A/N: This story's now officially my longest and most reviewed... ironically enough it's also rapidly becoming my own personal least favorite. I just have to get over it and write the super-cheesy ending everybody deserves for reading all of these stories. Along those lines, Englemeyer, melpomene-muse of tragedy (and the rest): don't worry - do you really think I'd leave you all with that measly peck in the truck?
BrokenSkye (and the rest): I'm not planning a BT9, since I'm trying not to have anything in these stories that's made impossible by the reality of the show. Since I don't know where our guys will be near the end of next season (beyond the rumors), I won't be making my own guesses. This story is just sneaking itself into the timeline we know so far, which is why Jack's making all these vague allusions to changes without mentioning any specifics.
Originally when I planned this series, year 8 was going to end before Threads, so that Pete and Sam would still be engaged. I had this whole rather dramatic and incredibly depressing fight/talk on the roof b/w Jack and Sam, that would end sadly and without any real resolution. Then I was going to do a 'future' story that had the happy ending everybody wants. That was the plan. But after Threads and Moebius I just didn't feel like writing that type of story. SO, in answer to your question, perhaps eventually I'll do year 9, but I'm expecting to be rather uninspired by next season so I don't want to make any promises. Also, as BT8 is going to have a happy ending, I doubt I'll bother with the futurefluff.
Back to your regularly scheduled programming... SG1-on-downtime is back in this chapter. I'm thinking there will be one or two more chapters after this.
Ch 7: Restarting
When Sam woke up the next morning, she was pinned to the bed by a warm weight, and pinned in place by a pair of dark brown eyes staring at her, only inches from her own sleepy and slightly confused face.
"Morning, Maggie," she said, scratching the dog's ears and trying to get her to back up a little. Not even the sweetest dog in the world had breath you wanted to wake up to. "What's wrong, do you need to go out?"
Maggie answered the question by jumping off the bed, running to the doorway, stopping, and turning around eagerly, plainly trying to ask, 'Are you coming or what?'
"Okay, okay, I'm coming," Sam grumbled getting up with a yawn. Jack must be gone, or surely Maggie would be pestering him to take her outside. She glanced around at the cabin quickly, saving further observations for later, as Maggie was getting rather desperate. She stopped as she spotted a post-it on the door and read it out loud (to Maggie, apparently.)
"Went to get ingredients for world-famous omelet. Maggie needs leash outside. -Jack." He had underlined his name three times. "Subtle, isn't he?" Sam asked Maggie, who clearly had more important problems at the moment than concerning herself with the rapidly changing relationship between her two favorite people.
Sam grabbed Maggie's leash from a hook by the door and clipped it on, wondering why he had specified that she keep his dog on a leash up here. They were completely alone, and Maggie was very well trained. She stepped into the shoes she had discarded the night before when she had sleepily stumbled inside, and took the dog out in her pajamas, hoping Jack hadn't been exaggerating about his nearest neighbor being twenty miles away.
Although Maggie went about her business quickly, Sam walked around outside with her for a while, taking in the scenery and the cabin itself. It was lovely here. Although she still couldn't figure out why Maggie had to be so confined. The dog was clearly itching to run about a little bit. Sam glanced at her watch and was shocked that it was almost eleven. She hadn't slept that late - or well - in forever.
"Well, if you've been inside babysitting me all morning, no wonder you're a little antsy," Sam said, scratching the dog's back. "You'll be a good girl if I take off your leash, right Mags?" she asked. "It'll just be our little secret, okay? No need to tell the Gen... to tell Jack," she tried carefully. Maybe saying it when her only audience was a dog would make it a bit easier to get used to.
She unclipped Maggie's leash and the dog immediately bolted for the lake. Sam realized what Maggie was doing and only had time to call, "Maggie, NO!" before the dog had leapt off the bank and sunk into the water with a loud splash. Sam dropped the leash on the dock and hurried to the edge, clapping her hands and trying to get Maggie back. It was the first time the dog ever ignored her.
"Crap!" Sam said with a heavy sigh, sinking to the dock and watching the dog happily splashing about, looking remarkably like a very large otter. Maggie swam back to the side, got out, and headed straight for Sam, a huge quantity of water pouring off of her. Sam scrambled to her feet and said, "Maggie, don't..." The dog stopped right beside her, shook her whole body, spraying Sam thoroughly in the process of course, and then took a flying leap off the dock.
"I toooooold you so," a familiar voice chanted. It startled her; she hadn't even heard the truck approach as she'd been so focused on getting Maggie out of the water. She jumped and very nearly lost her balance on the edge of the dock but Jack grabbed her arm to steady her with one hand, a bag of groceries hanging from the other.
"I'm sorry, I didn't think she'd..."
"Yeah. It's pretty much impossible to keep a retriever out of the water," he said. "Normally I don't care, but I think it might be a little too cold for her still."
"She doesn't look cold," Sam pointed out as the dog climbed out of the water again and ran over to greet them.
"RUN!" Jack yelled in an overly-dramatic tone, pressing the bag of groceries into Sam's arm. "Save the groceries! Save yourself!"
His dog, who always greeted him as though it had been years since she'd seen him last, jumped on him excitedly, quickly soaking him. "Well, looks like we're all good and wet now, thanks, Mags," he said, patting her wet back.
"Ah well, the damage is done," Jack decided. The dog couldn't get any wetter, so they might as well let her have her fun. He quickly brought in the rest of the groceries and grabbed the tennis balls that lived at the cabin. He and Sam spent the morning sitting on the edge of the dock, drinking coffee and throwing tennis balls into the lake for Maggie to fetch. Luckily, there wasn't much left of morning to spend.
When Jack's stomach growled, he too growled. "Dammit, I forgot. You probably haven't eaten anything, have you?"
"I'm fine. I just got up before you got back."
"Yeah, I guessed, since I doubted pajamas was your usual 'walk the dog' attire," he said with a grin.
"I can't believe I slept so long!" Sam exclaimed, looking embarrassed.
"I can. You needed it," he said simply, getting to his feet. "Let's go get dried off and eat though. Maggie needs a break anyway, she'll never stop on her own."
"She loves it up here as much as you do, I think," Sam commented as Jack clipped the leash back on and led the dog back up to the house.
He stopped on the porch. "Can you go grab me some towels to dry her off?" he asked. Sam nodded and quickly returned with a towel. "Thanks... but you've obviously never seen this dog wet before. I'm going to need about three more."
Fifteen minutes later, Sam no longer had any questions as to why Jack wanted Maggie kept on a leash outside. It was a long process, drying off that much fur, and left Maggie looking rather frizzy and fluffy. Once inside, the dog quickly settled herself by the fireplace, happily exhausted. "Tough life, huh," Jack commented as he passed the dog on his way into the kitchen.
"So, I believe you mentioned something about a world-famous omelet?" Sam asked when Jack entered the kitchen.
He smiled in surprise. "For lunch?"
"Why not?"
"All right... Daniel and Teal'c are bringing the secret ingredient though, but I'll just have to... improvise."
"I knew it was beer," she said with a grin.
"Actually, at the time it was beer. See, the real secret is that you just use whatever you happen to have lying around. So, yes, when I called you that day, I was talking about eggs and beer," he explained as he started pulling ingredients out of the fridge with his back to her so she couldn't see what he was doing. "But today will be... different."
Sam thought about saying that today was already different, but decided that would bring the light mood they had been easily maintaining so far to a halt, so she refrained.
"So, what time are Daniel and Teal'c getting here anyway?" Jack asked as he started fixing breakfast. Or lunch. Whatever.
Sam shrugged. "I have no idea."
"They didn't call?"
"You told me if I brought my phone it was fish food!" Sam reminded him.
"And you actually listened?" Jack asked, turning to her in surprise.
"Teal'c told me what you did to his phone. And I just got that phone and happen to like it."
"Well... but I didn't bring mine either."
Sam's eyes widened. For all of Jack's joking, he knew as well as she did that they could not be completely out of contact with the SGC. "Why not?" Sam asked.
"I thought you'd bring yours!" Jack insisted again.
"But you..." Sam started, not bothering to finish her sentence. "I guess it doesn't matter. Teal'c and Daniel will bring their phones, or at least one of them will, and they'll be here soon enough. Hopefully there won't be an emergency before then."
"Yeah... hopefully."
After they ate, Sam went off to take a shower, leaving Jack to start getting his fishing gear together. She found him winding fresh line onto the rod and reel he had given her for her birthday two years ago.
He looked up from his task and smiled at the way she was dressed. Jeans and a navy sweater. She really did look relaxed. "Hey, you ready to go fishing?" he asked.
"Right now?"
"You're the one who invited me up here to fish, Carter," he teased.
"I know, but..."
"Best fishing is early in the morning, or in the evening. But I figured you might cut me into little pieces and use me as bait if I tried to wake you up this morning. Don't worry, I'll wake you up tomorrow morning bright and early."
"Great," she said dryly.
"But I figured you could use a lesson today, before Daniel and Teal'c get here. We don't have to fish long. Come on."
"Okay, just... give me a few minutes."
"Yeahsureyoubetcha," Jack called as he disappeared down the hall.
Sam quickly found what she was looking for in her suitcase and shook her head – this was all a little surreal. Truth be told, for a long time, she had never expected to actually be here, fishing at the cabin. When he had given her fishing equipment, she had genuinely believed that some day they'd be up here together, at least in some sense of the word.
But after that, so much had happened. She'd doubted they'd ever both survive their jobs long enough to come out here. Then they had, but then there was Pete. She looked down as she zipped up the ridiculously large vest and smiled. Whatever else happened between them this weekend, the fact that they were even up here at all meant that they'd both already gotten lucky. She quickly grabbed the rest of the fishing gear and headed out to the dock.
"All right, I'm ready for the lesson!" Sam called. Jack was already on the dock with his back to her, facing the water, standing up on the empty dock, reeling in a line he had just cast. He turned to her as she joined him and laughed loud enough to scare away all the fish that weren't in his lake.
She was wearing all the goofy fishing gear he'd given her two years ago. He took in the big bucket hat (complete with decorative lure pinned jauntily on one side), vest made almost entirely of pockets, fishing pole in her right hand and tackle box in her left, and shook his head, still chuckling.
"What?" she asked nervously, pulling the slightly-too-big hat down more snugly.
"It's official. You look good in anything."
She smiled at the unexpected compliment. They were definitely becoming more relaxed around each other at a surprisingly fast rate compared to the way the past eight years had gone, but that type of attention still caught her off-guard and was more than a little embarrassing.
"Did you read your book about freshwater fish of Minnesota?" he asked, clearing his throat and turning his attention back to the lake, realizing he had made her uncomfortable.
"Why, is there going to be a quiz later?" she challenged.
"Maybe, but hopefully you won't be that bored up here. All right. Now, Fishing 101..." He quickly demonstrated how to cast a line into the lake, explaining everything he was doing with both hands and his wrist and thumbs.
"See, piece of cake," he said, smiling at her as he reeled his line back in and set his pole down so he could help her with hers. "Damn, should have told Danny to bring cake..."
"I bet you Teal'c thinks of it," Sam offered.
"Bet what?" Jack asked curiously. He couldn't remember when the last time they had made a bet was... oh yeah, actually he could. The crossword puzzle. Speaking of which, that had never really been resolved... they had all been more than a little side-tracked. "What happened to my crossword puzzle?" he asked.
"Your what?"
"You know. From the last bet?"
"Oh. Umm... Daniel might still have it somewhere in his lab. You wrote a bunch of Ancient stuff in it. Don't you remember?"
"Sort of. All that stuff is kind of like... like remembering a movie you saw a long time ago. You remember it when someone brings it up, but it's not... there... all the time, you know? Just sitting there, ready to be remembered?"
"That's... really weird, sir."
"Yeah, tell me about it. Let's get on with the lesson, huh? There's bugs out here."
"Teal'c warned me about that too."
"That big chicken. Okay, now, you're going to want to take it back this way, to about here..." he leaned around her, drawing her pole back three-quarters of the way.
"Wait, why am I doing it this way? You did it on your right side." It occurred to her after she asked that maybe he was having her cast from the left so he'd have an excuse to put his arms around her while showing her how to do it properly. Then again, maybe not. That was a little juvenile... even for General O'Neill.
He sighed as though he were trying to explain something very simple. "See that spot?" he asked, pointing to a spot right next to them on the dock.
"Yes."
"That's where my chair goes. See this spot right here?"
"Yeah..."
"That's where your chair goes. Get it?"
She looked at him sideways and nodded. "Yeah, I think I do."
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
The rest of the afternoon went by much faster than either Sam or Jack had expected. They took Maggie on a long walk, and did a few things around the cabin to get ready for Daniel and Teal'c's arrival. Not knowing when they were going to show up, Jack decided to wait on starting dinner until after they arrived. Having nothing left inside the cabin with which to keep himself occupied, Jack finally snatched the book Sam was reading out of her hands and smiled when she objected loudly and made a grab for the book.
"I'm gonna go ahead and fish. If you want to come, give Maggie the bone in the cupboard so she'll keep herself occupied in here."
"Okay."
"And put on bug spray."
"Okay."
He handed the book back to her and went outside, setting up two chairs on the dock and settling himself in one. He was more than a little surprised when Sam joined him almost immediately, and she had chosen not to don the fishing hat and vest this time. He was inordinately pleased with that, and decided to assume that it was because she wanted that to remain an inside joke between the two of them. True, it was far more likely she just didn't want to look goofy in front of Teal'c and Daniel, but he chose to believe the former rather than the latter.
He watched out of the corner of his eye as she took a few moments to get settled, and stretched his legs out comfortably in front of him, crossing his ankles. Truthfully, he hadn't really known what to expect when she asked to come here. He wasn't completely dense, of course. He knew it wasn't really about fishing, just like calling him 'Jack' wasn't really about his name, but that didn't really mean it was suddenly time to jump into something they still, even after all this time, weren't ready for either. And most of the trip up to the cabin had reinforced that thought - they still both needed more time.
Now, he wasn't so sure. Today had been... normal. Which was weird, because they didn't do normal. Individually or together. Apparently they could though.
He purposefully avoided wearing a watch at his cabin, so he didn't know what time it was when Daniel and Teal'c did show up, but it wasn't quite getting dark yet. They immediately came out to the dock and greeted them both, Sam getting up to hug them but Jack too comfortable to move.
"Just take all your crap inside and get out here with the beer," Jack called.
"You're such a charming host, Jack, have I ever told you that?" Daniel asked sarcastically.
"I do not believe you have, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c answered.
"Okay well enough chit-chat, I've had to pee for about sixty miles but Teal'c wouldn't stop," Daniel said quickly, practically running back up to the cabin.
Sam watched him go, laughing. Jack twisted in his chair and called at Daniel's retreating form, "Have I ever told you what a charming guest you are, Danny?"
Sam and Jack settled back in their chairs and turned their attention back to fishing.
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Daniel and Teal'c took their time inside after Daniel's initial sprint to the toilet. They brought in their things and dumped them in the smaller bedroom. Daniel looked at the neatly made twin beds and frowned at Teal'c. "Where exactly do you think they slept last night?"
"That, Daniel Jackson, is none of our business, as you would say."
"I would never say that," Daniel objected. "It's completely our business, we've been waiting for them to get together forever!"
"Very well. Then, as the Tau'ri in general would say, that is none of our business." Teal'c headed back out to the truck to get the ice chest, their folding chairs, and fishing poles. When Daniel joined him, he added, "However, to satisfy your curiosity, there is a blanket and pillow resting on the couch."
"Oh," Daniel said, not sure at this point if he was relieved or disappointed. Of course he wanted Jack and Sam together. But there were still rules. Stupid rules, but rules they both valued nonetheless.
"Although both Colonel Carter and O'Neill seem much more comfortable and happy than I have seen them in a long time."
"True..." Daniel said. "So... what's the verdict?"
"What does it matter?" Teal'c responded. "Please pick up that end of the ice chest, Daniel Jackson."
"Even if you did know you wouldn't tell me, would you?" Daniel asked as they carried the ice chest and their fishing gear around the back of the cabin to the dock, where Sam was laughing about something quietly and smiling at Jack. Daniel looked at them suspiciously. They were impossible to read today. At least the backs of their heads were, at any rate.
"It is unlikely," Teal'c replied. They set down the ice chest and unfolded their chairs. Daniel immediately grabbed two beers from the ice chest and took them over to Sam and Jack, handing them to each from behind, leaning over slightly, trying to answer his own questions from their body language.
"What are you doing, Danny?" Jack finally asked.
"Nothing. I just didn't realize there was a uniform for this trip," Daniel commented.
"What are you talking about?" Sam asked, turning sideways to look at him. Daniel looked down at her outfit pointedly. Sam looked down at herself and shrugged, then looked at Jack and rolled her eyes. She hadn't even noticed that they were dressed rather similarly, in jeans and navy long-sleeved tops.
"Shut up, Daniel," she grumbled, looking back at the lake and willing her cheeks from turning pink.
"Well put, Carter," Jack agreed, making a shooing motion at Daniel. Daniel narrowed his eyes suspiciously at both of them and went back to his chair.
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
While Sam was genuinely happy that Daniel and Teal'c had joined them for many reasons, there was one thing about their presence that she was finding objectionable. True, the added company did remove ninety percent of the tension between herself and Jack, but that had been dwindling away on its own rather nicely. And, yes, she was happy to spend time with the good old SG1 together as they probably never would be again. She doubted Teal'c would find much happiness at the SGC without Jack there. Who knew what would end up happening to all of them?
Best not to think about that now. Now, she was just grateful that Teal'c had survived the Jaffa rebellion and that Daniel had, once again, miraculously risen from the 'dead.'
Yet she couldn't help but notice that immediately upon their arrival, Jack had completely clammed up. He was his usual wry self with all of them and seemed perfectly content in his favorite place with his favorite people. But before the guys had shown up, he had been touching her a lot. Nothing remarkable, just glancing, easy touches on her forearms, shoulders, or back – a fraction of a second too long to be accidental but not quite long enough to be classified as a caress either.
At first she thought he was trying to drive her mad, in any or all senses of the word. But then she remembered doing the same thing to Daniel when he came back to them (after he had put some clothes on, of course). She had just needed to check, to make sure he was really there. Maybe that was the motive behind what Jack was doing as well. So maybe he had stopped because the need to reassure himself that they were both very real and very much there had finally gone, or maybe he wasn't sure how she would react if he continued in front of the guys. Truthfully, Sam wasn't entirely sure of the answer to that herself.
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Sam and Jack were doing such a wonderful job at driving Daniel completely insane with curiosity about what, exactly, was the status of their relationship now, that he was beginning to wonder if they were just intentionally trying to irritate him. He had watched them flirt in a very covert way for years. Now he was watching them both flirt more openly. But there was still a lot of nervousness there, especially in Sam.
Daniel and Teal'c told Jack and Sam that the entire SGC now had tapes of the four of them running around the base in their costumes. Sam was the most embarrassed of all at that revelation, which was understandable considering how she had been dressed.
"Don't worry, Sam," Daniel said quickly. "Teal'c and I already took care of it. That video is old news around the SGC water cooler now."
"What did you do?" Jack and Sam asked together.
"We..."Daniel started.
Teal'c raised an eyebrow pointedly. "All right, fine, I," Daniel corrected. "May have circulated some security footage of Sergeant Davis..."
"Walter?" Jack asked, surprised. "What did the poster boy for proper Air Force procedure and protocol do that could possibly be more embarrassing than us showing up for an emergency in those costumes?"
"Well..." Daniel began.
"He greeted General Hammond most enthusiastically when he arrived to resume command of the SGC in your absence, O'Neill," Teal'c told him.
"That traitor," Jack muttered quietly. Sam patted his arm 'sympathetically,' although Jack was fairly certain she was using the gesture to mock him more than placate him.
"You've got to see it when we get back," Daniel continued, laughing at the memory. "He just sits there for a few seconds, right, like maybe he's hallucinating or something, and Hammond goes, 'At ease, Sergeant,' and Walter shoots up from his chair and throws himself at Hammond, knocking him back into Siler with the force of his hug, and the whole time he's muttering, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you.'"
"You've got to be exaggerating, Daniel," Sam said hesitantly.
"He is not," Teal'c said. Well, that certainly settled the matter.
"But wait, this is the best part. When he knocked Hammond into Siler, Siler tripped. He crashed right into the coffee station, sent donuts rolling all over the control room, broke the carafe, then he stepped on a jam donut, slipped on it, and crashed to the ground. He's got a sprained wrist and, from what Lieutenant Rush tells me, a large multicolored bruise on his ass that's shaped a lot like Florida."
"Oh, Siler," Jack said with a long-suffering sigh. The poor man was really going to get himself hurt beyond repair one of these days. Although at least in this case it was Walter's fault.
Sam was trying very hard not to laugh at poor Siler's fall and the reasons behind it, but she finally gave it up. "I'm sorry," she gasped between laughing. "I know it's terrible to laugh at them, but... well, they were the ones behind distributing our tape, so... oh God..." she continued laughing, unable to keep speaking, until she hiccupped loudly.
The three men all looked at her, as if they couldn't have been more stunned if she had suddenly started speaking Ancient.
"Hmm, usually Danny is the first one to have his supply cut off," Jack commented as he tugged the half-empty bottle of beer out of her hand.
She knew he was just teasing, of course, as that half-full bottle was also her first, but she was still laughing so hard it was probably for the best anyway; she was likely to drop it in her current condition.
"Sam, are you okay?" Daniel finally asked, watching her alternate between laughing, hiccupping, and trying to breathe.
"Y-yeah..." She gradually got control of herself, which was a good thing, because Jack and Daniel had begun debating the 'best' hiccup cure to inflict upon her, although 'best' in this situation seemed to mean 'most strange and humiliating' rather than 'most effective.'
"I'm okay, I'm okay," she insisted, as they were arguing over whether drinking beer from the opposite side or upside down would have the same effect as water.
"See, Carter, that's why I had to make that rule about giggling," Jack said as he handed her beer back to her once all the commotion had died down.
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Sam called Jack by his first name three times, but each time she and Jack looked more surprised about it than Daniel felt, so Daniel still wasn't really sure what was going on with two of his best friends.
Daniel was spraying liberal amounts of bug spray on the Teal'c's back half when his cell phone rang. He wiped his hands on his shirt, frowning. "Teal'c, I think you've got a phobia about bugs or something," Daniel commented as he pulled out his phone and glanced at the display. He smiled as he answered, "Hi Cassie."
"Hey. So, what have I missed? Are they or aren't they?" Cassie asked quickly, not bothering to ease into the reason for her call at all.
"Umm... well, we're all just out here fishing!" Daniel said cheerfully, not wanting to give away their conversation to Jack and Sam, who were both trying to listen in. "Um, I'm going to go inside and... wash the bug spray off my hands!"
Yes, he was rather proud of coming up with that excuse.
"Daniel, you are a lousy liar," Cassie was telling him over the phone as he hurried into the cabin. "Now, come on, answer my question!"
Once inside, Daniel said, "Cassie, I wish you were here, I have no idea!"
"What? How can you not know?" Cassie asked.
"I don't know! We've been here for hours now and... well, I don't know. Sometimes it seems like yes, sometimes no. I mean, something's different but..."
"What does Teal'c say?"
"To mind my own business and that he wouldn't tell me even if he did know."
"Then that means he definitely knows. Come on, you have to find out... I thought our plan was a total failure and that I was going to have my Parent Trapping licence revoked... I'm weaseling out on a technicality though, okay? Since our party got interrupted and all, if they're together by the end of this one... what are you guys doing?"
"Right now we're fishing. And drinking. I told you."
"Good, so that gives you lots of time before the end of the night."
"To do what?"
"To do whatever I would do."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Daniel hedged.
"Why not?"
"Because. Neither Jack nor Sam would hit, kick, scratch, pummel, bite, or damage you in any other way. Me, on the other hand..."
"Oh, Daniel, just have another beer and they'll think you're completely wasted and forgive you for going into bratty brother mode. Come on, I need to be kept in the loop here."
"Okay, okay. But all this arguing could be for nothing anyway, you know... I mean like I said I'm not even sure if..."
"Put Jack on the phone," Cassie said quickly.
"Wh... what are you going to do?" Daniel asked.
"Just get him, okay? I'll find out what's going on."
"How?"
"Daniel! I have stuff of my own to do here you know."
"Okay, okay..." Daniel took the phone back outside. Jack was getting himself another beer from the ice chest. "Jack, Cassie wants to talk to you."
"Cool." Jack took the phone and sat down on the closed lid of the chest. "Hey, Cass. Thanks for taking care of all the party leftover stuff... you didn't have to clean everything up like you did."
"Aileen helped, it was no big deal," Cassie said dismissively. "So... how's the cabin?"
"Good."
"How's the fishing?"
"Good."
"How's the mushy love stuff?"
"G... Cassie!" Jack quickly glanced at everyone else. They looked interested in his conversation but clearly hadn't heard what she was saying. "Was that all you wanted to know?"
"Yup. Can I talk to Sam now?"
"No," Jack said bluntly.
"Jaaaaaack... come on. I'll just keep calling until Daniel gives her the phone."
"All right, fine," Jack grumbled, handing the phone over to Sam and lowering himself back into his chair with a scowl.
She took it, frowning questioningly at his grumpy tone as she put the phone to her ear. "Cassie? What's up?"
"Not a lot here, just wanted to see how you're all doing up there," Cassie said casually.
"All right... it's too bad you couldn't come with Teal'c and Daniel."
"Some other time, when I don't have exams. So, catch anything yet?"
"There aren't any fish in the lake."
"LIAR!" Jack challenged loudly.
"Well, okay, there's at least one," Sam conceded.
Cassie laughed and said, "Okay, well, have fun. Tell Teal'c I said hi. Oh and tell Daniel that I didn't finish the paper I was working on last night, but I'm definitely going to finish it tonight. He's um, going to help me with it later."
"Do you want to talk to him again?"
"No, no, I'm busy and so are you. Happy birthday again, Sam. Something tells me it's going to be a good one."
Sam rolled her eyes at the suggestively innocent tone of Cassie's last sentence and said, "Goodbye, Cassie."
Cassie hung up laughing. Sam tossed Daniel's phone back to him and relayed all of her messages, watching Daniel's reaction closely in the process. He looked mildly stunned for a few moments, then jumped to his feet and said, "I'm gonna go get the potato chips!" He was running back up to the cabin before anybody else could say anything.
"Is he drunk already?" Jack muttered to Sam.
She laughed and said, "No way, not even Daniel..."
"Maybe his molecules are extra-sensitive to alcohol from being all glowy and jellyfish-like again... or something," Jack suggested.
"Was that a hypothesis?" Sam asked, pretending to be shocked.
"No." He crossed his arms as he sunk into his chair even more. The slightly hammish posture meant he had to set his fishing pole aside, but honestly, he wasn't likely to get a bite anyway.
The four of them fished until dark, talking casually. When they brought all of their things in and Jack started talking about cooking dinner, Sam offered to take Maggie for a walk. Jack made a comment about Sam having learnt her lesson about leashes that made both of them laugh and made Daniel say, "Huh?"
Sam left with Maggie and a flashlight ('just in case - don't get lost.') As soon as she was gone, Daniel started interrogating Jack. "What was that about?" he asked casually, hoping to ease into the questioning.
"Oh... she took Mags out without a leash this morning and she jumped in the lake."
"Maggie, I'm guessing, not Sam."
"Guess those rumors about how smart you are aren't entirely unfounded."
"Very nice, Jack."
"Thank you, Daniel."
Jack and Teal'c started preparing dinner from the groceries Jack had picked up that morning, Jack claiming that since this was technically the end of their birthday party Daniel shouldn't have to help. Daniel thanked him nicely but refused to take the hint that he leave them alone to it, instead perching on a counter and watching Jack carefully for anything in his eyes or body language that might give something away.
"Did you miss me that much, Daniel?" Jack finally snapped. "Forcryinoutloud, stop staring at me!"
Daniel mumbled an apology but it was Teal'c who responded. "Daniel Jackson is merely trying to determine what exactly has transpired between yourself and Colonel Carter."
"That is none of your business, Danny boy. Yours either," he added to Teal'c, knowing that while his larger buddy was unlikely to say anything, he was really just as curious as Daniel was.
"That is precisely what I told him, O'Neill. He disagrees."
"He is right here, you know!" Daniel said, waving his hands for emphasis. "And I'm sorry, but I happen to think it is my business. And yours, Teal'c, and Cassie's too. Come on, we just want to know if what we've been waiting for forever has actually happened yet or not."
"What exactly have you been waiting for, Daniel?" Jack asked, somewhat amused.
"You know what I'm talking about, Jack. I mean, are you guys... together now, or what?"
Jack shrugged and gave him a deliberately non-committal look. "I suppose that depends on what you're implying when you say 'together.' We traveled here together, yes. We have been in each other's company since we departed, yes."
"Jack!" Daniel wished Jack had let him cut up vegetables. At least then he would have had an assortment of projectiles to throw at the infuriating man to choose from: carrots, tomatoes, onions, peppers, potatoes... knives.
"Daniel."
"Jack! Come on, we just want to know because we care about you is all, and we want you guys to be happy but aren't there still... rules and stuff?"
"Yeah, sure there are still rules," Jack said, taking out the tray of steaks he was going to cook outside. The grill here was smaller than his one at home, but it would do. "Personally, I've always been a really firm believer in the one about waiting half an hour after eating before swimming."
Sam and Maggie came up onto the porch just as the three men came out onto it. "What's going on?" Sam asked, noting the slightly painted-into-a-corner look on Jack's face and the fact that Daniel was following him around in his annoying-little-brother mood. Teal'c looked mildly amused and mildly irked at the both of them.
"Daniel was just asking me about rules," Jack informed her.
Sam looked at Daniel suspiciously, quickly figuring out the sort of rules Jack was talking about. Deciding to have a little fun with Daniel, she said, "OH! Those rules. Did you explain them to him, Jack?"
Jack grinned at the extra emphasis on his name, recognizing that she was going to tease Daniel a bit. "Nope. Would you like to do the honors, Sam?"
"Sure. See, Daniel. The President put me on a leave of absence, which is different from regular down time."
"Different how?" Daniel asked.
"Think of it like a temporary retirement. I'm not responsible to the Air Force for anything I do for the next... what, six days?"
"Sounds about right," Jack agreed.
"So... wait, does that mean the President is okay with..."
"It means what it means, Daniel, that's all," Sam said simply, leaning over and patting him on the cheek with a sweet smile.
"Next time I get ascended, I'm seriously haunting you both," Daniel grumbled.
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
A/N: I have no idea whether the 'leave of absence' bit would really fly with the USAF or not - I just made it up.