Disclaimers and stuff in Chapter 1.
~~~o0o~~~
The Jell-O attack had eased off after that last shot. Both of them were staying well away from the edges of the bar. It put them closer together than made either of them comfortable, but it was better than being covered in more Jell-O. Their attackers had realised they weren't getting any where and there was only the occasional shot sent their way now and then. Obviously they didn't want to risk leaving their own shelter to find a better position.
Sam cast a glance over at her CO, he had a slight frown on his face. The one which she knew indicated he was deep in thought about something.
"Penny for them, sir?"
"Hmm?" He looked up.
"Oh, yeah." He grinned.
"Jus' tryin' ta work out how we're gonna win this one."
She smiled. "You want to win this?"
She couldn't believe he was taking a Jell-O fight so seriously.
"Damn straight!" He growled.
"Teach them to mess with the Air Force's finest!"
She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud at the expression of indignation on his face.
'He could be so cute sometimes...no! Not cute, he was not cute! In no way, shape or form...oh who the hell did she think she was kidding?'
Then he winked at her and she was lost.
'Well if that's the way he wanted to play it....'
She did her best to snap off a salute. It was a little sloppy due to her sitting position, but passable.
"Orders, sir?"
"Hmmm..." He looked around, chewing on his lower lip.
"You said a hand thrown um, missile wouldn't reach due to...lack of height, right?"
"Yes sir."
"So we need height..." He mused and looked around again.
His gaze came to rest on the shelf holding the long trays of Jell-O. He smiled and cocked his head on one side.
"Carter..."
"Sir?"
"Ya think if we got one of them - " He pointed at the trays.
" - and we balanced it on a stool - " He gestured at the stools.
" - we could like...flip the bowls up and over the bar?"
Sam frowned. "Flip them?"
"Yeah, kinda like a catapult or something." He demonstrated with his arms.
Sam nodded slowly. "You mean balance it like a lever with the Jell-O on one end and then apply force to the other end, in order to propel it through the air?"
His thoughtful expression turned to a confused one. "Uh yeah, what you just said..."
Sam grinned. It was a good idea. "I think that might work, sir."
His face lit up. "Really?"
She nodded. "Yes sir. I think it should provide enough height."
He grinned. "Sweet."
Climbing to one knee, he looked over at the shelves again and clapped her on the shoulder.
"Cover me!" He yelled and dived out from the cover of the bar.
"With what?" Sam yelled back.
"Jell-O!" He yelled back over his shoulder as he dashed across the open floor to the shelf.
An image of her CO naked in bed and covered in Jell-O, popped unbidden into her head.
'Oh I'd like to sir, believe me...'
Sam shook her head hard to dismiss the image.
'Now's not the time, Samantha! Later when you're back home. *Alone*. Then you can indulge in all the smutty thoughts you like.'
"I'd love to, sir!" She shouted. 'Yes indeed!'
"But..."
She waved her hands to indicate the lack of available Jell-O at hand. Jack had reached the wall. He was crouched below the shelf, slowly sliding a tray off it. He flinched as thrown bowls of Jell-O impacted around him. Their aim was getting better.
"There's a load of bowls on the top of the bar! Use them!"
He yelped as a bowl found it's target and landed in the middle of his back.
"Carter!"
Sam looked up. From her position, she could just see the outlines of some bowls above her. But there was no way she was popping her head above the safety of the bar to get them! It was only Jell-O. He'd live.
And then he was back. Sliding the tray onto the floor in front of her, he sat down heavily in his original position.
"You were supposed to help!" He pouted.
"Sorry, sir." She said. "I thought it best if one of us remain relatively Jell-O free."
He leant back against the unit and shot her a sideways glance.
"Oh really?"
She nodded. "Yessir."
He raised an eyebrow and she shifted uneasily. Nope, he wasn't buying it.
"Whatever happened to taking one for the team?"
"I thought that was the CO's job, sir." She replied, deadpan.
He sighed and shook his head in mock sadness. After a beat, he leaned forward and picked up a bowl of red Jell-O. He rolled the bowl round in his hands a couple of times then sat back against the unit again. Dipping his fingers in, he picked up some of the sticky red contents and popped it in his mouth. Then he licked his fingers.
Sam swallowed. Hard. Did he have any idea what he was doing to her? God, she hoped not....
"Mmm," he murmured appreciatively, waving the bowl at her. "'S'good."
She swallowed and looked away, before he could read the look in her eyes.
'She was not going to jump her CO, she was not going to jump her CO...'
"I prefer the blue, sir." She said weakly.
"Red's better."
"Sorry sir," she said, having used those few seconds to regain her composure. "I think you'll find it's the blue."
"Nope, it's red." He repeated firmly. "Definitely red."
She shook her head. "With all due respect sir, the blue is better."
"Red." He insisted.
"Blue." She replied.
'Good grief, exactly *when* had they turned into a couple of six year olds?'
He looked up at her with a wicked glint in his eye. Sam's survival instincts suddenly began screaming at her to run away.
"*Red*." He said, with a note of finality. " And do you know *why*, Carter?"
She tensed. He was about to do something. She could feel it.
"Ah...no?" She asked cautiously.
"It's stickier!"
He lunged forward and threw the bowl straight at her.
"No!!" She yelped.
But it was already too late. From a distance of three feet, there was no way he could miss and no time for her to avoid it.
SPLAT!
It hit her right in the middle of the chest, just like the direct hit that had caught him coming in the door.
She couldn't help it. She just sat there in shock and stared at him, dumbfounded. The bowl peeled away from the Jell-O and fell down into her lap, landing on her hands.
She could not believe he'd just done that.
The laughter faded from his face as she simply sat there.
She could not believe he'd just *done* that....
He opened his mouth to say something.
She could not *believe* he'd just done that!
With a yell, she grabbed the bowl and leapt at him.
'Oh he was so going to get it!'
Crashing into him, she knocked him backwards onto the floor. The little voice in the back of her head noted that apparently she *was* going to jump her CO tonight after all. Just not in the way that was originally intended by the phrase.
"Carter!" He yelled.
She ignored him and placing one hand on his chest to brace herself, brought her other hand up to dump the bowl's remaining contents over his head. He grabbed her wrist.
"Oh...no...you...don't..." he grunted as they fought for control.
Giving up - he was too strong for her in a one-on-one situation - she let the bowl slide out of her fingers. He jerked his head forwards to avoid it and the contents slid down the back of his neck.
"Argh!" Jack yelled in disgust. He could feel the slimy stuff sliding it's way down between his shoulder blades.
Sam burst out laughing.
'Oh, she was in for it now...just see if she wasn't!'
He wormed his right leg in between both of hers, wrapped it round her left leg and used the leverage to flip them both over.
"Gotcha!" He yelled in triumph.
Sam struggled, laughing and trying to catch her breath at the same time.
"Give it up, Major." He growled, his eyes dancing.
"Never!" She shot back.
Resting on his elbows, he let her take more of his weight, using it to still her movements.
"Never?" He asked lightly.
He was forcing her against the floor, holding her down and Sam couldn't suppress the sudden shiver of delight at the feel of him pressed up against her. She hadn't been this close to someone in far too long. Her hand was trapped between their bodies, still splayed against his chest. Raising her eyes back to his, she saw the moment when the significance of their current positions hit him. Could *feel* it beneath the palm of her hand, as his heart rate increased.
"Never." She breathed, noting that somewhere along the line her tone had turned husky.
He swallowed. Sam swore she could almost hear it and the spike of desire that shot through her at his reaction, caught her by surprise. Her hand clenched on his chest. An answering shudder went through him and she let her gaze drop to his mouth. His sharp intake of breath made her lick her lips and he gave a soft groan. His head dropped slightly and for one heart stopping moment, she thought he was going to kiss her. Then his elbows locked and he pushed himself away.
Throwing himself onto his back, Jack flung his arm over his eyes and forced himself to take deep breaths.
'God Jack, that was stupid! Really stupid!' In fact, Jack thought bleakly, it was quite possibly the stupidest idea he'd ever had. He was already riled up from coming *this close* to kissing her once tonight already and then he went and pinned her down on the floor! Jesus, he really was a dumb ass...
"Christ..." He murmured, struggling for self-control.
"I'm sorry, sir." He heard Carter say softly.
'God Sam! You're not the one to blame for this...'
"Not your fault, Carter." He said hoarsely.
She wasn't to blame just because he couldn't keep it in his pants. He was the one in charge. Everything that happened was his responsibility. It was his job to set an example. Yeah, he thought sourly. And what a *fine* example he was setting tonight....
"Takes two, sir."
Her words hit him like a punch in the gut. She couldn't possibly...could she? Okay, so he'd always known there was something between them - a certain...tension, he supposed - since they'd first exchanged words across the briefing room table, but....he thought they'd acknowledged that. Given a tilt of the head in it's direction and moved on?
He dropped his arm and used it to prop himself up onto his side. Then he looked at her. Really looked at her. She'd moved to sit with her back propped against the unit again. Sitting there with her flushed cheeks and Jell-O in her hair, she looked...stunning. Jack frowned. Hang on, that couldn't be right. She was a mess! She wasn't supposed to look - oh God....
The realisation of what had been screaming for his attention all evening - ever since she'd opened the door and he'd seen her out of uniform for the first time since he got back, in fact - hit him like a smack round the head, with a two by four.
Something had changed. He no longer saw her the same way he had before he'd been stranded on Edora. Something was different. He couldn't put his finger on what it was exactly, but something was definitely different.
"I..." He faltered and stopped, completely thrown by this new knowledge. He shook his head in frustration. 'Suck it up, airman.'
"Jesus, Sam." He said quietly. "What the hell is going on with us?"
She gave a short bark of laughter. "You got me, sir."
The words 'No I haven't' popped into his head and he just looked at her. She blushed slightly as she realised what she'd said and dropped her gaze to stare at her hands. It seemed to be becoming a regular occurrence around him at the moment and frankly he didn't like it. He hated the idea of his strong, independent 2IC being nervous. Especially when he was the one causing it! Dammit. He did not want to lose her friendship! Not over something like this.
"Bad choice of words?" She asked quietly, when he didn't say anything.
'Oh, you have no idea...'
"Yeah," he said out loud.
He repeated it quietly a few moments later, as he pushed himself off the floor.
He propped himself up against the unit next to her. She shot him a sideways glance, but didn't move away. They sat, both lost in thought, staring at nothing and trying to work through what had just happened. Eventually Jack couldn't stand the silence any longer. He nudged her shoulder with his own. She turned to look at him.
"Know what I think?" He said.
"What's that, sir?" She asked
"I think it's the effect of these past few months. I reckon it's finally catching up with us."
Sam caught her breath. He couldn't possibly know how hard the past few months had been for her...could he?
She settled for the nice non-committal, suitable for any occasion, "Sir?"
"Well think about it...we're friends right?"
"Yes sir."
"Good friends. *Close* friends, even."
She swallowed. "Yessir."
'Closer than you think ,sir.'
"So...it's only natural that things are gonna be a little, um...fraught. Right?"
"Right." She murmured, wanting to see where he was going with this.
"I mean...we care for each other, yeah?"
Sam felt the beginning of tears sting her eyes at his words. Oh, he didn't know the half of it....
"Yeah."
"Yeah..." He repeated again. He paused for a moment lost in thought, then shook himself and carried on. He didn't think he was doing too badly so far.
"Anyway, we know that I missed you - "
He resolutely ignored the sudden spark that flashed in her eyes at his words. He refused to acknowledge what it might mean. He wasn't going to think about what it might mean. It was too...*difficult* to deal with right now.
" - and you missed me."
He ignored the feeling of satisfaction than ran through him at that thought.
"So, it's obvious that there would be some...tension...here and combined with all this - " He waved a hand at their surroundings, " - you know, excitement, laughter, adrenaline, stuff...it just...I dunno, brought things to a head?"
He looked at her. She wasn't saying anything.
"Maybe." He clarified. Still nothing.
"Um...feel free to jump in at any time here, Carter."
'Before I make an even bigger idiot of myself, than I have already.'
Sam smirked at his obvious discomfort. "You mean it was just some form of...emotional release, sir?"
He squirmed where he was sat. Oh yeah, he was *definitely* uncomfortable with this subject.
"Um yeah, I guess..."
That wasn't quite how he'd have put it. In fact he'd tried really hard *not* to put in those terms, but if it made her happy and put that smile of hers back on her face, then who was he to complain?
Sam nodded slowly. Maybe she could do this after all. Denial was a wonderful thing....
"I think I could go with that, sir." She said softly, raising her eyes to his face.
"Really?" He asked.
"Really." She confirmed weakly. 'She was not going to cry, she was not going to cry...'
"Great!" He smiled. She looked at him miserably. His smile faded away. 'Crap...'
"Hey," he said. "It's okay."
She hurriedly looked away and he could have sworn he heard a muffled sob. Double crap. Here he was trying to fix this and now look what he'd done. Way to go Jack, why don't you just shoot her instead? It'd probably be less painful....
He tugged on her arm, pulling her around and into his arms. She didn't resist. Wrapping his arms around her, he rubbed her back gently.
"Come on, Carter." He mumbled softly in her ear. "S'alright...s'okay...really."
Her hands clenched in the front of his T-shirt and she buried her face in his shoulder. She shuddered, blinking her eyes rapidly. 'She was *not* going to cry in front of her CO, she was *not*....'
She struggled for a few moments, whilst he rubbed her back and talked softly to her. Gradually, she managed to get herself under control and relaxed into his arms. He tightened them around her briefly, holding her closer for moment, then simply held her. Sam slipped her arms round him and hugged him back, raising her head to place her chin on his shoulder and rest her head against his.
"Sorry, sir." She murmured. "It's probably hormonal or something. Janet said I'd be prone to mood swings for a while."
He chuckled. "That's okay, Carter. Just give me fair warning when you're about to lose your rag and I'll make myself scarce. Or let you spar with Teal'c."
She chuckled back. "Yessir."
She closed her eyes, content to be held by him. The earlier tension had gone, to be replaced by a feeling of comfort, contentment and familiarity. Somehow, it just felt right.
"Um Carter..." She heard him say after a while.
"Yes sir?"
"As nice as this is - and it is, really - I think my leg's going numb."
She gave a laugh and reluctantly pulled back. There was a sucking sound as the Jell-O on their tops reluctantly separated after being stuck together for so long. They looked at each other and burst out laughing.
'Euww!" They said in unison.
Once they'd peeled themselves apart, Jack found himself not wanting to let go of her completely. Sitting back, he ran his hands up and down her arms in a gentle caress making her shiver, before giving them a quick squeeze and holding her upper arms lightly.
"So...we good?" He asked, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her.
She nodded and gave him a smile. It wasn't brilliant, but it was a smile. "Yes sir. We're good."
"Well...good."
They looked at each other and everything around them seemed to slip away. The moment stretched as Sam, staring at her CO from a distance of only a few inches, came to a worrying conclusion. No...it wasn't possible. There was no way, and yet...no, she couldn't possibly have been dumb enough to actually fall for her CO...could she?
~~~o0o~~~
Concluded in 'The Jell-O Incident'.
~~~o0o~~~
The Jell-O attack had eased off after that last shot. Both of them were staying well away from the edges of the bar. It put them closer together than made either of them comfortable, but it was better than being covered in more Jell-O. Their attackers had realised they weren't getting any where and there was only the occasional shot sent their way now and then. Obviously they didn't want to risk leaving their own shelter to find a better position.
Sam cast a glance over at her CO, he had a slight frown on his face. The one which she knew indicated he was deep in thought about something.
"Penny for them, sir?"
"Hmm?" He looked up.
"Oh, yeah." He grinned.
"Jus' tryin' ta work out how we're gonna win this one."
She smiled. "You want to win this?"
She couldn't believe he was taking a Jell-O fight so seriously.
"Damn straight!" He growled.
"Teach them to mess with the Air Force's finest!"
She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud at the expression of indignation on his face.
'He could be so cute sometimes...no! Not cute, he was not cute! In no way, shape or form...oh who the hell did she think she was kidding?'
Then he winked at her and she was lost.
'Well if that's the way he wanted to play it....'
She did her best to snap off a salute. It was a little sloppy due to her sitting position, but passable.
"Orders, sir?"
"Hmmm..." He looked around, chewing on his lower lip.
"You said a hand thrown um, missile wouldn't reach due to...lack of height, right?"
"Yes sir."
"So we need height..." He mused and looked around again.
His gaze came to rest on the shelf holding the long trays of Jell-O. He smiled and cocked his head on one side.
"Carter..."
"Sir?"
"Ya think if we got one of them - " He pointed at the trays.
" - and we balanced it on a stool - " He gestured at the stools.
" - we could like...flip the bowls up and over the bar?"
Sam frowned. "Flip them?"
"Yeah, kinda like a catapult or something." He demonstrated with his arms.
Sam nodded slowly. "You mean balance it like a lever with the Jell-O on one end and then apply force to the other end, in order to propel it through the air?"
His thoughtful expression turned to a confused one. "Uh yeah, what you just said..."
Sam grinned. It was a good idea. "I think that might work, sir."
His face lit up. "Really?"
She nodded. "Yes sir. I think it should provide enough height."
He grinned. "Sweet."
Climbing to one knee, he looked over at the shelves again and clapped her on the shoulder.
"Cover me!" He yelled and dived out from the cover of the bar.
"With what?" Sam yelled back.
"Jell-O!" He yelled back over his shoulder as he dashed across the open floor to the shelf.
An image of her CO naked in bed and covered in Jell-O, popped unbidden into her head.
'Oh I'd like to sir, believe me...'
Sam shook her head hard to dismiss the image.
'Now's not the time, Samantha! Later when you're back home. *Alone*. Then you can indulge in all the smutty thoughts you like.'
"I'd love to, sir!" She shouted. 'Yes indeed!'
"But..."
She waved her hands to indicate the lack of available Jell-O at hand. Jack had reached the wall. He was crouched below the shelf, slowly sliding a tray off it. He flinched as thrown bowls of Jell-O impacted around him. Their aim was getting better.
"There's a load of bowls on the top of the bar! Use them!"
He yelped as a bowl found it's target and landed in the middle of his back.
"Carter!"
Sam looked up. From her position, she could just see the outlines of some bowls above her. But there was no way she was popping her head above the safety of the bar to get them! It was only Jell-O. He'd live.
And then he was back. Sliding the tray onto the floor in front of her, he sat down heavily in his original position.
"You were supposed to help!" He pouted.
"Sorry, sir." She said. "I thought it best if one of us remain relatively Jell-O free."
He leant back against the unit and shot her a sideways glance.
"Oh really?"
She nodded. "Yessir."
He raised an eyebrow and she shifted uneasily. Nope, he wasn't buying it.
"Whatever happened to taking one for the team?"
"I thought that was the CO's job, sir." She replied, deadpan.
He sighed and shook his head in mock sadness. After a beat, he leaned forward and picked up a bowl of red Jell-O. He rolled the bowl round in his hands a couple of times then sat back against the unit again. Dipping his fingers in, he picked up some of the sticky red contents and popped it in his mouth. Then he licked his fingers.
Sam swallowed. Hard. Did he have any idea what he was doing to her? God, she hoped not....
"Mmm," he murmured appreciatively, waving the bowl at her. "'S'good."
She swallowed and looked away, before he could read the look in her eyes.
'She was not going to jump her CO, she was not going to jump her CO...'
"I prefer the blue, sir." She said weakly.
"Red's better."
"Sorry sir," she said, having used those few seconds to regain her composure. "I think you'll find it's the blue."
"Nope, it's red." He repeated firmly. "Definitely red."
She shook her head. "With all due respect sir, the blue is better."
"Red." He insisted.
"Blue." She replied.
'Good grief, exactly *when* had they turned into a couple of six year olds?'
He looked up at her with a wicked glint in his eye. Sam's survival instincts suddenly began screaming at her to run away.
"*Red*." He said, with a note of finality. " And do you know *why*, Carter?"
She tensed. He was about to do something. She could feel it.
"Ah...no?" She asked cautiously.
"It's stickier!"
He lunged forward and threw the bowl straight at her.
"No!!" She yelped.
But it was already too late. From a distance of three feet, there was no way he could miss and no time for her to avoid it.
SPLAT!
It hit her right in the middle of the chest, just like the direct hit that had caught him coming in the door.
She couldn't help it. She just sat there in shock and stared at him, dumbfounded. The bowl peeled away from the Jell-O and fell down into her lap, landing on her hands.
She could not believe he'd just done that.
The laughter faded from his face as she simply sat there.
She could not believe he'd just *done* that....
He opened his mouth to say something.
She could not *believe* he'd just done that!
With a yell, she grabbed the bowl and leapt at him.
'Oh he was so going to get it!'
Crashing into him, she knocked him backwards onto the floor. The little voice in the back of her head noted that apparently she *was* going to jump her CO tonight after all. Just not in the way that was originally intended by the phrase.
"Carter!" He yelled.
She ignored him and placing one hand on his chest to brace herself, brought her other hand up to dump the bowl's remaining contents over his head. He grabbed her wrist.
"Oh...no...you...don't..." he grunted as they fought for control.
Giving up - he was too strong for her in a one-on-one situation - she let the bowl slide out of her fingers. He jerked his head forwards to avoid it and the contents slid down the back of his neck.
"Argh!" Jack yelled in disgust. He could feel the slimy stuff sliding it's way down between his shoulder blades.
Sam burst out laughing.
'Oh, she was in for it now...just see if she wasn't!'
He wormed his right leg in between both of hers, wrapped it round her left leg and used the leverage to flip them both over.
"Gotcha!" He yelled in triumph.
Sam struggled, laughing and trying to catch her breath at the same time.
"Give it up, Major." He growled, his eyes dancing.
"Never!" She shot back.
Resting on his elbows, he let her take more of his weight, using it to still her movements.
"Never?" He asked lightly.
He was forcing her against the floor, holding her down and Sam couldn't suppress the sudden shiver of delight at the feel of him pressed up against her. She hadn't been this close to someone in far too long. Her hand was trapped between their bodies, still splayed against his chest. Raising her eyes back to his, she saw the moment when the significance of their current positions hit him. Could *feel* it beneath the palm of her hand, as his heart rate increased.
"Never." She breathed, noting that somewhere along the line her tone had turned husky.
He swallowed. Sam swore she could almost hear it and the spike of desire that shot through her at his reaction, caught her by surprise. Her hand clenched on his chest. An answering shudder went through him and she let her gaze drop to his mouth. His sharp intake of breath made her lick her lips and he gave a soft groan. His head dropped slightly and for one heart stopping moment, she thought he was going to kiss her. Then his elbows locked and he pushed himself away.
Throwing himself onto his back, Jack flung his arm over his eyes and forced himself to take deep breaths.
'God Jack, that was stupid! Really stupid!' In fact, Jack thought bleakly, it was quite possibly the stupidest idea he'd ever had. He was already riled up from coming *this close* to kissing her once tonight already and then he went and pinned her down on the floor! Jesus, he really was a dumb ass...
"Christ..." He murmured, struggling for self-control.
"I'm sorry, sir." He heard Carter say softly.
'God Sam! You're not the one to blame for this...'
"Not your fault, Carter." He said hoarsely.
She wasn't to blame just because he couldn't keep it in his pants. He was the one in charge. Everything that happened was his responsibility. It was his job to set an example. Yeah, he thought sourly. And what a *fine* example he was setting tonight....
"Takes two, sir."
Her words hit him like a punch in the gut. She couldn't possibly...could she? Okay, so he'd always known there was something between them - a certain...tension, he supposed - since they'd first exchanged words across the briefing room table, but....he thought they'd acknowledged that. Given a tilt of the head in it's direction and moved on?
He dropped his arm and used it to prop himself up onto his side. Then he looked at her. Really looked at her. She'd moved to sit with her back propped against the unit again. Sitting there with her flushed cheeks and Jell-O in her hair, she looked...stunning. Jack frowned. Hang on, that couldn't be right. She was a mess! She wasn't supposed to look - oh God....
The realisation of what had been screaming for his attention all evening - ever since she'd opened the door and he'd seen her out of uniform for the first time since he got back, in fact - hit him like a smack round the head, with a two by four.
Something had changed. He no longer saw her the same way he had before he'd been stranded on Edora. Something was different. He couldn't put his finger on what it was exactly, but something was definitely different.
"I..." He faltered and stopped, completely thrown by this new knowledge. He shook his head in frustration. 'Suck it up, airman.'
"Jesus, Sam." He said quietly. "What the hell is going on with us?"
She gave a short bark of laughter. "You got me, sir."
The words 'No I haven't' popped into his head and he just looked at her. She blushed slightly as she realised what she'd said and dropped her gaze to stare at her hands. It seemed to be becoming a regular occurrence around him at the moment and frankly he didn't like it. He hated the idea of his strong, independent 2IC being nervous. Especially when he was the one causing it! Dammit. He did not want to lose her friendship! Not over something like this.
"Bad choice of words?" She asked quietly, when he didn't say anything.
'Oh, you have no idea...'
"Yeah," he said out loud.
He repeated it quietly a few moments later, as he pushed himself off the floor.
He propped himself up against the unit next to her. She shot him a sideways glance, but didn't move away. They sat, both lost in thought, staring at nothing and trying to work through what had just happened. Eventually Jack couldn't stand the silence any longer. He nudged her shoulder with his own. She turned to look at him.
"Know what I think?" He said.
"What's that, sir?" She asked
"I think it's the effect of these past few months. I reckon it's finally catching up with us."
Sam caught her breath. He couldn't possibly know how hard the past few months had been for her...could he?
She settled for the nice non-committal, suitable for any occasion, "Sir?"
"Well think about it...we're friends right?"
"Yes sir."
"Good friends. *Close* friends, even."
She swallowed. "Yessir."
'Closer than you think ,sir.'
"So...it's only natural that things are gonna be a little, um...fraught. Right?"
"Right." She murmured, wanting to see where he was going with this.
"I mean...we care for each other, yeah?"
Sam felt the beginning of tears sting her eyes at his words. Oh, he didn't know the half of it....
"Yeah."
"Yeah..." He repeated again. He paused for a moment lost in thought, then shook himself and carried on. He didn't think he was doing too badly so far.
"Anyway, we know that I missed you - "
He resolutely ignored the sudden spark that flashed in her eyes at his words. He refused to acknowledge what it might mean. He wasn't going to think about what it might mean. It was too...*difficult* to deal with right now.
" - and you missed me."
He ignored the feeling of satisfaction than ran through him at that thought.
"So, it's obvious that there would be some...tension...here and combined with all this - " He waved a hand at their surroundings, " - you know, excitement, laughter, adrenaline, stuff...it just...I dunno, brought things to a head?"
He looked at her. She wasn't saying anything.
"Maybe." He clarified. Still nothing.
"Um...feel free to jump in at any time here, Carter."
'Before I make an even bigger idiot of myself, than I have already.'
Sam smirked at his obvious discomfort. "You mean it was just some form of...emotional release, sir?"
He squirmed where he was sat. Oh yeah, he was *definitely* uncomfortable with this subject.
"Um yeah, I guess..."
That wasn't quite how he'd have put it. In fact he'd tried really hard *not* to put in those terms, but if it made her happy and put that smile of hers back on her face, then who was he to complain?
Sam nodded slowly. Maybe she could do this after all. Denial was a wonderful thing....
"I think I could go with that, sir." She said softly, raising her eyes to his face.
"Really?" He asked.
"Really." She confirmed weakly. 'She was not going to cry, she was not going to cry...'
"Great!" He smiled. She looked at him miserably. His smile faded away. 'Crap...'
"Hey," he said. "It's okay."
She hurriedly looked away and he could have sworn he heard a muffled sob. Double crap. Here he was trying to fix this and now look what he'd done. Way to go Jack, why don't you just shoot her instead? It'd probably be less painful....
He tugged on her arm, pulling her around and into his arms. She didn't resist. Wrapping his arms around her, he rubbed her back gently.
"Come on, Carter." He mumbled softly in her ear. "S'alright...s'okay...really."
Her hands clenched in the front of his T-shirt and she buried her face in his shoulder. She shuddered, blinking her eyes rapidly. 'She was *not* going to cry in front of her CO, she was *not*....'
She struggled for a few moments, whilst he rubbed her back and talked softly to her. Gradually, she managed to get herself under control and relaxed into his arms. He tightened them around her briefly, holding her closer for moment, then simply held her. Sam slipped her arms round him and hugged him back, raising her head to place her chin on his shoulder and rest her head against his.
"Sorry, sir." She murmured. "It's probably hormonal or something. Janet said I'd be prone to mood swings for a while."
He chuckled. "That's okay, Carter. Just give me fair warning when you're about to lose your rag and I'll make myself scarce. Or let you spar with Teal'c."
She chuckled back. "Yessir."
She closed her eyes, content to be held by him. The earlier tension had gone, to be replaced by a feeling of comfort, contentment and familiarity. Somehow, it just felt right.
"Um Carter..." She heard him say after a while.
"Yes sir?"
"As nice as this is - and it is, really - I think my leg's going numb."
She gave a laugh and reluctantly pulled back. There was a sucking sound as the Jell-O on their tops reluctantly separated after being stuck together for so long. They looked at each other and burst out laughing.
'Euww!" They said in unison.
Once they'd peeled themselves apart, Jack found himself not wanting to let go of her completely. Sitting back, he ran his hands up and down her arms in a gentle caress making her shiver, before giving them a quick squeeze and holding her upper arms lightly.
"So...we good?" He asked, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her.
She nodded and gave him a smile. It wasn't brilliant, but it was a smile. "Yes sir. We're good."
"Well...good."
They looked at each other and everything around them seemed to slip away. The moment stretched as Sam, staring at her CO from a distance of only a few inches, came to a worrying conclusion. No...it wasn't possible. There was no way, and yet...no, she couldn't possibly have been dumb enough to actually fall for her CO...could she?
~~~o0o~~~
Concluded in 'The Jell-O Incident'.
