AN: Jack and Sam shippyness. You're welcome!

Singing for her supper

A few weeks later, Sam sat in Yonish's lab fiddling with a broken boiler part.

"You seem down, Samantha. What troubles you?" Yonish asked her kindly.

"I feel like I'm not really contributing much. We need to earn money to afford farm equipment and animals and I'm here all day."

Ernie, who had been playing with a cat's cradle, looks up. "You and Jack sing well together. Can you play the piano?"

Sam nodded. "I'm fairly good." She said agreeably. "Who's looking for a piano player? One of the churches?"

"The Buffalo Head actually. It pays well and it's only at night so you could work on your ah... Doohickeys during the day."

"I have to say, lounge singer wasn't the job I expected to have in eighteen eighty one." She says sardonically. "And now I know where Jack got that word from." She says chuckling.

"What word?" Ernest said with a confused expression identical to Jack's

Sam laughed. "I assume you will put in a good word for me, Ernie?" she says with an amused smile.

Ernest preens a little for her to Yonish's eye roll which made her giggle.

True to his word as he always was, Ernest had put in a good word for her and she'd easily gotten the job as lounge singer.

"Yah got any other clothes than that?" Lamar, the barkeep and presumed manager/owner of the Buffalo Head Saloon asked Sam of her jeans and cambric shirt.

"Um… well no. Not really."

"Henrietta! You girls got anything that might fit Miss Carter?" He said to the attractive dark hair and eyed waitress who frequently took an interest in Ernest.

"Why shor, Lamar. We can rustle somethin up for her until she can afford to buy somethin'." She said. "Come with me, honey, most of the girls stay at the Silver King like you and I'm shor we can do something though there's not much I can do with watcha done to your hair, honey." She didn't say it unkindly.

"I'll return everything washed as soon as I can." Sam assures the brunette.

"I know yah will, honey. Ernie wouldn't take to the bunch of you if you weren't good people. I know he seems like he's a little dishonest but it's only about little things like drinking when he says he doesn't and smoking cigars when ain't no one lookin'."

Sam smiles. "Oh I know. Jack is the same way really. He just doesn't have a reputation to live up to like Ernest does."

"That's fo' shor. He and I had a bit of an arrangement but I think he's found someone because he's not so interested in spending time with me as he once was."

"I'm sorry." Sam told her.

"Oh, don't be, honey. I wasn't looking for anything like a wedding or nothing but he shor was fun while it lasted." She shrugged. "I must say though it will be hard to find another lover hung like a mule." She giggled.

Sam looked at her wide eyed then laughed. "Well, I think that's more information than I needed."

"Well ancha wondered yourself? He wears those tight pants so it's pretty obvious." Henrietta said with a sigh. "If he gets over this girl, he's very discreet if you're at all interested. Assumin' I don't take him for a tumble again first." She giggled.

Sam blushed brightly. "Er… um no." Sam choked out.

Henrietta giggled harder. "You are just too adorable. Let's get you a corset and skirt from Clementine; you look about her size if a bit taller. I'll loan you an extra shift to go with your corset. We'll get on over to the haberdashery to get you a headdress.

Two days after that, Sam sat at the piano in a red corset and matching skirt, a small feathered hat in her hair. It was evening and she was singing as she was playing 'Jake and Rome' and trying not to imagine her dad as the ill fated Jake which kept making her giggle. Stuck between a crazed angry cow and a bear with his idiot friend hiding in a tree. Most of the songs she'd been given were quite humorous if a bit ribald. There were a few she wouldn't sing as they offended both Jack and his great grandfather Ernest with their degrading remarks about people of color and the natives. She wasn't about to sing the long version of Clementine[1] no matter how funny it was. She could easily make the argument against racist songs about their patrons to Lamar. Ernest had some pull when it came to the entertainment. He'd enjoyed her rendition of 'Bill Grogan's Goat' last night though.

The piano was an upright style in the corner of the bar next to the very small stage that was seldom used except for rare occasions they attracted a traveling entertainer according to Lamar. Yonish told her he couldn't remember the last time their sleepy town had attracted anyone more entertaining than Ernest which wasn't saying much as Ernest was fairly amusing and the Mayor made a lot of money for the town by selling trinkets and running tours through the local Museum of Nicodemus Legend Historical Facts.

Sam was taking a small break from her set when she caught movement she'd not expected out of the corner of her eye. Henrietta was hanging over Jack's shoulder, toying with the hair at the nape of his neck, it having grown out considerably in the last few weeks. Sam stood and faced Henrietta seething until the other woman caught Sam's expression and realized her error. The smaller dark haired woman eases away and gives Sam an apologetic smile.

Later that evening as they were cleaning up Jack had put a hand on Sam's shoulder and asked if they were all right. She'd frowned at him though. She knew he wasn't interested but Henrietta had more feelings for Ernest than she'd admit and the other man was currently off on some mission Yonish had talked him into.

"I'll see you back at the Hotel?" He asked worriedly.

"Yah. As soon as we are done cleaning up." She agrees and goes back to wiping down tables.

It doesn't take Henrietta long after Jack leaves to approach Sam about the matter. "I know it's my job to make sure the patrons are all having a good time but if it bothers yah that I'm round your man, yah shoulda said somethin' the other day, honey."

"I shouldn't have to, Henrietta. He and I share a room. I thought the reason would be obvious." Sam growled.

"Well, it's not like yah've staked your claim on him, Samantha."

Sam huffed. "Consider this a stake. Jack isn't your Ernest replacement."

"I don't see you turning down Billy Hardash when he makes eyes at you and puts extra tips in your jar." Henrietta pointed out.

"I can't stop him from tipping me, Henrietta and I'm certainly not looking up to see if he's making eyes at me while I play. I don't even do that for Jack and I…" Sam struggles to say the words she means though and Henrietta gives her a mocking smile.

"You can't even say it? Samantha Carter, no wonder the man has no idea where he stands." Henrietta admonishes her.

"Look… it's complicated." Sam mutters as she savagely swabs a table.

"What's so complicated about tellin a man you love him? Either yah do or yah don't. That's about it."

Sam sighs. If that's all there was to it… but it wasn't. What if she found a way home? Then they had this big elephant in that room with everything else. And that room was already really crowded as it was.

Jack stuck his nose in Daniel's room when he got back. He was lounging in a bathtub in the middle of his room, contentedly reading a book. "Having a good time, Danny?" He asked the other man caustically.

"I'm not sticking my nose in the middle of whatever fight you started with Sam." Daniel said, not even looking up.

"Now why would you think I started it?" Jack whined.

Daniel just gave him a long look and went back to reading.

"Fine. I'll be in my room. Not waiting for Sam to get back." Jack grumbles and stomps off.

Daniel flips a hand absently in the air and goes back to reading.

An hour later Sam finally returns to the hotel and has her back to Jack when she struggles with the ties that have become tangled. Jack slips out of bed and gently pulls her fingers away so he can work the knots loose. He doesn't say anything as he works, knowing her anger needs to run its course before it's wise to speak to her about it. When the cording finally loosens Sam mumbles thanks and moves behind the changing screen to finish undressing. Jack gets back into bed.

Sam eventually joins him but doesn't say anything beyond goodnight.

Jack sighs quietly to himself and rolls over to try to sleep.

Things go on like that for several days. Neither sleeps well but Sam refuses to discuss the topic and Jack isn't her CO so he can't order her to talk to him like he would have in the past. He'd make a joke about it but he had the concerning feeling that she would not find the situation amusing enough to do so. He kept showing up at the Buffalo Head every night she sang though. And apparently Sam had warned the other woman off because Henrietta was showing no further interest.

Sam was singing a song about not counting your chickens before they are hatched and Jack was rather amused as it couldn't possibly be an accident that one of the lines was 'he tells all the boys he'll be married quite soon' and chuckles a bit to himself. It's a moment before he realizes what she's playing next. At first the notes simply seem different than the usual 1800s fare… but there's something intrinsically recognizable about those notes… GD F D EF- D, G- G … so slowly at first that he'd thought she was just noodling… and then the familiar sound of her voice when she'd been drinking whiskey with the teams, a little lower, a little more rough from the smoke of cigars in the room.

"Desperado…" she crooned and his heart was lost. She'd only sung that song to him once and he'd hurt her badly before she had. He needed to more than just ignore Henrietta's attentions if she approached him again, he needed to politely decline.

Jack had forgotten how badly that last incident had gone. That she'd punched him for not believing in her to the point that he'd slept with someone else, even if that person had worked on his grief for weeks to manipulate him into her bed. Even though he and Sam weren't lovers themselves. And he hadn't broken her heart this time… but he'd reminded her of when he had before and for that… well, he ought to know better.

Sam's hands stilled on the keys and was met with a round of applause for the unusual song choice. She bowed a little and headed for the bar for a quick drink of water. She didn't mean to pass so close to where Jack sat but her way was blocked on the next shortest route. Jack snagged her waist and pulled her into his lap. When she turned her head his lips descended on her neck instead which only served to have her eyes flutter closed as her arms went around his neck as he drew her in until he was holding her against him.

Jack took a measured breath, his face still buried in her shoulder. "I told you I'd rather die than be without you, Sam. I meant every word of that. I always will." He told her softly as he cradled her against him as though she were the most precious thing in his world, which she was.

"Jack…" She said softly. "I'm still on the clock."

"Mmm hmm..." He said and had gone back to nibbling and nuzzling her neck.

Sam blushed "People are watching." She whispered at him.

"Good. I don't want anyone else misunderstanding what's going on here." He mumbled as his teeth lightly scraped her ear.

"Jack!" She squeaked.

He drew back and gave her an amused smile. "Lay off the torch songs, Carter. These pants aren't all that sturdy."

"Jack!" Somehow Sam's blush managed to deepen and spread from her cheeks down into her cleavage.

Jack's smile turned into a grin. "I gotta say, Carter, this is doing it for me."

"We'd be in so much trouble if this was work." She told him smiling shyly.

"Oh yah." He agreed but let her go so she could get back to playing.

[1] Seriously Google Clementine lyrics…. The original song is about an overweight girl who falls into the river because she collapses a bridge and they try to harpoon her. I was this many days old when I found out it wasn't about a girl that died of consumption like I thought as a kid.