Daughter of My Heart, Chapter Fourteen
It had been three weeks since her dad had spent the night, and as far as Cassandra could tell, there'd been absolutely no new development.
It almost made her want to scream.
"Is that what you're wearing?," Sam asked, studying Cassie's faded jeans and t-shirt.
"Is that what you're wearing?," the teen shot back, taking note of her mom's black skirt and silky blouse.
"It's a special occasion. I wanted to dress up," Sam defended.
"It's dinner with Dad and Janet," Cassie replied pointedly.
"Thanksgiving dinner," Sam reminded. "And it won't just be the four of us. Janet also invited General Hammond, Colonel O'Neill, and Teal'c, and Dad was 'in the neighbourhood', so he'll be stopping by as well."
"Oy. That's a lot of Naquada in one room," Cassie flinched.
"Sorry, kiddo," Sam apologized. "I know it's not the most comfortable feeling, but they're family..."
"I know, I know," Cassie grumbled.
"Hey, how about wearing your purple dress?," Sam suggested.
"How about I keep my jeans, but change my top?," Cassie countered.
Sam's eyes narrowed. "To something dressier?," she clarified.
Cassandra sighed, caught. "How's a plain black T with the chain Grandpa bought me?"
"Good enough," Sam conceded, disappearing from sight.
Cassie changed quickly. With any luck, someone at dinner tonight would have some insight into her parents' non-romance, and a few minutes to share it.
Sam was nervous. She'd changed her outfit no fewer than seven times, worried that this one was too daring, or that one was too modest. She honestly couldn't have been more freaked if she'd been dressing for a date, instead of a casual family dinner.
The trouble was the guys. With over a year's worth of repressed feelings for her commanding officer, and a more recent appreciation for the role Daniel played in their lives, she couldn't decide if she was more jittery about seeing them both together off-base, or being seen with either one of them by General Hammond or her father. The whole venture smacked of disaster, and Sam had to wonder if her friend had done it on purpose, to make her see the error of her ways.
In the end she'd settled on something she knew her father would approve of, as it clearly showed she had a life outside the Air Force that might actually include some fun. Forget that she now felt like a teenager all over again.
And she'd baked. Janet was cooking the dinner, but Sam had volunteered dessert. She'd started with cake, in honour of Colonel O'Neill joining them, but then remembered that Daniel preferred pie. And then, of course, to make things fair, she'd made butter pecan squares for her dad, who loved the way she made them.
"Wow, that's a lot of dessert," Cassie said slowly, coming into the kitchen.
"I know."
"Is there anyone else coming I should know about?," Cassie asked.
"Nope. Just the eight of us. Nine counting Selmak."
"Mom?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you feeling all right?"
"I'm fine."
"Uh-huh."
"Really."
"Uh-huh."
Sam rolled her eyes. "Knock it off, Cass. So I got a little carried away. Big deal."
"You made everyone's favourites," she observed.
"Not Teal'c's," Sam defended. "Or Janet's. And I don't know what General Hammond's favourite would be."
"Wow."
"What?"
"Do you hear yourself?"
"What?"
Cassie shook her head. "Never mind," she said with a grin. "Let's go."
Sam blinked. What just happened?
"C'mon, Mom!," Cassie said, grabbing one of the desserts. "We don't want to be late!"
Janet was just putting her feet up for the first time in what must have been hours when the doorbell rang.
"It's open!," she yelled, not ready to get up.
Cassie came bounding into the room. "Mom made three desserts!," she squealed, setting one on Janet's coffee table.
"Um, okay...," Janet replied. "Aren't you a little old to be getting this excited over sugar?"
Cassie rolled her eyes. "Please. She did it for him. Then tried covering her tracks," Cassie smirked.
"Are you sure?"
"Pie for Dad, Squares for Grandpa, and Cake for the Colonel."
"Good Lord."
"I know. It's great, isn't it?," she squeaked, Sam coming through the door that very instant.
"You know, you could wait for the car to come to a complete stop before getting out next time," she grumbled, struggling to balance the remaining two desserts. Cassie quickly rushed over to grab the cake before it fell.
"Thanks," Sam said, bringing the pie straight to the kitchen.
"I didn't make enough food to go with all these desserts, Sam," Janet called jokingly. "We may have to drop by the infirmary for some insulin."
"Haha, very funny," Sam retorted, coming back to the living room. "I just thought a bit of variety would be nice."
"Uh-huh."
"Why does everyone keep saying that!?," she asked, exasperated.
Cassie grinned. "You like a boy," she chanted.
"I...do...not," Sam sputtered.
"I don't know, Sam. The evidence is not in your favour," Janet replied, shaking her head.
"The squares are for dad," Sam defended.
"And the rest?," Janet pressed.
"None of anyone's business," she retorted.
"You like a boy!," Cassie chanted again, laughing gleefully.
Sam grabbed a cushion and threw it at her. "Do not," she retorted.
Cassandra only laughed harder. Even Janet had to chuckle.
"There's nothing to be ashamed of, Sam. It's a perfectly natural biological function..."
Sam glared at her. Janet pursed her lips, still grinning.
The doorbell rang.
"Come in!," Janet called out, firmly glued to her seat.
"Hey. I brought wine," Daniel said, stepping in.
"Ooh, bring that here," Janet replied, perking up.
"Would you like a glass, too?," Daniel asked, warily eyeing the three women.
"If you don't mind," Janet replied, grinning.
"Here, I'll help you," Sam said, grabbing the remaining dessert from the coffee table, and throwing a warning glare over her shoulder as she left the room.
"Ooh, is that pie?," they could hear Daniel say. "I love pie!"
Janet and Cassie laughed.
Daniel couldn't be sure why, but for some reason, the three women of the house kept staring at him.
At first he thought he'd made some fashion faux-pas, and had spent ten minutes in the bathroom ascertaining that he did, in fact, look fine.
Then he worried that it'd been something he'd said, only he replayed everything in his mind, and he couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.
And once everyone else had arrived...well, then he really couldn't explain it at all. Nothing he wore could possibly be outdone by Teal'c's outlandish attire, and nothing, absolutely nothing he said could possibly have more of an impact than some of what Jack was coming up with.
Yet still, they stared.
He tried asking Cassie about it, but she only smiled and changed the subject.
When he singled Janet out, she sidetracked him with an interesting medical paper she'd been reading, and he never did get around to asking what was up.
And Sam...well, Sam simply never made herself available to talk.
She spoke at length with General Hammond and her dad, often laughing throughout.
Then she disappeared to help Janet in the kitchen, from which all non-cooks were barred.
And during dinner she let Teal'c regale her with tales of feasts on Chulak, and their respective significances.
At no point did she leave room for Daniel to ask about the staring, and yet...stare she did.
"Hey, is it just my imagination, or are you getting a lot of attention tonight?," Jack asked softly, nudging him in the ribs.
"Hmm? Yeah. I don't know. They're all acting a little weird," he responded, after a beat.
"I'll say. I've looked you over half a dozen times, and I can't find anything noteworthy about you."
"That's...that's reassuring. Thank you, Jack."
"No problem," he replied. "So, are we thinking alien influence?"
"I doubt it," Daniel said. "Cassie and Janet never even go off-world."
"Huh."
"I know. They have me stumped too."
"Maybe one of them likes you. Sam or Janet, I mean. It's a pack mentality thing with women. If one of them sees something they like, all the others need to check it out as well."
"Well that's...disturbing."
"Some would say flattering," Jack retorted.
Daniel shot him a look.
"What are you two whispering about?," Jacob asked curiously, leaning in.
"Daniel has an admirer," Jack replied with a smirk.
Jacob frowned, scanning the table. In the thirty seconds it took his eyes to travel around the occupants of the room, Janet, Sam and Cassie all managed to glance Daniel's way. Janet and Cassie had been smirking.
"I see what you mean," Jacob replied in hushed tones. "Which one do we think it is?"
"My money's on Janet," Jack replied thoughtfully.
"Hmm. I'm going to go with Sam," Jacob replied.
Jack looked surprised. "Two nerds together?," he asked. "Isn't the saying, 'opposites attract'?"
"Well, that's not really fair," Daniel pointed out. "Janet is just as smart as either one of us. By your definition, we're all nerds."
"Hadn't thought of that," Jack replied, frowning.
"What's the big secret?," Hammond cut in, leaning in beside Jacob.
"Daniel's attracting some attention this evening," Jacob pointed out, nodding subtly to the rest of the table.
Hammond scanned the room, nodding his agreement. "What are our odds?," he asked softly.
"One for Sam, one for Janet."
"Hmm. Put me down for Dr. Fraiser," Hammond replied thoughtfully.
Jacob snorted. "You're gonna lose," he smirked.
"I think you're outnumbered on this one, Jake," Jack retorted.
"Nuh-uh. Selmak agrees."
Daniel groaned. "You know, right now they're probably only staring because we're huddled together like this," he pointed out.
All four men straightened up, keeping an eye on the room.
There weren't any answers forthcoming that night, but Daniel secretly rather liked Jacob's take on the matter. Selmak's, too.