Chapter twenty-five

New Year's Eve hadn't been high on his list of favorite holidays for many years...not since he had first married Sara. They used to go out and paint the town red during those early years, usually ending up at a friend's house, where they brought in the new year with songs and a bottle or three of champagne. Jack didn't believe he'd ever be that happy again, but here he was, actually looking forward to toasting in the new year. And he knew that if it wasn't for Sam and Amy, this year would have been just as gloomy as the past few years had been. Since his separation and divorce from Sara, Jack had dated several women and slept with many more. He had even spent New Year's Eve with one of them, staying at her apartment all night, only to sneak out before the sun rose, lest she try and talk him into staying for breakfast, or forever. He hadn't been ready to talk about forever with Sandra, but Sam was a different matter.

Sam had been slightly surprised that Jack was willing to dress up for Jan's party, since she knew how much he liked to be comfortable. But there he stood, dressed in an all black outfit that made her toes curl. The only thing missing, she thought lustfully, was a red ribbon tied in a bow across his broad chest! Sam tossed her lipstick into her evening bag and zipped it shut, assuming a pose in the bathroom doorway. Jack, who had been checking the knot in his tie in the dresser mirror, turned around and saw her, giving her a long wolf whistle.

"Man, you really clean up nice, Carter!" he said, his eyes sweeping from her long neck and semi-bare breasts down to her long, shapely legs. She was wearing a new dress that she had just bought the day before, due to Janet's urging. And now she was wondering if it was too much...or more accurately...too little.

"You don't think it's too low cut, do you? I mean General Hammond is going to be there. Do you think this dress is appropriate?" she asked, looking down at the v-shaped neckline of the little black dress. Jack stared at the slice of creamy skin between the black swaths of fabric like a man dying of starvation.

"Well, do you?" she asked him again. Clearly the dress was having an effect on Jack, which in some circumstances might be fine. She just wasn't sure she wanted it to have that effect on him in public. And what about the other men at the party! Yes, she was definitely having second thoughts about wearing it. "Maybe I should change," she suddenly remarked.

"You take that off now and you're getting fucked, and then we'll never even get to the party," he growled. Sam could see that he meant what he said, and so she grabbed up her long, black coat from the bed and let Jack help her into it. Soon they were cruising down the street in front of Janet's tiny bungalow, looking for a parking place.

"I wonder how many people she invited," Sam commented, as Jack looked for a space big enough for his truck. He finally decided to park on the front lawn, which was covered in an inch of snow and dead anyway. Janet could sue him if she didn't like it! He told Sam to stay put, and then he went around to her side of the truck and pulled her down into his arms, carrying her to the front porch before setting her on her feet. He rang the bell, but no one answered, although they could see and hear people inside. Next he tried the door handle. Finding it unlocked, Jack and Sam entered the house, stepping into a noisy living room filled with people. It was no wonder no one had heard the door bell; the place was packed!

"Hey, Jack!" Kawalsky shouted from nearby. He had his arm around a short brunette that Sam didn't recognize. Sam thought he was married, and his woman certainly didn't look like his wife!

"Hey, Charlie! Where's the beer?" Jack asked as he spotted the green bottle in Charlie's hand. Just then Janet came up to them, leading Daniel by the hand. He was wearing a dark suit, and Sam thought she'd never seen him look more handsome. She had to laugh when she saw that a red ribbon was tied around his neck, the bow bobbing under his Adam's apple as he laughed at something someone said. It seemed her friend Janet also thought a good-looking guy in a suit was like a present that had been gift wrapped!

"Daniel," Jack said companionably. He was in such a good mood that even Daniel could not ruin it. Sam let her coat slide down her arms and Jack caught it, handing it to Janet. Daniel took one look at Sam and almost choked on his beer.

"Wow, Sam! You look..." He didn't get a chance to finish before Janet interrupted him, giving him a disgruntled look.

"She looks sweet," Janet said, as she dug her fingernails into Daniel's forearm.

"Exactly what I was gonna say," he choked out. Sam blushed, thinking once again that she shouldn't have worn such a revealing dress. Janet winked at her to let her know they were okay, and then she marched off, carrying Sam's coat to her bedroom.

"You look very lovely tonight, Samantha Carter," Teal'c said, bowing his head. Sam was happy to see that a very enamored looking Dr. Darcy Moore was hanging on his arm. Darcy was one of her team of scientists, and Sam was well aware that the woman had had her eye on the big Jaffa for months. In fact Sam had told her to go for it, when she'd inquired whether or not Teal'c was free. Sam knew he wasn't exactly free, but his life was here on Earth now. He shouldn't be expected to live it alone, should he? So it was great to see them together.

"Thank you, Teal'c," Sam replied, smiling up at him. Then she looked over at Darcy and winked knowingly. Darcy smiled back. The crowd parted and two people swerved into view, the guy pulling the woman along behind him, as though she didn't really want to be there.

"Wow ish right! Major Carter, you look really great in that dresh...or out of it," Ferretti snickered, his words slurred. Hanging onto his arm was none other than Sandra Taylor, wearing an emerald green, full-skirted dress with a plunging neckline that showed off a lot of pale skin between her small, pert breasts. Sandra stared at Sam haughtily, at the same time giving Ferretti's arm a squeeze.

"Come on, honey. I wanna dance," the red-head whined, leaning in to whisper something in his ear. But he wasn't about to budge, not until he spoke to the Colonel about something he'd heard. "Not now, Sandy!" he told her rather rudely.

"So Jack, I heard you're gonna make a decent woman of the Major here," he commented, and everyone who heard him immediately stopped talking. No one had the nerve to ask Jack about his private life, unless they didn't value their lives very much. It had suddenly gone quiet in the whole house, and Sam could clearly hear music playing in the background. But all she wanted to hear right now was what Jack had to say to Ferretti. They hadn't told anyone but Janet, Daniel and Teal'c of their marriage plans yet, so she wondered who had told him.

"A decent woman! Boy, that's a laugh!" Sandra exclaimed, her loud voice carrying across the room. Heads turned to hear more. "She's already spread her legs for you, Jack. Why bother to marry her?"

"Shut your mouth, bitch!" Sam swore in a very uncharacteristic display of emotion.

"What did you say?" Sandra yelled.

"I said, shut your mouth, BITCH!" Silence settled over the small house, as word of the disagreement spread like wild fire. While most hadn't been surprised by Sandra's outburst or her choice of words, everyone had been shocked by Sam's response, but no one more than Jack.

"Honey, let's go in the other room. Come on, we'll get something to eat," Jack suggested calmly, pulling on Sam's forearm. But Sam pulled away from him. There was no way she was backing down from this woman!

"No, you go on. I'm staying here and setting her straight on a few things," she stated with an evil twinkle in her eyes. Jack did a double take but stayed where he was, giving Sam a look that said, 'Is this really my Carter, or her evil twin?'

"Oh? And what things would those be?" Sandra asked, handing her wine glass to Ferretti, who almost spilled it. He couldn't take his eyes off Sam, and neither could anyone else.

Ferretti had never seen Carter like this before, and neither had any of the other men in the room, including Jack. With her chromium blue eyes staring intensely enough to freeze the nuts off a prize bull; the wild, angry expression on her lovely face, instead of the usual unemotional mask of a soldier; and all that pristine-looking Carter flesh spilling out of the little black dress, the men were getting a show they never even dreamed of seeing! Erotic was a word much too tame for the feelings this argument was arousing in all of them. And unless someone stepped in to stop it, the two most notoriously hot looking babes on base were about to have a cat fight! Oh, happy day!

TBC