SO sorry this has taken so long for me to update.
To summarize: Sam's attempting to buy a house, but before she can go look at one
she gets hit in the noggin'. The only way Janet will allow her to leave the infirmary
is if she has an escort- that's where Jack and Daniel come in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Imbroglio
Chapter 4
Slowly the trio walked the short distance from the driveway to the front of the house.
Just as they were about to knock on the door, Daniel stopped short and smacked a
hand into his forehead.
"Forgot the water in the car." Daniel said in explanation. Grumbling slightly, Jack
handed him the keys and turned back towards the front door. Just was they were
about to knock the door opened.
"Samantha!" A cheerful voice bellowed out. Sam winced at the noise and Jack
resisted the urge to deck the guy.
"Hi Evan." Sam said with a faked cheerfulness. "Hope I'm not late."
"Not at all, not at all." Evan said cheerfully opening the door wider and ushering
them inside. He cocked his head in puzzlement as he took in Sam's blue hospital
scrubs, bandaged head and surly looking male companion.
"I didn't know you were bringing your boyfriend Samantha." Evan said
conversationally.
Sam turned a dark shade of pink as Jack let out a choked snort. "Not her boyfriend."
He said simply as he took a moment to eye the entryway; the place wasn't so bad
actually. Evan led the pair through the entry way and towards the kitchen.
"What'd I miss?" Daniel asked as he walked through the still open front door with
the flask of water. Evan turned back towards the new arrival.
"So *you* must be the boyfriend?" Evan asked politely.
"What me?" Daniel said turning his own version of crimson. "Sam's boyfriend? No
way!" Evan watched as Samantha tried not to smile and the other man chuckled.
He was more than a little confused. Whatever happened to a simple house viewing?
"Can't see yourself paired with me, huh Daniel?" Sam asked mischievously.
"Sam, that would be wrong on so many levels, I don't know where to begin."
"One would be you're married." Jack added distractedly as he crouched down to eye
the wood flooring. It appeared to be oak. Very nice.
"That would be the major obstacle, yes." Daniel said nodding growing more than
slightly flustered. "Plus the fact that.."
"Relax Daniel." Sam said holding out a hand to stop the flustered archaeologist from
continuing. "Although I can rattle off at least a dozen women at the SGC who would
jump at the chance to.. well.."
"Jump him?" Jack said helpfully running a finger along the floor molding before
standing back up.
"Jack?!"
"Danny," Jack said in exasperation, "whether you like it or not, you're a good looking
guy in your early 30's and you're going to have to deal with it." Jack started to walk
down the entryway. He passed an open door that housed a small bathroom. The
house's floor plan was very open and light-filled.
"Craftsman-built?" He asked the realtor ignoring Daniel's rather vocal protests
behind him as he walked passed the open entryway on his left (dining room) and
into the kitchen.
Evan stared dumbfounded at the interaction between these rather strange people.
Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to take on military personnel…
"Who ARE you people?" Evan asked finally stopping in his tracks.
"Oops, sorry." Jack said holding out his hand. "Jack O'Neill. I'm Carter's CO."
Seeing the still confused look on Evan's face, Jack clarified. "I'm Samantha's
commanding officer. The talkative guy behind me is Daniel. We both work with
Sam."
Evan nodded in hopeful understanding. "Does Samantha always need an escort
when she leaves work?"
"Not usually." Jack said in all seriousness. "But Carter here had a bit of a mishap
this afternoon." He grimaced slightly as he remembered the sickening sound the
villager's weapon made as it struck Sam in the head.
"I didn't realize Samantha's work was so dangerous." Evan said with a frown.
'Maybe it would be better to try and get the Henderson's to buy this house.' He
thought to himself.
Jack quickly realized that they were scaring Sam's realtor and swiftly back-peddled.
"You know Carter's an Astrophysicist, right?"
Evan wrinkled his eyebrows as he tried to recall. "She has an advanced degree in
something dealing with space, right?"
"A Doctorate in fact." Daniel added. "I believe she received that before her 25th
birthday."
"Daniel." Sam stage whispered looking rather embarrassed.
"Carter runs the whole scientific division out on the base." Jack said proudly. "I'm
the Second in Command of the whole facility and Sam here is my Second, which
makes her a Very Important Person." Jack looked at Evan as if daring him to
contradict.
"Colonel!" Sam said both embarrassed and suddenly very dizzy. She reached out
and placed a hand on a long rectangular table in the entryway. 'Dammit!' Sam
admonished herself angrily. 'Don't you dare start getting all sick and girly on me!'
She shut her eyes tightly and took slow shallow breaths in hopes of shaking the
feeling of vertigo.
"You ok Carter?" Jack asked trying not to sound as worried as he felt. He was
beginning to doubt the wisdom in springing Sam from the Infirmary so early. He
took a step towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm fine Sir." Sam said not too convincingly as she took a deep breath. Thankfully
the dizziness passed relatively quickly and Sam was able to get her bearings once
again. She forced herself to smile as she turned to face Evan. "Let's take a look at a
house, shall we?"
Evan led the trio into the heart of the kitchen and began his spiel.
"The house was built in 1946 right after World War II and was the standard pre-fab
design of the times; two bedrooms, 1 ½ bathrooms, a living room, kitchen and a
small den. It was very ordinary and kept that way until 1986.
In 1986 an architect bought the slightly derelict house from the original owners and
started knocking out walls right and left. This is the end result."
Sam looked around the light-filled kitchen and knew this was the house for her. She
felt slightly guilty knowing that if she succeeded in purchasing the home, the
beautifully restored kitchen wouldn't get the use it was intended. She might not
cook, but she still appreciated a nice kitchen. She loved how it was open and looked
out onto the living room. There were built-in bookshelves, a fireplace and even a
small garden.
"Two bedrooms, right?" Sam asked.
"Here, let me show you." Evan said leading Sam towards the back of the house.
Jack and Daniel started to follow, but Sam held up a hand to stop them.
"Guys?"
"Carter, we promised Janet we wouldn't leave you alone." Jack said defensively.
"I'm not alone!" Sam said in exasperation. She looked at Daniel for help.
"Evan, could you give us a shout if Sam shows any signs of dizziness or anything like
that?"
"Sure."
Jack still wasn't happy with the idea, but recognized that Sam needed to do this and
acquiesced to her request for some privacy. He opened the sliding glass door near
the kitchen to check out the backyard. It was slightly overgrown with wild flowers
and weeds, but entirely fenced in and private.
"Oooo, Carter could put in a hot tub back here!"
"Somehow Jack, I don't see Sam as the lounging around the hot tub type." Daniel
said with a smirk as he walked the perimeter of the small yard.
"Probably right." Jack agreed trying not to actually visualize his 2IC sitting in a hot
tub. He wasn't quite certain where these random 'Carter's a Girl' thoughts came
from, but knew he needed to reel them in. He always recognized Sam for the
brilliant woman she was, and knew she was an attractive woman (he wasn't blind!)
but lately he was *noticing* that attractiveness. Definitely not something one is
supposed to contemplate- especially given their working relationship.
Jack shook his head and focused his attention onto the house. He had grabbed one
of the realtor's flyers on the kitchen counter and was pleased to note that the roof
was less than 3 years old. A good roof is very important when buying a house.
"Guys!"
Jack's blood ran cold as he heard Evan's shout from the master bedroom. Both he
and Daniel sprinted the short distance to the bedroom where they found Sam sitting
shakily on the edge of the bed. Evan stood nearby looking nearly as shaken.
"What happened?" Jack asked in his best Commanding Officer voice. Daniel was
already by Sam's side talking softly with his dazed friend. Sam seemed confused.
"We were just talking when Sam began looking at me funny. Apparently her vision
had blurred and she was getting dizzy. I had her sit down."
"Good call." Jack said in a clipped voice.
"Sir, next time we should bring the zats." Sam said distinctly. Both Jack and Daniel
paled with Sam's announcement.
"Military jargon." Daniel said thinking quickly.
"Really Sir, you should make the case to General Hammond." Sam said with casual
aplomb. "The next time we might not be able to get to Daniel quick enough."
Jack looked at Sam's glazed eyes and knew they needed to get her out of here.
*Now*.
"Sam? Do you know where you are?" Daniel asked in dulcet tones kneeling by her
side.
"Briefing room." Sam said, staring straight ahead but not really seeing anything.
"Carter, does this *look* like the briefing room?" Jack asked in an exasperated
voice. He knew Sam wasn't really responsible for her little zat outburst and that he
should be more understanding, but blurting out alien technology off base just wasn't
cool. Daniel shot Jack a dirty look.
"Sir?" Sam asked confused as she turned to look at her CO. "You're out of uniform."
"Could say the same about you Major." Sam looked down at the cotton blue hospital
pants and suddenly realized where she was. "Evan?" She asked looking up and
searching for her ill at ease real estate agent.
"You ok now Dr. Carter?" Evan asked nervously wondering what he had just
witnessed.
"Evan, thanks for showing us around, but I think we'll be leaving now." Jack said
stepping closer towards Sam and nodding for Daniel to help her up.
"Uh, all right." Evan said as he backed out of the room.
Sam now knew exactly where she was and what she had almost done. What she
*had* done; spoken about Goa'uld technology aloud in a non-secure location. Her
cheeks burned with shame and she clenched her jaw tightly to prevent herself from
crying. She could feel the pounding of her head increasing and wanted nothing more
than to lie back down between cool, crisp sheets.
The trio exited the bedroom and made their way down the hall towards the front
door. Once again Sam began to feel light-headed and was dismayed to discover the
room sliding jarringly to one side. She reached out blindly towards whatever
happened to be on her right for balance. It happened to be Jack.
"Whoa, Carter!" Jack said catching his 2IC as her knees buckled as she attempted to
hold herself upright. Not only was she dizzy, but Sam couldn't remember when she
had felt so damned tired.
"Sir, I think we should head back." Sam said slightly slurred as she struggled to stay
awake.
"You read my mind Carter." Jack said placing an arm around her waist and half
carried her towards the front door.
"Evan, it's been real but.."
"We really need to take Sam back to the hospital." Daniel finished. He had already
fished the car keys out of his pocket and was jogging ahead to open the door.
"Gentlemen," Evan said addressing the two worried men before him. Samantha was
slumped heavily against Jack's side. "I know Dr. Carter isn't feeling well, but if she
really is interested in this house, I need to know within the next 12 hours."
"You have GOT to be kidding me." Jack said incredulously as Sam struggled to stand
upright. Sam had heard Evan's announcement but couldn't quite muster the energy
to converse.
"I'm sorry." Evan said shaking his head. "But as a courtesy to Dr. Carter, I showed
her the house this evening. I have reason to believe another couple will be putting
in an offer first thing in the morning, but if we put in an offer first, we'll have first
crack at the place."
"We'll get back to you." Jack said as he led the now mostly unconscious Major to the
car.
"Please do it soon Sir." Evan said politely. The other offer wasn't from his clients, so
he'd lose out on the commission if Sam decided not to go with this house. Evan
regarded the ill woman and her two companions and realized she really wasn't in a
position to make an offer at the moment. Still, he had to try.
"Here's my card if Dr. Carter feels better and decides to make an offer." Daniel
grudgingly accepted the card as he opened the rear car door to help Jack. Together
the two worried SG-1 members positioned their now unconscious friend into the back
seat.
"Janet is not going to be happy." Daniel said as he softly closed the back door.
"*I'm* not happy Daniel." Jack said as he got into the front seat and started the
car.
"I hope Dr. Carter feels better soon!" Evan yelled as Daniel got into the passenger
seat.
"We do too Evan. Thanks for showing Sam the house. It meant a great deal to her."
Evan was about to say something more when the sedan peeled out of the parking
space and shot off down the street.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N I promise to post the next chapter in a timelier manner! If you enjoyed this
chapter, please let me know- it will encourage me to post quicker!
To summarize: Sam's attempting to buy a house, but before she can go look at one
she gets hit in the noggin'. The only way Janet will allow her to leave the infirmary
is if she has an escort- that's where Jack and Daniel come in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Imbroglio
Chapter 4
Slowly the trio walked the short distance from the driveway to the front of the house.
Just as they were about to knock on the door, Daniel stopped short and smacked a
hand into his forehead.
"Forgot the water in the car." Daniel said in explanation. Grumbling slightly, Jack
handed him the keys and turned back towards the front door. Just was they were
about to knock the door opened.
"Samantha!" A cheerful voice bellowed out. Sam winced at the noise and Jack
resisted the urge to deck the guy.
"Hi Evan." Sam said with a faked cheerfulness. "Hope I'm not late."
"Not at all, not at all." Evan said cheerfully opening the door wider and ushering
them inside. He cocked his head in puzzlement as he took in Sam's blue hospital
scrubs, bandaged head and surly looking male companion.
"I didn't know you were bringing your boyfriend Samantha." Evan said
conversationally.
Sam turned a dark shade of pink as Jack let out a choked snort. "Not her boyfriend."
He said simply as he took a moment to eye the entryway; the place wasn't so bad
actually. Evan led the pair through the entry way and towards the kitchen.
"What'd I miss?" Daniel asked as he walked through the still open front door with
the flask of water. Evan turned back towards the new arrival.
"So *you* must be the boyfriend?" Evan asked politely.
"What me?" Daniel said turning his own version of crimson. "Sam's boyfriend? No
way!" Evan watched as Samantha tried not to smile and the other man chuckled.
He was more than a little confused. Whatever happened to a simple house viewing?
"Can't see yourself paired with me, huh Daniel?" Sam asked mischievously.
"Sam, that would be wrong on so many levels, I don't know where to begin."
"One would be you're married." Jack added distractedly as he crouched down to eye
the wood flooring. It appeared to be oak. Very nice.
"That would be the major obstacle, yes." Daniel said nodding growing more than
slightly flustered. "Plus the fact that.."
"Relax Daniel." Sam said holding out a hand to stop the flustered archaeologist from
continuing. "Although I can rattle off at least a dozen women at the SGC who would
jump at the chance to.. well.."
"Jump him?" Jack said helpfully running a finger along the floor molding before
standing back up.
"Jack?!"
"Danny," Jack said in exasperation, "whether you like it or not, you're a good looking
guy in your early 30's and you're going to have to deal with it." Jack started to walk
down the entryway. He passed an open door that housed a small bathroom. The
house's floor plan was very open and light-filled.
"Craftsman-built?" He asked the realtor ignoring Daniel's rather vocal protests
behind him as he walked passed the open entryway on his left (dining room) and
into the kitchen.
Evan stared dumbfounded at the interaction between these rather strange people.
Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to take on military personnel…
"Who ARE you people?" Evan asked finally stopping in his tracks.
"Oops, sorry." Jack said holding out his hand. "Jack O'Neill. I'm Carter's CO."
Seeing the still confused look on Evan's face, Jack clarified. "I'm Samantha's
commanding officer. The talkative guy behind me is Daniel. We both work with
Sam."
Evan nodded in hopeful understanding. "Does Samantha always need an escort
when she leaves work?"
"Not usually." Jack said in all seriousness. "But Carter here had a bit of a mishap
this afternoon." He grimaced slightly as he remembered the sickening sound the
villager's weapon made as it struck Sam in the head.
"I didn't realize Samantha's work was so dangerous." Evan said with a frown.
'Maybe it would be better to try and get the Henderson's to buy this house.' He
thought to himself.
Jack quickly realized that they were scaring Sam's realtor and swiftly back-peddled.
"You know Carter's an Astrophysicist, right?"
Evan wrinkled his eyebrows as he tried to recall. "She has an advanced degree in
something dealing with space, right?"
"A Doctorate in fact." Daniel added. "I believe she received that before her 25th
birthday."
"Daniel." Sam stage whispered looking rather embarrassed.
"Carter runs the whole scientific division out on the base." Jack said proudly. "I'm
the Second in Command of the whole facility and Sam here is my Second, which
makes her a Very Important Person." Jack looked at Evan as if daring him to
contradict.
"Colonel!" Sam said both embarrassed and suddenly very dizzy. She reached out
and placed a hand on a long rectangular table in the entryway. 'Dammit!' Sam
admonished herself angrily. 'Don't you dare start getting all sick and girly on me!'
She shut her eyes tightly and took slow shallow breaths in hopes of shaking the
feeling of vertigo.
"You ok Carter?" Jack asked trying not to sound as worried as he felt. He was
beginning to doubt the wisdom in springing Sam from the Infirmary so early. He
took a step towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm fine Sir." Sam said not too convincingly as she took a deep breath. Thankfully
the dizziness passed relatively quickly and Sam was able to get her bearings once
again. She forced herself to smile as she turned to face Evan. "Let's take a look at a
house, shall we?"
Evan led the trio into the heart of the kitchen and began his spiel.
"The house was built in 1946 right after World War II and was the standard pre-fab
design of the times; two bedrooms, 1 ½ bathrooms, a living room, kitchen and a
small den. It was very ordinary and kept that way until 1986.
In 1986 an architect bought the slightly derelict house from the original owners and
started knocking out walls right and left. This is the end result."
Sam looked around the light-filled kitchen and knew this was the house for her. She
felt slightly guilty knowing that if she succeeded in purchasing the home, the
beautifully restored kitchen wouldn't get the use it was intended. She might not
cook, but she still appreciated a nice kitchen. She loved how it was open and looked
out onto the living room. There were built-in bookshelves, a fireplace and even a
small garden.
"Two bedrooms, right?" Sam asked.
"Here, let me show you." Evan said leading Sam towards the back of the house.
Jack and Daniel started to follow, but Sam held up a hand to stop them.
"Guys?"
"Carter, we promised Janet we wouldn't leave you alone." Jack said defensively.
"I'm not alone!" Sam said in exasperation. She looked at Daniel for help.
"Evan, could you give us a shout if Sam shows any signs of dizziness or anything like
that?"
"Sure."
Jack still wasn't happy with the idea, but recognized that Sam needed to do this and
acquiesced to her request for some privacy. He opened the sliding glass door near
the kitchen to check out the backyard. It was slightly overgrown with wild flowers
and weeds, but entirely fenced in and private.
"Oooo, Carter could put in a hot tub back here!"
"Somehow Jack, I don't see Sam as the lounging around the hot tub type." Daniel
said with a smirk as he walked the perimeter of the small yard.
"Probably right." Jack agreed trying not to actually visualize his 2IC sitting in a hot
tub. He wasn't quite certain where these random 'Carter's a Girl' thoughts came
from, but knew he needed to reel them in. He always recognized Sam for the
brilliant woman she was, and knew she was an attractive woman (he wasn't blind!)
but lately he was *noticing* that attractiveness. Definitely not something one is
supposed to contemplate- especially given their working relationship.
Jack shook his head and focused his attention onto the house. He had grabbed one
of the realtor's flyers on the kitchen counter and was pleased to note that the roof
was less than 3 years old. A good roof is very important when buying a house.
"Guys!"
Jack's blood ran cold as he heard Evan's shout from the master bedroom. Both he
and Daniel sprinted the short distance to the bedroom where they found Sam sitting
shakily on the edge of the bed. Evan stood nearby looking nearly as shaken.
"What happened?" Jack asked in his best Commanding Officer voice. Daniel was
already by Sam's side talking softly with his dazed friend. Sam seemed confused.
"We were just talking when Sam began looking at me funny. Apparently her vision
had blurred and she was getting dizzy. I had her sit down."
"Good call." Jack said in a clipped voice.
"Sir, next time we should bring the zats." Sam said distinctly. Both Jack and Daniel
paled with Sam's announcement.
"Military jargon." Daniel said thinking quickly.
"Really Sir, you should make the case to General Hammond." Sam said with casual
aplomb. "The next time we might not be able to get to Daniel quick enough."
Jack looked at Sam's glazed eyes and knew they needed to get her out of here.
*Now*.
"Sam? Do you know where you are?" Daniel asked in dulcet tones kneeling by her
side.
"Briefing room." Sam said, staring straight ahead but not really seeing anything.
"Carter, does this *look* like the briefing room?" Jack asked in an exasperated
voice. He knew Sam wasn't really responsible for her little zat outburst and that he
should be more understanding, but blurting out alien technology off base just wasn't
cool. Daniel shot Jack a dirty look.
"Sir?" Sam asked confused as she turned to look at her CO. "You're out of uniform."
"Could say the same about you Major." Sam looked down at the cotton blue hospital
pants and suddenly realized where she was. "Evan?" She asked looking up and
searching for her ill at ease real estate agent.
"You ok now Dr. Carter?" Evan asked nervously wondering what he had just
witnessed.
"Evan, thanks for showing us around, but I think we'll be leaving now." Jack said
stepping closer towards Sam and nodding for Daniel to help her up.
"Uh, all right." Evan said as he backed out of the room.
Sam now knew exactly where she was and what she had almost done. What she
*had* done; spoken about Goa'uld technology aloud in a non-secure location. Her
cheeks burned with shame and she clenched her jaw tightly to prevent herself from
crying. She could feel the pounding of her head increasing and wanted nothing more
than to lie back down between cool, crisp sheets.
The trio exited the bedroom and made their way down the hall towards the front
door. Once again Sam began to feel light-headed and was dismayed to discover the
room sliding jarringly to one side. She reached out blindly towards whatever
happened to be on her right for balance. It happened to be Jack.
"Whoa, Carter!" Jack said catching his 2IC as her knees buckled as she attempted to
hold herself upright. Not only was she dizzy, but Sam couldn't remember when she
had felt so damned tired.
"Sir, I think we should head back." Sam said slightly slurred as she struggled to stay
awake.
"You read my mind Carter." Jack said placing an arm around her waist and half
carried her towards the front door.
"Evan, it's been real but.."
"We really need to take Sam back to the hospital." Daniel finished. He had already
fished the car keys out of his pocket and was jogging ahead to open the door.
"Gentlemen," Evan said addressing the two worried men before him. Samantha was
slumped heavily against Jack's side. "I know Dr. Carter isn't feeling well, but if she
really is interested in this house, I need to know within the next 12 hours."
"You have GOT to be kidding me." Jack said incredulously as Sam struggled to stand
upright. Sam had heard Evan's announcement but couldn't quite muster the energy
to converse.
"I'm sorry." Evan said shaking his head. "But as a courtesy to Dr. Carter, I showed
her the house this evening. I have reason to believe another couple will be putting
in an offer first thing in the morning, but if we put in an offer first, we'll have first
crack at the place."
"We'll get back to you." Jack said as he led the now mostly unconscious Major to the
car.
"Please do it soon Sir." Evan said politely. The other offer wasn't from his clients, so
he'd lose out on the commission if Sam decided not to go with this house. Evan
regarded the ill woman and her two companions and realized she really wasn't in a
position to make an offer at the moment. Still, he had to try.
"Here's my card if Dr. Carter feels better and decides to make an offer." Daniel
grudgingly accepted the card as he opened the rear car door to help Jack. Together
the two worried SG-1 members positioned their now unconscious friend into the back
seat.
"Janet is not going to be happy." Daniel said as he softly closed the back door.
"*I'm* not happy Daniel." Jack said as he got into the front seat and started the
car.
"I hope Dr. Carter feels better soon!" Evan yelled as Daniel got into the passenger
seat.
"We do too Evan. Thanks for showing Sam the house. It meant a great deal to her."
Evan was about to say something more when the sedan peeled out of the parking
space and shot off down the street.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N I promise to post the next chapter in a timelier manner! If you enjoyed this
chapter, please let me know- it will encourage me to post quicker!