A/N This was meant to be a one shot but the muse started daydreaming again. Still marked complete as each chapter can stand on its on.
Sam reflected on the events of the last 3 months as she walked up the steps to her home. Colonel O'Neill had been stranded on Edora when the "fire rain" buried the Stargate. Sam had spent all her energy and knowledge into discovering a way to break through the artificial iris of the Edoran Stargate. She had spent numerous hours, including many late nights working on the particle beam generator- So much so that Janet was concerned for her. In fact, Janet had even threatened to remove her from duty if she didn't get some rest. However, even when she was supposedly resting, her brain was still working on solving the problem.
It had all been worth it. At last, she had been able to construct the particle beam generator and it was successful in breaking through the barrier on the Edoran Stargate. Teal'c had volunteered to tunnel through to the surface and had been able to contact Colonel O'Neill.
It had been several days before the Colonel, Teal'c and the men of the village had been able to excavate the Stargate and dial home again. Sam had spent many anxious days and nights at the SGC. She wouldn't leave for fear of missing their return.
They were able to send an engineering team through to raise the Stargate and get the DHD to working again. Sam was so happy at the thought of seeing the colonel again that she forgot how tired she was. The Edorans who had temporarily been stranded on earth were excited to be returning also. Sam, along with Daniel, was eager to see the rest of SG-1.
Who was she kidding; Sam was eager to see the Colonel again. However, it didn't appear that Colonel O'Neill felt the same way. In fact, he didn't appear eager to return home at all. It appeared that the Colonel and Laira had become close and he didn't give the impression that he was ready to return home-at least not without Laira. Sam was hopeful that her expression didn't give her away when she overheard the Colonel ask Laira to come home with her. But she was too tired to really care at the time.
Sam turned her thoughts back to the present and noticed how neglected her house looked. She had rarely been home during all this time. Her few house plants were dead or dying. The air inside the house smelled stale and musty. She would worry about that later. All she could think about now was how wonderful a long, hot bath would feel.
As the water was filling for her bath, she remembered her last purchase at the soap shop she had discovered. The shop owner had created a new scent –lavender chamomile. Sam thought that sounded relaxing and she certainly needed some relaxation in her job. So she bought one of everything in that scent, including the bath fizzies. She rarely took baths but she did enjoy a nice long soak occasionally. When the bath was ready, she dropped in one of the fizzies and stepped into the water. It felt so good that she might stay there all night. The hot water along with the herbal scent of the fizzy was incredibly relaxing and she found herself getting drowsy.
She shook herself mentally and finished her bath routine, which included shaving her legs. She almost skipped that part of her practice, even though she remembered her promise never to be caught with unshaven legs again. While she still dreamed of a time when she and Colonel O'Neil could be together, that was looking more and more like a pipe dream. Even if the Air Force wasn't an issue, he seemed more interested in Laira than her. Nevertheless, she had made a commitment to herself, so she finished shaving her legs and stepped out of the tub, dried off with a soft towel, and applied moisturizer all over her body.
As she put on her blue striped pajamas with the blue tank top, the rest of the evening stretched out before her. For once, in the last 3 months, she had nothing to do. Even though the bath had relaxed her, she wasn't quite ready to go to bed. For one thing, her mind was still dwelling on Colonel O'Neill's reaction to his rescue. Maybe a glass of wine would be the final thing to help her relax this evening.
Jack drove up to Carter's house, wondering what he was doing there. He was so glad to be back on earth. He had not expected to be back so soon. With the Stargate buried on Edora, he expected to be stranded there until one of their allies could send a ship his way. From past experience, he knew that could take some time. However, Carter had come through and pulled a solution out of her six…er, her head. And from what he'd been told, it wasn't any ordinary solution either. That was not surprising. He had, long ago, ceased to be amazed by her brilliance. At least he had thought so, until Daniel had told him that not only had she conceived of the answer, she had invented to the apparatus need to achieve that solution.
As Jack got out of his truck, he remembered how Daniel had appeared to be perturbed that Jack had not shown more gratitude for his rescue. "One would think you weren't pleased to be rescued." had been his exact words.
"Just what would 'one' presume to know about how I feel about it?" Jack responded sarcastically, as he walked to the infirmary for his medical exam.
Then, during his physical, Janet noted that he seemed to be in excellent shape after his time on Edora. "It wasn't exactly a vacation Doc. A lot of hard work was involved-rebuilding homes and planting crops. I had lots of opportunity to retain my 'exceptional´ shape," Jack smirked.
Sam worked hard also," Janet informed him. "In fact, I had to threaten her with medical leave if she didn't get some rest."
"Doc, we all know that Carter is famous for working late hours."
Janet glared at him. "This wasn't just late nights. It was several 'all nighters'. Didn't you notice how tired she looked when she came through the Stargate?"
Jack realized that he hadn't noticed. As glad as he was to see Carter, he was so excited to be going home that he hadn't noticed her weariness. Then there was the complication of Laira. He was aware that there could still be consequences to that relationship and if there were….well, he would cross that bridge when he came to it.
So now that he was knocking on Carter's door, he was wondering just what he was doing there. It was late; Carter was probably in bed already. He turned around to leave, just as Sam opened the door with a glass of wine in her hand.
They each stood there staring at each other without saying anything. Sam was so tired that she wasn't sure he was really there, while Jack was mesmerized by how hot Carter looked standing there in her pajamas.
Jack was the first to recover. "Got any more of that?' he asked, motioning toward the glass.
Sam continued to stare at him for a beat, "Uh, yeah, Sir. Are you sure you want wine?"
"I'd rather have a beer if you have it."
Sam motioned for him to come in and directed him to the living room sofa while she went to the kitchen for his beer. When she handed it to him, Jack looked at her inquiringly. "Guinness? Didn't think it was your brand, Carter."
"It's not, I keep it for….Sam hesitated and looked down.
"For whom?"
"You" Sam confessed softly.
"Me?" Jack was surprised.
"Yes" Then she hurriedly added "In case you should drop by with the guys, you know. I keep Daniel's favorite coffee and ginger ale for Teal'c."
As Carter moved about the room, Jack began to notice how loose her clothes were. The pajama bottoms were hanging around her hips and the tank top was falling off her shoulder. He was sure she didn't buy her clothes a size larger like he did. Damn, not only had she worked incessantly, it was evident she had forgotten to eat regularly also. No wonder Janet was concerned.
Sam sat down with her back leaning against the arm of the couch, tucked her right leg under her left, and faced the colonel. "Sir, what are you doing here?"
Jack was taken aback. Carter was not usually so direct with him. "Janet told me how hard you worked to get the Edoran people, and me, back home. I realized I might have seemed less than grateful about it. I didn't want you the think that I wasn't happy to be home."
"Are you, Sir?" Sam asked quietly.
"Am I what?"
"Happy to be home?"
Jack was stunned. "Carter, what makes you think I wouldn't be happy to be home?"
"You seemed reluctant to leave. You had made close friends there."
Jack took a deep breath. "It was hard not to make good friends when there were so few people left on Edora. We had to work together to recover after the fire rain. However, that didn't stop me from wanting to return to my life and my friends here. On Edora, there was no one like Daniel whom I could tease." Jack smiled. "Or anyone to confuse me with technobabble."
That brought a smile to Sam's face until she remembered how he had walked away during her "technobabble" explanation of the particle beam generator.
Jack was glad he could make her smile but then he saw the smile fade. "What's going on in the brain of yours, Carter?"
"Nothing. I guess I'm just tired." Sam couldn't tell him how much it had hurt for him to turn away from her at that time.
Jack had a good idea what was going through Carter's mind. He wasn't as clueless as he liked people to think. He looked at Carter sitting across from him. She was trying to cover a yawn. It was evident that she was tired. He really ought to leave. Still, he hadn't said all he came to say. He was much better with actions than words so he reached toward her and said "C'mere"
Sam looked at him dubiously. Jack motioned with his hand and his head and repeated "C'mere"
Sam wanted so badly just to lay her head on his shoulder and rest. After all, it was just two friends who were glad to see one another again, right? Making her decision, Sam moved close to the colonel. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she quietly laid her head on his shoulder. She fit under his arm as if she were made for him. It felt so right. Maybe he was glad to be home after all.
She was getting quite sleepy. The glass of wine had totally relaxed her. She really should get up and send the colonel home so they both could get some rest. Still, just a few more minutes would not hurt anything, would it?
Sam felt the colonel place a light kiss in her hair. She turned her head to get more comfortable and she called him Sir as her lips lightly grazed his neck. She heard a light moan from him. Holy Hannah, what was she doing? This is her CO. She pulled away, but he would not let her go. He placed a finger under her chin and tilted it toward him. He leaned in and gently kissed her lips. She heard another moan and realized this time it came from her. She felt his tongue sweep over her lips and she opened her mouth and allowed him in. He leaned her back on the couch and began to kiss down her neck and across her shoulder where her tank top fell away. His lips were setting her on fire. She wanted, no, she needed, more.
Sam pulled the colonel's shirt from his pants, reached under his shirt and began to caress his back. She had wanted to do that so many times. The Colonel- no it was Jack – she couldn't call him colonel when his lips were moving from her shoulder down toward the valley between her breasts. He was hovering over her with one hand in her hair and the other moving to caress her breasts. She needed more contact so she pulled him down to her and moved her legs to stretch out on the couch. In doing so, their legs became entangled and they ended up falling off the couch…
Sam groaned as she hit her head on the coffee table. What was she doing on the floor wrapped in a blanket? She must have fallen asleep on the couch after that glass of wine. Wait, hadn't the colonel been here? She remembered letting him in, getting him a beer and talking to him about Edora. Then she had laid her head on his shoulder and…. Holy Hannah, had she been making out with her CO? No way. It must have been a dream- she had sat down with a glass of wine and relaxed so completely that she fell asleep on the couch. But where did the blanket come from? She remembered putting it in the hall closet the last time she straightened up the living room. She must have taken it out of the closet when she went to the kitchen for her wine. She was too tired to remember.
She would be like Scarlett O'Hara and think about it tomorrow. Right now all she wanted to do was go to bed and go back to sleep. She picked up and folded the blanket, leaving it on the couch and then picked up the wine glass to put in the dishwasher. As she was walking to the kitchen, she thought about her dream. Yeah, it was a dream. There was no way Colonel O'Neill would have come by her house tonight. Not after just getting home from 3 months off world. Moreover, he certainly would not have made out with her on the couch like two teenagers. She laughed to herself at the thought of that.
She put the wine glass in the dishwasher and turned the light off as she passed the recycle bin. She stopped dead in her tracks and turned the light back on. In the almost empty glass recycle bin, was Guinness bottle – the beer she bought only for the colonel.