Title: After all, it's your birthday, right?

AUTHOR: Sam23 (Sam Cole)

EMAIL: samcole23@aol.com

STATUS: Complete

CATEGORY: Romance

PAIRINGS: Sam/Jack (what else?)

SPOILERS: the famous question from Divide and Conquer, I guess

SEASON: four

SEQUEL: nope

RATING: PG

CONTENT WARNING: none

SUMMARY: It's Sam's birthday and a special someone doesn't seem to notice

ARCHIVE: S/J yes, Heliopolis yes, anyone else please ask

FEEDBACK: Yeeeeeessss pllleeeeaaassseee (God, I sound desperate, don't I?)

DISCLAIMER: Every time I start typing I hear a voice saying "not mine, not mine, not mine". So please, MGM don't sue me, okay?

AUTHORS NOTE: Since I am still not a native speaker/writer, please excuse any mistakes I might have made. This story is dedicated to my best friend Susanne.

After all, it's your birthday, right?

Major Samantha Carter walked down the corridor. Great day, so far, she thought. She had messed up an important briefing and humiliated herself in front of her friends, General Hammond and three other SG- teams. Really great day. And if that wasn't enough she had gotten a message from her dad, telling her, he couldn't come because of some "very important To'kra stuff". Great. Sam sighed and slid through the door into the locker room. It wasn't as if she had expected anything to happen today, but still. It was her birthday and she was more than a little hurt that none of her friends seemed to have noticed.

After the briefing they had paid a brief visit to P4X345 in order to set up a research camp there. Very exciting, as Colonel O'Neill had put it. Yeah, very exciting, Sam thought and stepped into the shower. All she wanted to do now was to go home and get right to sleep. At least she couldn't mess anything up, when she was asleep. Sam closed her eyes as the warm water splashed down on her. Be honest Carter, she thought. This isn't about messing up at the meeting or anyone not remembering your birthday. This is about a special someone not remembering. Well, she didn't expect him to, really. But it would have been nice, though. Really? Sam sighed again. Although she had told him that "we're okay with it", she wasn't really sure if they were actually okay with it. Everything seemed to be back to normal. Except it wasn't. Not really. Jack never said anything and she didn't either, but still. It was there. Out in the open. She could feel his gaze on her from time to time, when he thought she wasn't paying attention to him. But Sam felt it every time and more than once she had thought about just turning around and returning that look. Locking her gaze into his, leaving the whole world outside. Just like that. But they couldn't. Sam knew what the consequences of giving in to this feeling would be. They would be separated. And that was just a chance she wasn't willing to take. "But if I could have one birthday wish, I know what it would be", she thought, as she changed into her civvies. When she left the room she ran into Jack O'Neill.

"Hey Carter, going home?"

"Yes, Sir. You?"

"Wish I could. But still have to finish that damn report. I hate it, but the General's going to really kick my ass this time if I don't deliver it on time. Wanna help me?"

"Uh, not really . . .Sir."

Jack shrugged. "Okay, was just a thought. Hey, you hear? Lt. Janey is turning 30 tomorrow. SG 4 is throwing her a big party. We are invited, too."

"Oh, really?" Great, he remembers Janey's birthday, but not mine. Very nice, Jack , really. You haven't spoken three words with Janey in the past year, but still you remember. Jack didn't seem to notice the anger flashing in her eyes and went on with a happy grin.

"Yeah, and you should really come. Just wanted to remind you in case you bumped into her tomorrow. You know, would be pretty embarrassing to forget the birthday of a fellow officer."

"Is that so, Sir?" Sam was ready to hit him right now. There he stood, hands stuffed down his pockets, a charming smile all over his face and totally oblivious to the fact that she was ready to kill him.

"Yeah, that would be pretty bad, Sir. In fact that is something I wouldn't forgive my friends, if that ever happened to me", Sam grumbled.

Jack looked puzzled for a second then he nodded. "And you would have every right to do that", he said. He turned around for a second as if to see that no one was around. Then he leaned in closer to her. Sam's heart began to quicken. Maybe he hadn't forgotten after all Jack's face was so close to hers that she could feel his breath. Then Jack whispered into her ear. "Carter, please. I just can't finish that report alone. There are supposed to be some words in it I can't even spell. Just five minutes, okay? You would really save my ass, okay?"

A flash of anger flodded through Sam and she took a step back.  "What?" That was, what he wanted? To help him spell multitronic phase-inverter or something to that effect? It was her birthday, for crying out loud! God, I spend way to much time with him, Sam thought. At first she wanted to go. Just leave him there. But then she looked at his face again and sighed. He looked at her with an expression of such innocence that she just couldn't be mad at him very long.

"Alright, but only five minutes."

"That is all I ask for."

Jack led her down the corridor and started talking about how General Hammond had scolded him because of this paper-stuff. Sam couldn't suppress her smile any longer. The way he told the story was really funny. Sam didn't realize he had led her straight to the comissary, until she stood in front of the closed door.

"Uh, Sir, I guess we went in the wrong direction."

Jack shrugged. "Well, I thought we could get some coffee first."

Oh great, Sam thought. That means he's planning on staying here longer. Which means that I'll be staying there as well, helping him. Sam suspected that he hadn't even started writing that report yet. Jack opened the door and a split second before it opened she saw an amused sparkle in his eyes, that hadn't been there before. What the .. .?

"Surprise!"

Sam almost jumped back out of the room. Everyone was there. Daniel and Teal'c, Janet, the General, Cassie, even her dad.

"For she's a jolly good fellow, for she's a jolly good fellow."

Sam started laughing and hugging everyone at once. When she finally turned around she saw Jack O'Neill still standing in the doorway, looking at her. He smiled happily. Sam returned the smile and made her way through the crowd over to him. She shook her head.

"I really thought, you'd forgotten", she said.

Jack raised an eyebrow, then grinned. "I was good, wasn't I", he whispered still grinning wildly. Sam laughed.

"Yeah, you were. I never suspected a thing, Sir."

"That was the idea."

"Sam!" Janet had walked over to them and grabbed Sam's shoulder. "Come on, you got to blow out the candles, birthday girl."

Before Sam could say anything Janet had dragged her away from Jack and towards the table on which a huge birthday cake sat. Sam laughed and took a deep breath. "Okay, you ready?" Janet asked. Sam nodded. "Okay, then go ahead, make a whish." And Sam Carter closed her eyes and thought about the one thing she wanted most in the whole world. For a second there was nothing else but the image in her mind, the image she had been holding onto all these years. Then she could hear her friends clapping and cheering around her and she opened her eyes. All the candles were out. Sam felt someone beside her, then heard Jacks voice in her ear

"Whatcha whish for?", he asked.

Sam didn't look at him, but smiled. "I'm afraid that's classified, Sir", she replied. Then her dad walked up to her, handed her a small present and Jack O'Neill disappeared again in the crowd.

It had been a great party. Sam felt a little stupid that she had really thought her friends would forget her birthday. Pretty silly, really. She had had a lot of fun, but there was one thing that made her sad. Everyone had wished her a happy birthday. Everyone except Jack. Sam didn't understand that, especially since she found out that this whole party thing had been his idea in the first place. Sam stepped out into the parking lot and went to her car. She felt a little dizzy and pretty tired. On her way home she couldn't stop thinking about Jack. This surprise had been wonderful and it must have been a lot of work to set the party up. So why hadn't he said anything to her? Now that she thought about it, he hadn't even said good-bye to her just now. Sam shook her head. So it was getting to him after all. So he was afraid to say something, to do something that would change the status of their relationship.

Sam threw her jacket on the floor and sank onto the sofa. Boy, she was really tired. She was just about to get up and ready for bed, when she heard a knock on the door. Sam blinked, then looked at her watch. Who could that be? She slowly walked across the room to the door.

"Yes?"

"It's me."

Jack. Sam opened the door and there he stood. He wore civvies. Blue Jeans, sneakers, a red t-shirt and his old leather jacket. Sam tried not to look to closely at him.

"Sir?"

Jack tilted his head and cleared his throat. "Yeah, hi, I just remembered, I forgot something back there at the party."

"Sir?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Sam closed the door behind him, then looked at him, not sure what he was up to now. Jack seemed a little . . nervous, Sam thought. He ran his hands through his short hair. "See, I forgot I have a birthday present for you."

"You do?"

"Yeah."

Jack stepped closer. Sam's heart jumped. He took her hands into his and sighed. "I just couldn't give it to you in there, because, well, because, I just couldn't.".

"And now you can?"

"Yeah". Jack's hand touched her neck and he pulled her closer. Sam shivered. His dark eyes held her gaze. "Happy birthday, Sam",he whispered and then his lips met hers and Sam closed her eyes. It was a soft kiss and yet there was so much desire, so much love and devotion in that simple touch, that it was almost too much to bear. Sam didn't know how long they had been kissing, she lost every sense of time and space. But finally the kiss ended. Sam didn't open her eyes. She felt his forehead touching hers and just stood there, breathing, feeling alive. When she looked up, their eyes met and Sam could see all the love she felt for him, reflecting in his eyes. Jack smiled at her. Sam squeezed his hand gently.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For making my birthday whish come true."

"That is what you whished for?"

Well, that was not exactly ALL I had whished for, Sam thought and he must have read her thoughts, because his smile was getting broader and he pulled her closer to him.

"Well, who says wishes never come true?", he whispered. Sam smiled and asked the question she'd been dreading to ask: "Are we okay with this?" Jack thought about it for a second, then kissed her again and replied with a wide grin. "Yes, Ma'am. And hey, after all, it is your birthday, right?"

The end

hope you liked it, see ya

Sam23