A/N: I fell down the rabbit hole but found no Wonderland. Trapped instead inside real life and forced to change all plans. No time to search for Alice, nor the rabbit or his friends. I looked instead for ways to make the means justify the ends. I too have missed My Wonderland and I thank you for your wait. Another chapter lies below, thank you for your faith.
"I relieve and release your hurt so that you may be set free." - Alice in Wonderland (1951 Movie)
The diner was everything she thought it'd be, from the chrome and leather booths to the jukebox in the corner that played 45s. They tucked themselves away in a corner and didn't bother with the menu as they each ordered a cheeseburger and fries and Sam smiled as the waitress brought over a chocolate malt complete with two red and white straws sticking out of the frost-covered metal cup.
They laughed their way through lunch despite the heaviness of their earlier emotions and Sam felt a release that she hadn't realized she'd needed. A long-forgotten ease had returned to their interaction and the inhibition that had once existed before their feelings had been forced into the open and then pushed further beneath the surface, found itself now settling between them.
"Any requests?" Jack asked as he got up and motioned to the jukebox.
She shook her head.
"Ah, going to leave yourself and all of these innocent people at my mercy?" He waggled his eyebrows and gave her a smirk before he turned he walked away.
She watched him from across the room. He was moving with an elegance that one would not normally associate with an Air Force General. So casual, so carefree, so sexy. He turned and caught her in a look that did nothing to hide what she'd just been thinking and she quickly looked away as she felt her cheeks blush hotly.
Gone only a few minutes more, he slid into the booth beside her when he returned. She froze momentarily as her breath caught in her throat and she felt her heart flutter at the feel of him settling into her, knee-to-knee, hip-to-hip, his arm slung around her shoulder. No hallucinations, no drugs, no alien influence, just the two of them together learning how to express their affection without fear or trepidation.
She smiled and relaxed into him as The Joker started playing on the jukebox. The smile stayed when she heard him humming along.
And so they stayed there, huddled in the booth finishing their malt. Jack's hand trailing up and down her arm, her head resting on his shoulder until one too many "get a room" eye rolls from their waitress made them feel like it was time hit the road.
They lingered another few minutes, letting the remainder of the songs Jack had chosen play out. And as the truck pulled back out onto the highway, Sam let herself take a brief look back at the neon sign winking in the window and smiled.
'You deserve to love someone and be loved in return.'
They had been riding in contented silence for several miles when Sam reached for the radio. Jack offered her his stash of CDs, knowing what it would be like to try to find music amid the incessant static of the countryside, but she shook her head and determinedly continued her search. When she finally found a station that she knew they both could enjoy she smiled at him before settling back in her seat with a soft sigh. Sam closed her eyes as the Eagles played and let Desperado lull her to sleep.
'Always the brave soldier,' Jack mused as he once again stole glances at her while also trying to focus on the road in front of them. She was used to running on nothing but adrenaline and caffeine in high stress situations, but the exhaustion caused over the last week had her running on fumes and it was only a matter of time before she crashed and hard. Her earlier breakdown at the diner was proof that her control was slipping and he knew how much it had to have embarrassed her. They were alike in that respect. Both constantly covering themselves with their military bravado and vowing to keep all emotions in check no matter the situation. The fact that she had not only let him help ground her, but that she had willingly sought his comfort spoke volumes about her current state of mind.
Without a doubt, he knew this trip would be good for her. She would finally get some space to clear her thoughts and relax. And if nothing else came of forcing her into relative solitude, he'd make sure she got some much-needed sleep. If she had stayed in the Springs, she would have inevitably ended up holed up in her lab over-working, trying to cover her feelings and avoid the sympathetic stares and condolences from those around her. No, this was the only way he could make sure that she would take all the time she needed to deal with her father's death, her impending transfer offer, and what all of this would mean for her feelings about "them."
Sam sighed in her sleep and Jack reached over to tuck her hair behind her ear. He'd out-and-out stare if he wasn't driving at that moment because it was truly wonderful to see her. He hadn't really seen very much of her over the last few months, infirmary visits aside, and he'd been able to gauge the tension building inside of her for quite some time. After all, they'd pretty much written the book on interpretation of body language and how to say things to one another without ever actually speaking.
The tension between the two of them had been almost unbearable after she'd shown him that damned black box. Unable to compartmentalize his hurt, he took it out on her by freezing her out, being formal almost to the point of acting like they were strangers, and outright avoiding being alone with her at all costs. And then, while he sat back licking his wounds in the arms of another woman, she had pulled herself further and further away, desperately trying to create another life in which she didn't have to pretend that this game they'd played for so many years wasn't a painful one.
Eyes back to the road in front of him, Jack let his mind wander as the radio played. He knew that he and Sam were off to a good start despite recent events. They'd both acknowledged the mistakes they'd made and the hurt they'd caused and both had forgiven one another, if not themselves, for being so short sighted that it had taken Kerry and Jacob to force them to acknowledge the truth.
'Don't let rules stand in your way, Jack. She loves you. Why can't you let yourself believe it?'
He sighed as Jacob's words washed over him. He knew that the man would be smirking if he were here to see how far he and Sam had come in just a few days. 'And if he were here, I might even let him take a little bit of the credit for it,' he mused.
She stirred beside him and a sleepy voice pulled him back from his reverie, "Jack?"
"Yeah."
She looked at him, sleepy-eyed, hair mussed, and for a moment he felt his heart stop.
"Thank you."
"Anytime, Carter, anytime."
A/N 2: I get nothing but my own satisfaction from my use of Stargate's characters and my mention of The Eagles, The Steve Miller Band, and their music.
