When All Else Fails
Chapter Twenty Eight
Disclaimer: Ha! Fehr is M-I-N-E! You cannot stake claim on him. Take that. (I also lay claim to Captain Bridges and Doctor Craig, who also appear in this chapter. Oh, and you can't have them, either.)
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Cassie only ended up staying a few minutes after that, excusing herself for hours of study on what she said would be the biggest bio-medical test of her life. Since neither Jack, nor Sam wanted to be a hindrance to her learning they agreed she should go, after agreeing that she would stop by the next day after the exam. Which, the request had been more for Sam than for Jack, since she would still be locked away in the Infirmary and would need the company while Jack went back to his work- which he had been neglecting to stay with Sam.
It was getting close to 1500 hours when she gave Sam a half-hug, doing her best not to jar her hurt shoulder, winked over at Jack, knowing that when they were at home he didn't mind a hug or two, but when he was at work he was the top dog, and although he would never deny her a hug, it might undermine his authority, if only unintentionally. He nodded back to her, a smile playing on his lips. Before she left, however, she glanced over her shoulder, sneaking a peak at the bedridden Lieutenant. Fehr had been watching her go, and when she turned to look he grinned at her, waving slightly. She blushed at being caught and smiled back sweetly before exiting the room, almost certain that Jack was one again wearing a scowl.
When she had gone Jack turned to Sam once more, "I knew I didn't like that boy."
"Who?" she asked, confusion passing through her eyes. "Dominic?"
Dominic?... Of course Dominic. Who else, Fehr? He scowled, sure, but a little shameless flirting wasn't enough to piss him off that much. "Yeah," he replied with a fresh scowl. "Who on earth doesn't want children? That's just selfishness."
Sam shrugged, "Maybe he doesn't think he'd be a good father."
"Or," Jack interjected, "maybe he just doesn't want to change dirty diapers or wake up to a baby screaming its lungs out every night?"
"That could be it to," she agreed. It wasn't like she had liked the guy that much either, she had only met him a total of three times. He had seemed fairly nice to her, though, but it took more than a friendly smile and small talk to get her to trust somebody. And definitely if it involved somebody close to hers feelings. "She doesn't seem too broken up about it, but who knows how long ago they ended things."
"They didn't end things," Jack reminded her. "Cassie did. Which, says a lot about the girl. She's strong, we've always known that. She'll pull through."
That was true, Cassie was probably one of the strongest people she knew. Who else could go through their entire planet being slaughtered by an alien, then being stranded alone for weeks, only to find out that she was a walking time-bomb just waiting to go off and kill those who had rescued her? Not to mention to turn into a human magnet who was radiating heat, only to come close to dying once again- and because of the same alien that had killed all her people, no less. Add to that losing the most important person in her life while she was still only a teen, and it made the girl pretty damn tough.
Sam reached for his hand, intertwining her fingers with his own. "I guess you're right," she said with a sigh. "I just hate to see her hurt, she's already been through so much. The last thing she needs is another heartbreak."
His eyes traveled from hers down to their hands, whereupon he frowned slightly. Sam watched with concern in her eyes, wondering what was bothering and distracting him so, and sat watching him while he stared down at their hands. "What's going on with you, Jack?" she asked him, unable to hide the concern in her voice.
"Hmm?" he asked, looking back up to meet her eyes. "...Oh, nothing. I'm just a bit tired, I guess..."
Sam snorted and shook her head, she didn't believe that anymore than she believed that Teal'c was a cross dresser. "You say that like it's the truth."
He smiled wearily and leaned forward, capturing her lips with his own. "Don't worry about me, Samantha. I'm fine."
A shiver passed down her spine as he said her full name- something he rarely ever did- but she couldn't hide her concern. "I wish you would tell me," she sighed.
"I will," he promised, "as soon as I figure it out."
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Jack left the infirmary only minutes after that, saying he had to get working on his paperwork, and thanks to the two of them (Sam and Fehr) he had a lot of accident reports to fill out. Not to mention the fact that Jacob was due to contact him in less than an hour with news of Craig's surgery. Which would only bury him under another mountain of work. And, Jack was never one to enjoy paperwork- the whole SGC knew so.
Sam figured that paperwork was only half of the reason he had gone, the other half being that she had backed him into a corner, and he hated being questioned as such. But, he also knew that Sam could get him to do just about anything, so the farther away, at that particular time, the better. Not that it bothered her so much, she already had plans to stop by his house when she got better and interrogate him on the subject there, since there wasn't much he could do to hide from her in that type of situation.
"How long have you been back, Colonel? Two... three weeks?" Fehr questioned from his bed to her right. Sam only nodded in reply. "And, you two have been together ever since?"
"I guess that depends on what your definition of together is, Lieutenant."
That was true enough, he guessed. "Dating..."
Well, then, yeah- that was true. She nodded again.
"If somebody didn't know you they'd probably think you've been married for years." he observed, sitting up in his bed.
"Yeah, well... that's what they would get for thinking, huh?" she shrugged. "Anyway... enough of that subject. I hope you don't think I missed you flirting with Cassandra."
He shook his head, "I kind of figured so from the dirty looks General O'Neill kept giving me."
Sam chuckled slightly, "Oh, don't worry about him. He's just being overprotective. It's not necessarily a bad thing though... it just means he loves her that much."
Fehr nodded, "I've read the mission reports... she's been through a lot more than I can imagine."
"Like Jack said earlier, she's a very strong person... she had to learn at an early age to be." a resigned look passed through Sam's eyes, and it was clear to Fehr that Cassandra Fraiser meant a lot to this woman.
"She's very beautiful," Fehr complimented, "and from what I could tell a genuinely caring person."
Sam smiled and nodded in reply. "She's probably one of the friendliest people I have ever met, which is amazing considering how much she's had to deal with."
"How old is she? 21?"
"20," Sam confirmed. "I suggest that if you're planning on getting to know her better, take it slowly. From what I could tell she was very much taken with this Dominic guy, enough so to accept his proposal. The last thing she needs at this moment is another relationship."
"I understand," Matthew replied, aware of the warning look the Colonel was giving him. Between her looks and Jack's looks who would ever hurt the girl, knowing the two would come after them? He certainly wouldn't- and not only for fear from his boss and his boss' second in command.
"So," Sam asked, changing the subject around, "you get out of here tomorrow?"
"Yup," Fehr said with a grin. "Finally."
"I heard that," Doctor Brightman called from her office. "You keep up with your mouth and I might rethink that!"
Fehr scowled, then looked over at Sam and whispered, "I don't think she likes me much."
Sam grinned, "I think she's just looking out for you there, Fehr. Ignoring her request probably put you on her bad side, but it was for your own good she had you resting in bed."
The scowl on his face didn't leave, though he knew she was correct, that didn't mean he liked it any. "So..." he asked, changing the subject back to what they had been talking about, "about you and the general?"
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Sam and Matthew ended up talking for hours after that, since there was really nothing else to do. She was starting to feel a bit depressed, really, Fehr would be leaving the next morning and unless somebody got hurt she would be alone in the infirmary for at least another day. And she would never wish hurt on anybody- well, those she liked, anyway. Goa'uld or rouge NID members (not to mention ex-vice president and all around asshole Kinsey) be damned.
By the time 1840 rolled around Jack found his way to her bedside once again, followed by Teal'c and Daniel. In his hands he had a plate which held a large piece of cake, "I figured we'd share." he told her as he sat down on the bed next to her.
No objections to that. Sam nodded and took the fork that he extended to her with a smile, glancing up at her friends. "Hey Danny, how's the ankle?"
"It's fine," he told her. "I've been staying off of it, working on some rubbings in my office."
Oh, well, it was probably almost fully healed by now then. When Daniel set down in front of rubbings, or anything that required translation, as long as he had coffee he was good for hours, and then some. As far as she knew Teal'c had been uninjured so there was no point in asking how he was. "Why don't you two grab a seat." she offered.
"Nah," Daniel replied. "Teal'c and I are headed out for the night. Apparently there's some new Sci-Fi movie playing at the theaters, we're gonna go see it. We just thought we'd drop by and see how you're doing before we left."
She nodded with a smile, "Well... have fun and don't eat too much popcorn."
Teal'c's eyebrow raised, as per norm. Too much popcorn? That was like too many doughnuts. There was no such thing.
"I'll try, Sam," Daniel promised. "Can't say the same about T here, though."
Teal'c nodded, "We will visit you tomorrow, Colonel Carter."
"Cass will be buy sometime after 1500 hours, if you want to drop by and see her," Jack informed them.
"Then we will come by then," Teal'c told them. "Goodbye Colonel Carter and O'Neill."
They waved goodbye and Sam returned to the chocolate cake, surprised to find that it was already almost gone. Well, not really surprised- she should have known, it was Jack and this was cake.
"No fair," she mumbled, sticking a fork full into her mouth with a scowl.
He grinned, "Sorry..."
Sam snorted, no he wasn't. He was never sorry when it came to cake.
"It's for the better, I guess... I should really be getting to sleep."
"It's still so early," Jack argued. "You can't be tired yet."
Sam nodded, "I'm exhausted, Jack..."
Well, he could believe that. She had been through a lot in the past few days, so maybe he could believe that she was tired. "Do you want me to stay with you?" he asked, knowing that even if she told him to leave he would still stay right by her side until he was sure she was dead asleep and wouldn't be up all night.
She knew as well, "Please?" she asked. "At least until I fall asleep."
Jack nodded and climbed into the bed with her, on the opposite side of her hurt shoulder, wrapping his arms around her waist lovingly. She sighed and scooted closer to him, ignoring the stab of protest her shoulder sent her, snuggling up as best as she could. He kissed her forehead, and she closed her eyes, feeling sleep creep up on her.
Whatever was bothering him could wait another day, she was tired and she was in pain and he was stubborn as a mule. Plus, with Cassie helping there was no way he could hide.
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A/N: Anyway, let me know what you think about it. Keep going with the Cassie/Fehr (of course I'm gonna continue with the Jack/Sam... I am a diehard shipper!) or what? I know it took a bit longer than usual to update- sorry, I was away for the weekend! Got to ride a horse, for the first time in five years, so it was worth it.
