#but yeah they make me crazy it's extracting capital to the point of pulling it from the metaphysical!!!!

[meduseld]

Severance was already an exploration of the hellish parts of capitalism and wealth and privilege, but now that we know what they did to Gemma it makes them even more ghoulish.

What if they were all Kier's children and never had to suffer even small annoyances and the low, low price was to create an underclass that can never get out or rebel because it is within yourself, quite literally damning your own soul to a Hell of pain and repetition that you will never have to even think about.

Being so rich that you're not just buying more hours in the day, you're buying a life without any friction and you're so hungry for it you'll eat yourself.

[spnae]

Chapter 6

The next morning Jack woke up early with Sam’s still naked body pressed into him with her arm draped across his body. He was loving the feel of her skin against his but he faced a problem. The call of nature.

He quickly and quietly managed to extract himself from her side and made it into the bathroom. As he was relieving himself he happened to glance at his reflection in the mirror behind the sink. He had fresh scratches on his back, battle scars of a very different kind than he was used to. But damn if he didn’t have fun getting them, he grinned. He could live with these ones. Jack pulled on some boxers and a t-shirt and made his way into the kitchen. It was Saturday morning. Jack remembered once telling Sam he would have to make her his famous pancakes sometime.

He was just about finished making breakfast when Sam padded into the kitchen wearing one of his T-shirts that just barely brushed the tops of her thighs. “You’re up,” he smiled when he saw her “I hope you’re hungry, I might have gone a little overboard on the food.”

“Oh, I’m hungry alright,” she said as she walked up to him grabbing his butt with appreciation.

“Samantha…”

Sam backed up to the counter “Come over here, O’Neill. That’s an order.”

Jack flicked off the griddle “Ma’am, yes Ma’am” he drawled. Allowing himself to be pulled into a kiss. Jack picked her up onto the counter where he soon realized Sam was naked under his shirt.

This time was slower, yet more passionate, as they very carefully abandoned the kitchen in favor of the bedroom. Jack took his time getting to know every little thing about Sam. Committing her to memory.

Sam was certain she had never had a lover like him before. This time she allowed herself to relax and summit herself to his will. With Jack it wasn’t just sex, it was making love. She had always thought that terminology to be trite and unnecessarily flowery, but now. Now it was the only term she could think of to describe what they did. The myriad of feelings and emotions he ignited in her. She relished in the sensation as he touched and tasted his way around her body. He was driving her crazy. “Jack” she gasped.

Later as they lay in bed, Sam rolled to her side to look at Jack, “I’m hungry.”

“Hey, isn’t that my line?”

“What can I say, you know how to work up an appetite.”

By the time they got to the breakfast Jack had prepared the beer pancakes were ice cold. “Got a cookie sheet?”

“Humm, yeah, I’m a single guy with a sweet tooth.”

“Single, huhh?”

“Not so single”

“That’s better. No, I was just going to warm these up for us since you were sweet enough to make them.”

“You were pretty sweet yourself, Samantha. I’m glad you stayed.”

“Me too, I don’t think I’ve ever had sex like that!” She grinned.

“Yeah, we’re pretty damn great together aren’t we? But more than that Sam, thanks for putting me in my place last night. I have a feeling you’re going to need to every once in a while. I’m sorry in advance.”

“I look forward to it, Sir.”

“Sir? Do you see a uniform?” He pointed to the boxers he had on that were decorated with little donuts. Sam let out a giggle. “But seriously Sam, when we transfer. This,” He gestured between them “is going to get a lot harder. I’ve been there. If there is anything I’ve learned, it’s that we have to use the time we have together wisely, and not just in bed. As fun as that is.”

“I hear you Jack. I want to make the best of our time too.”

They kissed slowly, releasing each other as the oven pre-heat timer went off. Jack turned to look out his kitchen window, “I’m going to miss it here.”

Sam frowned as she slid a tray of pancakes into the oven, “Maybe you can get a place on the outskirts of the capital. It would be more of a drive but at least it would be quiet.”

“Hammond is letting me take over his place. He wants to be closer to his granddaughters.”

“Oh? And where is his place?”

“Walking distance from Barcroft Park.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, traffic is going to be nuts, especially on game days.”

“Well I guess that depends on what side of the park you’re on.”

“Yeah, I’m going to have to call him about the details,” Jack turned back to the window, “D’oh!”

“Jack?”

“I just realized that means selling everything. Not just my house, but also my truck, my motorcycle…” he huffed.

“Your cabin?”

“Watch your mouth! Nah, I’ll never sell that, it’s been in my family for years. Besides that, I’m kinda thinking ‘love-nest’ for the two of us.”

“Love-nest huh?” She giggled.

“Unless you have a problem with that.”

“Well I can’t help out with the house or the truck, but I can certainly help you out with the motorcycle. I’d hate for you not to have anything to ride when you come to visit me,” she grinned.

“Oh, baby, I like the way you think. Humm, if we do that then maybe we won’t be spending as much time at the cabin as I’d hoped,” he frowned a bit.

“And of course you know that means that you have to take time off to sign over the papers too,” Sam said, smiling wickedly.

“Damn, I love you” he smiled as he pulled her into a kiss.

“Ok, so beer pancakes aren’t half bad after all, it’s nice having real maple syrup with them too,” Sam said as they finished breakfast.

“So what do you want to do today?”

“No idea. I’ve probably got laundry to do and I thought about doing some grocery shopping.”

“You know maybe we should go to the zoo, I haven’t been there in years.”

“Colorado Springs doesn’t have a zoo.”

“Wow, and I thought I didn’t get out of the mountain much. Yes, Samantha there is a zoo. The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, in fact. And it’s actually quite nice. We used to get season passes when Charlie was little. I’ve even taken Cassie a couple of times over the years. How did you not know about the zoo?”

Sam shrugged “Pete suggested it once but I didn’t think we had one so the conversation didn’t go very far.”

“Well lucky for you, I’m not Pete. I have connections.” There was a hint of pride in his tone.

“I think you’re forgetting we have a hockey game to go to.“

“I didn’t forget, that’s next Saturday night. What I really need to do is get you up to my cabin.”

“You know I was actually thinking about that.”

Jack grinned, “You were, were you?”

“You’re bad. As much as I want to spend time together, just the two of us. The truth is that we’re all going our separate directions and I was kind of wondering how you felt about inviting the boys along to the cabin as well.”

Jack regarded her for a second, he was definitely torn. Of course he knew how much Teal’c and Daniel both meant to the two of them but at the same time he really wanted Sam all to himself. Finally he came up with a compromise “How about this Sammie, you and I go up and spend a week alone, no distractions. We get a glorious week just the two of us and we can fish and hike or whatever to our hearts content and then we can invite the boys up. And if at that time, you are willing,we can tell the guys about us and our transfers. Deal?”

“A full week with Jack O’Neill all to myself? We might not leave the cabin.”

His eyebrows raised on their own accord, “Alright then, I’ll make the arrangements.”

“Ready to go?” Jack asked as he finished cleaning up the kitchen a bit.

“Sure.”

************

Sam couldn’t remember the last time she had been to the zoo but she knew she would never forget this trip. It seemed that Jack had made acquaintances, if not actual friends, with a number of the veteran-staff over the years. It was also clear that he hadn’t been there for a while.

That was especially evident when they went to the giraffe feeding station at lunch time. Jack insisted it was the best time of day to go and he was of course right. When they arrived the woman at the nearly empty giraffe feeding station greeted him as “Colonel O’Neill!”

“Hey there Betsy! Good to see you! This is Sam. Sam, Betsy. And would you knock it off with the Colonel crap, it’s Brig. General now. But don’t start with that either, it’s my day off.”

“Well congratulations on the promotion, Jack. I guess it’s been a while. I haven’t seen you around much, where’s your niece?”

“College, work, she’s a busy girl these days.”

“Time has a way of changing things.”

“No kidding.”

“So Sam, how do you know our Jack here.”

“Oh I…”

Jack cut in, “Sam is an astrophysicist on base. She’s also Cassie’s favorite Aunt.”

“Oh sweetie, I was so sorry to hear about your sister.”

Sam didn’t feel like correcting her, “Did you know, Janet?”

“Not well, she came here with Cassie and Jack a couple of times a few years ago. She seemed nice.”

“She was the best.” Sam smiled sadly. Jack cut in, “We all miss her, Sam.” He said tenderly, but then looked around at the giraffe enclosure and now completely empty feeding area “So where is my buddy anyway?”

“Oh, he’s a little distracted today, Juliet is in heat, she’s inside with the baby. He might come over for you though.”

“Baby?”

“Oh yeah, Romeo is a daddy now. Good heavens Jack it has been a while, she’s a little over a year old now.”

“Yeah, new job, dealing with some stuff, you know how it goes.”

“Sure I do,” she looked at him a little oddly but shook it off quickly, “So, Jack. Does this mean you’re dating again?”

“Huh, yeah, you could say that. Sam and I finally decided to give it a shot.”

“Finally?” She said smirking at Jack, then turned to Sam, “Well it’s nice to meet anyone that can get this one off his roof.”

“Oh come on, Betsy that’s enough of that!” Jack jumped up onto the side of the fence, “Romeo O’ Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo!” Sam wasn’t sure what was funnier, Jack referring to a giraffe as his “buddy” or the fact that he just quoted Shakespeare as loudly as he could.

“I think that did it, Jack! I think I see him coming now.” Betsy said, handing him an extra large bunch of lettuce. Sam could have sworn the large animal actually picked up his pace when he saw Jack.

“Hey there big guy,” Jack said to him as he came up to take a piece of lettuce from him. “The man keeping you away from your girl huh, big guy? I know that story.” Romeo nudged towards the bunch of lettuce in his other hand, Jack took another leaf and handed it out to Sam, “Come on, he’s a big sweetie”

Sam took the lettuce and stepped up to the giraffe. Romeo stuck his long tongue out to wrap around the lettuce and several of her fingers “gahhh, yuck” she said with a smile on her face.

Then quicker than she could have imagined he wrapped his tongue under her chin and up her cheek. Sam grimmised as she stepped back from the feeding platform. Jack laughed “Hey big guy, she’s taken!” he said chuckling.

Sam couldn’t help it, as slimy and gross as it was to be licked by a giraffe it was also pretty hilarious. She broke down laughing along with him.

“Oh he got you good, Sam” Betsy chortled as she handed her a disinfectant wipe.

“Thank you,” Sam said, still chuckling.

They continued their trip around the zoo. It wasn’t as busy as Sam would have expected for a Saturday which actually worked out in their favor. Jack had a number of Acquaintances amongst the senior staff which only added to the experience. They all loved Jack.

As they walked along, Sam spoke, “I keep thinking about what Hammond said about my dad being happy about us getting together. I always had the impression that he wouldn’t have liked anyone for me. Except for something he said just before he died.”

Jack knew exactly where this was going “Oh yeah?”

“He told me not to let rules get in the way. Like he knew.”

“That’s because he did.”

“So he did know about us?”

“Yeah, we had quite the little discussion about it actually.”

“Why didn’t he just come out and say so? He was being so cryptic and I saw you with… and all I could think to do was tell him that I was already happy with Pete. He didn’t want to hear it but I kept insisting… I just wanted him to believe I was going to be happy.”

Jack puffed out his cheeks before letting out a long breath, “Yeah, he wanted to let you make your own life choices. All he wanted was for you to be happy.”

“I get that, it’s just… what did you two talk about anyway?”

“Oh come on Carter, you don’t want to hear about all that.”

“Huhh, yeah, I kinda do. Did you tell him about us?”

“Didn’t have to.”

“Go on.”

“Well first off he just wanted my opinion of Pete. Then he kinda blindsided me by saying he knew you and I had feelings for each other. He had put it together on his own. And then he made me promise to tell you how I felt.”

“That’s it?”

“Yeah, all your dad did was talk some sense into me before I let you get away.”

“Well I guess I can’t really get too angry about that. I mean, I am happy. I just wish you would have said something about talking to him.”

“Eh, pretty sure I did, I just didn’t tell you what we talked about. But seriously what was I supposed to tell you? That your dad assured me that you would choose the blue jello over a raw potato if you knew it was on the menu?”

Sam laughed, “He said that?”

“He called me blue jello Sam, yeah pretty sure I remember that.”

She laughed more at that, “Yeah that sounds like something dad would say,” she paused still giggling. “You know, I could really go for some blue jello,” she said as she drew him to her kissing him in the middle of the footpath.

“Humm, Sam, people are starting to notice,” Jack said in a low whisper after the kiss ended.

“Nervous, Jack?”

“We are in our hometown, you don’t know who from the SGC is here with their kids.”

“We’re also off duty, Jack. Remember?” She said, taking his hand to continue their walk.

“They don’t know that though. I’m serious Sam, exemptions or not there are people out there who would love to cause trouble for us.”

“Like the folks in the zoo who have no idea we’re Air Force.”

“Ok, so maybe I’m being paranoid.”

“A bit,” she paused as they walked. “It doesn’t mean you’re wrong though. I’m sorry.”

“Ahh, for crying out loud, Sam. Don’t apologize. I just… damn it, we’re going to have to put our uniforms back on. When we do, we go back to the way it’s always been. I give the orders, you follow. Do you really want a relationship like that?”

“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. In fact I’m thinking it’s going to be damn hard but we have never had a problem with our professional relationship, Sir and I don’t plan on starting now.”

“And when our professional relationship bleeds into our private relationship?”

“We’ll deal with it.”

“I’ll hold you to it, Carter.”

“We’ll hold each other to it, I’m not about to let Hammond down” she said jokingly.

She hadn’t been to a zoo in years and had actually scoffed at the idea when Pete had suggested it. She did feel a bit foolish for not knowing about it when she had lived there for eight years. Now she was glad she had gone with Jack. He had made the trip one to remember in the best possible way.

It wasn’t long before she realized that the more time she spent with Jack out of uniform the more she wanted to stay with him. But she knew that just wasn’t possible, not for long periods at a time at least. That thought was simply too depressing to give credence to.

“Did you have a good time today?” Jack asked as they were heading out.

“Absolutely, I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed the zoo. I’ll never forget Romeo, that’s for sure.”

“Yeah, he has a way with the ladies,” Jack laughed.

“Betsy seemed nice too.”

“Yeah, she is. Her oldest was the same age as Charlie. She was their Den-Mother for Cub Scouts when they were little.”

Sam wasn’t really sure what to say so she just gave a noncommittal “Uumhuh” of understanding.

“Yeah, she’s good people. So Samantha Carter, What’s next?”

“I honestly haven’t given it much thought.”

“Well, I have some stakes marinating if you want to come back to my place. Unless you have to get home.”

“As tempting as that sounds…”

“I promise I won’t overcook the meat this time.”

“I’m flattered.”

“So where am I going? Yours or mine?” This was starting to become a game for them.

“Are you asking me to sleep over again?”

“If I am?”

“Stakes sound great, but maybe I should get a few things from my place first.”

“Can do!”

************

The next morning Sam woke up alone in Jack’s bed wrapped up in nothing but a sheet, and feeling more than a little sore. It took her a minute to remember the night before. They ate and talked and drank. Good lord did they drink.

It started to come back to her. They had a couple of beers when Sam asked if he had anything else. Jack pulled out a bottle of whiskey. And all she could remember after that was him. She couldn’t keep her hands off of Jack. She had practically dragged him into his bedroom. The sex that followed was… Sam was suddenly very glad that Jack’s neighbors weren’t close. Sam pulled on her panties and found one of Jack’s t-shirts.

A moment later she padded into the kitchen where he was reheating leftover pancakes in the oven. His face split into a huge smile when he saw her. “Mornin’ Wild Thing” he drawled.

“Coffee,” she groaned.

He set a cup down in front of her “Bless you.”

“After last night, I can die a happy man.” His grin was almost manic.

“I can barely walk.”

“Hey, don’t blame me. I just followed orders.”

“Oh God, you did, didn’t you?” She laid her aching head on the table “Got anything for my head?”

Jack continued to grin as he put a plate of pancakes down in front of her with one hand and a bottle of Tylenol with the other. A moment later he followed it up with a large glass of water. “Thank you.”

“Oh no, thank you. Now I’ve got something I could write Penthouse about.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Course not! But I could” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

By the time they had finished breakfast Sam was feeling considerably better. She had really wanted to get a few household chores finished before work on Monday but she was still nursing the hangover and enjoying a lazy Sunday with Jack. In fact it was nearly dark before she finally left. He had a way of making her feel like a teenager again as she lingered on his doorstep kissing him goodbye.