All Right – Chapter 10

Disclaimer in pt. 1

“Excuse me, but are you okay?” A soft concerned voice asked him.

Martouf desolately nodded his head without lifting it. “I am all aright.”

“Funny, you sure don’t look all right. What’s bothering you?” The person asked, shuffling in front of him.

Martouf closed his eyes briefly, trying to stop the flow of tears. He raised a hand to wipe the tears from his face, wishing that people would just leave him alone. He raised his head to reassure the person again when he stopped.

There she was. Standing in front of him with that oh-so-familiar worried look in her beautiful blue eyes. She was dressed in a red flow-y dress, carrying a box of what looked like tools in her hands. She stood silhouetted against the setting sun and Martouf could see the last few rays glinting off her golden blonde hair. 

“Are you in some sort of pain? I could get help if you want.” She asked when Martouf continued to just stare at her in wonder and hope. “I’ll just go get someone.” She made a move to turn away, a little unnerved by the man’s stare when his hand shot out to grab her arm.

“No!” Immediately, Martouf let go and stood, moving to stand close in front of her to stare deeply into her eyes. “I’m sorry, I did not mean to startle you, I…I am all right.”

She turned back to him, somewhat mesmerized by the look in his grey eyes, which held such pain and…disbelief. “That is okay.” She ducked her head and blushed a bit at the intense look in the man’s eyes. She glanced back up and nearly choked at what she saw enter the man’s eyes…was that desire? She shivered slightly, wondering why this stranger was affecting her so. She cocked her head to the side. “You… are the stranger that came through the gate this afternoon, are you not?” She paused. “Martouf of the Tok’ra, is that correct?”

Martouf bowed his head and continued staring at her. She was so beautiful; it hurt to look at her. When she had blushed, Martouf remembered the other times when she had done that and how he had reacted, he had grabbed her and kissed her so long that he threatened to suffocate her. She looked so…breathtakingly beautiful…Seeing her made Martouf want to cry for joy at having found her and he wanted to sweep her up in his arms and renew his vow of never letting her go. Seeing her made Martouf feel as if he had finally come home. His heart…his soul…his life was all wrapped up and held tightly together by the woman standing in front of him. Seeing her caused him to break out on the first genuine smile he had since entering this new life of his and he wanted to shout how happy he was. He felt alive again, he felt…whole again.

She looked at him, smiling down at her with a look of such happiness that she couldn’t help but smile back. She didn’t even know this man, but strangely, she felt like she did. “I’m Sam. I…I’m head of the gate technology department here.”

Martouf nearly collapsed as he saw her smile and the familiar sparkle in her eye that could make him do anything she wanted. “Sam…” He whispered her name almost reverently.

She blushed again as she nodded. “Well, my real name is Samantha, but there’s another girl who has the same name, so to make things easier, everyone calls me Sam. I’ve always like that name better anyway.” She shrugged, still blushing.

Martouf nodded as he gazed at her, he could watch her forever and never grow bored. “Sam is a beautiful name, one that suits an equally beautiful woman.”

Her eyes widened a bit at hearing the compliment, and she couldn’t help but continue to smile at the gorgeous man in front of her. “Thank you, I think you’re quite handsome yourself.” As soon as the words flew out of her mouth, she gasped. “I mean…what I meant to say was…oh, geez, I’m sorry, I don’t really know what’s come over me…”

Martouf shook his head. “There is no need to apologize, Saman-Sam.” He shifted his gaze to the box in her hands. “Would you like me to carry that for you?”

Sam involuntarily gripped the box tighter while shaking her head. “Oh no, that’s okay, I can-“

Martouf stepped closer to her and placed his hands underneath the box, his fingers brushing hers. “Please, I insist. This way, I can talk to you even more as I escort you wherever you need to go.”

She felt a tingle run down her spine as they touched and she relinquished her hold on the box. “Actually, I am making my weekly trips to the other departments to drop off different components I had fixed, it could take awhile.” She looked at him, giving him a chance to back out.

Martouf merely nodded, smiled at her and gave her a warm glance. “That is even better, as I will get to spend more time talking to you.”

She flushed, wondering if he was always so forward, but try as she might, she couldn’t deny that she wouldn’t mind spending more time with this Martouf. There was just something about him… “Ok, then.” She began to walk slowly down the path, followed by Martouf, who easily kept up with her and was rejoicing silently at being in his beloved’s presence when all he wanted to do was grin crazily, drop the box he was holding, grab the woman beside him, and never stop kissing her.

There was a bit of silence before Martouf asked, “Sam…I understand that there is some sort of annual celebration starting tonight.”

Sam nodded as they continued to walk. “Yes, the celebration of life. Long ago, our ancestors had once populated a planet called Yalan. A terrible sickness broke out in the city, due to an accidental leaking of a huge amount of radiation from one of the technological departments, and it killed most of our ancestors. The few survivors escaped through the gate and came here to rebuild, populate, and begin a new life. We celebrate this day because we look upon it as the day when new lives were born, a fresh start from everything that had gone on before, and to basically celebrate being alive.”

Martouf was silent as he digested this information and agreed mentally with Lantash that this was indeed a strange coincidence, if it was one at all. He mulled over the past of the celebration a bit more before focusing his attention to the woman who unknowingly held his heart, his life in her hands and found himself falling in love with all over again.

“Sam, would you do me the honor of escorting you to this celebration?” He asked, glancing at her.

Sam’s eyes lit up as the question left his lips. “I would love to.”

Martouf nodded and stared straight again as they waked along the path. “After all, we must celebrate being alive.”