Title: Epilogue

Author: Geonn

Email: neil_j_miser@yahoo.com

Rating: R

Pairings: Sam/Janet

Category: Angst

Disclaimer: These folks don't belong to me. I stole them from MGM's toybox without asking their mommies for permission. I promise to return them more or less unscathed.

Spoilers: Teensy for Hathor, but you gotta be REEEEEALLY looking for it ;-D

Archive: Yes, just let me know where it'll be.

NOTE: Read The Entire Story Before You Think The Unthinkable. I'm A Master of Subtle Switches and This Story WILL NOT End The Way You Think It Will.

Summary: The rocky road of a relationship comes to a dead end.

I picked up flowers on the way home from work. Calla lilies, her favorite. I sniffed their fragrance as I walked to the car, hoping this could bridge some of the gap that had cropped up between us in the past few months. It seems everything I say is wrong, everything I do is moronic and I can do nothing to please her. I learned how to use the dishwasher.... so what if it caused the kitchen to flood? Something's going on with her. I just wish I knew what it was and how to fix it.

I park in the driveway and head up to the front door, knowing that opening the garage would alert her that I was there. I didn't want to deceive her, I just... didn't want her to know I was coming. The last time I did this, she hung up the phone in the middle of a sentence. I don't know who she was talking to; she made some excuse about wanting to call her mother while dinner cooked, so I couldn't Star-69.

She was in the kitchen, working at the stove when I entered. God, she was beautiful... I paused and looked at her, in her denim skirt, black blouse and apron. My woman. My love. "Hey, Janet," I said, extending the flowers. "I got these for you."

She turned and smiled weakly, pecking me on the cheek and taking the flowers. "Thank you," she whispered. "They're beautiful. Could you get some bowls out of the cabinet, sweety?"

"Sure," I sighed, turning and pulling the bowls out of the bottom cabinet. "Anything interesting happen today?"

"Nothing worth mentioning," she said, licking some spaghetti sauce from her thumb. "You?"

I shook my head and handed her the bowls. I went into the dining room and turned in time to see Janet returning the bowls to the cabinet and pulling another pair from a different cupboard. "What're you doing?"

"Nothing," she said, walking back to the sink.

"What was wrong with the bowls I got for you?"

Janet sighed and served up some spaghetti. "You got the fancy dinner bowls. We just need the plastic ones when it's just us. The dinner bowls are for special occasions."

"Jesus Christ, Janet," I muttered, shaking my head. "Special occasions. When was the last time we had one of those?"

She handed me a bowl and a bottle of grated parmesan cheese. "Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't turn this into a fight. Don't fight with me tonight, please?"

I looked at the bowls, knowing that I was about to kick myself in the ass. She turned to go into the kitchen again and I said, "I wouldn't need to fight if you wouldn't make a big deal about the goddamn bowls."

Janet froze, then knocked her bowl of spaghetti off the counter. It bounced - the dinner bowls were glass and would've shattered. She looked at the spilled bowl and shouted, "FUCK."

I was dumbstruck. Janet never cursed. She began to chant the curse and stomped her stockinged foot in the spilled dinner. I moved to her side and put my hands on her shoulders, holding her against my chest. "Janet? Janet, talk to me."

She pulled away and turned, her face red and her body shaking. She was crying and trying extremely hard not to show it. "Don't touch me," she whispered, brushing at her face. "Please." She knelt and began to clean up her mess. "Go eat."

"Janet..."

"Go eat," she insisted.

I reluctantly left her and went into the dining room with my dinner. Spaghetti never tasted so bland to me. I took one, maybe two bites before I pushed it away and stared at the kitchen door. Janet was moving around, running water, obviously cleaning up her mess. A few times I heard her muttering, another time I heard her crying. I put my head down on the table and wished for this night to be over.

She came out of the kitchen a few minutes later, her eyes still red, and went directly through the living room and into the back of the house. I heard the bedroom door slam and leaned back, staring at the ceiling. "Another beautiful day in paradise," I whispered, covering my face.

---

The next morning, Janet took her shower and joined me for breakfast. I was dressed casually... no official dress-code at work meant I could wear whatever I was comfortable in. Today, that meant a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. Janet was wearing a robe, her hair still wet from the shower. She sat down and brushed her cheek. "I made you some eggs," I said. "Scrambled, like you like 'em."

"Thank you," she said weakly. She picked up the ketchup and unscrewed the top.

"Uhh," I said, scrunching my nose and trying to lighten the mood. "Well, don't ruin them with ketchup."

She put the bottle down and, in a very low and even voice, said, "Can I please eat my damn eggs the way *I* want them?"

"I was joking."

"Fuck," Janet whispered, unscrewing the top of the bottle.

I dropped my fork, letting it clatter on the plate. "Okay. What's the problem? What's got you so..."

"So what? Bitchy? Why am I so bitchy? Is it because I'm on my period? Is *that* what you were going to ask?"

"NO!" I said. "God, why do you have to put words in my mouth?! I want to fix this, Janet." She stood, carrying her eggs into the kitchen. I followed. "Can I please fix this?"

"You can't fix it!" she said, turning to me angrily. "You can't fix it because I'm not in love with you anymore. Are you happy?!" She got in my face and said, "I don't love you anymore, Steven. I can barely stand the sight of you and I'm afraid the only answer is divorce. *That* is why I have been so bitchy lately. You son of a bitch." She turned and stormed out of the kitchen.

I didn't know what to say... what to do. My marriage... my three-year marriage... had just ended in a hail of harsh words. And I had no idea where to go next.

---

I went into the bedroom and found her laying on the bed, facedown and crying. "Janet..." I said softly.

"Go away."

I looked at my wedding ring, twisting it on my finger, and said, "Y-you don't love me anymore? Wh... when? How?"

She sat up. "I don't know. I... it's not like I woke up one morning and said, 'Wow, my marriage is a sham.' I don't know when it happened."

I sat next to her on the bed and looked at her hands. Her wedding ring was still there, but the skin around it looked red; as if she had spent a lot of time fiddling with it. Trying to get the courage to take it off, maybe? "Is there someone else?"

Janet began crying again and I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees and staring at the wall. We'd had our fights, but this... this was virgin territory. "You love someone else. Do I know him?"

Janet shook her head.

"Where'd... you meet?"

"Gym," Janet said.

I frowned. "Jim? Jim Barber?" I shook my head and looked at her in disbelief. "You're fucking Jim Bar-"

"No," Janet snapped. "GYM." She spelled it. "I... met someone at the gym."

"What? I thought you were goin' to that all-woman's place over on thirty-fifth. Is he, like the pool-cleaner there or something?"

Janet scoffed and shook her head. "You're so dense sometimes. I met someone. At the all-woman's gym."

My pride would prefer silence, but I have to admit it still took me a second or two to figure out what she was referring to. The thought of my wife being a... being g... being... in a relationship with a woman was a new one to me. I exhaled sharply and opened my eyes wide. "You're... seeing another woman."

"I'm seeing another woman," Janet repeated.

"Have you slept with her?"

"Once."

She should've just punched me in the gut. I covered my face and said, "Here?" I was ashamed at the way my voice cracked.

"No. Her place. That... night you worked late. I went over there and... some... stuff happened."

"Spare me," I begged. I stood and walked to the window, staring out at the lawn. "I should probably... go to work."

"Yeah," she nodded. "You should go."

Her phrasing wasn't lost on me. I checked my wallet and then swallowed sharply. "I could probably check... into a hotel tonight."

"You don't have to do that. I... could stay with her."

"No. I don't want you staying with..."

She stood. "If you go to a hotel, she'll come over here. It would be best if *I* left anyway. She's... put in a recommendation for me."

I turned. "What? She's... in the Air Force, too?" I hate to admit this, but I agreed to let Janet stay in the military because she promised me she would be at the Air Force Academy Hospital in Colorado Springs. Now, she was talking about being reassigned. "Where?"

"The new assignment is still in Colorado Springs. It's not far at all," she told me, the slightest of bite on her voice.

I shook my head and looked at my watch. "I should really get going, Janet."

"I'm sorry, Steven," she said to my back.

Leaning against the wall, I sighed, "Me too."

---

I left, but I didn't go to work. I parked a few blocks away and waited until she left. Call me immature, but I followed her. She drove through town slowly, as if taking in the sights, and eventually pulled up in front of a nice little one-story house. I parked behind a utility truck and watched as she walked up the driveway and stood on the porch. A blonde woman stepped out and Janet - my sweet Janet - started to cry. The blonde wrapped my wife in her arms and held her tightly, kissing her cheek and rocking her gently.

I should've been angry. I should've announced my presence and made a scene. But something about the way Janet stood in the taller woman's arms... the way the blonde whispered constantly in Janet's ear... I couldn't bring myself to break it up. I'd had a shot and I blew it. I neglected her. Took her love for granted. I rubbed my face and shook my head. I started the car and backed up, driving around the corner before slamming my foot down on the gas.

Janet hadn't left me.

I'd lost her.

I doffed an imaginary cap to the nameless blonde woman. I wiped my cheek and glanced at the clock. I was twenty-eight minutes late for work, but I could've cared less. I sighed and headed back home. I would call in sick, lay in bed and count the ways I'd messed up. Meanwhile, Janet would be spending time with someone she loved.

Guess it was a happy ending for one of us...

END