Sam pounded frantically at the door of her cell, desperate to escape. "Let me out of here! Why are you holding me prisoner?" She demanded. The faceless figure of her jailer appeared at the door's window.
"Because you have been found guilty." He stated, simply.
"Guilty of what?"
The Jailer said nothing, walking away. Sam yelled after him, but was ignored. A little later, her cell door opened and Jack O'Neill walked in. Relief washed over Sam at the sight of him.
"Oh, Colonel, thank God-"
"As you were, Major." O'Neill snapped. She blinked at his formality.
"You're here to get me out, right sir?" she asked
"No can do, Carter," he shook his head, "You're guilty, no two ways about it."
"Guilty of what?" she demanded, her voice tinged with frustration.
"Behavior unbecoming a 2IC, Major Carter."
Suddenly General Hammond was in the room with them, "You allowed yourself to develop feelings for your commanding officer, and for that you must be punished."
With that, both Hammond and O'Neill left. Sam screamed after them, "No! Jack! No, don't leave me! I can't help it, I love you! Jack!"
"Hey! Carter! Wake up!"
Sam was shocked awake by the sound of Jack's voice. She opened her eyes to see Jack, Daniel, Teal'C and Janet all watching her with shocked expressions on their faces.
"What?" she murmured, still half asleep. Memories came flooding back to her of the evening; it was poker night at Jack's place. She must have fallen asleep right there on his sofa.
"You were...uh, calling out in your sleep." Daniel told her.
"Screaming, more like it." Janet added.
Then Sam remembered what she'd been dreaming about. She started in horror, locking eyes with a stony-faced Jack.
"Oh, God! I...uh, I gotta go!" she stammered, and ran out of Jack's house, ignoring the calls from her friends. She drove the short distance to her apartment on auto-pilot, all the while remembering her dream and cursing herself for talking out-loud. What the hell must her friends be thinking? And Jack! Sam groaned as she recalled the hard look on Jack's face, similar to in her dream. He must be bitterly disappointed in her for not keeping her feelings under tighter control. She was a soldier, dammit! She was not supposed to have feelings for her C.O.!
She unlocked the door to her apartment, and the red blinking light on her answer machine immediately got her attention. With trepidation, she pressed the play button, and heard the voice she had dreaded.
"Sam...it's Jack. Damn I hate these things! Call me."
She sat down on her couch, wrapped her arms around her knees and just stared at the 'phone. There was no way she was going to be able to call him, not after what had happened. Did she even dare go into the base tomorrow, and risk facing him? Or worse, General Hammond?
No, that part of her dream wouldn't come true. They were all such good friends that this would be kept a closely-guarded secret. Sam sighed, and prepared for bed, though she doubted sleep would find her tonight.
***
Jack warily knocked on the door of Sam's lab the next morning, a peace-offering in the form of a cup of coffee in his hand. "Mind if I talk to you for a moment?" he asked
Sam sighed and waved him in, knowing this conversation was inevitable. "What exactly...happened last night, Carter?"
"I was having a bad dream sir."
'Sure, state the obvious'.
"Oookaaay." Jack's tone was one of 'let's play this your way, then', "What were you dreaming of?"
Sam swallowed hard, then decided to just blurt it out,
"I was locked up by General Hammond...and yourself...sir."
"What for?"
"'Behavior unbecoming a 2IC', to quote the General."
"Which means what?"
'What is this, twenty questions?' "I was accused of having...feelings for you, sir. Feelings which my 'dream-self' appeared to be guilty of having."
"Your 'dream-self'? C'mon Carter, you telling me you dreamt you had feelings for me you don't have in reality?" He looked hurt.
Sam was unsure how to answer that one without increasing the risk of a courts-martial.
"Why the interest, Colonel?" she said, finally
"Oh for cryin' out loud, Carter!" Jack now looked incredibly frustrated, "I just want to understand what's going on between us."
"Nothing's 'going on' between us, sir," Sam frowned, "You know it's against regulations."
"I know that," Jack sighed, taking a step closer, "I just wanted to know..."
"Know what, sir?" Jack cupped Sam's cheek with his hand, and she found herself leaning into his touch.
"If I wasn't the only one who feels this way." he admitted, "Who would give anything to throw away those damn regs." Sam stared into this chocolate eyes with wonder. Was this real, or had she simply gone back to sleep?
Jack leaned forward, and gently kissed her on the lips. The touch was electrifying, and woke Sam from the daze she was in. Her arms snaked around his neck as she kissed him back - three years of pent-up need fighting to be released. After what felt like an eternity, they broke off the kiss and embraced, savoring the feeling of their bodies pressed close.
"I love you, Sam." Jack murmured into Sam's hair.
"Oh God, I love you too, Jack!" she squeezed him tight against her, happy to the point of tears. As Jack moved to kiss her again, there was a coughing noise from the doorway.
"Sorry, are we interrupting something?" asked a grinning Daniel, with an equally pleased-looking Janet and Teal'C behind him in the corridor.
Diwedd.
"Last night, I was dreaming,
I was locked in a prison cell.
When I woke up, I was screaming,
Calling out your name.
"And the judge and the jury,
They all put the blame on me.
They didn't care for my story,
They wouldn't hear my plea.
"Only you can set me free,
Cause I'm guilty.
Guilty as a girl can be.
Come on baby can't you see,
I've been acccused of love in the first degree."
Story Notes: Author's notes: Inspired (if you can call it that) by the Bananarama song of the same name. Hey, it played on the radio at work, and got in my head. Don't blame me!
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]