AN: Nice long part for you... enjoy!
Chapter Three
Carter was fiddling happily with her toy. She had yet to find a use for it, but the puzzling process of disassembling it had been fun. As had the little interlude into impropriety where she and Jack had flirted shamelessly. All in all, she was extraordinarily pleased with her life at that moment.
Until Jack barked at her. "What's taking so long?"
Stunned, she looked up at her CO. Gone were the soft smile and warm eyes. The colonel looked hard and angry. "Sir?"
He folded his arms across his chest, giving her the impression that he had reached the limits of his patience, except that he rarely got that way at all and never with her. Daniel was usually the one who annoyed Jack into being short-tempered, which Carter figured was the reason he'd stayed with her and sent Teal'c with Daniel.
Jack took a deep breath. "Does that damn thing work yet, Carter?"
She hid her dismay by looking at the scattered pieces before her. "I don't know. I don't even know what it's supposed to do."
He checked his watch. "Two minutes, Carter. If you can't turn it on in two minutes, we're leaving it."
"You told me not to turn it on, sir." She was more perturbed by his attitude than she normally would have been since they'd been getting along so well.
"No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did."
He approached the counter, slamming his hands down so hard that it shook. "I think I would know if I told you not to turn it on."
Carter was more upset at Jack's sudden aggression than she let him see. It was one of those things she'd learned in her time in the military - risk assessment. Whenever she met someone, she always took a careful inventory to see if she could take them in a fight. She'd always known that Jack was quite strong and well trained in hand-to-hand, so she'd taken comfort in the fact that she absolutely knew he would never turn that strength and skill on her. He never got angry with her - frustrated, yes, but never angry. Until then.
Her voice was soft, unsure, as she responded and she hated that he'd scared her and that her weak voice revealed that. "You said we had time, sir."
He stared at her, his harsh glare softening the slightest bit at her obvious discomfort, although it was still harsh enough to cause her to squirm. "Are you questioning my orders, major?"
"No, sir."
"Two minutes."
She looked down, working as quickly as possible to fit the pieces of the object back together. She knew it was no use. She'd done too thorough a job in taking it apart. There was no way to get it back and operational in two minutes and Jack didn't appear to be in the mood to be rational. She didn't want to test him just then. Unzipping her pack, she shoved the pieces inside. "Ready, sir." One thing she'd learned in the years she'd known him was that it was best to let Jack get out of his moods on his own. There was no point in trying to reason with him when he was like that.
He had been watching her the whole time, so she didn't know why he was asking. "Does it work?"
She didn't like his attitude or not knowing why he was so mad. She wanted to be snippy back, but she knew better. Jack was her CO and that was one thing he'd remember clearly even when he was pissed off. She told herself he was panicking and backpedaling for having been so unprofessional with her, but she still saw no reason for him to blame her for it. He had been the one to grab her and whisper in her ear.
She bent down to re-tie her shoe, taking the opportunity to roll her eyes when he couldn't see. "It's small enough to transport. I'll have more time to study it once I get it home."
"Assuming you get clearance to bring it back on base."
"Of course, sir." She couldn't believe the accusation in his voice. She'd never smuggled anything on base; she'd never even thought about doing such a thing.
He stared her down, speaking on when she lowered her eyes. "If you want to be a bitch and give me shit at home, fine, whatever. Don't bring it to work, Carter." He stormed out of the lab, leaving her to stare after him.
A gruff Colonel O'Neill dragged an unwilling Teal'c and Daniel back and ordered Daniel to dial them home. While Daniel was dialing and Jack was sulking, Teal'c hung back with Carter.
"Are you feeling well, Major Carter?" His soft voice was laced with concern. It was so welcome that Carter nearly hugged him for it.
Instead she shrugged. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Your face is quite red. Are you certain you are well?"
Reaching up and feeling her burning cheeks with her palms, Carter realized it was obvious to everyone that she was angry. "I'm fine, Teal'c. It's the colonel who's upset." What she didn't need to say was that the symbiotic relationship of the team meant that the colonel's upset quickly translated into a team upset.
"O'Neill is indeed in a foul mood. Has there been an occurrence to cause this?"
"I don't think so." She shrugged again, noticing the colonel's dark stare was fixed on her once again. "But apparently something happened."
Everyone turned at Jack's disbelieving snort. "Something changed all right. You've been a royal bitch for two days and have said a word to me. Now all of a sudden everything's fine."
"Sir?" She didn't know what to say, how to dispute something that was so blatantly untrue.
Luckily, Daniel stopped mid-dial and gaped at Jack. "She was talking to you this morning, Jack. You two were getting along pretty well when you were gazing into each other's eyes during the briefing."
Carter's mouth dropped open in shock. Not only couldn't she believe Daniel had said that, she hadn't realized how obvious they were. If Daniel had noticed, certainly the general had noticed. She wanted to disappear. She hadn't wanted to stare at him at the time, but once she'd caught his eyes she hadn't been able to turn away.
"I was not gazing at her this morning." For a brief moment, Jack's anger shifted onto Daniel. "We've been fighting for two days, Daniel."
Daniel and Teal'c both turned to Carter, each one thinking maybe she knew something they didn't. She didn't.
"If you're angry at me, sir, I'm sorry. I have no idea what I've done to upset you." She hated how pitiful her words sounded. "I haven't been fighting with you, sir. Maybe you've been fighting with me, but I don't know why."
Jack rolled his eyes at all of them. "This is exactly why officers in the same chain of command aren't supposed to sleep together."
Carter actually squeaked. "What?"
Once again, Daniel and Teal'c turned to look at her and she got the distinct impression that they believed the colonel's cruel words over her utter shock.
Gaining control over herself and the hurt she felt, she narrowed her eyes. "If you ever make a comment like that to or about me again I will bring sexual harassment charges against you." She was furious. All the respect she'd earned in her career could be destroyed with a few words, especially coming from her CO.
Jack just smiled. "It'll be hard to prove sexual harassment from someone you're sleeping with."
"What's wrong with you? Why are you saying this stuff?" She didn't care anymore if he was her CO. He was hurting her, mortifying her, and worse, he was cheapening the feelings she thought they had for one another.
Jack motioned between Daniel and Teal'c. "You think they don't know? Come on, Carter, they're not stupid."
For their part, Daniel and Teal'c had chosen to move closer to one another, away from the fireworks. Teal'c, however, attempted to break it up. "Perhaps you should continue this discussion in a more personal setting." Daniel just wanted to hide and so finished dialing the gate.
Jack turned away, practically stomping toward the gate while he entered his IDC.
Carter stood exactly where she was, wanting alternately to kill him or cry. She took heart in the fact that Jack had obviously gotten so upset that he mixed up his code. She hoped it was guilt that was making him forget as she reached for her radio to assure the SGC it was really them. "General Hammond, the colonel appears to be having difficulty with his GDO. I'll use mine."
Carter had to suck it up and be in the same room with Jack through their post-mission physicals and the briefing, neither of which were as succinct as normal after Jack's forgetfulness. After Jack lied and said he was never out of her sight, she had to correct him, reminding him of his sweep of the complex.
"He said he'd been gone for nearly thirty minutes, sir." Carter actually felt slightly guilty herself when the red-faced general realized he'd been lied to.
"Carter!" Jack looked positively stupefied at her words. "That's not true, sir!"
For once, Carter completely forgot about their ranks and lashed out. "If you want me to cover for you, maybe you shouldn't spread lies about me."
"For crying out loud, Carter, I haven't said one God damn thing that wasn't completely true." He looked even madder than he had before. And Carter couldn't help but think he absolutely believed what he was saying.
The general cleared his throat, reminding them that they were hardly in the private setting Teal'c had suggested for the discussion to continue. "Considering that Major Carter's iris code cleared, I'm inclined to believe her. However, with no one available to corroborate either of your statements, I'm confining both of you to the base until Dr. Fraiser assures me that both of you are fine."
Carter spent the evening hiding out in her lab. She concentrated on reassembling the object to keep away any thoughts about what Jack had said. He'd hurt her and for no apparent reason. Despite her best efforts, tears pricked her eyes as she worked.
"Carter?"
She looked up, unsure how to feel upon seeing her CO. She decided on wary and it reflected in her voice. "Yes, sir?"
He leaned against the wall on the far side of the room, which was about as far away as he could be and still be in the lab. She found she much preferred it that way. His arms hung limply at his sides; his eyes didn't hold their usual cocky arrogance. "Look, I'm sorry. Can we just go back to the way we were?"
She wanted to, but she didn't know how. She didn't quite trust him after the way he'd treated her. "What are you sorry for, sir?"
"For acting like a jerk."
It was a start. Her defenses lowered. "I'm still mad, but I'll probably forgive you eventually."
He grinned. "That's better." He crossed the room, leaning over her shoulder to look at the thing she brought back with her. "Got it working yet?"
Still a little gun-shy, she shifted away from him slightly. "I'm trying to figure out what it does before I decide if I want to turn it on." She kept her face turned away from him; she didn't want him to see the tears that hadn't quite dried.
"Carter?" Of course, Jack was far too observant to miss them. "What's wrong, baby?"
Forgetting entirely about the tears, her head whipped around to face him. "Baby?"
He didn't even acknowledge her remark. "Why are you crying?"
She shook her head, trying to figure out which one of them had completely lost their mind. "You just called me baby, sir."
He smiled. "That's not why you're crying." He reached out to brush his hand along her jaw. "You've never cried when I called you that before."
Her hands gripped the counter in anger. "Well, I've never heard you before."
He chuckled as his hand moved down to her waist. "You heard me the other night. Hell, I think the neighbors heard me the other night."
Her face reddened with anger. "How dare you!"
"Come on, Carter, I said I was sorry."
"It doesn't count if you keep acting like a jerk."
"I'm not acting like a jerk. I apologized. What else do you want from me?"
She took a step back, out of the reach of his hand, which he didn't seem to like. Her voice came out in a whisper because she was afraid someone would overhear. "I want you to stop pretending that we're sleeping together. Someone is going to hear you and as funny as you apparently think it is at this moment, you probably won't feel the same when we get court martialed."
He sighed and turned away from her, leaning back against the desk. "I'm sorry, Carter. I am. I wasn't expecting family get-togethers yet. I freaked out and I'm sorry, but that's no reason for you to act all high and mighty about our relationship."
"Sir, we don't have a relationship." As much as it hurt to say it, she knew that outside of the occasional flirtatious moments, it was the truth.
When he turned back to her, she saw hurt reflected in his eyes. "Carter, don't do this." He reached for her again, putting his arms around her loosely. "I'll go to your cousin's wedding. I didn't know it was going to be this big of a deal."
She was so surprised she didn't even think to back out of his reach. "What? I didn't invite you to my cousin's wedding." She didn't even remember mentioning it to him, even though she clearly remembered being mortified at the thought of attending another family function as the resident spinster.
One hand moved to her face, sliding along her jaw and along her neck. "I'm not going to lose you over some stupid wedding, baby." He leaned in, his eyes dark and seductive. "Not when I just got you."
Her mind was reeling. She couldn't think, let alone move. At least, that was what she told herself when his lips pressed against hers. She repeated it to herself when he deepened the kiss. She reveled in the sensations, momentarily losing sight of the fact that her CO had completely fabricated an intimate relationship with her.
She felt his hands sliding down her arms and around her hips, reminding her of the way he'd touched her that afternoon. She hadn't thought his behavior odd at the time, but when she looked at the whole picture, she realized something had been going on even then. She stiffened, pushing at his hands.
"Stop."
He groaned, moving his hands from under the pressure of hers and relocating them to her hair. "I said I'll go, Carter." He brought his lips down to hers once again, but she resisted, turning her face away. He moved his lips to her ear, skin brushing skin as he spoke in a low, husky voice. "Let me make it up to you, Sam. You know I can."
She shivered from the contact and the words. She'd had years to consider it and she'd reached the conclusion that his innate confidence came from somewhere that he didn't feel compelled to brag about, at least not with her. She believed he could make just about anything up to her if he wanted to. Her body relaxed under his hands.
Her silence encouraged him. His lips moved to her neck as his hands started working on the buttons on her jacket. His mouth brushed her ear again. "I've missed this."
His words stunned her for a moment and she stiffened once again. "Wait, what?" She was struggling to get her thought process functional again. It kept getting sidetracked every time he kissed her.
"You haven't let me come near you in two days over the damn wedding, remember?" He smiled and moved to kiss her again.
There was something possessive in his eyes, in his hands, that she didn't like. It wasn't that he was hurting her, far from it; it was that he fully expected her to give in, which she thought to be a little presumptuous under the circumstances. She jerked her head away. "Sir, stop."
He pulled back immediately, withdrawing from her like he'd been burned. "That's a quick way to kill a mood." He didn't say another word as he stormed past her, leaving her to stare after him once again.