“Now where does this part go?” she murmured softly, a sparkle of curiosity mixed with excitement burning in her bright blue eyes, before bending down and glancing first at the round piece of alien technology in her hand and then at the star shaped hole in the middle of something that looked like a cross between a glass bowl and a TV remote.

She was just about to consider using brute force when the telephone attached to the wall behind her started to ring. Sighing deeply she considered ignoring the unwelcome intruder altogether, but another louder ring from the cursed device made her jumped slightly.

Straightening, resigning herself to the fact that the secrets of the universe will have to wait a little while longer, she walked over to the phone. Absentmindedly she raked a hand through her blonde hair - still very much struggling to tear her mind away from the device resting on the lab table and awaiting her return patiently - before picking up the handset reluctantly.

“Carter,” she spoke in a voice that clearly stated she was busy and that unless it was an emergency – something in the line of the world about to end – she did not appreciate the interruption.

At first there was only silence.

Frowning she took the handset away from her ear and stared at it for a few moments in confusion, wondering for a second as to whether she was going mad.

“H-ello?” she inquired after picking up on faint breathing on the other side of the line.

“Carter,” the person on the other side replied more in a statement than a question.

“General?” she immediately recognized the voice and was unable to prevent a frown from starting to play between her eyebrows again. Hesitating, looking at her watch and realizing that it was 2am in the morning she continued, “Sir? Is there something wrong?”

“Why does there always need to be something wrong? Can’t I just phone an old colleague – a friend you may say – without something needing to be wrong?” If she did not know better she would have sworn she could hear a faint quaver in his voice – but then on the other hand surely that was not possible since it was after all Jack O’ Neill she was talking about.

“I just assume…I mean it is 2am over here and I can only imagine what time it is where you are…”

“Yeah, staying up until 2am does have a way with messing with one’s biological time-“ he went silent for a moment before continuing, “talking about time - why are you still in your lab? Didn’t I order you…oh…just a billion times to get a life?”

Biting slightly on her bottom lip Sam turned to stare longingly back at the alien device. She was tired, really wanted - needed - to get back to solving the mystery and hopefully still managed to get an hour or two’s sleep before the early morning shift starts. Additionally she did not feel like getting into an arguing with the man that for all intense and purposes was currently one of the most powerful men in the United States, if not the whole world.

“Carter?” Jack asked again. When she did not reply for a while the sound of a knuckle rapping against a handset on the other site could be heard, “Earth to Carter? H-ello, ya still there?”

Sighing for the second time that night, her shoulders sagging slightly, she responded, “Sir, it is 2am in the morning. I have an urgent report regarding a new device that we found on PX-9020 to finish before 7am tomorrow morning. I am hungry and frankly a bit tired too and it doesn’t sound like you are contacting me regarding anything seriously, therefore…” she allowed the rest of the sentence to trail off into nothingness, hoping that he would get the message.

“Hey!” he feigned being offended, “Who says I’m not phoning with some important information that will save the world and-“

“Are you?” she interrupted him.

“Excuse me?” he queried with a little bit of confusion in his voice.

“Sir, you were clearly surprised to find me in the lab, although I think it is reasonable to assume that there was – still is - some reason that you decided to try and phone my direct extension so early in the morning with only the slightest of chance that I may actually still be awake.”

It was his turn to keep quiet for a while.

Leaning with her shoulder against the wall, yawning and with her one hand rubbing over her tired eyes, she queried softly, “Sir? Are you still there?”

“Yeah,” he started very faintly and then, almost like he was afraid she would not be able to hear his reply, he added louder, “Yeah, I’m still here.”

“So…” she asked, emphasizing her question from before.

“Well…you see…I-I am going to be in your area next week…and…well..” Straightening, her eyes widening slightly, Sam clutched the phone closer to her ear. Surely – no – she was sure that she must have heard wrongly, the General O’Neill she knew did not stutter like a young schoolboy, or did he?

At an almost breathless pace Jack continued on, “I was hoping that you would agree to have dinner with me one night.”

“Excuse me?” She barely managed to utter the words after a few moments of struggling to find anything comprehensible to say, sure that she must have heard wrong. Surely the General did not phone her at such a godforsaken time in the morning only to arrange a get-together with his former teammates?

“There is this nice little French Restaurant not far from where I used to live and they make the biggest-“ he continued rumbling on, ignoring her obvious confusion.

“Sir –“ she tried to speak, but was interrupted unceremoniously.

“I was thinking that maybe I could pick you up at 7pm next Friday and-“

Swallowing, her head ringing with the rush of words assaulting her from the handset, she asked the first thing that came to mind next, “Have you discussed this with Daniel and Teal’c yet?”

Jack kept quiet for a moment, then in a perplexed tone of voice asked, “Why?”

Wiping a hand over her brow, unable to shake the sensation that there was something strange about the conversation she was having with her former commanding officer, she also tried to prevent the frustration she was definitely feeling from showing in her words, before saying, “I think Teal’c said something about visiting his son and new grandson next week and Daniel is scheduled to go off-world with SG-12 to visit-“

“That’s…great?” he replied slowly and then as a sort of an afterthought added, “I think?”

With the frown on her forehead deepening, steadily become sure that she and the General was not on the same wavelength – if not maybe on two different planes of existence altogether – her tongue licked across her bottom lip quickly before responding, “Why…uh…maybe…it will be great to get together with the guys but next week’s just going to be too busy for all of us – why don’t we maybe reschedule for another date and then-“

“Sam!”

The unexpected use of her name was enough to make Sam forget about anything else that she wanted to say. All that she managed was just, “What?”

She could hear him taking a deep breath on the other side and she could have sworn that he was mumbling something under his breath before he finally replied to her question, “Oh for crying out loud – this is ridiculous.”

A few tense moments followed before he uttered the golden words that were to change her life forever, “I am asking YOU on a date Carter. Not Daniel, not Teal’c and definitely not anybody else from the base that might be interested in sharing the company of an old obsolete soldier like me.”

“Oh…” was all that she managed to say. If it was not for her heart that had started to beat at a ferocious pace she would have been able to convince herself that she must have heard him wrong.

Was he actually asking her on a date?

After all these years?

A whirlwind of emotions and thoughts were cascading through her mind, with the result that she only returned back to reality to overhear the last part of his next strangely flippant sentence, “-Righto, so I’ll pick you up at your home about 7pm.”

Before Sam could say or do anything he had hung up, almost like he was afraid that she would get time to get her thoughts together and cancel their dinner date, and with that she was left alone with only the dark disconnected tone of the phone and her shock at realizing that she was actually going to go on a date with General Jack O’Neill.

XXX

THE DATING GAME – CHAPTER 2

‘I am going to go on a date with Jack O’Neill!’ was the first thought that came to her mind when she woke up the next morning with a sudden start.

For a few moments she allowed herself to remain in the same position. She was sitting in front of her lab table with her head rested on the dark wood and her arms stretched out around her, a little bit of saliva was dripping slowly from the side of her mouth.

Opening her eyes, blinking a few times, she lifted her head, yawned and raised her left arm slightly to stare at her watch. “Crap!” she exclaimed upon seeing the time. It was 7:30 am and she was about a half an hour late in providing her report to the new General of the base.

Cursing softly under her breath, she jumped up from her seat and struggled to get a disarray of paperwork together in something that resembled a neat pile. It was as she leaned across the table to get another piece of paper with a heading that stated, “Report on device found at PX-9020…” that her elbow accidentally knocked over a blue coffee cup, resulting in the cold contents spilling over everything in the nearby area.

“Shit!” she shouted and tried to get as much of her report as was possible out of harm’s way, but without much luck. All her hard work – her report and notes – were drenched completely in a dark brown liquid.

“Sam?” she suddenly heard behind her.

“What!” she snapped and twirled around, only to come face to face with the SGC’s local Archeologist and one of her closest of friends, Dr Daniel Jackson.

Wiping a hand over her face, sighing, she lowered her head slightly in guilt upon seeing the frown playing on Daniel’s forehead but did not say anything additional.

“Everything okay?” Daniel asked and took a few steps forward; his hands were tucked deeply in the pockets of his pants.

“Yes…I-I’m sorry I snapped at you Daniel,” Sam apologized. Turning around she stared at the mess on her table in dismay before adding, while pointing at the disorder, “It is just that I worked until very late to get this report ready and now…” She could not finish her sentence, was only able to dart her eyes between Daniel and the table with frustration clearly etched all over her face.

Grimacing Daniel said, “I’m sorry Sam…that’s why I’m here too. When you did not show up at the meeting, nor answered your phone the General sent me to come and see where you were and what were keeping you up.”

“Right…uh-,“ hurrying over to her computer she started typing at a furious pace on her keyboard, “give me a few moments…should be able to print at least a preliminary copy of my findings on the device for the meeting…” the rest of her words became unintelligible as she continued working, although now and again muttered words like, “The nerve of him…who does he think he is…this is all his fault,” was clearly audible.

“Sam,” Daniel stated after a few minutes of staring at her stiff backside with a slightly raised eyebrow. When she did not reply he asked again, “Sam?” Still she did not respond, her whole attitude said she was too much involved with her own thoughts at that moment.

Pressing his tongue against an inner cheek and pushing with a forefinger the spectacles closer to his eyes he crossed the distance between him and Sam slowly.

“Wanna talk ‘bout what’s troubling you?” Daniel asked.

“Huh?” Sam turned her head around, but it was clear that her thoughts were miles away, “What are you talking about?”

Scratching with a finger softly against his bottom lip he appeared thoughtful before responding, “You know what I’m talking about Sam. The lateness getting to the meeting, the coffee spilled over your important paperwork, the clear agitation noticeable in your stance. Everything is so out of character for you.” Putting a gentle hand on her shoulder he added, “Yep…I will definitely say something is seriously bothering you this morning.”

“I…nothing’s wrong,” she replied, but her whole attitude stated differently.

“Right…” he replied with a trace of sarcasm in his voice and removed his hand from her shoulder. “So you are just acting this way due to having climbed with the wrong foot out of bed.”

She first tried to deny again that there was anything amiss and then upon seeing in Daniel’s eyes that he was definitely not going to fall for it she added softly, “If it’s all right with you I’ll rather no discuss it,” before turning her attention back to the information displayed on her screen.

“Sam-“

“Daniel please…just leave it at that…okay?”

Grabbing the pages coming out of her printer she checked them over quickly for any mistakes, raked a hand through her golden hair to try and straighten it out as best as possible.

Forcing a false smile to her lips she addressed Daniel again, “How do I look?”

Nodding his head, but refusing to meet her smile with one of his own, he said, “You look fine.”

“In that case…shall we?” Sam stated and made her way to the exit, not once looking back to see whether Daniel was following her or not.

“Why do I feel that somehow this have something to do with Jack?” Daniel murmured under his breath with a strange glimmer in his eyes, before proceeding to follow Sam out of the lab.

XXX

THE DATING GAME – CHAPTER 3

Saturday, 14H00 – The telephone calls begun (a day and a half after the dinner invitation)

“General O’Neill’s office.”

“Good afternoon, this is Colonel Samantha Carter speaking. Is it possible for me to speak to the General?”

“I am sorry Colonel, but the General is currently not available.”

“Oh? Do you know when he is going to be available again?”

“I am sorry Colonel, but I’m not allowed to divulge that information. Can I maybe take a message and I promise that I will make sure that he gets it as soon as possible.”

“Uh…You are his secretary, Mrs Coper-Cooperman?”

“Cooper. Yes, that is correct. How did you know?”

“Well Mrs Cooper, I am phoning from the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. The General and I used to work together here. In fact he used to be my commanding officer for quite a few years. We are therefore old colleagues…you may even say friends, so I am sure that General won’t mind you giving me this information. In fact, I am quite sure that he would insist on it.”

“Um, you said you are Colonel Carter?”

“Yes?”

“In that case…Colonel, the General took the weekend off. He stated that he was going to go to his fishing cabin to catch fish of –to my personal opinion- an unnatural size and won’t be back until Monday morning, therefore…Colonel, are you still there?”

“Yes…yes. Thank you for the information. In that case I will definitely phone on Monday again.”

“Are you sure I can’t take a message?”

“No, thank you. It is kind of private. I would rather prefer to speak to the General directly.”

“Can I mention to the General that you phone?”

“No! Yes. I mean I don’t know. You know what…whatever you decide. I think I must go…in fact someone is on the other line. Goodbye for now, we will speak again on Monday.”

The sound of a disconnected phone was heard.

“Goodbye Colonel Carter. Colonel?”

A soft inaudible mumble followed, before the line went completely dead.

XXX

Monday, 08H00

“General O’Neill’s office.”

“Hi, this is Colonel Carter. Can I please speak to General O’Neill?”

“Uh…Colonel Carter?”

“Yes?”

“I mentioned to the General this morning that you phoned on Saturday and he left a message for you.”

“Oh…okay? Can I maybe speak to the General first? It is kinda urgent.”

“I am sorry Colonel, but the General insisted that I give you the message first and besides he is going to be in meetings for the whole day anyway.”

“Fine, I guess. Can I then maybe have the message?”

“No problem. Just give me a few seconds…”

The sound of papers rustling was heard for some time.

“Mrs Cooper? Mrs Cooper I don’t have all day. It will be appreciated if I can have that message within this same millennia.”

“Got it! Colonel, I apologized that you had to wait. I accidentally tucked it underneath a couple of reports the General gave me this morning. By the way you won’t believe the type of information he sometimes ask me to type out, the one day I even had to type out a fan letter to that company that is making the Simpsons-”

“Ah…that is very interesting, but can I please have that message now?”

A few moments of silence followed.

“Mrs Cooper?”

“Uh…yes. The General wrote it out himself and handed it to me this morning. He told me to read it to you exactly as is.”

A few more moments of silence followed.

“Well?!”

“Colonel, please realize that I am only doing as what was instructed to me by the General.”

“Of course, now can I PLEASE have that message?”

A cough was heard, followed by a couple more.

“On this piece of paper – if you can call it paper, looks more like a serviette from a local pizza place – anyway…as I said before he told me to read it to you exactly as he as wrote it...”

Another cough was heard.

“Okay, here goes. To Carter: No. No way. No how. No. No and oh another thing…no. I am not canceling, you owe me and I intend to collect on Friday.”

A long, long period of absolute heavy silence followed.

“Colonel Carter?”

A few additional seconds passed.

“Colonel Carter, are you still with me?”

A very soft, “Yes,” was the only answer.

“Do you still wish to speak to the General? I can take a message if you so require?”

“Yes…uh no…uh I don’t think so…I think I need to go…in fact someone is standing in my doorway, looking for me…(Daniel just give me a moment, I’m on the phone)…I…it was nice speaking to you Mrs Cooper.”

The sound of a disconnected phone was heard.

“Goodbye Colonel Carter. Colonel?”

A soft, “This woman can really do with some classes in manners”, followed before the line went completely dead.

XXX

Tuesday, 10H00

“General O’Neill’s office.”

“Hi, is General O’Neill available?”

“Yes, who may I say is phoning?”

“Colonel Samantha Carter.”

“I am sorry Colonel, but the General stated that if you were to phone again I am to tell you that he is not available until Friday night.”

“But…you just told me he is available?”

“I am sorry Colonel, but I got strict instructions that I am not to transfer you to his office under any circumstances. Oh…he also left a message that you must please wear something nice on Friday.”

“So, what you are trying to tell me is that the General doesn’t want to speak to me at all, therefore you won’t transfer me to his office no matter what?”

“I am sorry Colonel, but I have my orders.”

“Fine. Just fine!”

The sound of a disconnected phone was heard.

“Colonel Carter are you still there? Colonel? Colonel? Colonel?”

A soft, “Why I never!” followed before the line went completely dead.

XXX

Wednesday, 18H00

“General O’Neill’s office.”

“Yes…hi…is it possible that I can speak to the General O’Neill?”

“Not a problem, who may I say is phoning?”

“Uh…Co-Sarah O’Neill.”

“Sorry…you said your name’s Sarah O’Neill?”

“Yes, I am his…ex-wife. Now can you please transfer me to the General? I don’t have all day.”

“I am sorry, but I won’t be able to transfer you.”

“Why not? Is there a problem?”

“Well…according to the voice recognition software that the General had installed on my phone over the weekend you have just been identified as Colonel Samantha Carter and…hello?”

The sound of a disconnected phone was heard.

“Give me strength!” the secretary exclaimed before slamming the phone down on her side.

XXX

Thursday, 08H00

“General O’Neill’s office.”

“Good morning, this is Colonel Carter-“

“Colonel, I am sorry but-“

“I know, I know. You can’t transfer me etc. etc. etc.”

“In that case…if you don’t mind me asking…why are you phoning?”

A sigh was heard.

“First of all I just want to apologize for yesterday. It is not like me to be deceitful like that, but I was desperate.”

“Desperate? Desperate to speak to the General?”

“Yes. I really really REALLY need to speak to General O’Neill. Is there no way that you can help me?”

“I am sorry Colonel, I have my orders.”

Please…I am willing to take all blame on me. I promise you won’t get into trouble for this.”

“I am sorry Colonel…I wish I can help you, but I have my orders.”

A deep, frustrated sound was heard.

“Maybe you and I can come to some sort of an understanding? You know…one hand washes another?”

“Colonel, are you trying to bribe me?”

“What?! No...NO…definitely not!”

“Then what was that just about?”

“I…I just really need to speak to the General. I need to cancel something before I make the biggest mistake of my life.”

“Maybe if you tell me what it is all about I can help you?”

“I can’t…it is personal, between him and me.”

“I see...Colonel, you know that there is laws to protect women against sexual harassment in the workplace and-“

“What? What are you talking about?”

The secretary’s voice suddenly went into conspiracy mode.

“Colonel, you don’t need to carry this burden any longer. From your many, and may I say desperate, telephone calls it is clear what is going on and as one woman to another can I just say you are not the first woman that had to carry this kind of horrific, totally unnecessary, burden-“

“What! Just a moment…it is not what you think it is and-“

“Don’t worry about it Colonel Carter. I promise I won’t talk about this to anyone, neither will I take this further unless you want to. I just want to say that I sympathize with what you are going through and to offer my support and maybe even a shoulder to cry on.”

The sound of a disconnected phone was heard.

“Colonel Carter are you still there. Colonel? Colonel? Colonel?”

“What a strange, unmannered woman! Why’s General O’Neill is even bothering to harass such a woman I will never know. Now a woman like me should be more to his taste…” the secretary murmured before putting the handset down on her side.

XXX

Friday morning, 05H00

She woke up with a sudden start. For a few moments she laid quiet in her bed, unsure as to what it was that had awakened her and caused her heart to beat at a furious beat.

And then it hit her…

Pushing herself upright in her bed, she clutched a hand over her chest and murmured, “Oh god! I am going on a date tonight; I am going on a date with Jack O’Neill!”

Switching on her bedside lamp, she nearly fell out of bed in her haste to get to the closet where she normally stored all her ‘best’ clothes.

She stared at it for a few moments, her eyes growing bigger and bigger, before exclaiming in horror and frustration, “I have absolutely nothing to wear for tonight!” Looking down at her bare legs she added quickly, “And my legs need some serious waxing too!”

XXX

THE DATING GAME – CHAPTER 4

Friday, 13H00

“This is Teal’c.”

“Hi Teal’c, it’s Sam. Do you have minute?”

“Colonel Carter…should you not be present at the debriefing with the General, SG-12 and Doctor Jackson?”

“Uh, yeah…that’s why I need your help.”

“Of what assistance can I be?”

“I…normally I would have asked this from Daniel, but since he is at this meeting too you are the only one I can count on at such short notice.”

“Indeed.”

“Is it possible for you to go to the meeting and make apologies for me?”

“What should I state as the reason for your absence?”

“Uh, tell them I’m sick or something and had to go home…I’m sure you can think of something really good to say.”

“You require me to provide a false truth on your behalf?”

“What? Oh no…nothing that serious. I merely need you to go and bend the truth for me a little bit.”

“I see.”

“Teal’c, please. I won’t be asking this if it isn’t an emergency.”

“May I inquire the nature of the emergency?”

“It’s…kinda personal, something that I can’t discuss at this moment.”

“I see.”

“S-so? Will you be able to cover for me?”

“As a warrior I can not condone such withholding of the truth, but as your friend I will consider it my duty and honor to come to your aid in such a manner.”

“So I can take that as a yes?”

“Indeed.”

“Thanks Teal’c…I owe you big time.”

XXX

Friday night, 18H50

It was a beautiful summer evening.

The soft sound of traffic was heard, people returning after a hard day at work.

In one particular house a blond haired woman was staring at her reflection in the mirror of her bedroom with a very critical eye and every second or so she would turn to observe her image from a particular side. She had her hair done at an expensive hair salon that afternoon, including some much needed waxing and manicure that her body urgently required. Her makeup she had applied very lightly barely a few minutes ago, she was a firm believer in the natural look, and a pair of small, golden earrings was decorating her ears. Additionally she was dressed in a short, black evening dress with a V-line that simultaneously revealed a lot of flesh and yet covered just the necessary. The picture was completed with a pair of beautiful, yet plain, sandals on her feet.

A casual observer would have considered her to be the very personification of calmness and composure, but any close friend of her would have been able to identify the tell signs that indicate otherwise. The slight tremor of a bottom lip, the continuous rubbing of palms against each other and especially the way she kept on checking the time on her watch spoke a lot about the emotional turmoil she was experiencing at that moment.

With a slight frown between her eyes she remembered how hesitant she was at first to buy the dress earlier that day, but a very persistent saleslady had convinced her that the dress was made for her, that it shouted conservatism, mixed with sex appeal – and the bonus was that it definitely complimented her long, slender legs. At that stage she had been blinded with the dazzling image she had seen staring back at her from the shop’s mirror, including the fact that for the first time in her life she had actually looked and felt like a woman in all the senses to herself, and as such she did not really bother to argue a lot with the saleslady when the woman told her that the astronomical price for the dress was going to be worth it.

But now…she was no longer so sure as to whether she had made the correct decision. After all she was not quite sure as to what Jack O’Neill’s whole intentions were with this dinner date, nor what her expectations were, but then on the other hand since destiny decided that she had to go out with him that night she might as well make the best of it. After all that night might be the only time that she would get to really make a serious impression on him and if that was the case the dress was going to be the answer.

Sighing, she bit on her bottom lip and tucked absentmindedly at the short sleeves of the dress. Her eyes were telling her that there was nothing that she could do to improve on her currently appearance, but her heart kept on whispering that maybe she was overlooking something and to make matters worse it kept on reminding her too that it was going to be Jack O’Neill standing at her door at any moment, not just any man.

Feeling a nervous flutter in her stomach, she groaned and hurried to her kitchen, where she quickly poured herself a glass of water and gulped it down it down like her life depended on it.

There was no denying it; she was a nervous wreck. She felt like a young schoolgirl about to go on her first date and completely hated the whole sensation of it.

The sound of a doorbell ringing made her jump slightly, the glass nearly felt out of her hand as a result. Putting the glass quickly down on the kitchen table she swallowed and whispered, “Right…this is it.”

Making her way to her front door, her pace must have been too slow, because the tune sounded up again; she stared at herself one last time in the mirror hanging from a hall, before taking a deep breath, removing the locks from the door and opening it with almost one fluent movement.

And there he stood.

For what seemed like an eternity they just stared at each other.

Although Jack O’Neill was dressed in a classic black suit Sam could not believe how good he looked. At the back of her mind she had always been aware of his natural good looks and had noticed on many occasions how women would stare at him, sometimes they tried to hide that fact but mostly they did it openly, but years of working close to him had made her grew accustomed to it all, therefore she was slightly shocked at realizing that she was actually completely speechless at the sight of him. Maybe, she tried to convince herself, it was because she had never seen him dressed in such a style before – she had seen him in his dress uniform on many occasion, but that was just not the same to her.

“You look…nice,” he finally broke the silence between them.

At first she wanted to feel affronted by his remark, but then realizing that this was Jack O’Neill speaking – the man who normally did not express his feelings openly – and upon seeing the way he struggled to keep his eyes from wandering over her body and how his whole demeanor cried out that he was definitely delighted with the way she looked, she allowed a smile to tug at the corner of his lips and responded, “You look nice too.”

“Ah…” he stated and smile in return, “Ready to go?”

“Sure, just give me a moment to gather my purse,” she said and quickly disappeared to collect the item from where she had left it on a table close by earlier on. After barely a few seconds she was back. “I’m ready,” she said and proceeded to lock the door behind them.

When she was finished Jack indicated a hand to what was obviously a rental car in front of her home and stated, “Shall we?” Standing to one side he allowed her to pass him and followed a few steps behind. When they reached the car she was about to open the door to climb in, but the slight sensation of a hand on her arm stopped her.

“Allow me,” she could hear him whispering close behind her.

Smiling, she merely nodded her head and when he opened the door, allowed her to get in and then gently closed the door behind her, she stated softly, “Thanks.”

Walking around the car he climbed into the driver’s seat and appeared to be fumbling with the keys, before finally managing to find the correct one to start the vehicle.

For the next couple of minutes they drove in silence, each one observed in their own thoughts.

“So…” Jack eventually spoke up, while pretending to concentrate on the traffic in front of him.

“So?” she replied in turn, forcing her gaze away from her window to face him, not quite sure as to what was going to follow next but feeling that she had to acknowledge him somehow.

“Wanna explain to me why you tried so hard to cancel tonight?” he asked, without turning his head to look at her once.

“Uh…thought it was the right thing to do?” she responded with a semi-question of her own.

“Why?”

“I…I really don’t know. Maybe I was scared.”

“Of me?” This time he glanced at her quickly, but in the semi-darkness of the vehicle it was difficult for her to make out the expression on his face.

“No!” she exclaimed and then realizing that she had put too much emotion behind that one word, she brought her voice down a few octaves and barely spoke louder than a whisper, “No…not of you. I can never be scared of you.”

“Then what was it?” he continued with his questioning, when she did not respond immediately he turned his head to her quickly and inquired, “Carter?”

Swallowing, at first thinking of lying but then realizing that he of all people deserved the whole truth, she barely managed to utter, “I…I was scared of tonight. I was scared of what it may…mean.”

“Oh,” he replied.

For a while she waited for him to continue talking and when she realized that he had no intention of saying anything soon she stated, “I’m...I…I didn’t mean to hurt you by that. At that moment I just thought it was the best thing to do…for both of us.”

“I see,” he responded. Then, without warning, he suddenly turned the car into a side street and came to a sudden stop in an open parking space.

For a few seconds he just stared in front of him, appearing to be deep in thought, before turning to face her.

“Your choice,” he spoke after a while.

“I…I don’t understand?” she whispered, slightly afraid at this sudden change from the expected.

“Carter…” he sighed and rose his hand slightly in the air, “Sam…there is nothing more that I would like to do than to go to this dinner with you, but…I can’t force you.”

Struggling to a rain on her emotions, she could only stare at him.

When he realized that she was not about to say anything he continued on, “Do…” he appeared to struggle the right words to say. “Do you want to go down this road with me…maybe see where it may lead us?”

XXX

THE DATING GAME – CHAPTER 5

“I…” she stared at him, but was unable to finish the sentence.

Turning his head slightly sideways he asked softly, “Carter?” When she still did not respond, only advert her eyes from him, he nodded his head slowly before turning it away and whispering in a hoarse voice, “I see…then that’s the way it’s going to be.”

Picking up on his gloominess Sam darted her eyes back to Jack and took a deep breath, before saying, “It’s not the way you think. There is nothing more I would like than to go to this dinner with you too, but…what then?”

He turned his gaze back to her and the bright streetlight behind her accentuated his raised eyebrow.

“W-what I’m trying to say is…I’m scared...” the rest of her words followed in barely more than a whisper, “I’m scared of the future and the unknown. I’m scared of maybe making the biggest mistake of my life and-“

The rest of her sentence was interrupted with the sudden sensation of his hand on her knee. “I know…me too,” he whispered.

For the next few moments they just stared at each other, each one of them silently acknowledging the fear and uncertainty in the other’s heart and realizing that they had finally reached a turning point in their lives – either they returned to the safety of their former way of living or they decided once and for all to take a brave small step into the unknown of the future.

As the atmosphere gradually became electrified between them it was Jack that broke the silence by abruptly removing his hand from her knee and turning his attention back to the area around the vehicle while playing a silent tune with his palms on the steering wheel.

“So…we’re still on for tonight?” he asked after a while in what appeared to be a neutral tone of voice.

Nodding her head and then realizing that he would not be able to see her, she replied, “Sure.”

Allowing a fleeting smile to cross his lips his turn his attention back to her and commented softly, “Sweet.”

Without another word he started the engine again and proceeded to get back on the main road once more. They had barely driven a few minutes when he spoke up again while still appearing to be concentrating on the road in front of them, “So Carter…wanna explain to me what exactly happened between you and my secretary?”

“Excuse me?” Sam asked, genuine confused as to what exactly he was referring too.

“I believe you two had quite some interesting conversations during the past week?”

“You’re supposed to know…I mean I assume you know what we talked about since you left me an equally interesting message with her.”

Nodding his head he quickly turned left into another street before replying, “Last night before I left DC I happened to stumble upon some fascinating reading material that was left on my desk.”

“Oh?” Sam inquired absentmindedly; at the back of her mind she could not help but to be grateful that the atmosphere between them had returned to the way it used to be in the past – one of friendship, with just the slightest hint of something more.

“Ya know…the usual that a man in my position normally gets.”

When he did not continue immediately she surprised herself by playfully asking, “Planning to let me know any time this century?”

Turning his gaze quickly to her and then back to the traffic in front of them, she was not quite sure but she could have sworn he had grinned at her, he coughed once before responding, “Oh…it was quite a revelation to me, I didn’t even know so many booklets about that subject existed in the world…let alone the Air Force and-”

The rest of his sentence were interrupted by him swearing loudly as a huge truck tried to enter their lane without indicating and realizing that there was a vehicle directly alongside it. With a swift movement Jack managed to avoid a collision by moving his car to another lane, while simultaneously leaning heavily on his horn.

“You okay?” he asked after a few tense moments when it became apparent that there was going to be no further potential accidents destined for them in the near future.

“Except for my heart that was left back there…yeah I guess so,” she replied jokingly, but her casual remark was belied by the way she had to force her hands to let go of her safety belt.

Turning his head quickly to her and then back he said, “Sorry ‘bout that. Luckily we’re not that far from our destination anymore.”

Preferring to change the subject Sam asked, “So…you were going to tell me about what was left on your desk last night?”

Nodding his head Jack replied, “Yep...about ten pamphlets was neatly arranged on my desk, clearly meant for my eyes. It ranged from tales from victims of sexual harassment in the workplace to what one must do if you become such a victim. There was even one explaining in detail what sort of punishment an officer in the Air Force can get if he happens to be the perpetrator.”

It was too much for Sam.

At first she merely smiled at the realization of the identity of the person that had left the material for Jack and then, when she begun imagining what must have been going through the poor secretary’s mind at that stage, the smile changed to a soft giggle and not before long it turned into a full-scale laughter. Sam had tried to stifle the laughter with a hand against her mouth, but the idea of Jack O’Neill’s secretary actually believing him to have harassed her and the picture that it formed in her mind was just too much. Gradually she just gave up any pretense and allowed a spontaneous laughter to escape from her lips.

“Right...” Jack commented seriously, “Just as I thought.”

“I…I am sorry,” she tried to explain between fits of laughter, “It is just…your secretary…and me…she must have been sincere…must have thought she was doing me a favor.”

“You a favor?” Jack asked. “What – pray tell - had you exactly said to that poor woman?”

Biting on her lip hard, taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to gain control over her laughter, she hesitated slightly before replying, “I’m sorry Sir. It’s just that from my many telephone calls she kinda concluded that I was the victim of sexual harassment and that-“

“I was the culprit?” Jack completed the sentence for her.

“Uh-huh.”

“I see.”

Realizing that he might not be finding it as amusing as she Sam immediately sobered up. “I’m sorry, I tried to explain to her that it wasn’t that way, but your secretary…she can be quite stubborn.”

“Yeah…and that’s actually one of her better characteristics,” Jack responded wryly.

During the next couple of minutes neither of them said anything more. Sam pretended to be completely fascinated with the view outside of her passenger window and every now and again she would afford a quick glance in Jack’s direction, wishing that she knew what was going on in his mind at that moment.

It was only when Jack came to a stop with slightly screeching tires in the parking lot of their intended restaurant, switched off the engine and turned his attention back to her that Sam took her chance to apologize once more.

“I’m really sorry about what happened. If it will make you feel better I’ll phone her at the earliest opportunity to set things right.”

Turning his head slightly sideways Jack asked with a small smile that threatened to force itself to the foreground, “And what will you tell her?”

“What should I tell her?” Sam replied, while struggling to unbuckle her safety belt.

“That retired General Jack O’Neill intent to date his former 2IC with or without his secretary or anybody else’s approval,” he replied and bent over slightly to help her with the belt. Whether it happened by accident or whether he had meant it she would never know, but as he proceeded to work on her safety belt his fingers fleetingly caressed hers.

Feeling her whole body tinkling from his touch, Sam swallowed before managing to find the correct words to respond, “Then it’s going to be a hopeless cause. No matter what anybody says she’s going to believe whatever she wants to.”

“Yeah…that pretty much sums it up.” Without saying anything further he got out of their car and walked around to help her out of the passenger seat. When he reached her side he continued talking while opening the door for her, “I guess that leaves me with no choice but to accept your apology for having scandalized my otherwise spotless record.”

“Really?” Smiling Sam carefully climbed out of the car, very much aware that if she was not careful her dress might reveal more to her companion that she wished him to see – at least for now. When she finally stood with her feet planted safely on the gravel of the parking lot she gazed up at him and remarked, “Last time I checked your record was a bit far on the other side of spotless.”

“A matter of opinion,” he replied flippantly, “all the guys at Washington, including the President, just adores me. My record only helps to emphasize to them just how wonderful I am.”

Sam was unable to prevent herself from grinning at his statement. “YeahSureYouBetcha,” she muttered.

“HEY!” he exclaimed, pretending to be offended by her remark, “I heard that.” Locking the car behind them he indicated to her that they should proceed to the entrance before adding, “And here I was about to accept your sincere apology on only three conditions.”

“And what may these conditions be, if you don’t mind me asking?” Sam asked with a chuckle in her voice, stopping just in front of the double glass doors that will lead them to the inside of the restaurant.

Jack pretended to be deep in thought before answering her question, “One…that you DEFINITELY not contact my secretary.”

“I think I can somehow manage that,” Sam said, struggling to keep a straight face.

“Two…that we be totally honest with each other from now on…that’s an order,” Jack continued on, almost like she had never interrupted him.

“Yes Sir!” Sam exclaimed sardonically, “I will do my best.”

Nodding his head in mock approval Jack reached out for the handle of the glass doors before completing his list of conditions with, “And thirdly…that you stop calling me Sir from now on.”

For a few moments Sam stared into his gentle eyes. “I think I can do that…Jack.”

XXX

THE DATING GAME – CHAPTER 6

“Good day Sir…Madam. May I be of assistance?”

An important-looking man, dressed in a fancy tuxedo and with a slight snobbish air surrounding him, had come forward to meet them at a small reception area leading to the main part of the restaurant.

“Yep,” Jack replied. “Booked a table for two about two weeks ago?”

“Two weeks ago?” Sam remarked from where she stood slightly behind him.

“Long story…very boring,” Jack playfully dismissed her obvious surprise at how he could had booked a table two weeks ago when he had merely asked her out a week ago.

“Name?” the man inquired, while walking to a small table and starting to browse through the pages of a bulky official looking book.

“O’Neill, Jack…and partner,” Jack answered and sent a huge smile in Sam’s direction before turning his attention back to the man.

“Hmm,” the man commented. After a few minutes he looked up and said, “I’m sorry Sir, but it appears that your reservation had been cancelled.”

“What? How? Why?” Glancing apologetic in Sam’s direction Jack rushed to where the man stood and looked over his shoulder at the information displayed in the book. “What’s the problem? My name is right there,” he stated while pointing a finger in the general direction of some scribbled writing. “Right…there,” he added once more, almost like he was afraid that he might not have been heard the first time round.

“Yes Sir,” the man responded and took a step away from Jack, obviously neurotic about his own personal bubble. “That may be true, but you are ten minutes late. This restaurant’s policy is that in such a case the reservation gets cancelled and allocated to the next person.”

“It was only ten minutes. What difference does ten minutes make? It’s not like you are suddenly going to grow a personality or something due to the lost of ten measly minutes,” Jack stated, with a slight touch of sarcasm in his voice.

Straightening his shoulders and lifting his chin slightly so that it appeared as if he was looking down upon Jack the man retorted, “Whatever you may think of my personality…Sir. The fact is that our restaurant is very popular around here, additionally we always have a long waiting list and as such can’t afford to wait indefinite until clients finally decide to grace us with their presence.”

“But…it was only ten minutes, not like an hour, two or longer.” Jack’s frustration was clear in the way he kept opening and closing his fists against his sides. It was also obvious that he felt like saying a whole lot more, but was reigning himself in since he was depended on the man in front of him to gain entrance to the restaurant in order to be able to continue with his date.

“I am sorry Sir; we have strict policies in place.”

“Right…” Jack responded, “And it’s going to be the end of the world if you were ever to make allowances for people.”

“I am sorry Sir, we have strict policies in place,” the man parroted his earliest statement.

“Strict policies in place my ass!” Turning around to face Sam he shook his head in apology, she returned it with a small smile, before adverting her eyes to the ground in front of her.

“Listen…uh…is there no way I can convince you to let us in?” Jack asked after having taken a few deep breaths to try and sooth his frustration.

“Sir, you will gain nothing by trying to bribe me,” the man stated emotionlessly.

“Who said anything about bribery?” Jack asked innocently and proceeded to, almost undetectable, slip a ten dollar note into the pocket of the man’s jacket.

Lifting the note partially out of his pocket with two fingers the man stared at it with a frown playing on his forehead before tucking it back into his pocket and saying, “Like I said before…you will not succeed by trying to bribe me.”

“Of course not,” Jack said and removed a twenty dollar note from his purse which he again nearly undetectable allowed to join the previous one in its hiding place.

Once again the man inspected the money before commenting, “I am sorry but I am only following orders by not allowing you to enter.”

“Right…” Jack stated, sighed and proceeded to double the amount of bills tucked inside the man’s pocket.

Without responding the man turned around and once again appeared to be staring attentively down at the information displayed on the book regarding the reservations for the evening. After a few moments he picked up a pen and scratched across a scribbled name displayed just underneath that of Jack O’Neill.

Turning back to Jack the man stated, without showing any facial expression, “It appears that someone had just cancelled their reservation for the evening. Therefore I am allowed to offer you their table for tonight. Are you still interested in continuing with your dinner plans?”

“I don’t know…suddenly I have this interest to go and dine at McDonalds,” Jack replied sarcastically.

When the man did not say anything, merely stared at Jack with an impassive face and a slightly raise eyebrow Jack sighed and commented, “You know you really remind me about someone I know.” Turning to Sam he asked, “Doesn’t he remind you of Teal’c…could have been a twin if it wasn’t for the fact that he was so pale in skin color.”

Hiding a grin behind a hand Sam slowly walked over to where they stood. “What my partner is trying to say…is that we would love to take you up on your generous offer.” Pumping an elbow in Jack’s side she added quickly, “Right…Ge-Jack?”

“YeahSureWhatever,” Jack muttered under his breath and when he got a fierce look from Sam he quickly added, “Yes…very much.”

“In that case…” the man said and indicated for a nearby waiter to come closer, “This will be your waiter for the evening.” Turning to the waiter he instructed, “Le Grange, please escort these people to table thirteen.”

“Yes Sir,” the waiter acknowledged, before turning to Jack and Sam and saying, “Sir…Madam…this way please.”

“Shall we?” Jack asked, made a slight bow and indicated with his hand that Sam must walk before him.

XXX

“So…anything interesting happened to you recently at the base?” Jack inquired about halfway through the dinner that consisted of strange food and a slightly uncomfortable silence, only occasionally interrupted by a casual remark by one of them.

“You should know…you’re supposed to read all the reports coming from us,” Sam replied nonchalantly. Moving with her fork something around on her plate that looked suspiciously like a cross between a frog leg and sushi she added with a slight shudder in her voice, “Uh…any idea what this may be?”

Jack merely shrugged his shoulders after pretending to stare in deep concentration, with a frown playing between his eyebrows, at the piece of food she was referring too, “Dunno…” and then jokingly he added, “A piece of meat?”

Staring for a moment into Jack’s eyes Sam raised an eyebrow and mockingly replied, “Indeed,” before guiltily moving the piece to one side of her plate.

After observing Sam’s obvious distrust of some of the food on her plate for a little while Jack commented, “You know…considering the type of work we do one would think our taste buds should be accustomed by now to being exposed to all kinds of interesting food-“

Quickly staring around her to make sure that they were not being observed Sam lowered her voice and completed his sentence, “On other worlds, but it appears that’s not the case on Earth.”

“Right…so…explain to me again why we are torturing ourselves this way?” Jack stated. His head was turned sideways slightly with an eyebrow raised to emphasize his question.

Allowing a smile to tug at the corner of her lips Sam paused slightly before replying, “Because we are trying to pretend we are something that we’re not?”

“Indeed,” Jack mimicked her earlier comment. “So…what you say we get out of here?”

Biting on her bottom lip Sam stared guiltily at their plates that were still halfway full before saying, “You must have paid a fortune for this?”

“Only because I wanted our first date to be special, myself…I really couldn’t care much for this type of scenery, but…I just couldn’t imagine taking you to say…a skate rink or McDonalds or something else for a first date.”

“But still…I hate to think that you are wasting money for nothing,” Sam refused to relent.

Jack hesitated first, appearing to experiencing an inner struggle. Then, slowly he reached out a hand to embrace hers before softly saying, “For me, tonight was just about getting to be with you without any stupid regulation or chain of command standing in our way. Therefore, just the fact that you are here with me makes it all worth it.”

Unable to prevent herself from blushing slightly Sam advert her eyes and nodded in reply.

Jack caressed the top of her hand with his thumb briefly before standing up and saying, “So…what you say we head to somewhere more within our liking?”

“Where would we go to?” Sam asked and stood up too.

“Anyplace you wish…as long as I am able to follow you there,” Jack stated and then indicated to their waiter to approach them.

XXX

The account had been settled and a lot of excuses been given as to why they definitely did not require a doggy bag for the remains of their meal.

It was as they reached the exit that a familiar voice calling out from behind them made them froze in their tracks, both of them shocked at the realization of the identity of the person.

“General O’Neill? Colonel Carter? What a surprise to see the both of you here.”

XXX

THE DATING GAME – CHAPTER 7

For a few moments they both stood very still, torn between the desire to flee and the realization that they actually had no choice but to turn around and face their destiny.

Turning his gaze to Sam, Jack raised an eyebrow slightly. When she did not respond except to stare back at him with an unspoken question displayed all over her face he shrugged his shoulders and immediately followed the gesture with a slight movement of his head in the direction of their addressee.

In unison they both turned around slowly. Sam’s face displayed a whirlwind of emotions and Jack pretended to be staring in boredom at invisible dirt marks on his fingertips before finally giving his full attention to the man standing in front of them. “General Hammond, Sir. What brings you to our little corner of the universe?”

“I think that is supposed to be my line son,” Hammond responded impassively and then added, “Any plans to answer that question?”

“Oh…well…you know…the usual,” Jack replied with slightly shrugged shoulders, his hands tugged inside the pockets of his jacket and a smile threatening to form at the corner of his lips.

Ignoring Jack’s comment for the time being Hammond turned his attention to Sam and inquired, “And you…Colonel?”

“I…uh...well…Sir,” Sam stuttered, her eyes darting between the twinkle in Jack’s eyes and General Hammond’s poker face. She knew that she acted like a naughty schoolchild caught out in the act, but she had no idea how to answer his question, especially since she knew the answer must be quite clear to her former commanding officer. She also could not help but feel slightly upset at Jack for not even attempting to rescue her from the wrath of General Hammond.

Narrowing his eyes slightly Hammond said, “I am waiting Colonel.”

Taking a deep breath, realizing that she had no choice but to answer his question with complete honestly, she replied, “We…I mean Ja-General O’Neill and myself are here on a-“

“Date,” Jack completed her sentence for her. Not sure whether she should kiss him in gratitude or be angry at his interruption she merely frowned at him which he returned with a huge grin.

“Date as in?” General Hammond continued pressing on.

“Ah…you know Sir,” Jack answered with a slight absent waive of his hand, “The usual sort. The kind where I invite, date, dine and hope to get a grand goodnight kiss from my former 2IC.”

The last comment caused an involuntary blush to spread across Sam’s cheeks. Afraid that the two men might notice this she lowered her eyes and pretended to be deeply interested in the patterns on the plush carpet underneath her feet.

“I see,” Hammond replied after a few moments of silence.

Another few seconds of grim silence followed.

Just when Sam started considering that it might not be such a bad idea if the ground were to open up and swallow her in whole, Hammond suddenly spoke up again. “Well…Jack…Sam there is only one possible way I can react to this scandalous news…”

Sam could clearly hear him take a deep breath before continuing, she dreaded the next few words which she was sure would fell loud and painful from his lips.

“What in hell took you so long!” Hammond exclaimed. Crossing the distance between them in as few steps as is possible he reached out a hand to Jack and say, “Congratulations Son, after everything you deserve this happiness in life.”

Shocked, still a bit unsure as to what exactly was happening, Sam’s head snapped in the direction of the two men, just in time to observe Jack returning Hammond’s gesture with a warm handshake.

Feeling her gaze on him, Hammond turned in her direction and ignoring the multitude of questions in her eyes he said, “That goes the same for you. Jacob would surely have approved of your choice this time round,” he added and proceeded to shake her hand too, which was quickly followed by him pulling her towards him into a quick hug.

“So…why the original scare technique?” Jack inquired just after Hammond released Sam from the hug.

“To be honest I just could not resist playing my General persona on you one last time,” Hammond replied with a chuckle in his voice, “Especially since I have been observing you two for quite some time this evening.”

“What?” Sam asked with widened eyes.

“Excuse me?” Jack added, clearly surprised at this remark.

Smiling Hammond explained, “It’s my youngest granddaughter’s birthday today and her birthday wish was a dinner with me at this restaurant. We’ve been here since 6:00 pm. Therefore I spotted you two the moment you walked into the restaurant earlier on this evening.”

“And…you only decided now to come and bless us with your presence?” Jack could not help but asked with a slight tone of skepticism mixed with sarcasm in his voice.

Ignoring Jack’s disbelieve Hammond stated, “That was my plan originally, but when I realized why you two were here in the first place I decided it would be best not to spoil your evening…was actually sure that you would notice me anyway sooner or later, especially since I was sitting at a table only a few feet away from you. It was therefore quite a surprise when it did not happened and when I saw you were about to leave I decided to take my chance…and maybe even have a bit of fun at your expense.”

“Right…” Jack said slowly. Another person might have defined his comment as a statement of offence at what had just been said, but those people close to him would have noticed the silent emotions playing behind his dark eyes and realized that it was in fact quite the opposite.

“So…first date?” Hammond asked after a few seconds of observing Jack and Sam with something very akin to fatherly pride radiating from him.

“Yep, that obvious?” Jack replied.

“I have known you for quite some time Jack…and you Sam since you were very small. Therefore I imagine I’ve become quite the expert at reading the both of you. Besides…your whole body language shouted first date.”

“In that case…” Grabbing hold of Sam’s hand, before she could protest, he brought it to his lips, planted a gentle kiss on the palm and just as quickly let go before continuing with his sentence, “We have your approval?”

Nodding his head Hammond refused to answer the question. Instead he dismissed them with a warm smile and a slight waive of his hand before stating, “I’m not going to take up your time much longer, especially since it’s clear you were about to leave anyway. Besides my granddaughter must be wondering where I disappeared too.”

With a last goodnight wish to the both of them Hammond turned around and disappeared back into the restaurant.

“Well…that was…strange,” Jack commented after a little while of staring at the retreating backside of the General with a faraway look in his eyes.

“Do you think he will tell anybody?” Sam asked softly, concern clearly noticeable in her voice. She was unable to prevent herself from slightly biting on her bottom lip as her mind replayed the recent conversation.

“About what?” Jack replied innocently as he turned towards her.

“Jack,” she said with a tone that stated she was in no mood for his humor.

What...good ol’ George? Nah…he loves being part of a secret way too much. Besides he had kept the ‘you-know-what’ a secret all these years, even from his family,” Jack replied with a twinkle in his eyes.

“That’s not the same and you know it.”

“Why so concerned about anybody finding out about us?” The humor in his voice had changed to something more seriously as he observed her with a slight frown.

Closing her eyes for a second she hesitated before answering his question. “Because there are barely an us as it is. I…I just think we can do without the stress of our relationship being put under a magnifying glass by everybody around us.”

“Sam…” reaching out a hand he gently trace a fingertip across the side of her arm, resulting in a small tremble raking down her spine, before continuing, “Why should we care about what anybody think about us?”

“You have been my direct superior officer for a long time. During that time I have went from a Captain to a Colonel-“

“Which you deserved,” Jack interrupted her.

“I know…but once people know about us, there are going to be those of them that are going to start wondering-“

“So let them wonder.”

Shaking her head, feeling her eyes going slightly misty, she asked in a slight begging-pleading voice, “I just don’t want anything ruining what we have, before we actually know ourselves and…”

Suddenly realizing that her voice had gone from slightly more than a whisper to something loud enough to cause nearby bystanders to stare at them intently, she grabbed hold of Jack’s arm and dragged him to the outside of the restaurant. When they finally came to a standstill she finished her sentence, “I don’t know whether I am making sense to you or not-“

“Oh…perfectly,” Jack stated and then added as a sort of an afterthought, “I think?”

Sighing Sam continued, “All I’m saying is that I’m scared that if such a thing was to happen…that the stress of the situation might result in me loosing…you.” The last word she spoke very softly, almost like she was afraid of admitting one of her deepest fears.

“Samantha,” Jack replied in an equal soft, but very gentle, voice and appeared to be slightly hesitant before saying, “C’mere.” Pulling her into his arms he allowed her to take comfort in his warm embrace for a few moments before continuing, “There is no way in hell that I’m ever going to let you get away from me again.”

“Oh?” She only managed to utter the one word.

“Yeah,” he stated and then added, “I almost lost you to that Pete ‘what’s-his-name-‘“

The last remark resulted in a soft involuntary chuckle escaping from Sam’s lips. Lifting her head from Jack’s shoulder, but not breaking away from his embrace, she stared at him with a smile lining her lips.

“Hey! I’m quite serious here,” Jack exclaimed, pretending to be offended.

“Off course you are,” she responded, silently amazed at the sudden realization of how comfortable and safe she felt in his arms.

“What I was trying to say...” Jack stated, with an equal bright smile on his face that belied the sternness of his words, “Before you interrupted me so rudely is that I will never allowed anybody or anything to stand between us again.”

“In that case,” Sam whispered, feeling a strange sense of bravado taking hold of her. Swallowing, realizing what she was about to do, but not willing to retreat from her planned action, she moved her head closer to Jack’s.

Removing one hand from behind her shoulder blades he gentle caressed the side of her cheek before allowing himself to cross the physical and emotional bridge between them in one movement.

The kiss started of by him gentle steaming his lips across hers. For only a second he allowed himself to move his head slightly away from her, to confirm that this was what she wanted, before he moved back in for a deeper, more meaningful kiss.

After a few minutes of feeling like they were alone in the world their kiss was rudely interrupted by a cough and the respectful tone of a strange, yet slightly familiar, voice, “Excuse me?”

For a moment Jack refused to acknowledge the interruption, but when the words were followed by, “Pardon me…General O’Neill?” he sighed and very reluctantly let go of Sam before turning around.

“Oh…you again,” Jack stated in a bitter tone when he realized the identity of the person that had interfered in his exploration of Sam’s lips.

“Ah yes, Sir. I am so sorry for having had to interrupt your…ah…” The poor man was clearly at a lost of words.

“Look Carter, it’s our friend from the restaurant that gave us such a wonderful time earlier on,” Jack commented sarcastically.

“For that I apologize profoundly. If I had knew you were a General-“

“You would have what? Gave me an even better reception?” Jack interrupted his sentence.

“Oh no…no Sir. Nothing like that.” The man was nearly groveling at Jack’s feet.

“Then what?”

Reaching a hand inside the inner pocket of his jacket the man retrieved a couple of notes and offered it to Jack. “Your ah…money from earlier Sir. A man, who introduced himself as General Hammond told me who you and your partner were and stated that if I valued my ah…let’s just say career at this restaurant it would be best if I return the money immediately and offer my sincere apologies. Additionally I wish to invite you to come and visit this fine place whenever you get a chance. I can promise you that there will always be a table available to you from now on.”

Moving his eyes between Sam’s half-moon smile and the man’s hopeful face staring intently at the both of them, Jack pretended to be deep in thought before responding, “Nah…you keep it. What I got out of tonight was definitely worth all the trouble.”

Without a second glance Jack turned around, offered his arm to Sam and together they made their way to the waiting car.

XXX

THE DATING GAME – CHAPTER 8

For a long time they remained sitting in silence in the car.

Jack did not make any attempt to start the engine; instead his hands kept on playing with the keys while he also appeared to be staring deep in thought into the distance.

Sam’s gaze kept on moving between Jack, the entwined hands on her lap and the view of the restaurant she had from her passenger window.

“Penny for your thought?” she asked softly after a few seconds.

When he did not acknowledge her in any way she hesitantly reached out a hand and placed it gently on his shoulder before saying, “Jack?”

“Uh…what?” he replied and turned his head towards her, although it was clear that his thoughts were still miles away.

“What’s wrong?”

Wiping a hand over his face and frowning slightly he murmured, still a bit absentmindedly, “Why do you think there’s something wrong?”

“Well…for one…you haven’t started the car yet and-“

“Oh…sorry-“ Jack stated and proceeded to start the car, but was stopped by Sam’s hand over his.

“Wait.”

Staring at Sam’s hand on his, before turning his attention to her he asked, “What?”

“Why the sudden…change?” she whispered with concern in her voice.

Breathing audible through his nose, Jack wiped a hand over his face again before replying, “I…I don’t know.”

She did not respond to his statement. Instead she squeezed his hand to indicate her willingness to listen.

“That kiss of earlier…”

“Yeah?” Sam was caught slightly off guard by his words.

Moving a hand to cover hers he took a deep breath before stating, “I…you have no idea what it meant…did to me.” He was clearly struggling to finish the rest of his sentence.

With realization slowly starting to dawn on Sam, she nodded her head in acknowledgement of that which he has not said openly. “Same here,” she whispered.

Jack stared at her intently for a while before finally nodding his head too, acknowledging the intense feelings both of them had experienced earlier on.

“You still here tomorrow?” Sam decided to change the topic, which was clearly still a bit uncomfortable for the both of them at that stage.

“Yeah, only need to be back in Washington on Wednesday…why you ask?”

“After everything that had happened tonight…I’m kinda bushed and it’s getting late too. What you say we try this again tomorrow…maybe at that new skate rink near my house?”

“Sure ‘bout that?”

“I think the both of us can do with a good night’s rest, some time to think and…“ She allowed the rest of her sentence to trail off into nothingness, the unspoken words hanging in the air.

“Yeah…” Jack agreed and then added a bit hesitantly, with only the slightly touch of fear in his voice, “You’re still…okay with this…with seeing where things will lead us?”

“All the way, but if we were to carry on tonight-“

“Given our current state…we’re unable to think clear and may make choices that we’ll regret later on,” Jack finished the sentence for her in a husky voice.

“Yes,” Sam replied softly, with her eyes lowered.

“So…shall we?” Jack said and without waiting for her reply proceeded to turn on the engine.

XXX

In silence, only broken by the occasional general comment or remark, and record time Jack made it to Sam’s house.

Stopping at her house Jack switched off the engine and rushed around the car to open the passenger seat for us.

“Thanks,” Sam said with a small smile fleetingly crossing her lips.

Jack appeared to want to offer his arm to her, but whether it was due to the conversation they had barely a few minutes ago or something else all together, he let his arm relaxed against his side and instead stated, “Let me walk you to your door.”

It took them barely more than a minute to cross the small distance to her front door.

“So…tomorrow…what time?” Sam asked.

“What about 10:00 am?”

“That’ll be nice.”

“Sweet,” Jack responded and then said with only the slightest bit of reluctance, “Guess…it’s time for me to go?”

“Not yet.”

“Oh?” He was staring intently at her with a soft smile lining his face.

“Uh-huh.” Without saying another word Sam stood slightly on her toes and kissed him on his forehead. “Just a small promise for tomorrow,” she whispered. Without saying another word she turned around and unlocked her front door. Crossing the threshold she stopped only momentarily to turn around slightly and stare back at him. “Goodnight Jack,” she said softly, her voice stating it clearly that with those words the end of the night, and the date, has been reached.

Staring at her for a few moments with a mixture of emotions that revealed his longing for something more, Jack eventually swallowed and nodded his head to acknowledge her unspoken statement, before uttering, “Night,” and with a last smile and waive of his hand turned around and walked back to his car.

“Night,” Sam whispered again, although she knew he could no longer hear her and then added as she closed the door, “The dating game has sure another meaning when I’m around you.”

The End