Disclaimer: All hail owners of SG-1 (Guess what? Ain't me.)!
Author's Note:
This idea was triggered by a GateShip challenge to write a pairing you
wouldn't normally write together.
"Siler, can you hand me the..."
"Sure thing, ma'am." He passes the wrench to her outstretched hand, and she goes back underneath the MALP. He grabs a ratchet and moves around her to hold things in place.
Siler finds humor in being Col. Samantha Carter's longest standing date, but not for the reasons that come up when the guys kid him. Sometimes, the meetings are all talk – brainstorms of rigging things to gain extra seconds of energy, ideas about how to change power relays to improve gate security – but not today. Siler prefers weeks like this one with silence between two people who work like a well-oiled machine.
He knows he should have a crush on her. He can't remember if he ever did but doesn't think so. It seems they're both too analytical for him to consider her that way. He knows that won't stop his buddies from joking with him later on, and he knows his smile will seem cryptic when they do. It's simple, really. Siler enjoys having her respect. He also knows she doesn't see what she does to most men, and it's one reason he likes her company during their weekly chore.
"There," she says, stretching as she stands up. "I think that's got it for now. Hey, want to grab a cup of coffee?" she says, wiping her hands on her coveralls.
"Thanks, but I can't do it this week. Maybe next time." She asks every week, and this is his standard answer. He knows his place.
She doesn't. It's what he likes best about her.