DISCLAIMER: Not mine, no money, just some fluffy fun.....
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
SEQUEL: To Come Fly with Me...
Colonels at 7...
By ncruuk
"You sure you don't mind me drinking?" asked Sam Carter nervously, about to force her way through the crowded beach-side bar to get their drinks.
"Depends..." declared Mac, suddenly feeling bold, hoping she'd read the signals right.
"On?" asked Sam, hoping she was sending suitably readable signals.
"On whether you're planning on trying to kiss me later...if you are, get a tonic water as a chaser..." Mac enjoyed the heavy blush that started staining the Air Force Colonel's neck and cheeks, as well as the wide eyed reaction.
"Tonic with a twist of lime, right?" asked Sam, checking Mac's order in an effort to shift her mind from straying too deep into the gutter.
"Thanks..." confirmed Mac, happy to switch back to friendly professionalism, now the idea had been planted. Flashing another brilliant smile at Mac, not yet knowing what effect that smile was having on the normally disciplined Lieutenat Colonel, Sam melted into the crowd and headed to the bar, guessing that Mac would not have any problems keeping their table free from unwanted suitors whilst she was gone.
Just as Sam reached the order point, she felt her cell phone vibrating in the pocket of her shorts. Sighing in frustration, knowing only one person from the SGC who would call her at this time, she reached for the cell.
"Carter..."
*How's it going Sam?* asked Jack O'Neill jovially, kicking his booted feet up onto his desk.
"Fine Sir, thank you," replied Sam, carefully keeping an eye on her immediate space for anyone who might be trying to force ahead of her in the informal queue for the bartender's attention that had developed.
*You remembering to eat and sleep?* asked Jack, thinking he could hear the sounds of a bar in the background, glad that something or someone had finally managed to make Carter stop, even if it was just for a few moments.
"I won't work through the night Sir..." answered Sam, answering the question obliquely, unable to out and out lie to Jack O'Neill, but unwilling to tell him the whole truth about her plans - he may be a good friend, but there were some things he really didn't need to know.
*Cool...* Jack trailed off, unable to think of anything else that he needed to say, having only really rung Carter because he was bored - calling was the equivalent of going and playing in her lab with the 'doohickeys' whilst bugging her. Unfazed by the growing silence between them, Sam waited for Jack to start bugging her, knowing that was probably the only reason for his call. Not bothering to cut the line, when it got to her turn with the bartender, she called out
"Two tonics with twists of lime, and a mai tai..."
*Tonics and mai tais Carter?* spluttered Jack, having heard her order. Since when did she drink either of those, and where were the bottles of beer?
"Yes Sir..." confirmed Sam, handing over a few bills when the bartender returned, having thoughtfully arranged the drinks on the bar so she could grab them easily, once she'd dumped the cell phone.
*Mai tais?* Jack was struggling to picture her with the strong fruity cocktail. Since when had Carter ever drunk rum? He had strong memories of knocking back hard spirits with her after their very worst of missions, but mai tais?
"I owe a colonel a cocktail umbrella..." explained Sam cryptically yet simply, shoving her change in her pocket, preparing to dump Jack's call.
*Ah...* Jack paused whilst he pondered that statement, before glancing at a sheet of paper on his desk which outlined the details of Carter's trip.
*Don't do anything I wouldn't do Sam...* teased Jack, suddenly finding a few things make sense.
"That could be difficult Jack..." continued Sam, trapping the cell between her ear and shoulder before grabbing the drinks, deciding it could take a while to get rid of her obviously bored friend.
*You're not changing teams again are you?* asked Jack, recalling the lengthy conversations he'd had with Sam years ago when she'd explained about why Jonas Hanson really hadn't been going to work.
"No...no change there Jack..." Confused, Jack reached for the paper again. No, he still didn't see it. Deciding to be a bit more specific, glad that he had called from his private line rather than the secure base phone, he said
*There are a few females jarheads with personalities...*
"I know Jack...that wasn't what I meant..." explained Sam, placing the drinks carefully on their table, smiling apologetically at Mac, even more determined to finish her conversation quickly.
*More than a few female colonels too...* continued Jack, wondering how long it would be before Sam hung up on him, the background noise much quieter now, suggesting she'd returned to her table somewhere.
"Yeah, but never a JAG...gotta go Jack..." answered Sam quickly, confident that Jack's views on lawyers were even more extreme than those he had previously held for scientists.
*She checking you out?* he asked, grinning in amusement, not needing to see Sam to know she was blushing.
"Goodbye Jack..." Sam abruptly hung up the phone, leaving her friend laughing in his office. She was good to bug.
"Friend of yours?" asked Mac, curious as to how she was in the conversation.
"Yeah...tonic water..." explained Sam, passing one of the condensing glasses across to Mac who accepted it gratefully.
"Two tonic waters?" asked Mac flirtatiously, deciding the blush was very attractive on Sam, and also finding herself very curious to know just how far down the blonde's chest it ran.
"Yeah...for whoever finishes their drink first..." explained Sam, wondering if Mac would recognise the way out Sam was giving her. If Mac had been teasing Sam about the tonic chaser, Mac could drink her tonic quickly and claim the second. If she wasn't teasing....
"I'm a very slow drinker...it will be too warm to drink by the time I've finished this one..." declared Mac huskily, taking a coy sip of her drink.
"That's a relief...I don't like rum..." explained Sam, pushing her mai tai to the far end of the table, out of their immediate sight.
"So why'd you get it?" asked Mac, all flirtation forgotten as she was overtaken by genuine curiosity.
"I promised you a cocktail umbrella..." murmured Sam, her smile revealing the hints of flyboy cockiness that Mac so often found repulsive in others but now, sitting watching Colonel Carter carefully dip the end of the cocktail stick in her own tonic to ensure it didn't have any rum on it before offering it to Mac, Mac found it charming and sexy...
"Thank you...but that wasn't all you promised..." the curiosity satisfied, it was time to flirt again.
"No...you're right..." agreed Sam, gesturing towards the menus which were propped up in the corner of the table.
"Hungry?" she asked, recalling their earlier flirtation when 'clearance' had been offered in exchange for dinner.
"Starving..." agreed Mac, grabbing the menu, before saying casually, "...but I already know what I'm having for dessert..." It was a simple comment, delivered in the same tone of voice Mac used when speaking in court, perfectly serious and sensible...
"You do?" asked Sam, wondering what had caught Mac's eye on the menu, having not had a second to notice anything yet.
"Zoomie..."
The End