AN: Another one up and coming...left field and unedited...prob will change it (the spelling mistakes at least) when I sober up! Written in just over an hour...

Summary: Hey Carter Question 18: After a silly team night conversation with his Captain, Jack takes the joked about actions one step too far...or does he? J/S Romance. T rated.

HEY CARTER 18: "WANNA KISS ME?"

Jack blustered into the room and hurriedly approached Sam where she sat at her desk. He spoke rapidly so as not to chicken out. "Hey Carter, you wanna kiss me?" he asked boldly.

"Wha-at?" Sam asked looking up at where her CO stood just a few feet away from her. She had been so engrossed she had not even heard him entering the room and his question was more than a little bizarre.

Jack bobbed on his heels and smirked mischievously. "You heard me. I found this in a box in the storage room." He held up a sprig of mistletoe. Suddenly his heart was beating wildly in his chest.

She laughed lightly as she began to understand and waved a slightly dismissive hand. "You can't use that, it's not Christmas." She shook her head and feigned an instant will to return to her work. It must have been a convincing pretense because out of the corner of her eye she saw Jack deflate a little and then fidget with the item in his hands. She tried very hard not to chew on her lip, she hoped she had not been too dismissive and that he would at least try to pursue the topic a little farther. Kissing him was just about the only thing that was filling her mind ever since he had brought the notion up a few weeks ago on a half-drunken team night.

Suddenly Jack had never felt more foolish in his life. She had seemed so keen on the idea of finding an excuse last month. What had seemed like a brilliant idea, a master stroke of genius, if you will, had very quickly become the dumbest move on the planet. He should have realised that she had just been humouring him.

An almost awkward silence threatened and in desperation to find a way forward Jack looked at her where Sam was bent over, her face the picture of concentration. That was when he saw it. The fraction of a sideways glance that gave her away, it was her poker tell. His Captain was bluffing. Relief and elation flooded him. "Yeah well..." he began, "Who says mistletoe is only good on Christmas? I'll bet it still works at other times of the year."

"Still works?" Sam queried, refusing to look up as a gentle heat began to softly flush her skin.

"Yeah, you know." Jack continued, encouraged by the fact that she was actually starting to blush a little. "If I hold it up...like this...then you still have to kiss me."

Despite her best efforts Sam found herself turning to face him, her eyes drawn to the shriveled form of plant life he held steadily above her head. "There are cameras Jack." she told him, forgetting herself and using his first name.

A tremor came in Jack's hand as he waited for a more positive reaction. "Yeah so? It's only mistletoe and besides." He took her lightly by the wrist and tugged her around the side of the bench and to the back wall. "If we stand here no-one can see us."

Sam felt herself relenting slightly. This was a bad idea, it was way too easy for them to get caught and the chances were that it would just open up some things that they were both trying very hard to ignore...but the moment he had touched her she had wanted him. "I dunno." She tried, sounding anything but convincing.

"Oh come on Sam. Like I said it's only mistletoe. Besides...I know you want to."

He held the sprig up again and Sam once again found her face drawn upwards. This time they were closer together and it took everything she had to resist him. "We promised we wouldn't." she whispered, her voice barely audible over her personal struggle to remain professional. "Not until after."

Jack let the twig drop and looked her straight in the eye. "Yeah well, turns out I don't want to wait. It could take years Sam and..." he struggled to overcome his disappointment. "Well...to be perfectly honest...I'm not sure it's worth it."

Sam raised an eyebrow, did she really mean that much to him? "And so you went scrounging around in the storage boxes looking for an excuse to come find me and kiss me?" she asked.

"I wasn't scrounging and this is not an excuse. If I wanted you to kiss me I would just ask you. I don't need a prop to do that."

"No?" Sam challenged, snatching the sprig out of his hand. "So ask me then."

"Ah...what?"

"Come on then Colonel. You were so bold as to ask before, does this little thing really hold that much power over you?" she teased, turning it over and over in her hands. She was the one who was really nervous now. Somehow she had been the one to take this to higher territory. What on earth had she been thinking?

"Fine. I want you to kiss me Samantha." He watched her hesitate slightly. "You can use the mistletoe if you want. It might make it a little easier?" he suggested, unashamedly mocking her.

Sam remained contemplative for just a moment more and then, with him almost actually laughing at her she raised the sprig up above their heads.

Within seconds Jack's lips were on hers and all doubts were instantly eradicated. Her arms fell about his neck and he pulled her closer.

The mistletoe hit the deck.

Sam wound herself around him, instantly unleashing all of her pent up feelings for her CO into that single, prolonged connecting moment. His hands that had been gripping her waist slid up along the sheer of her back, one into her hair the other pressing her closer still. She moaned as, without warning, his tongue entered her mouth, snaking about with desire and lust.

Jack felt himself stiffen as her breasts peaked, defining themselves against the thin layer of his shirt. Their proximity meant that he was in no doubt as to the fact that she was aware of his need and he gasped as she confirmed the fact, rocking her hips against him in a direct echo of her own desire.

Before he lost all semblance of control he tore his mouth from hers.

She stood trembling before him, her lips slightly parted, her breathing ragged...she had never, ever, seemed more beautiful. "Well!" he uttered.

"Um." Sam responded. That was all she could think of to say. That had been a hell of a lot more than a kiss!

"Yeah." Jack agreed, his face displaying the same shy flushed look as her own. She dropped her head into a demure pose that startled him to the point of gasping.

"We ah...we ah probably shouldn't do that again." Sam whispered, realising just how dangerous what they had done actually was. She squeezed her eyes closed as will every inch of her body to stand perfectly still. All she wanted to do was grab him and rip his clothes off...but they could not do that...they just couldn't!

Jack swallowed at the lump in the back of his throat and nodded stiffly. "You're...you're probably right." He agreed hoarsely before clearing his throat. That had been a bad idea...a really bad idea. Acutely aware of his throbbing arousal Jack stuffed his hands into his pockets and backed off a fraction before he did something that got them both dishonourably discharged. 'Please don't look up' he begged as a second foot involuntarily backed away from her. "Well...if you'll excuse me..." He cleared his throat again. "I think it's probably best if I get, if I get going."

Sam, her eyes still glued to the floor in self-discipline could do nothing but nod. "Sure." she agreed, her foot twisting itself inwards of its own accord.

Jack nodded once and headed slowly for the door.

"Sir, wait." Sam suddenly called, causing him to spin and look straight into her, his heart pounding loudly in his ears.

"Your...your mistletoe!" she blurted, bending to gather up the errant item.

Jack smirked, torn between disappointment and relief. He knocked a single fist against the door frame and bit his lip slightly. "Tell you what Carter. Why don't you hold onto it for me." She gave him a confused look. "Seems to work better for you than it does for me anyhow!" and with that he was gone leaving Sam staring at the tiny piece of plant-life in her hands. Slowly she walked over to her desk and opened the bottom drawer. She placed it inside and locked it. Nothing else was in that drawer and for the next eight years nothing else ever was. Then finally, one day, long overdue, she opened that drawer and went off to find him. He stood unaware of her presence in his recently packed up office. "Hey General?" she asked and he turned to smile at her. "How would you like to kiss me?"

END

AN: More as and when people...