Here's another chapter since I didn't upload one yesterday.
A month later, Jennifer still hadn't made the move to call the number sitting on her desk. She'd even surprised Sam when she'd asked for his number after her talk with Cam. But it sat for weeks on her desk until finally she gave Dr. Justin Miller a call.
Cam had already been on a few dates. Although they didn't talk about it together, the rumor mill and gossip eventually made its way to her. Some were surprised, especially those who'd pegged Jennifer and Cameron for secretly dating. Those who'd spotted him during a date at the local steakhouse were happy to see the Colonel finally living a life outside of the SGC.
By Wednesday, she left the base at lunch to go finally meet Justin. They'd both decided against a big dinner date and instead opted for a casual lunch. Jennifer changed into a black pencil skirt and tan colored blouse that accentuated her eyes, adding a touch more make up than usual. When she arrived at the cafe, she zeroed in on Justin by matching him with Sam's description.
He was very good looking. As she made her way over to the table, she took a second to take in his appearance. Brown eyes, brown hair. Incredible smile.
And from what Samantha told her, he was the real deal. He was the head surgeon in a city nearby and donated his Saturdays twice a month to work at a clinic to see recovering heart attack and high risk patients.
But somehow, despite his looks and all the good things that he'd heard about him, she wasn't as excited as she should be.
"Dr. Keller?" he said, moving to shake her hand. "From Sam's description, you were easy to spot."
Jennifer smiled, returning his hand shake. "I could say the same about you. It's finally good to place a name with a face, Dr. Miller. Sam's told me much about you."
"All good, I hope?" he grinned, motioning her to take a seat. "And it's Justin. May I call you Jennifer?"
"Of course," she replied, scooting in her chair. "How long do you have until you need to be back?"
"A few hours," he replied, leaning forward. "You?"
Jennifer nodded. "The same. If I go over my normal break time, I can make it up later. It's pretty flexible."
"Well, then, why don't we order and then get a chance to get to know one another?" Justin suggested, handing her a menu.
Taking it, Jennifer began browsing the selection.
When her phone quietly chimed from inside her purse, she glanced up apologetically. "Sorry, I forgot to turn it off."
He shrugged, lifting his own out of his suit jacket. "When is a doctor's phone ever off? Please, if you need to answer it, go ahead. I completely understand."
Originally, she'd planned on ignoring it. If it had been an emergency, her phone was set to specific tone that indicated it was from the SGC or her father's number. But curiosity got the better of her. Taking out her phone, she saw the text message appear. It was from Cameron, asking if she wanted to join the rest of SG1 for lunch. Typing back that she was out already, she quickly sent it.
"Sorry," she said as she lifted her head. "It was from a coworker."
"Like I said, I'm used to it," he said, a smile still on his face. "Have you decided on what you're having?"
Nodding, she randomly picked something that sounded somewhat healthy just as the waitress appeared. After ordering, they both began exchanging stories about events in their lives that had been interrupted by doctor calls.
He sat for a moment and looked at her. "Samantha and I have worked twice together on a consultation basis with a Dr. Lam. Do you know her?"
Surprised, she blinked. "Yes. She's actually filling in for me during the duration of my stay here in Colorado. Dr. Lam is an excellent doctor."
"Yes, I know that," he agreed. "You know, it's funny. I have to sign multiple waivers before agreeing to work with them. Yet I'm never told specifics of the consults I'm involved with. They're mostly described as post-mission flags on patients where you work. Are you also involved in a lot of secret military assignments?"
Jennifer had read a little about Justin's limited work with the SGC. Although he didn't know it, he had been brought in "blind" as a second opinion multiple times on lab results and heart scans of men and women who'd returned from the gate suffering combat wounds or those experiencing minor to serious heart problems. His clearance, she'd read, was level 1, which was the lowest and only given on a need be basis.
"I'm afraid I am," Jennifer nodded, leaning back. "Which is one of the reasons why it's hard for me to have friends or even go on dates outside of my work. It's difficult to tell someone what you do for a living when 99% of it is classified."
Interested, he leaned forward. "And what is the one percent you can tell me?" He grinned, knowing full well there wasn't much she could say.
Leaning forward as well, Jennifer caught on to his mischievousness. "Hmmm... that would be my name. The location of where I work right now. And..." she teased, eyes twinkling. "That's about it."
He threw back his head and laughed. "Intriguing," Justin said. "I must say, it gives you a little bit of an edge over me. There's a part of you that I'm not allowed to know, yet you can know virtually everything about me with one click on your computer. Right?"
Jennifer reddened. "True."
He lifted his eyebrows.
"Alright, yes. I checked on you." Glad he was enjoying her embarrassment and not offended after discovering she'd glanced into his file, she laughed as well. "I had to see your clearance before coming."
"And you wanted to check to see if I was normal. Admit it."
Rolling her eyes, she nodded. "Hey, you don't know the kind of luck I've had these last few years."
Getting serious, he thanked the waitress as their food came.
And for the next hour they talked. Jennifer found herself enjoying herself. Despite not being able to talk about many things in her life, she was able to talk a little about her father and life growing up. To her amusement, he'd had a completely different upbringing, being the child of adoptive parents in Chicago and eventually working his way through college the slow way.
Finally, when their time together was up, he grinned at her. "Well, Dr. Keller, I must admit that this is the most fun I've had on a lunch hour in many years. But it seems that we have little to nothing in common besides our profession" As the check came, he quickly got out a card and handed it back to the waitress. "Yet I find myself wanting to ask if you'd be willing to go out with me again. Say, dinner?"
Surprising herself, she agreed. "I had fun, too. But… I want to be up front with you. Samantha wasn't kidding when she said I'm only temporarily here. I leave Colorado in nine months. So if you're looking for-" Embarrassed, she stopped.
"Something long-term?" he guessed, mulling it over. "I am, but quite frankly, I don't care. I'd like to get to know you better. Nothing serious. Casual dates and a friendship?"
"That sounds wonderful."
They stood once he signed the check and he followed her out to her car. "I know weekends are out, so how about dinner next week. Say Wednesday, again?"
"I'd like that," she said, getting into her car and thankful he hadn't made a move to kiss her. "Give me a call early in the week and we'll set it up."
He waved, heading back to his own car, and she sighed. He was nice… definitely above average in the looks department. So why didn't a thrill of excitement run through her?
"Jennifer went on a date?" Vala asked loudly, immediately drawing attention to herself and Sam. "Really? When did this happen?"
"Last week," Samantha replied. "And keep it down."
They'd been eating in the mess hall when Samantha had casually mentioned that Jennifer was seeing the doctor Sam had tried to set Jennifer up with repeatedly since her arrival at the SGC. She hadn't counted on Vala announcing it to the entire room, including Daniel and Cameron who were approaching the table.
"Really? Keller's dating?" Daniel smiled, sitting down next to Vala. "Funny. Cam's been the social one lately, too. He's had more dates this month than he's had since I've met him."
Samantha's eyebrow went up. "Cameron. You're dating? When did this start?"
Cam seemed a little quiet, looking like he was more interested in the food than in the conversation. "Awhile ago. Why?"
"Nothing," Samantha said, holding in a grin. "It's just not everyday that two members of the SGC randomly decide on having a social life."
He shrugged. "It's no big deal."
"So," Vala said, sending her own private smile to Samantha. "Anyone serious you've been seeing?"
Cameron sighed. "See, this is why I didn't bring it up to anyone."
"Whoa," Daniel said. "A little sensitive there, Cam."
Irritated still, Cam set down his fork. "I just don't see why it's national news that I've gone on a few dates. Three, to be exact. All with different women."
Vala smirked. "Cameron, it's just such a coincidence… you and Jennifer both dating all of a sudden. It's like-"
Cameron, seeing Jennifer holding a tray and heading their way, silenced Vala. "Can we not talk about this?"
The others saw why he'd put a halt on the conversation. Looks passed between the others at the table as they tried to hide their grins.
Samantha sent Cameron a look, telling him she wasn't done with him.
Jennifer set her tray down and sat, wondering why everyone was acting funny at the table.
"What's going on?" she asked as she picked up her fork to begin eating.
"Nothing," Vala sent her a smile. "So what's new, Jennifer?"
Stopping mid chew, Jennifer sent Cameron a questioning glance. She was surprised to find him ignoring the conversation and eating at a rapid pace.
A glance at Samantha confirmed her suspicion that something was up.
"Nothing," she replied warily. "Why?"
Vala exhaled dramatically. "Because I obviously have no life seeing as I'm stuck in this confounded mountain all day while you people are able to leave when you like."
Jennifer's eyebrows rose. Looking at Cameron again, she caught his eye and saw his subtle shake of the head.
Change the subject, she guessed from his look.
"I'm leaving a day early this week to go see my dad," Jennifer informed the group, figuring it was something she could talk about. "He hasn't had a good week. Maggie lined up a consultation with his doctors for me Thursday morning. General Landry approved the early travel for me."
Cameron's demeanor changed at once.
"How bad was he?" he asked immediately, concerned.
Jennifer shrugged, looking back down at her plate. "It's to be expected. He'll have good and bad weeks. But I guess his blood counts are off. Maggie said he wasn't able to do tasks he was able to do last week without a struggle."
Samantha frowned. "Do you want one of us to go with you?"
Jennifer shook her head. "No. But thanks. I appreciate it, but having Maggie at my side as we go through this has helped a lot."
Cameron continued to look at her. "If you change your mind, you know we're available."
Jennifer looked for a moment into Cameron's eyes and had to stop herself from asking him to go with her.
She missed him. She missed what they'd had before their conversation on the mountain. Their friendship hadn't returned back to normal. Now, instead of occasionally hanging out together on their own, they always stuck in groups when they saw each other.
Catching herself staring at him, she forced herself to mentally return back to their conversation. When Samantha's radio went off, she took off quickly to a meeting and minutes later Vala and Daniel left as well.
Now alone with Cameron for the first time in several weeks, she didn't know what to say.
"Hey," he said softly. "You okay? Really?"
Tears came to her eyes. Embarrassed, she shook her head. Cameron worked quickly to return their trays and grabbed her hand. He discretely led her out of the cafeteria and to his office.
The minute he closed the door, Jennifer couldn't stop the tears from pouring down her face. Not hesitating, Cameron pulled her into his arms.
He held her tight, gently rubbing her back as her breath kept hitching and the tears continued to flow down her face.
She sniffed, wiping her face into his shirt and savored the feeling of being in his arms.
"I hate this," she confessed.
Understanding, he placed one hand to the side of her head and gently kissed her hair.
"I know," he replied, returning his arms around her. "I'm sorry. I promised to be there for you, but I got angry when I couldn't hold back my own feelings."
She sniffed, running her hands behind his back and anchoring herself to his body. "I miss you, Cam. It's not the same, talking to Samantha or someone else about everything."
Cameron knew she was about to mention Justin but changed her mind at the last minute.
He leaned back to see her face, carefully wiping away the tears on her face.
"How about we try this friendship over again?" he asked. "I'm better now. I think you just scared me so bad on that mission that I didn't know what to think."
She smiled through her tears. "That sounds perfect."
Neither one of them made a move to go. Or to let go of one another.
"Cam? Come home with me this weekend. Please?"
Cameron was surprised but understood how hard it was for Jennifer to ask for help. Knowing that, he knew she must really be worried to ask for his company.
"Let me know when we're leaving," Cameron said. "I've had a bag packed, just in case, for the past month."
Jennifer sighed, feeling relieved that he'd be there for her.
"Thank you," she whispered, clinging to him for a few moments longer.
