The Continuing Misadventures of SG-1 or 101 Things A Girl Can Do.
by ALC Punk! and Ryuu
Chapter Three: In Which Pool Occurs, And Someone Gets Kissed

"I can't believe they let us back in here," Daniel muttered as he flopped into a chair across from Sam. Teal'c sat a little more decorously, the seat only protesting slightly. "Shouldn't we have gotten a booth?"

"General Hammond had the SGC pay for damages, remember?" Sam smirked, "Besides, we bought a lot of food last time."

"Oh, God. Don't remind me." Grabbing his water glass, Daniel raised it. "Still, maybe we can play pool tonight? And you can get lots of money?"

"Again? Gosh, Daniel, what am I, your pool hustler?"

"You're SG-1's very own special pool hustler, Sam."

She chuckled, then shot a glance at the door, and sighed. "Yeah, well. You'd better buy me steak first."

"Are we waiting for someone else?" Daniel asked, having noticed Sam's new habit.

"Um... the General?" Sam muttered.

"What?" Daniel spluttered. "Why?"

"He was on the phone with the President, so we couldn't finish our conversation," Sam explained.

"You know what I mean, Sam!"

She sighed. "I wanted to give him a chance to talk. I owe him that much."

"You know, Sam..." Daniel shook his head. "Never mind. So, what did you want to talk about before Jack got here?"

"I got a letter from Cassie today," resolutely ignoring what Daniel hadn't said, Sam continued, "She's settling into the dorm fine. Although I think she's a little homesick."

"Oh, good. Has she decided what degree to go for?"

"She's not going to be an archeologist, Daniel."

"I believe Cassandra Frasier has expressed a preference to work with people," Teal'c interrupted before they could get into a friendly bckering match.

"I work with people!" Daniel protested. "Non-fossilized ones, even!"

"You're in a unique situation though, Daniel," Sam replied with a smile.

"Perhaps she should consider following in her mother's footsteps?" Teal'c suggested.

"I don't know." Sam tapped her fingers on the table. "She asked me about field medicine once and then proclaimed it 'gross.' I'm not sure that's the best sign for a budding MD."

"Well, I somehow don't think she'll be following in Jack's footsteps." Daniel made a face, "Cassie's not really into infiltration, counter-terrorism and assassination."

"You haven't listened to some of Janet's comments, have you?" teased Sam, then she blinked.

"No." His voice soft, Daniel looked down at his glass. "I haven't."

"To Dr. Frasier." Teal'c was holding his glass up, solemnly looking between the two of them.

"To Janet." Chorused Sam and Daniel.

"To the scariest woman I have ever met. Aside from Carter." The fourth glass clinked into the formation, startling the other three. The General slid into the vacant seat with a sigh.

"Glad you could make it, sir," Sam said softly.

He nodded. "Sorry I'm late. The President's call put me behind on a lot of things." He picked up a menu. "Have you guys ordered yet?"

"No," Daniel said, sparing him a quick glance. "We decided to get drinks first."

Jack nodded. "Drinks seem like a good idea."

The group lapsed into an uncomfortable silence.

Luckily, the waitress arrived a moment later and began handing out the drinks. She took the General's order for a Guinness and disappeared towards the bar. Sam stared blindly at her menu, trying to decide what she wanted. This had been a stupid idea.

"So, what, do I have leprosy? The plague?"

"Huh? Jack, what're you talking about?"

"C'mon, Daniel, you three have been remarkably silent-well, T's always silent, but you two," he gestured at Sam and Daniel, "Are always talkative."

"I'm trying to decide what I want, sir," Sam said, then hid behind her menu again.

"Lemme guess, Carter. A steak medium rare, baked potato with the sour cream on the side, and a diet soda."

She flushed and glared at him, "Maybe I'll get something different this time, sir."

"Jack."

"Daniel."

"Stop this." The other three occupants of the table looked up at Teal'c. His expression was stern. "We are friends. Are we no longer capable of sharing a meal as friends?"

There was a shamefaced pause.

Jack spoke first. "You're right, T. We are." He looked over at Sam. "I'm sorry, Carter."

She bit at her lower lip. "It's all right, sir."

"I'm not going to apologize for speaking the truth, Jack," Daniel announced, his tone combative. Then he half-smiled, "But I won't bring it up at dinner if you won't."

"You're an ass, too, Danny."

Sam eyed them both. "Stop that."

"Yes, mom," Daniel mocked.

She rolled her eyes. "Is everyone ready to order?"

The waitress returned shortly after, took their orders, and disappeared again. For a moment, the four were silent. And then Teal'c began telling them a story of Rya'c when he was but a young child. They all chuckled at the image of the young boy daring his father to climb a tree.

"I was informed that it was the tallest tree in the world and that a true warrior would be unafraid to scale such a height." Teal'c shrugged elegantly. "How could I refuse such a challenge?"

"So...did you make it to the top?" Sam asked.

Teal'c paused. "No."

"What happened?" Jack asked, surprised.

"Near the top of the tree," Teal'c gestured vaguely, "a sap had coated the branches that was unusually slippery. I put my hand upon one of these branches-"

Sam winced. "How high up were you?"

"It was a very tall tree. Perhaps not the tallest on Chulak," Teal'c smiled, "but certainly very old and of an impressive height."

"Ouch," said Daniel, his voice commiserating. "I fell out of a tree, once. I was about. God, I think I'd just turned ten. One of the kids from school said I wouldn't dare climb the tree in Mr. Gamgee's yard. And, of course, all the kids were scared of him because he was a cranky old man-kind of like you, Jack-"

"Hey!" The General protested.

"Let Daniel finish, sir," Sam shushed him.

"So, I climbed the tree in his yard. And on the way down, a branch broke. I tumbled down and hit the ground just right to break my arm."

"And? C'mon, Daniel, there's more to it than that."

"Yes, there is, Jack. Mr. Gamgee saw me fall and called an ambulance, then he helped me up, sat me on his porch and gave me a glass of lemonade. I stopped calling him weird and scary after that."

Sam smiled. "I fell out of a lot of trees when I was a kid too. I think that was why Dad finally built me a tree house in the backyard. He said if I was going to be climbing up there all the time, he'd prefer that I had some sort of ladder."

"You were a complete tomboy, weren't you, Carter?" Jack sounded faintly amused.

"Not... completely."

"Not completely, is this code for, 'I actually played with dolls', Carter?"

She snorted, "Maybe."

"Uh-huh." The General shook his head, "Fine, but this is you, Carter, where are the explosions?"

Daniel snorted, "Oh, like Sam would have explosions in her childhood. Right, Sam?"

She shrugged, "Once or twice."

"On purpose?" demanded the General.

"Maybe."

Jack narrowed his eyes, "C'mon, Carter, what'd you do, blow up the art department?"

"Toilets in the cheerleaders' special practice locker room." she admitted, quickly grabbing her drink and sipping.

"Carter, the juvenile delinquent? Impossible."

She shot him a half-smile. "What, did you think I spent my entire childhood hiding out in the library, sir?"

"Well, actually-"

"Sir!" Sam glared.

"Kidding, Carter." He held up his hands in a placating gesture and grinned. She fought not to smile back, although he could see the laughter lurking in her eyes.

"How about you, Jack?" Daniel asked. "Anything we should know about your childhood?"

"Classified." He smirked.

"Jaaaaack!"

Tilting her head to the side, Sam said, "He's probably simply not telling us that he used to read to little old ladies after school. And went to church, like a good little boy."

"Carter."

"Sir?" Her look was guileless.

"Carter, how come you got to blow things up, and I'm a Reading Rainbow reject?"

"Don't know, sir."

"Did you help little old ladies across the street too, Jack?" Daniel smirked.

"Spacemonkey..." Jack began, only to be interrupted by the arrival of their food.

Sam let out a sigh. "Just what I needed," she said, sniffing appreciatively.

Jack nodded. "Definitely nice to get away from the mess once in a while," he said, his sigh echoing Sam's.

With mutually unspoken agreement, the four dug into their meals, leaving the talking until later.


For the most part, conversation had been casual. Talk of hockey, The Simpsons, star-gazing, even a little bit of Daniel's favorite pet projects. There had been one or two faltering moments, but they'd moved past them. Re-learning to talk as simply SG-1 was strange, after seven years of doing just that. But now it was different.

Eventually abandoning their table for the bar, Daniel was amused to see Sam make a bee-line for the pool tables. "Want me to find you a mark, Sam?"

She laughed, and glanced at the one empty table. "Nah. I just want to stretch a few kinks out."

"Kinks?" Jack looked up, raising an eyebrow. "You have kinks, Carter?"

She decided it wouldn't be mature to stick her tongue out at her CO and settled for simply shaking her head and walking over to the pool table.

He watched her set up the table and the look of concentration on her face before she broke, oddly fascinated by her intent expression as she surveyed the pool balls. It was the same look he often saw when he found her puzzling out some universal secret or another.

Daniel took the other cue, and waved it. "Am I even going to get to use this?"

"No." Sam replied, but she was smiling.

"Can I at least break?"

"Sure, sure, I'll be magnanimous."

"Nice of you, Carter." Jack said, his tone sarcastic.

"Isn't it, sir?" She flashed him a grin, then backed away from the table and waved. "All yours, Daniel."

The archeologist saluted her with a grin and studied the table before positioning his cue and making a surprisingly strong break, sinking two balls. He looked startled.

Sam smiled. "Nice shot."

"Luck," Daniel answered.

"Looks like you might have some competition, Carter," Jack commented.

Sam shrugged. "It'd be a nice change, sir." She watched Daniel set up his next shot.

"Are you saying you don't feel challenged at work, Carter?"

"Maybe."

"Wait, let me guess. You miss the excitement of running for your life."

She rolled her eyes, and then smirked as Daniel missed his third shot. "You could say that, sir."

Daniel sighed, "Oh well, it was fun while it lasted."

"The game's not over yet, Daniel," she said encouragingly.

"I'm playing against the pool champion of the SGC," he replied. "I don't need Jonas to tell me how this one's going to end up."

Sam grinned, covering her sudden start at the mention of the Kelownan. "You might surprise yourself, you know." She took her shot, neatly sinking another two balls.

"Already did." Daniel gestured to the nearly emptied table.

Shaking her head, Sam started to lean over to take her next shot, and was interrupted.

"Hey, wanna play against someone with actual skill?"

Slowly straightening, Sam looked the man over for a moment. He was as tall as Daniel, with muscles rivaling Teal'c's. Dark hair, intense blue eyes, and a smirk. "You going to put your money where your mouth is?"

"Oh, this should be fun," Daniel murmured.

"Twenty, I sink every ball on the break." The man challenged.

"I'm Sam. And if you think that's putting your money where your mouth is, you really live your life sedately."

"Brad. Fine. A hundred."

"Two. And I'll break."

"Fine."

She smiled sweetly. "You've got yourself a deal, Brad." She turned to set the table up, catching sight of Jack's quick smirk and fighting not to break out one of her own. She really loved taking the younger guys down a peg.

"You stalling?" he asked.

"Nope." Sam finished racking the balls, lined up the cue ball, and made a clean break. She smiled up at him. "Just like making sure I do it right."

"Only way to do it," Jack piped up, saluting with his beer.

Brad glanced up at him, then looked down at the table, sizing up his possible shots. He took one, managing to sink a ball, but missing his next and gesturing to Sam ironically. "Your turn."

"Such a gentleman." She took over, neatly sinking two more balls.

Jack tried to hide his chuckle.

It was the beginning of the end, really. Brad never got another shot as Sam neatly and efficiently cleared the table. Calling every shot calmly before sinking it.

Daniel watched with amusement as she moved around the table, Brad watching. Halfway through, his mouth was hanging open.

Then there was only the eight ball left. Sam eyed it. "Eight ball, corner pocket."

Another completely easy, yet well-done bank shot, and Sam smirked in triumph at the man across from her. "Sorry, uh, Brad."

He shrugged and smiled, then handed over the cash. "Next time, maybe."

"Yeah, maybe." Still flushed with amusement and pleasure at having defeated him so effortlessly, Sam turned and found the General almost directly in her path. For a moment, she stared at him. Irrational irritation at his closeness filled her, and she stepped into him. A sudden thought occured, one that she should never have entertained.

Too late.

Her body stretched, going up on tiptoes, and her hands slid behind his head. For one startled moment, his mouth simply froze against hers. And then he was kissing her back.

"Uh, guys?" Daniel's startled voice broke in on the moment.

"In a minute, Spacemonkey," Jack muttered against Sam's mouth.

There was a pause.

"Right... sure." Daniel stepped away. "I, uh, I think I need another drink, T."

"Indeed," Teal'c replied, walking with Daniel to the bar.

Sam pulled away from him a moment later. "Oh, god... " she whispered.

"Yeah... I enjoyed it too," he said softly, touching her cheek.

"Oh, god..." she repeated, her eyes wide.

"You won."

"What?" Sam was fairly certain she wasn't processing on all levels correctly. She backed away from the General, and into the pool table. "Um, sir..."

"You want to lock this in a room, too?" For just a moment, Jack let his bitterness out.

"No." Damn. Clamping down on her instinctive reaction to flee, Sam drew in a breath. "We need to talk about this. Or, think, or -" She realized he was close enough to touch, and her mouth dried.

"Talking always gets us in trouble." announced the General, then bent down and kissed her again.

"Sir-" She allowed the kiss to distract her for a moment, then forced herself free of the pleasant haze surrounding her thoughts and managed to pull away. "Jack, please..."

"Sam." His shoulders slumped and he gave her a weary, defeated look. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she whispered, touching his arm. "I kissed you first. It's my fault."

"Sam," he muttered again, then closed his eyes. "I... I-dammit."

"Uh, Sam," Daniel interrupted them, Teal'c with him. Both looked uncomforable. At least, it if was possible to imagine a six-foot tall jaffa looking uncomfortable. "Now might not be the best time, we kind of have a mission to go on tomorrow."

"Home." She stepped away from the General (not without a twinge of regret), "I should go home. And sleep."

"I'll drive you. Jack can drive Teal'c back to the base."

"Gee, thanks, Daniel."

"Better hold off on the thanks until later," the archeologist-linguist suggested.

"Carter-"

She touched his hand. "Three days," she said. "We'll talk about it when I get back." She took a deep breath, then leaned in and kissed his cheek. "See you at work, sir."

"Night, Carter." He watched her follow Daniel out the front door.