After a long, hard, off-world mission, there was nothing better than a warm, toasty fire, a big comfy chair, a cup of steaming hot cocoa, and a .... doorbell? Who on earth? It was almost nine P.M. There it went again. Maybe if she ignored it, whoever it was would go away.
"Carter? I know you're in there."
'Or not.' Sighing heavily, Sam turned off the burner on the stove and headed for the door, securing her bathrobe at the waist as she did so. Old habits die hard, and she found herself checking out her not-so-mysterious visitor through the door's peep-hole, even as she unlocked the door.
"'Bout time! What took so long?"
Jack's impatient tone was out of the ordinary for a surprise visit, and Sam found herself gaping silently at the man as he stood in her foyer. Finally finding her voice, she motioned toward the living room, "Come in, sir. It's cold out."
"You got that one right, Carter." Jack stomped the snow off his boots and hurried past the young woman to stand in front of the fire. Rubbing his hands in front of the flames, he glanced back at her and frowned.
Suddenly concerned, Sam asked hastily, "Colonel, is there something wrong?"
"Huh? Oh, no, nothing at all, I was just... Carter, what are you wearing?"
Sam glanced down at her dark purple terrycloth robe, wondering just what the problem was. "My bathrobe, sir."
"No, I mean on your feet."
Suddenly remembering she'd chosen her dark rose jammies - the ones with the feet - to snuggle down into on this cold, winter evening, she found herself turning the same dark rose color. Of all the stupid... Crud! Gathering all the dignity she could, she responded quietly, "My jammies."
"Ah huh."
His non-committal reply released a surprising flow of explanation from the annoyed major. "The heater stopped working in my car, and my feet were one big block of ice by the time I got home, and the snow fell off the roof onto my head just as I passed underneath so I got into a hot tub and that felt great, but I still wasn't warm enough, so I put the jammies on and started a fire and was about to have a cup of cocoa when the doorbell rang, and what do you want, sir?"
As Jack struggled to work his way through her ... question, the doorbell rang. Fuming, she stalked back to the foyer, and flung the door open. Daniel's smile turned into a lively grin as he stepped into the foyer, carrying a grocery bag in each arm. "Thanks Sam. Wow, like the color of that robe. Looks good on you. I'll just put the bags in the kitchen for now."
"I'll get the door." Jack offered helpfully as Daniel dodged the sofa, leaving Sam standing stunned in her foyer. She stared after them for a short moment before realizing that the front door was open and the room wasn't getting any warmer. Slamming it more violently than she'd intended, Sam took a deep breath and followed the men, determined to find out what was going on.
From the kitchen she could hear the tail end of a bad joke Janet had told her the day before. From Daniel's laughter she could tell that his opinion of the subject matter wasn't as low as hers had been. As the pair exited the kitchen, Daniel's eyes widened. "Sam, why on earth are you wearing jammies?"
The colonel beat her to the punch. "Her feet got cold."
"Oh. Okay." Daniel shrugged as he flopped onto the sofa. "Teal'c and Janet should be here soon."
"Huh?" Sam's astonished voice caused Jack to frown once more.
"Carter, are you all right? You look a little tense."
"Am I ... what..." As she struggled to speak, the doorbell rang again. "...why..."
"Sam?"
"*What?*"
"The door?"
"I know that." Sam jerked the door open, causing the decorative wreath in its center to crash to the floor.
"Your wreath has broken, Major Carter." Teal'c's dark eyes bored into her own blue ones, as if reading her soul. Kneeling, he collected the dried herbs from the floor and placed them on the table by the door. "Perhaps you will be able to repair it."
"Yeah. Right." Looking from the Jaffa to Janet and back to the Jaffa, she motioned to the living room. "Come on in."
Janet gave her a confused glance as she preceded Teal'c into the house. "Sam, are you feeling all right?"
Gulping, Sam forced herself to be calm. "I'm fine. Just peachy. Why do you ask?"
"You seem a little tense. And you're not dressed for company. I mean, you're in your pajamas."
"Her feet were cold." Daniel interjected helpfully as he took the grocery bag Janet was carrying and headed for the kitchen once more.
Teal'c nodded understandingly. "Cold feet, warm heart."
"W..what?" Sam was stunned by the Jaffa's words.
"Is that not the correct phrase, Major Carter?"
"No. Yes. I don't..."
Janet's concern deepened. "Sam, if you're not feeling well..."
"I'm fine. It's just that, well, this is all so unexpected."
"What's unexpected?" Jack asked curiously, beating Janet to the punch by mere seconds.
"You, them, all of this." Sam flung her arms out to encompass all of her guests as well as the foodstuffs which Daniel and Teal'c were now laying out on *her* bar.
Jack and Janet exchanged confused glances, before Jack finally spoke up. "Uh, Carter. It's the third Wednesday in the month."
Her jaw dropped as she fumbled absently with the tie to her robe. "The .... third ... Wednesday? As in poker night? As in my month to host?"
The colonel nodded slowly, his concern rising as his 2IC's color faded. "I...I thought it was Tuesday." She added desperately, "We were only gone one night."
Janet frowned. "Sam, you're the one who explained how the day and night are messed up on PR3-862 and that its night is much longer than ours. Remember?"
"Uh. Yes?" She moved absently to the door as the doorbell once again buzzed.
"That'll be the general." Jack commented as Sam's hand hit the doorknob.
Her eyes widened in horror as she glanced down at her attire while the buzzer rang annoyingly loud. "What!"
******
"Huh? What?" Sam blinked sleepily as she pushed herself out of her over-stuffed chair, the smell of smoke entirely too close for comfort, and the smoke detector making a horrible buzzing noise. "Oh my gosh!"
The kitchen was filled with smoke when she entered, and she found herself coughing heavily as she turned off the burner, doused the fire in what had been her favorite hot chocolate pot, cut on the exhaust fan, and opened the window. She leaned against the refrigerator as the smoke quickly cleared, groaning, "Holy Hannah. A dream. It was only a dream."
Breathing a sigh of relief that her attire would *not* be the talk of the SGC in the morning, Sam heated more hot chocolate, and carefully carried the huge mug back to her living room, where she sank, drained and exhausted, into her over-stuffed chair. Sighing in satisfaction, she took a sip of the cocoa. Really, after a long, hard, off-world mission, there was nothing better than a warm, toasty fire, a big comfy chair, a cup of steaming hot cocoa, and a ... oh for crying out loud! Not the doorbell!
© December 14, 2000 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.
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