Chapter Text
"O'Neill!" Pulling his cellphone up abruptly, Jack O'Neill huffed into it.
"Rough day?" The feminine voice on the other line made him pause briefly.
Rough day? Of course it was a rough day. An entirely new class of cadets had started flight training today and half of them were failing miserably. Between their attitudes and lack of skills, Jack wanted to throw in the towel well over four hours ago.
"What can I do for you today Sara?" The last thing he needed was his ex on his tail. He couldn't think of anything he'd done wrong recently. At least not off the top of his head.
"I know its super last minute and I feel awful asking. Allen surprised me with a trip to Mexico for our anniversary and I was hoping you'd want to take Charlie for the next week?" The new husband she started a new life with after their divorce.
Allen Johnson. He was a decent guy, Jack had to give her that. She picked a good one. Business man. Complete opposite of his occupation of being an active Colonel in the Air Force and flight instructor at the Air Force Academy here in Colorado Springs. Allen was the type of family man Sara needed, not a reckless Colonel flying around in the sky and running off to other countries for months at a time. Allen went on business trips and came home after a few days, he went on black ops missions and came back after weeks or months at a time.
"The next week?" Jack's eyes widened at the time frame. Sara hadn't allowed him to take Charlie for more than the weekend unless there was a special occasion. This was quite the turn of events.
"I know-I know it's longer than usual. But my dad is travelling for business, Allen's parents are visiting his sister in Michigan, and your parents-" Rolling his eyes at the obvious statement she was stopping herself from stating that his parents were dead, he cut her off.
"Its fine Sara, of course I'll take him for the week. When do I need to get him?" Without question he would be more than happy to take Charlie for the week.
"Tonight?" He didn't have to see her face to know she was cringing as the words came out of her mouth. "I can drop him off whenever you get home." She offered.
"Nothing like last minute plans." Part of him grew irritated at her need for last minute care of their son. After battling in court over custody plans once their divorce was final it didn't slide past him how much she relied on him for these situations. Even when he was only allowed weekends with Charlie during the school year and every other week during the summer. And he couldn't forget the rotation of holidays every year.
He would do anything for Charlie. He would. But getting the short end of the stick in court for custody of Charlie was frustrating when these last minute needs of his ex-wife's were coming up more frequently. She was the one that managed to get her way in court due to his 'unstable lifestyle' he lived being in the Air Force.
"Please Jack."
"Yeah, that's fine. Drop him off around seven."
But at least he got to spend more time with his kid. Something he would never turn down. And now he actually had something to look forward to at the end of this miserable day.
-x-x-x-
"Mommy!" The loud young voice rang down the hall as hot coffee poured smoothly into her thermos. "Mommy I can't find my book!"
"Did you check under your pillow?" With a smirk on her face, she waited for the answer she already knew.
"Found it!" The voice called back. Shaking her head, she twisted the top of her thermos into place just as her cell phone started ringing.
"Grace, we need to leave in ten minutes." She called out herself before answering her phone. "Dr. Carter."
"Good morning Doctor."
"Chancellor Rawlings. Good morning! What can I do for you?" Receiving a call from her boss before eight am was a little nerve wracking.
"Ah it's not what you can do for me Dr. Carter but what you can do for General Mills." One thing she did appreciate was the same level of respect the man gave her and all of her coworkers. Chancellor William Rawlings, the head honcho of the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs.
"General Mills?" She had only met the man a handful of times.
"Yes, he has requested your presence at the Air Force Academy. Says he needs your expertise for a few of his new cadets in class today. If you are willing of course."
"Yes, yes of course. But-" What about her own classes?
"I already have your classes covered Samantha. Dr. Thompson was more than willing to step in and assist."
Thankful for her coworkers, Sam smiled at their willingness to help each other out. "Then I guess I am going to the Academy today."
"I will let General Mills know to expect you once you have dropped your daughter off at school."
"Thank you Chancellor." And the fact that Chancellor Rawlings respected family life was another reason she appreciated him as a boss. There were always last minute pinches and situations with children that were unavoidable and he was always more than understanding and flexible with his employees.
Sam had worked her way from Assistant Instructor to a Lead Instructor over the years at the University in the Physics and Energy Science Department and thought of her job as her second home. But along with the responsibility of being a Lead Instructor and one of the most knowledgeable in that area meant helping out at the Air Force Academy when called upon. It also didn't help that her father himself was a General in the Air Force so she had more experience with their lessons and departments than most.
"Gracie, are you ready?" Sliding her cellphone into her bag she placed the bag under her arm before grabbing her thermos and heading for the front door.
Setting the bag and thermos down on the long narrow table against the wall in the entry way, she slid her four-inch smooth black heels on each foot respectively. As she reached for the second heel she heard smaller feet running down the hall.
"Ready!" Glancing up Sam couldn't help but smile at the five-year-old before her. Loose wavy dirty blonde curls that went down to the middle of the girls back framed her perfect little face. The light blue denim cuffed overalls the girl wore with a long sleeved fitted white shirt made her blue eyes sparkle.
"Shoes." Sam nodded at the white sneakers in front of her. Immediately the girl was sitting next to her on the floor pulling the shoes on her smaller feet. "Thank you. Backpack?"
Watching the girl climb back to her feet and open the sliding door to the closet next to them, she picked up her own bag and thermos again while her little girl swiped her yellow backpack up off the floor of the closet. Reaching for her car keys she followed Grace out the front door to the curb where her car sat. Shutting and locking the door behind her.
Tossing her bag in the passenger's seat and setting her thermos in the cup holder, Sam followed Grace's previous trail of climbing in the backseat and into her booster seat. Double checking that her seatbelt was secure across her chest and lap, Sam tucked an errant strand of hair behind Grace's little ear. "Let's get you to school." Rubbing her thumb across her cheek, Sam flashed Grace a smile before shutting the door and climbing behind the wheel. Buckling herself in.
"Mommy?" Grace called from the backseat.
"Hmm?" Glancing briefly at the rearview mirror to see Grace's eyes staring directly into hers, Sam made sure to keep her eyes concentrated on the road before them as well.
"Is daddy coming to breakfast with me this week?" Cringing inside, Sam pulled her bottom lip under her teeth as she breathed in a heavy breath through her nose.
"I'm not sure sweetheart. He said he was going to try!" Which probably meant he wouldn't make it.
Today was only Tuesday and the school was hosting a donuts with dad breakfast on Thursday. Grace was adamant about inviting her father and of course Sam wasn't going to tell her no. She wanted him involved in Grace's life just as much as the small girl herself did. Unfortunately, he let them both down quite often. Sam was used to it by now no matter how much she hoped and prayed for him to show up for Grace and encouraged her to reach out to him whenever she asked about talking to him, invite him, let him know how much she wanted him to be at these events. Yet he rarely showed up. Grace on the other hand, Sam knew she was used to the let downs as well. But she also saw that spark of hope that still lit up inside her every time there was an opportunity for him to be a part of her life.
Sadly she wasn't sure how long that spark was going to stay lit for the small girl as the years continued to pass and the let downs continued to pile up. She could only remain vigilant at Grace's side, support her, be there for her, and wait for that day of realization to come full circle. Grace was her entire world, she had been as soon as she found out she was pregnant with her. Nothing was ever going to change that.
Grace had her entire heart. She was all she needed in life.
-x-x-x-
"Charlie! Come on kid, I'm going to be late if you don't get movin!" Stepping swiftly into his son's room, Jack cringed as the door he opened too quickly bounced off the wall. "We gotta get you to school." Reaching for the pile in the middle of the bed, Jack pulled the covers back to find a messy bedhead of light brown hair falling across a sleeping face. "Charlie."
This whole waking up a six year old and getting them to school and himself to work on time was still a work in progress. He didn't have Charlie often during the school year so this wasn't a smooth flowing task for him every day. Shaking the boy's shoulder, he shook his head in amusement as the kid rolled over and tried burying himself deeper into the comfort of his mattress.
"We're gona have to start waking you up at least an hour before school." Shaking his shoulder one more time he groaned as Charlie swatted his hand away muttering under his breath. "Charlie, come on. I can't be late today and neither can you."
"I'm counting to three and if you aren't up out of this bed I don't have any choice but to take you out myself kid." Watching for any sort of response, he squinted his eyes at the lack of movement. "One…" Not even a twitch. "Two." Breathing still steady. "Charlie." Trying to give more of a warning tone, he frowned at the failure that followed. "Three!" Absolutely nothing. "Alright then."
Reaching down he pulled Charlie up and tossed him over his shoulder.
"Dad!" Charlie whined as he lay limp over Jack's shoulder bouncing ever so slightly as they left the comfortable confines of his bedroom.
"Hey I tried and you gave me nothin' to work with. Bathroom, go. Brush your teeth and your hair." And then Jack was setting him down on his feet just inside the bathroom and pushing him lightly inside. "I'll go grab your clothes. Hurry." Nodding at the sink, Jack headed back into the boy's room to grab some clothes for him.
After a fifteen minute struggle of brushing teeth, hair, and getting dressed. Jack was met with a dark exhausted look from the identical brown eyes of his own on Charlie's face as he stood before the front door with his backpack over one shoulder and his shoes untied.
"Hey, this wouldn't have happened if you would have gotten up the first time I woke you up." Turning the grumpy boy around, he led him out the front door towards his truck at the bottom of the stairs. "Let's get you to school." Helping him into the backseat of the truck. Jack hopped in himself, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Charlie was buckled before he put it in reverse and headed down the road. Gravel crunching under his tires until he met the pavement of the street.
Thankfully the drop off line wasn't as long as he expected it to be and dropping Charlie off was swift and easy. He watched as one of the teachers guided Charlie and a few other newly dropped off kids towards the front door before he was confident enough on leaving him alone.
Now that Charlie was safely at school, he needed to get to work on time.
Swinging into the parking lot, Jack reached for his cap, sliding it on before jumping out of his truck and jogging for the front door of the Academy.
"Colonel! Sir!" Hearing the sharp call of a younger man behind him, Jack cringed. Cadet Andrews. This kid has been sucking up to him for weeks. He wasn't quite sure how much more he could take. He knew the Cadet looked up to him and wanted to learn anything and everything he could from him, but having a kid over your shoulder twenty four seven asking millions of questions was enough to make his ears ring.
"Morning Cadet. I'm uh-in a bit of a hurry. Can we-" Cadet Andrews caught the front door behind him and followed swiftly.
"I had a question about the F-16s-"
"We can talk in class today Cadet. Right now I need-" But his words were cut short as he was walking blindly his eyes turned over his shoulder on the kid and not ahead of him where they should have been, causing him to bump into someone. He heard something solid hit the ground with a thud and something metallic ping off the tile. "Shit."
During the collision, Jack's hands shot forward out of reflex. Only his left hand found someone solid and thankfully it was an upper arm as his fingers wrapped tightly around it. Keeping the person upright, his eyes made contact with the bag and thermos on the ground before he looked directly into the most striking wide surprised blue eyes he'd ever seen.
"I am so sorry. I didn't-"
"See where you were going?" The blue eyes flickered down to his name tag on his uniform as well as the full bird insignia. "Colonel O'Neill."
"Got a little distracted." Flinching at his own words he nodded his head in Cadet Andrews' way who was currently rushing off in a different direction. "Here let me-" Releasing the woman's arm Jack dropped down to one knee reaching for the lost bag and thermos now leaking all over the tile. Without thinking, he started scooping the hot spilled coffee into the same general region. Hissing from the heat, he continued pushing the liquid into a pile, if that's what you could call his attempted motions.
"This might be a little more useful Colonel." Turning to look up at the woman he realized she was now bent down next to him with paper towels. He had no idea where she managed to find those.
"Uh, thanks." Trying not to get distracted by bare legs under the black pencil skirt that had risen above her knees just next to him, he gratefully took the paper towels from her hands and started cleaning the coffee mess up. "Again, I'm sorry. I can get you more coffee if you want. The mess is just around-"
"I appreciate the gesture, but it's okay. Really. I should probably find General Mills before I end up running later than I already am myself." Seeing her lip turn in a soft smirk, he couldn't help but smile in response.
"So it's not just me having an off morning?" He smirked piling up the soiled paper towels. The absorbent material clearly reaching its full potential.
"I wouldn't quite say off, just not following the daily routine." Frowning at her words, he let her continue. "I teach at a University and General Mills requested I teach a few physics classes today here at the Academy."
"Ah so you're not from around these parts."
"Not from the Academy. I teach at the University of Colorado Springs and only visit when General Mills requests." She explained reeling him in with her calming voice.
"The University huh? So how did you get reeled into the Academy?"
"Dr. Carter! Good morning! Thank you so much for coming!" A deep voice interrupted their conversation causing both of them to look up abruptly.
"General Mills! Yes of course, thank you for having me." Shaking the older man's hand as he pulled her back up to her feet. Jack could only watch in awe as she straightened her posture and showed immediate respect for his Commander.
"O'Neill." The General nodded in his direction as he picked up the paper towels off the floor and walked the few feet to a trash next to a drinking fountain to dispose of them.
"Sir." He acknowledged back coming to stand before him at attention.
"At ease Colonel. Dr. Carter I will meet you in my office in ten minutes." The General nodded in her direction before turning back to Jack. "And you Colonel, I expect you in my office as well after the noon hour."
"Yes sir." Jack quickly acknowledged both himself and Dr. Carter watching in silence as the older man walked away.
"Well Dr. Carter, it was nice meeting you. Maybe we'll see each other around." He turned back to her as soon as the General was gone from sight.
"Samantha. Sam." She suddenly corrected with a shy smile. Realizing she was introducing herself he couldn't help but smile again as his stomach flipped. Her smile was contagious.
"Jack." Holding his hand out to formalize the introduction he was confused when she paused with her hand a few inches from his.
"Oh, your hand." Her cool fingers went around his wrist in a second turning his palm up. The red skin that shone back at him reminded him of how dumb he had been trying to 'scoop' the mess of coffee up on the floor.
"Not my brightest moment." He chuckled. Glancing up at her, he was drawn into her eyes again. He didn't know very many people with that icy shade of blue, and the way her blonde bangs were angled across her forehead framing around them had him staring in awe. She was beautiful. The rest of her hair pulling back into a bun at the base of her neck. The black pencil skirt hugging her hips and legs perfectly. The white high neck, long sleeved sweater tucked into the skirt framing her curves deliciously, elongating her already thin long neck. Shaking his head he shrugged out of his inappropriate thoughts. "Just some irritation. It'll be gone within the hour."
"Right." And then her hand was gone. The smirk that graced her lips told him she was rather amused with his macho bravado over a burnt hand but wasn't going to push it. They didn't know each other to press concern or worry on the other. "I should-" Pointing a finger in General Mills last seen direction she dipped her chin down slightly before bringing her head back up confidently.
"Uh me too. But that way. Sorry again, for the detour I mean. Uh-running into you. That wasn't supposed to happen." Pointing in the opposite direction he didn't miss the way she bit her bottom lip trying to contain her amused smile as he rambled.
"It was nice to meet you Colonel." Nodding at him she started her slow departure.
"Jack." He corrected.
"Jack." She reiterated with a smile. His eyes drifted from her shoulders to her ankles as she turned her back to him, nearing a corner.
"Nice to meet you too Doc!" He called out.
"Sam." She corrected in return just before disappearing around the corner.
With a crooked smile on his face he couldn't help but chuckle softly. He was going to have a hard time getting this woman out of his head any time soon. Turning to head in his own direction the metallic ping against the toe of his boot had him pausing. The thermos. Forgetting about one Doctor Carter today was going to be harder than he initially thought as he picked up her thermos.