Super Bowl Sunday

Daniel chases after O'Neill, "Wait up Jack!"

He sighs and stops in the hall. He nods to Siler as the man passes him with a toolbox. "Be careful, Siler," he calls out. The guy ends up in the infirmary more often than any off world team member. The engineer waves at him cheerfully.

"Hey, wanted to invite you to my party," Daniel burst out as he catches up with him.

"Having a party?" Jack drawls. "What's the occasion?"

Daniel gives him a strange look. "It's the Super Bowl."

Jack nods. "Right. I forgot." Although now that he thinks about it, it's odd Daniel likes football.

"So, you're coming?"

Jack sighs. He was really looking forward to a quiet night at home. Pizza, curling, early night.

"Teal'c can't wait. And Sam's coming. Janet said she'd bake."

Jack brightens up at the thought of Frasier's baked goods. Not to mention sharing popcorn with Carter. And Teal'c and football should be entertaining. Hell, Daniel and football should be entertaining. But honestly, he's really not a football fan. Baseball you bet. Hockey no question. Curling, okay it's weird, but he grew up with it.

"Yeah, Daniel I'll stop by." He finally says.

Daniel's apartment is crammed with people. Jack sighs. "They better have saved me some cake," he mutters.

"Jack!" Daniel shouts his name and half the room straightens up. He smiles and nods at the people he recognizes. "Great. Now I'm ruining their night as well as mine." He thinks.

He sees some of the gate techs, a few nurses, half the science department. A flash of blond hair has him headed to the kitchen. He snags a slice of pizza off the buffet table and Carter hands him a beer.

"Hi, sir." She smiles brightly at him. "Nice shirt." Jack looks down at his USA Curling shirt and grins.

"Thanks. Just bought it."

He takes a bite of pizza and a swallow of beer. He scans the living room. "How do they all fit in here?" he wonders.

Carter laughs. "People come and go." She scoots a little closer to him as someone reaches around for a drink. He shifts until he can feel the heat off her body.

"So, who's winning?" The tv is partially blocked, but he can see it's a commercial.

"You don't watch football?" Carter's surprised.

"Nope." Jack takes another drink of beer and grins. "Hockey, baseball, curling, those are my sports."

His eyes light up at the sight of cupcakes on the counter. "I'm here for the food."

Carter follows his gaze. "Janet said hands off, or else."

O'Neill winces. Or else means big needles, colon cleanses, and stress tests. He pulls back a hand.

"I'll check the food again." He sighs. "What'd you bring, Carter?"

Sam grins and gives his side a hip bump. "It's a surprise, sir."

He wanders off to scope out the food. Chips and salsa, not bad. Salsa could be spicier. A bowl of hot wings. More pizza, some sort of dip with pita bread. Maybe that's Carter's. She likes hummus. Jack makes a face at that. Just then he spots the crown jewel of the table. Mini chicken parmesan sandwiches. Teal'c is making inroads into the platter and Jack scoots through the crowd to grab his share.

Teal'c glares at him when he piles 4 on his plate. "These are for everyone, big guy." Jack defends himself.

"You can try the hummus." Teal'c says while putting 4 more sandwiches on his plate.

Jack has also noticed pasta salad. "Hey, is that Carter's pasta salad?" With tomatoes, olives, little chunks of cheese, and onions it's awesome. He puts a big honking scoop on his plate. "Sweet," he mumbles around a sandwich.

"Major Carter did not bring the pasta salad, O'Neill." Teal'c smiles slightly at the thought of what Sam Carter did make.

"Oh." Jack's disappointed. Carter's pasta salad is one of his favorite things.

Teal'c moves away from the tables and heads to the corner where he left his seat and a table for his food.

Jack follows Teal'c and grabs the last seat in the corner. He glances at the tv and wishes he could change it to the curling channel. He's missing one of the big bonspiels of the year. However, the sandwiches are wonderful. T was right about the pasta salad. Doesn't taste like Carter's. Still decent though.

Jack keeps one eye on the game. He may not really like football, but he pays attention. The room is pretty well divided between the teams. He pretends not to see money change hands at certain points.

"Want something to drink?" he asks Teal'c. The big guy holds up an empty ginger ale can. Jack grabs another beer and some ginger ale out of the tub on the balcony.

When he cuts back through the kitchen, he sees it. A glorious sight. Sitting right next to the cupcakes. Which are decorated with little icing footballs. But they pale in comparison to the pie. Lattice woven crust, shimmering red fruit peeking out. Golden brown and smells amazing.

Jack's mouth waters. "Holy crap, there's pie."

"Cherry." Carter says from behind him. She's holding a knife and there's a stack of plates.

He swallows hard. "You made a pie?"

Carter grins. "Didn't expect that did you, sir?" Her eyes sparkle at his reaction.

He shakes his head.

Sam expertly cuts and serves a perfect slice of pie.

The flavors burst over his tongue. It's amazing, sweet and buttery, with a hint of cherry tartness. "Wow. This makes up for missing curling."

Sam laughs. "Someday you'll have to explain what the big deal about curling is."

Jack smiles slowly. "That's a deal, Sam." He takes another bite of pie and savors it slowly. His eyes close to better appreciate the flavors.

"If you make another pie."

Sam blushes. She slices a small piece for herself and they stand in Daniel's kitchen eating pie and smiling at each other.