PART 14

Sam opened the door to her friend's house and peered round. "Janet?" she called.

"Living room, Sam," Janet said, sounding a little better than she had a half hour earlier.

Sam went into the living room and was shocked at her friend's appearance. Eyes puffy and red with unshed tears, disheveled hair and lip swollen from the way Janet was chewing on it. "God, Jan … what happened?" she said, gathering her much smaller friend into a hug.

"I'm so stupid," Janet rambled. "I should've seen it coming. But it never even occurred to me … that he liked me."

"Jan; take a deep breath," Sam said, patting her friend's back. "Now … start again."

Janet sighed. "Charlie O'Neill," she said. "He … kissed me."

"Ah." Sam couldn't say that she hadn't seen it coming – the lad blushed anytime he was near Janet. "He's a teenager, full of hormones and you're a beautiful woman," she said. "I don't understand why you're so …". She waved her hand.

Janet sniffed back some tears. "I'm fine with the hugging," she said, "but when he kissed me, it made me remember …"

"Janet; you're worrying me," Sam said. "What happened to you?"

Janet sighed once more. "I was married once," she confessed, "but it didn't last long. I … couldn't satisfy him – too frigid. He'd try … weird things, but I didn't like them. Finally, he just … lost it one day and threw me … on the floor and took me." She bit her lip. "Since then, the only man I've … been with was your brother. And look how that turned out."

"God, Jan," Sam said, tightening her arms around the other woman's petite frame. "So when Charlie kissed you … it reminded you of your ex-husband."

Janet started crying quietly. "That's the thing," she said. "It didn't." Sam gaped at her and she added, "He wasn't rough, wasn't demanding. And maybe if he'd been older, I could've responded." She sniffed angrily. "But all I could think was that I'd babysat this kid when Jack was off-world. I pushed him away and told him to leave." She sniffled. "What's wrong with me?"

"There's nothing wrong with you, Janet," came Charlie's voice. Both Janet and Sam turned to see the teenager standing there, chewing his lip. "You're … amazing, and I'm sorry I freaked you out." He came over to them quietly, as if gentling a skittish foal. "I just hope you can forgive me – that we can be friends again one day."

Janet sniffed then held out her hand to Jack's son. "Of course we're friends," she said.

Then a fresh voice broke in.

"Janet – is Mark Carter Allie's dad?"

Damn. Damn, damn, damn.

Sam chewed her lip and Janet paled.

"Doc … either one of you …," Jack persisted, his hands clenching into fists. "Is Captain Mark Carter Allie's dad?"

"Yes," Janet admitted, "but Jack …"

"The son of a bitch," Jack muttered. "How could he just abandon you and that great kid? And you, Sam – you're his sister and supposedly Janet's best friend. How could you let him get away with it?"

"Jack!" Janet interrupted what promised to be a tirade. "You're a great dad – nobody would argue with that. But some guys don't want to be parents, and I'm not going to force Mark into anything. I don't want him in our lives if he isn't going to participate."

Charlie squeezed Janet's hand then glared at Jack. "Dad; stop being a jerk," he said. "Don't you think Janet's been through enough tonight?"

Jack ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Sorry, Janet," he said gruffly. "Deadbeat dads just … piss me off."

"I know," Janet said wearily. "I've heard you go on about it for the last five years, remember? Why do you think I didn't tell you who Allie's dad was?"

Jack's shoulders slumped. "Because I would've gone and confronted him."

"Please don't," Janet said. "He knows where I live – if he wants to be part of Allie's life, he has to make the first move." She smiled slightly. "I have a great job, great friends and a wonderful little girl – I don't need a man to feel complete."

Jack eyed her then nodded his head. "Fine," he grumbled. "I'll leave the guy alone, though God help him if we ever meet!"

"Yes, Jack, you've made your point," Sam snapped, becoming irritated. He was acting like this was personal and being a jerk as Charlie had so aptly put it. "I think it's time for you to go."

Jack's eyes narrowed. "You can kick me out of your house, Doctor, but I'm not leaving unless Janet asks me to."

"Please, guys," Janet said, "I don't want you fighting on my account. In fact, I'd like you all to go." She sat down, suddenly seeming even smaller. "I just want to be alone."

"Okay," Sam said. She hugged the smaller woman. "Call me if you want to talk, okay?"

"I will," Janet promised, smiling wanly. "Jack … I know you mean well, but you can't fight everyone's battles for them," she added with a bit of the CMO authority.

Jack had the grace to look chastened, and he stooped and brushed a tender kiss over Janet's cheek. "That's better," he teased. "Sometimes I need taking down a peg or two."

"Or five," Charlie mumbled then grinned as his father glared at him. "Okay; I'm going!" he added. "Night Janet. Night Dad, Sam."

Later that evening:

"Sam." Jack touched her shoulder quickly as they lay together in post-coital bliss.

Sam turned and looked at the handsome man, to find his teeth worrying his lower lip. "Yeah?" she asked, musing on the possibility of replacing his teeth with her own. Such a nice bitable lower lip he had!

"You know … I wasn't pissed at you – not really," he said. "I know ol' Doc Fraiser well enough to know that if she wanted Captain Carter in their lives, she would've contacted him."

"Then why that thing about the deadbeat dads?"

Jack sighed and sat up in bed, the sheet dropping to reveal his slim yet toned body. Sam had no idea how his age hadn't caught up to him, but envied him his metabolism. "My own dad abandoned me and my Mom when I was a kid," he said quietly. "And it was much harder for a single woman in the 50s and 60s – it carried such a stigma. Don't get me wrong – she was great and I loved her – but she struggled so much. And I hate seeing that happen to anyone, never mind someone like Janet."

Sam eyed him curiously. "Was there ever … anything between you?"

Jack shook his head. "No," he said. "We met during the Gulf – she was still training to be a doctor, and was one of the team assigned to patching me up. We just … clicked. She's like a kid sister to me in some ways." He smiled slightly. "Doesn't take any of my crap, keeps me from getting too full of myself, everything that a kid sister would do." He tucked a lock of hair around Sam's ear.

Sam shivered at the gentle touch. "I've seen her flirting with you sometimes," she said, though now she knew more of Janet's sad history, she questioned some of her observations.

Jack shrugged. "I'm safe," he said. "I'd never presume on our friendship, would never push her, am not interested in her that way. And she knows that." He captured another lock of hair, fingers always needing to fiddle with something. "Damn woman can make me blush at the worst times," he grumbled playfully. "Sometimes I wish she'd go flirt with Daniel – he wouldn't mind at all."

"Daniel? He likes Janet?"

"Hell, yeah." Jack curled Sam's hair around his finger. "But she just doesn't seem to see him that way."

"They'd make a cute couple," Sam mused, then chuckled, picturing the six-foot linguist and the 5'2 doctor. "Although Daniel would probably get a crick in his neck half the time."

"Size differences don't matter when you're horizontal." Jack slithered down the pillow and sent her his most winning smile.

"Is that a hint, General O'Neill?"

"Ya think?"

Something prodded her thigh and she gasped. "Again?"

Jack blushed slightly, but managed a grin. "What can I say – you bring out the beast in me."

Sam reached downward and grasped the beast, running her thumb over the plump head. "You're actually a horny adolescent with gray hair, really, aren't you?"

"Sorry." Jack bit his lip. "I know you're tired, Doc; I can … ah … take care of this myself."

Much as Sam would have liked to make love again, less than an hour had passed since their strenuous love-making. His erection bobbed enticingly, making her lick her lips. "Jack … did you take something?"

The blush reappeared. "Yeah," he admitted. "A couple of those blue pills." The lip was bitten once more. "I'm so much older than you, Doc. Sometimes I can't … you know."

Oh God, she needed to hug him! So she did, smiling when he smushed his face into her neck. "You don't have to sport a constant boner for me to want to be with you, you know," she told him. "I'm not always in the mood either."

"Yeah?" The sound was muffled by her neck.

"Yep." She ran her fingers through his ruffled hair. "I'm not up to it now, but I can help you out."

His head lifted and he grinned playfully at her. "Yeah?"

"Oh, yeah." Sam wriggled free of his embrace then pulled back the sheets to reveal Jack in all his glory. "Nice. Very, very nice."

She worked her way downward – from eyebrow scar down to small flat nipples – kissing every inch of Jack skin available to her. The nipples puckered and tightened and he sucked in a sharp breath when she nipped each bud gently, running her hands over his flat abdomen, getting closer and closer to the 'beast'. Then she slid a hand round to his rear.

And he tensed.

"Jack; I won't go there," she assured him, stroking a taut buttock. "You just have … such a great ass." She leaned over and kissed the firm rounded flesh before heading back to his front.

The tension left his body immediately and he sighed. "Sorry," he grumbled, his hand wandering downward to cup a breast, stroking the nipple until it puckered once more.

And things stirred to life within Sam's body once more. "Hmmm," she mused, pushing Jack gently onto his back and wriggling on top of him. "Maybe I'm more up to it than I thought."

"Cool."