08- Dress Blues
This is for Elizabeth.
Spoilers: None really, but this takes place at the beginning of Politics. Everyone
remember that one? Daniel returns from the Alternate reality, but no one really
believes that he was there. (So how'd he get a staff burn, hmmm?!) Later all four
meet the always deceitful Senator Kinsey. It doesn't end well.
Special note to Kits- These stories are little stand-alone vignettes and will NOT be
used as a showcase for Jack and Sam. Although I AM an incorrigible shipper, this
isn't about them. That said, they might pop up from time to time. Completely in
character I assure you. g
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was definitely having one of those days. You know the kind- the oversleep; stub
your toe on the bathtub, bad hair sorta day. I had gotten to work just in time to
open and had a whole string of bad customers- all before my first break. Then my
relief person calls around 9 telling me she was going to be an hour late. An hour!
Dammit, I so didn't need another hour of this crap. At least Stefan was keeping me
entertained; he had shown up (on time for once, thank god) at 7 am and must
definitely be getting some, because he was as cheerful as I have ever seen him.
It was now five minutes to 11 and I was doing my darndest to not continually glance
at my watch. Freedom in just 300 brief seconds…
"Kira, I can't thank you enough for staying on." Jess gushed as she dashed through
the front door. "Let me just grab my apron and you'll be free." With that she
disappeared into the backroom.
"You heard the woman, girl- Get." Stefan shooed me away from the register. "I'm
pretty certain I can handle a couple of customers by myself."
"Thanks Stefan." I say gratefully untying my apron. "I'm just going to grab my half
pound and skedaddle." Ah free coffee, one of the perks of working in a coffee shop.
Stefan was busy making a very dry cappuccino when I spied something colorful
walking through the door. My jaw nearly dropped to the ground as I recognized
what I was seeing. Who I was seeing.
Colonel Jack.
In uniform.
He blithely walked through the door oblivious to the awed expressions of those
around him. Sure, we all know there's a military base not 10 miles from here, but
we seldom see the guys walking around looking like frickin' GQ models. Jesus. If
Colonel Jack O'Neill had shown up like that at my high school, half the class would
have enlisted. And I'm talking men AND women. My mouth has suddenly gone
completely dry and I have an errant desire to ask Colonel Jack to father my children.
Ok so maybe I'm too young- father my mom's children then.
"Be with you in a sec!" Stefan yells over the espresso machine. All he knows is that
someone walked in; he hasn't a clue who it is or what he looks like.
"I got it Stefan." I say somewhat hoarsely as I step back up to the counter.
"Hi Kira," Jack says warmly taking off his sunglasses and placing them in his jacket
pocket. Uniform AND sunglasses. I've suddenly been transported to the set of an
Officer and a Gentleman.
"Colonel Jack." I say without sounding too flustered. "Who'd have thought you
cleaned up so nice?" Idiot!
Jack laughs. "Yeah, the uniform is a bit over-the-top, isn't it?" He says self-
depreciatively. "Not something I enjoy wearing, I assure you." I can't help myself as
I stare at all the pretty medals on his chest. God, he has a lot of them.
"Kira, you're staring." Jack says in a sing-song voice. I am certain I must be beet-
red as I look up into his laughing eyes. Utterly gorgeous warm brown eyes…
"Sorry." I say taking a deep breath to compose myself. "What can I get you?"
Before Jack can answer I hear Stefan's strangled gasp from the machine. Colonel
Jack has been spotted. I suppress my smile.
"Just a regular coffee for me and.." Jack waves his hand absently in the air.
"Something drinkable for Daniel." I smile.
"If you don't mind me asking Jack, why are you here dressed to the nines, ordering
coffee for Daniel? Don't you have servants or something?" I quickly amend myself.
"I mean junior officers." Jack chuckles.
"I gave the servants the day off." He must have noticed the absence of color in my
face and decided to come clean.
"Daniel is stuck on base and seeing as I had to head home to pick up the uniform, he
asked that I grab him something from his apartment. And I did. And now, being the
very nice guy that I am, I'm getting him a coffee from his favorite barista!" Favorite
barista? Does he mean me? Ahhhhh. Once again I feel myself getting warm. Man,
I have NEVER blushed so much in my life.
"What's Daniel's mood Colonel?" I ask contemplating the perfect Daniel Jackson
drink.
"Jack." He admonishes.
"What's Daniel's mood Jack?" The Colonel lets out a heavy sigh. "Daniel actually is
a little pissed at me right now. Kinda feels likes everyone is ganging up on him and
it's Daniel against the world."
"Is it?" I ask still considering coffee options.
Jack lets out a snort. "I guess it just might be."
"Do you think he wants to be comforted, or would he rather stay angry?"
"Definitely angry." The Colonel pauses. "Either angry or ecstatically happy because
everyone suddenly believes him."
"Think that'll happen?" I ask while pouring the Colonel some freshly brewed Italian
roast.
Jack scoffs again. "When pigs fly." He mutters.
"Well in that case, why don't we stick with the old standby- Double tall Americano. I
know if it were me against the world, I'd want a little bitter aftertaste."
"Americano it is." Jack says giving me a go ahead. I open my mouth to send Stefan
my request when he hands me a hot cup.
"Double Tall Americano." He says staring straight at Colonel Jack. I briefly close my
eyes. Please don't embarrass me Stefan! And no drooling either.
"Can you put these in that cardboard holder thingy of yours?" Jack asks. "I SO
don't want to spill anything and have the Pentagon mad at me for messing up my
uniform."
"You're meeting with the Pentagon?!" I ask absolutely shocked. I mean, I knew
Colonel Jack must be someone important, (have you LOOKED at the guy lately?) but
the folks at the base are just doing some space research stuff, so why should the
Pentagon be involved? Although… come to think of it, why would they need an
Archaeologist who speaks Greek? Damn! I never did find out how many languages
Daniel speaks.
"Just a little meeting." Jack says indicating how small by holding up his thumb and
forefinger. I just shake my head and ring up the coffee. Colonel Jack pays, stuffs $2
into the tip jar and turns to leave.
"Tell Daniel I wish him the best of luck." I call after him.
"Best at what?" Jack asks as he puts some milk into his coffee.
"Best at making pigs fly." I call. Jack shakes his head slowly as he gathers up his
coffees.
As he walked out the door, I could have sworn I heard him say-
"Maybe pigs SHOULD fly."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
End Season 1 Barista vignettes.
Hope everyone has enjoyed and I promise to begin working on the next series of
installments after the holidays.
And to answer some of your questions- Yes I HAVE worked as a barista and yep, i
DID work on an archaeological dig over in Israel. And, believe it or not, I also
worked a couple seasons down in Antarctica as well. What can I say? It's loads
easier to write from experience. I DON'T have a degree in Ancient Civilizations
though. However, I DID think about it!
~d
This is for Elizabeth.
Spoilers: None really, but this takes place at the beginning of Politics. Everyone
remember that one? Daniel returns from the Alternate reality, but no one really
believes that he was there. (So how'd he get a staff burn, hmmm?!) Later all four
meet the always deceitful Senator Kinsey. It doesn't end well.
Special note to Kits- These stories are little stand-alone vignettes and will NOT be
used as a showcase for Jack and Sam. Although I AM an incorrigible shipper, this
isn't about them. That said, they might pop up from time to time. Completely in
character I assure you. g
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was definitely having one of those days. You know the kind- the oversleep; stub
your toe on the bathtub, bad hair sorta day. I had gotten to work just in time to
open and had a whole string of bad customers- all before my first break. Then my
relief person calls around 9 telling me she was going to be an hour late. An hour!
Dammit, I so didn't need another hour of this crap. At least Stefan was keeping me
entertained; he had shown up (on time for once, thank god) at 7 am and must
definitely be getting some, because he was as cheerful as I have ever seen him.
It was now five minutes to 11 and I was doing my darndest to not continually glance
at my watch. Freedom in just 300 brief seconds…
"Kira, I can't thank you enough for staying on." Jess gushed as she dashed through
the front door. "Let me just grab my apron and you'll be free." With that she
disappeared into the backroom.
"You heard the woman, girl- Get." Stefan shooed me away from the register. "I'm
pretty certain I can handle a couple of customers by myself."
"Thanks Stefan." I say gratefully untying my apron. "I'm just going to grab my half
pound and skedaddle." Ah free coffee, one of the perks of working in a coffee shop.
Stefan was busy making a very dry cappuccino when I spied something colorful
walking through the door. My jaw nearly dropped to the ground as I recognized
what I was seeing. Who I was seeing.
Colonel Jack.
In uniform.
He blithely walked through the door oblivious to the awed expressions of those
around him. Sure, we all know there's a military base not 10 miles from here, but
we seldom see the guys walking around looking like frickin' GQ models. Jesus. If
Colonel Jack O'Neill had shown up like that at my high school, half the class would
have enlisted. And I'm talking men AND women. My mouth has suddenly gone
completely dry and I have an errant desire to ask Colonel Jack to father my children.
Ok so maybe I'm too young- father my mom's children then.
"Be with you in a sec!" Stefan yells over the espresso machine. All he knows is that
someone walked in; he hasn't a clue who it is or what he looks like.
"I got it Stefan." I say somewhat hoarsely as I step back up to the counter.
"Hi Kira," Jack says warmly taking off his sunglasses and placing them in his jacket
pocket. Uniform AND sunglasses. I've suddenly been transported to the set of an
Officer and a Gentleman.
"Colonel Jack." I say without sounding too flustered. "Who'd have thought you
cleaned up so nice?" Idiot!
Jack laughs. "Yeah, the uniform is a bit over-the-top, isn't it?" He says self-
depreciatively. "Not something I enjoy wearing, I assure you." I can't help myself as
I stare at all the pretty medals on his chest. God, he has a lot of them.
"Kira, you're staring." Jack says in a sing-song voice. I am certain I must be beet-
red as I look up into his laughing eyes. Utterly gorgeous warm brown eyes…
"Sorry." I say taking a deep breath to compose myself. "What can I get you?"
Before Jack can answer I hear Stefan's strangled gasp from the machine. Colonel
Jack has been spotted. I suppress my smile.
"Just a regular coffee for me and.." Jack waves his hand absently in the air.
"Something drinkable for Daniel." I smile.
"If you don't mind me asking Jack, why are you here dressed to the nines, ordering
coffee for Daniel? Don't you have servants or something?" I quickly amend myself.
"I mean junior officers." Jack chuckles.
"I gave the servants the day off." He must have noticed the absence of color in my
face and decided to come clean.
"Daniel is stuck on base and seeing as I had to head home to pick up the uniform, he
asked that I grab him something from his apartment. And I did. And now, being the
very nice guy that I am, I'm getting him a coffee from his favorite barista!" Favorite
barista? Does he mean me? Ahhhhh. Once again I feel myself getting warm. Man,
I have NEVER blushed so much in my life.
"What's Daniel's mood Colonel?" I ask contemplating the perfect Daniel Jackson
drink.
"Jack." He admonishes.
"What's Daniel's mood Jack?" The Colonel lets out a heavy sigh. "Daniel actually is
a little pissed at me right now. Kinda feels likes everyone is ganging up on him and
it's Daniel against the world."
"Is it?" I ask still considering coffee options.
Jack lets out a snort. "I guess it just might be."
"Do you think he wants to be comforted, or would he rather stay angry?"
"Definitely angry." The Colonel pauses. "Either angry or ecstatically happy because
everyone suddenly believes him."
"Think that'll happen?" I ask while pouring the Colonel some freshly brewed Italian
roast.
Jack scoffs again. "When pigs fly." He mutters.
"Well in that case, why don't we stick with the old standby- Double tall Americano. I
know if it were me against the world, I'd want a little bitter aftertaste."
"Americano it is." Jack says giving me a go ahead. I open my mouth to send Stefan
my request when he hands me a hot cup.
"Double Tall Americano." He says staring straight at Colonel Jack. I briefly close my
eyes. Please don't embarrass me Stefan! And no drooling either.
"Can you put these in that cardboard holder thingy of yours?" Jack asks. "I SO
don't want to spill anything and have the Pentagon mad at me for messing up my
uniform."
"You're meeting with the Pentagon?!" I ask absolutely shocked. I mean, I knew
Colonel Jack must be someone important, (have you LOOKED at the guy lately?) but
the folks at the base are just doing some space research stuff, so why should the
Pentagon be involved? Although… come to think of it, why would they need an
Archaeologist who speaks Greek? Damn! I never did find out how many languages
Daniel speaks.
"Just a little meeting." Jack says indicating how small by holding up his thumb and
forefinger. I just shake my head and ring up the coffee. Colonel Jack pays, stuffs $2
into the tip jar and turns to leave.
"Tell Daniel I wish him the best of luck." I call after him.
"Best at what?" Jack asks as he puts some milk into his coffee.
"Best at making pigs fly." I call. Jack shakes his head slowly as he gathers up his
coffees.
As he walked out the door, I could have sworn I heard him say-
"Maybe pigs SHOULD fly."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
End Season 1 Barista vignettes.
Hope everyone has enjoyed and I promise to begin working on the next series of
installments after the holidays.
And to answer some of your questions- Yes I HAVE worked as a barista and yep, i
DID work on an archaeological dig over in Israel. And, believe it or not, I also
worked a couple seasons down in Antarctica as well. What can I say? It's loads
easier to write from experience. I DON'T have a degree in Ancient Civilizations
though. However, I DID think about it!
~d