Don't forget Lauriesf, it is thanks to her that you read these lines!
Until death reunites us – Chapter 3
They had arrived on the planet for two hours and Jack was already bored. He was lying on the ground a little way from the ruins where Daniel was busy translating old texts. He was casually playing with a rock when he saw his 2IC's face bent over his. He blinked and sat up.
_Problem, Carter? he asked suddenly worrying.
_Oh, no, Sir... I was just wondering if you were ok.
He briefly looked into her sky blue eyes. She looked preoccupied... Could it be because of him? True, she had broken up with Pete some weeks before, not withstanding the death of her father... So it was quite normal for her to feel disturbed. Even Samantha Carter was allowed to falter in moments like these.
And yet, he knew there was something else. He had a sudden visual image of his 2IC's lips when she'd discovered him with the CIA agent. He should really clarify the subject with her. But he didn't have time to think more about it:
_Some have their Xmas gifts in advance..., she remarked, watching the archeologist poring over the ancient glyths.
He switched his gaze from his Colonel to his friend.
_I'd forgotten the pleasure brought by those explorations when we wait for hours while Daniel is having the time of his life, he muttered standing, what if we went and took a look around? We might even find a pretty little abandoned ship...
She nodded with a smile, following him to rejoin the three other men.
_Kids, it's not I'm getting bored but I feel like having a little stroll with Carter. Don't break off contact.
Teal'c nodded as usual and Mitchell smiled mischieviously, knowing for sure what was going on between the two of them, as everybody surmised at the SGC. His cheeky smile triggered a dark look from the General who didn't appreciate innuendos at all.
Daniel absent-mindedly waved at him, probably not having heard a single word that had been uttered.
They slowly made their way to the wood, about three hundred feet from their campsite. They walked for a long while without talking. Jack was wondering how to breach the subject, especially as he didn't know what he really wanted. It was her business and if she had not come to talk to him about it, it was certainly because she didn't need to. What right did he have to go against her wishes, after all? Maybe he was the one imagining things while she was doing perfectly fine!
Why did he have to feel guilty about having a relationship with agent Johnson? It was Sam who had almost gotten married, not him.
_So, General? she suddenly asked.
He glanced at her.
_So what?
_What do you want to discuss with me?
_Why do you think I might want to discuss something with you? he replied with feigned indifference.
Gosh, she knew how to see through him!
_That's because you asked me to follow you, she went on, stopping in the middle of the track.
Surprised, he turned around to look at his 2IC and stared at her. She looked annoyed, as if she was pissed off at him. He had hoped it would be brief and smooth: he could whistle for it!
_Well? he said, irritated by the twist in their conversation.
She kept silent for a while, torn by her feelings. She knew he was right there to talk to her, but as usual, he was backing off, fleeing like a kid who,after the first impatience for a new adventure, realizes the danger of it and backtracks home.
_You've never asked me to follow you anywhere, she whispered, swinging between disappointment and reproach.
Her sentence hit him like a dagger and he immediately understood what was implied, which did not pacify him at all. How dare she throw that in his face? Was she really reproaching him for their relationship? She was the one who had flung herself into Shanahan's arms without a pause, never thinking about the consequences. The cheek of it!
He suddenly regretted he had wanted to talk to her.
_Why did you break up with Shanahan? he suddenly tackled the issue with certain cruelty.
His question had not had time to unnerve her that an explosion rang out a few feet away from them. Their instinct as soldiers made them jump to the ground, completely forgetting the argument they had just started.
To be continued