“I can’t believe you lied to Daniel.” She smiled at him eyes full of laughter. She didn’t care, she was teasing him.
Sam Carter was teasing him.
He smiled back and watched as she unlocked her front door, slipping the keys back into her jacket pocket when she had done so and holding the door open for him. She hadn’t offered coffee when she had invited him back to hers but she offered it now, leading him into her lounge. It looked the same as he remembered but a different colour, and a few extra pictures. New people in the pictures, Vala and Cameron. And him. A picture from at his cabin.
She caught him looking but neither commented on it, and instead she told him to make himself at home.
“I didn’t lie to him,” he said, following her into her kitchen instead. Same deal, different paint, an extra piece of artwork on the door.
New calendar.
“You told him you weren’t arriving until tomorrow.” She said, starting up the percolator.
“No, I told him I’d have lunch with him tomorrow.”
“I was there Sir, on Daniel’s end. You said it was because you weren’t arriving until tomorrow.”
Sam Carter was arguing with him.
“Technically, I haven’t arrived.”
Which was true. His duffel, briefcase and laptop were still in his rental. He had gone straight from the airport to the restaurant to meet Sam and together they’d driven back to hers.
“I doubt Daniel will see it that way.”
“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
“He’s your best friend Jack.”
Sir, Jack, Jack, Sir. She kept flipping from one to the other, unable to decide what she was comfortable with. He suspected she wasn’t comfortable at all right now.
He wasn’t feeling all that comfortable now he was in her house.
She handed him a mug of coffee that was almost white with cream and sugar, not quite how he liked it but they were both a little nervy, and she led him back into the lounge. They hovered in the middle of the room, unsure if they should sit together or sit opposite each other.
She sat, the movement sudden and surprising as she sat on one end of a sofa. He took the other end soon after, resting his coffee on the table.
“He’ll forgive me.”
“Who?” In the quiet of she’d gotten lost in her own thoughts she’d forgotten their conversation. Almost. “Oh, Daniel, I’m sure he’ll forgive you. He’ll still be hurt though.”
“He’ll get over it.” She smiled and turned to face him, her mug resting on her knee.
“Why did you lie to Daniel?”
That was the crutch of it of course. Why had he told Daniel he wasn’t arriving until tomorrow? Why arrange dinner with Sam tonight? Why visit Colorado at all?
It was easy to explain it all to himself, in his head. He had all the answers. It was just vocalising it to Sam. Daniel was his best friend and would’ve wanted to join him and Sam at dinner. Jack found it hard to talk him out of anything. He wanted to have dinner alone with Sam and he didn’t want to explain that to Daniel any more than he wanted to explain it to Sam herself.
He didn’t have to explain it to Daniel.
Sam was waiting for an answer.
“Because I wanted to have dinner with you.” He said. “Just you.” He spoke quietly, slowly, the words sounded like they were some sort of revelation, a confession, important. Which was what he intended.
Sam’s reaction was different.
“Why didn’t you just tell Daniel that?” She asked. He couldn’t blame her. He could see her still processing his answer, and perhaps she knew his answer wasn’t quite enough.
Or she didn’t care, but he didn’t think that was true. She wouldn’t have come to dinner if she didn’t care.
“Daniel would want to come along and I can hear the puppy eyes over the phone.” She smiled. “I wanted you to myself.”
“Oh.”
Oh. That summed up their relationship so far. He wasn’t doing very well. He’d come to Colorado just to see her and so far all he’d gotten was ‘oh’.
He should probably say that.
“My mother called them golden retriever eyes,” she said.
He was lost.
“Huh?” She smiled.
“Daniel’s puppy dog eyes. My mother called them golden retriever eyes. Used to tell my dad not to go all golden retriever on her.” He laughed.
“You have her eyes.”
“Whose?”
“You mothers. Your dad told me that once.” She was looking at the coffee cup on her knee, thinking about something but he couldn’t tell what. She put the coffee down with a soft thu-dunk and moved across the sofa towards him, eyes still angled down. When she looked up, she was smiling but there were the beginnings of tears in her eyes. She kissed him, jumping at him and pushing him back against the arm of her sofa.
“Your house will be dusty.” She looked up at him.
“And stuffy.” He grinned at her.
“You should stay here tonight.”
There was no hesitation.
“I’d love to.”
*****
He woke to the sound of his cell phone and the feel of Sam Carter’s legs draped across his. She was spread diagonally across her bed and he had little time to wonder if she always slept like that before his cell phone’s volume hitched up a notch. Groaning he slipped his legs from under hers and from the bed.
His jeans were in a pool on her bedroom floor and he fished the nuisance from a pocket, checking the screen before answering.
“Daniel.”
“Where are you?” He sounded pissed off, Jack imagined Rottweiler eyes. Or perhaps some sort of terrier. “Jack?” He stopped thinking about dogs for a second to register the annoyance in Daniels voice.
“Why?”
“Because we’re supposed to be having lunch remember?”
Do whippets look angry? He looked at the clock, his eyes slipping to look over the sleeping Sam for a moment, it read 13:34.
Oops.
“Sorry Daniel, I slept in.”
“Slept in? I thought you weren’t coming in until this morning.”
“Er.”
“Just let me in, I’ll make coffee.”
“I’m not there.” Jack saw Sam move her legs across the bed, and got back into the bed beside her.
“Where are you?”
“At Sams.”
“Sams?” There was a pause and the woman in question turned over, the covers over her head. “Why?”
“I spent the night Daniel.”
“At Sams.”
“With Sam.” He clarified.
“I don’t understand.”
Did dogs have confused eyes? Why was that the only thing he could think about right now?
How to explain it? He and Sam were together? In a relationship? Dating? Sleeping together?
Last nights conversations in bed had been confessions of lust, love and everything in between the two. And everything between the two of them. Which was why he’d slept in so late. Was that enough to say they were in a relationship? How would Sam word it? Was there a phrase for two people who’d just slept together for the first time after being in love but apart for so many years?
Was Daniel still on the other end of the phone?
“Jack.”
The terrier was back.
“Sam and I are,” he paused, last nights words were private, personal and not easy to say.
“Wait, you and Sam had sex?”
Stunned whippet eyes. He tried not laugh down the phone at the image that conjured up.
“Where did that come from?”
Jack still didn’t reply, he wasn’t sure what to say.
“It’s been a long time coming.” He tried eventually, cutting into Daniel’s intelligible ramblings.
“It has?!”
Could dogs be surprised? Why was he fixating on dogs? Why was Daniel so surprised he and Sam had ‘gotten together’? Why wasn’t Sam awake?
“Come on Daniel.” He reached over and pulled the covers from Sam’s face to see her grinning. Busted, she turned over to face him.
“I didn’t even know you felt that way about her.” Daniel said, “I didn’t know she felt that way about you?”
“Can we talk about this later?”
“Is Sam there?”
“She’s right next to me.” Without being told to he handed the phone over to her.
“Morning Daniel.” Jack pointed out the clock to her and she shrugged.
“How long has this been going on?” His tone was accusing.
“What are you talking about?”
“You and Jack?”
“Can we talk about this lat-ER!” She squeaked out the last syllable as Jack’s fingers slid across her sides.
“This is, I don’t understand where this has all come from?” His voice was distant, the question rhetorical. Sam wasn’t listening anyway. “I just don’t believe it….”
“Give me half an ho-UR!” She squeaked again, and laughed, “an hour.” She corrected.
“I can’t believe this…..” Daniels voice faded and Sam hung up on his, throwing the phone down the bed and joining Jack under the covers.
“Do you think Daniel looks more like a terrier or a whippet?”
Story Notes: Set during season nine or so.
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 ]