----------
"Me and you, and you and me
No matter how they toss the dice, it had to be
The only one for me is you, and you for me
So happy together"
--"Happy Together", The Turtles
-------------------------------------
Sam Carter unlocked the door to her house, dragging herself inside. After closing the door, she tossed aside her backpack, kicked off her combat boots, and shrugged off her flak jacket, barely getting it to stay on the hook by the door. She stretched her shoulders back from the slumped position they had been in and made half-circles with her head in an attempt to stretch her neck muscles while she walked in to the living room.
She slid down onto the couch, tired from the long day. No, scratch that, make it long *month*. After all the first contact missions, three total, then the samples from various planets which had to be analyzed and catalogued, she was ready to pass out from exhaustion. Coffee and Jolt cola only carried you so long before having the opposite effect.
She felt gentle hands on her shoulders and smiled. Turning her head, she met Jack's descending lips. The kiss was sweet and soft. Moving out of it, Carter felt mildly rejuvenated. She smiled up at him.
"I guess I don't have to ask how your day was?" he queried.
"Long."
Jack nodded, then helped her stand up. She gave him a curious look as he directed her to the bathroom, walking behind her, his hands on her hips. Her curiosity changed to delight at the sight of a bath full of hot water, soapy bubbles covering the surface. She looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes alight with gratitude.
"When I saw you drive up, I knew you were gonna need this."
"Thanks, hon." She turned around and gave him a tight hug.
"Now, I'll get out of your way," he said, pulling out of the hug.
Sam smiled mischievously. "I'll need help with washing my back."
O'Neill grinned. "Then call me when you're ready." He gave her a quick kiss on the tip of her nose, then left the bathroom.
Sam sighed as she undressed, letting the clothing puddle on the ground. She still couldn't believe how lucky she was to have this man in her life.
When they had first met, she had felt an attraction to him, but found it waning whenever he pulled macho crap on her. Over time he began to show a different side to her, and eventually she realized he wasn't the man she originally believed him to be. She could no longer deny her feelings for him, which had grown to be deeper than a simple physical attraction. Jack admitted his feelings for her as well, which gave her a good measure of pleasure. But because of the reality that he was her commanding officer, neither chose to act upon it. It would be their secret. Well, theirs and a couple others' after the Zatarc incident, but all had been thankfully discreet.
Carter dipped her toes in to the water quickly, then slipped in, sliding down until she was fully submerged, only her head above the water. As she relaxed, the water caressed her skin, bringing up a most pleasant memory. Sam allowed her mind to wander back to the first time she and Jack had kissed, at least while not under the influence of some alien virus.
Jack had been considering retirement once again, much to the disappointment of all the SGC. He was well beloved, despite his infamous moods. He was one of the first to go through the Gate and had been the biggest champion of it, aside from Daniel. Despite his good health and fitness, he knew he was getting too old to continue going on missions. Even when the General's job was offered to him, he nixed it. He wasn't a desk jockey, no matter how qualified he was to command the SGC.
He finally made the decision and handed in his resignation, ten years to the day he had first stepped through the Gate. It had been a boisterous retirement party at Jack's cottage. People were in and out all night, lots of food and beer were consumed, and by the next morning, a tired SG-1 team finally found beds to sleep in.
When Sam and Jack woke up, they had gone outside on the back porch with a mug of coffee each and talked about what Jack would do now that he was "a retired old man".
~ ~ ~
Three years earlier
"So, now that you've retired, what are you going to do next?" Sam took a sip of her coffee, then moved her head back slightly at the heat. She blew on it before taking a drink again.
Jack placed his cup on the porch railing. "I'm going to Disney World!" he exclaimed sarcastically, raising his arms in the air.
Sam laughed at his joking, like she always seemed to. Jack gave her a happy smile, then surprised her when he brushed some stray hairs behind her ear. A slight blush crept up her cheeks, so she looked away, hoping to hide it. She put the cup down next to his on the railing. "Seriously though, what's your next move? Stay out here at the cottage and fish all day long, living the 'rustic' life...?"
"Well, the first thing I was considering was to kiss you."
Sam's head whipped around so that she was facing him again. He had suddenly gotten a lot closer, the only thing in her sights were his chocolate brown eyes.
"You were?" She sounded nervous, but tried not to be. After all, it wasn't like she hadn't thought about kissing him before, amongst other things.
He nodded, then placed his hands on her shoulders. Sam nibbled her lower lip, then allowed a teasing grin to form.
"So...what exactly was your plan of attack?"
[Yeah, good Sam, joke about it.]
O'Neill grinned, wagging his eyebrows. "I thought I'd go for a full-frontal assault. Unless you think that's too daring?"
Carter found herself smiling wider. "A frontal assault isn't bad, but you want to be careful you don't trip any landmines."
He raised an eyebrow at her statement. "Maybe you should guide me through then. It's been a while since I had to disarm this type of landmine."
"Okay," she replied quietly. Sam slipped a hand behind his neck, coaxing his head closer, bringing their lips together. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel and scent of him, wanting, for now, to ignore the sight.
It started out like she remembered her first high school kiss had gone. Tentative, unsure, then slowly more confident. Except this time her partner was infinitely better at it.
She felt his hands slip from her shoulders and around to her back. His fingers traced patterns down her back, then he rested one hand on her lower back, the other lightly on her butt, pulling her closer still to him. She laid her hands on his chest, allowing her body to mold to his as she relaxed further in to the embrace.
Sam had fantasized many times before and after their virus-induced kiss what it would be like to properly kiss this man, and he didn't disappoint. His lips were just as soft as she had hoped, his tongue teasing her own, finding sensitive places in her mouth that she didn't realize existed.
When they finally stopped to catch their breath, Carter opened her eyes and looked over his flushed face. Dilated eyes, heavy breathing, lips that looked like they had been well and properly kissed..oh yeah, he was hooked.
~ ~ ~
Present time (2009)
Sam slipped one leg out of the now-lukewarm water and in to the air, glancing at it idly as she thought about that kiss. It had been the first of many, the first that had led to a solidifying of their romantic relationship, something they had been avoiding for years. Their relationship had become intimate a while before that, just not to that level. From that point on, there was no turning back for them.
Carter chuckled as she recalled how Jack had played the perfect gentleman with her all through their courtship. He pulled out all the old dating school tricks, and she found herself loving it. She had previously been so independently-minded that she had never thought she would like having doors opened for her, her chair pulled out at dinner -- things she had always considered 'old fashioned'. Her more feminist side was pleased to find out that she didn't become some giggling moron because she enjoyed the chilvalry.
Jack poked his head in to the room. "Hey you! Dinner's getting cold out here, Angelcakes."
Sam sat up, having been taken out of her thoughts. She glared at him because of his use of the forbidden pet name, receiving a mischievous grin from her lover. When all that he said finally sunk in, she gave him a coy look. She leaned her arms on the side of the tub, putting her head on top of them. "You made me dinner?"
"All part of the service, ma'am," he joked, doffing an imaginary hat.
She gave him a flirtatious smile. "Well then, I'd say you're still lacking in service."
"Am I?" he asked, his expression slightly confused.
"You are. You still haven't washed my back."
O'Neill laughed and further entered the room, stopping beside the tub. He knelt next to it, coming face to face with her. "I'll fix that. Don't want to get a bad reputation."
"You have a reputation?" she teased.
"Bitch!" he exclaimed teasingly, then turned on the cold water tap.
"Bastard!" Sam shouted in shock at the sudden coldness, moving quickly to turn off the tap. She and Jack play-fought over it until it was finally turned off by them both.
Hands joined and breathing heavily, Sam and Jack shared a need-filled gaze, then quickly brought their lips together. Their hands unentwined and they held on to each other, kissing passionately, all the while splashing out the now-cold bathwater.
O'Neill pulled himself and Sam up so that they were standing, and briefly broke their embrace to grab a towel and wrap her in it. He lifted her in to his arms, gaining a surprised expression from the blonde.
"Jack O'Neill, what are you up to?" Carter asked, shivering a little.
"I'll give ya three guesses," he stated, turning around and heading out of the bathroom. He turned to his left, and walked down the hall to their bedroom, pushing open the partially ajar door with his foot.
"I'm soaking wet, Jack! And you're not exactly dry yourself," Sam exclaimed, looking at his wet, grey t-shirt.
Jack tossed her on the bed, then climbed on top of her, kissing all over her face. "We'll change the sheets."
Before she had any more opportunities to complain, O'Neill kissed her firmly on the mouth and began caressing her body slowly, working each hand down both sides of her body as he uncovered her. Carter responded eagerly to his attentions, promptly forgetting any complaints she may have had.
* * *
Sam awoke to find herself entangled in Jack's embrace, as well as in the sheets. She leaned back further and smiled happily, enjoying the safe feeling of being in his arms.
For so many years she had dreamed of times like this. Not that it was always so great. They had their fights, and made up, like any other couple. But it was times like these that always proved to Sam that they had made the right decisions.
She thought back to all those years of waiting, fighting the urge to just touch him, kiss him, be held by him...
They had had moments: little looks, smiles, kind words, but no more. They couldn't risk the problems it might cause.
Even when they had first started dating, Sam still had some fears and worries sitting in the back of her mind that held her back. What if they didn't live up to each other's expectations? What if their first time together was totally disastrous? What if they ended up hating each other?
She didn't say anything to Jack for a long while about these, only bringing it up in girltalk with Janet. Janet finally convinced her to talk to O'Neill, telling Sam that she was certain he would want to talk about these kind of things to clear the air.
And when she had, Jack had told her that everything may not be always perfect with them, but all they could ask of not only each other, but themselves, was to do their best. And to never go to bed angry.
So far they had done pretty good at that. They both had their little quirks that could become too much, but they always found some way to make it up to the other. Giving each other the space they needed was the best. It was never for long, just enough to clear their minds, then come back again to the other's embrace.
Jack moved, bringing Sam out of her thoughts.
"Mmmm"
"You awake, or just having a really good dream?" Sam queried, a grin forming on her lips.
"A little of both," he replied, nuzzling her neck.
"Mmmm"
Jack chuckled at Sam's enjoyment of his advances. "Copycat."
"And damn proud of it."
They lay together for a few more minutes enjoying the silence of the morning. Breaking the comfortable silence, O'Neill kissed the base of her neck. "Breakfast?"
She turned herself around, facing him. "'fraid I can't. I need to get back to the Base."
Jack made a face. "You've gotta eat."
"A muffin, to go," she conceded.
"Working late again?"
Sam nodded. "I've got reports up to wazoo to finish..." she trailed off as O'Neill grinned at her. "What?"
"'Wazoo'? You've been hanging out with me too long."
Carter laughed. "I thought that was a given a *long* time ago."
Jack gave her a mock-hurt look, to which she kissed him sweetly in an attempt to appease. He tried to make it last longer than she intended, but she pulled away. "I've gotta go shower before work. And *you* have a muffin to get me," she told him, poking his chest with her forefinger.
"Yes m'am!" he replied in a military tone.
Sam laughed at his silliness, then ran her fingers through his hair, looking over his face one last time before disentangling herself and heading for the bathroom.
"Sam?" She stopped before she reached the door, looking back at Jack lying on the bed. She felt a thrill of pleasure gazing at him in his disheveled state, the sheets barely covering his tanned and well-toned body.
"I love you."
A brilliant smile lit up her face at the words. "And I love you," she replied softly, making him smile widely.
Sam turned back around, a spring in her step as she went to shower. She'd never been this happy with anyone, and, to be honest, she never thought it was possible to be this happy. At least not without having something resembling a lobotomy.
She shook her head at that last thought. Not to say that she was any less of who she was when she was with Jack, just...different, but in a good way. She was still her, but she wasn't 'work Sam', she was 'home Sam'. Just like 'home Jack' was different from 'work Jack'. Defenses were down, they were both more relaxed and happy. Together.
Sam entered the bathroom and turned on the shower, feeling a bit better about the coming day.
THE END
-- Visit my Haven at http://pixies-bookshelf.com
Story Notes: Feedback: Please! I love it!
Archive: Sure, just ask first please! It'll also be available on http://pixies-bookshelf.com/fic/archive.asp.
Spoilers: "Divide & Conquer", some general ones
Notes: Wrote this a while back and just realized that it wasn't on the SJD! Thanks to my wonderful betas Sam and Kelly for their help on this. Enjoy! :)
Archive: Sure, just ask first please! It'll also be available on http://pixies-bookshelf.com/fic/archive.asp.
Spoilers: "Divide & Conquer", some general ones
Notes: Wrote this a while back and just realized that it wasn't on the SJD! Thanks to my wonderful betas Sam and Kelly for their help on this. Enjoy! :)
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 ]