Dave Dixon slumps at the mess table. Jack thumps his tray down next to him. Jack went for the slightly safer baked chicken and rice while it looks like Dave went protein and carbs with beef stew.
Dixon jumps. "Damnit, O'Neill."
"Looking a little haggard there, Dix." Jack sips his coffee.
Dave glares at him. "You could have warned me," he says.
"About?" Jack takes another look at the stew. He's pretty sure Dixon doesn't mean lunch.
"That dog refuses to sleep anywhere but our room. Do you know how hard it is to sleep with a new baby and a puppy in the same room?" Dave demands.
Jack hides a grin, "She was fine at my place. Slept in the dog bed, under the table, in the crate, hell even on top of the coffee table once." Jack grins at that memory. Aria liked to be where the action was, even asleep.
"What'd you put in the food?" Dave shovels in a bite of stew. He looks a little crazed.
He laughs. "She's probably missing her littermates. She liked to sleep near them. Maybe put her crate in a corner of your room." Aria was the lazy one of the litter and would conk out anywhere. But she prefered to sleep with her littermates or close to them. "Give it time. Add some toys to her bed." Jack suggests. "I gave you her favorite sleep toy." Jack had to run after Dave with Aria's squeaky pig.
"Time," Dix mutters. "Lainie's gonna kill me. And that damn sleep pig doesn't help at all." Dave winces at the memory of last night. The baby cried, the puppy howled and woke up the kids. "She chewed on it half the night. You had to buy her a squeaky toy," He shovels in another bite and glares at his fellow Colonel.
Jack tries to muffle his laughter, but fails. It was, in fact, Teal'c that bought the squeaky toys. Aria's pig, Jester's lamb, Merlin's plane, and Mab's dragon are all down to the big guy. He decides Dix doesn't need to know that. He changes the subject quickly, "Aren't you going off world today?"
Dix nods. "Quick survey mission."
"Hi sirs," Carter appears at the side of the table. She slides across from Dave Dixon. She bumps into Jack's leg and shifts away quickly. Her cheeks redden.
"Siler came by my lab," Sam bursts into speech. "Why did you tell him I needed to approve his adopting Jester?" Sam pulls her blue Jello closer.
Jack stares at her. "I didn't say that," he protests.
Dixon chuckles. He's enjoying O'Neill put on the spot. He takes another slug of caffeine and some more stew.
"I told Siler that you might want visitation rights, like Daniel worked out with him," he nods to Dave.
Dave chokes on his coffee. He flushes and coughs.
Carter smiles and hands over her napkins. "Here, sir."
"Thanks, Sam." Dixon mops up after himself. "So Daniel helps out with Aria," he shrugs. "When I'm off world it gives Lainie some breathing room. Daniel's great with kids and dogs." Dave sees the grins of his friends.
"So did you approve Siler adopting Jester?" Dave teases.
Sam flushes. "I told Siler it wasn't up to me." She slides a slight glare to O'Neill. "And Siler said you told him to clear it with me. Sir." Jack winces at the pointed barb of her 'sir'. He knows that tone. He screwed up.
"Oh right." He suddenly remembers. "I did say that." He winces. "I didn't mean he had to ask your permission no matter how much Jester loves you."
Dixon chuckles. He, like most of the base, heard how Jester followed Carter around. The surveillance photos have been making the rounds. Especially the ones of Jester dragging his towel and toys under Sam's lab table.
"Sorry Carter." Jack's ears seem a little pinker. He avoids looking at his second in command.
Sam nods. She picks up her fork and digs into the fruit salad she picked up. "I'll check back in with Siler," she promises him.
The rest of the lunch they talk about Dave's new mission. It's a survey to a non-Go'auld world.
"So you're sure, Major?" Siler asks.
Sam sighs. She knows Siler likes specifics. He's an engineer. She normally appreciates that about him. But he's asked her twice about Jester.
"Yep," she assures him. "If the Colonel says it's fine, it is." She looks away from the numbers floating on the screen. "Maybe visitation rights is a little strong, but if I can take him out for a run once in a while, dog sit if needed, then we're fine." Sam has a soft spot for the clumsy, cautious puppy. Daniel was right, it was tough watching 'your' puppy going off to a family. Sam looks up and smiles at the engineer.
Siler nods. "That'd be great, Major." He reaches out his hand. Sam shakes his. "Deal," she grins.
After work Sam takes her bike out. The weather cleared up, so it's a good time for getting the bugs out of her recently rebuilt Indian. She turns around in the Colonel's cul de sac and Jester barrels into the street. The Indian jerks as she puts on the brakes.
"Great," Sam mutters. She left a tire track on the pavement. "Jester, be careful!" she calls out to the eager dog. He's waiting for her to get off the bike. Jester barks at her twice.
Sam turns off the bike and rolls it toward the Colonel's driveway.
She hears her CO calling for Jester. The dog sticks to her heels. Parking the bike in the drive she heads back to the yard.
"Hi, sir." Sam greets him. Jester barks at his humans. He runs back and forth between them. His head and tail are held high. The pup sits down in front of Sam and looks at Jack. He barks again.
Jack shakes his head. He recognizes that pose. Jester is proud of himself. Shouldn't have taught him how to fetch, Jack laughs to himself.."I should have known. He sticks to the yard unless it's you." Jester has scooted over so he's now sitting on Sam's foot.
"Sorry." Sam apologizes. "I was testing out my bike and in case something happened I stuck to the route between your place, Daniel's and mine." She explains.
Jack nods. "Can you bring him inside?" He know that Jester will ignore him as long as Sam is around. Bella herds her two other pups into the house. She barks at Jester. He sighs and climbs to his feet.
"Come on, bud." Sam says. "Let's go in." She starts to the house. The puppy follows at her side.
"So did you talk to Siler?" Jack offers her a beer as she enters the house. Jester leaves Sam and sits in front of the treat cabinet. He stares at Jack and whines a little. Hardly subtle. Jack relents and tosses a treat to Jester. The other dogs crowd around him. He hands out treats to everyone.
Sam declines the beer. She grabs one of the diet sodas the Colonel keeps in his fridge. She guzzles half the soda. "We worked it out, sir."
Jester has gone to the water bowl and is lapping up the water. Droplets fall off his nose and ears as he comes back to sit at Sam's side.
Carter bends down and strokes his head. The dogs are starting to get longer coats. Well, except for Merlin. His coat has stayed short. She'd never say it, but it makes them even more adorable. They're just big fuzzy balls of fur and excitement.
"Was gonna order a pizza, want in?" Jack asks. Sam shakes her head. "I should get back on the road. The bike's working fine."
Sam stands up. She drops the can into the recycling bin and heads to the door. O'Neill grabs Jester before she can open the door. The dog struggles and barks trying to get out of O'Neill's hands.
Sam rubs his ears. "Gotta stay here, buddy." The dog droops in Jack's hold.
Jack puts down Jester as soon as the door closes. He waits for the distinctive sound of Carter's bike to start up. He hears a muffled roar and a stall.
Sam knocks on his door a few minutes later. "That pizza offer still open?" She asks sheepishly. Jester jumps up on her and dances around her feet.
"Bike down again?" Jack is sympathetic. Jester sits down next to her.
She nods. "If you can load it into your truck later, that'd really help."
He nods. "No problem." He picks up the phone, Pepperoni or mushroom?"
"How about sausage and mushroom?" she counters. He nods and orders a large with a salad.
"A salad, sir?" She teases him.
He shrugs. In truth he likes vegetables. "Gotta keep down to fighting weight somehow."
She grins. "And you can have more cake,"
He throws her a mock glare. "That's my secret, Carter."
Jester is bored listening to the humans. He snags his ball and drops it a few times, hoping someone will get the hint. He discovers he can drop the ball and it'll roll so he can chase it. He moves closer and closer to Sam with the toy.
"OK time to go out!" O'Neill announces. Bella appears from the dining room. Jester crowds the door, his tail wagging madly. Someone will play ball with him. Mab and Merlin dash up the den stairs.
The setting sun lights the backyard with a softer glow. Bella does her business and finds a quiet spot on the side porch. Soon she's snoozing away. Mab, Merlin and Jester race each other up the yard. Sam tosses the ball a few times and is amused to see Mab ignoring it while the boys chase it around the yard.
The pizza guy interrupts playtime. The pups crowd around him drawn to the irresistable scent of cheese and meat. Once the pizza is paid for, the pups shooed away from the people food, the two officers dive into the pizza and salad.
"Thanks, sir." Sam manages after her second slice. "I didn't realize how hungry I was."
Jack grins around his own slice. "Forgot to eat again, huh?" Normally he and Teal'c make sure Daniel and Carter eat on a regular basis, but there are times they can't get away.
Sam grabs another slice. "I was planning on it, then my bike broke down." She remembers the defrosting meatballs and sauce on her counter. Her neighbor dropped them off a few weeks ago. All she had to do was put them in the oven for a while and boil some pasta. "Well, it's why we have plan B's," she jokes. Jack laughs.
After the pizza is finished and the salad bowl cleaned out, Sam and Jack hoist her bike into the back of his pickup.
Bella stands on the porch watching them work. She helps by barking a few times. When the bike is finally in the bed of the truck she runs out and hops into the pick-up bed. Her tail wags furiously, a black and white blur.
"Hey, girl." Sam strokes the dog's head. "You should get out." The bike could slide around and hurt the dog. Bella licks Sam's hand and stays where she is.
"I've got some ties." Jack says. "Hang on." He disappears into his garage and comes back with some rope and bungee cords. Between the two of them and Bella's encouragement they tie the bike down so it stays mostly in place for the short drive back to Carter's.
Bella refuses to get out of the back. She barks at Jack again and looks away down the street. He laughs. "Ok, beautiful." He recognizes that she's staying put.
Bella enjoys the ride through the Springs. Her ears blowing in the breeze, sniffing the wind, barking at people and other dogs.
Sam pets her as they untie the bike. "Thanks, Bella." The black and white dog hops out of the pickup as the bike is turned upright on its wheels. It bounces a few times on the pavement coming out of the truck bed.
"Thanks, sir." Sam runs a hand through her hair. The wind and the exertion ruffled it out of place. Bella runs next to Sam as she wheels it into the workshed. Bella takes a few good sniffs, but the oil and metal smells don't interest her. She trots out of the shed and back to the truck.
Sam comes around the corner to see her CO talking to his dog. "When'd you start liking bikes? Do I have to get you a helmet or something?" Sam smiles at the pair.
"Thanks again, sir." She says, breaking up his conversation with Bella.
He waves off her thanks. "We're a team. It's what we do." He opens the door and Bella hops in. Jack starts his truck. "See you tomorrow!"
Carter waves and watches as the truck turns back toward O'Neill's neighborhood.