The ball entering the side pocket of the pool table was the last sound they heard as footsteps made their way to the back of the bar where Jack, Teal'c and Jonas were sitting. The bar, which only moments before had been bustling with drink orders, men trying pick-up lines on women, and the clattering of empty beer bottles, was now dead silent. Except for the sound of Sam Carter's heels making their way to her friends. Literally every guy in the place stopped talking and drinking as she entered the front door in a short black skirt, high strappy heels, and a tight, red V-neck sweater.
Being in the back corner, the three male members of SG-1 had no idea what had caused the disruption in their normally loud and busy hangout until she reached them, "Hey." At her arrival at her chosen destination, soft chatter resumed in the bar- no guy there was anxious to fight Teal'c, even for a chance at a blue-eyed, blonde with legs that went up to-
"MajorCarter." Teal'c was the first to recover from the sight of his normally khaki-clad comrade. He nodded and took a sip of his ginger ale.
Jonas's jaw was still slightly open, but he did manage to say, "Hi Sam."
"I thought you had a date tonight." If Jack was affected by her presence, he sure as hell wasn't going to let her see it.
"It got cut short." Janet had set Sam up with a doctor- friend of hers, but he had been paged to an emergency halfway through the dessert. Frankly, Sam was relieved. The conversation had been strained, and the only thing she could do to keep it from being terribly awkward was to smile politely and pretend to listen to his emergency-room horror stories. She had spent better nights lying in the infirmary herself.
"Too bad." Jack resumed his position at the pool table and eyed his next shot. He had been hurt, really hurt, when he overheard her tell Jonas the reason she couldn't join them for pool tonight. Not that he expected her to never date again, or to wait for him until this damn war was over, but at the same time, he did. He knew it was unfair, but that was how he felt. Not rational, not logical, not even good for the team- or for her- but since when love rational? Since when did he admit, even to himself, that this was love? Damn! He missed his shot.
"I don't want to interrupt your game-"
"Not at all, Carter. In fact, I think I could use a rematch from last week." He was going to show her just how unaffected he was. Of course it would help if he could stop staring at her-
"Okay. I'm just going to get a beer, and I'll be right back."
"Here, Sam." Jonas offered her his bottle. "I don't think this stuff is for me, and I'd better call it a night anyway." He hadn't been around long, but he knew Jack had overheard Sam tell him about her date, and he had noticed a change in Jack's attitude ever since. He was angry, bitter almost, and certainly not much fun to be around.
"I will accompany you back to the base JonasQuinn." Also having enough of Jack's bad mood, Teal'c thought it wise to let his two friends sort things out in relative privacy.
Jack eyed his 'friends' suspiciously as they left the bar. He began setting up the balls.
"Subtle." Sam whispered under her breath as Teal'c and Jonas walked off. She wondered how much Jonas knew about this 'relationship' thing she and Jack had.
"What was that, Major?" He could have sworn she said something, but the noise in the bar had long since resumed it's normal noise-level.
"Nothing, Sir." She was more than a little concerned that he hadn't started calling her by her first name and hadn't asked her to do the same. It was usually one of the first things he insisted upon when they were on downtime and off-base.
They played for nearly half-an-hour without speaking a word. She finished her beer and he had already gone through two more since she arrived. Finding false courage in the amount of alcohol he had consumed, combined with the fact that he hadn't missed a shot since she had turned the table over to him, he finally asked what was on his mind since she had walked in, "What happened?" It was a softer tone than he had used all night.
"He was called away on an emergency of some kind before dessert was over. A shame, too..." She hoped she could start a little friendly banter now that he seemed a little more relaxed.
"Why was that?" He really hoped it wasn't because he was a great conversationalist or a great kisser, or worse.
"It was the best cheesecake I think I've ever had." She smiled at him as he bent over to make the winning shot of the game.
"Ah. Too bad then. It looks like you've lost twice tonight, Sam."
Her first name, thank god. "Actually, only once." She had to make this right. He raised an eyebrow in question as they made their way to the bar. She knew the drill- loser buys- and ordered two more beers. As the bartender placed them on the counter she answered, "He was kind of a dud."
"Oh." If he could have done a cartwheel, he would have, but a mental one would have to do. Almost as soon as he thought it though, he realized how ridiculous he was being. She was an adult and could make her own decisions. He didn't have to like them, but he was still her friend and her CO, and she had had a bad night, "I'm sorry." He was. If only a little bit.
"That's okay. It was more of a test run really." She was hoping he was sober enough to catch what she was trying to say without actually saying it.
"What were you testing?" What was she saying?
"Just to see if something else was still there." He had to get that.
He did. "Oh." A huge gulp of beer, "Was it?" Please god.
Her smile said it all. It was. She had to ask, "Don't you ever-wonder?"
"Nope." He said it immediately, without thinking and without hesitation.
She was taken aback by his honesty - no games, no sarcasm, "Oh."
"I was married for a long tine, Sam. I know I loved Sara, but I also know there was something missing. Something that's not missing anymore. When that stops, then I guess I'll go - testing - again. Until then, I don't really see the point."
"I guess I don't have the advantage of that experience." She felt like she was half-apologizing. For what? A date? To her CO? Absurd! Except that he was also a man. That she had hurt. That she loved. Now that was absurd- loving her CO. But she did.
"You were almost married yourself. I'd call that an experience."
"Maybe. But it wasn't exactly a healthy relationship. And certainly not something I would ever compare this-" She stopped as he looked right into her eyes for the first time that night. Her eyes, hell. It was her heart and soul he saw reflected there.
He had often wondered just how 'unhealthy' her relationship with Jonas had been. But he didn't want to know at the same time, and there wasn't anything he could do about it anyway. They finished their beers in silence.
"Well, I guess I'd better get home." She wasn't really looking forward to the weekend. Spending it alone, again, with illicit thoughts of her CO wasn't what she considered a great time. Although, all things considered, maybe it wasn't so bad. And it was all she could have right now. "I'll drop you off."
"Is that your way of telling me I've had too much to drink?" He had, and he was glad for the ride home- especially with her.
"Subtle, huh? She slid off of the barstool and headed for the door with him just behind her.
She pulled into his drive, and was surprised to feel her own heart sink at the realization the night had come to a close, "Just call me when you want a ride back to your truck tomorrow."
He nodded but made no attempt to get out. He had been thinking about it the whole way home, and he just had to say it, "It's none of my business, you know. What you do or don't do. I'm sorry if I was an ass earlier." He could barely look at her.
She knew how much it must have taken for him to say that. Especially when she suspected he really felt the opposite, "You're right on both counts- it isn't any of your business and you were an ass." She hoped he was going to let her get away with that, but she had been thinking on the way home, too, "I don't know if I would have handled it as well, if you had been the one... eating cheesecake." She lifted her eyes to his. "For what it's worth, I can't imagine I'll be eating anymore in the near future."
He smiled for the first time all day, "Well, if you do decide to try a piece again, maybe you could ask me if I wanted some, too."
"I thought cheesecake was - off limits - to you." Her heart was racing.
"Well, technically it is. But, I've never been much for the rules." They were skating on thin ice, and he wanted her to know he was willing to break it, even if she wasn't.
"I'll keep that in mind." And she would. In fact, she suspected she wouldn't be able to think about much else.
"Goodnight, Sam." And with that, he got out of the car and walked up to his door as she pulled away.
***************************************
As she pulled into the SGC parking lot on Monday morning, she remembered that he hadn't called her to take him back to the bar to get his truck on Saturday. As she walked to the elevator she saw it was already parked there and wondered how he had gotten it. 'Don't go back to that night, Sam!' She had spent the better part of the weekend trying to forget how much she wanted to break the regs. She made it to her lab without running into anyone and was glad to lose herself in her work. As she cleared an area for her laptop, she noticed a Styrofoam box in the middle of the table. Smelling something sweet, her empty stomach rumbled as she started to open it. A huge piece of cheesecake. With two forks. She stared for a minute as she closed the box back up. She could work later, she decided, as she headed out to his office, cheesecake in hand.
End Notes: That's it! What do you think?? lisayaeger@hotmail.com
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 ]