Supporting Rumors - Part 13
Sam hummed as she left the bathroom. She'd slept, showered and felt so much better now, ready and able to face another day. She padded around their house, her touch lingering on her husband's things as she sipped at the freshly brewed coffee she carried.
The sun was shining through the large windows that Jack had insisted were the best thing about the place. She knew he missed his home in Colorado. Although it wasn't far from the base, it had been on the outskirts and gave him the best of both worlds.
They'd managed to spend a little time at the cabin, but the real world had too large a claim on their lives at the moment.
Sam's face clouded as a thought of children flashed through her mind. Children - it looked now as though they wouldn't be able to have … perhaps if she gave up her career, in a year or two?
Sam gave herself a determined shake and she rinsed the mug in the sink, wiping it carefully before placing it away.
The door bell's chime broke into her thoughts and she hurried to answer it, expecting George Hammond to be on her doorstep …
Close … but not the General. The fresh faced Lieutenant was in uniform though and he saluted her smartly.
"Colonel Carter."
Sam let him enter and he removed his hat, making an apology for disturbing her at home, before he handed her the envelope he was carrying.
Sam ignored his presence as she tore open the sealed orders.
"Damn!" she spat out as she read.
"Ma'am?"
"It's okay Lieutenant. Dismissed. Thank you."
Sam shut the door behind him and leant against the wood, the paper drifting to the floor as it escaped her trembling fingers.
She knew it was a possibility, but she had hoped it wouldn't be necessary. The order's had come from Landry himself – recalled to active duty at the SGC – straight away.
xoxoxoxoxoxo
Sam hurriedly completed her dressing and grabbed her jacket along with her purse and keys. It was the worse possible timing for this to happen and she had to get through to Jack before she left.
xoxoxoxoxoxo
Sam felt her heart pounding as she entered her husband's room. It was ridiculous to feel so nervous, but God alone knew how long she would be gone. Hopefully it wouldn't be more than a few days, perhaps a quick mission? Ruefully she acknowledged that they weren't usually that lucky.
Sam's throat dried as she approached the sleeping figure. As she stood looking down at him, undecided whether to wake him or not, his eyes opened and he gave her a sleepy smile before the vestiges of sleep left him and his face carefully returned to a neutral expression.
"What?" he asked, clearly a little nonplused by her continued silence.
Sam cleared her throat, still not taking a seat, though she stilled the urge to pace.
"I've been recalled to the SGC." She said it quickly and quietly. She didn't know what to expect next, though his calm acceptance grated on her nerves.
"When do you leave?"
It hurt, terribly. His dark eyes waited, cool and calm.
"Uh, today …"
"You'd better get your gear packed then. Do you want me to order a car for you for the airfield?"
She couldn't believe he was being so cold with her. It was less than she expected from any officer and certainly less than a team mate and coming from her husband, it was …
Sam took an involuntary step back from the bed. She'd seen him in action … watched him take necessary steps, cold and calculatingly, to protect his team, the Earth … but here and now he was her husband and suddenly it seemed as though she didn't know him at all.
"I … it may only be a few days …" she stammered.
The dark eyes flickered to hers, before scanning around the room.
"Or not."
Sam looked up, pleading silently for someone, anyone to help her. Deep breath, count … it was then she saw it.
She couldn't help it – she exploded "You bastard! You engineered these orders didn't you?" She pointed to the sign above his bed – the symbol indicating nil by mouth …
Jack wouldn't look her in the eyes.
Sam lost the power of speech for a moment. He'd not only seemingly booked himself for the operation, but he'd manipulated her recall to the SGC.
"Tell me I'm wrong?" she pleaded, stepping nearer to the bed, trying to snatch up one of his hands.
He wrenched it away from her grip.
"It's better like this. You've got your orders."
"You selfish bastard. What next, huh? I get the news of your death when I'm on some god forsaken world? Did you arrange that too, get me off world for a few weeks?"
"I will not live like this."
The pain in Sam's heart was incredible as the realization dawned. "You don't even expect to have a chance do you? This is your way of opting out … your very own version of suicide!"
Jack's eyes met hers for a split second.
"Oh God, don't do this. As long as you're alive Jack, there's hope. We can be together …" The tears began to fall copiously down her face and she scrubbed at them furiously.
"It would never work. I'd end up in a wheelchair wishing I was dead and you'd end up hating me and wishing me dead. Better go now, Carter. You've got your orders."
Sam scrabbled in her pockets, searching for tissue, anything to wipe her face as she gazed at the man on the bed. She had never truly known him … the calm and cold emanating from him froze the blood in her veins.
Her fingers closed over the forgotten package in her pocket. She drew it out, gripping it tightly, fighting to still the violent trembles that were beginning to grow.
"I could go AWOL."
"And I can have you arrested in a matter of minutes, Carter. The end result is the same. Your play."
"You bastard. How could you?" She sobbed openly now. "How could you claim to love me and do this? What if it were me here? Would you run out on me when I needed you? Would you run away from our marriage?"
Getting no response from him, she flung the package at him and with a heart wrenching sob, turned around and fumbled at the door to open it. She stood for a moment, leaning her head against its edge, the tears streaming unchecked down her face. "It's not over, Jack, no matter what you say, it's not over!"
xoxoxoxoxoxo
TBC
