The Life he Left Behind
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Jack woke to something warm and soft jabbing him in the cheek. Before he opened his eyes, he heard a quiet voice say, "Cwoe, I think he's waking up."
Jack opened his eyes and looked directly into a set of beautiful blue ones. "Morning," he moaned.
"Mornin," Jonathon said, very chipper.
Jack sat up a little on the bed.
"Papa told us to wake you up."
"He did, did he?" Jack asked in a teasing voice.
"Yup!" Jonathon replied, jubilantly.
Jack wrapped his arm around the boy and pulled him down into the bed with him. Seeing Chloe on the other side of the bed, he reached over and pulled her in the bed, too.
Both toddlers giggled and Jack realized how beautiful a sound it was. Hopping up, he turned around and pinned the two down while he tickled them. They shrieked in laughter as they played with their dad, letting him capture them and tickle them mercilessly.
Jack finally stopped when he noticed how red both of their cherub faces had turned. Pulling both of them off the bed at once, Jack put one over each shoulder and carried them into the kitchen.
Jacob was standing in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, when Jack walked in with his load. "Morning, Jacob. When did you get here?"
Jacob helped Jack pull the children off his shoulders and set them down at the table. "Oh, a little over an hour ago."
"Carter still asleep?" Jack asked, looking around for Sam.
"Nah, she was up before I got here. She just hopped in the shower," Jacob told the younger man.
"Ah," Jack said, walking over to Sam's cupboard and pulling down a cup for coffee.
"We made pancakes, help yourself," Jacob told him.
"Thanks," Jack said, opening another cupboard and pulling out a plate.
Jacob noticed how well Jack still remembered his way around Sam's house and wondered exactly how many times he had been over here in the past.
Just as Jack was finishing his breakfast, Sam walked into the kitchen. She was dressed in jeans and a red top, her hair still a little damp from her shower. "Mommy, I wanna go to the park!" Jonathon demanded.
Sam looked over at Jack at the table and then back at Jonathon. "Uh, I don't know, honey, we'll have to see how the day goes," she told him as she walked over and poured herself a fresh cup of coffee.
Jacob looked back and forth from Jack to Sam. He could feel the tension in the air between the two. Not unlike it was two years ago before Jack left. "I think you two should probably sit down and talk. I can take the kids to the park later this morning."
Jack and Sam looked at each other. "I think Jacob's right, Sam. We really have a lot to talk about," Jack said in a soft voice.
Sam just nodded her head in agreement. As brilliant and brave as she was, Jack O'Neill still had the ability to turn her to mush with just a look. She would not fall under his spell again! He was with Sara. Sam had to get over this school-girl crush she had on her former CO. And, talking with him one-on-one, getting everything out in the open, was probably the best way to resolve her feelings.
Jack, still looking at Sam, opened his mouth to say something when a bright light shined in the kitchen and Sam disappeared. Jack looked over at Jacob. "Does that happen a lot?"
"Yup," Jonathon answered before Jacob had a chance.
Chloe spoke up, too. "Don't worry, daddy. She's with Thor."
Jack looked at Jacob with both his eyebrows raised, throwing him an incredulous look.
"I don't know, Jack. I'm not here that much. But, Thor must have known we were here, I can't imagine him beaming her away if she was home alone with the kids," Jacob told him.
Jack turned his attention to the two little munchkins at the table. "You two know Thor?"
"Uh huh."
"Yup," came the responses.
Jack couldn't believe this. The twins weren't even phased by their mom disappearing in a white light. Exactly how many times does this happen?
"Does Thor take mommy a lot?" Jack asked the twins.
"No, not a lot," Jonathon said.
"Only when he needs her," Chloe put in.
"Ah," Jack replied.
A few minutes later, Sam was beamed back to the kitchen.
"Carter?" Jack said in a questioning tone.
"Sorry, sir," she replied out of habit. Sam had two small devices in her hand and walked over to the table with them. "Chloe, Thor wants to see what you can make this do," She told the little girl and handed her one of the devices.
Chloe took the device and it immediately lit up.
"Cool!" Jonathon exclaimed, sitting on the table to get a better view. "Where's mine!"
Sam handed another device to Jonathon. Although slightly different than the one Chloe had, it lit up when Jonathon took it, too. "Cool!" Jonathon said again. "Open!" Jonathon demanded.
Right before Jack's astonished eyes, the device split down the middle and a holographic image appeared a foot above the device.
"What is that?" Jack asked in shock.
Sam threw Jack a fleeting look and then looked back at Chloe. "Chloe, sweetie, can you open yours?"
Chloe closed her eyes and a second later, her device split in three different spots. Three separate images appeared in the air.
"Good job!" Sam said proudly to the two kids.
"Carter!" Jack barked at Sam for some sort of explanation.
Sam looked at Jack and then back to the twins. "Okay, close them up for now," she told them.
"Close!" Jonathon ordered his device.
Chloe's closed in silence.
Sam turned back to Jack. "Sir, the children have a gene in their body that they inherited from you. This gene allows them to operate Ancient technology. It's the same gene that allowed you to access the Ancient library of knowledge, years ago, and rescue the SG teams that were captured by Anubis, yesterday. Thor is testing the twins ability by giving them Ancient devices the Asgaard have collected over the years."
Jack was speechless. Mainly because his brain was trying to soak up everything Sam just rambled on about. "Is that safe?" he asked, a little indignantly, a few seconds later.
"Uh, yes, sir. These devices have been in Asgaard hands for centuries. They've been fully-tested, and Thor only brings devices that appear completely safe."
"Appear?" Jack questioned, raising his eyebrows in a look Sam was completely familiar with from him.
"Yes, well, the Asgaard are sure the devices they send are harmless due to the tests they run on them, but the Asgaard do not have the ability to operate the device so they are unsure what most of them do," Sam explained.
"So, they could send a bomb and not even know it," Jack spat out, crossing his arms across his chest. The welfare of his children his main concern.
"No, the devices they send have very minimal energy output. No where near enough to be used as a bomb."
Jack nodded his head. Still uneasy about his children playing with Ancient technology but willing to give it a rest for now.
Jack and Sam didn't even notice that Jacob had ushered the twins out of the room until they all three returned, dressed to go out. "So, I'm going to run the twins to the park for a bit. You two, sit down, talk about whatever it is you two need to talk about," Jacob told them, before heading out the front door with the twins.
Sam looked at Jack and smiled, shyly. "Well, sir, would you like to talk in the living room. The chairs are a little more comfortable."
"Didn't I tell you to drop the sir?" Jack asked as he walked out of the kitchen.
"Yes si-, yes, you did," Sam replied, picking up her coffee and following him.
"So, what happens next?" Jack asked, sitting on the couch and looking over at Sam.
"I guess that depends on what we work out…uh, si-, uh, I want you to have as much involvement with the twins as you want. I'm not sure about letting them fly to Chicago, but if you can come here, you're more than welcome to stay here as much as you want…."
"Carter, that's not necessary, I still have my house," Jack told her, cutting her off.
"Oh," Sam said in surprise. "Well, good, then you can have the twins stay with you whenever you want…maybe we should…."
"ring ring"
"Oh, that's me. Hang on a sec, " Jack said, standing up and pulling his cellphone out of his pocket. Jack looked at the display and then put the phone to his ear. "Sara," he said into the phone.
Sam tensed. She forgot about how Sara was going to fit into all this. Would she be coming back with Jack for visits? Probably. Sam wasn't sure how she could cope with Sara around all the time with Jack. A constant reminder that Jack rejected her for his ex-wife.
Sam came out of her mental ramblings by Jack's voice on the phone. "Oh, that's great, hon! Yeah, well, I'll be back in a few days. No, I'm going to sell the 'Homer'. I know, but I'm needed back in Colorado. I'll explain everything when I get back. Okay….yeah…. you, too! Bye," Jack hung up the phone.
"Sir," Sam started, just wanting to get this over with so she could be alone to cry.
"Jack," Jack said, cutting her off.
"What?" Sam asked.
"My name is Jack, Sam."
"Sorry," Sam said before continuing. "I think maybe we should…"
"Say it," Jack demanded, cutting her off again.
Sam looked at him confused. "What?"
"Say Jack. I want to hear you say it."
Sam just looked at him. Sure, she imagined the situation before…he demanding her to say his name, she saying in with so much feeling, he rushes over and captures her lips in a passionate kiss, before sweeping her up and carrying her off to the bedroom….sure, she's thought of this situation plenty of times. But, this time was different. This time, the last thing she wanted to do was say his first name. Saying his name had become too personal, and right now, after he just talked to his wife on the phone, the last thing Sam wanted, the last thing she needed, was to become too personal. Looking up at Jack, she asked, "why?"
His eyes burned into hers. "Say my name, Sam. Just say it," he ordered.
Sam put her head down. She couldn't do this. She couldn't, she couldn't, she couldn't.
"Sam, say Jack," Jack ordered again.
Sam looked at him again, this time with defiance blazing in her eyes. "I've been calling you sir for years. What difference does saying your name have to do with anything?"
"Say it," he told her, staring her down while he leaned back on the couch.
Sam stood up out of outrage. Damn it! She could say his name if she wanted to. It wasn't like it was forbidden anymore. Hell, she said it all the time in her head, even when they still worked together. Damn, she hated being put on the spot like this!
"Sam," Jack prompted a few seconds later.
"Damn it, Jack! Are you happy? Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack. Does that make any difference? Can we get this over with now?" Sam screamed as she paced her small living room.
Jack, slightly impressed over Sam's outburst, just sat on the couch, watching her vent.
Just then, Sam's cell phone rang. Picking it up, she looked over at Jack. "It's the base," she told him, before answering it. "Carter," she said into the phone.
"I'm sorry, Col. Carter. General Hammond needs your assistance on base. He asked if you could come in for a few hours," the voice over the line announced.
Sam looked up at Jack. "Yeah, I'll be in soon, thank-you," Sam said and then hung up.
"You have to go in?"
"Yes," Sam replied. "Can we finish this later?"
"Sure. I'll stay with the twins. Uh, if that's okay?"
"Yes, of course, that'd be great. They'll be thrilled. Can you let my dad know I'm on base?"
"Yeah, not a problem. Um, see you when you get home?"
Sam smiled. "See you then," she replied and then turned around to head for the door.
Jack stood at her doorway and watched her pull out. Such a huge part of him wanting to go in with her. He missed the action, adventure, adrenaline rush. He missed it all! He felt like he was just thrown back into the life he left behind, but instead of living it, he was a spectator. What he wouldn't give to be Colonel Jack O'Neill, commander of SG-1 again, with Sam and his kids to come home to every night.
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