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Sara hadn't intended to watch the game, but she had stumbled into it while looking for something to entertain her for the night. The final period had just started, Chicago was leading, and she had found herself unable to change the channel.
When the commentators and the rink erupted into chaos over the Blackhawks' win, a small smile crossed her face even as her eyes filled with tears. She remembered what it felt like to be there. As if hearing her thoughts, the camera zoomed in on Jack as he fell to his knees on the ice behind the opposing team's net after scoring one final goal, widening Chicago’s lead as the final buzzer sounded. She watched as his right hand tightened on his hockey stick while his left came up to the center of his chest, his eyes closing and his head falling down. She knew what was hidden beneath his gear and what he was holding onto as tightly as possible.
Charlie's last Father's Day gift.
Her heart tighten at the view. The she saw Kawalsky skating toward him, signaling the rest of the team to give Jack a moment before dropping to his own knees in front of him. Jack let himself be pulled until his forehead dropped on his best friend's shoulder. She knew what was going through her ex-husband mind right now.
Six years earlier, when the team had won their last Stanley Cup, Jack had taken a several laps around the ice rink with Charlie on his shoulders.
She remembered it like it was yesterday. And of course, Kawalsky remembered it. The team remembered it. The Chicago Blackhawks fan remembered it.
After a few minutes, Jack lifted his head. Kawalsky squeezed the back of his neck before standing up and helping Jack do his feet. That seemed to be the signal for the rest of the team to come over and greeted Jack with pats on his helmet and shoulders, along with a side hug from Ferretti. Players of the others team skated over as well as after a while, squeezing Jack's shoulder or nodding at him in respect. They knew as well as anyone present what Jack had gone through over the past two years. From the loss of his son to the divorce, closely followed by the injury that had kept him off the ice for close to a year, with not certainty of a come back.
Despite their divorce, Sara still cared deeply for her ex-husband. So when she had heard about his injury that might put an end to his career, she had been terrified for him. After Charlie's death, hockey had been Jack's refuge, the only thing that had kept him up through his grief. She had been unable to help him through it, just as he had been unable to help her through hers, which had lead to their divorce.
Sara was pulled from her train of thoughts by the shift in Jack's expression. She knew that look. Charlie and her had both been on the receiving end of that look. It was the look that took over Jack's face when, after a victory, his eyes locked with someone in the crowd.
As he looked up Jack's eyes locked on Daniel on the other side of the rink, and he smiled at the man who had entered his life so unexpectedly.
After the loss of his son and the divorce, the injury to his knee had almost become his breaking point. If it hadn't been for Doc Fraiser staying by his side from the moment his knee gave out on the ice, for the support of his best friend and teammates, and for Hammond, the team's general manager, who had directed him toward a specific rehab center and a physical therapist after his surgery, he probably would have given up.
It hadnt take long for Jack to understand why George had referred him to Teal'c. Apart from the man extensive experience working with athlete, he also took absolutely none of Jack's bullshit. He would simply raised that infuriating eyebrow.
And then, with Teal'c had come the man who would bring Jack back to living instead of only going through the motions.
And it had been an archaeologist. A man Jack had no reason to cross path with. Daniel Jackson had no interest in hockey, and Jack had no interest in archaeology. But the man was one of Teal'c's closest friend, so when Daniel injured himself on a dig a few months prior, the physical therapist, who normally worked only with athletes, had made an exception.
Daniel's appointments were always after one of Jack, so for weeks they greeted each other in passing, even exchanged a few words once but nothing more. Until one day, after taking a shower and getting dressed, Jack had broken down in the rehab center's locker room. When Daniel came in to change, he had found Jack on the floor. And despite barely knowing him, Daniel had stayed. He hadn't try to make him talk, he had simply sat down beside him and started talking.
Jack couldn't remember most of what Daniel had said, but he was pretty sure there had been mention of Babylon and someone called Omoroca, or something. After a while, when Jack had started to get his composure back, Daniel had change and then invited Jack for a coffee. Still a bit numb, Jack had accepted. And once again, Daniel hadn't try to get him to explain anything, instead he had had started talking about his last dig and recounting his accident.
"So, two days before the end of our dig, I dislocated my shoulder because a low stone wall was on my way while I was reading notes about our latest findings," Daniel had explained. "Unfortunately, there was also a trench on the other side. Teal'c was pretty unimpressed when I told him."
"Let me guess. He reacted with a 'This could have been avoided.'"
"You already spent too much time with him if you can mimic him that well. But no, not exactly. I thing the exact sentence was, 'Gravity remains undefeated, Daniel Jackson.'"
For the first time in months, Jack had laughed. Not a out loud one, but a real, genuine one.
After that, Daniel had become his lifeline. Just like Teal'c, he took none of this bullshit. And one day, Jack had opened up about everything. For the first time, he had been able talk about it on his own terms. Daniel had listen. No interruption. No unsolicited advice. He had let Jack cry on his shoulder. He had offered comfort through physical contact, a hand caressing his back or fingers squeezing his shoulder gently. Without ever telling Jack how he should feel or how he should cope with it all.
It had been what Jack needed all along. It hadn't solve everything, of course, but Jack had still felt a weight lifted form his shoulders.
A few weeks later, Teal'c had taken Jack to an empty rink and handed him his skates. For the first time in months Jack had been able to go back on the ice. It had taken him a few laps to find his footing, there was still a twinge his in knee, and he wasn't ready to go back to hockey yet but it was already more than what he had hoped for. In the middle of a turn he had noticed Daniel leaning against the railing surrounding the rink and had skated toward him.
The exhilaration of being back on the ice had made him impulsive and when he had reached the younger man, he had pulled him into a kiss.
Curious about the change in demeanor, Sara was grateful that the cameraman decided to follow Jack across the rink. As he stepped out of the ice, Jack once again received congratulatory pats on his back and shoulders while pulling off his helmet and his gloves. He passed a tall man she did not recognize, the stranger briefly catching Jack’s forearm with a slow nod before letting him go.
Then Jack stopped in front of a slightly younger man with short hair, glasses, and stricking blue eyes, even through the TV screen. The man opened his arms and Jack fell into them, burying his face against the man's neck.
Sara wasn't surprised when, after pulling away, Jack shared a soft kiss with the man. She smiled, because in the middle of all the pain that would never fully disappear, Jack had find someone.
Someone who, she has no doubt, was the reason for Jack to shift from surviving to living again.