Jack's POV
Jack and Liam watched grinning while Sam attempted to wake Shaz up, "Mmm...Go away!" Shaz growled at Sam for the third time that morning.
"I come bearing food, oh mighty sleeper!" Sam giggled, unable to keep serious
"Food? Nut, go away, unless your Sam, naked and dripping with cream" Shaz muttered. Next thing he knew he was being flung, from his comfortable sleeping spot, to the lifeboat near the end of the craft; narrowly missing the crates in front of it, "Argh, what was that for?" Shaz yelled sitting up
"Everything alright back here sir?" the pilot poked his head out from the cockpit
"Everything is AOK Lieutenant, just a misunderstanding of what Carter's body should look like" Jack laughed
"Ok sir, we will be landing in about 2 hours so pack your stuff and get ready for the landing, please sir. By the way Colonel, good job" with that, the head disappeared behind the curtain again to resume flying.
"Hey, is no body listening to me? What the hell just happened?" Shaz yelled again getting up from the lifeboat
"It seems the Colonel here, doesn't like being describe as 'naked and dripping with cream'!" Liam laughed
"I didn't even say that!" Shaz grumbled
"I may be pretty, but I'm not a dumb blonde, nor will I become 'dripping with cream' for any male" Sam snapped sitting down to begin packing up.
"Look, before this is blown way out of proportions, however enjoyable it was watching Carter beat your ass, I need to finish explaining the family to Carter" Jack became mediator
"Oh I'm so glad you found it funny!" Shaz sulked
"Well it was pretty funny Shaz, for a girl she throws better than Jack here" Liam patted Jack on the back
"Thanks Liam" Sam smiled, "Ok sir you were up to your Grandma"
"Before he continues, is there anyway I can convince you two to call each other by your first names? Carter and sir is pretty disturbing, since it sounds like Dad" Liam asked
"Sure, if Carter is OK with it then, I'm fine with it" Jack agreed
"Uh sir, that would mean its Sam, not Carter?" Sam giggled
"Stop giggling you called me sir!" Jack defended
"You sound like Shaz over there" Sam laughed, "Now, about your Grandma?"
"Right, she's the better part of the family if you ask me, no offence Shaz" Jack began, "She's old enough to be extinct as the little ones often say if I recall correctly. She's stern but giving, if you lead her on a wild goose chase, she's sure to find the goose and get it to bite you! Or at least it will snap at your ankles."
"Jack's her favourite!" Liam jumped in, "Always has been, I'm fairly sure he always will be! He used to scare her to death when he would go on special ops missions, no calls, no letters, she would sit and fret until word came that he was alright! Iraq nearly killed her, when they declared him first MIA then KIA, she refused to come out of her room, let alone get dressed in black like our mother did. She refused point blank that her Jackles was dead"
"Jackles?" Sam laughed
"Never mind that, she's the most influential women in Ireland, i.e. why a phone call from these two idiots could pull me away from the announcement" Jack explained, "She's not as prominent as the Queen or the Prime Minister of course, but she's got her hands in everything that happens with the country" Jack beamed at the thought of his Grandma
"She sounds like a great old women" Sam smiled, watching the flash of emotions radiate off Jack
"She is, but our Grandfather is her downfall I think" Liam began, "He's always telling her to take it easy, he's strict and by the book, she's more carefree and curious; she likes to bend the rules according to her way of thinking!"
"Sounds like someone I know!" Sam looked at Jack
"Hey! I'm not that bad!" Jack exclaimed, "I do good for my country, both of them!"
"Never said you didn't, but you do bend a lot of the rules, even if they are there for a good reason" Sam pressed
"What, Jack play by the rules? He's never done a thing right in his life! He even screwed up with his own kid!" Shaz snapped
"Don't. You. Ever. Mention. Charlie. AGAIN!" Jack's low voice warned
"Damn it Shaz, can't you stop with Charlie, it was no one's fault, not even Sara's" Liam scolded Shaz
"I'm not 10 anymore Liam, you can't smack me and send me to my room anymore" Shaz niggled
Sam watched bolted to the spot, as she saw all the emotion she saw only moments before drain out of his face. Fury was building up inside her, and if the plane didn't land soon, someone, by the looks of things wasn't getting off in one piece.
"I'm being serious Shaz, shut it! I won't hold Jack back this time!" Liam warned
Shaz seemed to fold back into himself, as he quietly sank to the floor and began packing up the items that had be flung down there with him, when Sam threw him. It was silent, except for the dull noises coming from the plane, for the last hour of the journey. Jack seemed to cheer up a little the closer they got to Ireland.
Jack glanced up at Sam, she was quietly packing the last of the bags, obviously the events of the past two hours had shook her a lot; shown her parts of Jack he hadn't even known he could show. 'Damn it, why did he have to bring Shaz! At least Ty or Hogan wouldn't have brought up Charlie, I was hoping to talk to her about him a lot later than now, but I guess time isn't on my side' "Sam? Can we talk?" Jack asked softly
"Sure" Sam smiled weakly
"Liam can you help Shaz?" Liam nodded, knowing what Jack was going to discuss, "Sam, I'm really sorry about before, Liam and I were out of line" Jack began
"No, it's fine, I'm more worried about how you are after what he said" Sam sat down next to Jack, taking his hand in hers, "Charlie obviously meant a lot to you Jack, and nothing can change that. Nothing Shaz or anyone else says can change the fact that Charlie is dead, or that it wasn't your fault. Listen to someone who knows, my brother blamed my mother's death on my father for so long it tore our family apart. Sometimes it's the ones closest to us that can't see what's right" Sam smiled
A tear rolled down Jack's cheek, "Here I was going to tell you something, anything about me that would make you believe that I'm not the man Shaz is talking about anymore, I changed after Charlie" Jack spoke holding back the sob that was tearing to be free
"Nothing you can say, will change my mind about who you are. You're a tough, commanding officer, who takes no shit from anyone! Someone who hates scientists but got stuck with two of us, two who have become your best friend, your worst enemy and the people who save your sorry ass every second day" Sam looked at their hands as silence engulfed them, it wasn't until a few minutes later that Sam broke that silence, "The funniest thing about all of this, we don't have to pretend anymore, and yet we still are, why is that Jack?" Sam asked
Jack stayed quiet trying to figure out the answer, but before he could, the pilot stuck his head out again and informed them that they were about to land and to strap in, "It may get a bit bumpy sir" After that Shaz and Liam joined them, strapping into their seats, Shaz looked over at Sam and Jack.
"Something's going on between them isn't there?" he whispered to Liam
"More than I think even they know!" Liam smiled at the two, who were now double checking their belts
"Jack?" Shaz asked softly, Jack looked up at him, pain still evident in his eyes, "Look, I'm really sorry about my comments on Charlie, you're right, it's not my place and I wasn't there" Jack nodded before looking over Sam's belt, for the third time.
Silence took the place of absent chatter as the plane touched down in Ireland.
A/N: Sorry it's taken so long, I had some technical difficulties getting the chapter to my new beta...ScifiGirl! She's awesome people and we should all thank her for taking time to read this, she's very busy...I hope you enjoy it, to answer a question I remember, I remember all of Jack's family, becuase we haven't actually been told anything much about themm, so I created one...it was complex with ages and everything.
Muahsio,
fyre-anjel