"Ohh Baby!"
Jack breathed as he stared at the toy store window. Blessed with a rarity, he actually had the afternoon off and decided to go into Colorado Springs to get some groceries. Still in his olive drab, he pulled his sunglasses off his face and leaned towards the glass wanting to get a better look.
He saw a medium size wooden ship; a spotlight shining down on it as it spun. The pirate ship had a white bottom; the rest of the hull a tan color. The details were remarkable; the ship was 14 inches long with cloth sails, rigging blocks, cannons running along the sides and even tiny crew members. The ship was a replica of the Captain Kidd and images of that beauty in a tub of water made the colonel grin.
"You're coming home with me--" He sighed as he shifted his grocery bag to the other arm and pulled back the metal door.
The bulky package sat on the passenger seat carefully wrapped in a brown paper bag. The owner of the toy store was an older gentleman that had put the model ship together himself. He saw Jack's awe struck admiration for his skill and had parted with the display for a modest sum.
Jack glanced at the bag periodically as he drove home; waiting for the moment he could test the ship's seaworthiness out.
Pulling into his driveway, he climbed out of his big green truck carrying both the bag of groceries and the brown paper bag that contained his ship. Jack unlocked the door and kicked it closed. The two sacks were taken into the kitchen and set down on the counter. He went back through the house and closed every window drawing the blinds.
The groceries would be put away first and then—And then it was party time on the pirate ship the Jolly Jack.
The guest bathroom had a better tub; the big cast iron kind with clawed feet, a deeper more stretched out twinkie shape than the tub in the master bathroom. This was the tub his fiancée preferred and her use of it was clear; the medicine cabinet filled with various scents of bubble bath, bath oil and bath crystals.
"Geez, no Calgon for this girl—Does she have anything simple?" He rummaged through the bottles, finally finding a bottle of sage. Twisting off the cap Jack sniffed it, deciding it smelled nice and manly.
"Not bad, beats rose petals or lavender--"
Setting the bottle on the edge of the tub he bent over and turned on the water adjusting the temperature. The tub began to fill; he picked up the sage and added a few drops to the streaming water; the mild smelling bubbles beginning to form.
Jack took off his jacket; rolling his head from shoulder to shoulder as he closed his eyes. The week had been a brutal one; a couple of missions and a surprise visit from Senator Kinsey had left Jack feeling tense; his shoulders and the back of his neck were as stiff and inflexible as concrete.
He lifted his shirt over his head and dropped it; reaching back to rub his neck. Sitting down on the toilet, he raised first one leg then the other untying his boots. Pulling them off, he turned and set them on the edge of the sink not wanting the water to ruin them. Jack stood up, now the only thing he had on was his pants. Opening the button and sliding the zipper down, he pushed them along with his boxers down his strong legs.
Gripping the edge of the tub, Jack swung one long leg over the side of it and then the other sinking into the warm water with a sigh. The water sloshed a bit and he winced a little.
"Oops, going to have to clean that up--" He shut off the faucets and scooted to the center of the tub reaching out for the brown paper bag perched on the top of the toilet tank.
"Ahoy mateys! There be treasure for all of us! More treasure than the Queen of Spain!"
Jack spoke in a perfect pirate accent as he sailed the wooden ship along the soapy water. He had a huge smile on his face; his dark eyes dancing. His gray hair now soaked it stuck up all over his head; the soap bubbles intermingled with his chest hair as he picked up a bar of Ivory and floated it along the ship.
"The white whale is spotted Captain! Shall we make with the harpoons?"
"Make with the harpoons mateys! Captain Jack wants his bounty! We won't be going home without that white whale's shining hide!"
The ship and the bar of soap bumped a little as if the whale was attacking the vessel. He made the tiny crew cry out in fear scrambling around the decks. Another slam of the bar of soap and a few ripples made the wooden ship dance about the surface of the water.
"Captain! We're doomed! Not if Captain Jack has anything to say about it!" Jack reached over the side of the tub and picked up a plastic bag. He tore it open with his teeth and pulled out a few green army men strategically placing them on the pirate ship.
"Men! We be going after that white demon! Don't fret! I swear by the blood of a pirate that we'll beat that devil!"
Jack placed a few army men on the bar and smiled. "We got him men! We got the white devil! Now we sail to someplace warm and tropical!"
"That is until Jack can get another ship, then we can play pirates for real--" He sighed as he picked up the army men and set them along the rim of the tub.
"It's times like THIS I wish I had a video camera with a live video feed."
A voice rang out from the doorway startling Jack, he whipped towards it his eyes so wide they ate up his face and he blushed so hard and hot he half expected the already warm water to begin to steam.
"Uhh Gill! What are you doing home?" Panicking, Jack began picking up the men completely mortified that he had been caught.
Gillian stood with her arms crossed an amused expression on her face. Still in her uniform, minus her white coat, she strolled into the bathroom and sat on the toilet.
"I live here Jack remember?" She plucked an army man before Jack could and studied the small green figure. "Since when do you take baths Jack?"
"I do take baths you know just not too often--" He took the soldier from her fingers and put it back in the bag.
"Only when you want to test out a new toy?" Gillian bent down and picked up the ship, studying it.
"Nice! Where did you get it?"
"Peabody's Toys."
"I can see why you wanted to play with it, someone spent a lot of time on this model--" She set it down in the water. "But don't you think there are more fun things to do in a bathtub of fragrant water?"
Jack looked at her curiously. "Besides play pirates? No way!"
"Is that so?" Gillian stood up touching the collar of her blue uniform shirt and began opening the buttons.
"I can think of one or two things."
He watched her shirt open more and more revealing the light blue lacey bra she wore beneath it. His mouth went dry and he licked his lips slowly. "Like what?"
"Well don't pirates usually entertain themselves with wenches or bar maids whenever they go to port?" The last button was opened and the shirt slid down Gillian's arms to the floor. Her hands reached around her to unhook her bra, she took it off and tossed it over her shoulder.
"Yeah, they had women to entertain them--" Jack swallowed hard; the busy week had meant that the couple had spent no time alone. Just the sight of his fiancée's bare chest made him groan and instantly stiffen as he watched her lose her pants and panties.
"So, do you have an opening for a pirate wench Colonel?" She sat on the edge of the tub crossing her long legs. Her toes disappeared into the water and slid up Jack's thigh.
"Oh I think you'll do nicely—but I better give you an interview--" Reaching out he grabbed Gillian's wrist and tugged her into the tub, the water sloshing over the side and all over the floor.
The couple now chest to chest Gillian smiled seductively as she hugged her fiancée around the neck.
"Interview huh? Who's going to give it to me?"
"Oh ya scurvy wench, you're wanton and wild. The captain be looking over your—qualifications."
"My qualifications huh?" The sound of Jack in that pirate voice almost made her crack up, but she played along. "And would this be Captain Jack?"
"Arrgh missy that be exactly who is running this ship--" His hands slid down her spine and cupped her butt firmly. "And I see you more than qualify to share the captain's bed."
Gillian dropped her head back; sighing. "Oh it'll be a pleasure tending to the captain--" She raised her head crushing her mouth to Jack's.
"So what are you doing home so early?"
Jack had his back pressed to Gillian's chest. Reaching beside him, he extended her long leg and picked up the bar of Ivory. He lathered it between his hands until a nice soapy layer was made and ran it along the wet surface of her skin.
"Hazardous chemical spill, the SGC had to be evacuated--" Gillian sighed dreamily leaning back against the rim of the tub. "Oh Jack that's heavenly! Maybe I should let you shave them for me since you're down there."
"What happened?" He placed her leg on the rim of the tub and stood up, the water cascading down his wet body as he climbed out. Opening the medicine cabinet again; he saw a pink package of razors and picked one up once more returning to the tub.
"It happened after Senator Kinsey left--" She wrapped her arms around his neck kissing Jack's cheek. "The commissary staff was cleaning up the mess and they were using one of those metal rollaway carts to transport the dishes to the back. Apparently one of them got away from the dishwasher, went into the storage room and slammed into that metal shelf they have back there full of cleaning supplies. Two big containers, one of bleach and one of ammonia fell over and combined; it formed a cloud that swept through the kitchen making the staff sick."
Jack slung Gillian's leg over his shoulder and lathered it once more wiping the soap off with the razor as he went down. "Bad?"
"Bad enough, the cloud started drifting through each level and Janet and I were running around like headless chickens treating everyone. Finally Hammond called for the EVAC while the hazardous material team in their space suits moved in. It's going to take at least 10 days to get the place vented and cleaned so as for now the SGC is closed for business. All the sick got transported to the base hospital and all the off world teams are going to have to report to the Alpha sight until the SGC can reopen--" She watched her fiancée shave her legs smiling at his gentleness and great care not to cut her.
"You're very good at that."
"Call it an appreciation for gorgeous gams--" Jack nuzzled her knee kissing it; his fingers began soaping higher and higher as he shifted on his side and continued shaving. "So what are we going to do with that much time off?"
Gillian groaned as her fiancée's fingers reached all the way to the top of her hip. He set the razor aside and now faced her; dropping his head he buried it in her chest and explored it with his tongue.
"Oh I'm sure we can find something to do--" She panted, wrapping her legs around him. "What about my other leg?"
"Get to it in a little bit--" He put both hands on the rim of the tub behind her and pulled on it sliding into her with a single stroke.
"Afterwards--"
By the time the bath was over there was a lot more water on the floor to clean up.
Jack winced at the sound of the ringing phone; he had his back to it, one arm securely around Gillian.
"Jack get the phone!" She complained, pulling the comforter over her head.
"It's a Saturday morning--" He sighed and finally rolled over, opening one eye to glance at the clock seeing it was barely a little after seven. "The Goa'uld better be invading because if they're not then whoever is on the other end of this line is going to have a permanent limp."
Reaching out he snatched the cordless and pressed it to his ear. "O'Neill--" He said through gritted teeth.
"Well Good Morning to YOU too Sunshine--"
"Who is this?" Jack cocked an eyebrow not recognizing the deep voice.
"Oh come on Jack, know anyone ELSE that can get you into Disneyland for FREE?"
"Donovan?"
"Also known as the Lord of Animatronics--" His tinny chuckles came through the line. "How the hell are you Jack? Long time no talk!"
"Christ Bill, do you know how damn early it is?" He rubbed his hand over his face yawning.
"Give me a break Jack, you're in the military. You guys are the ones that get the roosters up at gunpoint."
"Not on a weekend and not when I have ten days off--" Sitting up in bed, he leaned with his back against the headboard. "And to answer your question I'm doing good."
Gillian uncovered her head and peeked over her shoulder at her fiancé. "Jack who is it?"
"You've got some time off? Oh man this couldn't be more PERFECT!" He paused, hearing Gillian's voice. "Whoops, didn't know you had company Jack. Give your lady friend my apologies."
"I'll explain about my lady friend later, why is it so perfect that I have time off?"
Bill sighed; Jack could almost see his grin through the phone. "Jack my Bud, how would you like to come spend your leave time in Anaheim?"
"Why would I be going there?"
"Go where?" Gillian rolled over and sat up gazing at her fiancée curiously.
"Yeah Anaheim and you'd be doing your old pal Bill and Disneyland a HUGE favor."
Jack creased his brow as he glanced at his fiancée and shrugged his shoulders.
"By doing what exactly?"
"Well the short version is that the big wigs at Disney want to get the public more involved in the attractions and with that in mind there is going to be some overhauling of all our animatronic friends. We've already taken care of the smaller rides but the Pirates ride is next on this list. Shutting down an attraction THAT popular wouldn't be very good for business so the big wigs came up with an idea in the spirit of this public involvement and they need some test subjects. So that's why I'm calling Jack—I'd like you and four friends to come to Disneyland and replace the animatronics in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride so the head boys can see if their interactive Disney idea will swing. They're even willing to put you and your friends up at the hotel all expenses paid."
"Hang on a second--" Jack put the phone against his chest. "You're not going to believe this—remember my friend Bill Donovan that works at Disneyland?"
Gillian nodded. "Well yeah you've told me about him, is that whose on the phone?"
"Yeah, he wants me and four friends to come to the park and be part of an experiment in letting the public take part in the rides while the animatronics get overhauled."
His fiancée's eyes widened. "Go to Disneyland?"
"All expenses paid and they'll put us up at the hotel--" He thought about what his friend was offering a huge grin came to his face. "Let's do it! We'll just give the team a call and see if they want to come along."
"God yes let's do it!" Gillian reached out and grabbed Jack by the arm. "A free trip to Anaheim Jack! And it's close enough for you to finally meet my parents!"
"That's true—LA and Anaheim are right next door--" He gripped Gillian's nightgown and pulled her closer giving her a big kiss before putting the receiver back to his ear.
"We'll do it Bill, when do you want us to come out there?"
"There's a flight leaving Colorado Springs at 11, think you can get your friends ready by then?"
"Probably—they're used to sudden, spontaneous things happening to them."
"All right Jack, I'll have five first-class tickets under your name waiting for you at the America West counter. Be there by 10 for check-in. I'll meet you guys at LAX, the flight shouldn't take more than an hour. And thanks a lot for doing this Jack, I owe you big and so will the Disney boys."
"Hey no problem at all, I'll see you soon Bill--" Jack hung up the phone and started dialing the members of his team; Daniel being the first one he dialed.
"Daniel?" He pulled the phone away from his ear, cringing at the displeased voice of Daniel Jackson. "Yeah Daniel I know its early but how fast can you get dressed and be over here?"
"For WHAT Jack? It's barely seven!"
"Something big has been dropped in my lap and I want the rest of the team in on it--"
"In on what?" Daniel said in mid yawn. "Sorry."
"An all expense paid trip to California. I can't say more that that till the three of you come over."
"All right, all right! Let me wake up Sam, we'll give Teal'c a call and be there in half an hour."
"Carter's there?" He slapped himself on the forehead. "Never mind, of course she's there. See you soon."
"Make coffee Jack, LOTS of coffee--" The conversation ended with a loud click.
"All right Jack so how do we get a free trip to LA?" Daniel had a cup of coffee in his hands and a napkin with pastry; choosing the empty spot on the couch beside Sam to sit down.
Jack stood by the fireplace his hands in his jean pockets as he gazed at the three people on the couch and Teal'c in the chair right beside him.
"Basically my friend Bill Donovan wants us to replace the robots for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride."
Daniel sputtered on his coffee leaning over the edge of the couch. When he got his composure he lifted his head to look at the team leader.
"He wants us to do what?"
Sam patted his back. "Well from what the colonel just said—play pirates--" She gazed at the colonel for confirmation. "Right sir?"
"Essentially yes Carter, but you all don't seem to see the bigger picture here--"
"And what bigger picture might that be Jack, all of us dressing up for tourists? Forget it! I've got an article to write for Archeology Today and some relaxation planned for this down time--" Daniel pushed his glasses up having another sip of his coffee.
"And I've got a lecture to give at the Academy I've been promising to do for about six months--" Sam added, seeing Jack sigh and slap his hand over his eyes; it wasn't going to be as easy as he thought to convince his team to go.
"All expenses paid--- you all know what that means right? You've seen that big hotel in the commercials. Those rooms are huge and we're going to get perks up the ying-yang because we're doing this as a favor. Plus we'll get unlimited access to the park itself and the beach and all the cool things that LA has to offer."
Teal'c listened to Jack's words carefully. "I see your point O'Neill; I have never been to this California. It will be me a chance to explore this Disneyland place. I have seen it many times on your television, it seems quite enjoyable."
"Exactly Teal'c, would you rather spend the next 10 days underground or out in the warm sunshine of a nice sandy beach?" Jack turned his head seeing the sparkle in Sam's blue eyes. "Come on Carter—all that surfing—The lecture can wait 'til the week after next, right?" His eyebrows raised and a small smile came to his face. "Surf's up--- Hang ten!"
Sam gritted her teeth; Jack had said the magic word that was quickly eating away at her protesting.
"Well—maybe it can wait till I get back. Going surfing would be great!" She gave Daniel a nudge with her elbow. "LA is full of museums Daniel not to mention that big one with the tar pits."
"I haven't been there since I was a kid--" A smile came to his face as he looked at Jack. "I've got an article I never published before I can send that one to Archeology Today--" He saw Jack's face brighten. "So when do we leave?"
"Oh in about--" Jack checked his watch. "Less than two hours—Bill said he's got first class tickets for us."
"Two hours? Well that certainly explains why you wanted us to pack--" Daniel leaned forward and picked up his donut from the coffee table and bit into it.
"First class to LA? Sweet!" Sam stood up and clapped her hands together. "This is going to be great!"
"Yeah it should be Sam, you and I get to play wenches--" Gillian got up from the end of the couch and went over to Jack; she slide an arm around his waist and leaned against his dark green shirt.
"Wenches? Aw come on I want to be a pirate!"
"Well historically there really were very few lady pirates Sam, the role of women was pretty specific in those days--" Daniel piped up, his smile fading when he saw Sam's sour expression.
"So I'll be one of them!" Sam put her hand on her hips. "I can fight just as hard as a man you know."
"Oh I'm not implying you can't it's just that--"
Jack shook his head out and stretched out his arm. "Hold it! Hold it! Before this turns into some major discussion let's just see what Bill says. Maybe he'll be more politically correct and let you play a pirate Carter, let's just wait and see, shall we?"
"Yes sir--" She sat back down on the couch giving Daniel the evil eye.
"But if he doesn't Sam we can have just as much fun being sexy and provocative, right?" Gillian eyed her fellow female hoping she'd agree.
"Right—if I can't be a pirate I'll guess I'll settle for a pirate wench--" Her tone held disappointment as she sighed heavily folding her hands in front of her.
"Well don't get all doom and gloom just yet Carter, let's just wait and see what Bill says--"
Gillian nodded at her fiancé's words giving him a wink. "And look at it this way if you don't get to play with a sword of your own you can always play with someone else's--" She watched Sam's eyes widen as the two women started laughing; soon followed by the two men.
Teal'c waited until the laughter died down and stood up. "That all depends Gillian MacKenzie—some swords are sharper than others--"
That statement, delivered with a straight face, got the other four people laughing all over again.
A tall well- built man with short brown hair and silver wire glasses, dressed in a blue polo shirt and jeans, stood at the end of the gate number three. He paced a little a cell phone securely held to the left side of his head. The arrival of the flight was announced and he quickly turned off the black phone and tucked it into the pocket of his jeans. Crossing his arms over his chest, he waited just under the gate sign for the appearance of Jack and his party. The plane emptied and he carefully watched the long line of people coming through the metal doors. Finally he spotted the grey hair of his friend and raised his arm a smile on his face.
"Colonel Jack O'Neill!" Bill straightened his spine and gave the colonel a sharp salute.
Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head as he set down his small bag. "Knock it off Bill you haven't been in the military for over a decade--"
"Old habits die hard sir!" He released the salute and grinned as he held out his hand.
"The only salutes you ever gave were the one finger kind--" Jack shook his hand and the two men embraced. "Good to see you Bill its been awhile."
"Yeah Jack it has--" Bill patted his back before releasing his hug and looked at the small group of people surrounding the colonel.
Jack stepped back and put his arm around Gillian. "Bill this is the lady friend you heard on the phone except she's no friend—This is Gillian MacKenzie, my fiancée."
Bill's eyes widened as he gazed at the red haired woman in the jeans and blue button down shirt.
"Fiancée? Whoa Jack!" He cleared his throat and held out his hand. "A pleasure to meet you future Mrs. O'Neill."
Gillian laughed as she shook his hand. "Nice to meet you too Bill--" The way his handsome face gazed at her, with his high cheek bones, strong jaw and friendly smile, made her face blush a little.
"Are you in the Air Force too?"
"As a matter of fact yes, I'm a captain--"
"Wow, an empowered woman! That's so cool!" He grinned nodding approvingly at Jack.
"Actually Bill, if you want to see an empowered woman--" Jack put his arm around Bill's shoulder and motioned to Sam, who stood beside Gillian. "This is Major Samantha Carter--"
Sam had on a navy blue turtleneck; her black leather jacket draped over her arm and gave Bill a nod.
"Nice to meet you Bill."
"Yes ma'am same here--"
"And beside her we have Dr. Daniel Jackson and Teal'c--"
Bill quickly clasped Daniel's outstretched hand.
"A doctor! My you keep fancy company these days Jack--" His hazel eyes widened as his gaze now fell on the last member of Jack's party. The tall Jaffa had on jeans and a grey polo shirt, a black baseball cap covering his First Prime emblem. He stood with his arms behind his back looking down at the smaller man. He brought one strong arm from behind him clasping Bill's forearm in greeting.
"Good to meet you Teal'c, welcome to LA--" He returned the clasping a little uncertain of it.
Jack chuckled shaking his head. "Well now that you've met the gang, we're off to Disneyland?"
"Unless you all brought bigger suitcases--" They all had with them carry on bags and backpacks.
"Nope, we travel light--" Jack bent down and picked up his slinging the strap back over his shoulder adjusting it.
"All right then, we're going to Disneyland--" He extended his arm. "The car is waiting for us outside."
After a quit trip to the Disneyland Hotel, the next stop was into the park itself. Bill drove his guests on a golf cart shuttle through the main gate and Main Street USA into New Orleans Square. The sign just outside the entrance to the ride declared that it was closed for refurbishment. He took the gang through the back entrance and after taking an elevator to the lowest level at last they were in the very heart of the ride.
"Okay—so the boats come past this ship after going through the bayou part, drinking skeletons and the pirate king in his bed with his treasure--" Jack walked down the stone steps to the water's edge seeing the pirate ship directly in front of him. The pirate ship was a good 50 feet away in the lagoon.
With the lights on and the special affects turned off, the Spanish fort didn't seem quite so menacing; more like a giant stage with water. The small village behind Jack was eerily quiet like a ghost town now that all the animatronics had been removed.
"Right--" Bill joined him on the steps. "See the ship is firing cannonballs that splash in the water, of course they really don't but the affect is pretty realistic enough to make the tourists cringe. Now the skeletons have already been done; being that they're just bones it was easy to do them so they're left where they are. It's the bigger more life-like figures in this room and the armory room that were taken out."
The sign for the wench auction still hung and Gillian stepped up out in front of it; the wooden platform stood beside the dunking well. "So I take it this is where I'm to be auctioned off?"
Bill turned around and smiled. "Right, the soundtrack has the pirates shouting for the redhead--" Seeing her dark red hair he chuckled. "And what a remarkable coincidence that you've got red hair."
Sam walked out across the stone archway. "So do you want us to just recreate the ride itself or are we allowed to get creative?"
"Well I don't know to be honest but I think it'd be all right for you guys to come up with your own thing. This is an experiment after all--"
"Yeah but what though?" Sam walked across the archway gazing down at the water.
Daniel too stepped down to the water's edge right beside the dunking well, he pushed up his glasses admiring the pirate ship.
"The Wicked Wench— sounds like something you'd name your ship Jack--" He turned around seeing Jack's face and the sudden wicked gleam in his eyes. "What?"
Jack glanced at Sam and back to the ship and grinned. "Bill, it's not going to be just the five of us right? We're going to have some employees to help?"
"We have too Jack, normally they're 65 pirates involved in this ride. We're going to have a group of two dozen employees that volunteered to help--" He walked back up the stone steps and sat down on the edge of the archway; his legs dangling over the side.
Teal'c stood below a balcony peeking into it before turning his attention to Jack. "What is your thinking on this O'Neill?"
"Since we don't have to recreate the ride itself I was thinking that we can have two rival pirates just happen to come upon the same fort--" All of the team members and Bill turned their attention to Jack.
"Okay that should be easy enough, just split the employees up--" He crossed his arms over his chest stroking his chin. "The wardrobe department should have enough costumes for everyone--" Raising his head he looked at his friend.
"I'm to assume that you would be one of the rival pirates Jack."
"Of course--" He grinned as he climbed up the steps and out onto the stone archway.
"So who's the other pirate Jack?" Gillian glanced at Daniel. "Daniel? Teal'c?"
"Nope--" The colonel came to a stop in front of his second in command. "I have someone else in mind."
Sam blinked, her smile spreading across her face. "Me?"
"Oh yeah! I think a tough lady pirate would be great and I know you'd do a good job Carter."
Her blue eyes seemed to twinkle at the idea. "And I can choose who I want to be my first mate and all that?"
Bill stood up brushing off the back of his jeans. "Absolutely."
"All right--" Sam walked to the edge of the archway and gazed at Daniel at the far end of the stone platform. "Daniel, would you be my first mate?"
"Me?" He touched his hand to his chest, a meek smile on his face. "Okay--"
"Well then I choose Teal'c--" Jack went over to the tall Jaffa and patted him on the back. "What do you say big guy?"
"I will do as you ask of me O'Neill--" He gave a slight bow of his head.
"And I take it that I'll be the wench you steal away?" Gillian's gaze bounced between Daniel and Jack.
"We wants the redhead!" Jack called out making his fiancée blush; her cheeks were almost as red as her hair.
Teal'c lifted his chin. "I will be glad to kidnap her for you O'Neill."
"No need for that Buddy, some things a pirate has to do for himself--" He patted his first mate's shoulder.
"Well you won't have time for kidnapping Jack if you and Sam are going to be rival pirates--" Bill turned and pointed to the ship.
"You and Teal'c will be on the Wench. We can attach zip lines to the mast so the two of you can use them to get from the ship here to the fort."
"Zip lines?" Jack returned to the edge of the water seeing the rope ladder that led to the crow's nest on the mast. "That's a long way up--"
"Yeah but you've done it before. Just grab the pulley and zip on over here, you'll drop down there on the edge. Then you'll make your way over the archway where you'll meet the pirate Queen."
Jack did as Bill had said and walked out onto the bridge where Sam stood. "Then the two of us will have it out?"
"Hold that thought--" Bill went through one of the doors in the village and came back with two lightweight cutlasses handing one to Jack and Sam. "You two can talk for a moment or two but most pirates settled things with swords."
The swords had curved blades and imitation brass handles.
"Nice! Light too--" Sam stepped back and swished the sword in the air. She took the proper stance and raised the blade.
"I took three semesters of fencing at the Academy sir, what about you?"
He saw the gleam in her eyes as he too raised the sword, his feet spreading apart a little. "Four semesters--"
"Good then we'll be pretty evenly matched--"
The two exchanged light blows, the swords coming together with a smooth, easy motion; the metal clanging against one another.
"You're going to enjoy this aren't you Carter?" Jack stepped back and looked down at the blade.
"If we're evenly matched who's going to win the sword fight?"
Sam shrugged as she straightened up. "We could take turns sir. It's not like the tourists are going to be hanging around, the ride itself is only about 10 minutes."
"Sounds fair—What about what we're going to say to each other? Can we just improvise that?"
Bill nodded. "Yeah I imagine the both of you will be into your parts so much you'll know exactly what to say--"
Daniel, Gillian and Teal'c joined their teammates on the bridge.
"What about costumes Bill?"
"Oh that's no problem Gillian, the costumes are in another building--" He checked his watch. "We can go right now if you all want—That'd give my team a change to check out the other aspects of the ride and make sure they're working and rig the zip lines."
Bill pulled up to a large white warehouse and searched his pockets producing a blue cardkey and swiped it through the lock; the door hissing as it slid back. He turned and waved to the gang.
"Come on in!"
The five people climbed out of the little golf cart and stepped through the door. The warehouse was broken down into what looked like cubicles; at the far end were racks of clothes that covered about a quarter of floor space and each one was broken down into groups with a sign on each one.
"Some of those costumes go all the way back to the opening of the park--" Bill lead them through the cubicle maze to the clothes section; a half dozen racks marked PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN had been pulled out.
"Ah here we are--"
Gillian spotted what had to be the wench costumes, brightly colored heavy dresses hung on metal hangers.
"I do believe that's my wrack--" She went over to it and began looking the dresses over.
"Wait a second Gillian I've got the head of the wardrobe department coming to help you all get costumes."
The door opened again and two women and one man, all of them wearing bright green polo shirts and khaki pants, came in. They saw Bill and headed over to him.
"Sorry we're late Bill, got your message late--"
Bill seemed to brighten at her approach and waved it off. "Don't worry about it Bev, we just got here--" He put his hand on her shoulder and turned her around. "Jack, Daniel, Teal'c, Sam and Gillian, this is Beverly Burke, the head of the wardrobe department here at Disney. Trust her guys because she's brilliant when it comes to costumes--"
The auburn haired woman with the petite build crossed her arms over her chest. "That's quite an introduction Bill--" She turned and looked at everyone, smiling. "I'm happy to meet all of you and I look forward to working with you all on this--" Raising her hand and waved it, the other member of her team stepped forward.
"This is Lori Simmons, she's my assistant--" The blond haired woman gave a nod, she was tall and slender and wore square glasses; looking more like a school teacher than a seamstress.
"And beside her is Steven Hhan, another of my assistants--" The young thin man bowed his head; his straight black hair spilling forward a little.
"These two are the best when it comes to costumes--" Beverly put her hands on her hips as she walked towards the gang of people circling them once.
"Hmm--- I do believe I'll start with you Jack--" She glanced over her shoulder at her assistants.
"Lori, Steve, you get started with the others and then I'll join you--"
Sam and Daniel were hustled off with Lori while Gillian and Teal'c went with Steve. The three groups of people each took a cubicle and closed the door behind them.
"You are a very handsome man Jack, a perfect pirate King and its my job to make sure the rest of the world is eager to bow at your feet--" Beverly stood in front of him arms crossed assessing him very carefully.
Jack cleared his throat trying not to feel self conscious, but the fact this woman gazed at him like she was inspecting a stallion for stud services made his face blush.
"Okay, if you say so—Bill said to trust you."
"Yes he did--"
The only other thing in the cubicle was a small desk and Beverly sat down on top of it and slid the chair beside Jack.
"With all due respect to you Jack, I'm going to have to ask you to strip down to your underwear."
Both of Jack's eyebrows went up. "Excuse me?"
"We're here for your wardrobe after all—I need to see what I have to work with--" The honest sincerity in her face made Jack's turn an even darker shade of red as he sighed annoyingly and began to unbutton his dark green shirt. When he opened the last button he slid it down his arms and draped it across the chair, leaving him in a white t-shirt.
"That too Jack—I want to see your chest."
"You know—this could be construed as you making a pass at me and I don't think my fiancée would approve--" He lifted his t-shirt over his head and dropped it in the seat.
"It would be if I wasn't a wardrobe expert--" She gazed over his strong chest a small smile coming to her lips. "You are magnificent Jack--" Getting off the desk she began circling him once again. "Those strong pecs that washboard stomach—the grey hairs only make it appear all the more appetizing."
"Appetizing?" Jack looked over his shoulder at the circling woman. "You sound like Gillian--"
"Oh is that your fiancée? Well I must say she's got excellent taste—I too have always preferred older men. My God you've got an incredible back—Hard and strong, muscles like steel from all the hard work that its been given.--" She sat back down on the desk sighing. "Oh the possibilities Jack—they really are endless! Now take off your pants I want to see your legs--"
"Pants—I was hoping you had forgotten about that part. Suddenly like I feel like I'm back at the base--" He opened the button on the jeans and slid the zipper down. "You're not going to give me a shot are you?"
That made Beverly smile, her lips pulling back to show her white teeth. "Only to your ego Jack."
Jack was the one suddenly grinning as he bent down and pulled his pants to his ankles stepping out of them leaving him in only a pair of black boxers.
"A boxer man—I figured as much--" Her eyes traced down the length of him and she sighed again. "Pardon me one unprofessional moment Jack--" She fanned her face, two red spots appearing on her cheeks. "Honey you are going to be my masterpiece. The gods are smiling on me today and I am so grateful to them I could sacrifice a billy goat--"
"It's hard to feel superior standing around in your underwear--" Jack crossed his arms over his chest.
"Oh but you are—Those are athlete's legs, the calves and thighs well defined from activity, either running or skating," she got up again and stood behind him. "Along with that ass, that's an athlete's ass--"
"Hockey player--" He mumbled.
"Aha! I knew it!" Beverly strayed again from professionalism and gave the derriere in question a friendly pinch. Jack jumped and whipped around.
"Now that was a pass!" He shook a finger at her, tilting his head he gave her a sidelong glance.
"It was a merely an admiration for such a fine posterior Jack, I apologize--" She put her hands up as if surrendering to him.
He straightened up lowering his threatening finger. "All right then."
"Could you sit down in the chair? I want to get a good look at your face--"
Jack kept his eyes on her hands as he took a step back and sat in the chair. Beverly knelt beside him reaching out to cup his chin and lower his face to her gaze.
"Handsome--" She glided her hands up over his cheekbones. "You've got large expressive eyes, long eyelashes and a strong jaw. Look at those lips—I bet your fiancée takes great pride in kissing them." Both her hands slid into his silver hair and stroked it. "Gorgeous silver Jack, it suits you but for this particular job it's simply too short. But don't worry we can fix that."
"How?" Jack stared into her face, noticing her eyes were a nice shade of green.
"This is Disneyland, lots of magic here--" She let go of his face and stood up. "Stay right here I'm going to go get a few things."
"Of course I'll stay here I'm 90% naked--" Jack called out to her as she shut the door.
"All right Jack, I've got a white linen shirt with the puffy sleeves of course. A typical garb of all pirate kings--" Beverly returned with a maroon garment bag and unzipped it, handing Jack the shirt in question.
"With the really puffy sleeves--" Jack saw them and sighed shaking his head as he took it off the hangar and slipped it on buttoning the cuffs.
"You're supposed to trust me remember?" Beverly reminded him gently as she laid out a pair of black short pants, a long maroon sash, and some leather items on the desk, one of them being a pair of square toed boots and a pair of belts.
"Yeah yeah, right now I'm trusting you not to make me look like a freak--" He buttoned the shirt all the way up; the buttons stopped a little above mid chest opening up into a V that exposed a good percentage of it.
"Umm Bev, I think they ran out of material about halfway through making this shirt--" He said as he looked down at the opening.
"Here let me see--" Beverly side stepped the desk and stood in front of Jack looking at the opening in question. "Oh no that's perfect Jack!" She stroked her hand over the warm skin, smiling. "Perfect for easy access, don't forget you've got to show something to entice the wenches that fight over your company."
"I think they'd rather fight over the gold in my pocket rather than the hair on my chest--"
"Not if they were smart wenches--" Returning to the desk she handed him the boots and the pants.
"Here gives these a go."
"If they were so smart they wouldn't be wenches in the first place--" Jack took the pants off the hanger and stepped into them pulling them up.
"Touché Oh Pirate King!"
Beverly watched him tuck the shirt into them and button up the pants; they only came to a little below his knee and he scoffed at the head of the wardrobe department.
"Now don't tell me they didn't run out of material--"
"It's the style; they had to make the pants that way for the boots--" She picked them up from the chair, Jack noticing for the first time how long they were.
"Ah—well that certainly explains it--" He took them from her and sat down taking off his other boots and setting them aside.
"They look like the right size--" He slipped his socked feet into them and tugged on the dark brown leather.
The material had a built in cuff, by the time Jack got them all the way up the cuff covered the pants just below his knee.
"Well how do they feel?" Beverly crouched down and folded the cuff over a little better.
"All right--" The other boot got put on and he touched the arms of his chair. "Watch yourself--"
"Oh! Sorry—just got overwhelmed kneeling at a pirate king's feet--" She moved out of the way and let Jack stand. He stamped his feet a little and took a few steps.
"Good?"
"Actually yeah--"
"Oh damn!" Beverly snapped her fingers. "I forgot your vest."
"My vest? Don't I have on enough clothes already?"
"Not for a pirate Jack--" She left and returned with a navy blue vest and helped him slip it on. It had silver buttons running down one side of it. However Beverly left it hanging open, the vest hung to mid thigh.
"Okay let's get your sash on--" She snatched the long maroon cloth from the desk and encircled it around Jack's waist tying it off with a knot at his hip. "There! How's that?"
"Good, what's next?" Jack played with the long end of the sash that hung down to his knee.
"Your belts--" She picked up a plain leather belt with a pistol tucked into it and handed it to him, Jack buckled it; the holster on his right side. Beverly picked up the leather scabbard and put it diagonally across his chest, the place for the sword on his left side.
"God I thought wearing my tack vest and jacket was a lot--" He looked down at himself and sighed shaking his head.
"Okay sit down Jack, I have to get your hair stuff next--" She sat him down on the chair and patted his shoulders.
"What hair stuff Bev? I don't have any--" He watched her leave and sighed again, at least the costume was comfortable.
"I know you don't Jack but I'm about to fix that--" Once again she came back, this time with another garment bag, a tan hat box and what looked like a small black suitcase.
Eyeing them suspiciously, Jack cocked an eyebrow at the smiling woman. "Do I want to even know what's in all of those?"
"Probably not but this is about trust, remember?" Beverly opened the hat box first taking out a long haired silver wig. "This is for you Jack Darling, your hair--"
The hair was a silver; the darker shade on top with there as the lighter shade started becoming more prominent as the hair lengthened; the colors almost an exact match to the own hair.
"You want me to wear that?" Seeing her nod he scoffed shaking his head. "Forget it!"
"It's going to look fabulous on you--" She walked up behind him and slipped it on his head. "I promise you're going to like it--" Shifting around to face Jack, she picked up the makeup kit and used a light makeup powder to blend in the hairline of the wig with his natural skin tone, erasing it. She took a brush out of the kit and combed out the long tresses a little.
"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this--" Jack had his eyes closed imaging what he looked like.
"Oh stop it Jack, its all in good fun and frankly I think you look devastatingly handsome--" Opening the hat box she took out a tricorner hat made of dark brown leather and set it in his lap.
"Before I put on the final touch I better do some accessorizing--"
Jack's eyes flew open and narrowed at Beverly. "So help me if there's a parrot in one of those boxes--"
"Don't be silly Jack--" Beverly took out another sash of dark blue material and wrapped it around his head. She put a large gold clip on earring on his left ear and a few silver rings on both of his hands.
Finally she put the hat on and adjusted it moving back to admire the finished product. She took a black coat out of the garment bag and held it out.
"Time for your coat and then I'll get you a mirror."
Jack stood up and turned around letting Beverly slide it up his arms. It was a heavy fabric with a satin lining, large wide cuffs with three buttons; it split wide open in both the front and back for easy mobility.
"My God--" Beverly whispered as she grinned, the smile large and prideful. "Jack you look fantastic!"
"I wouldn't know since I don't have a mirror--"
"Oh don't worry, let's go find you one--" Beverly opened the door and took Jack's arm escorting him out of the office.
Bill was sat in one of the offices talking on his cell phone; he leaned back in his chair with his feet propped up on the desk.
Beverly poked her head in. "Hey Bill, want to meet a pirate king?" She wiggled her eyebrows at her friend.
"Sure," he told the caller he would call them back and hung up his phone.
"Great! Give me a second--" She slipped out the door and took Jack by the arm leading him inside.
"Holy Shit!" Bill fell backwards out of his chair and scrambled to get to his feet. His hazel eyes were huge as he looked his friend up and down panting from the shock.
"Christ Jack! You looked like you just walked out of a story book!"
"Is that so matey? Well if I had me sword right now I'd cut out your eyes!" Jack talked like a pirate, the accent perfect and it cracked up his friend. Beverly snickered too as she closed the door.
"Hey Jack, check it out--" A full length mirror was behind the door and Jack walked over to it seeing his reflection.
"Whoa Jesus!" He too was taken aback by his appearance his fingers touching the long hair that framed his face. "I don't even look like me!"
"That's the idea Jack--" Bill patted his friend on the back. "Let's see how the others are doing."
"I think I should have some boots, I'm not too fond of these shoes--" Daniel looked down at his feet, the gold buckles bright against the black patent leather. Lori had chosen a cream colored pirate shirt with puffy sleeves, a long maroon vest with big pockets, dark brown knee length pants and white nylon socks. Instead of a hat, Daniel had a sandy brown wig on; the hair went down to his shoulders covered by a long tan bandana tied around his head. The last thing he had was a black scabbard across his chest.
"Oh you look fine Daniel stop complaining--" Sam's coat was almost identical to Jack's except the color was a blood red. She too had been given a wig; the hair matched her own natural color and hung almost to the small of her back, the thick hair tied in a braid. She had on dark green pants and an off white linen shirt, the outfit complete with a black hat on her head. The scabbard for her sword and for her pistols formed a leather X over her chest.
"I think I like the way you look better--" Daniel's eyes traced over her from the hat to the black boots on her feet; the sight of her being so empowered and confident made butterflies take up residence in her stomach. "Oh yeah, definitely like yours better--"
"You do? You really like it?" She walked towards him, her exaggerated saunter made Daniel's eyes zero in her his mouth suddenly going dry. Her usual scientific tone now gone, replaced by a strong air of aggressive sexiness that made Daniel's trousers suddenly grow too tight.
"Uhh yes as a matter of fact one or two little ideas come to mind--"
Sam quickly pulled a prop gun from the holster and stuck it under her first mate's chin cocking it.
"Really? Like what?" She leaned close to his face, so close they were nose to nose. "And what would those ideas be Daniel? Would they take all night long? The two of us in that big hotel bed?"
Her first mate closed his eyes briefly. "Oh yes Malady, till the sun's first rays fell upon the water--"
She cocked an eyebrow, a smile coming to her lips. "We'll see, got a long day ahead of us tomorrow--" Lowering her pistol, she tilted her head to one side and pressed her mouth to Daniel's.
He took over the kiss wrapping his arms around her and yanking her against his chest as the kiss lingered.
"Ahem--" The sound of someone clearing their throat broke the kiss, both Sam and Daniel turned to see Gillian standing behind them. She had on a period dress with the tight corset upper half, it gave her an even slimmer waist and the low square neck line pushed her chest up a little. The dress had three quarter sleeves; the color of it was a deep blue satin that fanned out from the waistline to a wide skirt that brushed the ground. Steve had brushed her out long hair and curled it putting matching blue barrettes on the sides of her head.
"Well—how do I look? Like a proper pirate wench?"
Daniel gave her the once over and shook his head. "Oh no way Gill, you don't look like a proper wench at all."
This made Gillian frown. "I don't?" Leaning over she looked down at herself touching the sides of the heavy petticoat filled skirt and lifted it. "I don't? Why not?"
"You look way too beautiful--"
Sam nodded her head in agreement. "He's right you do Gill, the colonel's eyes are going to fall out of his head when he sees you--" She went over to her friend and touched the shining material. "The color really does suit you though."
"You are correct Major Carter--"
The three people turned around to see Teal'c, the proud Jaffa stood with his head held high. Steve covered
him in exotic fabric, the color gold. He had on a gold vest, the material looking
almost like chain mail tied in three places across him. This showed off his
strong chest and powerfully muscled arms. The gold-tan colored pants he wore
were of typical pirate style, knee length with the rest covered by long black
boots of thick leather. He too wore a leather belt that contained a pistol and
a dark brown scabbard vertically across his chest. On his head he wore a bandana
that hid his emblem, the material a shining gold that hung down his back.
"Whoa Teal'c you look great!" Sam grinned as she touched his vest feeling that it was indeed made of cloth.
"Thank you Major Carter, as do you--" He bowed his head at her, a smirk on his mouth as he looked over Daniel. "You too Daniel Jackson resemble a pirate warrior."
"Thanks, of course we're all missing our weapons--" Daniel touched his empty sheath and holster.
"Teal'c! Don't ye be associating yourself with the enemy! I'll have yer hide flogged fer treason!"
Gillian whipped around and saw her fiancé being led into the room on Beverly's arm.
"Oh my God!" She touched her hand to her mouth as color came to her cheeks.
Daniel's blue eyes were just as wide as he took his glasses out of his pocket and slipped them on. "Jack you look great!" He went over to Jack and touched the coat material and the hat. "Incredible!"
Sam nodded in agreement; she still had her pistol in her hand and stretched out her arm cocking it.
"Ye be Mad Jack Monahan the pirate! I be Swashbuckling Sam Lafitte and there's only room in all the seas for one pirate!"
Jack narrowed his eyes as he raised his head. "Is that so?" He moved away from Daniel and took a few steps out away from the cubicles between them and where the clothes racks started.
Sam followed him her gun still aimed at the pirate king.
He touched the black coat, opened it and let it slide down his arms to the floor. The hat was dropped beside it as he pulled his pistol.
"If ye think ye can take me lassie, then try it!"
"Oh wow he looks great--" Gillian whispered as she leaned towards Daniel fanning her still blushing face that grew even warmer from the sight of him in that linen shirt.
Daniel crossed his arms over his chest nodding. "Yeah and totally authentic too, they did a great job researching the costume."
"It will indeed be quite a battle--" Teal'c stood on the other side of Gillian watching the two pirates square off.
Sam kept her gun steady as she approached the pirate and began walking around him at a slow pace.
"Aye we will be squaring off Captain Jack, but now would not be the best time and ye know it. When ye got yer ship and crew then we'll see who be having the right to claim the seas!"
Jack lowered his pistol. "Ye be right Lassie, the battle will wait fer another time--" He tucked the pistol back into its holster. Sam watched him and did the same; she bent down and picked up his coat and hat.
"Your coat and hat sir--" She said with a smile.
"Thanks--" Jack took them and put the hat on his head but draped the coat over his arm. He turned to look at Bill, Beverly and her two assistants.
"What do you think Bill?"
Bill sighed a grin coming to his face. "I think it's going to be great Jack. We'll order some food and put some last minute touches on all of you guys then have a rehearsal."
Bill ordered dinner from the Cajun restaurant in New Orleans Square. The crowd a bit unusual, regular folks eating with blood thirsty pirates and a wench; everyone sat on the cement floor on cushions arranged in a circle sampling all of the food; everything from shrimp and crawdads to jambalaya and seafood gumbo had been placed in take out containers in the middle. When the Cajun food and praline cheesecake had a chance to settle the gang was once more divided for last minute costume checks and the passing out of the prop weapons.
"Okay Jack we need to give you a little bit of makeup here--" Beverly sat Jack down and got a second chair from another office. She scooted her chair close to him and opened the small kit.
"Since when do pirates wear makeup?" Jack protested as he pulled a silver dagger from his belt and played with it.
"We're just going to make your eyes stand out a little more--" Taking out a pencil, she cupped his chin and lowered it a little. "Just stare directly at me and don't move--"
Jack focused his gaze on her; she raised the eyeliner pencil and carefully drew a line along Jack's bottom lashes.
"Okay, now close your eyes--" She drew another line along the top of his lashes and with her finger smudged it a little. "Okay open--"
His eyes opened and Beverly smiled pleased at how much more his dark eyes stood out. "Perfect! I recommend you don't shave though most pirates had facial hair--" Closing the kit, Beverly handed Jack a mirror while she stood up.
"There you go Jack you're all set."
The pirate king stood up and slipped his coat and hat back on adjusting them a little.
"Thanks Beverly, you did a really great job--"
"You're welcome. You do look fabulous Jack; those tourists are going to be eating out of your hand--"
Jack reached out and touched her shoulder turning her to face him. "Since you were allowed one unprofessional moment when you pinched my ass, allow me one pirate moment."
"A pirate moment?" Beverly looked at him puzzled. "What do you mean by that?"
He took off his hat and set it on the desk and pulled her to him; dropping his head he gave her a kiss wrapping his arms around her and dipping her as he did so. The kiss was bold, brazen; it took Beverly by complete surprise, her eyes wide when Jack broke it.
"Fer services rendered ye brazen wench, now ye can tell all yer friends that the great pirate king Mad Jack Monahan did kiss ye--" Jack then straightened up and let go of Beverly, picked up his hat and put it back on his head as he left the office.
Beverly touched her mouth feeling her face flush. "That was the nicest thank you I think I've ever gotten."
The rehearsal went well, just the five of them practiced; the employees would be arriving at five a.m. and meeting them in the ride at six for a run through of the battle. After the rehearsal, the team was given full access to the park and special badges that would allow them on every ride. It was half past 10 o'clock when they arrived back at the suite and went into their respective rooms. Daniel and Sam would be in one, Gillian and Jack in another and Teal'c had the last room all to himself.
"Ohh talk about exhaustion--" Jack plopped down face first on the king size bed; the comforter was a medium blue with Mickey Mouse ears all over it.
"Well we have had quite a busy day Jack--" Gillian went into the bathroom; the towels neatly stacked on the wire wrack beside the mirror were maroon. The symbol of Disneyland stitched in black along the bottom matching the shower curtain; instead of the typical bathtub there was a white Jacuzzi.
"Oh man! A Jacuzzi!" Her eyes sparkled with delight as she went back out the door. "Jack we've got a Jacuzzi!"
"Really?" He raised his head and groaned as he climbed off the bed and stumbled into the bathroom.
"Whoa! We do! Great! Let's try it out!" He began unbuttoning his shirt while Gillian climbed up the steps and sat down on the edge. She turned on the big gold faucets making the water a nice warm temperature and plugged the drain.
"While it fills I'm going to give my parents a call and surprise them--" Gillian wiped her wet hands on her jeans and walked back down the stairs brushing part her fiancée.
"You're going to call them now?" Jack followed her out of the bathroom his shirt hanging open. "Gill they're probably in bed."
Gillian picked up the phone and started dialing. "They might be Jack but that doesn't matter, they'll be upset if they find out we didn't call them the moment we got here."
"But we didn't call them the moment we got here--"
"No because we were busy, now that we're not I'm calling--" She pressed the last number and held the phone to her ear. Her face broke into a smile when the line clicked and she recognized the drowsy voice of her mother.
"Hi Mom, were you and Dad in bed?"
"Gillian? Yeah we just went to bed. Is everything okay?"
"Oh yeah Mom, everything's fine--" She winked at Jack and motioned towards the bathroom mouthing the word water.
Jack nodded and went into the bathroom. He came back out and gave her a thumbs up leaning against the bathroom door frame.
"Oh good, that's a relief I thought something had happened for you to call this late."
"Well actually something has happened Mom--" Gillian sat down on the bed her face growing solemn. "See right now I'm not calling you from home."
"God is it Jack? Did something happen to Jack?"
"No Mom he's fine, he's right here. The reason I'm not calling you from home is I'm calling from the Disneyland hotel."
The line grew silent a moment.
"Mom?"
"You're here? In LA? Why didn't you tell us you were coming? You could've stayed here instead of paying those prices."
"Mom we're doing a favor for Jack's friend Bill Donovan that works for Disney. In exchange they're letting us stay here at the hotel for free--" She covered the phone with her hand. "Jack the water!"
"Got it--" He turned and went into the bathroom shutting it off. While in there he finished undressing and wrapped a towel around his waist.
"Gill we can come visit you guys tomorrow."
"Well we'll be at Disneyland most of the day but I can give you a call from the park when we're getting ready to go home."
"All right Dear, I suppose we can wait till tomorrow evening to meet up with you and Jack--" Elizabeth's disappointment radiated straight through the phone line making her daughter sigh.
"Mom I'll call you the minute I'm free, maybe you and dad can meet us in the park--" She rubbed her hand over her face just hating when her mother sounded like that.
"We do have year round passes—it wouldn't cost us anything to go in. You just call your father's cell phone as soon as you're done and we'll meet you at that statue of Walt Disney. Do you have the number?"
"Umm, no I don't have Dad's cell number with me--" Gillian tucked the phone between her neck and shoulder; she opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out a pad and pen. "What is it?"
"The same area code but its 485-5048."
"Okay Mom I got it. I better let you and Dad sleep and we have to get up early in the morning--" She set the pad and pen down.
"All right Sweetheart, we'll see you sometime tomorrow. Give our love to Jack; we can't wait to meet him."
"I can't wait for you to meet him either Mom, night."
"Good night Dear."
The phone got hung up and Gillian stood up stretching.
"So they're going to hang around Disneyland waiting for us to call?" Jack crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the doorframe.
"Yeah--" She saw him and grinned, enjoying the view of him in the maroon towel. "Ready for the soak?"
"I am, you're the one still dressed--"
"Not for long--" The jeans and blue shirt were shed in a matter of seconds along with her bra and panties. She headed into the bathroom with Jack right behind her. He loosened the towel and let it fall as they both climbed the steps and carefully down into the water.
"Ohh nice and warm--" Gillian leaned against one of the sides sighing.
"Turn on the bubbles--" Jack slid in beside her resting his head on the padded rim.
"Right--" A button was on top of the near the faucets, Gillian pressed it and the Jacuzzi whirred to life; the water suddenly beginning to bubble.
"So you're folks are looking forward to meeting me?" Closing his eyes Jack sighed as one of the bubble jets caught him in the shoulder blades.
"Of course they are, they've been wanting to meet you for a long time now--" She straddled his lap her arms coming around his neck.
Jack opened his eyes and looked at her, his hands sliding up her thighs. "You know—if we didn't have a four a.m. wake up call we could be fulfilling a fantasy."
Gillian grinned pressing her nose to her fiancée's "Let me guess, wild nookie in a Jacuzzi?"
"Oh yeah—something I've been wanting to do for a long time--" His hands went around to her butt and caressed it.
"But we do have to get up early Jack," she planted tiny kisses on his lips. "Don't worry we should be home earlier tomorrow--"
"I know I know, but we're here in this Jacuzzi now--"
"It's almost 11 Jack we better get to bed--" She sighed wistfully, climbing off his lap.
"All right, all right--"
The bubbles came to an immediate stop and the plug was pulled as the couple climbed out, dried off and went to bed.