Chapter Text
Author’s Note….Ekkkk, I’m really doing this. Sam and Jack’s story (along with so many ships) are stuck in my head. I have to get it out. I’m putting my thoughts here to share with you, so that they can live on and maybe we can all find shippy peace & happiness eventually. While it’s not my most favorite idea to post a story piece by piece, I feel like if I wait for it to be perfect, I’ll never get it done. So here it is, in its un-beated glory. Encouragement and kind comments are always appreciated.
From across the room he saw her. Her face was lit up while talking to Daniel and Davis. He envied them. They got to be stand close to her, breath in her scent, stare into her blue eyes. No one noticed if they touched her bare arms or stared too long at her. No one cared that the beautiful Colonel Carter danced the night away with every attractive man her age. Jack lifted his glass to take a sip of his drink to find it empty. Sighing he placed the glass on a tray travelling past him.
“Why don’t you just go ask her to dance?” Hammond asked, coming up behind him
Jack took a look at the man that had been his commanding officer for years and debated. Feeling bitter and not in the mood Jack rocked back on his heels and said “Oh, Carter seems to be doing just fine on her own there.”
Hammond chuckled. “Son, Jacob asked me to give this to you when you needed a kick in the ass” he took a small envelope from his inside jacket pocket “It seems like you could use that right about now.”
Jack took the envelope and grinned mischievously “You know leave it to Jacob to haunt me from the grave.”
“Jack as your friend-”
“How about as my boss? As the man who was my commanding officer” Jack fidgeted with his tie
“I’m telling you that you should probably ask that woman who is not in your chain of command to dance, only because I know what its like to be in a room with the two of you,” When Jack looked questioningly Hammond smiled “You were always really good at hiding it, better it took her a little longer to figure out how to do it. I may not have been in that room during the Zartec incident, but I know the details that were left out of that report. Go, dance with her, that’s an order” He added softly. When Jack was out of earshot, he added “Godspeed.”
Feeling uncomfortable during his conversation with Hammond, Jack fidgeted with his tie, and couldn’t look in a mirror to see how to fix it. Deciding that Carter would help him, he could kill 2 birds with one stone. He put on his intimidating General face and approached Carter, who was now chatting with some egghead.
“Carter” he announced his presence and requested her help all at the same time
“Sir” she greeted him briskly and was about to give him that smile reserved for him, but then stopped herself. “Excuse me” she said to the egghead.
“Didn’t you bring a yo-yo?” she reprimanded him, while she stepped closer and brought her hands up to straighten his tie
“Well I was going to, but Hammond strongly advised against it” She withdrew her hands and he immediately missed the warmth of her body being so close to his. Desperate to be closer to her again, “Dance with me?” he blurted out as A new song began to play.
She hesitated. She really didn’t want to. She didn’t even want to come. Daniel had made her feel guilty so here she was. She was hoping to avoid him, now she had no choice.
“Yes Sir” she took a step closer to him. He put his arm around her back and pulled her closer. She fought to ignore the sensation spreading across her body. She put one hand on his shoulder and the other in his.
The silence between them was awkward and uncomfortable.
“So how is it lording over the eggheads?” he asked
“Fine”
He sighed, switching tactics “Are you getting enough time to have a life or are you locking yourself up in the lab?”
“My life is just fine, Sir”
“Carter?”
“Sorry Sir. I don’t feel very much in a party mood”
“Obviously. What’s going on? Everything going okay at Groom Lake. Do you need me to pull you back?” he asked his brown eyes sparkling with concern.
Feeling her control slip, she looked him in the eyes “I guess you think that little of me”
“Actually, I think quite highly about you, you know that”
“Right, that must be why I haven’t heard from you since I left?” Her eyes filled with sadness and she pulled away. She took a deep breath and softly said “I’m sorry, I can’t do this Sir” and she briskly walked away.
A numbness started to settle in, and a darkness enveloped him.