The Times They Are A-Changin'

[fishesandfights]

It didn't feel the same, somehow. In ways, a lot of ways, that was a good thing. It was weird, though - he would sit at his desk deep under a mountain and receive reports about the collapse of an interstellar empire. Anubis was...well, dead, gone, it didn't seem to matter - without his animating force, the entirety of the Goa'uld system seemed to be gone with him. The Free Jaffa, the Tok'ra - every enemy the Goa'uld had ever made were taking their much-deserved revenge. The only System Lord they knew was still alive, for sure, was Ba'al.

And if that weren't enough, she - the subject of significant thinking these days - had pulled off a twofer. She'd helped free the Jaffa and wiped out apparently every last Replicator while she was at it, a feat that made blowing up a sun seem to pale in comparison. Did they understand what she'd actually done, he wondered, in Washington? Activating every last Stargate in the galaxy, on the fly, with only her father for assistance? And a little bit of Ba'al, ok, sure. But still.

A human being had done that. Everything they had done for years was like that, wasn't it?

But the thing was.

The immediacy was gone, now, all of a sudden. The metaphorical Sword of Damocles they'd lived under since Daniel had figured out how to activate the Stargate was just...gone. Suddenly, they had reshaped the galaxy. Suddenly, seemingly impossible threats were gone.

It got a guy to thinking. About a lot of things that had been put on the back burner so long as there was, well, imminent peril every day.

A few weeks had passed since her father's funeral - whatever his thoughts, he wanted her to have time to process, and he had respected the hell out of Jacob. But, with the possibilities of quiet weekends becoming probabilities, he had...invited her back to the cabin.

Just her, this time. To, you know, share a beer. For no particular reason, he'd said, though he was sure she didn't buy that one.

Thus he sat in one of two Adirondack chairs, down at the end of his dock, an ice box full of beers between them. He knew she'd be punctual. She had no other way of being.

But it was a nice night. Would be, either way, he figured - given the company.

Comments

[theoreticalastrophysicist]

Samantha Carter is, as she always is, on time for her meeting. Not that this was an actual meeting and not that this was formal in any way, but telling herself it was helped her stick to her plan.

Don't let rules stand in your way, Dad had said. Sam was good at ignoring rules when it meant doing the right thing, and this is the right thing. Regulations be damned after everything they've done. Didn't they both deserve to do as they wanted? At least in this? It's not as if a relationship between them, a romantic one, was going to change the dynamics of their team with General-- Jack getting called to Washington more and more often. Things were going to change, and this should be one of those changes.

If he still feels that way. God, he better or she's going to be so mad at herself for building all this up in her head.

"Hey, sir." She calls out ahead of herself as she walks around the cabin, waving with one hand and carrying an extra six-pack in the other. Never come to any gathering emptyhanded if you can help it, right? She walks onto the dock and gestures to the ice box. "Want 'em inside? I brought something we both like."

Whatever the decision about the alcohol, she settles in the empty chair and turns it a bit more in the direction of his. She also holds off on grabbing a beer for now. "So, you want to come up with an excuse for us getting together like this before we get too distracted?" They can always come up with something later, but she might as well give him a chance to catch his breath before she dives in.

[fishesandfights]

He gestures at the box for her to put them in. But he holds off speaking when she asks her question. He was about to question the 'sir', given the circumstances. But, well - now there's other things to talk about. But admirably right to the point, as ever.

"Y'know what? Hell with it. We toasted a pair of evil empires in one go. We've earned it. And honestly, anybody high ranking enough I'd actually answer..."

Knows better than to ask, quite frankly.

He reaches down, lifting one of the already chilled ones and offering it over to her.

"How you doin'?" he asks. Because that matters, before anything else. Above anything else. Even at this last step, he can wait if she needs time to heal, to process. It's a simple question, but it's them. He never asks it unless he means it.

[theoreticalastrophysicist]

She sighs as she takes the beer, leaning forward in her chair to rest her forearms across her knees. How is she? Better than one would expect after months of fighting, close calls, saving the galaxy at least twice over and then losing her father. She wasn't lying at the SGC when she said she was good while watching the Tokra pay their respects. It's only been a couple weeks, but it was so different this time. There was no rift between them. Secrets, sure, but Dad could still read her well enough to know-- well, why she's here, really. He didn't say it in the hospital bed, but he all but gave Jack his blessing. That's huge.

That's also what's taken the most time to process since the funeral. What she wants to do isn't in question, but it's been a struggle to internalize her father's advice. He was right. What she and Jack feel is right. Now's the time to stop holding back.

"I'm okay. Relieved, actually. Wasn't sure when I'd find the nerve to ask for time like this with you." She'd needed a lot more time than she liked admitting to talk to him about her hesitations with Pete and that conversation had been cut short. This one won't unless they choose to end it quickly.

She grips her beer in her hands and catches his eye. "I need to be honest with you, about what we almost talked about before Dad collapsed." Bolstered by that start, she sits up and takes a few breaths to steady herself. "We've never said it aloud before, but I think we're past every reason to care about why we haven't." No more galaxy-destroying enemies. No more being on the same team every day. No more fiancé she doesn't love or girlfriend he was hiding from her.

"I have feelings for you, Jack, and we both know it's been a long time since that started. I don't want to keep lying about it, not to myself and not to you. And damnit, I don't want to keep waiting for the right moment or for either of us to retire. We're here now, and we should do something with this, for us."

[fishesandfights]

God, that was...well, that was her to a T right there, wasn't it?

She could have danced around things. Could have fancied it up. But she never did. Life was too short for that, and she was too...well, Sam. There were no appropriate comparisons. As a result, he can't help but just listen with a slight, bemused smile, resting his chin on his hand.

"It's nice," he said, immediately, "when you don't call me sir."

He nodded, though, acknowledging all she said in a gesture.

"I'm tired of sunrises that don't involve you," he said, definitively. He sat up a bit, leaning on the arm of the chair, closer to her.

"I have feelings for you, too, Sam - though it feels really inadequate to say it that way. And yeah...I'm done putting duty first."

[theoreticalastrophysicist]

Inadequate, he says, like that covers the whole of it. They both know it barely scratches the surface.

She laughs, a huff of air under her breath as she grins at him. "You'll get used to it," she informed him in that matter-of-fact way she does when she knows she's got the right of something. "You can still find it nice in a few years, if you like.

"And if you're waiting for an excuse to say it--" Again she laughs, and this time she does it as she leans over her chair's arm to kiss him. No teasing or hesitation, all lips and feeling. "I love you, Jack." Another kiss; another, warmer laugh. "Now you have your opening, in case you were thinking about waiting some more."

He better not.

[fishesandfights]

He does have his opening, and he'll be going for it in a moment, thank you very much - but this is a moment to be savoured. Really, properly, savoured. There's only a handful of moments when an entire existence pivots. The first time you kiss the lips of the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with is one of them. Knowing, deep down in your soul, that these are the only lips you'll want to feel against yours until the going out of the sun. That, in kissing them, one life isn't quite enough.

In the moment, the world danced and rippled and changed and became what it was always meant to be. He'd never be able to explain it, not in words.

But he could try with deeds. He moves, as they kiss again, as she speaks, scooping her up from the chair as he half-rises, pulling her into his arms as he falls back because he needs her there, close, and it has to be. The moment calls for it, as he lifts a hand to touch her cheek, fingers sliding along the fringes of her hair, small promises of discoveries to come - and intimacies to be shared at once.

"Not for another moment," he finally says, looking into those brilliant eyes.

"I love you, too."

[theoreticalastrophysicist]

There's something to be said about everything clicking into place and the ecstatic feeling that comes with it. Like solving all the errors in a set of complex calculations, or seeing your new invention work in the field without adverse effects.

Like getting to wrap your arms around the neck of the person you love when you finally do what you've both wanted for so long and just kiss about your feelings.

She's not the kind of person who could be called giddy on even the best of days, but she's sure feeling that way right now. The big grin on her face probably makes her look it, too. How anyone could be anything else after literal years of pining and holding it all back is a mystery to her. A mystery that's going to remain that because right now she doesn't care at all about anything or anyone but Jack.

She chuckles as she kisses him again. "Pretty smooth," she notes, tapping his arm so he knows the lift is appreciated. "Think you can get us inside without bumping my feet into the door?"

[fishesandfights]

"I try," he replies, but gestures around them. "Don't think I can manage that from a sitting position," he adds, moving to get up with a bit of a groan as if he's creaking a bit with age.

Which is, being Jack, absolutely a front. Because once he's standing he makes a satisfied sigh, patting his hips for a moment, and nodding.

"Right," he says, and then dips to lift her into a fireman carry over his shoulder, double-timing it back towards the cabin.

All to make her laugh, really. Just to surprise her.

[theoreticalastrophysicist]

Leave it to Jack to manage to surprise her like this. Sam laughs because of course she laughs, but doesn't take the carry without giving something back in the form a playful smack to his ass. It's totally deserved for throwing her around like she's dead weight.

Once they're inside and she's certain she won't get hurt from it, she props herself up enough to look over his shoulder at him. "Next time, I'll do the carrying, airman. Someone's gotta teach you the proper way to carry your partner over the threshold." She holds a beat. "Or you can put me down now and I'll demonstrate. You know I can."

Carrying Teal'c would be a problem, but Jack? Not a chance.

[fishesandfights]

"I do know," he replies, placing her down gently. "And I know you can because once you put your mind to a thing, it's getting done."

"But," he adds, "the other kinds of carrying you inside can wait until the right occasions."

A profound implication for any other couple. For them? Much, much simpler.

[theoreticalastrophysicist]

It's an inevitability with them. Later, Sam'll have a plan in place for everything they'll need as part of a wedding for them. It won't take much and it's not like she'll be sleeping a lot while she's here anyway.

It'll be a nice set of thoughts to come to when she's bored or frustrated with her work at the SGC too. It's nice to think about non-world ending plans sometimes.

"Another time," she agrees, looping her arms around his neck as she leans in for another kiss. "We can stumble to the bedroom just fine. But I want all this off before we get there." She tugs at his shirt at his shoulder before pulling her hands back to tug at the bottom hem instead. Slowly and around another kiss because she's not waiting for more of that.

[fishesandfights]

"Yes, ma'am," he replies with a grin in the middle of that kiss. "Eagerly yes," said through the next before pulling back long enough to pull the shirt over his head. He pushes her against a wall for a moment, kissing her hungrily this time, working off shoes in the moment he doesn't have to be concerned with balance.

Part of him says to take his time, but truth is? This has been coming for years. There will be time for...time.

Right now there is want and need.

[theoreticalastrophysicist]

Sam's never been a very patient person for this sort of thing, not when things are getting started anyway. And this part is certainly a beginning. A long time coming, sure, but the best they've ever managed when everyone's been watching is a look or a smile while shoving it all down. Now they can do a lot better than that.

She was thoughtful enough to wear shoes she could step out of without much work and that gives her plenty of brain space to focus on other tasks. Things like ripping belts from their loops and ripping her own shirt off over her head when there's a single inch of space between them. It's not much, but again, it's a start. One she helps along further by throwing their tags out of the way so Jack can more easily get to the clasp at the front of her bra whenever they manage to stop kissing each other breathless for a few seconds.