One Short Day
"Oh, c'mon General! You'd think after all the times we've saved the world… And he can't do us one tiny favour??"
"I'm sorry, colonel. I just can't see it happening. The president cannot afford to make these sorts of exceptions! Think about it in perspective, Jack. If the president made the exception for you, then everyone…"
"Fine!! Just—after all the time I spent figuring how to go about this—gah! What about- just one day?"
"One day? Do you really think you could do that, Colonel?"
"One day would be better than nothin' sir. After all this time…"
"You do realise, Colonel, that if the president agrees to this, it would only be for a day. After that, there would have to be nothing, not a trace—"
"I understand, General. And we can do that, I'm sure."
"Very well. I'll call the president, and have things… arranged. In the meantime, Jack, I suggest you make your intentions known."
"Sure thing, sir. Just, could you try and get it done quickly? It's her birthday in two days… I kinda wanted it to be a surprise."
"You're sure she'll agree?"
"Yup. Positive."
*** 2 (very long) days later… ***
A hideously cheerful Colonel bounced into the lab of his favourite 21C. The 21C in question only just managed to peel her cheek off the desk, only to be temporarily blinded by his high spirits.
Dropping her head back to the desk, she groaned.
"I hope you brought coffee."
"Yup!" he practically bounded over to her and deposited the required beverage in front of her. "Guess what day it is today?"
She gave him her best death glare – no-one should be forced to guess anything after they've spent the night asleep at their desk – and took a sip of coffee. She regretted it almost immediately as the caffeine brought recognition of the date.
"#$%."
"Now, now Carter, no expletives on your birthday! And it's a special birthday!"
Now taking large gulps of the boiling liquid – the colonel was in an unbearably sunny mood today – Sam glared at him again.
"Why?" You could practically sense the frustration coming off her- the Colonel was deliberately unaffected by her bad temper.
"Becaaauuse…" he let the word drag as she finished her coffee, "I got you a present!"
Now, curious despite herself, Sam stood up and attempted to re-arrange the messy folders on her desk. Her CO wasn't fooled by her attempt at nonchalance.
"Ok… what present?"
"This."
Sam was suddenly hyper-aware of the proximity of her CO; he was directly behind her, and she knew that if she turned around their faces would be bare inches apart – an incredibly compromising (and tempting) position considering their 'history'. But now his hands were on her shoulders, and he was pulling her around to face him, and she barely had time to draw a ragged breath before his lips captured hers and he pulled her closer.
All possible thoughts of resistance evaporated as a pulse of electricity washed through her, and all her nerves tingled as her CO pulled her closer and the kiss became more passionate—crap. Her CO.
They pulled away, both gasping for breath after the intensity of the kiss.
"Sir…" Resistance was weak (and probably useless), but still there. But he's planned ahead.
"Read this." Without moving away from her, the Colonel pulled an envelope from his pocket. Taking the letter, she quickly read it, and then looked at him with a strange mix of surprise, happiness, love, shock and frustration on her face.
"Just one day?" she sounded upset – incredibly so – and Jack moved to comfort her, in the only way he thought possible (especially considering their current positions).
This kiss was softer than the first, though still as passionate. After a few seconds they broke apart, and Jack smiled.
"Better make the most of it, eh?"
At this point, it must be noted that all sense, dignity and resistance were promptly defenestrated (look it up). Sam's thought process I believe went something along the lines of: 'this is a very, very bad idea… how many years have we waited? Oh, what the hell. We've earned it.'
A quick glance to make sure the door was shut, and she let herself go, kissing him so hard even he was surprised at the intensity. Both took the chance to, ah, go places that were previously unexplored; the only thing stopping them from losing it right there in her lab was the slightly horrifying prospect of Daniel walking in on them.
After an indeterminable amount of time, they broke apart, gasping for breath. There was a moment of confusion, until they remembered their names and current situation. Looking into each other's eyes, Jack could read Sam's unspoken question: What now?
"I was thinking… Do you wanna go out for lunch? I know a nice little place just a few minutes away…"
Sam grinned, then slipped out of his grip and headed for the door.
"Sure, just let me get changed." He took a breath—
"No, you can't come." She gave him a magnificent grin – the one, he knew, that was especially reserved for him – and exited, leaving him stunned and in desperate need of a cold shower before lunch.
About half an hour later, they found themselves seated at a table for two at a local restaurant.
"So…"
"So…"
"How did you manage all of this?"
"Weeeellll… I talked to General Hammond – of course I originally planned for the exception to be permanent, but the president disagreed – one day was the best I could do."
"Why?"
At this point, Jack looked her in the eye, his gaze so intense she almost forgot to breathe.
"Because, Samantha, I got tired of waiting. And I wanted to give you a really good present for your birthday."
His voice, low and seductive, made her skin itch to touch him. However, the rational scientist inside her was still saying that this was a bad idea. I mean, what could they do after this? Go back to normal, knowing there was so much more to life, knowing exactly they were missing out on, and not knowing how long they would have to wait before regulations were abolished completely?
But the other side of her, the part that was hopelessly, head-over-heels in love with the man in front of her (and had been for quite some time), said that nothing in life was going to last, so why shouldn't we enjoy it while we can? After all, it was a perfect opportunity to do things she had wanted to do for a very long time…
"Sam?" his voice woke her from her reverie, bringing her back to real life. Looking at him, suddenly he seemed a lot more nervous than he was this morning.
"You- You know I love you, right?"
She smiled. Men.
"Sir—Jack, I've been in love with you for so long I can barely remember when it first happened!"
He breathed a sigh of relief, and leaned across the table to place a tender kiss on her cheek.
"Whew. I mean, for a while there I was worried that it was a one-sided thing…"
"Well, me too," she admitted. "But ever since the Za'tarc incident, I was sure that things hadn't changed."
There was a moment of silence, as they both stared at each other in relief, the love clearly showing itself in their eyes. The moment was broken only by the arrival of their food (and a slightly embarrassed waitress).
Grinning, Sam started on her lunch. After a few minutes of silent eating, she looked back to Jack.
"So… what should we do for the rest of the day?"
He smiled, glad that she'd asked him that.
"Well, I was thinking we could get married…"
A/N: title stolen from Wicked: the musical. Not mine. Hope y'all like it… there should be a second part coming soon-ish. And sorry to those who are waiting on other stories, etc. that haven't been updated for ages, my muse is evil and hates me.
Soz.
:D MSC