Sam woke up early, despite her late night. As she wandered into the kitchen, she ran through a mental list of all the things she wanted to get done. Her vacation was almost finished, and in two days she'd be back at the base, catching up on the two weeks she had been away. Sam opened the dishwasher to get a clean mug, and groaned as she realised she had forgotten to turn it on the previous night. Washing the mug, she grinned as she recalled what had distracted her from the dishwasher.
Starting the coffee brewing, Sam glanced at the boxes with empty beer bottles and pop cans that Jack had organized for her. After the fire had gone out, he had helped her clean up her kitchen, then left for Daniels. Sam had thought about offering him the spare room, but his taxi arrived before she could voice her thoughts. As he left, he had given her a hug, and kissed her forehead. Sam had fallen asleep grinning.
Jack woke up when he heard Daniel clattering around in the kitchen. He rolled out of bed, groaning at the time. He hadn't gotten back to Daniel's place until after 0200, and it had taken him longer than usual to fall asleep. He shuffled into the kitchen, and was immediately handed a cup of steaming coffee. Nodding at Daniel, he sat down, and stared at the table, contemplating going back to bed.
"What time did you get in last night?"
"Uh, late. Not too sure what time." Jack cleared his throat after speaking his first words of the day.
"Coffee ok?" Jack took a sip at Daniel's question, and grimaced at the bitterness.
"Yeah, it's fine. You got plans today?"
"Not really. I was waiting to see what you wanted to do."
"I gotta make a few phone calls first." Jack knew who he wanted to spend the day with, but wanted to check what her plans were first, see what she was up to.
"Oh. You leave tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah, plane leaves at 1400. Can I grab a ride?"
"You need to ask?"
"Thanks Daniel." Jack swallowed the last few gulps of coffee, and headed back to the spare room. In a few minutes, Daniel heard the shower running.
Sam was about to leave the bathroom after her shower, when she heard the phone ring. She ran to the phone in her bedroom, hoping it was Jack. When she answered, it was Daniel's voice that came down the line, wondering if she had any plans for the day. He pointed out that considering Jack was in town, and they all had the day off, why not do something as a group? He could pick up Sam, and let Teal'c know where they were meeting. Sam considered his proposal, but remembered her list of things to do today. Plus, she wanted to spend some time with Jack, and only Jack. She gave Daniel a 'perhaps later', and hung up, determined to get everything done as soon as she could. That way, if Daniel called again, she could go if she didn't have any other plans.
The second Daniel stepped into the now vacant bathroom, Jack grabbed the phone. It's not that he didn't want Daniel to know what was going on, he just wasn't sure what Sam wanted others to know. He was thrilled beyond words that their revived friendship had gone up a notch, and hoped Sam felt the same. They hadn't had an actual discussion about what had changed, but he felt that words weren't needed. Daniel's comment about Sam being perhaps a little scared to enter a new relationship stayed in Jacks thoughts. He didn't want to rush her into anything, and decided to take it slowly until she indicated otherwise.
He heard the shower start to run, and dialed Sam's number.
"Hello?"
"Hey Sam, it's Jack."
"Hi." Jack wondered if she was smiling the smile he liked to think was for him.
"Uh, didn't wake ya, did I?"
"No. Been up for a bit."
"Ah. Umm, you got any plans for today?"
"I told Daniel that I had some things to do."
"Daniel?" Jack didn't remember Daniel mentionning any plans for the day.
"Yeah, he called not too long ago."
"Ah, when I was in the shower. Do you really have things to do today?"
"Yes, but they won't take long."
"Uh, youwannadosomething?" Jack suddenly felt like an awkward teenager asking a girl out, and coughed to try cover his embarrassment.
"Sure. Any ideas?"
"Well, I could always come help you out. You'll be done much faster that way."
"Actually, I could use a hand. I want to get all these bottles to the recycling center, but I can't drive."
"I don't have a car here, maybe I can borrow Daniels."
"Ok, then what?"
"Uh, well, uhhh..." Jack had no idea of what to do, he just wanted to spend time with Sam.
"How bout we figure that out later. Come on over when you can."
"Kay, see ya in a bit."
Jack hung up and ran his hand through his now dry hair, relieved the conversation was over. He laughed at himself for getting so nervous, and hoped she hadn't picked up on it. He was a battle hardened General, for cryin' out loud, and he gets nervous asking Sam to spend the day with him! What the hell was that! He stood up, and wrote a quick note to Daniel, saying he was going out for a while, and if they wanted to meet for dinner, to give his cell phone a call.
Less than an hour after Sam got off the phone with Jack, her doorbell rang. Opening the door she was surprised to see him here that quickly.
"Hi, come in." Sam closed the door behind Jack, after looking for Daniel's car.
"I walked."
"Oh, Daniel busy?"
"Uh, yeah." Daniel had been in the shower, and that counted for busy, didn't it?
"I'm almost done inside, just wanted to finish clearing up the yard. Missed some of the garbage last night."
"Sounds good."
Jack followed Sam outside, and the two cleared up the deck, and yard. As they carried the folding chairs into the garage, Jack started asking Sam about the car.
"Sweet car, why'd you go with this one?"
"I was considering something new, like a hybrid, but this one seemed to scream 'buy me', so I did. Plus it gives me something to do while I'm home, fixing it up."
"Didn't you used to have a bike?"
"Yeah, sold it."
"Sold it! That thing was your baby!"
"Yeah, well, times change." Sam dropped the chairs she was carrying with more force than necessary. Jack guessed he'd hit a nerve, and changed the topic.
"You said you wanted to take the bottles in?"
"Yes, but I can't drive."
"I can. Does this thing run?" Jack gestured at the car.
"Of course it runs..." Sam hesitated. Did she want Jack to drive her car?
"I'll be good, I swear. No speeding, nothing stupid." Sam sighed before answering.
"Ok. But I'm coming with you."
"Sounds good, grab the keys, I'll open the door."
Sam returned from locking her house, with the keys, and tossed them to Jack. He eagerly unlocked the door for her, and dashed around to the drivers side. After adjusting the seat to his height, he started the engine. He glanced at Sam, gripping her seat tightly, and placed his hand over hers.
"Don't worry. I'll take care."
Some of her tension left her, and he removed his hand to shift into reverse.
Jack's cell phone rang as he pulled back into the garage. Turning off the ignition, he answered. Sam got out, and walked towards the house. Jack had been careful, to her relief. She trusted him, but this was her new baby, and besides Daniel, the only other person to drive it while she had owned it. She had been angry at Daniel for a few seconds when he had driven it to her house, but that anger dissipated at his thoughtful gesture. Had Daniel asked her permission, she probably wouldn't have granted it, and the car would still be sitting in the base parking lot.
"Who was that?" Jack had returned from the garage.
"Daniel. Have you ever considered an automatic garage door opener?"
"What did he want, and yes, I have. Just haven't gotten around to it yet." Sam asked her question, and answered Jack's.
"He wants to go for dinner tonight. Why not? It'd be much easier to get in and out of your garage."
"What did you say to Daniel, and it wasn't high up on my priority list given I can't drive."
"I told him I'd let him know. We should go get you one." Jack wanted to end their two topic discussion.
"Do you want to go out? Before I install a garage door opener, the door needs some work." The garage was built when the original house had been, and the door stuck as it went up and down the tracks.
"I noticed it wasn't running on the tracks smoothly."
"Jack, you didn't answer my question, and I've got someone coming to take a look at the door tomorrow morning."
"What do you think?"
"About the garage or Daniel's invitation?
"The latter."
"I dunno." Sam was torn between the ideas of having dinner with her closest friends, or spending the evening alone with Jack. While going out with the original SG-1 was always a recipe for a great night out, she did want to spend time getting to know Jack differently than she had before.
"Well, how bout we go for dinner, then go see a movie or something, just the two of us." Jack was thinking along the same lines as Sam. Her response was to smile gratefully at him, so he took that to be a yes, and dialed Daniel's number.
When Daniel's car pulled up to her house, Sam was waiting at the door. She was locking the door as Jack walked up the sidewalk to her house.
"Hey."
"Hi. You guys figure out where we're going?"
"Yeah, O'Malley's."
"Jack, we always go there. There's so many great restaurants in this city, why don't we try somewhere new?"
"It wasn't my decision." Jack threw up his hands in his defense.
"Teal'c's? We've got to get him out more. I know that O'Malley's lets us sit in the back so we can have some privacy, but we've got to start going new places. Their menu is getting a little boring after all these years."
"Uh, actually, Teal'c's not coming."
"Why? What happened?" Sam became concerned immediately, as Teal'c generally loved the team outings, as much as she could tell.
"Bra'tac needed some help, so Teal'c left."
"Oh. So it's just us three?"
"Not exactly." As Sam turned to ask Jack for an explanation, the back window rolled down, and a familiar head poked through.
"Hi Sam. Hurry up, I'm starving."
"Vala!"
"Yeah, I had the same reaction. Feels weird, like a double date or something." Jack spoke quietly, so Vala wouldn't hear.
"Jack, don't say that to her. You'll give her all sorts of ideas, and Daniel would never forgive you." Jack grinned evilly at Sam as he opened the car door for her. As Sam climbed in, she was struck by what Jack had said. While Jack hadn't called their evening a date, specifically, what he said could have meant just that.
As dinner ended, Sam glanced at her watch. What had felt like barely an hour, was in fact three, and she was amazed at how well the evening had gone. There had been many topics to talk about, ranging from teasing Vala when she missed an Earth joke or comment, to somewhat serious discussions about the SGC. They had to be careful of what they said in public, and even though Vala was living on the base for the time being, she wasn't privy to all the information surrounding the missions like the others.
The bill paid, Daniel made a quick exit with Vala, her unofficial curfew being his excuse. Sam raised an eyebrow at Jack, who gestured with his beer, that he had nothing to do with it. He took the last gulp from his glass, and stood up.
Neither one was interested in seeing a movie, so they took a cab back to Sam's house, both trying to think of what they could do once they were there. Sam voiced an idea that seemed appealing to her.
"Jack, there's a park close to my house. Feel like a little walk?"
"Can you? I mean with the brace an' all?"
"Yeah, for a short time. You up for it?"
"Sure." Jack would've agreed with Sam on almost anything she had suggested. Sam asked the driver to stop at the park instead of her house.
"You'll like it. There's plenty of trees." Sam snickered as Jack rolled his eyes at her.
"You gonna be warm enough?" Sam had not worn a coat, but had a sweater with her, as the evenings were still pleasant.
"I'll be fine. I've not been to this park yet, but it seems pretty large."
"Planning out running routes?"
"Sorta. I know there's a playground, a small man-made lake, and lots of walking paths."
The cab pulled over, and Jack paid the driver as Sam got out. They started walking at an easy pace, an uncomfortable silence hanging between them.
"Anything juicy going on between Daniel and Vala that I should know about?" Jack broke the quietness surrounding them.
"Juicy? Define juicy."
"Any and all information or gossip that I can use against him." Jack rubbed his hands together in an evil gesture.
"I can't speak for the gossip, I know there many rumours about the two of them when Daniel returned from Atlantis. Something about her being pregnant. But it's all just hot air."
"C'mon, nothing?"
"Nope. You know Daniel, he befriends everyone, and Vala needs someone to talk to sometimes. Most everyone else leaves her alone." Sam had seen Daniel and Vala together, and while there was a basis for a friendship growing, that was all, despite the rumours.
"Damn."
"Why? What've you got against them?"
"Nothing, just wanted some blackmail material."
"What in the wide world would you want blackmail material for?"
"Just in case. It can always come in handy."
"Don't you already have enough on him? What about those pictures..."
"Still got 'em." Jack interrupted Sam.
"Why do you want gossip on Daniel and Vala? What about that streak there where he had some woman fall in love with him on each planet we went to?"
"That was years ago, and I've used all of those already. Need some new material."
"But why do you want gossip on them?"
"Because the second I walk into Daniel's apartment I'm going to be bombarded with questions about tonight." He spoke using a light tone, but getting to a point he wanted to discuss with Sam.
"Oh." Sam stopped, and it took Jack a few steps to realise she wasn't with him anymore. He stepped towards her so he was facing her, and cursed the lack of light, as he couldn't clearly see her reaction on her face.
"You ok?" Jack was concerned that Sam's leg was bothering her.
"Uh, yeah, I'm fine."
"You wanna go sit? There's swings over there." Sam couldn't help a smile forming at the eagerness in his voice.
"Sure." They walked to the deserted playground, and each took a swing. Sam absentmindedly used her good leg to push herself back and forth a few degrees, while Jack treated the swing like a new favorite toy, and energetically swung back and forth.
"Wanna push?"
"That's ok. Jack, actually, you've got a good point."
"Me? What did I say now?"
"Daniel. Not just Daniel, people at the SGC, friends. They're all going to have questions about...us."
"Us?" Jack put his foot down firmly, glad that Sam had seen what he had been trying to say.
"Whatever it is we're doing right now."
"Sam..."
"Jack, I don't want to say anything to anyone right now, as I'm not too sure myself what's going on. We never really talked about it."
"Then we'll talk."
"Here?" Sam looked around as if expecting Daniel to jump out of the kids area.
"Why not? There's no one around to hear us, and we're not yelling at each other...yet. Sam, I want you to know, that this thing we're doing, isn't just a flash in the pan for me. I want this, and I want to do this properly. No more hiding, no more games, just you and me."
No words came to Sam's mind at Jack's admission. What he had just voiced was more than she had expected to come from the man who always hid his emotions so well, he gave the phrase 'face of stone' a whole new meaning.
"Sam?" Jack thought he had said the wrong thing when she didn't respond.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting that. I'm at a loss for words."
"Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?"
"Good." Sam turned to face him, and in the dim light illuminating the playground, Jack saw a tenderness in her eyes, that he hadn't seen before.
"Glad we got that sorted out."
"There is one more thing."
"Shoot."
"It's not that I don't want to let anyone know about...us, but I would prefer it if we kept it quiet for now."
"Sure. No problem." Jack was relieved that Sam had mentioned that, as he wasn't sure what she wanted.
"I want to take it slow, and get used to an 'us' before I start telling people. If that's ok with you."
"Sam, that's more than ok with me. Just let me know who you tell, when you tell them, so I don't run around denying anything true."
"Ok. Thanks Jack."
"For what?"
"Understanding."
Sam yawned, followed shortly by Jack.
"Tired?"
"A little."
"C'mon." Jack held out his hand to Sam, who took it, and they walked back to Sam's house, hands still linked.
After seeing Sam back to her house, Jack walked back to Daniels. It wasn't that much of a walk, and he didn't feel like taking a cab, or calling Daniel for a ride. Once he arrived at Daniels apartment building, he checked to see if any lights were on, as if Daniel was awake, Jack knew he was in for a questioning. Not seeing any, he walked up the stairs to the apartment, and quietly opened the door. He took off his shoes, and silently walked to the spare room. He got four strides from the door, when his shins connected something solid, and a loud crashing sound filled the room. Instantly a light turned on.
"What's goin on." Daniel mumbled sleepily from the couch.
"Nothin Danny. Go back to sleep." Jack hissed at him.
Daniel sat up and groped for his glasses, which had fallen off onto the floor. After taking Vala back to the SGC, Daniel had returned home, wondering what Jack and Sam were doing. He hoped that Jack would fill him in when he arrived home, but didn't know if he would be awake himself. He had turned off the lights, after placing the side table, with several unbreakable objects on top, directly in Jack's path to the spare room. One of Jack's strong points was stealth, and if Daniel fell asleep, he would never wake up when Jack arrived.
"Jack, how was your night?"
"Fine. Yours?" Daniel didn't miss the slight grin that appeared on Jack's face.
"Good. You and Sam have a good time?"
"Daniel..." Jack had been trying to avoid this very situation.
"So what's going on between you two? Are you guys trying something new?" Daniel was curious, and it was two of his closest friends that he had hoped, for a long time, would act on their feelings.
"Daniel, please..."
"You did! That's great!"
"Daniel." Jack raised his voice and that got Daniel's attention.
"Sorry."
"Look, Sam doesn't want people knowing yet. Don't say anything."
"Jack, I won't."
"Thank you. Now, if I may, I would like to get some sleep."
"G'night Jack."
"Night Daniel. Oh, are there any more traps waiting for me?"
"Traps? Uh, don't know what you're talking about."
"You always were a lousy liar." Jack shut the door behind him, and fell onto the bed. Despite his shins throbbing, he wasn't mad at Daniel. He was a naturaly inquisative person, and he had been expecting something like that. He would have to remember to tell Sam in the morning, as she'd get a good laugh out of it.
AN: Thanks for all the great reviews and PM's for the last chapter. I'm humbled that so many of you returned to read more... Next chapter will start to deal with some of the story plots from Non Est Ei Similis.
