Chapter two

AN: To those of you who have taken time to review my stories lately, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! I will continue posting the stories from my archives such as this one, while I pursue my writing career. To find out what I've been doing lately, please go to my websites: mariecaron .com or stargateforever .com. Thanks! ziva aka Marie Caron

Sometimes he had an obvious reason for coming to see her. But as the months went by, Jack's reasons for visiting Sam's lab each day...at least each day they weren't on some off-world mission...became a point of speculation and debate between Sam and her friend Janet.

"I am telling you, Sam, the man is smitten with you," Janet insisted. "Isn't it obvious? He can't stay away from you. That's why he makes some excuse to come and see you every day."

"Janet, don't be ridiculous! Colonel O'Neill hasn't gotten where he is today by having inappropriate feelings for the women under his command," Sam insisted, lowering her voice as she leaned toward her friend. This week the colonel had come to see her every day. And since they were Earth bound while the accountants did an audit, she figured he'd be in to see her every day for the next week as well.

She and Janet were sharing a table in the commissary just as they did every day when Sam wasn't away. And on this particular day the colonel, Kawalsky and Ferretti had strolled in, and after filling their trays, the men had taken a table just a few feet away.

As they sat down, each man looked over and nodded at the two women, and then Ferretti asked a question under his breath that made Jack glad he was sitting down.

"Can you imagine being the first?"

"Knock it off, before I knock it off for ya. Personally, I think you're full of shit anyway," Jack told him. Just then his 2iC chose to add more fuel to the fire that was burning between Jack's legs.

"But Jack, I'm tellin ya, Siler said he knows it for a fact," Kawalsky said, his voice loud enough for Janet and Sam to hear.

This really wasn't a conversation they should be having here. Hell, they shouldn't be having this conversation anywhere! He had already ignored his better judgment the day that he had told Hammond that Carter should stay on his team. And now here he was, gossiping about her with these two morons, who seemed intent on getting him worked up, regardless of the consequences.

"And just how would Siler know?" Jack asked, keeping his voice down.

"Sparky's girlfriend is a nurse. She works at an OB-GYN office in the city. Carter is one of her patients," Kawalsky whispered loud enough for all three men to hear. "Come on, Jack, you know you want to. And I'm bettin she wouldn't say no."

"Charlie's right, Jack; the girl obviously has the hots for you," Ferretti said, pouring gasoline on the fire.

Jack felt a tingling shudder run through his body. It settled in his testicles, swirling and building there until Jack thought he'd blow right there. Thanks to these two, he knew that he'd have to sit there until the indecent craving he was feeling went away.

Damn these two for figuring him out! Why couldn't they be as clueless as Sam obviously was? My God, could it be that she really was as innocent as they claimed?

Please forgive me if I kill these two, Lord, Jack pleaded silently, as he sipped his coffee and watched his men eat their lunches. He had lost his appetite for food. But where Sam was concerned, he was damned near starving!

The three men sat there talking about the local hockey team as they ate. Or at least Ferretti and Kawalsky ate; Jack just sipped his coffee. And before his men were finished eating, Jack got up and left, dumping his tray full of food into the garbage.

"Did you see that?" Janet hissed at Sam.

"What?" Sam asked innocently.

"The colonel! He didn't eat a bite. He just sat there glowering at Ferretti and Kawalsky. Sam, something's going on," Janet insisted.

"So what if there is? You don't think I should get involved, do you?" Even though she doubted that what Janet had said about the colonel liking her that way was true, she still didn't think it was her place to get involved in a dispute between the colonel and his men. It might look like she was trying to cause trouble, and that was something that Sam Carter would never do.

"I think you should find out what they were saying about you," Janet hissed.

"About ME! Why do you think it was about me?" she asked, her big blue eyes staring at Janet's brown ones.

"It's obvious! Jeez, Sam, where did you grow up, on the dark side of the moon?" When Janet saw Sam's frown, she apologized. "Sorry, honey, I keep forgetting what a sheltered life you've lived. Just forget it. If the colonel wants you to know what's going on, I'm sure he'll tell you," she said as she patted Sam's hand.

The colonel didn't come to her lab that day, nor the next, but two days later he showed up in the doorway, carrying a fishing pole. It was nine in the morning and Sam was busy running some simulations on a new gate security program that she'd been working on.

"Ta-dah!" he said, holding the pole up for her to see.

"What's that, Colonel?"

"My new Knight Rider Fisherman's Pro," he pronounced proudly. "Ferretti and Kawalsky and me are going fly fishing," he told her. And then before he knew what he was saying, the words just spilled out of his mouth. "Why don't you come with us, Carter? It'll be fun!"

"I don't know how to fly fish, Sir," Sam admitted. That much was true, but she also didn't think going on a fishing trip with three men, especially her teammates, would be a very appropriate thing for her to do. What on earth could he be thinking?

"I'll teach you. It's easy, Carter. Now come on, wouldn't you love to get out of this place for a few days? Out in the fresh air and sunshine?" Now that he'd asked her, he really hoped she'd go. You're a horny old bastard with only one thing on your mind, Jack O'Neill, he told himself.

Sam didn't know what to say. She was missing their off-world adventures, and she would love to get outside in the fresh air, but going fishing with her teammates just wasn't a wise thing to do. Surely he could see that? She was torn. She hated to question his judgment, but she simply had to be honest with him.

"I don't think it would be appropriate for me to go with you, Sir." She immediately saw the change in his posture and facial expression, and it made her feel badly that she was disappointing him. Would he think she didn't want to be one of the guys? Was that what this was about?

"It won't be just me. The guys will be there. It'll be just like going on a mission, only without the curious natives and those bothersome Goa'uld. Come on, Carter, you know you want to," he said, giving her a devilish grin.

He hated to be responsible for hurting his feelings, and that was why Sam Carter agreed to do something she felt was very foolish.

"Alright, but you've got to give me a couple of hours to finish this test."

"No problemo! I'll pick you up at your place in exactly…three hours from now," he said, looking at his watch. And then he was gone.

Sam puffed out her cheeks, expelling the breath she'd been holding. She thought she had probably just agreed to do the stupidest thing she'd ever done in her entire life. She just hoped that she didn't have to pay for it with her career.

TBC