Unknown

Title: Unknown

Author: Geonn

Rating: PG

Pairings: Sam/Janet, First Time

Category: Romance. I guess.

Website: www.realmoftheshadow.com/geonn.htm

Disclaimer: These folks don't belong to me. I stole them from MGM's toybox without asking their mommies for permission. I promise to return them more or less unscathed.

Spoilers: "Ascension"

Archive: Yes, just let me know where it'll be.

Notes: In the interest of clearing up disk space, I give you a story I wrote a while back. It's been tweaked a little for posting, but here it be :-D

Summary: Who is Samantha Carter?

Fifty-three candles on the cake. Jack O'Neill said they took a guess and wondered how close they were. And she had smiled.

Gift certificates to practically every store in the mall. CD stores, video stores, clothing stores, book stores, everything was covered. And she had thanked everyone.

From Siler, she received a calendar featuring motorcycles. It was the most personal gift anyone at the SGC had given her. And she had accepted it gratefully.

Janet had given her a pendant with the word 'Sam' engraved in the back. The doctor had shrugged and simply said, "What do you expect? It's not like you're an open book, Sam."

The blonde took her gifts home with her, most of them small enough to be tucked into a book. She dropped them on the counter, pulling her jacket off and draping it over a chair. She pressed the button on her answering machine and heard the feminine voice tell her that she had "No New Messages." Normally, she was able to shrug that little voice off. It wasn't hard to do; no messages meant no one to call back.

But now... how long had it been since she'd had a personal call that didn't involve the SGC or aliens invading the world or (most frightening of all) her brother trying to initiate small talk? She scanned her house and shuddered when she saw how... impersonal it was. Photos of herself were all over a decade old, save the one taken by Laura Landry in Saudi Arabia. She had inherited her mother's dish collection, but hadn't added to it over the years.

She sat on the couch and flipped through the magazines on the coffee table. They weren't very personal either; mostly just solicitations that came in the mail without a request. They said next to nothing about her personality. She didn't even know the names of her neighbors. If she invited them over for a 'get-to-know-you' dinner and someone happened to snoop in her medicine cabinet, what would they find? Benadryl? Some liniment for her aching muscles? No birth control pills or other contraceptives. Why have protection when your sex life was drier than Abydos?

Not to mention that birth control was a moot point with her particular preference. But, looking at her and her house, who would be able to determine that? Who would be able to determine *anything* about Samantha Carter? Orlin had read her books and watched her TV, but he still didn't seem to know her very well.

Finally, she stood and grabbed her coat and car keys, hurrying out the door.

---

Janet's welcoming smile turned into a confused frown, then quickly switched back into a smile in a matter of milliseconds. "Sam," she asked. "What's, uh... what's up?"

Sam shifted from one foot to the other, then flinched slightly. "I-is Cassie home?"

"School," Janet said, checking her watch. "For another five hours or so. What's wrong?"

The blonde shook her head and took a deep breath. "M-my favorite movie is 'Suddenly' with Frank Sinatra. It's a black-and-white movie and I remember seeing it with my mother. A-and whenever I see it, I think about that Saturday with my mom's arm around me while it rained outside and Daddy yelled at the Packers in the living room. That's... that's my favorite movie."

Janet blinked, then leaned against the door. "Really? I never would've guessed. Figured you more of a 'Matrix' kinda gal."

Sam smiled. "Yeah. But... now you know something about me."

Janet motioned at the door. "C'mon in. Let's talk."

---

Sam sat on the edge of the couch, nursing a cup of hot cocoa as Janet listened. "My favorite novel is 'Timeline' by Michael Crichton. My favorite author is Patricia Cornwell. I usually turn off the lights at 10:30, unless there's someone I wanna see on Letterman." She sighed. "Oh, and I prefer Letterman to Leno." She pinched the skin between her eyes and sighed. "Anything else?"

Janet chuckled. "This isn't an inquisition, Sam. You wanted to start this. You can end it any time you want." She pursed her lips, then said, "Why *are* you telling me all of this?"

Sam sighed. "You know I didn't get one really personal gift on my birthday? The only reason people knew it was my birthday was because General Hammond has known me forever and *told* them about it." She shook her head. "I guess I just felt like no one really knew who I was."

"And why are you telling *me* all of this?"

Sam smiled. "Because of all the people at the base, you're the one I want to know me best." She leaned back and asked, "Are you sure you're just a *medical* doctor? No, uh... no psychiatry degree hiding anywhere?"

The brunette held up two fingers. "Scouts honor. Or, rather, doctor's honor." She sipped her cocoa and said, "Wanna know some of my favorites?"

Sam folded her legs up onto the couch, wrapping her arms around her thighs and pulling them against her chest. "Okay."

---

Janet lightly tapped the baggie of powdered cocoa against her hand as Sam refilled their mugs with water. "There's something else I haven't told you," Sam said quietly, putting the mugs into the microwave.

"Uh-huh," Janet said, absent-mindedly. The bag went 'taptaptap' against her fingers.

"I..." She closed her eyes. "I wasn't going to tell you this. Even when I decided to let you in. I... wasn't goin' to say this."

"You don't have to, you know," Janet said, her voice comforting as ever. The bag tapped.

Sam closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. 'Just like telling Dad. Just like telling Dad,' she repeated to herself. "I... am not exactly... straight." 'Okay,' she chided herself. 'That was lame.' She shook her head. "I'm attracted to women. I... date women. And I am..." Like pulling off a band-aid, "I am incredibly attracted to you, Janet Fraiser."

The bag stopped tapping. The microwave continued to hum between them, then silenced itself with a prolonged BEEEEP.

---

"I've wanted to do that for... a long time."

"How long?"

"Since I met you," Janet smiled, kissing Sam's chin. "You don't know how much I've wanted... this. Exactly this."

Sam shuddered and hugged Janet, the feel of the brunette's nude body sending chills down her spine. "So stupid..."

Janet scoffed, "Gee, thanks."

"No, honey, not you. Never... what I meant was that... that... I've wanted this. You've wanted this. And it took us FIVE years to get around to it. And it took me five years to tell you what my favorite dessert is. I've... wasted a lot of time."

Janet kissed Sam's shoulder and said, "Is this a better gift than the locket?"

Sam shook her head. "I loved the locket. And I love you. This gift is perfect, Janet. Thank you."

"I love you, too," she whispered. "Cassie'll be home soon. You want to explain why we're in bed together or..."

"We should get dressed," Sam groaned.

"Yeah." After a long pause, she said, "In a minute or so."

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "In a minute..."

~-END-~

'Unknown,' by Chely Wright

Fire and Rain is my favorite song
I say a prayer at 11:11
I could watch old movies all night long
I'm not sure about hell but I know there's a heaven
Sometimes I feel so alone it scares me
I talk in my sleep but there's no one to hear me

Unknown
I don't want to be unknown
The little things that make me who I am
I need to share
I need to know that someone cares
That I drink coffee black
That I sing when I drive
That I sleep with the TV on
More than anything
I don't want to be unknown

I love September when leaves turn gold
I get nervous in crowed places
Someday I want to see San Francisco
I'm bad with names, but remember faces
I need more then a kiss, more then a lover
I'm a world just waiting to be discovered

Unknown
I don't want to be unknown
The little things that make me who I am
I need to share
I need to know that someone cares

That I write down my dreams
That I love when it rains
I burn candles when I'm alone
More than anything
I don't want to be unknown
More than anything
No one wants to be unknown