Second Chances
Season 8, maybe AU Season 9- after "Threads"
Sam Carter was going for a run through the park near her home, enjoying the coolness of the October breeze when she passed a man playing Frisbee with a little girl, whom she assumed to be his daughter. The sight had been so touching that she had stopped running to watch them. She wiped the sweat from her forehead as she bent over to catch some deep breaths.
Her eyes never left them, and Sam smiled until she realized that the man playing with his 'daughter' was Brigadier General Jack O'Neill. Yep, there was no mistaking that unruly gray hair, the lean frame, the smile that made her weak at the knees…
He seemed to realize that someone was watching them because he looked in her direction a few moments later, his eyes catching her own. He motioned for her to join them. "Carter!"
They began to walk toward each other, a little four-year-old girl practically running to catch up with Jack's stride. "Hi, sir."
"Carter! Whatcha doin'?"
"Just out for a run." She said with a smile. "Who's this?" She asked, motioning to the little girl who was clutching Jack's leg and barely looking out from around it.
"This is my friend, Suzie. She's spending the day with me." He put one hand on Suzie's back as he turned and tried to face her. "Suzie, this is my friend Sam."
Sam knelt down on the ground. "Hi, Suzie." You know, you look really cute today."
The bashful child just nodded, refusing to look Sam in the eyes.
"Did you know that one of Sam's favorite colors is blue?" Jack asked.
She turned her innocent eyes up eagerly to peer into Jack's face. "Mine too."
Sam smiled, her eyes glancing up at her commanding officer. He looked so great in the jeans, t-shirt and leather jacket he was wearing.
"Your favorite color is blue too? That's great! Do you know what the Co- Jack's favorite color is?"
The little girl looked at Sam, confused. "Who's Jack?"
Sam looked at her commanding officer, her own confusion evident on her face.
"Actually, Suzie, Sam meant me. What's my favorite color?"
"Wed." She blurted, before hiding once more behind Jack's pant leg.
"Red? I never would have guessed." She said, giving Jack an amused look. He shrugged, and Sam turned her attention back to the little girl. "Who's on your shirt?"
"'Rella." Was the muffled response.
"Cinderella? She's one of my favorite Disney characters."
A bell rang in the distance and the blond-haired Suzie turned her green eyes toward Jack, hopefully. "May I please have an ice cream, Johnny?"
Jack shook is head as Sam turned her head to observe him more closely. Johnny?
"Nope. It's too close to lunchtime. But I have an idea." He knelt down and whispered something into her ear.
Something inside Sam melted at the sight of Jack with little Suzie. Sure, she had seen Jack with Cassie and with many other children through the years that she had worked with him, but…none of them had been quite this small. And he had never been quite so…paternal. It was a new side to him that she had only glimpsed before. Completely different from the military personality that she had seen on countless occasions.
"Sam?" The little girl's voice began, penetrating her thoughts.
"Yes, Suzie?"
"Do you want to come and have lunch with us?"
She looked up at Jack who smiled.
"I would love to. But you and…Johnny, would have to wait for a few minutes while I change out of my running outfit, okay?"
Suzie looked up at Jack who nodded. "We'd love to have you, Carter. Meet us here in-?"
"Fifteen minutes, sir."
"Okay."
She smiled and started to walk up the hill toward her house.
"Carter!"
She turned. "Yes, sir?"
"Nice tank top."
She looked down and blushed when she realized that her top looked remarkably like the one she'd worn during their…encounter after she'd been infected with the Virus of the Touched.
Then, eyeing the little girl, standing innocently beside him, she swallowed an insubordinate 'bite me,' and simply smiled. "You should know."
Fifteen minutes later, she arrived back at the park to find Jack pushing Suzie in a swing. She was dressed casually in jeans, sandals, a tank top and a sheer overlay. "Hi."
Jack stopped the swing and Suzie jumped off of it. "You look great, Carter."
Suzie gave him a look of impatience. "Let's go!"
Jack and Sam chuckled. "You heard the little lady, Carter. Move out!"
They drove to McDonald's where Suzie took Sam by the hand and raced to the playground where Sam sat at one of the tables while Suzie began exploring the many facets of the playground. Every once in a while, Suzie would look out a window and wave, calling out Sam's name, and she would return the smiles.
"You gonna eat something or ya gonna sit around and watch her play all day?" Jack asked as he walked toward her with a tray of food.
"Oh, sir!"
He chuckled. "It's Jack. Or Johnny. Depending on which you prefer."
She smiled as she scooted over to let her commanding officer onto the bench. "So, how'd you meet Suzie?"
She's the granddaughter of one of my neighbors. She needed me to watch her for the day."
"Well, she knows you a lot better than I would expect from someone who's just watching her for the day." Sam observed, watching him.
"Yeah, well, Joyce has to have dialysis. I watch Suzie whenever I can."
"She lives with her grandmother?"
He nodded. "Her parents' rights were terminated when they began using drugs."
She watched Suzie who was now playing happily in the room filled with big rubber balls. "That's terrible."
"Yeah. She was only three when she started living with Joyce. Fortunately, her parents voluntarily terminated their rights. It wasn't quite as messy as having the courts forcibly terminate them."
She looked at Jack. "You love her, don't you?"
"How can anyone not love a child?" He asked, simply.
"Johnny! Did you get my fav'ite?"
"Cheeseburger happy meal." Jack said, handing her the bag.
"Yes! Thank you!"
"You're welcome. Now sit down and eat."
She obliged and Jack handed a Caesar salad to Sam. "Here you go."
She smiled. "Thank you, sir."
"Ah, ah, ah..."
"Thanks, Jack." She said with a smile.
"You're welcome Sam." He said, returning her smile.
Something in their smiles was different than usual. It was as if Suzie was finally the catalyst in their relationship to make it blossom. However, before each of them could begin to explore just what those differences were, Suzie yawned.
"Time for a nap, young lady."
She shook her head. "Nope."
"Oh, yes, it is. You've worn yourself out. Lunch will be waiting when you wake up." He said, cleaning up the barely eaten meal and putting it in a bag for later.
She tried to run back to the playground, but he caught her and carried her to the car as Sam grabbed the food. As they drove back to Sam's house, Jack looked in his rear-view mirror. "Yep. Zonked out in the backseat."
Sam turned and found the sight of Suzie sleeping with her head propped up against the side of her carseat. It brought a smile to her lips.
"You know, Carter, I was expecting a little more of an outing than this." Jack said, simply, at the sight of her tender smile.
"It's fine, sir."
"No, it isn't."
"It isn't what? Fine?"
"Sir."
"Right. Well, you know there is that hockey game. You could carry Suzie in and she could sleep on my bed and you could watch hockey."
"I was thinking more along the lines of what WE could do."
"I thought my watching hockey was implied." She said with a grin.
"Ah."
There was another pause in their conversation as they each retreated back into their own thoughts. "You know, this makes me happy." Sam said, almost to herself.
"Huh?"
She inhaled, sharply. "I'm sorry. Did I say that out loud?"
"Yeah."
She sighed. "I guess I'm just thinking about my dad. He...he wanted to make sure I was happy. I couldn't let him die thinking that I was unhappy, so...I lied."
"You said that you were happy with Pete." He said.
"Yeah."
"Well, I can't say I'm upset that you're not with him anymore." He said, quietly.
"I feel the same way about Kerry."
"I guess we have some thinking to do, don't we?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I guess we do."