|
I wake to the feeling of nausea again…..which, considering the fact
that I haven't
eaten since I was last sick, is odd.
"I brought you some soup."
My thoughtful man places a cup of soup next
to me and I realise where
the nausea had come from. "Thank you for the thought, it was very
sweet, but I don't think
I could keep it down." I protest, pulling
myself up into a sitting position.
"Try it." He urges, handing me the
mug.
"Really I….."
"Trust me honey, you'll be able to keep it down." He smiles and I
take a tentative
sip, amazed to find that it doesn't make me want to
vomit.
"What is it?" I ask, sipping more.
"Family recipe,
my mother was violently ill when she was pregnant
with me, this was the only thing she'd eat for weeks at a time. Dad
gave me the recipe when we got married." He tells me and I nod,
continuing to gulp down the soup greedily.
Now
that I'm not nauseous, I'm starving.
"Slow down or you'll get the hiccup's" He laughs.
I roll my eyes at him.
"I didn't realise how hungry I was until I had
this, I hope you made more."
"Heaps." He nods, taking the mug from
my hands. "Close your eyes
baby, you really should rest."
I nod and follow his instructions to the feel of him
stroking my hair.
***
"Joe?" Sam asked, absently twirling her engagement ring around her
finger.
"Mmm?"
He replied distractedly, reading something from work.
"When are we going to send out the invitations? I mean, only
our
parents and Janet know thus far."
"Itching to tell everyone, are you honey?" He grinned.
"Well, the
wedding is only two months away, and we need to sort out
the caterers, the seating arrangements, the wedding party and
their
dresses and tux's, the gifts for the guests….." Sam sighed, she would
have preferred a small, more intimate,
wedding with just their family
and close friends.
It seemed like Joe wanted to invite half of the state.
"How
about you give out the invites to your friends and family, and
I'll do mine to save time?" He offered.
Sam nodded,
satisfied with the answer. "Okay, I'll give them out at
the SGC tomorrow. The SG-1 boys won't be happy with me for keeping
it
from them for so long, but they'll be happy."
"I can't remember, are we inviting all of your team?" Joe asked
absently.
Sam gave him a funny look, which he missed anyway. "Of course we are,
they're closer to me than my
own family."
"I know that but…..I don't think O'Neill likes the idea of us getting
married." He admitted,
finally looking up at her.
"Joe, Colonel O'Neill wants us to be happy, I'm sure he'll give us
his blessing." She
smiled, showing her confidence.
"Would it make a difference if he didn't?" Joe asked, jealousy lacing
his tone.
"Of
course it wouldn't." Sam lied, forcing a smile.
Joe grunted and turned back to his paperwork.
***
I
snuggle further into the covers and relish in their warmth.
Winter started a few days ago, and it's starting to get
colder in
here, but the heating is permanently on at the moment. Janet says I
should keep warm for the baby's sake…..which
mean I have one fully
grown male fussing over me endlessly.
He took time off work to be with me and `nurture' me
until I'm
allowed to get out of bed. I *was* supposed to be back on my feet two
days ago, but the onset of winter
has made the virus hang around for
a while longer and I'm so thankful for the soup that my father-in-law
gave us the
recipe for.
Without that soup, which looks awful but really is delicious, I would
have emaciated the baby and myself
by now.
"What're you doing awake?" A voice asks from beside me.
"Just thinking." I reply with a smile.
"Go
back to sleep."
"Make me." I tease playfully.
He pulls me into his arms and kisses the top of my head
affectionately
while I wriggle around trying to get
conformable. "Sammie…..you need to get better soon, okay? I worry
about
you and the baby."
"I know you do." I grin.
***
"Hey Sam." Daniel greeted as she walked into his office,
only to find
the Colonel and Teal'c already there.
"Major Carter." Teal'c bowed.
"Hey Carter." Jack nodded.
"Whatchya got there?" He asked, pointing
towards the three envelopes held tightly in her hand.
"Um…..they're
for you guys actually." She told them, handing each one
out.
Daniel opened his first and began to read aloud. "To
Doctor Daniel P.
Jackson, you are cordially invited to witness the joining of Joseph
F. Faxon and Samantha E. Carter…..you're
getting married?" He asked,
finally noticing the ring that she wore on her finger.
"In two months." Sam nodded.
"Oh…..why? I mean, congratulations." He grinned boyishly and Sam
ignored the first question.
"I
am most pleased for you Major Carter, however I do not believe
that the Ambassador is a formidable warrior, worthy of
your hand."
Teal'c announced and Sam stared at him in confusion.
"What T is trying to say, in his own twisted way,
is that the guy
ain't good enough for ya." The Colonel translated.
She was ashamed to feel tears pricking her eyes.
"Do you all feel
that way?" She asked in a shaky voice.
"Carter, we're not trying to interfere, we just want you
to know that
we think you deserve better, but if you're happy, then we're happy."
He elaborated.
"Oh…..are
you guys gonna come to the wedding?" She asked.
"Of course I'll be there Sam."
"I will indeed attempt to be
present for this event Major Carter."
Sam smiled at her two colleagues before turning to face her silent
commanding
officer. "Sir?"
"Ah….." Jack saw the hopeful expression on her face and forced
himself to put aside his own
misgivings. "Sure Carter, I think I'm
free that weekend." He grinned.
Sam was a little put-off by the Colonel's
flippancy, but decided to
ignore it. "Good."
***
I remember the day that I told the guys I was getting
married like it
was yesterday. I know that they didn't mean, or realise, it, but they
all hurt me deeply that day
with their off-handedness about the
biggest day of my life.
In retrospect, perhaps I should have told them all
to stick it, but,
then again, things wouldn't have turned out the way they have if I'd
done that, so I'm glad I kept
quiet about my feelings.
But with the way my life is at the moment, I wouldn't change a single
thing. It makes
me wonder how bad life was for the other me that
helped to send the note.
"I just got off the phone with Janet,
she says that you can go for a
walk outside today, if you want?"
I grin at him. "Yes, I'm sick of the sight of
this bed."
He pouts. "Aww…..you never used to say that."
"True, but what we used to do in bed was more
interesting than
sleeping." I remind him, smiling sweetly.
"Well, you shake off this virus, Janet gives you the
go-ahead, and
we'll make it interesting again, okay?"
"Deal." I grin and he helps me to the shower so that I can
finally
get out of the house for a little while.
***
The processional had already started playing when
Sam stepped out of
the bridal room, her father waiting for her. She picked up the
bouquet of roses and walked towards
the man beaming proudly at the.
"You look beautiful Sammie." He grinned proudly.
"Thank you." She smiled, re-adjusting
her veil.
Jacob looked at his daughter, amazed at how grown up she looked. "Are
you ready to go and get married?"
"Is everybody here and seated?" She asked, peering through the doors
of the church to see over three hundred people
sitting in their
pew's, waiting for her entrance.
"Ah…..yes."
"Dad?"
"Jack, Daniel and Teal'c
aren't here yet." He admitted.
Sam turned to her father. "What? Where are they?"
"Sammie…..I'm sure that
they're fine, really. C'mon let's get you
down that aisle before Joe sends out a search party." Jacob attempted
to
take her arm, but she pulled away.
"Where are they?" Sam demanded.
Jacob sighed, she wouldn't move until he
told her what was going
on. "There was an accident…..Jack's truck brakes were cut and he's in
the hospital.
Daniel and Teal'c are with him at the moment."
"His brakes were…..? Why?"
Shaking his heady sadly, Jacob
grasped his daughter's hand. "I don't
know. He's in the Memorial hospital now."
"Is he alright?"
"The doctors
aren't sure yet."
"I have to go and see him."
"Sam, we're at your wedding."
"I don't care." She protested,
opening the door.
Sam ran down the aisle towards Joe who was looking at her, open-
mouthed. The wedding march had
begun playing but Sam signaled for the
organ player to stop.
"Joe, we have to postpone the wedding." She told him,
breathless.
"What? Why?"
"Colonel O'Neill was in a car accident, I have to make sure he's
alright."
"Sam….."
"Joe,
he's my friend, I need to be there for him."
"Sam, it was just a malfunction with the brakes, I'm sure he's fine."
Joe protested gently. "Can we please continue?"
"How do you know it was his brakes?" Sam asked, eyes wide.
"Well,
you said…..
"No, I didn't." She shook her head, eyes wide at the
implication. "You did this, didn't you?"
Joe
shrugged. "Not me."
Sam was running out of the church towards her car before Joe even had
a chance to stop her.
***
We
walk slowly through the park near our house, the sounds of
children playing in the park are the only noise interrupting
the
silence.
Cars are virtually extinct now, we have transports that take us
everywhere we want to go……'Beam
me ups' as the Colonel called them.
They're actually a lot like the Aschen version we encountered in
2001, but entirely
human built. Because cars are no longer in use,
pollution has dropped considerably and we even managed to repair the
ozone
layer and repair all of the damage that we did.
So much has changed since the war with the Goa'uld, most of it for
the better. There were losses to both sides, but ultimately we won.
The Tollan weren't completely wiped out by Tanith,
as first thought,
and several of them survived and helped us fight.
The Tok'ra were an essential part to our survival
during some of the
tougher months, in the spring of 2003. A lot of them were killed as
well, but they still have operatives
around…..even if they have
nothing left to fight for.
Dad is actually living on Earth at the moment, he's
decided that
since the world knows what he is and who Selmak is, then he can
afford to act like a young man at the
age of seventy without people
asking questions…..Mark's kids love that their grandfather can still
run with
the best of them.
The disclosure of the Stargate happened on September 9th, 2002. It
was a lot earlier than scheduled,
but necessary. The war on Iraq was
over (Saddam had been killed and Bin Laden had been captured at this
point.) but
we were loosing the war with the Goa'uld and most of our
people were dropping like flies.
In the end we had to
recruit other personnel to fight with us…..it
was easier to tell the world what we were doing than try and get the
newcomers up to speed in a very short amount of time.
After the declassification of the Stargate, we were all considered
heroes, especially SG-1…..not that we wanted to be, and we didn't
have time to enjoy the spotlight before we
were off to fight again.
"Honey, are you okay?"
I look up at him as we continue to walk at a leisurely pace,
hand in
hand. "Fine, why?"
"You've been quiet."
"Just thinking." I smile.
"We've talked about you
doing that….." He grins and I can't help
returning it.
Yes, all things considered, I'm glad my life is the
way it is at the
moment.
***
"I must have really lousy taste in men." Sam sighed as she spoke with
Jack.
He'd
been in hospital for over a week now with a broken leg and
hairline fracture of the skull. When his brakes had failed,
the car
had rammed straight into a tree, but the Doctor's had said that
overall he'd come out of it very lucky.
Jack
couldn't help but smile. "Don't say that Carter."
"Why not? It's true. I was engaged to a man that turned out to be
a
psychotic Neanderthal, and then I was about five minute's away from
marrying a man that was helping the Aschen…..I
think those two
instances alone constitute lousy taste." She replied.
"Hey, it's not that bad. I mean, Faxon is
probably a good guy…..if
you forget about the part of him that was controlled by the Aschen."
Sam shook
her head. "I still don't understand how they did it, I
mean, when we were involved in the trade relations, we discussed
their technology in depth……they never mentioned the ability to `brain
wash' people."
Jack gave
her a skeptical look. "If they were planning to brain wash
the people of Earth, do you really think that they'd tell us
about
the technology?"
She smiled and nodded. "You're right."
"Usually am." He grinned.
"I guess
now you can say that there's another race of people out
there who want to see you dead." Sam smiled.
"I'm just
popular." He returned, his face suddenly becoming
serious. "Look, I'm sorry about Joe….."
"I appreciate that."
"I know."
"Sir….I"
Jack shook his head at her, and winced as he bumped the
fracture. "Carter,
you don't need to explain it to me."
She sighed. "I do…..Joe was, is, a mistake. You and I…..we had
something
really special at one point, and I threw it away."
Taking a deep breath, Jack reached out and grasped her hand
tightly.
"You didn't throw it away."
***
I stroke my stomach with trembling fingers, trying to ease the
discomfort
of the baby kicking. Whether or not it's a boy or a girl,
it certainly seems to be taking after it's father in the athletic
department.
"Pains?"
"No, this baby loves to kick."
He smiles at me. "Cool…..can I feel?"
I
can't help but smile as his finger tickle my stomach to feel our
child move.
Jack just loves to feel the baby kick,
and he gets this odd grin on
his face every time he sees my protruding abdomen. I have to admit,
having my husband
fuss over me non-stop can be quite amusing.
He's getting ready to leave for work at the moment, no doubt trying
to
think of a new and better way to try and train the new recruits.
After the SGC was officially open to the public, and
once the huge
media frenzy and public tours died down, we continued on with our
original mission of trying to establish
peaceful relations with other
cultures.
We all stayed on SG-1 for a while, but Daniel left to be with Janet
for
the birth of their daughter, Megan, and Teal'c left to be with
his son. Jack retired about three months after my almost
wedding to
Joe, which was about three weeks before our own wedding.
Hammond wouldn't let him leave completely
though, Thor still refuses
to deal with anyone other than SG-1, so he roped Jack into a job as a
training instructor
to all of the men and women who would make up the
next generation of SG teams. He enjoys it, no matter how much he
complains
about having to train the scientists to fight while they
spout techno-babble at him…..and he's on hand in case the
Asguard
come knocking.
And me? Well, I still work in my lab at the SGC, analyzing technology
that the teams
bring back. We have SG teams 2-38 now and collectively
they bring back a lot of technology for me to study.
After
the war was over, SG-1 were all awarded the medal of
bravery…..and told, by the President himself, that no other
team,
ever, will be given the designation of SG-1.
But I have a lot of work to do these days.
I don't go
off-world anymore, what the other teams bring back keeps
me pretty busy. And even thought the Goa'uld, and the Aschen,
have
been defeated, and the Jaffa are free from being dependant on any
Larva's (Janet and I finally found a drug to
act as a substitute for
the Primta) We still find people out there that don't want to be
friendly, and sometimes we
inevitably have to fight…..which is where
Jack's job comes into the program.
Away from work, however, I have
the pleasure of being Mrs. Samantha
O'Neill…..and I have been for almost six years now. Jack's proposal
was
everything I had ever wanted.
He didn't shower me with roses, he knows what my favorite flower is,
he knew before
we were even together. He took me to a planet where
the beaches went on forever, and we had a private holiday there. On
the second night, as we watched the sunset he slipped a sapphire ring
onto my finger and told me I had to marry him
or he'd Zat me.
Now, *that* was a proposal.
We married a month later at a garden wedding with only our friends
and family in attendance, making the guests total of about seventy-
five, had our honeymoon on the beach where we'd
gotten engaged and
were deliriously happy, despite the ups and down's. We'd discussed
having children before, but
with our lives the way they were, we
never really felt ready for them.
But now…..that decision has been taken
out of our hands.
So at almost five months pregnant, and deliriously happy, I have to
wonder exactly why the future
me decided to send that note. I don't
know what her life was like, I don't know if the Goa'uld had been
defeated,
or if it was the Aschen that made them want to change the
way things were going to turn out.
But I do know that
if her life was anything like mine is at the
moment, then she was a damn fool for trying to change that.
I would
never give up the way my life is at the moment.
Not for anything.
***
The End.
"Now I wish we
could take it all back." -Daniel, 2010
|
