Chapter 11: Tea Party
Threading his way around a group a children chanting a song that seemed to be about gopher guts, Daniel picked his route carefully through a virtual minefield of items and furnishings that seldom rose past his knees, and small bodies that often barely cleared his waist. He realized that Jack had located Sam, the three men having split up to locate their teammate faster. As quickly as possible, he moved to join the two, particularly when he noticed that Sam was wearing an oversized pink and frilly dress, and Jack was looking obviously amused.
He arrived just in time to hear Jack ask, "Having fun, are we?" Sam replied by hastily tugging the dress off over her head and stuffing it into a nearby trunk full of loose costume items and props. She had turned away quickly, but Daniel saw her cheeks turning a distinct shade of pink.
"Hi," said a little girl a bit taller than Sam, pulling his attention away from his embarrassed teammate. She had brown hair and matching eyes. Like the one Sam had just removed, the child was also wearing a frilly dress, this one in white, but no less adorned than the one Sam had just buried in the trunk.
Rejoining them having disposed of the evidence, Sam looked up at both men, then hastily looked down, shifting slightly from foot to foot and crossing her arms across her small body. "Guys, this is Katie. Katie, this is my… Dad and my friend, Daniel," she introduced, pointing to each man in turn and avoiding making eye contact with either of them.
Jack gave Sam a brief glance, and then grinned down at the little girl. "Hey there," he said charmingly.
"Nice to meet you," Daniel added with a smile, focusing on Katie in order to give Sam a moment to compose herself.
Katie however looked disappointed. "Does Sam have to go now? We were just about to have a tea party," she explained, motioning toward a nearby table set with a miniature tea service.
Frowning slightly, and always a pushover with kids, Jack hesitated. "Well, maybe we could all stay for one cup," he murmured. This time it was Jack who was reluctant to look at anyone.
Sam looked up in surprise. "You want to play tea party, sir? I mean Dad?"
Jack returned her gaze briefly, and then shrugged indifferently. "Why not? That's if it's ok with you two," he asked almost hesitantly.
Daniel narrowed his eyes slightly, but when he saw Sam look at the little girl, who was looking hopeful, and saw her nod reluctant agreement, he gave in. He could almost sense the loneliness emanating from the small child, as Sam obviously had, or she wouldn't be acquiescing. A moment earlier she'd looked relieved to see them and eager to be on their way.
"Great!" bubbled little Katie excitedly, the more subtle emotional byplays going over her head as she bent to dig out more cups and plates from the box that held the tea things. "Sam, you'd better get dressed again, we can't have a tea party without dressing up!"
For a moment, Sam seemed to regret her agreement to stay and looked like she might protest, but then sighed as Jack settled himself on the floor next to the table with a groan, folding his legs under him neatly, eschewing the all too small chairs. As Sam went back to the clothing chest, Daniel scanned the room, spotting Teal'c easily. The large man was surrounded by a group of children, all of them with their heads tilted back and staring as if awed by his size. Seeming to sense the other man's gaze, Teal'c looked up after saying something to one of the children and met Daniel's eyes. Daniel gave him a little wave and pointed in Sam's direction. Teal'c nodded, and started to make his way across the room, equally as conscious of his surroundings as Daniel had been.
Daniel turned back to find that Sam had donned a slightly more simple dress in green, but had added a matching green hat with a brim and a bit of ribbon around it. Her arms were full of more hats as she reached the table and deposited her load. She gave each of them a sweetly innocent look before explaining. "We should all put on our best hat for a proper tea party," she told them.
Katie looked ecstatic as she selected the heavily beaded and feathered one that sort of matched her dress. Copying Jack's position on the floor, Daniel seated himself across the table from the other man and next the Sam. Reaching out quickly, he snagged the plainest headpiece, a black velvet affair, before Jack's grasping fingers could connect with it. The man looked like he wanted to protest, but Daniel greeted him with an innocent look. Jack scowled, his choices limited to a blue hat with a veil in the front, or a grandmotherly item covered in a practical garden of fake flowers. Grumbling under his breath, Jack took the one with flowers as Teal'c joined them.
"Katie, this is… Murray," Sam introduced as she helped the little girl pass out plates. Katie stopped what she was doing to stare up in astonishment at the big man. Teal'c dipped his head in greeting.
"Uh, hi," Katie greeted, and then whispered to Sam. "You have some really tall friends." Sam smiled amusedly while Katie seemed to recover her composure. "Mr. Murray," the little girl asked formally, "Would you like to come to our tea party?"
"You'll need a hat," Jack supplied, pushing the extra headpiece down the table towards the man. Teal'c studied them quietly for a moment, and then inclined his head. "It would please me greatly, Miss Katie," he said, taking a seat on the floor, also wisely choosing not to test his weight on the tiny chairs.
"Can I play too?" asked a little girl of about five or six. She had red hair and freckles. Another girl about the same age stood behind her, also looking hopeful.
"Plenty of room," Jack said, and Daniel scooted sideways to make space for the newcomers, recognizing the children as ones that had recently been surrounding Teal'c and staring at him in awe. They still looked awestruck as they looked at the man, although they both giggled as the large man put on the tiny hat over his bandanna-covered head. The little veil barely reached his eyebrows.
Sam dug out some more props from the clothing box, and Katie got more plates before gleefully pouring out imaginary tea and had Sam serve them all pretend cookies. Jack amused all the children by snobbishly talking in a high-pitched squeaky voice while he sipped his imaginary tea. Daniel made sure to compliment the delicious meal and even Teal'c joined in, allowing Katie to pour him a second cup of tea.
Eventually though, Jack grunted and struggled to his feet. "It has been a wonderful party Miss Katie, but I'm afraid that we must depart, we have an appointment with a very important person." He removed his hat and waggled his eyebrows playfully to the girl.
Katie look disappointed as Sam and her friends stood, but not crushed, because the two little girls that had followed Teal'c showed no inclination of leaving, saying their own goodbyes to their new friends.
Quickly, Sam pulled off the dress and collected the rest of the hats, returning them to their proper place. "Bye Katie," she told the little girl.
"Bye, Sam," returned the little girl, already serving out more things to the other little girls at the table.
Daniel felt a brief flash of amusement as Sam made a beeline for the exit, leading all of them hastily out of the daycare center. They were halfway there when they heard Katie calling behind them.
"Sam's Dad! Sam's Dad, wait!" Turning, Daniel saw the little girl, still in her frilly dress and slightly askew headpiece, running in their direction while waving a piece of paper. "Sam's Dad, Sam forgot her drawing," Katie said, holding the paper up. Daniel heard Sam groan as Jack accepted the paper, looking highly amused. "Sam draws really good," she added, "Even though she's only starting kindergarten."
"Why, thank you Katie. I'm sure Sam will want to hang this fine work of art on the refrigerator when we get home," he said solemnly. Beside him, Daniel heard Sam make a strangled noise that sounded suspiciously like a muffled curse.
Katie didn't notice, suddenly shy as she looked down at the floor. Unexpectedly, she burst to life, crossing to Sam and wrapping her arms around her. "Bye Sam, I hope I see you again, I had lots of fun today!" she said. After a brief moment of surprise, Sam returned the embrace and murmured something in reply. The little girl released her, turning to skip back across the room to where the other little girls were still playing tea party.
Daniel saw Sam's cheeks redden again, as a myriad of emotions crossed her face. Turning quickly, she headed back determinedly towards the door, and the rest of them followed.
"You know, I think this picture deserves to be framed," Jack announced, pretending to examine the drawing in his hand critically.
Sam's cheeks took on a deeper shade of pink. "Could I have that back now, please?" she asked, looking a little desperate as they stepped outside.
"What? So you can throw it in the nearest bin? I don't think so. A work of this magnitude deserves to be appreciated," Jack enthused. "I mean, who wouldn't appreciate the big blue and green circle…thing, or the round yellow ball and the bigger red one. And the black background? Such an artistic touch. Crayon should be the medium of choice for artists everywhere."
"Actually, sir," explained Sam, sounding slightly annoyed as she reached the truck and waited for the doors to be unlocked, "It's a representation of the most recent footage sent back from the satellite probe we sent to P84-327. If you remember, that system had two suns that caused an eccentric planetary orbit. We wanted to study the effect of the gravitational forces on the planet, but the temperature fluctuations won't allow us to send a team there except during brief windows. The data we've received so far has been amazing."
"You know Carter, that just sounded wrong, with the way you… well… you know," Jack complained, his words trailing off as he started to dig himself into a hole.
An odd look crossed Sam's face as she pulled open her door. "I'm still me, sir," she answered quietly as she climbed into the truck. Daniel walked around to the other side of the vehicle with Teal'c and got in the back next to Sam, noticing that his teammate was studiously applying her attention to connecting her seatbelt, and avoiding eye contact with anyone.
Up front, Jack coughed uneasily, and looked like he was about to say something, but then swallowed and focused on belting in and starting the engine. The silent tension in the truck was becoming palpable, and Daniel cleared his throat.
"So, we heading back to the base, or what?" he asked.
Jack straightened slightly. "Actually, I thought maybe we could get some ice cream first," he suggested, regaining some of his usual cheer.
Sam's eyes darted to the back of the man's head for a moment and then she turned away, studying the vehicle parked next to them. "If it's all the same to you guys, I'd rather go back to base. There are some things I'd like to work on." There was a slight emphasis on the word work, and a hint of frustration in her tone that Daniel didn't miss. He suspected that Jack hadn't missed it either, but just to be sure, he spoke up again.
"There are a few things I could do on base too," he stated. Sam glanced briefly in his direction, a look of gratitude unmistakable on her face before she turned back to looking out the window. Teal'c sat quietly in his seat in the front, choosing to remain silent, but Daniel knew the large man was absorbing every detail, and likely drawing his own conclusions. He made a note to speak with his teammate, discreetly of course, and bring him up to speed.
The Colonel looked like he wanted to argue, based on the slightly rebellious look on his face but practicality or good sense won out. "Back to base it is," he said, neatly backing up and heading the truck out of the parking lot.
Fortunately, the trip to mountain complex was mercifully short, since the bulk of the conversation centered on the times they passed through security. Once they were safely inside the SGC, Sam broke from the group, giving a distracted wave over her shoulder. "I'll be in my lab if anyone needs me," she tossed out, back straight and small shoulders squared. She didn't even look back at them as she turned a corner.
The three men watched her disappear, and Jack sighed heavily. "She's pissed, isn't she?" he stated needlessly.
"I'd say so," Daniel agreed, nudging up his glasses and crossing his arms, his eyes narrowed slightly as he stared in the direction his female teammate had taken. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jack glance at Teal'c and saw the other man tilt his head in agreement, one eyebrow raised.
Jack sighed again, stuffing his hands into pockets. "I'll talk to her," he said.
"Meet for dinner later?" Daniel asked. The others agreed readily, and the three men split up, each heading off to their own self-appointed tasks.
A/N: Sorry for the incredibly long delay in updates, but real life has been hectic. I know many of you have been hanging on waiting for updates, especially judging by the increased numbers of reviews looking for updates. So hopefully, this chapter is worth the wait, and I'll try to work on getting out the next chapter, but it still needs a lot of work.