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sga_flashficTitle: Starting Over
Author: Kharma2815 (Emma)
Rating: PG13 for this part (may go up if I decide to write any more)
Summary: When a mutual friend asks Dr. Rodney McKay if he'll put a mutual friend up for a few weeks, he agrees, little knowing what he's letting hismelf in for.
Pairing: Jack/Sam, Jack/Daniel/ Sam/Daniel, Sam/Jack/Daniel (I'm sick I know), John/Elizabeth, John/Rodney (eventually) and whoever else creeps in.
Disclaimer: Only two of the characters belong to me and they're none of those mentioned above.
Reviews: Loved, craved, adored.
A/N: not beta read so any mistakes are mine an mine alone. I used to love reading M&B books when I was at school and my mum has just discovered them so I'm sneakily stealing them from her (what can I say, they're my guilty little pleasure) so I blame them entirely for this.
Doctor Rodney McKay looked at the woman on the other end of the videophone and silently cursed his predilection for blue-eyed blondes and this one in particular. Dr. Samantha Carter-O’Neill had had him wrapped around her little finger since the day they met in grad school and she knew it.
“How’s Jack?” he suddenly asked and Sam sighed but let him get away with changing the subject.
“Jack’s fine,” she replied.
“And Daniel?” Rodney asked with a smirk and Sam scowled.
“The two of them are driving me insane. Why they can’t just admit they’re in love and get it over with is beyond me. Then maybe they would stop snapping at each other every five minutes and me and T would get some peace.”
Rodney shook his head in mock disbelief. “I still can’t believe that shy little pacifist Samantha Carter not only works for the USAF but married a Colonel and is trying to get said Colonel to admit that he’s in love with his male assistant and vice versa.”
Sam shrugged. “I know, I can hardly believe it myself sometimes but I just need Jack to be happy and if Daniel can help make him happy, then I’m all for it.”
“And it honestly doesn’t bother you that your husband has feelings for somebody else?”
“But it’s not just somebody else,” she explained. “It’s Daniel. Believe me, if he felt like this about another woman it would be a whole different matter. I would have her out of his office so fast her feet wouldn’t touch the floor.”
She suddenly smirked. “Besides, who says it’s just Jack that has feelings for him? He’s been training with T lately and has seriously buffed up.”
“Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?” Rodney asked, genuinely shocked this time.
Sam shrugged. “Why not? We’re all consenting adults, I’ve seen the way he looks at me occasionally and it might take some of the pressure off Jack if he thinks he’s not the only one who wants this.”
She suddenly realised that he had successfully managed to change the subject and swiftly changed it back again. “And don’t change the subject. I want an answer, yes or no.”
“No,” he said firmly and then sighed when Sam fluttered here eyelashes at him. “Okay, fine,” he said.
“Thank you, Rodney,” she said with a grateful smile. “I really appreciate this. John’s had a really tough time lately and he just needs a place to stay for a few weeks while he gets himself sorted out. It won’t be for long I promise.”
Rodney snorted in disbelief but let her get away with the blatant lie. “Tell me about him,” he said and Sam smirked.
“Well,” she said slowly. “He’s gorgeous.”
“He could look like King Kong for all I care,” Rodney snapped.
“Sure he could,” Sam said and Rodney scowled.
“Samantha Marie Elizabeth Carter-O’Neill, don’t make me ring Janet and tell her you’re thinking of shacking up with Daniel Jackson in a threesome and you told me before you told her.”
“You wouldn’t!” Sam gasped and Rodney just raised one eyebrow. Sam relented.
“Fine,” she said with a sigh and told Rodney about his future house guest. “John Sheppard, former Major in the USAF. Dishonourable discharge for disobeying a direct order to leave two of his team behind enemy lines. Recently widowed after a marriage of only 6 months. Currently under civilian contract for Jack and the boys at the mountain and in desperate need of a place to live until he can find something. Total math geek although he hides it well and all around good guy. Okay?”
“There,” Rodney said with a smug smile. “That wasn’t so hard was it, Sammie?”
“Don’t push it, Rodney,” Sam warned and then suddenly giggled.
“What?” Rodney asked, confused by the change in her behaviour.
“Nothing,” she gasped out between giggles and he could have sworn he saw her kick her foot out and heard a muttered exclamation of pain come from under the desk.
“Good grief! Can’t that man leave you alone for two minutes?” he asked but he already knew the answer. Colonel Jack O’Neill may have been falling in love with Dr. Daniel Jackson but he had been head over heels in love with his wife from the moment she had walked into the briefing room and challenged him to arm-wrestle in front of his men.
“Hi Rodney!” the man in question said as he popped out from under his wife’s desk.
“Hello Jack,” Rodney said calmly, knowing better than to ask him what he had been doing under there. “How are you?”
Jack nodded. “Fine, fine, thanks. Listen, about John. I really appreciate what you’re doing for him.”
Rodney absently glanced over the paperwork on his desk and an equation that had been giving him trouble suddenly resolved itself in his mind. “No problem,” he said as he reached for the paper and started working the figures in his head while half attending to the conversation. “When will he be here?”
“I’ll be dropping him and the boys off Monday morning, if that’s ok?”
“Hmm? Oh sure, Monday’s fine,” Rodney said. “Sorry Jack, I really have to go. Tell Sam bye for me and I’ll see you on Monday.” Without waiting for a reply, he put the phone down and became totally focussed on the offending equation.
He looked up twenty minutes later, put his pen down and gave a sigh of satisfaction at finally being able to make the equation work. “I’d better sort out bedrooms for Major Sheppard and the boys,” he said to himself and then blinked and reached for the phone.
He quickly dialled and waited through the 4 rings until the answer phone clicked on. “Hi, this is Jack and Sam. We’re very sorry that we can’t come to the phone right now, but if you leave a message one of us will get back to you as soon as possible.”
Rodney smiled at the sound of Sam’s voice, like he always did, and then realised that he was mad at her. “Boys?” he practically shouted. “You never said anything about boys! I know you’re there, goddammit! Answer this phone so I can yell at you properly! I can’t have children living here; I don’t know anything about them.”
Jack’s face suddenly appeared on the screen. “Calm down Rodney,” he said soothingly.
“Don’t tell me to calm down; you never mentioned anything about children when I agreed to this.”
“Didn’t I?” jack asked innocently. “Oh, well, no harm done I suppose. I mean, it’s not like you don’t have the room for them. They’re only little, they shouldn’t cause too much problem for two grown men to handle.” Something that looked suspiciously like a bra suddenly dropped on his head and he hastily pulled it off. “Uh, look, I have to go. Sam wants me for something. I’ll see you on Monday. Bye Rodney.” With that he disconnected and Rodney swore, loudly and for quite a long time.
He spent the next three days in a total panic, but finally managed to make a couple of unused bedroom in the large rambling house he had inherited from his grandmother semi-liveable. Not having any idea how old the boys were, or even how many of them there were, he had settled on doing the double guest room and the room with twin beds that connected to it.
Monday morning arrived and he shut himself in his office, determined to get some work done before his life got turned upside down for the foreseeable future. He had been so engrossed in his work that he didn’t hear Sam let herself in the front door with the key that she had had since his grandmother owned the house. The sudden opening of his office door startled him so much that he almost fell out of his chair.
He turned to glare at the woman standing in the doorway, but she just smiled. “Sorry, sweetie,” she said. “Did I make you jump?”
Rodney didn’t deign to answer her totally rhetorical question, he just glared some more. Unfortunately, Sam was one of the few people in the world that were totally unfazed by the glare and completely ignored him. She walked into the room, sat herself down on his lap and smiled when his arms automatically closed around her. She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “Hi,” she said brightly.
Rodney looked at her and felt his breath catch in his throat. “God, she’s beautiful,” he couldn’t help thinking and reached out to touch her cheek. Sam looked at him quizzically for a second and then leaned in to the touch from her oldest friend. “You look happy,” he said softly and she smiled.
“I am,” she said, jumping off his lap and grabbing his hand to drag him outside. “Come on, I want to show you something.” She pulled him through the house to the living room and stopped by the windows. “Take a look outside and tell me what you see,” she said.
Totally confused, Rodney did what he was told. At first all he could see was Jack and Daniel talking, they seemed to be standing a little closer together than normal, but that was all, then Daniel turend around to get something from the trunk of the car and Jack blatantly stared at his butt. Daniel looked over his shoulder at the other man and winked and Jack blushed slightly but he was smiling.
Rodney gaped and turned to look at Sam, who just giggled and nodded. “How?” Rodney asked.
Sam smiled smugly. “You know we had the barbecue on Saturday?” she asked and Rodney nodded. “They spent three hours snarking at each other and I eventually had enough of it, so T locked them in the basement and I told them either to kiss and make up or beat the crap out of each other, but either way to get it out of their system.”
She looked thoughtful for a moment and then shrugged. “Seeing as Jack came out of there with a hickey the size of which you would not believe on his collar-bone, I’m guessing they went the kiss and make up route.”
“And you honestly don’t mind?” Rodney asked, still unable to believe that his oldest friend was okay with the latest development in her marriage.
“Not particularly,” Sam said and then smirked. “I got my own back on Daniel for marking my husband though.”
“How?” Rodney asked, interested despite himself and smiled as she walked away.
“Let’s just say that he’ll be wearing turtle-necks for a while and leave it at that, shall we?” she called over her shoulder and went outside to join the two men.
Rodney followed her outside and just stood and watched them for a moment. He had to admit that Jack O’Neill looked calmer than he had in a long time and Daniel couldn’t seem to stop smiling, not even when Sam leant up slightly and kissed him quickly before doing the same to her husband.
He walked across to the three of them and stood facing them, arms folded and face set in the expression that had reduced grown lab assistants to tears. “Yes, Rodney?” Jack asked. “Was there something you wanted?”
“Show me,” Rodney demanded.
“Show you what?” Jack asked, totally confused by his friends behaviour.
Rodney waved a hand in the vague direction of Jack’s shoulder. “The hickey,” he said succinctly and Jack flushed slightly and turned to Sam.
“You told him?” he exclaimed and Sam shrugged.
“Of course I told him,” she said and Jack sighed.
“Fine!” he muttered and pulled the neck of his shirt aside to show Rodney the mark on his collar-bone. Rodney couldn’t help but be impressed by the size of it and turned to Daniel.
“Well done,” he said. “It’s hard to get good suction in that spot, the bone gets in the way. Now you.”
Daniel smiled smugly and didn’t hesitate to pull the neck of his sweater down, revealing the even larger mark on his neck. “Wow!” Rodney exclaimed and turned to Sam. “You did a really good job on that one, didn’t you?”
“Jack helped a little,” she said modestly and then dropped her voice to a whisper as if confiding a secret. “He held him down while I did it.”
Rodney supposed he still looked slightly sceptical because she looked up at the other two men with mischief in her eyes. “You know,” she said. “I don’t think he believes us.”
Jack wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and nuzzled her neck. “What do you think we should do about it?” he asked and Sam pulled his head down so she could whisper in his ear. “What? Out here?” he asked and she nodded. “Okay?” he said with a shrug and let her go.
They looked over to Daniel who was starting to look slightly nervous. “Hey guys,” he said. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing much,” Sam said as Jack gently touched his cheek and drew his attention to him.
“Hi,” he whispered as he brushed his lips gently over the younger mans.
“Hi Jack,” Daniel breathed and captured his lips with his own. The kiss stayed gentle for about two seconds and then Daniel shifted so his arms were around Jack’s waist and everything changed.
“Ahem,” Sam said after what felt to Rodney like hours and yet seconds at the same time. “Aren’t you forgetting somebody?”
“So sorry, darling,” Jack said and pulled her into his arms, giving her a quick, but passionate, kiss before passing her on to Daniel who bent her backwards over his arm and proceded to kiss her thoroughly.
“Well,” Sam said breathlessly when Daniel finally let her come up for air. “Satisfied?”
“No,” Rodney said with a smirk. “But I bet you are.” Sam blushed slightly but didn’t answer him and Rodney looked at his watch. “Where’s this John Sheppard anyway? I thought he was coming with you?”
Jack shrugged and turned back to unloading the car. “He was,” he said, completely ignoring the fact that his wife and assistant were having a gently make-out session on the front steps of the house. “But he hired a car and decided to show his boys around first, let them know where everything was, that sort of thing.”
“How old are these boys anyway?” Rodney asked and Sam extricated herself from Daniel’s arms and walked over to link her arm through his and rest her head on his shoulder.
“Seven,” she answered and then explained further. “Matthew and Robert. They’re twins. Their mom died in a crash about 6 months ago and John thought this would be a new start for them all.”
A car suddenly pulled into the driveway, the back door opened and a small, brown haired blur shot past them and into the backyard. “Goddamnit!” A man yelled from inside the car and turned to the other small boy they could just see sitting in the back. “Bobby,” he said quietly. “You stay right here while I go find your brother, okay?”
The small head nodded and stuck his thumb in his mouth but didn’t say anything and the man who could only be John Sheppard leant over to rbush a gentle kiss across the top of his head.
He got out of the car, being sure to take the car keys with him and dashed around the side of the house, paying no attention whatsoever to the three people stood on the driveway and watching him. “Matthew Edward Sheppard, get your butt back here right now or you’re grounded for a month!” he called.
“Don’t care!” the young boy yelled back just as John disappeared around the corner. When he came back a few minutes later he had a struggling child tucked under his arm as though he was a football and seemed totally oblivious to the boys demands to be let go.
Rodney’s attention was totally focussed on the young boy in the car and so missed Sam’s initial attempt to get his attention. “Rodney,” she called again and he finally looked up. “Rodney, this is John Sheppard.”
“Hi,” John said with an amused smile. “I’d shake your hand but, as you can see, mine are pretty full at the moment.” A new round of yelling came from Matthew who was currently dangling almost upside down. “This little hellion is Matt and the quiet one in the car is Bobby. Thank you for letting us stay here for a few weeks.”
“Uh, no problem,” Rodney said, his attention once again shifted towards the car and the still silent Bobby. “Is he okay?” he asked and John sighed and put Matthew down.
“Matt,” he said quietly. “Why don’t you go and help Uncle Jack and Daniel unload their car?” He saw the stubborn look on his sons face and sighed. “Please Matthew,” he said quietly. Matt looked at him for a moment and then nodded, all traces of naughtiness gone.
“Ok, Daddy,” he said softly and then threw his arms around his fathers neck. “Love you.”
John wrapped him a gentle hug and kissed his hair. “Love you, too,” he whispered. “Always and forever, right?”
“Always and forever.” Matt agreed and ran off to join his favourite uncle in all the world.
John looked up at Sam and smiled. “Hi Sam,” he said simply and she almost threw herself into his arms as she fought not to burst into tears. He held her gently for a few minutes, letting her get herself under control and then asked her to keep an eye on Bobby for him. Sam kissed both men on the cheek and quickly walked over to the car, where she leant down to talk to Bobby. He eventually climbed out and she hoisted him onto her hip in the manner of women and children the world over and walked over to join the others.
“Is there something we can talk?” John asked quietly and Rodney nodded.
“There’s an old bench at the bottom of the garden, we can go there,” he said and led the way. The two men walked in silence for a few moments, both lost in thought.
They had been sitting on the bench for a few minutes when Rodney couldn’t take the silence anymore. “Jack said the boys are seven, but Bobby looks small for his age,” he started and then didn’t know how to continue.
“They are and he is. It was a difficult birth for Elizabeth and the twins didn’t come out of it completely unscathed. Mentally they’re both fine, actually slightly ahead of their age group in some areas, but Bobby has a few physical problems,” John explained.
“Like what?” Rodney asked and John shrugged.
“Like you said, he’s smaller than average for his age. He’s got a few allergies and his lungs were damaged so he’s prone to respiratory infections. He also can’t use his left hand properly and he has regular hospital checkups but its all stuff the doctors think he’ll grow out of. In the meantime, we cope as best we can.”
“How did his lungs get damaged?” Rodney asked, honestly concerned for the small boy.
“He, ah, he died twice before he was three months old.”
“Oh god!” Rodney gasped and automatically reached out to lay a hand on the other mans arm.
“It’s ok,” John said. “It was a long time ago and he’s getting better all the time now.” The two men once more lapsed into an almost comfortable silence, something Rodney hadn’t felt with a stranger in a long time.
“Could you tell me what happened to their mother?” he asked and hastened to explain when John looked up at him. “I’m not being nosy, it’s just that I don’t want to say anything that might upset them.”
John took a deep breath and started talking. “Elizabeth Weir was the first and only woman I ever loved. She was everything to me. When we found out about the twins, we were so excited.” He suddenly laughed. “Lizzie was convinced we were having girls, she even painted the room pink and filled it with Barbie dolls. You can imagine her surprise when Matt and Bobby came along.
“Anyway, the twins were born eight weeks premature, which I’m told isn’t unusual in multiple births and it was touch and go for all three of them for a time. Waiting for the day that they all came out of hospital were the longest weeks of my life.” He gazed off into the distance for a moment, lost his memories before continuing.
“Eventually, thay all came home. Matt was a little slow to develop at first but he soon caught up. Bobby had one hospital appointment after another but he never let it stop him. Matt may have been walking first but Bobby was the first to talk and from that very first Mamma there was no stopping him. Everything was going along fine until one day about six months ago.
“Bobby had had yet another hospital appointment. Usually Lizzie took both the boys with her but Matt had a cold, so I took the day off work to look after him while she took Bobby. They were on their way back when the car suddenly went off the road and hit a tree head-on. Lizzie was killed outright and Bobby, who was strapped into his child seat in the back, was knocked unconscious. He wasn’t seriously hurt, just a few cuts and bruises and minor concussion.
“Unfortuanetly, we may never know what caused the accident because the only witness hasn’t spoken a word from that day to this.”
“Bobby?” Rodney asked softly and John nodded, closing his eyes against the grief and guilt he still felt everyday. “Oh God, John,” Rodney exclaimed. “I’m so sorry, I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything,” John said and looked seriously into Rodney’s eyes. “You’re doing a lot just by letting us stay here and letting me talk. It’s the first time I’ve really told somebody exactly what happened and I think I needed to.”
Rodney was lost in John’s gaze and he couldn’t help noticing the fact that the other mans eyes seemed to change colour from grey to green and every colour between with the shifting light ans his mood.
“It’s okay,” he said softly and smiled. Neither man seemed to notice that Rodney’s hand on John’s arm had moved and their hands were now clasped together. Sam poked her head around the corner of the house, looking for Rodney and smiled when she saw her two friends sitting on the bench and basically holding hands.
“Oh yes,” she whispered to herself as she turned and walked away. “I knew this was a good idea of mine.”
TBC
Author: Kharma2815 (Emma)
Rating: PG13 for this part (may go up if I decide to write any more)
Summary: When a mutual friend asks Dr. Rodney McKay if he'll put a mutual friend up for a few weeks, he agrees, little knowing what he's letting hismelf in for.
Pairing: Jack/Sam, Jack/Daniel/ Sam/Daniel, Sam/Jack/Daniel (I'm sick I know), John/Elizabeth, John/Rodney (eventually) and whoever else creeps in.
Disclaimer: Only two of the characters belong to me and they're none of those mentioned above.
Reviews: Loved, craved, adored.
A/N: not beta read so any mistakes are mine an mine alone. I used to love reading M&B books when I was at school and my mum has just discovered them so I'm sneakily stealing them from her (what can I say, they're my guilty little pleasure) so I blame them entirely for this.
Doctor Rodney McKay looked at the woman on the other end of the videophone and silently cursed his predilection for blue-eyed blondes and this one in particular. Dr. Samantha Carter-O’Neill had had him wrapped around her little finger since the day they met in grad school and she knew it.
“How’s Jack?” he suddenly asked and Sam sighed but let him get away with changing the subject.
“Jack’s fine,” she replied.
“And Daniel?” Rodney asked with a smirk and Sam scowled.
“The two of them are driving me insane. Why they can’t just admit they’re in love and get it over with is beyond me. Then maybe they would stop snapping at each other every five minutes and me and T would get some peace.”
Rodney shook his head in mock disbelief. “I still can’t believe that shy little pacifist Samantha Carter not only works for the USAF but married a Colonel and is trying to get said Colonel to admit that he’s in love with his male assistant and vice versa.”
Sam shrugged. “I know, I can hardly believe it myself sometimes but I just need Jack to be happy and if Daniel can help make him happy, then I’m all for it.”
“And it honestly doesn’t bother you that your husband has feelings for somebody else?”
“But it’s not just somebody else,” she explained. “It’s Daniel. Believe me, if he felt like this about another woman it would be a whole different matter. I would have her out of his office so fast her feet wouldn’t touch the floor.”
She suddenly smirked. “Besides, who says it’s just Jack that has feelings for him? He’s been training with T lately and has seriously buffed up.”
“Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?” Rodney asked, genuinely shocked this time.
Sam shrugged. “Why not? We’re all consenting adults, I’ve seen the way he looks at me occasionally and it might take some of the pressure off Jack if he thinks he’s not the only one who wants this.”
She suddenly realised that he had successfully managed to change the subject and swiftly changed it back again. “And don’t change the subject. I want an answer, yes or no.”
“No,” he said firmly and then sighed when Sam fluttered here eyelashes at him. “Okay, fine,” he said.
“Thank you, Rodney,” she said with a grateful smile. “I really appreciate this. John’s had a really tough time lately and he just needs a place to stay for a few weeks while he gets himself sorted out. It won’t be for long I promise.”
Rodney snorted in disbelief but let her get away with the blatant lie. “Tell me about him,” he said and Sam smirked.
“Well,” she said slowly. “He’s gorgeous.”
“He could look like King Kong for all I care,” Rodney snapped.
“Sure he could,” Sam said and Rodney scowled.
“Samantha Marie Elizabeth Carter-O’Neill, don’t make me ring Janet and tell her you’re thinking of shacking up with Daniel Jackson in a threesome and you told me before you told her.”
“You wouldn’t!” Sam gasped and Rodney just raised one eyebrow. Sam relented.
“Fine,” she said with a sigh and told Rodney about his future house guest. “John Sheppard, former Major in the USAF. Dishonourable discharge for disobeying a direct order to leave two of his team behind enemy lines. Recently widowed after a marriage of only 6 months. Currently under civilian contract for Jack and the boys at the mountain and in desperate need of a place to live until he can find something. Total math geek although he hides it well and all around good guy. Okay?”
“There,” Rodney said with a smug smile. “That wasn’t so hard was it, Sammie?”
“Don’t push it, Rodney,” Sam warned and then suddenly giggled.
“What?” Rodney asked, confused by the change in her behaviour.
“Nothing,” she gasped out between giggles and he could have sworn he saw her kick her foot out and heard a muttered exclamation of pain come from under the desk.
“Good grief! Can’t that man leave you alone for two minutes?” he asked but he already knew the answer. Colonel Jack O’Neill may have been falling in love with Dr. Daniel Jackson but he had been head over heels in love with his wife from the moment she had walked into the briefing room and challenged him to arm-wrestle in front of his men.
“Hi Rodney!” the man in question said as he popped out from under his wife’s desk.
“Hello Jack,” Rodney said calmly, knowing better than to ask him what he had been doing under there. “How are you?”
Jack nodded. “Fine, fine, thanks. Listen, about John. I really appreciate what you’re doing for him.”
Rodney absently glanced over the paperwork on his desk and an equation that had been giving him trouble suddenly resolved itself in his mind. “No problem,” he said as he reached for the paper and started working the figures in his head while half attending to the conversation. “When will he be here?”
“I’ll be dropping him and the boys off Monday morning, if that’s ok?”
“Hmm? Oh sure, Monday’s fine,” Rodney said. “Sorry Jack, I really have to go. Tell Sam bye for me and I’ll see you on Monday.” Without waiting for a reply, he put the phone down and became totally focussed on the offending equation.
He looked up twenty minutes later, put his pen down and gave a sigh of satisfaction at finally being able to make the equation work. “I’d better sort out bedrooms for Major Sheppard and the boys,” he said to himself and then blinked and reached for the phone.
He quickly dialled and waited through the 4 rings until the answer phone clicked on. “Hi, this is Jack and Sam. We’re very sorry that we can’t come to the phone right now, but if you leave a message one of us will get back to you as soon as possible.”
Rodney smiled at the sound of Sam’s voice, like he always did, and then realised that he was mad at her. “Boys?” he practically shouted. “You never said anything about boys! I know you’re there, goddammit! Answer this phone so I can yell at you properly! I can’t have children living here; I don’t know anything about them.”
Jack’s face suddenly appeared on the screen. “Calm down Rodney,” he said soothingly.
“Don’t tell me to calm down; you never mentioned anything about children when I agreed to this.”
“Didn’t I?” jack asked innocently. “Oh, well, no harm done I suppose. I mean, it’s not like you don’t have the room for them. They’re only little, they shouldn’t cause too much problem for two grown men to handle.” Something that looked suspiciously like a bra suddenly dropped on his head and he hastily pulled it off. “Uh, look, I have to go. Sam wants me for something. I’ll see you on Monday. Bye Rodney.” With that he disconnected and Rodney swore, loudly and for quite a long time.
He spent the next three days in a total panic, but finally managed to make a couple of unused bedroom in the large rambling house he had inherited from his grandmother semi-liveable. Not having any idea how old the boys were, or even how many of them there were, he had settled on doing the double guest room and the room with twin beds that connected to it.
Monday morning arrived and he shut himself in his office, determined to get some work done before his life got turned upside down for the foreseeable future. He had been so engrossed in his work that he didn’t hear Sam let herself in the front door with the key that she had had since his grandmother owned the house. The sudden opening of his office door startled him so much that he almost fell out of his chair.
He turned to glare at the woman standing in the doorway, but she just smiled. “Sorry, sweetie,” she said. “Did I make you jump?”
Rodney didn’t deign to answer her totally rhetorical question, he just glared some more. Unfortunately, Sam was one of the few people in the world that were totally unfazed by the glare and completely ignored him. She walked into the room, sat herself down on his lap and smiled when his arms automatically closed around her. She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “Hi,” she said brightly.
Rodney looked at her and felt his breath catch in his throat. “God, she’s beautiful,” he couldn’t help thinking and reached out to touch her cheek. Sam looked at him quizzically for a second and then leaned in to the touch from her oldest friend. “You look happy,” he said softly and she smiled.
“I am,” she said, jumping off his lap and grabbing his hand to drag him outside. “Come on, I want to show you something.” She pulled him through the house to the living room and stopped by the windows. “Take a look outside and tell me what you see,” she said.
Totally confused, Rodney did what he was told. At first all he could see was Jack and Daniel talking, they seemed to be standing a little closer together than normal, but that was all, then Daniel turend around to get something from the trunk of the car and Jack blatantly stared at his butt. Daniel looked over his shoulder at the other man and winked and Jack blushed slightly but he was smiling.
Rodney gaped and turned to look at Sam, who just giggled and nodded. “How?” Rodney asked.
Sam smiled smugly. “You know we had the barbecue on Saturday?” she asked and Rodney nodded. “They spent three hours snarking at each other and I eventually had enough of it, so T locked them in the basement and I told them either to kiss and make up or beat the crap out of each other, but either way to get it out of their system.”
She looked thoughtful for a moment and then shrugged. “Seeing as Jack came out of there with a hickey the size of which you would not believe on his collar-bone, I’m guessing they went the kiss and make up route.”
“And you honestly don’t mind?” Rodney asked, still unable to believe that his oldest friend was okay with the latest development in her marriage.
“Not particularly,” Sam said and then smirked. “I got my own back on Daniel for marking my husband though.”
“How?” Rodney asked, interested despite himself and smiled as she walked away.
“Let’s just say that he’ll be wearing turtle-necks for a while and leave it at that, shall we?” she called over her shoulder and went outside to join the two men.
Rodney followed her outside and just stood and watched them for a moment. He had to admit that Jack O’Neill looked calmer than he had in a long time and Daniel couldn’t seem to stop smiling, not even when Sam leant up slightly and kissed him quickly before doing the same to her husband.
He walked across to the three of them and stood facing them, arms folded and face set in the expression that had reduced grown lab assistants to tears. “Yes, Rodney?” Jack asked. “Was there something you wanted?”
“Show me,” Rodney demanded.
“Show you what?” Jack asked, totally confused by his friends behaviour.
Rodney waved a hand in the vague direction of Jack’s shoulder. “The hickey,” he said succinctly and Jack flushed slightly and turned to Sam.
“You told him?” he exclaimed and Sam shrugged.
“Of course I told him,” she said and Jack sighed.
“Fine!” he muttered and pulled the neck of his shirt aside to show Rodney the mark on his collar-bone. Rodney couldn’t help but be impressed by the size of it and turned to Daniel.
“Well done,” he said. “It’s hard to get good suction in that spot, the bone gets in the way. Now you.”
Daniel smiled smugly and didn’t hesitate to pull the neck of his sweater down, revealing the even larger mark on his neck. “Wow!” Rodney exclaimed and turned to Sam. “You did a really good job on that one, didn’t you?”
“Jack helped a little,” she said modestly and then dropped her voice to a whisper as if confiding a secret. “He held him down while I did it.”
Rodney supposed he still looked slightly sceptical because she looked up at the other two men with mischief in her eyes. “You know,” she said. “I don’t think he believes us.”
Jack wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and nuzzled her neck. “What do you think we should do about it?” he asked and Sam pulled his head down so she could whisper in his ear. “What? Out here?” he asked and she nodded. “Okay?” he said with a shrug and let her go.
They looked over to Daniel who was starting to look slightly nervous. “Hey guys,” he said. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing much,” Sam said as Jack gently touched his cheek and drew his attention to him.
“Hi,” he whispered as he brushed his lips gently over the younger mans.
“Hi Jack,” Daniel breathed and captured his lips with his own. The kiss stayed gentle for about two seconds and then Daniel shifted so his arms were around Jack’s waist and everything changed.
“Ahem,” Sam said after what felt to Rodney like hours and yet seconds at the same time. “Aren’t you forgetting somebody?”
“So sorry, darling,” Jack said and pulled her into his arms, giving her a quick, but passionate, kiss before passing her on to Daniel who bent her backwards over his arm and proceded to kiss her thoroughly.
“Well,” Sam said breathlessly when Daniel finally let her come up for air. “Satisfied?”
“No,” Rodney said with a smirk. “But I bet you are.” Sam blushed slightly but didn’t answer him and Rodney looked at his watch. “Where’s this John Sheppard anyway? I thought he was coming with you?”
Jack shrugged and turned back to unloading the car. “He was,” he said, completely ignoring the fact that his wife and assistant were having a gently make-out session on the front steps of the house. “But he hired a car and decided to show his boys around first, let them know where everything was, that sort of thing.”
“How old are these boys anyway?” Rodney asked and Sam extricated herself from Daniel’s arms and walked over to link her arm through his and rest her head on his shoulder.
“Seven,” she answered and then explained further. “Matthew and Robert. They’re twins. Their mom died in a crash about 6 months ago and John thought this would be a new start for them all.”
A car suddenly pulled into the driveway, the back door opened and a small, brown haired blur shot past them and into the backyard. “Goddamnit!” A man yelled from inside the car and turned to the other small boy they could just see sitting in the back. “Bobby,” he said quietly. “You stay right here while I go find your brother, okay?”
The small head nodded and stuck his thumb in his mouth but didn’t say anything and the man who could only be John Sheppard leant over to rbush a gentle kiss across the top of his head.
He got out of the car, being sure to take the car keys with him and dashed around the side of the house, paying no attention whatsoever to the three people stood on the driveway and watching him. “Matthew Edward Sheppard, get your butt back here right now or you’re grounded for a month!” he called.
“Don’t care!” the young boy yelled back just as John disappeared around the corner. When he came back a few minutes later he had a struggling child tucked under his arm as though he was a football and seemed totally oblivious to the boys demands to be let go.
Rodney’s attention was totally focussed on the young boy in the car and so missed Sam’s initial attempt to get his attention. “Rodney,” she called again and he finally looked up. “Rodney, this is John Sheppard.”
“Hi,” John said with an amused smile. “I’d shake your hand but, as you can see, mine are pretty full at the moment.” A new round of yelling came from Matthew who was currently dangling almost upside down. “This little hellion is Matt and the quiet one in the car is Bobby. Thank you for letting us stay here for a few weeks.”
“Uh, no problem,” Rodney said, his attention once again shifted towards the car and the still silent Bobby. “Is he okay?” he asked and John sighed and put Matthew down.
“Matt,” he said quietly. “Why don’t you go and help Uncle Jack and Daniel unload their car?” He saw the stubborn look on his sons face and sighed. “Please Matthew,” he said quietly. Matt looked at him for a moment and then nodded, all traces of naughtiness gone.
“Ok, Daddy,” he said softly and then threw his arms around his fathers neck. “Love you.”
John wrapped him a gentle hug and kissed his hair. “Love you, too,” he whispered. “Always and forever, right?”
“Always and forever.” Matt agreed and ran off to join his favourite uncle in all the world.
John looked up at Sam and smiled. “Hi Sam,” he said simply and she almost threw herself into his arms as she fought not to burst into tears. He held her gently for a few minutes, letting her get herself under control and then asked her to keep an eye on Bobby for him. Sam kissed both men on the cheek and quickly walked over to the car, where she leant down to talk to Bobby. He eventually climbed out and she hoisted him onto her hip in the manner of women and children the world over and walked over to join the others.
“Is there something we can talk?” John asked quietly and Rodney nodded.
“There’s an old bench at the bottom of the garden, we can go there,” he said and led the way. The two men walked in silence for a few moments, both lost in thought.
They had been sitting on the bench for a few minutes when Rodney couldn’t take the silence anymore. “Jack said the boys are seven, but Bobby looks small for his age,” he started and then didn’t know how to continue.
“They are and he is. It was a difficult birth for Elizabeth and the twins didn’t come out of it completely unscathed. Mentally they’re both fine, actually slightly ahead of their age group in some areas, but Bobby has a few physical problems,” John explained.
“Like what?” Rodney asked and John shrugged.
“Like you said, he’s smaller than average for his age. He’s got a few allergies and his lungs were damaged so he’s prone to respiratory infections. He also can’t use his left hand properly and he has regular hospital checkups but its all stuff the doctors think he’ll grow out of. In the meantime, we cope as best we can.”
“How did his lungs get damaged?” Rodney asked, honestly concerned for the small boy.
“He, ah, he died twice before he was three months old.”
“Oh god!” Rodney gasped and automatically reached out to lay a hand on the other mans arm.
“It’s ok,” John said. “It was a long time ago and he’s getting better all the time now.” The two men once more lapsed into an almost comfortable silence, something Rodney hadn’t felt with a stranger in a long time.
“Could you tell me what happened to their mother?” he asked and hastened to explain when John looked up at him. “I’m not being nosy, it’s just that I don’t want to say anything that might upset them.”
John took a deep breath and started talking. “Elizabeth Weir was the first and only woman I ever loved. She was everything to me. When we found out about the twins, we were so excited.” He suddenly laughed. “Lizzie was convinced we were having girls, she even painted the room pink and filled it with Barbie dolls. You can imagine her surprise when Matt and Bobby came along.
“Anyway, the twins were born eight weeks premature, which I’m told isn’t unusual in multiple births and it was touch and go for all three of them for a time. Waiting for the day that they all came out of hospital were the longest weeks of my life.” He gazed off into the distance for a moment, lost his memories before continuing.
“Eventually, thay all came home. Matt was a little slow to develop at first but he soon caught up. Bobby had one hospital appointment after another but he never let it stop him. Matt may have been walking first but Bobby was the first to talk and from that very first Mamma there was no stopping him. Everything was going along fine until one day about six months ago.
“Bobby had had yet another hospital appointment. Usually Lizzie took both the boys with her but Matt had a cold, so I took the day off work to look after him while she took Bobby. They were on their way back when the car suddenly went off the road and hit a tree head-on. Lizzie was killed outright and Bobby, who was strapped into his child seat in the back, was knocked unconscious. He wasn’t seriously hurt, just a few cuts and bruises and minor concussion.
“Unfortuanetly, we may never know what caused the accident because the only witness hasn’t spoken a word from that day to this.”
“Bobby?” Rodney asked softly and John nodded, closing his eyes against the grief and guilt he still felt everyday. “Oh God, John,” Rodney exclaimed. “I’m so sorry, I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything,” John said and looked seriously into Rodney’s eyes. “You’re doing a lot just by letting us stay here and letting me talk. It’s the first time I’ve really told somebody exactly what happened and I think I needed to.”
Rodney was lost in John’s gaze and he couldn’t help noticing the fact that the other mans eyes seemed to change colour from grey to green and every colour between with the shifting light ans his mood.
“It’s okay,” he said softly and smiled. Neither man seemed to notice that Rodney’s hand on John’s arm had moved and their hands were now clasped together. Sam poked her head around the corner of the house, looking for Rodney and smiled when she saw her two friends sitting on the bench and basically holding hands.
“Oh yes,” she whispered to herself as she turned and walked away. “I knew this was a good idea of mine.”
TBC
Hi!
Date: 2006-07-01 03:33 am (UTC)I love your fic. Did you ever wrote some more?
*puppie eyes*
Great Fic,
Lux
Re: Hi!
Date: 2006-07-01 09:03 pm (UTC)I keep trying to write more. The rest of the story is lurking in my brain somewhere and every now and then a sentence or two pops to the surface but it's never actually enough to spark the rest of the fic *sigh*
Emma
Re: Hi!
Date: 2006-07-05 02:02 am (UTC)Lux