Category: Sam and Jack romance/angst, Team/family angst

Spoilers: Set in episode 6.11 Prometheus.

Content Warnings: Mild peril!

Summary: Jack's been quiet ever since his off-world visit to his son and Sam's worried. She has to put aside family issues when a journalist uncovers the Prometheus project.

Episode – 6.11 Prometheus

As she opened the front door to her house, Sam was still visibly troubled by the journalist who had cornered her at her car. She put her purse on the small table next to the coat rack and quickly moved into the lounge where she put Daniella into the play-cot. Daniella giggled and gurgled, chattering to herself as Sam went back to the front entrance to take off her shoes. She paused in slight consideration before locking the front door to ensure that only those with a key could gain entrance. Usually she would trust the neighbourhood to an extent and, after all, Jack always left the doors unlocked. It was what he was used to. Having had a journalist track her down to the mini-mart caused Sam to question if the journalist would then turn up at her abode. She had ensured that she was not followed and she wanted to believe in the human decency of people, but that had not stopped the journalist from questioning her as she had put Daniella into her car seat.

Removing her shoes, Sam knew that she had to inform General Hammond as soon as possible, but it was Sasha's day off so she would unfortunately have to wait until Jack showed himself. It was often such a hassle to try and get to the base with Daniella in tow and Sam was not willing to risk evasive driving with Daniella in the passenger seat. Her only solution was, therefore, to find Jack and that was not necessarily as easy as it should be. To a certain extent, their lives were intertwined, but he was still his own person and she was not always aware of his location. Ever since he had returned from his visit with his son, Jack had been quiet with her; much quieter than normal. He was still pleasant and polite, spending time with her and Daniella when it was required, but he had not spoken to her about his trip. If anything, Sam had noticed him spending more time with Daniella. She had not fed her daughter breakfast once since Jack's return. It was not that she was complaining, because Sam loved seeing the smiles on both Jack and Daniella's faces from spending time together. What did bother Sam was that every so often, she saw a sadness on Jack's face when he had to leave Daniella to go shopping or when it was time for her nap. She desperately wanted to question him on his sadness, but she knew Jack too well to push him. He would tell her if he needed to.

"Jack?" she called near the bottom of the stairs. If he were upstairs, he should hear her call and he definitely should if he were anywhere downstairs. As she waited for a possible reply, Sam removed her jacket and hung it near the front door. Within a few seconds, Jack appeared out of the downstairs study, opposite the lounge doorway.

"You called?" he replied and immediately moved past her. She wanted to hear his usual playful tone, but his voice was always flat now unless it was directed at Daniella. Following him a few steps into the lounge, Sam watched as Jack went straight over to Daniella and lifted her out of the play-cot. He held her up at his side, using his index finger to alternate between squidging her nose and tickling her tummy. Her giggle was an absolute joy to listen to.

Unable to take her attention from the lovely scene before her, Sam had to smile as she began to explain to Jack. "As I was leaving the mini-mart, a reporter introduced herself to me."

"Reporter?" he asked, turning around to glance at her before returning his attention to Daniella.

"Said her name was Julia Donovan. She claims to have information about a top secret military program. She knew my name and, obviously, where I shop."

He paused in his efforts to tickle Daniella and met Sam's eyes. "Are you and Daniella okay?"

Sam nodded, a part of her annoyed that his first question was concerning his family. It was evidently clear that they were both okay so he did not need to be worried, his worry should be aimed at how much had been leaked. A few weeks ago, Jack's response would have been from a military standpoint, including checking on his family. "We're fine," she finally answered. "But this Donovan lady knows too much."

He was still looking at Sam as he nodded back at her, seemingly wearing his protective father and Air Force Colonel hats. "You need to tell General Hammond." Before she could explain that she was planning to, but needed Jack to look after Daniella, he continued, "I'll look after the girly." He turned his attention back to Daniella and lifted her high up into the air above his head. "Time for Daniella-Daddy play-time. Yeah!"

Watching them, Sam felt as if she no longer existed in the room. She was pleased that their relationship was developing and that a strong bond was forming between father and daughter, but it worried her that Jack was not acting his normal self. Something had happened with his son which was causing him to now dote more on Daniella and to bother even less with other people. Daniel and Teal'c had been around for dinner the night before and Jack could barely manage a sentence in their conversation. Her only issues with his change in personality were what the actual cause of it was and was there some way that it could wear off. Before his trip, Sam had worried that he would not return. It was a fear borne out of the fact that the last time he had gone to see Laira and Jack-Junior, he had not returned to her until almost nine months later. The worst thing in the world that she could imagine happening a few weeks earlier was to become a single parent again. Now, it was that Jack's emotional detachment from everyone but Daniella would blow up and destroy everything. "I'll, uh, I'll head to the base then. I shouldn't be long."

"Okay," he replied but she knew he was not listening.

SG – SG – SG

The journey would only take him a few minutes, he knew this, but it did not stop Jack's wafer thin patience from wearing thinner. The day was going from bad to worse and he was pretty sure that it could not actually get any worse. It had all seemed so simple the day before, send Sam and Daniel to the Prometheus with journalist, Julia Donovan, and her film crew to get an exclusive. He had been against the principle of the idea from the word go; it was never a good idea to let civilians in on secrets which held the highest National Security levels. Never had it occurred to him that a simple, civilian based task would end up with him and Teal'c in Apophis' Death Glider on their way to the now stolen Prometheus. To cap off the brilliant day, as far as he was aware, Sam was dead. Only a few hours earlier, Jack had received the phone call saying that the film crew had taken Sam, Daniel and other Air Force guards hostage. He had not waited for the rest of the phone call and after slamming down the receiver, Jack had not waited for orders or permission before setting off for Nevada. It had been a while since he had yelled at anyone the way in which he had yelled at Major Davis, but even now, and with hindsight, Jack did not care. Only he was aware that part of his anger was at the fact that Sam was aboard and that part of his anger was directed at himself.

It had been three weeks since Jack had returned from a visit to Laira and Jack-Junior and it was possibly one of the greatest mistakes of his life. She had barely even let him set eyes on his son to the extent that he was not sure of how the toddler had his hair cut now. It pained him to know that there was a child out there that he would probably never be allowed to know. Laira's first initial question had been a spiteful one: How is Major Carter? She had known all along that he did not love her and she had used it against him for the six months he had attempted to live with her and be a father to his son. However, she could only assume that he had returned to Earth to be with Sam. In truth, he had returned to tell Sam the true extent of his feelings, but things had not been that simple. All that his silence had said to Laira was that he was not happily in love with Sam. That had been all the ammunition she had needed to aggravate him and wind him up. There had been plenty of opportunities to tell her about his daughter, to rub it in her face, but she would use that as the ultimate reason to cut him from his son's life.

After two days, Jack had finally returned home with an agreement to see Jack-Junior on a semi-regular basis and a strong desire to simply hold his daughter and Sam. Returning to the woman who had played a pivotal part in his decisions over the past few years had stirred up a lot in his mind and heart. Along with a renewed love for his daughter, Jack also had the strong urge to hold Sam and never let her go. She was the polar opposite of Laira and he had missed both females he lived with. Things were no simpler than the last time he had returned to Earth. Instead he had thrown all of his affections onto his daughter in an attempt to mask whatever emotions had been stirred up with regards to Sam.

Now, she was probably dead.

Deck Seven isn't pressurized. The airlock in that section is still under construction. By the time they reach orbit, she'll be dead. Major Davis' words kept echoing through his mind. He was not simply angry at those who had allowed this mission to go ahead, but also with himself for lying about Sam to Laira and then trying to shut everyone out. He never assumed that it would be simple to live with Sam purely as friends, parents and team-mates, but he had also not foreseen lying about her, hiding things from her and having her die, leaving him a single parent. Right now, all that he could think was that she was dead and that it was too late. His friend, team-mate and daughter's mother had either suffocated or been sucked out into space and he had spent the last few weeks practically ignoring her. He could not remember the last time he had made her smile by saying something.

By the time they reach orbit, she'll be dead.

Every time the words echoed in his mind, another voice told him that there was still hope and that there was every possibility that Sam had made it out of the storage room and off of deck seven. Allowing his pessimistic side to shine through, Jack ignored those thoughts as he instead remained angry and bitter as the Death Glider slid carefully into the Prometheus' hangar deck.

"Colonel O'Neill, we are aboard."

"Thank goodness for radar," he quipped as both men were aware that the radar system was not yet fully operational. "Let's head out. Bridge?"

"Indeed." Slowly and with their senses on full alert, Jack and Teal'c began their journey from the hangar deck towards the bridge. It had only been a few minutes, when Jack signalled to Teal'c that he heard something. Teal'c inclined his head ever so slightly, indicating that he too heard voices up ahead of them. Their Zats were already out and ready and as they turned a bend, both men immediately fired on the three men with backs to them. Once the fake camera crew were collapsed on the floor, Jack took another step and relief flooded his body. Without hesitation, Jack rushed the few meters between himself and Sam and pulled her into a huge hug. He squeezed her close, feeling her tense and wary of his actions, but he needed to hold her. Despite the whispers of hope, he had feared the worst. He let out the breath he had not even realised he was holding when Sam relaxed against him, clinging onto his back. Still fully aware that they were on a mission and there were other unresolved tasks, Jack knew that he could only spare a minute to take comfort from his friend.

Moving his head slightly, he was able to whisper into her ear, "I thought you were dead."

"I nearly was."

"Don't." She nodded against him and he pulled away to briefly look Sam in her eyes. "I'm sorry." It was his hope that she understood what he was sorry for. There was certainly not enough time to give her the apology that she deserved; Jack was not too sure that he was capable of actually giving in words. He was sorry for how he had been acting, for how down he had been feeling and trying to not take it out too much on her. With every fibre of his being, he was sorry. "I can't lose you." His voice fell to an even lower whisper. Jack did not want his relationship with Sam to become one as bitter and twisted as his with Laira now was. It was not just for the fact that it would damage his relationship with Daniella, but also his friendship with Sam; that was something too valuable to lose.

"You won't," she whispered in reply and they each moved to rest their foreheads against each other. Jack closed his eyes for only a moment, relishing in the comforting touch of her arms around him, her body in his arms and the closeness of their heads. "We should, uh…" Her words caused him to pull away first before she then stepped a pace away from him. "Colonel, Daniel and the journalist were in the engine room."

He nodded at her, their brief break in regulations passed. "First things first, let's head to the engine room first and get us out of hyperdrive." He passed a spare Zat from its holster to Sam and ordered, "Lead the way, Major."

Next Chapter – 6.12 Unnatural Selection

I realised whilst watching 6.11 that it was, in fact, a two parter with 6.12, but I've left the final scene of 6.11 for the next chapter. With the arrival of Thor and his request for SG-1 to help with the replicator problem, will Jack be okay with Sam being part of the mission after his fearing she was dead? The next chapter is in sections, some of which do not feature Jack or Sam. It might also be a bit angsty and not nice due to the Replicators and their psychological torture. I'll try and post as separate chapters so you can either avoid non-SJ-ness or avoid torture! I decided a few chapters ago that the issue of Jack-Junior needed to be addressed and I began that with the last chapter. It then kind of evolved to have Jack acting out of sorts due to Laira and his son which kind of neatly played into the existing plot of this episode where Sam was captured and feared dead. I loved how in the episode Jack yelled at Major Davis, made me kind of warm inside and I realised that he would be even angrier in my timeline version :-).