I raised a hand and realized that my fingers had gone all pruny. Glancing at my wristwatch, I realized that I'd been in the bath for over an hour. I must have dozed off, I decided. It was so easy to fall asleep in the tub filled with warm water and lavender-scented bubbles.
I got out of the bath, toweled myself dry and put on a fluffy blue robe that had been a present from Daniel last week, when it had been my birthday.
I smiled, remembering the party the guys had thrown for me. The whole day of my birthday, not one of them had said a word. The next day I had gone over to Janet's to complain to her, and had found half the staff of the SGC waiting for me. Even General Hammond had been there, with a gift-wrapped box of chocolates and a big smile that demonstrated the teddy-bear nature he so rarely showed at work.
The only person who hadn't been there was the Colonel. I couldn't really blame him… Fate had a twisted sense of humor. My birthday fell on the same day as the anniversary of his son's death, and the Colonel had holed up in his house the entire day. I'd tried phoning him from Janet's a couple times, but he'd left the phone off the hook, not wanting to be disturbed.
I went into the den and picked up the unopened CD lying on top of my stereo. Teal'c had a strange obsession with buying CDs from Starbucks, and his present for me had been volume 2 of the "Hear Music" series. I grinned. I didn't mind that the Jaffa was a little… odd at times. It was just who he was, and I'd learned to love him as a brother since he'd come to Earth.
I tore the plastic off the CD, stuck it in the player, and wandered into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. My finger was poised to press the "on" button on my percolator when lyrics from the song struck me like a blow. "If you want it, come and get it, for crying out loud."
I didn't admit to myself that my hands were shaky as I pushed the button. "Let go of your heart, let go of your head…" It was like the song was written for me.
That thought made me laugh. It was just a song, written by some person who knew nothing about me. It had nothing to do with me. Why would I think that it did?
The smell of coffee had just begun to permeate the air of my apartment when the telephone rang. I picked it up on the second ring. "Major Carter," I answered.
"Hey, Carter," the Colonel's voice came from the receiver. "Whatcha doing?"
"Not much," I admitted.
"It's Saturday night. No hot date?"
I laughed, but it had to be forced out. You'd have thought the Colonel would know by now that my love life wasn't exactly very active. "Not tonight, Sir. Why?"
He sighed a bit, as he always did when I called him "Sir" off-duty. "I rented a couple videos, and I was thinking of ordering in a pizza. Feel like coming over for movie night?"
When SG-1 was off-duty, it was typical for us to gather at one of our places - usually the Colonel's, as it was the largest - and watch videos or play poker or something. "Sounds good, Sir. Give me half an hour, okay?"
"Sure, Carter," he agreed easily. "I'll see you then."
"Bye, Sir." I hung up the phone.
* * *
I changed out of my fluffy robe into a pair of jeans and a charcoal sweater, gave my hair a quick blow-dry, threw on my black leather jacket and headed off to the Colonel's house. I rang his doorbell. He answered, wearing khakis, a denim shirt, and no shoes. "Hey, Carter," he greeted me with a smooth smile. "What's this?" He gestured to the Thermos mug in my hand.
I smiled back, a bit sheepishly. "I had coffee on when you called." I couldn't hear anything inside his house. "Daniel and Teal'c are coming later?" I asked.
"Umm…" The Colonel hesitated. "They're actually not coming."
I frowned and stepped into his front hall. "What, did they have plans or something?"
He shook his head. "I didn't invite them. Do you mind?"
I wondered if he could hear my heart pounding. I certainly could. He had wanted to be alone with me? "It's fine," I said, hoping I sounded casual. I wanted to ask why, but my throat had closed up.
He took my coat and hung it in his front closet. "I'm sorry I missed your birthday party, Carter."
"Don't worry about it. I understand."
"I got you a present, but it wasn't ready until today." The Colonel sauntered into the living room and I followed. "Here ya go." He unceremoniously tossed me a small velvet jewelry box.
I ordered my heart to stop pounding. Once it had complied, I opened the box with trembling hands.
A silver chain lay on a backdrop of black satin. A pendant shaped like Earth's point of origin had a small blue stone on the top of it. "It's beautiful," I told him when I had caught my breath. "Will you help me put it on?"
The Colonel took several steps towards me and took the necklace from my hands. Gently he brushed hair away and fastened the clasp of the chain. I could feel his warm breath against the back of my neck.
"Thank you," I said inadequately once the necklace was in place. "It's incredible."
He shrugged. "I thought you'd like it."
The doorbell rang. "There's the pizza. I'll go get it."
As the Colonel left the room, the words of the song echoed in my head. "If you want it, come and get it, for crying out loud."
Maybe I would.
=====
Kat
Keeper of: Jack: "Sam." (Secrets), Jacob's cancer (Season 2 Misc), The AU Sam/Jack kiss (Point of View), Janet's lab coat (Misc), Daniel's sneezing (Misc), the 'Gate Room (Misc)
Story Notes: Author's Notes: It's a short piece of fluff I wrote one night while trying to get in the mood to work on my big long fic that seems to be going no where. Pure sap, so if that's not your thing, leave now.
Acknowledgements: Bryn and Becca, thank you so much for being so great and encouraging, even when I'm yelling at you to write. I love you guys!
Acknowledgements: Bryn and Becca, thank you so much for being so great and encouraging, even when I'm yelling at you to write. I love you guys!
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 ]