First Sam and Daniel spent an hour asking a few of the neighbors if they had seen any suspicious cars parked on the street. One lady commented that she saw a black car parked in front of her house all week at various times of the day. Then she commented about a blue sports car, with white racing stripes, that scared her little dog to death each time the driver revved its engine. Sam refrained from smile but had to elbow Daniel who couldn't hide his amusement as they walked out of the ladies house.
From there, they looked through Dad's things for two hours. Every so often Sam had to remind herself that she wasn't intruding on his privacy but searching for clues to perhaps help find him and at least discover whom this mysterious woman was that captured his heart.
When Dad mentioned he had to get flowers, Sam knew this woman was special. He never bought flowers for anyone…only for Mom. And after Mom was gone, he bought them for Sam but only on special occasions like her birthday or when she had graduated from High School and the Academy.
So while Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c searched for the flower shop that Dad might have gone to, Sam and Daniel searched for clues here in Dad's bedroom.
"Your Dad's so neat," Daniel remarked. "I'm almost afraid to touch anything."
"Mom trained him that way…or at least she tried to," Sam smiled. "He used to be a slob…leaving things in a trail behind him. I remember I used to follow him and pick up what he set down so that Mom wouldn't yell at him."
"How old were you?"
"Three," she answered picking up Dad's organizer. She started flipping through the pages. "He loved to antagonize Mom sometimes by leaving his shoes and socks on the floor in the living room beside his favorite chair. After Mom died everything had to be put in its place. It was a strict rule in our house. If you made a mess you had to clean the mess. Mom had Mark and I trained well so we were accustomed to tiding up after ourselves."
"You know, Sam…Jacob's not trying to replace your mother."
"I know," she smiled at him as he came over.
"Did he write anything for Friday?"
Sam flipped to the page showing this week's schedule.
"It just says PU at seven," she read.
"Pick up…that's when he was meeting her. He had his hair cut on Thursday and picked up his suit from the dry cleaners. Wednesday: Call Tony to confirm. He even wrote a number. Could that be her name?"
"One way to find out," Sam said, pulling her cell phone out of her pocket. She dialed the number half not expecting an answer but half hoping someone would answer.
"Tony's Family Italian Restaurant, if your calling for a dinner reservation this evening we're full," an older woman's voice sounded.
Sam blinked in surprise then quickly composed herself.
"No actually I was hoping you could help me. My name is Samantha Carter, my father has been missing since last night and I think he had dinner reservations there at your restaurant. Can you tell me when and if he arrived with someone?"
"I can check the reservation book, for you dear."
"Great! His name's Jacob Carter."
"Ah…yes, here it is. Jake Carter, Dinner reservation for two at eight."
"Did he show up?" Sam anxiously asked.
"Hold on, let me ask my husband."
Sam heard the woman shouting in Italian. Then she heard a deep man's voice bellow something back in the same language.
"I'm sorry, Miss but your father never showed up. We gave him half an hour then gave his table to someone else."
"Could he have still come and gotten a different table?"
"No. Tony would have recognized him because he met Jake on Sunday. I remember because he spoke Italian better than my husband who was born in Sicily! Jake was looking for a nice restaurant for his lady friend."
"My Dad wouldn't have happened to mention his lady friend's name…did he?" Sam asked, feeling more awkward as each word came out of her mouth.
"Wouldn't he have told you that himself? He is your father!"
"It was his first date with her…I think he was nervous about telling me who she was," Sam replied feeling nervous.
"In that case, no. He did not say. I sincerely hope you find your father. He's such a nice man. Knows how a thing or two about romance."
"Thank you…thank you for your help."
"You're welcome, my dear."
"Well?" Daniel asked as Sam closed her phone.
"They don't know who she was but Dad never made it to the restaurant."
"Carter!" Colonel O'Neill's voice shouted from the living room.
"In here, Sir," she said heading out into the hallway. "Find anything?"
"Purple Tulips," O'Neill smiled gleefully. "Apparently your Dad was there for forty minutes picking the perfect dozen. The clerk said that she let Dad into the back to pick out some fresh ones after giving her a fifty dollar bill for a tip!"
"Did he get a card for the flowers or anything?" Daniel asked.
"He got a blank card but didn't fill it out in the store," the Colonel answered.
"The clerk did say that purple was this mystery woman's favorite flower which was why General was so adamant about picking the purple Tulips," Teal'c added.
"They had to be purple?" Sam asked.
"Maybe…that's…her favorite color?" O'Neill suggested.
"That would make sense if she's important to Jacob," Daniel commented then got this far away look in his eyes.
"Daniel…whatcha thinking?" O'Neill asked.
Daniel glanced nervously at Sam then back to the Colonel.
"You have an idea who she is, don't you?" he asked Daniel.
Daniel's eyes flicked her way briefly again.
"Ok…it's just an idea," he said, pushing his glasses back into place. "But I know of one woman who likes tulips, loves the color purple, and would kill for Italian food."
They all stood anxiously waiting for him to say the name, especially Sam.
"What if it's Janet," he finally said.
Sam's stomach did a somersault. And the Colonel burst into a hearty laugh.
"Little Janet Fraiser with big bad Jake Carter and his sneaky snake, Selmak! Yeah right Daniel! She wouldn't go out with him or Selmak!" O'Neill laughed. "She's not even his type! And I know for a fact that he hates Doctors!"
"I'm going to have to agree with the Colonel, Daniel," Sam admitted. "Janet and my Dad…it's just too…weird. Besides, Janet would have told me."
Actually, Sam found it…beyond weird. It was kind of disgusting. Janet was only a year older than Sam was. Yuck! It turned Sam's stomach just thinking about Dad and Janet…
"Jack, you obviously don't know Jacob as well as you think," Daniel said bluntly. "And Sam, I can't believe you! You of all people would know that Janet's the kind of woman Jacob would be attracted to! And of course she didn't tell you because it was your father!"
"Here's a question…what about Selmak?" O'Neill interrupted. "Maybe he's the one attracted to Janet then!"
Sam listened as Daniel and the Colonel debated on the kind of woman Dad or Selmak would be attracted to. The Colonel never held back, forgetting that a woman was even present when he went into detail about a woman's physical attributes. And Daniel what he said about Janet was beginning to make sense. And as Sam thought about it more and more her stomach twisted and tied into tighter knots.
She couldn't…she didn't want to think of her best friend that way. Sam never saw it before but Janet had a few qualities similar to Sam's mother. Which is probably the reason why the two women hit it off almost instantly when they met seven years ago.
A cell phone rang.
'Saved by the bell!' she thought to herself, totally unable to handle anymore from either the Colonel or Daniel.
"It's mine," O'Neill said, holding up his phone. "This is O'Neill…No, Sir…Yes, Sir...I understand, Sir…No, we'll go check it out."
This time the Colonel's eyes flicked nervously her way.
"It seems, Janet didn't show up for duty this afternoon and…her fingerprints were discovered in Jacob's car," he said slowly. Her head dropping as he continued. "General Hammond wants us to check her house out, just to be certain."
They were all silent. And when Sam looked up, the guys were all looking at her. Looking and probably waiting for her to…freak out!