Take a Chance on Me - Chapter 7

"Who wants beer?" Jack asked a little too loudly, making both Jonas and Rayne jump.

Sam picked up two plates and handed them to Teal'c and to Jonas. "I'll take one, sir." She said, picking up another plate for herself.

Rayne quietly watched them interact with one another. She walked past Jack and reached up above the refrigerator to look in the cupboard for the vase that Jack had mentioned. Not finding one, she grabbed a Mason jar that was up there and walked to the sink to fill it with water. She kept her back to the others in the kitchen, who filled their plates silently. She stared out the window as she arranged the flowers, wondering what she could do to make things better. Her outburst hadn't seemed to help.

Teal'c, Jonas, and Jack trooped out of the kitchen to the living room with their plates.

"Rayne?" Sam called softly when the men were out of earshot. Rayne shook herself out of her reverie and turned around. Rayne kept her eyes lowered as she set the flowers on the countertop. "Rayne?" Sam prodded again. Rayne sighed and looked at her slowly.

"Thank you."

Rayne looked surprised. "For what?"

Sam gave her a small smile. "For trying to help. And for telling me about the colonel."

"I didn't help though and Jack certainly didn't want anything to be said. I finally get to meet him and I screw everything up."

"It might not have helped today, but I think that in the long run it will. The colonel tends to bottle things up."

Rayne looked at her curiously. "Why do you call him that? 'The Colonel' I mean. I thought you were supposed to be friends."

"We *are* friends, but we're coworkers first. As long as I'm his second, he will be 'The Colonel.'"

"What a load of crap. He wasn't always like this. Does anyone just call him 'Jack'? Does he have any friends that are just friends? It's no wonder he bottles himself up all the time. His friends aren't really his friends." Sam clenched her jaw and swallowed. "This girl has no right. She has no idea what has happened." She thought to herself. Aloud she said, "He's been like this for as long as I've known him. He's never been able to talk to anyone, except maybe Daniel, and even then he had to work to get Jack to talk."

Rayne scrunched up her eyes and paused, running through a list in her mind. She'd never heard any mention of a Daniel in Jack's life. But then, of course, any in-depth information that she knew about Jack was about eight years out of date. Pushing aside the question of who Daniel is or perhaps was, Rayne asked, "How did Daniel refer to Jack?"

Sam was mad at herself for bringing up Daniel. She didn't want to dig herself in any deeper with the colonel. Bracing herself for the question, "Who's Daniel?" that she was expecting she was surprised by the question that Rayne had asked instead: "How did Daniel refer to Jack?" "How *did* Daniel refer to Jack?" She asked herself. To Rayne she replied, "Daniel called him Jack. His best friend. Or, occasionally something less endearing."

Rayne gave her a half smile. "So Daniel called Jack, Jack and you call Jack, Sir. Jack talked to Daniel, but he doesn't talk to you. Doesn't this tell you something?"

Sam thought about it. The correlation was so obvious that she had to admit that Rayne was right. Calling someone by their name creates an intimacy between them. But that wasn't what Sam needed. It would create too much confusion, too many problems that would interfere with their work. "You're right, Rayne, but that just isn't an option, not in the military. There are very strict rules about officers and their subordinates."

"Right the military, the institution of bonding." She replied sarcastically. "Okay fine, subject dropped. Did you order hot and sour soup?"

Sam played along. "Uh, no. I didn't order any soup. I'll keep it in mind for next time. We should get something before Jonas and Murray get back."

"Oh, right, Jack warned me about them." She gave Sam a genuine smile. "So what should I call you? Ma'am? Major? Carter?"

She returned the smile. "Just call me Sam."