A couple of hours later she rang the doorbell to Jack's house. "Carter you're late!" Jack happily chided her as he smiled, he was just glad to see that she had finally arrived.
Sam returned the smile, "Sorry about that sir. I was busy in the kitchen."
Jack raised his eyebrow and tilted his head, "You were in the kitchen? As in cooking something?"
"Hey don't act so surprised, I can cook."
"Maybe, but should we send a decontamination team over to your house just in case?" he asked her.
Sam laughed at his joke, "That won't be necessary." She decided to play back, "I guess you won't want any of the cookies I made you then," she told him as she held up two tins of cookies.
Jack's face lit up, "ooh cookies! Whadya bring me?"
"But I don't think you'll want to risk eating them," she told him as she started to enter his house. "Maybe Teal'c will want them," she told him as she pretended to look around for Teal'c.
Jack reached out and snatched the tins away from her, "Uh, that's okay… You can just leave them with me… I'll take my chances!" he told her as he opened the tin and pulled out a chocolate chip cookie and put it in his mouth.
Sam smiled and nodded her head as she tried to stop the smirk from appearing on her face as she watched her CO hold one cookie in his mouth while he searched for another cookie. "I'll have to remember this."
Jack looked up startled from his cookie hunt, "Huh?"
"You're a sucker for homemade cookies…" she told him with a smile. He gave her a mock stern glare. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," she told him with a wink before continuing on to see her other friends.
Jack stared at her as she walked away from him, 'God, I love that smile! Do not go there Jack, m'boy…'
The evening had passed pleasantly, everyone there had enjoyed themselves as they allowed themselves a small celebration over the defeat of Anubis. The gathering was kept small, to SG-1, Janet, Cassandra, and even General Hammond had stopped by for a bit.
They were all seated in the living room when the conversation turned to all the attempts that were made to revive the Colonel from his stasis. "I swear the three of you worked non-stop while Jack was taking his little nap," Janet mentioned. "I mean Colonel, how could you be so inconsiderate and take a nap while Sam was close to collapsing a few times from exhaustion?" she teased him.
Jack smiled as his eyes searched out Sam's. He finally locked his gaze on her, Sam sheepishly waved off the praises from her close friend. Jack spoke seriously, "Thanks. I really appreciate it."
Daniel took the liberty of answering as he watched the silent exchange between Jack and Sam, "No problem Jack, you would have done the same for us… Or at least you would have tried to come up with some good ideas."
Jack turned and shot his best friend a glare, "Hey I resent the implication that you don't think I have good ideas… I have plenty of good ideas! … Just not very often," he smiled.
The room broke out in laughter. "Maybe you just have longer rest times before ideas strike you!" Cassie offered, "That's why you have Sam around!"
"Yeah, I've noticed that Sam works well in stretches of six days without sleeping before she needs to recharge… We had to send her home a few days before you woke up, even then she managed to get back on base that night… We had to take her access card away from her and essentially lock her in her room so that she would rest!" Janet lightly added as she recalled her reaction to seeing Sam arriving at the base as she was leaving.
Jack looked at Sam shocked, but noticed how her face fell as she recalled why she had left the comforts of her own home. Teal'c spoke, "I myself had to prevent Major Carter from leaving her room several times."
When Sam looked up the memory of Pete's actions was still in her eyes, she was upset because of the way he had made her feel. She noticed though that Jack was looking right at her, "Yeah, he wouldn't even let me get a drink of water," she added trying to mask the pain. 'God, I need some fresh air,' she told herself as she got up and walked out into the backyard.
Jack followed her out with his eyes as he continued to listen to some of the ideas that Sam had come up with, especially the ones when she was near her limit of exhaustion. The conversation then diverged as Daniel spoke to Cassandra about several anthropology theories and Teal'c and Janet began discussing his intention to move to an off base apartment. Twenty minutes later Jack noted that Sam still hadn't returned and so he too slipped outside. "Carter!" he whispered when he was on the back porch and didn't see her.
The reply came from above, "Up here sir."
Jack turned around and looked up at his small observation deck. He could see the back of her head as she looked up at the stars. Jack climbed the ladder and smiled at her when he was able to see her face to face. "Hey, everything okay?"
Sam hesitated before answering, "Yeah… I just needed some fresh air." She wasn't quite ready to talk to him about Pete. She didn't want to know how he would react when she told him, she was afraid that he wouldn't care. 'That's okay, he and I are just friends,' she reminded herself.
Jack questioningly looked at her before deciding not to proceed further down that line of questioning. "Thanks again for the cookies."
Sam looked over at her grinning CO and couldn't help but smile at seeing his childish grin, "Your welcome."
"Making them didn't seriously put you in any danger did it? You know, like, it didn't set your house on fire or anything did it?"
"Why does every guy I know assume I can't cook?"
"Because you're a scientist… Your type doesn't appreciate the art of experimenting in a kitchen, you like your recipes and all," he told her with a wide grin.
Initially, Sam tried to act offended, but that didn't last very long. "You're right, I can't really cook. But I can bake, the recipes are easier and there's less room for error…"
"Are the cookies downstairs the only ones you made?" Sam was stunned, how did he know that? When he saw the look on his 2IC's face he knew he was right on the money, "So how many batches did you lose?"
"The first batch was a disaster and then I only burned one tray," she told him sheepishly. He knew her so well.
"Yeah, what happened?"
"I, uh, accidently put salt in the batch instead of sugar."
"Egh… I hope you didn't bring me any of those!" He asked her as she nodded her head. "Good," he stated triumphantly and pleased to know that she wasn't trying to poison him. "So what happened with the burnt ones?"
"I got distracted and I let them cook too long," she told him as she herself was distracted by her own thoughts again. That had been the batch she had put in before her fight with Pete.
Jack wasn't looking at her and so he didn't notice the change in her mood, "Carter I didn't think you got distracted!" he teased her. When he didn't receive a reply he looked back at her and finally noticed the change. He was concerned by her abrupt change in mood, she had done that earlier, "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Nothing now… It's just been a stressful few weeks," she told him. Sam looked at her CO and could see that he was about to question her further and not drop the issue. "We should get back down there," she told him as she stood up and approached the ladder.
Just before she was about to go down the ladder, Jack grabbed her hand and spoke softly, "Is everything all right?"
She was touched by his concern and sincerity, he was truly worried about her. Sam seriously considered his question. She had her CO back alive and well, she was no longer in a relationship that left her angry and feeling bad half the time, and it looked like things with her CO were okay… Yeah, she would settle for content. She smiled, "Yeah, everything's fine now."
Jack accepted her reassuring smile and words and followed her down the ladder.
TBC
Sam returned the smile, "Sorry about that sir. I was busy in the kitchen."
Jack raised his eyebrow and tilted his head, "You were in the kitchen? As in cooking something?"
"Hey don't act so surprised, I can cook."
"Maybe, but should we send a decontamination team over to your house just in case?" he asked her.
Sam laughed at his joke, "That won't be necessary." She decided to play back, "I guess you won't want any of the cookies I made you then," she told him as she held up two tins of cookies.
Jack's face lit up, "ooh cookies! Whadya bring me?"
"But I don't think you'll want to risk eating them," she told him as she started to enter his house. "Maybe Teal'c will want them," she told him as she pretended to look around for Teal'c.
Jack reached out and snatched the tins away from her, "Uh, that's okay… You can just leave them with me… I'll take my chances!" he told her as he opened the tin and pulled out a chocolate chip cookie and put it in his mouth.
Sam smiled and nodded her head as she tried to stop the smirk from appearing on her face as she watched her CO hold one cookie in his mouth while he searched for another cookie. "I'll have to remember this."
Jack looked up startled from his cookie hunt, "Huh?"
"You're a sucker for homemade cookies…" she told him with a smile. He gave her a mock stern glare. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," she told him with a wink before continuing on to see her other friends.
Jack stared at her as she walked away from him, 'God, I love that smile! Do not go there Jack, m'boy…'
The evening had passed pleasantly, everyone there had enjoyed themselves as they allowed themselves a small celebration over the defeat of Anubis. The gathering was kept small, to SG-1, Janet, Cassandra, and even General Hammond had stopped by for a bit.
They were all seated in the living room when the conversation turned to all the attempts that were made to revive the Colonel from his stasis. "I swear the three of you worked non-stop while Jack was taking his little nap," Janet mentioned. "I mean Colonel, how could you be so inconsiderate and take a nap while Sam was close to collapsing a few times from exhaustion?" she teased him.
Jack smiled as his eyes searched out Sam's. He finally locked his gaze on her, Sam sheepishly waved off the praises from her close friend. Jack spoke seriously, "Thanks. I really appreciate it."
Daniel took the liberty of answering as he watched the silent exchange between Jack and Sam, "No problem Jack, you would have done the same for us… Or at least you would have tried to come up with some good ideas."
Jack turned and shot his best friend a glare, "Hey I resent the implication that you don't think I have good ideas… I have plenty of good ideas! … Just not very often," he smiled.
The room broke out in laughter. "Maybe you just have longer rest times before ideas strike you!" Cassie offered, "That's why you have Sam around!"
"Yeah, I've noticed that Sam works well in stretches of six days without sleeping before she needs to recharge… We had to send her home a few days before you woke up, even then she managed to get back on base that night… We had to take her access card away from her and essentially lock her in her room so that she would rest!" Janet lightly added as she recalled her reaction to seeing Sam arriving at the base as she was leaving.
Jack looked at Sam shocked, but noticed how her face fell as she recalled why she had left the comforts of her own home. Teal'c spoke, "I myself had to prevent Major Carter from leaving her room several times."
When Sam looked up the memory of Pete's actions was still in her eyes, she was upset because of the way he had made her feel. She noticed though that Jack was looking right at her, "Yeah, he wouldn't even let me get a drink of water," she added trying to mask the pain. 'God, I need some fresh air,' she told herself as she got up and walked out into the backyard.
Jack followed her out with his eyes as he continued to listen to some of the ideas that Sam had come up with, especially the ones when she was near her limit of exhaustion. The conversation then diverged as Daniel spoke to Cassandra about several anthropology theories and Teal'c and Janet began discussing his intention to move to an off base apartment. Twenty minutes later Jack noted that Sam still hadn't returned and so he too slipped outside. "Carter!" he whispered when he was on the back porch and didn't see her.
The reply came from above, "Up here sir."
Jack turned around and looked up at his small observation deck. He could see the back of her head as she looked up at the stars. Jack climbed the ladder and smiled at her when he was able to see her face to face. "Hey, everything okay?"
Sam hesitated before answering, "Yeah… I just needed some fresh air." She wasn't quite ready to talk to him about Pete. She didn't want to know how he would react when she told him, she was afraid that he wouldn't care. 'That's okay, he and I are just friends,' she reminded herself.
Jack questioningly looked at her before deciding not to proceed further down that line of questioning. "Thanks again for the cookies."
Sam looked over at her grinning CO and couldn't help but smile at seeing his childish grin, "Your welcome."
"Making them didn't seriously put you in any danger did it? You know, like, it didn't set your house on fire or anything did it?"
"Why does every guy I know assume I can't cook?"
"Because you're a scientist… Your type doesn't appreciate the art of experimenting in a kitchen, you like your recipes and all," he told her with a wide grin.
Initially, Sam tried to act offended, but that didn't last very long. "You're right, I can't really cook. But I can bake, the recipes are easier and there's less room for error…"
"Are the cookies downstairs the only ones you made?" Sam was stunned, how did he know that? When he saw the look on his 2IC's face he knew he was right on the money, "So how many batches did you lose?"
"The first batch was a disaster and then I only burned one tray," she told him sheepishly. He knew her so well.
"Yeah, what happened?"
"I, uh, accidently put salt in the batch instead of sugar."
"Egh… I hope you didn't bring me any of those!" He asked her as she nodded her head. "Good," he stated triumphantly and pleased to know that she wasn't trying to poison him. "So what happened with the burnt ones?"
"I got distracted and I let them cook too long," she told him as she herself was distracted by her own thoughts again. That had been the batch she had put in before her fight with Pete.
Jack wasn't looking at her and so he didn't notice the change in her mood, "Carter I didn't think you got distracted!" he teased her. When he didn't receive a reply he looked back at her and finally noticed the change. He was concerned by her abrupt change in mood, she had done that earlier, "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Nothing now… It's just been a stressful few weeks," she told him. Sam looked at her CO and could see that he was about to question her further and not drop the issue. "We should get back down there," she told him as she stood up and approached the ladder.
Just before she was about to go down the ladder, Jack grabbed her hand and spoke softly, "Is everything all right?"
She was touched by his concern and sincerity, he was truly worried about her. Sam seriously considered his question. She had her CO back alive and well, she was no longer in a relationship that left her angry and feeling bad half the time, and it looked like things with her CO were okay… Yeah, she would settle for content. She smiled, "Yeah, everything's fine now."
Jack accepted her reassuring smile and words and followed her down the ladder.
TBC
