Another longer one.

Please note, as a child born and bred in the sunburnt country, I have only ever been ice-skating once. To those of you who are shaking your head in disbelief, please remember that EDIT: very few places in my country snow in winter, let alone freeze.While it occasionally happens in some areas, and obviously on the snowfields/mountains, it's not the norm, and certainly not widespread. END OF EDIT

Having said that, if there is one sport in the whole world that Australia needs more of, it's ice hockey.

There shall be no smut-like substance in this chapter, though there is a fair dose of fluff and romance and as always a hint of something-something.

Enjoy...

The Great Date...

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She skids to a stop against the edge of the rink, grinning madly as she looks behind her and sees him slide up gracefully beside her. He's been skating circles around her all day, and while her unusual ineptitude and his constant reminder that she clearly never lived any place cold as a kid would normally annoy her, she can't bring herself to care much. He looks so natural on the ice, skating on one foot, dragging her backwards or skating backwards himself as they talk nonsense and flirt wildly. She can tell that he loves it.

She's yet to tell him that this is her favourite date ever, and that he's even outdone James Reagan, who took her for a picnic to a lake and showed her what kissing really was.

She thinks he might already know, though, judging by the way he's looking at her as he slides around her, pinning her back against the edge and resting his hands on her hips.

The physical boundaries between them have slowly been diminishing, but this is the closest he's allowed himself to get, and it's certainly the most sexual position they've allowed themselves.

She swallows, but doesn't back away, because there's a metal wall behind her and she secretly really wants this to go just a little bit further.

He pulls away only a moment later though, the hint of a smirk on his face, his hands going back in his pockets as he eases backwards on the ice.

"Germany?"

What?

Oh, right, they'd been discussing where she has lived, as a way of explaining why her entire left side is now saturated.

"Nope. Nowhere in Europe. Well, London, for just over a year- when I was ten. But mostly we stayed in The States"

"I gotta say, that surprises me"

"Because Dad was SpecOps?"

"No. Because Dad struck me as the kind of guy who would have dragged you around the world to expand your horizons or something"

She grins at that, not just because he knows her Dad that well, but because he's not afraid to say something like that about him with just a hint of protectiveness towards her.

"Nah. I've wanted into space since I was four. He didn't need to bother with inspiring me. Did bring me back some neat snow globes though"

Jack grins, taking her hand and sliding her next to him, keeping her steady with a hand on her waist.

"C'mere, I'll teach you to spin"

She opens her mouth, throws back her head and laughs from deep within her belly.

"I really don't think that's a good idea"

"No, c'mon, you can shoot down a swinging Jaffa training log from fifty feet, you can do a little spin on ice, now come on"

And before she knows it she's spinning over and over, gliding over the ice as though this isn't the fourth time she's worn skates in her life.

"You're a natural" he laughs, watching as she comically saves herself from a disastrous fall. "If I didn't know better I'd say you were a true born athlete"

"Shut up. I'm new at this"

Despite the teasing tone and her death glare, there is no denying that she's got a natural feel for the ice. A few more lessons with him and they'll be ready for the figure skating entries in the next Olympics. Or maybe a jaunt on a pond next to a certain cabin. He looks around the indoor rink, at the young family that's sharing this skate with them at the other end. It's a Thursday afternoon at no particularly special time of year, and while everyone else may think it's a strange time for these people to be using their annual leave, most people don't traipse across a galaxy on a daily basis. At the SGC it's never been about keeping up with school holidays or summer vacations or Christmas, and it's for that reason that on this particular day they only have to compete with a father and two young kids for use of the rink.

Sam makes her way over to him on fairly steady legs, and he stops her momentum without issue, absorbing the contact of her weight by drawing her a little closer than necessary.

"You know what I'd like right now?" she asks softly, her head tilting up in a familiar sign of challenge.

"What?" he asks tenderly, his eyes squinting a little as he cocks his head in question.

"I'd like you to kiss me"

He grins, and can't help but joke just a little, especially given he has no idea how else to handle her being so direct.

"Are you sick?" he asks, putting a hand to her head. She's momentarily startled, until he continues. "Have you been overtaken, infected, bombarded with gamma rays?"

She plays along, and not only does he love her sense of humour, but he loves that she always appreciates his. "Nope. Just a girl... standing in front of a guy..." she replies, skating backwards a little with a wicked grin on her face, tongue between her teeth and everything.

"Oh, well then... how could I say no?" he says, grabbing her hands and pulling her to him quickly. He holds their hands at her sides, her body flush against his, as he finally kisses her, and no alien influences or alternate doubles or time loops can compare to the real and glorious fact that he is kissing Samantha Carter in the middle of an ice rink.

Two hours later and the sun in almost set, throwing the most beautiful mix of pinks, oranges and purples across the clouds on the horizon, and bringing to close, in all its entirety, one of the best and most relaxing days he's ever had. They are walking from his car to his front door, him holding the beer and her carrying the pizza box, and he's decided that he'd really like for this night to not end. Pretty please with a cherry on top. Because not only had he kissed her again at the pizza place as she was getting in the car, but she had kissed him while they were picking out beers at the liquor store.

She walks into the living room without invitation and places the pizza box on the coffee table as he puts the beers in the fridge, keeping two out to have with dinner.

"So how'd you like London?" he asks as he sits next to her, passing her a beer and snagging a piece from his half of the pizza.

"It was nice" she says around the bite in her mouth. "Cold, but nice"

"You pick up the accent?"

"Ha, no. I don't think you want to hear my British accent. It's pathetic"

He laughs at her then, and takes a whopping big chunk out of the tip of his piece, reducing it to half its size.

"What about you? Ever live anywhere else?"

"Nope. Other than when I was stationed, home was always in the States"

"Colorado?"

"Mostly. Chicago as a kid. Minnesota in the summer at my grandparents cabin"

"Ah, the infamous cabin"

"Which you'll get to see next week... finally"

"You know, I really am looking forward to it. It'll be great to get away for a while"

"No phones, no TV, no computers"

"Hey, now, come on-"

"Okay, okay. You can bring your computer. But I'll be putting a time limit on the thing"

She seems to think it over, but he can tell she's already accepted his terms, and he thinks that secretly she's looking forward to this downtime.

"You'll love it"

"Yeah?"

She settles back into the couch, one leg pulled up so that she can sit at an angle and face him, her opposite arm resting along the back of the couch and bending back to support her head on her hand. He takes a sip from his beer and leans back, swirling the bottle lazily. She had turned the TV on for background noise, but it's down so low he can't hear it.

"Yeah. It's... nice"

"Nice?" she asks, giving him an incredulous look. "All these years you've been trying to get me up to this amazing place of lakes and fishing, and all you can say is 'it's nice'?"

He grins wide at her open mockery, and cocks his head. "Well, what should I say?" he asks with a smile"

"I dunno" she shrugs. Her look turns a little bit pensive for a moment before she continues. "Tell me why you love it so much"

"What'd'ya mean?"

"Well... why do you go there to unwind? What is it about this place?"

"Other than the lakes and the fishing?"

"Come on, be serious" she says with a smile, giving his arm a swat. "Tell me why you love this place. What do you see when you go there?"

"You looking for a poem? A sonnet? A piece of amazing prose?"

She grins at him, and half shakes her head as she looks to the TV and takes a swig of beer. "Okay, fine, you don't wanna tell me? That's fine" she teases, the grin still firmly in place.

She doesn't look the least put-out by his avoidance, and he wonders if she was even expecting an answer when she asked. Then he realises that she knows him so well that she has come to expect no deep and meaningful talk from him, but she still trusts him to come and save her ass when it needs saving. And he's a little disarmed by the fact that, after all this time and all the effort it has taken over the years to not block people out, he's finally found someone who just gets him.

So he takes a deep breath (that she doesn't notice because she's now slightly distracted by the movie on TV), and he starts trying to put into words the reason why he just feels at home at the little log cabin in Minnesota.

"Other than the countless childhood memories of the place?" he starts quietly, causing her to look at him suddenly. She settles back, not saying a word, and he looks towards the TV as he talks.

"I don't know. It's so... peaceful there. There's nothing- no cars, no planes, no phones. Nobody to bother you"

She smiles at that and studies his face as he thinks, and puts his empty beer bottle on the table, and she watches the way he frowns in memory, then softens when he realises what he wants to say.

"It's like, no matter how bad things get- no matter how much we think we might lose... there's still this little place completely untouched by it all"

He turns to her. "You can't help but feel like everything's going to be okay"

She smiles at his smile- a soft, gentle, barely-there smile that says more about how he feels about that place than his words ever could.

"Sounds wonderful" she says lowly.

"Just wait until you get there. That first sunset... gnah, there's nothing like it"

Suddenly, without preamble, she leans across the space between them, placing a hand on the side of his very surprised face, and kisses him. She pulls away only a moment later with a soft smile, and he leans in to catch her lips again.

Whereas their other kisses had been slow and sensual and all about testing the waters, this one is gentle and sweet and completely about showing him just how much she wants to see this place he loves so much.

His hand has come up to rest against her back, his other hand threading lightly through her hair. For a moment she's leaning into him, her body pressing against him as their mouths slowly explore, but it only takes a second and he's pressing back. Her hand moves from his cheek to cup behind his neck, pulling him with her as she lowers herself back against the couch, her intention very clear, and if it weren't for the fact they are both old enough to know exactly what they're doing and what they want, he'd think they were going a little fast. So he doesn't resist, but doesn't push further either, and for a moment he's suspended above her, the smallest of gaps between them, letting her know that this is so not happening on his couch. Because they're not the age for petty doubts, and that means they're also not the age for couch-sex.

He pushes himself up gracefully, the kiss breaking at the last possible second, and with one leg still dangling off the side of the couch she follows easily.

He stands still in front of her, running his hands down her arms and back up again to cup her cheeks and kiss her firmly, and she grips his elbows as she tastes the slightest hint of beer on his tongue and realises that this is not even the work of alcohol. It's all them.

They back slowly towards the hallway as he takes one of her hands in his, and she knows that once they make it to his bed, he's going to show her thoroughly and completely just how much he wants this and just how long he's been waiting to do it.

And she doesn't complain, because while she's never been one to back down from a challenge, she's also never been one to question his lead, and she'll let him lead on this one if he likes, because she knows there'll be plenty of time later to show him a thing or two.

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So there you have it- the prequel to The NotSoAwkward Morning After, in its entirety. I hope you enjoyed that little piece of fluff, and please let me know what you thought, good, bad or otherwise.

Thanks!