"A letter for you, Colonel O'Neill. It was delivered to the main office."
"Thank you, Sergeant. Why didn't you just leave it on my desk?" O'Neill asked, staring at the pretty blue envelope.
"Um… You never check your mail. Sir," he added, wishing he was somewhere else.
"Yes, well… you're dismissed, Sergeant." The man saluted, and high-tailed it back to his post.
Jack went back to eating his sandwich. "What does he mean, I never open my mail? I always open it… Eventually."
Dr. Daniel Jackson looked over his coffee at the man. "You mean, you just go in there once a month and throw everything out."
The colonel looked like he was about to argue, so Major Carter just said, "Why don't you open it, Colonel."
Grumbling about insubordinate civilian archeologists, he ripped open the envelope. "Hello, what's this? Oh, no…" He blanched, dropping his letter on the table.
"What? What is it? Bad news doesn't usually come in embossed blue envelopes…" Daniel said.
He looked up at his friends, a blank look in his eyes. "Well, there's bad news in this one," he stated, throwing out the rest of his sandwich. "It's an invitation… to my high school reunion!"
--------------
"…. I mean, I don't know what he's so upset about! What's so bad about a high school reunion?" Sam was puzzled, and that didn't happen often. She was worried about her CO, who never lost it over anything, but somehow went totally catatonic over this little invitation.
"Yeah, well, Jack's mentioned a few things to me before… not intentionally, but we were out for a few drinks… the point is, he really didn't exactly embrace high school," Daniel explained, staring at a computer screen as though hoping the meaning would just jump out at him.
"I'll never understand what is so bad about high school. It was easy! I had lots to study, I was in the math club…"
Daniel looked over at her. "Math club?"
Sam blushed. "One of my friends made me join… the point is, he should go, see his friends, talk about the old days! I'm sure Colonel O'Neill was quite a troublemaker when he went to school. He must've broken a lot of girls' hearts, too" She smiled, thinking of Kynthia.
Daniel smirked. "Oh, you think so, huh?"
Sam blushed again, wishing it wasn't so bright in Daniel's office. "Not like that! I was just thinking of Kynthia…"
Daniel wasn't fooled. He knew that, whatever she might be thinking, there was something between the two of them… a lot more than they let on, anyway.
Sam brought him out of his thoughts. "So, what are we going to do about it?"
"Huh?"
She sighed. "How are we going to get him to go?"
"We? What do you mean, we? If Jack doesn't want to go, that's his decision! We can't just make him go!"
Sam grinned. "Well, maybe not right away…"
------------------------
"Come in! Door's open!" Jack yelled from his living room, engrossed in the latest Simpsons episode.
Sam walked through the door, noting the beer bottles and caps strewn all over the place. She knew he didn't drink this much all at once, he just never cleaned up. Stepping over a pile of laundry yet to be folded, she looked at her CO. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, Sir."
Jack looked up. "Oh! Hi, Carter, sorry 'bout the mess… um, what brings you here?"
She sat down. "Oh, nothing much, just wanted to chat for awhile." Jack looked skeptical. "So, what's new?"
"Spill it, Carter, what do you want? You never come by just to 'chat'. What's up?"
She looked around, a little guilty. "Oh, I was just wondering if you were planning on going to that high school reunion…"
He put the television on mute. "Oh, no, Carter. You're not going to rope me into this one. There's a million good reasons why I shouldn't go!"
"Like?"
"Like, the fact that I never really embraced high school…"
"Yeah, I heard that…"
"I wasn't ever that popular…"
"You, Sir? Really? Wow, that's hard to believe," she smirked.
He scowled. "Very funny, Carter. Plus, I don't have a date. I can't tell anyone what I do for a living, so even though I can almost guarantee that I'm doing something way more fascinating than everybody in that room, I can't brag! No accomplishments to speak of… I can't just tell everybody that my life for the past 25 years is 'classified'!"
Carter looked at him slyly. "Well, we can fix at least one of those problems."
He stared at her blankly for a few moments, having already forgotten which of his problems he had mentioned. "Which problem would that be, Carter?"
"Your date problem, Sir."
"And who do you know who would go out with me on such short notice?"
Sam stared at him, amazed that he could sometimes be this clueless.
"Oh…"
----------------------------
"Oh, hey, that high school reunion of Jack's is tonight, isn't it?" Daniel asked, looking over at Teal'c.
Teal'c looked up from his latest tabloid paper and cocked one eyebrow. "I believe it is, Daniel Jackson. What is a, 'highschoolreunion?'"
Daniel sighed. "Well, it's like this big party where you get together with all the people you went to school with in high school, and talk about what's happened since then. Although, in Jack's case, he really can't talk about much. I mean, there's his failed marriage, Charlie, his secret covert black ops stuff, which is classified, or the Stargate program, which is REALLY classified. Not a lot to choose from."
"I see…"
"I just feel really bad for the guy! I mean, he can deal with aliens and stuff, but he's scared to death over meeting his old classmates… I wish there was something we could do."
Teal'c cocked an eyebrow. "Could we not attempt to remove him from this highschoolreunion, Daniel Jackson?"
Daniel looked up, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "That's not a bad idea, Teal'c. But, I think it will take more that just the two of us to break him outta there. We'll need backup."
This time it was Teal'c's turn to smile… even if it really wasn't much of one. "I believe I know where we can find our backup, Daniel Jackson." He explained his plan to the archaeologist. Daniel grinned. This would be an interesting evening. The two men got up to find Hammond, to make a few requests.
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"God, I hate these monkey suits. Make me feel like I'm on parade or something," Jack muttered, adjusting his tie in front of the mirror. Sam had insisted on a tuxedo, so that he could make the proper impression on his former classmates – that is, that he wasn't a complete failure.
Well, he thought, I'd better go pick up my 'date.' He grinned at the thought. As much as it embarrassed him, he was rather pleased that Sam had suggested she go with him as his date.
He picked up his keys, and headed out the door. He hummed as he got in his truck. Maybe tonight wouldn't be so bad!
--------------------------
Daniel and Teal'c stood in the Gate room, awaiting their guest. Hammond had approved their requests, which had surprised Daniel. He didn't know that Hammond had worried just as much as Daniel about Jack's reunion – he'd had many bad experiences with those, himself.
"Offworld activation," Walter said over the system as the Stargate engaged. "Receiving IDC – it's the Kelownans." The Iris opened.
Jonas Quinn walked through the gate, looking for all the world as though he was returning home. "Hey, guys!" he exclaimed when he saw the welcoming party at the bottom of the ramp. "Got your message. What's the big emergency? All you said was that you needed my help to save Colonel O'Neill! Where is he?"
Daniel and Teal'c glanced at one another. "It's a long story. Come on, we'll tell you while we get ready to go."
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Jack knocked on Sam's door. He was holding a corsage in one hand. Sam opened the door. "Well, here I am, reporting as-" He stopped what he was saying to stare at her. She was wearing a sleeveless dress that came down just below her knees, in a shade that matched her blue eyes perfectly. He noticed that she was also wearing the silver bracelet he'd gotten her for Christmas a few years back.
"What?" Sam asked, innocent as she could. She was inwardly pleased at the reaction she was getting from the Colonel. She knew the bracelet was a nice touch.
Jack struggled to get his emotions back under control. "Um, this is for you, Major." Coincidently, he'd gotten her a corsage that also matched her eyes – he knew their colour well enough.
Sam took it, wondering how he'd known what colour dress she'd be wearing. She put it on, smiling at him. "You know, Sir, if I'm to be your date tonight, we can't just keep calling each other by our ranks. That might get us a few odd looks."
Jack sighed, mockingly depressed. "Well, I guess that means I'll just have to call you Samantha for the rest of the evening." He grinned at her, eyes dancing.
Sam smiled up at him, eyes just as mischievous as his. "Well, in that case, I would have to call you… Jonathan."
He grimaced. She knew how much he hated that name. It sounded so formal! "Fine, Sam. Happy? Just don't call me that!"
She turned off her living room lights, liking the fact that they actually had a reason to call each other by their first names. "Sure, Jack." She liked how that sounded. If only they could find a way to do this more often… Stop it, Sam! She berated herself silently as she closed and locked the door. You know there can never be anything more than friendship between us! She smiled inwardly. A girl can dream, can't she?
"What?" Sam asked, realizing the Colonel was saying something.
"I said, shall we be off?" He looked at her again, suddenly almost happy that she had talked him into this. God, she looked gorgeous! It would be nice, if this wasn't a fake date, and they weren't just pretending… Stop it Jack! You know the regulations! The old same chain of command thing, I can't be her boyfriend and commanding officer. Still… He grinned, glad the darkness hid his face. If he could choose between one or the other…
"What?" Jack asked, realizing that Sam had answered his question.
"I said, after you, Jack." They linked arms, and walked to his truck, neither of them realizing they'd just had the exact same thought.
-------------------------
They crept up to the building, stealthy in their attempts to remain concealed. They moved silently through the bushes, not making a sound, their military training preventing them from being discovered.
"Ow! Stupid thorns!" Jonas yelped, trying to pull a rose thorn out of his thumb.
Daniel wheeled around to glare at him. "Shhh! Do you want them to find us? Just imagine how mad Sam would be if she found out we were here!" They could all imagine it, and didn't like the prospect. Sam could be very good at revenge, when she put her mind to it.
Teal'c crouched down. "They have arrived. Over there." The Jaffa pointed to a couple getting out of a truck over in a corner of the parking lot. It was too dark for the humans to actually see them clearly, so they had to take his word for it.
"Quick! Get down!" The three of them crouched down in the bushes, waiting for the Colonel and Major to pass them. "Alright, they're in. Now's our chance, boys." Daniel got up, followed by Jonas and Teal'c. "I trust we all dressed in our camouflage uniforms?" He asked, inspecting his troops. The three of them were all dressed in dark suits, and looked pretty good, although Jonas couldn't tie a tie if his life depended on it, and Teal'c had used his cufflink as an earring. Oh, well, maybe no one would notice. It suddenly dawned on Daniel that he was leading two aliens into foreign territory, with hardly any knowledge of the enemy. What's wrong with me? He wondered, remembering how Teal'c had wanted to know if he could bring a weapon. Hammond had said no, and handed him the ol' Chicago ballcap, which looked interesting with the suit and cufflink earring. Daniel sighed. It was my stupid idea. "Okay, let's get going. Remember the plan – we split up, search for them, wait until they get separated, then grab him and run!" It all sounded so simple. Later, he would wonder where it all went so horribly wrong.
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They walked in holding hands. Sam had thought it would make a good impression on the reunionees, seeing that Jack had a solid relationship. Jack was just happy to have a reason to hold her hand. They surveyed the room, staring into unfamiliar faces. "Recognize anyone?" Sam asked him, squeezing his hand - for reassurance, of course.
Jack squeezed her hand back – grateful for her support, really. "Nope. Not a one. Drink?" He asked, motioning towards the buffet table.
She smiled at him. "I'd love one! Thanks!"
They walked over to the punch table, Sam looking around while Jack got them some drinks. She nodded to a big man just entering the gymnasium. "Who would wear a ballcap to a reunion?"
Jack looked around to see who she was talking about, and squinted at the man in the hat. "Hmm. He looks a bit like Kyle, that's exactly the sort of prank he used to pull when we went to school."
"There, see? You do have friends here! Let's go say hi!" She nudged him in the back.
Jack glared at her. "Actually, I hated that guy. He was always in every one of my English classes. He used to tease me about…" He coughed. "So, anyway, how's the punch?"
Sam hadn't missed the abrupt change in subject – heck, Teal'c couldn't have missed it. "What did he tease you about, Sir?" She blushed, embarrassed to have broken her own rule. "I mean, Jack."
Jack looked around, desperate for any kind of distraction. He sighed, and turned back to Sam. "If you must know, I used to have-"
He was suddenly cut off by a man yelling, "Jack! Hey, Jack! How've ya been, buddy?" Jack groaned.
"Oh, please, no!" He turned to stare at the big man walking towards them. He forced a smile on his face, and tried not to remember the last time he'd seen this man. He failed.
When he'd last seen Jordan, he hadn't had any grey in his hair. His hair had been longer too. That was the only thing that had changed. He was still 6'4, very muscular, and looked like he could pick you up and stuff your head in a toilet – which is what he'd done to Jack, several times. The first day of high school, Jordan had told him to pick up a book he'd dropped on the floor – Jack told him to go to hell. Jordan had stuffed him in his locker. The grade nine Jack O'Neill was not as tall, nor as strong as the Jack O'Neill as today, but he was still just as much of a pain in the ass.
The man walked up to them. Jack's grin just got wider, gritting his teeth and wishing the floor would open up and swallow him. Why did he have to come to this! "Hello, Jordan."
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"Okay. You know your assignments. Spread out!" Daniel motioned for the two men to wander off and search for their friends. Teal'c went right to the center of the room, and Jonas drifted to the buffet table, so Daniel decided to search near the stage. He was just walking along, totally casual, studying the faces of those nearest him. Suddenly, he realized he could hear someone crying in the corner. He looked over, and saw it was a young woman, her eyes red from her tears. Daniel walked over to her. "Miss?" The woman didn't look up. "I'm sorry, it's probably none of my business, but what's the matter?"
She sniffed, and started sobbing again. Daniel sat down beside her, pulling out a handkerchief as he did so. "Here." He handed it to her. She took it, dabbed at her eyes, blew her nose, and finally looked at Daniel. She was very pretty.
"I'm sorry, I must look awful!" She said to him, handing him back his handkerchief. Daniel wasn't sure he really wanted it back, but he shoved it into his pocket anyway. "You see, my boyfriend invited me to this party, but when we got here he just took off. Never said a word to me. Just drove off with some tall redhead!" She sniffed again, and looked like she was going to burst into tears once more.
Daniel looked around, desperate to find something to distract her with. Much as everyone knew how good he was with people, and helping them with their problems, he still was unsure of how to deal with a crying female. "Erm, no, wait, don't cry. Why don't I get us some punch, and we can talk about it?" He got up and grabbed two glasses of punch from a table, not realizing that they had been spiked.
---------------------------
"Hey, Jack! Good to see ya, buddy! Haven't heard from ya since the graduation!" Jordan slapped Jack on the back, hard enough to make him spill his punch. "Where've ya been!"
Jack grimaced. "Oh, you know," he said casually, "around."
Jordan cocked an eyebrow. "What're you up to these days, Jack? Last I heard, you had joined the army!" He grinned, like he didn't really believe it.
Jack sighed. Idiot civilians, couldn't even keep track of the different branches of the military. "Actually, it was the Air Force."
Jordan's jaw dropped, every inch of him the picture of a surprised man. "Really? So you, ya know, fly jets and stuff?" He looked impressed.
"Actually, yeah, I can." Jack didn't really want to stay with this particular thread of conversation for very long, as it could lead to other, more classified questions, but he was kind of flattered by the awed look in the big man's eyes.
"Wow." Jordan's eyes strayed to the woman standing slightly behind him. Sam had been studying him quietly, trying to figure out what about this man had made the colonel so tense. Jordan nudged Jack. "Who's your date?" He grinned at her.
Jack looked over at Sam, and smiled at her. "She's my… girlfriend. Dr. Samantha Carter," he informed him. No need to reveal that she was in the Air Force, too. Not that it was classified, but it might avoid more classified questions.
"Oh? Nice to meet you, Samantha." His face fell. "My date left shortly after we arrived. Man, she was pretty, tall, redheaded, name's Diane. She took off with some blonde guy as soon as he walked in the room. He left his date, too."
Sam smiled at him sympathetically. "That's too bad, Jordan." She tried to steer him away from his depressed train of thought. "So, what do you do for a living?" Jack groaned inwardly. Back in high school, the man had been the captain of the football team. He was probably still into sports, something impressive that would make his 'flying jets' sound like some child's dream.
Jordan blushed slightly. "Actually, um, I'm a – a hairdresser. I cut hair over at Salon Maurice."
Jack fought hard not to laugh. This wasn't so bad! His high school bully, the jock, was a freakin' hairdresser! He actually had a way better job than him, Stargate and alien fighting notwithstanding. He was starting to wonder why he had worried so much about coming.
"Really? That's cool. I never realized you had a flair for hair, but hey, hidden talents, right? So, didja catch the Cubs game the other night?"
---------------------
Jonas had noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that there was a large buffet table set up at the back of the room. He had slowly sidled towards it, telling himself that he could scout for Colonel O'Neill from the food table. He eyed the battered shrimp and deviled eggs, and grabbed a plate. God, how he missed that traditional American food!
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"No, way, it's totally unbelievable!"
"What are you talking about? The aliens wanted control of our planet, our natural resources! Earth is chock full of supplies and stuff for them, why wouldn't they want to invade us?"
"Oh, come on. If your weakness was water, then why go to all the trouble to invade a planet that's two-thirds covered with it?"
"Oh, and I suppose this is coming from someone who knows exactly how alien minds work, huh?" This came from Jordan, who was deep in the middle of a discussion with Sam about a new science fiction film they'd both seen. Jack, who'd always thought Signs was a documentary about roadway safety, had stayed silent during the entire conversation.
Considering the dangerousness of Jordan's last statement, Sam decided it was a good idea to end this particular discussion. "What are you, some kinda Area 51 hippie? We all know aliens don't exist." Nice job, Sam, she mentally berated herself. Let's get into an argument about the existence of extra-terrestrials.
Jordan laughed. "Of course not! But seriously, think about it. In an infinitely expanding universe, what are the odds that we're all alone out here?" Something at the buffet table caught his eye. "Well, scuze me kids, I'll be back, but I'd wanted to try the battered shrimp, and if I don't get there soon, it looks like that guy with the crooked tie's gonna eat it all. Sam, Jack, if you don't mind." Jordan smiled and nodded to them both, and headed towards the food.
Sam looked at Jack. "So, I thought you said you didn't really embrace high school. He seemed like quite a good friend!"
Jack thought about that. "Well, he used to bully me in school, but I guess he's matured since then." That makes one of you, Sam thought, but she kept it to herself.
The two looked around the room, wondering what to do next. The deejay was playing a nice slow song, one that the both of them knew. Jack risked a glance at Sam. She was smiling to herself, happy just to be there, enjoying herself with a good friend. He looked at everyone out on the dance floor, and thought, why not? "Hey, Sam," he asked hesitantly, unsure of how to ask this. "Do you wanna, you know, dance, or something…" he let the question hang, as she turned to look at him, slightly surprised. He instantly wished he could take it back, but Sam wanted to dance. She was only surprised because she was hoping he'd ask her.
She grinned up at him. "I'd love to." Taking her arm, he led her onto the dance floor. They walked to the middle of the room, and started to dance. They gazed into each others' eyes, each of them wondering why they hadn't done this a long time ago. It was nice, just dancing, something neither of them had done in awhile. The fact that they were dancing with each other just made it all the more enjoyable.
---------------------------
Teal'c was standing in the center of the room, studying each face as they went past. He didn't care that he was supposed to blend in – he just wanted to find Colonel O'Neill, complete the mission and go to bed. He didn't like the feel of the ballcap pressing against his tattoo. He scowled at the people who went by, daring them to comment on his choice of wearing the cufflink as an earring. He didn't understand why they were staring so much at it, anyway.
Suddenly, there was someone jerking on his arm. "Kyle! Hey, Kyle, buddy, how've ya been!" The man was slurring his words, wobbling slightly, and hanging on to Teal'c a little harder than was necessary, as he couldn't stand straight on his own. "Long time no see!"
Teal'c brushed the man off, wary despite the fact that the man was obviously intoxicated. "I am not Kyle. My name is-" He grimaced, not wanting to say it, but knowing he had to. "-Murray."
The man laughed, his face growing redder in the process. "Yeah, sure, ok Kyle. Murray! That's a laugh!" Turning around, he yelled across the room, "Hey! Fellas! Guess who's here! Kyle!" He tried to drag Teal'c over to his friends, but Teal'c was having no such thing. The man ended up falling down, instead. He looked up at Teal'c. "Aw, come on, buddy! It's all your old pals! Come say hi!" He tried to tug his arm again, with no affect.
"I have informed you, I am not this Kyle that you are speaking of."
The man chuckled. "That's Kyle, always goofing off!"
Teal'c sighed. He supposed there was no other way to get rid of this man, until he went over and talked to 'all his old buddies'. He let the drunk lead the way. "Oh, yeah," the man was saying, "this'll be a great party! I've already spiked the punch!"
------------------------------
A new song had started up, but Sam and Jack had not stopped dancing. They slow danced in place, Sam's head resting against Jack's shoulder, his arms around her. Everything was perfect – all thoughts of chain of command, regulations, and even the Air Force had totally left their minds. Nothing could disturb their wonderful night, or so they thought. Jack looked up for just a second, and suddenly his body tensed up. Sam looked at him to see what was wrong, and turned so that she could properly see the object of his attention.
"Who is that?" Sam whispered, stepping away from him – the spell was broken. He was staring at a tall blonde woman, wearing a skin-tight red dress, low-cut, accented with gold earrings and necklace. She looked beautiful, and looked like she knew it.
Jack looked down at her. "Well, um, she was my, ah, high school crush. I asked her to the prom – she laughed in my face. I was barely able to stagger away with a shred of my dignity. Oh, the happy memories," he added. He made a face. "Her name is Sondra. She was the prom queen." Even now, years after his high school crush, he still felt like a nervous geek around her.
Sam smiled to herself, surprised to hear about Jack having something as normal as a crush on the prom queen. He never seemed like the 'crush' type. "Well, come on. Maybe she won't notice you." She tried to steer Jack over to the buffet table for some more punch, hoping he would forget about his bad prom experiences. She was mistaken.
A light, feminine voice sounded behind them, slightly taunting. "Jack! How wonderful to see you here! We didn't think you would come! Actually, we had a bit of a bet going." She laughed lightly. "We were just wondering if you'd show your face, after what happened at the gradua-" The woman stopped short. Jack had finally turned around to face her, Sam just behind him, offering support.
Sondra looked Jack over. He stared her down, but she wasn't laughing. She was appraising him, and obviously liked what she saw. He had filled out quite a bit since high school, and even though he did have grey hair, it made him look more mature, rather than old. He'd grown a lot too, from the skinny 5'4 nerd to a more than 6'' military colonel. Suddenly, Sondra wasn't there to ridicule him about his graduation exploits. She was there to flirt.
"Well, Jack, as I was saying, we really weren't expecting to see you here, although it is a pleasant surprise," the woman purred, edging closer to him. Jack wasn't falling for it, and stepped back.
He placed the phoniest grin he could muster on his face, and said, "Sondra! What a pleasant surprise! I wasn't expecting to see you here, either! I mean, I'd heard that you'd gotten enormously fat and married a drunk slob, but I guess the rumours were false!"
She grinned. "Divorced the husband, met Jenny Craig." She was a little put off by this man, who was nothing like the scrawny, drooling 16 year old she'd known in high school. But then, Sondra was one of those rare people whose lives are so pathetic that they revolve around their golden years, and live in the past.
"You wanna dance, Jack?" she asked him, sidling closer to him again. She grinned seductively, and tried to put her arms around his neck. He agilely stepped out of her reach, and motioned at Sam.
"Oh, my dear, you haven't met my date! Dr. Samantha Carter, meet Sondra Shinkle." He grinned at the look of dismay on Sondra's face, and was surprised by the territorial look on Sam's.
Sondra quickly covered her dismay with a smile, and said to Sam, "How wonderful to meet you! I'm sure you won't mind if I take Jack out for a little spin around the dance floor, would you?" She again tried to grip Jack's arm, which he shook off.
Jack smiled at Sondra. "I'm sorry, maybe you didn't hear me. She's my date. Sam, would you like to dance?" He offered her his arm, which she gladly accepted, and walked away from the very angry and confused Sondra.
Wow, Jack thought as he put his arms around Sam once more. I always wanted to do that to her, and I finally got the chance to stand up to that drama queen. Yes, this is turning into a very good night.
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Daniel, still over in the corner with Shannon, the woman who's date had left without her. He'd gone back several times for more punch for the both of them, and they were now seriously bombed. Daniel had just told her about how Teal'c was dressed, and they were sitting there laughing. He stopped, and stared into Shannon's eyes. He thought about how wonderful those eyes were. He thought Shannon was wonderful in general. He grabbed her hand, and took her over to the stage. He leaned over to the deejay. "Hey, buddy," he whispered conspiratorially, not realizing that he couldn't be heard over the music. He tried again. "Hey, buddy!" He yelled it this time, and the man heard him. He leaned over to hear what Daniel had to say. "You got any karaoke?"
--------------------------
Teal'c had been dragged over to a corner, where the drunk was pointing out all Kyle's old friends. "See, there's Larry, that's Chris, there's Vinny over in the corner." Teal'c nodded to each in turn, then tried to return to his post. The drunk, Bill, was having no such thing. "Hey, come on man, aren't you gonna stay for awhile? Tell a coupla stories? C'mon, Kyle!"
"I have already told you, I am not Kyle. My name is Murray." He tried to slip away again.
The man guffawed, not letting go of his arm. Since Teal'c didn't want to hurt the man, he couldn't get away. The other men had welcomed him as Kyle, as all of them were as drunk as Bill. It looked like Teal'c was going to be there for awhile.
-----------------------------
"Wow, no wonder you didn't embrace high school. Look at those braces!" Sam squinted at the picture of Jack. "Is that a mullet?"
Jack sighed, for probably the thousandth time that night, and wondered whose bright idea it had been to put up the grad photos of everyone on the wall. "Yes, it is. I was into hockey back then."
Back then? Sam thought. You still are. "Oh? Were you on the hockey team?"
He grimaced. "Sorta."
"Sorta?"
"I was the towel boy. I was too scrawny, they wouldn't let me play." Heck, with a puny body like that, it was a miracle they'd let him join the Air Force.
Thankfully, before Sam could say something, Jordan walked up behind them, a few of Jack's old buddies in tow. "Hey, I brought some guys who might like to see you!" He introduced Carl, Frank and Josh to Sam, who smiled at each of them. "They were best friends with Jack in school!"
Frank slapped Jack on the shoulder. "Hey, man, how've ya been? We hear you're in the Air Force now. How's that working out for ya?" Sam watched Jack as he and his friends caught up, happy to see that he seemed to be enjoying himself. I'll bet he hasn't talked to them since he graduated, she thought. I'm glad I made him come. He needs to get out more, rather than just watch the Simpsons and shoot aliens all the time. She joined in their conversation about F-16s, which surprised the men. They didn't realize Jack's date had such a working knowledge of fighter jets.
--------------------------------
Teal'c was now desperate to get away from these men. It looked like he was going to have to use force. He shoved Bill off, and tried to move away. Bill, already unsteady on his feet, fell to the ground. This did not make his friends very happy, and they moved to block 'Kyle's' exit. He sighed, and pushed past them, sending Larry and Vinny sprawling. Some do-gooders near them thought that Teal'c was starting a fight, and tried to pull everybody apart, which wasn't necessary, since all the drunks were confused, most were on the floor, and Teal'c was already gone. He went to find Jonas Quinn – they had been there for more than three hours, and had not seen O'Neill. It was way past the time to depart.
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Jack and Sam noticed the commotion in the corner a few seconds sooner then their companions had. Their dates had joined them, and they were listening attentively to Jack as he told a story about the Gulf War. They all turned to see about three men go sprawling on the floor, and a big man who looked like Kyle Johnson disappear into the crowd – which was an amazing feat in itself, as the man was well over six feet. "Well, folks, looks like this party is gonna start breaking up," Jack said, slightly disappointed.
Jordan looked at everybody and said, "Hey, come on, the night's still young, and I'm starved. Let's all go out and get a hamburger or something." Everybody was in agreement about that, including Jack and Sam, so they all left the reunion together to go to MacDonald's. They thought they heard someone singing as they left, but they didn't turn to look.
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Teal'c found Jonas easily – he was still at the buffet table, going for his third helping of avocado dip. "Jonas Quinn, I believe it would be wise if we left this reunion immediately," he said seriously. Jonas looked up at him, startled. For someone as observative as Jonas, he thought he would have noticed that three hours had past. "Where is Daniel Jackson?"
"Well, when we got here he started to look over in that corner. Then he met some girl who was crying her eyes out, so he tried to comfort her. He grabbed some punch for them both, but I noticed that drunk guy you were talking to had spiked it a few minutes before he got there. He drank a lot of punch," he added. "Nice job, tripping that one tall guy, by the way."
"Thank you. Where is Daniel Jackson now? I do not see him in the corner."
Jonas looked around, amazed to find that he hadn't noticed where Doctor Jackson had gone. "He's, um, he's right-" Jonas blanched, and pointed at the stage. "He's right up there."
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"-And while she tried to be a star, Tony always tended bar across the crowded floor. They worked from eight til four… something something something, who could ask for more! At the Copa! Copa Cabana!" Daniel was singing his heart out to Shannon, who was leaning against the stage, hiccupping and beaming up at Daniel. Daniel has never been called a good singer. "At the Cooooopaaaaa!"
Some of the reunionees tried to remove him from the stage, with no success. They could all see that he was as drunk as Bill, Vinny and Larry, and one of them called the police.
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"Teal'c, we gotta get him off the stage! Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter have probably already seen him – he's blown our cover!" Jonas was in a panic – he didn't like it when covert missions went awry, he always got that feeling that it was his fault. He should have stopped Daniel before this got out of hand – but he figured that Daniel knew what he was doing. It was his planet, after all.
"Indeed, Jonas Quinn. I believe if we-" Teal'c stopped talking as Daniel went quiet.
"Hey, there you guys are! Shannon, it's my alien buddies I told you about!" Yep, over the speakers, so everyone could hear the good old aliens remark. Sure, nobody would believe the drunken archaeologist, but it was time to get outta there anyway. Teal'c and Jonas took off for the stage, tackling the man just as the police arrived. They assessed the situation, saw the two men tackling the drunk man, and immediately leapt to conclusions. Add to that, the fact that the man who had called them pointed out that Teal'c was also the man who had beat up the guys in the corner, and they were in trouble. The police came up and snapped the handcuffs on Jonas before he even knew what was happening. It tool three men to get Teal'c under control, but Daniel was all but passed out by this time. It was easy enough to get him into custody.
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Daniel came around in the police car, and asked Teal'c and Jonas where they were. "I believe we're in a police car, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said grimly. "We have been arrested, all of us for disturbing the peace, you for being drunk in public, and myself for resisting arrest."
"Oh. Whoops." Daniel grimaced, as he had a serious headache coming on. "Okay, we can just call Jack when we get there. He'll vouch for us." Too bad we left our Air Force ID back at the base, he thought. But I'm sure Jack will come get us.
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Jack was laughing at a joke that Frank had just told, so it took him a moment to realize his cell phone was ringing. He excused himself, walked away to where it was a little quieter, and answered his phone. "O'Neill," he said.
"Hi, Jack, how's it goin'?" asked a voice that was unmistakably Daniel's, if a little slurred.
"Daniel? Why are you calling me right now? Where are you?" he wondered, hearing someone say to Daniel that he only had two more minutes.
"Um, Jack? We need you to come and bail us out."
Silence. Then, "WHAT!"
Daniel winced. This would not go over well. He explained everything, including Jonas, Hammond's assistance, and their mission to save Jack. "You see, Jack, we were trying to get you out of this horrible reunion!"
Jack was mad. "I didn't ask for your help, Daniel. I had a good time. Danny Boy," he said with a smile, "you're on your own."
"Jack! No, you can't be ser-" he'd hung up. Jack walked back to his friends, and quietly explained things to Sam. She started to giggle.
"You say they called in Jonas as backup?"
"Yep."
"And you're really going to just leave them there?"
Jack smiled. "Well, they can't hold them for more than a night, anyway."
Sam grinned back at him. "They're going t be furious, you know."
"I know."
"They're gonna find a way to get back at you!"
"I know that, too." Sidling back into the booth, he put his arm around her shoulders, and listened as Josh told them the story of what Jack and Carl had done at graduation.
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"Thank you, Sir, and we're very sorry we let things get out of hand like that," Daniel apologized to Hammond, who'd bailed them out of jail.
"That's alright, son. It's partly my fault – I should have known something like this would have happened." He straightened up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back home, to bed!" He left.
Daniel, Jonas and Teal'c slowly walked back to their van, which had been brought to the police station. "You know, I still can't believe that Colonel O'Neill just said he'd leave us there."
"Indeed. It was most unlike O'Neill."
Daniel turned to look at them. "What I can't believe is that after all his complaining, and all our sacrifices and hard work to help him escape, he didn't even come to bail us out! I mean, that's just so ungrateful!" He smiled slowly, a plan forming in his mind. "And I think I know how to get back at him for it. If I'm right, and I know why he had such a good time… Come on, guys, we've got one more stop to make. Teal'c, have you got the camera?"
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Jack walked Sam up to her door. The others had all gone home, and it was well past midnight. They stopped at her door, and looked at each other. They weren't sure how they were going to say goodbye, but they knew they weren't going to put up with having to hide their feelings any more.
"Sam, I just want to thank you for making me go to this thing tonight. I actually had a good time."
"Well, I told you it would be fun. Seeing all your old friends, making fun of that Sondra woman…"
He looked into her eyes. "It's not just that, Sam. I had a good time, just being with you." He leaned in, and kissed her. She was surprised for just a second, then returned the kiss. Suddenly, there was a flash. The sound of two men laughing. Jonas, Daniel and Teal'c, all of them grinning, jumped out from behind Sam's bushes and took off for their van, parked just around the corner. They could hear Jack cursing them as they ran.
Jack turned back to Sam. "You know they're gonna post that picture all over the SGC."
"Yep. I told you, they'd get back at you!"
"Yep." They looked at each other. "Well… As long as we're screwed anyway…" He leaned in, and continued to kiss her.
They heard Daniel whistle from down the street, but they just ignored him.