In other worlds (betaed)
In other worlds (betaed)
by Seesaw
Summary: So this is the beta-ed version so please read this one instead.
Category: Alternate Universe, Angst, Romance
Season: any Season
Pairing: Jack/Sam
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: adult themes, language, sexual situations, violence
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).
Archived on: 01/12/04
AUTHOR'S NOTES: So I'm reposting this because it's the beta-ed version so it should be much easier to read and there might be one or two differences. I want to say a HUGE thank you to Sarah S who worked really really hard betaing it, I'm really really sorry. Thank you thank you thank you.On another note this story does contain violence and sex, although nothing too graphic, so if you're a young'in this ain't for your eyes. It was not my intention to offend anyone by writing this and if I do so I apologise profusely. ********************************************************************
The beer tasted bitter and slightly warm but Sam continued to drink it none the less. She was contemplating the merits of getting drunk and the quickest way to do so. Drunk, yeah she would get drunk. She knew it and she had the feeling the bartender did too as he stopped in front of her.
"I get the feeling you want something a little stronger." She smiled bitterly at the young man,
"The great Houdini lives."
The barman rolled his eyes, "Any chance you're in the Air Force?"
Sam's eyes flew to him and she studied the man for a moment. He was young, early twenties if she had to guess. There was nothing remarkable about him, nothing threatening but for one second a wave of panic washed through Sam when she thought her secret was out.
"No." she replied too harshly, "Why?"
"No reason, you just remind me of someone. What'll you have?" Back to the matter at hand, getting drunk.
"Whiskey, straight up."
He nodded, disappeared for a few seconds and then reappeared with her drink in hand. She threw a few notes on the bar and then turned her back on the bartender, not wanting to continue with their conversation. She'd had enough with the Air Force to last a lifetime and yet deep down she knew she would never be rid of it, not in her line of work.
From her position at the end of the bar she had a view of the entire room. It was a Tuesday night and there was only a few regulars drinking. Only two of the five booths at the wall on the opposite side of the bar were being used. Two separate couples were ensconced in their own worlds. Gentle touches and whispered words proof of their love. None of the tables between the booths and the bar were occupied and Sam had a clear view of them. She sighed heavily, memories of a time when she too lived in a happy world of love; it only fuelled her desire to get blind drunk.
Her gaze drifted further around the bar alighting on the other main features of the bar. A large pool table was located to the left of the doorway. It was slightly darker then the rest of the bar with only the low hanging light above the pool table to dispel the darkness. Apart from the three elderly men sitting further down the bar and the couples in the booth Sam thought that the bar was empty. But on closer inspection she could make out the outline of a man sitting on one of the bar stools lined up against the wall by the pool table. She watched as his silhouette lifted a bottle of what she guessed was beer to his lips. In the dim light she couldn't make out any of his features properly, not even the colour of his hair. And yet as he dropped the bottle of beer back down to his lap she had the distinct feeling that he was staring straight back at her.
She flushed at her foolishness and gladly put it down to the four beers she had already finished. She turned away from him quickly and downed the remainder of the whiskey. She caught the bar tenders eye and he lazily made his way down to her.
"Same again?" he asked but made no comment at the speed with which she drank the last one. She nodded her response.
She watched as he poured the brown liquid into the clean glass before turning back to her. The bar tender's eye focussed on someone to her left and he gave a friendly greeting.
"Jack, how's it going tonight?"
Sam's drink was placed in front of her as a body appeared on her left and sat on the stool next to her.
"Not so bad, Scott, how's college?" Sam tried to ignore his presence and the conversation by digging in her purse for change.
"Boring, but I'll survive." The bar tender, Scott, continued on while waiting for Sam to pay.
Finding a couple of neatly folded dollar bills in a side pocket, she hoped that both men would disappear once she'd paid. She wasn't in a social mood.
"This one's on me Scott." The man beside her was saying and before she had a chance to protest, Scott had grinned cheekily and departed with, "Whatever you say boss." before dropping a beer bottle down onto the bar and moving away.
Damn it, now she knew she would have to make conversation even if it was only to refuse the offer of a free drink. Making small talk at the moment was the last thing she wanted to do. She turned to the man beside for the first time and studied him. He was the man that was previously sat at the pool table, his empty beer bottle now abandoned on the bar for his new one. He was watching her with interest as she sized him up. He had slightly greying brown hair, chocolate brown eyes and giving it a fair guess, would be taller then her when standing, which didn't happen often enough for Sam's liking. He was watching her with a lob-sided grin and Sam couldn't help but be drawn into the warmth she saw in his eyes. That's why, instead of trying to tell him 'thank you for the drink but I'm not interested' when he held out his hand to her and repeated the name the bartender had used she did the same in return.
"Jack O'Neill."
"Sam Carter." She grasped his larger hand in hers. It was ruff and warm and she enjoyed the brief moment of contact.
"So what brings you here Sam Carter?" He asked, his eyes never leaving her face. It felt intense.
She toyed with the idea of lying to him, but then she didn't know this man and didn't see the point in it. "I'm getting drunk."
"Should I ask why?" he ventured.
"Nope."
And then they sat in silence, both sipping their drinks. She decided it would be best if she left and found a bar where she could get drunk in peace. She admitted that the man beside her was attractive and, well, intrigued her but the whole reason she was sitting in a bar getting drunk was because of a man. She didn't need to cross paths with another one.
"Thank you for the drink but you really shouldn't have. Here." She held out the folded notes but he didn't take them, instead explaining why he was here.
"My dear and soon to be ex friend has stood me up. Seems he choose a girl over playing pool with me." She couldn't help but smile at his self-deprecating words, which only seemed to encourage him. "So instead of paying for the drink, how about a game?" He waved his arm in the direction of the pool table.
Sam, however, still didn't know. She'd had quite a bit to drink but she still wasn't drunk and she still wasn't sure she wanted the company.
"How about the winner buys the drinks?" He offered and she decided what the hell!
"You sure you have enough money on you?" She teased before she could stop herself. Maybe the drink was having a greater effect on her then she thought. He raised an eyebrow at that and then smiled at her properly. Her stomach gave a little churn and her heart a small flutter at the twinkle in his eye.
"Well I know a challenge when I hear one. Lead the way."
Sam slid from her stool and made her way towards the pool table, silently enjoying the feel of Jack's hand on the small of her back, guiding her to their destination.
The pool table was already set and Jack handed her a cue. "Ladies first?" he suggested.
"You'll regret that." And with that Sam bent over and broke, potting two balls.
Jack was actually a much better pool player then the people Sam usually played. They pretty much went tit for tat, with Sam wining the first and Jack the second and then Sam the third and so it went on. By the time they came round to their fifth game alcohol was starting to interfere with hand-eye co-ordination, so Sam declared a truce and threw herself into the nearest booth. The bar had emptied even more as the night progressed and the three elderly men were now it's only other occupants.
Jack went to the bar to refill their drinks and Sam checked out his ass as he went. All night long he was cracking jokes and making her laugh. Lifting her sprits higher then they had been in months. She was having fun, Sam Carter was having fun and she couldn't remember the last time that had happened. And why not? Jack was fun and attractive and he was in fact taller then her, which she really liked in a man, and well Sam couldn't help but notice his rather fine physique. That's why she was checking out his ass as he leant at the bar talking to the bar tender. Plus she had drunk a lot, which usually lead to her checking guys out.
Jack dropped into the seat opposite her and pushed a beer bottle across the table to her. "I thought we should lay off the hard stuff for a while." He explained the lack of whiskey. Jack didn't seem to be effected by the amount of alcohol during the night but she knew it was effecting her. She really didn't want to think about the hangover that she'd have to endure in the morning, Jack looked like he would be fine though. This was her last, she decided and then announced it.
"I don't think I should have any more to drink."
Jack grinned at her wickedly, "Lightweight."
"Right then." Sam slammed her hand on the table, "Shots."
"Wow, slow down Sam I was kidding, no more for tonight."
Ugh, he was right and she knew he was. There was no need to argue, she wasn't sure she had the energy to anyway.
"So where did you learn to play pool?" Jack swiftly changed the topic and they were off. They talked and laughed for the rest of the night until Scott apologised and then told them to get out.
They stumbled, giggling from the bar leaning heavily on each other.
"You got a car?" Jack asked, looking around the empty lot. Sam thought hard for a minute, her fuzzy brain moving slowly.
"No." she finally decided, "I got a cab."
"I have my truck." Jack nodded his head at the dark vehicle occupying the only space in the car park. "But I don't think I should drive."
Sam shook her head a little too vigorously at that and then clutched tighter at Jack's arm. He smirked at her and she punched him on the arm. "Shut up." She told his smug face.
"Me? I didn't say anything." She pulled a face at him and let go of his arm.
Jack looked slightly hurt at her actions but she ignored him and started to empty the contents of her bag. Finally finding her phone she held it up triumphantly and waved it in his face.
"I'll call a cab." She scooped everything back into her bag and then stood and squinted at the phone.
"Maybe I should do it." Jack came to the rescue of her muddled brain and took the phone.
"He'll be five minutes." He told her after a short conversation on the phone. "Let's wait over there." Jack dragged her to the low wall around the car park to wait and Sam happily sat down on the cold stone. Cold seeped into her legs and she linked her arm through Jack's and dropped her head in on his shoulder to try and steal some of his body heat. He had pulled his leather jacket on as they left the bar and Sam enjoyed the smell of leather mingled with his after-shave.
"You live near-by?" Jack asked.
Sam scrunched up her face at his question, however he couldn't see her face. She didn't want to go home, she wanted to go with Jack. She didn't say that though, she didn't want to freak him out.
"It's about 10 or 15 miles away." She said instead. She had specifically picked this bar due to its distance from her home.
"Guess I'll be getting out first then, I'm only about a mile away."
"Oh." Was all Sam said, sad that her evening with him would soon be over. The thought sobered her slightly and she sat up. Jack turned to her, slightly surprised at her abrupt movement but he didn't get a chance to say anything, the cab had arrived.
They climbed inside in silence and Jack made some bland conversation with the taxi man in the short time it took to take him to his home.
The cab stopped outside a large dark house, and Sam's heart lifted slightly at the thought that he didn't have a wife.
He turned to her and caught her gaze. "You wanna coffee? We've had a lot to drink tonight."
She shouldn't, she knew it, but she wanted to. She didn't want to go home and Jack was kind and if she just wanted coffee she knew that would be fine with him.
She smiled slowly, "Sure, that would be great."
He smiled at her answer and then held open the door for her. Jack ducked his head back in the car window and paid the cabbie. Sam stood and looked up at the house. The night sky was clear and Jack's house seemed to be isolated. The stars could be seen clearly. She knew she should feel nervous by the isolation, anything could happen to her, but she didn't. She knew Jack wouldn't hurt her, must be feminine instinct.
Jack strode up the path ahead of her, pulling a set of keys from his pocket as he went. "I should probably warn you about the mess." He quipped. "Probably needs a woman's touch." He muttered to himself.
"What?" Sam's brain still wasn't up to its usual standard.
"Ladies first." He waved his hand to the now open door, effectively avoiding her question.
She stepped forward into the darkness of his hall and felt the chill draft cut off as the door was shut. The lights were flicked on and Sam blinked in the brightness. She turned to see Jack slide his jacket off and hang in on a peg next to the door. He saw her watching him and she could have sworn she saw a blush creep up his cheeks.
"You wanna hang your jacket up?"
He was so cute, Sam's brain told her. He was perfect in every way she wanted a man to be and she was here in his home. And maybe it was because she had drunk her own weight in alcohol, or maybe it was because she'd had a horrible day before he had walked into it but Sam Carter did something very un-Sam Carterish.
"No." Jack looked confused at that.
"No you don't want to hang you jacket up?" He clarified.
She nodded.
"If you're cold I can turn the heat up." He suggested.
"No." she didn't want that either.
"You want to go." Jack said, a statement rather then a question. He didn't sound pleased about it.
"No." Sam remained monosyllabic.
"Well then..." but he didn't get any more out because Sam had pressed her lips to his and he was responding. Sam took a step forward, causing Jack to move back until he was pressed against the door. Sam left his mouth began to trail kisses along his jaw and neck.
"Maybe we should.." Jack gasped as Sam began to un-tuck his shirt.
"Mmmmmm" was all that reached Jack's ears so he pulled her off him to hear her words.
"Where's the bedroom?" she repeated and then added a feral grin.
"That way." Jack pointed, and then Sam was assaulting his neck again and Jack was slipping her jacket off her shoulders, leaving it where it lay.
"Oh, God." Jack moaned as Sam dragged her nails across his back.
Quickly spinning them so that Sam was now pinned between him and the door, it was his turn to attack. Sam moaned at his ministrations, as his fingers nimbly removed layers of her clothing. And then Jack picked Sam up like she weighed nothing as he moved them to his bedroom. Sam couldn't believe what she was doing, she couldn't believe she could be so reckless but she didn't want to stop. She felt incredible, she felt alive. The spark of attraction that flew between them during their time in the bar was now electric. Nothing felt like this before. All her senses were on over-load, she felt beautiful, sexy, wanted. Jack and Sam clicked like she hadn't with anyone before and as Jack brought her to the peak of ecstasy, she dragged him with her and she didn't want to be anywhere else on earth.
*~*
Sam sat shaking in her car. How could she have been so stupid, so reckless? Her nails dug into her hands until she was forced to pry them apart before she drew blood. They still shook so Sam sat on them and continued to berate herself the rest of the journey home. Her mood must have been contagious as the taxi man refrained from talking. She couldn't do small talk now if her life depended on it!
She threw money at the taxi man when they finally reached her house before she flew out of the taxi. Her hand was on the door handle, key in the lock before she froze. She dropped her head against the door and then banged it against it a few more times for posterity.
Remembering that it was the early hours of the morning and she looked strange enough being out at this time without banging her head a door, she opened the door and slipped inside. She leaned her back up against the door and then slid down the face of it. Remembering just exactly what she did leaning against a door last night, she leapt away from it like it would bite her.
Her head felt like a pneumatic drill had a get together with its other pneumatic drill friends to see who was the loudest in her head. God, how could she..? How stupid could she be..? Was she insane?
She had woken about an hour ago. She didn't remember what happened at first, she was too busy trying to stop the world spinning and then someone mumbled beside her and she froze. She cracked opened her eyes to see that she was in an unfamiliar bedroom. The person beside her moved and an arm was draped heavily over her waist, her very naked waist to go with the rest of her very nakedness. She was out of the bed in a second and standing next to it.
She looked down at the sleeping man in the bed and it all came back to her. Jack, who she had meat at the bar. Funny and handsome Jack, who would have been a really nice friend to have except she had to go and have sex with him. Really good sex, her body told her, really, really good sex. And it was about then that she bolted, that she grabbed all her clothes that were littered around his room and down the hall. Dressing hurriedly and calling a cab to get her home was all she could think about.
She hadn't showered she, remembered now. She could still smell the sweat on her body; she could still smell him. She made her way to her bedroom and pulled all her clothes off. She turned the shower on as hot as she could stand and stood under it for a long, long time.
This was bad, very bad. What had she done? Always get drunk alone Sam, always get drunk alone. When Sam's body was red and sore from the heat she finally left the shower. She wrapped herself in her robe and wandered back into her room and then plopped onto the bed. She lay back and had a staring contest with the ceiling for what felt like a lifetime. She didn't move until she turned her head and caught sight of her alarm clock.
5:17
Her brain finally shook off some of its hangover blues and informed her that the bed had not been slept in. Jonas had not been home that night. She was simultaneously relieved and anxious. After their bust up he had stormed out of the house, something that Sam was well used to. No doubt he was lying in a drunken stupor somewhere, he may even be with someone else but it was not that that made Sam's heart quail. On the rare occasions that he didn't return until the day after a fight he was always in vile temper. She could do no right by him and he made sure that if he felt discomfort, she felt it too. He had no idea where she had gone when he left. He would never think she was capable of the activities she took part in last night, he would think she knew better. She should know better, but she knew she had to keep last night from him at all costs. She would put up with his foul temper the entire day if she could keep it from him.
She dumped her dirty clothes in the laundry basket and took them straight to be washed. She didn't put it past Jonas to smell her clothes. When her clothes were safely being machine-washed she began to clean the rest of the house, making less for Jonas to be mad about when he came home. If she was really lucky he would go straight to work and she would have enough time to have the place just how he liked it.
*~*
Jack sat up from tying his bootlace to find his friend Charles Kawalsky had joined him in the locker room.
"So you finally decided to grace me with your presence?" Jack said by way of a greeting.
"Like you wouldn't do the exact same thing to me in my position, O'Neill." Kawalsky replied.
Well the man did have a point there. "So how'd it go anyway."
"A gentleman never tells Jack."
He raised a sceptical eyebrow, "Since when were you a gentleman, Charlie?"
Jack slipped on his jacket and zipped up the front, as his friend scowled at him. "So what did you get up to last night anyway?"
"Just had a few beers, played some pool."
Kawalsky stopped mid-button on his shirt. "Played pool, eh?"
Damn it, he shouldn't have said that, the man would never leave him alone now.
"Yeah." Jack wondered how bad it would look for an Air Force Colonel to run out of the locker room. It might dent his scary Colonel rep.
"And just who were you playing pool with?"
Jack tried not to look at Charlie, the man was like a dog with a bone when he wanted to be and it was best to be as vague as possible. "Just one of the locals at the bar."
"One of the oldies?"
The oldies were the trio of elderly men that always sat in the same place every night and only talked to each other. Jack and Charlie had quickly renamed them the 'golden oldies' and Charlie knew well that they would never play pool with Jack. They had yet to acknowledge Jack's existence.
"Nooooo."
Jack tried edging towards the exit but Charlie knew him for far too many years and watched him with eagle eyes.
"Did you pick up a woman at the bar last night Jack?"
Jack didn't answer, for some unknown reason he didn't want to tell Charlie about Sam, he didn't want to tell anyone about her. He wasn't sure how he felt about the whole situation really. He didn't really do the whole one night stand thing, at least not at his age and he didn't know what to make of it. All he did know was that when he woke this morning in an empty bed he was filled with disappointment, disappointment that lingered with him still.
"You sly dog O'Neill!"
Jack made some unintelligible mumble and continued edging. Charlie's jaw dropped open and Jack could nearly see a light bulb appear over his head!
"You got laid last night!" Charlie accused a bit louder then Jack liked and he glanced around the locker nervously.
"Shut it Kawalsky!"
"You did, didn't you?" Charlie was getting excited now. If he was a dog, he would be bouncing. Jack hadn't a chance in hell of getting out of this one. That's why you were late this morning. Busy with other things."
Jack glared at him, "No, I wasn't." he replied sternly.
"Then resting after a hard night?" Kawalsky waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Jack's face remained stern.
"Well good for you Jack. It's about time, after Sara you haven't been up to all that much."
Jack dropped heavily onto the wooden bench. "You're a loud mouth, you know that Charlie?"
He ignored Jack completely. "You gonna see her again?"
Jack's disappointment made a big come back at that question. "No."
Charlie's delighted face disappeared at that and he sat next to Jack. He must have heard something in Jack's voice. "Why not?"
Jack scuffed his boots on the polished floor making them squeak. "I didn't quite catch her address and phone number."
"Ah, man you bailed on her." Charlie sounded judgmental. Jack didn't like it.
"She actually bailed on me."
"Oh."
Well that at least shut him up.
"Yeah."
"So you're going to be pissed all day? 'Cos if you are I'll have to warn the rest of the team."
Jack stood again, Charlie copied him. "Don't worry about it Charlie."
"Good, lets go kick some alien butt then."
Charlie left the locker room heading for the embarkation room but Jack was not so quick to follow. His last thought before he pushed everything else aside to focus on the mission ahead, was that he might have just missed an important opportunity.
*~*
It had been a long...Jack thought hard...God it must be 8 months! He pulled at his ear thoughtfully. Should he worry that he couldn't actually remember the last time he had leave? Or to be more precise, leave that he actually got to go on? Even if it was only for two days. But he supposed that it was normal to lose track when you fought aliens, got cloned, died and then resurrected, got infected with alien virus's for a living. He really shouldn't think about things like that, it would only confuse him. The main point was that he did have leave and he was going on it come hell or high water.
"Hey Jack." Kawalsky burst into the locker room destroying his moment of peace. "Doc says you're chariot awaits up top."
Janet insisted that he be driven home. She didn't trust him driving due to his quote, unquote, "state" at the moment. What she was saying as politely as she could was that he could barely see he was that tired.
The truth in fact was that he wasn't that eager to go home. He may be over worked and hadn't slept in about 30 hours but he was still running on adrenaline at the moment and didn't want to sit around at home.
"Any chance you and the boys want to go out for a drink Charlie?"
Jack saw Charlie hesitate and knew something was up.
"Teal'c's off to the family and Daniel is buried under a pile of books."
"And you?" Jack asked suspiciously.
"Ah.." He blushed, Jack chuckled internally, this should be good. "I've got a date."
"Really," Jack asked and watched as Charlie shifted his weight from one foot to another nervously. "Who with?"
"Kerry." Kawalsky muttered into his chest.
"What?" Jack spoke loudly, cocking his ear in Charlie's direction.
"Alright, alright keep it quite O'Neill. I said Kerry." Charlie was flustered. Jack loved this.
"Again. Sounds like you're getting serious."
"Me? Nah. You know me better then that Jack."
"Yes I do Charlie." Jack said knowingly.
Charlie gave in to Jack, he knew that look, "Just don't spread it around, some of us have a reputation to keep."
Jack moved by him towards the door, "Not to worry Charlie, I won't breathe a word. You'll stay the base slut."
He heard Charlie bluster as he left the room but didn't go back. He would give Charlie another going over when he got back from leave and get to the truth about Kerry. He got the feeling that Charlie had it bad for this woman. He was happy for him though. He was happy when any of his friends found someone to share their lives with. There wasn't any group of men on the planet that deserved it more, even if it did only highlight his single status to him all the more.
The halls of the SGC were quiet for once and he had the elevator all to himself. One of the young Airmen was waiting for him on the surface in an Army jeep. A bit obvious for Jack's liking, but if it would get him home he didn't care. Thankfully, the young Airman kept himself to himself and Jack sat back in his seat. Starting out the window he watched the world go by, the familiar roads and shops somehow soothing. He turned to look at the man driving the car. His eyes were glued to the road his head bopping slightly to the latest pop tune that played quietly in the back ground. He wouldn't question Jack's decision; he was too young and green to ever question a superior officer.
"You drop me off at the bar on the next corner on the right."
His eyes didn't leave the room but a frown did crease his brow. "Yes sir." He stuttered.
He pulled over the large vehicle and Jack clicked off his seat belt and slipped out of the car, only just remembering to say a gruff thank you as the door slammed shut.
He waited for the truck to pull away before he wandered towards the bar. He didn't really want to be drinking alone but he wanted to sit at home even less. Hell, if he got really bored he could try and get the 'golden oldies' to talk to him, a challenge for even the most diplomatic man.
He pushed open the heavy door and was immediately assaulted by the smell of stale beer and smoke. This place never changed, it was probably why he liked it so much.
It was a weekday and so the bar was quite as usual. Jack had only ventured to this bar once at the weekend to find it full of teenagers dressed in 'barely there' clothes, having a few drinks before they went out to wherever they went. He never ventured back again, but now midweek it was quiet. And there in the same spot as they always were, were the three elderly gentlemen, kings of the place for the time being, and one or two others sitting in the dim bar.
He nodded to Scott who was manning the drinks again and made his way to him.
"Jack, where you been man, place isn't the same without you."
"I'm sure it hasn't Scott. I'll take a beer."
Scott pulled a beer from the fridge and popped off the cap before handing it to Jack. "Your friend is here again." Scott said with what Jack suspected was a smirk.
"My friend? You mean Charlie made it?" Jack glanced over his shoulder but couldn't see the man in question.
"Nah, not Charlie I mean the blonde."
Ok, he'd got Jack now, the blonde? "The blonde?"
Scott nodded his head to the far end of the bar adding, "Some guy was in here earlier giving her a hard time."
Jack looked down to the end of the bar to see the top of a blond head. The owner of the said head moved and Jack caught a glimpse of her face.
Sam Carter.
Sam Carter was sitting in the same seat as the first time he met her. He craned his neck slightly to catch a glimpse of the rest of her. She wore black jeans that accentuated the length of her legs, a red v-neck that fitted very nicely and a black leather jacket was slung over the seat next to her. She looked great, she looked really great. He turned back to look at Scott's expectant face.
"You gonna talk to her?"
"What! No. Why?"
"Well the last time you were here and she was here you left together." That was definitely a smirk on his face.
Jack stared at the bottle in his hand, "Nah, I think I'll stay here."
Scott was looking at him, slack jaw and Jack started to regret getting to know the kid so well.
"Come on Jack. Look at her, she's hot. I mean really..."
"Yeah, yeah I know that." Jack admitted, knowing far better then Scott how hot she was.
"And you two talked for like, hours last time."
"Yeah but..."
"Come on man if you don't go talk to her, I sure as hell will!"
Jack looked up at him again and took the kid for his word, it wasn't like there was much for him to do except chat up the only pretty blonde in the place.
"I never knew bartenders were this pushy, they teach you that in bartender school?"
Scott didn't replay just tilted his head in a 'Well' pose.
"I'm going, I'm going" Jack grumbled.
*~*
Sam blinked in rapid succession. She would not cry, she would not cry. She balanced her elbows on the bar and pushed the palms of her hands against her hot, dry eyes. She knew she should have worn a skirt, but the one she planned on wearing was torn and she didn't have the time to fix it. She thought she looked neat, she thought she looked ok but Jonas's harsh words still rung in her ears.
"Look at the state of YOU!" she could smell the alcohol on his breath, he must have started early with his buddies.
"You expect me to take you anywhere like that?" He spat the words at her, his hand gripping her forearm painfully.
"I'm sorry Jonas I thought..."
"And who the hell asked you to think, eh? I sure as hell wouldn't ask you to!"
His grip tightened even more and Sam's brain vaguely told her she would bruise.
"You stupid bitch! I'm not hanging around here with a cow like you."
He released her arm but his glare remained as intense.
"I'm leaving."
"But..." She began and faltered at the hate he directed at her but continued on. "...I have the car, I can go home and change and..."
"Don't bother, nothing you wear can possibly make you look better, Walters is waiting outside."
And then he was gone, leaving her rubbing her arm and praying hard that she wouldn't cry. She should go, she should go home instead of sitting alone in a bar. She wasn't even drinking, she was just staring into the bottom of a glass.
"Hi."
A familiar voice interrupted her glum thoughts and she looked up into the face of a man she thought she would never see again. She blushed as she remembered her drunkenness, her foolishness. Jack must have noticed.
"If I promise not to get drunk can I sit down?" He indicated to the stool next to her.
Sam was tongue tied not knowing to say yes or no, so instead she just nodded. He lifted her jacket to the seat next to him and sat. She didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything and for a while neither did he.
"What happened to her your hand?"
Sam looked at her hand in confusion. She had completely forgotten the bandaged wrapped around her injured wrist.
"I sprained it." When he made no move to talk, she quickly invented a lie. "Slipped on my porch steps, sprained it when I put my hands out to save myself."
"Nasty." He empathised.
"I'm told I'm lucky I didn't break it." She knew however it was far from luck, Jonas knew just how far to push it and when to pull back. He was trained after all.
"Nah, I think it's more fun when you break it, at least then you can get people to sign it."
Sam automatically grinned at him, she loved his sense of humour. "Is that so?"
"Yep." He grinned back at her causing her smile to widen.
"I'm sorry." The words tripped from her mouth before she even thought about it.
"For what?" he looked confused.
She licked her lips, not believing she had brought this topic of conversation up.
"For the other...for leaving like I did."
"Oh." Was all he managed for a reply.
"I don't usually...I mean...I don't go around..."
Jack grinned at her again, "Neither do I."
Relief flooded through her, he understood. She stood up. "Well I better..."
"Have you eaten?" Jack quickly interrupted her.
Taken off guard by the sudden change of topic she just stared down at him.
"This place does killer buffalo wings, if you're willing to endure my company for a little bit longer?"
He looked hopeful as he waited for her response. And why shouldn't she have a meal with him? At least he wanted to spend some time with her even if she did look a mess. It wasn't like Jonas was here. It wasn't like he would be at home waiting to apologise when she got there. Why not?
"I'd like that." And to her surprise she saw a smile break across his face at her answer.
He stood and leaned over the bar, "Hey Scott, can we get two menus when you're ready?"
"Sure, I'll bring them over in a sec."
He turned back to her and shoved both hands in his pockets, "You wanna sit in a booth?"
She nodded her consent and led the way when he held his arm out wide. Unbeknownst to her, Jack's eyes travelled the length of her body as she walked in front of him. When they were both sat opposite each other on the other side of the room, he told her just what was playing through his head.
"You look great by the way."
She blushed a deep scarlet at his compliment but before she got to tell him that it wasn't necessary for him to be polite, Scott appeared to dump two menus on the table between them and then disappear again.
She picked up a menu and stared at it without reading, trying hard to keep the colour from her cheeks.
"I wouldn't order sea food from here but they do a mean hamburger or portion of Buffalo wings." Jack quipped.
Sam glanced at him over the top of her menu. He had abandoned his and was now focused on her. She hid behind her menu again.
"So what'll you have?" Scott was back, this time with a notepad.
"I'll have a quarter-pounder with fries and a Bud."
They both turned to her and she remembered she hadn't actually read the menu so she ordered the only other dish Jack had mentioned. "I'll have the Buffalo wings, fries and a diet coke." She handed over her menu and they were alone again.
"So you trust me on the food front then?" Jack asked.
"How about I tell you when I recover from the food poisoning?"
He grinned at her, "You do that."
Their food arrived shortly and their evening went much the same way as their last encounter except this time it involved food and less drink. The Buffalo wings were in fact very good, even if she did have to abandon her knife and fork and resort to using her fingers. This involved her hands becoming covered in sticky sauce and Jack making comparisons between her eating habits to those of a six year old. She didn't mind when he teased her though, she just teased him right back. She remembered most of the conversation this time, which couldn't be said for their last conversation considering the amount of alcohol she consumed. She thought it best to stick with diet coke, particularly since she was driving and Jack, Jack sipped only one beer the whole night long.
As the evening came to a close, Sam was shocked to recognise a sense of disappointment as they settled the bill for their meal. Because although she may have slept with him and laughed with him the last time they met she could put it down to the alcohol. This time she couldn't deny that she liked this man because she wasn't drunk, her senses weren't clouded. The attraction she felt wasn't alcohol induced, she didn't laugh at his jokes because she couldn't think straight, and she laughed because she though he was funny and this left Sam slightly disconcerted. Sam felt afraid because she didn't understand what this meant.
The cold air hit her as she stepped outside and she instinctively wrapped her arms around herself. Her breath formed white clouds in the cool air and a thin layer of ice had descended on the world. She pulled her keys from her jacket pocket and clicked off the alarm, the tail lights of the car flashing twice. Jack stood beside her, his hands deep in his pockets again and Sam tried to think of the best way to say goodbye.
"You'll be ok on the roads home? They're a bit icy." His concerned warmed her.
"I'll be fine. How about you?"
He shrugged non-committal and looked away, "I got dropped off, it's not a long walk home anyway."
"You're going to walk?" she couldn't hide the surprise in her voice.
"Yeah, I think I'm old enough to walk home on my own." His tone was teasing again but she ignored it.
"But it's freezing!" She implored
"I've survived worse." And for a moment Sam saw a flash of something in his eyes. A memory perhaps and she knew he meant his words.
"I'll drive you." She decided.
"It's fine Sam, it's just down the road."
"Exactly, so it's not out of my way. Get in." She got into her car, started the engine and turned the heat on full blast.
Jack stood next to her car as though weighing up some great decision before climbing in next to her.
"Thanks Sam." He spoke softly and when she turned to him with a smart reply, it died on her lips as she saw the sincerity in his face.
Jack stared out on the familiar streets again, noting that this time they weren't so soothing. He was sitting in Sam Carter's car. The woman who, over half a year ago, he had met and slept with and then she had disappeared with the dawn. And he had remembered her. On cold nights, on foreign planets he had thought of her. Of how she laughed with him, the feel of her lips, the taste of her skin and he wondered if she really was as he remembered. Maybe he was wrong, maybe it was the combination of alcohol and an attractive woman that enhanced his memories. Maybe that was what made him think that she was so perfect. That she shared his sense of humour, that she could make anything sound interesting, that it had felt that good when she touched him. But tonight he wasn't drunk and although adrenaline maybe coursing through his veins, it certainly didn't cause him to invent any of the evening.
So now he was sitting in Sam Carter's car and she was exactly as he remembered, if not better. None of this worried Jack, even though he had a feeling it should, in fact he felt slightly light headed at finding this woman. What worried Jack was the fact that he still didn't have her number, or address which made it damn near impossible to find her. He knew for a fact she wasn't in the phone book because he had tried that one already, late one night when he couldn't sleep.
So although he knew she had one brother she never saw and who she had a crush on in high school, and the name of her first dog, he still didn't know what he now considered the most important information. And what worried him was that he couldn't think of a way of asking her for her number. He knew he should just ask her but Jack knew he wasn't subtle and he didn't want to screw this up, he really, really didn't.
"This is the right house isn't it?" Sam's question interrupted his thoughts.
Jack glanced out the window at his house, "Yeah this is it." He cursed under his breath as he heard his nervousness creep into his voice. Bite the bullet Jack, just bite the bullet. "You want to come in?" Ok so he definitely sounded nervous that time. Mind you, she looked nervous.
"I should really..." her voice trailed off.
Quick, Jack's brain screamed at him, think of something quick. "You left a bracelet." She stared at him puzzled. "The last time you were here, you left your bracelet."
"I did?" She didn't sound so sure.
"Yeah. A little, gold, chainy kinda one." He gestured at her wrist futilely. Understanding dawned on her face and he could almost hear the round of applause his brain was giving him.
"It's inside." It was actually on his bedside table but he thought better than to tell her that.
"I was wondering where that was, searched the whole house for it."
She killed the engine and undid her seat belt. She was coming inside. Jack hurried her inside afraid she might change her mind. He flicked on a few lights and told her to make herself at home before disappearing into his room. Sam wandered into the sitting room. It was comfortable and, well, male. A well worn couch was placed opposite a large screen TV with a large, open fireplace taking up most of the wall. A bookcase was squashed into one corner of the room and Sam studied it briefly noting a couple of hockey trophies and a strange variety of books and what she thought might be a selection of comic books.
She moved onto the mantle piece and to the small number of picture frames that sat upon it. The first one that caught her attention was a photo of a family, Jack's family. She picked up the picture and ran her hands over the smiling faces when she heard soft footfalls behind her.
"You're married?" she queried, no accusation lacing her words.
"Was. Divorced." His quiet voice was close behind her.
"And a son, he looks like you."
The room around them seemed to still and then as though he only exhaled the words he said, "Dead. He died, shot himself with my gun nearly three years ago."
She gently placed the photo back on the mantle piece and turned to look at him. His head was turned down, staring at the ground, gulping in deep breaths. She stepped towards him but he still didn't move. Lightly her fingers traced his chin pushing it up so that brown eyes locked with blue. She saw his pain and she saw his guilt and she felt as though he could see right through her. Her fingers continued their journey, travelling up his jaw and then brushing lightly through the hair at his temple. Eyes still locked, she leaned in and their lips met. Jack's hands wrapped around her waist to rest in the small of her back and Sam's other hand joined the first in his hair.
The kiss was sweet and tender, filled with a quiet passion rather then drunken lust. Their lips broke apart but their bodies remained entwined. Sam held him, stroking his hair until his breathing evened out and Jack felt finally more in control. He didn't know why he had told her about the destruction of his family. He didn't really talk to anyone about it, couldn't bear to, but he had told her, couldn't stop it in fact. He inhaled her intoxicating smell deeply and then attached his lips to her neck. God, she tasted just as good as he remembered. Sam's giggles broke the silence of the room as Jack's hands brushed her waist.
"Maybe we should move this some where else." She suggested followed by a gasp as Jack's hands played wickedly with her. Before giving her his answer she had pulled away from him causing the cold to chill him where once her warm body was. Her smaller hand gripped his firmly and then tugged him insistently towards his room, Jack didn't complain. Once inside with the door kicked shut, her body was pressed to his again and lips and hands were pulling and teasing. They collapsed onto the bed in a heap of laughter, clothes pulled out or half removed. Jack was being swept away on a wave of sensation. The taste of her skin, the sound of her moans, the way she touched him was almost too much for him to bear but he did, he was made of stronger stuff then that. He gripped her shoulders and moved her so that their eyes met.
"Promise me you'll stay." He half whispered, half breathed. She didn't answer just started another assault on his body. His eyes fluttered shut as her nails dragged along his chest and danced along the waist band of his boxers.
"Please Sam, say you'll be here in the morning." He knew he was begging but he was desperate, his control was slipping, fast. She didn't reply again but before he could say any more her fingers slipped inside his boxers and all coherent thought was lost to a long, languid night.
Sam woke in the early hours in a vaguely familiar room. She looked at the man next to her. He was still sound asleep, snoring gently. Her head was rested on his shoulder, his arm thrown carelessly around her. She had no excuse for her actions the previous night, she didn't even search for one. She had known what she was doing and didn't feel any regret for it now. Or at least not much. She knew she couldn't be with him. Jonas would never allow it but it was more then that, he made her feel beautiful, important. He made her feel special and all the things that she wasn't, the things she could never be. He was kind and gentle, he was funny and confidant and she knew she didn't deserve him, she didn't even deserve Jonas and he was a cruel and hard man.
For the second time Sam slipped from the sleeping man's bed and crept from his room. She dressed quietly and quickly making sure she didn't forget anything this time, collecting her bracelet from the floor of the sitting room before leaving. She couldn't see Jack again, it would hurt too much. She wished deeply that she could stay, that she could wake up with Jack and have breakfast with him, to make him laugh but Sam had wished for a lot of things in life, none of which came true.
*~*
Jack slammed his locker door, hard and then he considered opening it just to slam it again.
"Sheesh, what did the locker ever do to you?"
It was Kawalsky, again! "Do you live in here or something Charlie?" Jack growled at him before storming out of the room.
Unfortunately Charlie was right on his tail which he should have known since they were on their way to the gateroom and their next mission..
"I take it you didn't have fun during your leave?" Charlie was happy, far too happy for Jack's liking. He really, really hoped that there would be some Goa'uld on what ever planet they were going to because he really felt the urge to kick the living crap out someone and he didn't think Charlie would volunteer.
"No Charlie, my leave didn't go as planned." He ground out between his teeth. In fact his leave did the exact opposite than to relax him, he spent the past day and night slowly getting angrier and angrier. She had left him again, God dammit, again! He couldn't believe it when he had woken up, couldn't understand how. He knew there was something between them, he was certain of it, certain that she felt what he had. It didn't matter that he only knew her for two days, he felt like he had known her all her life and so he just got madder and madder. He must have made a noise to show his displeasure because Charlie's hand was on his shoulder stopping his march down the corridor. He glanced at the concern marring Charlie's face, for once the mocking twinkle gone from his eyes.
"What happened Jack?"
Jack looked up and down the corridor to make sure there was no one within ear shot before speaking. "I saw her again."
"Her? Ohhhh...The blonde."
"Sam." He corrected.
"And did you two?" Charlie waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"Yes." God did they!
"I'm not seeing the problem here Jack."
"No, you wouldn't Charlie."
And then he was off marching down the corridor, Kawalsky scurrying along behind him trying to catch up.
Daniel and Teal'c were already waiting at the foot of the ramp. Daniel was trying to explain the phrase 'raining cats and dogs' to him.
The gate began to spin as Kawalsky caught up with Jack. "She left again, that's why you're pissed, right?"
Well give the boy a gold star.
"You're pissed because you wanted her to stay."
Jack sighed, resigned to his fate, slipping on his sunglasses so that his expressions weren't so easily read. "You don't get it Charlie, this woman, she's..." he gestured vaguely with his hands, "there was something there, and I really...liked her." He didn't want to talk about this, especially not to Charlie, the man who was about as subtle as, well, him.
He breathed a sigh of relief when the Stargate burst into life, maybe he'd talk to Daniel about this when they got back, he was better with this kind of crap.
:*:
Jack was having an inner debate with himself, to play on the gameboy or not to play, that is the question. Over the past week or two he had thrown himself into his work to forget about...other things and was in fact, up to date with his paperwork, or as up to date with his paperwork as Jack had ever been.
That had earned one or two curious looks from the General. So, now he was sitting in his office trying to predict the possibility he'd get caught playing his gameboy. It was about then that Charlie burst into the room; he never knocked, NEVER, something else that got on his nerves.
Kawalsky stood on the opposite side of his desk, a manila folder clasped in his hands.
"Charlie, something I can do for you?" Jack slid his feet off his desk and tried to look professional.
Charlie had a mischievous look in his eyes, Jack didn't like that look, especially when it was directed at him. "You told me she was hot, Jack but you never told me she was a genius!"
Charlie dumped the folder on the desk and his body into the chair behind him.
"What the hell are you talking about Charlie?" Jack really needed to get some new friends.
"Samantha Carter, the name ring a bell?"
"Of course it rings a bell, you know it does." Jack was leaning over the desk in a treating manner; Charlie should know better then to talk to him about this. Jack had gone out of his way not to talk or think about this. Charlie nodded at the folder sitting on Jack's desk, indicating that Jack should read it. Jack obligingly flipped it over.
"You remember that scientist that we have an argument with the Pentagon over? It turns out you know her."
Jack stared down at the personal file of Doctor Samantha Carter, PhD in Astrophysics and a very familiar face stared back out at him from a photo.
"You have got to be kidding me."
Charlie chuckled, "I couldn't script it better myself, maybe you could get a part in a cheesy soap opera or TV movie."
Jack flipped the front of the folder shut again, he didn't need to read it. For the past 18 months, the SGC had been in talks with the Pentagon over getting one Doctor Carter transferred to the SGC. The Pentagon was much attached though and many compromises had to be made on their part. Jack wasn't pleased but the General had assured him that it was worth it. Doctor Carter was head of the field, the leading scientist on the Stargate, yada yada yada. It had never occurred to Jack, that Doctor Carter was the Sam Carter he knew. If he was being truthful with himself, it never even occurred to him that Doctor Carter was a woman.
"Well at least now you'll get to see her again."
"What makes you think I want to see her again Charlie?" Jack made a desperate attempt at denial even though he knew it was far too late for that.
"You will even if you don't want to Jack, remember, the whole dinner dance mixer thing the General is throwing to make sure that us military types speak to the scientists at least once?"
Jack dropped his head onto his desk and groaned, "This can't be good." He spoke into the desk.
"Probably not but at least it might make this get together a bit more interesting for me."
"Go away Charlie." He was still talking into the table.
"I'll see you eight o'clock sharp tomorrow night Jack, ready and waiting to greet all the scientist."
Jack could still hear Charlie laughing as he walked away down the corridor, damn that man anyway. He raised his head and stared glumly at the grey wall. This was...well he wasn't sure if this was good or bad but it was definitely something. Jack had had enough for one night, he was outta here! Maybe there would be a replay of the hockey on TV to distract him from thinking about the next evening and the General's little mixer.
It was bad enough when he thought he had to spend the evening with a bunch of scientists but now Sam was going to be there, which meant he was going to have one heck of a row or possibly a far more pleasant alternative. He knew which one he was rooting for.
*~*
"Is this one ok?"
Jonas studied her critically. He was sitting on their bed already dressed in his dress blues, his hat sitting in his lap. "It's better then nothing I guess." Jonas finally delivered his decision with something next to disgust.
Sam looked down at her light blue dress and suppressed a sigh. Why couldn't he for once just tell her she looked nice? She returned to the mirror and studied her reflection again. The dress was nicely fitted, dipping in to highlight her waist. Thin straps held it in place, criss-crossing her back to give it a slightly sexier feel. The blue matched her skin tone and hair colour but Sam didn't see any of this, she was blinded by Jonas' disgust.
Sam applied only a little make-up, the way Jonas preferred it and slipped on a small pair of stud earrings.
"Are you ready yet?" Jonas sounded gruff, Sam figured that something must have happened at work but she was too frightened to ask him so she just complied.
"Yes." She sounded weak to her own ears.
They made their way in silence through the house collecting jackets and keys. The silence continued for the entire car journey and Sam feared that the whole night would continue this way. She was meeting her new work colleagues tonight. She should be worried about making a good impression; she shouldn't be worried about anything else except Jonas' ego. The outline of Cheyenne Mountain dominated the skyline and Sam wonder what it held for her. Inside it she knew was the Stargate, a miracle in physics and it was she who would get to uncover its secrets. The thought caused a frizz of excitement within her, and she hoped that maybe by working with Jonas, it would return some of the happiness to their life together.
Jonas led the way into the compound, showing her the necessary place to sign and who to show her ID card to. The guard at the desk even welcomed her to the 'club'. They took the elevator down into the bowls of the mountain and then switched to another one to take them even further down.
"It's being held in the cafeteria." Jonas explained, the first words he had spoken to her since they left the house.
He led her along grey corridors and Sam wondered how she would ever find her way around a place where everything looked the same. She slipped her hand into Jonas' as they grew nearer the buzz of conversation and what she presumed was the cafeteria. Jonas walked through the swing doors, Sam a step behind her, he paused as though looking for someone and Sam stood next to him in awe.
The room was full, wall to wall with people, military uniforms far out-numbering civilian clothes but nothing compared to the ratio of men to women. Sam could almost swear she smelt testosterone in the air.
"There's the General." Jonas muttered but they got no further into the room as a small bespectacled man appeared in front of them.
"Doctor Carter." A huge smile spread across his face.
"I'm so pleased to meet you, at long last." And then he engulfed her in his arms in a brief, friendly hug.
"Where are my manners? I'm Richard Jones. I'm head of the science division. I'm the one who makes sure that all the labs are running smoothly."
"It's very nice to meet you Doctor Jones..."
"Richard please, now come meet the rest of us lab rats, they're dying to meet you." Richard was laughing at his own joke and had placed a hand on the small of her back pulling her into the throng of people.
"I'm sure the Major won't mind."
Sam turned to Jonas to see if it was ok but his eyes were already fixed on the General and the group of men talking to him. The brass, no doubt, who Jonas would be sucking up to all night. She would be better off meeting her new colleagues and so she moved off with Richard chanting amiably to her and Sam trying to guess how much wine he had already consumed.
Sam accepted another glass of white wine from Richard and admitted to herself that she was having a good time even if she hadn't seen Jonas all night. The rest of the scientists were very friendly and made Sam feel right at home. She had listened with awe to some of the technology that had already come through the Stargate and with horror to the descriptions of some of the aliens they had encountered. She was now stood next to the CMO of the facility, Janet Frasier, who was making her giggle with her stories about the military men who were here.
"I saw you come in with Jonas, are you two a couple?" Janet asked.
"Yep, for nearly three years now."
"Wow, that's a long time, you think you two will marry?"
A bubble of panic rose up through Sam at the thought but she tried to push it back down, "We haven't really talked about it, not sure I'm ready for that." Janet seemed satisfied with that.
"I'm divorced myself, it's a pity you're not single we could have some fun with these soldiers." Janet's eyes followed one of the men that was walking by.
"Janet!" Sam admonished but ruined the effect with a giggle.
"What?" Janet asked innocently, "I mean look around, these men work out every day! A girl can't help but look."
They both fell into a fit of giggles which caused a glance or two to be thrown in their direction.
"Oh look, here comes one of them now. He's Colonel O'Neill, he's 2IC of the base."
Sam's eyes drifted over to a man dressed in full dress blues heading in their direction and choked on her drink. She coughed and spluttered and turned a fabulous shed of red which caused Janet to ask if she was ok just as Jack arrived.
"Colonel, you're looking well tonight." Janet said sweetly.
"You're kidding Janet; these things are worse then penguin suits." He tugged self consciously at his jacket.
"Well I think you look dashing Jack. Have you meet our new acquisition, Doctor Sam Carter."
Jack's eyes now landed on Sam and she saw no surprise there, he must have known she was coming, Sam wished she could say the same.
"Hello again Sam." His words were soft; she could detect no anger in his voice.
Janet looked shocked and it came through in her voice, "You two know each other already?"
"Yes...well kinda...I mean I didn't know he was a Colonel...I mean..." Sam gave up, so much for impressing her new boss with her intelligence.
Janet just looked confused, whereas Jack just looked amused.
"Sam." Jonas appeared by her side a slid an arm around her waist.
Sam saw Jack's eyes dart from Jonas' hand to his face and then she watched as the amusement slid from his face.
"I see you've met Colonel O'Neill." Jonas continued, unaware the effect his presence was having.
"I hope you wouldn't be too hard on my Sammie, O'Neill. Word has it you're not too fond of scientist."
Sam wrinkled her nose at the nickname, she hated when he did that and he knew it.
"I'm sure we'll get along just fine." Jack's tone brought Sam's attention back to him, this time there was definitely something behind it.
"I was going to see if you wanted to go see the Stargate Sam?"
"Really?" Everything else was forgotten at the prospect.
"Jack." Another man had joined the group, Sam recognised him as her father's old friend George Hammond. It was clear that Jack respected him and by the fact that she felt Jonas tense, she knew that he was important to him too. "I see you've met the newest member of our team."
"Just what I always wanted General, another scientist." Jack's words were laced with sarcasm, the General shot him a warning glare.
"It's nice to see you again Sam, it's been too long."
"Thank you General, I'm very glad to be here."
Jonas interrupted their reunion however, "General I was wondering if I could speak to you for a moment." And then both men moved away from the group for a little privacy and Sam's heart sank with the realisation that Jonas wouldn't be taking her to see the Stargate.
"If you two will excuse me, I need to see an archaeologist that missed a check up." Janet apologised.
Sam sent her a please don't leave look but Janet simply squeezed her arm and then moved off into the crowd toward a floppy haired man, which left Doctor Samantha Carter alone with Colonel Jack O'Neill.
Sam bit her lip and wished the ground would open up and swallow her. Stood before her was the man who she cheated on her long term boyfriend with by having two one night stands with him and most horribly of all; her boss.
She was never meant to see him again and he really wasn't meant to show up as her new boss.
"So you wanna go and see the Stargate?" he asked.
She looked up at him in surprise. She had assumed he'd want to get as far away from her as possible, God what he must think of her. Now she was torn whether she should keep her distance from him or go and see the Stargate.
She really wanted to see the Stargate, she was kept from it for so long by petty politics which had only added to her desire to get there.
"I'd like that." Her enthusiasm was only barely restrained.
"It's on this level so it's not hard to get to." She couldn't read him, all she could say was he was neutral.
They made their way through the milling crowd and were quickly back out the door. The heat and noise level dropped at once out of the room and Sam sighed in relief, she didn't really do crowds all that well. Jack was moving and Sam had to hurry to catch up with him, her heels clicking on the concrete floor.
"God knows how you find your way around here, every corridor looks the same to me." She was babbling, she always babbled when she was nervous.
Jack glanced at her, a smile tugging at his lips,
"You get used to it. Plus they've colour coded this place." He nodded at the coloured lines along the floor which Sam hadn't noticed before.
They halted at a large metal door and Jack swiped his card into the reader by the door. The heavy metal door slid open and Jack moved into the room. Sam followed him slowly and stood transfixed by the view.
The room was huge, three stories high easily with a large stone ring stood on its edge, taking up a large part of it.
"Voila." She heard Jack somewhere to her right.
God it was so much bigger then she had expected. "Can I?" she asked, indicating to the ramp.
"Go ahead."
She slowly walked up the metal ramp until she stood right under the gate. She stared up at the giant ring above her. This was beyond her imagination. She made her way to the edge of the ring and ran her fingers across the cold metal of the gate.
"If you're impressed by it now you should see it when it's working." Jack's voice penetrated her wonder and she turned back to him.
He was stood at the base of the ramp and for the first time she saw the window of the control room. It was sparsely staffed no doubt, due to the party in the cafeteria. She could make out the blinking lights of computers and her heart swelled slightly when it occurred to her that it was the dialling system she had helped design.
"It's amazing really that any of this exists. I mean the amount of energy needed to produce an active wormhole is colossal. To find a mineral that's capable of such energy let alone its other properties is a huge scientific break through..."
"You know you should probably breathe some time soon." Jack chuckled at her. "You really are a scientist, aren't you?"
Sam shrugged at that,
"I would never have guessed."
"I never thought you'd be in the Air Force."
"No?" Jack questioned with a raised eyebrow,
"You just seemed too...not as strict or disciplined. I don't mean any offence." Sam hurried to added, "I've been around the Air Force most of my life and you just don't fit the general mould. My Dad's a General in the Air Force, that's how I know General Hammond."
"And Jonas?" Jack added gently, Sam remained quiet and walked back down the ramp. "At least now I know it wasn't my personality that drove you away." He joked lamely.
"I'm sorry Jack." She said as sincerely as possible, "I never meant to let it go that far, if Jonas ever found out..." How could she explain this?
"I won't tell him." Jack assured her
"Thank you." At least that meant he would have one reason less to hurt her.
She tried again, "I'm not who you think I...I'm not good enough..."
"Sam, there you are." Jonas broke into Sam and Jack's little world.
"We're going now." He instructed without asking her.
"Ok." She said quietly while Jack threw her an odd look.
"Thanks for showing her around Colonel. I'll see you tomorrow." And then he was ushering her out of the room and back to the surface.
*~*
"Did you see her?"
God almighty that man could find him anywhere! "Any chance you were a blood hound in another life Charlie?" he sounded gruff but he didn't care.
"So did yah?"
"Charlie!" he growled in frustration.
Charlie opened his mouth to ask again but Jack waved his hand to cut him off. "Yes I saw her, I talked to her, are you happy now?"
"So did you ask her out?"
Oh for the want of some Chloroform! "No." he tried to make it sound like the end of the conversation but the man couldn't take a hint.
"Why the hell not? You said you two have a thing going on." Charlie sounded beyond exasperated.
"She's got a boyfriend Charlie." Well that shut him up.
"But didn't she..."
"Yes." Jack interrupted again.
"Shit."
"My thoughts exactly." Both men remained in silence for a moment. "It gets worse." Charlie looked at him worriedly,
"It does?"
"She's going out with Hanson." This meant she probably had enough on her plate without him being mad at her.
"Hanson, as in Jonas Hanson?" Jack nodded, "But that guy's a dick!"
Jack rubbed absently at his temple, "Yeah I know."
"I mean did you ever see how he treats some of the female nurses?" Charlie was stunned.
"It gets even worse." Jack spoke again.
"How is that possible?"
"The General ordered him to take a psyche test."
Charlie made a low whistle, "That's heavy stuff." he asked thoughtfully.
"Apparently some of his team reported some disturbing behaviour."
"Christ, it must have been pretty bad for anyone on the team to mention it." Charlie voiced Jack's thoughts. "You going to tell her?"
That was where the problem lay. "It's not like I know her all that well Charlie, I mean I know we slept together but I didn't even know what her job was until today."
"That's a tough call mate, good luck with that." Charlie made a move to leave.
"That's it? After all your bugging that's all the advice you're going to give me? 'Good luck'?"
"Yup." Charlie plastered an innocent look on his face.
"Go away Kawalsky."
*~*
Fascinating, really just fascinating. If she could just figure out how to...
"Hey Carter, what yah doing?"
Colonel O'Neill stood in her doorway looking bored. Over the month since she joined the SGC, they had never spoken about what occurred between them but Jack seemed to be hanging around her protectively, against what exactly, she couldn't fathom.
"This technology you brought back is really fascinating Colonel, I mean I don't even know where to begin."
Jack wandered absently into the room, hands deep in his pockets. "Daniel asked me to remind you that you're meant to meet him at one."
Sam glanced at her watch, it was nearly one already.
"Oh, and bring coffee."
"Thanks sir, I completely forgot about that, it's just that this is so...fascinating."
"That's what Daniel figured; you two are as bad as each other." Jack scolded mildly.
They lapsed back into silence as Sam was once again absorbed in the piece of technology in front of her.
"You know Sam," She looked up and found that Jack had moved to stand beside her, "You don't have to call me sir, it's not like you're in the military."
Her mouth formed a perfect O at that. She had actually made a point to use only his rank or sir to distance herself from him slightly. It helped her quash some of the memories his presence evoked. "I know I just thought that it rude not to since you're my boss and all."
Sam tripped over her words and they felt awkward and wrong coming out. Jack turned slightly so that she couldn't see his face and she felt a pang of guilt that she might have actually hurt his feelings,
"You want to help me collect Daniel's coffee?" She asked to make amends, "You know how he takes it better then me." She added as a feeble excuse.
Jack's head lifted and he brightened slightly, "You mean he hasn't shown you how to make it the consistency of tar yet?"
She couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips then, she giggled a lot around him.
:*:
"Hey Danny boy, your caffeine has arrived."
Daniel blinked at Jack as though forgetting who he was for a second and then dragged his mind back to the present. "Jack, where's Sam?"
"Well if you're going to be like that Daniel, I'll take the coffee away."
"No, no, I'm sorry Jack, hi, how are you?" Daniel moved swiftly around his desk and had removed the large paper cup from Jack's hand in the time it took Jack to open his mouth to reply.
"Why can't you ever move that fast when we're on a mission Daniel?" Jack groused. But before they could start bickering Sam arrived,
"Sorry Daniel, Siler caught me in the corridor." Sam dropped a heavy folder onto Daniel's desk not even bothering to look for a clear space; it would never happen in Daniel's office. She began to move paper, photos and books to one side so that she would have somewhere to work.
"What are you two up to anyway?" Jack obviously didn't have anywhere else to be.
"UAV images." Daniel said between gulps of coffee.
"You need Sam's help to look at photos? I'm nearly sure that's not what we're paying her for Daniel." Jack was clearly confused.
Sam turned her attention away from her cleaning to explain, "We got back some interesting images of ruins, however there seems to be some kind of technology integrated into them. General Hammond asked me to look over them with Daniel to try and access their origin as it could be a threat before you're next mission."
"So this is where our next mission is to?" Jack picked up on of the UAV photos of a dense green forest. "Great, trees."
Daniel rolled his eyes at Jack's long running joke.
"Never seen those before."
"I wish I could go with you, sir." Jack scowled at her slightly at the 'sir' but she continued on none the less. "I'd love to go off world even if it was only to see more trees."
"You should ask General Hammond, I'm sure he'd let you go on some of the scientific missions." Daniel suggested but then Sam knew that General Hammond wasn't the problem. Jonas had made it clear from the start that he would not stand for her going off world.
"Nah Daniel, I'm just one of the lab rats." She gave him a weak smile and before it could be discussed any more, she changed the subject.
"So did you make any progress when you enhanced the images?"
"Daniel," Jack sounded thoughtful, "If I sit in with you on this does that mean I won't have to listen to you explain all this in the debriefing?"
"It's not like you listen anyway Jack." Daniel pointed out and Jack just shrugged his shoulders, making no effort to deny it. But Jack didn't leave and so Sam, Daniel and Jack spent the next few hours studying photos, cross referencing and looking through back catalogues of technology. Well, Daniel and Sam did that while Jack cracked jokes to make Sam smile, asked awkward questions and kept the coffee on tap and that was how Jonas found them.
"Sam." Jonas' voice, hard as steel, interrupted the animated conversation in the room.
Sam's head whipped up at the sound of his voice and with one look at his face she knew that she was late meeting him to go home. She had lost track of time again and he was furious. She watched as his eyes scanned the scene in front of him and cursed internally. Daniel was stood next to her, leaning over her shoulder to read what Sam was working on. He was close enough so that their shoulders were touching and their faces were only inches apart. Jack was on the other side of the table but he was also leaning forward in an attempt to read upside down. She saw Jonas take all this in and his anger harden.
"Are you ready to go honey?" His voice now laced with sweetness that Sam knew hid something far darker.
She scrambled to her feet, gathering her papers as she went,
"I'm-sorry-I-lost-track-of-the-time." Her words came out as one, long babble and she knew her actions were becoming slightly frantic.
"That's fine Sam, I know you're busy." His voice still laced with sweetness, making Sam quake.
She could feel both Daniel's and Jack's eyes on her, puzzled no doubt by the sudden change in atmosphere in the room but she daren't look at them. Keeping her eyes averted, she said, "Goodnight, Colonel, Doctor Jackson. Good luck on your mission tomorrow." And then she was out of the room with Jonas' angry presence beside her, striding down the corridor, causing her to quicken her pace.
Two young men were leaving the elevator as they reached it, both nodded their heads at Jonas as he stepped in by them.
"Sam." A voice called after her, she turned to see Jack jogging up to her. She could feel Jonas' eyes bore two holes in her back as he held the elevator for her.
"You forgot this." Jack handed her a folder, the title, 'Polynesian culture: A brief history'. She looked up to tell Jack that this was Daniel's and not hers but she stopped when she met his eyes.
'Are you ok?' He asked her without words, he was trying not to make it worse and her heart leap at his concern.
"Thank you, sir." She slipped the folder onto the stack of papers in her hand and the nodded once in answer to his other question.
She entered the elevator and stood next to Jonas, waves of hostility emanating from him. Jack stayed and watched the elevator doors slid shut. Sam got the feeling that he didn't believe her.
*~*
Jack watched the elevator doors slide shut and felt the knot in his stomach tighten. It took all his self control not to reach into that elevator and pull Sam away from Hanson, and it wasn't petty jealousy that fuelled this desire, it was fear. There was nothing overtly threatening in Jonas' manner or behaviour. He made no visible attempt to even touch her that would cause Jack to be suspicious but it was the look in Sam's eyes when she recognised Jonas standing in the doorway of Daniel's office. The way her body was ridged and tense as she stood next to him in the elevator all told Jack that she was scared.
"Colonel O'Neill to General Hammond's office. Colonel O'Neill to General Hammond's office."
God it was like being summoned to the principle's office. Jack reluctantly swiped his card into the elevator reader and waited for a carriage to arrive. It was odd to be called to General Hammond's office, particularly so late at night. Maybe the mission was cancelled but he hoped not since he saw how much work had gone into it by Daniel and Sam, plus some of what they uncovered seemed interesting from a scientific point of view.
Jack nodded to the men working in the control room and made his way up to Hammond's office, knocking lightly when he got there.
"Come in." General Hammond's reply was prompt and crisp.
Jack wandered in and stood opposite the General, "Sir."
"I'm sorry to disturb you so late Colonel, I just wanted to let you know that I've grounded Major Hanson for the time being. His psyche test wasn't very...pleasing, I've scheduled an appointment with Dr. Mackenzie, I won't decide his permanent status until after his appointment."
"Have you sent him home, sir?" the knot in Jack's stomach became painful.
"The appointment isn't for a week, I could see no reason to keep him here."
Jack didn't like what he was hearing.
"Are you staying on base tonight Jack?" the General asked in return and Jack wasn't sure how to answer.
"Yes sir. All of SG-1 are since the mission is early."
"Good. I'll see you in the morning."
And Jack was dismissed even though he lingered a little. He really wanted to see the write up on Jonas' mental state, especially as he had just seen a rather fearful looking Sam go home with him. What was worse was that he wouldn't even see Sam for three days since he'd be off world, the sooner the days pass the better.
*~*
The night was overcast and damp. Sam felt the low lying clouds press down like a weight upon her. Jonas's grip on the steering wheel was white knuckled and his jaw was clamped shut. The road was quiet as Jones pulled into the dark parking lot of the ice-cream parlour, its doors long ago shut and the car park deserted. Jonas killed the engine and they both sat in the dark.
"Get out of the car Sam."
"Jonas, I'm sorry it..."
"Get. Out. Of. The. Car."
Sam didn't move, terror paralysing her. Jonas got out and Sam's eyes were glued to him as he moved around the car and pulled her door open.
"Get. Out." His harsh words forced her into action until she was stood next to him and he slammed the door.
Sam was prepared for the first blow, she knew it was coming, so when the back of Jonas's hand came into the contact with her left check she wasn't knocked from her feet. His hands grabbed her neck roughly and slammed her body into the side of the car.
"You slut." Jonas hissed through his teeth, spit flying into her face. Sam couldn't reply as the air was slowly being pushed from her lungs.
"You were all over that Daniel nerd." He slammed her body against the car again, "And don't think I didn't see you with O'Neill in the cafeteria. Don't think that I don't see the way he looks at you, thinking of sleeping your way to the top. That's the only way a dumb slut like you could get anywhere."
This time he hit Sam with a closed fist, and he hit hard. Sam slid sown the side of the car, tasting blood in her mouth.
"They put me on stand down because you're such a slut." He kicked Sam in the ribs, causing Sam to groan, "You humiliate me and bring me down." He kicked her again. "You aren't even worth my time."
Sam sobbed, unable to stop the tears brought on by both physical and emotional pain. In a final display of hatred Jonas spat on her before slowly making his way back to the car. He didn't even check to see if Sam was clear from the car before firing up the engine and pulling away.
He left her lying on the damp ground as he drove away. Sam lay there, letting the cold seep into her body as her tears flowed freely down her face. Her breathing was harsh and painful and it was some time before she could manage to drag herself into a sitting position and longer still for her to pull herself onto her unsteady feet. She paused, allowing the pain to lessen slightly before surveying her surroundings. There wasn't a sinner in sight, even the road remained quiet and still but Sam could make out the dull light of a phone box on the opposite side of the car park.
She dug her hands into her pockets and pulled a $20 and small change from one of them. Her purse and mobile were left in the car along with her jacket; she thanked God for small mercies and began the trek across the car park. She rang the operator who put her through to the local cab company. She waited, growing colder, for the taxi to come and rescue her, her arms wrapped around her protectively.
She received a worried glance from the driver and it took all her persuasive power to convince him to drive her home rather then the hospital but she managed it in the end. She threw the $20 at him when they finally reached her home and she didn't wait around for her change. She retrieved the spare key from her fake gnome and locked the door firmly behind her. Jonas would not return tonight, if what he said about being put on down time was true, she didn't think he would return for much longer. He was probably well on his way to starting a bender to end all benders.
She dragged her dirty, wet clothes from her body leaving them piled at the foot of her bed. She showered, scrubbing desperately at her skin to remove the blood and spit. She avoided looking at her bruised and battered body in the mirror and simple curled up in bed trying to swallow her tears.
*~*
"Well that was dull." Were the first words out of Jack's mouth on returning through the Stargate.
"Colonel." General Hammond was well used to Jack by now but he still felt the need to try and discipline him.
"Colonel O'Neill is most correct, the mission was most uneventful." Teal'c backed Jack up, much to the surprise of both men.
"Thanks, T." He clapped the bigger man on his back as the two remaining members of SG-1 arrived through the liquid blue surface.
"I take it you found nothing of importance Colonel?"
Daniel beat Jack to it, cutting off his smart reply. "The culture was quite interesting General, there was signs of at least 3 different ancient earth cultures..." the General thankfully interrupted Daniel however, before he got into a lecture or Kawalsky hit him, whichever came first.
"I'm sure you can tell us during the de-brief and since you found nothing of major importance, it won't be until tomorrow 14 hundred hours. Get yourselves cleaned and down to the infirmary."
The four men willingly obliged, eager to get it over and done with and then on to hot earth food.
Jack pulled his clean T-shirt back over is head and hopped off the infirmary bed, the nurse pulling back the curtain.
"Hey Danny boy."
He heard the young male inhale sharply as a needle was stuck into some part of his body.
"Meet you in the canteen in 10?" it was tradition to meet but still Jack asked.
"Yeah." Daniel was obliviously focused on his pain.
"I'm going to go ask Sam if she wants to join us."
"Sure, sure." Daniel dismissed him.
It was 3 days since Jack had seen Sam and he had to admit she had crossed his mind more then once in that time and not in the normal 'just before he fell asleep' way but he actively worried about her.
Her nervous face and the information of Jonas' stand down kept swirling around his head, probably because there wasn't much else to occupy his time. He was happy he got to see her again.
"Hey Sam." He bounded into her lab to find her in her usual 'crouched over some piece of machinery' pose.
"Sir." Her head lifted to greet him, a beautiful smile gracing her lips. "How was your missio..."
"What the HELL happened to you?" Jack's louder voice spoke over hers. Jack was across the room in three strides. Sam was sporting a large dark bruise on her left check, at least two days old; her lower lip was split and swollen. She had stood at Jack's sudden movement towards her and he saw her arm wrap around her ribs protectively.
Without thinking Jack cupped Sam's face with both his hands and turned her head to the left to get a better look at her bruise.
"Christ Sam has Janet seen this?" His worry easily read in his voice.
"Yes, it's fine, it's nothing." She raised her hands and pulled his away from her face.
"It sure as hell doesn't look like nothing. What happened Sam?" He asked again but she didn't answer mainly because Daniel arrived.
"Hey Jack, Charlie said to tell you..." But Daniel's words trailed and he stood slack jawed as he caught sight of Sam's face. His mouth worked soundless before he finally managed to get out, "What happened? Sam your face, are you ok?"
Sam smiled weakly at his concern. She took a step back, distancing herself from Jack. "Don't worry, I got mugged on Tuesday night, it happens all the time." She tried to brush it aside.
"But they don't usually beat you when you get mugged, do they?" Daniel asked confused.
"Guess I held onto my purse a little too long. I should have just let them take it." Sam said with a one shoulder shrug.
"Did you report it? Have you been to see a doctor? Are you sure you're ok?"
She smiled again at Daniel's concern. "Yes, yes and yes Daniel. It's all been sorted, it's old news now." Her words didn't seem to dissuade any of Daniel's concern though.
"Didn't Jonas take you home on Tuesday night?" Jack asked the question this time.
Sam's eyes flicked to him and then away, "Y... Yes." Her reply was hesitant.
"Why wasn't he with you?"
"I went out again... after we got home, I went out again. Had to do some last minute shopping...milk and bread." She stumbled over her words, her sentence disjointed.
Jack's face hardened as a thought crossed his mind, "Did he do this to you, Sam?" his words were soft but held a deadly kind of calm that made Daniel shift nervously.
Sam's eye's fell on Jack's face and then flew away flitting from one thing to another in the room.
"Who?" She asked trying to imbue innocence into her voice.
"Did Jonas do this to you Sam?" Jack asked again just as calmly, just as quietly.
"I told you, I was mugged."
"When you went out in the middle of the night to buy milk, after driving through town to get home?" Jack dug holes in the plausibility of Sam's story. He could feel Daniel's thoughts beginning to sway in the same direction as he took a step towards Sam.
"Yes, that's what happened." This time Sam's voice was filled with determination but her answer did nothing to ease Jack's fears. "If you'll excuse me gentlemen I have work to finish." And then Sam's back was turned resolutely to them, her focus on her computer.
Jack waited his ground but Sam was just as stubborn as Jack and didn't turn around. He only relented when Daniel touched his arm lightly. His hands clamped by his sides he turned on his heel, only one destination on his mind. He was going to find Jonas Hanson and he was going to kick the living hell out of him.
"Jack?" Daniel was trotting along behind Jack but he ignored him. "Jack. Where are you going?" Jack just marched on. "Come on Jack, I doubt Jonas did this, she was mugged." Daniel tried reasoning, "Please Jack, think this through."
Jack wouldn't have been halted in his tracks expect that Teal'c rounded the corner in search of them and Jack was forced to stop.
"O'Neill, Dr. Jackson, do you wish to join me getting some food?"
"No Teal'c, I'm going out." Jack's voice was losing its neutral tone.
"To what destination, O'Neill?"
"Out." Jack tried to end the conversation.
"Jack maybe you should think about this for a while." Daniel chirped up from behind him.
"You appear most tense O'Neill perhaps I could be of assistance?"
"Yeah Teal'c, you could move the hell out of my way." Jack could see a message pass between Daniel and Teal'c and watched as Teal'c made himself that little bit bigger. He knew he wouldn't be getting by him any time soon.
And after many hours of arguing and pacing and talking they managed to calm Jack down, for the time being at least. Daniel pointed out that Jack didn't even know where Jonas was, and Teal'c asked him if he wouldn't get in trouble for beating up a man with no proof and then in a clincher Daniel pointed out he was likely to lose Sam's friendship if he kicked the crap out of the man she lived with.
"But he's hurting her Daniel." He continued to argue but his slouched position in his chair indicated he had lost his real fight.
"We don't actually know that Jack." Daniel said, again.
"You really believe that story she gave you?" Jack asked incredibly.
Daniel removed his glasses and began to clean them in a time stalling method but Jack knew better.
"See." He huffed.
"It would still be unwise to rush into action without forethought O'Neill." Teal'c put in his two cents.
"Maybe if we just watch her for a while Jack, I mean I've never seen her injured before this."
"Nor have I O'Neill."
"I have." Muttered Jack under his breath, flashing back to a time before Sam was Doctor Carter and her bandaged wrist and Scott saying that some guy was harassing her.
"If Doctor Carter is being beaten by this man, we will not let it continue." Teal'c announced on all their behalves.
"We can't do anything for now Jack, except keep an eye on her as best we can."
"So that's it, all we do is wait for him to hit her again?" Jack blustered again.
"Yes Jack there's nothing else we can do." Daniel's words fell heavy in the room.
:*:
Sam was avoiding contact with, well nearly everyone on base since nearly everyone on base was male. With Jonas prowling around base watching his team leave without him, or simply sitting at home doing nothing, his undivided attention was on Sam. Everything she did was scrutinised, every conceived fault or error picked at. The main problem was that since Sam had been 'mugged', a lot of the men, especially those in SG-1 were showing more concern then usual about her. They showed up every now and then asking her irrelevant questions, offering to take her to lunch or drive her home or out on group nights. She had declined all offers, brushed aside most questions and done everything else she could think of to keep the number of men in her lab to a minimum for fear of Jonas walking in when they were there. And in most cases it worked, people got back into there daily routine and left her alone, except of course, Colonel O'Neill.
At least once a day he appeared in her lab when they were on world for some contrived reason or another. So she tried to act normal, like nothing had happened, she had even faked going to the police station for a line up but still he kept turning up, kept looking at her with concerned eyes. She couldn't shake him, no matter what and it meant that she was constantly on edge around him as well as Jonas.
It was official, her life was pure hell. Thinking about it all just made her head hurt. All she wanted was a loving boyfriend and an interesting job. She dropped her head onto her lap top and groaned. And to top it all off she found a new fault in her naquada reactor.
"Carter, you ok?" Of course O'Neill would walk in now, thank god Jonas had a session with the therapist today, or sure as hell was hot he would walk in as well. A hand touched her shoulder and she sat up and moved out of his grasp.
"I'm fine sir, just having a few...problems." Way to under estimate everything Sam.
Jack's eyes narrowed at that.
"With the reactor sir." She added hurriedly, "the reactor."
"Well if there's anything I can help you with Carter..." Well who knew Jack O'Neill could do subtext.
"If I explained the problem I don't think you'd be so helpful." Sam answered without thinking and then cursed herself. Well that statement could be misinterpreted, which it seemed to have been by Jack's still narrowed eyes. "Is there anything I can help you with sir?" she asked before he could bring the subject around to somewhere she didn't want it to go. She knew herself better than to believe, if he asked again, that she could deny Jonas' treatment of her.
"I was just looking for those readings for our next mission."
"I gave them to Daniel before the debrief sir." Which she was sure he knew.
"Right...well...I guess I'll see you when we get back then."
She nodded at him but he still didn't leave.
"You'll be ok right?" He asked surprising her, he wasn't usually that obvious.
"Course I will sir, what could happen to me here?" she tried for a cheeky grin but wasn't sure she pulled it off.
"What indeed." Well damn that man with his narrowed eyes.
"Shouldn't you be going sir? You wouldn't want to be late." He was never going to leave at his rate.
"Yeah, I'll see you in two days Carter."
And then he was striding out of her lab and onto another world. Sam wasn't sure if life could get anymore complicated.
:*:
Jack wasn't feeling too bad for a change. The mission had been uneventful but thankfully short, which meant Jack didn't really have any paper work to do. All this meant was that he would get home early and get to actually see the hockey game as it happened. He couldn't remember the last time that happened. Probably around the last time you got laid Jack an inner voiced jeered him, which caused him to wince as he remembered when and with who that was. Jesus, that was easily 6 months ago if not more and yet that night lived just as vividly in his mind and his desire was just as strong as ever.
Still deep in thought Jack wandered out of the locker room and rounded the corner to bring him to the elevators. So deep in thought was he, that he didn't notice anyone else until he brushed against a warm body. His eyes flicked up and fell on Sam Carter. He opened his mouth to apologise but quickly shut it as he saw her hiss in pain and grab her ribs. He hadn't hit her that hard, he barely even touched her, "Sam..."
"Sir, sorry didn't see you there." She cut across him and then she slipped by him and scurried down the corridor. He turned to follow her but saw her flick the notice on the locker room to female and then disappeared inside.
It was there, outside the locker room that Janet Fraiser came across him five minutes later. Jack was having an internal debate about going into the female locker room and trying hard to remember the punishment for said action.
"Colonel?" Janet asked cautiously, if you asked her, the man was getting stranger.
"Janet, just the woman, could you go in and check on Carter?" he asked her hopefully
"Check on her?"
"Yeah." Jack tried hard to think of the right way to say that he thought Sam might have bruised or broken ribs because her boyfriend liked to use her as a punching bag and that Jack knew she was hurt by the way she grabbed her ribs earlier. He had seen many men do the same in his time, it was unmistakable. Then deciding against talking, he just pushed her towards the door and said "Please" with his best puppy dog look.
Janet stumbled into the locker room from the heavy push from Jack. Really that man really was getting odder, maybe she should check about the psychological effects of gate travel on him. The locker room was quiet and lightly diffused steam hung in the air indicating someone had showered. There was no sound of running water so Janet figured Sam must be finished already.
"Sam?" Janet called out and then moved around a bank of lockers. Janet inhaled sharply and grabbed onto the nearest locker to steady herself. Sam hurriedly pulled her T-shirt over her head.
"Janet." She plastered a saccharine smile on her face but Janet was having none of it. Janet had seen the black and blue pattern that spanned Sam's rib cage, interspersed with red welts.
"Sam." She gasped, "What the hell happened to you?" Janet moved over to her but Sam was tucking her T-shirt into her trousers.
"I'm just a little sore from the attack."
"Sam, I'm a doctor and I know for a fact that bruising couldn't be more than two days old. The attack was weeks ago!" Sam just blinked at her as if Janet had revealed a great mystery. "Sam, what happened?" she asked again in a softer tone.
"Nothing, I'm fine." Sam replied dropping her head so that it appeared as though she was talking to her chest.
"Who did this to you Sam? Have you seen a doctor? Are you hurt anywhere else?" Janet urged her friend, her mind a whirl of questions.
Sam crumpled like a rag doll, her mind assaulted by memories she could not deny. She could still feel his warm breath on her face, his sickly words like poison running through her, his sneering face as he raised his fist again. Her breathing became harsh and her body trembled as she sobbed.
Janet was beside her in a flash, her hands rubbing comforting circles on her back. "Shhh... Sam it's ok, it's ok." She whispered softly in a voice that was used to soothe Cassie long ago.
"O God Janet...Please...Please, don't tell Jack." Sam grabbed Janet's wrists and stared imploringly at her with red rimmed eyes. "Don't tell...he'll hurt Jonas and everything will get worse...I can't take it...I can't..."
Janet pulled Sam back into a hug as even more sobs shook her body. "Shhh Sam, I won't make it worse I promise, I promise." And as the young doctor clung to Janet like a life raft, Janet's anger hardened.
:*:
Janet left Sam to clean herself up after she had finally run out of tears. Her thoughts had turned dark at Sam's admission. She had not expected this; Sam's medical file had a number of minor injuries, sprained wrist, scalded arm but nothing that would alert her or any doctor to domestic violence. But looking at the state of Sam's ribs now, it was obvious that Sam had grown well used to hiding her pain and it was not the first time it had gone untreated.
"Janet."
Jack's voice made her start, she had forgotten that he was waiting for her outside the locker room, "Jack, I'd forgotten you where here." She tried to stall in order to think of a line that Jack would swallow. He stared at her intently, not speaking. He looked at her so hard that Janet felt he was reading her like a book and yet she could not look away. His hands clenched at his side and his body stood poker straight.
"He did this." Jack said through ground teeth.
Janet didn't want to say the words, as though saying it would make it true, instead she nodded.
"When?"
"A day ago, maybe two."
Jack nodded his head, "Figures. The General extended his stand down until he had undergone more therapy. I could have told him that Hanson had a screw loose."
"How did you..." and still Janet couldn't say the words.
"Know he was beating her?" Jack finished for her, his blunt words making her blanch. "Didn't really believe the whole 'attack' thing."
Janet wracked her brains for other incidents that would have hinted to her what was happening to Sam. She was after all meant to be her friend.
Instinctively Jack read her thoughts, "It wasn't just that Janet, there were other things, I just knew. It's not your fault."
"But I'm her doctor, I mean of all people I should know."
They both stood in heavy silence lost in deep thought, not even a stray airman wandered by to break the silence.
"We have to tell Hammond." Jack said, it was a statement and not a question.
"Yes."
"You stay here and I'll tell him."
Jack left her then to guard the locker door.
Sam wasn't quite sure how she managed to get by Janet but she did. Janet had been arguing with an airman trying to prevent him from entering the locker room when Sam had slipped out behind her. She was well down the corridor before Janet spotted her and she had no chance to stop her once she was inside the elevator with the doors sliding shut. It didn't stop Janet from calling out to her but Sam had ignored her. She felt ridiculous for crying like that all over Janet, Jonas had done worse to her before and she didn't break down then so why now?
Sam leant back against the wall and closed her eyes, she knew why, she just didn't want to accept it.
It was all Jack's fault really, he had treated her with kindness and compassion and it had only gone to show Sam just what Jonas was lacking, both as a man and her lover. It didn't help that Jonas was put on stand down for an indefinite period of time. His verbal abuse was becoming more frequent and the fact that he was at home all the time meant he was there to release his frustration in the form of violence on her rather than the enemy. It was getting worse and Sam didn't know how to make it better, didn't know how to stop the violent circle spiralling even further out of control. It all must have gotten to her and it took the form of tears but she could fix this, she would ring Janet and smooth it all over, she hated to lie but what else could she do? The elevator dinged her back into reality and Sam hurried by the airman on duty at the exit, hoping Janet hadn't rung ahead to have her stopped. She made a quick get away in the end and headed straight for home.
:*:
The lights were off when she finally made it home through the traffic. She opened the door and threw her keys on the table by the door. Shrugging off her jacket, she draped it over the banister of the stairs. She picked up the post and the shuffling through it she wandered into the sitting room. She kicked her shoes off and flicked on the lights. She didn't notice the silent figure sitting in the armchair until she had dropped the letters on the table and turned around to look for the remote for the CD player.
"Jonas!" Sam placed her hand on her hammering heart, "I didn't know you were home."
Jonas cocked his head to the side and stared at her with hard eyes. Sam's eyes fell to the bottle of beer dangling from his left hand.
"If I'd known you'd be home I would have made dinner." She instinctively took a step away from him.
Jonas had disappeared two days ago after beating her and Sam hadn't heard from him since. He dropped the beer bottle onto the soft carpet and it toppled onto its side. He stood slowly, mechanically taking a menacing step towards her. Sam took another step back, her eyes flying around the room for the nearest exit or weapon.
"Where have you been?" Jonas' voice cut through the air.
Sam giggled nervously, "You know where I've been Jonas, I was at work." He knew this, he couldn't possibly be angry about this.
"You're late." He stated.
Sam's eyes flew to the clock on top of the mantle piece. She was twenty minutes later then usual because of her little cry in the locker room. "Only twenty minutes, I was talking to Janet."
"You were with him, weren't you?" Jonas spat taking another step towards her.
"With who Jonas? You know there's no one but you." She stepped back again, her heel making contact with the wall behind her.
Adrenaline rushed through her body as she realised she was trapped and that Jonas was moving towards her again.
"You think you're so much smarter then me, with your PhD. You think I don't see you with them? You think I don't see you flirting with any man who even looks your way? You're a whore Sam Carter. Now tell me where have you been?"
He was all most upon her now and Sam's mind was telling her to make her decision, fight or flight.
"I wasn't anywhere Jonas, I wasn't with anyone." She begged him to hear her but he wasn't listening, she knew he wasn't.
"Bitch." He growled.
And then Sam moved, she went to push past him, to escape but Jonas was faster. He was trained to fight and kill and Sam didn't have a chance. He knocked her to the ground. She crawled away from him but was stopped with a kick her to the already tender ribs. He flipped her over onto her back and then straddled her legs so she couldn't move.
"It's because you're such a whore that they did this to me," he back-handed her across the cheek leaving a nasty red mark.
Sam hit out with her hands clawing at anything she made contact with, her nails gouging a scratch across his cheek, drawing blood. Jonas was infuriated, he hit her again.
"You are the cause of every problem in my life so I'm going make sure you can never ruin my life again."
"Jonas please." Sam begged as fear ripped through her at the dark glint in his eye, "PLEASE."
Jonas' large hands closed around Sam's throat and squeezed, hard.
The world came to Sam in snap shots. She could hear loud sirens. There was flashing noises and raised voices. And above all else there was Jonas' hands wringing the life out of her. Her hands were losing their strength until she couldn't pull at Jonas' arms any more. Her lungs screamed with a need for oxygen and her mind faded in and out as her body slowly shut down.
The pressure was suddenly realised from her neck and Sam inhaled deeply with dizzying effect. She coughed and spluttered desperate to fill her lungs again and again. The noise was everywhere now and flashes of red and blue light filled the room. She could still hear Jonas cursing at someone but she didn't care, she could breathe. She rolled onto her side as she gently touched her red and raw neck.
"Sam. Sam are you ok?"
She didn't respond, too busy trying to process what had happened. Hands pulled at her and turned her over, Jack's face came into view.
"Jesus Sam, say something."
"Colonel." She croaked. What the hell? He picked her up in one fluid movement and held her close to him. She allowed herself to be held. Closing her eyes and thanking God for just being alive.
Paramedics pried Jack from her and began to prod her with gloved fingers. "Can you tell me you name?" one man asked as he shone a light in her eyes.
"Do you know what happened?" another asked.
"Sam Carter." She dragged the information to the front of her mind, "Jonas, he hurt me, he..."
"It's ok, we'll take care of you now." The first man told her as they both moved her onto a back board and strapped her onto it. "We're going to take you to the hospital now, you'll be ok."
"I'm coming with her." Jack told them moving along side of the stretcher. Sam was too disorientated to argue that it wasn't necessary. They wheeled her from the room and the last thing that Sam saw before she blacked out completely was a police officer reading Jonas his Miranda rights while another cuffed him.
"Just breathe deeply, the oxygen will help." One of the paramedics was telling her but Sam wasn't paying attention, she was too busy passing out.
:*:
Hushed voices greeted Sam when she came around. She was in a warm bed, in a room seemingly filled with light. She turned her head to see where the voices where coming from and was slightly surprised to see half the room filled with people. All of SG-1 and Janet Fraiser gathered around a man in a white lab coat. The unknown man nodded and then left the room which was when Teal'c noticed she was awake.
"Doctor Carter, I am pleased to see you are well." The big man stepped forward and held out a hand which was filled with the largest bouquet of flowers she had ever seen. "I have been informed it is customary to give those in hospital flowers. Are they adequate?"
Sam managed to smile through her cracked lips at this caring giant. "Thank you Teal'c." her throat was scratchy and sore.
Daniel appeared by her side with a glass of cool water and helped her drink.
"We were going to bring you some as well Carter, but it turns out Teal'c bought the entire shop." Jack quipped sarcastically.
"What happened?" she asked and the entire room descended into silence. She looked imploringly around the room willing someone to explain but no one spoke. Finally her eyes rested on Janet and she stared at her. "Janet, please?" her friend nodded.
"Maybe you guys could..." Janet suggested and without finishing her sentence, the rest of the men began to file out of the room, Jack the last to go.
When at last they were alone, Janet perched on the side of her bed and held her hand. She looked nervous and her eyes didn't stay on Sam's face for long. "Jonas...well he...he" Janet was struggling.
"No." Sam decided to save her. "I know what Jonas did. Jack and the police were there, I don't understand."
"Ohh." Was all Janet said but her unease remained. "There was a woman, a...a prostitute. She was beaten up pretty bad a couple of days ago. They managed to track down who did it. Sam..."
"Jonas." Sam felt a whole new wave of shame hit her. He was sleeping with a prostitute. Sam couldn't stop the tears that fell. Was she really so bad?
"Jack followed you back from base. He knew what Jonas was doing to you and he was worried. He turned up at the same time as the police. Much longer and I wouldn't be here talking to you. You should have told us he was hurting you Sam. We would have helped you."
Sam's vision blurred with tears and she felt rather then saw Janet run her hand soothingly over her hair. "I messed it all up Janet. Why do I always mess everything up?"
Sam was crying like a child and yet she couldn't stop it for the world. It felt like she had been crying for months on end, like she would never stop, until eventually she cried herself to sleep.
*~*
She could hear them talking in the corridor. What made them think that she couldn't hear them she didn't know but then she didn't much care either.
"Isn't it all a bit quick though Doc?" Jack was asking.
"Her physical injuries weren't all the extensive Colonel and she is seeing a therapist about all this. I don't see any reason why they should keep her." Janet was trying to pacify him, Sam could tell by her voice.
"But it's barely a week Janet." Jack didn't sound any calmer.
"I don't think we could keep her here even if we wanted to, she's as bad as you."
Now that made Sam giggle and she finally gave in. "You guys do know that I can hear you, right?" She called out.
Janet appeared at the door slightly flushed and muttered something about getting the rest of Sam's papers before disappearing back out the door. Jack, totally unfazed, waltzed into the room.
"I'm not staying here Colonel." She told him firmly.
"Ahh come on Carter, I hear they do a mean meatloaf here."
Sam smiled at that. She seemed to be smiling a whole lot more these days, something Jack seemed to appreciate. She felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. As it happened, it weighed about the same as Jonas did, funny that. There was something to be said about therapy; she wouldn't have admitted that before. "No, thanks Colonel, no one could ever beat my meatloaf."
Jack sat next to her on the bed, "So what are you going to do now that you're free and single?" He asked casually.
"I think I'll spend some time on my own." She looked up hoping Jack would catch her meaning. "Spend some time sorting my head out. It turns out that if you let a man beat you for a couple of years, it's a sign that there's something wrong." Her weak joke didn't lift a smile onto Jack's face and she wasn't all that surprised.
"You'll be ok Sam, right?" Jack asked serious for once.
"In time I hope so. I think so."
"And if it doesn't work, you can just join SG-1, I'm sure you'll fit right in." Jack's joke broke the tension in the room and Sam smiled again.
"Come on you two." Janet called to them, "Some of us do have to work today."
Jack leapt off the bed, "Shall we?"
Sam followed suit, "We shall."
*~*
"This is a crazy assed mission and you know it Daniel." Jack's voice was raised.
"I don't think anyone is trying to deny that Jack."
"But we're still going to go on it?" Jack sounded just a bit exasperated.
"I believe so O'Neill." Teal'c joined in.
"But we all agree it's crazy assed?"
"Pretty much." Charlie said with a grin.
"Remind me to say I told you so when you're all dead." Jack threw over his shoulder as he walked away from the group of men.
"Where you going Jack?" Daniel called.
"I forgot something, I'll be back in time." He grumbled, too far out of earshot to hear their replies. Why did SG-1 always get the crazy assed mission? Jack pondered as he made his way to his quarters. Surely it was the turn of some other SG team to go on one.
He pushed open the door to his quarters and made his way straight to his desk. The photo of his son that he always brought with him on missions was sitting on it; he had forgotten to pocket it earlier. The date on his calendar caught his attention and he stopped. Jesus Christ, that can't be right. He checked his wristwatch, it was right. It had been a year, an entire year, since Sam was released from hospital after the whole Jonas thing.
The change in her since then was remarkable. She was much more out going, noticeable happy. She had even been on some of the scientific missions off-world, something Jonas would never have allowed. Jack had learnt so much about in her that time. How she ended up dating Jonas, how her mother had died, how she had blown up the chemistry lab in 9th grade. And in turn she had gotten to know him better, hell, she could almost read him like a book these days. Still, after learning so much about each other they had never spoken to each other about what happened before she was in the SGC. He didn't push her, he didn't want to lose her completely. She hadn't dated anyone else, although she did get plenty of male attention and Jack hated to admit it but he was glad that she hadn't dated anyone. An entire year had passed, that was unreal. He should go, they had a crazy assed mission to get to.
"Colonel." Sam's voice made Jack look up. "I was looking for you."
"Something I can help you with Sam?" He never called her Sam; she looked surprised that he used it.
"I wanted to wish you luck on your mission." She continued anyway.
"Well we'll be needing some of that. Actually we'll need a whole load of that."
"I'm sure you'll be fine sir."
"Well if you're sure Sam..."
"You better get going, sir don't want to be late." She suggested, moving aside to let him past.
"Would you do something for me Sam? Something for luck?" He asked.
"Sure sir. What?" she looked a little surprised by his request.
Jack pulled his cap off his head and then stooped a little to press a kiss against her lips. It was firm but gentle and if you asked Jack, far too short before he pulled back.
Sam looked shocked, "A kiss." She gasped.
"For luck" he finished and then walked away
:*:
Janet topped up Sam's wine glass again. "You're an evil woman Janet, you know that." Sam said with a huge grin.
"Well if this isn't a reason to celebrate I don't know what is." She raised her glass and thought for a moment, "Good riddance to bad rubbish." She finally decided.
"Here, here." Joined in Sam, clinking her glass against her friend's.
They were both currently sitting in a quite restaurant after eating way too much and maybe drinking a bit too much wine. They were celebrating Sam's split from Jonas over a year ago. It wasn't exactly a year but they waited until SG-1 was back safely and the world was safe again before celebrating. In fact Jack had asked them to join SG-1's celebration but this was a special night for just the two women.
"You think we're up to dessert?" Janet asked.
Sam groaned. "God no. I think I'll stick with coffee."
Janet signalled the waiter and they didn't speak again until the waiter had left their coffee and was safely out of the way.
"So..." Janet began.
"So..." repeated Sam.
"It's been an entire year."
"Yessss, Janet." She knew her friend was coming to a point.
"You think it's time to get back on the bike? So to speak." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.
"Janet." She hit her friend lightly on her arm.
"Come on Sam, Jonas was a dick. You know that, I know that. It's time to find someone who deserves you."
Sam did finally accept that Jonas was a dick and everything he did to her was not in fact her fault. It took her a while to see that but she did. "I dunno Janet, maybe."
"Anyone in mind?" God that woman was incorrigible.
"Jannnet."
"It's Jack, isn't it?" Janet was definitely on a roll. "Come on Sam tell me, there is so something between you guys."
Sam's body betrayed her by making her face go beetroot red so there was no point in denying it.
"I've seen the way he looks at you. Did you two ever..." Sam was glad her face couldn't go any redder.
"Please tell me Sam, pleeeassse." Janet's voice was getting louder.
"Alright, Janet, alright, just keep your voice down." Sam leaned across the table and hissed at her.
Janet actually clapped her hands in glee, how much exactly had they drunk? Surely not that much. She thought hard for a minute. Maybe she should talk about this and Janet allowed her time to gather her thoughts.
"It was the only defiant thing I ever did against Jonas. The only thing I ever did that I knew Jonas would hurt me for but I just didn't care. I'm not sure why Jack. I mean it's not like I couldn't have done it before but with Jack..." Sam changed track. "Have you ever had something for so long that you don't even recognise it for what it is and then something new and dazzling comes into you life and you can't help but be drawn to it? You just can't pull away."
"And Jack was new and shiny." Janet asked with a giggle. Sam scowled at her.
"You know what I mean."
"So you did sleep together?" Janet pushed.
"Well the first time we were both really drunk..."
"The first time...?" Sam swore Janet was this close to squealing. "There was more then one time?"
"Twice. We slept together twice." Sam gave in.
"And the second time...?"
"It just sort of happened. I didn't want it to stop, I wanted him."
"So what happened?" Janet sounded as though she might explode.
"I left. I left in the morning with no intention of ever finding him again. It was just a coincidence that we met at the SGC."
"Some bloody coincidence." Murmured Janet.
"Exactly." Sam nodded.
"So what else?"
"Nothing else."
"Nothing else!" Janet didn't seem too pleased with this answer. "In an entire year there's nothing else."
Sam shook her head and suddenly felt a sadness sweep through her.
"Well then why not?" Janet asked sternly.
Why not? Why not indeed. "I wasn't ready for anything before. And I mean, I didn't think Jack would, well, you know what I mean."
Janet raised an eyebrow at that, "And who exactly are you trying to kid? You know as well as I do that Jack is mad about you."
Sam wouldn't have been so sure of that except the memory of Jack's soft lips on her own during his good luck kiss was still fresh in her memory.
"Maybe?"
"You should you know. Jack may not be a perfect man but he is one of the good ones."
"I know Janet." She had in fact known that for a long time now.
"Well then as long as I get to be bridesmaid at the wedding, go for it girl." And she was off again.
"Jannnnet."
:*:
The drink in Jack's hand was slightly warm from holding the glass for too long, it didn't really add extra appeal to drinking it. He wasn't all that sure why he was here. Well that wasn't entirely true, he did have an idea why he was here but he wasn't clear on the fine print. He was sitting in the bar, in the exact seat that he had first met Sam Carter in. He had hoped that Sam would be with him tonight. She was invited to join himself and SG-1 in their little celebration but she had declined on the grounds that she and Janet were off out having dinner. No doubt they were off toasting Sam getting rid of Jonas. Not that he wasn't pleased about it but he was disappointed that he couldn't join them or even see her tonight.
All of which led to him sitting here with a warm drink instead of passing out with Daniel and Charlie after losing too much at poker. No one could beat Teal'c's poker face, it was just impossible. He wasn't all that sure about what to do about Sam. Or more preciously, didn't know what to do about his feelings for Sam. Jack was a tactile person, he was far better at showing how he felt than actually saying it, but he was denied that with Sam.
All in all it meant that he had never spoken to Sam about what happened between them and he was never given the opportunity to show her. He had been hoping for a long time, maybe he should stop now? Maybe a year was too long? Maybe she would find someone else who wasn't so tangled up with the military and Jonas? Someone to wipe the slate clean and heal the wounds. Maybe the best he could hope for was friendship, maybe, maybe, maybe. It was doing his head in. Charlie's words kept bugging him just to make it all the more annoying.
'Why don't you just ask her to the wedding with you and see what happens?'
He did have a point. Charlie was to be wed in just under two weeks to Kerry, the woman that Charlie had denied feeling strongly about for so long and the woman he proposed to five months ago. He even managed to talk Jack into being best man, which meant speeches, which was just a whole other problem to worry about.
"You want me to replace that with a cold one or are you carrying out some sort of experiment?"
"Ha ha Scott, if only I had your sense of humour." Jack answered sarcastically but pushed his glass towards him anyway.
Scott wandered off to refill his glass and Jack zoned out again until his new drink was plonked down in front of him.
"This one's on me." A voice beside him said.
Jack turned to the smiling face of Sam, he was so out of it he didn't even notice her entrance.
"I thought that was my line." He teased.
She just shrugged it off, "You wanna play pool?" she asked instead.
"Still don't know when you're beaten do yah Carter?" He couldn't help himself. He was like a 16 year old trying to make the girl he liked smile.
"Just thought the extra cash wouldn't go astray." Well Jack knew a challenge when he heard one.
"Bring it on Carter."
:*:
Sam potted another ball, bringing her victory ever closer.
"I thought you and Janet were making a night of it tonight?" Jack asked from behind her, doing nothing to distract her from her game.
"We were but she had to leave. Something to do with Cassie needing a lift."
She potted another ball. Three more and she'd win, again.
"So what brings you here?" She had been waiting for that question all night, she still didn't really have an answer though.
"Not sure really, I was just driving by and decided to stop. What about you?" Damn it, the ball bounced off the cushion. Jack stood and moved around the table.
"Got fed up watching Daniel getting drunk and listening to Charlie worry about the wedding." He leaned over the table to line up a shot. Sam checked out his ass, Janet would be proud. She giggled at herself.
"How's the speech going anyway."
Jack potted a ball and straightened, much to Sam's disappointment. "It's not going, I figure I'll corner Daniel soon and get him to help. He is the wordy one after all." Jack leaned over again eyeing up a tricky shot and Sam wondered if he'd notice if she just leaned over to get a better look.
Jack decided not to take the shot and moved before Sam could make a decision. "Who you going with anyway?" Jack asked her casually studying the pool table.
"Me? I haven't even bought an outfit yet let alone found a date." Jack's eyes flicked to her and then away again.
"So you're on the prowl I take it?" He potted another ball. Sam laughed at that one,
"No. Janet is on the prowl for me. She's decided that I need to get 'back on the bike' so to speak." She explained.
Jack missed his next shot and Sam took over again clearing the table swiftly. She stood and grinned triumphantly at him.
"Yeah, yeah Carter, you're brilliant." He grouched.
Sam pulled her jacket off the back of a chair and put it on, Jack followed suit. Walking side by side to the door, shoulders bumping as Jack held the door open for her.
"You need a lift Sam?" Jack looked hopeful.
"Please, I got a taxi this far."
Sam liked Jack's truck. It was manly and comfortable and diffused with a smell that was pure Jack. Soft music played quietly in the background and Sam watched the dimly lit world pass by as he drove her home. The silence was comfortable and neither chose to break it. Their time together passed all too quickly. Jack pulled up outside her house and moved around to her door as she pushed it open and hopped out. She turned to face him, "Goodnight Jack." She stumbled slightly over his name, so long unused.
"'Night Sam." Neither of them moved.
Sam lifted a hand and ran it gently through the hair at his temple. She smiled sheepishly at her actions but Jack didn't move. Leaning forward she brushed a kiss on his cheek before moving away completely. He watched her progress to her front door and on impulse called out.
"Carter." His voice shattering the quite evening.
She turned to look at him but most of her face was hidden in darkness. "Will you go with me?"
"Go where?"
"To Charlie's wedding. Will you go with me?" he finally got the question out.
"I'd love to." She answered with a sweet smile before slipping inside her door.
Jack decided it was a good night.
*~*
Jack stood at the head of the alter next to his best friend as he pledged his life to a beautiful woman in white next to him that was dumb enough to say yes when he proposed. Jack was just kinda glad he wasn't the centre of attention, which would come later with the speeches. But for now he could shift uncomfortably in his stiff dress blues and very few people would notice or care.
His eyes flicked to Sam sitting a few rows back. He had been doing that a lot. It probably had something to do with the very attractive black dress she was wearing. She declared that she had taken the very unoriginal route of a little black dress but he'd be damned if he was complaining.
"You may now kiss the bride."
Charlie kissed his new wife and then faced the rest of the church with a huge ass grin on his face. The crowd clapped the new couple as they made their way down the aisle and Jack noticed Janet wipe a tear from her eye.
The crowd mingled outside as Charlie and Kerry were whisked away by the photographer. Jack found Sam and Janet talking with Daniel, Teal'c and one of the nurses from the infirmary. Jack took great pleasure in slipping an arm around Sam's waist and pulling her slightly closer to him. The action did not go unnoticed but Jack was too busy enjoying the soft feel of the material of her dress and the heady smell of her perfume. He still wasn't sure where they stood but he was taking the opportunity to enjoy himself in case she told him to shove off after the day.
"Should we not proceed to the meal now?" Teal'c asked looking rather dapper in a suit. He still wasn't sure where they got that one from.
"Sure Teal'c, let's go get some food."
The rest of the group nodded in agreement and split up and went to their cars.
:*:
The crowd laughed at Jack's joke and Charlie let out an audible groan.
"I better shut up now before I dig an even bigger hole." Her raised his glass aloft. "To the happy couple." He toasted.
"To the happy couple." The crowd replied and Jack sat down again.
The people around the room turned their attention to the last of the wine and the last of their food. The hum of conversation filled the air. Sam was sitting with Daniel, Teal'c, Janet and some of the other men from base that were friends with Charlie that Sam vaguely knew. One of the men was currently fielding question after question from Teal'c about Tau'ri weddings, while Daniel was arguing about something or another with a different man. Sam turned to Janet who was making inroads into the wine, she had a wicked smile painted on her face.
"Sooooo Sam I couldn't help but notice that you have a date tonight." Janet emphasised the word date.
"Did you really Janet?" Sam decided to play along.
"You know he hasn't taken his eyes off you all night." Sam blushed at that. "I knew that dress would work." Janet said triumphantly.
"Whatever you say Janet." She brushed her friend off.
"You know what Sam? I really like men in suits." Janet said with a roving eye. She definitely was drinking to much wine.
"You're going to have way too much fun tonight, Jan." Sam laughed at her wild behaviour.
"And you're not?" she asked sceptically.
Jack, perfectly timed, chose that moment to wander over to them. Sam kicked Janet sharply under the table as she opened her mouth.
"Hey Jack, good speech." Daniel spoke.
"Indeed O'Neill, it was most entertaining.
"Thanks guys, I'm not sure Charlie's so pleased but he'll live."
"Pull up a chair Jack. There's room over here." Jack looked at Janet, puzzled by her behaviour.
"Sure Jan." he turned away to find a spare seat and Sam leaned across to hiss at her friend.
"That was real subtle Jan, next time why don't you just spell it out?"
"Well if you really want me to..." she said deviously. Sam shot her a glare as Jack slipped a chair in beside her.
The next few hours or so was spent talking, laughing and sipping drinks. With an extra person on the table, Sam was pressed closely to Jack, their legs pressed together and every so often he would lean over slightly to talk to Janet and his hand would rest on her leg.
The band kicked up and after the newly weds had their first dance, couples started to fill the floor. Daniel, Teal'c and Janet were soon swept off to dance while the remainder of the table went off to prop up the bar leaving Sam and Jack alone. They spent some time laughing at Teal'c's bulky form agilely move around the dance floor and Daniel looking at his feet as he moved with far less finesse.
"So you wanna show them how it's done Carter?" Jack asked.
"Dance? You want to dance?" Sam wasn't so sure she liked the sound of that, she didn't really do dancing.
"That's what I said Sam." He stood, and held his hand out to her.
Sam was torn, she hadn't danced in a long time and it so wasn't her forte but it did mean being even closer to Jack, which was very, very tempting.
"Come on Sam, it's a slow one. Even my knees are up to this one." He prodded gently.
Sam figured she couldn't be worse than some of the drunk swaying that was going on and slipped her hand into Jack's larger one. His face lit up in a smile. They made their way through the other dancing couples until they found a little space on the small dance floor.
Jack faced her and slipped one hand around her waist and tried to hold her other hand but Sam decided to forgo all formalities and simply slipped her arms around his shoulders. She rested her head on his blue clad shoulder and felt Jack slip his other hand around her waist. They began to sway gently to the music.
"I'm just going to take this opportunity to say that I at least tried to be a gentleman." He spoke softly into her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.
"Duly noted." She couldn't care less really, the longer she felt like this the better. Sam felt Jack drop his face into her hair,
"God I missed you." He spoke so quietly it was almost to himself.
"But you only had me twice." She teased but Jack didn't rise to the bait. "You couldn't have missed me, I've been here all the time." She tried again.
"Here, but not close enough." His voice impossibly soft. "I missed how you smell." He inhaled sharply. "I missed how you taste." He dropped a kiss onto the exposed skin of her neck.
"I missed not having you this close." God his voice was sexy.
She had missed him too. She had missed being held lovingly, feeling safe in someone's arms. And Sam had worried that maybe it was just that, that Sam had missed anyone, any man being kind and gentle to her that had drawn her to Jack but during the past year she had come into contact with a number of men, although not in any intimate way. But she had received touches and hugs from other men even if it was only in a friendly way and none of it compared to how it felt to be touched by Jack, to be held by Jack. She wanted to tell him that, to show him that but Charlie decided to show up.
"Hey, Jack buddy. I'm after getting some complaints from the bridesmaids that the best man isn't entertaining them on the dance floor."
Jack released her from his embrace. "Ahhh, come on Kawalsky you're not serious are you?" Jack was glancing over to the bridesmaids nervously. They were eyeing him right back and Sam wasn't so sure she was comfortable with it.
"Serious as the plague Jack, go on, duty calls." Charlie gave him a shove in the general direction.
"What about Sam?" Jack was taking on a look of desperation.
Kawalsky threw an arm around Sam's shoulders, which earned him a glare from Jack, "Don't worry Jack, she's safe with me. Now off you go."
Jack walked away slowly muttering obscenities under his breath, he was soon surrounded by the three bridesmaids in rather dubious dresses. Looks like they had a thing for a man in dress uniform too.
"It's so much fun teasing that guy. Come on Sam I'll get you a drink."
*~*
Sam had disappeared 15 minutes ago and Jack was looking for her. He was well aware that he had spent most of the night glued to her side but he really couldn't give a crap. The party inside was winding down. All in all, it had been one hell of a night. Charlie and Kerry's flight was cancelled due to weather conditions in Hawaii and weren't due to fly out 'til tomorrow. Instead they spent their time mingling with the guests. Kerry dragged Charlie off to 'bed' about two hours ago and since then the rest of the guests had been dwindling ever since.
Sam had disappeared from him after they said their goodbyes to Teal'c and Daniel. Jack pushed open the heavy wooden doors of the hotel where the reception was taking place. He was staying there tonight along with the rest of the family and friends of the married couple.
The cool night air was welcome after the stuffy interior. Sam was leaning against the wall of the porch. Her cheeks were slightly flushed from the heat inside and her strappy sandals were dangling from the finger tips of one hand.
Jack was struck by just how beautiful she looked and took the opportunity to study her. Her head was resting against the wall, her eyes half closed, lost in some dream world he wasn't privy to. 'She could be yours' his heart whispered to him, making his whole body tingle. "Hey." She turned to him a smile on her face, un-surprised to see him.
"Hey." She answered, some what sleepily.
"I was looking for you." He closed the distance between them.
"I'm waiting for a taxi." She waved her free hand vaguely at the drive.
"You're leaving?" He asked, disappointed.
She nodded sadly, "Jan and I have a room booked in a hotel down the road." She explained. "I'm not sure Janet could make it on her own."
"Well there's one way to find out." He suggested weakly. His comment earned him a glare. "Where is she anyway?" he changed the subject.
"Saying goodnight to Kawalsky's brother."
"The guy with the roaming hands?" Jack was nearly sure that that guy had pinched every woman's ass in the place with the exception of the bride and Sam; he'd made damn sure of that.
"That's the one. Janet claims she's doing us all a service because idle hands are the devil's tools." She laughed lightly at the comment and Jack grinned at the sound.
"And when exactly were you going to say goodnight to me, Carter?" he asked, eyebrow raised.
"Goodnight Jack." Sam said with an innocent smile.
"Tease." He complained as he leaned in to kiss her.
He pinned her between his body and the wall and felt a flush of heat as their bodies came into full contact. Sam's hands quickly forgot her shoes and starting playing with the hair at the nape of his neck making his skin tingle. Her mouth tasted of champagne and lipstick and was doing wickedly good things to him. When they finally parted to breathe, Sam's eyes remained shut, her head leaning back against the wall. One of Jack's hands left her waist to trail up her body to her neck to trace the small sliver chain hanging there.
"Do you really have to go?" he asked again.
Janet decided that that was the moment for her to burst through the door and seconds later the taxi horn was heard beeping. Jack buried his head into Sam's hair and groaned. Janet stared blearily at the couple.
"The Colonel will kill you if he sees this." She swayed her way over to poke him in the shoulder. He turned around to look at her and couldn't help but smile.
"I am the Colonel, Janet."
She blinked at him like a fish until Sam grabbed her hand and started to pull her to the impatiently waiting taxi. "Goodnight Colonel." She called to him as she dragged Janet away.
Jack's body complained loudly at her leaving but he didn't say anything. Turning to return inside he heard Janet's loud voice. "So is he a good kisser, Sam? Sam, Sam, why are you blushing?"
*~*
It had taken him a day and a half to get Sam to leave work at a decent hour on Friday. An entire day and a half but instead of a home cooked meal, soft music and wine he had to replace it with pizza, renting a movie and cans of beer. The rest of SG-1 had gotten wind of the meeting and since they were still on leave until Kawalsky was back from his honeymoon, they decided to invite themselves along. Even ol' Doc Fraser was coming. But it had taken him an entire day and a half to convince Sam to come so he couldn't back out now.
Daniel and Teal'c were the first to arrive, closely followed by Sam and last but not least, Janet. Soon enough they were in full swing and decimating the pizza, with everyone abandoning the movie to chat except, of course, for Teal'c. Jack was teasing Daniel about his low alcohol tolerance and Janet and Sam were giggling like teenagers in the corner earning more then one odd glance from the men.
"What are you two talking about exactly?" asked Daniel exasperated as the two women burst into laughter again. His question set them off on another round of giggles.
"Ladies, ladies, a little calm please." Jack said, only making the situation worse.
The credits started rolling on screen and Teal'c turned to watch his four friends clutching their sides in amusement.
"I do not understand what it so amusing." Teal'c stated making them all laugh harder.
Sam's cell phone shrill ring cut through the room and she pulled it out of her pocket. She left the room, the babble of everyone trying to explain to Teal'c what they were laughing at making it too hard to hear the person on the other end. The chatter in the room continued until Sam's raised voice made everyone fall quite.
"NO! Just don't touch anything. DO YOU UNDERSTAND? I'll be there as soon as possible."
Sam stomped back into the room looking rather displeased and picked up her jacket.
"Everything ok Sam?" Daniel was brave enough to ask.
"Some idiot was playing around with one of my experiments. It's nothing serious, but I have to go in and fix it before he does. Sorry, you guys have, a good night though."
Her exit was accompanied by several good nights and Jack stood to walk her out to the door.
"You know this wasn't how I wanted tonight to go." Jack lowered his voice so that the others couldn't hear him.
"That's what I figured." He had spent so much time trying to convince her to come here tonight, she had envisioned an entirely different night with an entirely different ending.
"So do you think you'll be finished soon?" Jack the optimist, which was something new.
"Probably not, it didn't sound too good."
"How about I leave the door open?"
"I don't think that's very safe Jack." She chastised him gently.
"Never made a difference before." He shrugged non-committal.
"I gotta go." She brushed a brief kiss on his lips and pulled the door open.
"That's all I get?" He called after her.
She didn't return to rectify the situation though she just shouted back. "I'll see you tomorrow." And then she was in her car and gone.
:*:
"Hey guys." Sam bounded into the infirmary to be greeted by four very tried and very dirty men. She hadn't seen any of them since they were all over at Jack's and she had only talked to Kawalsky in passing since his honeymoon, so she took the opportunity to visit Janet when they were having their post-mission medicals. "Hard mission?" Her cheery voice was greeted with three various tired moans, Teal'c seemingly the only one up to answering.
"It was a most tiring mission Doctor Carter." Tiredness even seeped into Teal'c voice.
"You guys do look a little worse for wear." It was such a pity she didn't have a camera, maybe she could lift something off the security cameras. "Is Janet about?" She got back to the point of her visit.
"I believe she maybe in her office." Teal'c was still the only one up to answering.
"Right, thanks Teal'c, feel better you guys."
Sam sidled by the occupied beds but she didn't make it that far. Jack was sitting on the last and closest bed to Janet's office and as Sam passed by him, his not so clean arm reached out and caught a belt loop on Sam's trousers. He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head on her chest, leaving a fabulous mud stain on her lab coat.
Sam thankfully did see the funny side of it, "It's nice to see you too, Colonel." She tried prying him away before the dirt seeped through to her clothes beneath.
"Home." He finally founds words even if it was monosyllabic.
Janet appeared as if from thin air, all she needed was a puff of smoke to polish off her act, "Well you're free to go Colonel, although I do recommend cleaning up first."
No doubt Janet was glad that she didn't have to clean the infirmary herself. Jack looked up at Sam; arms still wrapped around her, and did his best puppy dog eyes at her.
"Yes, I'll drive you home Colonel but only if you promise to change." And then thinking of another condition, "Oh, and let go." She indicated to his arms.
Jack slowly began to release her, but slower than she thought was necessary. She turned to the other tired men. "Any of you guys want a lift?"
"I shall reside on base tonight but thank you for the offer Doctor Carter." Teal'c, polite as ever.
Charlie just waved his arm vaguely and Sam caught a gentle snore emanating from Daniel as he lay prone on the infirmary bed.
Jack had finally removed himself completely from her and she stepped back just in case he tried it again. "I'll see you in 30 on the surface then sir." She took his grunt as a yes and left to change her lab coat, she wasn't sure she wanted to know what exactly it was.
*~*
Jack was woken when the car went over a bump causing his head to hit off the window. God he was tried. He didn't even lift his head off the glass to look over at Sam, he simply turned his head. She really was a sight for sore eyes, particularly since he hadn't since her, or been alone with her in well over a week. He'd had plans, so many happy plans to wine, dine and do other things with her after the wedding, but stupid life got in the way. Now, when he'd got her alone, he fell asleep, life was just dandy. Who knew that walking for three days straight in a knee high, mud like substance could make you so tired?
He was home, he realised with a start when the engine of her car died.
"Come on sir, your bed awaits."
Ohhh, bed, definitely a motivating factor. He hauled his weary body from the car, which turned out to be much harder task then it was yesterday. Carter thankfully had already commandeered his house keys and was busy opening the door so he didn't have to.
He didn't bother going anywhere but straight to his room, not even flicking on the lights on his way, Sam would take care of that. He just about managed to change into a pair of sweats to sleep in and that was it. A couple of minutes later he heard a gentle knock on his bedroom door.
"Sir?" Sam's gentle voice broke into his semi-conscious mind.
"Yeah." He managed to croak out.
She popped her head around the door, "I just wanted to see if you wanted anything before I went."
"What?" His brain was definitely asleep ahead of his body.
"I just wanted to..." but he waved his arm around to silence her.
"You're going?" He questioned.
"Well I thought you'd want some peace and quiet, I can come back tomorrow if you want a lift to work?"
"No. Stay." Jack decided for the short and sweet approach, anything else would require too much energy.
"But.."
"Stay." He grunted and then fell asleep.
*~*
Jack rolled over onto his back and grunted. He blinked his eyes a couple of times to focus but it is hard to do when you are looking at a white ceiling. He shuffled through the information in his mind to figure out where he was. Ah yes, long hard mission, convincing Carter to drive him home.
He rolled onto his side to look at his alarm clock. He must have been asleep for at least six hours, it was almost ten o'clock and the light had completely died outside. Kicking the covers off him he wandered through the house making his way to the bathroom and then the kitchen, stopping in the doorway when he found it already occupied. The microwave binged and Sam pulled out a steaming bag of what looked like rice. She must have been shopping, there was no way in hell he bought microwavable rice.
She split the bag and poured the contents onto a plate, unaware of Jack's gaze on her. She was bare footed and wearing a jumper two sizes too big for her that she must have had in her car. He could see the flickering light of the TV in the room next door, she had settled in nicely. He crept up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. He felt her stiffen in surprise and then relax as he dropped his chin onto her shoulder.
"Making yourself at home I see?" His lips barely brushing her ear.
"Well since my company wasn't interesting enough to keep you awake I thought I better make the best out of the situation."
He didn't move away as she poured some kind of sauce onto her rice that he knew he definitely hadn't bought.
"Would you like something to eat?" She asked innocently, ignoring his attack on her ear.
"I had something else in mind."
"Oh, well in that case I'll get out of the way." She slipped from his grasp and grabbing her plate, headed back to the TV.
"Hey." He called and then moved swiftly around to block her.
"Yes?" She asked sweetly.
"What I had in mind involved you." He lifted the plate from her hand and placed it on the counter next to him and out of her reach.
"But I'm eating." She pouted, he liked when she did that.
"Sam did anyone ever tell you, you are a tease?" He asked growing tried at their game.
She dragged her fingernails lightly down his chest and he was suddenly very grateful that he was too tired to pull a T-shirt on earlier. "You have no idea." Her smile had turned wicked and slightly ferial.
The urge to kiss her was powerful and so he did just that, starting with small kisses to taste and feel and it soon becoming something much more. Jack's tongue licked Sam's lips until she parted them so that he could plunder her mouth.
Her hand was buried in his hair and the other warm against the bare skin of his back. His hands held her close, her left leg hooked around his calf and on impulse, Jack lifted her and placed her on the worktop. With both legs now free, they wrapped around his waist and aligned their bodies nicely. Sam bit his lower lip gently and then moved away to nibble on his chin.
"It's been way too long since we did this." He moaned at the sensation she was causing. He slipped his hands under her sweater and was pleased to note that she didn't have a top on under it. His fingers skimmed lightly over her firm flesh and he felt her shiver.
"Uhhhhh." Was Sam's responding moan.
"I've wanted you since the day I met you and I've wanted you every day in between." He admitted before he told his brain to do so. "God it was killing me not being able to touch you." His hands climbed higher and traced the outline of her bra and he pinched her already erect nipples, smiling as she inhaled sharply. "I don't think I've ever been so jealous of another man in all my life."
Sam's hands were now playing with the waistband of his sweats, her finger nails just dipping beneath the elastic and then back out again, it was making it hard for him to concentrate on what he was saying. "I'm still willing to kill him for you if you want." His fingers left her breasts and made their way to the fly of her jeans and slowly began to open them, he was momentarily distracted as she bit his earlobe.
"Nahh, he deserves prison, let him stay there." She breathed into his ear.
Jack now moved his attention away from talking and onto removing her jeans. Her hands disengaged from him and alighted onto his. "Maybe we should do this somewhere more comfortable?" She suggested lightly. Jack complied by picking her up, legs still wrapped around his waist.
"You know I'll get you fired if you're not here in the morning." He joked walking them both back into his room.
*~*
Sam awoke slowly, surrounded by warmth and extremely comfortable, the noise of the morning barely audible in the room. Last nights memories came back with a rush and she smiled like the cat that got the cream. It must have been late enough in the morning but she didn't really care, neither of them was due in until lunchtime and after all, she'd had a very busy night last night.
She stretched slightly and finally opened her eyes to be greeted by a pair of brown ones.
"Hey." She smiled shyly at his intense stare.
"You're still here." He said with a grin and she realised she had never actually stayed a full night before. "You've never done that before." Jack the mind reader.
"That's only because I heard about your cooking skills." She teased him, he loved it really.
He poked her in the side at her remark, "I wouldn't give up the day job to be a comedian just yet Doctor."
She stuck her tongue out at him; she really was a mature adult.
"The General rang." She was surprised to hear that she had slept through the phone ringing. "We don't have to go in until tomorrow. He gave SG-1 the day off since the mission was so tough yesterday."
"That means you have the day off Jack, I still have to go in." Damn she wouldn't mind a day off to spend in Jack's bed.
Jack shifted a little uncomfortably, and she eyed him suspiciously. "I might have asked him to let you have the day off too."
Sam groaned and buried he face in her pillow, God only knew what the General thought of her now. Her embarrassment lifted slightly when she felt Jack trail kisses down her spine.
"I'll make it up to you." His voice reached her through the pillow.
"I know." She flipped over.
"When you think about it, we have an entire year to make up for." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"Well that is true." She wasn't going to argue with that.
"So it's best if we start now?" He decided, his face lowering to hers and who was Sam too refuse him? She had finally found a man who might just love her, and sure as hell treated her right and she wasn't going to let him go for quite some time.
It kinda looked like he wouldn't be letting her get out of the bed let alone go anywhere else anytime soon. Sweet! ****************************************************************** So that's it, again.
If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to Seesaw
Heliopolis Main Archive
A Stargate: SG-1 Fanfiction Site
In other worlds
by SeesawSite Navigation
Support Heliopolis