Sometimes.
Samantha Carter was a force of nature. It was true. Although this time, instead of directing her energy towards the latest Big Bad trying to inflict itself upon the earth, or building something that looked as complicated as the function it performed, and Jack couldn't pronounce, she was doing something else. Something Jack O'Neill (two L's)hadn't really thought possible. And yet he was witnessing it.
Sam Carter was cleaning. And not just Cleaning. But deeply deeply "let's get happy with the solvents"Cleaning. She'd even put on her baggiest sweats, the radio on loudly and had stolen one of Daniel's headscarves to protect her slightly longer hair.
And, Jack had to admit, as much as he loved Science Sam, with that inquisitive sparkle in her eye, even when she gave him a headache; and he loved Soldier Sam, because she could kick his ass, and was hot with a gun, he was kinda loving this version of Samantha Carter too.
It was Sweep Sam. Cinderella Carter. Dancing around unconsciously, barefoot, standing on tip toe on a chair to dust the top of her cupboards in the kitchen. The pale pink camisol she'd matched with the sweats didn't hurt either.
He'd never really thought of Carter as cute, he realized. She was always either strong, or beautiful, or enchanting, but cute somehow was both too easy and too difficult for her. But now...now humming alone to The Beatles and wiggling her hips slightly, tapping her all-too intruiging pink-painted toes, he had to admit, Sam Carter was cute.
He wasn't really sure what had inspired this clean-a-thon, but it could be a repressed stress thing. He had some experience with that; tangling up his fishing rods, throwing in a couple of yoyos and a ball of string just for the hell of it. Then he'd spend a good couple of hours being productive, and untangling it in a way he couldn't do with his life.
It made sense. Well for him at least.
But right now this was about her. And something was obviously bothering her.
"Um, Sam?" He asked hesitantly, hiding behind the paper he hadn't been reading for a good twenty minutes. "What are you doing?"
"Cleaning, Jack." She said wearily, followed by that tone of mischeivious sarcasm he came to recognize, "You know, it's that thing that stops the salsa in your fridge becoming a possible new cure for something."
"Hey, if that dude hadn't found penicillin, well...I'm sure something would be different somewhere down the line." He responded childishly, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Anyway,I meant more along the lines of "Why are you spring cleaning in autumn, and more precisely, why is it more important than paying attention to me? I'm only here for another day, the dust bunnies can be here for as long as you want!"
"We're having a team night tonight." She said, not taking her eyes off of the smudge on the window that apparently would not succumb.
"Well, that's great, butI really don't think T is gonna judge you on how sparkly clean your coffee table is...and Danny is an archeologist, he would rather be covered in dust." He said offhandedly, watching her intently.
Something was up, he was sure.
"Cam's coming too. I invited him." She said shortly, moving onto polishing the door handle.
"Oh, well, yeahI can see how that would..." He gestured, and then paused,
"Actually, no,I really can't see how that has anything to do with what can only be called this Nesting Period thing you have going."
"I want him to feel comfortable."
"This is comfortable. However, rubbing him with a dishrag when he sits down... not so much."
"Jack!" She almost shouted, frustrated. "The man's friend just died, he has guilt issues, he's learning how to lead a team again, and he's trying not to get emotionally involved." She let out a deep breath.
"Remind you of anyone?" He asked gently, taking her hand and helping her from the stool, where she had moved to clean the back of the fridge. She realised she was desperately polishing fridge magnets like a crazy woman, and gasped.
"Look what you've become!" He said in mock horror, tugging her along after him to sit on the couch.
"He said the words" She said shortly, "He said what you used to say, and now that I've finally got you to stop saying it..."
"What?" He asked gently as she leaned back against him on the sofa, brushing a hand through her hair gently.
"He said he'd have done it for anyone. AndI don't want to have to go on a mission with a renegade, people get hurt. I need to know that he wants to look after this team because he knows his team, not because he has to." She said determind, but soothed.
"And so, the cleaning?" He asked puzzled.
"I'm just kind of nervous about him being here, and you being here, and Daniel and Teal'c being here..."
She turned to look at him.
"It's like original SG1 and..."
"New and improved SG1!" He said glibly, hiding his sadness behind the joke.
"The new sg1." She corrected firmly. "And plus, Daniel and Teal'c don't really know about this," She held up their linked hands.
"They know." He insisted. "They've always known, just like we did."
"It's just different." She sighed.
Everything had to change, nothing could stay the same. It had been all about keeping the distance, not getting too close, and now she was so close and it scared the crap out of her. She'd fallen for him, really bad. And she did not want her team to see how affected she was. That was the downside of working with your best friends, that line was crossed instantly.
He stood up suddenly, and pulled her up behind him.
"Alright Colonel, here is the deal, I will put away the insane amount of cleaning solutions you have. You will get dressed into something that doesn't make me want to ravish you here and now, and we will order some pizza. Is that clear?" He said loudly, in a drill sergeant's voice.
"Sir yes Sir!" She replied, and turned away to go upstairs, before turning back briefly.
"This? Really?" She gestured at her clothes.
"Hell yeah." he grinned as she rolled her eyes, pleased, and went to change.
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It was an hour later when the door rang, and because Sam wasbusy trying to explain that she could order whatever the hell she wanted on a pizza to the delivery guy, Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell was faced with aone star General answering Carter's door.
Now that was slightly unexpected.
"General O'Neill Sir!" He saluted quickly.
"At ease Cameron! Come on in." Jack smiled, waving his arm to welcome him in.
"Right on time. Danny and Teal'c will be another ten minutes at least. Daniel drives like an old woman."
Cameron looked amused, but said nothing.
"Beer?" Jack offered, leading him towards the kitchen, nodding at Carter, getting frustrated on the phone as he went. Sam waved at Cameron before continuing her argument.
"She knows that whenever we order from them he's going to try and tell her to change her order." Jack nodded towards Sam as he took two beers from her fridge and popped the top off each one, handing one to Mitchell, before drinking from the second.
"She just likes to remind herself she can win any argument." He smiled fondly.
"Thank you Sir." Cameron said as he took the beer, sipping, his fingers playing with the label slightly nervously.
"It's Jack. We're not at the SGC."
"Jack." Cameron corrected himself.
"See if you'd said that to me years ago you would have saved a lot of trouble." Sam grinned as she walked past them, taking a sip of Jack's beer before returning the bottle to him. Mitchell froze.
"The guy is doing whatI want and took 25 percent off the price as long asI stopped arguing with him."
"MaybeI should have tried that too." Jack muttered under his breath.
Sam didn't hear. She looked strangely proud of her acheivement.
"A person who saves the world on a weekly basis is proud of driving a delivery guy insane?" Cameron questioned, bemused, choosing to ignore the informality between The General and Colonel. What went on behind closed doors was not his business. He was staying away from the betting pools. Especially after General Landry had apparently heard ones about him and Caroline Lam. Not good.
"I keep him on his toes." She grinned at Jack, noticing Cameron's reaction.
"Sorry we're late!" Daniel's voice floated down the hall as he let himself in through door with the spare key. Teal'c followed, wearing his favourite stetson.
"Nice hat Teal'c." Cameron said, smiling. Daniel rolled his eyes.
"I apologise for our tardiness Colonel Carter." Teal'c said formally to Sam, looking suspiciously annoyed with Daniel.
"Daniel Jackson assured me he would not drive below the speed limit once again, but as he has not consumed enough caffeinated beverages this morning he was reluctant to drive at the appropriate speed." Teal'c said solemnly, but Sam saw the humor in his eyes. She rubbed his arm as she offered him orange juice. He bowed slightly as he accepted.
"Old woman." Jack mouthed at Cameron, who laughed a little too loudly.
Daniel rolled his eyes once again, unamused. "Well if it was that important, you could have driven, I was in the middle of a really important breakdown of a society on p4g-779, where the people-"
"Coffee Daniel?" Sam asked quickly, tempting him away from his "Fascinating" breakdown of the human infrastructure of a place they were not returning to.
Teal'c greeted O'Neill formally, as he did everything it seemed. But Jack noticed he clasped his arm a little tighter than normal, and he was touched that his friend missed him. Daniel slapped him on the back, glad to see him also. But possibly for a different reason.
"Jack, you owe me twenty bucks." He announced proudly.
"It pissed her off?" He asked incredulously.
"Yup." Daniel smiled smugly, taking the money Jack offered, and folding it very obviously, placing it gently in his pocket.
"Teal'c?" Sam asked from behind them.
"Yes Colonel Carter?"
"You owe me fifteen bucks."
"I believe that to be correct." Teal'c acquiesced, passing over the money.
"Daniel Jackson, you owe me five dollars." Teal'c then said.
"She knew?" He exclaimed, passing over the five begrudgingly.
"Jack, you owe me-" Sam started, grinning widely.
"I'll pay you later!" He said quickly, then grinned. "Promise!"
Cameron was silent for a moment, wondering if he'd somehow stumbled into a ripple effect scenario, before asking loudly.
"What the hell?"
"Sorry Cam." Sam apologised, feeling bad for making him feel like the new guy again. Like he needed help with that.
"I gave Daniel a ball to play with. I bet that it wouldn't piss Carter off, asI thought maybe it would make her think fondly of her old CO-" He raised his eyebrows at her pointedly "But apparently it did. Danny won."
"And I bet Teal'c that Jack gave Daniel the ball." Sam shrugged.
"I challenged Daniel Jackson that Major Carter knew he was betting on her with the ball in question." Teal'c raised an eyebrow knowingly.
They all smiled.
"But Sam, what did you bet Jack?"
"That he'd lose the next bet he made on me." She grinned.
Every bet he'd ever made on her, he'd lost. However much he thought he knew her, she tended to elude him. Then again, he'd never have bet she'd have wanted him, so sometimes it paid to be wrong.
"Do I dare ask what he owes you?" Daniel said, trying to sound appalled but grinning too much for it to be effective.
"No." Sam said simply, shaking her head and smiling, then walking to the door as the doorbell rang. She returned and dumped the large boxes on the coffee table, where the rest of her team were already sitting, discussing the latest Star Wars movie.
"I greatly enjoyed it Colonel Mitchell." Teal'c said earnestly, or as earnest as a Jaffa could get,
"It provided much insight into the character of Anakin Skywalker. It was a tale of evil overcoming good, which was strange, but fitting for the rest of the films."
"Wow, Teal'c don't think I've ever heard you so passionate aboutsomething so..."
"Don't say trivial!" Jack coughed next to Mitchell.
"Un-jaffa related?" Mitchell tried. Teal'c merely bowed his head.
"Well,I hated it." Daniel said simply, on his first beer, and suprisingly less eloquent, although it may have been the coffee high he was on as well.
"I went with Cassie-"
"Doc Fraiser's kid?" Cameron asked. "Files." He shrugged.
"She's my God-daughter." Sam offered in explanation, "The guys act as Uncles."
"Or Dad's in some cases." Daniel looked pointedly at Jack.
"What?"
"You know what!" Daniel said incredulously,
"Banning her from seeing Dominic until she graduated, and then that guy she met at the beach, and then the guy at College."
"Oh yes, the wonderful Chris." Sam supplied, "He's studying Medicine, likes to surf, knows three other languages and wants to go set up hospitals in impoverished countries."
"See? Troublemaker right there!" Jack grinned.
"Yeah well that's all very well, but I was the one who had to listen to her moan about you for a good hour, and then took her to see the film to cheer her up...and then listen to the drivel that George Lucas considers dialogue." Daniel moaned.
Sam grinned. "Something along the lines of "Hold me Anakin, like you did by the lake on Naboo when there was only our love"?" She laughed. "Cass said you teared up."
"Liar!"
"Danny boy, no one thinks any less of you!"
Daniel just shook his head. "And after all that, what did she talk about after? "That Hayden Christian is sooo hot!" He mimicked, and shook his head.
"Oh, I don't know." Sam wrinkled her nose and smirked at Jack, "I always preferred Han Solo."
They tucked into the pizza, and although Cameron had originally been surprised by the amount of food Sam had ordered, he understood once he saw the extent of Teal'c's appetite. The Jaffa could eat. Infact, he made it look like a sport.
"So Cameron, being on the infamous SG1 everything you imagined?" Jack asked, onto his fourth beer. It obviously wasn't affecting him, except that his arms relaxed on the back of the sofa, so Carter was a little closer to him. Which wasn't strange in itself. It was just that he seemed to assume he wasn't going home tonight. Then again, he was a General for the White House, maybe he had a car coming to pick him up. Or maybe not...
"Everything and more. It was what I expected, and yet nothing like it. I guess it shows you how different it is being there and reading the reports." He shrugged.
"Yes, it is." Jack said quietly, smiling sadly.
"Oh, I'm sorry Sir, I didn't mean to-"
"Calm down Colonel." Jack waved a hand at him, "Stop fussing. I left of my accord, doesn't meanI don't miss it sometimes."
He caught Sam's eye, "Also doesn't mean that staying away isn't worth it." He grinned at the rest of them.
"It really, really is. Never realised how cool it is to be a General. Should have become one years ago." He raised an eyebrow at Sam. She bit her lip, trying not laugh.
"No-"
"I'm not. I'm smirking."
"A regular occurence."
"Wonder who's fault that is?"
"Can't think of anyone."
"Holy Osiris." Daniel muttered, " I preferred them with their "Carter"'s and "Sir"s. All repressed and pining for each other."
"So how's Space Monkey doing? Getting caught, killed, disobeying direct orders?" Jack asked slyly.
"Actually,I came to the team expecting Jackson to be a geek, and he's really not." Cameron sounded a little surprised. Daniel himself looked shocked.
"I'm not?"
"Jackson?" Jack mouthed at Sam.
"Repressed and pining?" She whispered back, giggling.
Cameron hadn't noticed and answered.
"Well,I was kinda expecting a sneezing, whining guy with a massive ego and having to spend all my time explaining why you can't always be diplomatic."
"Yeah,I killed that whole "having morals" thing a while back." Jack said.
"Glad you approve." Daniel said haughtily.
"Yeah, well you haven't got yourself killed yet, which apparently happens to be your forte."
Cameron felt relief as they all laughed, he was beginning to think he could maybe fit here.
"Although this ability to attract hot but seriously annoying chicks in leather...that you may want to work on."
Daniel did a double take. "You think Vala's hot?"
Cameron raised both his eyebrows. Teal'c watched the exchange.
"I believe the syllable Cameron Mitchell wishes to convey is "Duh"." He offered. Jack choked down his laughter.
"She's hot?" Daniel asked Teal'c bemusedly.
Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "Indeed."
"Really?" He said thoughtfully. "Really?" He said again, unable to deal with the idea that there was something good about her. He was so used to her being a pain in the ass...
"Oh come on Daniel, evenI think she's hot!" Sam snorted as she took the plates over to the sink. "A little irritating perhaps..."
She trailed off, turning back when she noticed the pin-drop silence. Each of the men were looking into space.
"Stop thinking that right now!" She commanded, mortified.
"Sorry honey, watching a really good movie here!" Jack said sarcastically, smirking into space.
"You don't even know what she looks like!" She countered.
"My imagination doesn't seem to have a problem with that." He crossed his outstretched legs on her coffee table, and put his hands behind his head, relaxing onto her couch to piss her off as much as possible.
She walked back over, leaning close, until she was right infront of his face.
"Jack,I can promise you that whatever im doing in your imagination you will never see unless you stop that now." She whispered threateninglyso that only he could hear.
"So," He said jumping up, "Who's up for ice cream?"
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It was one am by the time everyone left. Thankfully there was little mess, only a few beer bottles to throw in the recycling bin, and some pizza boxes to throw in the trash.
Sam collapsed on the sofa next to Jack, resting her feet on his lap.
"Well, that went okay, right?" She asked, closing her eyes and stretching her arms out behind her.
"I think you've got a good team there Colonel." He said softly. "It went well. I think Mitchell left feeling like one of us."
"God help him." She shook her head, "We're severly screwed up."
"How are we screwed up?" he tapped a tune out on her leg.
"You need that question answered? Okay, well Daniel has somehow morphed into something between a less geeky version of him, or a less irreverent version of you. Which is creepy in itself. And I'll ignore the fact that he keeps morphong into various forms of energy every now and then."
"Teal'c's not weird."
"Teal'c is an alien." She reminded him.
"Hey, half the people on this planet are more alien that Teal'c!"
"...Which brings me to how screwed up you are!"
"Oh funny. Take away your sciency thingamibobs, and suddenly you're a comedienne." He made a face. He pushed her legs off his lap, with more force than he meant to. She went swinging round, and dragged him down with her.
They ended up sliding off the edge of the couch, crouching on the floor, squashed up against each other, tangled.
"You're screwed up because you don't know that I love you." She whispered close to his face, grinning in the tangled mess on the floor they had become.
"And you're screwed up because you love me?" He offered, smiling slightly.
She bit her lip, smiling, considering it.
"Maybe. Don't care though. Rather be screwed up."
He went to kiss her. "Speaking of scr-"
"If you say it I'll hit you." She warned cheerfully, millimetres from his face.
"Wasn't going to say anything!"
"Sure you weren't." She whispered, kissing him.
It wasn't strange any more for them. They could spend time together, they could act like a couple. Probably because they were. But she was seriously glad it hadn't ended up that he was ending up playing the CO in the relationship as well as in reality. She guessed it might have happened if they'd broke the regs.
Rules were there for a reason. Rules she would have broken eventually, if she had had to wait much longer. Sam Carter was a scientist, andif she knew how things could work, she was not a patient woman. But she had been the good little soldier and it had paid off. Now she was defintely the one in charge.
Jack pulled back, and looked at her. She'd learnt his looks like a code over the years, the only source of true communication for them; brilliantly useful in the field, or in goa'uld cells, but painfully bittersweet in reality.
But this look was one she couldn't decipher, she'd never seen it before. It was almost terrifyingly gentle in its nakedness. It was just beguiling emotion. He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, and almost smiled, but looked so lost in thought, so only the corners of his mouth quirked slightly.
"Do you ever think sometimes that you have everything?"
She tilted her head to the side. She thought of all those she lost, those she'd loved and needed. She remembered all those battles lost, all those "almost" moments. All the times she'd cried herself to sleep because life wasn't enough, and was too much, all at the same time.
"I know I do." She whispered back.
Sometimes things weren't enough. Sometimes they were too much. And every now and then, you could forget the bad times, and just hang out with your friends, or collapse on the sofa, or tell the man you love that you love him.
Sometimes Samantha Carter was a sap. A sappy romantic uselesscollection of smiley lovey dovey feelings. And sometimes she was damn pleased about it too.