Fresh Starts Part 1
Fresh Starts Part 1
by Kirsty
Summary: set between the movie and COTG. i've always thought there's more to jack and janet than we think, so here's my version of what's really going on!
Category: Romance, Series
Episode Related: 001 Stargate - The Movie
Season: Season 1
Pairing: Jack/Janet
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: minor language, sexual situations
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: 04/23/03
Fresh Starts.
Janet Frasier sat at the bar slowly sipping her drink. She should have left with her friend an hour ago, but wasn't quite ready to go home to an empty house yet. Someone stood at the bar beside her and asked for a beer. She was sure she recognised the voice and when she looked up she definitely recognised the face.
"Colonel O'Neill?"
She remembered the last time she'd seen this man. It was just after she'd been transferred to Cheyenne Mountain and she'd carried out his pre-mission medical exam. He looked so different then. So lost.
"Hi...um...I'm sorry do I know you? I kinda recognise your face but I don't know where from."
"Dr. Janet Frasier" she held out her hand and he shook it "I work at Cheyenne Mountain."
"Ah, yeah I remember, you did our medicals before we went to...um, on the mission. So how come your still there? I thought they'd shut the place down."
"They have. Sort of. There's still people stationed there though. Just to keep an eye on...things. So what are you up to these days?"
"Enjoying my retirement!" he answered with a smile, and wow, what a smile! " I guess it's pretty quiet at work now then?"
"Yeah, you know, the occasional bad paper cut from the guys up in NORAD!"
He chuckled and offered to buy Janet another drink. They sat talking for a while before Jack wondered why she was sat on her own in the bar. He was a regular in here and hadn't seen her there before.
"So how come you're in here all alone?" he asked. Janet paused for a moment not sure how much she should tell him about why she didn't want to go home just yet. "It's ok, you don't have to answer that, it's none of my business really..."
"No, it's ok. I was with a friend but she had to leave earlier and I just wasn't ready to leave yet." She looked down at the bar and they both fell silent. Jack could see there was more to it than she was letting on.
"May I ask why?" Janet looked up and Jack was sure he'd pushed too far. He was just about to apologise for being nosey when she spoke, her voice shaking slightly,
" It just still feels strange going home to an empty house. I just got divorced. It was finalised this week..."
"Yeah those final dotted lines really hit home don't they?" Janet looked at him, confusion evident on her face. She was sure his file said he was married. Jack noticed the look on her face and held up his left hand, wiggling his fingers, showing her the lack of gold and noticeable tan line on his third finger.
"Oh! I'm sorry I didn't realise. How long have you been divorced?"
"Just a few months. Sara and I split up when I got back from my last mission."
"Sorry to hear that"
"Yeah"
They lapsed into another long silence, both lost in their thoughts.
"Well, that was a hell of a conversation killer huh?" Jack said, desperate to relieve the uncomfortable tension between them. "So, uh, do you want another drink?"
"No thanks. I ought to get going. Some of us have to work tomorrow!"
"You're not driving home are you?"
"No I was going to walk. I only live a few blocks away. Hardly worth calling a cab"
"I'll walk you back if you want. It's pretty late for you to be walking alone." Janet was unsure whether to take up his offer or not. This was after all only the second time she'd met him. In her moments of indecision Jack spoke again.
"Look, you can let me walk you home or I'm calling you a cab. It's not safe for you to walk home all alone in the dark, I mean anything could happen..."
"Ok ok, you can walk me home Colonel!" Jack smiled, and Janet felt her pulse race slightly. She flushed as she tried to get her hormones in check. Wow! Where had that come from? She had to admit though, this was one good looking man. He was tall, muscular, a little older than her, but not really showing his age. God Janet, the guys only just divorced and so are you, she scolded herself.
They walked to Janet's without talking much, but this time the silence was a little more comfortable, not as awkward as earlier. They finally reached Janet's house and stopped at the end of the driveway. She didn't quite know what to say then, how to break the silence. Thankfully she didn't have to,
"Well Doc, it's been fun, guess I'll see you around."
"Yeah I guess so, bye Colonel"
Janet watched as he turned and walked back down the street. She started up the driveway and entered her empty house.
Two weeks later Janet was out shopping for paint in a DIY store. She hated DIY but wanted to make her house feel like her own. She could decorate it however she liked now and not have to worry about anyone else liking it. As she wandered around the store she spotted a familiar figure in the aisle. She stood for a moment, unsure if she should speak or not. Jack turned around and immediately a smile spread across his face. Damn, that smile again, Janet wished he would stop doing that!
"Hey!"
"Hi Colonel. How are you?"
"Good thanks. And it's Jack! Just getting a few bits and pieces for the house. It's a wreck at the moment. Needs a lot of work, but it'll hopefully look pretty good when I've finished. How bout you?"
"Just decorating a few rooms. I've been given two weeks leave so I can't put it off any longer!"
Jack laughed at that, "Not a DIY fan, huh?"
"Not really, but at least I have a completely free reign with the colour scheme this time!"
Jack looked at the selection Janet had chosen and laughed again, "You have complete freedom of choice and you chose pink?!"
"And may I ask what is wrong with pink paint Colonel?" Janet gave him her best mock glare and almost burst out laughing at the look on his face. She couldn't hide her grin as he tried to back track. Jack noticed the grin and realised she was teasing him.
"So do you wanna get a coffee or sumthin'?" Jack shifted from foot to foot as he asked and looked everywhere but at Janet. She noticed a slight red tinge to his cheeks. How cute was that?
"Sure I'd love to. Just let me get this stuff into the car"
"Ok. Meet you in the coffee shop across the street?"
"Yeah ok. See you soon." Jack turned and headed out of the store while Janet made her way to the checkout. She inexplicably felt nervous as she loaded her items onto the counter and paid the clerk. Relax, she told herself, it's just coffee. She wondered why he'd seemed so nervous when he asked her for coffee.
Ten minutes later Janet was enjoying a cappuccino and listening to the man opposite her as he told her about what he'd been doing since he retired. She found out he had a cabin in Minnesota that his late Grandfather had left to him. She watched his eyes light up as he told her how nice the place was and laughed when he told her exactly how big the fish in the lake were. As she sat listening she could see the radical change in this man since she'd met him all those months ago, before he'd been sent on a suicide mission halfway across the galaxy. They sat all afternoon talking about anything and everything, but he never once mentioned his son. The memory was obviously too fresh and too painful for him to deal with. He'd bought a house not far from Janet's when his wife had left, and had left their family home to her. He'd spent most of his time since Abydos fixing it up.
"So how come you don't like DIY?" he'd asked.
"I guess I'm just not very good at it. I've not had enough practice! My dad used to be in charge of the decorating at home and when I got married my husband did it all!"
"Ah, I see, that's what the pink paint's about! Asserting your independence?" Janet wasn't sure how to take that. Coming from someone else she might've taken it as an insult, but the way he said it was different somehow.
"Something like that" she replied.
"Hey, sorry, I didn't mean anything by that. I was just kidding"
"I know. It's ok. I'm just really not used to doing this kind of thing alone!"
"Need some help?"
Janet looked up quickly at his question. Did she need some help? From him? In her house? That surely was a really bad idea. And yet...
"Yeah, that'd be great!" Shit! What did she say that for?
"Ok. Well I have to go now but do you wanna get started tomorrow? If you only have two weeks then we've got our work cut out for us judging by the amount of paint you bought!" and there's that smile again.
"Yeah ok. Drop by in the morning? Around nine?"
"0900 it is! See ya then!" Jack got up and left the coffee shop, amazed at what he'd just done. He'd just invited himself round to a stranger's house to help her decorate! What was he thinking? Maybe he should go back and tell her he'd changed his mind. As he got to his car he saw her reaching hers and she smiled over at him. He couldn't help but smile back. She was beautiful. A part of him felt guilty for thinking that. Especially since he definitely was not over Sara yet, and wasn't sure he would ever be. Janet had only just gotten divorced too. But then it's not like they were going on a date or anything. He was just helping her out. He sighed out loud in frustration at the argument going on in his head and got in his truck to drive home.
The next morning Janet was up and showered by 8 am. Now she had a whole hour to wait before Jack got here. She had three rooms to decorate, the bathroom, the guestroom and her bedroom. She had wanted to start with her room but she wasn't sure how comfortable she felt with Jack being in her room yet! And the bathroom was a much too confined space to be in with him, as appealing as the idea was. So she decided they'd start with the guestroom, or junkroom as it was at the moment. She still had boxes in there not unpacked from when she moved in over six months ago. She decided to move those boxes while she waited for Jack, partly for something to do and partly because she didn't want him to see how unorganised she'd been since moving here. The hour passed quickly as Janet busied herself clearing the room. At exactly 0900 she heard the doorbell ring and hurried down the hallway to answer it. Stopping to catch her breath, she opened the door with a smile to see Jack stood on her doorstep. He was wearing faded blue jeans, a plain white t-shirt, a leather jacket that suited him very well and a pair of old battered sneakers. Even dressed in old clothes for painting in he looked so good! She didn't realise she was staring until he cleared his throat and she blushed at being caught.
"I was gonna dress to impress but I figured I'm gonna get covered in pink paint anyway, so..."
Janet rolled her eyes and stepped back to let him in. As she was walking through to the kitchen she called out " Actually, it's green paint today, the pink's for the bathroom"
"So where we starting today then"
"Guest room. Would you like coffee before we get started?" He nodded yes and took a seat at her kitchen counter, curiously looking around and into the living room.
"Nice place. How long you been here?"
"Just over six months. I stayed on base for a while when I first transferred to Cheyenne Mountain then I got this place."
"Your husband live here with you?"
"No. We separated just before I moved here. This is a completely fresh start, just for me. How do you take your coffee?"
"Black please. Just a little sugar." She handed him his coffee and they finished up quickly.
"I'll just go fetch the paint and stuff, it's in the garage"
"Need a hand?"
"Please" Between them they carried everything they needed to start the decorating. Janet led Jack down the hall to the spare room and walked in. It was hideously decorated at the moment. The wallpaper was a very loud floral pattern and there was a deep violet carpet on the floor.
"Ok you know what I said about this being a nice place? I take it all back! Who decorated this?"
" I know. Isn't it awful? Don't worry about the carpet by the way I'll get a new one. That one looks about as old as I am. Shall we get started?" She handed Jack a brush and they began the task of covering the monstrosity that someone had the cheek to call wallpaper! After about an hour of working quietly Jack suddenly threw his brush down,
"We need some music!" he declared "you got a radio or sumthin?"
"Only the stereo in the living room"
"That'll do!"
"Jack! Do you know how loud it would have to be for us to hear it in here? The neighbours won't be too happy!"
"So if they complain we'll turn it down!" Jack walked out of the room in pursuit of Janet's stereo. Moments later she heard the sounds the radio drifting towards the room accompanied by a grinning Jack re-entering the room.
"Much better" he said and got back to his painting his wall. Janet tried to hide her smile as she too turned back to painting. They lapsed in to a comfortable, companionable silence while they worked, and Janet would occasionally hear Jack humming along to a tune on the radio. She didn't know quite what it was that fascinated her about this man, or why she felt so comfortable around him even though she hardly knew him. Apart from the obvious reasons that he was so good looking, there was just something else about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on.
By the end of the day they'd almost finished the room. Janet couldn't believe how much difference his help had made.
"Time to call it a day don't you think? My arms are getting pretty tired!"
"Yeah, I reckon so, we did good today Doc! We'll have done the whole house by the end of the week!"
"Do you wanna stay for dinner? I'm starved and you must be too. We could order a pizza or something?"
"Sure. Why don't you go order while I tidy up in here?" Janet left Jack to it then went to get the phone, stopping by the stereo to turn it down first.
Jack eventually came through to the living room to find Janet sat on the couch, watching the Simpson's , with a beer. Hey cool! The Simpson's.
"I'm all done"
"Thanks. I ordered the House Special `cus I didn't know what you wanted. There's beer in the fridge if you want one."
"Thanks." Jack helped himself to a beer and dropped onto the couch next to Janet. The pizza turned up 20 minutes later and Jack and Janet ate quickly, neither of them realising just how hungry they were.
"Wow. Think I needed that more than I thought!" Jack said as he finished off his last slice, "we gonna start same time tomorrow?"
"Yeah ok"
"Well then I better go, thanks for the pizza." Janet got up and walked Jack to the front door. As Jack turned around to say goodbye he was struck with the strongest urge to kiss her. They stood staring at each other for a moment and Jack thought he saw a flicker of the same want in Janet's eyes.
"um...I'll see you in the morning then...uh, bye!" Jack didn't wait for a reply, just hurried down the path before he did something stupid, feeling guilty for feeling like this about someone, but also excited by the fact that he was sure she was attracted to him too.
Janet closed the door slowly after Jack's hurried exit. She'd so wanted to kiss him goodbye. But had he wanted that too?
For the rest of the week, Jack turned up at the same time every morning and they'd get to work, talking and laughing, and enjoying each other's company. By the end of the week Jack's prediction was right, they'd finished all three rooms. Janet was hoping that it would take a little longer, so that she could spend more time with Jack. They'd had so much fun this week, and got to know each other pretty well, and she still wanted to kiss him so badly!
On Friday afternoon, they'd finished all the painting and were stood admiring their work,
"Yeah Doc, we make a pretty good team!" Jack said,
"Yeah, we do," Janet replied quietly. Jack looked at her for a moment, contemplating what he was going to say next. Truth was, he didn't want to stop seeing Janet, she was absolutely beautiful, and had a wicked sense of humour and sharp tongue to rival his own. They'd been flirting like crazy all week. She looked up at him and Jack couldn't help but notice how her brown eyes sparkled back at his. Her hair was tied back but a few strands had fallen out and tumbled loosely around her shoulders, softening her face. She had a small smudge of paint across her cheek and as Jack took in the way she looked he made his mind up.
"Listen, I was just wondering, if, um, you'd like to have dinner with me tonight?" the last part of his sentence came out in such a rush that Jack rolled his eyes internally at himself. What was the big deal? It wasn't like he'd never asked someone out to dinner before.
"You mean like, go out to dinner?" A date? He was asking her out on a date?
"Yeah, unless you'd rather share a pizza in front of the TV again?" Jack asked with a smile. That smile. Again. How could she say no to that?
"That'd be nice. Thanks." She said yes! She said yes! Jack was sure his face was going to split he was smiling so much.
"Great! Pick you up at 19:30"
"Ok see you later" Jack left and Janet was sure she was grinning like an idiot, but she didn't care. She was going on a date with Jack!
At 18:45 Janet stood in front of her closet dressed only in a towel, cursing the lack of clothing in her closet. She didn't have a clue what to wear. She wanted to look good, but she didn't want to look too keen incase she'd gotten the wrong impression about Jack. Ok Janet, decision time. She finally settled for a black, knee length, sleeveless dress.
Meanwhile, Jack was pacing his living room. He'd been ready way too early. It wasn't even 19:00 yet and he was ready to go. He sat on the couch and turned the TV on, trying to distract himself for the next 20 minutes. He couldn't believe how nervous he was, anyone would think this was his first date! He was beginning to doubt whether this was a good idea. Maybe he shouldn't have pushed this far. Maybe he should've waited a while longer. After all, he'd been the one who'd asked her to coffee, offered to decorate her house with her, and now asked her to dinner. But then, she could've easily said no. Jack groaned, jumped out of his seat and snapped the TV off, realising he hadn't paid attention to it since he'd switched it on. He resumed his pacing of the living room floor.
At 19:30 on the dot, Janet heard her doorbell ring. She walked down the hallway, smoothing her dress and running her fingers quickly over her hair. She opened the door and...wow! If it was possible for Jack to look any better than he had all week then this was it. Dressed in black pants that really accentuated those long legs of his and a simple blue shirt, he looked amazing.
"Hey. Ready to go?" his voice was softer than usual and his gaze intense as he slowly took in every inch of her appearance.
"Yeah, just need to get my jacket." Janet walked back into her hallway and grabbed her jacket, trying to get her breathing under control as she slipped it onto her shoulders.
"So where are we going?" she asked.
"Do you like Italian?"
"Yeah"
"Good"
Janet walked out of the house and turned to lock the door behind her.
"You haven't answered my question. Where are we going?" Jack didn't say anything, just gave her a smirk and got into his truck. Janet walked round the other side and climbed in, which proved to be more difficult than she imagined in a dress and heels. She wondered what Jack was up to, why he wouldn't tell her where they were going. It had to be somewhere nice though because he'd made an effort to look good, although Janet thought he probably didn't need to make an effort to look good. And he smelled good too. She hadn't really noticed until they'd gotten into the car but he did smell incredible. His aftershave was subtle, not too strong, mixed with that distinctive scent of Jack she'd got to know over the past week.
Fifteen minutes later they pulled up outside a small Italian restaurant that Janet had been meaning to try out for months. They went in and were shown to a small table in the corner of the restaurant. They chatted and enjoyed each other's company all evening. The food was good, the wine was good and the company was excellent. After they finished their meal they walked slowly outside and across the parking lot and before she realised it Janet had linked her arm through Jack's. He didn't seem to mind at all though.
"So, did you enjoy that?" he asked in that quiet tone he'd used earlier when he first picked her up.
"Yes I did. The food was excellent. I've been meaning to come here for a while".
They reached his truck and this time he opened the door for her and she climbed in. He came round to the driver's side and they began the journey back to Janet's. When they finally pulled up in the driveway Jack turned off the ignition and Janet made no attempt at getting out. They turned to face each other and were both struck with the same feeling they'd had at Janet's front door earlier in the week. Jack slowly reached out a hand and ran his fingers gently along Janet's jawline, feeling the sharp breath she drew in at his tentative touch. They both leaned forward slightly, not breaking eye contact until they were almost touching. Janet could feel his warm breath against her skin and saw those brown eyes she was caught up in swiftly flicker down to her lips and then back to her eyes. She leaned forward and brushed her lips across his, feeling his lips part slightly. The kiss was so gentle at first and then she felt his tongue run slowly across her lower lip. As she raised her hands to his neck and slid them around to tangle her fingers in his hair, she opened her mouth and let him deepen the kiss. Eventually they pulled back, staring deep into each others eyes, both breathing considerably faster than they had been before. Jack broke into a smile and Janet couldn't help but respond. Loosening her arms from around his neck she sat back in her seat.
"Um, don't take this the wrong way, but would you like to come in for a while, it's still early yet..." Jack cut her off mid sentence,
"I'd love to." They both got out of the car and went into the house. Taking off her jacket and shoes Janet walked through to the kitchen and Jack followed her.
"Coffee?"
"Sure, thanks."
"Ok it'll just be a minute. Make yourself comfortable" she said indicating towards the living room. Jack walked through and sat on one end of the couch, his eyes scanning the room, taking in all the things he hadn't been able to appreciate last time he'd been here. There were photographs all over the room of Janet and various people who he assumed were family judging by the familiar light brown eyes they shared. There was a large bookshelf in the corner filled with various novels and medical journals. Janet came in and handed him his coffee, taking a seat next to him on the couch.
"Who are the people in the pictures?"
"Mostly my family. Those are my parents and my younger brother and our dog. This one is my cousin. That one is my best friend from med school, don't see her much anymore..."
Janet went on to tell him who the people were and told him a bit about each one. He slowly leaned forward and placed his coffee on the table in front of him. Then he reached over to Janet and removed the cup from her hands and placed it on the table too.
"Jack. What are you..." Janet didn't get to finish her sentence because Jack had his hands behind her head, and pulling her gently towards him, he kissed her deeply and thoroughly. Janet couldn't help the small moan, muffled by Jack's mouth as his hands slid lower to rest around her waist, pulling her whole body closer. She put her hands on his shoulders and for a moment Jack thought she was going to push him away, but she linked her arms back around his neck and pulled him closer still. Taking more control of the kiss she slowly curled her tongue around his, delighted at his reaction, as his fingers flexed on her hips. Gently he urged her back on the couch until she was lying down fully and his body was stretched out above her. He broke the kiss and began to kiss a trail along her jaw, towards her ear and then down her neck. Sucking and nibbling gently on her neck he could feel her hands grasping his shirt at his shoulders. As she instinctively moved her hips towards his she felt his growing erection and pulled his head up to kiss him again. She moved her hips again and heard him moan, then he pulled away and leant his forehead on her shoulder, breathing heavily and trembling slightly. She let her fingers tangle lazily in the hair at the nape of his neck.
"You ok Jack?", he looked up into her eyes.
"Yeah I'm fine," he leaned forward and softly kissed her, leaving his mouth almost touching hers he whispered softly, "do you think this is a good idea?"
"Probably not," Jack was about to pull away when Janet pressed her mouth against his, she pushed herself up and kept pushing until she reversed their positions and Jack was stretched out on his back, Janet straddling his hips and still kissing him. She pulled back slightly and gave him a wicked smile before hungrily kissing and biting his neck. She moved her hands to work on undoing his shirt buttons, slowly moving down his body until she had them all undone. Sitting up she pushed his shirt back, revealing his taught stomach and lightly haired chest. She kissed the newly exposed skin of his chest and heard him gasp as she stroked her tongue over his nipple. She continued to kiss and lick his skin moving lower and lower over his torso, dipping her tongue into his navel. He grabbed her arms and pulled her back up level with him, letting his hands roam her back and sides. He reached up with one hand to the top of her back and slowly pulled the zip of her dress down. When he had it fully undone he ran his fingers up her back between the teeth of her zip. He felt her shiver and smile against his mouth. Then she stood up beside him and as he pushed himself up to lean on his elbows, Janet slid the straps of her dress of her shoulders and let it fall to her feet. Jack's eyes widened as he took in the sight of her nearly naked body, clad only in a black, lace, strapless bra and matching panties. He unconsciously licked his lips as he admired the curves of her body and got up off the couch, slid his arms around her waist and captured her lips in a searing kiss. He then continued his kisses down her neck and sucked gently on her collar bone.
"Jack?"
"Yeah?"
"Bed?"
"Oh yeah"
Jack lowered his arms to grasp Janet's thighs and lifted her up so that her arms wound around his neck, and her legs wrapped around his waist, and carried her through to the bedroom...
If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to Kirsty
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