Sam wiped her hands down her fatigues, removing the layer of sweat. She then picked up her discarded tweezers and reached into the reactor. Once again the illusive component slipped from her grasp.
She sat back , taking a deep breath, swearing softly to herself. This design definitely had it's faults. When she finally got around to building the Mark II she made a mental note to make the inner workings more accessible. Stretching out the cramps in her back and neck, she bent forward again, intent on her work. Her hand was shaking slightly, but she managed to grab the component with the tweezers. Very carefully, she started to pull it free of the reactor housing. Sam allowed herself a small smile of triumph. Now all she had to do was....
"Hey Carter, What ya doin'?"
Her hand slipped and the component fell to the floor. Almost screaming in frustration, Sam dived after it, crawling under the bench.
"Have I interrupted something?"
Sam decided not to answer her commanding officer. If she did she was likely to cause some physical damage. It was almost midnight....he shouldn't even have been here. She was working late because she didn't want any interruptions.
"Can I help?" he asked.
"No," Sam replied.
"What are we looking for?"
Next thing she knew O'Neill was on his hands and knees beside her, getting in her way as she scanned the floor. There was a crunch. Sam groaned. O'Neill lifted up his hand,
"Sorry," he said.
Sam picked up the broken component. It had been custom made. It would take three weeks to get a new one. She got to her feet and dropped the pieces on the bench.
"Satisfied?" she demanded.
"Sorry," he repeated.
Usually the Colonel's sad little boy impression would melt a heart of stone, but not this time. Sam was far too angry with him.
"Sir, have you any idea how long I've been working on this? How long it's taken me just to perform the calibrations?"
"Easy, Major. It's late, why don't you call it a night......"
"Because I don't want to. I want to finish overhauling the reactor."
"At midnight on a Friday night?"
"Yes!"
"For cryin' out loud, Carter, you should be out having fun.....getting a life, not...."
"Getting a life? That's rich coming from you, sir. Why aren't you at home? Every time I turn around there you are. Haven't you really got anything better to do?"
"Just taking care of my team, don't you realise that we're supposed to be on downtime?"
"Sir...this is what I want to do. I don't want to go out, I don't want to go home and I definitely don't want to go fishing!
"Woah....Carter...."
"I spend more than enough time roughing it in the rain. Why should I want to do it when I'm on vacation? I want sun, beaches, a five star hotel....room service."
She closed her eyes, allowing herself to get lost in the fantasy....Unfortunately, O'Neill insisted on hanging around her vision...wearing nothing but a tiny black speedo. Shaking her head, Sam brought her attention back to the here and now.
"So?" he asked.
"So....you get a life....Sir. And stop interfering with mine!"
With that she stormed out of the lab.....but not fast enough to avoid hearing his final comment,
"You are my life, Sam."
TE
Story Notes: ruth@snowqueen.demon.co.uk
ARCHIVE: Sam and Jack, anyone else please ask
SPOILERS: None
ARCHIVE: Sam and Jack, anyone else please ask
SPOILERS: None
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 ]