The Intergalactic Social Event of the Decade

Part 6

Sam unconsciously sought out the members of her team in the crowd. It was a habit born from so many years working together in situations that more than likely would turn out to be dangerous. It was comforting to have them near. As always the first one she found was General O'Neill. He was leaning against the railing of the porch talking to Lt. Colonel Paul Davis. Try as she might she could never stop the shiver that ran up her spine when she saw him. Especially when he was looking so… good. He had on finely tailored 3-button black suit and a black dress shirt left open at the collar. The black clothing against the tan of his skin and the silver of his ruffled hair made for a striking if slightly menacing look. Sam smiled as he remembered a drunken conversation she and Daniel had over several bottles of wine a couple of years ago.

"I'm telling you, Sam. Jack isn't who we think he is."

"Are you trying to say he's a Goa'uld?" she asked drunken disbelief.

"No. I'm just saying he's not stupid."

"Of, course he's not, Daniel," she snorted. "You don't make Colonel by being stupid."

"That whole 'I'm just a simple man' crap is- uh- um-" Daniel waved his wine glass around looking or the right word. "Crap."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because he has the complete works of Tolstoy in Russian."

"The colonel knows Russian?" she was shocked. He seemed to have trouble pronouncing simple English words, but she knew that was a front, but Russian that was…weird.

"Think about it, Sam. The Cold War hasn't been over that long. Jack was special ops. He was probably in and out of Germany, Russia, South and Central America, Viet Nam, even maybe, and who knows where else. He would have to be able to communicate."

"You're right. What other languages are his books?"

"English, obviously, Arabic, German, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Spanish."

"Wow."

"You never looked at his bookshelves?" Daniel asked curiously.

"Not really."

"He's even got some books on physics and astrophysics. I suspect those are more recently acquired. They're between his Calvin and Hobbes collection and the Wizard of Oz. I place of honor I think."

Sam couldn't help but blush, "I always thought he understood a lot more than he lets on."

"He likes to listen to you talk, Sam," Daniel told her with a knowing smile and her blush depended. "Hey! Guess what he has in his closet!"

"Daniel, so help me if you tell me women's clothes I'm going to kill you and him."

"No, of course not," he looked confused at the suggestion. "Jack's the straightest man I've ever met. Why would you even think that, Sam? You don't have some weird

fantasy-"

"Shut up, Daniel! That's sick."

Daniel shut up and poured more wine for them both.

"Sooo," Sam prompted. "What is in his closet?"

"Armani suits."

"What?!" she almost spilled her wine. A dress might have been more believable.

"Yep. And a couple of Hugo Boss ones, an Armani tux and even a Ralph Lauren white dinner jacket."

"The colonel?! No way!"

"Way. He also has an excess of fleece pullovers, khaki cargos, plaid flannel shirts, and some outrageously horrible Hawaiian shirts. That's the stuff we get to see."

"I'd pay good money to see him in an Armani suit," Sam smiled wistfully.

"Maybe he'll ask you to the opera one day." She blushed at that statement. "Face it, Sam. We only see about half of who Jack O'Neill is. Secretly he's a man of discriminating tastes. I figure before he was a man of the galaxy he was a man of the world. He's lived a life where every moment might be his last and he's learned to enjoy the finer things. He just doesn't admit to it."

Sam pondered this information for a few minutes and then began to wonder why Daniel knew all this. "What did you do, Daniel? Case his house? He didn't give you a grand tour showing you his most intimate secrets."

"I conducted an archeological survey," he replied innocently.

"An archeological survey? So basically you snooped around."

"No, it was for scientific purposes."

"Which translates into the colonel had a scientist snooping around his house looking for gossip material."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Daniel protested.

"So what else did you find?" Sam couldn't restrain her curiosity.

"He has some really nice pieces of Arts and Crafts Movement ceramics."

"Huh. So have you done an archeologically survey of my house?"

"Yeah."

"And?"

"It looks like a Pottery Barn catalog."

Sam looked around her perfect unlived in living room. "I know it's sad, isn't it?"

Sam suddenly realized that she was staring at the general and he had caught her. He raised his glass to her in salute and she smiled self consciously at him before turning away to look for Pete. She found her fiancé talking to her brother. She looked at Pete in his navy blazer and khakis. His tie was unloosened and looked uncomfortable and slightly rumpled. She glanced back at the general. He looked effortlessly elegant in his suit and appeared to be just as comfortable in it as his BDUs. She wondered if it was Armani.

---

Jack felt her eyes on him. He always could. Just as he always instinctively knew where she was in a room. He looked up and caught her staring at him. He raised his glass acknowledging that he knew what she had been doing. She smiled and flushed in embarrassment and the turned away to join Pete who was talking to her brother. Jack continued to nod along with whatever Paul Davis was saying to him and studied Carter. She looked different than he'd ever really seen her before. She looked coolly elegant and very put together almost to the point of artifice. Her hair was styled in carefully in soft waves. It reminded him of Grace Kelly in a way. She had on a straight navy silk shift dress that came to just below her knees and strappy silver shoes with a skinny but modest heel. Wrapped around her shoulders sari like was the shawl the he, Daniel, and Teal'c had given her for her birthday a couple of years ago. Jack had been wandering around the marketplace on P3X- 283, when he had seen the sky blue silky cashmere like material embroidered that was with a silver star pattern along the edges. He knew she had to have it. Apparently the fabric was extremely rare and expensive and they had ended up giving the dealer their watches, Jack's sunglasses and Famous Amos oatmeal cookies, Daniel's 3 Snicker bars and his 4 pens, and Teal'c's half a box of Starcrunches and deck of Uno cards. They had managed to make the transaction without Carter knowing about it, but she made merciless fun of them when she discovered they had accidentally misplaced or lost their most treasured off world items. She had been terribly apologetic when the truth was discovered, but she had loved the shawl and that was all that mattered to them. Jack surveyed her for another minute before deciding she was undeniably beautiful in her chic outfit, he preferred her hair a little unruly rather than perfectly in place and her in BDUs or better yet her motorcycle leathers. He didn't really care for the tame complacent Carter standing quietly next to Pete.

---

Jack was standing by himself nursing the fine Scotch Hammond had poured for him when Cassie came up to him.

"Have you spoken to her yet?" she asked.

"Who?"

Cassie rolled her eyes. "Sam."

"No. I'm here, isn't that good enough?"

"C'mon," Cassie pulled him towards where Cater and Pete were talking to Jacob.

"Okay! Geez, Cass, you're gonna pull my arm out of socket."

Cassie let go of his hand and they walked over to them.

Jacob seemed to perk up as they approached. "Jack. Cassie."

"Hey, Dad," Jack said as he sauntered up. "Ready for me to kick yours and Selmak's ass again at Scrabble?"

"Selmak thinks you cheated," Jacob returned with a smile.

Cassie, who had been watching Pete's expression very carefully, broke into a grin as Pete scowled when Jack called Jacob 'Dad'.

"Cater. Shanahan." Jack nodded in greeting. "Nice night you've got for the party."

Sam looked up at the cloudless night sky, "Yes, sir. It is."

"General O'Neill, it was good of you to come," Pete told him as he shook his hand. "I know it must be had to get away."

"Well, anything to make Carter happy."

Sam looked a little uncomfortable and handed her empty glass to Pete, "Would you mind getting me another, Pete?"

"Sure, babe. Dirty martini extra olives, right?"

She nodded and then turned to Cassie. "Dad says you made him go shopping with him today."

"Well, I thought his Tok'ra outfit might be a little much for a rehearsal dinner." She grinned at Jacob. "We had fun."

Jacob rolled his eyes, "She had fun. It's the first time I've been to a mall in years. I'd forgotten how much I hate them. Selmak got a big kick out of it though."

"Ah! That reminds me." Jack held out is hand to Cassie, "Gimme."

"I forgot." Cassie smiled sweetly, "Sorry, Jack."

"Yeah right. C'mon, hand it over."

Cassie opened her purse and pulled out Jack's credit card and laid it in his upturned palm. Jack pulled out his wallet and put the card back into a more secure location. "I'm going to assume you spent a fortune."

"Only a small one, Jack," she said with a winning smile. "I got this for tonight." Her full skirt twirled out as she spun around for his approval.

"Breathtaking," Jack smiled warmly at her.

"And I got a dress for the opera next week."

"Excellent."

Cassie leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Thank you, Jack."

"Oh, I gotta keep my best girl looking pretty, don't I?" Jack hugged her and kissed the top of her head.

Sam felt an irrational surge of jealously. Whether toward the General or Cassie she really couldn't say.

Jack drained the rest of his drink and handed it to Cassie, "Get me another one, will ya?"

"I think I'll get another one too." Jacob said as he followed Cassie. He recognized the glint in his daughter's eye as well as Jack.

Jack watched them walk away and then turned to Sam, "Go ahead and say it, Carter. Before you blow a gasket."

"With all due respect, sir, you shouldn't spoil her like that."

"Why not? Who else am I going to spoil, Carter?"

There was nothing overt in his question or tone but there was a slight challenging smile tugging at his lips that made Sam blush. She couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to have Jack O'Neill spoil her.

"Besides," he continued. "Cassie's a good kid. She does outstanding in school. Why shouldn't I indulge her? She works hard and she deserves it. She's had a lot of hard times in her life, more than any kid should have. If a couple of dresses and a closet full of shoes brightens her life a little bit, then what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, sir. It's just…" Sam couldn't even say why it irritated her so much.

"Just what? That you're mad that she wants to live with me and not you and Pete?"

"No!" she replied hotly.

"Okay, then. Janet in her infinite although confusing wisdom made us both Cassie's guardians, but I'm not going to play good parent/bad parent with you. Cassie's old enough to decide who she wants to stay with when she's not in school. And just because she doesn't want to stay with you doesn't mean she loves you any less, Carter."

"Yes, sir."

Cassie returned with Pete in tow. Jacob seemed to have decided not to come back. She handed Jack his drink and took a sip from her own.

"What's that?" Sam asked.

Cassie examined the contents of the glass as if seeing it for the first time and then replies matter of factly, "A champagne cocktail."

"Cassie!"

"Oh, c'mon, Sam. Let her celebrate." Pete said pushing the drink he brought Sam into her hand. "It's only a champagne cocktail. It's not like she's doing shots of tequila or anything."

The general and Cassie didn't said anything. They both looked mildly amused at Pete the cop defending Cassie's underage alcoholic consumption. Sam took the olives out of her drink and automatically handed them to Jack. Sam sighed in defeat and shook her head, "I guess you let her drink at your house, too, sir."

He shrugged as he ate an olive. "She has a beer now and again." Sam glared at him. "Light beer," he added as if that would make it all right in her eyes.

"Ugh. I hate Jack's Guinness."

Jack elbowed Cassie gently, "That's blaspheme and you know it."

"Janet would have a fit, sir."

"Nah, not a good Scot like ol' Doc Frasier. She understood alcohol and it's virtues." Jack suddenly noticed Pete staring at him as he ate Sam's olives. He held the final one impaled on the little plastic sword out to Pete. "Want the last one?"

"Uh, no thanks, General."

Jack shrugged and popped it into his mouth.

----

TBC