"I guess this is the point where I apologise for my inappropriate behaviour and get out of your house as fast as I can."
Since he still had his head resting on her shoulder, the colonel's voice was understandably muffled, but he clearly wasn't going to move anytime soon.
"Or you could stay for breakfast," Sam heard herself answer.
Jack looked up and grinned. He was pretty adorable, especially with is hair all rumpled like that.
"Sweet," he said, hauling himself upright.
Once free of his weight, Sam took the opportunity to scramble to her feet and head into the kitchen. As much as last night had been nice......She shook her head, trying to regain some of her composure, and concentrate on finding some breakfast. Rummaging around in the cupboards she pulled out her usual...
"Peanut butter and jelly?" The question was asked with a smirk.
"I'm all out of Froot Loops," Sam quipped back.
His propensity for childish cereals was well known. It had taken six months of whinging to get the commissary to stock his favourite breakfast. Despite what the colonel might say, he was the only person on the base who ate them.
"Do you want coffee or milk and cookies?" she added.
"Milk, but hold the cookies," he replied.
"Seriously?"
"Seriously...I kinda got into the habit with Charlie. He'd only drink his milk if I did too."
He was quiet for a moment, his eyes lost in the memory. Sam suddenly had a vivid picture of what life must have been like in the O'Neill household....If Charlie had been anything like his father....She allowed a small, sad smile to touch her features.
It was one of those moments when she longed to be able to reach out to him....and one of those moments when she knew she shouldn't. Still, she hadn't got this far by expecting life to be fair. Banishing the thoughts to the back of her mind, she bent to the task of making sandwiches. At least Jack didn't seemed turned off by the idea of peanut butter and jelly.....or by the fact that it wasn't exactly a nutritious breakfast. Orlan had been fairly horrified and had insisted on cooking for her. Which was sweet of him, but it had got a little cloying after a while...along with his habit of tidying her house while she was at work.
"Mind if I have a shower?" he asked, his mouth wrapped round a sandwich.
"Sure, help yourself," Sam answered....although her brain really took very little part in phrasing her reply. She really should get the colonel out of her house as soon as possible, not encourage him to stick around. But she didn't want to be rude...did she?
"The guest bathroom's on the right and there should be some clean towels under the sink," she went on.
"Thanks, Carter."
Finishing off the last dregs of his milk, Jack wandered away in the direction of the bathroom. This whole situation was feeling a little too comfortable for Sam's liking. Where was all that nervous tension? Now where had she put that spare toothbrush? Damn, Orlan had used it....no problem the colonel could use hers and she'd get another one later. They'd probably shared worse....
The shower wasn't running when she got to the bathroom, so Sam took a chance and knocked on the door.
"Just a second!" he shouted back.
Sam gulped when he opened the door....he was only dressed in a towel. She mumbled something pretty unintelligible as she thrust the toothbrush at him and then got out as fast as she could. This was very bad. Seeing her commanding officer in a state of undress wasn't what she'd had planned for the morning. He looked good though. She'd noticed his weight seemed to fluctuate a bit, but there was no sign of excess fat on the man she'd seen today.
She really did have to get a grip and concentrate on something else.
**********************************************************************************
Sam made the best peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Jack decided. She had the ratio of ingredients exactly right....no doubt due to several years of intensive study. That was the kind of dedication he admired in a woman.
Grinning to himself, he turned the shower on a stepped under the spray. He was feeling good...make that very good. Just being here with Sam was enough...not to mention the best nights sleep he'd had in ages. That wasn't an exaggeration. If he was off world he never really rested...slept maybe, but he was always ready to wake in an instant. At home...well...if he got through the night without dreaming he thought he was doing pretty well. Somehow sleep always seemed sweeter when there was a beautiful woman close.......And man, was Sam beautiful. Even her sleeping form seemed so vibrant, so alive...he was lucky to be able to share that, even for one night.
Jack was whistling to himself as he dried off and cleaned his teeth. He supposed he should get himself home. There were things he had to do and he was certain that Sam wouldn't want him hanging around any longer than necessary. The last thing he wanted to do was out stay his welcome....that would seriously compromise his chances of being asked back. But it would be rude to leave without at least saying goodbye
"Carter!" he called out as he came out of the bathroom.
There wasn't any reply, so he knocked on what he assumed was her bedroom...still no answer. He wandered into the guest room, noting the unmade bed. With any luck that was where Orlan had spent his entire visit, but Jack wasn't even going to go there. So far, he'd managed not to appear jealous...and he wasn't going to start now.
"Sam!"
"In here!"
Her reply seemed to come from the direction of the garage. Jack followed the sound of her voice, and eventually found himself standing in her workshop. It looked a lot bigger without the home-made Stargate. Sam was hunched over one of the benches, her face creased in concentration. She had changed into a pair of overalls.....which were already smudged with grease.
"What ya doing?" he asked.
"Trying to finish the tank for the Harley....but it's not going so well." She put her paintbrush down and frowned, "I'm not much of an artist."
The line she had been trying to draw was certainly on the wobbly side. Jack forced down a smile. It was comforting to know that there was something Sam didn't excel at.
"You want me to have a go?" he offered.
"If you want....but don't you have anything better to do?"
"Not today...I'm all yours."
She glanced at him, vague suspicion in her eyes. Jack met her gaze trying to assure her that he had no ulterior motive here. He just thought it would be kinda cool to work on her bike....especially as he knew he could do a better job. Reaching out, he took the brush from her hand,
"So do you want a custom job on this or what?" he asked.
"Knock yourself out, sir," Sam replied, her face breaking into a grin.
**********************************************************************************
Was there some reason the men in her life seemed to enjoy shutting themselves in her garage? Sam wondered as she pored over the take-out menu. Jack had been in there for hours, refusing to let her see what he was doing. In the end she'd left him to it. Yes, Sam trusted the colonel with her life....but when it came to her precious Harley.....Still, buying him dinner was probably the least she could do, assuming he ever came out of the garage. They hadn't stopped for lunch, so the chances were the colonel was pretty hungry by this time, and she knew how much the man could eat. If she ordered too much she could always freeze it.
After placing the order, Sam poked her head back into the garage. The colonel was still working, his body hiding her view of his handiwork. She took a step closer, hoping that he wouldn't hear her. No such luck. His head snapped up,
"Go away, Carter!" he ordered.
"Dinner'll be here in a couple of minutes."
"Nice try, but I'm not done yet."
"When?"
"Patience, Carter."
"It's not fair!"
He laughed at her outburst.
"Soon, I promise," he went on. "Give me ten minutes."
Sam marched away. He was doing this on purpose. She gave him exactly ten minutes before going back. This time she'd barely made it through the door before the colonel had covered her eyes with his hand.
"No peeking," he warned as he led her over to the spot where he'd been working. Only then did he take his hand away.
"Wow!" Sam gasped.
"You like it?"
The tank was a work of art. She'd expected flames up the side or something....but she should have known better. After all, she knew how much the colonel hated clichés. Somehow he'd managed to render the whoosh of the event horizon, picked out in shades of blue and white....
Jack was looking at her, twisting the brush in his hands, like a shy schoolboy.
"I love it!" she smiled.
Acting on impulse, Sam threw her arms about Jack's neck and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. Somewhere outside the house a bell rang, breaking the moment.
"C'mon, that'll be dinner," Sam said.
"Good....I'm starving."
Sam led the way back into the house, her lips still tingling at the memory of kissing the colonel. She glanced back at him, her face turning a little red. Jack just smiled.
Story Notes: NOTES: The sequel to This One Night :):)
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]