The Object of Her Affection

Author: Geonn

Email: neil_j_miser@yahoo.com

Category: Romance

Rating: PG13

Disclaimer: Stargate and characters are the property of MGM, Gekko, etc. Mainly you need to know no one with the name of Geonn owns the deed to these people.

Archive: Yes.

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Sam feels she missed an opportunity.


"It would appear Doctor Fraiser is preparing to begin a courtship."

Jack and Daniel both straightened in their seats at Teal'c's statement. They glanced at each other before craning their necks to catch a glimpse of the petite doctor that had just passed their table. She was standing at the lunch counter now, picking over the choices and tapping her tray against her thigh. She looked to same to Jack. He frowned at Teal'c and asked, "What makes you say that, T-Man?"

"Her hair has been fashioned differently today. I have noticed the… make-up she wears has increased around her eyes and lips, signs that she is trying to attract attention to them. And today, her aroma--,"

"Perfume," Sam corrected.

"Yes, her perfume… is a new brand."

Sam looked over her shoulder. Janet looked the same to her, too. Maybe a little more put together, a little sexier than usual… She swallowed and turned back to her lunch. "Come on, Teal'c, maybe she just wants to look nice once in a while."

"Yeah," Daniel nodded. "I'm sure that's all it is."

Teal'c didn't look convinced, but still he nodded and went back to his salad. When Jack and Daniel were once again engrossed in their newspaper comics, Sam hazarded another glanced over her shoulder. Janet was at the check-out counter, waiting while an airman paid for his apple juice and pie.

She did look nice today, Sam had to admit. But was it a different nice than usual? Sam had to admit that Janet was one of the most beautiful women she'd ever known. The only woman Sam had ever… She turned back to her lunch and pushed a few grapes with her fork. "Something wrong, Sam?"

She looked up. Daniel was staring at her. Crap! Had he seen her staring at Janet? "No, I… was just… wondering if I should've gotten pie."

"Mm," Colonel O'Neill helpfully interjected. "Pie."

"You just looked a little spaced out there," Daniel said, ignoring Jack.

She smiled. "I'm fine." When Daniel looked back down at the comics, she glanced to her right again. Janet had taken a table against the wall, draping a napkin over her lap and pulling the salt and pepper shakers towards herself. Sam bit her bottom lip, looked at the guys and picked up her tray. "I'm going to go sit with Janet." All three men looked up. It was innocent, right? Sitting with a friend who was by herself? Nothing wrong with that. Nothing fishy about it. "She's sitting alone," Sam clarified.

"Have fun," Jack said, going back to his paper. Daniel tried to turn the page and Jack slapped it back down. "I'm not done with Beetle Bailey."

"You are Beetle Bailey," Daniel sighed.

Sam slipped away before the inevitable Hammond-is-Sarge comparison could begin. She weaved her way through the tables and stood next to Janet. "Um… do you mind if I—?"

Janet looked up, smiling brightly. Oh, what a smile. "Sam! I thought you were sitting with the rest of SG-1. Please!" She motioned to the chair across from herself and Sam took it.

"Well, I figured you might want a little company. I know I hate to eat alone."

"Mm, tell me about it." She speared a leaf of her salad and scanned Sam's tray. "What, no jell-o?"

Sam sheepishly shrugged. "I ate it first."

Janet tsked. "Naughty, naughty."

A little voice at the back of her mind thought, Maybe I need a spanking. She managed to stop it at the back of her tongue, but caused herself to choke on the grape she'd just taken. Janet stood and was around the table in two seconds flat, patting Sam on the back. Sam spit out the grape and coughed a few times, very aware of Janet's hand rubbing circles on her shoulder blades. The other hand was on Sam's right arm.

"Just take slow breaths," Janet said soothingly. "It's all right. Are you okay?"

"Carter?" Jack said, leading Daniel and Teal'c over to the table. "You all right?"

"Fine," Sam rasped.

"Just went down the wrong pipe," Janet smiled.

Jack smirked. "Well, maybe she was distracted trying to eat across from someone so beautiful."

Janet put a hand to her forehead and playfully said, "Why, Colonel O'Neill, I do believe you're flirtin' with little ol' me…"

Sam looked up at her CO and felt a surprisingly strong urge to tell him to back off. She frowned at herself. She looked down at her grapes as Janet bid the guys good-bye and took her seat. "You sure you're okay?" Janet asked.

"Oh, yeah," Sam said. "Like you said, just went down the wrong pipe."

Janet nodded and went back to her fruit dish. Sam swallowed her next mouthful carefully, eyed Janet and said, "So. You're looking very nice today."

"Oh," Janet said, leaning back and looking at herself. "Yes, I thought I would try the crisp, light-blue uniform blouse this week. Just for a change of pace."

Sam grinned. "That's not what I meant. The make-up, your hair…"

"You noticed?" Janet said, eyes coming up and meeting Sam's.

‘Uh-oh,' Sam thought. ‘Should I tell her it was Teal'c who noticed?' She shrugged and said, "Well, it wasn't easy. You're a beautiful woman to begin with."

Both of them looked down at their plates. Sam mouthed a curse word at herself, then looked up at Janet. They spoke at the same time.

"What I mean is…"

"Thank you, Sam."

They both stopped speaking again. Janet pushed aside the pieces of her fruit bowl; Sam toyed with her salad leaves. "So," Janet said. "What if there was a reason for my change in appearance?"

"Like?"

Janet shrugged. "Maybe I'm… interested in someone."

Sam felt her heart plummet, her stomach sinking right along with it. She forced a smile and said, "Really?"

Janet shook her head and looked down at her food. "I-I don't know. Maybe not… but…"

Sam looked at her watch and said, "I have to get out of here." Truer words had never been spoken. "We have to go over pre-mission reports for P3X… um… something." She mentally kicked herself. "Thanks for letting me sit with you."

"No problem," Janet said. "Thanks for saving me from eating lunch alone."

"Well, most of it," Sam smiled. "I'll see you later."

"Okay," Janet nodded.

Sam threw out her trash, taking the tray to the kitchen window and leaving it. When she turned, she saw that Janet's table was empty, her lunch abandoned. She pressed her lips together and left the cafeteria.

***

Sam didn't want to cry, surprisingly. She wanted to throw things around her quarters. She wanted to bang her head against the wall, wanted to see how many hits it would take to break the chair against the wall. Mostly, she wanted to know who Janet had a crush on.

Janet! Janet Fraiser had a crush on someone and it was tearing Sam apart.

She took a seat at her desk, staring at the lamp. SG-1 did have pre-mission things to do, but they weren't scheduled to begin for another hour. Who could Janet have a crush on? Who on base was worthy of her affections?

‘Stop that,' she told herself. Janet was just a regular woman. A regular, normal, single mother, who happened to be the most beautiful woman Sam had ever laid eyes on.

Stop. That.

She sighed and pressed her thumb against her forehead. Could she have a crush on Siler? No, no way. Maybe it was Walter, the chevron dialer? Sam tried to think if the two of them had ever been in the same room together and couldn't remember if they had or not. Okay, so maybe not him, either.

She put her head down on the desk and wondered why she was putting herself through this. Janet was a beautiful woman, yes. Sam couldn't deny a certain… twinge… whenever the doctor walked into a room. Ever since her first day at the base, Sam had felt drawn to the woman. It wasn't an attraction in the romantic sense… Janet was a woman, enough said. Sometimes it seemed like it was a world of men. When Sam saw the new Chief Medical Officer was wearing a skirt, she'd immediately set out to make a best friend.

They had always been there for each other. Best friends, confidantes, a shoulder to cry on… they were practically raising Cassie together. She sat up. If Janet and whoever she liked got together, that would be the end of Sam's parental involvement. Janet and her new lover would get to play house and Sam… what? She'd go back to her house and settle for Christmas cards from the happy family. She'd have to watch Cassandra grow up from a distance and she'd have to watch Janet make dove-eyes at some ridiculous idiot with his arm around--

‘God,' Sam thought, shaking her head. ‘I don't even know who this person is and I already hate him.'

She pressed her hand against her face, surprised to find wetness on her cheeks. She pulled back, looking at her palm. "I'm crying," she said out loud. She sniffled, then pushed her chair back and stood up. "I have to find Janet."

She left her quarters, almost making it to the elevators before Daniel's voice rose behind her. "Sam!" She turned. "Hey, Jack sent me to come find you. General Hammond pushed up the mission."

Sam mentally cursed at the younger man, but smiled and said, "Oh. All right… do I have time to make a quick stop…?"

"Jack said I didn't even have time to go to the bathroom," Daniel said. "So we better get to the briefing room."

"Fine," Sam sighed. "What's so important that everything's getting pushed up?"

"Apparently, there's been a rise in political pressure from all sides on P3X-881. We've been in radio contact with them, but the government we've been working with is threatening to pull access to the naquadah mines to appease the other governments."

"Great," Sam muttered. So much for an easy mission…

***

Six days of negotiations, one attempted bombing of the meeting place and two stalemates later, Sam pushed her way into the locker room. There'd been no negotiation about who got the lockers first; Sam simply shoved past the guys at the elevator and let them infer who would go first. She hurled her jacket into the locker, furious at the time she'd lost.

Almost a whole week since Janet had admitted her crush. Who knows what could have happened in that time? Maybe she'd told the person she liked and they were sleeping together now.

Sam punched her locker door.

She undressed, grabbing her civvies and toiletries before heading to the shower. When she dropped her things on the sink, she noticed her cell phone was flashing. She picked it up, hitting the activate button and seeing she had two messages. "Sam, Call Me. Janet." "Sam, Heard about the mission. Let Me Know When You Get Home. We Need to Talk. Janet."

She groaned. Great… apparently, Janet had told the person. The messages could only mean two things; that the lucky bastard shared her feelings and Janet needed someone to celebrate with or… or that some insane asshole had turned Janet down and she needed a shoulder to cry on. As much as she feared the former, Sam didn't know if she could handle the latter. Neither option seemed attractive at that moment.

She picked up the phone, dialing Janet's number and staring at her reflection in the mirror. "Hi, this is Janet. I've lost my cell phone again. Please, leave a message and I'll call you back when I find the silly thing."

After the beep, Sam said, "Hey, Janet. We're home… I'll stop by when I'm done here, which will be in about an hour or so." She checked her watch. "Um, which will be about 8:30 or nine. See you then." She hung up and dropped her phone back onto the pile of her clothes.

***

Sam parked her car outside of Janet's house and checked her face in the mirror. Her eyes weren't red, and there wasn't evidence she'd been crying. She rested both hands on the steering wheel and stared at the street outside her window. Why had she waited so long? She'd ignored how she felt for so long… counted it out as simple friendship. But friends didn't get this jealous.

"I'm in love with Janet," she said. It was the first time she'd said it out loud and, if she was honest with herself, it was the first time she'd allowed the thought to form. She remembered once, about two years ago, they'd had a girl's night out. The evening had flown by, they'd been attacked with non-stop laughter and they'd rented a fantastic movie.

Sam remembered standing in the kitchen, watching Janet, and she remembered exactly what she'd said. "I love… spending time…with you."

"Aw," had been Janet's reply.

Sam had to wonder if she'd even realized what she'd wanted to say. Now, there was no denying it. And there was nothing she could do. She brushed her face, checked her eyes one more time in the mirror, and stepped out of the car. She walked the longest mile up Janet's front walk, slowly stepping onto the porch and taking a deep breath.

She rang the doorbell and stepped back, hoping whatever Janet wanted to talk about wouldn't take long.

The door swung open and Sam was shocked into silence. Janet's hair was down, feathered at the ends. And it wouldn't have taken Teal'c's attention to detail to notice her make-up. Eye shadow heightened how big, brown and beautiful her eyes were. Her lips were painted a dangerous shade of crimson.

She was wearing a light yellow sundress that ended at mid-thigh, her shoulders and arms completely bare. Sam finished her trip at the sandals Janet was wearing, her bare toes curling against the cold. "Hi, Sam," she said.

‘Oh, God,' Sam thought. ‘He's here!' She looked at the driveway, wondering where he had parked. "Um… Janet, I'm sorry if I'm interrupting. I can come back…"

"Why would you come back?" Janet grinned. "I've wanted to talk to you for a week!"

Sam looked over Janet again. The hallway light gave Janet's petite frame a golden halo. It was all Sam could do to keep from crying out. "I just… thought… maybe you were entertaining."

"No," Janet said. "Come inside, its cold out there."

Sam stepped into the house, scanning the front rooms. No one was in sight. She turned to face Janet, who had clasped her hands in front of her and was staring at Sam's shoulder. "Well," the brunette said, bringing one hand up and pulling a strand of hair away from her face. "Um…"

"Janet, there's…"

"No, Sam, stop. I have wanted to say this for a long time. And when I finally got up the courage, SG-1 was sent off-world for a week. I've been stewing over this for all that time and I'm afraid that if I let you stop me, I won't say anything. Just like I've been not saying anything for years… if that makes any sense."

Sam just nodded.

Janet stepped past Sam and went into the living room. Three candles were on the table behind the couch, the lights were all low. Sam still felt like she was intruding on something.

"Last week, last time we spoke, you suggested that I fancied someone."

Sam couldn't help but smile. ‘Fancied someone'? When was the last time anyone had said that?

"And I… I don't know. The way these things happen, it's hard to pinpoint when it started. But after a while it became too hard to ignore. And I was getting up the nerve to say something to you when… well, when you had to leave."

‘Why would Janet say something to me? Shouldn't she say something to the person she was in love wi--'

"Oh, my God," Sam breathed, finally realizing what was going on.

Janet looked away from her, bringing a hand up to her face and quickly brushing her bottom lip. "I don't know. It's stupid."

Sam dropped onto the couch and said, "Janet. I've been… insanely jealous." Janet turned. "Ever since I found out you had feelings for someone, I've been beating myself up. I've been kicking myself because it took you falling for someone for me to realize… that I was…"

Janet refused to let her tears loose, staring at Sam with a stiff bottom lip and wide, wet eyes. She walked over the couch and reached out, taking Sam's hand. She squeezed Janet's fingers and sniffled, "So you called me over here…"

"To tell you that you were the one I had feelings for. What did you think I was calling you for?"

Sam shrugged. "To… I don't know. To celebrate. Or to be a shoulder to cry on."

Janet lowered herself to the couch, refusing to release her grip on Sam's hand. "Yeah. I can always count on you for that. To lift me up or to hold me when I'm down… you've been the greatest friend I've ever been lucky enough to have. And when I realized that my feelings for you were more…" She blinked, finally letting a few tears escape.

Sam reached up and brushed away Janet's tears, instinct leading her to carry her hand further down and draw the petite woman in. She held Janet tight, her heart soaring as they embraced. She held Janet for a long time, waiting for her sniffles to subside before looking down at her face.

"I love you," Sam whispered, her hand on Janet's tear-stained cheek.

Janet started crying again and pressed her face against the shoulder of Sam's thick blouse. Sam stroked Janet's hair and leaned back, cradling the smaller woman against her and softly repeating, "I love you, Janet."

***

Teal'c lifted his eyebrow and looked across the commissary.

"General Hammond doesn't even have a dog. So who is Otto?" Jack asked, indicating the Beetle Bailey comic.

"Walter, the chevron guy," Daniel suggested.

Teal'c watched as Major Carter and Doctor Fraiser moved through the lunch line, hardly room for air between their hips. He watched Sam put her hand on the small of Janet's back, guiding the doctor to a table. They sat, smiling and talking in low tones. "Miss Buxley?" Jack asked.

"Sam," Daniel suggested.

"Don't let her hear you say that," Jack warned.

Sam seemed unable to keep her eyes off Janet. It went beyond the normal ‘paying-attention' look. It was a stare, a deep eye contact that spoke volumes to anyone paying close attention. Teal'c remembered before their last mission, his theory that Doctor Fraiser was interested in someone. He remembered Major Carter's reaction to his comment.

He cocked his head to the side and smiled slightly. He was pleased for them, but knew that many on this world would not be. He kept his latest observations to himself and turned his attention back to the comic debate raging on the other side of the table, leaving Janet and Sam their privacy in their corner table.


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