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DATE NIGHT
“So,” Jack said, rubbing his hands together. “What do we do now?” He looked at his team as he stood casually next to the console, the blinking lights and slight hum emanating from it moderately reassuring. Their salvaged Tel’tac raced past the stars glimmering through the front windows; en route to save Earth from a meteor, heroes in a real life disaster movie, even if it was going to take them a week to get there.
Carter gave him that subtle look of disbelief at which she so excelled, a slight frown creasing her forehead. The ship shuddered for a moment and her expression turned tense, like she expected the Tel’tac to go crashing back to the planet any second. “I have to work on the engines,” she muttered, grabbing her tool bag and disappearing into the back of the ship.
“I must fly the ship,” Teal’c intoned gravely, turning gravely in his seat and directing his attention back to the numerous lights and buzzers on the display in front of him.
Feeling a bit let down, but with one more option to go, Jack looked expectantly at Daniel, who picked up a bag resting on the floor near the main console and started backing towards the cargo bay door. “I think I’ll go unpack.”
Jack perked up a bit. Setting up camp wasn’t his favorite thing to do, but if he helped Daniel, he’d be able to put dibs on the prime sleeping spot he’d scoped out earlier. He also figured he could check out the supplies that had been sent along for their journey; the Tok’ra weren’t big on creature comforts and he wanted to see what they had been sent along to make the journey comfortable—given they’d only had a few hours to pack. “Need some help?” he asked, trailing along after Daniel.
Daniel stopped so abruptly, Jack almost ran into him. “Umm…no. Not really.” Daniel smiled—the patronizing one that always grated on Jack. “Why don’t you help Sam or Teal’c?”
Teal’c’s deep voice drifted back towards them. “I currently require no assistance.”
Jack shrugged his shoulders and looked at Daniel, who still wouldn’t meet his eyes and quickly said, “I’m sure Sam would be happy to have some help.”
Jack wasn’t so sure about that, he didn’t think Sam had been happy about anything he’d done since the whole alien-living-in-her-house debacle months earlier, but he could take a hint, so he played along. “Yeah sure, great idea.” With a not-so-subtle sigh directed towards Daniel, Jack headed towards the access hatch that led to the lower levels, ignoring the look of relief on his so-called friend’s face, when he heard him call his name.
“Jack?” Daniel reached into one of the pockets of his BDU pants and pulled something out, tossing it to him. “Just in case Sam doesn’t want…er, need any help.”
Jack caught the object—a brand new deck of playing cards, still sealed in the box. “Thanks, Daniel,” he said dryly, pocketing the cards and slipping through the access hatch and down the metal rung ladder that led to the engine room.
Jack stood for a moment at the foot of the ladder, letting his eyes adjust to the dimmer light in the chamber. Banks of crystals glowed from inside their columns, some exposed and others hidden behind screens. Jack expected an engine room to be hot, but it wasn’t, the crystals emanating a cool energy. The hum and throb of the ship was stronger though and his sensitive ears had no trouble identifying the slightly off sound and occasional lag in the engines. It wasn’t a spacious room and he easily spotted Sam, sitting on the floor next to an open access panel. The light from the crystals glowed eerily across her pale face; reinforcing her tired and tense look.
“Hey.”
Sam looked up and Jack saw the brief moment of dismay in her eyes before she summoned up a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m pretty busy here, sir.”
Jack squatted down next to her. “Daniel thought you might need some help.”
She didn’t look at him, just kept gazing intently at the readings on the scanner she held as she checked the crystals. “Nope. Don’t need any help.” She didn’t say it, but Jack was sure he could hear the unspoken ‘from you’ hanging in the air.
“Look, Sam,” he said, gently taking the scanner out of her hands, forcing her to look at him. “We’re going to be stuck together on this boat for the next what—week?” She nodded and he gazed at her intently. “Can we just put aside whatever it is that’s bugging you—”
“Bugging me?” Her voice was sharp and the look she favored him with could only be described as a glare.
“No…no,” Jack quickly back-pedaled, surprised by her reaction. “I meant bugging us...bugging me. I know it hasn’t been easy—”
She interrupted him again. “You mean it hasn’t been easy since I decided I wanted a life outside of work, outside of the team?” Her pissed look faded rapidly and she just looked tired and tense...and sad. Jack eased down off his aching knees and leaned back against the nearest bulkhead when she kept talking, her hands twisting together in a most un-Carter like fashion. “I just want what everyone else wants. But all I get are aliens and men who kidnap me for my brain or ones who die the minute they show any interest in me.”
“Not all men,” Jack reminded her gently.
Sam lifted her head and looked at him, a wistful smile on her face. “No, just one man.”
He knew he was going out on a limb with what he was going to suggest next, but it wouldn’t be any worse than the fragile branch on which they—and all of Earth—were already hanging. “What do you say if we just forget about all that…stuff and just be us?”
“Is there an us?”
Jack smiled and handed her back the scanner. “Maybe we can find out during the next ten days.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“All right then, everyone’s good?”
“It appears to be an equitable schedule, O’Neill.”
Sam wasn’t sure how Teal’c could even tell as he’d merely glanced at the piece of paper the Colonel had handed him. They each held an identical sheet with the Colonel’s distinctive scrawl on it, outlining their ‘schedule’ for the duration of their journey.
“Twelve hours shifts, Jack?” Daniel looked up from his creased sheet of paper. “With you and Sam opposite me and—”
“I believe it is time to start our shift, Daniel Jackson,” Teal’c interjected smoothly. “Come, I shall teach you how to pilot this vessel.”
Daniel frowned and looked like he wanted to say more, but didn’t—much to Sam’s relief. He seemed to consider them both for a moment; Jack looked politely interested and she just wanted…well, she wasn’t sure what she wanted. “Okay,” Daniel finally said, following after Teal’c. “For your information, I already know how to fly one of these.”
“So you claim,” was Teal’c’s muffled reply from the bridge.
Which left Jack and her alone, or at least as alone as one could be on a Tel’tac carrying a crew complement of four. She waved her schedule in front of Jack. “You don’t think this is a bit obvious?” She still wasn’t sure about his whole getting to know each other plan, although for better or worse, it actually kind of made sense to her. Which should have been her first warning. Maybe he was right, if they were going to be together for twenty-four/seven—literally—it would be an ideal time to figure out the mysterious and elusive ‘us’.
And if she was going to be honest, she’d be the first to admit she was tired. Tired of pretending she was interested in other men when she wasn’t and tired of pretending she wasn’t interested in him, when she was. If their relationship—whatever it was—could survive the journey from Ravenna to Earth, and if they were successful in destroying the meteor, then just maybe they could think about a future together.
Jack grinned at her, looking totally unrepentant. “Hey, I am the Colonel. Besides, you would agree that twelve hour shifts make the most sense?” Sam nodded. “And that Teal’c is more than capable of handling Daniel and any situation we may encounter?” Another head nod. “And this is an opportunity we both want? He seemed a bit more hesitant with the last question, but she still mostly agreed, so she nodded her head again. “Well, there you go!” he concluded cheerfully.
In spite of agreeing with the whole concept, Sam still felt compelled to voice her doubts. “You’re not worried they won’t suspect favoritism or something?” Once the words were out, she felt foolish for actually bringing it up, because really, she couldn’t actually think of anyone who would think spending twelve hours cooped up with O’Neill, or any of her guys, was a favor.
“Sam,” he answered, “I don’t think they care.”
She suspected he was right and it appeared he wasn’t about to budge…and his logic did make sense; it was really no different than assigning watch on a planet. And they needed to have someone pilot the ship. Granted, they could use the autopilot most of the time, but all the systems still required close monitoring. “You seem to have it all worked out, sir.” His eyes narrowed slightly, which she ignored, and continued, “I think I’ll just go check—” She had to stop when a huge yawn escaped, “—the engines.”
Sam started to move past him, but he stopped her with a gentle grip on her shoulders. “They sound fine, Sam. The only place you’re going is bed.”
Ignoring the innuendo and his high-handed manner, she had to admit he was right, she was tired and given the implacable look on his face, protesting wouldn’t get her anywhere. But she wasn’t beyond a wee bit of teasing. “Is that an order?”
His eyes flashed and her insides melted a little with his tender smile. “Consider it a request.”
“Well then…goodnight, Jack.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After she’d polished and rechecked the fittings of the same bank of crystals for the third time, Sam finally acknowledged she had issues. For crying out loud, it wasn’t like they hadn’t spent hours and days together before. The only difference was that this time Jack had changed the rules and while she was thrilled—she was also scared to death.
Sighing, Sam packed up her tool bag, deciding she’d procrastinated long enough. When had she become such a chicken shit? They were on a small, almost tiny really, space ship. The most they could do with any amount of privacy was talk. And according to all the women’s magazines and talk shows, that was purportedly what women wanted most in their relationships. And there was that relationship word creeping into her brain again; she really did have to get a grip.
Carefully negotiating the ladder to the main deck, Sam tiptoed quietly through the cargo bay, stowing her tool bag alongside their other supplies. Her watch said it was oh-three-hundred on Earth, and though her diurnal clock was well and truly screwed up, they were still officially on Mountain Standard Time. And since it was ‘night-time’, the cargo bay was dark except for the lights from Teal’c’s candles and quiet except for the light snoring coming from Daniel’s designated corner.
On the bridge, Jack had the lights set to minimum as well and he lounged in the pilot’s seat, casually throwing the old wooden yo-yo he always seemed to have in his possession. He might look casual, but Sam wasn’t fooled for a minute; after a brief refresher course from Teal’c, she was confident of his ability in the driver’s seat. “Quiet night?” she asked, slipping into the other chair.
“Yeah,” he said, pulling the yo-yo back in and slipping it into a pocket. He twisted slightly in the chair and gave her a lop-sided smile, gesturing towards the vast openness of space outside the window. “All quiet in the neighborhood tonight.”
Sam glanced at the read-outs in front of her; everything seemed to be fine, though the engines were still running a little hot. She made a mental note to see if Teal’c had any suggestions for that particular problem when Jack spoke again.
“We aren’t really expecting any trouble, are we?”
“No,” she replied quickly. “This is a fairly deserted part of space, one of the reasons the Tok’ra picked Ravenna. We shouldn’t encounter any Goa’uld.” He didn’t look convinced and she couldn’t blame him, they’d run into Goa’uld in some pretty unusual places. “And besides,” she added quickly, “after what happened, they’re probably giving Ravenna a wide berth.” Sam shivered, she didn’t like thinking about the carnage that had occurred on Ravenna or the people they’d left behind.
Jack didn’t say any more and she started to slowly relax, content for the moment to trust that she’d done all she could to ensure the safe running of the ship. It was quiet and peaceful on the bridge, the flow of stars outside almost hypnotic. Everything had been so hectic, first to leave Earth and then to fix the Tel’tac and leave Ravenna, that it made their enforced ‘down-time’ seem almost surreal. Seven days to Earth if they were lucky, more than likely a bit longer, but it was still a huge chunk of time with nothing to do except keep the ship working—and figure out the man sitting next to her. A slight smile curved her lips, it would probably take more than an entire life-time to figure out Jack O’Neill, so for right now she’d settle for his original proposal—figuring out them.
“They look different from here, don’t they?”
“What?” She roused from her reverie and looked over at Jack.
“The stars,” he clarified, gesturing towards the window.
It was beautiful, the sheer vastness and unending stream of stars and space around them. She knew Jack tended to take a more romantic view of the stars, one based on constellations and astronomy while she took the more scientific approach. He preferred the more direct approach in dealing with a threat, generally along the lines of ‘blow it up’, while she tended to search for alternate—and less destructive—solutions. She looked over at him; he was so handsome and virile she’d have to be dead to not be drawn to him, but she also couldn’t help but wonder if her attraction was due to propinquity and the life-and-death situations they seemed to find themselves in on a regular basis.
When she thought about it rationally, she had to acknowledge that they didn’t have that much in common. Polar opposites, one might say if one was looking for excuses. Her eyes drifted back towards the window and the unending expanse of stars…or maybe they did. “When did you first get interested in astronomy?”
“When I was a kid.” He looked over at her, a half-smile on his face. “My Dad would take me and my brother camping. He taught us about the constellations, how to find our way using them as a guide.” He paused for a moment, a far-away look on his face. “I got a telescope for my twelfth birthday and from the moment I looked through it and saw Jupiter and the rings of Saturn for the first time, I was hooked.” He glanced out towards the stars and then looked back at her. “What about you? When did you get started on the whole astrophysics thing?”
Shifting, Sam curled up in the command chair as best she could and gazed over at Jack. “I think it all started when started playing with Mark’s Matt Mason astronaut doll instead of my Barbie.” She grinned at the memory. “Well, at least until I could fashion a spacesuit for her.”
“Matt Mason and Barbie space explorers?”
“Something like that,” she admitted. “I didn’t want to be a model or teacher or stewardess, I wanted to be an astronaut. Which meant the Air Force and a degree that would help get me into the space program.” When she put it like that, it sounded so cold and sterile when it didn’t feel that way to her at all. “Don’t get me wrong,” she added. “I always liked science and especially physics.” She shrugged. “And I seemed to have an affinity for it. I just guess it was never about the stars, it was about the science in the stars.”
“So when you look at a star, what do you see?”
In any other situation she would have thought his question totally out of character, but here in the quiet intimacy of space, it seemed completely natural. “Besides a molecular cloud of hydrogen and helium?” Jack’s snort was so soft she almost didn’t hear it, her lips twitching in a small smile before she turned her gaze back out the window. “I don’t know,” she commented softly. “It’s almost like they’re a dream you can never quite reach.”
“Wow,” he said, “that’s…deep.”
Sam suddenly felt very self-conscious and she looked anywhere but at him, stammering awkwardly, “It was just—”
“Hey.” He was suddenly kneeling in front of her, moving so swiftly and quietly she hadn’t heard him and when she felt his fingers in a gentle touch under her chin, she let him coax her into lifting her head and looking at him. His eyes were dark and serious. “I’m not making fun of you. I’ve just never heard you—”
It was her turn to interrupt him. “Say something so unscientific?” she asked, forcing a light tone into her voice.
“No,” he said, tenderly caressing her cheek before his hand dropped down to his side. “Something so romantic.”
The blush that had been threatening ever since the strange turn in their conversation burst into full bloom and she ducked her head down again. “Wow,” she murmured, “it’s been a long time since I was accused of that.”
His chuckle was low and intimate. “Well then, maybe it’s about time.”
Sam didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed when whatever else either of the might have said in the silence that followed his last comment was interrupted by the shrill buzzing of one of the many warning alarms. Jack stood up and she did the same, pressing the switch that would silence the annoying sound.
“The engines?” Jack asked.
“Yeah,” she said, studying the readouts on many dials and graphs on the console. She sighed and looked at him, giving him an apologetic smile. “I don’t think its anything, but I better it check out.”
“Check it out, keep me appraised,” he said, waving her off. And she couldn’t help the small shiver of anticipation when his low voice followed after her. “We’ll continue this conversation later.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
‘Later’ proved to be the next night and Sam was determined to take control of the conversation this time around. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to share herself with Jack, but it was his turn now. After a routine check of the engines—just to satisfy herself they were still running as well as could be expected under the circumstances—she joined him on the dimly lit bridge. He was sprawled in the far command chair, idly flicking cards into the cap perched on the main console.
“Another exciting night, I see.”
He grinned at her, straightening up from his slouch and fishing the cards out of the cap and off the floor. “You wouldn’t want it any other way, would you?”
“No,” she reassured him. “Of course not.” She settled back into the second chair and watched as he finished gathering up the rest of the wayward cards. “Everything is working as well…well, as well as it’s going to work.”
“Will we make it in time?”
“We should, barring any—”
“Unforeseen circumstances,” he finished for her.
“Right; barring any of those.” He didn’t say anything more and she watched him as settle back into his chair and started flipping cards again. She watched him flip through almost half the deck, her nerves rising with each card he tossed, until she finally blurted out, “What’s your favorite sport?”
He paused and gave her an incredulous look. “Seriously? You have to ask?”
“Well…yeah,” she said, her mind racing as she tried to remember if he’d ever said anything about a particular sport. “Football?” she hazarded.
“Oh, Carter,” he said, shaking his head. “You wound me. Hockey, woman! The only sport worth playing or watching.”
“Oh right,” she commented, his teasing bringing a smile to her face. “Hockey. How silly of me.” Picking up on his last comment, she asked, “You played hockey?”
“My Dad had me in my first pair of skates when I was three.” He grinned, looking extraordinarily proud. “I played all the way through school and into college. Could have gone pro,” he added. “Except I broke both my arms.”
“At the same time?”
“Yeah.” He shook his head, “Nothing plays hell with a nineteen year old guy’s macho image when he needs his Mommy to help him get dressed.”
“Oh dear.” She chuckled at the image his words painted. “I can see where that would be a bit…humiliating.”
“Oh, you have no idea. Anyway,” he added, “that pretty much ended my hockey career. What about you? Favorite sport?”
“Oh well…I don’t really have a favorite sport. I mean,” she added quickly at his disbelieving expression, “I like watching the Super Bowl and any of the Air Force football games that make it on TV. But,” she shrugged, “I don’t really follow any sports. Oh,” she remembered something else. “I like to watch the Olympics.”
“Carter, everyone watches the Olympics.”
She smiled benignly. “You asked.” Before he could ask her another question, she quickly tossed out another one. “What’s your favorite color?” He gave her that look again and she just smiled.
“Peridot.”
She blinked. “Peridot?”
“Yeah. What can I say? I’m a Peridot kind of guy.”
“Do you even know what color that is?” she asked skeptically.
“Green. Light green to be exact. What about you? Favorite color?”
“Orange.”
“That’s it? Just plain orange?”
“Yeah, what’s wrong with orange?”
“Nothing…you just don’t strike me as an orange kind of person.”
“What color do you imagine me as? And if you say pink….”
“No, no, not pink.” He seemed to study her for a minute, looking her over. “Cool blue,” he finally said. “Like the color of a mountain lake reflecting the winter sky. Or maybe the color of a certain lake in Minnesota.”
“I think I’d like to see that color of blue,” she said softly.
“Yeah, well if Earth isn’t destroyed by a meteor that can be arranged. I know a guy….”
“Yeah, I know a guy too.”
His answering smile was warm and intimate and she wished they were at that lake and not hurtling through space. But they were and when he spoke, breaking the spell she pushed aside her disappointment and filed away those thoughts for later. “What’s the next question on your list?”
“What makes you think I have a list?” She tried looking innocent, but darn it, the man knew her too well.
“You’re a scientist,” he said, his voice smug. “Of course you have a list.”
“Well, maybe I do,” she admitted, digging into the pocket of her BDU pants for the scrap of paper she’d jotted a few notes on earlier. Smoothing it out, she asked the next question. “The best day of your life—so far?” She finished with flair, gazing at him expectantly.
The shift in his expression was so subtle, she almost missed it in the dim room and she wondered if she’d somehow overstepped the bounds of their tentative foray into ‘us’. But then his face cleared and he lounged back in the chair, propping his feet up on the edge of the console. “That’s an easy one,” he said. “It was the day my son was born.”
Oh god, she felt terrible. “Jack, I’m so sorry.”
“No, s’okay.” He turned his head and looked at her, his dark eyes intent. “This is about you and me and that’s a big part of me.” She nodded and waited while he sat back and slowly started to talk. “I almost didn’t make it. My team was sent on a supposedly two-day overseas mission a month before Sara’s due date, plenty of time, or so we thought. But then the mission went bad and they couldn’t extract us for ten days and Charlie decided to come two weeks early.”
He chuckled. “When we finally landed at the base, my CO was waiting with a jeep. He hustled me into it and drove like a bat out of hell to the base hospital. I got there just in time. I don’t know if Sara was glad to see me or not since she was in mid-push, but then nothing else mattered, because Charlie was there. All red and wet and screaming bloody murder and the most fantastic miracle in my entire life.” He looked at her again. “That was the best day of my life.”
She nodded, not sure what to say next or even sure if she could speak when he added, “Is there a question about the worst day on your list?”
“I think I already know,” she whispered.
“Yeah, that one is pretty much a no-brainer, isn’t it?”
She nodded again, relieved when he didn’t elaborate any further and said, “What about you? Best and worst days?”
“Best day would be when I graduated from the Academy. Worst day?” She paused for a moment, trying to decide what to tell him when she decided he deserved an honest answer. “Surprisingly enough it wasn’t the day my Mom died.” She sighed. “It was the day I had to lie to my father and tell him I didn’t want to accept the appointment he got me at NASA because I had this exciting job in Deep Space Telemetry.”
“Harsh.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “Not only did I destroy my father’s dream for my life but then he tells me he’s dying from cancer and walks out on me.”
“This is when we were in DC for that awards ceremony that never happened?”
“Yeah,” she sighed again. “But,” she added, summoning a smile, “it all eventually ended well. I know my Dad isn’t the easiest person to get along with, but right now our relationship is the best it’s ever been.”
“And all it took was for him to become a snakehead.”
“Jack!” She knew he was teasing, but it was still her Dad he was talking about.
“Hey, just kidding. You know I have the utmost respect for your dad. Besides, I have the feeling he’s about the only one around who can kick my ass—and would enjoy doing it.”
“Damn straight,” she agreed. “How did we get onto such serious subjects?”
“You’re the one with the list.”
“Oh right.” She looked at her list and then at Jack, grinning when she asked the next question. “Your first date?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Daniel, how many cards?”
Sitting on the floor across from him, Daniel didn’t look up from his hand. “Umm….”
Jack watched patiently while Daniel shuffled the five cards in his hand around, staring intently at them as if the fate of the world rested on their poker game. Sleeplessness had finally motivated Jack to break out the deck of cards Daniel had given him and forced him into talking Daniel into playing with him. It was a few hours until his and Sam’s watch started, and since he hadn’t wanted to disturb her, he had joined Daniel and Teal’c on the bridge.
“It’s just poker, Daniel,” he finally said, his patience fraying and deciding he’d stick with solitaire the next time he couldn’t sleep. “How many cards?”
Daniel looked at him over his glasses before pushing them up and laying down four cards. “Four.”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “Four? Are you sure?” he asked, dealing out the requested cards.
“Yes, I’m sure,” Daniel replied mildly, adding the cards to the one still in his hand.
Sighing, Jack discarded two of his cards and only managed to get himself a pair of threes with the two he took from the deck. He looked at Daniel, it was possible he could still bluff his way through his paltry hand and win, given that the current bet on the table was meal preparation for the next two days. With a deliberately casual movement, Jack relaxed back against the bulkhead. “Well?”
“Full house,” Daniel said, fanning out his cards on the deck between them.
“What?” Jack yelped, sitting straight up and glaring at the cards spread out on the deck. Damn, it was a full house and he was stuck with KP for two days. “How did you manage that after drawing four cards?” he groused, tossing his pathetic pair down on the floor.
“Luck?” Daniel shrugged, gathering up the cards. “I don’t know why you torture me or yourself this way. Get Sam to play with you.”
“She won’t play with me.”
“Why?”
“He cheats.”
Jack looked up at the sound of her soft voice. “Do not,” he replied automatically. She stood in the doorway between the bridge and the cargo bay, her hair still slightly mussed and eyes drowsy. He’d never realized until now how she wasn’t a morning person, granted it was evening according to their self-imposed schedule, but it took her a good while to get going.
“Jack cheats?”
“Do not” he said again.
Sam yawned and stretched. “He’s just mad because I caught him at it.”
“It wasn’t cheating,” Jack felt compelled to explain. “It was an honest mistake.” He looked at Daniel. “I forgot that I didn’t have all the cards in the deck when I dealt one hand.” He glared mildly at Sam. “Honest mistake.”
“So you say,” she chuckled. “Is there any coffee?”
Daniel grinned. “Well, Jack is on KP.”
Sam raised an eyebrow. “How’d that happen?”
“I got lucky,” Daniel said with a satisfied smile.
Sam stood over him and held out her hand; Jack took it, letting her help him to his feet. “If you give me just a minute,” he said, immediately staggering when the entire ship suddenly shuddered and seemed to jerk to a stop. Sam stumbled against him with the movement and he put a steadying arm around her.
“What was that?” Daniel exclaimed, rising up to his knees and clutching at the center console.
“We have dropped out of hyperspace,” Teal’c said, his normally calm voice carrying an unaccustomed tone of urgency.
Sam stiffened and immediately slipped out of his grasp and straight to the main console. Her fingers raced over the dials, Teal’c joining her. Jack crowded up behind them, craning his neck to look around the big guy so he could see what was going on.
“This is not good,” Sam murmured. She pressed a few more buttons and then turned around. Jack backed up a few steps; the tense and stressed look that had finally disappeared after they’d left Ravenna was back on her face. “Something’s happened to the hyper-drive.”
“Yeah,” Jack said, “got that. But you can fix it, right?” She didn’t say anything which alarmed him more than the fact that the ship was acting up, so he asked again. “Right?”
“Umm…right.” Sam took a deep breath and seemed to gather herself back together. “I’ll need Teal’c’s help, sir.”
If Jack hadn’t appreciated the urgency before, he did now when she called him ‘sir’. “Go!” he said, quickly moving out of the way when Teal’c brushed by him. He watched as the two of them disappeared into the back of the ship, refusing to get too anxious about anything yet, or at least until he had a sit-rep regarding the hyper-drive.
“So?” he said, turning to Daniel. “Another game?”
“Ah…Jack, don’t you think we ought to fly the ship?”
Daniel did have a point, even if the hyper-drive wasn’t working, they were still careening through space. “Spoil sport,” Jack retorted and quickly slipped into the primary command chair before Daniel could get there. Jack smiled triumphantly; sadly Daniel didn’t seem too upset with taking the second seat. Despite his seemingly cavalier attitude, he did take their situation seriously and carefully studied the controls. Fortunately, nothing else appeared to be affected so it seemed like it was all up to Sam and Teal’c.
Jack settled back into his chair and rested his hands lightly on the guidance orb. The subtle vibration reassured him that in spite of the hyper-drive malfunction, the engines were performing normally. Keying the ship’s intercom, he asked, “Sam, status report?”
She responded immediately, her voice hollow and tinny of the intercom. “Nothing yet, sir. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Major Carter, these crystals are cracked.” Jack heard Teal’c in the background and wasn’t reassured by the sound of cracked crystals.
“Is it okay to use the auto-pilot?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem, sir. I’ll keep you posted. Carter out.”
Satisfied that the situation was under control, for the moment anyway, Jack set the autopilot and prepared to wait. He glanced over at Daniel, who for once wasn’t scribbling away in the notebook he perpetually carried, but was giving him a curious look instead. “What?”
“You and Sam seem to be getting along.”
“What do you mean? Sam and I always get along.”
“You don’t always get along and you don’t always call her Sam. In fact, you hardly ever call her Sam.”
Jack frowned, not sure he liked any of the potential directions of their current conversation. “This is a unique situation, Daniel. I can hardly call her Major Carter twenty-four/seven.”
“Oh, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with it. Just unexpected.”
Maybe not so unexpected, Jack thought to himself. This thing between him and Sam had been smoldering for a long time and they either needed to kill it once and for all or let it flare into life. And he for one hoped for the latter. “Is that a problem?” he asked casually. He wasn’t looking for permission, but if there was a problem, he wanted to know about it now.
Daniel took so long to answer that Jack started to regret even asking and it took all his will power to not squirm under the other man’s level stare. “Is this something you both want?”
Feeling almost lightheaded from the relief that rushed through him, Jack was glad he could answer honestly. “Yeah, it is.”
“What about the Air Force?”
Jack couldn’t deny there would be problems, but he’d been around the block a few times and nothing was impossible, even a relationship with someone under his command. “If it gets to that point, Daniel, we’ll take care of it.”
“Then it’s not a problem.” Daniel smiled. “But Jack? I’d say you and Sam have been way beyond ‘that point’ ever since you beat me up for calling her Samantha.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Only numerous previous life-threatening situations enabled Sam to keep her panic under control. It wasn’t the first time the fate of Earth had rested in SG1’s hands; she just wished that they weren’t also at the mercy of a semi-derelict Tel’tac. There were indeed two cracked crystals in the hyper-drive control system. Sam sighed and looked at Teal’c, who knelt next to her. “Any suggestions as to which system we can cannibalize for these particular crystals?
“Life support.”
Sam nodded; it was the only system still running at one hundred percent. Running calculations in head, she figured that the loss of two crystals would only lower the efficiency of the system by twenty-five percent. The air would get a little stale, but still be breathable, and as for the ambient temperature…well, it was a bit on the cool side right now anyway. She sighed again and looked at Teal’c. “It’s going to get hot.”
Teal’c nodded gravely. “I see no other choice. We will not make it to Earth in time to destroy the meteor without the hyper-drive.”
“Then let’s get at it.” Sam rose to her feet and opened the panel covering the life support systems, frowning slightly as she studied the array of pulsating crystals. “If you’ll just remove those broken crystals, I’ll try and figure out which ones can be safely removed.”
“I believe two blue crystals will provide the necessary power requirements for the hyper-drive.”
Sam peered carefully at the schematic grid etched on the inside panel; fortunately the life support system had several redundancies built into the system. Reaching into the chamber, she cautiously removed one of the blue crystals and handed it to Teal’c, he inserted it into one of the empty slots in the hyper-drive and she was relieved when it immediately began to glow a reassuring blue. “Good call,” she said, removing the second crystal and handing it to him.
Kneeling down next to him while he inserted the second crystal, she attached the data pad she’d assigned permanent residence to the engine room and began running a diagnostic. “This is going to take a bit,” she told Teal’c, sitting down on the floor.
“I shall wait with you.”
Sam smiled. “Tired of Daniel’s company?”
She could swear a mischievous glint appeared momentarily in Teal’c’s eyes, but he answered in his usual calm manner. “Daniel Jackson is a most agreeable co-pilot. We share much in common.”
He had her curious now. “How so?” Daniel and Teal’c seemed like opposite ends of the spectrum, the scholar and the warrior.
“We both desire to rid the universe of the Goa’uld.”
“I think that’s something we all have in common.”
Teal’c inclined his head. “We share an interest in Earth’s history and customs, as well as other worlds. We have learned much from each other.”
Okay, she would give him that one. “Anything else?”
“Survivor.”
“I think I understand. You’re both survivors of the Goa’uld.”
“No, Major Carter. Survivor, the reality show on American television.”
Sam blinked. “Really? You like Survivor?”
Teal’c actually grinned. “It is a most satisfying combination of skill and intrigue. A truly worthy viewing experience.”
“Okay….” She really wasn’t sure what else to say in regards to Teal’c’s revelation and fortunately she was saved from making any further response when her scanner started beeping. Damn, there was still a slight discrepancy in the alignment.
“All is well?”
“Can you jiggle that last crystal we put in?” Teal’c raised an eyebrow but complied, gently jostling the crystal. She started the scanner again. “I need to run another scan,” she explained with an apologetic smile.
“I have no urgent matters requiring my attention.”
“Thanks,” she said. “I guess I haven’t really gotten to spend much time with you.” She smiled. “Which seems a bit odd, given the size of this ship.”
“You and O’Neill appear to be most compatible.”
Okay, she wasn’t sure if there was a double meaning there or not, but given that Teal’c usually spoke his mind, she decided to take the comment at face value. “Yeah,” she agreed. “We have more in common than I expected.”
“Beyond your desire to rid the universe of the Goa’uld?”
Sam chuckled and surprised herself when she answered. “Yes, way beyond that.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The unpleasant reality of the long trip to Earth finally hit her about day six. It wasn’t that she didn’t love spending time with Jack or having hours of uninterrupted time to proof-read her wormhole physics book and the dozen or so other papers she finally had time to write, but living in a confined space with three grown men was beginning to fray her around the edges. And while she knew they did their best, the sounds, smells and general atmosphere onboard were more like a men’s locker room now than the clean and sanitized Tel’tac that had left Ravenna six days ago.
At first, Teal’c’s meditation candles had provided some relief to the more pungent odors, but right now she could live her entire life without ever smelling sandalwood again—doomed now to forever associate it with the scent of slightly sweaty men. Carrying her laptop, Sam tiptoed past two of the sweaty men. Teal’c, as usual, was meditating—or possibly sleeping—she could never tell for sure. Suffice it to say, he didn’t stir as she passed. On the other hand, Daniel was sprawled on his back, snoring softly, his glasses crooked on his face and book lying on his chest. Sam stopped and smiled fondly, carefully removing the book and his glasses, before heading into the bridge.
“Hey,” she said, smiling affectionately at the man sitting in the command chair. He flashed her a quick grin before turning his attention back to the controls, his hands resting lightly on the guidance orb. “Getting a little flying time in tonight?”
“We finally got into that asteroid belt you were so worried about.”
“I wasn’t worried—exactly.”
“Teal’c reckons we’re about three-quarters of the way through it, if the long-range sensors are to be trusted.” He shrugged. “Just a couple of more hours and then we’re back to good old auto-pilot.”
“Do you want me to relieve you?”
The sideways look he gave her, combined with his slow smile, almost made her blush—almost. “Nah,” he said, “do whatever you need to do. I’m okay.”
She could do that. Looking around the compact bridge, she assessed her options and after a quick foray back into the cargo bay, she returned with her bedroll. Spreading it out on the floor, she leaned back against the bulkhead and opened up her laptop, losing herself in quantum mechanics and wormhole theory. Long enough later that her butt was starting to get numb, a sound slowly broke into her concentration. Frowning, Sam reread the last sentence she’d typed for the umpteenth time, vainly trying to block out the rhythmic thump-thump. Evidently they were through the asteroid field and back on auto-pilot, because it wasn’t the engines, or anything to do with the running of the ship, it wasn’t even Daniel or Teal’c moving around back in the cargo area.
It was him.
Gritting her teeth, she tried to ignore the sound, but the more she tried to ignore it the louder and more annoying it got. And then as if the thump-thump wasn’t bad enough, an even more obnoxious and vicious noise joined in. Low and slightly off key, if what he was doing could even be considered as having a tune, he whistled. The same half a dozen notes, over and over again in some sort of weird syncopation with the rhythmic thump-thump of wood against metal, destroying her concentration until she couldn’t stand it any longer and she carelessly tossed her laptop aside and sprang to her feet.
“Give me that damn yo-yo,” she snarled.
“Wha?” The yo-yo thumped against the panel before stopping mid-course and twirling forlornly on its string.
“Don’t play stupid with me.” She grabbed for the yo-yo, practically yanking his finger off when she tugged at it. “Or are you trying to drive me crazy?” she asked, struggling to keep the offensive object out of his hands. She was finally successful and backed away from him, holding the yo-yo up in triumph.
“Major,” he growled, standing and straightening to his full height. “Give me back my yo-yo.”
He loomed over her, his voice low and dripping with so much authority that it immediately raised her hackles. But she’d had enough and wasn’t about to be intimidated by him and it suddenly wasn’t about the yo-yo anymore. “Oh, so that’s the way it is,” she retorted. “When things aren’t going your way, you’re going to order me around?” He took a step towards her but she held her ground, raising her finger and shaking it at him for emphasis. “I’ve already had one man think he could pull rank and order me around in our relationship and I broke our engagement! Don’t think I won’t do it again.”
The dark look on Jack’s face was pretty intimidating, but she’d be damned if she’d let him get away with this shit. “Here’s your damn yo-yo,” she said ungraciously, shoving it into his chest. She abruptly let go of it, not even waiting to see if he caught it, and turned her back on him. Scooping up her laptop and bedroll, she stalked off the bridge, determined to take refuge in the only place left to her—down amongst her engines.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three hours of babysitting the Tel’tac while it was on autopilot wasn’t as much fun without Sam. And while the hours never actually flew while they were on watch, he would have to admit it was the first time he actually looked forward to the duty. And all because of Sam. And now it was all massively screwed up because of him. Well, probably both of them, but he was willing to shoulder most of the blame for their current estrangement. An estrangement that he needed to un-estrange as soon as possible, which had him surging to his feet the minute Teal’c appeared on the bridge to start the next watch.
“All is well, O’Neill?” Teal’c asked after a brief survey of the Carter-less bridge, raising one inscrutable eyebrow.
“I hope so,T,” he replied, heading directly to the corridor that would take him down to the engine room. Jack clambered down the access hatch, not trying to disguise his approach, figuring it was better under the circumstances not to sneak up on her. He found her spread out in the far corner, sitting cross-legged and concentrating—he assumed—on the laptop open in front of her.
When she didn’t look up, he sighed softly. “Hey.”
She didn’t jump or stiffen, like he’d startled her; she slowly closed the laptop and looked up at him, her expression unreadable. “Sir.”
Jack tamped down the quick rush of temper that flared through him with the use of the honorific. He needed to be the calm one here. Either she was still pissed at him or she was deliberately goading him—probably a combination of both, he decided. But he wasn’t here to fight with her. “It’s just Jack,” he replied easily, gingerly lowering himself down onto the deck in front of her.
“This time,” she said. “What about next time?”
All right, things weren’t so bad if she was already contemplating a next time. “Sam,” he started tentatively, “you will admit these are unusual circumstances.” She inclined her head slightly. Encouraged, he continued, “It was an automatic reflex.”
She leaned back against the bulkhead, crossing her arms across her chest. “That’s what Jonas used to say.”
Okay, so maybe things were just as bad if she was comparing him to her asshole ex-fiancé. “I’m not Jonas Hansen,” he said sharply.
Her expression softened. “I know. And maybe I over-reacted.” She straightened up and leaned closer, her blue eyes intense as she looked at him. “Jack, I have to be your equal with this whole ‘us’ thing. And I know the lines have kind of gotten blurred under the current circumstances. Believe me, when we’re on a mission, I don’t want anyone in command but you. But when it’s just us? Equal partners.”
“I want that too, Sam,” he admitted. “But I think while we’re still on this ship, you’re going to have to cut me some slack.”
“Yes, sir,” she replied, her warm smile and the twinkle in her eyes belaying her smart reply.
“Next time my yo-yoing bugs you, just tell me.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “Because I can guarantee you, there will be a next time.
“Your yo-yoing didn’t so much bother me, Jack,” she explained. “It was the damn noise it made every time it hit the bulkhead. And then when you started to whistle….” She shuddered.
Thinking back, Jack acknowledged maybe it had been a bit obnoxious. And maybe their enforced closeness was starting to get to all of them. “Duly noted,” he said, pleased when she smiled. “Come on,” he added, getting to his feet and holding out his hand to her. “I still have one more day on KP, so breakfast is on me.”
“You’re on,” she said, grabbing his hand. Jack pulled her to her feet where she immediately leaned so close to him that he could see every color in her beautiful blue eyes and smell the faint hint of her perfume. He almost got dizzy with the hope that she was going to kiss him, but then she chuckled and whispered in his ear, her lips just brushing his cheek. “What woman could resist an invitation like that, flyboy?”
Jack couldn’t believe it when he actually moaned softly at the soft brush of her lips; she released his hand with a satisfied smile and sauntered off towards the access ladder. Taking a deep breath, Jack closed his eyes for a brief moment, fighting down the surge of arousal coursing through him before he hurried after her calling, “Carter, that was so not fair!”
“Yes, sir,” he laughing voice drifted back down to him. “Duly noted, sir.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jack lightly crept up behind the command chair where Sam sat, so engrossed on whatever she was doing that she didn’t hear him. Taking advantage of her unusual inattentiveness, Jack leaned down from behind her and rubbed his beard roughened cheek against her much softer one. “Jack,” she scolded quietly. When she twisted slightly and gently grabbed him by the neck of his t-shirt, he didn’t protest as she placed an all-too brief kiss on his lips and then just as quickly released him.
“You might want to shave,” she added, before once more concentrating on the display in front of her. “We should reach Earth tomorrow.”
Jack rubbed the light stubble on his chin. “You’re saying I need to be clean-shaven to save Earth?”
He caught the slight eye-roll she gave him with his peripheral vision. “I’m saying that this time tomorrow we’ll be back on Earth—if all goes as planned.”
“Right,” he said, dropping down into the second chair. When they’d started their journey nine days earlier, he hadn’t been sure what to expect beyond the need to get to Earth as fast as possible. What he hadn’t imagined is that their enforced confinement would give him and Sam the unexpected opportunity to date without really dating. He couldn’t help but cringe at the analogy, even if it was one of his own making. For better or worse, he was in a relationship.
“So, it’s been good, hasn’t it?”
She looked at him, her eyes slightly narrowed. “What?”
“Us.” She looked at him like he had lost his mind. “You know, getting to know each other,” he elaborated.
Her lips curved in a slow smile, that tender and indulgent one that she only used for him and to which he’d become addicted. “I think it worked out very well.”
“So,” he said, feeling his apprehension begin to fade. “There is an us?”
“Oh, there is very definitely an us.” Her smile faded a bit. “But there’s also a meteor headed straight towards Earth.”
“Well, if that’s all you’re worried about,” he drawled, slouching down in the chair.
“Maybe not all,” she amended. “I was thinking though, about what happens once we destroy the meteor.”
“Besides the big party?”
“Yes, besides that,” she agreed, her smile fading into that uncertain look he hadn’t seen since the last time the engine alarm went off. “I was thinking maybe we could do something, you know, after we save the world.” She suddenly wouldn’t look at him.
“Yeah, sure,” he said. “I was actually going to suggest the same thing. What do you have in mind?”
She looked at him then, her blue eyes still shadowed with uncertainty. “Maybe we could go fishing?”
Jack sat up, his heart racing. “At the cabin?” She nodded, her eyes slowly starting to glow with confidence. “Yeah, sure, that would be great,” he said, vaguely aware he was on the verge of babbling. “It’s perfect there this time of year. Not too hot, not too cold. Great sleeping weather—”
He was sure he would have babbled on if she hadn’t leaned over and laid a soft hand on one of his. “I can’t imagine anything more perfect than fishing with you.”
Turning his hand in hers, he allowed himself the momentary indulgence of holding her hand, his thumb rubbing lightly across her soft skin. It was by no means a sure thing, but he suddenly felt like nothing they faced was insurmountable. “It’s a date.”
THE END