Cosmic Confessions
Set in Season 1 after "Cold Lazarus" and before "Singularity"
Why wasn't Sam surprised when Jack started spouting off astronomical terms in "Singularity" while Daniel was?
Samantha Carter rang the doorbell, kind of anxious about the evening ahead. It was their first team night, and Jack had insisted on pizza and drinks at his house. It was nearly nine-o-clock, and the 'party' wasn't supposed to start until 9:30, giving the team a few more minutes to freshen up and relax after their last mission. However, Sam had left her house a little earlier than she probably should have, unsure of how long it would take her to get to her superior's house. Besides, if she had gotten lose, she didn't want it to be obvious…after all, if she showed up on time, no one would know. Nevertheless, she was now half an hour early.
There was no answer to the doorbell, so she knocked. Suddenly, from above, she heard her commanding officer's baritone voice. "Up here!"
She looked up, but saw nothing there, and continued to stand there for a few moments. She tried to think about what could possibly have possessed him to be on his roof half an hour before he was supposed to have guests. There was supposed to be a lunar eclipse, but the Colonel wouldn't be trying to see that, would he? After all, he probably didn't know what a telescope was, let alone own one.
"Are you coming up or am I going to have to miss Mars?"
"How do I get up?" She asked.
"Round the side…there's a ladder."
"Okay." She muttered, walking to the side. As she climbed up the ladder, she shook her head. "It's a good thing I decided against the mini-skirt and wore jeans."
Jack turned around as she made it to the top. "Mini-skirt?"
"Just kidding, Colonel." Sam said, smiling.
"Darn." He said, returning his gaze to the view from his telescope.
"So, Mars is a code-name for which neighbor?"
He grunted. "Can't Mars be a code-name for Mars? The lunar eclipse?"
"That would be too easy." She replied, walking over to stand next to him. She folded her arms and looked into the sky.
"I'm a simple guy." He responded.
"Not as simple as you'd like us to think." She said, catching his eye.
"You want to take a look, don't you?" He said, getting out of his chair.
"You're very observant."
As she sat down, she stared at the lens. "This is incredible!"
"Yeah," he whispered, softly.
"What?" She asked, sensing that something was wrong.
"Nothing."
She returned her gaze to marvel at the miracle she could see through the lens of the telescope.
"Charlie…liked space." Jack blurted, interrupting her intense fascination.
She looked up at him. "Your son."
"Yeah. You should have seen his room. It was full of pictures of the solar system." A sad smile filled his features. "About six months before the accident, we discovered the glow-in-the-dark stars and planets. We plastered his ceiling with them."
There was a brief pause. "When I look at the stars, I feel closer to him."
She slowly stood up. "I'm sorry, sir…I shouldn't have…"
He interrupted. "When we're not at work, it's Jack. I want to think that my friends are watching my six, not just my coworkers."
She smiled. "You expect us to see much of each other outside of the mountain?"
He shrugged while a coy smile flirted around the corners of his mouth. "Anything's possible."
She blushed.
"Besides, team nights are weekly when we're on Earth."
"Right."
They gazed at each other for a few moments, until both of them started to feel a little uncomfortable. "So, uh, Colonel, what did you want to be when you grew up?"
"Well, Captain…"
She blushed at the slight rebuke. "Sorry, sir."
He cleared his throat.
"Jack."
"I, uh, wanted to be an astronomer."
Her eyes widened. "Really?"
"Yeah. Surprised?"
"Well…yeah. Most aspiring astronomers don't end up as colonels in the Air Force."
"Here's the punchline…they paid for college, and I couldn't do math."
She laughed and he smiled.
"So, I won myself a position in black ops."
"And quickly moved up in the ranks." She added.
She won another shrug. "Just because I managed to stay alive. I didn't ask any questions, got no answers, and followed orders. Beyond that, I just tried not to get shot." He closed his eyes in painful recollection for a moment. Then, he opened his eyes and looked at her. "So, what about you? How did a beautiful astrophysicist end up as a captain in the Air Force?"
She smiled. "It's a funny story, really. I always wanted to be an astronaut, and I thought the Air Force would be the straightest shot there…but obviously, I got a little side-tracked.
"Working on your degrees, and getting sent to the Gulf?"
She nodded. "By the time I was qualified, I was flying in enemy air space. Then, I was called to the Pentagon to work on the Stargate program. So, here I am."
A car pulled up to the house. "As usual, Danny's late." Jack said, looking at the car.
"I'm not complaining," Sam replied. She went to climb down the ladder. "By the way, if you need any math tutoring…you know, calculating or anything, you know where to find me."
"Don't say a word…that's an order."
"Yes, sir." She said before she disappeared down the side of the house.
Just a one-shot, folks...sorry. Read and review, just the same...