Jack O'Neill sighed when the doorbell rang. He did not have time for visitors tonight.
"Daniel, look I don't have time right now."
"Yes, you do and you will thank me for this."
"I'm going out."
"I know, that's why I'm here."
"What? "
"OK, Jack, how about I talk and you listen for a few minutes and we will save a lot of time. Time, I might add, which is in short supply."
"Kay." Jack could tell that Daniel had something to say and experience had taught him that it would be difficult to stop it from being said. You never knew, it might even be useful.
"Right. Can I come in or do I have to say it out here?"
Jack stepped away from the door with a sigh. Keeping Daniel out had been a long shot, but he really was pushed for time.
Daniel headed for a chair and sat down before motioning to the one opposite. Jack sat down reluctantly, pointedly looking at his watch.
"Yes, I know, you need to leave in less than 20 minutes in order to pick up your date."
"Who told…"
"Stupid question Jack. It's not like many people know."
"Oh."
"Sam told me," Daniel held up his hand, "but not deliberately. I know you were keeping it secret."
"Private, Daniel, secret implies sordid or illegal. You do realise that as of 1400 Sam was officially not under my command?"
"Yeah, well I probably could have guessed the time."
"Why?"
"Cos I bumped into Sam about half two, just after I passed you in the corridor by her lab. Let's just say that I put two and two together, from your expressions. She, being a woman, had just reached the stage you were at when you answered the door."
"And there I thought I was impassive. Not sure about the other bit –what stage?"
"The 'What do I wear?' stage. Women in my experience reach that just after agreeing to a date, but men only think about it when they go to get ready."
"Fine, so now you know. Sam agreed to go on a date with me and I was just about to change."
"Well, I came to help."
"Daniel, no offence, but I can dress myself and you are hardly a fashion guru. Anyway, it's not like we haven't seen each other in less than our best."
"Exactly."
"Jackson, I am running out of patience even quicker than I am running out of time."
"OK. Sociologically, we categorise people into workable headings,"
"DANIEL!"
"Sam has seen you in all forms of uniform from muddy BDUs to dress blues. She has also seen you in civvies for team nights and other informal events. So you need to find something which does not put the word 'General' in her mind. Images can be powerful, Jack and, given your history, you need to present a new front. Jack –the –date has to look different. Not Jack-the-boss or even Jack-the –friend and colleague."
"Fine, I had already reached that conclusion, but in a hundred less words. Trouble is, my wardrobe is not that extensive and tends to be uniform or casual clothes for off duty."
"Let me see."
"Daniel, you are not suggesting that you act as wardrobe adviser are you? Not sure how to put this….."
"I am not talking fashion here Jack, but the visual imagery of culture. I may not know the names of designers, but I do have some understanding of ….."
"I give in. No more time to argue. Wardrobe this way."
Jack marched to his bedroom and threw open the wardrobe, then sighed.
"Sorry, Daniel, not much to work with." He caught sight of himself in the mirror inside the wardrobe door and wondered why they put them there. "Not that there is much even the top designer can do which would take off ten years and too much active service. Repackaging doesn't hide the damaged goods."
"Are you worried about the age difference?"
"God, Daniel, don't be too subtle wouldya! Yes, Sam is younger than me, cleverer than me and a darn sight better looking. Funnily enough I had noticed."
"Yeah, but so have a lot of other people."
"Shoot a guy when he's down, good strategy."
"No, that's not what I meant. Listen, Jack, half the base has noticed Sam and the rest are female or gay. It's not like she hasn't got a choice. And she chose you. Personally, I wonder at her taste, but I have known for years how it stood between you two. There's been a book running since the first week she was there. Do you know why half the base has looked, but nothing more? Cos everyone knows how you feel and how she feels. I think part of the SGC induction programme involves telling newbies that Sam Carter is off limits if they value their careers. A few still try their luck, but at least Sam gets hassled less. Initially they assume it's a team thing, then sometimes they wonder whether Teal'c has some strict views on honour, but by week two most of them have worked it out. They sit in the canteen and say 'You hurt Colonel Carter and General O'Neill will probably kill you,' like it was a new discovery. After that they give Sam a wide berth for a while before they settle down."
"You're kidding, right?"
"Nope, but we need to talk about this later. You're meeting Sam in twenty minutes."
"What! Daniel could you talk less and do more?"
Daniel started pulling clothes out of the wardrobe, holding them up for inspection, then discarding them with scant regard for the mess he created.
"Nope, nope, too worn, seen you in that, why, no Jack you didn't, maybe at a pinch, yuk, aha."
Finally he held up a black shirt with the label still attached.
"It was a present, but I'm not sure black is my colour."
"No, so she has never seen you in black, ideal. Now trousers – no, no, no, well, fit only for the bin, these."
"But…."
"Jack."
"OK, not seen before, no time to argue, go."
"What?"
"Daniel, whilst you seem to make a habit of appearing naked before people some of us like a bit of privacy, so - out."
He gestured towards the lounge and Daniel retreated to wait shouting "Nice shoes Jack, they notice these things."
Not far from Jack's house Sam Carter was also getting ready for their date. She had never been one for girly make-up and clothes sessions with friends, but she did wish that she could ask for help deciding what to wear. Their history made it difficult and she found herself unusually nervous. The idea of asking Daniel briefly crossed her mind but she doubted that he would be much use. Daniel was hardly the fashion expert. Mind you, none of SG1, past or present, were exactly worried about what they wore. Which was fine most of the time and she knew that Jack had seen her in all manner of clothes but, for some reason, it really mattered to her tonight. She looked disparagingly at her reflection in the bedroom mirror with a disdain which would have surprised most of her admirers at the SGC. With a sigh she dug through the wardrobe again, hoping for inspiration. Her hand lighted upon a plastic bag and she opened it gingerly. Wow, she had forgotten buying this in the sale and then shoving it in the wardrobe in a hurry when she got called into work. It was a dress, something she seldom wore, but whose shimmering blue fabric had reminded her of the wormhole they travelled through on a regular basis. Ironically, it had made her think of Jack at the time. Of standing in front of the active stargate the first time touching the event horizon with awe. Then Jack pushing her through it. Sam grinned to herself as she slipped the dress on and wondered whether she had any suitable shoes. Oh yes, there at the back of the wardrobe was a pair, seldom worn and still looking pretty good. She avoided looking at her reflection again, not sure what she could do if the image did not live up to her expectations. Right grab a bag, put odd and ends into it. She froze suddenly as a zip pocket unexpectedly revealed a small square packet. When had she taken a condom out with her? Oh, some time going by the date. A shiver ran up her spine as she wondered how this date would end. She sat down suddenly as a stray memory of Jack stripped to the waist off world somewhere made her gasp. The man was not even in the building and she was reacting to him. It was all very well thinking they should take things slowly, but, after all those years of being able to look but not touch, she had a feeling that it would take a lot of control to stop things escalating. Maybe they should have talked about this. Not the kind of conversation she usually had on a first date and one that a part of her thought unnecessary. Logically they needed to spend time together getting used to a new relationship, but a small devil in her wanted to throw caution to the winds and enjoy the freedom to get physical with the man she had loved for years
'Cool it, Sam,' she thought fanning her flushed cheeks with the bag which had started the train of thought. At this rate she would jump Jack the moment he opened the door. 'Ooh, there's a thought. No, Sam, he'll be here any minute and you'd be mortified if he was less keen to make-out on the doorstep. Quick make-up check then you better find a wrap. It's not that cold but this dress is pretty flimsy.'
She talked herself through the last few details and had just enough time to be thankful that her mental jaunt into X-rated territory had distracted her from worrying about the evening when the doorbell rang. She gathered up her wrap and made herself walk slowly to open the door. The sight of a smartly dressed Jack stood at her door with a grin on his face nearly had her changing her mind about accosting him there. They stood awkwardly for a moment before he gestured towards his – no Daniel's car.
"What happened to your truck?"
"Apparently it is inappropriate according to Teal'c. Heaven knows what films he's been watching recently."
"But I only told Daniel."
"Yeah, so I gathered when he turned up at my house. No, somehow Teal'c knows too and told Daniel I needed his car." He shrugged slightly and tried to avoid staring at Sam. They had known each other for years so this should be easier but the sight of her in that short floaty dress was affecting him even more than he had anticipated. He needed to get a grip or he would ruin everything coming on strong on her doorstep before they had even left.
'Breath slowly, Jack, think of all the paperwork you needed to fill out the first time you met Thor.'
"I'm sorry I told Daniel, he kinda worked it out himself, I'm not sure how, but as for Teal'c….."
"Apparently it was my fault – he muttered something about my expression and a feline appropriating dairy produce but I've not yet had time to work out what he was on about."
Sam chuckled, "The cat that got the cream?"
Jack looked down and Sam almost thought she saw the hint of a blush along his cheek bones. He looked up again and seemed to come to a decision. He made a show of putting his hands behind his back and clasping them together before saying "I have to do this now, although it's all wrong."
As she tried to decipher the words he quickly took a half step closer, bent and kissed her. It started as a light gentle touch but began to deepen before Jack stepped back.
"Jack…."
"I'm sorry, I just saw you looking so, so fantastic and knew if I didn't kiss you now I wouldn't be able to sit and watch you across a restaurant table without kissing you there. I figured I ought to wait 'til I brought you home, but as that seemed way too long, I reckoned now was at least a little more private."
"Hey, I've got no complaints about the kissing, it was the stopping. That and the hands behind the back –what was that all about?"
The hint of red increased on Jack's face.
"Well, it may seem weird, after all these years of keeping our distance, but I thought if I touched you there was a good chance I wouldn't be able to stop and the last thing I want to do is upset you or do the wrong thing. So, I kept my hands out of the way so I wasn't tempted."
Sam started laughing and got a hurt look from Jack.
"I try to do it right and I still get it wrong."
Sam decided there and then that her worries about how they would handle the transition from CO and 2IC to a more personal relationship had been groundless. They had never just been about rank and whilst she respected him as a senior officer in some things he was like a little boy. Her brother looked like that the day he gave his first grade teacher flowers and got told off for bringing deadly nightshade into the classroom.
"Sorry. I wasn't laughing at you."
"See anyone else here?"
"Yes, me."
"Nope, not getting it."
Sam took a deep breath and felt her cheeks get warm. They were definitely back in school, both of them. "I, well I, look,
"Just say it Sam or we'll be here all night."
"I just wondered earlier whether we ought to have discussed how we saw things going before going out tonight."
"Bit heavy for a first date, isn't it?"
"Normally, but we've known each other for so long and there have been times," she paused slightly then said in a rush, "when the no touching bit got lost for various reasons and I just wondered how that would affect us."
Jack smirked, "Wondered vaguely or in any sort of detail? Cos I have to tell you that I have 'wondered' before now and if you like I can tell you all about it."
"Jack! Well, actually, I did …."
"No, Sam, no more or we will never get to eat and I was determined to do things properly. So, your chariot awaits, my lady, let's go eat."
They went over to Daniel's car and as he started the engine Jack thought he heard a faint 'later', but it could have been wishful thinking.