Chapter 20 – Just the Three of Us
They were now alone; two adults and one little boy who didn't belong here, yet did. The silence was palpable as they stood looking at each other for a moment. JJ broke it with a gurgle that was quickly followed by an indecipherable string of babbling. Jack grinned as he said, "Have you been teaching him technobabble while I was busy interrogating prisoners?"
"More like intimidating them, according to Daniel," she flung back at him with a grin of her own.
Jack brushed that comment aside as he turned back toward the living room. "You do what you have to do," he said and dropped the subject. Looking around the room, he put his hands on his hips and said, "Now why do you think they spend so much time and money fixing up these VIP rooms when they are hardly ever used? That money could be much better used on recreational items for us; like an X-box, a pool table, arcade games..."
Sam laughed at him as she set JJ down on the floor. "I don't think our few guests who spend time in these rooms would appreciate those items, Sir." They watched as the little boy crawled quickly back to the pile of toys sitting in the middle of the room. He played quietly for a few minutes before Jack turned to Sam and spoke again. "So..."
"So?"
"I suppose you've already picked out the best room, Carter?"
"Well, I did pick out the largest room, Sir. I had Teal'c set up JJ's crib in the room as well. We have the one to the left," Sam indicated with her left hand.
Jack regarded her thoughtfully, taking in the darkened areas under her eyes, the bandaged head, and the signs of strain around her mouth. "Maybe I should take JJ tonight. You need a good night's sleep. It's been one hell of a day."
"For you too, Sir," Sam acknowledged.
"Yeah, but I wasn't driving while those two maniacs tried to run us off the road, didn't have to get stitches in my head, and didn't have tohot wiremy way out of the locker room," Jack stated firmly.
"No, you just flew out of the car while it was in mid-air, rolled down a hill, and took out several of those goons on your own," Sam retorted. With a frown, she added, "You never did go back and let Janet take a look at you, Sir."
Jack once again brushed off her concern, "I'm fine. Just a bit stiff. And dirty. I never did get a shower after that roll down the hill." Jack frowned down at the dirt that was still evident on his clothing. "I'm going to go and take a shower, and then we can discuss sleeping arrangements. With JJ," he hastily added as she quirked an eyebrow at him.
Sam muffled her laughter as Jack walked over by the door and picked up the bag he had sent down earlier. "You two going to be OK while I shower?"
Sam shook her head at him, feeling a bit of frustration at the overprotective tone in his voice. "What can possibly happen to us in here while you're in the shower?" she asked with not a little bit of annoyance in her voice.
Jack shrugged, "I didn't think anything could happen while you were in the shower, and look at everything that did! Maybe you and JJ should join me?" Jack waggled his eyebrows at her and grinned wickedly.
Sam lost the feeling of annoyance that had crept upon her and snorted with laughter. "It's a good thing those cameras don't have sound! General Hammond would have the SF's in here in a minute!"
"No camera in the shower, Carter," he reminded her with a grin. "And you really shouldn't laugh when invited to take a shower with a man as handsome as myself."
She snorted again, "Just go, Sir! Before I call Hammond myself."
"Yes, Ma'am!" he saluted her. "Keep an eye on your mommy, little man. I'll be out soon." Just to be safe, Jack twisted the lock on the door leading out of the suite before heading into the bathroom to take a shower. He grinned as he heard the little voice behind him call out, "Ba-bye!"
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While Jack showered, Sam changed JJ's diaper and put on the flannel space-themed pajamas they had picked up that day. Their shopping trip seemed like such a long time ago, she thought to herself. She prepared a bottle from the mix Janet had sent down to her. Before going back into the living room, Sam changed into the soft yoga pants she liked to sleep in and an oversized T-shirt. She tossed her socks into a corner of the room; she much preferred to be barefoot in the evening, as she found it more relaxing.
Padding into the living room, Sam once again set JJ down on the floor, placing his bottle on the table next to the sofa. He probably wouldn't want it for a while as he still seemed to have a lot of energy. Wish I did, Sam thought tiredly as she got down on the floor with JJ. She lay on her side, tucked a pillow from the sofa under her arm, and rested her head on her propped up arm. She smiled as JJ pulled levers and pushed buttons on his toy, trying to make the various characters pop out of their hiding places. He chortled with delight each time he was successful.
Jack walked into the room just as JJ was clapping his little hands in excitement at having made yet another character pop up. Sam had flopped over onto her stomach, her chin resting in her hands, and was laughing along with JJ. Jack thought he had never seen her look more relaxed and more beautiful in his life. He took a moment, just enjoying the scene before him.
Sam felt his presence and looked up, welcoming him back with a smile. She pushed herself up a bit more so that she was now resting on her elbows. "Feeling better, Sir?"
"Much. You certainly look relaxed, Carter," he took in her bare feet and the soft pants that hugged her curves. "You appear to be making yourself quite at home, here."
Misreading his look and thinking he disapproved, Sam began to sit up, mumbling a, "Sorry, Sir," as she did so.
"Hey, relax. I meant that in the best possible sense. I'm glad you're not feeling uncomfortable about this," and he waved his hand back and forth between the two of them. "By the way, let's can the military titles for the night, OK? It's just the three of us here, after all."
"And the camera," she reminded him, looking up into the corner where it was bracketed to the wall.
"It can't hear us, remember?" he told her as he sat down in the chair across from her. Sam rolled back onto her side so she could see him better. She took in his sweatpants and t-shirt, glad to see that he had changed into more comfortable clothing as well.
"What's he doing?" Jack asked as he looked over at JJ. The little boy had stopped pushing buttons and pulling levers; instead he had turned the toy over as if to examine it from the bottom.
Sam laughed, "I think he's trying to figure out how it works!"
"Typical," Jack shook his head. "I have to agree with Daniel on one thing; JJ appears to have your brains." They shared a smile, then lapsed into a comfortable silence for a while. Jack studied both the woman on the floor and the baby in front of her.
Thinking about the afternoon's events and how close he had come to losing them, he said quietly, "You know, you scared me to death today, Sam. You and JJ both."
Sam swung her gaze around to look at him, a question in her eyes. Surprised because he usually didn't open up like this, she waited patiently for him to continue.
"When I saw that Jude guy hit you, then stand over you and JJ with that gun, my heart just about stopped. I was so enraged, I could have killed him then and there. Then when we found out the other informant might be a medical officer and down in the infirmary with you and JJ, it started all over again." He wiped his hand tiredly across his face.
Sam sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. "I'm sorry, Jack. But I do know how you feel. When the car came to a stop and you weren't there, I was so scared. But I couldn't do anything about it because I had to protect JJ." She stopped and looked over at the little boy who had discarded his previous toy in favor of a soft ball. "When I figured out that Sunderson had JJ, I almost lost it."
They sat once again in silence, until Sam said quietly, "I can't believe how he's become so important to me in a few short days. I mean, I'd protect any child, as would you, but this is different. I feel like…like he's a part of me."
Jack joined her on the floor, careful not to come too close, but close enough. Ever mindful of the camera, he stretched his legs out so they touched the front of the sofa she was leaning against, just to the side of her. "He's important to me as well, Sam. He's a special little guy," Jack added quietly.
Sam nodded her head and bit her lower lip, trying to keep the tears that were pushing at the back of her eyes at bay.
"Hey," Jack said softly, "Nothing's going to happen to him Sam. Now that we know a threat might be out there, we'll be extra vigilant."
"I know we will," she said softly. "It's not that. It's just…" She looked at him with heartbreaking sadness.
"What?" he encouraged her.
"It's going to be so hard to give him up in a few days," she admitted guiltily. "I feel horrible even thinking it, but part of me wants to just take him home and forget about the Quantum mirror. The rational part of me, though, knows that if I feel this empty thinking about losing him, Samantha must be heartbroken and absolutely desperate to get him back!" Two tears escaped her eyes and she furiously brushed them away.
"Sam, you're not the only one who feels that way. I'd like to keep him with us as well. But we both know that can't happen; he doesn't belong to us. As long as we can get him back to his real parents, that's what we have to do." He leaned his head against the back of the chair and sighed. "I was really hoping neither one of us would get too attached to him."
"I think I was lost the minute he peeked out of the sling Samantha was carrying him in." Sam sighed sadly. "It's just so hard, especially when he calls me Mama."
Hearing the word 'Mama', JJ abandoned his ball and crawled over. He smiled at Sam as he went passed her and crawled right onto Jack's lap, earning an 'Oomph!' as his knee landed in a sensitive area.
"Careful there little guy. Daddy doesn't want to be singing soprano." That comment earned a chuckle from Sam and broke the serious tone that had invaded the room. Jack lifted JJ onto his lap and held him while the little boy stood up and babbled away. He spied the bottle on the table next to Sam and reached out for it, saying, "Baba!"
"Guess he wants his bottle," Jack stated needlessly.
Sam smiled as she reached over to grab the bottle off the table, then handed it over to JJ's outstretched hands. Jack turned the baby around so that he was sitting facing Sam, his head resting against Jack's chest as he drank from his bottle.
Sam glanced up at the camera, saw that she was blocked from its view, then picked up her pillow and laid it across the bottom of Jack's legs. She laid her head down on the pillow, one hand tucked under his calf. "OK?" she belatedly asked permission.
"Fine," he smiled back at her, enjoying the warmth of the baby against his chest and Sam's head against his legs. Damn, he could get so used to this! "Aren't you worried about being seen though?"
"Not in view," she answered with a yawn.
Of course, she would have figured out what angles were advantageous to avoid the camera! Jack laid his head against the back of the sofa and closed his eyes once again. "You know, at this rate, JJ's going to be sleeping with both of us."
"Hmmmm," came the noncommittal reply as Sam let herself relax against Jack's warmth and the sounds of JJ slurping his bottle.
Twenty minutes later, Jack jerked awake with a start. JJ's bottle had slipped from his grasp. The little boy had fallen asleep, as had Jack and Sam. Jack tightened his hold on the little boy as he shifted him in his arms. He watched Sam sleeping against his legs for several minutes, her hair falling across her forehead and into her eyes.
Wishing he could remain like this longer but knowing his back and legs would protest, Jack leaned forward and shook Sam's shoulder. "Sam, wake up," he whispered loudly.
Sleepy blue eyes opened and peered up at him from beneath dark eyelashes. "What's wrong," she whispered back.
"Nothing, but it's time we all went to bed instead of sleeping out here on the floor. Come on, up you go." He bounced her up and down with his legs until she sat up.
"How long have we been asleep?" she asked in confusion. All the lights were still on in the living room.
"Only about 20 minutes, but if I don't get off of this hard floor now, I may never get up. Here, take JJ would you?" Sam stood up, then reached over and took JJ from Jack's outstretched arms. She planted a soft kiss on the baby's head and held tightly to him with her left arm as she reached down to help Jack up with her right.
Bones creaking, Jack accepted her help with a groan. "God, I am getting way to old to be sitting on floors," he complained.
"You're not that old," Sam replied.
"Did you not hear my knees? That's old Carter."
Sam chuckled as she headed to her room with JJ. "Hey," Jack stopped her. "Don't I get a good-night kiss?"
"Excuse me?" she asked in surprise, then looked pointedly at the camera.
"Not from you, from JJ," he said with a devilish grin.
Blushing slightly, Sam walked back to him. "Of course, just don't wake him up or you're staying up with him." Jack bent down and brushed a soft kiss of his own against the little boy's forehead. He straightened and looked into her eyes, seeing something there that he wanted to grab hold of and never let go.
Sam broke the eye contact as she turned and walked to her room. Jack stayed where he was; wanting to see them safely to their room, or so he told himself. At the door, Sam stopped and turned to him.
Quietly, so that he had to strain to hear her, she said, "Jack, what do you think would have happened with us if we hadn't left it in the room?" She knew he would know what she was referring to.
He looked thoughtfully at her for a few moments before he replied, "Probably the same thing that is happening right now, except that we wouldn't be sleeping in separate rooms."
She blinked in surprise at his answer, then let a slow smile cross her face. She was glad that they were on the same page. "Good-night, Jack."
"Night, Sam."
And for the first time in several nights, they slept soundly; all three of them.
A/N: OK, my first truly shippy chapter. Hope it didn't go overboard! More of little JJ to come. This story has taken on a life of its own...thanks to all of your wonderful reviews and encouragement!
