WITH FIREWORKS AND KISSES
CHAPTER 4
TITTLE: "With Fireworks and Kisses"
CHAPTER: Four.
AUTHOR: fresitaazul
RATING: OLDER TEENS for sexual situations and sexual innuendo.
CATEGORY: Angst/Romance/Humor
PAIRING: Sam and Jack
SPOILERS: Season 1 (The Broca Divide)
SUMMARY: Sam has a party at her house to celebrate the Fourth of July.
WARNINGS: language, sexual situations and sexual innuendo. Read further at your own discretion.
DISCLAIMER: The characters used in this story DO NOT belong to me; I'm just borrowing them for fun. I am not gaining any money for this and don't expect to either.
FEEDBACK: Always welcome, thank you!
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
This chapter was fun to write because I enjoy imagining what kind of trivial things happen when our Stargate characters get together outside of the crazy situations we see on the show. I like to think of them as real people with real un-important problems (This compared to what they deal with on their jobs!)
Thanks to my Beta, Lennie. Your help with the positive reviews and fantastic suggestions make the story shine! I am a very happy camper.
Thanks to my mom and my husband for their continuous support.
And last but not least, another big thank you to all my wonderful readers and the awesome reviews you have sent me! Your thoughts and encouragement are sincerely appreciated.
Like always, enjoy the ride!
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"He always burns the steaks," Daniel whined, as he whispered in Cassie's ear.
The young girl sitting next to him chuckled. "I know. Just… don't say anything. He was very excited about grilling today. He said he's been practicing."
"Well, I'm afraid he needs a lot more practice," the blue-eyed archeologist responded as he took another look at his plate; there lay one hard black piece of what used to be meat, and two long burned sausages.
"Daniel, just… eat off the sides," Sam suggested as she looked helplessly at her own plate.
Jack sat at the end of the wooden patio table and admired his cooking. "Well, I think this is my best work so far!" he said with a proud smile.
Vala looked at her own food and then glanced at everyone else's, thinking she was the only one who got the burned pieces. When she confirmed she wasn't, she was relieved. It wasn't very nice to feel she was left with the worst, so not being accustomed to eating too well during all the years she ran away from her persecutors, she cut the steak with great effort and ate it with pleasure.
"Hum, Jack, this is really good!" Vala exclaimed after managing to swallow the food in her mouth.
"Really?" Mitchell asked in astonishment, and unconvinced as he leaned over to check if she had gotten a better piece than him. Confirming she hadn't, he shook his head and whispered to her, "You're such a liar!"
"I am not lying!" she responded. "I happen to think this meat is really wonderful! I was used to eating raw dead animals, Cameron. This does taste delicious by comparison." Vala leaned over to Sam who was seating across from her. "You have a complete package, a good cook and one hell of a sexy man!" She winked at the blonde woman and returned to her food.
Cassie turned to look at Vala and then at Sam, who was looking down at her plate, obviously avoiding her eyes. "I agree with you, Vala. Sam's one lucky woman," she managed to say while hiding a laugh.
Sam elbowed the girl and smiled at Vala. "Jack," she began, afraid to continue but not able to lie to him or eat the charred meat in front of her. "Can we cook some burgers? I mean, you have to admit, these are… a little burned."
Jack gazed at Sam and then at the other occupants of the table. Cassie was covering her mouth, laughing; Mitchell avoided his eyes, visibly not wanting to admit he disliked what he had been served; Vala was looking uniquely pleased with her food, because she was happily eating mouthfuls of it; Daniel was making strange faces and picking on the sides of his steak, still not able to bring it to his mouth; and Teal'c's plate was empty already, but his face was not a portrait of someone who had enjoyed his meal.
"Oh, for cryin' out loud!" Jack began, "is the food really that burned?" His eyes were fixed on their expressions, especially Daniel and Mitchell.
"Well… Jack," Daniel finally said. "Let's just say that grilling is definitely not your forte."
Jack raised his eyebrows, not too surprised with the archeologist's remark. He shrugged and turned his attention to the man across from him. "Mitchell?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Whadda ya think?"
"Sir?'
Jack rolled his eyes and looked at Mitchell while losing his patience. "The food, Colonel! Burned or not?"
"Well…" Cameron trailed off, trying his best to avoid answering.
"Yes, Jack. It is burned, but it is good!" Vala interrupted as she continued to savor her meal.
Jack shrugged and sighed, "At least someone's appreciative." He looked warily at Daniel and Mitchell. "Thank you, Vala." She smiled at him with her mouth full and continued eating. "Oh, well. I tried, right?" he said, hoping to get some encouragement.
"Jack, please don't try again," Daniel begged.
The older man narrowed his eyes at Daniel and stood up, while picking up his plate. "Fine. I'll go get some patties and put them on the grill."
"NO!" everyone yelled in unison.
Sam winced and looked up at Jack who seemed disappointed but not stunned. "Here, let me." She took his plate, along with hers, Cassie's, Daniel's, not Vala's because she wouldn't give it up, and Mitchell's. "I'll be right back," she said as she entered the house.
"May I be of assistance, ColonelCarter?" Teal'c asked as he bowed his head.
"Thanks, Teal'c," Sam responded and both of them disappeared into the kitchen.
For a long while, everybody was awkwardly quiet, until Vala spoke again. "So, what else do you people from Earth do to celebrate your independence from England?"
"Basically, we get together, drink, eat a lot, and watch fireworks," Mitchell said as he took a long sip from his beer.
"Fireworks?" the woman asked.
"They are chemicals that explode, make a lot of noise, and display brilliant lights in the sky," Cassie explained. "People like to sit around and watch them, and they are actually quite entertaining, aren't they, Jack?"
"Oh, yeah!" Jack said with a joyful smile.
"Wow, that sounds fun! Loud explosions with lights… hum. I don't think I have seen that before," she said sarcastically. "Can we do some fireworks, then?" Vala asked, actually excited.
"We can't," came Daniel's voice. "They are illegal in Colorado Springs."
Vala frowned in frustration. "Why?"
"Because people are very irresponsible and create fires. Not to mention those who get serious burns," Daniel told her in a father-like way.
"Oh, Daniel, you're such a party pooper!" Jack countered. "Vala, the city has a fireworks show later tonight that can be seen from Sam's yard." He shot Daniel an evil look and stood up. "In the meantime, I'll go inside and help with the burgers."
Everyone's mouths fell open and their faces paled; Jack rolled his eyes again. "I am NOT cooking them, alright?"
"Thanks, Jack. I'm kinda hungry and I want to actually eat something today," Cassie admitted.
Jack ruffled the girl's hair playfully and proceeded to open the sliding door into the house.
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Later that day after eating a good portion of hamburgers, cooked by Teal'c, of course, and plenty of potato salad that Sam had bought at the store earlier that morning, they sat around the deck while drinking and relaxing in the wonderful weather of the Colorado late summer afternoon. Mitchell was intrigued to hear stories about past missions, like always, and the four members of the initial SG-1 were happy to share them.
"So, you were the only one not affected by this virus?" Vala asked in between laughs.
"Oh, he was!" Jack answered. "We found him in the woods flirting with a girl who was infected, too."
"Oh, please! I was not flirting with her!" Daniel said, as the blush on his face grew deeper.
"Daniel, you had a girl on every planet we went to," Jack replied.
The archeologist gazed at him and remained quiet for a while, clearly thinking of a way to get back at him. "What are you prattling about," he finally added. "You almost beat me up because of your jealous display."
Jack cleared his throat and hid his face with the beer bottle he brought to his mouth. "Whatever, Daniel."
"Yeah, I don't think Sam knows this one," Daniel continued suspiciously with an evil grin.
"Which one, Daniel?" a curious Sam asked as she glanced at Jack.
"Nothing," Jack responded before Daniel could. "He just won't admit to his multiple alien admires, so he's making stuff up."
"Well… what can I do if I'm such a likable guy?" Daniel countered to everyone's surprise.
"Daniel, you're drunk. How many beers have you had already?" Jack said as he searched for traces of bottles around the man in question.
"Ok, ok, let's go back to where Jack had a jealous display, shall we?" Sam intervened after a laugh.
"Sam…" Jack tried but Daniel stood up and got everyone's attention.
"So, I went to the control room and found Jack with a huge scratch on his shoulder. I asked him what happened and he said he had gotten into a wrestling match with Sam." Vala raised her eyebrows excitedly and Mitchell looked at Sam in bewilderment. "The next thing I hear is that Sam had tried to seduce him in the locker room," he smirked and looked at Sam who was now blushing. "When I told Jack I was gonna check on her, he demanded I stay away from her, you know, the whole macho thing on full display. Before I could register what was going on, he hit me."
Sam and Jack looked at each other and smiled, both with a red colored face.
"So, it goes that far back?" Cassie asked in amazement.
"Cassie, we were infected with a virus that made us act like Neanderthals. We were not being ourselves," Sam explained to the young girl.
"Sam, I'm not 13 anymore, in case you're forgetting." Cassie turned to Jack and smirked. "You two were hooked from the beginning, how cool!"
"I told Jack afterwards. We may have been infected but we acted on our instincts. That meant something, you know?" Daniel reflected.
"What a sweet and wonderful love story! Did it start then?" Vala asked innocently.
The whole group was quiet all of the sudden. Jack and Sam exchanged glances until, finally, Sam spoke. "No. We have only been together since last year."
"Why?" A disappointed tone was clear in Vala's voice.
"Military rules," Mitchell added without thinking, as he drank his beer. "Oh…sorry," he said after he noticed he has spoken his thoughts out loud.
"No, Cam's right. Unfortunately," Cassie continued. "The Air Force won't allow intimate relationships between a commanding officer and a subordinate while he or she is in a direct chain of command."
"Which makes sense, Cassie," Sam clarified, looking warningly at the young girl.
"Well, that is simply ridiculous! How do you control who you fall in love with?" Vala pressed on the topic.
"That's exactly what I say! Thank you!" came Cassandra's reply with enthusiasm.
"You can't. But you can control what you do with those feelings," Jack finally said, in a soft and serious voice.
"And what do you do, Jack?" Vala challenged.
"You ignore them," he answered after a moment, without looking at Sam.
"Yeah, and you're living proof," Cassie continued. "He was a mess when Sam got engaged to another guy!" Right after she said it, Cassie shut her eyes tight and winced. "Oh, Jack, I'm sorry, really…I…"
"It's ok, Cassie. Let it go," Jack immediately assured the girl who was looking at him with honest regret.
Sam watched furiously as Jack drank another long sip of his beer and looked away from her. Sheset her eyesonCassie and widened them. "Cassandra, help me with the cake. Please?" It was more an order than a request.
The young girl nodded and stood up as she followed the tall, blonde woman inside.
As they got to the kitchen, Cassie stood frozen in front of Sam as she just shook her head and rubbed her eyes gravely.
"Cassie, how many times do I have to ask you… no, beg you… to let this subject go?"
"I know, Sam, I'm really sorry."
"That's what you always say!" Sam paced through the kitchen, until she stopped and stood inches from where the girl was. "But again, today, you found a way to bring it up and sink Jack and me into a feeling of humiliation and guilt." She looked at her angrily for a moment. "And not to mention your continuous criticism of my engagement to Pete."
Cassandra didn't dare respond or even look at her. The familiar feelings of remorse and shame came again, and all she could do was lower her head and swallow the words that came hard.
"I know you didn't like it, and I know you wanted things to be different, and guess what? So did we, Cassandra. But life is tough and sometimes we don't get what we want when we want it." She stopped and stared at her intensely. "Never, and I repeat, never, question Jack's, or my decisions, ever again."
"Sam…" Cassie tried but all she got was another warning look from her senior.
"It may seem funny and ridiculous to you, but you will never fully understand what our choices and our jobs really mean and the responsibility we carry along with them," Sam breathed, closing her eyes as she tried to regain control over her explosive emotions. "I expected that you, more than anyone else, would respect and cherish us now." With another serious and determined look, Sam moved even closer to the young girl. "This is the last I ever want to hear about this, do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, ma'am," the girl answered in a whisper.
Jack stood at the door and watched as Cassie turned and walked to her room, and as Sam's hands covered her face while she leaned on the counter.
"Hey," he said as he approached her and placed his hand gently on her shoulder.
She turned her face and met his warm brown eyes looking deeply at her. "You think I was too tough on her."
He gave her a small smile and kissed her forehead. "No, you think that."
"Jack…"
"Sam," he interrupted. "You did what you had to do."
"Yell at her?"
"No, guide her and correct her."
Sam shook her head and looked down to her feet. "I'm a horrible version of a mother."
He turned her suddenly and with his finger under her chin, he lifted her face up to meet his. "Never say that again, Sam. You are wonderful to Cassie."
"You really think that?"
"Don't you?"
"I guess…"
He gazed at her until she finally met his eyes and leaned over to kiss her lovingly on the lips. "Janet would be proud."
"Oh, Jack." She let herself fall into his welcoming arms and allowed him to soothe away her overwhelming emotions.
"You'll make an amazing mother one day," he whispered as he rocked her in his embrace.
She was startled by his admission and pulled back a little to meet his eyes. "Jack?"
"Guys!" Daniel said as his head peeked through the sliding door.
They both turned and raised their eyebrows expecting his answer, when once again his timing had been impeccable.
"The fireworks, they're starting!"
"I thought you didn't like fireworks, Daniel," Jack said.
"No, I said I don't like amateurs doing fireworks. It's ok if they're done by professionals and at a great distance from where I am."
"You're a wuss, you know that?"
"Now, why would you…" Daniel started, when Sam cleared her throat while staring at him. Daniel sighed and went back out, understanding the meaning of her look.
Jack gazed at her and smiled tenderly, and with confidence he took her hand and held it tight. They were lost in each other's eyes and she smiled as the mutual agreement to continue the conversation later was made.
"I'll go get Cassie, you get the cake," Jack said and with a final kiss on her cheek he disappeared through the hallway.
"And please do not offer Daniel to stay here tonight. I'm sure he'll find a way to go in your bedroom tonight and continue his streak of interruptions," she heard him say as she opened the sliding door and walked out smiling, holding the cake in her hands.
TBC….