Road to Nowhere

Part 9

Note: Sorry for the wait on the update. I've rewritten this part and the next about a zillion times trying to get the right tone. I'm trying not to be overly sappy. Though this is a romance, sap isn't the tone I'm going for in this story. Please let me know if it looks like I'm moving into the sap zone. Next update will be out soon now that I think I've set myself straight.

"That's not the one I would have picked out."

Sam looked up in surprise from the ring she was pointing to.

"It's too small," Jack said qualifying his previous statement.

"Does it matter?" she asked in astonishment. They were picking out rings for their fake wedding and he was concerned about the size of the diamond. She began to wonder if maybe his lunch wasn't laced with something strange.

"I guess not."

Or maybe her lunch had been laced with something because strangely he sound a little insulted. "Okay, then which one would you pick?"

Jack immediately walked over to another counter containing estate jewelry that Sam had looked at a little earlier. Sam moved over to him and the salesgirl helping them went to stand behind the counter Jack was at. "That one," Jack said pointing and the salesgirl lifted it out of the case.

"Excellent choice, sir," the salesgirl smiled at him in encouragement.

Jack smiled smugly at Sam as if to say, 'See she likes it.' And it wasn't as if Sam didn't like it, in fact that very ring had caught her eye when she had perused the case earlier. She picked up the ring. It was a medium sized square cut diamond flanked on all sides by triangular cut sapphires, forming a something of star pattern. She really liked it but didn't see the point of spending so much on something just to maintain their cover.

"We'll take it," Jack said with finality and the dutiful 2IC in her knew better than to argue when he used that tone of voice.

"God, I feel like I've been kidnapped Yu," Sam said as she slowly spun around taking in the Asian Vegas kitsch of the Shangri-la suite.

"I resent that," Jack said fixing her with a feigned hurt look. "You didn't have to come. You could have waited for the NID."

"Not you, you. Yu, Yu."

"It's so clear now."

"Lord Yu. System Lord Yu."

"Ah. He confuses me."

"No, he doesn't, sir. You just like to make jokes about his name."

"Maybe." He gestured toward the bedrooms. "Well it looks like Reuben hooked us up with the Rainman suite. Pick your room. We should take a nap before our… appointment."

"Yes, sir."

Jack rolled his eyes and trudged into the room next to hers.

Jack forced himself to lay down and rest, but he really couldn't relax enough to go to sleep. Partly it was because he had one ear listening for the sounds of Sam caught in a nightmare. He had enough experience with darkness lurking in his dreams to know the one she had yesterday wasn't likely to be an isolated event. He had taken the room next to hers and left his door open for that very reason, but she didn't seem to have one. He was glad. She needed her rest. Life on the run required you to get rest when you could, because you never knew when and what form danger might pop up in.

Though if Jack was honest with himself, he wouldn't have minded comforting her again. Not that he wished a nightmare on her, he just liked waking up with her in his arms. It had been… nice. Yet tortuous at the same time. It was little moments like that made him feel like he had been sucker-punched. It reinforced exactly how lonely he was and how much more he craved than those fleeting moments that ended up locked in up tight in that metaphorical room.

And now they were thrust together, running for their lives and about to pretend to get married. It was tactically the best option. Not only for acquiring their new IDs from EP, but it was a lot less conspicuous to be traveling as a married couple. While Jack was sure that the NID was aware of their 'feelings' for one another, he didn't think that they would consider them masquerading as married. It made him uncomfortable. It made it harder to suppress all those pesky emotions that kept getting him in trouble. He was sure Sam was made uncomfortable by their impending pseudo-nuptials as well. He wasn't sure if it was because she no longer felt for him as strongly as he believed she did in the past or because she did and was suppressing it as he was.

He felt stupid for pushing for the antique ring. It was a hell of a lot more expensive than the miniscule ring she'd picked out, but he'd had the credit from Reuben and Jack was good for it. He knew he'd over-reacted but he couldn't help feeling at least mildly insulted that she seemed to think that he would have proposed with such a boring pedestrian ring. He felt like an idiot for feeling that way, because it wasn't like he really proposed. The whole thing was just a cover anyway.

The whole thing was just so screwed up, but he'd take screwed up as long as Sam was safe.

Jack knocked on Sam's bedroom door.

"Come on in," she called. "I'm almost done."

Jack pushed the door open and walked through the bedroom glancing briefly at the huge golden Buddha covered with several towels. He made his way to the bathroom where Sam sat at a dressing table applying her make up.

"What's with Buddha?" he asked sitting down on the edge of the huge garden tub.

"He was staring at me. I couldn't go to sleep. It was creepy."

Jack chuckled and tried desperately not to look as uncomfortable as he felt. Sam was dressed in silky lavender robe, that he guessed she had bought earlier in the lingerie store that he had refused to step into. He had sat on the bench outside unobtrusively keeping an eye on her movements as she shopped, but he had no idea what she had purchased. He tried if at all possible not to think about those kinds of things in relation to Sam. He had found it made it difficult to remain professional if he was thinking about what was underneath all that olive drab.

Jack watched her reflection in the mirror as she carefully applied her makeup. It felt oddly intimate. He remembered enjoying watching Sara put on her 'war paint', as she called it, for all those Military Balls. She hadn't really used a lot of make up except for those formal times. Back then he took advantage of every spare moment he had to spend with his wife. He was so often away, their time together was precious. Jack knew that was the reason he was always wandering into Sam's lab. He just enjoyed the illicit pleasure of just being in her presence.

"What?" Sam asked as she caught Jack's tiny wistful smile in the mirror.

"Huh?" Jack asked, startled out of his musings.

"What was that smile about?"

"Nothin'."

"Heard that before." Sam stood and packed up her makeup. Jack watched her go behind the folding screen painted with a Chinese style misty mountain scene. The lavender robe was thrown over the top and Jack decided to ponder the Wild's chance at the Stanley Cup this year.

"Damn!" Jack glanced up to see Sam walking out from behind the screen and up to him. She turned her back to him reveling and expanse of fake tanned skin. "Could you finish buttoning me up, sir? I can't reach all the buttons."

For a moment Jack wondered if she was asking him that maliciously just to torture him, but as he began to button the many tiny buttons going up the back of the dress realized she'd have to be a contortionist of the highest order to do it on her own. Which also meant he was going to have to help her get them unbuttoned later. Oh, joy. Another sleepless night alone. "Next time try a zipper."

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, for cryin' out loud, Carter! Chill with the 'sir'. We are AWOL, ya know. I think that pretty much kills the need for all the military etiquette." It came out harsher than he intended but all the 'siring' was driving him nuts. It always had.

"What should I call you?"

"'Jack'. Just 'Jack'. It's not hard to say. Just one syllable."

"Okay." Sam turned to look at herself in the full length mirror. "I don't look like myself."

"That's the whole point of a disguise," Jack smiled. She really didn't look like herself with the tan and flaming red hair. She'd done her hair a little different this time. Previously her shot hair had been wild and unruly. Now it was closer to her regular style, a little tamer. She seemed t have a bit of an Audrey Hepburn thing going on. He dress was silk, 'champagne' colored if he remembered what the lady in the shop had said. It was sleeveless with a boat neck and tiny pearl buttons going down the back. The skirt flared slightly below the waist and fell midcalf. "You look great." Jack stood and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "You got your side arm?"

Sam turned away from the mirror and gestured to her outfit. "Where am I going to put it? My garter?"

Jack glared at her and she broke into a teasing grin. He sighed heavily. This wasn't going to be easy.

TBC