Emmett was at Janet's house at exactly 7:00PM that evening. She'd given him the address and directions and had told him she needed a little time to take Cassandra over to the O'Neill's – even though Jack had offered to drop by and pick the girl up – so they'd decided on a slightly late dinner. Even if they ate slowly, he told her – smiling since he was actually surprised that she'd said yes to his dinner proposal – they'd still be done in plenty of time for her to pick Cassandra up before bedtime. It was a school night, after all.
He gave his jacket another nervous tug and rang the doorbell. Janet answered almost immediately, looking only slightly nervous, herself – although she was far more nervous than she looked, she was just good at hiding it. It'd been a long time since she'd been on any kind of formal date, after all.
Bregman smiled and handed her a single long-stemmed pink rose.
"You look beautiful."
She blushed, and hid it by lowering her face to the flower, smelling its delicate aroma.
"Thank you. You look good, too."
She did look beautiful. She was wearing a cream colored matching skirt and blouse outfit made of some kind of fabric that clung perfectly to all the right spots, and Bregman actually had to stop himself from reaching out and touching the fabric to see if it were silk. Whatever it was, it was a nice affect, and he had to pull his gaze from the outfit to her face before she realized he was staring.
Janet smiled, pleased, and gestured for him to come in.
"I need to put the dog out really quick, then we can go." She explained as he walked past her and into the house. Oh, he smelled good! She didn't tell him that, of course, but really there was nothing better than a man that showed up with a flower and smelled good himself, was there?
Cassie's dog was a smallish animal with a lot of fur and a happy bark. He ambled over to sniff Emmett, who leaned down and scratched his ears.
"Nice dog."
"Colonel O'Neill got him for Cassie a long time ago."
"I'm surprised he didn't get her a lab," Bregman said. "They seem to be the prevalent breed at the SGC"
"They're not," Janet said with a smile as she shooed the dog out the back door and into the fenced yard where he'd be fine the rest of the evening. "Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill are the only two with labs. The rest of the base dogs are all German Shepherds, I believe." She closed the door and made sure it was locked, then turned around and saw he'd come over to stand close by her, watching as the small dog ran around the back yard, happily. Feeling her heart skip a beat at his nearness – God, had it really been so long? Or was it just chemistry? – she met his eyes. "I'm just as glad he got her a little dog. I've seen the damage a big dog like Jaffer can do"
He smiled, and as if aware that he made her nervous, he took a half step backwards to give her a little space. Although he didn't really want to. Of course, he'd only known her a day, so he really couldn't do what he wanted to do, and that was pull her into his arms and steal a kiss. She'd probably kill him, and worse, if O'Neill found out, he'd definitely kill him. Emmett wasn't as afraid of O'Neill as Ben was, but he respected the fact that the man would undoubtedly do pretty much anything to protect his friends – and family – and Emmett had seen the easy manner Janet and the Colonel had together. There was no doubt they were friends. So he'd behave.
Besides, he liked Janet Fraiser, and he didn't want to do anything to screw up what could be a very good thing between the two of them.
"Are you ready?" He asked her.
She nodded.
He offered her his arm – that was innocent enough, right? – and was delighted when she took it as naturally as if they'd been doing this sort of thing a million times. As he walked her out to his rented car, he asked her if she'd decided on where they'd go to eat, and Janet gave him directions to a very classy but relaxed restaurant that specialized in Italian food and dancing. She didn't know if he could dance or not, but she liked dancing, and could just hope that he did, too.
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
"So who is this guy mom's going out with?"
Jack looked over at Cassie, who was helping him make dinner. He'd sent Sam off to relax and refresh while he made dinner – and had sent Jaffer off with her to keep her occupied so she wouldn't sneak in and try to help cook.
"He's a guy the Pentagon sent to do a documentary on the SGC."
"I know that, Jack," Cassandra said, rolling her eyes. "Mom told me that much. What's he like, though?"
Cassie hadn't seen her mother so excited and nervous about a date ever. Of course, Janet didn't date much, and Cassie thought it was probably because of her. She liked that when she was younger and needed the reassurance that she was the most important thing in the world to Janet, but now that she was older, she was ready to share. She just wanted to know the guy that she was sharing her mother with. She knew that Jack was observant when it came to the people around him, and knew that he'd be the one to ask. Besides, she also knew that Jack wouldn't hold back on his opinion. Jack never lied to Cassie.
O'Neill shrugged, and handed her the makings for a salad while he seasoned the burgers.
"I don't know much about him, kiddo. He seems like a nice enough guy, though."
"Not a goober?"
Jack smiled.
"Nah." He looked over to see where Sam was, and saw that she'd just disappeared out the back door with Jaffer. "I thought he was at first, but he did me a favor†without actually trying to do me a favor†so I might have been wrong about him."
"What does he look like?"
"He's just a guy"
"Is he cute?"
"You'd have to ask your mom that. Or Sam. I'm probably not the best judge of that."
"Is he scrawny?"
"Nah."
"Fat?"
"Nah."
"Bald?"
"Nah."
"Jack!"
He grinned.
"Cassie!"
"I need more information."
"I don't have any more information, kiddo. You'll have to ask your mom."
"She won't tell me"
"She might." He bumped her lightly with his hip, knocking her slightly to the side, and she bumped him back. "She'll tell you long before she tells me, so when you find out, you let me know, okay?"
"Okay."
