What Fate Decrees - Part Fourteen

Teal'c stepped aside for Sam to enter first as Daniel opened the Colonel's door. She walked in quickly, anxious to see how her CO was faring, but stopped short when she saw Janet.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, concerned, her gaze moving to the Colonel as she spoke.

"Fine, Carter. The Doc's on a social visit at the moment," the Colonel replied before anyone else could say anything.

"Yeah, I get a share of the pizza tonight," quipped Janet.

"You can have the anchovies then," said Sam. She realised there was something not being said, but she held her tongue for now.

Janet grimaced. "Yuk, no chance."

"Now then ladies, no fighting over the wee fishies," said Jack.

Teal'c took a seat. "O'Neill, is that what anchovies are?" he asked..

Jack nodded and accepted the drink Daniel handed him from the tray he carried in. Daniel finished handing out the drinks to the others and Sam picked up an orange juice gratefully, suddenly thirsty. She took a long swallow as Daniel flopped down with a tired sigh.

"Is he wearing you out?" she asked, giving her friend a sympathetic smile as she sat down on the floor cross-legged, her back against the armchair facing Jack.

"Nope, not yet," joked Jack before Daniel could reply.

Everyone laughed except Teal'c, who raised just one brow. Daniel smiled at Jack's comment and didn't argue.

Sam sat studying the Colonel as they chatted. She thought he still looked very ill, not yet looking remotely like himself. She noticed that he sat nursing his drink; letting the chatter just flow around him, seemingly lost in thought.

"Well it is so nice to see you all together and not in the infirmary for once," said Janet cheerfully.

Sam pulled her gaze from the Colonel, startled at the comment and found both Janet and Daniel watching her. She looked down, suddenly uncomfortable.

A knock sounded at the door and with a shout of "Pizza!" Sam bounded up, glad of the distraction.

"There's some bills in the drawer in the hall," called Colonel O'Neill.

Sam pulled the door open and handed the delivery boy the necessary cash, along with a generous tip, seeing the Colonel was paying. She balanced the boxes, shutting the door with a foot and made her way to the lounge. Daniel had meanwhile brought salad, snacks and plates through from the kitchen ready for the pizza.

Sam spread the boxes out on the table and opened one, grabbing a slice of her favourite quickly. She flopped down again in her previous seat on the floor and took a huge bite. The cheese pulled off in strings and stuck to her chin as she chewed, eating with great relish.

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Jack's gaze lowered to Carter and he smiled as he saw her enjoyment of the meal. He watched as, between mouthfuls, she licked at her lips and fingers, relishing every morsel. 'What I wouldn't give to be that pizza at the moment,' he groaned inwardly, mesmerised by her eating.

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Daniel felt Janet's foot nudge his, almost making him spill the drink he was just sipping. He looked over at her inquiringly, only to have her give a quick nod towards Jack and Sam.

"That'll get his blood pressure up," she mused out loud.

"What?" asked Daniel, picking up a slice of pizza.

She nodded towards Jack again with a smirk.

"Oh, jeez," Daniel managed, finally seeing the look his friend was casting towards Sam.

Janet's answering giggle must have roused Jack from his thoughts because he looked up, puzzled. Daniel concealed a smile as he offered him a slice.

Sam finished her first slice and reached for another. Jack visibly tore his gaze away from her and concentrated on his own slice, which he picked at half-heartedly. The others ate with a good appetite, but Daniel noticed Jack's attempt at eating was poor, especially in light of the fact it was one of his favourite foods.

"I enjoyed my fish pizza O'Neill," stated Teal'c, who had demolished a full one plus another half.

Daniel laughed and he and Janet both blurted out together "Anchovy pizza."

"But you said earlier that anchovies were fish," said a puzzled Jaffa.

Daniel laughed again and tried to explain it, but without much success.

"Just like we say steak instead of, well cow," said Sam, taking up the explanation, also laughing.

Teal'c thought for a second and then spoke. "I understand, but I fail to see why the Tauri did not say what they mean."

The evening wore on pleasantly, as chattering and laughter filled the room. Jack was however, very quiet and slowly his eyes closed, despite his best efforts to remain awake.

Sam, who had been watching him fight the drowsiness, spoke up. "I guess we need to call it a night" she nodded to indicate the sleeping Colonel.

"Yeah it's been a long day," yawned Daniel.

"I spoke to the man who has the glove today. He is confident he will be able to match the leather, but it will take time," said Teal'c quietly, keeping his voice low.

"Glove?" asked Janet.

Daniel explained how Teal'c had taken the baseball glove to be repaired.

"Oh right. The Colonel mentioned it once when he first stirred and I sort of evaded it. I assumed it was pretty much beyond repair, I'm afraid."

"I was wondering about the glove. I mean, I've never known the Colonel to break regulations like that, not to mention the risk of losing it, seeing how often we've had to abandon our equipment in the past," said Sam quietly.

Daniel hesitated before speaking. "I err, I think he only got it recently."

The others looked at him expectantly.

"Just before we left on that mission, he … well, he got a package from Sara."

"So you think maybe that was the first time he took it off world with him?" asked Sam with a strange look on her face.

Daniel nodded. "I only really made the connection a couple of days ago when I fetched some things from his locker. I found the box and a letter. I remember just before we left I must have disturbed him going into the locker room. I think he had hold of it then, but I didn't really think about it properly. He was a bit distant, sort of annoyed and pushed it into his pack when I disturbed him."

"Wow!" exclaimed Janet, shaking her head in amazement. "Do you realise how many coincidences added up that literally saved his life?"

"Talk about fated," mused Daniel.

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