AN: Here's another smidge of angst... who else wants to lobby for a third category for fics? Enjoy!
Chapter Three
Sam had no clue what she was doing, where she wanted to go, or how she was going to get there. But she'd never been one to rely on manuals, directions, or even helpful hints from other people, so she decided she would figure it out on her own, the way she'd always done everything in her life. She decided she should check on Jack, but somehow, thinking of him immediately brought to mind Daniel and Teal'c. And suddenly, she was standing in a cemetery. She recognized it - it was the one her mother was buried in. Her attention focused on her mother's gravestone, remembering all the times she hadn't bothered to go visit because as a scientist she didn't believe in the afterlife and saw no point in it. She so hated being wrong. It was embarrassing, even after she was dead. She made a mental note to see if she could find her mother and apologize.
She saw her own casket and the sprays of flowers arranged around it. She saw her brother and the other members of her family gathered on one side. Sam was sure it was Mark's insistence that resulted in her being buried locally rather than in Arlington. She was sure her father would have argued the other side, but she didn't really care. Marge had made it quite clear that her body wasn't going to be of any use, so she didn't particularly care where they left it.
On the opposite side of the coffin, she spotted Daniel and Teal'c. Her father was with them, as was General Hammond. In fact, the crowd gathered on the apparent Air Force side of the funeral amazed her. There had to be over a hundred people there.
But rather than feeling good about how many people cared for her, she felt horrible for the one person who didn't.
Jack wasn't there.
She snarled, wishing she had something to throw. There she'd been, all sorry for being a bitch to him, and he hadn't shown up at her funeral. She'd known he was mad, but not showing up at her funeral was a whole new concept of mad that she hadn't even realized existed. She approached the crowd slowly, forgetting that she was only a spirit and trying her best to remain unnoticed by the priest. Snickering to herself, she realized that the priest was probably the last one among them to believe in ghosts.
She listened to the stranger's words, somberly reflecting on how truly special she must have been to have such an outpouring of love in her memory. Sam rolled her eyes, bitter about the lack of outpouring from Jack. She moved next to someone she vaguely recognized from the base. The airman shivered suddenly, glancing out of the corner of his eye toward her. Because of his curious stare, Sam forgot entirely about the spirit thing again.
"What?" Being a major, low ranking airmen didn't usually look at her like that.
The airman shivered again, shifting over closer to the guy next to him who didn't appreciate it.
While she stood there, trying to decide what to do next, it occurred to her that the interminable line at heaven's version of the DMV had really been as unbelievably long as it had felt. If her funeral was being held, several days had obviously already passed. After what felt like forever, the priest finished the service and the crowd started breaking up.
Sam watched as the people scattered in small groups. She was filled with loathing for all of them, irrationally hating that they could go off to have dinner and talk about how tragic her death was for a few more days and then get on with their own lives. Meanwhile, Sam had to float about uselessly or stand in merciless lines waiting for people to upset her. Some afterlife she was having. She wondered if she could start a petition that disembodied souls be allowed to do something besides float around and be bored and frustrated. She thought about leaving a note at the soul mate counter for Jack, provided she ever got that invitation Marge hinted at, telling him that she'd gone ahead and gotten reincarnated and that he should join her ASAP. But she thought it might be bad luck or something. She'd never been one to believe in superstition or curses or really even luck, but she hadn't believed in souls and the afterlife and she wasn't taking any more chances on making herself look like an idiot.
As soon as the crowd had gone, she sidled up to the two remaining - Daniel and Teal'c. They were standing next to each other, staring resolutely ahead. Sam searched their faces for some hint of recognition, figuring if her friends couldn't see her she would just give up on the haunting altogether. She smiled when she saw Teal'c's face turn toward her the slightest bit. He said nothing, but his raised eyebrow told her that he felt her, even if he couldn't see her. Encouraged, she reached out, aiming to take his hand in hers.
It was the weirdest thing she'd ever felt. It felt completely normal - he was solid, warm, real. Yet at the same time, there was no response from him, no answering pressure to her squeeze. She wasn't sure if it was better or worse than having her hand slide through his. Looking up again, she saw his eyes close and then a tiny smile appear on his face.
A tear came to her eye as he nodded respectfully to her. He knew she was there. He felt her. Realizing the bond between them was that strong amazed her. She knew he would be fine. She hoped he would be the link she needed. "Teal'c?" He showed no reaction to her words. He hadn't heard.
She stepped past him, deciding to try Daniel next. But as she moved forward, she realized why neither of them had left.
Jack was there between them, sitting in a crumpled heap on the wet grass where he'd obviously collapsed at some point. His friends were standing on either side of him, trying to support him by being there.
Sam let out a whine, feeling the pain she saw in his stricken face. He was taking it as badly as she'd feared. She could tell just by looking at him that he hadn't eaten or slept or done much of anything since she'd died. She knelt down in front of him, instinctively trying to catch his eyes, wanting to assure him silently as she always had that she was there.
But he looked right through her, unseeing. His expression didn't change. His eyes showed no hint of recognition.
She reached out for him, feeling the stubble on his unshaven cheeks as she cupped his face in her hands. She felt the warmth of his skin, the tickle of his breath as her fingers grazed his lips. But it was clear that he felt nothing, saw nothing, as he stared straight ahead. "It's me, Jack. It's ok. I'm here."
"Jack, we should go." Daniel's voice called her attention and she looked up, startled to see streaks of tears on her friend's face. "You're going to get sick sitting out here in the rain."
Sam hadn't noticed the weather until he mentioned it, but she realized the steady drizzle that had been coming down had shifted into a downpour, drilling onto the tent that stood over them.
"Daniel Jackson, there is little usefulness in attempting to converse with O'Neill. He should be left alone to grieve for his wife." Sam's head snapped up at the quiet man's words. She started to wonder if everyone had gone insane.
"They weren't married, Teal'c." Daniel's voice was soft, quiet, not quite stern enough to be a correction. Sam got the impression Daniel used that voice to talk Jack into things like eating and sleeping.
Teal'c indicated Jack's unresponsive form. "This is not the behavior of a warrior who has lost a comrade. This is clearly a man who has lost his mate."
Daniel shrugged, unable to dispute the veracity of Teal'c's words. "They still weren't married."
"I have always seen an exclusive bond between them. I consider their bond to be a marriage."
Daniel shrugged again at no one. There was no point. Daniel knew, as did Sam, that there was no one else for either one of them.
Teal'c bent down, reaching one hand under Jack's arm and effectively forcing him to his feet with some help from Daniel. "We should leave this area."
Jack didn't seem to notice that his friends were lifting him, let alone speaking. Sam stood up, staring into his eyes. She shivered at what she saw there - a dark void. He didn't seem to have any life in him at all.
"Come on, Jack, let's go home." Daniel kept looking at Jack, seeming hopeful that his friend would eventually respond.
Sam looked at Daniel, trying to get his attention instead. She moved in front of him, trying to get him to notice her and wondering if telekinesis worked for ghosts. Daniel squinted slightly, his eyes moving down the slightest bit to meet hers. It was working. She smiled. "Daniel?"
Shaking his head, he turned to Teal'c, no longer seeming to notice her at all. "Teal'c, help me get him to the car."
Sam stood there, watching Daniel and Teal'c prod Jack forward. Jack was doing very little to help them, but he was uncharacteristically offering no resistance to them helping him either. She realized why Marge had told her it was so frustrating. Jack's heart was broken. He had no idea that she was still there with him. And she had no way to tell him.
"Take care of him, guys." She could only hope that her whisper found its way across the growing space between them.
She had to find some way to break the barrier. She was sure she could. She knew she could. She just needed time to think.
She stood in the cemetery, watching as they drove away. Marge had said only someone who believed would be able to see her. Teal'c had noticed something; Daniel had almost seemed to feel her as well. But neither one of them seemed particularly aware of it consciously. So it came down to a simple question: who did she know that was a simp?