See part 1 for disclaimer.
A/N - Might take me a while to get the third part up, but all encouragement to do so gets me writing faster. Thank-you for the reviews guys.Oh and if anyone fancies giving future chapters a beta, you'd be a star.
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flashback
She could feel the pressure increasing; she could feel his hands clutching at her clothes, tugging at them. Willing them to fall away. He was keen tonight, in fact too keen she thought as she felt his nails dig into her waist. She tried to pull away slightly, trying to drop the hint to take it slow. Slow wasn't his thing, in fact she couldn't remember once when they had taken it slow and explored each other. All of a sudden she felt herself being flipped around and thrown against the wall. Within seconds she felt him against her again. He was in control. The pain in her waist was increased as she felt his nails dig into her flesh. God he must be drawing blood, she moaned. He mistook it for pleasure and started tearing at her clothes, that's when panic started to set in. She tried to push him away but doing that just seemed to encourage him even more. The pressure his mouth was placing on hers was immeasurable; she squirmed once again trying to push him away. Then she heard it...she remembered the scene from the night before.
"I want you now"
Pulling her arms out of his grasp she started beating her fists against his chest. He didn't flinch. Pulling her mouth away from his, she bit down hard on his lip, drawing blood. This time he did flinched, bringing his hand back, with force against her cheek, she fell down onto her knees, he said sorry, this time she forgave him. Next time she wouldn't.
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"Josh!!" she protested against his lips. He didn't budge an inch. "Josh stop!!" she was insistent. Still he didn't budge. Images of the previous night flashed before her eyes. She felt him pressing himself up against her. She shuddered. Something wasn't right. And she knew why, he had clasped her hands behind her back. His kisses became urgent against the side of her neck. He left her lips alone. Taking it upon himself to bruise her skin with his damaging kisses. She opened her eyes to look at him; his eyes were dark filled with desire. She pushed again and again she didn't freeze until she heard four words.
"Not this time Sam!"
When did things get like this she thought? He wasn't like this before, granted he wasn't the gentlest lover she had ever had, but when she said stop before he stopped, what was so different this time?? Trying to pull herself out of her daze, Sam continued to struggle against the power Josh had over her. One of his hands came to cover her mouth, keeping her quiet efficiently. Still she couldn't move her hands, he had her wedged against the wall perfectly. She felt his other free hand traveling further up her stomach until it came to rest on her chest. Her systems went on def con 1, using every ounce of energy her body possessed she raised her knee, she sighed a sigh of relief when she heard the anguish cry, knowing she had hit the intended target. But she didn't expect what happened next.
"You bitch" the next thing she saw was his fist coming towards her, and the darkness.
"Mmmm that was great" Jack said as he rubbed his stomach in delight. He wasn't exactly being truthful but she had gone to all the trouble. And he could hardly say 'given the choice between good old American pizza or a dish of which he couldn't even announce the name of he'd definitely go for pizza' could he?? 'God I'd kill for a beer right now' he thought as he looked towards the fridge with hungry eyes. But tonight was going to be special and on special occasions people drank wine, so that's what he was doing.
"I'm glad you liked it" she rose and started to collect the dishes but was stopped by Jacks hand on her arm.
"Leave em".
"But..."
"They can wait". He looked towards the living room. "Come on" he said gently tugging her towards the room.
"Jack!!"
"Sara??" he turned to look at her with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"What are you doing?" he sat down on the couch pulling Sara down with him.
"Showing my woman a good time" he waggled his eyes suggestively. Positioning himself so he could pull Sara into his arms he noticed the corner of something sticking out from underneath the couch. Still grinning he started to reach down for the item. "What's this?" he asked. Sara looked down and gasped when he pulled the item out. She tried to pull it from out of his hands but he was to fast. He laughed as he saw the uncomfortable look appear on her face, but that laughed soon died down. Choking on his words he managed to mumble out "Bride and groom??"
"Its nothing" she said hurriedly pulling herself from his lap and grasping the magazine from his hand. He looked at her carefully and saw the glimmer of disappointment shown in her eyes.
"You wanna get married?" he said more seriously than he wanted to.
"Was that a proposal?" Jack for the first time in his life was speechless. As he opened his mouth to speak no sound came out. He tried again.
"Well... You........... I..." Sara looked at Jack and saw the despair in his eyes.
"It's okay I shouldn't have brought it up. I can understand why you don't want to get married again..."
"Its not that!" Jack shouted as he suddenly found his voice. "Sorry" he apologized for the volume.
"So you don't want to marry me?" You know that rock and hard place people talk about? Well that's where Jack was right about now. Without thinking he opened his mouth and the words just flowed out.
"Of course I do!"
"Yes"
"Yes??"
"I'll marry you". Sara said as she threw herself at Jack. 'D'oh!'
As hard as she scrubbed it wouldn't go away. She felt dirty, she felt ashamed. As she looked down at her body she saw the marks made by the excessive scrubbing mingled in with the cuts and bruises made by that monster. A monster. That's what he was. He had reduced an air force Major to a quivering mess. As the thoughts of the night washed back into her mind she felt the tears sting her eyes. 'I will not cry' she told herself. But her determination to not cry only increased her body's determination to cry. Within seconds her body was shaking with so many emotions as the severity of last night finally hit home. As she lent against the shower wall she felt her knees give way and her whole body fall to the floor. She was getting used to the darkness.
"So, did she say yes?" Daniel asked as he crammed another forkful of waffle into his mouth.
"No" Jack answered as he stirred his fruit loops, creating a whirlpool of milk.
"No?"
"Well, yes".
"Yes?"
"What?" Jack asked tearing his gaze away from the many colors swirling around in his milk.
"Are you going to the cabin together this weekend or not?"
"No" he said sighing.
"I thought you just said she said yes"
"That was to my other question," he said as he looked around the room, trying to divert attention away from the impending question that was about to follow.
"What one was that?"
"My marriage proposal" Daniel looked at Jack like he had gone out. Jack on the other hand just raised his hand slightly, causing Daniel to start choking. All of a sudden every eye in the commissary was fixed on them as Daniel tried to get himself under control. Jack made no attempt to help, but found a slight satisfaction in Daniels discomfort.
"You asked her to marry you???" Daniel exclaimed. Jack quickly scanned the room to make sure no one had heard.
"Could you say that a bit louder I don't think they heard you in OZ!!!"
"Sorry" he said sincerely noticing the despair that appeared in Jack's eyes. "What happened?"
He sighed and took a deep breath as he prepared to tell Daniel the tale.
"... And that's when she said 'I'll marry you'". He said finishing off.
"Oh!" was all Daniel could manage.
"Oh?? That's it?? I'm getting married and all you can say is Oh!!!" Jack exclaimed raising his voice.
"Well I mean is it really a bad thing?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well you love her right?"
"Sure"
"And you wanna spend the rest of your life with her".
"I guess" Jack said shifting uncomfortably in his chair.
"Well there you go" Jack looked even more confused than when he started. "I mean its not like you have to get married right away is it?"
"I guess not" Daniel opened his mouth but Jack hadn't finished yet, his face showing that a new revelation had been discovered. "I mean it's not like we haven't be married before. And god I love her. So this is a good thing really" Daniel smiled as he saw the grin cover Jacks face.
The corridors seemed so empty today. 'Maybe they know' she thought as paranoia filled her veins. She touched her forehead and cringed slightly at the pain that traveled through her. Luckily the fall she had in the bathroom only caused a bump nothing more. One way or another her main objective was to avoid people in general today especially a certain air force officer. As she walked by the commissary the aroma that flew by her caused her stomach to churn even more. The ride to the base hadn't been an easy one; in fact that was an understatement. After crawling out of the shower she tried to eat something but her stomach would have none of it. Getting dressed proved to be a task. Standing in front of the mirror she stared at the damage that had been done to her body. She examined each bruise, wincing when the memory of how it had got there popped into her head. Sometimes when she ran her hand over a new bruise or mark she would shed a tear. And another tear if she couldn't remember how it got there. After seeing bruise after bruise and an occasional abrasion she could no longer look at her body. Flinging on a dressing gown she went to get dressed where there were no mirrors, no objects to bare her soul. Eventually she managed to leave the house, but paranoia filled her mind and her eyes were on constant watch. The drive seemed to take an eternity, time was mocking her. As she got nearer his lab a sense of calmness filled her. Her lab. She was safe here. No one could get here. Closing the door softly behind her she came face to face with a sign:
'Sam
Briefing 1300
Daniel x'
Taking the note in her hand she slowly dropped it to the floor, so much for avoiding people. So much for avoiding him!
He had a spring in his step and a big stupid goofy grin to go with it. 'I'm getting married' he thought, his grin got even wider. Well last night was certainly unexpected to say the least. He went with the intention to invite Sara to spend a weekend at his cabin; she hadn't been there for a long time. In fact the last time was probably Charlie's sixth birthday. 'God that was a great day' he thought. They had spent the whole day sitting on the deck. Jack was teaching Charlie the finer points of fishing while Sara sat reading a book on child psychology. He remembers it like it was yesterday. But now he has a second chance and he wasn't going to screw it up. Walking towards the briefing room he greeted every airman he passed, each one left slightly more shocked than the previous.
'Afternoon, Sir'. Walking through the door he noticed he was late. General George Hammond commander of the base sat at the head of the table, flicking through a report most likely written by Carter. Daniel was sat to his right engrossed with a big steaming cup of what looked like coffee, Teal'c was sat to his left reading some sort of alien conspiracy magazine that he likes to read. He wondered if it was the ones they had all subscribed him to it for his birthday. Next to Teal'c sat Janet who was obviously engrossed in another of her medical reports. across from them sat......... no one??
"General" Jacks asks as he enters the room, his eyes never leaving one seat. A seat that should be occupied but wasn't.
"Colonel. Nice of you too join us". Jack walked towards the chair that he usually occupied but stood up against it instead of sitting.
"Yep" he said not really taking in what the General had said. His thoughts were still set on the unoccupied seat to his right. "Carter not joining us?" he said as more of a statement rather than a question.
"I was going to ask you that Colonel".
"Haven't seen her all day, Sir". He pointed out.
"More like all week" Daniel mumbled, gaining Jack's attention.
"Something you want to add Daniel?" Daniel drew his attention away from the journal he had been previously been reading.
"No, nothing at all" a silence covered the group of 5. That was until a rather breathless Major Carter entered the room, all eyes focused on her. One set of eyes especially. There was something different about her he thought to himself, something not right. He watched her as she made her way deeper into the room. She was nervous, that bit was obvious. Carter was never nervous, she wasn't even nervous when she was on the verge of blowing a sun up. Jack drew his attention away from her to focus on the others. Concern etched their faces. She was never late, never.
"Sorry I'm late Sir" came the mumbled apology. Without waiting for a reply she sat herself down. He saw her wince slightly as her leg touched the top of the table, his curiosity had been well and truly piqued but as per usual the caring Jack lay in wait and out came Colonel Jack hardass O'Neill.
"Problem Major?" he asked.
"No Sir" she replied while moving her hand to her forehead.
"Care to explain why you're late then?"
She flinched at his tone. lifting her head up slightly, being careful to still cover up the lump and bruise on her head. She looked round to the table and saw the look on everyone's face, they wanted an answer too, and she had the perfect one.
"I had a incident in my lab, Sir" she lied.
"Incident?" the Colonel asked. By now everyone's attention was fixed on Sam.
"One of my experiments malfunctioned, Sir". Well she couldn't exactly tell them that she was being violently sick in the toilets could she? To demonstrate a point Sam lifted her hand away from her head and heard the gasps from around the table as her injury was seen by all.
"Oh" she heard Jack mumble underneath his breath. No that wasn't right it was the Colonel not Jack.
"Its nothing, just a bump".
"Doesn't look like nothing" looking across the room she looked for the person who the voice belonged to. Before she knew it a hand was felt on her shoulder. The touch was unexpected, causing Sam to panic. Jumping from her chair she heard a thud as the chair fell backwards to the floor. Coming to a stand still she noticed everyone's eyes still on her, the look of concerned filled their faces. Turning her head slightly she noticed that the Colonel was stood beside her. His hand was half way towards touching her, displaying an emotion she hadn't seen for a while. She met his eyes hesitantly; her heart sank as he whipped his hand away, creating an even greater distance between the pair. Slowly her sense came back online and she heard a voice.
"Sam? Sam? Are you alright?" She turned back around to face the blue eyes of one Daniel Jackson. With everyone's eyes locked on her she felt extremely nervous, the only thought that was running through her mind was 'They know'. But they couldn't know, but with someone with such a great mind as Samantha Carter she couldn't accept it. As she struggled to regain her composure.
"Erm.... I'm fine sorry".
"You don't look fine Sam" came Janet's voice.
"Just a little tired maybe". 'Well what's one lie more' she thought.
"Report to the infirmary Major" General Hammond reported. Self - consciously she wrapped her arms around her body, she wanted to whimper as her hand came to rest on what she presumed was another bruise, but she didn't. She couldn't let them see this.
"Sir" she spoke up. "With all due respect, we've already had to postpone and reschedule this briefing once, it'll be a waste to do it again" the General opened his mouth to speak but Sam wasn't finished. "And Sir, I'll promise I'll report to infirmary as soon as we have finished here" she looked at him, silently pleading.
"General...." the Colonel began, obviously on the verge of objecting.
"Very well Major" she watched as he spared a glance to the Colonel. The Colonel knew what it meant, 'Shut up Colonel'.
The briefing went as smoothly as briefings with SG1 went. Interruptions and sarcasm galore by a certain Air Force Officer. Sam felt a sense of calmness wash over her as she began - the one place she could be the Major, the one with all the bright ideas, the one place she wasn't Sam the woman, the woman who had been raped. The one place she was safe from being hurt, in this way, was work.
After a tedious and quite frankly boring briefing, Jack made his way down to the base gym. The place where the guys went and beat the shit out of stuff. Well what could he say it was fun! Walking towards the gym and past the dull lifeless grey walls of the SGC, Jacks mind began to wander. Soon enough he was back to thinking about the briefing, or more specifically, Carter. Which was strange, he never thought about Carter, not anymore anyway. Carter was his second in command and at the very most a friend. Not like Teal'c or Daniel. He had stopped himself thinking about Carter in an inappropriate way about a year ago.
and now he was engaged to his ex-wife, funny how things turn out. Sam was with Josh. What could he say about the man? He didn't trust him and quite frankly didn't like him. But Sam seemed happy so he played nice. And he and Sam, well things were different. They had been for a while. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Don't get him wrong he missed her, sometimes like crazy. But the love he once had for this woman had changed and he had found happiness with again Sara. A woman he loved and in return loved him.
"Jack! Wait up!" Jack stopped in his tracks and waited for the young archaeologist to catch up with him. Daniel was extremely out of breath when he caught up with Jack; Jack smiled finding humour in Daniels state. "Hey" he said after finally catching his breath back.
"Hey" Jack continued on walking as Daniel fell into step next to him, a small bout of silence followed until Daniel could take it no longer.
"You seen Sam around?"
"Nope" he kept his gaze fixed straight ahea. "Should I have?"
"Well I guess I just thought you might be concerned about her considering she is your second in command and a friend".
"She's a work colleague," he snapped back, already not liking where this conversation was going.
"Okay. But isn't part of you job as CO to look after the welfare of those under your command". Daniel was dancing around the topic he really wanted to discuss. Jack was a man with little patience and he never tries to hide it.
"Daniel spit it out!"
"Huh?" Jack took one look at Daniel before pushing the gym door open; scanning the room for any other occupants he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw no one else. Turning back round to face Daniel who had just entered through the door, he made his earlier request a little clearer.
"What do you want? Really!"
"Okay" he walked further into the room." You gotta admit today wasn't like the Sam we know. I mean when is Sam ever late? That bruise on her head? The way she acted when Janet touched her?"
"Okay so it was un-Carterish"
"She didn't have an accident," he finally blurted out, unaware of the pair of ears outside that were fixated on this conversation.
"What do you mean?"
"I bumped into Dr Roberts, he asked me too pass a message onto Sam for him" Jack waited for Daniel to finish, but nothing else was said on his behalf, so Jack encouraged him a little.
"And??"
"He told me to apologise on his behalf about having to use Sam's lab for so long this morning". Jack didn't know what to think. "She lied, Jack". 'Sam.... Carter would never lie' again the caring Jack went into hiding and macho Jack came out to play.
"She must have her reasons Danny," he said as he began to punch numbers into the jogger, getting ready for his session.
"Aren't you in the least bit worried Jack? I mean we hardly see her nowadays, when was the last time we saw her off base? Christ for all we know her and Josh could be having trouble". That caught Jacks attention.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing it was just an example".
"You think he did that to her?" he said, anger levels rising. His mind started racing but one thought stuck out 'I'll kill him'.
"No Jack! Christ! I'm just saying maybe we need to forget about the past and show we care"
"Daniel...."
"Jack.... she needs us".
"I'm an engaged man Daniel, I don't know what you're expecting from me". They didn't hear the gasp that came from behind the door or see the figure that retreated backwards.
"What so that means you can't care?"
"You know why" he said looking glum.
"You still love her?"
"What? No of course not, I'm not sure I ever did to be honest" with that he turned away from Daniel pointing out that the conversation had ended.
Samantha Carter's life was seldom simple. I mean for starters she works at a top-secret base that keeps the world's greatest secret, could life be anymore complex? She didn't think so but for perhaps the first time in her life Doctor Samantha Carter, Major in the USAF was proved wrong. Not only had she had her dignity and self-respect torn away from her by one man and he inabilities to control himself but now the one hope she had for the future had been taken away from her. How could she hate a man and love him at the same time? Was it right for her to hate a woman for the simple fact that she had got something Sam wanted? Deep down inside she hated herself. Hated herself for putting her career before her personal life. Hated herself for pretending to move on. Hated herself for wanting the upcoming marriage between Colonel Jack O'Neill and his ex-wife Sara Harris to fail. As Sam walked the corridors of the SGC she failed to notice the small brunette turn a corner and head straight towards her that was until she hit her head on. As Janet struggled to regain her balance, Sam fell to the floor.
"Oh god Sam I'm sorry" Janet said as she offered her hand to Sam. Sam took it and gingerly pulled herself to her feet.
"My fault. Wasn't looking where I was going"
"I noticed. You look like you have a hundred and one things on your mind".
"Yeah just busy" she said, as her eyes looked everywhere apart from at Janet.
"Aren't you always" Janet continued to look at Sam, concerned slightly as she noticed she was avoiding any sort of eye contact. "You okay?"
"Yeah of course why?"
"I don't know," she said. "Are you coming?"
"Huh?" she said turning round to glance at her. "Going where?"
"To check on that nasty cut of yours," she said reaching for the mentioned cut. "Which should have been checked sooner".
"It's nothing" she lied. It hurt more than she wanted to admit to herself.
"It doesn't look like that way". Sam flinched. She had known Janet for a long time, they had become to know one another and she knew that the comment just made was not just about the abrasion.
"Janet really I'm fine".
"Sam you can't lie to me"
"What do you mean?"
"I know you didn't have an accident in your lab" she said dropping her voice volume down slightly.
"Janet! I told you what happened. I..."
"Sam don't!!" she said in a slightly raised voice. Janet looked over her shoulder then turned to look over Sam's shoulder. Tugging on Sam's jacket she led her down the corridor. Taking a sharp left she found herself taking a less than familiar route to her quarters.
"Janet" Sam hissed. But no reply was heard. Janet opened Sam's door and literally threw Sam inside. This time the hiss that emerged from Sam wasn't that of anger, but the pain emitted from her left side as she crashed into the chair. This didn't go unnoticed by Janet, who couldn't understand why Sam was in so much pain.
"What's wrong?" Janet moved towards Sam, but Sam took a step further away.
"Don't," she whispered.
"Don't what?" she asked. Pure concern etched in her voice.
Sam looked thoughtful for a minute; in truth she was finding it difficult to holdback the onslaught of tears that threatened to spill. "Don't waste you concern on me" she finally came up with.
"Doesn't look like I'm wasting it too me"
"Janet..."
"Do I need to tell the General that you're not fit for duty?"
"Why would you do that?" she asked. She felt the tears prickling her eyes, and started praying to her head not to let them fall.
"Your side" she pointed to the left side of Sam's body where her hand gripped the offending place of pain.
"It's nothing"
"Let me see" she said taking further steps towards Sam.
"Janet, I must have bumped it when I fell. Just a bruise"
"Well then you won't mind me looking" in one quick movement Janet had reached Sam and pulled her shirt up to expose the black and blue side. When the blackness ended an angry red marked stain her skin. It looked as though she had been sitting out in the sunburn for far too long with no sun cream on. Janet gasped as the shirt went on to reveal the marks that covered the other side. As Sam looked at Janet's face, which was currently occupied with seeking out the marks, she felt the first tear form in the corner of her right eye. But instead of swatting it away she let it fall. In what appeared to be slow motion the tear ran along the side of her nose and landed softly on her lips. Sam was shocked at the amount of emotion that one tear held. Memories of all which caused her pain filled her mind, like a jug pouring water into a glass. Josh. Dad. Jack. She was so engrossed in the memories that she failed to realise the fact that the tears she tried so hard to hold back were now free styling down the side of her face. After a moment of silence, Janet managed to find her voice.
"Sam" no response. "Sam" she shook her slightly. This time Sam responded with a slight sniff. "What happened?" she asked carefully. Sam turned round to answer. "The truth"
"Josh" it was barely a whisper. The look on Janet's face told Sam all she needed to know. She knew. She knew what that bastard had done to her. Within seconds she found herself engulfed in Janet's arms. Sobs and words of comforts were the only sounds that escaped that room.
"Your good to go Daniel". Smiling at Janet he hopped off the bed.
"Great" he replied as he struggled to get his jacket on. Glancing at Janet he noticed a smirk on her face.
"Need a bit of help there?"
"Ya think??"Janet stepped forward and took the sleeve that Daniel was having trouble finding and held it out to him. Popping his arm into his jacket he turned round to face Janet.
"Your starting to sound like the Colonel more and more each day".
"Is that a complement?" he asked. She went to open her mouth, but closed it. Deciding against the obvious remark that would answer the question. "You know what don't answer that". She chuckled. The two colleagues settled into a comfortable silence. A small groan was heard from the back of the room, stirring the doctors. As Daniel turned round to try and locate from which direction the grin had come from he noticed a look in Janet's eye. Grief. Loss. Anger.
"You know," he whispered.
"She knows" she replied back. A small sigh was heard.
"How?" he asked, settling himself back on the infirmary bed.
"She overheard the two of you"
"God" Janet just nodded in response. "How is she?" Janet swallowed hard. Such an innocent question, yet the answer would unravel more than needed to be known.
"She says she's fine"
"Is she?"
"Yeah" she lied. Daniel smiled a small smile.
"She has Josh now" he said smiling. Janet closed her eyes for a brief second, but it seemed like an eternity. She felt the tingling in the corner of her eye. 'Not now' she scolded herself.
"Yeah" she agreed. 'If only you knew, if only' she silently added.
"What are we here for again?"
"Naquada deposits Sir" she sighed. It was the 15th time he'd asked that question since they'd arrived.
"That's it?"
"Its an important discovery" she said her gaze wondering from tree to tree, silently wishing she was at the intended destination.
"Not that" she looked at him confused; their eyes did that annoying thing. Like magnets they seemed drawn to each other, Sam being the one this time to repel her eyes from his. "No scientific explanation? No trying to confuse the hell out of me" she smiled a little smile, unaware of the tension that eased outta jack's face. Unaware that it was only temporary.
"I wouldn't want to do that Sir" she said, that's all she meant to say of course. The next words were only intended for her mind and her mind only. But for some reason her mouth decided not to follow orders to shut the hell up. "I'm sure Sara's got you confused as hell with all the wedding arrangements as it is." As soon as it left her mouth she mentally slapped herself. Jack cringed at the harsh tone at which the words were delivered with.
"Carter...." he started to say but was cut off
"Sir I'm sorry, that was completely inappropriate"
"For crying out loud Carter, you've got nothing to apologise for. I should have told you, Sam" that caught her attention. Her name on his lips sounded so foreign but in a way so right.
"Sir?" she asked confused by not only the last sentence but the with the softness it was said in.
"How did you find out?"
"Janet told me" she lied. He knew that she had lied from the slight blush, which was creeping up her neck but decided against pursuing the subject any further.
"I should have told you"
"It's none of my business" she replied. At first he didn't know what to say to that. She was his friend right? And friends cared right?
"We're friends, right?" he asked. She nodded hesitantly he noted. "Friends care about what happens to their to their other friends. I mean I'd want to know if there was something wrong or if you needed help" he didn't see her cringe. "I should have told you myself"
"I know now," she whispered, barely loud enough to reach Jack's ears.
"Yeah you do" they fell into what would have been a comfortable silence if they were friends, but as it was the silence was filled with a tension that made ice cream look thin. "Saturday" he suddenly exclaimed.
"Huh?" she said turning round to look at him, sheepishly she added a "Sir" at the end.
"Sara's organised a sort of engagement party. I'd like it if you could come". She went to say thanks but no thanks. "I've been an ass lately, I had no right to be. You're more than welcome to bring Josh along with you". This time he noticed her flinch. Daniels words echoed through his head 'Christ for all we know her and Josh could be having trouble'. "Everything alright between you two?" he asking. Inside Sam smiled at him. This was the Jack she liked, the one who she'd give her heart too. But at the same time her brain started to go into over drive. She hated just hearing his name, hearing his name bought back memories. Memories that she didn't want to remember.
"Fine. We'll be there," she said. He smiled.
A/N - Might take me a while to get the third part up, but all encouragement to do so gets me writing faster. Thank-you for the reviews guys.Oh and if anyone fancies giving future chapters a beta, you'd be a star.
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flashback
She could feel the pressure increasing; she could feel his hands clutching at her clothes, tugging at them. Willing them to fall away. He was keen tonight, in fact too keen she thought as she felt his nails dig into her waist. She tried to pull away slightly, trying to drop the hint to take it slow. Slow wasn't his thing, in fact she couldn't remember once when they had taken it slow and explored each other. All of a sudden she felt herself being flipped around and thrown against the wall. Within seconds she felt him against her again. He was in control. The pain in her waist was increased as she felt his nails dig into her flesh. God he must be drawing blood, she moaned. He mistook it for pleasure and started tearing at her clothes, that's when panic started to set in. She tried to push him away but doing that just seemed to encourage him even more. The pressure his mouth was placing on hers was immeasurable; she squirmed once again trying to push him away. Then she heard it...she remembered the scene from the night before.
"I want you now"
Pulling her arms out of his grasp she started beating her fists against his chest. He didn't flinch. Pulling her mouth away from his, she bit down hard on his lip, drawing blood. This time he did flinched, bringing his hand back, with force against her cheek, she fell down onto her knees, he said sorry, this time she forgave him. Next time she wouldn't.
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"Josh!!" she protested against his lips. He didn't budge an inch. "Josh stop!!" she was insistent. Still he didn't budge. Images of the previous night flashed before her eyes. She felt him pressing himself up against her. She shuddered. Something wasn't right. And she knew why, he had clasped her hands behind her back. His kisses became urgent against the side of her neck. He left her lips alone. Taking it upon himself to bruise her skin with his damaging kisses. She opened her eyes to look at him; his eyes were dark filled with desire. She pushed again and again she didn't freeze until she heard four words.
"Not this time Sam!"
When did things get like this she thought? He wasn't like this before, granted he wasn't the gentlest lover she had ever had, but when she said stop before he stopped, what was so different this time?? Trying to pull herself out of her daze, Sam continued to struggle against the power Josh had over her. One of his hands came to cover her mouth, keeping her quiet efficiently. Still she couldn't move her hands, he had her wedged against the wall perfectly. She felt his other free hand traveling further up her stomach until it came to rest on her chest. Her systems went on def con 1, using every ounce of energy her body possessed she raised her knee, she sighed a sigh of relief when she heard the anguish cry, knowing she had hit the intended target. But she didn't expect what happened next.
"You bitch" the next thing she saw was his fist coming towards her, and the darkness.
"Mmmm that was great" Jack said as he rubbed his stomach in delight. He wasn't exactly being truthful but she had gone to all the trouble. And he could hardly say 'given the choice between good old American pizza or a dish of which he couldn't even announce the name of he'd definitely go for pizza' could he?? 'God I'd kill for a beer right now' he thought as he looked towards the fridge with hungry eyes. But tonight was going to be special and on special occasions people drank wine, so that's what he was doing.
"I'm glad you liked it" she rose and started to collect the dishes but was stopped by Jacks hand on her arm.
"Leave em".
"But..."
"They can wait". He looked towards the living room. "Come on" he said gently tugging her towards the room.
"Jack!!"
"Sara??" he turned to look at her with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"What are you doing?" he sat down on the couch pulling Sara down with him.
"Showing my woman a good time" he waggled his eyes suggestively. Positioning himself so he could pull Sara into his arms he noticed the corner of something sticking out from underneath the couch. Still grinning he started to reach down for the item. "What's this?" he asked. Sara looked down and gasped when he pulled the item out. She tried to pull it from out of his hands but he was to fast. He laughed as he saw the uncomfortable look appear on her face, but that laughed soon died down. Choking on his words he managed to mumble out "Bride and groom??"
"Its nothing" she said hurriedly pulling herself from his lap and grasping the magazine from his hand. He looked at her carefully and saw the glimmer of disappointment shown in her eyes.
"You wanna get married?" he said more seriously than he wanted to.
"Was that a proposal?" Jack for the first time in his life was speechless. As he opened his mouth to speak no sound came out. He tried again.
"Well... You........... I..." Sara looked at Jack and saw the despair in his eyes.
"It's okay I shouldn't have brought it up. I can understand why you don't want to get married again..."
"Its not that!" Jack shouted as he suddenly found his voice. "Sorry" he apologized for the volume.
"So you don't want to marry me?" You know that rock and hard place people talk about? Well that's where Jack was right about now. Without thinking he opened his mouth and the words just flowed out.
"Of course I do!"
"Yes"
"Yes??"
"I'll marry you". Sara said as she threw herself at Jack. 'D'oh!'
As hard as she scrubbed it wouldn't go away. She felt dirty, she felt ashamed. As she looked down at her body she saw the marks made by the excessive scrubbing mingled in with the cuts and bruises made by that monster. A monster. That's what he was. He had reduced an air force Major to a quivering mess. As the thoughts of the night washed back into her mind she felt the tears sting her eyes. 'I will not cry' she told herself. But her determination to not cry only increased her body's determination to cry. Within seconds her body was shaking with so many emotions as the severity of last night finally hit home. As she lent against the shower wall she felt her knees give way and her whole body fall to the floor. She was getting used to the darkness.
"So, did she say yes?" Daniel asked as he crammed another forkful of waffle into his mouth.
"No" Jack answered as he stirred his fruit loops, creating a whirlpool of milk.
"No?"
"Well, yes".
"Yes?"
"What?" Jack asked tearing his gaze away from the many colors swirling around in his milk.
"Are you going to the cabin together this weekend or not?"
"No" he said sighing.
"I thought you just said she said yes"
"That was to my other question," he said as he looked around the room, trying to divert attention away from the impending question that was about to follow.
"What one was that?"
"My marriage proposal" Daniel looked at Jack like he had gone out. Jack on the other hand just raised his hand slightly, causing Daniel to start choking. All of a sudden every eye in the commissary was fixed on them as Daniel tried to get himself under control. Jack made no attempt to help, but found a slight satisfaction in Daniels discomfort.
"You asked her to marry you???" Daniel exclaimed. Jack quickly scanned the room to make sure no one had heard.
"Could you say that a bit louder I don't think they heard you in OZ!!!"
"Sorry" he said sincerely noticing the despair that appeared in Jack's eyes. "What happened?"
He sighed and took a deep breath as he prepared to tell Daniel the tale.
"... And that's when she said 'I'll marry you'". He said finishing off.
"Oh!" was all Daniel could manage.
"Oh?? That's it?? I'm getting married and all you can say is Oh!!!" Jack exclaimed raising his voice.
"Well I mean is it really a bad thing?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well you love her right?"
"Sure"
"And you wanna spend the rest of your life with her".
"I guess" Jack said shifting uncomfortably in his chair.
"Well there you go" Jack looked even more confused than when he started. "I mean its not like you have to get married right away is it?"
"I guess not" Daniel opened his mouth but Jack hadn't finished yet, his face showing that a new revelation had been discovered. "I mean it's not like we haven't be married before. And god I love her. So this is a good thing really" Daniel smiled as he saw the grin cover Jacks face.
The corridors seemed so empty today. 'Maybe they know' she thought as paranoia filled her veins. She touched her forehead and cringed slightly at the pain that traveled through her. Luckily the fall she had in the bathroom only caused a bump nothing more. One way or another her main objective was to avoid people in general today especially a certain air force officer. As she walked by the commissary the aroma that flew by her caused her stomach to churn even more. The ride to the base hadn't been an easy one; in fact that was an understatement. After crawling out of the shower she tried to eat something but her stomach would have none of it. Getting dressed proved to be a task. Standing in front of the mirror she stared at the damage that had been done to her body. She examined each bruise, wincing when the memory of how it had got there popped into her head. Sometimes when she ran her hand over a new bruise or mark she would shed a tear. And another tear if she couldn't remember how it got there. After seeing bruise after bruise and an occasional abrasion she could no longer look at her body. Flinging on a dressing gown she went to get dressed where there were no mirrors, no objects to bare her soul. Eventually she managed to leave the house, but paranoia filled her mind and her eyes were on constant watch. The drive seemed to take an eternity, time was mocking her. As she got nearer his lab a sense of calmness filled her. Her lab. She was safe here. No one could get here. Closing the door softly behind her she came face to face with a sign:
'Sam
Briefing 1300
Daniel x'
Taking the note in her hand she slowly dropped it to the floor, so much for avoiding people. So much for avoiding him!
He had a spring in his step and a big stupid goofy grin to go with it. 'I'm getting married' he thought, his grin got even wider. Well last night was certainly unexpected to say the least. He went with the intention to invite Sara to spend a weekend at his cabin; she hadn't been there for a long time. In fact the last time was probably Charlie's sixth birthday. 'God that was a great day' he thought. They had spent the whole day sitting on the deck. Jack was teaching Charlie the finer points of fishing while Sara sat reading a book on child psychology. He remembers it like it was yesterday. But now he has a second chance and he wasn't going to screw it up. Walking towards the briefing room he greeted every airman he passed, each one left slightly more shocked than the previous.
'Afternoon, Sir'. Walking through the door he noticed he was late. General George Hammond commander of the base sat at the head of the table, flicking through a report most likely written by Carter. Daniel was sat to his right engrossed with a big steaming cup of what looked like coffee, Teal'c was sat to his left reading some sort of alien conspiracy magazine that he likes to read. He wondered if it was the ones they had all subscribed him to it for his birthday. Next to Teal'c sat Janet who was obviously engrossed in another of her medical reports. across from them sat......... no one??
"General" Jacks asks as he enters the room, his eyes never leaving one seat. A seat that should be occupied but wasn't.
"Colonel. Nice of you too join us". Jack walked towards the chair that he usually occupied but stood up against it instead of sitting.
"Yep" he said not really taking in what the General had said. His thoughts were still set on the unoccupied seat to his right. "Carter not joining us?" he said as more of a statement rather than a question.
"I was going to ask you that Colonel".
"Haven't seen her all day, Sir". He pointed out.
"More like all week" Daniel mumbled, gaining Jack's attention.
"Something you want to add Daniel?" Daniel drew his attention away from the journal he had been previously been reading.
"No, nothing at all" a silence covered the group of 5. That was until a rather breathless Major Carter entered the room, all eyes focused on her. One set of eyes especially. There was something different about her he thought to himself, something not right. He watched her as she made her way deeper into the room. She was nervous, that bit was obvious. Carter was never nervous, she wasn't even nervous when she was on the verge of blowing a sun up. Jack drew his attention away from her to focus on the others. Concern etched their faces. She was never late, never.
"Sorry I'm late Sir" came the mumbled apology. Without waiting for a reply she sat herself down. He saw her wince slightly as her leg touched the top of the table, his curiosity had been well and truly piqued but as per usual the caring Jack lay in wait and out came Colonel Jack hardass O'Neill.
"Problem Major?" he asked.
"No Sir" she replied while moving her hand to her forehead.
"Care to explain why you're late then?"
She flinched at his tone. lifting her head up slightly, being careful to still cover up the lump and bruise on her head. She looked round to the table and saw the look on everyone's face, they wanted an answer too, and she had the perfect one.
"I had a incident in my lab, Sir" she lied.
"Incident?" the Colonel asked. By now everyone's attention was fixed on Sam.
"One of my experiments malfunctioned, Sir". Well she couldn't exactly tell them that she was being violently sick in the toilets could she? To demonstrate a point Sam lifted her hand away from her head and heard the gasps from around the table as her injury was seen by all.
"Oh" she heard Jack mumble underneath his breath. No that wasn't right it was the Colonel not Jack.
"Its nothing, just a bump".
"Doesn't look like nothing" looking across the room she looked for the person who the voice belonged to. Before she knew it a hand was felt on her shoulder. The touch was unexpected, causing Sam to panic. Jumping from her chair she heard a thud as the chair fell backwards to the floor. Coming to a stand still she noticed everyone's eyes still on her, the look of concerned filled their faces. Turning her head slightly she noticed that the Colonel was stood beside her. His hand was half way towards touching her, displaying an emotion she hadn't seen for a while. She met his eyes hesitantly; her heart sank as he whipped his hand away, creating an even greater distance between the pair. Slowly her sense came back online and she heard a voice.
"Sam? Sam? Are you alright?" She turned back around to face the blue eyes of one Daniel Jackson. With everyone's eyes locked on her she felt extremely nervous, the only thought that was running through her mind was 'They know'. But they couldn't know, but with someone with such a great mind as Samantha Carter she couldn't accept it. As she struggled to regain her composure.
"Erm.... I'm fine sorry".
"You don't look fine Sam" came Janet's voice.
"Just a little tired maybe". 'Well what's one lie more' she thought.
"Report to the infirmary Major" General Hammond reported. Self - consciously she wrapped her arms around her body, she wanted to whimper as her hand came to rest on what she presumed was another bruise, but she didn't. She couldn't let them see this.
"Sir" she spoke up. "With all due respect, we've already had to postpone and reschedule this briefing once, it'll be a waste to do it again" the General opened his mouth to speak but Sam wasn't finished. "And Sir, I'll promise I'll report to infirmary as soon as we have finished here" she looked at him, silently pleading.
"General...." the Colonel began, obviously on the verge of objecting.
"Very well Major" she watched as he spared a glance to the Colonel. The Colonel knew what it meant, 'Shut up Colonel'.
The briefing went as smoothly as briefings with SG1 went. Interruptions and sarcasm galore by a certain Air Force Officer. Sam felt a sense of calmness wash over her as she began - the one place she could be the Major, the one with all the bright ideas, the one place she wasn't Sam the woman, the woman who had been raped. The one place she was safe from being hurt, in this way, was work.
After a tedious and quite frankly boring briefing, Jack made his way down to the base gym. The place where the guys went and beat the shit out of stuff. Well what could he say it was fun! Walking towards the gym and past the dull lifeless grey walls of the SGC, Jacks mind began to wander. Soon enough he was back to thinking about the briefing, or more specifically, Carter. Which was strange, he never thought about Carter, not anymore anyway. Carter was his second in command and at the very most a friend. Not like Teal'c or Daniel. He had stopped himself thinking about Carter in an inappropriate way about a year ago.
and now he was engaged to his ex-wife, funny how things turn out. Sam was with Josh. What could he say about the man? He didn't trust him and quite frankly didn't like him. But Sam seemed happy so he played nice. And he and Sam, well things were different. They had been for a while. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Don't get him wrong he missed her, sometimes like crazy. But the love he once had for this woman had changed and he had found happiness with again Sara. A woman he loved and in return loved him.
"Jack! Wait up!" Jack stopped in his tracks and waited for the young archaeologist to catch up with him. Daniel was extremely out of breath when he caught up with Jack; Jack smiled finding humour in Daniels state. "Hey" he said after finally catching his breath back.
"Hey" Jack continued on walking as Daniel fell into step next to him, a small bout of silence followed until Daniel could take it no longer.
"You seen Sam around?"
"Nope" he kept his gaze fixed straight ahea. "Should I have?"
"Well I guess I just thought you might be concerned about her considering she is your second in command and a friend".
"She's a work colleague," he snapped back, already not liking where this conversation was going.
"Okay. But isn't part of you job as CO to look after the welfare of those under your command". Daniel was dancing around the topic he really wanted to discuss. Jack was a man with little patience and he never tries to hide it.
"Daniel spit it out!"
"Huh?" Jack took one look at Daniel before pushing the gym door open; scanning the room for any other occupants he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw no one else. Turning back round to face Daniel who had just entered through the door, he made his earlier request a little clearer.
"What do you want? Really!"
"Okay" he walked further into the room." You gotta admit today wasn't like the Sam we know. I mean when is Sam ever late? That bruise on her head? The way she acted when Janet touched her?"
"Okay so it was un-Carterish"
"She didn't have an accident," he finally blurted out, unaware of the pair of ears outside that were fixated on this conversation.
"What do you mean?"
"I bumped into Dr Roberts, he asked me too pass a message onto Sam for him" Jack waited for Daniel to finish, but nothing else was said on his behalf, so Jack encouraged him a little.
"And??"
"He told me to apologise on his behalf about having to use Sam's lab for so long this morning". Jack didn't know what to think. "She lied, Jack". 'Sam.... Carter would never lie' again the caring Jack went into hiding and macho Jack came out to play.
"She must have her reasons Danny," he said as he began to punch numbers into the jogger, getting ready for his session.
"Aren't you in the least bit worried Jack? I mean we hardly see her nowadays, when was the last time we saw her off base? Christ for all we know her and Josh could be having trouble". That caught Jacks attention.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing it was just an example".
"You think he did that to her?" he said, anger levels rising. His mind started racing but one thought stuck out 'I'll kill him'.
"No Jack! Christ! I'm just saying maybe we need to forget about the past and show we care"
"Daniel...."
"Jack.... she needs us".
"I'm an engaged man Daniel, I don't know what you're expecting from me". They didn't hear the gasp that came from behind the door or see the figure that retreated backwards.
"What so that means you can't care?"
"You know why" he said looking glum.
"You still love her?"
"What? No of course not, I'm not sure I ever did to be honest" with that he turned away from Daniel pointing out that the conversation had ended.
Samantha Carter's life was seldom simple. I mean for starters she works at a top-secret base that keeps the world's greatest secret, could life be anymore complex? She didn't think so but for perhaps the first time in her life Doctor Samantha Carter, Major in the USAF was proved wrong. Not only had she had her dignity and self-respect torn away from her by one man and he inabilities to control himself but now the one hope she had for the future had been taken away from her. How could she hate a man and love him at the same time? Was it right for her to hate a woman for the simple fact that she had got something Sam wanted? Deep down inside she hated herself. Hated herself for putting her career before her personal life. Hated herself for pretending to move on. Hated herself for wanting the upcoming marriage between Colonel Jack O'Neill and his ex-wife Sara Harris to fail. As Sam walked the corridors of the SGC she failed to notice the small brunette turn a corner and head straight towards her that was until she hit her head on. As Janet struggled to regain her balance, Sam fell to the floor.
"Oh god Sam I'm sorry" Janet said as she offered her hand to Sam. Sam took it and gingerly pulled herself to her feet.
"My fault. Wasn't looking where I was going"
"I noticed. You look like you have a hundred and one things on your mind".
"Yeah just busy" she said, as her eyes looked everywhere apart from at Janet.
"Aren't you always" Janet continued to look at Sam, concerned slightly as she noticed she was avoiding any sort of eye contact. "You okay?"
"Yeah of course why?"
"I don't know," she said. "Are you coming?"
"Huh?" she said turning round to glance at her. "Going where?"
"To check on that nasty cut of yours," she said reaching for the mentioned cut. "Which should have been checked sooner".
"It's nothing" she lied. It hurt more than she wanted to admit to herself.
"It doesn't look like that way". Sam flinched. She had known Janet for a long time, they had become to know one another and she knew that the comment just made was not just about the abrasion.
"Janet really I'm fine".
"Sam you can't lie to me"
"What do you mean?"
"I know you didn't have an accident in your lab" she said dropping her voice volume down slightly.
"Janet! I told you what happened. I..."
"Sam don't!!" she said in a slightly raised voice. Janet looked over her shoulder then turned to look over Sam's shoulder. Tugging on Sam's jacket she led her down the corridor. Taking a sharp left she found herself taking a less than familiar route to her quarters.
"Janet" Sam hissed. But no reply was heard. Janet opened Sam's door and literally threw Sam inside. This time the hiss that emerged from Sam wasn't that of anger, but the pain emitted from her left side as she crashed into the chair. This didn't go unnoticed by Janet, who couldn't understand why Sam was in so much pain.
"What's wrong?" Janet moved towards Sam, but Sam took a step further away.
"Don't," she whispered.
"Don't what?" she asked. Pure concern etched in her voice.
Sam looked thoughtful for a minute; in truth she was finding it difficult to holdback the onslaught of tears that threatened to spill. "Don't waste you concern on me" she finally came up with.
"Doesn't look like I'm wasting it too me"
"Janet..."
"Do I need to tell the General that you're not fit for duty?"
"Why would you do that?" she asked. She felt the tears prickling her eyes, and started praying to her head not to let them fall.
"Your side" she pointed to the left side of Sam's body where her hand gripped the offending place of pain.
"It's nothing"
"Let me see" she said taking further steps towards Sam.
"Janet, I must have bumped it when I fell. Just a bruise"
"Well then you won't mind me looking" in one quick movement Janet had reached Sam and pulled her shirt up to expose the black and blue side. When the blackness ended an angry red marked stain her skin. It looked as though she had been sitting out in the sunburn for far too long with no sun cream on. Janet gasped as the shirt went on to reveal the marks that covered the other side. As Sam looked at Janet's face, which was currently occupied with seeking out the marks, she felt the first tear form in the corner of her right eye. But instead of swatting it away she let it fall. In what appeared to be slow motion the tear ran along the side of her nose and landed softly on her lips. Sam was shocked at the amount of emotion that one tear held. Memories of all which caused her pain filled her mind, like a jug pouring water into a glass. Josh. Dad. Jack. She was so engrossed in the memories that she failed to realise the fact that the tears she tried so hard to hold back were now free styling down the side of her face. After a moment of silence, Janet managed to find her voice.
"Sam" no response. "Sam" she shook her slightly. This time Sam responded with a slight sniff. "What happened?" she asked carefully. Sam turned round to answer. "The truth"
"Josh" it was barely a whisper. The look on Janet's face told Sam all she needed to know. She knew. She knew what that bastard had done to her. Within seconds she found herself engulfed in Janet's arms. Sobs and words of comforts were the only sounds that escaped that room.
"Your good to go Daniel". Smiling at Janet he hopped off the bed.
"Great" he replied as he struggled to get his jacket on. Glancing at Janet he noticed a smirk on her face.
"Need a bit of help there?"
"Ya think??"Janet stepped forward and took the sleeve that Daniel was having trouble finding and held it out to him. Popping his arm into his jacket he turned round to face Janet.
"Your starting to sound like the Colonel more and more each day".
"Is that a complement?" he asked. She went to open her mouth, but closed it. Deciding against the obvious remark that would answer the question. "You know what don't answer that". She chuckled. The two colleagues settled into a comfortable silence. A small groan was heard from the back of the room, stirring the doctors. As Daniel turned round to try and locate from which direction the grin had come from he noticed a look in Janet's eye. Grief. Loss. Anger.
"You know," he whispered.
"She knows" she replied back. A small sigh was heard.
"How?" he asked, settling himself back on the infirmary bed.
"She overheard the two of you"
"God" Janet just nodded in response. "How is she?" Janet swallowed hard. Such an innocent question, yet the answer would unravel more than needed to be known.
"She says she's fine"
"Is she?"
"Yeah" she lied. Daniel smiled a small smile.
"She has Josh now" he said smiling. Janet closed her eyes for a brief second, but it seemed like an eternity. She felt the tingling in the corner of her eye. 'Not now' she scolded herself.
"Yeah" she agreed. 'If only you knew, if only' she silently added.
"What are we here for again?"
"Naquada deposits Sir" she sighed. It was the 15th time he'd asked that question since they'd arrived.
"That's it?"
"Its an important discovery" she said her gaze wondering from tree to tree, silently wishing she was at the intended destination.
"Not that" she looked at him confused; their eyes did that annoying thing. Like magnets they seemed drawn to each other, Sam being the one this time to repel her eyes from his. "No scientific explanation? No trying to confuse the hell out of me" she smiled a little smile, unaware of the tension that eased outta jack's face. Unaware that it was only temporary.
"I wouldn't want to do that Sir" she said, that's all she meant to say of course. The next words were only intended for her mind and her mind only. But for some reason her mouth decided not to follow orders to shut the hell up. "I'm sure Sara's got you confused as hell with all the wedding arrangements as it is." As soon as it left her mouth she mentally slapped herself. Jack cringed at the harsh tone at which the words were delivered with.
"Carter...." he started to say but was cut off
"Sir I'm sorry, that was completely inappropriate"
"For crying out loud Carter, you've got nothing to apologise for. I should have told you, Sam" that caught her attention. Her name on his lips sounded so foreign but in a way so right.
"Sir?" she asked confused by not only the last sentence but the with the softness it was said in.
"How did you find out?"
"Janet told me" she lied. He knew that she had lied from the slight blush, which was creeping up her neck but decided against pursuing the subject any further.
"I should have told you"
"It's none of my business" she replied. At first he didn't know what to say to that. She was his friend right? And friends cared right?
"We're friends, right?" he asked. She nodded hesitantly he noted. "Friends care about what happens to their to their other friends. I mean I'd want to know if there was something wrong or if you needed help" he didn't see her cringe. "I should have told you myself"
"I know now," she whispered, barely loud enough to reach Jack's ears.
"Yeah you do" they fell into what would have been a comfortable silence if they were friends, but as it was the silence was filled with a tension that made ice cream look thin. "Saturday" he suddenly exclaimed.
"Huh?" she said turning round to look at him, sheepishly she added a "Sir" at the end.
"Sara's organised a sort of engagement party. I'd like it if you could come". She went to say thanks but no thanks. "I've been an ass lately, I had no right to be. You're more than welcome to bring Josh along with you". This time he noticed her flinch. Daniels words echoed through his head 'Christ for all we know her and Josh could be having trouble'. "Everything alright between you two?" he asking. Inside Sam smiled at him. This was the Jack she liked, the one who she'd give her heart too. But at the same time her brain started to go into over drive. She hated just hearing his name, hearing his name bought back memories. Memories that she didn't want to remember.
"Fine. We'll be there," she said. He smiled.