CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The welcome home party for Sam took longer than Daniel had anticipated to happen. It was a full two weeks after Sam was released from the rehab center before he and Cassie were able to get everyone together to celebrate. Sam was still doing well, even if she had a hard time with some things, and refused help far more often than she should have. She was getting around on her own, even if still in tiny little shuffling steps, and her spirits seemed good more days than not. Daniel was amazed at her ability to hang in there. He supposed a good bit of that had to do with the fact that now that she was home, away from the prying eyes of civilians, Sam could do some of her work. She found ways to occupy herself, and that made all the difference in the world. Daniel could still remember getting a frantic call on his cel phone from Sam at two AM asking if he would bring her a text on molecular engineering. When he explained that he wasn't in the mountain, Sam had been completely baffled as to why. She hadn't realized what time it was. As annoying as the call was, Daniel had smiled to himself anyway. The old Sam was coming back, and he was exhilarated by it. Soon, Sam would be making daily trips to the mountain and working light duty, at least if he had anything to say about it. Things were definitely looking up, and today was a day to celebrate that.
Sam's living room had looked like a mini science lab when Daniel had gotten there early in the morning to look in on Sam and start preparations for the party. He had called Cassie immediately, and the two of them had gotten busy finding safe hiding places for all of Carter's Goa'uld doodads and Tok'ra thing-a-ma-jigs and naquadah whatevers. Books were stacked, papers were filed, and devices were swept into closets while Sam protested violently at her friends to 'be careful with that' and 'don't touch that' and 'please just leave that there'. Of course, Daniel and Cassie didn't listen. They were having this party, come hell or high water. Too many people wanted to pay their respects. The work could wait for one day.
After all the preparations for the evening were done and all that was left was to sit and wait for the guests, Cassie went home to change, and Daniel flopped into a chair for a well-deserved rest. This type of work was not his cup of tea. He was tired, but satisfied. Everyone from Siler to several people from the rehab center were coming to his little shin-dig. Even Jack had said he could make it in from Washington. The General had needed to spend a little more time there recently after his lengthy absence, but he still managed to visit Sam with some frequency. It had been like doing dentistry on a crocodile to get him to this party, but eventually he acquiesced. Yep, Daniel was proud of this one. He wanted Sam to see how many people missed her and cared about her. She deserved that and so much more. Sam had disappeared into the bathroom to clean up and get ready, and that took a while these days, so Daniel drifted lazily off to sleep in Sam's new leather living room chair that had just shown up the other day. It was very comfortable and obviously not cheap. Daniel wondered briefly where Sam had gotten it as he blissfully dropped into dreamland. He would have to remember to ask her later.
XXX
Daniel was startled awake by something hitting him in the feet. More accurately, something knocked his feet completely off the footrest of the recliner. He was instantly awake and was starting to jump up when he realized the source of the jolt. Jack O'Neill was standing above him with a strange look of mischievous satisfaction on his face, which both infuriated and amused Daniel. He tried to at least look indignant, though, as he put up his protest at being raised from slumber in such a manner.
"Hey! What was that for? I was sleeping!"
Jack had the good form to try to look a little chagrined, but he didn't really pull it off. It was painfully evident that he'd enjoyed harassing Daniel a bit. "Obviously. Sorry. I couldn't resist. Besides, isn't it about time for this clam bake to get started?"
"Actually, you're a little early. About half an hour. Thought you didn't even want to come? What gives? Flight get in a little early?"
"Yeah, well, wouldn't want to miss any cake." Jack gave Daniel a lopsided grin as he answered, and earned a smirk from Dr. Jackson in return.
"Yeah, ok, Jack. Whatever you say. Couldn't be that you missed us or anything, huh?"
"Nah, I was just…" Jack trailed off and became fascinated with a point somewhere over Daniel's left shoulder. When Daniel turned to see what had so intrigued his former CO, he was also struck dumb by what he saw.
Samantha Carter looked radiant. She was dressed in blue jeans and a silky blue spaghetti strap top that seemed to perfectly match the blue of her eyes. The shirt was flattering and cut in all the right places to show enough skin to be enticing but not so much as to be trashy, and although Sam was still keeping one hand on the wall to stabilize herself, she was pulling off the outfit well. She was nearly walking without assistance now, and while she wouldn't win any races, this picture of Sam made Daniel feel like the old Sam was back. She just looked so very confident, like she could take on the world. 'Yes, sir, things are definitely getting back on track,' thought Daniel. He felt like time had been turned back and the last year or so hadn't happened. Jack and Sam and Teal'c and Daniel were family again, and everyone was healthy and well. They would be ok. They would get through the last of this ordeal like they did everything else. Together. They would be ok. A huge grin spread across Daniel's face, and he felt like all was right with the world.
While Daniel thought that time had been turned back, for Jack O'Neill it had stopped dead. He sat there just staring at Carter like he had never seen her before in his life. He wasn't capable of any coherent thoughts, and all he knew was that Carter had never looked better to him. Ever. She simply exuded beauty at this moment, and he never wanted it to end. A blush slowly spread over Carter's cheeks, though, and Daniel, ever the responsive one, broke the silence.
"Sam, you look great."
"Thanks, Daniel."
Daniel jumped up and offered Sam the oversized recliner. "You want to sit here to greet people as they arrive?"
"Sounds like a plan. I'd love to stand, but I don't think I can make it quite that long."
"Here-be my guest. This is a great chair, by the way. Where did you get it?"
"It was a gift. Funny thing is I don't know who it's from. Just showed up one day with a card that said it was from a friend. I figured it was a comfortable chair, and expensive, so who am I to argue? The delivery guys even set everything up for me and moved it a few times to find the right spot for it. I absolutely love it."
"Huh. That's odd, but I agree with you-don't look a gift horse in the mouth. It is comfortable."
Jack had been silent through this entire conversation, still lost and confused about how Carter could look so good in her condition. How she could seem completely normal. He was astounded by her yet again and just felt blown away by the fact that he and Carter and Daniel were just hanging out. Like old times. God, it felt good, even if Daniel and Sam were prattling on about something and leaving him out of it, as was their habit. Jack didn't mind. He'd always liked the Wonder Twins routine anyway. He wanted to just soak this up forever. He would never have admitted it, but it was damn lonely in Washington. He didn't fit into the whole political scene. He'd tried to go to a few parties, mingle a bit, get to know a few people, but it just didn't work for him. He could put on the charm and slide right into that greasy little world, and he did when he had do, but he just didn't enjoy it. He could have easily dated quite a few women, as he was considered very eligible, but he just wasn't interested in the whole process. He hadn't realized that the reason was quite likely because none of that could compare to the bonds he already had with three people back in Colorado. He was realizing that now, and was inwardly thinking of ways to try to fix his situation and get back to his family, where he belonged.
Jack's internal reverie was shattered by a question from Sam.
"Glad you could make it over here, sir. How are things in Washington these days?"
Jack smiled at the irony of the question, given his recent line of thinking, and answered as best he could. "Oh, you know…the usual. Ok, I guess, for having to work with a bunch of pencil pushers."
No one could miss the slight regret in Jack's voice as he answered, but Carter and Daniel knew enough about General O'Neill to let it go. The conversation gradually drifted to all sorts of things, and the three friends talked together as old friends do until the doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of the first guest to celebrate Sam's homecoming.
XXX
After Sergeant Harriman had officially arrived as the first guest, a steady trickle of humans (or nearly so) made their way through the front door of the Carter residence, and before long, the house was bursting with well-wishers, and a full-fledged party was underway. Even Mark and his family had made it up, and everyone seemed to be entertaining each other very well. Cassie and Daniel ran the show, producing food and drinks from a seemingly endless supply, while Teal'c did the actual kitchen work and Sam played a gracious hostess, despite being limited to short sessions of standing and basically no walking.
Everything seemed to be going well. Everyone seemed happy. Everyone except the man in the corner. It seems there's one at every party. The guy who just doesn't fit in. The one who gets left out, or who doesn't want to join in to begin with. It must be a rule.
Jack O'Neill sat in his corner and sipped his beer. He wasn't sure how many he'd had, but he knew it was enough to put him in a contemplative mood, and that was probably not a good thing, because all he could think about right now was how very stupid he had been to think he could just walk back into the lives of his former team without missing a beat. Two hours ago, he had been thinking of retiring, for real this time, to move back to Colorado to be closer to those he considered his family. Now, all he could think of was how he didn't fit in, how he was washed up and too old to play their game anymore, and how painful it would be to him to have to be reminded of that every day.
Across the room, Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter was smiling a wide, toothy, truly happy grin. It was aimed at none other than Jerrod McAllister, the young, buff orderly from Sam's rehab days. Around the two, who were engaged in animated conversation, sat two other young officers that Jack didn't recognize. Sitting there in his corner, watching Sam be happy surrounded by men who made him seem like Father Time, Jack suddenly felt very old, very cold, and out of place. He thought that perhaps he had been right to leave Colorado after all. Jack felt like his torch had been handed to a younger runner, and rightfully so. He suddenly had no place here. Even though Jack still felt close to Sam and Daniel and Teal'c, he didn't want to hold them back from anything they could be without him. He didn't want them to miss out on bonding to a new team, or anything else, because they were still tied down to him. He felt it would be best if he just melted out of their lives again. They had survived before, and they would again, even if Jack O'Neill had to pay the price in lonely nights.
And so he did. For better or worse, Jack made his choice. He quietly slipped out the back door.
No one noticed he left.
XXX
After the party had wound down to a point where Sam and Daniel could privately talk, Daniel made his way over to the star of the show and asked a question that had been bothering him for some time.
"Sam? Have you seen Jack?"
Carter looked a little puzzled and then looked around the room herself before answering.
"Come to think of it, I haven't. Wonder where he disappeared to?"
"Don't know-never said bye to me."
"Me neither. That's weird. I bet he's around here somewhere."
"Yeah, maybe…" Daniel trailed off. He didn't want to worry Sam, but he had his doubts as to whether General O'Neill was still hanging around somewhere. He'd seen Jack in his little corner of the world. He'd seen Sam with Jarrod and the others. He hadn't had time to try to push Jack into conversation as he noticed the situation because Cassie had pulled him into another party chore, but Daniel suspected that his favorite General (while he wouldn't admit it even to himself) still harbored entirely unprofessional feelings for his former 2IC. Daniel worried that this party had been a bit too much for Jack to take, since every eligible male within two miles had been jumping at the chance to make his presence known to the beautiful Lieutenant Colonel Carter. Daniel was fairly certain Jack had fled the scene. He just hoped Jack wouldn't do anything stupid.
It wasn't until late that evening that Sam Carter discovered a message on her cel phone. After dialing her voice mail and punching in her pass code, a rather shaky but all too familiar voice came across the line. General Jack O'Neill was brief, but the message came through just fine.
"Carter. It's me. Sorry I had to leave your party early. Something came up. I had to go."
That was it. That was all. Carter didn't know what to think, but she did know she was angry. 'Where did he get off?' she thought furiously. 'Something came up? Something so important he couldn't even say bye?' Carter threw the phone down on the dresser and blew it off. Who ever knew what was going on in Jack's head?