A/N So if you remember in the last chapter, Sam and Mark went inside, now we get to hear what they talked about. And, Onica's encounter with Jack, from his point of view...plus the big reveal. I really hope no one is disappointed. Thank you again for all the follows and please, keep the reviews coming!
Chapter 6: The past comes crashing back
As they make their way inside the house, Mark looks around. He was surprised by the outside of the house, he hadn't expected it to be so well kept. Jack was a bachelor, a man living alone, there should be some kind of mess. The lawn was mowed, recently too, large attractive shrubs that lined the property, trees planted around the yard, there's even a nice flower garden lining the house. Mark can't imagine that Jack has time to keep all of this up himself, he figures Jack must pay someone to do it for him. Then a thought crosses his mind….what if this is all for show? Maybe Jack is just trying to impress him. No, Mark thinks to himself feeling stupid, it looks as though some of those plants had been there a while.
The inside is just as impressive as the outside, Mark notes. The floors and counters are clean, the place looks dusted. Mark figures Jack has someone come in and clean the place, just like he probably has someone keep up the outside. He peeks in the kitchen briefly and nods his approval at the simple white table cloth. It's not fancy, but it looks nice with the other decorations.
Mark walks into the living room as Sam is saying something, honestly he wasn't really listening to her. He hasn't even met this Jack character yet, but he's already not what Mark expected. He's got a nice truck, a truck Mark would love to have if he were being honest with himself, and a neat, clean, well kept home. There's pictures of him and Sam, and he assumes the rest of their team all over the fireplace mantel. There's tons of medals displayed there as well, this guy is a seriously well decorated officer.
Mark walks to the door that leads to the back deck and sees simple outdoor furniture, a small grill, and a nice sized backyard. Maybe he was too quick to judge, maybe this Jack fella isn't so bad after all. This place is much better than the dumps his sister's past boyfriends lived in. He's just coming around to these new thoughts when he turns back around and sees a picture on the wall, separate from all the others. Mark walks closer to inspect it, not taking his eyes off of it.
As he gets closer, he sees that it's a picture of 3 people standing in the driveway of a house. In the picture, the man has his arm around a woman and a small child, a boy. The man is undoubtedly Jack, a few years younger perhaps, but definitely Jack, the woman is most certainly NOT Sam, and the boy, he doesn't know, the house too, was not this house. Then it dawns on him, Jack has a family. An ex girlfriend, or wife maybe, and a son. Well this changes everything, all those thoughts he was having about reconsidering his position regarding Jack are gone. Any man who abandons his family is a stone cold jerk. Mark can't believe that Sam would tolerate such a thing!
Speaking of Sam, Mark looks around but doesn't see her, so he hollers, "Sam?"
Emerging from the hallway, Sam asks, "Yes?"
Pointing at the picture with his thumb, Mark demands, "What is this?"
Looking at where her brother is pointing, Sam simply says, "It's a picture."
Getting annoyed, Mark replies back, "I can see that. I meant who is that woman and child? Does Jack have a family?"
"Mark," Sam starts, only to be cut off by her brother.
"He has a family. Oh my goodness, did you break them up?" Mark asks, feeling more and more heated.
Taken aback by his question, Sam holds up her hands and says, "How could you ask that? Do you really think I would get in the way of a family?"
"I honestly don't know Sam. You never mentioned before that Jack has a family!" Mark shouts. "And how are you okay with him displaying a picture, of the three of them all happy, right here in the living room for all to see?" He adds before she can say anything.
Sam glances out the window briefly and upon seeing nothing, she replies, "That's his ex wife and son, and yes, I'm okay with it being there." Glancing out the window again, Sam says, "Now drop it, Jack will be home any minute now."
"So what?" Mark says, then adds, "Who cares? I have a few questions for him I'd like answered."
"Mark, stop." Sam says in a very serious tone.
"I take it the kid lives with his mother?" Mark asks but says it more as a statement, then adds, "Does he expect you to be a second mom to his kid?"
"No, of course not." Sam starts, but is yet again cut off by her brother.
"Have you ever even met the boy?" Mark asks, then says sarcastically before Sam can respond, "And here I was starting to change my mind about him. Nice truck, nice house, responsible job, and a deadbeat dad." Mark says waving his hands in the air.
"Shut up!" Sam yells, then she walks over and comes within inches of Mark's face and says in the most threatening voice he's ever heard come from her, "You have no idea what you're talking about so just stop."
Now Mark puts his hands up in defense and backs away a few steps and says, "Sorry, didn't mean to strike a nerve, you said you were okay with this." He says, indicating the picture with his finger.
Gaining some control back Sam says, "I am okay with this, and Jack was definitely NOT a deadbeat dad."
Trying to sound reasonable, Mark says "Sam, with his job and now, dating you, when does he have time to spend with his son? I don't see any kid things here, so I'm pretty sure the boy isn't here very often, or at all….and you've never met him, what does that tell you?" When he's done with his rant, he realizes what Sam said, and asks. "Wait, what do you mean, was?"
Now she feels uncomfortable, this is not her story to tell. Jack barely speaks about his son as it is, and she knows that he's still haunted about what happened. She wishes she wasn't the one having to tell Mark, it should be Jack's choice. Though if she doesn't say anything then Mark will, to Jack and that would cause a whole host of issues. No, it's better to just get it out of the way, if she tells Mark, then despite his feelings toward Jack, he should at least have the decency to not bring it up.
Closing her eyes Sam takes in a deep breath and says in a very slow and controlled tone, "His son, Charlie, died. It happened before I met him, I don't know all the details, Jack doesn't like to talk about it. He and his wife, Sara, divorced shortly afterwards. I didn't know Jack back then, but I know for a certainty that he was a great father. He would do anything to have his son back." She pauses to collect herself, Mark must notice because for once, he doesn't interrupt. After a moment, Sam continues, "But there's nothing he can do, because he can't change the past." She says the last word as she looks directly at Mark so she can gauge his reaction.
She hears him inhale and he looks visibly shaken as he says, "I'm sorry to hear that, and I'm sorry for the things I said." He pauses a moment, then asks, "How did it happen? I assume you at least know that much."
Now fully in control, Sam responds, "That's up to Jack to tell you, if he wants to."
Shaking his head in acceptance, Mark mutters, "Alright."
He has so many questions, but he also recognizes the fact that it's not his business. No matter how he feels about this man and his relationship with Sam, no one deserves to lose their child. He looks at the picture again, the boy looks to be about 8, maybe 9, right around the age of Mark's daughter, and just a couple years younger than his son. He can't imagine losing one of his kids, his heart goes out to Jack for having gone through something like that.
Mark is pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of a motor getting louder, he glances over to his sister, who looks out the window, she says, "Jack's home."
This is why he owns a motorcycle, Jack thinks as he cruises effortlessly down the road. The day is perfect, the air is cool but not cold, the sun is bright, and the scenery, well, it's breathtaking. This is a motorcyclist's dream come true, all that's missing is the hot blond sitting behind him. Sam would love this, he briefly considers ditching her brother and his wife and taking Sam on a cruise up the mountains. No, they can't do that, the mountains will always be there, but Mark and Onica are only here for a couple of days. Though it's days like today that he wishes his drive to and from work was a little bit longer.
This morning it was a bit cooler out so he had worn his helmet, though when he walked out of the mountain to this gorgeous day, he opted to not wear it on his drive home. Instead, he has on his dark sunglasses. Sam would probably scold him for not wearing a helmet, as she has before, however they are not required by law for riders over the age of 18, and he's long since passed 18. He comes to a stop at a red light and beside him in a convertible are a couple young ladies, probably in their 20s. They look over at him and smile at each other, probably laughing at his unruly hair. He chuckles to himself that he usually has helmet hair on a daily basis, whether he's worn a helmet or not. The light turns green and before the girls drive off, they whistle at him, he barely hears it over the sound of his engine but when he looks over they're now smiling at him. He nods at them in response and gives them a half grin, he figures they must like the bike. Whatever, they can admire it as he rides off, and that's exactly what he does.
A couple turns later and he's on his road, he drives another mile and turns left into his driveway. He sees his truck parked there so he maneuvers around it. He notices the garage is already open, Sam must have opened it with the button in his truck when she got here. Jack also sees a woman standing outside, Onica he figures, her back is turned and it looks as though she's on her phone. He pulls into the garage, shuts off the motorcycle, and dismounts. He feels his phone vibrate in his pocket as he does so, he pulls it out, looks at it, and rolls his eyes. He will kill Daniel for getting Teal'c a phone and teaching him how to text. Jack thought he was bad at texting but Teal'c, my goodness. Teal'c had been sending him messages all day, now though his newest thing was sending pictures. So about every few minutes, Jack receives a picture text from Teal'c, usually it is pictures of cats. What is with the cats? Jack just can't figure it out.
He mentally shakes his head at the latest cat picture from Teal'c when he hears footsteps approach, before he turns around he hears a woman say his name. The sound of her voice makes his blood run cold and he freezes. He knows that voice, he's heard it say his name a million times, though he never expected to hear it say his name again. He slowly starts to turn around, lifting his head as he does so. He schools his features, or at least, he attempts to, he's pretty sure he failed though. Once turned fully around, he can't believe his eyes. Of all the people in all the world, she is the last person he expected to show up at his house. Old feelings and memories come flooding back all of the sudden, and through the fog in his brain all he manages to say is a very weak, "Ronnie?"
Onica takes a few steps closer and actually enters the garage, she looks Jack in the eyes and says, "I go by Onica now."
"On...what? What in the world are you doing here? How do you even know where I live?" He rattles off the questions, and as soon as he's finished, realization dawns and all the pieces come together. "Oh my ga...you're Mark's wife?" Jack asks in complete disbelief.
Onica takes a breath and comes another couple steps closer and says in a quieter voice, "Please, keep your voice down." And she looks at him with pleading eyes.
"Keep my voice down, are you kidding me?!" Jack nearly shouts, then he closes his eyes and gains control over himself. Then he adds in an angry but quieter tone, "You walk out of my life with no real explanation, only to show up again married to my girlfriend's brother, and you want me to keep my voice down?" He paces back and forth a few times before he stops and says, "This is messed up."
"I know, I'm sorry. I'm trying to figure out the best way to handle everything." Onica says, pleading with Jack to not make things more difficult.
"I thought you "weren't the marrying type?" Jack spits out using air quotes, then adds bitterly, "I guess that changed, huh?"
"From what I heard you were married within a year after I left." Onica huffed.
Jack stops and looks at her, and in a very low dangerous voice, he says, "So you were checking up on me?"
"Jack," Onica starts, only to be interrupted.
"Don't," Jack says holding up a hand and shaking his head. "Just don't."
"Let me explain, please." Onica begs, looking at Jack with pleading eyes.
In years past, he would have done anything for this woman. And if she ever looked at him like she is now, that would've been his undoing. Though she never had to look at him like this because he had never been able to say no to her. If he's being honest, he's having trouble saying no to her right now. Jack cannot figure out how, after all these years, and after everything that happened between them, she still has a hold on him. Part of him wants to hear her out, let her explain, the other part of him wants her to disappear again forever.
He decides to Ignore that for now and says instead, "How has this not come up before now? You've been married to Mark for what, 12 years or something? Surely he would've said something to Sam, and she definitely would've said something to me." After a brief pause, reality sinks in, "Oh my goodness! Mark doesn't know does he?"
When Onica doesn't say anything, Jack takes her silence as confirmation and adds, "Geez Ronnie." Jack starts his pacing again and runs his hands through his hair, a gesture Oncia has seen him do a thousand times. He stops pacing and looks at her pointedly and asks, "What in the world were you thinking?"
"I'm guessing that Sam doesn't know either?" Oncia asks, rather than answering his question. She assumes that Sam would have mentioned something, had she known.
"Of course she doesn't know." Jack fires back, then adds, "Though if I had known about this," he says waving his arms in the air, "I would have told her."
Starting to feel frantic, Onica says, "I never thought this would happen!"
Jack whirls around and says, "You never thought this would happen? What are you nuts?!" He pauses for a second, then says, "I'm guessing you knew long before today." Jack accuses.
Looking ashamed, Onica admits, "I've known for a while,"
Cutting her off, Jack shouts, "Then why didn't you say something?"
Cupping her hands over her mouth, Onica says, "I didn't know what to do."
"You certainly knew what to do the last time I saw you. Let me see, as I recall, you threw the ring in my face as you walked out the door, to run off with that..." Jack says, shaking his head bitterly.
In hushed tones Onica asks, "Can we talk about that later?"
Jack looks at her incredulously and says, "What am I supposed to do Ronnie, huh? Go inside and act like I don't know you? Act like we don't have history? Like we were never engaged? Is that what I'm supposed to do?"
"I don't know Jack, I don't know." Onica says as tears start flowing.
At this point Jack turns his back, a crying woman has always been his weakness. Especially a woman he's in love with, or used to be, he corrects himself. The day she left he nearly fell apart. He never thought he'd recover, and in some ways, he never did. He met and married Sara a few months later. Jack knew that he had rushed into something he wasn't ready for, and as a result they had major issues in the beginning. They actually went as far as separating, but when Sara called and said she was pregnant, they tried to work things out. Jack remembered his own messed up childhood and the issues he had had with his father, and he didn't want that for his kid. Unfortunately, at the beginning of her second trimester, Sara miscarried. They were both devastated but they leaned on each other for support, that's when Jack realized that he had genuine feelings for her. He wasn't ready to call it love but he could feel himself falling, and so he fell. In time, Sara got pregnant again, and for a while, Jack had the family he had always wanted. Only to lose his son in a horrific accident, and his marriage fell apart shortly thereafter. So here he was staring at the second woman who had broken his heart, the first being his mother, but that's a whole other story.
He hated that Sara had left after their son died, but he did understand why. He was surprised that she had stayed as long as she had. When he met her, he was trying to pick up the pieces that Ronnie had left him in. He had never told Sara about Ronnie, too painful he had reasoned. Thinking about it now, he wonders if he had just been going through the motions with Sara, she had deserved better. He was left broken again after his son died, and he felt numb during the divorce proceedings. Then he met Sam and almost instantly, he was fixed. He could truly say that he has never felt for anyone what he feels for Sam. Oh he loved Ronnie, or Onica she calls herself now, and he did love Sara, but Sam, he can't live without her. He fell in love with her the moment he laid eyes on her, and he waited 4 long years just to be with her. Now that he has her, he doesn't want to lose her. Ronnie standing here right now could cause just that.
Jack turns around slowly and says in a very controlled manner, "I am not lying to her."
Looking at him sadly she says, "I'm not asking you to."
Closing his eyes and sighing Jack asks, "Then what exactly are you asking?"
"I don't know." Onica admits in despair.
"We have to tell them," Jack says in reply.
"How?" Onica sniffles.
"I'm sure you'll think of something." Jack says as he walks to the garage entrance, then adds, "You always do." He pauses for a moment and turns back slightly and says, "I just have to know one thing." At Onica's nod Jack looks her in the eye and asks, "Is Mark the guy you left me for?"
Returning his look, Onica says quietly, "No, that..."
"That's all I wanted to know." Jack interrupts. He takes one last look at her and leaves the garage. He feels a bit of trepidation as he approaches the front door, he has no idea what he's going to tell Sam, but he knows he has to tell her something.
