There was a flash of something in Sammie's eyes that no one could really identify, but those who worked at the bar knew well – anger. "If I win … you and your buddies have to stop harassing me, forever."
"Agreed."
"Good. Now, do you want the first hit, or should I?"
The Captain bowed slightly, "By all means, ladies first."
"Indeed," Sammie said sadistically before she struck out and had the cocky man on his back within thirty seconds.
"Holy shit," John said, casting a look at Bill and George to see what their reactions were. Bill was equally as shocked, but surprisingly, George wasn't.
Sammie whispered something in the man's ear before allowing him to get up. With a smile she asked the shocked AF group, "Now, what would like to drink?"
A Major Hansen answered for the group, "A round of beers, please. Whatever's on tap."
Sammie nodded, putting her apron back on with the precision and skill that came over time, "Got that, John?"
John nodded, getting back behind the bar to get the requested beers, "I got that, Sammie."
"Where'd you learn how to fight like that?" John asked in awe as Sam came up to the bar to get the order of beers.
Sammie smiled playfully, "A girl's gotta have some secrets, John."
"Tell me later?" he asked, a smile playing across his face.
Sammie winked, "After we close."
John nodded: to hear that particular story, he could wait a few hours.
Sammie was kept busy for the next few hours, making her way around the medium sized bar, taking orders from customers to John then going back again. Some thought it strange that the bar had a waitress, but the patrons had accepted Sammie as part of the team (some of the older ones who had been in the service with George or Bill even jokingly flirted with the woman young enough to be their granddaughter – a point that was used on many occasions).
John watched Sammie deal with two of their patrons: Paul and Davy, the former a real estate agent, the latter a Captain in the Navy. When Sammie walked back to John with their usual order in hand, he saw the way Paul's eyes lingered on Sammie's retreating form. It was a very non-platonic look.
A few minutes later she returned with a request from Bill, who'd been steadily going through a list of songs George had hand-picked since after Sam had proved she could handle herself. As she left to give Bill his screwdriver, Major Hansen from the group of AF officers walked up to the bar.
"Hey, mister," he said, trying to get John's attention. John heard the sound of the call and immediately tensed up before he turned around. "Oh," the Major said when he saw the face. "Shit."
"Hello, Hansen," John said icily.
"Jack O'Neill," the man said with a smirk and a shake of his head, "Last time I saw you was in an Iraqi prison cell."
John's face grew stony, "Last time I saw you was when you were escaping and not bothering to help me do the same."
Hansen cocked his head to one side, "How long did you end up staying?"
"Six months," John spat back. "And I go by John now, not Jack."
Jonas Hansen looked utterly sadistic, sitting on the stool by the bar, "What have you been up to, buddy?"
John put the glass he was filling with beer down with a loud smack that caused Sammie to look up worriedly from where she stood beside Bill. "You mean after Sarah left me and took Charlie with her? After I was medically discharged from the Air Force because of what happened to me in that damned cell? After all that, Jonas? Huh! I'll tell you what I've been doing: living each day wishing I could just …"
"John!" George said in a calming, CO voice that left no room for argument. "Bobby, come take over the bar for a while."
Bobby, who'd been listening to the conversation from the start from his dark corner of the bar, walked forward and gave Hansen a lethal glare that'd Bobby had used on cadets.
John sent one last glare at Hansen before going into the back room. Sammie watched him go, her heart yearning to comfort him. Decidedly, she took the same steps he had just walked to see if there was something she could do.
Bill stopped playing the piano and walked over to where George and Bobby were staring down Major Hansen. "You and your buddies need to leave - now," Bill said hardly.
Jonas looked at all three of them, "And if we don't?"
Bobby smiled sadistically, "I was a Colonel in the Marines when you were still a Cadet in the Air Force. Do you really want to see what we could do to you? After all, our waitress is tougher than your Captain."
Jonas smiled again, "But there's only three of you and ten of us."
Now it was Bill's turn to be Mr. Don't-Mess-With-Us, "I retired from the AF as a Colonel, son. And I was doing special ops when you were still in diapers."
George took up the fight, "All of the employees – save Sammie – are retired military officers, Major. Get out of my bar."
"No," Hansen said, still sure he could take them all.
"HANSEN!" a voice boomed from the doorway. All noise in the bar stopped as the nine AF officers still at the table stood and saluted their base commander. Major Hansen turned around slowly to face the man's wrath.
"General Carter," the young Major said, cockily saluting his CO.
"Take your men and get out of here before I court marshal all of you!" the General barked dangerously.
"Yes, sir," Hansen said, motioning to his nine man posse before walking out of the bar in utmost honor and pride to the on looking passersby.
General Carter shook his head, turning his attention back to the bar, "All right," he said, "Nothing left to see here, everyone get back to their tables," causing the crowd that had built up from the confrontation to dissipate. "Now, George," Carter said, looking at the bar owner, "Where's Sammie?"
George looked around, trying to locate his waitress, but it was Bill who answered, "She's in the back with John. Who are you?" After having just dispelled the Air Force crew, the men at the bar weren't exactly in the mood to deal with a brawl.
"I'm her father, General Jacob Carter," the man said, holding out his hand to the piano man politely.
Bill raised his left eyebrow skillfully, "No wonder she learned to kick a Captain's ass in under a minute."
Jacob raised both his eyebrows in response, "Which one?"
"Which what?" Bill asked, confused.
"Which Captain was it?" the General elaborated.
Bill shrugged, "I wasn't watching."
"It was the one with the scar underneath his right ear," Bobby said, having seen the whole thing from his dark corner of the bar.
Jacob rolled his eyes, "That is something Mitchell would do. Okay, so, can I go say hello to my daughter, or should I wait for them to come out here?"
The three men looked at each other knowingly before saying, "Wait for them," in unison.
A/N: Sooo? What do you guys think? Oh, and any suggestions or requests are (as always) very welcome. I like knowing what you guys expect/want to see. And I know I changed how long Jack was in the Iraq prison, but that's because I can. SO THERE!