Stargazers Stargaters Part 29

The day after the awards ceremony was Sunday for the Humans and the friends and parents spent as much time together as possible. That night, everyone would have to return to Roswell, except Jim Valenti, who was retired. The Evans, Parkers, DeLucas and Kyle Valenti had all run out of vacation time from their jobs, but they were determined to return on as many weekends as possible to see their loves, or their children.

SG-1, Sha're, Janet Fraser, Liz and Alex would be staying on Antar, to learn and to train or would make the easy commute from Earth through the Stargate, each day. Jim Valenti had spoken to both Max and to General Hammond and had received permission to stay as well, to help with training the troops as well as to receive further training in fighting aliens himself. Jim had fought the Skins alongside Max and the others for over a year and his experience would be valuable, even if it was in fighting a different species from the Goa'uld.

For a second night, Jack brooded as he lay in his lonely bed, remembering the sight of Sam laughing and dancing with Beneck. He himself was quite a good dancer; he had, had lots of practice while stationed at the Pentagon, earlier in his career, dancing with the other officers' wives. But he had resisted the urge to ask Sam to dance, even though most of the dancing being done was harmless square- or line-dancing.

An attraction to Samantha Carter had built up within him over a year ago, until he had to admit to himself, during certain weak moments, that he loved her as a woman, as well as being one of her best friends and respecting her greatly as the officer and brilliant scientist she was, but Jack felt that their situation was hopeless...Even IF Sam actually returned his feelings for her, intimate relations between teammates and or superior and subordinate officers were strictly against the regulations. And although he was not too worried about his own career, he would not do anything to hurt Sam's impressive record and so he kept his emotional distance from her on missions and tried to protect his own vulnerable heart with a prickly camouflage of grumpiness and sarcastic comments.

Of course it did not help that over the next several weeks, at least once a day, he would walk into a room; living room, storeroom, or garden shed, to find one couple or another kissing, hugging or otherwise making out. This was especially true of Michael and Maria, or Kyle and Tess. Since they were separated from each other during the week, they were determined to make the most of their weekends together.

"Oh for crying out loud, not you two...too!" Jack exclaimed.

He had walked around a stack of shelves in the city's library, to find Sha're pressed up against another bank of shelves and Daniel, his hands on each side of her face and his body only an inch away from touching hers, kissing his beloved wife passionately.

"What the...?" Daniel exclaimed as his head whipped around and Sha're cried out in shock. "Jack what are you doing here, I thought you were working on the design for the new training facility with Michael?"

"I was...hours ago, Daniel; I came looking for you because it's almost dinner time and even Max didn't know where you two were. What have you two been up to...besides the obvious?" Jack asked.

"We were working with Mergle..." Daniel said mentioning the interpreter's name and pointing to a nearby table piled with books. "Hmm...where did he go?"

"I didn't see a sign of him when I came inside." Jack said.

"Oh dear, Dan'yel...I hope that we did not offend him when we became...um...distracted..." Sha're murmured.

"I'm sure Mergle's okay, Sha're." Daniel reassured her. "But I'll speak to him and apologize."

Thank you, my Dan'yel." Sha're said sweetly as she stroked his beard-shadowed cheek.

"Oh no you don't!" Jack yelled as he saw their eyes lock onto each other. "Dinner-time, remember?"

"Who needs food?" Daniel murmured but then he snapped out of his daze. "Yeah, right...dinner...okay, Love, we'd better go; I'll just write a note for the librarian, asking her to leave our books on the table."

All of the SGC personnel had participated in the process which would allow them to learn and understand Antarian and of course Daniel had excelled in mastering his twenty-sixth language.

"Looks like Merge already did that." Jack said, pointing to a note perched on top of one of the books.

"Oh...uh...good." Daniel said as he took Sha're's hand, to lead her outside.

On most evenings, SGC personnel ate a simple evening meal with their hosts, but once or twice a week, they gathered at the Royal Manor for a pot-luck or barbeque. During these informal group meals, everyone could report on their individual progress and discuss any problems they were having. It was obvious to everyone at the table that Sam Carter and Beneck were getting on very well and had a lot in common when it came to their work expertise, but Jack O'Neill could not see their relationship in the same benign way that their friends did.

'If I have to hear Carter say "Beneck and I did this...or Beneck was a great help with that"...one more time!' Jack exclaimed silently to himself. 'I'm gonna break something.'

"...and Beneck suggested..." Jack heard Sam say; focusing on only those three words and suddenly the glass in his hand shattered, spraying his fruit smoothie everywhere.

"Colonel!" Sam cried out.

"Jack!" His hostess, Seria exclaimed.

"Are you all right?" Max asked.

A rumble of questions and exclamations circled the table as Max and Sam got up to move closer and see the damage, made by the glass to Jack's hand. Sam had always been the medic within SG-1, but before she could reach her C.O., Seria had gently taken his hand in both of hers, to see the injury for herself. It was Sam's turn to become jealous as the other woman tended to the Colonel.

"Max, could you take a look at Jack's hand, please?" Seria asked her friend and king, after she had carefully levitated all of the glass shards out of his skin and wiped away the blood.

"Hey, it's not that bad; you could just bandage it." Jack replied.

"No problem at all, Jack." Max countered as he took the injured hand in one of his.

Max concentrated as he passed his other glowing hand over Jack's to make sure that every bit of glass had been removed before healing the cuts.

"There, all done." He said a moment later.

"Thanks!" Jack replied, flexing the now healed hand.

"You're welcome." Max replied before going back to his seat next to Liz and the rest of the evening continued without any further incident.

But, the next night, something would happen which would really set the green-eyed monster; jealousy loose...

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Ohh, I hate it when I do that." Sam Carter muttered to herself after throwing up, having just reached the guest bathroom in time. "It must have been something I ate...not that I'm blaming your cooking, Beneck; it was very good."

"Thank you for that, Samantha, but I think you may be correct about your food being what made your stomach upset. Come; let me help you to your bed."

Beneck took her arm to steady Sam as she rinsed her mouth out with water and then walked her into her bedroom and over to the bed, where he pulled back the sheets and blankets with a sweep of his hand, so that she could sit down.

"Come, let's get you tucked in." Beneck said as he lifted Sam's pajama-covered legs to help her turn around in bed until she was leaning back against the headboard and could pull the bedclothes up around her. "I'll go make you some tea and be right back." He said and then left the room.

"Okay, tea sounds nice." Sam agreed to his departing back as she snuggled into the pillows behind her.

Just a few moments later, Beneck returned with a small tray holding a lovely, small china teapot and matching cup and saucer. He set the tray on the nightstand and then sat on the edge of Sam's bed to pour the tea.

"This is a special blend of tea, which is very soothing for upset stomachs and I want you to drink all of the tea in the pot, before you go to sleep tonight." Beneck said as he passed the cut to Sam.

"Mmmm, this does smell nice...is there a little bit of mind in this?" Sam asked.

"If I understand what you mean by the term 'mint'...uh, no there isn't any in the tea, but these particular tea leaves do have a slightly minty flavor to them." Beneck answered.

"So...could you explain what you meant about something I ate upsetting my stomach? I'm just asking in case there's something I need to avoid in the future." Sam reassured her host.

"I'm so sorry, Sam...I used a spice tonight when I made the entrée, which a very small percentage of our people are allergic to. But so few people are affected by it and even they do not have as severe a reaction to it as you had tonight, that it did not even occur to me that it would be of any harm to you...I am so sorry, Samantha." Beneck said sincerely.

"Beneck, it is all right; I am all right...really." Sam assured him. 'Really, he's like a cute, Teddy bear!' Sam thought to herself as she smiled up at her host.

"If...if you're sure...I could always call Max to come over...or Colonel O'Neill." Beneck suggested.

"No need to bother either of them, I'm fine; especially now that I have finished that soothing tea of yours." Sam said passing Beneck her cup.

"Good...well, maybe you'd better snuggle down into the covers and get a good night's sleep...the tea will help you with that too; it has a very mild sedative quality to it." Beneck suggested.

"Thanks, I am sleepy; we've been working hard these last few days." Sam agreed.

"Yes, but it's certainly been fascinating..." Beneck grinned, more back to his usual self.

"It has been that." Sam agreed.

Beneck grinned, but before he stood up he leaned over, pushed aside Sam's bangs and then kissed her on her brow, just as he had done many times to his young nieces and nephews.

"Close your eyes now and go to sleep, Samantha." He said before turning out the light and then standing up.

Beneck picked up the tea-tray and left the room...

...Outside Beneck's house, Jack O'Neill was walking home after checking in on Daniel and Sha're. He knew that it was too late at night to look in on Carter, but he did look over at the first floor window, behind which he believed was her bedroom...And silhouetted across the closed curtains came the familiar shadow of his second-in-command. Yup, that was Sam's room alright and it looked as though she was getting ready for some shut-eye...except that she was not alone. The shadow of a man was walking closely beside her and Jack could see his silhouette bend down to pull back the sheets on Sam's bed and help her into it. What in blue-blazes was going on in there? Jack wondered as he felt his blood-pressure start to climb.

The shadow, which Jack assumed to be Beneck's left the room but returned just a few moments later; he was carrying something, but Jack could not figure out what it was by his shadow. Sam's shadow was sitting up in bed and leaned forward as Beneck sat down on her bed. The shadows were distorted enough that Jack could not see that Sam was only drinking a cup of tea as he continued to watch. Moments later, though, Sam lay back down in bed and Beneck leaned down towards her...and then...the lights went out!

'Oh...man, Beneck is kissing Sam...Sam is in bed and Beneck has just leaned down to kiss her...and then he turned out the light...oh man!" Jack thought frantically.



He ran up to the front of Beneck's house and raised his hand to pound on the door. But his fist was a millimeter away from making contact with the wood, when he stopped himself and pulled back.

'What am I doing; pounding on the door like some love-sick adolescent? Or like Sam's outraged C.O....what would Sam think of me if I barged in there right now? Nothing favorable, that's for sure.' Jack thought to himself, as he tried to calm down. 'If...Beneck...is who she wants then...well...she should get him...he seems like a good man and they have so much in common...Hey! But what if he isn't who Sam wants? What if he's in there right now...forcing her..?'

Jack drew back his reclenched fist to pound on the door again, but then stopped himself.

'Who am I kidding? If Sam didn't want to return Beneck's...advances, she would have flattened him by now...and if that hadn't worked, Sam has a great set of lungs on her, she could have screamed this house down around ol' Beneck's ears if she had to...'

Jack's shoulders dropped as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and turned away from the front door.

'No...Sam can make her own decisions about who she wants...but he had better make her happy; that's all I've gotta say about it...or else he'll have Colonel Jack O'Neill on his skinny tail so fast he won't know what hit him.' Jack thought as he walked back to his accommodations in Seria's house.