A/N - With thanks to MidKnight Rider and BethanyActually for the beta, and to Aenigmatic for her story Restless Walls of Flames, which served as inspiration for this one.

How to Start a Fire

Spark

Jack lets out a groan of frustration and closes his eyes as he leans back in his big leather chair, the words of the transfer order he's holding still running through his mind.

They've assigned him a goddamn scientist. A scientist, for chrissake! He supposes a degree in chemical engineering might have its uses in a fire department, but it's not worth a damn thing if the person who holds it doesn't even know how to hook up a hose.

A large and cynical part of him briefly wonders if this Carter woman isn't simply the latest benefactor of the City's ever-politicized affirmative action initiative. After all, he's heard a rumor that she's somehow related to Mayor Hammond.

At the end of the day, though, it's not the fact that she's a woman that bothers him. It's the fact that she's bound to be the typical college type - all theory and zero experience. He knows that fighting fires is two parts training and one part instinct, and trying to replace those skills with a piece of paper is the sort of thing that gets people killed.

As for Sam, she already knows what she's walking into. Every time she's given a new assignment, she has to prove herself all over again, just because she's a woman. So when she steps into her new Chief's office, she's already on the defensive, ready to tick off her credentials from her last five years on the front lines.

One glance is all it takes for her to see that he's just like all the others. Maybe he's a bit better looking than most, with his chiseled jaw and tall, muscular frame. But he's still got that cock-sure attitude that she is certain is going to be trouble.

He tries to hide his surprise at her appearance, because-well, she's gorgeous, and he wasn't expecting that. Long legs, curves in all the right places, with the bluest eyes he thinks he's ever seen. But he can tell by her tone that she clearly doesn't have much appreciation for chain of command. Not that he doesn't have his own issues in that department, but still. Besides, it's the experience that matters, and if she doesn't have the requisite background, this is never going to work.

Yep, he's pretty much ready to write her off. Until she begins to list her qualifications.

Oh.

Wait, did she just challenge him to arm wrestle?

Accelerant

Despite their somewhat bumpy start, they quickly develop a begrudging respect that morphs into a solid friendship that is tinged with something else they both decline to acknowledge.

And so it goes for the next couple of years, until one night when she doesn't think she's going to be able to disarm a bomb before it explodes, and he refuses to leave her alone with it, even after she begs him to go. They share a look full of meaning as the final few seconds tick down. Miraculously, the device doesn't detonate, and they never speak of it again.

But others notice a subtle change in their behavior. The harmless flirting that has punctuated their relationship up to that point is replaced by an unspoken longing, evidenced in part by the way he sits ever-so-slightly closer to her at meetings and mealtimes and how she lets her gaze linger in his direction long after he's left the room.

Still, she refuses to admit that her feelings for the Chief are anything other than platonic, not even when she wakes suddenly one night with an ache between her legs where his long fingers had been just moments before in her dream.

No, she is not attracted to her boss, she tells herself. She repeats it like a mantra every time she looks at his hands.

For his part, he simply chalks his affection for his Captain up to the fact that she's one of the best he's had under his command, not to mention a friend - a good friend, if you will. He's not dense enough to pretend he's not physically attracted to her, but that's as far as he's willing go.

At least until he nearly loses her.

It isn't until she falls through it that anyone realizes how unstable the floor of the abandoned warehouse has become in the fire. She's conscious just long enough to order the rest of her men out of the burning building before she succumbs to her injuries.

It takes Jonas and T almost half an hour to get to her, and Jack doesn't know whether to dress them down or kiss them when they finally bring her out.

She stays in a drug-induced coma for the next several days, while the swelling in her brain subsides and the burns covering her right leg heal. He never leaves her side, and no one mentions it afterward. But when she wakes up to find him looking down at her, her hand in his and his eyes full of equal parts fear and relief, she knows.

Combustion

It's not long after that they wind up all alone at his house after everyone else has left his annual end-of-summer barbecue. Once they finish picking up the empty beer bottles and paper plates, he tells her there's something he wants her to see. So she follows him up to his rooftop observatory, where he focuses his telescope on the Orion Nebula. It's an amazing sight.

"Too bad we'll never get to go there," she sighs dreamily. She's always had an inexplicable desire to travel in space.

He shrugs. "Oh, I don't know. I'd like to think one day we'll find a way." She begins to launch into a very scientific explanation of why it's not likely that they'll ever be able to cross such a vast distance, but he immediately cuts her off. "Come on, Carter. Where's your sense of adventure?"

She notices then the smile playing around the corners of his mouth, the sparkle in his eyes, and how the moonlight highlights the silver strands in his hair. It occurs to her that the statement is meant to be a challenge, one that she is finally ready to meet.

Deciding to throw caution to the wind, she leans in to kiss him, and the next several minutes are a blur as they somehow maneuver off his roof, into his house, and across his living room without ever losing contact. They finally fall onto his bed in a tangle of limbs, totally naked and completely aroused, fingers and lips and tongues touching, tasting, pleasing.

She's so turned on, she loses it in spectacular fashion the moment he slides inside her, and he actually has the nerve to chuckle. Smug bastard. But damn he's good, and by the time she's approaching her second climax, he's all business. This time when he sends her over the edge, she knows he's not far behind.

Once she regains some semblance of control, she surprises him by flipping him on his back, her long legs straddling his as she takes him in as deep as he can go. She gasps and he groans, and then she's moving, completely in charge. His fingers dig into her hips and it's only a matter of seconds before he's gone. She tightens around him and lets him thrust upwards against her as he moves through the waves of his release.

Finally he stills, and she collapses on top of his chest, where she can hear the pounding of his heart. "Christ, Carter," he breathes heavily into her ear.

Now it's her turn to stifle a laugh, as she nuzzles the side of his neck. "Hey, no giggling," he whispers, but she can hear the smile in his voice.

He holds her tightly to him with one hand splayed across her back and the other winding through her hair, as though he has no intention of ever letting her go.

She hopes he never does.

Flame

They try to keep their relationship low-key, but within three months, they're practically living together, so they decide it's time to come clean. Besides, he's pretty sure T has been on to them for awhile now. Even Jonas, who clearly has no sense of self-preservation whatsoever, has been making veiled comments.

He makes what he hopes are some discreet inquiries with Hammond and is stunned to discover that the politician, who just so happens to double as Sam's godfather, is thrilled that they're together. He takes it as a good sign and makes reservations at the fanciest restaurant in town.

It's only after everything's arranged that he purchases the ring.

She immediately suspects something is up because he's never taken her anywhere so expensive. In almost giddy anticipation of the big night, she wears her most feminine dress, the one that brings out her eyes, and puts on a little makeup to boot.

They don't even make it to the main course before both of their phones start to buzz. According to the texts, a fire has broken out at a nearby apartment complex. Without a word, they both stand up to leave, and he hastily throws some cash on the table to cover the bill.

The fire turns out to be the biggest Coquitlam has seen in decades, a four-alarm blaze that rages for most of the night before it's finally tamed. But all's well that ends well, because aside from some minor smoke inhalation, no one is seriously injured.

He watches her direct her unit with an unmistakable confidence, telling half her men to continue hosing down the smoldering ruins while the others make sure there aren't any remaining hot spots. She's removed her hood, but she's still in her bulky coveralls, her face covered with soot, her hair sticking up on end, as the ashes from the massive building fire continue to rain down around her.

He thinks he's never seen anything more beautiful than she is at that moment.

He decides then that too much time has passed already and he is unwilling to wait one minute longer. He makes a beeline for her, but she doesn't see him until he's standing right next to her.

"Sir!" she exclaims, as she turns toward him, startled by his sudden appearance.

"Marry me," he says quietly.

She's fairly sure she hasn't heard him correctly, because for a second she thinks he's proposed. "What?" she says, laughing at her own foolishness.

"Marry me, Carter."

Her expression immediately changes to one of complete shock, and he starts to get worried that maybe he's screwed this whole thing up. But then she's in his arms, and she's kissing him with an unfettered passion. He ignores the catcalls and clapping and kisses her right back.

It's a long time before they finally come up for air, but when they do, he asks with a grin, "So is that a yes?"

She tilts her head back and laughs before clasping his face in her hands. "Yes, sir," she replies rather cheekily, her eyes twinkling.

The whole exchange calls to mind their very first meeting when she so boldly challenged him to arm wrestle. He supposes he's probably going have to get used that sort of thing from her now.

But he's completely fine with that.

The End