"I told you I'd be out of here before you."
Janet scowled.
"I could keep you longer, if you really want me to..."
"Come get me..." Jack took three steps backwards from Fraiser's bed, grinning evilly, and the scowl deepened. Like she was going to get out of bed just to keep him in the infirmary where he could annoy her?
"Jack..."
He turned at Sam's admonishment, and gave his wife an innocent look.
"What?"
Sam didn't even answer him; she just gave him her look. Which was enough. Jack rolled his eyes and went over and tucked Janet's blankets in around her – much to the doctor's annoyance.
"I'm sorry, Doc. Thanks for taking such good care of me."
The apology wasn't authentic, but Fraiser knew he meant the rest – even though it wasn't her, exactly, that had taken care of him.
"It's the least I can do, Colonel, since you are keeping Cassie the rest of the week for me."
"Speaking of Cassie," Sam said, suddenly remembering something else, "Jack, we need to have a talk."
"Something I should know about?" Janet asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No," Sam assured her with a smile. "It's nothing big. I'll tell you about it later, if you remember to ask."
"Doc? Want me to have Jaffer come by and keep you company?"
He meant it as a tease, but she also knew that if she said yes, O'Neill would make sure he and the big black lab – and probably Teal'c's Jack as well – would be stopping by regularly. While Janet appreciated the offer, she didn't want to make Jack go out of his way – which he would.
"Thank you, Colonel, but I've already got enough work getting the fleas out of my bed."
"Shouldn't let Bregman visit so much, then."
He didn't dodge the pillow fast enough – Janet was wicked quick when it came to tossing them.
Sam laughed, and took his good arm with her hand.
"Come on, Colonel O'Neill. Let's go get some lunch."
Jack stopped just long enough to pick up the pillow, and he went over and tucked it behind Janet once more. Hiding the motion with the whole pillow thing, he brushed his lips against her ear.
"If you need anything, just call, okay?"
Fraiser smiled, and nodded, thinking once again that Sam was a lucky woman.
"I will, Colonel. Thanks."
He nodded, and called to Jaffer – who'd been flirting with the Captain CO of SG-10 (who had an entire plate filled with food) – and the three headed for the door. A paper airplane sailed past them, landing in one of the injured Sergeants' soup.
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Jack asked, figuring he'd better find out before he forgot to bring it up.
"Cassie."
"Yeah?"
They headed for the elevator.
"She's showing a little interest in Emmett's cameraman. A little more interest than I really want her to have..."
"And you want me to talk to her?"
Sam shook her head.
"I want you to talk to him. Just make sure he knows Cassie is off-limits, okay?"
"You want me to bully him?" Jack asked, pretending to look shocked.
"You probably won't need to," Sam said, smiling as they entered the elevator. "He's fairly high-strung, I've noticed, and pretty shy. Just... I don't know... mention how much you like Cassie, and remind him that if he does anything to or with her, you'll make sure it doesn't happen again."
Oh, the irony!
"That sure sounds a lot like bullying to me..."
"But you'll do it, right?"
"Of course."
"Right now?"
"If you want me to."
"The sooner the better. Cassie'll be coming by when she gets out of school, and she'll probably ask Emmett to introduce Ben to her then. I'd rather he knew how we – you – felt before that happened."
The elevator opened and they stepped out.
"Okay. You go save me a spot at lunch, and I'll go find him and talk to him."
"Take Jaffer."
Boy, she really did want him to intimidate Crane! Jack nodded, and gestured for the lab to follow him – he was going to anyways – and he headed down the hall one way, and Sam headed the other, content that Jack would take care of things. Like he always did. Of ourse, she wasn't aware just how easy it was going to be. Jack wouldn't even have to bully Ben, he'd just mention it.
OOOOOOOOOOOO
"Can I visit for a while?"
Emmett Bregman had snuck into the infirmary – even though he knew it wasn't really a visiting hour, per se. Janet looked up and smiled, and gestured for him to close the curtains around the bed. Now that Jack wasn't her neighbor, she didn't have to worry about being teased about wanting a little privacy. None of the other patients in the infirmary would dare tease her. They respected her needles too much. Or feared them. O'Neill didn't fear anything.
"I'd love the company," Janet murmured.
He came over and sat on the edge of her bed, taking her hand and kissing her softly.
"No interviews?" Janet asked, touching his cheek for the briefest of moments.
"We have one, but Colonel O'Neill came by and asked to talk to Ben for a minute, so I thought I'd sneak away while they were doing that."
"They must have had some kind of talk already, huh?" Janet asked. "Ben seems a little more relaxed around the Colonel."
That was an understatement. The fact that Ben would even be in the same room as Jack, much less actually talk to him, was a sure sign they'd reached some kind of understanding.
Bregman nodded, but he didn't comment any further on it. What happened between O'Neill and Ben was their business. Besides, he had other things to talk about just then.
"So... when are you getting out of here?"
"Saturday."
"And when will you go out with me again?"
Janet smiled.
"Saturday?"
"Good answer." He bent and kissed her softly, once more.
