heres the next installment of the story... sry for the wait but all of a sudden i had a brilliant idea... or two and i wrote them down yesterday (lol, these chapters...)

enjoy!

"Carter…" he sobbed softly. Sam sat next to him, watching his needs and mood with a hawk's eye.

"Yes sir?"

"Do you… do you think that I could get that other… kid back and have him stay here?" he tried. Sam looked at him with concern and pain in her eyes. She realized he was going through the stages of grief. She took a deep breath.

"No sir, he, it can't live here without others of its kind." She spoke softly to him. He looked at her; the tears on his face were dried up. Sam remembered going through something like this when Mark went away and when her mother died.

"Why not?"

Sam shuddered, it was one of those questions like "Why me?" It was impossible to answer. "Sir, not enough energy."

"Can't we give him enough to survive?"

"No, the supply would be enormous."

"So is the gate," he sulked. "Why not?" He stood up and walked to a shelf and placed his hand on it. Sam didn't move, but gave him his space.

"Sir… I, I know what you're going through," Sam told him quietly, not knowing what his reaction would be. He whipped around as if to scream at her, but his gaze changed and he seemed to calm before speaking.

"How could you? It was my son with my own gun."

"My mom sir," she answered. It kind of compared, but not exactly. In Jack's mind it might be harder to lose a parent at a young age, but it was equally hard to bury your own son. No parent should have to do that.

"It's not exactly the same, I know, but it's close. Can you imagine losing your mother at such a young age? A tiny child with no other bearing in the world except your parents." Carter tried to make him see the connection, in a way, it made her feel better.

"Sam, I can hear the voices in my head." At that, Sam stiffened. He wasn't going crazy, was he? He smiled a sad smile. "Not like that Carter, I mean it's a repeat of what happened. Over and over and over again. Like a skipping CD."

Sam stood silently, but listened to the sad man in front of her. Gods, was he hurting. She walked to him now and rubbed his back rhythmically. Carter looked down at his hands and noticed that under it was a report card. Charlie's report card. She stared at it and started to tear up.

"It was his last one; it went home the day he… went away."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They sat together for an hour on the couch. Sam had fallen asleep, temporarily, on Jack's shoulder. If it was any other time, he might have noticed, but he didn't. She woke a few minutes later and was startled by the position and immediately sat up. Jack grinned slightly, but it disappeared as fast as it had shown.

"You know, you guys are great friends," he mentioned out of the blue. Sam was taken aback. It was something so open and almost random. So she just nodded slowly.

"How are you feeling sir?" He shrugged.

"Miserable."

"Is it easier during the day?" she asked quietly. He knew what she meant, the memories. He nodded ever so slightly.

"I'm busy during the day Carter. I'm not able to stop and think." He swallowed carefully. "But in the night… I… I…" He choked up. Sam nodded again. "Carter, I need breakfast." He eased out of her grasp and stumbled into the kitchen, wayward and weary from last night. Sam followed like a lost puppy not knowing what she could do to ease his pain.