Descension Back To Normalcy

Thanking the last half dozen people out the door for all their help, Sam let the heavy slab of wood swing shut and the smile drop from her face. It had been a long day – a long week, really – and she was completely and utterly exhausted. She'd been ready to call it a night hours ago, but the others had been determined to keep going and so here they were, wrapping up just a bit after midnight.

As hard as today had been physically, Sam had found it even more taxing emotionally. She'd spent a few hours sorting through the items that had been placed under tarps in the backyard and had been confronted with just how complete the NID's destruction of her home had been. The few childhood treasures she'd managed to hang on to throughout all the moves she'd made growing up had been wrecked: the quilt her mother had painstakingly sewn for her as a baby had been sliced into several pieces and trampled on, staining it with the impressions of many pairs of muddy combat boots; the cover had been torn off the favourite story book she'd clamoured into her father's lap with on many occasions and many of the pages had been ripped out and scattered across the floor; and countless framed photos had been carelessly tossed to the ground and left lying in puddles, to name just a few. Despite the damage, Sam was determined to keep the mementos, boxing them up and storing them in Jack's truck.

Her teammates had kept a careful eye on her while she'd been in the backyard sorting, constantly coming out to check up on her. She'd appreciated their concern, but all she'd wanted was to be left alone; she didn't want anyone seeing her cry over the smashed trophy from the last swim meet her mother had ever attended or the soggy card with running ink that Mark had sent her the day she received her PhD, even though they hadn't spoken to one another for over two years at that point. Despite her wishes, her teammates had made periodic trips to the backyard and did their best to keep the rest of the SGC personnel away, respecting her privacy even when they insisted on violating it themselves.

Feeling a pair of arms snake around her waist, Sam leaned back gratefully and accepted the gesture of comfort. They may drive her crazy with their hovering, but, even after everything that had happened in the last few weeks, she knew she wouldn't trade her teammates for anything in the world, the galaxy or even the multiverse.

"Before we get back to Jack and Teal'c, you're not staying here tonight. There's no point in having that argument again," Daniel breathed in her ear, keeping his voice down so Teal'c wouldn't be able to make out the words with his superhuman hearing. "So the only real question is: do you feel like being subjected to Jack O'Neill mother-henning or Daniel Jackson mother-henning tonight?"

"I appreciate it, Daniel, but I should probably go with the Colonel," Sam thanked with a small smile, turning her head to the side so she could hear his heartbeat thudding rhythmically under her ear. "You and I can do this," she explained, tilting her head towards his arms around her waist, "Anytime we want. Colonel O'Neill and I can't, so he feels like he can't do anything to make me feel better."

"Humour Jack by letting him think he's helping," Daniel summed up with an appreciative grin. "Samantha Carter, you are very manipulative when you want to be!"

"I know," Sam said, pulling away reluctantly. "Let's go back to the hen house."

"Lead on," Daniel offered with a sweeping gesture towards the kitchen door.

"Kids," Jack's voice called out as if on cue, "Just about ready to go?"

"Yes, sir," Sam replied with a pointed look and an eye roll. "We're ready to go now."

"Okey dokey," he bounded into the front hall with three jackets in his hands and Teal'c trailing behind him, contemplating the wisdom of asking about the meaning of 'okey dokey'.

"Uh Carter," Jack began, handing Daniel the proper jacket, "Not that I mind you borrowing my clothes since I've shrunk so many of them while trying and failing to do my own laundry, but you should probably go shopping soon," he continued, giving her an old jacket that was too small for him but still way too big for her.

"Afraid of what people will think if they see me running around town in your clothes, sir?" Sam asked mischievously as she slid the proffered jacket on and rolled the sleeves up several times in order to free her hands.

"Only the people with lots of shiny stuff on their dress blues," Jack clarified over his shoulder as he moved to wait outside, shrugging his own jacket on as he went.

"He is in a very good mood," Teal'c stated quietly as he squeezed past Sam and Daniel, hat already on his head. "It is beginning to frighten me." With that he followed Jack outside, leaving the other two to hide their smiles as they trailed after him.

Locking the door was more a formality than a necessity since anyone who wanted in badly enough could simply climb in the glass-less windows, but Sam did it anyway. Saying quick goodnights to Sam and Jack, Daniel and Teal'c hurried off to the archaeologist's car. He would give Teal'c a ride back to the base and then go home and keep an ear open for the phone call signalling that Jack was driving Sam crazy and she needed to get away from his well-intentioned yet frustrating smothering.

Meanwhile, Jack and Sam headed to Jack's truck and cranked the heat up for the drive back to his house. Once there, Sam had no doubt that it would take every last ounce of patience she could muster to keep her temper from flaring over the inevitable hovering that would plague her.

"You know," Jack began as he pulled away from the curb and waved to Daniel and Teal'c. "You should go shopping with Cassie. You always say you never get to see her enough and Frasier says she's addicted to the mall. It'd be perfect."

"That's a good idea," Sam admitted. "But I was just planning on raiding your wardrobe tonight," she finished with an evil grin. "I'd be set for life!"

"Put on half of my stuff and we'd have to call the coast guard in to find you," Jack retorted with a chuckle, sparing her a quick glance before his eyes returned to the road. "You're swimming in the clothes that are too small for me, imagine how big clothes that actually fit me would be on you."

"Do we even have a coast guard in Colorado?" Sam asked seriously.

"You'd better hope so, if you're planning on raiding my closet tonight," Jack teased, knowing that the lack of a proper answer would slowly drive her crazy.

They lapsed into silence after that and Jack resisted the urge to turn on the radio to fill the silence. He could tell she was lost in thought and the constant glances over her shoulder to check that the box in the truck bed was still there gave him a pretty good idea of what she was thinking about. Jack knew he hadn't been responsible for the destruction of her belongings, but he still felt guilty for it. So much of the damage had been unnecessary - like destroying old family photo albums - that he couldn't help but feel that Simmons had sanctioned it simply to warn him about the consequences of crossing the NID. If that had in fact been the intention, then Jack had gotten the message, loud and clear. Unfortunately for Simmons, it had pissed Jack off more than it had intimidated him.

Knowing that there were no words that could make her feel better, Jack left Sam to her thoughts. Occasionally he managed to catch her eye when she looked back and forth between the road ahead and the truck bed, but she was doing her best to avoid meeting his gaze. The comfortable quiet slowly transformed itself into awkward silence and Jack was glad when they finally reached his house.

Climbing out of the truck, he tossed her his house keys and waved off her offer to bring in the one box of belongings that she'd managed to salvage so far. Hefting its light weight easily, he followed her into the house and set the box on the floor in the living room. Given that the box's contents could serve as mementos of either happy or sad times, he'd leave it up to her to decide whether or not she wanted it in "her" room tonight.

"Do you want anything?" Jack asked, retracing his steps to the front door and locking it for the night.

"No thanks, sir," Sam murmured distractedly, her gaze focussed on the box. "I'm tired; I think I'll just head to bed."

"Okay," he replied, before adding, "You can take that with you, if you want."

"I know," she muttered, warring with herself. A part of her demanded that she not let the box out of her sight, lest something happen to what little she'd managed to salvage, but another part didn't want to spend the night with the stark reminder of what he NID had done after being immersed in the aftermath all day long. Finally making up her mind, she bent down and gathered the box in her arms.

"Help yourself to anything you need," Jack reminded, flicking on a table lamp in case she made a trip to the kitchen during the night. "And if you need to talk…"

"I know where to find you," she assured, a hint of a smile creeping across her face. "Good night, sir."

"Night, Carter," he replied, watching her make her way down the hall and shut the bedroom door firmly.

Jack stopped in the kitchen for a glass of water before heading to bed himself. Making his way down the hallway, he paused for a moment outside Sam's room. He could hear her sniffling quietly through the door and debated whether her should leave her alone or poke his head in and see if she wanted to talk. He made up his mind a heartbeat later; she'd been holding back tears for the last few hours, clearly waiting until she was alone before letting them fall. For now, he'd respect her privacy and let her have some time alone. Reluctantly, he forced his feet to move again and entered his own room, shutting the door behind him.

A/N: Don't hate me! Jack is not a big jerk, I promise. The next chapter should be out tomorrow and then you can all see for yourselves: )