Wives and Other Follies - Part Four

"Oh my giddy Aunt! Will you look at that." Linda's exclamation had Jessica O'Brien looking up from her plate in surprise.

"What?"

"Look at what's just come through the door."

Jessica peered around, completely unable to understand her friend's excitement. "I don't see anything."

"Then you must be blind. That is one fine looking man."

The light finally dawned, and Jessica couldn't help laughing. "Oh, you mean General O'Neill. I told you he was cute."

Linda turned a stunned glance towards the other woman. "That's your boss? He isn't just cute, he's. . ." She stopped, obviously at a loss for words.

The tall, lean, grey haired officer moved further into the room, one hand brushing his hair down as he walked.

"His wife isn't with him."

"Maybe she was too shy to come – you know what those librarians are like." The two women giggled, their laughter coming to a sudden halt as the general's head turned towards them.

"Lieutenant O'Brien." He nodded a greeting, and came to stand with them. "Nice dress."

"Thank you, sir." Jessica felt a blush rise up and quickly turned to her friend, stumbling over her words to cover her embarrassment. "This is Lieutenant Linda Freeman, sir – General Greenburgh's secretary."

"Lieutenant." The general nodded pleasantly.

Linda gave a small nod and the conversation lapsed into silence. Jessica desperately sought for a topic to fill the uncomfortable pause. "Your wife isn't with you, sir?"

"She's already here. We travelled separately." General O'Neill nodded towards the far side of the room, but too quickly for Jessica to see who he was indicating. "I was just heading over to her, but I think I'll grab myself a drink first." He smiled. "Ladies."

"Sir."

Jessica watched as her boss walked towards the bar. As the figure blended in with the mass of other dress blues she turned to scan the crowd in the area O'Neill had pointed to. "I can't see anyone that looks the way I imagine the general's wife to be, can you?"

"I have no idea." Her friend's voice had a decidedly dreamy quality. "I think I've been struck blind."

Jessica burst into laughter.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

"Good grief, can one person be allowed to have that many medals?"

Jason Vesland wasn't the only one to turn at their fellow scientist's question. Some sort of high ranking officer was walking towards them – a colonel or something he supposed, but he still hadn't managed to get the ranks and insignia straight yet. The man's jacket was certainly dripping with little ribbons and shiny metal things, but Jason couldn't see any real reason for the fuss – he'd recently helped to show the Joint Chiefs around the Institute and their medals equalled the ones worn by this man, and in some cases surpassed them.

It almost seemed as if the officer was coming towards them, but he turned away after a short conversation with that general that had been sitting with them until a few minutes ago, and moved off towards the bar.

The bar.

Jason gave his wife a swift glance, making sure she was occupied with her friends, and headed that way himself. He could do with a drink and he'd be damned if he would wait any longer for a waiter to reach him.

The bar area was crowded with Air Force personnel, and Jason found the only empty spot was next to the man he had been watching. He sidled into the small space, trying hard not to bump the elbows of those on either side of him, and waited patiently. It didn't take long, however, to realise that waiting patiently wasn't going to get him a drink.

"Excuse me." Jason raised a hand, trying to attract the busy bartender's attention, not very successfully if the way he was completely ignored was anything to go by.

"A beer please." The man beside him didn't raise his voice but the reaction was instantaneous. The bartender was standing opposite them in seconds.

"Yes, general. What type?"

"A Guinness thanks, and whatever my friend here is wanting."

Jason had to think hurriedly as the surprising move caused his mind to go totally blank. He finally managed to come up with an answer. "Ah. . .I'll have a Guinness too, thanks."

"Another Guinness fan, I see." The officer smiled pleasantly at him.

Jason decided to be honest. "No. Actually I've never had one before."

Two bottles and glasses were being placed on the counter as he spoke. The other man poured his beer carefully and took a sip before sighing with evident enjoyment. .

"I'll be interested to see what you think then. Guinness is a bit of an acquired taste."

Jason tipped his beer into the glass and took a mouthful. "It's certainly different. Got more of a body than the normal local beers." He took another sip as his companion watched. "I like it."

"Jack O'Neill. Pleased to meet you." The general extended his hand, smiling, and Jason took it, shaking it firmly.

"Jason Vesland. Likewise."

"You're with the Institute?"

"Yes. You're with the Air Force?"

His companion laughed. "The uniform gave it away I suppose."

"That and the fact you got served so quickly, General."

"Rank does have its privileges – occasionally."

They lapsed into silence as each took another swallow of their drinks. The crowd around them had grown in the few minutes since they had been served, and Jason grunted in annoyance as he was jostled for the second time in as many minutes. He noticed his companion wasn't having the same problem – the space around the general was still clear, almost as if he had an invisible force field to fend off junior officers. Perhaps he did, Jason decided, maybe one of those shiny badges was its on button. He'd probably be researching its applications when he got into work on Monday.

Another bump jerked him out of his musings at the same time as his drink came dangerously close to spilling over the top of the glass. He glared at the offender, realising that he hadn't even been aware of the near accident. Jason turned his attention back to the general to find O'Neill giving him a commiserating half smile.

"I think we should find somewhere a little less crowded. Why don't I get us both a refill and cede the victory to the rabble?"

Jason agreed immediately and, fresh drinks in their hands, the two men soon pushed their way out of the throng, O'Neill easily clearing a path with Jason following closely in his wake. Finally reaching a clear space, they stopped. The party was in full swing, the volume of sound rising in proportion to the number of people that filled the large room. Jason looked over to where the main group from his workplace had gathered, noticing that the two senior officers that had monopolised Sam Carter earlier in the evening hadn't returned. They had, however, been replaced by several more junior ones by the looks of it.

Vesland realised General O'Neill was looking in the same direction as he was. He thought for a fraction of a second – the man seemed pleasant enough, and he was obviously someone with influence at the Pentagon – probably even someone who the Institute would be working closely with in the near future. There was no harm in being friendly.

"Would you like to join us?" He gestured towards the group.

O'Neill's eyes narrowed, and for a moment Jason wondered if he had done the right thing, a slight shiver running down his spine at the almost hungry expression on the other man's face..

"No thanks, I have some people I have to talk to first. Maybe later?"

Jason found himself rather relieved.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Author's Note – there are two versions of this story. It changes part way through the bar scene in this chapter. I call them the 'fluffy' version and the 'unfluffy' version. The one I am posting now is the 'unfluffy' because I like to think that Jack and Sam would act like adults in such a public situation. I will post the 'fluffy' version as extra chapters at the end of this one. I'll label the chapters so you won't get confused.

Flatkatsi