As always my thanks to PhDelicious for her time and making this better. Still, all errors are mine and mine alone. Thanks to all who are following this. Thanks for to all for your reviews! All comments are appreciated.
Disclaimer: Not mine. All recognizable characters etc. etc. etc. belong to somebody else! You give all the credit to MGM- Gekko- Double Secret. No money will ever be mine for any of this. My reward is just getting Jack and Sam together. No intention to infringe.
Chapter 9
Summary: Jack makes things better. "Ya think?"
The group planning the rebellion had agreed to let things lie for a while; at least until Sam was back on her feet. Jack was staying with her most of the time. Daniel and Teal'c were helping the tribe for a few days. They came in at night but were gone during the day.
A few days after Grace was born, Sam was still too sore to move around much. jack insisted that he examine her stitches. He was really worried; she seemed so lifeless, and he knew he had made a mess of Sam's vaginal tissue. She had used a lot of their supply of Tylenol and much of the antibiotic cream from their medical kit. So far, they had managed to keep her from getting an infection.
"No, Jack, just leave me alone. You've done enough damage. If your hands weren't so damn big, maybe you wouldn't have needed to cut me from one end to the other."
Jack began to think she wasn't kidding. He wondered if he would ever get to see her naked after her wounds were healed; which he intended to examine now.
"I'll get Daniel to help me," she stated to get a rise from him.
"Not until I'm dead, you won't." Yeah, she'd gotten the rise she was looking for. She snickered. It was the least he deserved. From the look on Jack's face, it was a good thing Daniel wasn't there.
"Sam, why would you say that?" He looked at her, hurt reflected in his eyes. He couldn't help being a little jealous.
"I'm just kidding, Jack. You know that, but I do mean you aren't looking. It might give you ideas," she teased him.
"Ya think? Really Sam, you have no faith in me. I can help you without getting .. you know .. ideas." The twinkle in his eyes gave him away.
"Jack, do you ever regret not getting together before we came here?" All of a sudden she was serious.
"Sam, I should've removed you from my command and married you after the first six months. If I'd thought I'd had a chance in hell with you, ... Well.. .. But I didn't think you would ever want an old worn-out soldier like me. .. I'm not so sure you would now, if we were still in 2005." Sam rolled her eyes, but she understood his doubt. She sometimes wondered the same about his feelings for her.
The baby began to fuss, and Sam prepared herself to nurse Grace. Jack wet a clean cloth and handed it to her to wash her nipple. He loved to watch Sam feed Gracie. He remembered feeding Charlie. He loved the feeling it had given him to hold Charlie close and watch him. He had been such a greedy little thing. He could finish a bottle in two minutes.
One of the things he missed most from 2005 was a baby bottle. He wanted to feed Gracie more than anything. He loved to watch her eyes as she nursed. He loved the look in Sam's eyes, too. She was in love with Gracie, and it was reflected so obviously. It was a look of pure love.
As he watched her nurse Gracie; Jack realized that Sam had looked at him like that for a very long time, even before and while she was with Petey boy. Why the hell hadn't he noticed it before? Was he just dense or had he really been that afraid of starting over?
Sam moved the baby to her other breast. It snapped Jack back to the present. He leaned over and kissed her softly. Sam was still the most beautiful women in the universe to him. "About the exam?" he asked.
"No, Jack, let it go!"
"Can you put the salve on by yourself? Will you put enough on the wound?" He was really concerned that she wasn't using the antibiotic salve on herself. She thought they had already used too much of their medical supplies for her. Sam just stared at him. "Okay, Sam, but I swear if you let yourself get infected, it really will be a waste of the supplies we've already used. ... I'm just sayin' ..." He held up his hands in defeat.
"Damn it, Jack, I know you just want to look. Okay . .. So look!" Grace jerked a little as she raised her voice slightly. Jack didn't waste any more words. He quickly prepared the necessary supplies. He really couldn't stand the thought of her not healing properly; he knew the damage he'd done. He wasn't sure it would ever heal.
Sam moved the baby to her shoulder. After the baby burped, Sam lay back on the pillows. She held Grace close to her body, waiting for Jack to do whatever he felt was needed. He had just about driven her crazy, nagging her to let him see the stitches. They hurt so much; she really didn't want him to know.
Most of all, she was still uncomfortable exposing herself to him in her current condition. It embarrassed her. Sam was a modest person. It was either let him look or else listen to his endless nagging. She guessed if it didn't bother him, it shouldn't bother her. He was after all, her husband and doctor. Even if he was no Janet! He had brought Grace into the world alive! And she was alive. She guessed he deserved to look.
"How does it look, Jack?" she said through a grim face. He was cleaning her like he did Grace.
"Actually, it's clean, no sign of infection. Thank God," Jack said very calmly.
"I hate for you to have to do that, I can clean myself up." She wasn't too happy and Jack quickly understood the reason.
"Baby, this doesn't bother me. You know how much I love looking at your beautiful body," he teased her trying to lighten the moment. It did. She giggled. "Don't you go getting ideas! I've already made it plain, sex will never happen again! Not, unless we can somehow get to a more civilized time. Doesn't seem to be any chance of that."
"Oh, God, Sam. How that wounds me! Could you really go from now on without a little lovin' from Ol' Jack? I thought I was a Valentino!" he laughed at her.
"Oh, you are! I'm just not sure if it was worth all this. Well ... I didn't mean Grace! She is worth it!" she stuttered.
"You hear that Gracie! Sam, we both know you'll eventually miss Ol' Jack's lovin'!" He laughed, eyes twinkling at her.
"Ya think? Jack!!!" She giggled, not realizing he was finished with her. He had kept her mind entertained during the worst part.
"Ok, Sam. I'm all finished. See, I didn't do anything except what I was supposed to."
"I love you, Jack O'Neill."
"Me too, you. What brought that on?" he asked curiously.
"You make it better," she said, her eyes twinkling.
"That mean you're changing your mind about the lovin' from Ol' Jack?" he teased.
"Not yet." Her embarrassment was gone. Her eyes twinkled.
"See! That wasn't a never! I'm making headway!" He teased. She reached out her hand to him as if to pull him to her.
"Kiss me Jack," she requested. All of a sudden she was very serious. Jack moved the water and other things out of the way and crawled up the bed to lie beside Sam and Grace. Grace had fallen asleep. Jack rolled over to his side and pulled Sam and the baby into his arms. He kissed her softly at first; but before they knew it, tongues were involved and the kiss became passionate. Jack broke the kiss, winking at Sam.
"See! You can't do without Ol' Jack!" She giggled again. He snuggled into her hair and held them both close. They dozed for a while.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Daniel stuck his head into the tent. They were still sleeping; so, he and Teal'c settled outside the tent and waited for Jack and Sam to wake. Though they had all agreed to stop working on the rebellion for the time being, they wanted to report to Jack what Katep had told them.
It wasn't long before Jack heard them talking quietly outside the tent and moved his arms slowly from around Sam. He didn't want to wake her. He knew she wasn't having the easiest time recovering from childbirth. Rest was the best thing for her.
As Jack walked outside the tent, Daniel looked up and greeted him. "Everything okay?" He could hear the concern in Daniel's voice.
"The stitches actually look good. Even if I do say so myself," Jack teased Daniel. "She looks good as far as the incisions, but I'm a little worried; she's not up much. I hope she's just sore. It's not like Sam to give in to anything." Daniel could see the worry in Jack's eyes. He understood. He felt the same way.
Teal'c spoke up, "O'Neill, does it not take women of the Tau'ri some time to recover from childbirth?" He had been watching too much TV.
"Not, really Teal'c. Earth women are usually up and around the next day or so, unless they have surgery to deliver the baby," Daniel responded before Jack had a chance. "In fact, not even surgery keeps them in bed more than three to five days. Our doctors believe the faster we are up and around, the faster we heal from surgery."
"Oh! And you know this--how, Spacemonkey?" Jack asked.
"Janet. You remember when I had my appendix out? She had me up and around fast. I complained and she explained. It worked too," Daniel smiled remembering his affection for Janet.
"What worked? The complainin' or the splaining?" Jack teased Daniel.
"Someone seems to be in a good mood today," Daniel looked at Jack.
"I am. I have the most beautiful wife and baby in the universe!" he stated. "So, what did Katep have to say?" Jack asked looking at Teal'c.
"Not much," Daniel answered anyway. "They are getting ready to move a little closer to the river. Ra has been raiding again."
"Really? Know who he took?" Jack looked at Daniel then Teal'c, concerned.
"Yeah, Nebul's younger sister and Jo'sep's youngest brother. Nebul was really upset. I told her I'd come tomorrow and help them take down the tents. It seems they are moving all of them," Daniel continued.
"Jo'sep is concerned that Ra suspects who has been making the raids," Teal'c informed Jack. "I am unsure if it is speculation or if he has reason."
"You think we should consider moving until Sam is better and the baby's a little older?" Jack asked Teal'c. He wasn't sure if any place would be safe from Ra, but he really wanted to hide Sam and Grace. Jack was deep in thought.
"Jack, what are you thinking?" Daniel asked.
"Maybe, we should think of leaving this planet and going somewhere else!" he replied.
"Jack, we been through that. You know Sam won't agree," Daniel answered.
"That was before we had Grace. You won't believe what worrying about a child will do to you!" Jack exclaimed.
"Yeah, maybe we should get farther away from Ra and his Jaffa for a while." Daniel replied. "I just hate to leave Nebul right now."
"Bring her with us." Jack smiled at Daniel. He knew Daniel had strong feelings for this girl. He couldn't blame him, she was really pretty. She made him think of Sha're too.
"I don't know, Jack. She's too young for me," Daniel said, looking downcast.
"God, do I know how you feel. .. If only I hadn't waited so long to tell Sam how much I loved and needed her in my life, we most likely wouldn't be here now, wondering if we'll live or not." His words were so heartfelt, it surprised Daniel.
"Daniel, I have learned one thing from this. There are no certainties and we have to grab happiness and love when it's offered. Believe me; age doesn't matter nearly as much you think. Anyway, Spacemonkey, you're young," Jack said. He squeezed Daniels shoulder and went back into the tent to check on Sam and Grace.
'Yeah,' he thought. 'Why did I wait so long?'
'Indeed,' Teal'c thought as he watched and listened to the conversation between his two friends. He understood Jack's sentiments perfectly. He remembered Ish'ta. Teal'c knew in his heart he would never see her or hold her again. Why had he put off telling Ish'ta what he felt for her? Maybe it was for the best. At least she would be able to move on with her life a lot faster if she didn't bear both their grief. But wait? Was he still with her in their original timeline? Like O'Neill, all this 'timeline talk' gave him a headache. The only timeline that made any sense was the one he currently occupied.
Teal'c wasn't just grieving over losing his past life, his lover and his family; he was running short on Tretonin. He would have to start splitting the dosage very soon. He hoped Samantha would soon be back on her feet, or he doubted his usefulness in the rebellion. Teal'c was beginning to get somewhat anxious with nothing to do. He'd always hated idleness. Daniel was spending most of his extra time with Nebul. O'Neill and Samantha had each other. At this point, he just didn't know what to do. He had not felt so lost since first leaving Chulak with SG1; but this time, he could not see a future.
TBC
End notes:
I know this story is a very angst. I've tried to down play it, but I just come back to this--it had to be their life in Egypt. Muse won't let go! Thanks for reading!