He couldn't believe that Siler was actually throwing a pool-side barbecue for the members of the SGC. Heck, he had worked along side the man for eight years, and he didn't even know the Siler had a pool. It was definitely interesting, but the sun was warm, the sky was clear, and he might as well try to enjoy himself with his subordinates. Hey, look, there was SG-1 playing water volleyball. Oh, the game must be over. They are starting to get out of the pool. Carter must have been the only one of that group to see him enter through the side gate. She nodded and swam to his end. Boy, did his heart ever skip a beat then. Had he seriously never seen Carter in a bathing suit? She was wearing this blue bikini number that fit her curves perfectly. He couldn't help but notice; he wasn't a saint. Didn't she know better than to wear something that made her look so gosh darn stunning to a work barbecue? Of course she didn't because she was too modest to think she could look so gosh darn stunning. He raised an eyebrow and handed her a towel.
"Carter."
"Sir."
He pointed to the volleyball net in a vain attempt to get his mind on a different topic as she thankfully wrapped the towel around her waist.
"Playing a little volleyball, are we?"
"Yeah, and actually, SG-1 kicked SG-4's butts."
"I wouldn't expect it any other way."
"Did you just get here, sir?"
"Yeah."
"You do realize that the party started an hour and a half ago, right?"
"You're point?"
"Right."
They stood there in silence for a moment, each used to the underlying awkwardness that had developed between them. Softly, she used her hand to shake out some of the water from her hair and give it that just-out-of-bed look she wears so well.
"Teal'c had never playing volleyball before. He was an animal."
"You don't say?"
He gently put his hand on the small of her back to guide her towards the others.
……………….
It was then that he awoke from the dream he was having. To say that he was disappointed would be an understatement. To be honest, he had been having the same dream, with different variations, for the past month. He attributed it to missing his friends and, like always, didn't try to add anything to it. It had been three months since he had left the SGC to go to Washington so was only natural that he would miss his friends. Yeah, that has to be the explanation.
He looked over at his clock. 6pm. Good. He had time for a quick shower before he had to pick her up. Her name was Melissa, and he had met her in a coffee shop down the road yesterday morning. She wasn't exactly his normal type, but he hadn't been seeing anyone since Kerry had left him and realized that there really wasn't a valid excuse to not try to find someone new.
The sound of the phone ringing caused a sense of dread to spread through his body. This better not be work when I'm about to get ready to go out. He used his one hand to rub his eyes in an annoyed manner as he picked up the phone with the other.
"General O'Neill speaking."
"Hey, sir."
He would recognize that voice anywhere.
"Carter."
"Is this a bad time?"
"Never. To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"Well, we haven't talked in awhile, sir. I just thought that maybe you would like to know that I have decided to leave SG-1."
"Excuse me?"
"I have accepted reassignment to Area 51."
"And what in blazes would cause you to do that?"
"I have been asked to help work on making the hyperdrive engines of the Daedalus functional."
"Ah. I see."
Jack's heart dropped slightly when she told him how the rest of the team had moved on as well. He supposed it had always been only a matter of time. SG-1 wouldn't remain the same forever, but he had hoped that things could have worked out differently. The rest of the conversation was brief. As he put the phone back on the receiver, he realized that he was no longer in the mood to go on his date. Oh well. He determined that it might be a good distraction for the evening and stepped into the shower.
……………..
To say that the date wasn't going well would be a dramatic understatement. This time, he was actually kind of relieved when he heard his cellphone ringing. As he checked the caller id, he held up a finger to let her know that he had to take the call.
"George, ol' pal. Hold on just a sec, would ya?"
He shrugged his shoulders, pointed at his phone, and left the table for somewhere more private. As he returned to the table afterwards, he could tell that she was pissed.
"Don't you think that it's a little rude to be taking personal phone calls when you are out with someone?"
"Uh, no. That was work. I had to take the phone call."
"And what do you do for a living that is so important it has to interrupt dinner?"
Who does this lady think she is?
"Air force. Home-world security."
"And that is?"
"Classified."
"There you go. You military types are always spouting off that things are classified. Well you said for yourself that it has to do with security, so what right do you have to keep anything classified…."
Ok. This is not going to work. He flagged down the waiter.
"Check please."
