Daniel walked swiftly into the crowded commissary. By-passing the lunch line, he went straight to the coffee urn. While filling his cup, he scanned the room for his team-mates. Sitting at a table along the back wall, he spied Jack and Teal'c with their food spread out before them. With cup in hand, he maneuvered his way over to their table. Stifling a small yawn with his free hand, he managed a muffled "hey" as he sat in the vacant chair across from them.
"You're late," Jack groused as he unwrapped his silverware. "Burning the midnight oil again?"
"No more than usual," he replied before taking a sip of his coffee.
"Will Major Carter not be joining us?" Teal'c inquired.
"Um...no."
"Probably off recalibrating some whatchamaycallit," Jack mused before taking a big bite of his sandwich.
With a slight smile on his face, Daniel looked over his left shoulder and then his right before scooting his chair closer to the table. Leaning forward, he spoke in a low voice. "Actually," he paused. "Sam took the afternoon off to drive up to Denver ."
Jack knitted his eyebrows in concern. "How...unusually impulsive of her," he munched. Teal'c appeared curious. "Why would she not tell us?"
In the same low voice, Daniel added, "She's going to Denver on a blind date."
Jack's hand froze with his sandwich poised half way to his mouth. "Carter? Our Carter?" he asked suspiciously. "Didn't that last guy she was seeing...Orlin...didn't he die?"
"As did all of her previous suitors," Teal'c added in monotone.
Taken aback, Daniel could not believe what he was hearing. "Are you implying that Sam is some kind of a jinx?"
"No, but people are starting to talk," Jack responded defensively.
"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.
"That's ridiculous," Daniel said with some frustration. "The next thing you'll be telling me is they're calling her a-a-a black widow!"
Realizing he was speaking louder then he intended Daniel became concerned that his voice may have carried over to the other tables. He turned his head to make sure no one nearby heard him.
Teal'c started to speak only to be stopped by the soft touch of Jack's hand on his arm. With a shake of his head and a soundless ` shhh', Jack warned him to remain silent. By the time Daniel turned back to face them, both men acted like nothing transpired.
"So, who's the lucky fella?" Jack questioned.
With some hesitancy, Daniel answered, "Someone her brother knows.
Sam would kill me if she knew I knew...I overheard her telling Janet about it."
"Eavesdropping on other people's conversations, Daniel, will only get you into trouble," Jack scolded before taking another bite of his food. "What else did she say?"
With their curiosity tweaked, Daniel was anxious to continue with his juicy gossip. "Sam's brother has been trying to fix her up with one of his friends...."
"Loooooser," Jack cut him off in sing-song fashion. "If a guy can't get a date on his own, then there's gotta be something wrong with him."
With a solemn face, Teal'c inquired, "When was the last time you were on a date O'Neill?"
Jack's eyes narrowed as he stared back at him. Daniel's eyes shifted from Jack to Teal'c and back to Jack anticipating a duel of words. Instead, Jack whipped his attention back to Daniel, "What were you saying Daniel?"
Daniel started to respond only to get cut off again.
"I have been busy," Jack directed himself to Teal'c. "It's not like I'm not interested."
"No doubt," Teal'c tried sounding sympathetic.
Waving his hand to the side of his head, Jack defended, "Just because there's a little snow on top doesn't mean I'm dead, you know."
Teal'c kept a stone face.
"How did we get off the subject of Carter?" Jack said with some exasperation.
Clearing his throat, Daniel moved on. "As I was saying, Sam's brother has been trying to fix her up with one of his friends, and Sam felt it was time she met him. Her words were, `She had to seize the moment'."
The remark caused Jack's head to jerk back in surprise. "Seize the moment? What's that suppose to mean?"
"I have no idea," Daniel said before taking another sip of coffee.
"Perhaps, Major Carter is still recovering from her ordeal on the Prometheus?" Teal'c theorized. "Making positive changes in one's lifestyle is a way of coping from a traumatic event."
Jack's brow furrowed deeper. "Still reading those books on psychology, T?" Placing what was left of his sandwich on his plate , he sighed, "I don't know what scares me more...Teal'c psychoanalyzing, or Carter acting weird."
"I think Teal'c may be on to something," Daniel jumped in.. "With her injuries, its possible Sam wasn't expecting to make it back. Maybe , she's trying to make up for the things in life she missed."
"Going for the gusto?" Jack smiled whimsically.
"I was thinking more along the line of her biological clock," Daniel replied.
"Ack!" Jack raised his finger in warning. "Don't even go there."
"Sorry."
"Look...assuming Dr. Spock here," Jack tilted his head towards Teal'c, "is right...taking personal time off doesn't give me warrant for concern. Have there been any other changes in her behavior that I should be aware of? Anything you feel is out of the norm for Carter?"
"Major Carter has been unusually happy," Teal'c responded.
"Happy, you say? Yes, I can see how that can be a bad sign," Jack said sarcastically.
"She has spent much time singing to herself."
" Singing?" Jack questioned.
Daniel nodded, "Now that you've mentioned it, she has been humming a lot."
Perturbed, Jack had to complain. "You two make no sense!"
"Music helps to reduce negative reactions to thoughts, feelings, and perceptions," Teal'c stated as though he were reading it from a book. "Her singing is a deception."
"In other words, she's depressed? Trying to avoid a bad memory?" Daniel stressed.
"We are talking about the same person here, right?" Jack interrupted. "Carter doesn't have a depressed bone in her body. She's the only person I know outside of Daniel who finds work fun."
Teal'c, in his most somber tone, replied, "That may be the problem."
-------------------
Monday morning, Jack was riding the elevator down to his office. On the sixteenth floor, the elevator doors opened to reveal Sam and Daniel standing there.
"Colonel?"
"Carter."
"Coffee," Daniel yawned while thumbing his intentions in an opposite direction.
"Talk to you later, okay?" Sam directed her question to Daniel as she got on the elevator.
After reaching across O'Neill to select the floor she wanted, Sam stood in silence. After a few seconds, she started humming a playful tune.
"Humming?"
~The End~
Thanks to my friend Thel for her help and wonderful suggestions. Any errors are mine. This fic has not been beta.
September 2005 The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.