Despite the fact he was alone in his bed, Jack O'Neill awoke with a smile on his lips. This had been a good week...a very good week. He'd done all of his favourite things...well maybe one was missing from the list, but he was content to wait for that. Jack lay back, relishing the remembrance of the soft kiss that had briefly touched his lips.... It had been even sweeter than the one they'd shared during that time loop. Sam's impulsive caress would burn bright in his memory. They finally seemed to have gotten passed the awkwardness that had plagued their relationship of late. He didn't know how the future would pan out, but at least they were friends again.
This was his last day of downtime. After spending the first two days in Sam's company, anything else should have been an anti-climax, but Jack had found himself carrying out his usual chores with a new enthusiasm. He'd managed to finish a whole heap of niggling little tasks that had been bugging him for months. So now he felt free to take it easy. Getting out of bed he took a long shower before venturing out on the deck to eat breakfast.
He was lingering over his second cup of coffee when the roar of a motorcycle broke the peace of the morning. Jack scowled to himself, the unwelcome noise having shattered his contemplative mood. He expected the bike to blast straight past, so was doubly annoyed when he heard it stop outside. Muttering to himself, he hauled himself out of his chair and walked round to the front of the house. The sight that met his eyes made his blood pressure rise even further....but not for the same reason. He couldn't help himself....he had to let out a low whistle.
Sam, dressed in leathers and caught in the act of removing her helmet, scowled at him.
"Looking good, Carter," he grinned, making his comment ambiguous. She wasn't quite sure if he meant her or the bike.
Hard as it might have been, Jack switched his attention to the hog. The paint job looked good, even if he did say so himself.
"When you finish?" he asked.
"Late last night," Sam replied.
"Last night?"
"Okay, okay early this morning."
She didn't seem disappointed that he'd caught her out. Jack started to suspect that part of the reason she worked so hard was to give him the pleasure of nagging her about it.
"So?" Jack asked.
"So...I'm taking him out for a test drive, and I was wondering if you wanted to come?"
"I thought machines were always female?"
"Not my machines, sir."
He laughed.
"Sounds like fun, give me a minute to get changed....there's coffee in the pot if you want it....and peanut butter and jelly in the cupboard."
Jack resisted the urge to whimper softly to himself as he followed her into the house. He thought Sam looked hot in fatigues, so it was no wonder the sight of her in leathers was having such a dramatic effect....urged on by all those Suzi Quatro fantasies he'd had during the seventies. In fact, he did own a pair of leather pants...but one look at them was enough to dissuade him from putting them on. They may have been okay when he was twenty five, but his waistline had spread a little in recent years. He settled for a pair of jeans and the biker jacket he'd bought in 1969.
Sam was standing out on the deck, when he got back. She was staring over the garden, her eyes fixed on the middle distance. Jack paused for a second, just to look at her. He sometimes wondered if Sam realised how beautiful she really was. So maybe he was just a little bit biased, but she had her fair share of admirers. Some of them were okay guys, but some of them were creeps. If someone came along who was actually good for Sam, then Jack had made up his mind not to stand in the way. However, he reserved the right to intimidate anyone who wasn't worthy. That alien guy had seemed okay, less of a pain in the butt than Martouf or Narim. Jack wished that he didn't have to settle for just being her friend, but he really couldn't see there was any other way.
"Sir?" Sam questioned, suddenly noticing him.
His embarrassment at being caught was evident from the flush on his cheeks. He was blushing like an adolescent who'd just seen his first copy of playboy.
"Sir?" she said again, "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing a blindfold wouldn't cure."
Now it was Sam's turn to blush.
"Wanna go?" Jack asked to break the awkward moment.
"Sure...sir, do you want to drive?"
"Really?"
"Really. After all you did some of the work."
"Cool!"
Jack took the keys from her, trying hard to hide his excitement. So there were more efficient machines than a Harley...but there was nothing else that was quite so cool. The thought of cruising down the interstate, with Sam as his back rider....he almost ran back through the house and out to the bike.
She started like a dream (when Jack was in control it was going to be a she!). Sam hopped on the back after Jack had pushed it off the stand. She sat close behind him, her hands resting on his waist.
"Where do you wanna go?" Jack asked.
"How about up into the mountains?" she suggested. "We could pick up some lunch on the way."
"Yes, ma'am."
So Sam was planning for this to be an all day jaunt....or at least what was left of the morning and the afternoon. He couldn't have asked for a more perfect end to his downtime.
It had been some time since Jack had ridden a motorcycle....Sara had hated them, but it didn't take him long to remember the necessary skills. Having Sam on the back made it easier. She moved with him, anticipating every bend in the road. He loved the sense of freedom...something he never felt driving a car or a truck. The only thing he could compare it to was taking the back seat in a death glider.....apart from when they were sabotaged. Outer space and the open road aroused similar sensations. Today, it was just him and Sam...no military, no regulations....and, he decided, they did make a very cute couple.
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Sam took a bite of her sandwich, then offered it to Jack.
"Want some?" she asked.
"It's rabbit food!" he complained.
She pushed it closer to his mouth, grinning at the disgusted expression on his face.
"Carter!" he exclaimed, trying to fight her off.
As he opened his mouth, Sam managed to slip some of the sandwich inside, laughing as Jack was forced to take a bite.
"Actually, that's not bad," he was forced to admit.
He made a grab for the sandwich, leading to a brief fight...which Sam won after digging her fingers into Jack's ribs. As they sat there, laughing, Sam wondering if she should feel guilty about flirting so outrageously with her commanding officer. It wasn't like they were actually going to do anything.....at some level they both understood and accepted that now. Besides who was going to see them up here?
They had ridden some way out of town. Jack had chosen to stop in a deserted spot overlooking a river. It was idyllic....and miles from anyone else.
"So Major, how about skinny dipping?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows.
"With all due respect sir, I think once we got to the skinny part, we'd forget all about the dipping."
Jack laughed, but his face soon became serious. Sam had a pretty good idea of the direction his thoughts were taking. She'd seen the same expression on his face several times...usually when she had turned down his fishing invitations. There was a certain amount of self loathing in his eyes, as if he thought himself lacking in some way.
"Sir," she began, unsure of what she was going to say, "All this...today...it's been great."
"I know....and I know what you're thinking."
"Please, just listen. We only have one life and, if it was my decision, I'd be spending mine with you. But that choice was taken out of our hands the second the 'gate re-opened and Apophis stepped through."
He nodded and they lapsed back into silence. The afternoon was wearing on. They'd have to start back sooner or later.
"Sam?" Jack said.
"Yes sir?"
"Are you saying that....if things were different, you could go for an old guy like me?"
"You know I would."
"I kind of have to be reminded of it sometimes.....so would you marry me...like that other Carter did?"
"Yes, sir."
"And if our...situation changes....would you marry me then?"
"Yes."
Their eyes met as she made the admission. She didn't want him to be in two minds about her commitment to him.
"But we can't wait for each other, can we?" he went on.
"No....no we can't. It wouldn't be fair."
Jack reached out his hand and picked up his soda,
"Here's to a short war," he offered.
Sam clicked her can against his, wondering what he was really feeling. With Jack it was so difficult to tell. He hid so much from the world. She sighed to herself, wondering how she could have fallen for such a complicated man. It made a relationship with a glowing alien simple by comparison. Then again, if Sam had wanted to take the easy path, she never would have joined the airforce. If Jack did find someone, she only hoped she could respond with the maturity he'd shown regarding her association with Olin.
"We should head back," he suggested.
"We should."
Both of them seemed loath to move.
"Or we could stay and watch the sunset?" Sam pointed out.
"Sweet."
Shifting her position, Sam moved closer to Jack....not quite touching him....just enjoying the feeling of being friends. They'd have to go back to reality soon enough and she was going to treasure every moment. She knew that time like this would be rare...Time to be together, time to be in love.
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