A/N: Well, okay, when I started writing and posting fanfic, I never intended to stray from the reality created by the show, because I honestly believe the show is shippy enough by itself. Apparently there's a little part of me that disagrees with that. Hmm. Maybe I'm just on that 'fine line' Hammond is always accusing O'Neill of walking. Who knows. Enough rambling, right? You guys want the 'yucky love stuff.' (Oh dear Lord, I'm quoting Julia Roberts movies... kill me now.)

Ch 6: Near misses

Sam had been dancing almost all night long, not having the heart to say no to anybody who asked her, since it was her birthday, no matter how much her shoes were starting to hurt her feet. She couldn't help but wonder if she was going to get to dance with her CO though. He hated dancing, she knew, but it was her birthday.

Still, it was getting late, and people were already starting to leave. She didn't know how much longer Grogan was going to keep playing music. As she looked around the room, which was still fairly crowded but less so than it had been earlier, she didn't even spot her CO anywhere.

Figuring he'd gone outside for some fresh air, she stepped out onto the deck. The air was still chilly, despite the heaters that were going, but not that bad. The deck appeared empty at a quick glance, however, but she enjoyed the way she could still hear the party in the background but could also hear the normal outdoor sounds of night time. She walked over to the railing and leaned forward on her elbows slightly, looking up at the stars. It was going to be a clear day tomorrow.

"Cold?" a familiar voice asked quietly, stepping up behind her and completely invading her personal space.

Sam jumped. "You scared me. What are you lurking in a dark corner or something?" she asked quickly, adding a belated, "Sir?" to sound less insubordinate.

"Maybe. What are you doing out here? Tired of Daniel stepping on your feet?"

"I was looking for you," Sam said with a small smile she knew he couldn't see, since she was still facing his yard.

"I'm out here," he supplied.

She glanced over her shoulder at him and saw that he was about to take off his coat for her. "I'm okay," she said quickly, turning back to look up at the stars.

"You're cold."

"If you take that off you'll be cold," she said absently.

"Compromise," he offered quietly.

She inhaled sharply in surprise as he wrapped the coat around her from behind. With himself still in it.

"Interesting compromise," she managed to get out as he reached around her and zipped her up inside the coat with him. Her entire back was brought into full contact with him and the trapped heat inside the coat made her face and legs seem even colder. It was a strangely exciting contrast. So was the soft sweater against her bare back and the hard muscles underneath that sweater.

"You're going to have a lot of explaining to do if somebody else comes out here," Sam finally said after she'd gotten somewhat used to the strange position. "Especially if it's Dad."

"Yeah, well, I'll just use you as a shield," he said casually. "Besides, if anybody glances out here they'll just see my back. You're completely hidden."

"Unless they look down and see you've grown an extra set of legs."

"An extra nice set of legs."

"Colonel," she objected mildly.

"So, you were looking for me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Wondering if you were going to dance with me on my birthday," she said quietly.

"I'll dance with you right now," he said, swaying dramatically to one side.

She giggled and said, "That's not what I meant. I don't think it would look much better if somebody saw us dancing alone out here."

"Probably not," he agreed. "I'd have thought you'd be tired of dancing by now. How many times did the Simmons kid trap you? Four?"

"Five," she admitted. "And these shoes are killing me, but... I think I've danced with everybody here except the one person I wanted to dance with most."

He made an irritated sound at the back of his throat and said, "You don't play fair, you know."

"Oh but zipping me up in your coat with you with my arms trapped is really fair," she countered.

"Hey, that's right, your arms are trapped," he said with a chuckle, tickling her waist lightly.

She squirmed, which threw them both off balance and gasped, "Please, don't."

"Okay, yeah, that could turn out dangerous," he agreed, squeezing her arms and then settling with his arms around her snugly.

"I'm sure you already know this," Jack said after a few long minutes of comfortable silence as they just stood there, rocking back and forth slightly. "But you look... amazing... tonight." The sincerity behind his voice, along with the fact that he was speaking so quietly and directly into her ear, made her shiver so hard she knew he had felt it too.

She leaned out into his arms as much as the jacket would permit so she could turn her head and see him. He met her eyes, the dark brown somehow managing to twinkle even in the dim light. He sighed as his gaze dropped down to her mouth and she knew what he was thinking. She wasn't expecting him to kiss her until everyone else had gone home, but this just seemed too perfect. If he didn't do it now, she would.

Luckily they seemed to be having the same thought, because she leaned back into him just as he leaned forward. The space between their lips was small, but it was taking them a long time to close it. Just as he finally grazed her lips with his, the door slid open suddenly and they both froze, wondering who it was.

Jack jerked his head up quickly and whispered, "Damn."

"Jack?" Daniel asked in that happy voice he always had when he was drunk.

"What, Daniel?" Jack barked, not turning around in case Daniel hadn't noticed Sam yet.

"Uh, have you seen Sam?"

They both breathed a collective sigh of relief. "Not recently, why?" Jack asked, hoping he sounded casual.

"Um, she was looking for you, she wanted to dance with you and Grogan says he's only playing a few more songs."

"All right, thanks Daniel."

There was a long silence and Daniel said, "So are you coming in?"

"YES, Daniel!" Jack said impatiently. "I'll be in in a minute, go... find Fraiser and dance with her."

"Okay," Daniel agreed happily, going back inside and shutting the door.

Sam started laughing. "Glad you're so amused," Jack mumbled as he unzipped his coat and let her go.

They went back inside, both determined to put the near-miss/near-kiss behind them until the party was over. Jack shrugged off his coat and draped it over the back of a chair, but grabbed Sam's hand as she started to move towards where everyone was dancing.

She raised an eyebrow at him. He didn't explain why he stopped her, just knelt down and started fiddling with the straps of her shoes until he had them undone.

She put a hand on his shoulder and stepped out of them, toeing them under the chair his coat was on. "That is so much better," she said appreciatively, closing her eyes and wiggling her toes into his floor.

He laughed and said, "You should have done it a long time ago then. Come on, I promise not to step on your feet." She grabbed his hand and hurried towards the group of people dancing, glad the song was slow.

Jacob Carter leaned against the wall with his arms folded, watching his daughter dance with her CO and pointedly ignoring Selmak's attempts to soothe him. It wasn't that they were dancing together; his daughter had danced with nearly everybody there. It wasn't how close they were dancing either that was bothering him. She wasn't standing that much closer to him than she had to Daniel, or to Teal'c when she had finally dragged the large man out there with her earlier. It wasn't even the fact that he'd watched her disappear several minutes ago and just known she had been going to look for her CO to drag him back there and dance. She'd done that to Teal'c too.

What was infuriating Jacob, for some reason, was the fact that she'd taken off her shoes.

Somehow the combination of her dress, the sight of Jack's hands on his daughter (although they were staying in perfectly appropriate places for his hands to be,) and Jacob's general knowledge and thoughts about the strange relationship the two of them shared were suddenly too much when combined with the sight of his daughter's bare feet.

He knew George had joined him in watching them, but he didn't take his eyes off of his daughter. George sighed deeply and squeezed his old friend's shoulder. "I know what you're thinking, Jacob," he said carefully.

"I'm already getting it from Selmak, George, just let it go," Jacob said through his teeth.

"All right," George said quietly, leaning back against the wall next to his friend.

As one song ended, another began, and neither Jack nor Sam seemed to notice, Jacob said quietly, "How can you be okay with this, George? You're their CO..."

"Jacob, look at that man's face," George said quietly.

Jacob reluctantly did as his friend requested. Jack had the normal blank soldier face firmly in place. But Jacob squinted, trying to see that far across the room, saw the look in Jack's eyes, and sighed heavily. Well this just got better and better, didn't it.

"I don't know what you see when you look at that man, Jake," George started gently. "But I see a man holding everything he wants and knows damn well he can't have. As hard as I've tried, I can't feel anything other than pity for either of them." George squeezed Jacob's shoulder once more and left him alone to let that sink in.

Jacob sighed, suddenly really grateful that he couldn't see Sam's face from where he was standing. Jack was one thing, but if his daughter looked even a tenth as torn as he did, Jacob wouldn't be able to take it. Selmak voiced her opinion that George was a lot smarter than he looked. Jacob told Selmak to shut the hell up, but she knew he didn't really mean it this time.

Grogan announced the last song of the night and Jack made eye contact with Daniel, who was nearby and ending a dance with Janet. Jack nodded Daniel over and said quietly, "Last dance. Has to be with Daniel."

Sam met his eyes sadly for a moment and nodded. He was right. There were a lot less people here now, which meant a lot more eyes were on them. He squeezed her hand before handing her over to Daniel and forcing himself to smile brightly at Janet.

"Well, doc, you hiding any needles on your person? Is it safe to approach?"

She laughed and said, "I'd rather sit this one out if that's okay with you, Colonel."

"Of course," he said. "Let's go get a drink."

He led Dr. Fraiser over to get them both fresh drinks, barely noticing what he was doing. All his thoughts were on the woman still dancing in the middle of the room. Across the room, Jacob Carter, still in a silent grumping match with Selmak, was doing the same thing.