moonshayde | Ficlet: Lessons (PG) Sam/Jack friendship

See, despite the fact I am a diehard Jack/Daniel friendshipper, I still like Sam/Jack friendship, too. I love friendship for all!

Title: Lessons
Author: Moonshayde
Season: One
Category: Drama, Ficlet
Spoilers: The First Commandment
Pairing/Character: Jack and Sam (friendship)
Summary: Both warriors new and old can learn important lessons.
Warnings: None
Rating: PG

Author's Notes: In response to the GWS Challenge for "The First Commandment." It's barely longer than a drabble.

Disclaimer: Stargate, Stargate SG-1 and all of its characters, titles, names, and back-story are the property of MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Productions, SciFi Channel, and Showtime/Viacom. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author. This story cannot be printed anywhere without the sole permission of the author. Realize this is for entertainment purposes only; no financial gain or profit has been gained from this fiction. This story is not meant to be an infringement on the rights of the above-mentioned establishments

He'd seen her spirit. He'd seen her compassion. He'd seen her resolve.

Today, he'd seen her weakness.

Through his many years in the service, both as a pilot and as a soldier in Special Ops, Jack had seen a lot of people crack. Some lost themselves, broken by the stress and the heat of battle. Others bottled away their compassion so that nothing remained but the cold, battle-hardened soldier.

Jack had seen that monster himself. He'd lived in its shoes and had walked the walk, talked the talk.

While war wasn't pretty – the loss of loved ones, friends becoming enemies, those damn distasteful things – the key to survival was to stay true to the self. He knew that now.

And when he looked over at Carter, her eyes open and shining with newfound hope and determination, he knew that she understood that lesson as well.

THE END