Enjoy Sue.
You Don't Say the Sweetest Things
By
Denise
The first package Sam received was a simple curiosity. Something that was where it wasn't supposed to be. It was a little manila envelope, just two inches square, perched precisely in the middle of her blotter.
Curious, Sam opened it, tilting the singular contents onto her palm. Verifying that the envelope was empty, she looked at the tiny candy heart, turning it over to read the message stamped on it in garish pink ink.
'Miss You.'
Puzzled, she looked around, searching for someone who looked guilty. Outside of her office, everyone worked, going about their business and paying no attention to her.
Having been the recipient of more than one practical joke over the years, she simply put the candy heart back into the envelope and tucked it into her desk drawer.
The event was so trivial that, when she saw the envelope on her desk the next morning, she just thought that she'd misremembered and left it laying out.
It wasn't until she opened the drawer and saw the first envelope that she realized that she had a second mystery gift.
Slightly bemused, she opened the second envelope, dumping the yellow heart onto her palm.
"Cutie pie," she whispered, unable to suppress a grin.
Thus began a pattern that repeated itself every morning for the next five mornings. It was then that – sitting at her desk with seven candy hearts lined up in front of her, that Sam knew she needed to do something.
'Miss You.'
'Cutie Pie.'
'Angel.'
'Dream Girl.'
'Hugs.'
'Kisses.'
'You Rule.'
So she did what any woman would do – make that any colonel in command of an international intergalactic command – she searched the manifests and requisitions looking for whomever had ordered candy.
She discovered a lot of quirky items, some that she knew she'd have a hell of a time explaining if the IOA got nosy. But, amongst the DVD's, books, video games and action figures, she found no requests for candy hearts.
Striking out on Plan A, she drummed her fingers on her desk, pondering her next move. Dismissing the idea of conspirators mislabeling supplies, she contemplated finding out who'd been to Earth lately and question them. Which would work…eventually.
But not only would that take time, she'd end up with a couple dozen people knowing what was going on. And, if this was a case of misplaced affections, the last thing she needed was half the city knowing about it.
So her solution came in the form of a laptop, complete with a web cam and a few gigs of empty hard drive, tucked neatly on the credenza, her desk directly within range of the camera.
The next morning she hurried into her office, barely glancing at the manila envelope before making her way over to the laptop. She scrolled through the movie, her feet tapping nervously on the floor until she saw it. A dark figure slipping into her office, a small envelope in his hands. "Oh crap," she moaned when he turned, his face clearly visible even with the web cam's poor resolution. This was so not going to be a good day.
She was halfway through her second cup of coffee when he answered her summons, standing at the threshold until she waved him in.
"Major," she greeted as he stood an appropriate five feet from her desk.
"Colonel. You, ahh, said you needed to see me?" Major Evan Lorne asked, showing none of his usual confidence. She could understand in a way, after all she didn't have a habit of summoning her officers.
"Yeah," she said, holding up the unopened envelope from this morning.
"Aah, that," he said, a look of consternation crossing his face.
"Yeah, this."
"Ma'am, if you give me ten minutes to go back to my quarters, I can explain."
"Why don't you try explaining right now," Sam said, doing her best not to grin at the look on his face. It wasn't often that you got to confuddle veteran officers.
"With all due respect, Colonel, please, ten minutes and all your questions will be answered," he bartered.
Feeling mean pushing him, Sam nodded. "This better be good, Major," she threatened.
"I promise you, Colonel…ten minutes."
He nearly ran from her office and Sam leaned back in her chair, trying to think of what she was going to do. Procedurally, now that she knew how he felt, she needed to transfer him back to Earth. Even if his affection was one sided – and yes, he was a good officer, great team leader and certainly wasn't hard on the eyes but he didn't even come close to interesting he in 'that way' – now that she knew how he felt, she couldn't let him stay here. All the IOA needed was a whiff of a scandal and Sam knew she'd find herself shipped back home and the city would have yet another leader. And she didn't even want to think of what such a scandal would do to his and her own career.
Lorne hurried back into her office, a small wooden box in his hands. He set it down on her desk and stood back, his hands clasped behind his back. Sam looked down, then back up at him. "Major?"
"If you remember, I had two weeks R&R last month, I want back to Earth."
"I remember."
"When I was there I aah, was GIVEN that." He pointed towards the box. "With strict instructions to put an envelope a day on your desk from last week until next week when you go back to Earth for your monthly briefing."
"You were given this?" Sam motioned towards the box, not opening it. "Who gave it to you?"
He shook his head. "I can't." Sam raised her eyebrows. "He made me promise, Colonel. I can't."
"I could order you," Sam threatened, having a good idea precisely who would put the fear of God into the man.
Lorne nodded. "Yes, ma'am, you could but…I gotta admit, I'm more afraid of him than I am of you."
"You're afraid of him?" Sam asked, not bothering to hide her smile at the silliness of the situation.
"P4A771, Colonel. He threatened to send me there. I looked it up, it's not a place I want to go," he said sincerely.
Sam sighed and leaned forward, propping her elbow on her desk and rubbing her forehead with her fingers. "He won't send you to 771," she said. She looked up and smiled. "Walter wouldn't let him. You can go," she said, lacking the heart to keep pressing the man.
"Thank you."
Lorne turned on his heel and hurried towards the door. "Major?" she called him back. He turned. "I'd rather the whole city doesn't know about this," she said.
"Not a peep, Colonel," he promised before he fled.
Alone, Sam reached for the envelope from the morning, opening it.
'My Girl.'
A warm smile creeping across her fact, Sam set aside the little green candy heart and reached for the box, examining it. It was an ordinary cedar box, reminiscent of ones she'd seen in gift shops all around the South West. She undid the simple latch and opened the box, revealing seven more small envelopes tucked neatly into the box.
She explored them with her fingers, flipping them as one would flip through a file. For half a second, she contemplated opening all the envelopes but dismissed the idea almost immediately. It seemed like cheating, like opening and rewrapping Christmas gifts.
Deciding that she would play along, Sam removed the envelopes from her desk drawer, putting them into the cedar box, taking care to keep them separate from the unopened ones. She then got up from her desk, box in hand, and made her way to her quarters. Yes, she would play along, but it'd be from the privacy of her own quarters.
A week later, Sam sat in the briefing room at the SGC, doing her best to pay attention to Mister Woolsey as her hand, and her mind, kept straying to the envelope of candy hearts tucked into her pocket.
She had dutifully played along, opening an envelope every morning until this morning, when she tucked all fourteen candy hearts into one of the envelopes, leaving the bulky cedar box behind in her quarters.
After two weeks and a twenty-four hour layover at Midway, she didn't have to look at the tiny gifts to know what they said.
'URA 10', 'Stardust', 'Love You', 'Dear One', and 'Call Me' joined the others, with the final two, 'Home soon', and 'In Style', rounding out the set.
Mister Woolsey got to his feet and Sam followed suit, habitually exchanging the regular pleasantries before he retreated, leaving her and General Landry alone in the room. "It sounds like you've had a quiet month," the general said.
Sam smiled, grateful that her ex-CO participated in her briefings. She didn't have anything against Mister Woolsey, per se, but it did make her feel better to have a witness to their discussions. "It has been," she agreed. "And after Wraith and Replicator attacks, not to mention the odd epidemic, it's a nice change," she said.
"I imagine that it is," he said, picking up his folder. "Your staff car is ready whenever you are," he said. "I'm presuming that you're not spending your leave on the base."
"No, sir, I'm not. Thank you." Sam gathered up her belongings and papers, eager to leave the SGC and go home for her short leave.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sam found staff cars a mixed blessing. On one hand, it was nice to not have to worry about her car starting or deal with a dead battery at 0300. But, on the other hand, after weeks behind a desk there was nothing she wanted more than to take control and to NOT be at the mercy of others.
However, as much as the lack of control bugged her, the staff car was the easiest option so she simply sat back and enjoyed the ride.
She knew that she spent a lot more time on Earth than Elizabeth Weir ever did – one three day weekend a month – but she also answered to a lot more people than Doctor Weir ever did, and felt the need to come back and personally brief them.
And it also afforded her even a small amount of time to dedicate to her personal life. Thinking about her personal life had Sam slipping her hand into her pocket, again fingering the envelope of candies. She couldn't suppress the grin that crept across her face as she thought of what might be waiting for her at home.
Fortunately, the drive was quick and less than twenty minutes after leaving the SGC, the car pulled up in front of her house.
Abandoning he candy, Sam pulled her house keys out of her pocket. "I'll call and arrange my return," she said. "Thanks for the ride." She opened the car door before the sergeant could get out and do it for her.
"Yes, ma'am."
She watched the car drive down the block and turn back towards the main street before making her way up the short walk. She slowly relaxed, relishing some time off. She knew that she was a lot luckier than Doctor Weir. She'd been on duty 24/7 for the better part of three years. At first, Sam thought it'd drive her nuts to go home and leave the city, but it hasn't taken her long to realize that it did her good to take some time off. And besides, John was perfectly capable of running the city in her absence.
Climbing up the steps to the porch, she instinctively reached in the mailbox, frowning when her fingers encountered another small envelope. Smiling widely, she opened it, pulling out the tiny candy heart.
'Hi Love.'
Sam grinned, the candy clutched in one hand as she opened the front door. She could smell warm vanilla and walked into her living room, finding a half dozen lit candles flanking a glass of white wine and another small envelope.
Sam set down her briefcase and shucked her jacket, laying it across the arm of the couch. She picked up the wine, kicking off her shoes as she took a sip, noting that the wine was still refreshingly cool.
She opened the envelope, dumping out the now familiar candy. "Hug Me," she read as her senses picked up the presence of another. She turned, smiling as warm arms wrapped around her middle, pulling her close.
She raised her head and kissed him soundly on the lips, her fingers threading through his short hair.
"I guess I wont need this one," he said after the broke apart. He held out a candy printed with 'Kiss Me'.
Sam laughed and kissed him again before pulling him towards the couch so that they both could sit. "Keep it handy," she said, snuggling next to him. She closed her eyes and breathed deep, inhaling his unique scent.
"Long week?" he asked, his voice rumbling under her ear.
"Long month," she confirmed. "And a not long enough weekend."
"You could call in sick? Play hokey?" he suggested. "I could call in a few favors and have someone just HAVE to talk to you about something."
"Nice try, but I don't think it'll fly." She pulled away and opened her eyes. She caught sight of a red plastic bag and she leaned forward, pulling an open bag of candy hearts off the bottom shelf of her coffee table. "Busted," she crowed.
Jack shrugged and took a drink of his wine. Sam poured the candy out onto the table, absently flipping them over to put the word side up. "You were mean to Lorne," she said, glancing at him.
Jack chuckled. "How long did it take you to figure it out?"
"I plead the fifth," she said, not wanting to admit that it'd taken her a week. "771? Jack, that was cruel."
Jack shrugged. "He's a big boy."
"You owe him," she said, poking him playfully in the chest. "And it was a very cute idea."
"Thank you," he said smugly. "So, what do you want to do with your weekend?"
Sam smiled and shuffled through the candy hearts until she found the one she wanted. She held it up, smiling saucily.
"Love Me?" he asked, squinting to read it.
"I thought you'd never ask," she said, letting the candy fall as she shifted, hiking up her skirt so that she could straddle his lap. His arms wrapped around her waist as she twined her arms around his neck. Their lips met and she closed her eyes, the man in front of her all the R&R she needed.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hours later, she opened her eyes, moaning softly as she shifted in his arms. She felt his muscles tense and knew that he wasn't asleep. He rolled away from her and Sam looked up, glancing towards the clock. "We should probably get some dinner," she said, realizing that the afternoon was long gone. "Maybe leave the house this time." She shifted up in the bed, pulling the sheet up to her chest. "How about O'Malley's? I'm hungry for a steak."
Jack rolled back towards her and looked at her, an odd expression on his face. "Sam?"
"What's going on?" she asked, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. He held up his hand, clasped in a loose fist and he stared at it for a few seconds. "Jack?"
Taking a deep breath, he help out his hand, opening his fingers. One lone candy heart laid on his palm and Sam reached out, picking it up. She read the words and stared at it, then raised her eyes to meet his. "Really?"
He nodded. "Yeah, really."
She stared at the candy held between her fingers for a second before pushing back the sheets. "Sam?" he asked as she grabbed her robe, pulling it around her as she hurried into the living room. "Sam, umm, you know, just forget about it. It was a silly idea and…" he rambled, joining her in the living room as she knelt beside the coffee table, frantically searching through the scattered candy. "What the heck are you doing?" he asked.
Finding what she wanted, she looked up, her eyes skimming over his boxer clad form. She got to her feet and held out her hand, smiling as he picked up the candy heart in her palm. "Ok, General, how do you feel about putting those stars of yours to good use and getting us a hop to Vegas?" she asked, kissing him soundly.
He took her in his arms and neither of them noticed the two candy hearts falling bouncing across the carpet.
'Marry Me.'
'Yes Dear.'
Fin