A/N: Wow guys, it's been a while, huh? I can't tell you how sorry I am. My house was struck by lightening and I'd lost all internet access for the last few weeks. It was just fixed today. On the upside, I had a lot of time to write, so chapters will be appearing more frequently now. Thank you to everyone reading and to everyone reviewing! I hope the contents of this chapter will help make up for the long-awaited update! Thanks again to my beta, Danielle.
CHAPTER 10
The first thing Jack saw when he pulled into his driveway was an unfamiliar car. Strange, I wasn't expecting anyone. His first thought was NID, but this wasn't their style. Theirs was more black van parked down the street-listening devices type style.
He parked his truck and reached for his gun in the glove department. He slowly got out of the vehicle and moved stealthily and quietly up to the house. The front door wasn't locked, so he pulled out his gun and entered. He prepared himself for anything. He noted the keys set on the table in confusion. The place looked like it had when he left, but was perplexed to hear running water and see a dirty plate by the sink. This was getting stranger by the second.
He carefully made his way to the bathroom door that connected to his bedroom. Who would break into his home to take a shower? O'Neill figured he would find out soon enough. With that thought, he busted into the bathroom and pointed his gun at the lone figure occupying his shower. "Surrender yourself. I have a gun and am prepared to use it," the colonel warned.
Sam jumped in surprise at hearing the colonel's voice. She panicked. She didn't know what to do, what to say in this type of situation. They didn't exactly teach what actions to take when your superior officer catches you in his shower at the air force academy.
Upon getting no response from the criminal, and not being able to see much from all the steam, Jack was growing continuously angry as the seconds ticked by. Jack O'Neill was not, and never had been, a patient man. He wanted to know who the hell was in his shower, and he wanted to know now. He threw open the shower door. At the action, Sam was startled out of her stupor and shrieked in surprise. The bathroom was not cold, but not as warm as inside the shower. She felt the rush of air and shivered.
What he saw; however, was very different from what he expected. Although his vision was still limited by the fog, he could very clearly make out the outline of the soapy figure of his subordinate, Major Samantha Carter. Jack was fascinated by her long legs and full figure. His mouth hung open while his eyes traveled up and down what he could see of her body, repeatedly. Once he realized what he was doing, he quickly stopped ogling her.
Sam felt a mix of emotions. The appreciation on his face was obvious, and she acknowledged that some part of her liked that. It gave her heart a flutter. She felt then guilty for that because she was a married woman and it was against regulations. She was also a little embarrassed of her nakedness, and him so openly seeing it. But, most of all, she felt scared. Can he see the bruises? The steam was thick, but there was still a chance… What will he say? Is he going to be mad I broke into his house? Most of her fears were relieved when he spoke next.
"Uh, Carter, sorry I didn't know you were in there," O'Neill quickly turned away from the blushing woman.
"It's my fault, sir. I'll just finish up and get out of your way," She told him while fumbling to close the shower door again. She resumed washing her hair. She found her hands were hard pressed to cooperate, still shaking.
"Take your time, Major. We can talk about this when you get out. In fact, why don't you stay for dinner? I'm hungry as hell."
"You don't need to do that, sir." Her breathing hitched; a little irregular from the intense gaze she had received only moments ago.
"Oh nonsense. How does pizza sound?" Jack was just outside the bathroom in the doorway.
"Great, sir." She steadied her breathing.
"It's settled then. I'll go order it and leave you alone," Jack shut the door and strolled downstairs knowing that there would be a lot of questions needing answers in the conversation that was to follow.