Strawberries and Cream
Strawberries and Cream
by Allison West
Title: Strawberries and Cream
Author: Allison West
Email: awest@pcpostal.com
Category: Romance
Episode related: 117 Solitudes, 604 Frozen, 606 Abyss
Season: Season 6
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: language
Summary: Sam comes to cheer up Jack with his favourite cake.
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s).
You can also read this story on my website: http://samandjack.tvheaven.com/cake.html
Sam carefully pulled her car into the driveway of her CO, Colonel Jack O'Neill. Pulling on the handbrake and turning off the ignition she got out of the car. Draping the strap of her handbag over her head to sit on her shoulder, she moved around to the passenger side of the care. She opened the door and took out a small white box that was sitting on the seat. Closing the door, she pushed a button on her key chain and locked the door. She walked up the front stoop and, balancing the box in one arm, knocked firmly on the door.
Jack sat lazily on his couch, trying to watch the afternoon hockey game. He had to keep himself occupied. If he didn't his mind wandered back the events of the past few weeks. He was still trying to deal with having had a snake in his head, with the hell he had been through at the hands of Ba'al and with seeing Daniel again. He had to admit, all of it was a little much, even for him. He'd been through some hell in his life, but nothing compared to this. It was all Antarctica's fault! He swore he'd never visit that particular continent again. Every time he did things turned to crap. A shiver ran down his spine as he remembered the chill of the place. At least the first time he'd been with Carter. The second time he'd been totally alone at the mercy of Ba'al, that was until Danny-boy had shown up. He still couldn't believe that Daniel had wanted him to go all 'glowy'. As ridiculous as the idea seemed to him, he had to admit now, anything would have been better than being tortured like that.
His stomach grumbled as Chicago scored their second goal for the afternoon. He was hungry and found that he had a sudden craving for something sweet. A knock at the door roused him from his internal musings. He hauled himself up off the couch and went to the door. He opened it to find the figure of his 2IC standing there juggling a white box in her arms. He was a little surprised to see her. Most of his friends had been avoiding him the past few days, giving him space. They thought that was what he had wanted, but in truth he wanted to be surrounded people to keep his mind off things. This wasn't like all the other times when he craved solitude to block things out and get on with his life.
She took her sunglasses off and balanced them on top of her head. "Carter?", he said, looking a little confused. "Hi, sir", she said with a smile. "Can I come in?" "Ah, sure", he said, stepping aside to let her in. She walked through to the kitchen and set the box and her handbag down on the counter. He followed close behind her, wondering what on Earth what she was doing here. She very rarely came over to his house and only ever in the company of the rest of the team. She looked beautiful though, Jack thought as he took a minute to take in her presence. She wore a pair of tight blue jeans and a simple white v-neck tee shirt. Her skin was as smooth and soft as ever and her face seemed to glow. Or, maybe it just seemed that way because he hadn't seen her in so long. He hadn't stopped thinking about her when he was on Ba'al's planet, never forgetting the radiance of her smile. It was what he focused on when he saw numerous knives and acid flying towards him.
"What's in the box?", he asked, nodding towards the carton that now sat on the counter. "Cake", she smiled. His head sprang up at the word. "God, you read my mind", he smiled and moved towards the box. He was about to open the lid when she slapped his hand. "Hey, did I say you could open that?", she teased. He smiled and moved his hand away, leaning against the counter causally and watching her. She moved to the other side of the kitchen and opened a cupboard, pulling out two small plates. She set them down next to the cake box and extracted a large knife from the block next to the sink. Carefully, she opened the lid of the box and folded down the sides. Jack's mouth watered at the sight of the vanilla sponge cake. The top was layered with cream and dotted with large pieces of strawberry.
"You know you could make coffee instead of just standing there", Sam joked. "Yes, ma'am", Jack said, moving to the cupboard on the opposite side of the kitchen to pull out the glass coffee plunger. "So what brings you by?", Jack asked as he filled the glass plunger with several heaped teaspoons of coffee. "Just thought I'd stop by to say hello and have some cake with my favourite Colonel. Is that a crime?", she said. "No", he said as he filled the kettle with water and placed it on the stove to boil. "It's just that you never just stop by". He stood with his arms folded causally across his chest as he waited for the liquid to boil. "Sure I do", she said as she cut two large slices of sponge cake and placed them on the plates. "No you don't. You're checking up on me, aren't you?", he smiled, staring accusingly at her. She turned around to face him. "Okay, okay, you got me", she said, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Ah ha, I knew it", he said pointing a finger at her. "But what's so wrong with that?", she asked in a more serious tone. "I'm just concerned that's all. You've been through something no one should have to go through. Is it so bad having people care about you?" "No", he admitted shyly, glad of the reminder that she did care about him. "I appreciate that you care so much, but I'm fine, really". "Well, then if your fine you wont mind having my company", she said, turning back to the cake. The kettle whistled and he took it off the stove and poured the hot liquid into the plunger, letting it infuse with the coffee before pushing down the mechanism. "Okay", he said, taking two cups down from the cupboard. "But only if you promise me that we don't talk about anything relating to work or recent experiences". "Deal", she said, smiling at him.
They walked out onto the deck at the back of the house. Sam carried the cake on a tray while Jack followed close behind with the coffee. They placed their afternoon tea down on the small round table and both took a seat beside each other. It was a beautiful afternoon, the sun shone brightly, bathing them in warm light. "It's such a beautiful day", Sam commented as she stirred her coffee. "Yeah, it is nice, isn't it?", he agreed as he picked up his fork and dug it into his piece of cake. "Oh god, this is fantastic". Sam laughed as she watched Jack close his eyes and enjoy the mouthful of cake. "I thought you might like it, you've always had a sweet tooth", she said with a smile. He smiled and nodded, agreeing with her sentiment. She knew him too well. He took another forkful and shoved it into his mouth. Sam ate hers a little more daintily, picking off the strawberries first and savouring their sweetness.
They talked casually as they ate their cake. Sam informed him of all the things that had happened while he was gone, bringing him up to speed on the world news. She was careful not to mention anything relating to work. He listened attentively, laughing every now and then and asking questions. Jack was on his third piece and Sam on her second when the conversation turned to more recent activities. "So what have you been up to today, other than buying cake?", Jack asked her between mouthfuls of cake. "I took Jonas to the museum".
"The museum?", Jack asked with a raised eyebrow. "He wanted a hands on look at Earth culture", Sam shrugged. "Then I took him back to the base and then I went downtown to 'Meredith's' and picked up the cake. What about you?" "Not much, slept most of the day, then watched the Hockey game. Doc says I still gotta take it easy; still facing some effects from the sarc", he said sombrely. It was the first brief mention of what had happened to him all afternoon. They had agreed not to talk about it, but the brief reminder of it sent Sam's mind back to the place it had been when he was gone. The place where all she felt was worry and concern for him. They fell into silence for several moments before she spoke. "I missed you when you were gone", she said seriously. Jack paused for a moment, looking steadily at her, observing the diffidence in her eyes. "I missed you too", Jack agreed quietly. Sam smiled softly at him, the sun reflecting across her face, bringing out the colour of her hair. Jack returned her smile. They stared at each other for several moments before Jack shook himself out of his trace and reached over and picked up the coffee plunger. "More coffee", he asked, holding the pot out to her. "Please", she smiled gratefully and held up her cup. She picked up the small jug from the table and poured some cream into her coffee. Sam didn't know why, but there seemed to be an underlying feeling of closeness between them today. She felt calm with him, sitting here like this in the afternoon sunshine. It was like there was no pressure on them, no stress on them to control the way they acted around each another. Right now, they could just sit and be friends and enjoy each other's company, and she loved the feelings that came with it.
He took another forkful of cake into his mouth. The action leaving a small dollop of cream just above his lip. Sam giggled quietly at him. "What's so funny?", Jack asked looking at her. "Nothing", Sam said, giggling behind her hand. "You've just got a little bit of...". She reached over and touched the side of his face, bringing her thumb up to wipe the cream off his lip. Jack's breath caught in his throat as she wiped the cream off his mouth. Her touch was so gentle as she smiled at him, trying not to laugh. Her proximity and the softness of her touch made his heart stop beating. Their eyes met and held, both aware of their closeness. He could smell the shampoo of her hair, she smelled like jasmine and spring flowers. Sam's expression suddenly became more serious and she felt her pulse quicken as he stared into her eyes. Their gaze held for several moments until she pulled back slowly, licking the cream from her finger. "You had a little bit of cream on you mouth", she said softly. "Thanks", he whispered, not breaking contact with her eyes.
As his eyes bore into hers Sam felt herself lose all inhibition and control. She could feel the same thing in Jack's eyes. It was as if all the feelings that they had suppressed were coming to the surface. She tilted her head and smiled at him and he smiled back. Jack studied her features, they were soft and sweet. He suddenly became aware of the fullness and colour of her lips. Without hesitation he reached down to his plate and scooped a little bit of cream onto his finger. He reached over towards her face and dabbed the cream on her lower lip. "You've, ah, got a little bit of cream on your lip", he said mischievously. "Really?", she said innocently. "Would you be able to get it off?" "Of course", he said, leaning over towards her. But instead of wiping the cream off with his finger as she had done, he surprised her by bringing his head close to hers and kissing her bottom lip softly, removing the cream with his tongue. The feel of his lips on hers was divine and Sam felt a sudden rush of longing flood her. She had dreamed about kissing him for so long, the feeling was almost unreal. She wound her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her and kissing him tenderly. Their mouths locked for several moments before they pulled back for air, their faces moving several inches apart. They both smiled contentedly. "So, wanna have some cake with me tomorrow too?", he said playfully, looking down into her bright blue eyes. "I'll bring the cake, you bring the coffee", she smiled. "Deal", he said before once again capturing her lips in a sweet kiss.
The End.
If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to Allison West
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