Title: Safe Bet
Chapter: Sleepless Nights
Summary: But then again, things had never been normal when it came to Jack O'Neill.
Disclaimer: Well, as with all the other chapters, this is not my show and these are not my characters.
Authors Note: Okay, you guys wanted more. I think there will be about two or three more chapters and then that will be it... so; on with the story then.
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She ended up not paying all that much attention to the movie, which didn't come as a surprise to her. It occurred to her how strange it was that she was being so normal about the situation at hand. Here she was, newly single, after having just broken things off with her fiancé, and here she was watching an old movie with her CO. But then again, things had never been normal when it came to Jack O'Neill. It was part of his luster, she supposed. One of the things that made him so unique.
It also occurred to her, sometime during the movie, that he hadn't made the effort to scoot over. He had to be cramped, because she, herself, was feeling a bit snug, but he had yet to move over. In fact, it seemed to her that he had actually come closer, sometime during the flick. She wasn't sure whether she was supposed to be glad for it, or concerned by it.
There was little talk during the movie. Of course, there were never great conversations going on at the same time as a movie, but they barely said five words to each other. Not that it was uncomfortable. The exact opposite, actually. It was a familiar silence, that surrounded and warmed both, something that they hadn't shared in many months. Just the ability to be together, and be close, knowing that they were centimeters away from crossing the line and breaking the regs, but knowing that neither would take that leap forward, so all would be well.
As the killer struck again, Sam reached for the ring hanging around her neck, amongst her dog tags. She fingered it, looking down briefly and catching a glimpse of the engraving on the inside. It was really a beautiful ring, only made more so by the sentiment behind it. It signified the love that her grandparents had felt for each other, a love that wasn't all together common in the current society. They had been married twenty-eight years when her grandfather had died, while Sam was still young. Her grandmother had never dated after that, her late husband was the only man she had ever loved, and the only man she would ever want. Two years later, the woman herself died, a victim of the same cancer that had taken her husband. It was tragic, but it was also romance, and that made it beautiful, in a manner of speaking.
Sam silently wondered if she would ever have that. True love, the kind that makes you forget that, indeed there are other fish in the sea. You've found the only one for you and you can't imagine life without that certain someone. The thought came to her, that maybe she had found that person, and he was sitting right next to her. He was, in fact, the main purpose for her leaving Pete. She couldn't imagine marrying him while she held such strong feelings for her commanding officer, a man she wasn't even allowed to look at in a romantic way.
As the credits rolled, neither moved from their spots. Sam, still drifting off in thought, had yet to notice that it was over, and Jack just didn't feel like moving. If he moved, he would have to go home. If he went home, he would be bored again. He didn't want to be bored. He didn't want to leave her house. He didn't want to leave her.
"So..." he mused, looking around the room with a sigh.
Suddenly brought back to reality, she turned to look at him, "So?"
"Good movie..." he stated.
"Yes, it was..." she agreed, fiddling with the ring around her neck once more. "Will you be heading home, then?"
"Only if I'm no longer welcome here..."
She looked at the clock, "I just figured, since it was getting kind of late, you might want to go home and get some sleep... You've got to be at work early in the morning."
"And you have the day off..." he re-informed her. "But, you're right," he stood up from the couch and sighed, "I have to be up early in the morning, and I should probably get to the house."
Sam smiled, knowing she had handed him the perfect excuse on a silver plater, and not feeling the lest bit sorry for it. The truth was she needed some time alone to think, and while it was nice that he had come over, because he was bored, she needed to sort things out before she told everyone of her choice, and she wanted the whole of the original SG-1 to be present when she did so. Which reminded her...
She had never called Daniel back, or Cassandra, for that matter. Now it was getting late in Colorado Springs, which meant it was even later in Washington. Cassie, she could call, but Daniel, he would have to wait until the morning. Sam was sure that he wouldn't mind, though. So, she picked up the phone, intending on a short, maybe five minute long, conversation, but knowing full well that it would last, at the very least, ten times that.
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The flight felt extremely long and was extremely bumpy, and Daniel was beginning to think that maybe he should have listened to Davis, and not ordered the fish. When they finally touched down in DC, he had never been happier to get off of a plane, and he and Davis left directly for the man's house, which was no more than fifteen minutes away from the base they had landed at.
Davis directed him to the guest room, where Daniel dropped off his things immediately, and then changed out of his "comfortable" clothes, and put on a pair of jeans and a nice shirt. It wasn't too hot outside, and he hadn't really brought anything cooler. "Our meeting isn't until tomorrow morning," the man had informed him earlier that day. "Bright and early, 0700 hours. It was the only free time he had, and even so, he had to cut his breakfast short because of it."
"He isn't going to laugh us out of his office, is he?" Daniel had questioned, wondering if this idea had been born of the smartest thought.
Davis gave him a slightly worried, slightly confident look, "I don't believe so, Doctor Jackson. I'm sure he will at least hear us out, he holds you in high regards, as well as the general and colonel."
"Yes," Daniel had agreed, "but we are still asking him to give us special privileges."
"And, the last time I checked," Davis had said in reply, "you, among the other members of the SGC, have saved the world, more than five times..."
There was no arguing with that. It was the truth, that they had saved the world on many occasions. And, although he would never take full-credit for the SG-1, they normally put in the most effort. Then again, they were normally the reasons that the earth needed saving, so it sort of balanced the two out, and made things even.
"I suppose so..."
"You don't have anything to worry about, Doctor Jackson." Davis had assured him. "The worst that he can do, is to say no."
The thing that Davis didn't realize though, was that saying no was probably going to send either Sam or Jack over the edge, and one or both would reach their breaking point. Either way, the answer being 'yes' or 'no', he was certain that the two would be together shortly. The thing about it was, whether it would be allowed or not.
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Cassie ended up keeping her on the phone for the lighter part of an hour and a half, questioning her about her break up with Pete and what she intended on doing now that it was over. Sam had simply informed the girl that it had been the right thing for her to do and she had no clue what the future held for her, and in some ways, she didn't really want to know. Other than that, they had chatted about other things, one topic being the fact that Cassandra would be visiting in a few days, and what they would be doing at that time.
When she hung up the phone, exhaustion took over. Even though she had obtained more sleep in the past few nights than she had in the previous week, she was extremely tired. There was nothing she could think of to explain it, except for all the lack of sleep catching up on her, and her stress making it seem much worse than it actually was. There was a simple and easy remedy for her tiredness, though, and Sam didn't hesitate in using it. She changed into her oldest, more loose fitting, clothes, and crawled into her bed, under the warmth of her covers, and within minutes she was out.
She didn't wake up until many hours later, and even then it was only due to the ringing of the telephone...
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"I just realized something," Daniel said the next morning, over an extremely early breakfast. He had been eating fruit loops and something had occurred to him that he had previously pushed into the back of his mind, and it was a big something.
"What is it?" Davis questioned, glancing at his clock. They had about forty-five minutes to get to the White House, which was ten minutes down the street, but from experience he knew that they should be leaving soon.
"Sam never called me back..."
"Why was Major Carter going to call you?" he asked, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Well..." the man replied, "she was planning on breaking things off with Pete last night."
"Maybe she just forgot to call," the major offered half-heartedly. Both men knew that Samantha Carter would never forget about something like that-- least she forget anything at all. It was just too important.
"So call her," Davis said.
"It's way too early for that," Daniel replied. "It's not even 0700 hours there, it's still late night in Colorado Springs."
"That is true," Davis agreed. "Call her later, then. Is it that big of a deal?"
"It's not more important than talking with the president, no," Daniel admitted with a sigh. "We should probably be heading down there anyway, shouldn't we? With all the security, it is going to take almost as long to get through there as it does the SGC."
"Just about," Davis informed him, getting up from his table and grabbing the dishes off of it. "Do you have everything that you need?"
Daniel looked down at the expensive suit he was wearing and then around the room, to make sure that he had all the things that he would require, which wasn't very much. He checked his pocket for his clearance card and nodded, "I've got it all..."
"Alright," Paul told him, smiling slightly, "let's get going, then."
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Jack slumped down on his couch, immediately upon returning home. What had he been thinking, showing up at her house like that? Why would she have wanted him there? He was her boss, for cryin' out loud. You just don't show up at your 2IC's house, much less if your 2IC is female. People already suspected things, the last thing either one of them needed was false accusations, and for her not just because of her work.
There was that slimly fiancé of hers, Pete. He didn't like the guy one bit. Who orders a background check on their girlfriend? Freaks. That's who. The type of guy who ends up stalking his ex. Somebody who is just a few fries shy of a happy meal.
To bad she couldn't see what he did. Pete was exactly the wrong guy for her. He had too much of a child like image, to go along with his "big bad cop" attitude. How he collared anybody was unknown to Jack. It must be fairly comical to watch him in act. The stalker cop arresting guys for doing the same damn thing he did, only months prior. Yeah, that was a hoot.
It occurred to Jack that he was being extremely jealous, but he didn't care much. It wasn't like there was anybody around to know he was brooding, anyway. So he could just sulk all he wanted. And, he surely had the right to. The only woman he could imagine himself with was getting ready to pledge all her love to a freaking idiot, and there was nothing he could do about it. At least, nothing that wouldn't get him thrown out of the military.
Perhaps he could send her to a random planet for a couple of months. Somewhere nice and warm, where she could work on her tan and swim in the ocean everyday. Just for enough time to get the guy to forget about her and move on to somebody else. That might work...
There was only one major flaw in his plan, besides the fact that she could make her way home fairly easy, even if he crashed the DHD. With somebody as wonderful as Samantha Carter, there was no way anybody could get over her and move on. He knew he couldn't.
He sighed, lying on his back, on the couch in his living room. He was such an idiot, going over her house uninvited like that. She had probably only let him in because he was her boss and she didn't want to get a crap assignment. Not that he could ever do something like that to her.
But, then again... she hadn't really acted as if she hadn't wanted him there. Save for her telling him to go home, which he could understand. It was late and he did have to go to work in the morning. Moreover, it wasn't exactly professional for him to be there. But that was besides the point. He had been sitting very close to her on the couch, for more than one reason. For one, he wanted to be close, for two, he was subtly testing her. And she had passed. She hadn't shied away. And that was a good thing. He hoped.
Jack sighed and closed his eyes, hoping to fall asleep, but such was a fleeting memory. He couldn't recall when the last time he slept through the night was, and he was starting to get the sinking suspicion that tonight would be no different. If anything, it would be worse, due to all of the thoughts bouncing around in his mind. He wasn't a stupid man, but neither was he smart, and all the thoughts running loose in his head were only confusing him further.
Getting up off of his couch, he headed towards the kitchen and the coffee pot that was in it. If he wasn't going to be sleeping, he might as well get the next best thing. Daniel's stash of coffee.
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A/N:
Well, let me know what'cha think.
