Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate SG-1 or any of its characters (unfortunately sigh). I'm just a person who likes to write so the owners have no reason to sue me.
A/N: Yay! Chapter 8! I know some of you are getting a little impatient of me not getting to the meeting between Katy and Sam but just hang on a little longer. You just have to make it through this chapter and then at the end of Chapter 9 I think you should be pleased. Anywho...on to the story!
"We're here," Jack announced as they pulled into the driveway.
Sam looked at the house quizzically. It still looked the colonel's house, except for the added landscaping around the yard. "So, this is home?"
Janet had finally released her from the infirmary and allowed Jack to take her home, with the promise that she would take it easy for the next couple of weeks. "Your body is healing exceptionally well, considering the condition we found you in, but you mind is another thing. I don't want you to stress over your memory loss, okay? There was no head trauma that could have triggered it so if you just take things slow, maybe things will start to piece together."
Yes, her friend had given her quite a bit of information on memory loss before she left too. At this rate, I'll be too busy reading this stuff to actually investigate my past, she thought with a tired sigh.
"You feeling alright?" Jack had come around the other side of the car to open the door for her.
"Yes, Sir. Just thinking."
He ignored the forbidden "S" word and nodded. He knew not to pressure her further. I got to let her do this on her own. I'm just the support staff on this trial. "Well, let's get you settled in, shall we? We'll give you a good nights rest before we head up to Minnesota tomorrow."
Sam nodded quietly and walked up to the door, Jack following close behind her. She slowed as she reached the door. She wasn't sure if she was ready to enter the house. Entering the house symbolized so many things. Her marriage to the colonel. Motherhood. Her past life that she couldn't remember. Things she couldn't change if she wanted to.
Jack watched her as she gingerly placed a hand on the wood of the door. A sad smile crossed his face. Here's the biggest test of them all...coming "home." She touched the handle with her finger tips, freezing before she grasped the handle.
He walked up behind her and put an arm around her waist. "She's up at the cabin with Kawalsky yet," he whispered in her ear.
A small sigh of relief came from his wife. "I know I shouldn't be relieved that she's gone but...I don't know if I'm ready."
"You're ready. You've always been ready."
He kissed her lightly on the back of the head. "Since you don't remember the first time you came to call this home, I thought perhaps we could do a reenactment."
"A reenactment? What do you mean, Sir--I mean Jack," she finished quickly.
A sly grin crossed his face. "I mean this," he said as he swept her off her feet.
"Colonel?!"
He chuckled as she wrapped her arms securely around his neck in surprise. "Don't worry, Sam. I got you."
Her heart was racing in her chest. Wow, what a rush! She let out a nervous laugh. "It just surprised me, that's all." Liar, she thought to herself. If only it surprised me.
He turned the door knob slowly with one hand and kicked the door open. "Honey! We're home!"
She laughed hysterically as he walked in the door. A few steps into the house and he had to set her down on her own two feet. The time he carried her home after the wedding was seven years younger when his knee was a tad bit better than it was now. "I would have carried you all the way to the bedroom but um...yeah," he finished with a childish grin.
She smiled at him and gave him a small, yet very quick kiss on the cheek. "Don't hurt yourself on my account."
Inside, Jack was jumping up and down for joy. We have progress!!!! A small kiss, but a kiss none the less. He couldn't keep his grin from getting any bigger. "Shall I show you to your room?"
"My room?"
He started down the hallway. "Well, I figured under the situation that it would be better until you feel a bit more comfortable to sleep in separate rooms. This way, you won't have so many anxiety attacks and I can keep my hands off you," he finished playfully.
"Ha...ha. But uh...thank you, sir. That was awfully considerate of you."
He rubbed his hand on the back of his head. "Don't mention it, Carter." Because I know I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off of you and this is for the best. Can't rush things.
"Well, I tried to find as many of your things that I could. Unfortunately, um...I don't have much. So if you want, we can stop on the way up to the cabin to pick up a few things."
Sam didn't seem to hear him. She walked up to the mantle, mesmerized by the different pictures of her friends and "family" since she disappeared. She smiled as her fingers brushed against the frames of each and every picture. They all look so happy.
She found pictures of Daniel and Janet's wedding. Everything looked spectacular! "Wow," she murmured. Janet's dress was gorgeous. Daniel didn't look too bad either in his black tux.
Then there was a picture of a little girl spreading flowers down the isle. She looked to be about two, two in a half. She wasn't sure. "Is that Katy?" she asked in astonishment.
Jack smiled and made his way over to her. "Yeap. Right before her third birthday. She was the cutest little flower girl in the history of flower girls. Instead of throwing the flowers all over the place, she bent down and placed the petals down carefully one by one. 'I wanted to make it pretty for Auntie Janey' she said. I think we have it on tape somewhere." He went over to the tape storage and started to dig around.
"What other home movies do you have?" She was...curious.
"Well, I think I've covered everything from her first steps to starting Kindergarten," he said between his search. "Ah! Here it is!"
He walked over to the VCR and popped in the tape. "Sit down and make yourself comfortable. I'll go get us something to drink. What you want?"
"Got any beer?"
"I'll see what I got. Katy doesn't like me drinking all the time. She says it makes me sad."
Jack left the room, leaving Sam alone with the TV. Pictures of the preparations flashed on the screen, showing a very dedicated Teal'c holding up a banner high as Jack tried to nail it in place. "Up a little higher," the voice on the other end on the camera yelled. Was that Cassandra? "Uncle Jack! You're going to fall!"
"No I'm not, Cassie. Besides, I've got Teal'c to break my fall."
The jaffa's look of boredom could be registered over the screen. Sam couldn't help but laugh. The scene before her flashed to in Janet's changing room. "Hi mom! So, you getting nervous yet?"
"Cassandra! Get that camera out of here! I'm a wreck!" Janet tried to put her hand over the camera screen.
"Mom, you look beautiful."
Her harsh look softened to one that looked like she was about to sprout tears. "Thank you, honey. So, what do you think? Am I ready for my close up?" She struck a pose.
"Sometime I'm glad you're not my real mother," Cassandra teased.
Janet threw some used up tissue at her. "Brat."
"Cassie! Cassie!" a little voice called off camera.
"Why hello? Who's this? This can't be the little imp that came here with Uncle Jack today."
A giggle. "Get picture of me!"
The camera panned to get a close up on Katy. Her Katy. Sam paused the tape. "She's so beautiful," she thought out loud. The tape was definitely better than the picture that Janet had showed her.
"Just like her mother on her wedding day."
Sam turned around to see Jack watching her from the back of the room. He gave her one of his famous O'Neill smiles. She smiled back, her cheeks turning red at the compliment. Then a thought hit her.
"Jack?"
His ears perked up to the sound of his first name. "Yeah?"
"Do you..." She paused. "Do you have tapes of..."
"Do I have tapes of our wedding?"
She nodded.
He set a beer down in front of her and headed over to the closet. "I have to dig them out," he said quietly. "Just give me a minute."
Sam grabbed her beer and took a small swig, then coughed quickly. She definitely was not used to the taste.
Jack reappeared, a box in hand. "Yeah, I debated whether or not to get rid of these but couldn't stand to part with them. It was all I had left of you. I figured if Katy ever started asking about you, I could just get this box out and show you to her." He refused to look at her as he spoke. "You through with this tape?"
"For now."
He stopped the tape and ejected it, putting their wedding tape in to replace Daniel's and Janet's. He moved over to the couch and took a seat next to Sam. He had a feeling she would be needing his support shortly. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked a final time before he pushed play. He turned and looked her in the eyes. Her beautiful blue eyes.
"I'm sure." Her look was of pure determination.
He nodded in understanding. "Alright."
A close up of the cake appeared first, then a shot of Jack stealing some frosting from the side. "Jack! That's for later! You know, after you're married?" Daniel had the camera.
Jack just waved his hands in the air. "Yeah, yeah. I was just taste testing it."
"Just like you've tasted the cookies, the chicken, the pasta, the wine, the beer--did I forget anything?"
Sam's husband-to-be stopped and pondered to himself. "Well, there was that slice of cheesecake that I snuck over to Sam..."
"Jack!"
A sly grin spread across his face. "What?! She was hungry! Was I supposed to leave my beautiful Samantha to starve on her wedding day? If that were to happen, I would never get to taste this frosting!"
Sam laughed next to him on the couch. That is such a Jack thing to say.
"Don't worry! Cassie took it to her so I didn't see her before the ceremony so you can get your panties out of that twist." To emphasize his point, he stuck his tongue out at the camera.
"Oh, how attractive. And I married you?"
Jack looked down at her. "Hey, I had to go through many of Janet's nurses and a very protective Teal'c to get that cheesecake for you. You should be grateful."
Sam closed the gap between them as she moved in to his side. He lifted up his arm, allowing her to snuggle in closer to him. "My hero."
The rest of the night was spent on the couch, holding each other close as Sam's life literally passed before her eyes.
A/N: I can already tell you that Chapter 9 is in the works. I already have a page but it's a rough copy and needs more details, plus a lot more plot. It might be awhile before I get it up though because my best friend is back in town and I want to hang out with him. It's not everyday I get to see him But I promise, if not tomorrow night or the next, it should be up by Friday. Until next time!