Ficlet: PTSD
Jun. 6th, 2009 02:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lavitanuovaFiclet Prompt: PTSD
Jack/Sam, Jack/Janet
Rated PG-13
"Tell me something you've never told anyone." Carter says. She's curled up on her side, head pillowed on bent arms.
Jack's not really sure if he'll ever get used to the sight of Sam Carter in his bed. It's been two years, but still: Sam Carter. His bed. Yeah.
"I... uh." He starts to speak and then stops, because it occurs to him just in time that the first thing that came to his mind probably wasn't all that appropriate of an answer. "Gimme a second to think of something. You go first."
"No, you were about to answer. Say what you were about to say."
"It's about a woman."
"Okay."
"A woman I slept with."
"As long as you didn't sleep with her yesterday, then that's fine." She smiles at him. "I won't get mad."
He's heard that line before. He doesn't entirely trust it, but what the hell. Carter's a big girl, she doesn't get her panties in a twist at the drop.
"It's..." He's still hesitant, though, but the mood they've got going was heading in a nice place - a naked place - and this might kill it. He weighs his options - emotional honesty or
"Jack." She says, and he gives in because she's got that tone going now that lets him know she isn't going to drop it.
"Janet. I slept with Janet."
Her brow furrows, like this confuses her. "What? Janet? Our Janet?"
"Yeah. Years ago."
"Before you were married?"
"Yeah." He says. And, well, that's a lie, but he isn't proud of cheating on his wife. Janet wasn't proud of it either, and let him know that very vocally when he put his wedding ring back on the morning after. He's surprised he doesn't still have the bruises from where she hit him in the arm - those fists might have been tiny but she could still pack a punch. "Just once."
That's another lie, but he can't tell her about the second time (after Daniel died) or the third (just after Carter got started dating Pete).
"Did you date, or..."
He shakes his head. "One night stand."
"Huh." She is frowning at him, not angry but perplexed, like the way she gets when she's working on one of those save-the-universe situations.
"Yeah."
She shifts, rolling onto her back. "Janet never told me."
He doesn't really know how to respond to that. "We never talked about it," he offers. She doesn't say anything and, as he has a habit of doing, he opens his mouth just to fill the silence. What comes out is possibly more than she wanted to know. "She was a medic in on a base in Iraq while I was stationed there. There was only a week of overlap between her assignment and mine. One of those days it was... rough."
"Right." She murmurs. He has an intense feeling of sudden gratitude that he really doesn't need to say anything more than that. She knows exactly what he means by rough.
"We boozed it up, one thing led to another. She flew out the next day."
Sam looks over at him again and finds his hand with hers. He squeezes her fingers. She's not smiling but she doesn't look mad, or even unhappy. "I'm glad she was there when you needed her."
Jack/Sam, Jack/Janet
Rated PG-13
"Tell me something you've never told anyone." Carter says. She's curled up on her side, head pillowed on bent arms.
Jack's not really sure if he'll ever get used to the sight of Sam Carter in his bed. It's been two years, but still: Sam Carter. His bed. Yeah.
"I... uh." He starts to speak and then stops, because it occurs to him just in time that the first thing that came to his mind probably wasn't all that appropriate of an answer. "Gimme a second to think of something. You go first."
"No, you were about to answer. Say what you were about to say."
"It's about a woman."
"Okay."
"A woman I slept with."
"As long as you didn't sleep with her yesterday, then that's fine." She smiles at him. "I won't get mad."
He's heard that line before. He doesn't entirely trust it, but what the hell. Carter's a big girl, she doesn't get her panties in a twist at the drop.
"It's..." He's still hesitant, though, but the mood they've got going was heading in a nice place - a naked place - and this might kill it. He weighs his options - emotional honesty or
"Jack." She says, and he gives in because she's got that tone going now that lets him know she isn't going to drop it.
"Janet. I slept with Janet."
Her brow furrows, like this confuses her. "What? Janet? Our Janet?"
"Yeah. Years ago."
"Before you were married?"
"Yeah." He says. And, well, that's a lie, but he isn't proud of cheating on his wife. Janet wasn't proud of it either, and let him know that very vocally when he put his wedding ring back on the morning after. He's surprised he doesn't still have the bruises from where she hit him in the arm - those fists might have been tiny but she could still pack a punch. "Just once."
That's another lie, but he can't tell her about the second time (after Daniel died) or the third (just after Carter got started dating Pete).
"Did you date, or..."
He shakes his head. "One night stand."
"Huh." She is frowning at him, not angry but perplexed, like the way she gets when she's working on one of those save-the-universe situations.
"Yeah."
She shifts, rolling onto her back. "Janet never told me."
He doesn't really know how to respond to that. "We never talked about it," he offers. She doesn't say anything and, as he has a habit of doing, he opens his mouth just to fill the silence. What comes out is possibly more than she wanted to know. "She was a medic in on a base in Iraq while I was stationed there. There was only a week of overlap between her assignment and mine. One of those days it was... rough."
"Right." She murmurs. He has an intense feeling of sudden gratitude that he really doesn't need to say anything more than that. She knows exactly what he means by rough.
"We boozed it up, one thing led to another. She flew out the next day."
Sam looks over at him again and finds his hand with hers. He squeezes her fingers. She's not smiling but she doesn't look mad, or even unhappy. "I'm glad she was there when you needed her."
