The Life he Left Behind
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Once Sam's car was out of sight, Jack headed back in and started cleaning up the kitchen from breakfast. Just as he had finished sweeping the floor, he heard the door open and the sounds of two excited two-year olds running in.
"Daddy!" the toddlers screeched when they saw him in the kitchen. They both ran over and jumped on him as soon as he bent down. "We missed you!"
Jack hugged his babies. "I missed you, too," he told them, swinging them around.
"Where's Sam?" Jacob asked.
"She was called to the base. She said she'd be gone a few hours. I told her I'd stay with the kids. I figured we could see what she's got around here for dinner."
"Oh, well that's too bad. I already made plans with an old buddy of mine. I wanted you and Sam to be alone to talk," Jacob told him.
"Oh! Well, don't break your plans because of me. I can stay with the twins. I'm sure they won't cause too much damage in the little bit of time Carter's going to be at the base."
Jacob laughed. "You'd be surprise, Jack. They are two little Jack-juniors, you know."
Jack smiled. "Exactly! I know what they're thinking and can plan ahead," Jack reasoned.
Jacob laughed again. "Okay, Jack, I'll leave you with them. But, I'll take a cell with me, just in case."
"Yeah, alright," Jack agreed.
Jacob helped Jack make the twins lunch and then headed off to meet his friend.
After cleaning up the small mess from lunch, Jack played with the twins. They wrestled, chased each other around the house and had a tickle war before the shrill sound of the phone interrupted their play.
"Carter residence," Jack said, when he picked up the phone.
"Hi, sir, it's me," Sam's voice came over the line.
"Carter, how many times do I have to tell you to drop the sir?"
"Sorry. Um, the DHD where SG-9 gated to is malfunctioning. I'm going to have to go there to fix it. It looks like I'm going to be gone longer than I thought."
"Oh, okay," Jack said.
"Uh, if you want to leave, my dad can take care of the kids…."
"Actually, your dad went out for the night. He said he made plans with an old buddy," Jack said, interrupting her.
"Oh! Well, I can call Janet…."
"No, that's okay, Carter. I want to stay with them."
Sam was silent on her end of the line for a few seconds. "Are you sure?" she questioned, seconds later.
"Positive."
"Okay, well if you need anything, call the base. Janet should be able to help you or Gen….."
"Sam!" Jack practically yelled into the receiver, cutting her off again. "We'll be fine. I've done this before, you know."
"I know, I'm sorry. Uh, then, I guess I'll see you when I get home."
"Okay. Be careful, Sam."
"I will. Good bye."
"Bye." Jack hung up the phone and turned around to face the two little munchkins who were waiting patiently for him to get off the phone. "It's just the three of us! Mwa ha ha ha!" he said, walking towards them like a zombie. "I'm going to get you!"
The twins screamed and laughed at the same time and ran from their dad, glad he was ready to play again.
A little while later, Jack was pooped. Collapsing in the living room, he looked through the DVD collection to see if he could find something for the three of them to watch. "What do you two normally watch?" he asked.
"Beauty and the Beast!" Chloe exclaimed.
"No, no, Toy Stowy!" Jonathon yelled while bouncing on the couch.
"Uh, anything else?" Jack asked, really not in the mood for either movie. "Do you have any non-Disney movies?"
Chloe looked up as if she was thinking. "We have Baby Einstein on DVD."
"Baby Einstein? I've never even heard of it. What about the Simpson's?"
"What's the Simpsons?" Jonathon asked.
Jack stared incredulously at his children. "No, no, no. Don't tell me your mom has never let you watch the Simpson's?"
"Nope."
"Never." Came the responses.
"Oh, well this is no good. No good at all." Jack looked around. "Well, we could go to my house. I have a ton of Simpson DVD's….."
"Okay!"
"Let's go!" Came two eager voices.
Jack smiled as he looked at the two excited kids. "You two want to go to my house?"
"Yup!" they both replied.
"Okay. Let me call and see if we can get the power turned back on."
Jack picked the phone up and dialed the power company. He was relieved when the dispatcher told him there was a service truck in his area and could have the power back on in the hour. Dressing the twins, he called Hammond and told him to send Sam to his house when she got back, and soon headed out the door, grabbing the car seats out of the hall closet on the way.
Remembering that he hadn't been at his house in two years, Jack drove to the grocery store first. With Chloe in the front of the cart and Jonathon sitting in the back, Jack pushed them around the store, looking for food to fill his cupboards.
"Okay, my grill should still have gas, we can make hot dogs for dinner."
"Yuck."
"We don't eat hot dogs," Chloe told him.
"What? All kids eat hot dogs. Why don't you two?"
"Cuz, they're processed meat," Chloe told him, most matter-of-factly.
Jack scrutinized his little girl. "Do you even know what processed means?"
Chloe nodded her head. "They take all the left-over parts…"
"Okay, you can stop right there," Jack said, cutting her off. "Are you sure you're only two?" he asked, looking at her in awe.
"Uh huh. I got Beauty and the Beast for my birthday."
"Ah," Jack replied. "So, what do you two want for dinner?"
"Chicken," Chloe said.
"Steak," Jonathon chimed in from his spot in the cart, underneath some of the groceries.
"Chicken and steak," Jack repeated. "I think I can handle that," he said, pushing the cart to the meat section. A few more aisles and Jack decided he'd better head to the check-out before Jonathon was completely buried beneath the groceries.
Jack unloaded the groceries at his house and sent the toddlers into the back yard with the giant ball he had bought them at the store. The power company had already restored power, so while the kids played out back, Jack dusted and vacuumed to remove the two years worth of dust in his house.
Once the house was back to living conditions and the beds were stripped with the linens in the wash, Jack headed out back and fired up his grill. He played with the kids in between checking on the meat, and before long, the three were enjoying a delicious meal.
After dinner, Jack sat the twins down and put in a Simpson's DVD. Sitting on his couch, a kid on each side, Jack couldn't help but feel like his life finally had purpose again. The twins laughed hysterically at Bart's antics and the blunderings of Homer. They spent the whole evening watching DVD after DVD of the Simpson's.
With each child curled up into his side, Jack felt bad when he heard a knock on his door and had to get up to answer it. Standing up off the couch, Jack told them to stay there and headed to the door.
"Carter," he said in greeting, once he opened the door.
"Hi," she said, shyly, walking in. "Were they good?"
"Very," he answered.
Sam walked into the living room, Jack right behind her. "Hey, babies, you two ready to go home?"
"Cool your jets, mom!" Jonathon exclaimed.
Jack tried really hard to keep a straight face as Sam looked at him, he really did.
"What are you teaching them, Jack!" she asked.
"Oh, sure, you have no problem calling me Jack when you're yelling at me," Jack shrieked.
"I'm not yelling, but the Simpson's? Don't you think they're a little young for that, yet?"
"No! The Simpson's are great. Are you kidding? And, besides, what's with the whole hot dog thing?"
"Oh no, Jack! You can't blame me for that. That was all Cassie. She read some book about slaughterhouses and she hasn't eaten red-meat since. She told the kids how they make hot dogs, and now they won't touch them."
Jack smirked and crossed his arms across his chest. "That's funny," he laughed.
Sam looked at him and then started laughing herself.
"Mommy, can we stay here tonight?" Chloe asked from her spot on the couch.
"Oh, sweetie, don't you want to sleep in your own bed?" Sam asked, trying to coax her into coming home.
"No. I wanna sleep here," she replied.
"Me too!" Jonathon announced, standing up on the couch and jumping in excitement.
Jack walked over and swept the boy off the couch. "They can stay if you're okay with it," he said, looking back at Sam.
"Um, okay then. If you're sure…" Sam said, trailing off.
"I'm sure," Jack told her, noticing the sad look on her face. "You can stay, too. If you want."
Jack thought he saw hope replaced by sadness cross Sam's face before she responded. "No, that's okay, sir, you need to spend time alone together."
"Back to the sir?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "Carter, we've been together all day, I'm sure you won't interfere with our play time too much," Jack added.
Sam smiled slightly. "Thank you, but that's okay. I think I'll head home and enjoy a nice, long quiet bath."
"Sure?" Jack asked.
Sam smiled again, this time a little bigger. "Yeah, I'm sure. Maybe we can all have breakfast together?"
"Okay, why don't you come over here in the morning? I'll cook for you."
"Okay," Sam said, then hugged and kissed the twins good-night before heading to the door.
"Hey," Jack said in a low voice, grabbing Sam's hand as she reached for the door handle.
Sam turned around to see Jack's dark eyes blazing into her. "Y-yes."
She saw his eyes darken right in front of her.
"Stay," he said in barely above a whisper, his hand coming up to caress her cheek.
Sam's heart started beating incredibly fast and she could feel her cheeks burning. She wanted to tell him something, anything, but instead, she just kept staring at him, unable to break eye contact, her cheek, unconsciously, leaning into his hand.
He continued to look at her, his body warming up significantly as he patiently waited for her to accept or turn him down.
"Daddy! My dwinks all gone and I'm firsty," Jonathon's voice called, seconds before his little body came into view.
Sam immediately backed away from Jack's touch.
"Okay, buddy, just give me a minute to try and talk your mom into staying," Jack softly told his son.
"She don't have to stay. We be okay without her," Jonathon said, not realizing he was hurting his mom's feelings with his words.
Jack saw the dejected look cross Sam's face. He stepped a little closer to her. "Stay," he repeated.
This time Sam shook her head, no. "No, they want to be alone with you right now. I-I can come back in the morning," Sam said, her eyes filling with tears that she seemed to have no control over.
"Daddy! I'm firsty!" Jonathon repeated loudly, pulling on his dad's arm.
"Jonathon Charles, you be patient," Sam scolded.
Jonathon let go of his dad's arm. "Okay, mommy."
"He won't stop until you get him a drink. I'd better go," Sam told him, turning to leave.
"Okay," Jack replied, giving up on trying to get her to stay. "Good night, Sam."
"Good night, Jack," Sam replied and smiled lightly before turning and heading to her car.
Once in the sanctuary of her car, and far enough down the street, Sam let the tears roll freely down her face. She couldn't believe how Jack's simple touch affected her so much. She loved him, she never stopped, no matter how much she tried. Now, with him back, her heart was going crazy. She wanted him, in every way possible, but she knew she'd never have him. His heart belonged to Sara. No matter how much he loved her, she could never replace Sara. Sam was heartbroken.
She went home, soaked in her tub, and then collapsed in her bed, letting all her pent-up emotions out into her pillow.
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