Chapter 30: The Future

"So how was the Cruise, anyway? Your group leader told me that you both benefited greatly from this trip." Jack and Sam grinned at each other, before looking back at General Hammond, both shrugging lightly.

"You could say that," Sam commented, and Jack smiled widely.

"Yeah, you could say that. We had a hell of a time, I'll tell you that now."

"Apparently there were handcuffs involved," Hammond said, leaning back in his chair slightly, and Daniel snorted. Teal'c raised his eyebrow but said nothing, instead choosing to stare silently down at the meeting table.

"Sonny and Cher were also involved, but… it's a very long story," Jack ended, and General Hammond nodded understandingly, a faint smile on his face.

"And I intend to hear it sometime. We have a mission briefing on Thursday, people, at nine o'clock. Until then, you're on your own." His smile grew and he was about to get up when he stopped, staring at Daniel. There was a pause, before…

"Is that cotton candy, Doctor Jackson?" Daniel looked down at the small bag he was holding which was full of the pink, sugary substance, and he nodded guiltily, thinking he was about to be reprimanded.

"Yeah. I know I shouldn't be…"

"Do you have anymore of that?" Hammond asked, cutting him off, and Daniel blinked, his eyebrows rising.

"Any… anymore?" Teal'c handed another bag over to the General and he nodded appreciatively before walking off, his hands full of fairy floss. The door closed and Jack raised an eyebrow at the pair on the other side of the table.

"You're eating cotton candy?" he questioned, and Teal'c beamed broadly.

"That is correct. It is indeed a tremendous food source on your planet." There was a shocked silence before Sam spoke, the expression on her face one of the utmost confusion.

"Daniel, I thought… when you were a kid… that whole ordeal with the fair…"

"He got me hooked!" Daniel cried helplessly, waving around a handful of fairy floss before stuffing it down his mouth and glaring at Teal'c.

"Oh, man, you've got to tell us what happened while we were away. We missed out on everything! I mean you've bought a pig! I'm starting to wonder whether we've gone through to an alternate universe or something," Jack stated, pointing at the animal in Teal'c's lap. It gave a loud snort and Teal'c stroked it calmly, seemingly pleased.

"I named him Daniel," he stated proudly, and the real Daniel rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"He wanted to call him Samantha," he told them, and there was a pause.

"Flattering," Sam commented, grinning. "You should've let him. I mean my favorite past time is rolling around in pig sties-mainly Jack's office."

"Hey!" Jack protested, but he was also grinning. Daniel stood up, stretching.

"Well, we're only going to tell you what happened while you were gone if you tell us what happened on the trip-mainly the handcuff incident." Jack and Sam shared a glance, before Jack cleared his throat.

"It involved a toilet, a shared bed, a towel and lots of wine."

"I have got to find out what happened." Daniel glanced at his watch and sighed.

"Uh, sorry guys, I've got to get going. You will tell me what happened," he added, trying to sound threatening. Teal'c also stood up.

"I will also be leaving. I have a number of things to attend to."

"See ya later, guys," Jack called out to them as they made out to leave. Before he exited, however, Daniel paused and turned back to Sam, remembering something.

"Um, Sam?" She turned away from Jack and looked up at him, still smiling.

"Yeah, Daniel?"

"I do not believe she recalls the incident," Teal'c muttered over Daniel's shoulder, and he shrugged, shoving more cotton candy into his mouth.

"That's fine with me. Never mind, Sam, bye," he said, and he turned.

"Bye Colonel O'Neill," she called, and her laughter filled the room as Daniel froze, before grinning and waving to the pair and leaving the room. Teal'c merely bowed his head and left.

Jack glanced at the woman sitting next to him and his hand slid up her arm and around her shoulders, and then started to travel down her back. She pushed him away weakly, giggling madly.

"Jack, meeting room! If we get caught…" Jack merely grunted and she jumped as she felt his hand slide down her pants.

"Sir!" she hissed. Jack waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Oh, so it's Sir now?" She pushed him away.

"Self-control, Sir," she said, batting away his traveling hands, and he sighed.

"Aww, you're no fun…"

"We do still have to talk about this, you know," she said, and he nodded, suddenly becoming serious.

"I know. And we have to go to General Hammond too."

"I know."

"But we will make this work," he said, his hand slowly traveling up her arm again, and she nodded, watching it idly.

"I know."

"So… feel like playing Stargate with me?" he asked huskily, and Sam laughed.

"Aren't there security cameras in here?"

"Right." His hand went up to her face and he looked deeply into her eye, holding onto her jaw, and she gave him a confused expression.

"What are you doing?"

"You have something in your eye. That's why I was comforting you before."

"Oh, God, you are so pathetic…" she said, laughing, and there was a pause as they just gazed at each other for a moment. Slowly, they got closer and closer when suddenly…

BANG.

The door flew open and the pair jumped away from each other, Jack almost falling off his chair in the process. They both sighed, relieved when they saw who it was.

Teal'c.

He stopped, an amused expression on his face, bowing slightly.

"My apologies. I left some candy cotton in here and merely came back to retrieve it."

"Cotton candy, Teal'c," Jack corrected, straightening himself out. As Teal'c picked up the bag he had left on the table, he spoke.

"I believe congratulations are in order, then?" The pair glanced at each other, before looking up at him innocently.

"Congratulations?" Sam questioned lightly, swallowing and trying to straighten out her shirt without Teal'c noticing too much.

"What for?" He raised an eyebrow at them, smiling all-knowingly, before leaving the room. There was a pause, before they both burst out laughing.

"Remind me to buy him a huge cake made entirely out of fairy floss."

~~~

As he shut the door, Teal'c couldn't help but grin widely to himself.

Janet would be most pleased at the news.

Leading his pig down a set of stairs and down a corridor, he couldn't help but think back to the week he had spent with Daniel. He had been happy then, and Teal'c knew that it was because he was spending time with someone. Alone, Teal'c knew that Daniel would probably start feeling depressed.

He needed someone to spend time with.

Daniel needed *someone*.

But how to get someone?

Teal'c then also thought back to what he did with Sam, raising his eyebrows at the memory. Bikinis got attention. He remembered seeing men wearing bikinis openly in the nearby town when he went there with Daniel, and many people were staring and paying attention to them. Indeed, they were getting many whistles and such.

Attention which would also come from a suitable mate…?

Teal'c quickly made a mental note to himself to plant a bikini in Daniel's closet.

~~~

Jack wrapped his arms around Sam and brought her closer to him, snuggling his head into her hair, the dinner on the table completely forgotten.

"You do not know how much I have wanted to do this," he mumbled, and she grinned up at him, kissing him on the nose.

"Not as much as I've wanted to do this." They sat there in comfortable silence for a while, before Jack spoke up.

"Sam."

"Hmm?"

"What did Simon want you for that time at that fancy dress ball thing?" There was a silence.

"Sam?"

"Sama… Cher," Simon corrected, beaming, and Sam smiled curtly at him, fidgeting.

"Simon, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but how long is this going to take? I actually have…"

"It will just take a minute, all I wanted to do was ask you a couple of things." Sam nodded idly, glancing behind her and swearing inwardly when she saw that Jack had disappeared.

"What?" she questioned irritably, turning back to Simon, and he hesitated before talking again.

"I… I was wondering… I was wondering whether Jack was single." Sam, who had been looking around the ballroom, choked and turned to him, her eyes wide.

"P-pardon?"

"Is Jack single?"

"Single? Wh… you're interested?" she asked, paying attention now, and he smiled slyly at her.

"Well… you must admit, he is gorgeous."

Oh, yeah.

"I live in Cheyenne, you see, and I thought that if he… if he… well, you know, it might actually work out." Sam swallowed, taking the time to choose her words carefully.

"Simon… I'm sure Jack would be flattered at your, uhm, interest but I'm afraid that… that he's already fallen for someone." Simon's face fell.

"Fallen for someone?"

"Fallen for someone."

"He's already in love?"

"Yes," Sam said, sighing. "With someone he works very closely with, and I don't think he can be swayed."

"Oh." There was a pause. "Oh."

"I'm sorry."

"No, that's okay," Simon said, forcing a laugh. "I hope she knows that she's got a pretty good piece of man meat after her, though." He smiled politely and walked off, and Sam sighed.

"Oh, yeah."

"You know, he… he didn't really say anything," Sam said slowly, biting her lip, before raising an eyebrow to herself, realizing something.

Some of the people on base would pay good money to hear this story…

~~~

A/N: That's it! That's the ending! Huh. Exciting :P I did not plan for this to end like this at all. My original idea was to have the ship hijacked by terrorists or something, and Sam would be shot, and then for some reason there would be a storm and the ship would go -kaput- and sink. Then the pair would find themselves stranded on a tropical island somewhere.

Seriously! But it's been done before you know… so instead I decided to make it incredibly unrealistic and just a fic you can read and then at the ending think 'mwahaha! Teal'c is evil/awesome!'

But anyway, I want to thank everyone who stayed with this and read it, and to EVERYBODY who reviewed. Y'all made my day! JoLeigh-without reminding me about those handcuffs I don't think the story would have made it this far and so a HUGE thanks for that. I ended this so abruptly because I'm already working on other fics, and this just seemed to be getting in the way. I have never been to Hawaii and had to research on it and stuff. Hmm. Is the info right?

Well, anyway, thank you all again! Hope you liked!

BTW Gater101! I've been meaning to contact you about this for ages, but I haven't had the time (huh. And they say the holidays are a time for rest). That story you posted around on the YG (the one with Sara, and cold!Jack and concerned!Sam) that is magnificent! You've got to keep writing it, it's great, I'm hooked! What's going to happen next?

Anyway, until next fic… toodles!