The phone rang early the next morning.
"Hello?"
"Good morning."
Jack smiled, even though Sam couldn't see it. "Good morning."
"How was your night?"
"Fine. Yours?"
"Fine..."
"What's up, Sam?" Not that he wasn't always happy to hear her voice, but it was obvious she had something on her mind.
"Did you go to Daniel's last night?"
"Yup."
'How's he doing?"
"He's fine, Sam."
"Are we all still on for today?"
"Yup. I'll come by and pick you up about noon."
"You're picking me up?" She asked. "I can drive over there."
"I know." He reached over and flipped on the coffee pot. "But I'll pick you up."
"Um... okay."
"See you at noon."
"Want me to bring anything?"
"Just you. Daniel and I are going to go to the store and get the stuff we need before he goes and gets Sally."
"You're sure Daniel's okay?"
"I'm sure, Sam."
"Maybe I should call him...?"
"He's probably still asleep. We stayed up late last night."
"You're awake."
"I have Jaffer."
Good point.
"Noon?"
"Yep."
"I'll see you then."
"Okay."
................
The phone rang. Then it rang again.
Daniel groaned, and reached over without opening his eyes, and promptly knocked it off the stand by the bed.
"Damn it..." He turned his head and looked over the edge of the bed, and realized everything was blurry. No glasses. One hand went for his glasses, the other reached down for the phone. "Hello?"
"Daniel?"
"Sam?"
"Yeah."
"What time is it?"
"Almost seven. How are you feeling?"
"Huh?"
"How do you feel?"
"Feel?"
"How are you doing, Daniel?"
"Oh." He yawned, and blinked a few times, trying to wake up. "I'm fine, Sam."
"You're sure?"
"Yeah. Is everything okay?"
Daniel wasn't sure what day of the week it was, much less how things were going.
"Everything's fine, Sam. Are you okay?" He sat up, suddenly worried, and now wide-awake. "Is Jack okay?" What other reason would she be calling him so early?
"He's fine, Daniel," Sam could hear the worry in her friend's voice, and was quick to reassure. "Everyone's fine, I was just... calling to see if you were going to want a ride to Jack's?" Yeah, it wasn't much of a lie, but it was all she could think of. Carter wasn't the best at quick lies like that.
"No, Sam, thanks. I'm going to pick up Sally, and then we'll be over. Sometime around noon."
"Okay, I'll see you there."
"Bye."
He flopped back down on his bed, intent on getting more sleep, but the damage had been done; he was awake, and thinking about the day to come, and he wasn't going to get back to sleep with his agile mind mulling over the things that he and Jack had planned. He sighed, and threw back the blankets. Coffee.
...................
Sam couldn't help the smile that was on her face when she opened her door at exactly 11:57 AM.
"Am I missing something?" She asked.
Jack was dressed far more formally than she was. He was wearing khaki slacks and a navy blue button down shirt. And a tie! He had his right hand in his pocket, and his left hand was slightly behind his back. Sam herself was in jeans and a white blouse. "Should I go change?"
He shook his head, smiling – a little nervously, she decided. "You look great, Sam."
"Why are you dressed up?"
She looked down at Jaffer, who was standing at Jack's side, and her smile grew. He had a white bowtie attached to his collar, hiding his tags.
"Is there something wrong with wanting to look your best for the woman you love?" Jack asked, bringing his left hand out from behind his back and handing her a single long-stemmed red rose.
Sam took it, her smile threatening to split her face right in two.
"Jack...?"
"What?"
"Did Jaffer eat something expensive of mine?"
O'Neill grinned, and shook his head. "No, Sam. Not lately, anyways." He leaned forward, and kissed her gently. "I just want to use today to remind you how special you are to me."
"You're not dying are you?"
He shook his head.
"Jaffer's okay?"
"Of course."
Jack held out his arm for Sam, and she rested her hand lightly on it, wondering what in the world had gotten into him. She closed the door with her free hand, and was then escorted to Jack's freshly washed and detailed truck, where he opened her door for her, then kissed her once more before closing it.
Sam smelled the rose, still smiling, while Jack lowered the tailgate for Jaffer to hop up into the back, then watched as he got behind the wheel, and rested her hand lightly on his thigh as he started the engine.
"Thank you."
"This is your day, Sam," Jack said, resting his hand on hers for just a moment, before moving it so he could shift the truck into drive. "You're not allowed to thank me today, okay?"
"Not once?"
"Nope."
"I'll try to remember that."
"You do that."