Nothing new for those of you returning, for new readers...I hope you're enjoying it!! The usual thanks to the lovely authors and readers who made me think this was possible :)
Jennifer woke up in a good mood. It was a light duty day, they always were the day before an offworld mission. She was excited about the mission; going offworld always put her back in the soldier routine; it was a routine she had long relied on and that she had grown to have a healthy respect for.
She was equally happy about her mid morning shift in Dr. Jackson's lab at 11:00 hours. It wasn't a required part of her job, but she enjoyed it. This day, Wednesday, there would be no shift in Sam's lab; Sam was also preparing for an upcoming offworld mission. She had some things she should do around the barracks, like cleaning her side of the room, but it rarely got messed up, anyway, so she put this task on a back burner. Cleaning was good when you needed to get your head on straight, she thought, but other things took priority right now. One of the students from the academy had asked for her help with what seemed a particularly troubling piece of physics.
Within 20 minutes of getting out of bed, though, the day had started to deteriorate. Cassie called. While Jennifer enjoyed chatting with her young friend, who needed some assistance later studying for a test, she had not anticipated spending that amount of time on the telephone. She raced through her shower, realizing that she was out of shampoo; late for breakfast in the barracks cafeteria she burned the last slice of bread available for toasting, and the coffee burners had been turned off early; all that was left was cold coffee. Warm the stuff wasn't very good, but cold it was without redemption.
The academy student she was tutoring had needed a bit more attention than she had bargained for, at least at the end of 90 minutes he'd finally seemed to get it on the 9th way she had tried to explain it to him. She had only estimated 60 minutes for this exercise, and now she didn't have enough time to get her workout in before her shift in the lab.
As she bicycled back towards the base, she collided with another bicyclist, a second lieutenant also from the barracks, and both of them ended up with flat tires. She only had one spare, but the boy she had collided with was significantly farther from his destination than she was, and had less time to spare before he was due to be on duty. From the look of it, he was all thumbs and probably wouldn't have been able to fix it on his own, since he wasn't even carrying a spare.
She fixed the spare, and jogged her own bike back up to the base, arriving in the lab at exactly 11:00, panting slightly and flustered at the brush with tardiness she had just experienced, as a result of her own miscalculations. She entered the lab; Dr. Jackson was nowhere in sight. She knew he would be in his private office, no doubt absorbed in some analysis of relics from somewhere. He would not have noticed if she had been late, but she would have known.
"Good morning, Dr. Jackson, sir," she called out to make her presence known. Now she could proceed with the task of rescuing the rest of this day. She immediately began the cataloging task she'd planned for her time in the lab this particular day; putting things in order would help right now. But the adrenalin in her system from her jog with her bicycle betrayed her; she tripped on the legs of a stool with the box that she was carrying and the artifacts went crashing to the floor, traveling to the farthest reaches of the lab.
Hearing the crash, Daniel was jolted out of his analytical reverie. He came out of his private office to make sure that she had not been hurt. Seeing her trying to gather up the articles from the various places that they had rolled, he would have sworn she looked almost flustered, but that was not a word that one would ever have associated with Lieutenant Hailey.
"Good morning, Lieutenant Hailey," he said, trying not to sound amused. He began to pick up some of the articles on the floor.
"That's okay, Dr. Jackson. I dropped the box, I can pick these things up. I'm sure you're busy," she said, with a resigned tone to her voice.
He decided it would be best not to respond to this; he didn't think there was anything he could say that wouldn't have made her angry about now. He continued to help her corral the lost items, keeping a discreet, respectful distance from her.
She appreciated his quiet defiance of her statement. She was glad he'd decided to help; equally glad he hadn't said anything in response to her statement. No matter what had come out of his mouth at that point, she probably would have reacted badly to it, and she didn't like herself very much when she overreacted to the innocent types of things that he usually said.
With all but one thing secured back in its box, they both spied the last item on the floor between them. Bending over simultaneously to pick it up, their heads met.
"Ow," said Dr. Jackson, rubbing his head.
"Sorry about that, Dr. Jackson," Jennifer said, gingerly rubbing her own head, trying to be careful about the precise hairstyle she wore as a part of her military uniform.
"That's okay, the injury was incurred in the commission of an honorable act," he said in his deadpan voice. She didn't even smile at the joke, he thought to himself. She must really be having a bad day. Or else it just wasn't that funny, Jackson, he told himself.
The impact of their heads proved to be too much for the already strained plastic of her hairpiece. Weakened from the sudden impact and under the pressure of her usually unruly mane, it burst apart, sending her curly, dirty blond locks cascading everywhere. This really was the last straw, she thought, closing her eyes as her hair defied her will once again, and slumping on the traitorous stool.
Daniel watched, smiling at the strangely endearing sight of her bad day getting worse. Yeah, she's definitely flustered, today, he thought to himself. Time for some decisive action, he thought to himself gallantly.
He pulled up a stool next to her. "Okay, let's start this over again. Good morning, Lieutenant Hailey." She opened her eyes, trying to smile. "Good morning Dr. Jackson." She ran her fingers through her hair, as if she could make it obey her will somehow. It was an automatic reaction that Daniel had gotten used to; he knew the hair was as much a metaphor for her emotional walls as it was a regulation of the United States Air Force.
He touched her arm "Relax, that'll wait; remember, you don't have to be military in here." Besides, he thought to himself, I prefer it this way. Dangerous thoughts, Jackson, he silently chided himself, pushing them out of the forefront of his brain.
She smiled a thin smile, relaxing a bit, remembering that this lab was something of a haven for her from the military world. She leaned on the table, face in her hands, closing her eyes again.
"Want to talk about it?" he asked, casually. He knew she wasn't one for this sort of exchange, but he offered the opportunity anyway, hoping that one day she would take him up on it.
"It's just been one of those days when things aren't turning out the way that I want them to," she replied summarily, thinking carefully through her morning and realizing that she had still accomplished a lot and helped a lot of people in that brief morning period.
He smiled, knowing her penchant for trying to stuff too much into a short time frame – she was very good at it, but her natural inclination to help others tended to result in exactly this sort of day, he knew. He also knew that she was smart enough not to kick herself about it too much, but that she needed these few minutes to collect her thoughts, perhaps better than she realized it.
He found himself feeling oddly protective of her again, happy that he could provide these precious moments for her. I'm probably like her father figure, he thought to himself dryly. Of course, he realized in the same moment, most fathers don't have the same scary thoughts about their daughters as I've had about her, he mused sardonically to himself.
His increasing inability to push these feelings aside scared him; he wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to keep the true nature of his feelings secret from her. He didn't want to scare her away; he really enjoyed her company and her help. He resorted to the same tack he'd taken with her all along; he was surprised that she hadn't seemed suspicious of his true affections thinly veiled by his teasing of her, knowing exactly how to anger her without getting his ass kicked for it. Like the little boy that most of us big dumb males really are.
"Well, knowing you, your morning probably involved curing world hunger but just not in the manner you wanted it to happen," he stated, only slightly condescendingly. "In fact, it was probably one of Sam's ideas and that's what's really discombobulating you right now…"
Her eyes flew open at the carefree way in which he said this, flashing with a hint of righteous indignation. She knew he was just teasing her, trying to get her to relax, but he also knew that she was still a bit sensitive on the subject of the competitive atmosphere she still shared with Major Carter, despite their recent, if unspoken, mutual efforts at developing a friendship.
She glared at him, mind whipsawing through her defense against this charge and her mouth opened, prepared to deliver the retaliatory attack. As she looked at him, she noticed the laughter in his eyes. Suddenly, she felt as if she were seeing him for the first time, and the true nature behind those blue eyes. Her instinct kicked in, not for the first time that day, and she closed her mouth, leaned over and kissed his silly, teasing grin.
Whoa, definitely not a reaction I was expecting! Daniel advised himself, completely alarmed by this sudden, sweet display of affection. Oh my God, he thought to himself, did she guess? Why did she kiss me, is it possible she feels the same way, he pondered. Oh, hello Jackson, reality check here, he chided himself. What on Earth would she want with a geeky old archaeologist like you? He struggled with the idea that he really wasn't supposed to have these feelings, anyway – why not, another side of himself pondered. He stood up, backing away from the chaos of his thoughts, and from his utter terror at what had just happened and what to do next. Methinks you're really just afraid, Danny boy, he could almost hear Jack O'Neill saying authoritatively, with that sly, evil grin of his.
Not watching where he was going, Daniel promptly knocked over the stool he had been sitting on. It clattered to the floor noisily, rolling away from him. Lieutenant Hailey sat there, with a terrifying look of "Oh my God what have I done" anguish on her face.
Suddenly, the door of the lab flew open, MP's were standing in the doorway. "Everything okay, Dr. Jackson? We heard a crash." The two looked around the lab, then at each other. The stool on the floor, Lieutenant Hailey there with her hair down – something had obviously happened.
Spying an opportunity at recovering the last remaining shred of her dignity, Jennifer rushed out of the lab, explaining hurriedly that her hairpiece had broken and she needed to fix her hair before someone cited her for being out of uniform.
She made her way to the infirmary, using the least populated corridors she could think of, to borrow a hair piece from Dr. Fraiser. As she walked into the infirmary, Janet recognized the anguish of troubled youth in her eyes.
"Hi Lieutenant Hailey," she greeted her casually "is everything okay?" she continued, looking at her with that mother's look.
"No ma'am, Dr. Fraiser. I'm fine." She waved at her unruly locks. "My hairpiece broke and I was hoping I could borrow one to get me through the rest of the day."
Janet eyed her suspiciously. No red marks or obvious bruises, so hopefully it's not another run in with Jameson, she thought to herself. As she had on many an occasion with Cassie, the doctor opted not to pursue the truth of the matter; the girl was obviously upset enough. She procured a suitable hair implement from her office, and Jennifer took advantage of the facilities to ensure that all was in place again.
"Thanks a lot, Dr. Fraiser," she smiled, a thin, warm smile, but still a smile, Janet noted. "I'm just going to head up to Dr. Carter's lab now; I'll bring this back when I can."
Janet looked at her quizzically. "Cassie told me you were spending the day in Dr. Jackson's lab."
"He doesn't really need me down there any more," Jennifer replied with a note of despair in her voice. As an afterthought, she added, "I think I scare him."
She turned and proceeded to the nearest elevator to go to Sam's lab. Janet watched her as she went down the hall slowly, dejectedly. She recognized the desire to hide from a bad day and suspected there was more to this story. Oh well, maybe she'll tell Sam, Janet thought. Who will promptly tell me, she added happily to herself.
Arriving at the door to Sam's lab, Jennifer rapped her knuckles slowly on it.
"Come in, the door's open," came the superior officer's voice.
I wonder if she's ever done anything like this, Jennifer thought miserably to herself. "Major Carter, ma'am," Jennifer greeted her.
"Lieutenant Hailey," Sam replied, in a surprised tone of voice. "You're not scheduled to be on duty, today, Lieutenant. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Sam asked, lightly.
"Well, ma'am, I'm anxious to review the procedures for the next round of experiments on the naquadriah. I want to be sure I'm prepared and I'm going offworld for two weeks tomorrow."
Sam eyed her suspiciously, suspecting that she was hiding something. She does have a dedication to her science so maybe it's legit, she thought.
"Sure thing, Lieutenant, sounds like a good idea. Pull up a stool."
Lieutenant Hailey looked relieved. "Thank you, ma'am," she replied, sincerity and relief mixed in her voice.
Sam went back to her own work. Jennifer pulled down the manual and opened to one of the chapters that she really had wanted to study. She attempted to read the pages, but her misery overshadowed her ability to concentrate. She read the same pages over and over again, not making any progress, but happy to have something to distract her from the misery of the morning.
Sam looked over at the younger officer. Even from where she sat, she could see that the girl had not turned so much as one page since she had sat down. Okay, time to find out what's really going on, she thought to herself. I hope she hasn't encountered another session of slap, tickle and drop with Jameson, Sam thought worriedly.
She pulled up a stool next to the young woman. "Lieutenant Hailey," she began evenly, "whatever happened today is affecting your ability to comprehend, and you won't learn anything that way."
Jennifer closed her eyes; Sam prepared for a defensive reaction to her carefully chosen words.
"You're not on duty, lieutenant; you can speak woman to woman if you'd like," Sam said cautiously, studying the young woman.
"I kissed him." Jennifer blurted out.
Sam was at a loss at this sudden, heartfelt admission on the girl's part. She knew she needed to take care here. "Kissed who, lieutenant?"
"Dr. Jackson. I kissed him in the lab. I think I scared him," she finished miserably.
Sam thought for a moment. Well, Major Carter, no better time than the present.
"Lieutenant, I'm about to go out on a limb here for your own good and I don't think you should argue with me. I know you're officially off duty for the next couple of hours and I want you to stay right here." Contrary to her urgings, Jennifer stayed seated at the table. Sam crossed the room and went into her private office. She dialed the infirmary number.
Janet answered the telephone. "Hey Sam."
"Kiss," Sam said, in hushed but firm tones so the young lieutenant would not overhear.
"Oh, you're kidding," came the equally hushed but excited reply.
"No. Can you come up?" Sam asked.
"On my way," Janet replied merrily.
Sam seated herself across from Jennifer. "Janet – I mean Dr. Fraiser – is on her way up, Lieutenant. I think it's time you heard some of the things that can happen in this line of work, the ones that don't always make it into the mission reports." Jennifer looked at her curiously, but didn't say anything.
Janet knocked on the door just then. Sam got up and opened the door, then looked around in the hallway. Seeing that it was empty, she quickly closed and locked the lab door, further arousing Jennifer's curiosity.
"Where should we start, Sam?" Janet asked with a mischievous grin. "With the one about Hathor or the one about kissing your CO?"
Now Jennifer's curiosity had outpaced her unhappiness.
"Let's start with the one about Hathor; that's really more your specialty," Sam said. The doctor looked at her, laughingly, the memories of the situation now pleasantly faded.
Janet then explained the details behind the plan that they had developed to get out of the cell they were being held in.
"I cooed to the airman about being lonely and available; in his hormone enhanced state he practically came running. I started kissing him as if my life depended on it – I guess it did in a sense," she said, thoughtfully.
"Anyway, the other testosterone hyped MP is watching this, awaiting his turn," said Janet, adding this little detail slowly with a bit more emphasis and just a hint of irony in her voice, "and Major Carter steps out from behind the door, knocks him out cold and grabs his gun, while I drop the flyboy I've been smooching. The rest, as they say, is history," Janet finished. "He was a really good kisser, too," Janet recalled with a giggle, just a trace of longing in her voice. Then with a groan she added, "and I still had to see that airman on base regularly for a while, until he got transferred to another section, she added with a hint of remembered embarrassment in her voice. She changed the subject. "Okay Sam, now you need to tell her about kissing your CO."
Sam grimaced, but knew this was necessary for the younger woman's benefit. She explained in detail about being infected with the virus from P3X797 that caused everyone to revert to their most primal instincts, and how she had thrown herself at Colonel O'Neill in the locker room, clad only in a skimpy tank top and workout shorts.
"I never thought I'd live through that first mission back; it was the worst day of my life. I was so embarrassed about what had happened. I tried to pretend that I didn't remember anything at all about it; so did he, thankfully. But then," she added with a conspiratorial note, "as we're coming off the mission, he says it's good that I didn't have any scars, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to wear that 'sweet little tank top number' again," Major Carter finished with just the slightest hint of sexual superiority in her voice.
Jennifer smiled at the story; she was touched and reassured by these women's tales of impropriety in the military workplace. It happens, it's embarrassing, but you live through it and in some way, it makes you stronger as a woman and opens your eyes about a few things you might not otherwise know. They could laugh about it now. She thought for a moment, dark clouds passing over her eyes.
"But in both of your cases, you didn't have any other choice. You, Major Carter, you were infected by an alien virus, and you, Dr. Fraiser, you had to do what you did to save the world. I just did it because…" her voice trailed off.
"Because you really wanted to," Janet filled in for her, "and there's no better reason in the world than that. Except for saving the planet, maybe," she giggled.
Jennifer smiled, sadly. "Yeah, I did, but he didn't. That's what makes it so embarrassing," she said resignedly. Her instincts had led her astray in this matter; it was this betrayal by her own intuition which was really bothering her.
The two senior officers smiled. "Oh, don't write Daniel off too quickly," Sam said. "I'm sure you scared him to death, but it's also about damn time that someone broke through that cloud of his."
"In case you hadn't noticed by now, Lieutenant," Dr. Fraiser said in a somewhat lecturely fashion, "men don't always know what's best for them. Sometimes they need to be given a sign; and sometimes you've got to hit them right upside the head with it." The three of them giggled conspiratorially at this last sentence.
There was a knock on the door at that moment. Regaining their military composure, Sam walked over to the door and opened it. Daniel was standing there, looking pained and not just a bit scared.
"Hi Sam," he said in a pained tone that equaled the look on his face. "Have you seen Lieutenant Hailey?"
She looked back over her shoulder. The younger woman, bolstered by the confidences the older women had shared with her, jumped off her stool, squared her shoulders and with that set of her chin and the steely look in her eyes, she nodded once at Major Carter. She was ready now.
"Yes I have, Daniel, she's right here." She stood back and held the door open a bit wider. Daniel crossed the threshold of the door and stood there, looking awkward. He shoved his hands in his lab coat pockets. He stood facing Lieutenant Hailey. "Hi, Lieutenant," he said quietly.
"Hello, Dr. Jackson, sir," she replied coolly, but not unkindly.
Sam looked over at Janet; with a nod they both got up and proceeded to the door.
"Well, I've got patients to attend to," said Janet.
"And I haven't eaten lunch yet," said Sam. "We'll leave you two alone here; it looks like you've got things to discuss." She shut the door behind her as she left. It was still locked, a sign of her discretion in the matter.
Daniel stood looking at her for a few minutes. She had put the hair up again, with her emotions.
He looks really uncomfortable, she thought, and it's my fault. Her heart melted.
"I'm really sorry about what-" she started to say when he cut her off.
"No, no, I'm the one who should be really sorry," he blurted out. He was still standing there, shifting his weight from one leg to the other. He looked around. "Would it be okay if we sat down?" he asked. He was really uneasy about this, and she looked almost ready for battle.
"Sure," she said, a bit baffled at the request. She sat down on the stool at the lab table, right arm on the table and fingers folded together.
He walked over and took the stool facing her, pulling it a little closer to her than it already was, she noticed.
"Lieutenant Hailey, it's not that I didn't want to or didn't enjoy your kiss this morning," he started. "It's just that, well, frankly," he was at a loss for words here. "You scare me," he muttered weakly.
Jennifer looked at him, a little stunned at the honesty in his words, a bit hurt. She knew she could be intimidating; heck, she tried to be intimidating most of the time, but she didn't think she was that much of a battle-axe. Besides, hadn't he just said he enjoyed it?
"Not scare me, exactly," he continued, "well, yes, actually, that is it, but….". He was not doing a very good job at explaining himself.
Jennifer sighed. She was used to this reaction from men. Tom Eliot was the only man who had ever seemed not scared of her; their friendship had never gotten a chance to go much beyond the thrill of the chase stage.
"It's okay, Dr. Jackson, I understand. Most men say that about me," she stated matter of factly.
He looked up. The pained look in her downcast eyes at his seeming rejection of her made him realize that he had better straighten this one out now.
"Jennifer," he said. The sound of her own name caused her to look up; he only addressed her by her first name when he was quite serious about something. "You don't scare me, my feelings for you scare me," he continued. That was better. "You are wonderful, brilliant, sweet, innocent, smart as hell, tough as hell, not to mention beautiful." She looked up sharply at the emphasis he put on this last part. She had never thought of herself as beautiful.
He was on a roll now. "I just wonder what a geeky old archaeologist like me would do with a…a…a... whirlwind of a woman like you," he finished, looking almost exasperated.
Jennifer pondered what he had said for a moment. She was beginning to understand what Janet and Sam had been talking about when it came to helping men out with the things that confused them. Instinct kicked in again; this time she trusted it would not betray her.
"You are not geeky, Dr. Jackson," she said in a mildly condescending tone.
He looked at her, pleased to see that his words had alleviated some of the awkwardness between them, and that she had relaxed a bit. She was smiling that mischievous smile and he was reminded again what a beautiful girl she really was.
"Are you implying that I am old, Lieutenant Hailey?" he inquired with feigned insult in his tone.
"Old enough, maybe," she replied coyly.
Now he was confused again. He frowned. "Old enough for what?"
She looked him straight in the eye, fixing him with that gaze that half scared him, half enthralled him. When she got that look, she meant business.
"Old enough to know what you want," she replied evenly. He felt like she was staring straight through him. He hadn't been this scared in a long time. Now or never, Jackson, a voice came from inside him. It was his turn to let instinct drive.
He leaned over and made contact with the lieutenant's soft, warm lips. She let her hands fall from the table, and they found their way up around his neck as he kissed her softly. He reached for her.
The sound of the door caused them both to jump, interrupting their almost embrace. Jennifer rolled her eyes and Daniel struggled to regain his balance on the stool.
"Hey Carter, why's the door locked?" came the slightly concerned, slightly annoyed voice of Colonel Jack O'Neill from the other side. He knew she only locked it on certain occasions, but she usually informed him of the reasons when it was necessary. Unless it was another one of those girly things she sometimes gets into with Dr. Fraiser, he thought, slightly uncomfortable at the mental image.
Daniel strode over and opened the door to Jack's knock. Jack looked at him in a questioning fashion. "Where's Carter?" he asked.
"She, um, went down to get some lunch," Daniel replied. His air of discomfort did not go unnoticed by the Colonel. He saw the young lieutenant seated at the lab table. At the sight of the superior officer, she suddenly seemed to regain her senses, jumping off the stool and saluting him. "Colonel O'Neill, sir."
"At ease, lieutenant," he replied, though he had a strange feeling that she had been plenty at ease before he knocked on the door.
He looked from one to the other of them, both of them looking strangely guilty about something. "Everything okay in here, Daniel? Lieutenant," he queried, eyeing them suspiciously.
"Sir, yes sir," replied Lieutenant Hailey, almost too quickly.
"Yes, Jack, everything's fine."
He looked around the room again. "Okay, then, well…" he searched for the right words here. "Carry on."
A giggle caused Jennifer to lose her composure ever so briefly, and Jack looked over at her. She was obviously holding back a roar of laughter; it annoyed him that he was not in on the joke. He looked over at Daniel, whose head was bowed in that way he had when he didn't want Jack to know he was laughing at him.
Annoyed now, he spoke. "Something funny about that, Lieutenant?" he asked.
Jennifer's giggle now completely under control, she replied, more evenly this time. "Sir, no sir."
"Good." He looked over at Daniel. "Dr. Jackson, I wanted to speak with you about the next offworld mission for SG-1, if you're not already occupied with an important matter?" Jack asked in his best, mock respectful tone. He knew something was going on but he really didn't want to know what it was.
"Uh, well…" he looked over at Jennifer. "Are we about finished here Lieutenant?" he offered graciously, proud of himself for thinking not to brush her off.
"For the moment, sir," she replied, looking through him again with those dark eyes that now had just a hint of mischief in them.
"And you're off world for two weeks starting tomorrow, correct?" Daniel asked.
"Yes, sir, Dr. Jackson," she replied.
"Well, then, I'll see you in the lab when you get back. Please leave me a message about what shifts I can expect you," he finished, a bit weakly, but it worked for them both.
"Will do, sir," came her relieved reply.
Daniel and Jack left the lab; she was happy to have it to herself finally. She was looking forward to the mission to help her get back into the routine of being a soldier. Being a soldier suddenly seems like no effort at all compared to being a woman, she thought, then added to herself, which is why men have done it for so long.