A.N. I am not a super huge SG1 fan... I love the characters but I'm not obessed like I am with SGA....
so that is to say if anything is horribly wrong with this it's not my fault.
Next Chapter: The Marines.
Jack O'Neill woke up some mornings and felt like there was nothing left that could surprise him. He grew up in Chicago, and was far too adventurous for a boy his age. He was adventurous enough for his parents and himself, it was with that in mind that his parents decided to move away from the temptations of the Windy City. At the tender age of nine he was ripped away from the bright lights and sounds of the city, but Jack could bring himself to be angry, he craved the adventure, wanted to see new worlds, explore the unknown.
His parents wanted to raise their son somewhere peaceful; Minnesota seemed like a natural choice. Jack loved those days in Minnesota and after he joined the Air Force, he missed them ferociously. Minnesota was a slice of heaven for Jack. The woods around his house stretched out like an open book, a blank slate for Jack to explore and traverse. There wasn't a tree that he didn't climb, a lake he didn't fish, a mountain he didn't reach the top of.
Jack was smart, but more of his time was spent looking out the window, waiting for the day to be over so he could be somewhere else, then on his school work.
Jack had never given much though to what he'd do when High school was over, at least until his father had taken him to see the Blue Angels at the local airstrip. It was awe inspiring and Jack remembered that day, the first time he saw those Jets and knew exactly what he wanted to do, for many years afterward.
The Air Force was the logical choice, Jack wanted the sky… he wanted the speed and strength, the beauty of flight.
It was what drove him though boot camp. Helped him loose the extra pounds he needed to get into the pilot program. The passion of that moment sustained him through failure, trial, and grew stronger as he was awarded his Solo flight wings.
Behind the controls of an F-16 Jack felt a peace settle over him, a peace that he had lacked as a child. It was like nothing he'd ever felt… until he met her. Sarah. She was like a ray of sun, a peaceful breeze that made him content on the ground, for a little while at least.
Looking back, he supposed that he would have done things differently… should have done things differently. Maybe he shouldn't have gone into Black Ops. Maybe he shouldn't have taken that flight into any territory that day… maybe he should have been more careful when he pulled his parachute cord… but that was all the past and those scars healed.
Unlike the scars from Charlie's death… they were in many ways still raw years afterward. So when the spooks had come around asking for him to take one last mission, he'd been grateful to get away from the silence of their house and the Sarah's accusing eyes.
It seemed odd that one choice would set him on such a strange path… some days he contemplated attempting to cash-in his Stargate Frequent flyer miles and move to a planet where no one would bother him and he could fish in alien lakes and eat alien fish until he was well and truly fat and happy…
It was odd that one choice made in desperation had given him so many good friends, like Daniel Jackson, Carter, and Tel'c.
All of these things occupied the airtime in his brain as he got in the helicopter at McMurdo to head to the Outpost. He'd read his pilot's file before climbing into the co-pilot chair… a habit he'd picked up as he started to do more and more paperwork for the SGC and Homeworld security.
John Sheppard was well trained, smart, and talented… but Jack knew he wouldn't get far.
One huge black mark had for all intents put him on a Black list. Jack knew what it took to disobey orders, knew what it meant to risk it all for a friend… He couldn't help but respect Sheppard, but the man that lopped across the tarmac looked nothing like he expected.
He thought the John Sheppard would be hard edged and cynical, like him… but instead he was calm and relaxed. His hands were sure on the controls as he double checked everything for take-off, sure as he guided the helicopter away from McMurdo and into the icy tundra. It struck Jack that John Sheppard reminded him of… well him.
He may not be cynical or deadly at first glance… but it was in the subtle flexing of muscles in his forearms, the carefully controlled and unflappable tone that he used as they dodged a run away drone, and in the uncharacteristically calm response to finding out about the Ancients.
It wasn't until Jack watched Sheppard step through the event horizon that he realized how much he want to go along… and how much him and Sheppard truly had in common.
He only hoped Sheppard didn't have as many strange adventures as he did, but he knew that the Stargate took travelers to places beyond anything they could imagine… he smiled as he thought about what Sheppard might face…
It was good to know that in some small way, through Sheppard, he was going along as well.
Please Review