Summer Rain

Author: Geonn

Rating: R

Pairings: Sam/Janet

Category: Drama, Romance

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: None

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

Summary: Summer rainstorms bring out the kid in Sam.

The rain started about twenty-five minutes earlier. The weathermen had started their Chicken Little impressions a full hour before that. Janet had wrapped her mother's cardigan around her shoulders and walked to the front door, staring out at the falling rain that was threatening to flood the street outside her house. Leaning against the doorframe, she felt the cool drops of water as they flicked off the hardwood of her porch.

Sam came downstairs from punishing her exercise bike, dabbing at the sweat on her neck with a towel. She spotted Janet in the front door and changed direction, heading deeper into the hallway to join her lover. She slid her arms around Janet's waist, pressing her body against the brunette's as her lips found a tender spot on the doctor's throat. "Hey," Sam whispered.

"Hello," Janet sighed.

Sam's brow furrowed. "Sad?"

"Rain makes me sad," she replied, leaning her head against Sam's shoulder. The blonde's breath brushed the loose strands of hair hanging around Janet's ears. "Always has. Don't know why..."

Sam moved her hands to rest on Janet's hips and swayed the brunette side-to-side. "Rain, rain, go away," Sam whispered.

"Come again another day," they both harmonized.

Sam chuckled and kissed Janet's cheek. "I love the rain. Clean slate. The world starts anew with a breath of freshness... I think it's a beautiful thing."

Lightning flashed, lighting up the pre-twilight neighborhood. A few seconds later, a roar of thunder chased it down the street. "What about that?" Janet asked. "Thunder?"

"It's the Earth releasing it's frustrations."

Janet laughed. "Why, Samantha Carter... I may start thinking you're a flower child at heart."

Sam smiled wistfully. "Mom was."

Janet touched the back of Sam's hand and swayed against her lover. "Do you want to go inside?" Janet asked.

"No," Sam said, shaking her head. "I want to go outside."

"It's raining cats and dogs!" Janet complained.

Sam released Janet and stepped onto the porch, holding her hands out in front of her to catch the rain. "Come on out!" she called. She turned and smiled, blinking the rain out of her eyes. "Come on! Dance with me!"

Janet stepped out of her slippers and followed Sam onto the porch, holding a hand over her eyes. "You'll catch your death of cold!"

"No one would ever climb a mountain if they were scared of falling!"

"Whose quote is that?"

"Who cares!" Sam cried. She grabbed Janet, pulling the petite woman off the porch and embracing her tightly. They swayed down the walkway, rain pelting them mercilessly as they spun circles on the brick path. Sam dipped Janet, making the doctor laugh out loud. When they reached the sidewalk, Sam held Janet close to her body and kissed her passionately, her hands pushing through wet clumps of Janet's hair.

The brunette's make-up had run down her face, making a veritable kabuki mask. Where her hair wasn't hanging limply, it stood out in wild shocks where Sam's fingers had run through it. Sam smoothed down her damage and said, "I love you, Janet."

"I lo--" Thunder roared and Janet looked into the sky. "Shut up!"

Sam laughed and kissed Janet's throat. The brunette was on her tiptoes, fingers curling in the short hair plastered against the back of Sam's neck. "I love you," Janet said, finishing her thought. "Do you still want to play in the rain?"

"I want to play with you," Sam whispered.

"Come inside."

---

Sam tucked the blankets around Janet's shoulders and smoothed the woman's hair against the pillow. Janet murmured in her sleep - a smattering of nonsense followed by a low chuckle - and kissed her lover's nose. She walked to the window and pushed the curtains back, smiling at the darkness beyond the glass. The rain was no longer falling, but the ozone scent remained. Sam put her hand to the cool glass and felt the wetness from earlier in the night.

*"What is thunder, Mommy?" ten-year-old Samantha asked her mother.*

*"Thunder," Alison Carter explained, "is God."*

*"God?!" the already skeptical girl scoffed. "Why is God so loud?"*

*The elder Carter picked Sam up and leaned against the window, staring up at the clouds pouring sheets of rain down on their house. "He's trying to tell you something... that your one-and-only is out there somewhere and one day you'll share a rain with them." She brushed her daughter's hair back.*

*"Can I share a rainstorm with my husband some day?"*

*"You can share a rainstorm with whoever you love with all your heart, okay, Samantha?"*

*"Okay, Mommy."*

"Sam?" The sound was plaintive, half a sob and half a demand.

"At the window, sweetie."

Janet got up and stumbled to Sam's side, tugging on her pajama top so it would cover her completely. She hugged Sam from behind and rested her head on the taller woman's back. "I hate waking up alone. It scares me."

"I know. I'm sorry." She found one of Janet's hands and brought it up to her mouth, kissing it.

"Come to bed," Janet said, already falling back. "Sleep with me."

"Okay," Sam said, letting the curtain fall back into place.