AN: A special shout out to the Guest reviewers. Thank you. One curse word in this section - my bet is you'll be saying a few choice words yourself at that point if you guess what just happened.
***SG1***SG1***
"The nurse said Sam should be in here," Daniel said, gesturing toward a recreation room. Leading Teal'c through the door, the pair paused to scan the area. A grin broke across their faces as she headed toward them.
"Daniel, Teal'c," Sam said, pulling Daniel in for a brief hug first before doing the same to Teal'c. "It's really good to see you both."
"Same here," Daniel said, assessing her. Another smile pulled on his face at seeing significantly less of the 'traumatized Sam' he had escorted to the hospital so many weeks ago.
Gesturing toward the sling, Sam asked, "How's that going?"
Looking down, Daniel nodded. "Good," he answered, releasing his arm to demonstrate his mobility. "This," he added, pulling on the sling, "is more to help it rest than anything now. Another week or so of therapy for strength and I'll be ready to go."
"Colonel Nelson's been doing rehab here," Sam said. "He...uh...told me what happened, why that occurred," she said quietly.
Surprise flickered across Daniel's face as he shared a look with Teal'c. Before he could say anything, Sam changed the subject.
"Come over here, I want to introduce you to some people."
***SG1***SG1***
"It's been a while since we talked," Doctor Rogers said, settling into a chair across from Jack.
Shrugging, Jack waved it off. "Been busy, getting ready to move." Allowing his eyes to drift around the office, he noted the personal effects that made it feel less threatening.
"How long before you report to Nellis?" Rogers asked.
"Week from today," Jack sighed, looking at this hands.
Reading the body language before her, Tiffany pursed her lips. "Excited?" she asked to elicit a response to confirm what she suspected.
Brown eyes flickered toward her. "Ecstatic," he said dryly.
"Ah," Rogers answered, "I can tell."
Jack shifted. "It's for the best, so," he trailed off, his hand dismissing the rest.
"For who?"
"That's for whom," Jack corrected, deflecting the question. A stare pinning him had him relenting. "Look we've been over this. I won't stay there if that means Carter can't. She needs familiar things around her, places, people. I'll be fine."
"Has she told you she's going back?" the doctor asked, a frown on her forehead.
Shaking his head, Jack looked out the window at the hospital grounds that lay beyond it. "If Sam can make it past this, keep going, she'll make full colonel in the next five to seven years. If that happens there's nothing to stop her from earning the stars. The SGC's the best place to make sure it happens." Meeting her eyes, he slowly shook his head. "I won't stand in the way of that."
"But what if that's not what she wants?"
Another shrug met her question. "Won't stand in the way of that either."
Nodding slowly to acknowledge his words, Tiffany pursed her lips. "So," she drawled out, a tight smile settling on her features. "What does Jack O'Neill want?" A glance from him had her adding, "You keep telling me what you think Sam Carter wants or needs; what you're willing to do for her. What are you willing to do for yourself?"
"Doc," Jack countered, reluctance and dismissiveness of her challenges in his voice.
Rogers interrupted whatever else he was going to say. "You realize that if you are only doing this for her, if it's not what you truly want to do, if you are not ready to walk away from a job you love to one that you may be simply tolerating or flat out hate, some part of you is going to end up resenting it, resenting her, especially if she doesn't go back." A slow shake of her head answered the objection to the idea that flashed on his face. "It won't matter what else you feel for her. This will be there too, festering, waiting to come out when you least expect it. So I ask you again, what are you willing to do for yourself to make sure this doesn't happen?"
Watching,Tiffany noted the narrowing of Jack's eyes as he peered at her, assessing her words, meaning, motive. Making sure to keep her face neutral, she returned the stare.
***SG1***SG1***
Raising her face to let the wind caress it, Sam let out a sigh before turning her gaze back to the men with her. "I'm really glad you guys are here," she said again.
Smiling at her, Daniel let his eyes wander across the hospital grounds. "It's pretty here," he noted.
Nodding, Sam's eyes roamed the area also. "Reminds me of a park by my house," she said quietly. Taking in a breath, she added, "Doctor Rogers talking about letting me make a trip back. She wants to see how I'll react being back at the mountain."
"You will be fine," Teal'c assured her, receiving a thankful nod for his confidence in her.
A slight grimace passed across Daniel's face. "Hmmm, guess maybe I better stop by your house and replace those plants I sorta forgot to water."
"You didn't?" Sam said, disbelief and skepticism in her tone.
A chuckle passed Daniel's lips. "No, I didn't," he admitted. "They're fine." His teasing earned him an elbow nudging him in the side. "Those guys," he said, gesturing back toward the building to indicate the people they had been introduced to, "seem nice."
"Yeah, they are. I don't know how much we'll keep in touch when we leave here but," Sam shrugged, "it's been good to have people to kill time with."
"LieutenantWitt seemed especially attentive," Teal'c observed watching for her reaction.
"He's just a friend, Teal'c," Sam replied.
"Jack mentioned Witt when he came back," Daniel observed, castings a sideways glance at Sam to see how she would react. "Think he had his file pulled."
"I asked him to," Sam explained. Two pair of questioning eyes on her had her adding, "He might be a good fit at the mountain," which got gestures from them that they understood it was nothing else on her part.
"There's Jack," Daniel said, catching sight of the man making his way across the lawn.
"Hey," Jack called out coming to a halt by the trio. "We ready to go?"
"Yep," Daniel replied gaining his feet along with the others.
"Almost," Sam said, her movements bringing her closer to O'Neill. "Haven't gotten to say hi yet," she quipped lightly to cover up her nervousness.
Jack ran his eyes over her face trying to read past the hesitancy he saw there to determine what she wanted to happen. While he wanted to hug her, the last time had not gone so well for her. "Hi," he voiced, his tone muted, intimate.
"Hi," Sam breathed back before closing the remaining distance between them, wrapping her arms around him. Feeling his arms slide around her and his head lower to press against hers, she tightened her grip and immersed herself in him completely.
***SG1***SG1***
"General?" Walter called from the doorway. When the General raised his head, he continued. "General Vidrine on line three, Sir."
Picking up the phone, George pushed the button to connect the call. "Hammond." Listening for a few moments, a frown pulled on his face. "Yes, he was sure... No, I don't know that for sure. Doctor Rogers believes it may be possible but Major Carter has given me no indication of what she would like to do." Looking down at the desk, George sat back in his chair and slowly shook his head at what he was hearing. "With all due respect, I disagree. Both of them are consummate professionals who have, in my opinion, paid their dues and have earned the right to do something different both personally and professionally if they so choose to do so." A frown creased his forehead. "I won't do that." Anger flashed over his features. "Well, General," George snapped, knowing the honorific had far too much sarcasm and bite in it to be received well, "we will both have to see about that won't we." Grunting a farewell, George set the handset down a little harder than necessary.
Leaning back, he rubbed his hands over his face. "Sonofabitch."
***SG1***SG1***
"Are you ready MajorCarter?" Teal'c asked, reading the anxiety and tension in his teammate's face and body. He couldn't help but note the difference in her from the person he had sat across the day before at the restaurant. Lowering his tone, he added, "We do not need to do this today. I shall remain as long as necessary."
Licking her lips, Sam nodded sharply to acknowledge the words and the sentiment embedded in them. He would not think less of her if she walked away. "Take it easy, okay?" she said, making up her mind. Trying to force her voice to lighten, she added, "Haven't done this in awhile." When a gentle smile answered her, she blew out a loud breath and stepped onto the exercise mat. She barely had time to stop before a punch came her way. Blocking it, Sam focused her mind on reading and stopping her opponent.
"She doesn't look too bad," Daniel said softly to Jack as the pair watched, leaning against a nearby wall. "A little slower than usual."
Jack grunted to acknowledge the words as he winced at the sound of a punch landing. Reading the moves of each, he knew that while it had sounded bad, it was not delivered with all the power it could have been. It really didn't matter though as he found his hands curling, fingernails biting into flesh to stop his mind from equating the sound to another place and time. Shifting, he fought the instinct to intercede, to stop what was happening.
"Jack?"
The sound of his name snapped his eyes toward the speaker. Recognizing Daniel, he uttered a low "what?" to him as his eyes darted back toward the other two.
He knew the entire purpose of the exercise was to help Carter. He kept reminding himself that it was Teal'c she was with and that she was fine. That did little to quell the feeling that exploded in him at her surprised cry at suddenly finding herself on the floor with Teal'c holding her arms down. A hand on his arm stopped him from advancing.
"You okay?"
Daniel's concerned words pierced his ear. "Yeah, sure," Jack threw back, his voice holding a forced lightness and false conviction. A breath escaped his body as he saw that Teal'c had already gotten up and pulled Sam back to her feet.
"You're sure?" Daniel asked again, a frown creasing his forehead.
A tight nod answered as Jack forced his hands to unfurl. Shifting his stance, he pressed his palms against the cement walls seeking the coolness and texture there to ground him as he watched the pair square up again.
***SG1***SG1***
Rubbing the small crescent shaped cuts in the palm of his hand, Jack dropped it and let his gaze fall back to the television. Flipping through the unfamiliar stations, he tried to ignore the muffled sounds of Sam taking a shower in the ensuite bathroom. When the door opened a few minutes later, he watched her as she came out. "Better?"
A small smile played on her lips. "For now," she said, before a small frown passed over her face. "Not sure how I'll feel later," she added, shifting her shoulders to indicate they were even now a little sore. "Getting soft, I guess," she quipped, easing herself on the edge of the bed next to him. "Daniel and Teal'c not back yet?"
A head shake told her they were not. Glancing at his watch, he added, "Another half hour or so with traffic," he estimated. "Won't take long for Teal'c to shower."
Nodding in agreement, she glance up at the television. "Anything on?"
"Usual," Jack answered, holding the control out to her before hitting the power button at the negative shake of her head. "Unless you'd like to know what to expect after an amputation or watch them do a knee replacement," he added dryly, referencing the current programs on the patient education channels.
"I'll catch them on rerun," Sam intoned soberly, amusement dancing in her eyes to let him know she wasn't serious. When silence descended, a small frown crossed her forehead. "When do you leave?"
Instinctually, Jack knew she wasn't asking about the flight back to Colorado. "Next Tuesday. It'll give me a couple days to get down there and settled."
Nodding slowly, Sam picked at some lint on the bedspread. "Rogers is going to send me to the Mountain sometime soon, to see how I do. It'll be strange to know you're not there."
Jack nudged her hand with his own, offering it up for her. When her palm connected with his, he curled his fingers around it, his thumb brushing the side. "Teal'c and Daniel will likely be there. And Doc will be glad to see you." A small smile pulled on his lips. "And then there's the legion of your other fans waiting to get a glimpse of the great Sam Carter," he teased quietly.
An eye roll answered his quip before she looked at him. "Won't be the same," she said quietly, looking back at their hands. "I don't know if I want to go back," she confessed softly. "And if you're leaving so I can," she broke off, shaking her head to tell him she couldn't stand the thought that he would give up that much for nothing.
A audible sigh escaped Jack at her words. "You and Rogers,' he muttered before reaching over to nudge her chin up to force her to look at him. "I'm not leaving because of you," he said softly, looking straight into her wet blue eyes. "I'm leaving because I need to. It's time."
"And if you hate teaching? If it's not enough?" she choked out.
A shrug met her question. "I'll retire."
***SG1***SG1****
AN2: Hmmm. I'm not sure Jack is being totally honest with himself or Sam right now. Not sure what I think about that.
Okay my friends, bad news. For the next six weeks, I am likely working seven days a week. This means very little time for writing. I will try but I can't promise that a post will be every week or that it will be as long as usual. So, keep thinking supportive mental vibes that the muse finds the energy to be insistent and cooperates in the time I can find to write.
