Title: Tangled up in Blue
Author: Rosemary Klein-Robbins
Rating: 13+
Sequel: Part 9 in the Kinsey Series (Nursery Rhyme, Send
in the Clowns, Dreams,
Nightmares and Shadows, Send in the Clowns, the two drabbles: Man
in the Window and Truth or Dare, Between
the Darkness..., and ...And the Light)
Pairings: Sam/Jack, Jack/Other, Sam/Other, Beth/Ben, Ishta/Teal'c, Daniel/Janet
Summary: This is a transition piece. Paybacks are a bitch, but revenge is a
real mother...
AN: The lyrics to Tangled up in Blue (by Bob Dylan) and Do You
Want Somebody to Love (Jefferson Airplane/Starship) are used without permission.
Thanx again to Marimba for pitching in and beta-ing this story.
Spoilers: Through Season 7
Disclaimer: They're not mine and I don't make any money from them so please
don't sue me. :D
Tangled up in Blue
©2005 by Rosemary Klein-Robbins
"When the truth is found to be lies
And all the joy within you dies...
"Don't you want somebody to love"
Jefferson Starship
Early one mornin' the sun was shinin'
I was layin' in bed
Wondr'rin' if she'd change at all
If her hair was still red.
Her folks they said our lives together
Sure was gonna be rough
They never did like Mama's homemade dress
Papa's bankbook wasn't big enough.
And I was standin' on the side of the road
Rain fallin' on my shoes
Heading out for the East Coast
Lord knows I've paid some due gettin' through,
Tangled up in blue.
The man on the bed stretched tentatively.
It appeared as if there was no place on his body that didn't hurt. He knew that
he had been hovering between sleep and consciousness for several days. Time
seemed to have no meaning at all for him right now. The massive confusion of
thoughts, memories and feelings all seemed to ramble through him and he wasn't
sure just exactly what was happening to him.
His movements alerted the man in the chair
and he stood up and walked to the bed.
"Welcome back Samuels." Colonel
Jack O'Neill's smooth tones penetrated Ben's mind and he opened his eyes to
look at the man.
"Jack?" Ben asked tentatively.
"Yeah."
Jack looked down at the man he had known
since childhood and wondered what he would be thinking when he finally became
fully aware.
Jack reached over and pulled the plastic
cushioned chair near the bed.
"Welcome back to the real world."
Jack stared steadily into Ben's eyes. "How are you feeling?"
"Like Hannibal's troop marched over
me-complete with the elephants. I'm in the hospital?" Ben answered him.
Jack nodded. "You have been for 2
weeks."
Ben nodded slowly and shifted himself slowly
to try and sit up.
"Hang on." Jack told him and
placed the control in Ben's hands-and then he signaled for the nurse.
"We are going to talk Ben. But first
let the staff know you are awake and okay-they'd put me in the bed next to you
otherwise."
Ben smiled weakly and nodded and Jack soon
stood back to let the staff fuss over their patient.
Jack moved into the shadows of the room.
This was going to be a long night. He needed to know what Ben remembered and
what he intended to do about it. He promised Beth that he wouldn't make any
adjustments to Ben's memories-but as long habit prevailed, he would still do
what he needed to do if the chips fell that way.
She was married when we first met
Soon to be divorced
I helped her out of a jam, I guess,
But used a little too much force.
We drove that car as far as we could
Abandoned it out West
Split up on dark sad night
Both agreeing it was best.
She turned around to look at me
As I walkin' away
I heard her say over my shoulder,
"We'll meet again someday on the avenue,"
Tangled up in blue.
Jack left the hospital in an almost rage. He wanted to throttle Samuels, but
knew that the man had every right and reason to be angry-well enraged would
be a more accurate word. What Ben had said about what he intended to do-now
that almost caused the two men to come to blows.
Jack blew out the breath he was holding
and grimaced. This was not going to be an easy discussion to have with Beth.
It wasn't an easy discussion he was having with himself.
Walking to the parking lot, he didn't notice the shadowed figure watching and smiling.
Ben Samuels followed through on his words.
No one, least of all his 'girlfriend' was allowed to visit or even be provided
information concerning his status. He knew that he wasn't being fair, especially
to Beth, but he didn't care at this point.
"What do you mean?" Jack's voice
barely rose, but the anger and shock were evident its tone.
"Exactly what I told you, O'Neill."
Ben looked at him. His facial features betrayed nothing. "I'm finished
with the lot of you. That includes Beth. You want her, you can have her."
Ben snorted. "Not that you haven't already."
Jack's eyes narrowed and his compressed
lips went white with the added tension.
"Are you nuts?" Jack ground out
that angry retort, "Because if you are I will be happy to recommend someone."
Ben only smiled. "Jack. I've made
up my mind."
Jack O'Neill left Ben's room, his mind
in complete turmoil-somewhere, he figured, between anger and bewilderment.
He knew that Ben loved Beth. He had been
in love with her since they first met. From the first moment Ben razzed her
about her curly top and her doll. Ben could have fooled other people with how
he felt about Beth Greene, but not Jack O'Neill. For Ben to pull himself away
from her so completely wasn't right. He knew that Ben was himself confused and
angry. Kidnapped by power-mad beings, tortured, battered and lord only knows
what else. And then to find out the woman you loved and trusted knew about all
of this but kept silent. It was the silence that Jack believed drove Ben over
the edge.
The silence told him that she didn't trust
him. Jack shook his head. Ben had no way of really knowing how it was killing
her to be silent. How it was killing all of them to be silent. And now the price
Beth was paying for her silence would probably kill her spirit. She had spent
long hours sitting by his bed and holding his hand and talking to him. It was
her voice that kept him calm and quiet for the doctors to do what they needed
to do. It was her voice that kept him calm while Sam used the healing device
to tend to the deeper wounds. It was her voice that kept Ben with them when
the machines told them that he was fighting a battle that he couldn't win. And
now Ben had silenced her voice.
Things were so tangled now. Jack had wanted to have Thor wipe Ben's memories. He was aware that Blue Topaz had threatened to undo it, but he wondered if Ben's pulling away from everyone and everything he knew and loved was the price Blue Topaz extracted for his/her (choose a gender here) help.
The Nurse shook his head as he watched
the visitor go to the elevator. She was trying very hard not to cry, but was
losing the battle. He watched as she kept wiping her eyes and trying to keep
her shoulders square."I'm sorry, Dr. Greene, but Commander Samuels was
quite adamant." The doctor who was attending Ben tried not to be overtly
sympathetic.
"He said that?" Beth's golden eyes had a slight shimmer of tears in them. "He actually used those words?"
The doctor nodded. "Commander Samuels
said that he wanted no visitors, especially from Dr. Elizabeth Greene. I just
don't know what to say."
Beth touched the other man's shoulder and
squeezed. "It's okay. Really. Call me if he changes his mind."
Beth then walked away from Ben's room and it was there that the Nurse had seen and heard everything and watch as she tried, with as much quiet dignity as she could muster, to leave the floor.
Beth stared at the phone for a long time. She was torn between calling his room and screaming at him, both of which she felt would be useless. He wouldn't answer the phone and barging in screaming and being escorted out by security just wouldn't do. Call Jon? Nope, that would be like using a cannon to kill a fly. He would barge in there and let Ben have it. Call Dad? No-my father doesn't need to know any of this. Sam? Yeah, Sam.
Sam Carter put the phone back into the
receiver and stared thoughtfully at it. Her head was in turmoil as well from
all that happened. It seemed as if all of them had some kind of reaction to
the latest go around with "the unholy alliance", as they referred
to the four.
It seems that a lot of things had changed
because of that day. Wedges seemed to have been put in place. Distances appeared
to be longer. Words were harder to come by. Comfort was almost impossible to
give or receive or find.
Daniel found her sitting in her lab, staring
at the phone. Afraid that his sudden arrival would startle her far too much,
he knocked on the doorframe and announced himself.
"Oh, hey Daniel." Sam seemed
to come alive and out of her thoughts when she heard him.
"How are you?" His question was
soft and tentative. Almost as if he was afraid that any harsh tones would send
her back into silence.
Sam shrugged her shoulders. "Same old, same old." She answered him. The blue of her eyes lacked a sparkle that was usually present. Her lab was a place of quiet and solitude and safety-but there didn't seem to be much peace there that day.
Daniel nodded for a minute and carefully
considered what he was going to say next.
"Janet and I are going to a movie
tonight."
"Yeah?" The voice brightened
just for a minute. "What are you going to see?"
"Casablanca." Daniel answered.
"They sometimes show classics-and this is as classic as they come."
He paused for a beat. "Do you and Evan want to come with?"
Daniel knew he was the only one that could
bring up Evan Phillips. He was a visiting Scientist from Area 51 and he and
Sam had hit it off and started a quasi dating/friendship.
"I-uh-suppose so. I don't know if
he is working late tonight or not. But I'll ask." Sam was careful in how
she reacted and responded to people-well one person in particular reacting to
her friendship with Evan.
Another change that Daniel had noted about
all of them. Jack had started seeing a Tech from the Family Clinic in Colorado
Springs. He and Janet started 'hanging out' as well. Teal'c started making regular
visits to Ishta and Sam-Sam had Evan.
"Well, let me know when you find out.
You are still free to come with us even by yourself, you know that."
Sam nodded and looked at the phone again.
"Sam-who were you on the phone with?"
Daniel noted that she was still troubled, distracted and almost unaware of his
talking to her.
Sam blinked and shook her head. The blonde
mop seemed to sway with her movement. She made a disgusted sound and answered
him.
"Beth." Sam sat back in her chair
and motioned for Daniel to sit. "Ben won't see her."
"He what?" Daniel couldn't quite
comprehend what he had heard. "What did she say, exactly."
"Well, from what she can gather, after
he 'woke up', he pretty much told the staff that no one was to visit or call.
No information about his status was to be given to anyone. He resigned from
his JAG position. And pretty much shut her out. She tried to call his home and
he put a block on the phone. She said that she figured he would be angry but
that maybe he would listen to reason or explanations. It appears as if he wants
nothing to do with her."
Daniel blew out a breath. "Wow." He looked at the floor of the lab and was silent for a few minutes. "What is she going to do?"
"That, Daniel, is a very good question."
Looking at his blue eyes with her own, she finished. "He asked her to marry
him right before all of this went down. Well, not exactly asked her, he gave
her the ring and told her they would talk once he came back from the SGC. She
now has the ring but she has no idea what to do with it."
"Does Jack know?"
They both knew how very involved Jack was
with Beth and her life. He knew Ben almost as well as she did.
"About the engagement? I don't know.
She didn't say. But Jack offered to have Thor remove Ben's memory of this and
she wouldn't let him."
"She should have." Daniel's comment
was blunt.
"Should she?" Sam asked. "I
mean, was that really her decision to make?"
Shaking his head, he could only shrug and
reply. "Sometimes decisions are unilateral."
Sam laughed. "Now you sound like the
Colonel."
"Do I?" He chuckled. "Yeah,
maybe he is rubbing off on me. Did Beth tell you what she was going to do?"
"What she usually does when the mountain refuses to co-operate. She is going to climb it."
Beth parked in front of Ben's house and
looked at the front door. She normally didn't dither when something distasteful
had to be done-and what was going to happen was as distasteful as it came. She
had been parked there for 30 minutes. And figuring that any of Ben's neighbors
would eventually call the police to find out if they were having a stakeout,
she got out of the car and walked to the door.
The wreath adorning it had been there forever.
Ben told her that Rita wanted it. It was surprisingly understated. Something
that Rita herself was not. Thinking about the gorgeous leggy redhead that Ben
had been married to caused Beth's stomach to flip. Rita was Beth's total physical
and personality opposite. Aside from the obvious physical differences, their
personalities were nothing alike and Beth wondered what Ben was thinking when
he married Rita. His ex-wife was, as they said in her day, 'fast' and certainly
dressed the part as well. A true green-eyed redhead that played up her features
and her figure. Beth wondered if she still did.
'Okay, you've stood here long enough.'
Beth told herself. Lifting her hand she knocked on the door and waited.
She expected Ben to not answer the door,
and was surprised when he answered it so quickly, as if he was expecting her.
He was dressed in a robe that did little
to hide anything. Beth's nose flared and she caught the scent of a woman's perfume.
She looked into his eyes and saw that the only thing in them was her reflection
as he looked at her. He moved out of the way to let her come in.
"What do you want?" Ben's tone
was abrupt. There was no real welcome in his voice.
Beth was shocked by it and put her hand
in her coat pocket and felt her fingers curl around the small object within.
"Oh, I don't know." She finally
answered. "How about a 'Hi! How are you?' or 'Long time no see." She
used her anger as a mantle and squared her shoulders.
He smiled and a small amount of warmth
to came over him.
"Hi Beth. How are you? Long time no
see."
Shaking her head, she took a moment to
measure what she saw and what to say.
"Well, good to see that you are up
and about." She paused. "And as to why I am here..." her hand
snaked out and grabbed his and forced his fingers open. Without ceremony she
dropped the object that was in her pocket into his hand. "Under the circumstances..."
She let her voice trail off.
Ben blew out a breath and for the first
time let his emotions show. What Beth saw in their depths rocked her. She had
thought that he had been finished with her but she saw that he still loved her
and he was hurt.
Ben pulled her to him and kissed her. The
surge of passion that always overcame them when they touched threatened to overtake
them and Ben was about to say something when they were interrupted by the sound
of a woman clearing her throat.
Ben turned toward his ex-wife to tell her
to get back into the bedroom but Rita spoke first.
"Oh, am I interrupting anything?"
The leggy red head seemed almost jealous when she spoke. She tried to make is
sound like she was amused, but it didn't quite work.
"No, Rita," Ben's voice took
on hard edge. "Go back into the bedroom. I'll be there in a minute."
Beth wondered if she came out nude to make
a point or further one. She already knew Ben was nude under his robe.
Neither of them spoke for a minute and
Ben finally sighed and ran his hands through his silver hair.
"Maybe you should go." He said
in a surprisingly gentle voice.
Beth nodded and turned toward the door
when he grabbed her and turned her to face him.
"You need to understand a few things
before you go." He stared intently into those golden eyes he knew so well.
"I love you, I'm just fucking her. It doesn't change what is."
Nodding again, Beth pulled herself out of his hands and let herself out. She could feel Ben's eyes burning into her back as she got into her car and drove away without looking back.
I had a job in the great north woods
Working as a cook for a spell
But I never did like it all that much
And one day the ax just fell.
So I drifted down to New Orleans
Where I happened to be employed
Workin' for a while on a fishin' boat
Right outside of Delacroix.
But all the while I was alone
The past was close behind,
I seen a lot of women
But she never escaped my mind, and I just grew
Tangled up in blue.
Ben watched her until he could no longer see her car in the distance and slammed
his front door with a gale force. The noise made him wince. He pulled the ring
Beth gave him out of his pocket and wondered, not for the first time, what he
was doing. It was the ring he knew she would love. He had seen it in an antique
jewelry story in Ireland when he was last there. It had a heart-shaped diamond
with two matching amethyst hearts that flanked the diamond on either side. It
was set in white gold and the clerk had told him it was 100 years old.
Looking at the ring tugged something inside
his heart and told him that he had screwed up again. He knew it no longer mattered.
As much as he loved her there was the matter of secrets that held him from acting
on his heart. He wanted to run after her and drag her back and hold her to him
but his pride had other ideas. Slipping the ring back into his pocket, he headed
to the bedroom where Rita's seductively -posed gave his a rise. Damn. He thought.
As crazy as she made me, she could always make me want her, no matter how angry
I was. With that thought Ben went to bed and pulled her to him and just let
nature take its course.
The dim light of the purely masculine bedroom
shadowed its occupants. A long groan emanated from its owner as a soft sigh
escaped his companion. The man smiled inwardly, remembering the much louder
response she gave right before his climax. Finally coming apart, Jack O'Neill
kissed the brunette in his bed and rolled over. She snuggled her body next to
his and draped her left arm over him, placing her cheek over his heart.
"Damn woman, you're going to kill
this old man yet."
His companion laughed and then levered
herself up to look down.
"Old man." She scoffed. "There
are younger men that can't do what you do."
He made a face at her and answered. "Yasureyoubetcha."
"Honestly Jack. You actually make
sure that your partner has some satisfaction out of this. I have had too many
Wham Bams in my life."
Jack looked up at the petite brunette that
was leaning over him. He wondered what this young-ish woman was doing with him.
She wasn't that much younger than he was but young enough to raise a few eyebrows
for sure. He hadn't expected to start a relationship with any woman but she
just arrived in his life like a tornado and he decided to go along for the ride.
They had met three weeks before in a sports bar that he frequented. There was
a hockey game on and she was cheering as loudly he was They struck up a conversation
and at the end of the evening, her coming home with him was a given, not an
expectation. He hadn't expected to have sex with a woman he just met but there
was something about Gayle Dickson that pulled at him and the relationship continued.
An unlikely beginning for sure but after all the drama on the Goa'uld mothership,
he welcomed it.
"So," Gayle continued. "We
still on for the weekend?"
There was a hockey game in Denver. The
Blackhawks were playing the Avalanche and Jack had really good seats.
"Oh yeah. There is no way we are going
to miss this game." He smiled wolfishly and gave her a leer, "The
stakes are too high."
Gayle playfully punched his shoulder. "We'll see." And then she leaned over and kissed him.
The porch light cast a shadow on the two
individuals standing just beyond its brightness.
The man had his arms linked around her
shoulders. They were standing face to face and quietly talking and nuzzling
each other.
Moving almost in slow motion the woman
leaned up and kissed the man and then whispered in his ear.
"Are you sure?" He asked. He
tried to restrain his eagerness. He had known when he first met her that she
was cautious and that any movement in this relationship would have to be directed
by her. Her quick nod encouraged him. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead
and indicated that he was willing and pointed to the door.
They had barely made it inside before they
started acting on the yearnings that had been building for the last couple of
weeks.
A trail of clothes led to her bedroom and soon they were on the bed, shrouded shadows moving in unison.
The shadows made soft sighs of pleasure
that soon escalated to the louder signs that loves' journey was soon to end.
The tangled bodies were soon quiet. The gold glint of the woman's hair in the moonlight that streamed through the slit in the curtain was the only color in that room.
"Samantha..." His voice was soft
and gentle as he cradled her in his arms. "That was..."
Sam leaned up and put a finger to his lips. "Please Evan."
Evan nodded and held her closer. It was good. It was better than good. He suspected there was a lot of passion in her but she kept control over her emotions. She did not keep her passions leashed between them this evening though. He wanted to thank her and tell her how wonderful it...she was but she didn't want to talk. So they lay there quietly until sleep claimed them.
The smell of stale cigar smoke hung heavily in the air. The man behind the desk was glaring at the two men sitting in the chairs across from him. He puffed hard on his cigar, wishing that it was pipe so he could really bite down on it. He had made the mistake of biting down on his Cuban cigars and ruined many of them, and so he had learned control. And he was beyond just an effort of maintaining control now. He was on the verge of murder.
Finally speaking. "Do you have any
idea of what I had to go through to keep both of you out of jail?"
Kinsey was angry. His face was red and
mottled and he desperately needed to hit something, anything, to relieve the
anger he was feeling.
The two men remained silent.
The Senator continued, "I pulled every
string I had and some I didn't-but you two won't be in the federal prison system.
Although why I bother..."
He turned his steely blue eyes to Harris
Gordon. "Major Gordon, and may I tell you that you are lucky you weren't
busted , that you are being assigned to the Air Force Base at McMurdo."
He raised his right hand at the Major's sudden start. "Harris, don't even
argue with me. They were thinking the Sunni Triangle in Iraq."
Kinsey saw Harris deflate and slump in
his chair. "At least you will be alive. Cold but alive. We had somehow
managed to convince the Secretary of Defense that you are very important to
the NID and that a temporary transfer far away would be acceptable."
Turning to look at Salem Latham, Kinsey
could only wonder about what to do with him. Salem had been invaluable to him
and to lose him would be like losing an extremity. However, to protect both
himself and Salem, he agreed to one other route.
"Salem." Kinsey addressed his
former chief aide. "You are going to remain with our friend Si'Serra. "
Salem's eyes widened just a touch. There
was no other outward reaction. Salem's face remained impassive and composed.
Kinsey thought that if that man ever cracked under pressure, a good number of
people would die along with him.
"I have continued need of you Salem.
Getting you out of the limelight is the best thing . Heaven knows, I wonder
why Stargate Command has been quiet about this but I suspect it is because it
is in their best interest to remain that way and so we will take advantage of
it."
There was really nothing more any of them
men could say. Each kept his own counsel.
All three had thoughts of revenge. Only one knew that he would be the victim of revenge.
The blindfold was roughly ripped from around
the eyes of the woman he had cruelly had tossed on the bed. Her bed. She made
no sound nor attempted to spit at him to show her contempt. She only steadily
looked at him with her amber gold eyes. Eyes that the shadows had deepened and
made them look like cat's eyes in the dark. She suddenly smiled at him. It was
not a comforting smile, only one that was given when the truth was to be spoken.
"He will kill you." She said
calmly. "You know that."
Gordon knew from that moment on his life was forfeit. Jack O'Neill would kill him for that...and for other things.
The other two ideas for revenge were for very different people but for the same reasons. Humiliation is a rather poor dish to be served and a very wise man once said that revenge is a dish best served cold. No one has met two colder people than Salem Latham and Robert Kinsey.
Samantha Carter and Jack O'Neill had no real idea of the mortal enemies they had made of these two-but they would soon.
The 'For Sale' sign had long ago been covered
with a sold sticker. The brownstone townhouse in the fashionable DC neighborhood
had sold quickly. The owner barely had time to register how quickly, before
needing to make arrangements for a residence in another city in another state.
Not to mention selling her practice to her partners and making arrangements
for movers and another position where the move was headed.
Gwen Johnson sat on the bed in the almost
empty bedroom of her friend. The movers hadn't quite finished with her bedroom
and the 'former' owner of said bedroom was looking in the closets and hidey-holes
to make sure everything was packed up.
"Beth." Gwen called out to her
as she heard her friend rattle around in the walk in closet for what seemed
the hundredth time.
Her friend stuck her head out the door
and look at her quizzically.
Spreading out her arms and making gestures
Gwen asked her. "How many times are you going to look? The only thing left
in this room is the bed."
Beth chuckled and came out of the closet.
"Well, I guess you are right Gwen. I am done here, aren't I?"
Gwen stood up and went to her friend and
hugged her. It didn't surprise her to feel the slight shaking of Beth's body.
She knew that it was all Beth could do to not fall apart but the move and the
empty house seemed to bring some truths home to her. Letting go of her friend,
Gwen reached up and used her thumbs to wipe the tears from Beth's eyes.
"You have to give him time, Beth."
Gwen felt that Beth's move to Colorado was not the right thing to do. "Going
to Colorado...to him..." Gwen could only gesture her confusion.
"I am not going to 'him'." Beth
answered tartly. "I am going somewhere that is not 'here'."
"Running away from Ben and the problems
you two have is not going to solve them."
Beth looked sadly at her friend. "Please
don't scold me, Gwen." Her voice was imploring. "Jon has also given
me that lecture. He thinks Ben is a moron but not stupid. He thinks that once
he gets over his snit, he'll come and talk."
"But..." Gwen waited.
"But I've decided that I really don't
care."
Gwen gave an unlady like snort. "Sure
you don't."
"He was with Rita, Gwen! He was in
bed with his ex-wife when I went to his house! How am I supposed to take that?"
"He was horny and wanted to get laid?Beth
shook her head. "Ben is not like that."
"Maybe he wasn't before, Beth. But
he has changed."
"Yes, Gwen, he has." Beth agreed
he had changed. "But you don't fundamentally change who you are. Their
divorce was as messy and ugly an affair as I have ever heard. And yet..."
Beth didn't know how to finish.
"Beth, he did it because he thought
it would drive you out of his system."
"Well he succeeded, don't you think?"
Her friend made a sound of exasperation
and threw up her hands.
"All right, I give up. Just promise
me something."
Beth looked expectantly at her friend and
nodded.
"Don't do anything rash while you
are out there, "Gwen paused for a minute.
Laughing, Beth asked her just what it was
she was going to do.
"Just promise me." Gwen pressed.
"Okay, okay. I promise. I promise." Beth shook her head then indicated it was time to get out of the bedroom before the movers packed them as well.
Jack knocked on the townhouse door and
then just let himself in. Of course with the hustle and bustle of the movers
the new occupant wouldn't have noticed if a whole troop of Jaffa wandered in.
He looked around and spotted her sitting
on the window seat looking out into the backyard.
"Beth?" He wondered what she
doing sitting there in all of this until he saw her turn and say something to
one of the movers. He walked to where she was and sat opposite her on the seat.
"Nice view." He remarked.
Beth just grunted.
"Makes you speechless?" he questioned.
That sparked a small smile.
"Are you gonna talk or just grimace
and make faces?" he asked her. "'cause if you're just going to make
faces this is going to be a boring visit."
Amber eyes brightened for just a moment.
"Well you are the one dumb enough to come over in the midst of all this
chaos."
Jack smiled. "Well, you gotta eat
sometime, kid."
"Yes, I do," She answered. "But
I cannot tell you when this..." And she waved her hands around. "...will
be done."
Giving her an amused look. "There
is takeout, you know."
"Yes, there is." She answered
and pointed into the direction of where a phone would be, had there been a phone.
"But as you can see Mr. Knows Everything, I don't have Mr. Bell's invention
with which to call for said take out."
"Ah," He answered, raising a
finger of his right hand. "That is why cell phones were invented,"
and he pulled one out of his pocket."Chinese or Pizza?"
"Pizza. Extra cheese mushrooms and
black olives."
"As my lady wills it." His tone playful and amused, he dialed the number and ordered the pizza and drinks.
Beth lapsed back into silence and turned
to the window again.
"I wish I knew what to say,"
Jack began. "I just don't know..."
"I know," She answered him slowly.
"Confusing isn't it?"
A sudden movement out of the corner of
her eye caused her to shift and head to the area. Jack was amazed at how she
could 'multi-task' like that. She always had the ability to watch the scene
around her and yet pay attention to what was immediate. She dropped the ball
on occasion but he guessed it was because she really had no interest in what
was in her immediate area.
He heard the groan when she came back to
sit down.
"I want them out of here now."
She said suddenly.
He patted her knee. "It'll be over
soon."
Jack gave her a searching look. "Does
Ben know you moved?"
"Well you certainly don't beat around
the bush do you?" Beth's openly caustic reply made her grimace as she said
it but Jack kept a neutral look to his face.
She unfolded herself from the seat and
headed to the now firmly-planted living room sofa and sat down.
Jack silently followed her and sat opposite
to her.
"No, Jon, I didn't tell him. I haven't
seen him since the day I gave him back the ring."
He silently regarded her. "Did you
at least try to talk to him?"
Beth blinked for a minute and a slight
shimmer appeared in her eyes. Jack realized that whatever had happened between
them was not pleasant.
"Beth?" he prodded.
She raised tear-filled amber eyes to him
and answered, "I would have but he had company and it wouldn't have been
quite the right time."
He gave her a signal to continue.
She shook her head slightly when she noticed
the head mover coming to her. She signed a few papers and gave him a check and
walked the movers to the door. The move itself took several hours but the end
was quick.
When she closed the door on them she rested
her head against the doorframe taking some deep breaths.
Jack sat on the sofa silently watching and waiting for her to finish her story.
It was not a long story or a pretty one.
"She came out of the bedroom nude?"
Jack's shocked reaction elicited a smile.
He could only shake his head. "Did
he say anything at all about this turn of events."
Jack saw the raised left eyebrow and Beth
wryly told him what Ben had said.
He didn't believe the answer. Ben still loves Beth, he just had Rita for the sex. What an idiot.
Jack couldn't even begin to comment on
what she had told him. "C'mere," He held out his arms and she readily
climbed onto his lap and curled up in them.
Jack put his chin on the top of her head
and held her quietly for some time.
"I just don't know what to say here."
He finally spoke. His tone held all the confusion that had been inside of him
for some time.
"Well life tends to get in the way
of things, Jon." Her voice was quiet. "But you at least managed to
get a life for yourself."
Jack's jaw worked and Beth could feel it
moving on the top of her head.
"It was inevitable, Jon," She
spoke with some complacency in her voice. "You keep such secrets from someone
you love and it inevitably comes back and bites you on the ass."
She pulled herself away from him in order
to look at him. "Life goes on, Jon. It does."
"So tell me about her."
He had briefly told him about the woman
he was now seeing. She met her at the Airport and wanted to like her for Jon's
sake. Gayle appeared to be genuine in her feelings for Jon. Beth could see it
in the way she stood by him. Very genuine. She was standing close to him, but
not so close that she appeared to be attached to him. Beth remembered how the
woman's hackles went up when Beth was introduced. That was something Beth hoped
would be transitory. She didn't want to make his personal life difficult.
"Beth. Over here!" She heard
Jon calling out and waving at the baggage claim area when she came down the
escalator.
She ran into his arms noticing the welcome
smile he gave her. She also noticed the woman next him and heard her barely
audible gasp as she was turning to ask who she was. Jack was getting ready to
introduce his 'best girl' to his 'best friend' when Gayle quickly turned and
started to walk away.
"Go!" Beth told him and pushed
him. Curiosity pulled at her. She remembered he told her he was dating and that
the girl' he was seeing was a real nice one.
It was several minutes before Jack finally
coaxed Gayle to come back and meet her.
Beth took Gayle's hand and attempted to
explain. She had hoped that Gayle was the open and honest person that Jon had
described her to be.
"I grew up with Jon." Beth explained
to her. "He is one of the 7 brothers I had to contend with growing up.
Four of which are actually mine biologically. The other three were obtained
by osmosis."
Beth had no idea what else to say. She
just smiled and made sure to put some distance between her and Jon and even
sat in the back seat of his truck and tried to engage both them in conversation.
Beth pulled her head out from under his chin and held a steady gaze into his eyes. They were shadowed which belied his dark thoughts.
"Jon?" she queried softly.
"Hmm," was his response when
he managed to pull his thoughts to the present.
"I don't want to get between you and
Gayle." She was earnest in her statement.
Jack just put her head back under his chin. She could feel his jaw working but all he said was, "Beth, shut up."
She was workin' in a topless place
And I stopped in for a beer,
I just kept lookin' at the side of her face
In the spotlight so clear.
And later on as the crowd thinkked out
I's just about to do the same,
She was standing there in back of my chair
Said to me, "Don't I know your name?"
I muttered somethin' underneath my breath,
She studied the lines on my face.
I must admit I felt a little uneasy
When she bent down to tie the laces of my shoe,
Tangled up in blue.
The camp in deep in the forest on Hak'til was quiet. It was one of those few
nights that the general hustle and bustle of the world outside the camp at night
was silent.
The woman in the rope bed tossed her blonde
hair out of her eyes and regarded the man who stood like a statue at the entrance
to the tent.
"Teal'c?" Ishta called out his
name softly.
"All is well, Ishta." The big
Jaffa answered her. "I am restless."
Ishta climbed out of the bed and went to
him. She put her arms around him from behind and laid her cheek on his back.
"This restlessness has been your constant
companion since you arrived."
It was true, Teal'c knew. All that had
happened had disturbed him. If the Asgard had a traitor among them, why not
any members of those that wish to start a Free Jaffa Nation. Corruption knew
no boundaries. Could any of his followers and fellow leaders be involved in
such treachery.
"Please tell me what it is that bothers
you." Ishta felt the muscles in his back bunch when she said those words.
"I cannot, Ishta," He answered.
His voice was regretful. "There are too many..."
He reached behind and drew Ishta into his embrace, placing his lips on her forehead.
"There are..." he added. "...too
many uncertainties and too many hands reaching out in order to be treacherous.
I would not have you endangered."
The woman in his arms let out a short laugh.
"Do you doubt my ability, Teal'c?"
The Jaffa smiled in memory of the sound
beating she gave him when they first met.
"No, Ishta, I do not doubt your ability. It is the hidden traitors in our midst that concern me. I would have you by my side and not endangered by that."
She knew there was nothing more she could say. He had told her of Angra and of the Asgard Ull that had betrayed his fellows.
She lit a burner on the stove and offered
me a pipe
"I thought you'd never say hello," she said
"You look like the silent type."
Then she opened up a book of poems
And handed it to me
Written by an Italian poet
From the thirteenth century.
And every one of them words rang true
And glowed like burnin' coal
Pourin' off of every page
Like it was written in my soul from me to you
Tangled up in Blue.
The movie had just ended and the couple entwined on the sofa gave a satisfied
sigh.
"I do love that movie." The woman
remarked dabbing at her eyes.
The man on the sofa gave her a soft look.
When she had mentioned the movie, he had thought Oh, no, a chick flick. In the
end The Joy Luck Club wasn't really so bad.
Smiling through watery brown eyes she stroked his cheek and gave him a kiss. "Thank you, Daniel. I know that you would have preferred an Indiana Jones movie..."
"Janet." It was a playful warning,
his blue eyes sparkled with the strong affection he had for her. It was funny
he thought, how such an awful experience would produce something this good.
Hugging her close and taking advantage
of her various tickle spots, Daniel Jackson and Janet Fraiser moved from playful
tickling to the more earnest touching that lovers seem to gravitate to.
Her soft sighs and gasps made his experience
more intense. His rather vocal doctor was equally so in this. To have a woman
that openly enjoyed his attentions and gave back what was given was something
he had missed. Sha're was the same. He had not thought to be blessed with such
an expressive woman again but he had found her again in the woman he held.
He enjoyed undressing her. Every piece of exposed skin garnered a kiss and a caress for both of them and soon they were on the floor of the living room enjoying the gift of Eros.
I lived with them on Montague Street
In a basement down the stairs,
There was music in the cafes at night
And revolution in the air.
Then he started into dealing with slaves
And something inside of him died.
She had to sell everything she owned
And froze up inside.
And when finally the bottom fell out
I became withdrawn,
The only thing I knew how to do
Was to keep on keepin' on like bird that flew,
Tangled up in Blue.
The tall Goa'uld looked at the human standing
before him.
"I could crush you," The metallic
voice began. "like a cockroach under my feet."
Salem did not flinch. He knew that to show
any fear in front of this man would cost him his life. So he kept his silence
while Si'Serra walked around him.
Salem had no way of knowing that his measure
was being taken. Si'Serra knew how furiously Salem had tried to break the Tau'ri
woman Samantha Carter. And she had, he honestly acknowledged, bested them all.
And now he wanted her. This puny little Tau'ri was going to be his way of getting
her.
"But..." the Goa'uld continued.
"I have decided I like your spirit." That comment garnered a lifted
eyebrow.
"You seem surprised, Mr. Latham,"
He regarded olive green eyes that still showed no trace of fear but a large
amount of skepticism. "You doubt me?" Then the Goa'uld laughed. "You
should Mr. Latham, you should. But we are stuck with each other and we shall
make the best of it."
Si'Serra made a hand signal and one of
his Jaffa came over. "Take the Tau'ri to his quarters. Make him comfortable.
I should think..." He thought for a moment. "Sheba will suit him-send
her to his quarters after he has settled."
The concubine that was sent to Salem was a tall blonde with blue eyes. She looked enough like the Tau'ri Samantha. Si'Serra expected that he would take some perverse revenge on her. Sheba liked it rough and Si'Serra had taken Salem's measure long ago. He would bind this tau'ri to him and from this, he would get the real Samantha Carter.
So now I'm going back again,
I got to get to you somehow.
The truck rumbled down the street and turned
into the driveway. The man in the car wearily rubbed his face and his eyes.
It was a very long and boring mission.
All the people we used to know
They're an illusion to me now.
Some are mathmeticians
Some are carpenter's wives.
Don't know how it all got started
I don't know what they're doin' with their lives.
Jack O'Neill just barely noticed the tall
shadow on his porch and he reached into his glove compartment for his .45. But
some instinct caused him to recognize the tall shadow that came into the light.
Jack gave a small tight smile, he knew
who it was and wasn't surprised. Getting out of the truck he called out.
"Was wondering when you would show
up."
But me I'm still on the road
Headin' for another joint
W always did feel the same
We just saw it from a different point of view,
Tangled up in Blue.
Bob Dylan
The End
