What Else Is There?
Part One: The Anecdote
A/N: So, I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I am obsessed with Pinterest. And it's a good thing too because I saw this awesome sweatshirt on there and it inspired this story! Yay for inspiration! Fluffy, shippy nonsense.
Enjoy!
Janet walked briskly down the hallway, carrying a chart in her hand, its papers fluttering as she moved. She kept the front of them carefully angled towards herself as there wasn't actually anything written in the chart. She had discovered a few years ago that if she walked quickly and carried papers no one stopped her for anything. They just assumed she was busy doing something doctor-y when, really, she just wanted to get out of the mountain and see her daughter.
"Fraiser!" She winced and turned.
"Sorry, colonel." She smiled apologetically at Colonel O'Neill who was jogging down the hall towards her. "I have a patient who really needs-,"
But he waved her off as he came to a stop in front of her. "I invented the fake paper trick, doc." He smirked when the small doctor flushed in embarrassment. "Anyway, I'm not here to stop you from leaving. I'm having a small shin dig at my cabin this weekend and I wanted to know if you and Cass wanted to come?"
"Yeah, that'd be great!" Janet smiled. "Cassie was just saying how much she missed Sam and the rest of you." She added hurriedly when she saw Jack raise his eyebrow.
"No, no, I know. Carter will always be the favorite." Jack smiled and started walking backwards down the hallway. "Saturday around three. Just bring yourselves."
"See you then, sir." Janet turned and resumed her brisk pace until she finally reached the surface.
…..
"So what exactly is this barbeque for?"Janet cradled the phone between her shoulder and her head as she reached for another shirt to fold. 'I swear, that girl has more clothes than days in the year.' The doctor rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless.
"I'm not sure. Just a job well done thing maybe?" Sam answered, her voice sounding slightly tinny through the line. "You and Cassie are coming, right?"
"We wouldn't miss it. Cassie can't stop talking about it. Actually, do you think you can ask the colonel if she can bring the dog?"
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind, considering he got it for her." Janet could hear the smile in Sam's voice.
"Yeah, and stuck me with it." Both women laughed as Janet put the folded shirt on the steadily growing pile that was Cassie's. "Hey, do you know the dress code?"
Sam paused, thinking. "Um, definitely nothing fancy. Casual is probably the safest bet. Jeans, t-shirts…it's getting kind of chilly at night, so a sweater maybe."
"Sounds like you've put some thought into this." Janet smirked when Sam didn't immediately answer.
"Not really." Sam answered after a minute, her voice very neutral.
"Uh-huh." Janet grinned and turned when she heard the door slam. "Alright, Cass is home. I'll see you Saturday?"
"Yeah, definitely." In the background Janet heard a slight shuffling sound and a very faint voice. "Got to go. Tell Cassie hi!" Then Sam hung up.
But not before Janet heard the voice again. And she would swear it sounded exactly like one Colonel Jack O'Neill. She looked down at her caller id; Sam's cell phone. So she wasn't on base…
Janet wasn't able to give it any more thought, however, as Cassie came bounding into the room carrying a bag from CVS and going on about how cool her friend's dye job looked and how she had just bought some at the store to do her own hair.
…..
"Knock, knock!" Janet called as she pushed open the door to Jack's house.
"In here!" Daniel hollered back, his voice leading her to the living room. "Hey Cass," He hugged the girl before she moved on to greet Teal'c. "Janet." He smiled warmly at her and she felt her chest contract.
"Daniel." She didn't move to hug him, afraid that he would feel how fast her heart was beating and instead plopped herself on the couch. "Are we late? I thought this didn't start until three?" She checked her watch, the hands reading 2:53 pm.
"We arrived early, Doctor Fraiser." Teal'c bowed his head in greeting and Janet smiled.
"If you consider forty five minutes to be just early." Daniel said quietly to Janet and Cassie, but loud enough for Teal'c to hear.
Teal'c tilted his head, eyes fixed on Daniel. "I do not like to be late, Daniel Jackson."
"I know, Teal'c. We only caught Jack a little off guard." He held up two fingers and pinched them together, a grin lighting up his features.
"How many have you had, Daniel?" Cassie asked from the armchair across from the couch.
"Only one." Daniel looked at the two women who were smiling indulgently at him and at Teal'c, who was still glaring. "What?"
"Nothing. Is Sam here?" Janet looked around, letting him off the hook.
"Not yet." Daniel put the empty beer bottle on the table. "But she should be here soon. We had to drive past her house on the way here and her car wasn't there." Daniel frowned as though the thought had just occurred to him. "I wonder why she isn't here yet? She should have beat us."
"Maybe she had to stop for something?" Janet shrugged, her mind suddenly flashing to the conversation they'd had on the phone a couple days ago.
"Maybe." But Daniel didn't look convinced. "Hey Jack!"
"What?" His voice carried from the backyard through the open slider doors.
"Is Sam here?" Daniel was yelling much louder than was necessary, but he didn't seem to notice.
"No." Jack drew out the word and Janet got the distinct feeling Daniel had asked him this before. "Is the doc here?"
"Yeah!" Daniel shouted back, rolling his eyes. "She and Cassie just got here." He turned back to Janet and gave her a sloppy smile that made her heart race.
"Well, entertain them, will ya? I'll be inside in a minute."
"Were you not about to regale me with an amusing anecdote, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c sat back in his chair and folded his hands over his stomach.
"Ah, yes." Daniel leaned forward and laughed a little before taking a deep breath and starting. "So, about a month ago we went to this planet P8X-something. It was just me, Sam, and Jack—Teal'c I think you were on leave with Ry'ac or something. Anyway, we're on this planet that is incredibly similar to ours—vernacular, customs, and technology are almost all identical."
Cassie raised her hand slightly and asked, "Vernacular?"
"Words, colloquialisms…that kind of thing." Janet squeezed her daughter's hand and Daniel continued once Cassie nodded.
"They were having a sort of street fair when we were leaving and, of course, I'm interested because they use so many of the same materials we do and Sam is fascinated by a few of the custom motorcycle stands, but it's Jack that actually buys something." Daniel smirks when all three of his listeners look surprised at the news.
"He bought something?" Janet frowned slightly, wondering if maybe she didn't give the colonel a thorough enough exam.
"Was it jewelry?" Cassie asked, glancing surreptitiously at the open doors. "You know, for Sam?" Janet's eyes widened slightly as she shot her daughter a look. "What?" Cassie made a face back. "It's not like they're not obvious or anything."
Daniel and Janet glanced at each other, neither one of them really able to disagree. "No, actually it was a sweatshirt."
"Clothing?" Teal'c asked, sounding ever so slightly perplexed.
"For Sam?" Cassie raised a skeptical eyebrow.
Daniel paused, making an apologetic face at Cassie. "No, also not for Sam. It was for himself and I kid you not, it is literally the perfect sweatshirt for him."
"It's The Simpsons, isn't it?" Cassie nodded sagely, like she'd know all along.
"Nope. It's a plain white sweatshirt, but across the front it reads, 'Beer and Fishing, What Else Is There?'" Daniel paused, letting the phrase sink in. But before anyone could really appreciate the appropriateness of the words, Teal'c stepped in.
"Many things, Daniel Jackson." Daniel, Cassie, and Janet all turned to look at Teal'c and the utterly earnest expression on his face caused them all to burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" Sam stood in the entrance to the living room, looking around at all of them.
And they looked back.
No, they didn't look…they stared.
"What?" Sam looked uncomfortably at her friends and shoved her hands into her pockets.
Daniel opened and closed his mouth several times, but no sound came out and both Janet and Cassie looked very much like they wanted to laugh. Teal'c was staring at her with an unfathomable look on his face, which was never a good thing in Sam's opinion.
"Hey, Carter, you made it." Jack smiled as he came in from the backyard, a plate of grilled steak in his hand. But his voice sounded strange, almost like he was trying hard to keep from smiling wider.
"Yup. Sorry I'm late." She smiled back, but her face was tense.
"Major Carter."
"Yes, Teal'c?" She seemed grateful for the distraction and was about to take another step into the room, when Teal'c's words made her go still.
"Is that not O'Neill's sweatshirt?"
TBC
A/N: Is it?