Friday Morning, Conference room
I watched with amusement as Sam put her hand over her mouth, trying to hide a yawn.
"Tired, Carter?" I asked, trying to suppress a smile.
"Sorry sir." She apologized, only looking slightly abashed.
"I know Daniel's boring, but this is the first time you've ever given in." I continued with a smile, not able to stop it this time. I watched her glance over at Daniel, looking a little guilty.
"I didn't get much sleep." She said, looking back at me. I tried to sallow my smirk. An out of it Sam wasn't something you got to see every day.
"Well, I think we all get the gist of you were saying, Daniel. Why don't we call it a day?" I suggested, standing up. Sam stood up as well, trying to hide yet another yawn. She was the first one out the door. I shook my head in amusement as I turned and headed into my office. I sat down at my desk and looked at the clock. It was 11:30. I was meeting my sister Maddy, who was in town for a few days, for lunch at 12, so I decided to go visit Sam. Her door to her lab was closed when I arrived, so I knocked.
"Sir," she said in surprise when she opened the door.
"Are you all right? You're usually the only one who ever focuses at these debriefings." I said. She smirked. I figured she was thinking about times when I had been spacing off.
"I'm fine sir. Really." She reassured me.
"Ok." I said doubtfully. She looked like she had cried recently. "I want SG-1 to take the weekend off." I told her.
"But sir," she began protesting, and I cut her off.
"Didn't you just say you are tired? It would be a perfect opportunity to take a break." I told her, emphasizing the last three words. She sighed, but didn't argue.
"I better not see you tomorrow Carter." I said as I turned and left.
Fifteen minutes later I was sitting across from my sister at O'Malleys.
"Are you enjoying being a general?" she asked me after the usual greetings.
"It has its perks." I told her, thinking briefly of Sam. I glanced up to call over a waiter for our menus when I recognized a woman sitting a couple of tables away. Our eyes met for an instant and she frowned at me. I raised my hand to wave at her, but she turned around and faced the other way before she could. I shook my head, wondering why she was acting so unfriendly.
"What was that about?" Maddy asked me, having watched the brief exchange.
"I don't know. That was Linda Krynn. She's a nurse on the base." I told her.
"Ah." Maddy said, as if it made perfect sense to her. I shook my head again and went back to trying to call for a waiter.
Saturday Afternoon, Jack's House
"So be here about 6:30. And don't forget the beer!" I told Daniel before hanging up. It was hockey Saturday and as usual we guys were going to have a sports party. By the time I cooked the hot dogs Daniel had arrived with the beer and Teal'c with the chips.
"Which teams will be doing battle tonight?" Teal'c asked, putting the chips on the table.
"Aces and Steelheads." I said, flopping down on the couch and turning on the game.
"So I went to talk to" Daniel started, but stopped when Sam walked in the front door. She stopped for an instant, a deer-in-the-headlights look on her face. Then she whipped around and practically ran out the door.
"What was that about?" I commented, standing up to see if she was still here. There was a knock on my door and I quickly opened it. Sam stood on the other side, slightly red.
"Good afternoon sir." She said cheerfully.
"Afternoon Carter." I said slowly. This was a little strange for me. "Do you want to come in and watch hockey?" I asked her.
"Actually, sir, could we just talk out her for a minute?" she asked. I glanced back inside, where my hockey game was just starting. This really wasn't fair. I shrugged and turned back to Sam.
"Sure." I said, stepping outside to join her. We stood there for a moment, Sam shifting uncomfortably. Suddenly she reached up, grabbed my head, and gave me a kiss. She turned around and ran for the car and drove away.
"Jack, you fool, what are you doing just standing there? Go after her!" Daniel had come out of the house, and now he was pushing me to my car. Carter kissed me. That thought came calmly. Why had she done that? Daniel's second shove brought me out of my shock. Carter had run off. I grabbed my phone as I started to my car.
"I want you to make sure nobody is anywhere near the conference room, and to get Carter there quickly." I told Walter as soon as he answered. I hung up before he could say anything. I stopped at the floral shop and quickly ordered a dozen roses. I made it to the base in twenty minutes. I went immediately to the debriefing room. Almost right after me Sam walked through the door. I turned and smiled at the complete look of shock on her face.
"These are for whatever it is that I apparently did wrong." I said, seeing her eye the roses.
"What you did wrong?" she echoed.
"Yeah, when you left Daniel said something about me being a fool." I told her. She just stood there for a minute. Then I could see her start to get mad.
"What the heck is wrong with you! First, you go out with some woman without even having the courtesy of even mentioning her, and now you're practically cheating on her with me!" she yelled at me.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, having no idea what she was talking about.
"Don't you dare try to deny it! Nurse Krynn saw you!" she continued shouting. "You were having lunch with her at O'Malley's!" Nurse Krynn. Of course! That's why she was being unfriendly. The thought of somebody thinking Maddy was my girlfriend made me smile. Sam turned and started for the door. I jumped to block the door before she could leave.
"Sam, you got it all wrong!" I used her first name, hoping it would stop her.
"Oh, really? What exactly did I get wrong? The part where you're holding roses for me or the part where you still care for me?" she snapped.
"Neither." I said calmly. "I was having lunch with my sister, Maddy. She is in town for a few days." She looked like she believed me, but then she coolly said I was lying, yanked her arm out of the hand that had involuntarily grasped her, and pushing past me.
"Sam, wait!" I called after her. I couldn't let it end like this. In two strides I had her arm again and was kissing her.
"I could never care for anyone the way I care about you." I whispered in her ear and pulled her into my arms. I felt her relax and leaned against me. We stood there in the hall, each finally surrendering to the feelings we had hidden from each other for so long.
