Disclaimer - MGM/Gekko/Double Secret own them.
Next in the 'Remedied' series, set six days after the events of Two Aliens And A Human. Rated R because, you know, I'm *so* cautious ;)
General knowledge of the show is required, and feedback would be loved.
*
After he arrived, walked up to the briefing room with her, and watched as General Hammond suddenly needed to 'check over something' in his office, her dad hugged her for a full minute.
Sam tried not to cry then wondered why she was bothering with that kind of restraint; they may have both been military but this was most definitely a unique situation. So, she let herself enjoy the comfort he was offering, thinking - not for the first time - how ironic it was that it was only through blending with an alien life form was he able to be so...human.
That'd annoyed her initially, after he'd first blended with Selmak and he actually started treating her like a daughter. Why had it taken that much change and influence for him to start being an actual father?
Thankfully she'd gotten over it - and herself - soon enough.
Here, in the briefing room, he pulled away, his own eyes looking suspiciously moist as he reached up with his right hand to brush at her hair. "How you doing, kid?"
That was his way of asking. That was always his way of asking. "I'm okay." It was the first time they'd seen each other since...
...the thing she was actually learning to cope with.
His hand lowered to touch her arm. "And Jack?"
Jack. Jack, Jack, Jack. Jack, who'd woken her up in one of his more 'interesting' ways this morning. "Good. He's good."
"I would hope so."
It took a few moments for the tone of voice and actual meaning of his words to sink in. "Dad!"
Grinning now, he released her arm and stepped away, ignoring her completely as the General emerged from his office. "So George, how are you doing?"
As they caught up, Sam edged nearer, surreptitiously wiping at her eyes. Though she hadn't quite been sobbing her heart out, crying in front of her dad was a whole different ball game to crying in front of her boss (it was funny though. A few years ago she wouldn't have cried in front of either of them). As understanding as General Hammond was, there were just some things that *she* didn't want to do.
Eventually, when the greetings and "Oh I've been fine"'s were over and done with, Sam spoke up - trying not to sniff too much. "So Dad, you here for business or pleasure?" She knew he'd been on a mission recently that'd latest a few months - hopefully his appearance now meant it was over.
He glanced towards her. "Strictly a social call. When I got back and received the messages...the message from the SGC, I barely waited for clearance from Garshaw before coming through."
He could be *so* nice sometimes.
Of course he'd hate it if she ever told him that.
"Well Jake," Hammond suddenly said. "SG-1 has no missions due today, and nothing urgent that needs to be dealt with. I don't see why Major Carter can't have the rest of the day off." She blinked at him. Repeatedly. "Why don't the two of you spend some time together away from the base? Visit Jack, or something."
Sam blinked again. She was sure he'd said that naquadriah report she was working on was of vital importance...and while normally she would have preferred to keep working on it until it was finished, the opportunity to spend time with her dad - *and* Jack - was too good to pass up. "Well...if it's okay with you, sir..."
"Not a problem at all, Major. Frankly, given the amount of times SG-1 in its various incarnations has saved the planet, I think it's only fair."
"Thanks George," Jacob declared. "That's good of you."
"It's the least I can do, George."
As they shook hands, Sam studied them suspiciously.
*
During the drive home, he did something he'd absolutely never done before:
"How are things going with you and Jack?"
Just as well she was used to bizarre situations really, or she would have swerved right off the road. He'd never asked how 'they' were doing in any of her relationships - not even when she'd been engaged to Jonas. Sometimes - when he remembered - he'd ask how the guy was doing in general, but never anything about *them*.
And she wasn't entirely sure how to answer him - but she might as well go for the truth.
"Good," She replied, changing gears. "There's been some...tough times, lately, but we're getting through it."
"Together?"
An alkesh could have pulled out right in front of her then, and she wouldn't have even noticed. "Yeah,"
"Good," He smiled briefly, nodded, then turned her head away.
Her head pounded briefly with confusion as she focused back on the road.
Some ten minutes later they pulled up outside the house. Jack's truck was in the driveway.
He spoke again. "You live here now?"
She nodded as she turned off the engine, slipping her key out of the ignition. "Technically he hasn't asked me to move in, but yeah. I do. Actually, I've been thinking lately that I really should put my place up for sale, but..." She turned away from him, looking out of the car through the windshield. "It'll be hard saying goodbye to it. Don't know why." It wasn't as if she'd ever spent a great deal of her 'free time' there. For years, almost every waking moment had been spent on base. "Guess I'm more sentimental than I thought, huh?" She grinned, facing him again.
He was frowning as he looked back at her. "Do you know how proud I am of you?"
This was turning out to be a very, *very* strange day. "Yeah..." Kind of. He wasn't the type for deep confessions, even now.
Damn, it was true. She was dating a carbon copy of her father!
He nodded, and unbuckled his seat belt. "Sell the house."
He was out of the car before she had time to mentally compose much more than "*Huh*?"
Still, before long she was out of the car too, and was jogging through the front yard to reach the door. He was waiting patiently by the front of the house, so she produced the key and opened the door. "Jack?" She stepped inside, holding it open for her dad, then taking her jacket off when the door was closed (though it was barely warm enough now to be wearing one). "Here," She said, taking his jacket - on loan, of course - and hanging both of them up on the hooks she herself had installed in the hallway.
"Make yourself comfortable," She said, pointing towards the living room, as she checked out the rest of the house. Bedroom, bathroom, closet...
Her dad's voice interrupted the searching. "Sam?"
When she made it back to the living room, he was standing near the sliding doors that led into the back yard, pointing to something outside.
Following the path of his finger she paused - and grinned - when she saw what was out there. Jack had obviously been mowing the lawn earlier (the lawnmower and pile of grass a few feet away from him were a dead give-away), but now he was spread out on the ground.
Sleeping.
She'd recognise that anywhere.
Smirking at her dad, she slid the door open. "Give me a minute." Stepping out onto the porch, she grabbed the railing and walked down the steps until her feet hit the ground. Still smiling she headed out onto the grass, being careful not to cast a shadow as she knelt down next to him.
And than slowly, silently, she leant down and pressed her lips against his.
She pulled away only slightly afterwards, seeing his eyes move beneath his lids, his head shift position slightly - and then an arm reaching out to pull her inelegantly on top of him.
Not objecting, Sam stretched her body out, hooking one leg over the top of his.
He still hadn't opened his eyes, brushing his nose against her neck and sighing heavily. "I'm so glad you're here. Sam's working for another four hours Janet, so we can-oopfh!"
His stomach was *such* an easy target for her elbow. "You're not funny."
"I have to disagree," He argued, prising one eyelid open and playing up being winded a little too much.
"You do?" She asked, moving to kiss him again.
"Mmm..." Was the eventual response. "Maybe not." Now opening both eyelids, and wincing a little at the sun, he nonetheless smiled at her. "Unless I've been here a *really* long time, you're home early."
"Well you haven't been here a really long time."
"Hope everything's okay," He teased, a hand sliding along her back, her hip and - ultimately - her butt, pulling her body decidedly closer - in certain ways.
Talk about bad timing... "Jack," Oh God, his mouth was playing with her neck. She had to stop this, right now. *Right* now. Right...
So much for willpower.
Still, just *kissing* wasn't so bad, right? It certainly didn't feel bad, so how could it possibly...?
Then he did something that prompted a serious reaction. Still not moving completely off of him, her top half nonetheless sprung up until she was sitting, straddling his body. "Mydad'shere!"
The calm and faintly aroused expression on his face disappeared just like *that*. "Please tell me he doesn't have a video camera."
She chuckled. "No."
"Regular camera?"
"No,"
He sighed. "At least that's something."
Amid a great deal of muttering (mostly on his part) they got to their feet together, checked each other for grass, then headed towards the house. As she looked up at the porch, she could see her dad standing there, leaning over the railing.
He wasn't smiling. But then he wasn't really frowning, either.
"My life insurance is up to date, right?" Jack murmured.
"Sure,"
"Just checking," He responded, before lifting a hand in greeting. "Hey Jake!"
*
They'd been out on the back porch, alone, for the last forty-five minutes. Sam suspected they were 'bonding'. Though they'd known each other for only a year less than she and Jack had known each other, it wasn't the same as seeing that person every day. Working with them, connecting with them.
And while they were certainly friends and even enjoyed each other's company - in that sarcastic, combative way they had - they really hadn't spent that much time together since her relationship with Jack had changed.
So Sam mostly stayed out of their way, getting the definite sense that she was the main topic of conversation (a theory that seemed to be proven by the way they'd both suddenly stop talking whenever she *did* interrupt for some reason). She couldn't even say that she felt particularly left out at not being able to spend all this time with her dad - they were both huge parts of her life, and as such it was vital to her that they got along well.
Though she couldn't help but wonder...why this talk, now? They'd had only one 'chat' that she was aware of - when they'd told dad that they were together - so maybe this was all the stuff they couldn't say then with an audience.
Okay, she was thinking about this *way* too much.
Deciding she needed a cold drink, she stepped up into the kitchen and opened the fridge.
The fridge that, six days ago, had been moved for no good reason. Jack's 'joke' explanation was that he was going for a feng shui thing; the 'real' explanation was that he just thought it looked better there.
She wasn't sure she believed either of them.
Popping a can of soda open, she retrieved a glass from the cupboard, emptied the contents of the can into it and then - not for the first time - casually strolled past the patio doors.
They were shaking hands.
Jack and her dad were shaking hands.
Hmm...
*
Unfortunately he couldn't stay the night, so Sam drove her dad back to the SGC personally. The journey to the base was much the same as the journey from the base; only the question differed ("Does he always grope you in public like that?").
By the time she'd seen him through the gate, driven back home and headed straight for the bathroom, night had firmly settled in and she was looking forward to a nice, long...
...bath that was already filled with bubbles, in a room lit only by candles.
Well.
That was a surprise.
Jack suddenly appeared, his hands wrapping around her from behind, immediately moving to unbutton her pants.
Surprised, she turned her head towards him. As wonderful as this was, she'd told him before that she didn't expect big, romantic things from him. "Jack?"
"Shhhh," His voice whispered near her ear, making her shiver. "Let me spoil you."
Hmm. Well. If he really *wanted* to...
Within a few minutes she'd been effortlessly stripped - though he stubbornly remained fully clothed. She had to admit that by the time she actually stepped into the bath, she was less interested in bathing than jumping him.
Bathing suddenly became vastly more interesting when *he* did the bathing for her. Washing her hair was pretty damn funny (especially when he moulded her foam-soaked hair into a point), but then it became increasingly less funny as he rubbed her back, her chest, allllll along her legs...
"You know," She told him, moistening her lips. "I think you'd accomplish this washing much easier if you were in here with me."
"Hate to tell you this Sam," He was leaning over the edge of the bath, sleeves pulled up to expose his forearms. His very *nice* forearms. "But I don't think we'd both fit." The hand that up until that moment had been rubbing over the inside of her right thigh, suddenly moved to a new location.
OH! Evil, *evil*...
"Let me be the judge of that," She grunted, grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling him in.
He squawked as he landed, water splashing eagerly over the sides of the bath, but her mouth was already seeking his, her hands tugging at his shirt. That came off relatively easily, but then she tried to unzip and pull off his pants...and didn't have much success.
After a good two minutes or so of accomplishing nothing more soaking the floor of his bathroom, she could help it - she started grinning. Then laughing.
She wasn't alone, his weight pushing down on top of her - and disturbing the water even more - as he failed to contain his humour.
"Look," He said eventually, grinning as he met her gaze. "I'm doing everything in my power not to crush you, my knees are likely to give out, and the pants are *not* coming off. I'm thinking this isn't conducive to one of our more impressive sexual encounters."
Yeah, so he had a point... "Okay. This could be true."
Nodding, he began to move, only to pause with one soaked leg over the side of the bath. "Hey, can you give me a little-?"
She pushed.
He sploshed out completely. "Thanks,"
She got out easily enough herself - not weighed down by such ridiculous things as clothes - and for a while the two of them just stood there, staring at what used to be a nice, *dry* bathroom floor.
Shrugging, Jack reached into one of the cupboards, and with her help placed every clean towel he had onto the floor. When the bath was unplugged and what was left of the water began to dry away he smiled at her.
"I have to say, I really think you should work naked every day."
"Really?" She asked, holding her arms out and looking down at her - by now, rather chilly - body. "Think it'd go down well on base?"
"Oh definitely," He replied wolfishly.
Making a deliberate point of swinging her hips, she sashayed past him and into the bedroom, making him follow. Taking off his pants was an experience in and of itself - the water meant they were sticking to him like a second skin - but after another few minutes of cursing, grunting and laughing they finally came off - resulting in Sam landing sharply on her butt.
Once assured she was all right ("Lucky the floor's carpeted, really.") he helped her to stand, and the mood took a decided turn for the serious.
Leaning back onto the bed, she tugged him down on top of her, gasping at the feel of damp skin on skin.
Her mouth found his ear.
"Warm me up."
*
A single finger was running up and down her arm. Uuuuuup and doooooown...
Sighing, she snuggled back against him.
The finger - and the hand attached to it - moved, wrapping around her stomach, his mouth pressing against her shoulder. "Sam?"
Warm, relaxed, and so unbelievably *safe*. "Mmm?"
"I wanted to know...I mean I wanted to *ask*..."
Intrigued by his tone, Sam turned in his arms until she was facing him, frowning as she held his gaze. "What? What is it?"
He actually closed his eyes, licked his lips, and began to speak. "Will you-?"
The phone rang.
"-fuck!"
~FINIS