Jack never expected that someone like Samantha Carter, the diligent astrophysicist and an exceptional Air Force officer who seemed always alert and ready for any situation possible during missions, would be the hardest person to have to wake up.
He expected her to be a morning routine type of person who was up way before six and had to shower at 6:15 and had to eat breakfast at 7 and had to arrive early at the base by 7:45 to work on some of her doohickeys before a mission briefing. However, he guessed wrong. Trying to get Sam out of bed when she's sleeping in was like trying to hold a stack of naquadah blocks with your bare hands.
The last time Jack saw her was the day before when they had gotten back from a mission to a planet of no importance, except for the fact that Sam felt way wearier than her usual, perky self. As the team went through their mandatory post-mission physicals, Dr. Fraiser found that Sam was exhausted, which Jack predicted would happen eventually. She was a workaholic—there wasn't enough time until her body caved in.
He remembered greeting her as she was entering the guest quarters at about 1500 hours. He knew then that she was going to doze off for a while. Now it was 0630 hours the following day, and Jack, refreshed and alert, checked the sign in sheet to see if Sam ever left the base. And sure enough, his second-in-command never signed out. He assumed that she went back to her lab to work on her doohickeys, but was surprised to find out that she wasn't there at all. It was a bit disappointing; earlier he had planned out a really clever conversation to try to get her ass off the base to rest.
Now Jack was in the quarters that Sam occupied: the next possible place he thought she would be. He was leaning on the floor next to the side of her bed, planning out his strategy to drag her out of the bed and get her ass back home to rest. There lay a peaceful, sleeping, and softly snoring Major Samantha Carter, her head half buried in the sheets with her blonde hair poking out on all different directions. No man couldn't deny how damn cute she looked right now.
"Carter?" Jack said in a soft voice. "Ooh Caarteer…"
He reached out his hand and shook Sam's arm. In response, she made a very un-Carter-like groan and buried her face further into her blankets so he could only see her askew hair.
"Hi, Carter," he teased, his finger poking at the covers where her cheek should be.
"Mnnnnnnnggghno," Sam mumbled, her grip on the covers tightening. "G'way."
"Now, Major, should you be talking to your commanding officer like that?"
Oh, he was definitely going to play around with her sleepy self.
"Go away, sir."
"Much better," Jack huffed, rolling his eyes. He then pulled down the covers with enough force to show her face but to keep her buried in the burrito wrap that she made with her covers.
Never has she looked so content and… sleepy. Her crusted over eyes stared back at Jack, half-lidded and still not quite awake yet.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," he greeted in a singsong voice, resting his arms on the mattress of the bed.
"S'not morning," Sam replied. She pulled the covers so hat once again her head was half-covered. "Took a nap after Janet yelled at me to rest."
"Well, news flash, it s…" Jack lifted his wrist to check the time on the watch. "0640 hours. Now, if I did the math correctly, you slept for about fifteen hours."
That has got to be a record.
"Mm. Nice."
"Hey, that's my line!"
"Why are you here, sir? Janet would be so happy to see me like this."
"Sorry, Carter, I assumed you were taking a little nap after working on a doohickey throughout the night, but I found out you were practically hibernating. Why not go home? It's way more better there."
"I like it here. Is'sorta comfy."
Once again, Sam was lost in her own little world of post-fifteen hour nap haze and a sea of blankets.
Wait, Jack thought. The base never uses this many blankets. And the blankets Sam used were too domestic and… fluffy to be military issued.
"Where'd you get all the blankets?" he asked.
"I asked Janet for blankets and she had some of Cassie's. So comfy."
"So you're just gonna stay here? I mean, home is where the heart is…"
"Later."
"Wanna get breakfast?"
"Not hungry."
"What if I ordered you to go home and sleep there?"
"Jaaaaack."
He raised his eyebrows. She must be really sleepy to call him by his first name. Or maybe she just wanted him to get out of her quarters and let her sleep. Jack stood up when his knees started to protest and placed his hands on his hips.
"That's grounds for insubordination," he said in a mock reprimanding tone. He was having a little bit of fun teasing sleepy Sam. Sleepy, adorable Samantha Carter.
"I'm on medical leave. I can call Janet to poke you with a needle."
"Wow, Carter, you're worse than trying to wake Cassie up in the mornings. And that's saying something."
"Good. You can go away, now."
Jack mock pouted and placed a hand over his heart.
"You hurt me," he said.
The only response that he got was a soft snoring from Sam, indicating that she managed to fall asleep within the small time frame. Jack sighed and patted her shoulder a few times before he left.
"Sweet dreams, Carter," he mumbled, his voice bearing a dash of sarcasm.
He didn't forget to turn off the light.
