Title: Nuclear Force
Author: Vesper (Regina)
E-mail: vespertanmer@yahoo.com
Warnings: none
Category: Humor, General
Spoilers: none
Summary: A conversation on a dark night that may or may not have
happened.
Disclaimer: Stargate: SG-1 is the property of Double Secret
Productions, Gekko Film Corp, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Archival: If you wish to archive, please link to my website or my
Livejournal. Please keep all my headers intact.
Notes: Let me just make it clear, this was written for my sister.
She found it funny. I just found it a pleasant diversion. Don't
take it seriously. My dictionary defines 'nuclear force' as
"strong interaction."

*

"Colonel?"

"Hmm?"

"You ever think about how you fit?"

"Fit...what?"

"What's my role, what am I to others, etc., so forth?"

Jack considered the question, leaning forward to poke a stick at
the coals of their fire. He blinked, when a twig popped like a
gunshot, and glanced over at Daniel, who had gone to sleep a few
hours before. Still sleeping soundly. Jack looked back to Sam, who
didn't seem too concerned about receiving an answer. She was
staring at the fire with the peculiar intensity of someone
mesmerized.

"No more than most people. Why? Are you suffering from an
existential crisis?"

Sam's eyes snapped across the fire to meet his. "Why, sir, I
didn't think you knew pop psychology."

"Pop psychology, yes. Real psychology? I'm a colonel, not a
counselor."

"Does Doctor McCoy know you're stealing his line, sir?"

"Funny."

Sam smirked. She watched the fire for a few seconds, before
saying, "No existential problems here. I've just been
considering how relationships can be tied together."

"Any particular reason for that?"

"Can't really say. Maybe it has something to do with a comment
Janet made."

"Do I want to know?"

"Oh, I can safely answer--no."

"Then why bring it up?"

"For the heck of it. She has a theory and I thought I'd bounce it
off you."

"'She' being the good doctor?"

"Yes."

"A theory?"

"Yes."

"Hmm."

"The curiosity's killing you, isn't it?"

Jack nodded. "Guess you could say that."

"You really want to know?"

"Haven't we been here before?"

Sam looked up from the fire, hearing a trace of annoyance in his
voice. Seeing that he had a ghost of a smile on his lips, she
relaxed.

She looked down, pursed her mouth, and said deliberately, "Do you
think of us as a family?"

"What?"

It was pretty much the reaction she'd been expecting. A smidgen of
confusion, over a layer of comprehension. He was playing dumb, to
gauge the danger level.

"A family. You know, nuclear, but, not."

Jack said, still cautious, "What exactly did Janet say?"

"Short version? I kidded her on her motherly ways and she
immediately disowned us as her family."

"Can't say I blame her."

Jack picked up the stick again to stir the fire, but paused,
thinking.

Sam watched, thinking that she perhaps shouldn't have brought up
the subject at all. His curiosity would be the death of her.
Maybe, if bad came to worse, she could go hide behind Daniel. Too
bad Teal'c was on Chulak. He'd have made a better shield. Maybe
Jack would just let the obvious question go. But...

No.

Jack tapped the stick on the ground and said, "You said there was
a theory."

"I did, didn't I."

"Well?"

"Well, it's pretty simple. We do work together so well, because we
are a family."

"Ah."

"Uh-huh."

"There's more to this theory, than just the family concept, isn't
there?"

"Like...specific relationships?"

"Yep. Uh-huh. That there."

"We spent a few minutes discussing it, yes."

"Any conclusions?"

"Well, Jan thought we, that is, Daniel, Teal'c and I fit sibling
roles quite easily."

"And--"

"You?" Sam jumped in.

"Uh, yes."

"What else, sir? Dad."

"Just one big happy family, huh?"

"Yes, sir."

"Better than what I was thinking."

"And what's that?"

Jack stood, throwing the stick onto the fire.

"I think I'll go wake up my boy now."

Sam smiled.

"Good idea, sir, good idea."

End.