Tiny A/Ramble: Inspired by my day at work. To a certain extent. Mistakes are mine. Warning: cuteness. Enjoy!
~ Paper Cut ~
Sam shook her hand and inspected the base of her right index finger. A thin red line exposed a deep paper cut she'd inflicted on herself when she'd attempted to pull a box off a shelf. It was heavier than she'd anticipated and the cardboard edge slid across her hand, resulting in the stinging slice in her flesh.
"Stupid piece of..." she muttered, resuming the fast-paced typing.
Footsteps in the hall outside her lab and their slowed pace as they neared her door brought her attention to a decided bored looking Colonel. Her Colonel, no less. As in, he was her Commanding Officer and happened to be a Col-
"Carter, whatchya doing?"
It took her a moment to process the question once her defensive train of thought had been suddenly diverted. She grimaced and rubbed her thumb over the tiny, but very uncomfortable cut on her finger. Her Colonel approached her desk, hands in his pockets.
Sam opened her mouth to automatically begin a lengthy explanation, but remembered exactly who had asked the question.
"Not much, Sir."
All she got in reply was a grunted "Huh."
She touched the cut again. Damn, that was annoying.
The Colonel pushed off the table and without any kind of farewell, left the room. Weird.
Sam only got through a few sentences when the Colonel returned, his attention fixed on a small piece of paper. When he rounded her desk and stood beside her, still occupied by the item in his hands, Sam realised it was a bandaid.
"Sir, it's fine. It doesn't hurt that much; it's just irritating."
He lifted his gaze and she concluded from the look he gave her that at superfluous as the little bandage was, she was still getting one. Jack held out the bandaid, sticky side down and Sam reached for it. Jack pulled it back towards his chest and out of her reach; the scowl he gave her wasn't completely reprimanding, but held a boyish undertone that made Sam compliantly hold out her finger because she was sure the Colonel would have started an argument rather than simply ordering her to do as told.
His expression became lighter when he got his way and he gently covered that pesky cut. Funnily, it did actually feel better once it was covered; probably because the bandaid kept the skin closed.
One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand...
His thumb brushed tenderly over her hand.
Four one thousand.
He released her hand after a there-all-better pat. She smiled her thanks and made an obvious inspection of his handiwork.
"Thanks, Sir."
"Any time Carter." As he walked towards the door, he added, "Played your cards right, I would have kissed it better."
He threw her a mock two-fingered salute and soon disappeared. Sam was still smiling softly when she turned to her computer.
"If only."
~ SJ ~
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