AN: So I have a new assistant who used to work with us before. She's still struggling a little but she'll be on track soon as long as she doesn't miss anything super important. Yah know like locking the doors or turning equipment that might catch fire off at EOD. I have a REALLY cute fluff piece with my BETA right now and am trying to figure out which story to work on now. It's the holiday season so I'm fairly tired most of the time and don't have a lot of focus right now.

Chapter 8

"So, nothing at all?" Melinda asked Jimmy while he sipped his coffee at the lunch counter where she was working as a waitress.

Jimmy shook his head. "Just normal family stuff. Chatting with Lisa… That kind of stuff."

"Wedding plans?"

"You know, come to think of it, she hasn't brought it up."

"They just got engaged but they don't talk about planning the wedding?"

Jimmy shook his head and shrugged.

"We're looking at a married couple then. If they weren't they would at least pretend to plan to make it look good in front of the kid." She said thoughtfully. "Sex life?"

"Not unless they're super quiet." Jimmy said with a shrug. "Lisa interrupts them a lot though." He added

"Definitely married and for long enough that screwing every night isn't a priority anymore."

"That's not very romantic."

Melinda shrugged. "It's realistic. And also means it's not likely they are-" Here she wiggles her fingers like tentacles.

Jimmy nods. "Yah. doesn't sound like their MO... so who are they then?"

"Beats me. I can't find any information at all on either of them."

"Not even his service record?"

Melinda shrugged. "John O'Neill is a pretty common name, Jimmy." She reminded him as she walked away to serve a customer that just sat down at the counter.

Yah, he got that. He'd narrowed it down to two possible guys who were around the same age and had ex-wives with the same name too but both could be wrong. The only reason he knew the ex-wife's name at all was because he asked Lisa if her Uncle Jack was divorced or widowed. Lisa didn't know about Charlie because all events at Jack's for family parties had been held in the summer outside. Otherwise Jimmy would have known he had the right guy and been able to have someone at SHIELD find out who Jack and Sam really were. Without that vital intel, he and Agent May had each drawn wrong conclusions about the couple.

The only reasons Sam hadn't found the bugs yet were simply accidental poor timing.

Lisa was struggling in math, not grasping the module on fractions so Sam spent her time helping the girl in her bedroom at night after dinner most of that week. If it wasn't for that, Sam would be heavily cleaning the house thoroughly to calm her nerves.

Jack was spending his evenings watching TV or making repairs on the outside of the house. It was a warm week so he started with the loose shingles, repaired a soffit, and then moved on to repairing the handful of soft boards on the deck before Lisa hurt herself on one of them. Jack was sure the next owner of the house would appreciate the repairs.

For both of them, their extra activities were keeping their minds off their upcoming date night.

James wandered over a few times during the week and seemed almost disappointed somehow. He kept using their bathroom instead of his own until Jack pointedly asked him if he needed to come over and repair the other man's toilet.

While Sam wondered why he was so fixated on the coffee table but James acted strange fairly often so she didn't worry about it.

Over the next couple days, Sam helped Lisa with her math assignments and Jack continued to work on the house. To outward appearances, they looked like a normal happy couple because left to their own devices, they were.

Saturday night came and Jack and Sam dropped Lisa off at her friend's house having spoken to her friend's mom about Lisa's particular situation and to call them if there were any problems. Then they drove home to get ready for their date night. To save time, Jack got dressed in the den and combed his hair in the hall bathroom. He wasn't sure what motivated him to do things that way. In a way, he supposed it might have been a late attempt to tone things down a bit because the fact was, more and more mornings started with them waking up wrapped in each other's embrace and their mornings would start with sleepy kisses and intimate touching. They hadn't talked about that part.

The kissing was kind of already a thing. The feeling each other up was sort of newish. Not entirely new but when they did manage to talk about this thing going on between them, they silently agreed to not round the field to third base after the first time it happened because things had started to swiftly get out of hand. It made him feel like a high school kid again. The reality was they worked together and they had to look at each other in the morning once the assignment was complete. The current trouble was mostly a lot more looking at each other in the morning than usual.

In the past, when they had pulled the playing house thing, one of them slept on the couch or in the guest room. But because they had a kid who technically didn't know this was all fake or supposed to be fake, Jack couldn't just retire to the couch at night.

Jack was getting really suspicious of Hammond's motivations on this one. The man knew how Jack felt about Sam. He probably strongly suspected how Sam feels about Jack. If George's goal was to compromise them… he was succeeding.

Jack sighed while he straightened his tie. There wasn't anything he could do about it other than just let it run its course and figure out how to deal with it later. He supposed he should just retire (and who knows how long they would let him stay retired but at least if they dragged him back in, the decision was on them not him). That was the only logical solution to this whole mess. Worrying about her out there would kill him but it was that or he had to hide a relationship with her or risk screwing up her career.

None of these options seemed very viable to him.

In the bedroom, Sam was humming happily as she dressed in her nearly black midnight blue gown. It was a soft slinky fabric that draped across the swell of her chest fashionably with a halter neck so the back could dip into a drape that left her entire back exposed nearly to her tailbone. It was one of those dresses that instantly made you feel sexy. Knowing the effect it was probably going to have on Jack when he finally saw the whole thing, she'd paired it with a long floral print shrug in blues and greens that curved around her shell-like and tied at the shoulders leaving the front open. As a set, the outfit was demure and ladylike, even with the high slit on the right side seam of the dress. Sam grinned at herself in the mirror

They had an entire night without Lisa and she intended to put them both out of their current misery. Yes, they would still have to work with each other but following through on this wasn't going to hurt anyone. No one but them even needed to know about it.

So when she came out of the bedroom and all but ran into him all she did was give him a coquettish grin and giggle at his dumbfounded expression.

"You look great. Ready to go?" She asked him with a wide smile.

Jack swallowed, frowned, and nervously nodded. "Sure." Was all he managed to get out. He turned swiftly to grab his keys and missed Sam's shoulders shaking with laughter. She was supposed to be the awkward one. Clearly, he approved of what he could see of the curve hugging dress. Without a verbal conversation, Jack escorted Sam out of the house and locked the door without touching any part of her until they reached the truck.

"You um… you smell great." Jack finally got out as he held her hand so she could step up into the truck but his eyes were glued to the length of thigh exposed by the slit in her dress.

"Thank you." She said brightly and looked at him until he finally met her eyes. "I'm really looking forward to this." She told him with a megawatt smile.

"Me too." He admitted but he still had that deer in the headlights look of a man who knew his fate was sealed and was unable to think past the bright lights heading right for him.

When he went around the back of the truck to get to his own side, Sam couldn't help but giggle at his reaction. He was so used to seeing her in fatigues or a base uniform that he'd been fascinated by her sports bra a couple days ago. Which was odd as he'd seen her changing during a mission more than once. The tent wasn't all that private and all of them had walked in on each other at some point.

She supposed there was something different from seeing a half-clothed team member versus a dressed up person you're infatuated with. One you see frequently enough that it becomes about as interesting as a supply requisition and the other… well… she'd be a liar if she said Jack in a suit wasn't doing it for her. He looked fantastic.

He slid into the driver's seat and Sam had managed to school her expression enough that he wouldn't know she was amused at his reaction.

Jack tapped on the steering wheel for a couple of seconds before he finally put the truck in gear. "So.. ah… dinner." He said lamely.

Sam nodded with an absent hum. "And dancing."

"Right." He agreed, his hands gripping the wheel a bit too hard.

"We need to look like a normal couple. Normal couples go on dates when their kids aren't home."

"Yah… yah I get that." Jack said but stalled out verbally again.

"We've danced together before, Jack." Sam said patiently.

Jack nodded but didn't answer. He'd never danced with her dressed in anything but their class As or at some function for a dignitary on another planet dressed in their fatigues. Once they had danced at Sergeant Amos' retirement party in their base uniforms. She'd never been in a dress and certainly not in a dress that looked like… that.

When they pulled up to the dinner club, Jack went around to the passenger side and held Sam's hand while she got out of the truck. Careful not to catch one of her strappy dancing shoes on the foot plate or worse. Sam wasn't generally clumsy but it had been a long time since she wore anything higher than sensible thick heels that matched her dress blues.

She stumbled a little anyway and grabbed the front of Jack's jacket to support herself.

"You okay?" He asked her in concern.

"Yah. High heels and high side aren't the best combo." She admitted in amusement.

"Maybe we should have taken your compact?"

"Jack," She chuckled. "You don't fit in my compact."

"Sure I do. I'll just fold up like origami." he said with a grin.

Sam snorted on a laugh that made him grin wider.

Jack forgot his nerves, watching her laugh at one of his goofy jokes. He loved making her laugh. "Come on. I'm starving." He told her.

"I am too." She said "But I'm not sure there's any room in this dress for a steak dinner." She admitted.

Jack chuckled. "Well, you can always change and get comfortable when we get home." He said, still grinning and casually ran his eyes down the length of her dress. "I like that color on you."

Sam dimpled at him and answered with a grin. "I noticed."

They continued to flirt casually through their dinner. Some of the diners got up between courses to dance but Sam and Jack were content to sit and talk about nothing more important than the latest episode of National Geographic together.

After they had picked at their desserts without really eating them, Jack gave Sam a thoughtful smile and asked her to dance.

"I was beginning to think you were going to chicken out." Sam said with a small grin.

"Is that a joke about my rank because those are eagles not chickens."

Sam giggled. "Sure they are."

Jack snorted then laughed. "You betcha." he said, chuckling as she slid her shrug down off her shoulders and swallowed hard. The dress didn't leave much to his imagination… and then she turned around to drape it on her chair. That was… a lot and I mean a LOT of Carter on display going on there. When she turned around, the devilish smile on her face suggested Sam knew exactly what his reaction would be.

Jack squared his shoulders, well aware of the execution he was sending himself to and took Sam's hand to lead her onto the dance floor for a slow waltz.

"This is nice." Sam all but hummed against his ear.

"Oh yah. Really nice." Jack agreed, trying desperately to keep his hands to spots with fabric and failing miserably.

"Jack?" Sam sounded concerned.

"Yap?" Jack said, trying to keep Sam from forming herself to his hips because there were some definite logistical issues with that.

"Relax. It's just dancing." Sam said, chuckling and in spite of his efforts otherwise moved closer to him.

He never should have looked into her eyes, he decided. They were filled with all sorts of ideas and promises and suggestions and it was pretty much what led to the very next thing… his decision to kiss the beautiful woman in his arms who tightened her arms around him and kissed him back.

When they both realized they had stopped actually dancing and were now just standing on the dance floor clinging to each other and kissing Jack pulled back a bit and Sam bit her lip.

"We should go." She said softly, her voice was husky with emotion.

"Yah." Jack agreed and led her off the floor back to their table. He hoped the drive home would cool them both off a bit.

The drive home was silent. Each of them nervously worried what the other thought of them after giving in to their desires in public like that. It was still something that could later get back to the brass. Even though they were undercover as an almost married couple, they really weren't supposed to be making out on the dance floor of a dinner club like teenagers on a first date.

But neither could forget the hum of desire and rightness they felt when they kissed either.

They weren't supposed to feel this way about each other at all which didn't change anything at all. It had been this way between them from the moment they met. Even when he was baiting her by being a sexist ass and she was defensive and self righteous.

Jack pulled up to their little house and turned off the truck. "Carter.. I…"

Sam shook her head though as she opened the passenger door. She didn't want an apology. That kiss had felt so right. She didn't want it ruined by him being sorry he'd done it.

Jack huffed out a sigh as he got out of the truck. Not for the first time did he wish one of them was in another branch or a civilian or… something.

Sam went into the house and with a resigned slump of her shoulders, leaving her shrug on the arm of the couch.

Jack came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Look… Sam…" He started but she whirled around angry at him for regretting his actions and without another word, she reached out and kissed him hard instead. Jack let out a helpless moan of surrender and kissed her back urgently. Oh, what the hell difference did it make anyway he mused as he returned her kiss, tugging at his coat as he did so.

"Jack." Sam breathed against his ear as his mouth claimed her neck once he'd managed to get out of his jacket and his hands skimmed along her body, before sweeping her against him and kicking his jacket that had dropped to the floor beside him. His breath and lips, hot against her neck made it impossible to think.

But the only answer she got was a growl in the back of his throat as he picked her up and carried her back to their shared bedroom. They landed on the bed in a tangle of limbs and heat. Jack had managed to work her dress down over her shoulders and had claimed the peak of one breast in his mouth and was stroking and nipping at her with tongue and teeth until Sam was writhing helplessly even as she was trying to unfasten his belt.

"I've got it." Jack mumbled against her breast and tugged his belt apart only to have his hands swatted away when he went for the button on his slacks. He chuckled low in his throat when Sam popped his fly with such determination she popped the button off entirely in her efforts.

Jack chuckled and kicked his pants away after she pushed them down. Any objections he'd had to making love to Sam now pushed into the back of his mind to deal with at some later time. He slipped his hand under the slit in her dress and slid his fingers up the inside of her silky thigh until he reached the point where her legs met. Now kissing her neck his fingers slid over the soft silkiness of her panties. His other hand skimmed along her torso to cupped the heaviness of one breast, teasing one nipple while his lips found the other. Sam sighed in appreciation. Jack's ability to read her reactions was going to good use.

Sam had moved on to his shirt and was deftly opening buttons one by one while she trailed kisses along his jaw. Her hands stilled then gripped his shirt tightly when his hand went from cupping and caressing her through her panties feeling her heat and wetness through the fabric. Finally his fingers snuck under the material, intent on exploring the texture of her curls before slipping deft fingers slowly into her, eliciting a sharp intake of breath when his fingers found her clit and stroked and circled it in time with his tongue that had switched to her other breast. Leaving her breast, his other hand slipped along skin, cupped her rear and pulled her close to him.

"Oh… oh god Jack I'm going to-" But all she got out after that was a shattered cry of release as she went taut in his arms then trembled as wave after wave of pleasure coursed through her.

When she went slack in his arms, Jack raised his head and looked at her for a long moment. She was so beautiful. Her blue eyes glazed over in the aftermath of her release, her body glowing with a faint sheen of sweat.

"Jack.." Her voice was soft, hazy.

"Yah?" It was honestly all he could think of to say.

"I want you."

"Well yah, I know but-" He was cut off by her raising up and claiming his mouth. Startled, his lips parted and she invaded him hungrily. He had just enough sense left to pull away slightly and pretty much squeak. "Sam, we should-"

At which point she flipped him on his back, straddled him and claimed his mouth. "Yes. We should." She agreed, deliberately misinterpreting what he'd wanted to say to her.

All Jack could do was moan in surrender as she slid over him and buried him deep inside her. He held on to her hips as she rose and fell on him, pushing him so hard the bed rocked and was hitting the wall. Her aggressive need was making him so hot he knew he couldn't hold out much longer if she kept doing what she was doing.

With supreme mental effort, he flipped them back over still inside her and hooked his arm under her left knee, pulling it up so it draped over his shoulder and he could hit maximum depth. He started taking short fast thrusts that made her go from appreciative groans of pleasure to needy whimpers as she came closer and closer to another orgasm. Jack leaned in and claimed her mouth for another searing kiss as he thrust into her until her fingers dug into his ass and she gasped as the second orgasm ripped through her.

Jack moaned her name and spilled inside her as everything went white for him.

Moments later he was laying half on top of her while they drowsily stroked each other's cooling skin.

"Wow." Was all Sam said.

Jack hummed in sleepy agreement.

Out in the living room, Goose had the small listening device from under Jack and Sam's nightstand and was purring while he licked it. He'd knocked it loose earlier in the night and had been playing with it when Jack and Sam came home from their date. Deciding he didn't want to be a voyeur, he'd trotted out of the bedroom with it when they came in busily ripping each other's clothing off.

Jimmy sat with the headphones across his knee, annoyed at the damned cat. He'd heard nothing of the couple's conversation other than moaning during Goose's brief break from licking the bug so he could go get a drink of water from his bowl.