Inescapable: Chapter 19

AN: Disclaimer and all in Chapter 1. Sorry this took so long and that it's so short… I got distracted and unfortunately, I'm very easily distracted!

"Earth calling Jack!" Jack's head snapped up from a daze to see Daniel leaning against his doorframe, grinning. When he frowned at him, Daniel unfolded his arms and stepped inside. "You look like you're on another planet," Daniel said as he slumped into a seat. Jack took a deep breath and raised his eyebrows as he pushed the paperwork in front of him to the side.

"I guess I was," Jack said quietly, looking back up.

"You okay?" Daniel asked suspiciously, tapping his thigh with his hand.

"Fine," Jack answered quickly with a flippant smile.

Daniel studied Jack closely and something occurred to him and he boldly said, "She broke up with you, didn't she?"

"What?" The alarm in Jack's eyes was all that Daniel needed to see. He smirked and held Jack's stare, daring him to argue.

The older man just sighed and dropped his eyes. "Yeah, few days ago - how…" He looked up quickly, suddenly curious. "How did you know?"

"You get this look about you when you have woman troubles," he shrugged.

Jack's mouth twisted in a crooked grin and his eyes twinkled as he thought about that and considering what Daniel knew about him, that it was an entirely fallible answer.

"Daniel," he began with a contradictory tone. "I always have woman troubles. Indefinitely, these days, in fact."

Jack watched several emotions run across Daniel's face and then he saw his expression fall when he realised his mistake. Jack raised a quizzical eyebrow, waiting for Daniel to explain. Daniel sighed, defeated.

"You haven't been in to see Sam in a few days."

"I've been busy."

Daniel snorted, laughed and said, "Yeah, and Sam's been doing back flips out of her bed."

"Daniel…"

"I know I'm right…"

"About what? So you're right that I haven't been in to see Carter but do you think it could possibly have somethingto do with the fact that she screamed me out of the room the last time I saw her?" Jack argued sarcastically, getting riled up with whatever crazy theory Daniel had concocted.

Daniel was shaking his head, anger stealing into his features mildly. "Jack," he breathed. "You know she didn't mean that, so don't give me that BS."

"Daniel," Jack warned with hard eyes.

"You're afraid she'll ask you about Kerry now that she knows and you're even more afraid that you'll end up telling her that Kerry dumped you because you're in love with her."

"What?" Jack leaned forward, his hands supporting his tense form on the desk.

"You heard me."

"Oh, I heard you," Jack began with dangerous eyes. "What I'm wondering is if you lost a little sanity when you got that blow to the head."

"Things were fine when you had Kerry - she was a buffer," Daniel continued, ignored his jibe. "You didn't have to worry about your feelings for Sam, or at least you felt you didn't have to acknowledge them when you had Kerry."

"You're nuts, Daniel."

"So you keep telling me," Daniel said quickly, waving a dismissive hand at Jack. "Now she's gone and so is Pete," Daniel continued, seeing Jack swallow and cast his eyes away, probably wishing he hadn't pushed the paperwork away earlier. After a moment of silence he said quite sadly, "You love her Jack and you've just run out of reasons not to tell her."

Jack looked at him slowly, blinking a few times and glancing at his desk before he said, "Except for how she feels," he whispered.

"You know how she feels, Jack," Daniel sighed with exasperation.

"You know, all these assumptions are getting old - really damn fast."

"Can you honestly tell me, that after everything you've been through with her… after everything… that you think she feels nothing for you?" Daniel countered; a harsh edge to his voice as he straightened in his seat, preparing for an argument. When Jack didn't answer he went on, "Beyond that, Jack, you don't strike me as the diffident type. You're not afraid of what she'd say even if you didn't already know the answer."

"There are rules, Daniel," Jack said knowing Daniel was getting dangerously close to the truth.

"You were born to break rules, Jack," Daniel rolled his eyes in irritation. "It's what you do."

"Not that one."

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Because you're afraid." Daniel pointed out. "You're afraid that you'll get exactly what you've dreamt of for eight years… hell, less specifically, for your entire life."

Jack smiled patronisingly at him. "Even if I knew what you were talking about, I'm sure I'd disagree."

Daniel narrowed his eyes and when it caused his glasses to fall down his nose slightly, he pushed them back up as he remembered something Jack had said to him last month. He smiled, almost absurdly as it occurred to him. "You think you're not good enough for her…" Daniel said, squinting and bewildered by his revelation. "You're afraid you'll hurt her. That's-" Daniel took pause and fought with the urge to laugh. "That's why you talked her into marrying Pete. God, Jack," Daniel said firmly, clearly amused by the ridiculousness of Jack's mind. "I never knew you were such a coward."

"Daniel!" Jack protested with an angry shout. The man had just unveiled his deepest fear and then laughed at it. He was having no more. "That's enough!"

"Tell me I'm wrong." Daniel declared cockily.

"You really are crazy, Daniel."

"It would seem that you're the crazy one, Jack." Daniel got out of his seat and sighed sadly at Jack, shaking his head. "She needs you right now, Jack." He told him gently, raising an eyebrow. "I came here to tell you that Jacob just passed away." Jack's head whipped to Daniel, grief suddenly wrestling behind wide eyes. "And for what it's worth… she misses you too."

Jack fell back into the cushioning of his seat, feeling drained, when Daniel walked out. He winced and rubbed his temples, he was getting a headache. Listening to Daniel, no doubt, was the cause. He grunted with a weak amusement as he admitted it was more like listening to Daniel talking reason. He had to admit - if not to Daniel - to himself, that his friend was abundantly correct and the more Jack O'Neill could barely be labelled a coward by most people, most people only took into account the fact that he was willing to sacrifice his own life above anything, anyone. He wasn't in the habit of putting someone else in harms way. It didn't matter to him if it was in the way of a Goa'uld staff weapon or potential heartbreak. In fact, he knew, from experience, that the latter was much more difficult to endure.

He would bear a thousand blasts from a staff weapon before he would watch Sam Carter's heart break.

"Uh… sorry," Jack stumbled when he walked into the infirmary, seeing Carter nestled beside her father's bedside. "I'll come back later." He whirled on his feet to leave.

"Sir," Carter said, a little disorientated. Her voice made him stop and he glanced back at her, recognising the scratchy voice as tiredness. She looked at him now, blinking her eyelids over glossy sapphire eyes that were gleaming in a way that made his heart constrict. A small smile played with her lips and she implored him, "Stay." He regarded her uncertainly, offering a quick glance at Jacob's lifeless body. "Please," she added, sensing his apprehension.

Jack gave a curt nod, stuffed his hands in his pockets and went to get a chair so he could sit by her.

"I'm sorry, Carter," he said inaudibly and she averted her eyes to her father, taking a steadying breath. "How are you doing?"

"Good." He raised an eyebrow at her and she flashed a self-conscious smile at him. "As strange as that sounds I really am. He should've been dead four years ago. In those four years I've grown closer to him than I ever thought I could," she explained. "In a way, Selmac gave me the father I always wanted."

"Yes, well," Jack began in that 'get ready for a bad joke' tone. "He did have a way with controlling Dad's temper," he quipped and smiled, seeing a grin break out on her face. She dropped her eyes, still faintly smiling and he kept attentive eyes on her, wanting to throw his arms around her and kiss her troubles away. He wanted to give her what Jacob had asked of him. "C'mere," he said instead and tucked his arm around her, pulling her close, hoping his nearness would say what he could never hope to with words.

"Thank you, sir," she whispered.

Jack watched as her eyes took her off somewhere else as she stared at Jacob. He was feeling like he shouldn't be here, as if he was intruding - surely she needed to be alone with him right now. Then why did he feel compelled to stay?

"For what?" The words slipped out as if they were inevitable and he looked upon her as if had been the most natural thing to say. She shifted her eyes to look at him.

"For being here for me," she told him, the sincerity of her words marked fiercely by the appreciation in her eyes.

He stared at her, quietly stirred by what her words conveyed. What could he say to that? I don't deserve it, but I'll try to do better? No. Carter deserved more. More than him. And for a start, he would promise it to her, promise he would do all he could for her.

"Always," he breathed with the same depth she had startled him with. Suddenly having the need to feel him against her in any way, she grabbed the hand that he had lain on her shoulder, gave it a squeeze and pressed her cheek to it.

Sam took a soothing breath of his scent and felt it install strength and hope inside her. Strength to endure the loss of her father and hope in the small word he whispered that meant so much to her.