A hundred and two days

Episode tag to 'A hundred days'

They step out of the elevator and are welcomed by a chilly breeze. Jack takes a deep breath. He doesn't want to seem pathetic, but there's something in the air that smells like home. Last time he got to the base it was late summer. Unusual hot days. Now, a hundred and two days later, it is chilly. The leaves have turned into all shades of red and yellow, and he's beyond grateful that he can see this again. He had missed many things about home, and only now, standing on the cold parking lot, he realizes how many more things he would have missed. Showers. Beer. Hockey. Simpsons. Cake. A flight in the F-15. Classical Music. Those were the obvious things. But now he adds seasons, the smell of his basement, the stars over Earth, even the yearly calls with aunt Phebs.

Eventually, Jack remembers that Carter is standing next to him, waiting to drive him home. He's surprised that it's her. He had expected Daniel would do it, but he had excused himself. Something about a translation for SG-4 that needed to be done tonight. Daniel had escorted Jack to the elevator, where an airman was going to pick him up, but there was Carter. And Daniel, excited about finding Jack a better driver, had made her do it. Jack caught her hesitation before she said yes.

As he looks at her, he notices for the first time that she's wearing summer clothes. A skirt and t-shirt. Not nearly warm enough for leaving the house in the past days. Goosebumps have spread over her skin, and her pale face is even paler than usual. Only now, he sees the dark circles under her eyes, the drained expression on her face. As she stands there and looks into the sky, it almost seems like she is taking everything in as if she hasn't seen it in a while—just like he did. A shiver shakes her body, but she doesn't say a thing.

"Jeez, Carter when was the last time you left the mountain?" It's a joke at first, but then he realizes that it hits very close to home. He can watch her brain work and is pretty sure she's blushing as she shrugs her shoulders, then walks towards her car. Something makes him think of the day they left for Edora. He tries his best to remember, not quite sure why, but it suddenly seems important. It's coming back slowly. They met in the elevator, both sweating from the summer temperatures and glad to escape the heat down in the mountain. Jack joked about hoping Edora would be an ice planet, and Carter said that wasn't too much fun after all. So he said that some moments were quite enjoyable. He remembers how she blushed so adoringly and grabbed the hem of her flowery shirt when she looked down.

He watches her get into the car, and it hits him—it's the same shirt. Now it makes sense. Why Daniel was pushing so hard for Carter to drive him home. Why Janet was with her at the elevator, making sure she was leaving. It wasn't because of him. But because she hadn't left the mountain in a hundred and two days. She hadn't left the mountain since he had gone missing.

He stands there for a moment too long, so she rolls down the window and calls his name. Her name for him. It makes him smile. After being Jack for so long, Sir sounds much more familiar. At least when she says it.

He gets into the car and reaches for the heat controller, but instead, there's suddenly her hand. Rather than pulling away, they both hold their hands in place and slowly look at each other. It's the first time they touched since he's back. While Daniel, Janet, even Hammond had welcomed him with a hug, she just had that smile for him. And as he looks into her eyes, he understands why. Carter's perfect soldier-masquerade is crumbling right in front of him. But before this second face shatters, she looks away and starts the car.

"Wanna grab some groceries on the way? I'm pretty sure Daniel cleaned out your fridge," Carter says.

"Seems like space monkey was excited to get rid of me."

From the corner of his eye, Jack notices her flinch. Another crack into that facade she's trying to hold up. Jack, duh, he immediately regrets this comment, and as if to apologize, he says softly, "Groceries would be nice. I missed cake, you know."

Carter smiles but keeps her eyes on the road. He can't help but wonder about the uneasiness in her. The more Jack spins his head around it, the clearer it becomes that he wasn't the only one who thought he had lost something. Of course, he knew some people would miss him, but he hadn't expected that it would actually really matter to someone if he came back or not. That someone would spend 100 days to figure out a way to bring him back. One hundred days without even leaving the fucking mountain. Suddenly Jack feels embarrassed that he had given up. And about how ungrateful he was when they had picked him up on Edora. Jack thinks about the excited hobble in Carter's voice when she explained the solution they came up with. Stressing the 'they,' the team effort, yet Jack's pretty sure it was all her. But back then, he didn't even care. An unwell feeling grabs his stomach and twists it when he thinks about how he had just let her stand there, mid-sentence. The feeling gets worse when he recalls that he thanked Teal'c for risking his life for him—but not her. Suddenly he's overwhelmed by the situation. By being in the car with her. He doesn't know what those thoughts mean and especially not where this flutter in his stomach is coming from.

Jack feels the urge to apologize, to make her understand that he is so thankful for being home. Not only because he missed earth. Without warning, he drops, free-falling from 15,000 feet. Thoughts rush past him like clouds: The look on her face when he turned away from Laira and back to them. The glance Janet had shot her. How Carter had sneaked into his thoughts and dreams without him even noticing. The ground is coming closer, and he's falling without a parachute. The impact is an epiphany—he had missed her. Not just earth and stuff, but her. Specifically, her. He needs to repeat that thought over and over.

Fuck, Jack thinks, and then he's not sure if he said it to, because for the first time since they got into the car, Carter looks at him. He's afraid she can read in his face everything that's going through his mind. There's that specific expression in her eyes. The one she has when she dissects some alien tech or analyzes gate data, just now she's analyzing him, and Jack's pretty sure if someone can read him it's her. So he jerks his head away and looks out of the window. The supermarket lights are right ahead of them, and he itches to get out of the car and get some space between them.

In the supermarket, Jack can't focus, so he decides for a rhythmic pattern in which he pulls things out of shelves and throws them into his cart. Carter is right behind him, just following him as he haphazardly strolls through the aisle.

"Mister O'Neill," suddenly pulls him out of this thought-walk, and when he turns around, he spots his neighbor Miss Jenkins. The older lady always needs a pipe fixed or hedge trimmed, and ever since he moved into his house, she had chosen him as her helper. Not that he minds, because Miss Jenkins makes the damn best cake ever.

"Miss Jenkins, good to see you," Jack says and gives her his biggest smile.

"I haven't seen you in a very long time." The way she says it reminds him of his mother — a slight reproach in her voice.

"I was, uhh, traveling," he says.

"Well next time you'll let me know, will you? You were gone for three months, and the tree in my backyard needs to be cut down."

"I'll come by next week, Miss Jenkins." He quickly glances over to Carter, who seems to be amused by this older lady commanding her commanding officer. He rolls his eyes, and Carter's smile gets bigger—something that Miss Jenkins doesn't miss.

"Don't you want to introduce me to your lady friend?"

"Oh, ahh, this is Carter. We are…"

But before he can finish his sentences, Miss Jenkins interrupts him, "Carter? That's not a name for a lady."

Sam reacts before him—of course, she's quicker—reaches her hand out and says, "My name is Samantha. Samantha Carter. Nice to meet you, Miss Jenkins."

Miss Jenkins seems satisfied with Samantha and eagerly pats her hand. "Samantha, what a nice name. Jack should bring you over next time. We can have coffee and cake while he takes care of the tree. It's nice to have another lady around finally."

Jack is surprised by the cheeky wink she gives them.

Carter's flush turns into a full-on redness. "Uh, ah, we're just co-workers. The Colonel... Jack and I…," she stutters.

"Oh," Miss Jenkins says, and Jack can't help but notice the slight disappointment in her voice.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Miss Jenkins. I'll come by next week and take care of that tree," he says quickly and maneuvers Carter away from her and straight to the register—enough shopping for today. As he watches his selection wander into the shopping bags, he instantly knows that he will have to go again tomorrow.

"Eggs, beer, artichokes, almonds?" Carter says with a tease in her voice. Ever since his big realization in the car, he had felt tense, but the way she says it relaxes him.

It's Carter, common.

"Wait until you taste my breakfast," Jack jokes back, but as the words come out of his mouth, he notices how wrong they sound. Almost flirty. Jeez, what's wrong with you? He thinks and focuses intensely on paying.

Silently they drive towards his house. Only when they're almost there, he wonders if Carter has food at home. If she hasn't been home in the past 102 days, her fridge must be as empty as his. For a brief second, he entertains the thought of inviting her in. But after that breakfast faux pas, he's not sure if it wouldn't send the wrong signal. He lets out a sigh. Since when does he wonder about sending the wrong signals to Carter️. They are co-workers, friends— there are no wrong signals. What just happened in the last hour? Last time he saw Carter, she was just his 2IC, and now there are butterflies, and it's all weird. As if to prove himself wrong, he decides to ask her anyways when they come to a stop.

"So I've got beer, and last time I checked, you could order pizza on earth. I believe I have an entire season of Simpsons to catch up on, wanna join?"

Jack sees her think the options through and then before she says something, he knows she'll decline.

"That sounds great, Sir. But I've got some things to catch up on."

"Sure thing, Carter. Well, see you Monday. And thank you."

"No problem, Sir. it's on my way anyway."

"Carter," Jack says and wants to get this right. "Thanks for not giving up on me. No one ever invented something for me." He looks deeply into her eyes.

"Any time, Sir." She smiles softly. This time there's no flush or shyness. Just his Carter, straight and honest. Oh yes, he missed her.