Encounter in a Cemetery
Disclaimer: Nope, they don't belong to me.
A/N: I know it's been forever since I've updated this fic or SG1 in Atlantis or my Atlantis fic. I'm very sorry about it; I'd tell you that it's going to be very soon now but I'd be lying. I am working on the Atlantis fic and even have the next chapter done but I want to have at least three chapters done before I post so that I don't keep you waiting forever for updates again. As for SG1 in Atlantis, that fic will be reworked as I'm going to incorporate it fully into the crossover world I created with Men; those of you who have read The Men From the Gate know what I'm talking about and those of you who haven't, hopefully will still like the fic after I finish updating it. However, this fic is right in the middle of that world and I think you'll need to have read SG1 in Atlantis or at least know what happens there to fully enjoy it because, as my beta reminded me, I make references to things that happen there and references to characters we first meen in Men. I think reading all this universe would allow you to enjoy this fic better but I don't think it's necessary. The order of the fics: Te Quedaste, Te Amare, The Men From the Gate, Aliens in the City and SG1 in Atlantis. The first two are complete and featured only SG1 Men is complete but it introduces the characters from the show Bones. Aliens is almost done, about four chapters from the end; and SG1 in Atlantis, like I said, that one is not done and will be undergoing major updates as soon as Aliens is done. Well, I think that's it for A/N. I hope you like this fic as much as the other ones. Enjoy!!! PS. as always thanks to Pup for all her help!!
----
The sun was shining and a cool breeze was blowing when Jack knelt by his son's headstone one early autumn morning. He laid down the bouquet of flowers he'd been carrying to one side while he dusted off the gravestone. He then sat back on his heels and simply studied the grave as memories of his son played in his mind.
"Hey there, Charlie" he said softly some time later as he gently ran his fingers over Charlie's name. "I'm sorry, I know it's been a while since I've been by," he admitted. "And that I should probably stop by more often. But," he went on, "that doesn't mean that there's a day that goes by that I don't think about you or that I don't pray that you're in a better place." 'Or,' he added mentally, 'that I don't blame myself for you death.' However, he knew better than to say that aloud; it would only cause Sam to worry about him even more than she already was – and that was the last thing he needed or wanted.
"It's just that," he continued with a small shrug after a pause, "life sometimes gets complicated and we can't always do what we'd like." He paused for another moment and then turned to look up at Sam, who was standing behind him. "You remember Sam," he said as if re-introducing her.
"Hey, Charlie," Sam said, taking a step closer to Jack and placing her hand on his shoulder. "I'm also sorry we can't come to visit you as often as we'd like. I'd promise we'll try to do better but . . . well, I don't like to make promises I'm not sure I can keep."
"Yeah, about that," Jack spoke up again. "That's actually the main reason we're here now. Carter here," he said with a small grimace, pointing back at Sam again, and unconsciously reverting to his old way of addressing her, "is making me take a vacation – against my will, I might add."
"What your father isn't saying," Sam clarified, tightening her fingers on Jack's shoulders and frowning down at him, "is that he's been working really hard lately. He's become something of a workaholic; yeah, I know, hard to believe, huh?" She smiled for a moment before turning serious again. "But it's true; he's been very stressed and actually collapsed once."
"Oh, come on, Carter!" Jack protested.
"What?" She asked him. "It's true. You need to rest." Since he knew there was no way he was going to win that fight, Jack chose retreat.
"Anyway," he said, "She's making me go on a little trip. Well, not so little – it's actually a long, long way from here," he made a vague gesture with his hand indicating the sky. "I wanted to go somewhere closer but she wouldn't hear of it."
"That's because I know you," Sam defended herself. "And I know you wouldn't really rest if we stay on . . ." she caught herself before she said 'Earth', "around. You know what happened when you tried to vacation here in Colorado Springs and in Minnesota. You were just pulled right back into work. You won't get any rest if we stay anywhere were they can easily reach you. Maybe if we go to . . . where we're going, you can actually relax and forget about work for a while."
It was a long shot; after all, Atlantis was still under his command and knowing him, he might very well try to involve himself in its day to day trials. But it was still the best option that she could see; it would take three weeks to get there and three weeks to get back and Sheppard had told her there were plenty of places for quiet fishing – especially if one didn't mind not catching any fish.
This disagreement had the feel of an old one; all the arguments had been given and countered more than once already. They weren't going to resolve it that day, just as they hadn't really resolve it before because there was nothing to resolve; Sam had made a decision and Jack had no reasonable grounds on which to object. Besides, his son's gravesite was not the place to revisit the argument so Jack once again changed the subject.
"So," he continued, "we're going on this little trip and it's going to take quite a bit before we get back." Three weeks to get there, three weeks to get back and at least six weeks there to complete the three months Sam, the doctors and the President had agreed was the minimum amount of time Jack would stay away from work. Sam and the doctors had wanted Jack to take six months off; Jack and the President had argued that that was too long. Knowing Jack would probably go crazy if he was forced to be inactive for six months, everyone had compromised on three months. He would have a check up at the end of those three months and depending on the results, they would decide if he needed farther rest or not.
"Actually," he went on, "we're not really sure when we'll come back." 'Or if we'll come back,' he added mentally; one never knew what would happen when taking an inter-galactic trip. "So, we wanted to come by and say hi, tell you of our impeding trip and that we'll come see you as soon as we get back."
"Yes," Sam nodded. "We couldn't leave without saying 'bye'."
"We'll come by to see you as soon as we get back," Jack promised.
"Yes," Sam agreed.
"Well," Jack said, getting up. "We'll be going now. We just wanted to come and say bye. Our . . . transport is leaving soon and we need to get back." He stood there for a moment longer before sighing and turning to walk away. Sam hesitated for a few seconds before turning to follow her husband.
"I promise I'll take good care of him," she promised before she hurried to catch up with Jack. When she reached him, he reached out and grabbed his hands. As they walked away from Charlie's grave a soft, warmer breeze seemed to come out of nowhere and sweep by them before dispersing. With a last look at Charlie's grave, the couple left the cemetery.
Three months and a week later, they were back. This time Jack didn't kneel down because the ground was covered in snow and ice. He did dust off the snow from the headstone, clearing Charlie's name, after laying down the flowers.
"Hey, Charlie," he said softly, looking down at the engraving of his son's name before looking around the mostly empty cemetery. He swept his gaze back and forth as if expecting his son to pop up from nowhere at any moment. After their encounter back in Atlantis, such an expectation wasn't completely out of the realm of possibilities.
The fact was that Jack hadn't been sure whether he wanted to come back to the cemetery at all after his visit with Charlie. After having seen and talked to his son and having been assured that he was well in some form alive 'out there', it didn't seem to right to come to a place that was all about death to say hi. His son wasn't dead, after all; he wasn't just in another plane of existence.
"Hi, Charlie," Sam said, holding hands with Jack when he came back to stand by her side. "I . . . hope everything's still good with you. You know," Sam said, turning to look at Jack. "You were right, this is weird."
"I told you it would be," Jack shrugged. He hadn't been sure about coming but Sam had argued that it was a good idea. She'd said that since they didn't know where Charlie might be, they might as well go to the place that he'd been put to rest – that it might help Jack feel closer to Charlie. Jack had argued that he didn't go to a specific place to feel closer to his son but in the end had agreed to come. Since they'd found out about Sam's condition, he did his best to humor her.
"Still," he continued. "I'm glad we're here."
"Really?" she asked.
"Yeah," he nodded. "He might be God knows where but this is where we buried him. I don't know if I feel closer to him here but since I don't know when, where or if I'll see him again, this is a good place to come to when I think about him or when I just want to . . . be closer to him." He paused for a second before he grimaced. "I don't know if I'm making sense."
"I know what you mean," she told him, laying her head on his shoulder. She turned to look at the headstone again. "I guess we don't have to tell him our news, huh? He knew before us."
"That he did," Jack grinned, shifting so that he could place his free hand on Sam's stomach, which was visible even under all the winter gear she was wearing. "You think he'll show up again after this little one is born?"
"I hope so," Sam answered. "It'd be nice to see him again."
"Yeah, it would," Jack agreed. He fell silent again and Sam, who knew all of his moods, understood that he wanted to take a minute to just be there close to his son. She placed her left hand over the hand on her stomach and laid her head on his shoulder again, patiently waiting until he was done.
A few moments later, he stirred and dropped a kiss on her head. "You ready?" he asked.
"Yes," she nodded. She straightened and murmured 'bye' towards the gravesite. After saying his own good-bye, Jack shifted her grip on Sam to better help her walk on the uneven ground.
"So," Jack said as they walked toward the parking lot. "What did Dr. Bones want?" He asked, grinning as he used Parker Booth's nickname for Dr. Brennan.
"Oh," Sam said as she remembered the phone conversation she'd had with Brennan before they left the house. "She just wanted to find out whether we were going to be in DC this weekend. Parker wanted to know if you'd be available for a play date," she added, grinning cheekily.
"And what did you say?" he asked, grinning at the idea of having a play date with his favorite 8 year old.
"That we would be happy to have him Saturday evening," Sam answered. "I also told her that we could keep him that night if they wanted to have a night out."
"You know I love spending time with Parker," he told her. "But are you sure it's a good idea to have him the whole night? He's a very active little guy and you need your rest."
"Oh, I'm not worried," she assured him. "I'm going to get plenty of rest; you'll be the one running after him."
"Ah, I see how it is," he began to tease when he heard someone call his name. He caught Sam's eye for a second before they both turned toward the sound. The saw a woman wearing a dark green coat and a hat pulled down on her hair hurrying towards them.
"Jack?" the woman said again and now that she was closer, Jack recognized her.
"Sara?" he asked, taking a few steps closer before stopping a couple of feet from where the other woman had stopped.
"Hi," Sara said. "Fancy meeting you here."
"Yes," Jack nodded, before stepping closer and leaning down for a kiss. "How are you Sara?"
"I'm fine," Sara answered. "I'm actually doing very good, thanks. You?"
"I'm doing good too," Jack replied. "You remember Sam," he said, taking a step back and motioning to Sam before taking her arm. "Sam, you remember Sara."
"Yes, of course," Sam nodded. "Hello, Sara."
"Sam," Sara nodded back. Her gaze traveled down to Sam's prominent stomach before she commented, "I see there's no need to ask what's new."
"I guess not," Sam grinned, rubbing her bump with her free hand.
"Congratulations to you both," Sara said. She sounded very sincere but there was a touch of what might have been nostalgia in her eyes for a few seconds as she looked back at Jack. "So, how far along are you?" she asked Sam, seeming to shake off whatever it was that came over her.
"Almost five months," Sam answered.
"Do you know what you're going to have yet?"
"We think a girl," Sam answered. "But it hasn't really been confirmed." They might not have a medical confirmation but after Charlie's visit and Sam's 'dream' while she was injured in the Prometheus, she was sure it would be a girl.
"A girl," Sara repeated. "That'll be nice."
"Yes," Jack agreed, speaking up for the first time since he re-introduced his wife to his former wife. "I just hope she takes after her mother."
"Oh, I don't know," Sam said. "I'd love a little girl with your eyes."
"I'm sure she'll be beautiful either way," Sara told them. "You make a striking couple."
"Thank you," Jack told her while Sam nodded. "So . . ."
"You've been to see Charlie?" Sara asked before an awkward silence could take hold.
"Yes," he nodded. "We just came from there."
"You came by a few months ago too, right?" Sara asked. "I saw some new flowers about three months ago." While Jack went to visit Charlie's grave sporadically, Sara went by every week.
"Yes," he answered. "We were going on a long trip and we wanted to come by before we left."
"Business?" Sara asked, thinking that three months was a long time for Jack to take a vacation trip.
"Not really," Sam answered. "There were a few things we needed to take care of," she added, thinking of their time in Atlantis. "But it was primarily so that Jack could rest. He'd been a little run down and needed the time off." While Jack rolled his eyes at the mention of him being 'run down', Sara looked a little concerned.
"But you're okay now?" Sara asked.
"Yes, I'm fine," Jack reassured her. "I was fine then too; it was just a little stress."
"It was more than that," Sam protested. "Your body was asked to take more than it could handle," she reminded him. That the more was due to her pregnancy was something she still had a hard time accepting without feeling guilty.
"But it's all fine now," Jack repeated. "I'm fine now," and he seemed to be reassuring both Sara and Sam. And he was; while Jack might not ever admit out loud that he had been feeling tired and run down three months ago, he was now feeling as good as ever. He'd had to adjust his diet and rest more than he'd ever had (he was actually taking naps whenever Sam took hers) but he was doing much better. And he was confident he could go back to his regular diet and sleep schedule after the baby was born. Sam, on the other hand, wasn't so sure of that. She'd never had a baby but she was sure that a new born demanded a lot of time and the fact was that Jack hadn't been around too much when Charlie had been a baby, so he didn't really know either.
"You need to take care of yourself, Jack," Sara told him. "You have a wife and a baby on the way now, you can't keep taking your health for granted."
"I don't," he protested even as Sam agreed with Sara.
"That's what I keep telling him," Sam said. "But he rarely listens when it comes to his health."
"I know," Sara sympathized. "And getting him to go the doctor for regular check ups is next to impossible. If it wasn't for the Air Force medical requirements, I don't he'd ever go for one."
"So, Sara," Jack said in a slightly louder tone of voice, "what's new with you?" he asked, in a not subtle way to change the subject. Sam and Sara grinned but left the previous subject die.
"Not much," Sara shrugged. "I got a promotion at work."
"Congratulations," Jack and Sam told her.
"It means more hours but I like it," she continued.
"I'm glad," Jack said. A sudden gust of wind made Sam and Sara shiver and prompted Jack to call an end to the conversation. "Well, I guess we better get moving," he said. "I don't want Sam to catch a cold."
"I'm fine," Sam protested but this time Sara was agreeing with Jack.
"Jack's right," Sara said. "You need to be extra careful when you're pregnant – you can't really take any medication if you do get sick. Besides, it is cold and I need to get going too."
"It was nice to see you," Jack said, stepping forward for a good-bye kiss before stepping back and throwing an arm around Sam's shoulders.
"Have a good day," Sam said, smiling at the other woman.
"You too," Sara said, smiling at both. "Take care and congratulations again." With a final bye all around, Sara continued towards Charlie's grave while Jack and Sam continued towards their car.
As it had three months and a week ago, a gentle, warm breeze came out of nowhere and seemed to caress Jack, Sam and Sara. This time, though, Jack and Sam shared a smile and whispered 'Charlie'. Sara didn't know why but the breeze relaxed her and she went on with a lighter step.
