All references to Jack, John and Johnny are all Jack O'Neill.

Dinner with the Jensen's

Sam ran into the restaurant shaking off the rain. Of course it's raining tonight. It's not that she doesn't like rainy nights, she loves them and there are plenty of nights when she is home by herself with no where to go and the rain would be a welcome song. But, when she has to be someplace for dinner in a restaurant where they actually bring the food to your table and not to your car which you are going to eat on your coffee table alone anyway, she would like to be able to walk in with dry shoes and dry hair. Besides it's too early for rain, it's supposed to be snow. But this evening it's raining, which means by the time she leaves there will be ice on the roads.

"How many in you're party ma'am." The hostess asked.

"Three, but I'm early, I'm going to use the restroom." She hung her coat on the rack and went into the restroom. She put her purse down on the counter, and pulled the paper towels out of the dispenser in the single sheets it would allow. She wiped the mud off her boots from the puddle she didn't see until she was standing in it, shook the drops of rain from her black wool skirt, then tried to rescue her hair and make-up. She looked in the mirror after re-applying her lipstick. "All this work and it's not even a date. Oh well, not a bad recovery."

She looked at her watch and still 15 minutes early. When the hostess saw her again she pointed at the bar. "I'll keep an eye out for my friends from in there." The hostess nodded. She figured even if they were already seated she could use a moment and a drink to settle down. She saw a man walking over from the corner of her eye and she really didn't feel like being hit on tonight.

"Can I buy you a drink miss?" She lifted her head to politely turn him down, but recognized the voice as she started and smiled.

"Hi sir, I didn't know you were coming tonight."

"Liz gives info on a need to know, and she usually decides no one needs to know anything. I didn't know you were coming until I saw you walk in the door." She blushed thinking about what a mess she had been. "Do you want something to drink?" He waved at the bartender, before she even answered, after all she was sitting at the bar. "Mind if I sit?"

"No, of course not, sir." She ordered a whiskey sour. She thought of ordering something more ladylike, like a glass of wine or cosmopolitan, but she needed something stronger if she had to sit next to him out of uniform tonight. The uniform helped define the situation as professional. His black trousers and black sweater were entirely too disarming. She felt nervous in a dress sitting next to him in a bar. And, she was certain she was not fooling anyone.

"Relax Carter." She drank the drink faster than she probably should have and indicated to the surprised bartender to bring her another. Dinner with two superior officers was a much different scenario than the dinner she had with Liz last week or the lunch her and Liz had at the mall yesterday.

"Carter slow down." He was concerned, he had no idea how she handled her liquor. Only her reaction to that stuff she drank on P3X-595, and if that was any indication...

She looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry if I had known it was a family dinner. I would have declined, Colonel."

"Carter if my sister decides she wants to be friends with you, there is nothing you, I or Apophis (he said in a whisper) can do to stop her. Believe me, I have been working on that one for more than 30 years and still haven't figured a way out." He played with the label on his beer bottle. He was surprised by her choice of drinks. But, almost everything about her surprised him from the moment he saw how blue her eyes were to watching her take on men twice her size, her proficiency with a weapon, her diplomacy in difficult situations, her commitment to Cassie and her tenacity to rescue them from of all places Antarctica. There was not a lot in life that surprised him anymore and it made him feel more alive every time she did. He had known her less than a year and hoped never to become indifferent to it.

"Besides as odd as it may sound, my sister is not that good at making friends. If you haven't noticed, she's a little odd. I suppose I only have myself to blame. When other five year old girls were having tea parties and playing with dolls. I was teaching her how to hook a shot in the net and bait her line. By the time I left she was such a little tomboy with this terribly sarcastic sense of humor. Believe me it's really not that cute in a seven year old. She has a few good friends and Mike, but beware when she makes a friend it's for life. You're stuck with her."

Sam smiled, and looked down at her drink. Her shoulders relaxed. She could relate, although she did not play hockey or fish, she was an odd girl who had difficulty making friends and still did. Strangely in only the short span of this past week she was already saddened by the idea of Liz going home and not seeing her again.

"Here there they are." Jack stood up and walked toward the lobby of the restaurant where they would be escorted to their table. He fully hugged his little sister and shook Mike's hand. Sam took another drink, a deep breath, gathered her purse and followed him.

"Mike."

"Colonel."

"Not at dinner Mike."

"Sorry John, I'll try." Jack nodded. Being addressed by rank by family at dinner was too much like work.

"Sam I'm so glad you're here. The weather is horrible. I see Johnny found you." Liz hugged Sam. "Mike this is my new friend Captain Samantha Carter. She works with John and has been a great distraction this week." Jack cleared his throat as he feign offense that she needed a distraction from him. "Sam this is my husband Mike."

"Captain."

"Major." Jack sighed, it was hopeless. They made their way to the table and sat down.

They ordered their food and talked briefly about work as much as any of them could say. Then moved on to safer topics. The night was turning out to be more fun than Sam had thought it would be. She had never seen Jack like this, she kept forgetting who he was. She kept chanting in her head Colonel O'Neill, Colonel O'Neill. Which it turned out that chanting his name in her head presenting it's own set of problems.

It was getting late and Liz was telling a story, "-So then Dad comes into the kitchen and looks at us and I had never seen him look so angry-

"Oh, I had. Quite often." Jack interjected.

Liz flashed him a no doubt look. "-anyway, he closes his eyes and the corners of his lips start to twitch and I can see he is trying very hard not to laugh. When he opens his eyes again he can't help it. He bursts out laughing and Mom starts laughing and I did get in trouble for that one Johnny."

"You what? No that doesn't count. I'm holding my ground, you were never punished for anything in your life."

"That's not true Dad grounded me for 2 days." Jack rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I accidentally break a plate and I am forced into hard labor for a month and you could commit a capital crime and come out smelling like a rose."

Liz defensively responded. "Hey I dyed the dog blue, I didn't kill anybody."

Jack leans over to Mike. "And, Mike what color is my mother's kitchen floor to this day?"

"A hideous blue." Mike responses because this was obviously a favorite family story.

"And, you know why?" Jack asks him.

Mike repeats the response he has obviously heard repeatedly over the years. "Because she never saw your Dad laugh so hard in his life. And, the color makes her smile to remember that day."

"Carter she special ordered the tile. They don't even make anything in that color." Jack explains. "Like I said, smelling like a rose….although I have to admit. Liz was a good kid. She only got into trouble for beating up bullies and protesting in the name of some great cause here and there."

"Somebody had to balance out the family tree."

"Hey!"

They were all probably laughing a little too loud, but the restaurant was sparsely populated at this time on a week night, so no one seemed to mind.

Sam had tears in her eyes from laughing at the stories they told. "Wow, I am sorry to do this, because I am having a really nice time. But, I have to get in early tomorrow."

They all looked at their watches and realized the late time, settled the bill and made their way to the door. Mike helped Liz with her jacket. Jack gave Sam a hand with her's. And, they stepped out into the icy parking lot and said their goodbyes. Liz and Mike were returning to Chicago in the morning and Sam and Jack had to get back to work. Sam would miss Liz, but looked forward to things getting back to normal.