Chapter Four
'' Driftwood?''
'' Nope.''
'' Dirt.''
'' No again.'' Jack leaned his head back against the tree trunk and got up the courage to ask her the question he'd been wanting an answer to since yesterday evening. '' So, you and McKay looked like you hit it off last night.'' Good. That sounded nice and casual. Particularly since his first response at seeing his major and that creep head to head over their dinner the night before had been so, well, violent. He figured he'd had a minor heart attack and was thankful she hadn't seen him swerve out of the commissary before he did something he regretted.
'' Daises? Why would you say that?''
Quick - think of something funny. Something.... '' You didn't once attempt to stab him with your knife at dinner.''
She gave him a funny look. '' Oh. He's all right. Sometimes. D.. d... d... d.... darkness?''
'' Come on, Carter. It's so obvious.'' Heh. So far he was winning four games to two. He finally found something he could beat Carter at. I- Spy.
She was frowning, obviously irked. '' I can't see anything else beginning with a 'd'. Dust?''
'' No.''
'' Man....''
Jack grinned and nudged her knee with his. And left it there. '' Give up?''
'' No!"
She wasn't really the quitting type, and he admired her for it. '' Want a clue?''
'' No,'' Carter said through her teeth. '' I'm fine. Divot.''
He imagined she meant that half as an insult. '' Nope.''
'' I hate this game.''
'' Carter, they're right in front of you.''
She pouted slightly. '' All I can see are those antelope things.''
'' Antelope?''
Sam looked at him sharply. '' Yeah. Twisty horns. Why? What would you call them?''
'' Deer.''
'' They're not deer!''
Damn. '' All right. No one wins that game. I think we should play something different.''
Sam sighed. '' Maybe we should try making a lot of noise.''
The 'deer' - their reason for their prolonged stay on this particularly planet - numbered about fifty, had lethal horns, and were currently grazing around the Stargate.
'' Uh-uh. I've seen deer stampedes. And I refuse to limp home after being attacked by a deer.'' It would do his reputation no end of harm.
'' Agreed. Rock, paper, scissors?''
That game lasted five minutes. Another couple of rounds of I-Spy equalised their scores ('dammit, I know you're cheating, I just don't know how!'). That just left their imaginations.
'' Okay. Desert island. Five items.''
'' Bikini. Sun block. Sunglasses. Sarong. Hat.'' She grinned triumphantly. '' You?''
His mind, reeling from the image of her in a bikini (which was odd, because he'd imagined her in a lot less before), stumbled. '' Err... Fishing gear. Small boat. Sun tan lotion. Towel and... a lifetime supply of beer.'' Mentally he added her, in the bikini (little black string affair that was really easy to undo), sitting in the boat with him.
'' Wouldn't you need a refrigerator?''
'' Okay, I'll swop the towel for the fridge. A solar powered fridge,'' he added proudly.
'' Do you think the Goa'uld sunbathe?''
'' I'll ask Teal'c.''
'' Can't really picture Hathor with a healthy tan.''
He looked at her sharply. She looked sort of... daydreamy. An idea occurred to him. '' Carter, are you bored?''
She shrugged. '' Not really. I just don't have anything to put my mind to. There were high levels of iron in the soil - not unusual. No new technology to work on. Nothing needs blowing up or fixing which, as you know, are my specialities. All I've got left to think about is.... whether the Goa'uld sunbathe and if they do, do they take holidays? Is there some tropical planet out there where Gods and Goddesses take time out and sunbathe under umbrellas with cocktails?''
He shooed away a fly and sent a small prayer to whatever deity, real or otherwise, was listening that they never come across said planet. '' All right. Another game. The whole of SG-1 as teenagers in high school. Do you think we'd have been friends?''
She smiled a little thoughtful smile. '' I'd have to know what you were like in high school.''
'' Hockey captain.''
'' That's it?''
It was all she was getting. '' That's it.''
Her eyebrows went up and then down. '' Me and Daniel would have been friends, definitely. We were both quiet and hardworking and were skipped two grades. So we were pretty young for our class.''
Jack had a sinking feeling he knew where this was going. '' You figure you'd have dated?''
'' Maybe.'' It obviously wasn't something that she'd thought about before, which made him feel slightly better. '' Or we'd have been best friends. The kind of friends would didn't want to do anything to jeopardise that friendship, you know?''
Oh yeah.
'' What kind of a teenager were you?''
'' What do you mean?''
'' You said you were a delinquent. How bad were you?''
Jack winced, really rather wishing he could avoid this conversation now. '' I was destructive, Carter. But... I mean, I wasn't cruel or anything... It's difficult to explain.''
'' You had nowhere for your energy to go.''
That was a nice way of putting it. '' Yeah.''
'' Did you have a leather jacket?''
'' Of course.''
'' A car?''
Of sorts. '' Yes.''
'' Sunglasses?''
'' Did you skip class?''
'' Only when the situation warrented it. Carter, where's this going?''
She grinned. '' I would have had a crush on you.''
A stupid, goofy expression crossed his face. '' Really?'' Well, this was sad. She'd just made his day completely.
'' Really.''
'' Sweet.''
'' Where do you think Teal'c fits in with all this?''
'' A stalwart, loyal hockey player, of course. Silent but strong. Hardworking but with a wicked, though infrequent, sense of humour.''
She giggled. '' Yeah. We would have all been friends. Not sure about the new kid yet. Has potential...''
'' Kind of enthusiastic.''
'' I was too.''
'' But you were hot.'' Jack cringed. He couldn't believe he'd said that out loud. ''' Sorry, Major.''
'' It's all right.''
She was bright red. It clearly wasn't all right. '' Carter, I'm really sorry. That was inappropriate and really tactless of me.''
'' It's okay. Really. The only thing that upset me was the past tense.''
Whew. '' Oh, you have no problems in the present, Major.''
'' Thank you, sir.''
Sir. There it was again. The word that haunted him through his days and when he went to sleep at night. He didn't think she'd used it once since they got back and found the deer had taken control and he'd quite happily flirted away with her....
Flirted.
Damn. It had happened again. How had this happened? How had he ended up flirting with her again? Not moments ago he'd told her she was hot. In the present tense. Moments before that, she'd told him she'd had a crush on him. Or would have. Or could have. Or... whatever. Dammit, he was too old for this stuff. And she was what, ten years his junior? When she was in pigtails he was already in the military.
'' Did you go to a military school?''
'' What?'' He pulled himself out of his self-imposed misery. '' No. My parents were... are,'' Nice slip of the tongue, there, Jack, he thought, '' civvies.''
'' You would probably have liked it. Maybe not liked, exactly, because you were, after all, the teenage cliché. But it might have developed your leadership skills early. Maybe you'd have put your energy where it was eventually going to end up anyway.''
Jack looked at her oddly, strangely touched by her interest in his past. The way she put it, you'd almost think he hadn't been a complete waste of space. '' Are you redesigning my childhood for me, Carter?''
She pulled her knees up to her chin. '' Sorry. Janet and I went through all the options for Cassy.''
'' Do you want kids, Carter?''
Sam turned her head to the side and looked at him. She wrinkled her nose. '' Overall, yes. But, frankly, I don't see how I'm supposed to do that when I'm not with anybody, I'm working in probably the most dangerous top secret job in the world and have practically no life outside of the SGC. And I promised myself I'd never turn into my father. I couldn't do that to any child of mine and at the moment, my work is so very important to me.''
'' Sounds like you've thought about this a lot.''
'' It's been cropping up a lot recently.''
He decided to leave it at that, for the time being anyway. He'd have liked to tell her that she'd make an excellent mum and hoped her kids took after her, but she had looked so fragile for a moment there he was afraid whatever he could say would only hurt her further.
So instead they sat in silence for a while, watching the deer graze and move slowly away through the trees. When it was finally safe, they got up and went home.
'' You're late.'' Hammond had been pacing.
'' Deer, sir,'' Sam informed him smartly. '' We thought it wise not to disturb them.''
The General sighed. '' Fine. So long as nothing happened.''
'' Disappointed, I tell you, he's disappointed,'' Jack whispered into her ear.
'' Driftwood?''
'' Nope.''
'' Dirt.''
'' No again.'' Jack leaned his head back against the tree trunk and got up the courage to ask her the question he'd been wanting an answer to since yesterday evening. '' So, you and McKay looked like you hit it off last night.'' Good. That sounded nice and casual. Particularly since his first response at seeing his major and that creep head to head over their dinner the night before had been so, well, violent. He figured he'd had a minor heart attack and was thankful she hadn't seen him swerve out of the commissary before he did something he regretted.
'' Daises? Why would you say that?''
Quick - think of something funny. Something.... '' You didn't once attempt to stab him with your knife at dinner.''
She gave him a funny look. '' Oh. He's all right. Sometimes. D.. d... d... d.... darkness?''
'' Come on, Carter. It's so obvious.'' Heh. So far he was winning four games to two. He finally found something he could beat Carter at. I- Spy.
She was frowning, obviously irked. '' I can't see anything else beginning with a 'd'. Dust?''
'' No.''
'' Man....''
Jack grinned and nudged her knee with his. And left it there. '' Give up?''
'' No!"
She wasn't really the quitting type, and he admired her for it. '' Want a clue?''
'' No,'' Carter said through her teeth. '' I'm fine. Divot.''
He imagined she meant that half as an insult. '' Nope.''
'' I hate this game.''
'' Carter, they're right in front of you.''
She pouted slightly. '' All I can see are those antelope things.''
'' Antelope?''
Sam looked at him sharply. '' Yeah. Twisty horns. Why? What would you call them?''
'' Deer.''
'' They're not deer!''
Damn. '' All right. No one wins that game. I think we should play something different.''
Sam sighed. '' Maybe we should try making a lot of noise.''
The 'deer' - their reason for their prolonged stay on this particularly planet - numbered about fifty, had lethal horns, and were currently grazing around the Stargate.
'' Uh-uh. I've seen deer stampedes. And I refuse to limp home after being attacked by a deer.'' It would do his reputation no end of harm.
'' Agreed. Rock, paper, scissors?''
That game lasted five minutes. Another couple of rounds of I-Spy equalised their scores ('dammit, I know you're cheating, I just don't know how!'). That just left their imaginations.
'' Okay. Desert island. Five items.''
'' Bikini. Sun block. Sunglasses. Sarong. Hat.'' She grinned triumphantly. '' You?''
His mind, reeling from the image of her in a bikini (which was odd, because he'd imagined her in a lot less before), stumbled. '' Err... Fishing gear. Small boat. Sun tan lotion. Towel and... a lifetime supply of beer.'' Mentally he added her, in the bikini (little black string affair that was really easy to undo), sitting in the boat with him.
'' Wouldn't you need a refrigerator?''
'' Okay, I'll swop the towel for the fridge. A solar powered fridge,'' he added proudly.
'' Do you think the Goa'uld sunbathe?''
'' I'll ask Teal'c.''
'' Can't really picture Hathor with a healthy tan.''
He looked at her sharply. She looked sort of... daydreamy. An idea occurred to him. '' Carter, are you bored?''
She shrugged. '' Not really. I just don't have anything to put my mind to. There were high levels of iron in the soil - not unusual. No new technology to work on. Nothing needs blowing up or fixing which, as you know, are my specialities. All I've got left to think about is.... whether the Goa'uld sunbathe and if they do, do they take holidays? Is there some tropical planet out there where Gods and Goddesses take time out and sunbathe under umbrellas with cocktails?''
He shooed away a fly and sent a small prayer to whatever deity, real or otherwise, was listening that they never come across said planet. '' All right. Another game. The whole of SG-1 as teenagers in high school. Do you think we'd have been friends?''
She smiled a little thoughtful smile. '' I'd have to know what you were like in high school.''
'' Hockey captain.''
'' That's it?''
It was all she was getting. '' That's it.''
Her eyebrows went up and then down. '' Me and Daniel would have been friends, definitely. We were both quiet and hardworking and were skipped two grades. So we were pretty young for our class.''
Jack had a sinking feeling he knew where this was going. '' You figure you'd have dated?''
'' Maybe.'' It obviously wasn't something that she'd thought about before, which made him feel slightly better. '' Or we'd have been best friends. The kind of friends would didn't want to do anything to jeopardise that friendship, you know?''
Oh yeah.
'' What kind of a teenager were you?''
'' What do you mean?''
'' You said you were a delinquent. How bad were you?''
Jack winced, really rather wishing he could avoid this conversation now. '' I was destructive, Carter. But... I mean, I wasn't cruel or anything... It's difficult to explain.''
'' You had nowhere for your energy to go.''
That was a nice way of putting it. '' Yeah.''
'' Did you have a leather jacket?''
'' Of course.''
'' A car?''
Of sorts. '' Yes.''
'' Sunglasses?''
'' Did you skip class?''
'' Only when the situation warrented it. Carter, where's this going?''
She grinned. '' I would have had a crush on you.''
A stupid, goofy expression crossed his face. '' Really?'' Well, this was sad. She'd just made his day completely.
'' Really.''
'' Sweet.''
'' Where do you think Teal'c fits in with all this?''
'' A stalwart, loyal hockey player, of course. Silent but strong. Hardworking but with a wicked, though infrequent, sense of humour.''
She giggled. '' Yeah. We would have all been friends. Not sure about the new kid yet. Has potential...''
'' Kind of enthusiastic.''
'' I was too.''
'' But you were hot.'' Jack cringed. He couldn't believe he'd said that out loud. ''' Sorry, Major.''
'' It's all right.''
She was bright red. It clearly wasn't all right. '' Carter, I'm really sorry. That was inappropriate and really tactless of me.''
'' It's okay. Really. The only thing that upset me was the past tense.''
Whew. '' Oh, you have no problems in the present, Major.''
'' Thank you, sir.''
Sir. There it was again. The word that haunted him through his days and when he went to sleep at night. He didn't think she'd used it once since they got back and found the deer had taken control and he'd quite happily flirted away with her....
Flirted.
Damn. It had happened again. How had this happened? How had he ended up flirting with her again? Not moments ago he'd told her she was hot. In the present tense. Moments before that, she'd told him she'd had a crush on him. Or would have. Or could have. Or... whatever. Dammit, he was too old for this stuff. And she was what, ten years his junior? When she was in pigtails he was already in the military.
'' Did you go to a military school?''
'' What?'' He pulled himself out of his self-imposed misery. '' No. My parents were... are,'' Nice slip of the tongue, there, Jack, he thought, '' civvies.''
'' You would probably have liked it. Maybe not liked, exactly, because you were, after all, the teenage cliché. But it might have developed your leadership skills early. Maybe you'd have put your energy where it was eventually going to end up anyway.''
Jack looked at her oddly, strangely touched by her interest in his past. The way she put it, you'd almost think he hadn't been a complete waste of space. '' Are you redesigning my childhood for me, Carter?''
She pulled her knees up to her chin. '' Sorry. Janet and I went through all the options for Cassy.''
'' Do you want kids, Carter?''
Sam turned her head to the side and looked at him. She wrinkled her nose. '' Overall, yes. But, frankly, I don't see how I'm supposed to do that when I'm not with anybody, I'm working in probably the most dangerous top secret job in the world and have practically no life outside of the SGC. And I promised myself I'd never turn into my father. I couldn't do that to any child of mine and at the moment, my work is so very important to me.''
'' Sounds like you've thought about this a lot.''
'' It's been cropping up a lot recently.''
He decided to leave it at that, for the time being anyway. He'd have liked to tell her that she'd make an excellent mum and hoped her kids took after her, but she had looked so fragile for a moment there he was afraid whatever he could say would only hurt her further.
So instead they sat in silence for a while, watching the deer graze and move slowly away through the trees. When it was finally safe, they got up and went home.
'' You're late.'' Hammond had been pacing.
'' Deer, sir,'' Sam informed him smartly. '' We thought it wise not to disturb them.''
The General sighed. '' Fine. So long as nothing happened.''
'' Disappointed, I tell you, he's disappointed,'' Jack whispered into her ear.