General Hammond was very pleased to see his team back and all in one piece. When they debriefed, O'Neill insisted on the threat the Goa'ulds posed, while Sam insisted on the technological possibilities visiting other worlds could bring. Taking both their recommendations in consideration, General Hammond had a long conversation with the President in Washington, and was allowed to launch what would become the Stargate program...
After that mission, Doctor Samantha Carter mostly remained on base, as the head of the scientific department. She had admitted herself that field action was not particularly HER field of expertise, and agreed to go only on missions of scientific interest...
SG1's team dynamic was her favorite though, but maybe it had to do with SG1's CO...
Despite her first impression on the man, she had come to discover several other sides of his personality on the Abydos mission that she liked a lot. Actually, if she was honest with herself, she liked Kawalsky, Ferretti, and Conrad as well, and their interaction with O'Neill made SG1 the best team of all without any doubt. But once again, she had the feeling that if SG1 were Jack O'Neill-less, it wouldn't be the team it was.
She had started thinking a lot about him almost as soon as she had met him. Her initial shyness before entering the briefing room that day had vanished as soon as she had seen him. She couldn't tell if it were the uniform or the silent assurance the man radiated, but she had known then that she could trust him with her life.
Every now and then, the Colonel would stop by her lab, and play with what he called one of her doohickeys. She liked these moments with him, when they were almost out of protocol and she could observe him smile.
On his part, Jack O'Neill felt a new energy course his veins, and his unprepared encounter of Dr. Samantha Carter was not foreign to that. After a few months at the SGA, in as close a contact as he could be, he had learned to like her.
Oh, that hadn't been hard at all. He had been conquered as soon as she had flashed him one of her earth shattering smiles, and even when she happened to accompany him off world dressed in BDU's, she looked sexy as Hell. He loved the stolen moments of quiet camaraderie they shared when he happened to drop by her lab, and sometimes, when he was not in a foul mood, he even enjoyed hearing her techno-babbling about the latest mineral or doohickey a SG unit had brought back.
He liked her voice, deep and voluptuous, the sound she made when she happened to laugh -- which he had to admit, was probably more due to the fact that he had managed to make her laugh than the actual sound of her laugh -- or the way her eyes twinkled when she was excited about something.
After his divorce, he thought it would be a long time before he would even think of any intimate relationship with a woman. But Sam was different from any other woman he had met in his life. A bright head with a sense of humor, and legs that never ended... He liked almost everything about her, except maybe for the long hair which made her look older than she actually was.
Nothing serious had happened between them of course, he felt he still needed some of that observation phase, but he was really looking forward to an opportunity to see her outside of the SGA, outside of her working environment.
That opportunity presented itself when Hammond granted a week's downtime to SG1 and Dr. Carter, after a particularly long and tiresome mission on P6F-478. They had encountered people who lived by a very old and complex honor code that resembled some Ancient Far East Earth code, as Conrad had determined.
The interesting thing about them was that the soil of their planet was rather rich in Naquadda. They were friendly enough to introduce them to their Patriuth -- their leader -- but their code of living had been so tricky that it had demanded all the diplomatic skills of both Dr. Carter and Lieutenant Conrad, to negotiate a treaty worthy enough for both parties, including severe tests for the men, and some complicated ways of bowing, talking, and dressing for Samantha.
They had come back exhausted but happy that their efforts hadn't ended up in the trash can. After the usual physical examination, shower, and debrief, they were all sent to their homes with the firm order not to come back before the end of the next week, which had -- for once -- not launched a chorus of protestations.
Before she went home Samantha had a few things to instruct her collaborators to do while she was gone, so she stopped by her lab and wrote some instructions on her laptop.
Colonel Jack O'Neill stepped inside without a sound, and startled her when he said:
"Perhaps I should recommend a month training period in the army to make you realize what 'order' means, Dr. Carter?"
She almost shrieked in surprise, but composed herself and not wanting to be left out, she turned towards him swiftly with the most serious expression she could muster.
"Be careful what you wish for, Colonel..." but seeing the smug smile tugging at the corners of his lips, she smiled broadly.
"I was just leaving some instructions for my collaborators. And I promise I'm leaving my laptop here!"
"Oh yeah, and how many files have you burnt on that disk next to it?" he winked.
She chuckled, looking briefly at her shoes.
"Good point... Don't worry, Colonel. I promise I won't tear my head off on scientific problems when I get home. I just have several reports to type and as I never get the time to do them on base..."
"All right." He started leaving, then thought better of it. "Hey, the guys and I were gonna have a team night tomorrow. I know you don't really belong to the team, but we'd appreciate the company..."
"I doubt, Ferretti and Kawalsky's rather down-to-Earth humor might amuse me any longer after being treated to it for a week, Colonel. I'm sorry... Plus, I have a girl's night with Janet tomorrow..."
If he was disappointed, it didn't show on his face, but she could tell from the brief cloud that showed in his eyes, that he hadn't liked her answer.
"OK then, see you in a week." He started down he corridor again, as Sam returned to her laptop, but once again he traced back his steps.
He cleared his throat this time.
"Err... Samantha..."
She was surprised by the use of her name, and she turned sharply to him.
"Yes, Colonel?"
"Since you don't seem to appreciate the guys' sense of humor I was wondering if you... Err.." he started rubbing his hands together nervously, which was something she was utterly surprised at witnessing: Jack O'Neill, nervous? ... And in public?
"Yes?" she encouraged him.
"Well, would you care to join me for dinner at Tom's steak house downtown on Wednesday?" he finally blurted out.
She smiled, bringing hope to his heart.
"That would be nice, yes..."
Relief washed over him and softened his features as a smile crept to his lips.
"Great, I'll pick you up at 1900?"
"All right, Wednesday 1900. I'll be expecting you."
"Sweet! See you then!" He cried as he was already walking down the corridor at a light pace. Then suddenly he stopped and made yet a U-turn...
She hadn't returned to her work yet, watching him with amused eyes.
"Err... Sam?" he asked, leaning one of his elbows on her door frame with a puzzled look.
"Yes?" she asked, getting clearly amused by the situation.
"Where do you live?"
She burst out laughing...
