Little Pieces of Her Heart
by Sarai
Series: Any time after the end of Season 8. Spoilers for Season 7 and 8 (and anything after).
Disclaimer: Stargate characters belong to the Stargate/MGM franchise and not me. This story is written entirely for the enjoyment of fans and no monetary gain is expected.
Pairings: Sam and Jack as always.
Warnings: Rated M for one of the final chapters. If you don't like the gutter don't read it! Anything up until there and just after is pure angst and fluff, woo!
A/N: Ok, so I haven't updated Ba'al's Revenge for a long time, and if you're waiting on a new chapter I'm so, so sorry! Been consumed by work and other commitments. I promise that a new chapter is forthcoming. For now though, this is a little piece I wrote at about four in the morning as the muse gripped me! Forgive any mistakes as it's not betaed and as always please R&R!
Enjoy!
Prologue
Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter of the USAF tapped her pen against her desk in an obviously frustrated rhythm. In her lab lights flickered on and off, machines buzzed and whirred. The activity was constant, and usually centred around the fiercely intelligent blonde sat in the middle of the room.
Today, however, was an exception. Today Sam Carter, to put it mildly, was totally lost for words.
She huffed, pushing a lock of hair out of her eyes before glancing down at the SGC letter-headed paper before her. The page was blank, save for two words:
Dear General, Jack, (these were crossed out in rapid succession)
Dear Sir,
Sam bit her lip and stared out of the room, as she often did when confronted by those monumental scientific issues that made up the basis of her job. In those situations a thousand ideas tumbled in and out of her mind. But not now. Now there was just…echoes in her own brain. Why hasn't anything happened? There's nothing to stop us, not really, not anymore. It's been nearly four weeks since…
Sam blinked, shaking her head. Best not to go down that train of thought. She looked again at the letter in front of her. What the hell was she supposed to put anyway?
Dear Sir,
I hereby tender my resignation from the SGC and SG-1 in favour of the post at Research and Development, Area 51 in order to pursue a less than professional relationship with you. One in which I wouldn't be averse to seeing what you keep in your BDUs every once in a while…
Slamming her pen down violently, Sam struck through the last line a couple of times. Again she was met with the overwhelming silence of the base and she wished she could listen to Daniel chatting inanely about this Goa'uld translation or that Ancient structure. She sat up, wondering how a secret underground base that sent people to other planets via a wormhole could be so quiet. Checking her watch she registered the time; 2:37AM. Aah, that's why.
Sam sighed, looking back at the paper in front of her. If she was being totally honest with herself, something she was far more proficient at now than a few months ago, Sam knew exactly what she wanted to write:
Dear Jack,
I love you.
I want to be with you.
And, I'm sorry.
Yours always. Sam.
She glanced up at the security camera. They couldn't read handwriting that small, could they? Overcoming a shudder of frustration, she screwed the paper into a ball, aiming for the bin.
Suddenly her arm stopped. Instead of launching the letter into the bin, Sam opened the draw next to her and placed it inside.
Chapter One
In the early morning a bleary eyed Sam stumbled into the mess hall. Busy chastising herself for lack of sleep and harbouring some pretty strong fantasies about coffee, Sam jerked as she recognised a very familiar back of the head. Not relishing the prospect of another uncomfortable breakfast with her CO, Sam spun through 180° colliding with an unsuspecting Siler who was at that moment carrying what looked like a heavy silver shoebox. It fell to the ground with an almighty crash, which mirrored Siler's muffled yell of pain.
"God! Siler I'm so sorry!"
"That's…quite…alright…Ma'am," the poor technician sputtered.
The sound brought canteen staff, along with several breakfasting nurses, running. They surrounded the hapless man, blocking off Carter's strained off of help and apology.
Suddenly, Sam felt a warm presence at her back and stiffened.
"Bit early for dancing isn't it Carter?" Jack O'Neill, General and leader of the SGC, breathed warmly into his 2IC's ear.
She turned abruptly. "Sorry sir?" This emerged as a breathy squeak, a direct consequence of a lack of coffee and a very strong presence of desire at the increased warmth on her neck.
Jack grinned. Sam cleared her throat.
"The spinning around at 0630. Isn't it a bit exuberant, even for you?" His amusement riled her. Partly because it was his fault she felt so damned uncomfortable entering a mess she had every right to use. And partly because the grin revealed a lot of white teeth which contrasted perfectly with his tanned face.
Now in his 50s, O'Neill had grown into his looks. On another man the mass of muddled grey hair would have been far less appealing. But on Jack, well, needless to say it seriously did him justice. The silver contrasted perfectly with his tanned, slightly weathered face. The heavily muscled expanse of his chest filled out his black t-shirt perfectly. Sam was used to the good looks of her CO, after seven years of going out into the field with him. But the sight of him looking at her, wearing those clothes and that mischievous smile was enough to take her breath away (and make her want to rip the t-shirt off).
Jack coughed and shifted his feet, his eyebrows raised. Broken from her reverie, Sam mumbled something about her "morning fix" and shuffled towards the serving area.
Ten minutes later found the pair seated at a table in companionable silence. Well, Jack was reviewing reports in silence whilst Sam's mind buzzed in total contrast with the 'radio silence' she had experienced earlier that morning.
She watched him, chewing happily on his Fruit Loops and skimming the pages of a report with a glazed expression. It looked suspiciously as though it was about rocks.
Sam could never fully believe that he was a General. Even now, a year after the promotion. It wasn't that she didn't think he was worthy. In fact, he was the one man she felt deserved the rank more than anyone. It was just that a little part of her would always see him as Colonel O'Neill; the wayward officer whose gut instinct and dry humour had seen her through seven of the most deadliest years of her life.
"Carter." Jack said absently. No response.
He looked up. "Carter!"
Her eyes were locked on him but she wasn't looking at him. In fact her face mirrored the same glazed expression he assumed had been on him a moment ago. He waved the damn report in front of her face. "CARTER!" She jumped, blinking.
"Sorry sir, I was miles away. What is it?"
"Yeah I got that. It's just that, well, don't panic or anything but," he paused, lowering his voice to a whisper and beckoning her closer.
Sam held her breath, glancing around. He wouldn't really begin 'that' a conversation here would he?
"Carter…"
She leaned in. "Yes?"
He gestured at her bowl. "Your wheat thingys are going mushy."
Sam was struck dumb, just for a moment. Then she blinked, obviously trying to laugh. "Excuse me?"
Jack's boyish grin started to fade. He hadn't anticipated her confused reaction. He took another stab at humour, cringing at how stupid he sounded.
"Well, we all know how much Carter hates the mushy…wheat."
Sam caught herself, just in time. "OH! Yes, thank you Sir!" She picked up her spoon, "I'll start eating them…then."
Jack looked sheepishly from side to side. There was an instant flurry of talk in the mess. Early bird SFs, nurses and cleaning staff alike where clearly intensely shocked and/or amused by the sight of the base commander and his 2IC with their heads so conspiratorially close together at that time of the morning.
Jack cleared his throat. "Yes. Well, I'm sure…busy day…see you later Carter."
Sam nodded. "Yep, bye Sir."
He gathered up his reports and stalked out of the room trying to appear General-like whilst mentally reminding these people who signed their paychecks.
A/N: Just realised I put 'Epilogue' instead of 'Prologue'. Mistake corrected now!