"Hey Sam, we’re all going to O’Malley’s. Do you want to come with us?"
Sam looked up wearily to find Daniel standing in her path. The mission from which they’d returned not two hours ago had been physically grueling and she’d been planning on going home and straight to bed. She opened her mouth to tell him as much when her stomach growled, offering its own opinion. "You know, a steak sounds good," she found herself saying.
"Great. Meet you topside in ten minutes?"
She nodded her assent; she’d already showered and changed, and only had to double-check that everything in her lab had been shut down for the night. "Ten minutes," she agreed, and they continued on their separate ways.
**
He was definitely off his game tonight, Jack admitted to himself as Sam sank yet another ball and moved around the pool table to line up her next shot. Sure she was good, but normally they were pretty evenly matched and the games came down to a single shot. He might as well have not been there for all the competition he’d offered.
But he’d been distracted. Not that he wasn’t normally sidetracked, of course, by the rather enticing figure against whom he was playing, but he was used to that particular distraction. No, what was bugging him tonight was the guy sitting at the bar who was staring at his second in command. It wasn’t that unusual for at least one guy to check her out when they came to
O’Malley’s -— or anywhere else, for that matter -— but something about this one in particular held his attention.
Carter finally missed, giving him a turn. He’d lined up his shot and had pulled back his cue when an unfamiliar voice threw him off. Jack somehow knew before even looking up that it would be the stranger from the bar. "Goldilocks?"
The voice had also attracted Sam’s attention and, to his confusion, shelooked up with one of her huge smiles. "Mikey!" she squealed -— since when did Carter squeal? -- and to the shock of her friends launched herself into the stranger’s arms. He spun her in a circle before setting her down without letting go. "How’ve you been?"
"I’m great. You’re obviously doing well; still hustling at pool, I see?"
She blushed faintly. "I only did that a few times," she admonished him before turning back to her teammates. "Mikey, this is Colonel O’Neill, Daniel Jackson, and Teal’c. Guys, this is Mikey Brown."
"Actually, Goldilocks, it’s Michael now. Outgrew ‘Mikey’ a few years ago." He reached out to shake their hands.
"Goldilocks?" Jack questioned, quirking an eyebrow at his 2IC. Her face flushed red.
"Mikey -— uh, Michael and I went through the Academy together. It’s just a nickname."
"You should’ve seen her hair then." Michael grinned at Sam, raising a hand to touch her hair. "Same colour, but nearly down to her waist." He cocked his head at her. "When did you cut it?" he asked.
She waved his hand away, her smile dimming a bit. "After Jonas," she said without elaborating, her tone noticeably quieter, and Michael apparently knew enough to let the subject drop.
Jack’s gaze flicked back and forth between them as they began talking about people they used to know and those they were still in touch with, unintentionally excluding the rest of them. He couldn’t recall Sam ever mentioning a Mikey before, but they seemed rather... close. He found himself hoping that her old friend was just passing through.
**
"I’m a professor at the university," Michael told her, leaning back in the booth and taking a sip of his drink. "Must be... wow, almost 7 years now."
"Why’d you leave the Air Force?" Sam asked curiously. The last time she’d spoken to him —- which, apparently, had been over 7 years ago -—he’d given no indication that he was unhappy.
"No choice -— medical discharge. I developed a heart murmur."
Sam stared at him, unsure what to say. "I’m sorry."
He waved off her concern. "It’s nothing to worry about on a day-to-day basis, usually. It just means no more military."
"Still, I know how much you loved the Air Force. I’m sorry that you had to leave."
"So was I, at first," he admitted. "Believe me, you wouldn’t have wanted to be around me then. But then I was offered a job at the university and I found that no matter how much I loved what I was doing, there are other ways to help others." He shrugged. "Instead of killing the bad guys, I teach kids the tools that might someday allow them to develop a power source that’s Eco-friendly, cheap, and efficient. Not as glamorous, maybe, but it’s enough for me."
It was only when Michael had stopped talking that Sam realized how quiet it had become; a glance at her watch told her that it had been nearly two hours since her team had bid her good night and left. "It’s a lot later than I thought," she said, standing and pulling on her jacket. "I’ve got an early briefing tomorrow morning...."
"That’s fine," Michael said, also rising. "I’ve actually got an 8am class; I’m usually in bed by now." He smiled, and his look turned almost shy. "Are you busy Friday night? I didn’t get to hear much about what you’re up to these days."
Sam hesitated a moment. SG-1 had an overnight mission Thursday, but they were scheduled to return midafternoon the next day. Barring any unforeseen encounters with System Lords, they should be back in time. "1800 hours?" she suggested finally.
"It’s a date," he agreed, and oddly enough her heart skipped a beat as she wished him good night and left for home.
**
"Carter!" Jack hollered down the corridor, and her hand shot out of the elevator to hold open the door. He jogged to meet her, joining her in the car.
"Heading home, sir?" she asked with a smile as the elevator began its ascent to the surface.
He nodded. "Yup. Danny and Teal’c are coming over; you up for a game of poker?" He waggled his eyebrows. "Free pizza and beer...."
She grinned widely at him, but it soon turned regretful. "Sorry, sir, but I already have plans."
He tried not to look bothered; she’d "had plans" a lot the past few weeks, though she’d been tactful enough not to throw it in his face. "Michael?" he guessed, and she turned red.
"Yes sir." Her eyes slid away from him then and she offered no more information. They rode the rest of the way without speaking, the silence broken only as they said good night and got into their cars.
**
"So why’d you stop keeping in touch after you and Jonas broke it off?" Michael asked, draping his arm along the back of the bench behind her.
Sam looked slightly uncomfortable but answered his question as honestly as she could. "I’m not exactly sure. Part of the reason was that I needed time to myself, to put myself back together. It was hard leaving him, and despite everything I still loved him. But mostly, I think it was because seeing you reminded me too much of Jonas; it was always the three of us at the Academy, and even after we graduated we spent so much time together."
"Goldilocks and the two bears," he teased lightly, reaching to brush a lock of hair from her forehead; he’d always loved her hair, even back then. "I had such a crush on you when we were younger," he confessed suddenly, avoiding her eyes in mild embarrassment. "I wanted to ask you out, but right from the beginning it was always you and Jonas."
"Yeah, and look how that turned out."
The mood turned melancholy for a moment, until Michael held out a hand. "Dance with me?"
She accepted his hand and followed him to the modest dance floor, stepping easily into his arms. They danced quietly for a few minutes until Sam caught Michael staring at her. "What?" she asked, sounding self-conscious.
"You’re even more beautiful now than when we met," he blurted, and Sam blushed violently. Instead of looking away though, she seemed to find herself strangely captivated by the look in his eyes. Several long minutes passed in silence as they gazed at each other.
"Come back to my place for coffee," he said suddenly, unsure what was making him so reckless this evening.
She knew exactly what he meant, and he wasn’t inviting her over for a drink. "They have coffee here," she demurred.
"Mine’s cheaper and better."
She continued to watch him for a moment before nodding abruptly. "Okay. Let’s go."
**
He pressed her against the wall and kissed her hard, and Sam giggled as his lips moved to her neck. "Shouldn’t we at least go into your apartment?" she asked breathlessly. "I’m not really in the mood to put on a show for your neighbours."
He pulled away and she almost regretted asking him to unlock the door. "C’mon," he growled.
"I’m still expecting a cup of coffee," she reminded him.
"You’ll get it," he promised. "For breakfast." Then his lips met hers once more and the conversation ended.
**
It took Jack a few moments to realize that the pounding interrupting his sleep wasn’t part of the storm raging outside but instead someone at his front door. He wondered fleetingly who would be waking him at -—he glanced at the clock -— almost one in the morning; Danny wouldn’t come back in the middle of the night during a thunderstorm just for his jacket, would he?
But it wasn’t Daniel standing at his front door, drenched to the skin. They stared at each other wordlessly until she began speaking, the emotion on her face plain to see if only he knew what it meant. "Michael invited me back to his place," Sam said. "I went."
He *really* didn’t want to hear this. But... if she’d gone back to Michael’s apartment, what was she doing here? Jack was beginning to feel like he was in the middle of some kind of surreal dream. "Come in before you get hit by lightning," he said finally. Whatever had happened between her and her boyfriend earlier, she was here now and he couldn’t turn her
away.
Once Sam was inside he made her take off her soaking wet shoes, socks, and jacket and prodded her to stand before the fire while he went to get some towels. By the time Jack returned she had stripped down to her bra and underwear and was wrapping herself in a blanket from his couch. "Uh... here," he said, handing her a towel. She took it with one hand and ran it swiftly over her hair and face. She then dropped it onto the pile of wet clothes and began to talk once more.
"I knew exactly what Michael was asking when he invited me back to hisapartment and I agreed anyway. I *wanted* to go. We started to—"
"Why the hell are you telling me this?" he cut her off angrily. Sam kept talking right over him.
"—but nothing happened. Not really. I couldn’t. I felt like I was... betraying someone. You."
He wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. "Is that why you’re here? Because you feel guilty?"
"No." Her answer was swift and sure, her gaze steady as she continued. "I’m here because tonight I’ve finally realized that this is where I want to be. I didn’t want to admit for so long because it’s so much easier that way. I thought that if I ignored what I felt for you, if I found someone else, then my feelings for you would go away. But tonight, I had to face the truth -— I want to be with you." She paused for a moment and then continued on when he failed to say anything, clearly flustered by his silence. "Of course, I know it’s been a long time since we said... what we said. I’ll understand if you don’t feel the same anymore and I’ll just—"
"Carter." He said her name gently, holding a single finger against her lips. She stopped talking and watched him, wide-eyed. "You’re babbling." His finger brushed along her cheek, his other hand mirroring the first until he was cupping her face. "I don’t feel the same. If anything, I care more about you now than I did then. But Sam, I don’t want you here if it’s because you feel guilty. You know how I feel about you, but there were no promises made by either of us. If you want to be with someone else, I won’t stop you."
"I want to be with you," she reaffirmed quietly, and with a soft tug on his shoulders brought his lips down to hers.
Jack had almost forgotten how incredible that first kiss could be, that moment when the barriers were finally lowered. This was the first time that it was just them kissing, no viruses to hold accountable, no alternate universes to use in explanation -— and this time there would most definitely be consequences.
Feelings too long denied were released as their lips finally touched and he found himself suddenly on the floor in front of the fireplace, Sam beneath him. They came together for the first time with the full fury of the storm raging outside, the sounds of nature and the firelight lending a surreal feeling to the situation, much as it had since she had first shown up at his door. But she was real, there was no denying it; he would deny it no longer.
Consequences be damned. It would all be worth it.
-end-
Story Notes: EMAIL: the_fourth_dimension@hotmail.com
SPOILERS: First Commandment, Broca Divide, POV, D&C, WoO
SEASON: early 5th
CONTENT WARNINGS: mild sexual situations
DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters belong to MGM, Gekko Film Corp and Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment purposes and no money exchanged hands. No copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ARCHIVE: SJA and Heliopolis; anyone else just ask and ye shall be granted
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, this was written months ago and I never posted it because I wasn’t sure if I even liked it. I’m still not sure, but here it is anyway (after going through at least 3 title changes in under 10 minutes). As always, thanks to Sue for her long-ago beta (and sorry for the heart attack for that one particular scene
SPOILERS: First Commandment, Broca Divide, POV, D&C, WoO
SEASON: early 5th
CONTENT WARNINGS: mild sexual situations
DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters belong to MGM, Gekko Film Corp and Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment purposes and no money exchanged hands. No copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ARCHIVE: SJA and Heliopolis; anyone else just ask and ye shall be granted
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, this was written months ago and I never posted it because I wasn’t sure if I even liked it. I’m still not sure, but here it is anyway (after going through at least 3 title changes in under 10 minutes). As always, thanks to Sue for her long-ago beta (and sorry for the heart attack for that one particular scene
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 ]