I'm so sorry I didn't manage to get this up before now guys! After thunderstorms all day on Sat, my PC spontaneously decided it wasn't going to communicate with my ADSL modem any longer :( Unfortunately, I didn't get chance to look at it until last night. In true IT Support fashion, I switched everything off and on again, then uninstalled and reinstalled it and finally ended up taking the case off - which I loathe having to do, because it a pain putting everything back again - and reseating all the cards, which fixed the problem. Damn chip-creep! Any how, wanted to get this finished beforeI head off to Bristol today with no i-net access :O Thanks so much for all your reviews, haven't had to time to reply individually yet, so please consider this a heartfelt group hug instead of separate thank yous :)

This is the end of the line, folks... Enjoy!

The Trouble With Carter

By Chezza

Disclaimer, Author's Notes and Copyright Notice, etc in Prologue.

o0o

Chapter Five

Daniel turned back towards the room in front of him and scanned it again. This time taking in all the small details he'd skimmed over earlier. At first, his gaze found items he'd expect to see in Jack's bathroom.

A can of shaving foam standing on the sink underneath the mirror. Razor precariously thrown down next to it. Bar of soap. Toothpaste squeezed from the middle – god, that was annoying – toothbrush…

Then his mind began to pick up on the items which were definitely out of place in a single male's bathroom.

Extra toothbrush sitting at the side of the previously mentioned one. Except instead of plain blue, this one was pale yellow with a daisy pattern adorning it. Daniel looked closer. There was another razor. Placed neatly out of the way on the right-hand side of the sink. Except this one was pink. As was the zipped cosmetics bag next to it.

He turned his attention to the bathtub. Bubble bath, honey shampoo, a strange poofy item that even his powers of observation had trouble identifying. He assumed it to be to be some sort of hi-tech sponge but he wasn't sure that he wanted to know if it wasn't…and he was going nowhere near trying to figure out what that odd red glittery ball was for.

Wait. Was that a rubber duck in the corner? Yes, yes it was. Even more disturbing was the fact that it was covered in camouflage patterning.

Oh…my.

Finished with his perusal and he had to admit, slightly disturbed by it, Daniel turned back to Jack. He had an idea where this was heading. Jack met his gaze levelly, before turning without saying a word and walking back into the bedroom.

Daniel watched as he strolled over to the closet in the corner and flung the doors wide. Stepping to one side, Jack once again indicated that Daniel should take a look. This time knowing what he was supposed to seeing, Daniel skimmed his gaze quickly over the uniform, sweaters, hockey shirts and pants. His eyes sought out and found a pale blue dress, several skirts and a rather feminine-looking sweater, before dropping downwards and finally alighting on a pair of high-heeled sandals that he was fairly certain did not belong to Jack.

Jack stepped forward and spread his arms wide in the direction of the closet.

"Ya see?"

Daniel coughed and crossed his arms over chest.

"I'm going to assume you're attempting to point out everything here which belongs to Sam, rather than trying to tell me that you like to dress up as 'Jacqueline' in your spare time..."

Jack scowled.

"You're not funny, Daniel."

Daniel smirked.

"Really? I thought I was pretty good myself…"

Jack glared, but disappointingly for Daniel, he didn't rise to the bait. Instead he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"But yeah, all this stuff…is Sam's. And that's without even mentioning all the faffy food which has made it's way into the cupboards! I mean, bulghar wheat? Who the hell eats that?"

Jack shook his head in a visible effort to stay on track.

"Anyway… Point is Daniel, she's already moved in! Yeah okay, so she's not here that often, but when she is - "

He shrugged, as if the answer was obvious. Which perhaps it was…to Jack.

" - it's as much her place as it is mine."

"Maybe she just needs to be told that?"

Jack's expression said loud and clear that he honestly didn't understand why Sam would need to be told. It was her stuff after all, shouldn't she just know?

Unfortunately, Daniel didn't have an answer for him. Possibly because Jack wasn't the only one didn't understand it.

Daniel shrugged.

"Maybe it's a woman thing."

The glare was back.

"That doesn't help me, Daniel."

Yeah, he'd figured as much. But there was just so much entertainment value to be had in poking fun at a frustrated Jack O'Neill.

"Right." Jack said eventually, giving a heavy sigh.

"Thank you, Daniel. You've been a great help."

The tone of his voice told Daniel that he didn't believe that anymore than Daniel did.

Daniel fought hard to keep from laughing out loud.

"You're welcome."

He paused for effect.

"That'll be three hundred dollars, Jack."

Then he turned on his heel and ran.

-fini-

So there you go, all done. If you've made it this far, then congratulations! I hope you enjoyed the ride. Would love to know what your favourite part(s) were, what you liked about the story, disliked, best lines, etc.

And yes, before you start screaming at me, there will be a sequel. The prologue and part of the first chapter have already been written. As for how long the rest will take, depends on how much the story grows as I write it. This one ended up being double the length I had planned, so we'll just have to see!

Either way, it won't be posted here until it's finished. One WIP at a time is more than enough for me! If you're truly desperate to know what happens next, drop me a PM and I'll send you the prologue and further bits of the story as and when I write them…

That's all for now folks!

- Chezza ;oD