What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas
Chapter 7: Top of the World
Sam sat in front of the mirror humming while fixing her hair for tonight. Jack was in the restroom attempting to tie his black tie. "Sam, I give up. You win...could you help me with this blasted thing?" he asked walking out getting lost in her beauty. She looked over at Jack chuckling. "What's so funny, who ever invented these things had to be insane." He said frustrated. Samantha batted his hands away then pecked him on the cheek. "Jack, tying a tie isn't that hard. Think of it like disarming a bomb or re-assembling your M4A2 carbine." She said focused on the task. "Funny Carter, if it was that easy I wouldn't have asked for help." Sam smiled patting his chest. "There you go Jack, don't you look handsome." She told him liking what she saw. "You look gorgeous Samantha, I almost wish the dinner and dancing were over." He replied pulling her close. They kissed deeply bodies pressed together.
"Had I not jumped you we'd left before now." Sam said enjoying the closeness. "I'm not complaining one bit. Too bad we can't share a shower on base." Jack replied wagging his eyebrows. "The rumor mill would love that one." She answered then walked over picking up the Shane box with glimmer in her eyes. "Would you do the honors and put the necklace on me Jack?" He smiled then took the box from her gently touching her fingers. Sam watched him put the necklace on in the mirror smiling like a love sick teenager. "You're going to be the center of attention Samantha, I love you." Jack said kissing her on the cheek. "I love you too Jack. Isn't it great that we can admit that out loud now?" she added taking his hand as they left their room. "I waited too long to tell you that. Now you'll hear it every day, twice on Sunday." Jack told her getting a giggle from her.
"How much money did we win again? I believe you lost your train of thought once I took my shirt off." Sam said remembering the look on his face. "Carter, I can get used to this seeing this side of you on a regular basis." His comment made her blush at their new found freedom. "Oh, I won $12,456.00 from Mr. Burns and the overconfident idiots." He told her making her stop in abruptly. "Does that surprise you Samantha?" Jack asked seeing curiosity in her eyes. "Yes it does, gambling in Vegas is different than our team games." Samantha told him as they started walking again, "Your correct Carter, it is different. Team nights are for fun. Gambling in Vegas is all about strategy and observation." He said seeing the realization in her eyes. For being a genius in science everyday life sometimes gets lost on her. "So what are you going to buy me with that money honey?" Sam asked flashing her baby blues at him. "...and so it begins!" he replied rolling his eyes laughing with her as they got on the elevator.
Upon arriving at the fancy restaurant the matradee showed them to their table. The table was near a large window overlooking Las Vegas. The sun had started to set giving the town a romantic glow. "This has to be the most beautiful view in town Jack." Sam said taking in the scenery. Jack watched Samantha closely as the setting sun shone on her, blonde hair turning golden. "Not as beautiful as you though." He replied truthfully. Smiling she moved to her seat as Jack pulled it out for her like a gentleman should. "Thank you Jack, this place is interesting. I'm glad we made the reservation after all." Samantha said taking his lager hand in her smaller one. "Just think, all this happened because of a Harley Davidson Fat Boy." Jack chuckled kissing her fingers. "Don't forget that sweet tank top number you had on too." He added. Samantha blushed deeply once again. "Maybe you'll get lucky and I'll wear it for you one day soon." The lopsided smile warmed her heart, definitely going to wear the tank top tonight. They had a silent discussion like usual then smiled.
While looking at their menus another couple was seated across from them. They were younger, mid 20s. The man wore Air Force class A's, a Sergeant. The lady had an hour glass figure with brunette hair wearing a black dress with gold accents. This didn't escape Jack and Sam's attention either.
The waiter interrupted Jack and Sam's moment standing ready to take their order. "Good Evening Sir, madam. My name is Cody; I'll be your waiter tonight. Have you had time to look over the menus (A/N1)?" he asked pen at the ready. "Samantha, have you made your choice?" Jack asked already knowing his order. "I believe I do, Cody I'll have the 10oz Filet ($75) with the Lobster Mac & Cheese ($38)." The waiter took down her order then turned to Jack. "That's an excellent choice madam. What you will have sir?" Straightening his tie Jack smirked at Samantha before ordering. "Cody, I'll have the 22oz Prime Bone-In Rib eye ($86) and for my side...French fries ($15)." Sam stifled a laugh remembering the O'Malley's bar fight they had years ago. Cody took the order down ignoring the obvious inside joke the two were sharing. "Now for your drinks, we have an excellent wine selection along with spirits too." He informed the two patrons. "May I order for you Samantha?" Jack asked getting a smile and nod from her. "My lady will have your Zinfandel, Seghesio ($21 per glass) and I'll have Jack Daniels Sinatra Select ($40 per glass)." With the orders taken Cody went over the next table. "Jack, you know how to make a lady smile." She said intertwining their fingers together. "The memories will just get better. So tell me about yourself Samantha?" Sam laughed knowing the night was only going to get better. Jack was acting like it was blind date; she could play this game too.
Jack and Sam's dinner arrived along with their wine and whiskey. They were enjoying the food when the Staff Sergeant looked over at them. "Scott, did you hear me? I'm getting a bonus for the advertisement I helped create?" Jean asked her fiancé. "I heard you beautiful; I think the couple next to us is in the Air Force." His fiancé looked over at the two people noticing how happy they were. Neither of them had on uniforms. "Pardon me sir, ma'am. May I ask you a question?" Scott asked a little uncomfortable. If they were both in the air force their ranks were obviously higher than his.
Both Jack and Sam looked over at the staff Sergeant and his lady friend. Jack shrugged his shoulders then looked at Samantha. "What do you want to know Lieutenant?" Sam asked wiping her mouth off gingerly. "I didn't mean to overhear your conversation but something you said got my attention." The young man said. "What got your attention Lieutenant..?" Jack asked switching over to colonel mode without thinking. Scott immediately recognized Jack as a superior officer, the tone was un-mistakable. "Lt. Summer's sir." He answered then continued. "You mentioned Peterson AFB, are the two of you stationed there? I only ask because I fly into the base twice a week." Scott asked thinking about his next question. Jack and Sam had a silent conversation before answering. Caution flags raised they went with the standard answers. "Lieutenant Summers, I'm Colonel O'Neill, two LLs, and this is Major Carter. We are stationed at Cheyenne Mountain." Scott froze momentarily moving to stand and salute however Jack waved him down. "No need to salute Lieutenant, we aren't in uniform nor on duty." Jack told the young man chuckling. "Please ignore Jack; he enjoys terrorizing lower ranks from time to time." Sam added kicking Jack under the table. "Do you have a particular question you wanted to ask us?" he rubbed his shin figuring this would become a normal reaction from Samantha when he misbehaved. Jean watched with amusement. Her fiancé always got nervous meeting officers in public, always had the urge to salute them. Jean also noticed the Major Carter had kicked the colonel. She was brave woman dating a superior officer. "Yes ma'am, I was wondering about Cheyenne Mountain. More to the point, what's it like working underground." He asked visualizing an office building (A/N2) built into a mountain. "I never really thought about it to be honest." Samantha said thinking about her answer. "Working in a mountain is like being in another world. One where you know there's an outside but can't see It." she replied feeling Jack look at her funny. "That's one way to look at it. Another way is to compare it to an ant hill. With all those hallways and rooms it's easy to make a wrong turn. Then you're in the commissary getting cake." Jack added making everyone laugh. "Everyone on base knows how much you love cake. Even the general does. Rumor is he has the kitchen staffs hide the cake from when your paperwork is past due." Sam told him with smirk. Both Jean and Scott laughed seeing Jacks reaction. He had a perplexed look on his face. "That's just what I hear Jack, don't worry. I'll save you some cake just in case." She said with a questionable smile. "I'll hold you to that Sam. Scott, may I ask you a question?" Jack asked with a childish grin. "You may sir, what do you want to know?" Scott replied. "Do you have your powers under control; I see your not wearing red glasses?" Scott laughed leaving both women perplexed. What was so funny about not wearing glasses?
Scott looked at his fiancé with a smile. "The colonel is referring to the X-Men comics, Scott Summers and Jean Grey in particular." He explained then looked at Jack. "Funny one sir, the men in my unit love poking fun at our names. But in reality I prefer Berry Allen, the Flash." Jack smiled internally finding a fellow D.C. comic fan. Sam just rolled her eyes in unison with Jean, boys will be boys. "Why do you like the Flash son?" Jack asked curious. His favorite is Batman for obvious reasons. "I love going fast sir, always have. Growing up I tuned up my go kart. The cops hated me during the summer months." He answered with a chuckle. "So why do you fly cargo birds and not fighters?" Sam asked. She loved speed to and wouldn't have settled for a slow moving bird. "I also love blowing up things too. There's is no openings for the AC-130 Specters currently." He explained. "Tell them how you got your call sign Scott. I always love hearing how you got that silly name." Jean said with love in her eyes. "Your call sign isn't Summers or Red Eye?" Jack asked surprised earning another kick, however Sam missed hitting air. "No sir, those would be good ones though. My call sign is Flash. During basic I was always caught reading 'Flash' Comics. The Drill sergeant would make the whole unit run extra laps. They obviously hated me for that. However I used to run cross country in high school." He explained with a big grin. "I can see that son; my call sign was 'Batman'. Apparently I scared the crap out of everyone even my commanding officer. Don't know why I did though." Sam gave him an unbelieving look but let it pass filing her question for later on. "What is your call sign ma'am?" Jean asked wanting to know.
Samantha coughed knowing she'd be asked that question. One she didn't want to answer truthfully. However Jack had an expectant look as did Scott. She could lie but Jack would defiantly find out the truth if he didn't know already. "Wonder Women was my call sign." Three pairs of eye looked at her. "Jack, not a word to anyone and I mean anyone. Do you hear me?" The childish grin had returned. "That's not a bad call sigh ma'am. My copilot has 'Ken' for a call sign. He hated it at first. Jerry loves it now because it helps get women's numbers at parties and bars." This comment earned Scott a kick from Jean. "I feel your pain son." Jack turned to Samantha wondering if he should ask how she got her call sign. The look in her eyes held a warning though. Thinking quickly Jack changed plans. "May I take a guess at how you got the call sign Wonder Women." He said with a confident smile. "Go ahead Jack; I'm curious how much of my personnel file you read." Scott and Jean looked at the two officers wondering just how long they've know each other before dating. "During your flight training and after you were also studying for one of your astrophysics degrees." Jack said getting her attention. "The rest of your squadron goofed off while you stayed in the barracks." Judging for Sam's expression he continued. "The science books you had plus flying jets earned you the call sign Wonder Women. Even back then you were a genius Samantha. I personally think it describes you to a 'T'." Jack finished with a smile. Samantha just looked at Jack speechless. Could she not love the man more at his educated guess? "How close is Colonel O'Neill ma'am?" Jean asked impressed with the woman sitting across the aisle from her. "He's 80% correct except for one part." She answered with a devil may care smile. "What am I missing Samantha?" Jack asked leaning forward looking into her eyes. "I made the mistake of wearing a Wonder Women costume for Halloween party, that's the main reason I got the call sign." All four of them burst out laughing. Samantha felt better about her call sign now. Jack had read her file completely. Then he made really good guess based of the information he had. The look in his eyes told her that Jack wanted to see a picture, a picture that may or may not exist.
The manager asked for everyone's attention breaking their laughter. "Ladies and Gentlemen, with dinner portion of tonight complete we will open the dance floor shortly. The Las Vegas Philharmonic Orchestra will provide tonight's music. Enjoy your evening of dancing." He said then walked off to the side. Jack looked at Samantha with a soft smile. Sam blushed lightly knowing she was about to find out how good of a dancer he is. "My I have this dance and every one after Miss Carter?" Jack asked with smile, a smile she could get lost in. "Mr. O'Neill, you may long as you don't step on my feet." She replied. "No promises Miss Carter." He answered getting up offering his hand to her. Samantha's heart filled with joy as she took his larger hand in her smaller one. Scott and Jean watched the two officers walk towards the dance floor saliently. "Scott, I love you." she said as he took her hand following Jacks example. "I love you too Jean." He replied kissing his fiancé softly.
A/N1: I used the current menu for 'Top of the World'.
A/N2: I looked up pictures of Cheyenne Mountain. An Office building in a mountain is correct. Only it's on enormous shock absorbers.
LoneWolfO'Neill