#{mark carter

When he gets the message from Sam that Jacob is fine now and back working with the Air Force, he actually calls her.

“What the fuck, Sam?”

“Mark?”

“What the fuck is wrong with you? Did you tell me he was dying as bait? To taunt me?”

“Jesus Christ, Mark!”

“Then what?

“. . . It’s classified.”

He’d hung up on her after that.

**

Mark and Sam didn’t speak again until she and Jacob showed up on his doorstep, seeking to make amends. He and Jacob had talked for hours while Sam played with her niece and nephew. He and Jacob were on a better footing when they left, but he could do little but offer Sam a half hearted hug when they left. He saw the look of hurt flash across her face before the soldier mask fell back into place.

**

“Mark, dad is sick. He’s. . . the cancer is back, Mark, there’s noth . . he’s . . . he’s really sick, Mark.”

Mark’s heart dropped into his stomach at Sam’s voicemail. This was different than the last time. His wife bought his plane ticket as he threw some clothes in a bag and grabbed his passport before jumping back into the same cab.

**

He called her and left a message before he got on the plane and then drove his seat mate nuts by jiggling his leg up and down for the entire flight. He apologised profusely and slipped the woman $10 for a drink. He scanned arrivals for a pay phone only to see an Airman holding a sign with M. Carter written on it.

“This way, Sir,” the man said, taking Mark’s bag and leading him to a car where he met another officer who thrust a thick bundle of papers into his lap before insisting he sign them if he wanted to see his father.

5 minutes into the ride and he knew he would never, ever be as brave as his baby sister.

**

The elevators and the endless corridors take forever despite the fact that he and his guide are sprinting down the hallways. In the end, it’s too late and a blotchy Sam is standing in the corridor ahead of them, arms wrapped around her middle like she was 12 and trying to hide her sudden height.

“I’m so sorry, Mark,” she said, forcing herself to look up at him. He felt his breath physically leave his body before it rushed back in. He could do little more than blink before suddenly reaching out and pulling Sam into his arms. For the first time since she was 15, Mark heard his sister cry. No one mentioned the fact that the officer assigned to him had turned his back and walked a couple of feet down the hallway.

**

His wife and kids fly up for the funeral few days later.

“She looks fragile,” he told his wife later that night, Sam on base finishing arrangements and the kids in bed.

“Well, her father just died,” his wife replied and Mark shook his head. He’d never seen his sister look like this before, not even when they buried their mother.

“Never mind,” he replied as he turned off the light on his side of the bed and laid down.

**

Mark watches Sam as she stands with her team, Murray and Daniel are in nice, black suits while she and O’Neill were in their dress blues. He wondered if it was them or the uniform that made her strong and took the fragile look away. He’d been watching her like she was on the edge and this was the first time since he’d met her in that mountain that she looked like the woman he’d taught himself to hate.

**

“I’m sorry, Sam,” he told her, pulling her close and hugging her tight.

“For what?” she asked, her voice slightly muffled by his coat.

“For being such a shitty person and an even shittier brother.” He gave her a tight squeeze before moving to hold her at arms length so he could look at her. “I won’t do it again.” For the umpteenth time, Mark watched as she teared up before getting herself under control again. “Get drunk and cry tonight, ok?” he asked her after he pulled her close again. She burbled out a small laugh as she squeezed him tighter before releasing him.

“Dad was right, you are a bad influence on me,” she quipped as she took a small step back. They share pair of matching grins before he gives her a last kiss on the cheek and promises to call when they get home.