Jackson was sitting in his study, working on a new translation, which he had decided to bring home from the SGC. It was a fairly easy translation, so his mind kept drifting, when he suddenly heard his phone ringing. "Jackson" he said as he picked up the receiver. "Hello Doctor Jackson, this is Jessica Swenson. I would like to arrange to come see the room you have for rent," he heard the soft voice say at the other end. "Sure, Doctor Swenson. I have no plans for this evening, so if now is a good time for you, please come on over." He gave her his address, and they agreed for her to come to his house within 30 minutes. Jackson just sat for a few minutes, trying to collect his thoughts. He had never before felt nervous to have a prospective tenant come to his house. Yet, this time he felt his stomach flutter and his hands were shaking. "I am pathetic," he thought as he got up to do a quick walk through the house to make sure everything was in order. There was a few dishes in the sink that he decided to get out of the way. When that was done he headed to the master bathroom to take a look in the mirror. Satisfied that he looked somewhat okay, he headed to the living room to wait for Doctor Swenson's arrival. A few minutes later, while nervously pacing the floor, he heard a small knock on the door and quickly went to let Doctor Swenson in. "Please, come in," Jackson said as he was holding the door open for the young woman. "Thank you, Sir…I mean Daniel," she replied while walking through the entranceway to the living room. "You have a beautiful home," she said shyly. Jackson was trying his hardest not to fidget, but it seemed like his body had taken control. She looks stunning. Her hair was flowing down over her shoulders, no longer confined in a ponytail. Maybe around 5'6", not skinny, but definitely not big either. Just a gorgeous natural woman. "Thank you. Can I offer you a drink?" Jackson said while moving to the small bar located in the far corner of the big living room. "Yes, please, anything will do," Swenson said with a big smile. God, she is beautiful. Maybe it was not a good idea to have her rent the room," Jackson thought as he poured two glasses of red wine, "I can't do this"
"Let's go look at the room," he said, handing her the glass of wine, his eyes never meeting hers. "Then we can go back here and talk about it." Jackson leading the way, they headed down the hallway to the room. On the way there he pointed out the various rooms they walked past. On the left side of the hallway was first the study, then the smaller of the spare rooms, and last the bigger of the rooms. Between the two bedrooms, the shared bathroom was located, it only had access from either of the two rooms. On the right side of the hallway was a small guest bathroom, then a guest room, and last the master suite.
"This will be your room, if you decide to rent," he said opening the door to the room. "it should be big enough for you to put in a decent size bed, desk, dresser, or whatever you might have. The bathroom is over there, which you will be sharing when I get another renter. This room also have a fairly large walk-in," he said. Barely taking time to breathe, he continued, "I have a big storage shed in the back yard and you are welcome to store your things there. The things you can't find space for in your room that is. The TV cable is over there below the window, and the DSL cable is on that wall. It is hooked up to a router, so just let me know when you want me to set it up," the poor woman could not get a word in, so she just nodded. "Oh no, here I go again. Jackson; stop assuming she wants to move in," he thought, as his face again threatened to turn a bright red. He quickly turned around and headed to the living room, leaving Swenson alone in the room. She gave the room a last look and then headed to the living room. "I like it," she simply said, making eye contact with Jackson, whom quickly looked the other way. "Good, when can you move in?" Jackson started to blush again, but quickly turned around, away from Swenson, so she couldn't see it. "Umm… I kinda need a place right away, so as soon as possible will be good for me." "Oh good. Do you need any help? I have a friend with a truck that I can borrow. So just let me know," Jackson said, gaining a little more confidence. "Is tomorrow too soon? I only have a few things. The rest will be shipped later in the week," she said as Jackson poured them each another glass of wine. "Please, sit down," Jackson said pointing to the large couch. "Tomorrow… I just need to check on the truck, but I am sure it will be fine," he replied as he moved himself to sit at the opposite end of the couch, trying to look at everything in the room so as not to look her in the eyes. "How on earth am I going to survive this? She is so beautiful," he thought while quickly drinking the rest of his wine. He got up to fill it again asking Swenson if she wanted a refill. "Yes, please," she answered with a bright smile. Jackson drank his third glass and filled up again before going back to the couch. Noticing her worried look, he hurriedly said, "Sorry, I am not usually a drinker." "Oh God, why don't I just tell her that I think she is hot?" he thought, his face again a bright red. "Oh, no problem, I understand it can be nerve wrecking to share your home with a stranger," she replied in a very comforting tone. Then her face turned bright red as well. "Look at us, we look like to school children, all blushing," she said. They both started laughing, and it seemed that that was all it took to break the ice. They spent the next couple of hours just talking, trying to get to know each other. They talked about where they had gone to school, what their specialties were, and of course the Stargate project. They were both pleasantly surprised to learn that they had so much in common. As the evening came to a close, the two doctors were on their way to become friends.
"I will let you know tomorrow around noon, if I can borrow the truck," Jackson said with a smile as he walked Swenson to the door. "Thank you so much… for everything, Daniel. I really appreciate all you are doing for me," Swenson said as she shook his hand and turned to leave.
"She really is nice… and smart… and gorgeous… and probably already seeing someone," Jackson thought as he was lying in bed that night. At the same time, in a hotel room, across town, Swenson was trying to go to sleep, but she couldn't stop thinking about her evening. "He really is nice… and smart… and so very handsome… and probably gay," she thought with as sad smile as she closed her eyes and went to sleep.