A light knock on the door drew the attention of Jack and Cassandra both. The two of them had been at the dining room table, playing a game of chess and they might have missed the soft noise completely but Jaffer's head came up from where he'd been dozing on the couch and doubling as pillow for Sam, who'd been watching a documentary on the Space Shuttles. The black lab normally would have bolted for the door, but when he was with Sam he was usually a bit more careful than he was when he was with Jack. Where Jack would have suddenly found his pillow squirming out from under him and gone in an instant to investigate the door, Sam was given the option of moving so he could get up, or resting her hand on his shoulder to ask him to stay put. Since she'd been dozing as much as he had, Sam didn't notice his sudden tenseness, so she didn't move, and neither did Jaffer. Even when Jack got up and went to the door.
Janet was there, as he'd expected, and he smiled and ushered her inside without commenting on the fact that it was well after midnight. She knew, of course.
"How was the date?"
Sam woke up when she heard Jack's voice, and sat up a little, rubbing her eyes sleepily. This gave Jaffer the chance to move without disturbing her, and he did, coming over to greet Janet cheerfully, and waiting impatiently for her to notice him and pet him.
"It was fun."
"Oh?"
Cassie came over, shouldering her backpack.
"Just fun?" She asked, saving Jack the trouble of doing it.
Janet blushed slightly, and hid it by bending down and scratching Jaffer's sides.
"It was fun."
Fun was an understatement, but Janet wasn't ready to tell everyone about her date. As it turned out, Emmett did know how to dance, and once they'd eaten, the two of them had spent the rest of the evening in each other's arms, dancing. When they'd grown tired, or just needed a break from the dance floor for a while, they'd went to the restaurant's bar and over a couple of weak drinks they'd shared their life stories – she telling him an edited for public version of how she'd adopted Cassie, while he in turn told her about his now-dead wife and of the life they'd had together.
It'd had been one of the most enjoyable evenings Janet had had in a very long time, and the night had past far more quickly than she could have imagined, and it was with true regret that she told him she'd better get home. It was, after a school night, and she still had to go get Cassie – although she'd been very tempted to call and see if the offer to keep Cassie over night was still on the table. She hadn't, though, and Emmett had been a perfect gentleman when he'd dropped her off at her house. He'd walked her to her car, and after an only slightly awkward moment, he'd bent and kissed her gently goodnight.
"I'll see you in the morning?"
"I'd like that." Janet had said, her hands resting lightly on his arms – which were still wrapped gently around her.
"You sure you don't want me to take you to Colonel O'Neill's to get Cassandra?" He had seemed as loath to end the evening as she was, but Janet knew it had to end, and she wasn't going to make him deal with a nosy Jack O'Neil. Bad enough she had to.
"I'll do it." She smiled and they had kissed once more. "It's late, and you should go get some sleep"
"I'll see you in the morning"
"Yes"
"We still have to do your interview."
Janet had smiled. It wasn't something she was worried about.
"I know."
Another kiss, and they'd parted, reluctantly.
"Are you going to see him again?" Jack asked, asking the question that Cassie had obviously been planning on asking next.
Janet nodded.
Cassie smiled.
"Wellâ we'd better get home." Fraiser said, unwilling to be ganged up on by those two any more that night. She was sure Cassie would have a million questions to ask on the way home, but that was only to be expected, and Janet didn't have anything to hide. She'd had a wonderful evening.
"I'll walk you out," Jack told them, heading barefoot for the door, with Jaffer right beside him. The two of them would make sure they made it to the car and on their way safely. Even though Jack's neighborhood was safe – and even safer since the addition of Jaffer – O'Neill never took chances.
He walked the two of them to Janet's car, and opened the door for Cassie.
"Thanks for having her over, Jack," Janet told him as Jaffer walked with her around to the driver's side door.
"She's welcomed anytime, Doc," Jack said, giving Cassandra his best smile. "Tomorrow night, even"
Which was his way of asking if she had made plans for the next evening.
Janet smiled as she opened the door.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Which was her way of saying she might have.
"See you, Jack." Cassie said, buckling her seatbelt.
"Night sweetheart."
"Night Colonel."
"See you in the morning, Doc."
Jaffer came back around to stand next to Jack and the two watched them drive off, and then went back inside, where Sam was waiting for them.
"What did she say?" Sam asked.
"Nothing." Jack scowled, but he wasn't really all that annoyed, and Sam knew it. "I told her if she wanted to bring Cassie over tomorrow, we'd take her."
"Good."
Sam slid her arms around his waist, leaning against him for a long moment. He rested his chin on the top of her head.
"You okay?"
"Mmm-hmmmâ just tired."
"We'd better get you to bed, then."
"Yeah."
"You can pretend to be sick tomorrow, and spend the morning in the infirmary pumping Janet for information about her date."
Sam smiled.
"You're too nosy for your own good."
"You're not?"
"Well"
"Uh huh."
He let her go and took her to bed. Time enough to find out everything he wanted to know the next day. He was patient. He could wait that long, at least.
