Swoosh Chapter 3
The next day was filled with minor repairs, rehanging the doors to the stalls in the barn, two small roof repairs, repairing the fence around the vegetable garden, and general cleaning. There were some blankets, linens, and clothes in the bedroom closet. Carter had cleaned some of the dishes, silverware, and pans the night before when she made dinner. Today she cleaned all the rest of the utensils. As she went through the rest of the drawers she also found a couple old journals, a few packets of seeds, a sewing kit, and knitting needles.
They were both exhausted by the end of the day. The house was looking good and it smelled much less stale after all the cleaning. Dinner wasn't a grand affair but it was filling. Their new neighbors had been generous considering there were still several weeks to get through before they could start planting, let alone harvest food. O'Neill had found a couple bows in the barn. They both planned on doing some practicing so they could hunt some game to supplement the food they had been given. They would both feel better if they were a bit more self sufficient.
Carter was up early the next morning. After a quick breakfast she started the hour walk to her new job. She had bundled up in a sweater and a thin coat she'd found in the closet. O'Neill had insisted she wear her backpack so she felt like she was exploring off world instead of walking to her new job. She had thrown in a bag of dried vegetables for her lunch.
Jamale and his sons were in the shop when she arrived. "Welcome Samantha. I have set aside space for you over there." Jamale pointed towards the right side of the shop just under a small window. "There are two tractors in need of maintenance and a bailer that needs a new belt over there."
"I'll get right on it." Samantha sat her stuff down in her corner and fixed the bailer first. She quickly completed the annual maintenance on both tractors. Jamale checked on her work often and was pleased. He insisted that she join him and his sons for lunch. She tried to decline but after he saw what she had packed he insisted. He wanted her to have enough strength to work all afternoon.
Jamale insisted that Carter leave well before dark. He said it wouldn't be safe for her to walk so far after dark. He gave her a pie to take home and thanked her for her hard work. They agreed that she would come back every other day, giving her time to work on the farm and earn money working for Jamale.
O'Neill was thrilled to see the pie Carter carried home. Over dinner she told him about her spot in the shop and he told her about his archery practice. They decided to try a bit of hunting the next day.
After an eight day week of going to work every other day Carter found a project she wanted to work on in her off time but she needed the materials and tools available in Jamale's shop. He liked her idea and was willing to throw in some parts but he couldn't give her time off because they were still trying to get through all the orders sitting in the shop. They finally agreed that Carter would work two days in a row and stay with Jamale the night between her two days. That would allow her to spend her evenings working on her personal project without taking away time from the work Jamale needed done.
Carter knew O'Neill wouldn't like this idea but she tried to help him see the wisdom of this decision without giving away her real plan. "The walk to and from work is costing me two hours a day. I could get more done if I could work longer, especially since Jamale insists that I leave before dark every day."
"He must have a good reason for making you leave."
Carter moved her carrot like vegetable around her plate. "He says there are some nocturnal animals that should be avoided."
"Seems like a fair point." Jack picked up the leg of the roast bird that had been dropped off by a friendly neighbor that morning.
"I talked to Jamale about it today and he agrees he could use me if I had more time."
"Are you going to work there more days?" Jack bite into the bird leg and juice ran down his chin.
"I was thinking I would work two days back to back and stay at Jamale's the night between the days." O'Neill stopped chewing and looked up.
"We don't really know these people well enough for you to be shacking up with them."
Carter pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. "Shacking up? That makes it sound like you think I'm going to…well I'm not."
O'Neill shook his head. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant I wouldn't feel comfortable with you staying overnight somewhere without me. We don't know this place well enough to split up."
"We're split up all day every other day and we've been doing just fine. We could use the money and I like the work."
O'Neill looked down at his plate and scowled. "I don't like it." he grimaced, "Won't this take away the time you have available to work on getting us home?"
Sam's brow creased. "Home? I've been continuing the star charts and I will keep on those until we have made a full cycle around this sun but that isn't going to get us home. I've told you that I don't have any way to dial Earth from here. I can't get us home."
O'Neill sighed loudly. "You can stay at Jamale's as long as you take a radio with you, check in twice a day, and not give up on going home so easily."
Carter smiled. He had caved faster than she had expected. "Taking along a radio makes sense. I will keep making the star charts and I won't stop pondering ways to get home but I also can't promise to keep hoping for something I don't think is possible. If you got to know Jamale you just might like him."
O'Neill grimaced even more, "I'm sure I would but for now you can keep making friends for the both of us." The thought of Carter snuggling up to Jamale invaded his mind and his mood became downright sour. He knew Carter's intention were all about work, since she loved to work, but he still hated the thought of her staying overnight with Jamale, even if there were walls between them.
When Carter left the next morning O'Neill barely said a word. He couldn't shake the mental images of Carter in Jamale's arms. She thought he was angry with her, which made her mood a bit foul. She arrived to find Jamale's sons having an argument over a thinning belt and its life expectancy. She navigated her way around them and started sharpening a tiller blade. After dinner Carter put the few things she brought with her into the spare room over the shop. The small room was heated and included a bed, sink, and the Uraba version of a toilet. She sat her solar battery charger in the window, hung a couple shirts in the closet, put some delicates on the top shelf in the closet, and hung a small mirror near the sink.
"Carter calling O'Neill."
"O'Neill here."
"We just finished dinner. I thought I'd check in before I go back down to get some more work done. How was your day?"
"Nothing exciting here. I fed those chicken like things and worked on the fence some more. I should have it done by the time we can afford to put something in it."
"Did you find any eggs?"
"Not a one. I am beginning to suspect that's why these particular chicken-ettes were donated to us."
"Chicken-ettes?"
"I thought I'd give that name a try."
Carter had to smile. She was glad his mood seemed a bit lighter. "That might work but it can't hurt to keep looking for other options."
"I'll keep pondering. What are you going to be working on tonight?"
"A special project."
"You've barely been there and you've already been assigned a special project?"
"You know how I like being assigned special projects. As a matter of fact I met you because of a special project. That special project made the last twenty years pretty awesome."
"Yes, it did. I guess you and special projects go together well. I am going to make some dinner. You get to that special project and check back in when you go to bed."
"That might be pretty late."
"That's ok. O'Neill out."
Carter went downstairs and sorted through the scrap parts looking for what she needed. It took four hours to inventory what she had and determine what she would need to buy. If Jamale made her some good deals it would still take more than two weeks pay to buy everything she needed. She let out a loud sigh and nodded. It was worth it. Maybe Jamale would let her pay in installments so she could still take some money home each week. If not O'Neill would get suspicious about her lack of income, especially with the additional work hours.
Carter spent one more hour organizing the scrapes she hoped Jamale would let her buy for next to nothing. She felt bad that she had worked so late knowing O'Neill was waiting up for her to call.
"Carter calling O'Neill."
O'Neill rolled over and picked the radio up off the bedside table. "I hope you got a lot done."
"I made progress."
"Still not going tell me what you're doing?"
"Nope." He could hear the giggle in her voice even though she held it back.
"Fine, but you know I'll find out one day."
"You will but only once I decide to tell you."
"That almost sounds like a challenge."
"Not at all." Carter fell back on the small bed. "So what are your plans for tomorrow?"
"I'm going to do some more target practice so day after tomorrow we can go hunting again."
"Bow and arrow hunting?"
"Yeah, I don't see any reason to waste ammo since we don't have much with us."
"Agreed. What are we aiming to snag?"
"I'd be fine with anything that we could put on our plates for dinner. I'm growing tired of dried everything."
"So you don't want some more of the jerky mystery meat?"
"Fresh mystery meat for me please."
"I'll ask Jamale if there is anything we should avoid hunting, since we don't really know the wildlife in these parts. I'd hate to waste our time tracking some bird that tastes awful or even worse is poisonous."
"Poisonous would be bad."
Carter smiled, "Yes, It would. We both better get some sleep. I mean there are only ten hours of night left."
"These nights do seem to go on for forever."
"Thirty-six hours makes a full day here and right now over twenty of those hours are at night. I have figured out Urabians sleep for about six hours, get up for three or four hours, and go back to bed for the rest of the night."
"Seriously?"
"I can't believe I forgot to tell you about that. They call it the night break. Most people have a small meal during the night break."
"Will you be joining Jamale for night break?"
"I hadn't thought about it actually. I wonder if he will expect me to show up. It can be a social thing but I don't think I will venture down. I didn't ask that much about it when the boys were discussing it the other day. Maybe I will learn more about it over the next couple of weeks."
"Great. You can learn all about Jamale's night breaks."
Carter sighed, "Don't be like that. He's been nothing but kind to us."
"I know. Sorry."
"We both need some sleep. I'll be home before dark tomorrow."
"All right. Good night."
Carter slept for nine hours, an unusually long time for her, but that still had her in the shop before Jamale and his sons. Jamale brought her some biscuits and juice for breakfast. He was impressed with how quickly Carter worked as well as her ability to think through a problem. He was getting his winter repairs done much faster than usual with her help and his customers were happy with the quality of her work.
Carter left work while there were a couple hours left before dark. Jamale always insisted that she leave while there was time to get home before dark because there are a couple large carnivores that lived in the area and hunted at night. She picked up a couple mini fruit pies and eggs on the way home.
"I'm home." Carter walked into a toasty warm house that smelled delicious.
O'Neill stepped out of the bedroom. "Dinner is almost ready."
"It smells wonderful. What is it?"
"Some kind of stew and rolls."
Carter knitted her brows. "Some kind of stew? You don't know what you put in it?"
"Not exactly." O'Neill smiled.
"Did you just close your eyes and put random stuff in a pot?"
"Actually it just appeared, being cared by a kind neighborly lady who insisted we should have it for dinner tonight."
"Does this kind neighborly lady have a name?"
"Morlin? Mortin? Marlin? Something like that. She had long red hair and four kids with her."
"I fixed her husband's tiller a couple days ago. It was very nice of her to bring this by. I will be sure to thank her if I see her."
O'Neill looked at Carter and grinned. "What do you have in your basket little red riding hood?
Carter glanced down at herself and giggled. She was wearing a large red shirt that had been donated to them. It did look a bit like a cape on her. "Fruit pies for dessert tonight and some eggs for breakfast."
"Yum. Sounds like we should get our eat on."
"Do I need to go feed the velorans first?"
"If you mean those chicken things I fed them already. Now get over here and eat some stew."
Dinner was as delicious as it smelled. The fruit pies were the perfect ending. As they were cleaning up after dinner O'Neill pointed out that the sprayer on the sink didn't work. Carter promised to add that to her to do list. They chatted for a while before O'Neill went to the bedroom and Carter curled up on the sofa. She had borrowed a couple books from Jamale's older son. One was about the history of Sanai, the planet on which Uraba was located, and the other was about animal husbandry. Sanai had been a monarchy until about 1000 years earlier. The transition to a democracy had been bloody but based on this book, which may or may not be bias, things had been running smoothly for hundreds of years. The maps in the book showed a few major cities on this continent, all a long distance off, and two other continents with an assortment of cities and towns. Uraba was in a large agricultural area along with two other small towns. Her approximation about the location of the gate made it look like it had always been in the middle of nowhere, which didn't make sense based on the usual locations they found gates, near large populations of people. She heard O'Neill tossing and turning. She assumed her light was bugging him so she snuggled under her blanket and called it a night.
The next morning they ate the eggs and dressed warmly so they could venture out to give hunting the Uraba way a try. Jamale had told Carter that everything that ran or flew was up for grabs as far as hunting was concerned. There were a couple animals that wouldn't be tasty but the furs would still be worth some money. He said if they smell bad after you kill them to not eat them. It seemed to make good sense.
They headed back towards the gate since they had passed through a large forest on the way to Uraba. It was a fairly quiet trip. They saw lots of small rodent like animals but nothing worth shooting for the first four hours, then they saw a large beaver like animal next to a stream. O'Neill took aim and fired. His practice paid off. It was a long walk back but they were both happy to have some meat for the table.
O'Neill skinned the beaver thing and Carter roasted it. She tossed in a few potatoes and carrots, or at least the Uraba versions. Dinner was delicious and there were plenty of leftovers. They decided hunting would be the new norm on the days Carter was home.
They quickly fell into a routine. Carter worked hard while she was at Jamale's shop and relaxed a bit when she was at home. She started each evening working on her star charts and usually got up early in the morning to do more of the same. Sam helped around the farm with the repairs and hunting but O'Neill took the lead on the farm. He read up on Uraba farming thanks to the books Carter had borrowed. He'd made friends with a few of the neighboring farmers and was listening to their advice. They had about two weeks before it would be time to prepare the fields. There had been a couple offers to help him prepare his fields but O'Neill knew his fields would have to come after their own. He had also been seeking out help deciding what to plant. Uraba's long year provided them two growing seasons and occasionally a third if the snows held off.
They ate a dinner that featured that day's kill, a rather ugly but tasty bird. They laughed about Daniel antics and wondered what was happening back home. After dinner O'Neill washed and Sam dried the dishes.
Sam pointed at the sink. "I fixed the sprayer if you want to use it."
O'Neill smiled, "Great." He pointed the nozzle at the pan he was holding and squeezed. A powerful stream of water hit the pan and reflected back all over O'Neill. He let go of the nozzle but the handle was stuck in the on position so streams of water were bouncing all over the sink, stove, wall, and O'Neill. Sam reached for the sink and turned off the faucet. She had stayed mostly dry while O'Neill had gotten soaked. There was water dripping off his eyebrows, nose, and chin.
Sam held out the towel she had been using on the dishes. "Oh, Jack! I am so sorry. I guess I gave it too much power."
As Sam reached out with the towel O'Neill's face darkened. "I think the nozzle should go back on your to do list Colonel."
Sam stopped in her tracks. He hadn't called her Colonel in weeks. Using her title now was a wall he was building between them. She had grown so use to calling him Jack when she was talking to Jamale and the townspeople visiting the shop that she had let it slip.
"I…I'll do that. I'm sorry." Sam placed the towel on the edge of the wet sink and backed up. "If you'll excuse me."
Sam turned away from O'Neill. Her throat was burning and her heart was racing. She could feel the burning in her eyes and she didn't want him to see her get upset. She took large steps towards the door, trying not to move too fast while also trying to get away as soon as possible.
He let her leave. He could have stopped her. He could have apologized but he knew this was for the best. He couldn't let them get too close. When they got rescued they needed to be able to go back to being General O'Neill and Colonel Carter.
It took Sam about forty minutes to collect herself and write the letter. Sam came back to the house and handed the letter to O'Neill.
"What's this?"
"My letter of retirement."
O'Neill's head popped up. "You aren't at that point."
"I beg to differ. I have in more than twenty years. I've even been a retirement planning meeting and this is the right time for me."
"It's not like I can submit this through the appropriate chain of command so none of this makes any difference. This changes nothing."
"It does for me."Sam picked up her blankets and took them back to the barn. She made a bed of straw in one of the many empty stalls. She was up early the next morning and off to work. When she came home a couple days later she got back early enough to be able to move a few more of her meager belongings out to the barn. She made a closet out of one of the storage rooms. The barn included a utility sink and a toilet. She wasn't planning to avoid the house or O'Neill but she felt like a bit of distance would be good for them both.