel better when he wakes up. You go on in the living room with Teal'c and see what you can find on the television on a Saturday morning. I'll let you know when breakfast is almost ready." Jack said as Sam smiled at him and headed into the living room.
As he started digging through the refrigerator to find what he needed to make breakfast for them all, Jack realized that he understood in a way what Jonas was going through. He felt a wrenching pain in his heart as he thought about the times in the past when his team used to get together like this. But now things had drastically changed. Daniel was dead and the team dynamic was severed forever. Granted they did have a new team member, and Jonas was a kind and gentle man, but Jack knew in his heart that SG-1 was permanently broken. None of them would ever truly be the same again. As he finished making the meal, Jack promised himself that he was going to honor Daniel's memory by making Jonas feel as welcome among them as he could, just as he knew his friend would have done had he survived.
"Carter, Teal'c. breakfast is just about done. Someone needs to go bring Jonas back to the land of the living."
"Yes, sir. I'm on it."
Sam went back upstairs and stood outside the bedroom where Jonas was still sleeping. She opened the door and quietly approached the bed, looking down on the sleeping man. He looked so young and peaceful lying there wrapped in a blanket.
"It seems like a shame to have to wake him when he looks to be sleeping so soundly. But he does need to get some food in him. He'll thank me later." Sam thought as she knelt down the bed and gently shook Jonas' shoulder. "Jonas. You need to wake up now. Breakfast is waiting downstairs."
It took a minute but Jonas finally stirred and slowly opened his eyes, blinking up at Sam sleepily. After reorienting himself to his surroundings, he untangled himself from the blanket and sat up.
"Good morning, Sam." Jonas said sleepily.
"Good morning. Did you sleep well? You looked pretty comfortable just now." Sam asked, smiling as she sat on the bed beside her friend.
"Yeah, actually. I do feel better. I haven't slept that soundly in weeks. I guess opening up to you like I did last night really zoned me out a bit. I feel pretty rested though. Has anyone ever told you that you make a pretty good pillow?"
"No. I have to admit that's a new one on me. But I'm just glad I was able to help you get a good night's sleep. Come on, let's head downstairs with everyone else. The Colonel made breakfast for all of us. I made some coffee earlier too."
"Sounds great." Jonas smiled as he stood up and followed Sam down the stairs.
"Morning, guys." Jonas said brightly as he walked into the kitchen with Sam and sat down at the table.
"Well, look who finally decided to rejoin the land of the living. Morning, Jonas. I take it you got a good night's sleep. Between the two of us I think we drank enough beer last night to fill a bathtub. I wouldn't have offered you any if I'd known you were going to down it like that." Jack joked good naturedly as he offered Jonas a cup of hot coffee, which his friend accepted with a grin and a roll of his eyes.
"Actually, I do feel a lot better this morning, Colonel. I guess it's just that I haven't slept all that well since I've been here because I've had a lot building up in my heart and on my mind. But last night, after Sam helped me to let all that go, I got the best night's sleep that I've had in months."
"That's good. But I want you and Sam both to do me one favor. Please drop the formality when we're off duty. It wouldn't kill either of you to call me Jack when we aren't on base. I won't tell anyone that you weren't being professional all the time."
"I guess I can probably handle that. I didn't say this last night but thanks for including me in this little sleepover party, Jack. I haven't had this much fun in a long time. Sorry about storming out of the room last night, though." Jonas said, feeling slightly awkward calling his superior on a first name basis.
"That's perfectly understandable seeing that you had so much on your mind. We were just a little concerned about you because we noticed that you were unusually quiet. Also, it sounds more casual and relaxed for you to call me by my first name off duty. I prefer that actually. How about you, Carter. Is this a request you can grant?" Jack asked, looking in Sam's direction.
"Yeah, Jack. I think I can handle that. Funny, that does sound a little more natural. But I'll only do it if you call me Sam when we're off duty instead of Carter." Sam agreed with a condition of her own.
"Fair enough. It's a deal, Sam."
"Good."
"Now that we've gotten this little name game straightened out, what do you guys think about digging into this great smelling breakfast Jack made. I for one am starving."
"I concur, Jonas Quinn." Teal'c agreed, speaking for the first time in almost an hour.
As the team sat around Jack's kitchen table eating a large breakfast, Jonas took in the three people around him and realized how lucky he was. Jack, Sam, and Teal'c had opened their world and their hearts to him even after the horrific death of one of their own. They did everything in their power to make him feel welcome and at home here on Earth even when he felt like he didn't deserve such kindness. It was in that moment that Jonas realized that he had been accepted as part of a kind of family unit and maybe, just maybe, he'd found a new home after all.