"Sam I think we have a problem." Cassie said as they came back to Sam's car
after shopping all morning.
"What's wrong Cass?" Sam asked.
"You're tyre's flat." She pointed out the rear tyre which was as flat as a pancake.
"We'll just have to change it then." She hit the key to switch the alarm off on her car and opened the trunk. She moved some things aside then cursed silently under breath.
"What's wrong?" Cassie asked looking at Sam's face.
"It took the spare tyre out last week when I had to move something big and I didn't put it back in."
"Call Jack." Cassie suggested.
"Why would I want to call Colonel O'Neill so that he can make jokes at me being unprepared. What we need is a tow truck."
"It'll take hours for a tow truck to get here and will cost you loads of money. If you call Jack he can come and pick us up, he can drop me off at home then take you back and get your spare tyre and come back and he can help you change it."
"I suppose it make sense." Sam took her cell phone out of her bag and dialled Jack's home phone number.
"O'Neill." He answered after three rings.
"Sir, it's Major Carter."
"Hey Carter, how is the shopping going?" He asked.
"We've finished. I need a favour sir." She said.
"What do you need?"
"How do you feel about rescuing two damsels in distress?" Sam asked winking at Cassie.
"What happened?" Sam heard a clunk as Jack's feet hit the floor.
"My car has a flat tyre and I took the spare out a few weeks ago and forgot to put it back in, so we're kind of stranded here."
"And you'd like me to come and pick you up?" he finished for her.
"If you're not busy sir. We could wait for tow truck but it'll be hours." She said hoping to add another incentive.
"I'll be there in twenty minutes."
"Thanks sir. I'll owe you."
"Just think of as repayment for all the time you've saved my six. I'll see you soon." He rang off.
"He'll be twenty minutes." Sam told Cassie. "Do you want to get some ice- cream while we wait?" She asked. Cassie nodded. Sam locked the trunk and set the alarm again.
~ ~
When Jack arrived Cassie and Sam were sat on the hood of her car, singing TV theme tunes in between mouthfuls of ice-cream.
"I see you damsels are in so much distress."
"We had to keep up our spirits in this time of travesty sir while us fair damsels waited for our knight to arrive on his white steed." Sam said in her most innocent voice.
"Cute Carter, real cute. So did you ladies need a ride somewhere?"
"Thanks Jack. Can you drop me home first? Sally is coming over later and I have to call Mom at the base first." Cassie asked.
"Sure thing Cass." He smiled at her.
"Good then you can take Sam to get her tyre and bring her back and help her change it." Cassie stated.
"I think Sam was kill me if I even implied that she couldn't change a tyre herself. But if needs must." He shot Sam a cheeky grin.
"And here I was thinking the age of chivalry was dead." Sam said in a mock southern accent.
"I always knew there was a reason that every keeps saying that you're way smarter than me."
"You're smart in the ways that count sir. Just not when it comes to scientific matters."
"Why shucks ma'am you say the nicest things?" He said flicking the brim of his baseball cap up in a Texan accent he'd learnt from General Hammond. "So ladies may I offer you a ride?"
"What do you say Cass?"
"Let's go home." She smiled as they piled into Jack's SUV.
"So where did you stash your Dad?" Jack asked as they pulled out of the parking lot.
"He went to visit a couple of old friends who live in the area. Otherwise I would have called him."
"So I'm just an after thought, I'm crushed."
"Actually calling you was Cassie's idea. She didn't want to wait around for a tow truck."
"Nice to feel needed Carter." He joked.
"We'll always need you around sir." She said then paused. "The Asguard like you for some reason, they only want me for my 'dumb ideas'."
"Yeah, thanks again for blowing up the 'O'Neill'."
"All in a days work sir."
"The 'O'Neill'?" Cassie questioned.
"The Asguard were building this new ship called the O'Neill, to help them fight the Replicators." Sam told her. Cassie was the only teenager on the planet with that high a security clearance. But since technically she was an alien and knew all about the Stargate she was granted the clearance and the ability to go to the base. "So while Colonel O'Neill and the rest of SG- 1 was off fighting the Replicators on Earth, I went with Thor to help them, you see Asguard thinking has evolved way beyond the process of human thinking, so they needed someone who could see things in a simpler way."
"I see." Cassie nodded.
"Because the O'Neill was the newest and most advanced ship they had and the Replicators wanted to eat it we sent it into hyperspace where the shields on the Replicators ships wouldn't work and blew it up destroying the other ships and protecting the Asguard home world."
"Cool."
"Hey it's not cool having your namesake blown up." Jack protested.
"After Thor and I told him what we did he invited Thor to go fishing with him. You see the Colonel keeps talking about how big the fish are in the lake by his cabin, but I've been reliably informed that there aren't actually any fish in the lake and haven't been for years."
"And how exactly do you know that?" Jack asked.
"I'm a scientist I'm good at research. Matt, Helen and I had a nice chat on the phone, why do you think I keep saying no when you ask me. Now if there were fish I might say yes, but what is the point of sitting around with no chance of a reward at the end of it seems a bit pointless."
"One, it's not about the fish, it's about the act of fishing relaxing without having to think about the real world, galaxy and all the problems it creates and two you called Matt and Helen?"
"We work for the government they keep tabs on everyone, they're the closest people to your cabin, so in a case of an emergency and we can't get hold of you, we can call them, besides someone has to check up on the fact that you didn't drown in that lake. I call them every time you go up there; they just never tell you about it because I asked them not to."
"Keeping tabs on your CO could amount to stalking you know there Carter."
"Someone has to keep tabs on all you guys. You're all a danger to yourselves when you're left alone."
"Is that right?" He smiled.
"Err, Jack you missed the turning for my street." Cassie pointed out.
"Sorry Cass." He pulled a U turn and drove her back to Janet's house. "Are you going to be okay by yourself?" He asked as she exited his car.
"I'll be fine. Sally will be here in an hour anyway. Thanks for taking me shopping Sam."
"You're welcome Cass. I'll call you later in the week about the final preparations. We should be back on Wednesday at the latest hopefully. Luckily we've been on relatively simple missions lately."
"Be careful and have a nice weekend."
"She is really growing up." Jack commented as he pulled away.
"Kids have a tendency to do that. It wasn't like she could stay the little girl we rescued for ever."
"It would be nice if she could." He muttered.
"That's sweet sir. It's nice she gets the over protective male figures in her life too."
"Too?" Jack questioned.
"After Mom died it was just me in a house with two men. Any guy who ever thought about giving me a second look was promptly put in his place."
"It seems like your Dad's mellowed a bit since then."
"I think he only realised I'd was grown up enough to make my own decisions after I broke off my engagement to Jonas. Selmak helps."
"What did you ever see in that guy?" Jack asked.
"At the time he was charming and exciting and he made me feel good about myself. And like I told Daniel I have a soft spot for the lunatic fringe. But then things changed."
"What happened? I mean I knew you were engaged for three months and then you broke it off you never told me why."
"He got drunk and he hit me. I wasn't going to stick around with some who did respect me or love me enough not to hurt me. So I gave him back his ring and moved out and got a better job at the Pentagon working on the Stargate project and you know the rest. I think all the special ops missions he'd been on had started to affect him and I was too close to the situation to see it."
"Why didn't you tell anyone before he joined the SGC?" Jack asked.
"He passed the psych evaluation and it had been over two years since I'd seen him, I figured he might have changed. But I was wrong obviously, the special ops missions had gotten to him more than any of us knew. Why do you think I keep such a close eye on you guys?"
"Because we're all so darn cute?" Jack said playfully.
"There's that too, but no because I know you all so well we have to trust each other with our lives, we're family and I guess my maternal instinct kicks in to need to protect you all and make sure you're all safe and not going deranged on me. Why do you think we volunteered Daniel to come and see when you pulled your black ops stunt last year?"
"Because he drew the short straw?"
"No, because he's known you the longest and I knew I couldn't get through to you, so I would have probably started crying in the middle of your house. Not a good thing to do in front of your CO even if they are one of your best friends. Plus he knew how I reacted when you were stuck on Edora."
"How did you react? I know you built the particle beam thingy and you worked really hard on it but no one actually told me everything."
"Can we just change the subject sir? How are the latest hockey score?" She asked.
"Sam, you know you can talk to me about anything right?"
"I know sir. There are just some things I'm not ready to talk about. You just drove past my house sir."
"It seems I have a habit of doing that today." He reversed down the road and stopped.
"I'll just go and put the bags in the house and get the tyre. I won't be a minute." She left the car as quickly as she could. Once in the house she picked up the phone and dialled the base.
"Fraiser." Janet answered.
"Hey Janet it's Sam do you have a minute to talk?"
"Sure. I'm in my office anyway. So did you and Cassie have a successful shopping trip?" She asked.
"Yes. We just dropped her off. She's going to call you before Sally gets there."
"That's good. But you said we?"
"My car had a flat and the spare tyre is in my garage. Colonel O'Neill came and picked us up and he's going to take me back to change it in a minute he's waiting outside now."
"So if he's waiting outside why are you calling me?" Janet inquired.
"Did you ever say something you wished you hadn't?"
"What did you say?" She asked.
"I said something about how I reacted when he was on Edora and why Daniel was the one to go round when he pulled the Black op thing."
"Maybe you should tell him the truth. It'll do you good to get it out there. No secrets."
"It'll just complicate things. Friends is easier to deal with."
"Sam honey I don't think it is. It just seems like it is at the moment, but it'll eat you up inside. You two have gotten closer in the last two weeks, don't lose that. Love is difficult enough to find, don't lose it because you want to hide behind some regulations thought up by men who probably thought women shouldn't be in uniform anyway."
"So what do you think I should say?" Sam asked.
"The truth. Sam I've got to go, SG-4 just got back."
"I'll talk to you soon. Thanks Janet." Sam hung up and sighed. He'd be getting fed up of waiting by now. She locked the door again and quickly got the tyre and put it in the boot of the SUV. "Sorry I took so long sir."
"Don't worry, I wasn't about to send out a search party yet. I might have found a UAV for a little recon mission." He joked. Sam smiled. "Hey is everything okay?"
"It's fine sir. I'm sorry I interrupted your weekend."
"It's no hassle I was only going to watch a couple of hockey games I had taped while we were off world. But I can do that anytime. Besides there's something very noble about rescuing two beautiful damsels in distress, I don't know what it is yet but I'll figure it out."
They continued the ride back to the parking lot making small talk. But Sam wasn't really committed.
"So how long will it take you to change the tyre?" Jack asked.
"What are you going to time me?" She asked.
"Sure. If you can do it in less than five minutes I'll buy you lunch if you take longer than five minutes you can buy me lunch."
"Deal. I hope your wallet is full sir, I'm feeling very hungry all of a sudden." She said brightening up.
"That's better a smile. Go ahead, I'll let you get the jack out first and everything."
"Thank you sir." A few minutes later she was ready.
"On your marks, set go." He said and set his watch going. Three minutes and fifty seven seconds later she was done. "Wow. Even I can't change a tyre in less than five minutes."
"Dad wouldn't let me learn to drive until I could change a tyre in less than five minute, check the oil and change the spark plugs. I can take the engine apart and put it back together now. So you said something about lunch."
"I think I'm going to have check with Jacob if there is anything else I should know before I bet with you again."
"What that I can pick locks, I have a motorbike, I am a natural blonde and I think that you have." She stopped when she realised what she had been about to blurt out.
"You think I have a what?" He pressed.
"Let's just say it would be better if I'd stopped at being a natural blonde."
"Come on Carter you can't stop there. It's just plain unfair. You'll have me wondering about it all through lunch and it'll ruin my appetite."
"Colonel the only things that ruin your appetite are MRE's, Tok'ra food and if you'd tried Asguard food as well. I honestly don't know how they survive on something that tastes worse than cardboard."
"And when did you eat cardboard?" He asked.
"I didn't eat it exactly I more sucked the rainwater out of it so I wouldn't dehydrate."
"Couldn't you have just got a drink like normal people?" He asked.
"It's difficult to do when you're hiding to keep from getting shot and you're on the edge of the Iraqi desert sir." She said as they walked to the restaurant in the mall.
"What were you doing on the edge of the Iraqi desert?" He asked.
"Hiding so not to get shot by the Iraqi's who didn't like Americans."
"Yeah, I got that part. But what were you doing in Iraq in the first place?" He asked.
"Do you remember the first day we met and I was spouting off?"
"Yeah. What about it?" He asked.
"I mentioned that I'd logged over a hundred hours in enemy airspace during the Gulf War."
"Yeah."
"Let's say I logged a hundred and three hours in the air and three days on the ground after my plane was shot down." She waited for the restaurant hostess to greet her. "Two please."
"You're plane got shot down?" He said in disbelief.
"That tends to happen when they shoot big honking guns at it." She said as they were shown to their seats.
"How did you get out?" He asked.
"Special ops team were sent in after us. It's how I met Jonas sort of. Chris had a badly broken leg so we spent three days and two and a half nights huddled in sand hiding from the enemy, when the special ops team came to find us we didn't have any weapons so I threw sand in their eyes and stole a couple of guns. Chris and I pointed them at them until they identified themselves. When we got back to the temporary base, Jonas was the one who yelled at me for attacking his men, and then he asked me out. I told him it was appropriate while we were still in the middle of the war. A year later he turned up on my doorstep and said the offer was still open. We dated while he was around and not off on missions, you know the rest."
"I didn't realise you'd been on the ground during the conflict."
"It's in my personnel record, which you probably read at some point." He sat looking at her. "I'll have a diet soda please." She said when the waitress appeared. "Colonel?" He didn't reply. "Just bring him a regular soda. Two Medium steaks with baked potatoes please. Thank you." She looked at him, he still made no movement. She lent across and whispered in his ear. "Jaffa Kree!"
"What?" He said startled.
"Nice to see you're still with me sir. Off anywhere nice?" She asked.
"Sorry, just thinking back to the Gulf War. At least you had a better time than I did."
"I know. I was lucky." She smiled.
"How do you know?" He asked.
"Janet got permission from General Hammond to tell me, she wanted me to keep an eye on you after we rescued Dad from hell. She wasn't quite sure how you were taking it."
"She asked me to keep an eye on you too after that."
"I know. She asked Daniel too. I bounce back, I always do. Sometimes it takes longer than others."
"You're lucky. But there are some things you can't bounce back from."
"I know, you just learn to deal with them and move on the best you can. Okay this is getting sombre, change of topic needed. "
"You never did tell me what you thought I had."
"Your drinks." The waitress said placing two glasses in front of them. "Your meals with be another fifteen minutes.
"Thank you." Sam said.
"Meals?"
"I ordered you a steak, while you were in a daze. I didn't know what you wanted to drink so I ordered you a soda."
"Thanks. Sorry."
"Don't worry, you get the same look after about twenty minutes of one of Daniel's briefings. It's kind of endearing."
"You think I'm endearing. But what else?"
"I'm beginning to think you have an ego that needs to be stoked sir. Let's put it this way the end of that sentence would get me into more trouble than it's worth."
"Okay, I'll drop it for now. So what did you buy to wear at the party?"
"That's for me to know and you to wait until Saturday to find out sir."
"What's wrong Cass?" Sam asked.
"You're tyre's flat." She pointed out the rear tyre which was as flat as a pancake.
"We'll just have to change it then." She hit the key to switch the alarm off on her car and opened the trunk. She moved some things aside then cursed silently under breath.
"What's wrong?" Cassie asked looking at Sam's face.
"It took the spare tyre out last week when I had to move something big and I didn't put it back in."
"Call Jack." Cassie suggested.
"Why would I want to call Colonel O'Neill so that he can make jokes at me being unprepared. What we need is a tow truck."
"It'll take hours for a tow truck to get here and will cost you loads of money. If you call Jack he can come and pick us up, he can drop me off at home then take you back and get your spare tyre and come back and he can help you change it."
"I suppose it make sense." Sam took her cell phone out of her bag and dialled Jack's home phone number.
"O'Neill." He answered after three rings.
"Sir, it's Major Carter."
"Hey Carter, how is the shopping going?" He asked.
"We've finished. I need a favour sir." She said.
"What do you need?"
"How do you feel about rescuing two damsels in distress?" Sam asked winking at Cassie.
"What happened?" Sam heard a clunk as Jack's feet hit the floor.
"My car has a flat tyre and I took the spare out a few weeks ago and forgot to put it back in, so we're kind of stranded here."
"And you'd like me to come and pick you up?" he finished for her.
"If you're not busy sir. We could wait for tow truck but it'll be hours." She said hoping to add another incentive.
"I'll be there in twenty minutes."
"Thanks sir. I'll owe you."
"Just think of as repayment for all the time you've saved my six. I'll see you soon." He rang off.
"He'll be twenty minutes." Sam told Cassie. "Do you want to get some ice- cream while we wait?" She asked. Cassie nodded. Sam locked the trunk and set the alarm again.
~ ~
When Jack arrived Cassie and Sam were sat on the hood of her car, singing TV theme tunes in between mouthfuls of ice-cream.
"I see you damsels are in so much distress."
"We had to keep up our spirits in this time of travesty sir while us fair damsels waited for our knight to arrive on his white steed." Sam said in her most innocent voice.
"Cute Carter, real cute. So did you ladies need a ride somewhere?"
"Thanks Jack. Can you drop me home first? Sally is coming over later and I have to call Mom at the base first." Cassie asked.
"Sure thing Cass." He smiled at her.
"Good then you can take Sam to get her tyre and bring her back and help her change it." Cassie stated.
"I think Sam was kill me if I even implied that she couldn't change a tyre herself. But if needs must." He shot Sam a cheeky grin.
"And here I was thinking the age of chivalry was dead." Sam said in a mock southern accent.
"I always knew there was a reason that every keeps saying that you're way smarter than me."
"You're smart in the ways that count sir. Just not when it comes to scientific matters."
"Why shucks ma'am you say the nicest things?" He said flicking the brim of his baseball cap up in a Texan accent he'd learnt from General Hammond. "So ladies may I offer you a ride?"
"What do you say Cass?"
"Let's go home." She smiled as they piled into Jack's SUV.
"So where did you stash your Dad?" Jack asked as they pulled out of the parking lot.
"He went to visit a couple of old friends who live in the area. Otherwise I would have called him."
"So I'm just an after thought, I'm crushed."
"Actually calling you was Cassie's idea. She didn't want to wait around for a tow truck."
"Nice to feel needed Carter." He joked.
"We'll always need you around sir." She said then paused. "The Asguard like you for some reason, they only want me for my 'dumb ideas'."
"Yeah, thanks again for blowing up the 'O'Neill'."
"All in a days work sir."
"The 'O'Neill'?" Cassie questioned.
"The Asguard were building this new ship called the O'Neill, to help them fight the Replicators." Sam told her. Cassie was the only teenager on the planet with that high a security clearance. But since technically she was an alien and knew all about the Stargate she was granted the clearance and the ability to go to the base. "So while Colonel O'Neill and the rest of SG- 1 was off fighting the Replicators on Earth, I went with Thor to help them, you see Asguard thinking has evolved way beyond the process of human thinking, so they needed someone who could see things in a simpler way."
"I see." Cassie nodded.
"Because the O'Neill was the newest and most advanced ship they had and the Replicators wanted to eat it we sent it into hyperspace where the shields on the Replicators ships wouldn't work and blew it up destroying the other ships and protecting the Asguard home world."
"Cool."
"Hey it's not cool having your namesake blown up." Jack protested.
"After Thor and I told him what we did he invited Thor to go fishing with him. You see the Colonel keeps talking about how big the fish are in the lake by his cabin, but I've been reliably informed that there aren't actually any fish in the lake and haven't been for years."
"And how exactly do you know that?" Jack asked.
"I'm a scientist I'm good at research. Matt, Helen and I had a nice chat on the phone, why do you think I keep saying no when you ask me. Now if there were fish I might say yes, but what is the point of sitting around with no chance of a reward at the end of it seems a bit pointless."
"One, it's not about the fish, it's about the act of fishing relaxing without having to think about the real world, galaxy and all the problems it creates and two you called Matt and Helen?"
"We work for the government they keep tabs on everyone, they're the closest people to your cabin, so in a case of an emergency and we can't get hold of you, we can call them, besides someone has to check up on the fact that you didn't drown in that lake. I call them every time you go up there; they just never tell you about it because I asked them not to."
"Keeping tabs on your CO could amount to stalking you know there Carter."
"Someone has to keep tabs on all you guys. You're all a danger to yourselves when you're left alone."
"Is that right?" He smiled.
"Err, Jack you missed the turning for my street." Cassie pointed out.
"Sorry Cass." He pulled a U turn and drove her back to Janet's house. "Are you going to be okay by yourself?" He asked as she exited his car.
"I'll be fine. Sally will be here in an hour anyway. Thanks for taking me shopping Sam."
"You're welcome Cass. I'll call you later in the week about the final preparations. We should be back on Wednesday at the latest hopefully. Luckily we've been on relatively simple missions lately."
"Be careful and have a nice weekend."
"She is really growing up." Jack commented as he pulled away.
"Kids have a tendency to do that. It wasn't like she could stay the little girl we rescued for ever."
"It would be nice if she could." He muttered.
"That's sweet sir. It's nice she gets the over protective male figures in her life too."
"Too?" Jack questioned.
"After Mom died it was just me in a house with two men. Any guy who ever thought about giving me a second look was promptly put in his place."
"It seems like your Dad's mellowed a bit since then."
"I think he only realised I'd was grown up enough to make my own decisions after I broke off my engagement to Jonas. Selmak helps."
"What did you ever see in that guy?" Jack asked.
"At the time he was charming and exciting and he made me feel good about myself. And like I told Daniel I have a soft spot for the lunatic fringe. But then things changed."
"What happened? I mean I knew you were engaged for three months and then you broke it off you never told me why."
"He got drunk and he hit me. I wasn't going to stick around with some who did respect me or love me enough not to hurt me. So I gave him back his ring and moved out and got a better job at the Pentagon working on the Stargate project and you know the rest. I think all the special ops missions he'd been on had started to affect him and I was too close to the situation to see it."
"Why didn't you tell anyone before he joined the SGC?" Jack asked.
"He passed the psych evaluation and it had been over two years since I'd seen him, I figured he might have changed. But I was wrong obviously, the special ops missions had gotten to him more than any of us knew. Why do you think I keep such a close eye on you guys?"
"Because we're all so darn cute?" Jack said playfully.
"There's that too, but no because I know you all so well we have to trust each other with our lives, we're family and I guess my maternal instinct kicks in to need to protect you all and make sure you're all safe and not going deranged on me. Why do you think we volunteered Daniel to come and see when you pulled your black ops stunt last year?"
"Because he drew the short straw?"
"No, because he's known you the longest and I knew I couldn't get through to you, so I would have probably started crying in the middle of your house. Not a good thing to do in front of your CO even if they are one of your best friends. Plus he knew how I reacted when you were stuck on Edora."
"How did you react? I know you built the particle beam thingy and you worked really hard on it but no one actually told me everything."
"Can we just change the subject sir? How are the latest hockey score?" She asked.
"Sam, you know you can talk to me about anything right?"
"I know sir. There are just some things I'm not ready to talk about. You just drove past my house sir."
"It seems I have a habit of doing that today." He reversed down the road and stopped.
"I'll just go and put the bags in the house and get the tyre. I won't be a minute." She left the car as quickly as she could. Once in the house she picked up the phone and dialled the base.
"Fraiser." Janet answered.
"Hey Janet it's Sam do you have a minute to talk?"
"Sure. I'm in my office anyway. So did you and Cassie have a successful shopping trip?" She asked.
"Yes. We just dropped her off. She's going to call you before Sally gets there."
"That's good. But you said we?"
"My car had a flat and the spare tyre is in my garage. Colonel O'Neill came and picked us up and he's going to take me back to change it in a minute he's waiting outside now."
"So if he's waiting outside why are you calling me?" Janet inquired.
"Did you ever say something you wished you hadn't?"
"What did you say?" She asked.
"I said something about how I reacted when he was on Edora and why Daniel was the one to go round when he pulled the Black op thing."
"Maybe you should tell him the truth. It'll do you good to get it out there. No secrets."
"It'll just complicate things. Friends is easier to deal with."
"Sam honey I don't think it is. It just seems like it is at the moment, but it'll eat you up inside. You two have gotten closer in the last two weeks, don't lose that. Love is difficult enough to find, don't lose it because you want to hide behind some regulations thought up by men who probably thought women shouldn't be in uniform anyway."
"So what do you think I should say?" Sam asked.
"The truth. Sam I've got to go, SG-4 just got back."
"I'll talk to you soon. Thanks Janet." Sam hung up and sighed. He'd be getting fed up of waiting by now. She locked the door again and quickly got the tyre and put it in the boot of the SUV. "Sorry I took so long sir."
"Don't worry, I wasn't about to send out a search party yet. I might have found a UAV for a little recon mission." He joked. Sam smiled. "Hey is everything okay?"
"It's fine sir. I'm sorry I interrupted your weekend."
"It's no hassle I was only going to watch a couple of hockey games I had taped while we were off world. But I can do that anytime. Besides there's something very noble about rescuing two beautiful damsels in distress, I don't know what it is yet but I'll figure it out."
They continued the ride back to the parking lot making small talk. But Sam wasn't really committed.
"So how long will it take you to change the tyre?" Jack asked.
"What are you going to time me?" She asked.
"Sure. If you can do it in less than five minutes I'll buy you lunch if you take longer than five minutes you can buy me lunch."
"Deal. I hope your wallet is full sir, I'm feeling very hungry all of a sudden." She said brightening up.
"That's better a smile. Go ahead, I'll let you get the jack out first and everything."
"Thank you sir." A few minutes later she was ready.
"On your marks, set go." He said and set his watch going. Three minutes and fifty seven seconds later she was done. "Wow. Even I can't change a tyre in less than five minutes."
"Dad wouldn't let me learn to drive until I could change a tyre in less than five minute, check the oil and change the spark plugs. I can take the engine apart and put it back together now. So you said something about lunch."
"I think I'm going to have check with Jacob if there is anything else I should know before I bet with you again."
"What that I can pick locks, I have a motorbike, I am a natural blonde and I think that you have." She stopped when she realised what she had been about to blurt out.
"You think I have a what?" He pressed.
"Let's just say it would be better if I'd stopped at being a natural blonde."
"Come on Carter you can't stop there. It's just plain unfair. You'll have me wondering about it all through lunch and it'll ruin my appetite."
"Colonel the only things that ruin your appetite are MRE's, Tok'ra food and if you'd tried Asguard food as well. I honestly don't know how they survive on something that tastes worse than cardboard."
"And when did you eat cardboard?" He asked.
"I didn't eat it exactly I more sucked the rainwater out of it so I wouldn't dehydrate."
"Couldn't you have just got a drink like normal people?" He asked.
"It's difficult to do when you're hiding to keep from getting shot and you're on the edge of the Iraqi desert sir." She said as they walked to the restaurant in the mall.
"What were you doing on the edge of the Iraqi desert?" He asked.
"Hiding so not to get shot by the Iraqi's who didn't like Americans."
"Yeah, I got that part. But what were you doing in Iraq in the first place?" He asked.
"Do you remember the first day we met and I was spouting off?"
"Yeah. What about it?" He asked.
"I mentioned that I'd logged over a hundred hours in enemy airspace during the Gulf War."
"Yeah."
"Let's say I logged a hundred and three hours in the air and three days on the ground after my plane was shot down." She waited for the restaurant hostess to greet her. "Two please."
"You're plane got shot down?" He said in disbelief.
"That tends to happen when they shoot big honking guns at it." She said as they were shown to their seats.
"How did you get out?" He asked.
"Special ops team were sent in after us. It's how I met Jonas sort of. Chris had a badly broken leg so we spent three days and two and a half nights huddled in sand hiding from the enemy, when the special ops team came to find us we didn't have any weapons so I threw sand in their eyes and stole a couple of guns. Chris and I pointed them at them until they identified themselves. When we got back to the temporary base, Jonas was the one who yelled at me for attacking his men, and then he asked me out. I told him it was appropriate while we were still in the middle of the war. A year later he turned up on my doorstep and said the offer was still open. We dated while he was around and not off on missions, you know the rest."
"I didn't realise you'd been on the ground during the conflict."
"It's in my personnel record, which you probably read at some point." He sat looking at her. "I'll have a diet soda please." She said when the waitress appeared. "Colonel?" He didn't reply. "Just bring him a regular soda. Two Medium steaks with baked potatoes please. Thank you." She looked at him, he still made no movement. She lent across and whispered in his ear. "Jaffa Kree!"
"What?" He said startled.
"Nice to see you're still with me sir. Off anywhere nice?" She asked.
"Sorry, just thinking back to the Gulf War. At least you had a better time than I did."
"I know. I was lucky." She smiled.
"How do you know?" He asked.
"Janet got permission from General Hammond to tell me, she wanted me to keep an eye on you after we rescued Dad from hell. She wasn't quite sure how you were taking it."
"She asked me to keep an eye on you too after that."
"I know. She asked Daniel too. I bounce back, I always do. Sometimes it takes longer than others."
"You're lucky. But there are some things you can't bounce back from."
"I know, you just learn to deal with them and move on the best you can. Okay this is getting sombre, change of topic needed. "
"You never did tell me what you thought I had."
"Your drinks." The waitress said placing two glasses in front of them. "Your meals with be another fifteen minutes.
"Thank you." Sam said.
"Meals?"
"I ordered you a steak, while you were in a daze. I didn't know what you wanted to drink so I ordered you a soda."
"Thanks. Sorry."
"Don't worry, you get the same look after about twenty minutes of one of Daniel's briefings. It's kind of endearing."
"You think I'm endearing. But what else?"
"I'm beginning to think you have an ego that needs to be stoked sir. Let's put it this way the end of that sentence would get me into more trouble than it's worth."
"Okay, I'll drop it for now. So what did you buy to wear at the party?"
"That's for me to know and you to wait until Saturday to find out sir."
