The Life he Left Behind
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The next morning, Sam arrived at Jack's for breakfast. She was incredibly nervous and took longer than normal to get ready. "Mommy!" yelled the twins as soon as Sam walked into the house. They ran up and jumped on her as soon as she leaned down.
"Mommy, we missed you!" they both shouted in unison.
"Oh, I missed you, too!" Sam exclaimed, hugging her babies to her. "Did you help your dad make breakfast?" Sam asked, noticing the flour on their skin and clothes.
"Yup! I'm a gweat chef!" Jonathon informed her, exuberantly.
Jack watched as the kids embraced their mom with so much love. It was obvious that Sam was a great mom to these two. He couldn't imagine anyone better having his kids.
Jonathon let go of his mom and headed to the kitchen table. Chloe didn't budge, so Sam picked her up and carried her in.
"So, did they give you any problems, s-?" Sam asked, but cut herself off before saying sir.
"Nope, they were angels," Jack told her, smiling.
"Good," Sam replied, noticing the tension return in the air.
Jack noticed it, too, and tried to break it. "No Jacob?" he asked, trying to come up with anything to say.
"No, he went to the base to check in with the Tok'ra. They still get their panties in a bunch if he and Selmak don't check in every couple days."
"Ah," Jack responded, tension in the air still there.
"Breakfast looks nice," Sam announced, seeing the eggs and bacon frying on the stove.
"Yeah, I know how much you love your grease in the morning."
Sam laughed, lessening the tension in the air slightly.
"Mommy, can we stay here?" Jonathon asked after he was done eating his breakfast.
"Sweetie, you've been here all night. Don't you want to give your dad a break? He's not used to dealing with toddlers yet," Sam finished, smirking over at the retired colonel.
"Ha, ha, Carter! You better watch it, I may be forced to chase you around the house a few times to prove I'm not out of shape," Jack replied, waving his fork at her.
Sam grinned. "I wasn't implying that you were out of shape, sir."
"Ah, what did I tell you about sir?" he quipped back.
Sam just grinned again. The tension in the air was dropping at a significant rate.
"Mommy!" Jonathon interrupted the playful banter between his parents. "Can we stay?" he demanded.
"No, sweetie. You have to go home and have a bath, put on clean clothes and take a nap," Sam told her son.
"I don't wanna nap!" he protested.
"How about, you go home, get cleaned up, take a nap and then come back over for a picnic," Jack offered.
"Okay!" both toddlers shouted.
Sam looked over at Jack with an incredulous look. "A picnic?"
Jack smirked and stood up to take his empty plate to the sink. "Sure, why not? I'll throw myself a 'welcome back' party. Invite Cassie and the Doc, Daniel and Teal'c, Hammond and your dad…..hmmm, am I missing anyone?" Jack asked, scratching his chin, jokingly.
"Us, us!" the twins yelled.
"Oh yeah! How could I forget the rug rats, and, of course, their beautiful mother," Jack finished, lifting Chloe up and into his arms.
Chloe giggled and rubbed her nose against her dad's.
Sam blushed at Jack calling her beautiful.
"So, what do you say, Sam? Up for a party?" Jack asked, looking at the flushed-face of Carter.
"Sure, sounds good," Sam relented, letting a small smile grace her face.
"Yay!" the twins yelled.
"Why don't you two go clean up your mess and get ready to head home and I'll help daddy with the kitchen," Sam told her children.
The twins nodded their heads and ran off to the living room.
"You don't have to help clean up, I can get it, Carter," Jack told her after the kids were out of the room.
"No, that's okay, I don't mind," she told him, stacking up the plates on the table and carrying them to the kitchen.
Jack piled the rest of the dishes in his arms and followed Sam into the kitchen. She was already at the sink, rinsing the dishes and loading them into his dishwasher. His hands were full so he came up behind her and nudged her with his hip to get her to help unload him.
The feel of Jack's hip bumping into Sam's behind excited her more than she thought imaginable. Turning around, Sam's face was red with desire. "Yes, Jack?" she asked.
"Little help," he replied, nodding at the load in his arms.
"Oh," Sam said, a little flustered and started removing the dishes off Jack. Once the dishes were all removed, Jack failed to move out of Sam's personal space. The feel of Jack's body heat was slowly driving Sam insane as she continued to rinse the dishes and put them in the dishwasher.
Sam had taken care of all the dishes and was rinsing out the rag to wipe down the counter when Jack leaned into her and whispered in her ear. "Sam, I'm so happy to be home."
Sam gulped and without her body getting permission from her head, leaned into his touch. "Me, too," she whispered back.
Jack's hands had somehow come to rest on Sam's hips and her back was pressed up against him. He was leaning down, inhaling the smell of her hair when the sound of small feet came barreling into the kitchen.
"Mommy, mommy, we all weady!" Jonathon shouted, separating his parents by latching on to his mother's leg.
Sam cleared her throat. "Okay, sweetie, um, go get your jackets, I'll be right there," Sam stuttered out, still reeling over the moment with Jack.
"Okay," Jonathon agreed and headed back out of the room, yelling for Chloe to get her jacket.
Sam, having no idea what to say, just stood there. When it was obvious Jack wasn't going to speak, she finally broke the silence. "Uh, so, I should probably get them home. What time did you want us to come back over?"
Jack looked up, "Oh, about 1500, sound good?"
Sam smiled, shyly. "Yeah, sounds good."
Jack followed Sam to the door and the awaiting twins. Sam helped Chloe with her jacket and then lifted her up in her arms.
Jack leaned in and kissed Chloe on the cheek and then ruffled Jonathon's hair. Leaning slightly, Jack grabbed Jonathon and picked him up, intent on helping Sam get the two in her car.
Jack and Sam walked out the door and down the driveway to her car. The toddlers climbed in their seats and Jack kissed and tickled them both one more time before buckling them up. Sam strapped Chloe in, shut the door and then walked around to the driver's side where Jack was still buckling in Jonathon. Sam grinned as Jack mumbled, theatrically, over the seatbelt 'contraption', pretending to have a hard time getting it to lock, to the amusement of Jonathon.
When he finally buckled him in, he blew him one last raspberry on his cheek and closed the door. Sam laughed out loud at Jack's hair all over the place and his red face from being bent over for so long.
"What?" Jack asked, smoothing his hair down with his hands.
"Nothing," Sam said with amusement. She walked around Jack and opened up her car door. She turned halfway around to tell him good-bye when she felt her space being invaded again.
Jack leaned in, touching her arm with his hand and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
Sam, not expecting the kiss, was stunned. Her body stiffened, and she looked up into Jack's eyes. "Uh, um, well, I guess we'll see you later," she stuttered out.
Jack grinned the sexiest grin Sam could ever remember seeing on him. Licking his lips, Jack said, "yeah, see ya," then backed up so Sam could climb in her seat.
Sam drove down the road, mentally cursing herself. 'Shit, shit, shit! What am I thinking? I have got to stop reacting to him this way!' she scolded herself.
Once back at home, the twins eagerly took their bath, enjoying the bubbles and bath toys. After chasing Jonathon around the house a few times, she was finally able to get them in bed for their nap.
While the twins napped, Sam hopped in the shower and got herself ready for her next encounter with Jack O'Neill.
Sam pulled up in Jack's driveway a little after 1500, noticing several cars already there. Once the twins were out of the car, Jack appeared at the door. As soon as they saw him, Jonathon and Chloe ran into his arms. Jack picked them both up and spun them around making them squeal in delight.
Sam grinned at the three of them and walked in the house. "Hey, Sam, where are the munchkins?" Cassie asked.
"Getting attention from their dad," Sam replied, smiling big.
Cassie smiled back. "This is kind of hard to believe, isn't it?" she asked, walking to Sam to see Jack and the kids behind her.
A brief look of grief flashed across Sam's face before she smiled again. "Yeah, it is," Sam replied, somewhat sadly.
Cassie patted her on the back and then walked to the twins. "Hey, where are my two favorite munchkins?"
"Cassie!" they both yelled and lunged at the teenager.
Jack stood up and walked over to Sam. "So, beer, iced tea or a diet soda?" he asked her.
"Uh, an iced tea sounds good…..Jack."
Jack smiled at the sound of his name coming out of her mouth. He walked to the kitchen and poured Sam's drink, grabbing two drink boxes for the twins on his way out. The day had warmed significantly since that morning, and everyone was out back enjoying the warm afternoon.
Sam helped free Cassie from the twins and the group headed out back.
General Hammond arrived a few minutes later with his daughter and granddaughters. Jacob, Daniel and Teal'c were already out back with Janet. "Ah," Jack said, after handing Hammond a beer and offering the girls a drink out of the cooler on the porch. "Almost everyone is here!"
Sam shot Jack a confused look. "Who else did you invite?"
Jack smiled his mischievous smile at her. "You'll see," he told her, taking a long drink from his bottle.
Sam shook her head as a small smile appeared on her face. Walking over to her dad, she joined in the conversation with he and Janet. A few minutes later, Sam looked up to see Siler, Walter, Feretti and SG-2 along with several other units walk in to Jack's back yard. She looked up at Jack. "Oh good!" he exclaimed. "Everyone's here."
Sam laughed and after excusing herself, glanced over at the twins to make sure they were okay, and then headed up on the deck to see if Jack needed any help.
The afternoon progressed merrily, everyone having a great time reminiscing on days gone by with Jack. Feretti felt the need to remind everyone of Jack and Sam's first meeting before the second mission to Abydos to retrieve Daniel. Jack and Sam both visibly blushed at the memory of their first encounter and Sam's proposition of arm wrestling.
As the hours passed, someone had put more food on the grill and everyone enjoyed a second meal at Jack's. No one ready to leave yet. The kids were playing tag in the yard and the grown ups were sitting in Jack's lounge chairs and deck furniture talking amongst themselves. "So, Jack," Daniel asked, after laughter had died down from the prior discussion of Siler's list of recent injuries. "Does this welcome home party mean your planning on moving back to the Springs permanently?"
Jack set his empty beer bottle on the ground and sat back up in his chair. "Yup!" he replied in a happy voice.
Sam looked at him surprised. "What about Sara?" she asked.
Jack looked at her. "What about her?" he asked, being thick-headed.
"Have you talked to her about this? Is she just going to pack up and move back here with you?"
"Uh, no," Jack replied. "Why would she move back here? She has a great job in Chicago, nice house, a life. She has no reason to move back to the Springs."
Sam and everyone else looked at Jack like he was insane. "Sir," Sam started, reverting back to military protocal. "You're going to move back here without Sara? I just, well, I know some people can do long-distance relationships, but…."
"Carter," Jack barked, cutting her off. "As much as Sara loves the Springs, I don't think she's willing to give up her job, not to mention her fiancé, just to move back here to be closer to her ex-husband."
Sam was speechless, she just sat there, gawping at the father of her children. In fact, everyone was gawping at him.
"Jack," Daniel finally started. "We all thought you were back together with Sara."
"Why would you think that?" Jack asked, feigning innocence.
"Oh, I don't know," Daniel replied, annoyed. "Maybe because that's what you told me when I was calling you and telling you to come back to the SGC."
Jack looked around at everyone, sensing they were all at varying degrees of being upset with him. "Yeah, Danny-boy, about that……Well, you see, it was the only thing I could think of to get you to stop calling me." Jack finished and looked over at Sam, not missing the totally pissed-off look on her face.
"Carter?" Jack asked, prompting her to let it out.
Sam bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes, trying to release some of her anger. All of the adults were silently observing the scene before them, curious to see what would happen between the two.
"Carter?" Jack prompted again, this time a little more smugly.
The smugness was enough to launch Sam off. "With all due respect, sir, where the hell do you get off lying to all of us?" she demanded, her voice calm but her face pissed.
"Excuse me, ma'am," Jack replied, trying to sound just as disrespectful with the word as she was with sir. "But, I'm a grown man and have the right to lie to whomever I choose, without needing permission from you or anyone else."
"DAMN IT, JACK!" Sam roared, standing up out of her chair. "If I would have known you weren't with Sara…."
"What, Sam? What would you have done? Told me about my kids? Let the boys fly out and get me?" Jack was standing up, squared off against Sam. "Like hell you would, Sam! You had no intention of telling me, Sara or not! Daniel already told me about Kinsey and Simmons! Damn it, Sam, you had no right to try and protect me! NO RIGHT! If I had known I would have been here in a heartbeat! I would have taken on Kinsey and Simmons and all the rest of the idiots in the air force and kept you as far away from them as possible!"
"I did what I had to do, Jack!" Sam screamed, walking away before the twins heard their parents arguing and got upset. Cassie sensed Sam's fears and ran off to occupy the kids.
Jack, angrier than he could ever remember being in a long time, charged after Sam. Reaching her, he grabbed her shoulders and yanked her around to face him. "Don't leave it like this, Sam! Get it all out, we have to resolve this!" he ordered.
Sam glared at her former commanding officer, feeling a little liberated that she actually could glare at him without being reprimanded. "I have nothing to say!" she spat out.
"Like hell you don't, Carter!" Jack barked back. "Don't bury it all away! Don't!"
Sam noticed the small crack in Jack's voice and briefly wondered if it was a choked sob. "This isn't the place," she replied, her anger leveling off and her voice softening.
Jack stepped back and eyed Sam, fully aware she was just trying to get out of the confrontation. "Do you have any idea how much it tears me up to know that you fought my battle for me?" he said, barely above a whisper.
"Is that your male ego resurfacing?" Sam asked, indignantly. The thought of Jack thinking her nothing but a woman needing protected, pissing her off again.
"NO!" Jack yelled, his hands coming up and running through his hair in a weak attempt to calm himself down. "Damn it, Sam, I should have been here!"
"But, you weren't, were you? You wouldn't come back, remember that Jack? You refused. You LIED to us saying you were back with Sara, reclaiming your happiness from before. What was I supposed to do, Jack? Beg you to come back and keep the big-bad Senator away from me? I'm more than capable of taking care of myself! And, I did, along with Jonathon and Chloe, for two years, Jack! I didn't need you then and I sure the hell don't need you now!"
Jack stared at her. Hurt, angry, and possibly a little impressed by her comment. "That's too bad, Carter 'cuz you can't get rid of me, now. There is no way I'm ever leaving my children," he replied, his eyes flashing with anger.
Sam licked her incredibly dry lips. "I never expected you to!" she yelled back.
Jack stared at her, no control over his emotions in anyway. "I thought you weren't pissed that I left, Carter? That's what everyone keeps telling me. You were the only one who didn't blame me for leaving. You were the only one who came up with excuses, went off on anyone talking bad about me. That was just a front, wasn't it, Colonel? You were just as pissed as everyone else. You just stuck on your 'Soldier Sam' face and pretended you couldn't care less!"
Sam glared at Jack, trying so hard not to cry. "How do you think I felt, you son of a bitch? You left me! As far as I knew, you left me for your ex-wife. Do you really think that wouldn't kill me inside? Damn it, Jack, I was in love with you and you left me when I needed you the most! Do you really think that didn't affect me? After everything we went through on that god-forsaken planet as Jonah and Thera! You told me you loved me! You said no matter who we really were, you knew you loved me! What the hell happened, Jack? As soon as we were back, you treated me like shit and then you left. I guess Jonah was a liar after all, or is that Jack?"
Jack took two steps to Sam and grabbing her face with both his hands, captured her lips in a passionate kiss. Sam, her emotions all over the place, responded with just as much passion. Letting go of her face, Jack wrapped his arms around her waist and releasing her lips from his kiss, pulled her to him in a hug. "I do love you, Sam. I always have and I always will," he told her, holding her as tight as he could.
Sam responded by burying her face in his neck and tightening her grip on him as well, tears flooding her face and soaking Jack's shirt.
Everyone watched the entire scene in absolute silence. When they saw Jack and Sam holding each other, they quietly rounded up the kids and made their way into Jack's house to allow the couple their privacy.
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a/n: I thought it was time for a blow-out between Jack and Sam. They both feel incredibly guilty for their part in the current circumstances and they needed to get that off their chests. And, what better way to end a heated argument than with a kiss?