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Title: Matchmaking
Fandom: SG-1
Rating: PG
Category: Messed-up romance
Pairing: Sam/Other, Sam/Jack
Author’s note: Best to start from the beginning. This particular alternate universe is based on the fic “Theodore’s Comet,” by Jojo. I wrote this back when I was still high on all things Sam/Jack and was convinced that their love would win out in all universes--back when maybe, perhaps, I would have almost fit in on the S/J list, except that I would have run screaming for the hills at the first sight of Vampire!fic.
Anyway, I saw a lot of S/J potential in this universe, even though Sam's ex-husband in that 'verse was Jack's brother. Wow, was I slightly pathetic. Accordingly, there's a great deal of awkwardness toward the end. Add in the fact that I wrote this several months ago, when I was just getting into SG-fandom, and...well...it's odd.
You've been warned.
No, I mean, really.
(I still can't believe I'm posting this. This is, somehow,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
annerbhp's fault. And maybe, for good measure, we can blame splash_the_cat, too. And you're completely allowed to laugh at this one. I mean, in the not-good way.)
They brought her through the ‘gate three days after everything had settled down.
General O’Neill was waiting for her in the White Room.
“Sam?” he queried.
She shook off the doctor’s aides who were trying to assist her. “Fine, Jack, really. Got caught underneath a very heavy wall, is all. They say I’ll be back to normal in about two weeks, but they’re not even going to keep me overnight.”
“Good! Wouldn’t want to miss the party, would you?”
She gave him a suspicious look. “What party?”
“Oh, just a little shindig I’m throwing together for the former SG-1. We’ll have beer, food…beer. Teal’c’s on world, you know.”
She’d heard. She had to admit, it would be nice to catch up outside of the office—she and Daniel seemed to always be missing each other these days. She realized Jack was still talking.
“…and you should hear some of the stories Daniel came away with this time. Seems as if their reality’s still smack dab in the war with the Goa’uld. Not to mention …” he stopped, giving her a sidelong glance she just might be getting too used to seeing. She still wasn’t sure.
She broke the silence before it became awkward. “Sounds good. When?”
“Tonight. 1900, my place.”
“I’ll be there,” she promised as she finally let the exasperated aides take her through the halls to the infirmary.
*_*_*_*_*
Sam usually looked forward to their team get-togethers. One of the best parts about their inter-reality gating capabilities was the opportunity to meet people who’d taken different paths: in their careers, their significant others, their technology... Plus, the gossip was usually hilarious, with the added benefit that it couldn’t possibly hurt anyone here. For some reason, she was more nervous about this particular gossip session.
She supposed part of it had to do with the fact that this SG-1 was remarkably similar to their own. It was unusual to meet an SG team that had Jack, Daniel, and Teal’c on it. Even more unusual to meet a team that had her on it.
Her mouth turned down as she pulled up to Jack’s house and she sighed unhappily. She hadn’t missed the looks the other Jack and Sam had given each other, either. Looks she herself was becoming far too aware of in her own life.
She wasn’t the only one. Mike had had a talk with her the last time he’d been around. She squirmed uncomfortably at the memory of Mike telling her she ought to be happy, that she shouldn’t let the past interfere with the future. That family was important, but letting other people’s perceptions get in the way of something good was wrong. It had been a very weird conversation to have with her ex-husband, especially when she wasn’t willing to admit there was anything to talk about.
She sure as hell knew Jack wasn’t ready to admit anything.
She shrugged her shoulders and get out of the car. It couldn’t be as bad as she was dreading. It just couldn’t.
*_*_*_*_*_*
It wasn’t, for the most part. Daniel took off at about a mile a minute, with Teal’c—who Sam thought really, really needed to get rid of the hair—offering up his usual half-smile as they listened to Daniel expound on the differences between the archaeology in the two realities.
“Apparently the Goa’uld were able to bring another Stargate—which makes sense, since it was real—to their Earth and set it up in Egypt. Remember how complicated ours was to move?”
Sam did remember—after the initial discovery of the ‘gate in Antarctica, and the subsequent first contact with the Asgard, she had overseen the project herself while her divorce was finalizing, and spent most of the two weeks freezing as the Asgard helped them cart the whole facility to Colorado.
Jack handed her another beer and whispered, “I’m cutting him off in two minutes if he hasn’t shut up by then.”
She smiled and took a sip of the beer. It was only her…third, she thought. Something like that. At least the alcohol wouldn’t react badly with the painkillers for her legs. God, sometimes she loved the Asgard.
“Their Daniel is amazing. Do you know he actually went on the first mission to Abydos?”
Sam perked up her ears. “Really? Did I—she go?”
Daniel grinned. “Nope.”
“Man!” It was a running joke that Sam wanted to find one—just one—Sam who’d been allowed on the first mission.
The General lifted his bottle. “I thought that was usually ‘men,’ Sam. Or have you decided it’s not all our fault after all?”
Sam just shook her head.
They moved to talk of other things. Daniel really had gotten an incredible amount of information out of the other Daniel. He ran through the customary list of who was dating whom, and who was and wasn’t there, Sam, Jack, and Teal’c exclaiming appreciatively (or in Teal’c case, raising a thoughtful eyebrow) at the juicier pieces of news.
When Daniel paused for breath, Jack said, “I still can’t believe I don’t have a brother.”
“I, too, have difficulty with this concept, O’Neill,” Teal’c said.
Sam furrowed her brow as she thought about just *not* having Mark around. And then she thought of how her life would be different if she’d never met Mike.
She looked at Jack, and he was giving her such a strange look back that she quickly looked away. Unbidden, a memory surfaced. JonahThera. Nothing happened, exactly, but there had definitely been more there than mere friendship behind the false memories. It was the first time she could remember seeing that look she was becoming more and more concerned about by the day.
She shifted uncomfortably.
Daniel rose. “Well, I have to get going. Goodnight, everyone. Wanna ride, Teal’c?”
Teal’c nodded. “Although I believe I should drive, Daniel Jackson.”
Daniel wobbled, considered. “Probably a good idea.”
It wasn’t until they were out the door that Sam realized neither had suggested she go with them. Which was…odd. She wasn’t drunk, but she was definitely too unsteady to drive just yet. Funny how she hadn’t even considered it.
Jack cleared his throat.
“So, my brother called me right before he left.”
Oh, shit. “Really?”
Jack nodded. “Seems he…might have…met someone.” He was watching her very carefully, Sam thought.
She nodded. “He said something, the last time we...talked.” He had been making her very worried the whole conversation, and she'd just wanted him to spill whatever it was that was bothering him. She'd been oddly relieved.
“Yeah.” Jack twirled an empty beer bottle between his hands.
A little desperately, Sam said, “It’s good to see him moving on, getting a life.”
He didn’t respond right away.
“Sam…”
He stopped, twirled the bottle again.
Sam shifted herself as if to stand up. “I should probably…”
“Sam, what are we doing?”
Crap. She settled back down onto the couch and let out a breath. She thought about giving them another round of plausible deniability, but she couldn’t think of any excuse or deflection that sounded reasonable. The beer was obviously making her irrational.
She shook her head. “I don’t know.” She wished suddenly and desperately that she had a beer bottle to distract her, too. Jack’s was going about a mile a minute.
“You’re my ex-sister-in-law, and my second-in-command.”
Sam acknowledged the facts silently. That about summed it up.
It seemed Jack had hit on some sort of need to talk. “Even if the regulations permitted it, it’s just…weird. I know Mike said he was okay with it, but…”
“He what?!”
Jack looked like he’d just realized what that statement sounded like.
“Nonono. It’s not like I asked him.” He shuddered. “So not a conversation I ever want to have. But he…implied things, the last time we talked.”
Well, great. Her ex was playing matchmaker for her and his brother.
“I don’t believe this,” Sam groaned, dropping her face to her palms. A thought occurred to her. “And why are we having this conversation all of the sudden?”
Jack cleared his throat and looked very uncomfortable.
“No. You didn’t talk to…you. Jack! Didn’t you know better?”
“He brought it up!”
“But—“
“She almost died, Sam. She almost phased right out of existence, she’d just saved us all, and all I could think about was the fact that I was glad it wasn’t really you. And he ended up in my office, and…” he turned toward her. “Sam, if you can’t be honest with yourself…”
He shrugged. She stared at him.
He fidgeted beneath her gaze.
Sam shook her head. “Jack O’Neill,” she said slowly. “That is one of the most stupidly profound things I’ve ever heard you say.”
He looked very unsure of how to take that.
Carefully, she stood up on her almost-healed but still painful legs. Jack stood, too, sensing she needed something from him. She took a deep breath, reached for his hand.
“What are we going to do now?”
He tugged her closer, put his hand on her cheek. He leaned in and kissed her, softly, tentatively. She responded by pulling him closer, deepening the kiss. God, she’d wanted this for so long, had tried to deny it, even to herself.
He pulled away.
She said, lowering her head to his shoulder, “Oh my god. The rumors are going to be insane.”
*_*_*_*_*
Fandom: SG-1
Rating: PG
Category: Messed-up romance
Pairing: Sam/Other, Sam/Jack
Author’s note: Best to start from the beginning. This particular alternate universe is based on the fic “Theodore’s Comet,” by Jojo. I wrote this back when I was still high on all things Sam/Jack and was convinced that their love would win out in all universes--back when maybe, perhaps, I would have almost fit in on the S/J list, except that I would have run screaming for the hills at the first sight of Vampire!fic.
Anyway, I saw a lot of S/J potential in this universe, even though Sam's ex-husband in that 'verse was Jack's brother. Wow, was I slightly pathetic. Accordingly, there's a great deal of awkwardness toward the end. Add in the fact that I wrote this several months ago, when I was just getting into SG-fandom, and...well...it's odd.
You've been warned.
No, I mean, really.
(I still can't believe I'm posting this. This is, somehow,
annerbhp's fault. And maybe, for good measure, we can blame splash_the_cat, too. And you're completely allowed to laugh at this one. I mean, in the not-good way.)They brought her through the ‘gate three days after everything had settled down.
General O’Neill was waiting for her in the White Room.
“Sam?” he queried.
She shook off the doctor’s aides who were trying to assist her. “Fine, Jack, really. Got caught underneath a very heavy wall, is all. They say I’ll be back to normal in about two weeks, but they’re not even going to keep me overnight.”
“Good! Wouldn’t want to miss the party, would you?”
She gave him a suspicious look. “What party?”
“Oh, just a little shindig I’m throwing together for the former SG-1. We’ll have beer, food…beer. Teal’c’s on world, you know.”
She’d heard. She had to admit, it would be nice to catch up outside of the office—she and Daniel seemed to always be missing each other these days. She realized Jack was still talking.
“…and you should hear some of the stories Daniel came away with this time. Seems as if their reality’s still smack dab in the war with the Goa’uld. Not to mention …” he stopped, giving her a sidelong glance she just might be getting too used to seeing. She still wasn’t sure.
She broke the silence before it became awkward. “Sounds good. When?”
“Tonight. 1900, my place.”
“I’ll be there,” she promised as she finally let the exasperated aides take her through the halls to the infirmary.
*_*_*_*_*
Sam usually looked forward to their team get-togethers. One of the best parts about their inter-reality gating capabilities was the opportunity to meet people who’d taken different paths: in their careers, their significant others, their technology... Plus, the gossip was usually hilarious, with the added benefit that it couldn’t possibly hurt anyone here. For some reason, she was more nervous about this particular gossip session.
She supposed part of it had to do with the fact that this SG-1 was remarkably similar to their own. It was unusual to meet an SG team that had Jack, Daniel, and Teal’c on it. Even more unusual to meet a team that had her on it.
Her mouth turned down as she pulled up to Jack’s house and she sighed unhappily. She hadn’t missed the looks the other Jack and Sam had given each other, either. Looks she herself was becoming far too aware of in her own life.
She wasn’t the only one. Mike had had a talk with her the last time he’d been around. She squirmed uncomfortably at the memory of Mike telling her she ought to be happy, that she shouldn’t let the past interfere with the future. That family was important, but letting other people’s perceptions get in the way of something good was wrong. It had been a very weird conversation to have with her ex-husband, especially when she wasn’t willing to admit there was anything to talk about.
She sure as hell knew Jack wasn’t ready to admit anything.
She shrugged her shoulders and get out of the car. It couldn’t be as bad as she was dreading. It just couldn’t.
*_*_*_*_*_*
It wasn’t, for the most part. Daniel took off at about a mile a minute, with Teal’c—who Sam thought really, really needed to get rid of the hair—offering up his usual half-smile as they listened to Daniel expound on the differences between the archaeology in the two realities.
“Apparently the Goa’uld were able to bring another Stargate—which makes sense, since it was real—to their Earth and set it up in Egypt. Remember how complicated ours was to move?”
Sam did remember—after the initial discovery of the ‘gate in Antarctica, and the subsequent first contact with the Asgard, she had overseen the project herself while her divorce was finalizing, and spent most of the two weeks freezing as the Asgard helped them cart the whole facility to Colorado.
Jack handed her another beer and whispered, “I’m cutting him off in two minutes if he hasn’t shut up by then.”
She smiled and took a sip of the beer. It was only her…third, she thought. Something like that. At least the alcohol wouldn’t react badly with the painkillers for her legs. God, sometimes she loved the Asgard.
“Their Daniel is amazing. Do you know he actually went on the first mission to Abydos?”
Sam perked up her ears. “Really? Did I—she go?”
Daniel grinned. “Nope.”
“Man!” It was a running joke that Sam wanted to find one—just one—Sam who’d been allowed on the first mission.
The General lifted his bottle. “I thought that was usually ‘men,’ Sam. Or have you decided it’s not all our fault after all?”
Sam just shook her head.
They moved to talk of other things. Daniel really had gotten an incredible amount of information out of the other Daniel. He ran through the customary list of who was dating whom, and who was and wasn’t there, Sam, Jack, and Teal’c exclaiming appreciatively (or in Teal’c case, raising a thoughtful eyebrow) at the juicier pieces of news.
When Daniel paused for breath, Jack said, “I still can’t believe I don’t have a brother.”
“I, too, have difficulty with this concept, O’Neill,” Teal’c said.
Sam furrowed her brow as she thought about just *not* having Mark around. And then she thought of how her life would be different if she’d never met Mike.
She looked at Jack, and he was giving her such a strange look back that she quickly looked away. Unbidden, a memory surfaced. JonahThera. Nothing happened, exactly, but there had definitely been more there than mere friendship behind the false memories. It was the first time she could remember seeing that look she was becoming more and more concerned about by the day.
She shifted uncomfortably.
Daniel rose. “Well, I have to get going. Goodnight, everyone. Wanna ride, Teal’c?”
Teal’c nodded. “Although I believe I should drive, Daniel Jackson.”
Daniel wobbled, considered. “Probably a good idea.”
It wasn’t until they were out the door that Sam realized neither had suggested she go with them. Which was…odd. She wasn’t drunk, but she was definitely too unsteady to drive just yet. Funny how she hadn’t even considered it.
Jack cleared his throat.
“So, my brother called me right before he left.”
Oh, shit. “Really?”
Jack nodded. “Seems he…might have…met someone.” He was watching her very carefully, Sam thought.
She nodded. “He said something, the last time we...talked.” He had been making her very worried the whole conversation, and she'd just wanted him to spill whatever it was that was bothering him. She'd been oddly relieved.
“Yeah.” Jack twirled an empty beer bottle between his hands.
A little desperately, Sam said, “It’s good to see him moving on, getting a life.”
He didn’t respond right away.
“Sam…”
He stopped, twirled the bottle again.
Sam shifted herself as if to stand up. “I should probably…”
“Sam, what are we doing?”
Crap. She settled back down onto the couch and let out a breath. She thought about giving them another round of plausible deniability, but she couldn’t think of any excuse or deflection that sounded reasonable. The beer was obviously making her irrational.
She shook her head. “I don’t know.” She wished suddenly and desperately that she had a beer bottle to distract her, too. Jack’s was going about a mile a minute.
“You’re my ex-sister-in-law, and my second-in-command.”
Sam acknowledged the facts silently. That about summed it up.
It seemed Jack had hit on some sort of need to talk. “Even if the regulations permitted it, it’s just…weird. I know Mike said he was okay with it, but…”
“He what?!”
Jack looked like he’d just realized what that statement sounded like.
“Nonono. It’s not like I asked him.” He shuddered. “So not a conversation I ever want to have. But he…implied things, the last time we talked.”
Well, great. Her ex was playing matchmaker for her and his brother.
“I don’t believe this,” Sam groaned, dropping her face to her palms. A thought occurred to her. “And why are we having this conversation all of the sudden?”
Jack cleared his throat and looked very uncomfortable.
“No. You didn’t talk to…you. Jack! Didn’t you know better?”
“He brought it up!”
“But—“
“She almost died, Sam. She almost phased right out of existence, she’d just saved us all, and all I could think about was the fact that I was glad it wasn’t really you. And he ended up in my office, and…” he turned toward her. “Sam, if you can’t be honest with yourself…”
He shrugged. She stared at him.
He fidgeted beneath her gaze.
Sam shook her head. “Jack O’Neill,” she said slowly. “That is one of the most stupidly profound things I’ve ever heard you say.”
He looked very unsure of how to take that.
Carefully, she stood up on her almost-healed but still painful legs. Jack stood, too, sensing she needed something from him. She took a deep breath, reached for his hand.
“What are we going to do now?”
He tugged her closer, put his hand on her cheek. He leaned in and kissed her, softly, tentatively. She responded by pulling him closer, deepening the kiss. God, she’d wanted this for so long, had tried to deny it, even to herself.
He pulled away.
She said, lowering her head to his shoulder, “Oh my god. The rumors are going to be insane.”
*_*_*_*_*
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-09-15 05:45 pm (UTC)From:"Theodore's Comet" did make me wonder what Jack and Sam's relationship was like in that universe. But then I also kind of didn't want to know, because she's married to his brother, and... just, no. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-09-15 11:29 pm (UTC)From:Yeah. I have squicky issues with this fic, obviously, which is why I didn't post it until now. Anytime the author's note has to be over a couple of sentences, it's a sign.
But I'm glad it made you laugh.
:-)
no subject
Date: 2007-09-17 08:08 pm (UTC)From:Can't remember if I've read JoJo's original piece, though, so I wasn't familiar with the backstory.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-17 08:24 pm (UTC)From:Thanks for reading--it's SO sappy I find it unbelievable. But...yeah. :-)
no subject
Date: 2007-09-18 01:00 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-09-18 01:01 am (UTC)From:WANT MORE, PLEASE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!
no subject
Date: 2007-09-18 01:23 am (UTC)From:Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed them!
no subject
Date: 2007-09-19 07:59 pm (UTC)From::D
no subject
Date: 2007-09-19 08:33 pm (UTC)From::-)
no subject
Date: 2007-09-20 03:00 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-09-20 08:24 pm (UTC)From:And I heard about it too recently to fully think it through.
But it's a wonderful idea!
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Date: 2009-11-02 10:23 pm (UTC)From: (Anonymous)no subject
Date: 2009-11-03 12:45 am (UTC)From: