cassievalentine | (no subject)

Title: Brave New World
Fandom: Stargate: SG-1
Rating: PG13
Paring: Eventually Sam/Jack
Summary: Trying to hurry O'Neill along, Sam winds up stuck on Edora as well.

***
Sam wrapped the throw tightly around her shoulders as she wandered quietly through the village, trying to clear her head. Part of her knew that she was acting slightly irrational, but the other part of her couldn't figure exactly why Jack was taking all of this so casually.

She wanted them to be SG-1 again with Daniel and Teal'c, to go exploring through the Stargate and find new alien tech to play with and she wanted to go home to him at the end of the day and not always be looking over her shoulder to see if someone was spying on them, trying to trap them in an illicit affair.

She wanted her cake and wanted to eat it too, apparently, and in her experience that was something that only ever ended in pain.

She paused to take in her surroundings when she realized that she had manged to wander clear of the village and all the way to where the gate should have been. She sighed heavily as her eyes came to rest on the pit a few feet away, now several feet deep and most likely full of a few inches of water from the heavy downpour they'd had a few days ago. They had stopped digging not long after they had started to sleep together.

With another sigh, she turned her gaze skyward and took in the blanket of stars above her and she smiled ruefully to herself as she realized she was looking for Earth even though she knew it couldn't be seen from Edora. She had told Jack as much a few times since they'd gotten here.

"Don't hurry," she whispered to no one in particular. She and Jack had things to figure out and they needed to figure them out before they found their way home.
***
Jack lay in bed for a long time after he heard the door shut softly behind Sam. He had held his breath as he listened to the soft crunch of gravel under her feet as she headed away from the house. He rolled onto his back and folded his hands behind his head as he tried to figure out what was going on in Sam's. He understood her need to try and come up with a solid plan for their relationship, that was just the kind of person Sam was, but sometimes things couldn't be planned out and boxed in.

Maybe their relationship was only working because they were so isolated on Edora, each clinging to the other in some vain attempt to hang on to Earth, because they were the only two that really understood each other and what they were going through. Maybe as soon as they stepped foot back on Earth and their options opened up this thing that had would simply dissolve and their relationship would return to that of friendship and trust.

Jack shook his head to clear those thoughts from his head. He knew he wasn't with her simply because they were stuck on Edora together. Hell, he'd sat in his living room after destroying Apophis' fleet and had a serious talk with himself about Sam and his feelings for her and had decided he needed to nip things in the bud before he had to take steps to transfer one of them from the team. He had become less touchy feely with her, stopped calling her anything but Carter or her rank in an effort to distance himself from her. He had managed to bottle up his growing feelings for his Captain, now Major, and keep the flagship team together and happy.

And then he had gotten enamored with Laira and allowed himself to make a stupid decision to go and find her kid without realizing that Carter, loyal to a fault, would stay to try and help him.

"Christ," he muttered as he finally sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He rested his head in his hands as he pulled himself together before standing up and grabbing his shirt from the back of the chair he had thrown it over. Pulling it on, he stalked out of the house, intent on finding Sam and settling this once and for all.
***
"Hey," he called out to her when he saw her standing a few feet from the pit they had been digging.

"Hey," she replied calmly. She'd heard his footsteps long before he'd said anything so she wasn't startled when he did finally speak. "I think I'll miss this most of all," she said, still looking up at the stars. He came to a stop beside her and craned his neck skywards as well.

"It is beautiful," he said calmly. The pair fell into silence, listening to the small creatures that came alive at night on the planet.

"I want it all," she finally said after a long moment. "I want to have my cake and eat it and not feel guilty." His brow furrowed a little as he worked to figure out what she was talking about.

"Me too," he finally replied after a moment. He wanted SG-1 and the Stargate and her all at once too.

"I could resign," she said, finally turning to look at him. "They'd never let me leave the program so I know they'd keep me on as a civilian, I could still go through the gate."

"You're not giving up your career," he said firmly, shoving his hands in his pockets as he looked at her.

"Jack. . ."

"You're not," he said again, looking her in the eye so she knew that portion of the conversation was over. "We'll figure it out," he assured her.

"When?"

"When we have all the information," he told her firmly. She furrowed her brow this time as she tried to figure him out. "Who knows what they'll say about us when we get home," he told her. "Maybe they'll decide we broke frat regs regardless of the situation. Maybe they'll turn a blind eye because of the situation. Hell, maybe we've both scored enough points with the president and General Hammond that they'll work out some kind of special dispensation so we can have it all. Either way, what ever the situation, if it does come down to choosing, I will choose you," he told her honestly. He heard her suck in a quick breath as she realized what he had just said to her.

He was willing to give up everything for her so she could have everything.

"Jack . . ." she started and then trailed off, not really sure what else to say to him.

"I've left the Air Force before and they sucked me back in," he told her. "I have a feeling that if they really want me, really want us, they will do what they have to to keep us in their clutches." She couldn't help but smile at the idea of the US Air Force having clutches.

"So, we really are in this deep, aren't we?"

"Chest deep and sinking fast," he assured her as he pulled her close to him. She let him envelope her in his arms, enjoying the feel of him this close to her.

"I think I'm okay with that," she said quietly. This was most definitely the most serious relationship she'd had since Jonas Hansen and, truth be told she was scared that something was going to go wrong, something other than the Air Force and their frat regs. As she stood there in his arms under the stars she decided that she was going to try harder to just let things happen.
***