THROUGH THE YEARS
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a/n: In celebration of the second half of season nine starting tonight (at least in the US!). I've written and posted the next chapter. Once again, sorry for any mistakes I've overlooked.
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Chapter 24: Answering Machines and Evil Schemes
February 1994 Washington DC
'Okay, this time, I'm really going to do it,' Sam told herself as she walked, rather stiffly, back over to the phone. She picked the phone back up off the couch where she had thrown it after her last hang-up and hit the button to hear the dial tone, again. Hitting redial, Sam gulped down the huge lump in her throat and listened as the phone dialed the number.
Ring! Click!
Sam hung the phone up again as soon as the first ring was heard.
"Damn it!" she yelled to the empty house and threw the phone back down on the couch.
This had been going on for the last several hours and Sam was frustrated at herself for being so weak. It was Saturday. Tomorrow, her two-week time limit would be up and she still hadn't built up the courage to call Jack.
Katherine had offered to take Grace with her for the weekend when Sam had told her she still hadn't called Jack and time was running out. Without Grace to distract her, Sam had no excuse not to pick up the phone and call Jack. Now, she just needed to get the courage to do it!
Sam flicked her hands as if she was trying to shake water off them and walked back over to the couch. 'I can do this,' she mentally encouraged. 'It's just Jack. It's just Jack. Same old Jack I lived with for over a year. Same old Jack I was with in Iraq. Same old Jack as always. I can do this!'
Sam took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "It's just Jack," she sighed to the empty room and picked the phone up again. "Two rings, at least, this time," she demanded of herself. When she first started, she couldn't even get past the area code, so in the last five hours, Sam had come a long way!
Sam hit the redial button and listened as the phone dialed, yet again.
Ring! "It's just Jack," she whispered and took a deep breath.
Ring! Click!
"Damn it!" she yelled to the empty room again. "Urgh!" Sam growled in frustration. This was just getting sad!
'Okay, okay,' Sam thought as she shook all the jitterbugs out of her body. 'Maybe I should try his office?'
Picking up the phone again, Sam dialed the number she had already memorized and waited to hear it ring. It was taking longer than normal for the phone to connect and all Sam could hear was silence over the line. Then, all of a sudden, without even a ring, a voice came over the line.
"Col. O'Neill's office."
'Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! Where was the ring?' Sam's mind screamed. 'Hang up! Hang up!'
"Hello?" the voice sounded over the line.
'Ah, what the hell, it's not him, so what am I so scared of?' Sam thought, yet still didn't say anything aloud.
"Hello?" the man on the other end of the line said again. He could hear breathing, so he knew someone was there.
"Excuse me, I 'm sorry," Sam croaked into the phone. "I was calling for Jack O'Neill."
"He's in a meeting, can I take a message?" the man answered.
"Oh! Uh, no, uh, that's okay, I'll call back," Sam said quickly and then hung up the phone.
"Shit, shit, shit!" she yelled after hanging up. "I should have left a message!"
Sam paced her small apartment a few more times while a plan was shaping in her mind. 'Okay, if Jack is at work, then I can call and leave a message that I need to talk to him on his answering machine at home. Maggie will know that I'm at least trying to get a hold of him. It's not my fault that he's in a meeting. Then, I'll just avoid his return phone call until I've built up enough courage to talk to him. This just might work!' A smile spread across Sam's face as she thought about her little scheme.
Sam walked back into the living room and picked the phone back up off the couch. 'He's not home, this should be a breeze,' she told herself as she, once again, dialed Jack's home number.
Ring!
Ring! 'Don't hang up! Don't hang up!' she chanted silently.
Ring! 'Shit, shit!'
"Col. Jack O'Neill. Leave a message. BEEP!"
Click!
"SHIT!" Sam cursed herself for hanging up again. "Damn it! I can do this!" she yelled as she paced her house again, this time with the phone still in her hands. "I CAN do this!" she lectured herself some more.
Sticking out her bottom lip in a gesture of defiance, Sam lifted the phone back up, hit the redial button and listened for the familiar sound of ringing.
Ring!
Ring!
Ring!
"Col. Jack O'Neill. Leave a message. BEEP!"
"Uh," Sam swallowed the lump in her throat again. "Jack, this is Sam. Um, Sam Carter. Samantha Carter. Hmm!" Sam cleared her throat. "I needed to talk to you, if you could call me back when you get this, I would really appreciate it. Thanks, bye."
Sam hung the phone up, her heart racing a mile a minute. "Shit!" she said a second later as she realized she didn't leave her phone number. "Grr!" she growled at herself and picked the phone back up.
It seemed to take forever this time for the three rings and familiar voice to come over the answering machine.
"Col. Jack O'Neill. Leave a message. BEEP!"
"Hi, Jack. Um, it's me again. Sam. Uh, I forgot to leave my phone number, so, here it is…" Sam rattled off her phone number and then hung the phone up.
Relieved that her part, for now, was finally over, Sam collapsed down on her couch and sighed a huge sigh of relief. She set the phone down on the stand next to the couch and picked up the slip of paper with Jack's numbers on it. She had already memorized everything on the small piece of paper, but she still felt a small connection to Jack while holding the numbers. Rubbing her thumb gently over the paper, Sam relaxed into the couch. "Thank God for answering machines," she mumbled before falling asleep, the slip of paper still resting in her hands.
Sam was still sleeping when her front door was opened and a figure slowly crept inside. The figure slipped off his coat and quietly crept up alongside the sleeping woman on the couch. Seeing the paper resting in her clasped hand, he stealthily leaned in and removed the paper from Sam's light grasp.
Reading the paper, the figure was pissed.
"What the hell is this?" Jonas roared, causing Sam to jump up off the couch.
"Jonas! What are you doing here?" Sam asked, trying to fight back the sleepiness.
"What the hell is this?" he repeated, throwing the slip of paper at Sam. "I thought we talked about this? I thought we agreed he was no longer a part of your life?"
"Jonas, he is Grace's dad. He will always be a part of my life! If I don't tell him, Maggie will. I have to do this, Jonas."
"The hell you do, Sam! Who cares what that nosey old hag says…"
"I do! And don't call her that, she's like a mom to me, Jonas!"
"Bullshit, Sam! Your mom is dead. Get over it!" Jonas roared.
"Fuck off, you asshole!" Sam screamed back, her body shaking in anger at the man before her. "What the hell are you doing in my house anyways?"
"I came to spend some time with my fiancé. Is that a sin?" he sarcastically retorted.
Sam glared.
"WE are getting married. WE are going to be a family. Me, you, and Grace. He has no part in our life. Get that through your thick skull!"
"You son of a bitch! How dare you try to boss me around! Just because we're engaged doesn't mean you can control me!"
"Like hell it doesn't!" Jonas fired back, his face bright red in anger. "You are mine, Samantha. Grace is mine! WE are a family! Jack is out of your lives for good!"
Sam's heart was beating a mile a minute. Never in all their fights before had he ever insisted he controlled her. Never had he claimed possession of not only her, but Grace as well. Sam suddenly had a premonition of what life would be like married to Jonas and all the fears and repulsion she felt for him when she first laid eyes on the man came flooding back. "Get the hell out of my house," Sam demanded in a sharp, yet controlled voice, staring Jonas right in the eyes. She pulled her ring off her finger and threw it at him. "I was a fool agreeing to marry you. I knew it was a mistake. I knew it! Don't ever come near me or Grace again!"
"Sam," Jonas yelled, anger pouring out of his eyes. "I'm not leaving! You can't make me."
"But we can," came a voice from the door. During their fighting, neither of them had noticed the door open or the two police officers standing in the doorway.
Sam and Jonas, both startled, turned their heads towards the doorway.
"We both heard her tell you to leave Mr. Hanson. She called off your engagement and told you to never come near her or her daughter again. I am more than willing to get paper started on a restraining order. Unless you want to spend the night in a cell, I suggest you leave now," the familiar officer replied. He had been called to this address several times in the past and knew the situation.
Jonas tossed another glare at Sam and leaned down to pick up the ring. Shoving it into his jeans pocket, he grumbled inaudibly and pushed his way out of the apartment.
"You okay, Ms. Carter?" one of the officers asked, walking completely into the apartment and closing the door behind him.
"Yes," Sam replied. "Thank you. I hope you never have to be called out here again."
"Me, too," he responded with a small smile and helped Sam take a seat on her couch.
The officers wrote up a report and after some persuading, Sam agreed to go down to the precinct the next day and apply for a restraining order against Jonas. Once the officers left, Sam dead bolted her door and took her weary self to bed.
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Colorado Springs (5 hours earlier)
Jack stalked his way from the briefing room to his office. He could not believe what just happened! He was being ordered to Bosnia! For the last few months, he had been off field duty and was only working as a training officer for Special Forces and the covert black ops. He had asked for the training position to be home each night for Charlie, but now, he would have to give full custody to Sara while he went off for God knows how long!
Jack approached his office door and pulled out his key to unlock it.
"Sir?" His aide approached him. "You had a phone call earlier. The woman wouldn't give her name, but she sounded a little distraught. If-if you like, I could do a trace and find out who it was…"
"That's okay, airman, it was probably just my ex-wife," Jack interrupted and stepped into his office, shutting the door and leaving the squirming airman on the other side.
Jack collected his things for the day and composed himself the best he could before leaving the sanctuary of his office. He had a lot to take care of before he was shipped out in two days.
Jack headed to his old house, deciding to take care of Sara and Charlie before going home for the night. Since kicking Randy out, Sara had done a complete 180. In place of the bitter woman he was married to, was the happy, talkative woman he enjoyed years before. He knew he would never fall into her trap again, but for Charlie's sake, he was thrilled to see her return.
Sara and Charlie were both surprised to see Jack when he arrived at the house. Charlie was excited to see his dad, but Sara noticed the vacant look in his eyes and immediately knew what he was about to say.
Taking a seat in the living room with Charlie on his lap, Jack told his ex-wife and son that he was, once again, going to war. He explained as best as he could to his four and a half year old that the innocent people in Bosnia needed him to protect them and make them safe again from the bad guys.
Charlie, having his own experience with bad guys after the broken window incident, understood his dad more than Jack realized.
Sara insisted Jack stay for dinner and the three of them ate happily together for the first time in a very long time. After dinner, Charlie insisted they all play a game and Jack, caught up in the actual family moment, agreed.
Before anyone realized it, they had been playing UNO for hours! Charlie was reluctant to stop, but Sara agreed to let him watch a movie until he fell asleep, so after pleading to get his dad to stay and watch the movie with him, he put away the cards.
Jack couldn't believe how the night had turned out. He actually felt like he, Sara and Charlie were a family! It was the first time he had ever felt like this. It was the first time since Charlie was born that Jack didn't resent Sara, and he was really enjoying it.
Twenty minutes after the movie started, Charlie was fast asleep on the sofa. Jack picked him up and carried him off to bed. Noticing that it was going on midnight, Jack kissed Sara lightly on the cheek and told her he would be over in the morning to take Charlie and spend the day with him.
Jack was so tired when he arrived home, he barely made it out of his clothes before collapsing on his bed and falling into a deep sleep.
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Washington DC
Ring! Ring!
"Hello," a groggy Sam barely whispered into the phone.
"Captain Carter, this is General Hammond's office. The joint chiefs are requesting yours and Dr. Langford's presence at once."
"Okay, I'll be there within the hour," Sam replied, a little more awake. Disconnecting with the pentagon, Sam sprang off the bed and quickly dialed Katherine's number. The line was busy and she realized that the secretary had probably called her first.
Sam hung the phone back up and went to use the bathroom. Before making it to the toilet, her phone began to ring.
"Hello," Sam answered, already knowing who it would be.
"Sam, it's Katherine, did they already call you?"
"Yup, I'm getting ready now. I can swing by and pick up Grace before heading in…"
"There's no need, she's still sleeping. She can stay here with Jenny and you can get her after the meeting," Katherine offered.
"Okay, that works. I'll see you there."
"See you there. Keep your fingers crossed," Katherine replied before saying good-bye and hanging up.
Sam quickly dressed and headed out the door, eager to find out if her project was approved.
Shortly after Sam was gone, Jonas arrived at her apartment, determined to get her back. His anger was gone, and in its place was a deep remorse that he had lost the woman he loved. He unlocked her apartment and quietly crept in, unaware that she was not home. After discovering she wasn't there, he started rummaging through her things, trying to come up with anything to get her to take him back.
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Colorado Springs
Forgetting to set his alarm in his haste to hit the sack, Jack overslept until 0900. The sun was shining brightly in his bedroom and his eyes burned when he finally managed to open them.
Groaning loudly, Jack rolled over and pulled his weary body out of bed. Slipping on sweat pants, he made his way to the bathroom and then on to the kitchen to get the coffee brewing.
It wasn't until his second cup of coffee that he noticed the red light blinking on his answering machine. He walked over and hit the button, wondering who called.
"Message one," the answering machine started. "Click," came the only noise from the machine.
"Hmm, must have been a solicitor," Jack thought to himself, taking another sip from his coffee mug.
"Message two…Uh……Jack, this is Sam. Um, Sam Carter…."
Jack nearly dropped his coffee as he heard Sam's sweet voice come over the machine. He listened intently to her message, his heart racing in his chest.
He laughed softly when the third message started and his flustered Sam rattled off her phone number. He loved this woman so much! He set his coffee down and hit the button to listen to his messages again.
After the third round, Jack finally wrote her number down and prepared himself to call her. He picked the phone up, dialed in the number and held his breath as the lines connected.
Ring!
Ring!
"Hello," a male voice came over the line.
"Uh, hello," Jack said to the man. "I was calling for Sam."
"Oh, she's not here. I'm her fiancé, Jonas, can I give her a message?" Jonas replied in his most innocent voice.
"Uh, yeah, I guess. This is Jack. I was returning her call. She left a message that she had something to tell me."
"Oh! She was probably calling to invite you to our wedding. She's been calling all sorts of people lately," Jonas exclaimed, falsely. "We were going to wait awhile, but we are so in love, we decided to get married right away. She is out getting fitted for her dress right now."
Jack's heart dropped. If it wasn't for the enormous pain he felt in his chest, he would wonder if his heart hadn't completely dropped out of his body. He was devastated! He'd waited too long. She found someone else. She fell in love with someone else! For the first time, Jack realized exactly what Sam must have felt like when he married Sara.
He was broken.
"Sam should be back shortly, I'll let her know you called, Jack," Jonas' voice came back over the line.
"Uh, okay," Jack barely managed to croak back. "Thank you," he finished and then hung up the phone.
He had lost his chance at getting Sam back. Why did he wait so long? He should have listened to his mother!
Jonas heard the click over the line and set the phone back down, an evil smirk crawled across his face. He put Sam's home back the way he found it and quietly left her apartment. He would get Sam back, he had a plan.
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Sam picked Grace up from Katherine's and headed home to pack. The joint chiefs had approved her project! She and Katherine were being sent to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex where the giant ring was already on its way.
The pentagon was giving them two years to figure out the ring. She and Katherine were responsible for assembling a team of scientists, technicians and archaeologists to work on the project. A General West from Peterson was being put in charge and Sam was to report to him as her commanding officer for the duration of her time at the complex.
Sam was so excited! She and Grace were moving to Colorado Springs!
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a/n: Sorry, I know many of you were expecting Jack to find out about Grace in this chapter. Don't worry, he is going to find out soon, I promise. The next chapter will have more of Grace and Charlie. This story only has a few chapters left!