DISCLAIMER: SG-1 its characters belong to B.W, J.G. and MGM. No copyright infringement intended, no money be made.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Written for the 2011 International Day of Femslash Sam and Janet Ficathon. Special thanks to my betas: shesgottaread, jazwriter, quiethearted. You make me better than I am.
DEDICATION: As always, dedicated to my girl, quiethearted. I love you, darlin'.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
FEEDBACK: To dhamphir[at]ymail.com
The Secret Admirer
By Dhamphir
Janet rubbed her lower back as she walked down the hallway. It had been a grueling surgery, but Cpl. Miller was going to keep his leg. It was quiet in the infirmary due to the late hour. She quickly checked the readouts for each of the four sleeping patients as she passed through the ward on the way to her office. Everything looked good.
In her office she dropped heavily into her chair, laid her head back, and closed her eyes with a sigh. She needed to get home. Cassie was visiting with Janet's parents for a few days, and Janet wanted to take advantage of the time to paint her daughter's room. Sam was coming over in the morning to help. And if she knew the blonde at all, she'd probably find Sam still at work in her lab.
With another sigh, Janet made herself sit up. When she opened her eyes, she suddenly noticed the vase sitting on her desk, holding a single Henry's lily. There was a small note attached. She untied the ribbon from the vase and read the note.
A beautiful flower for a beautiful woman.
– from a secret admirer
Janet couldn't keep from smiling, even though the idea of a secret admirer was kind of silly to her. She couldn't imagine who would go to all the trouble of tracking down a type of tiger lily native to China simply because it was her favorite. Still smiling, she stood, picked up the vase, grabbed her purse and keys, and left her office, locking the door behind her. She rode the elevator up to the nineteenth level where she got off.
Just as she had thought, the lights were on in Sam's lab. She leaned against the doorjamb and watched as her friend worked, completely absorbed by the piece of alien technology before her. Finally Janet broke the silence.
"Okay, Sam, time to call it a night." She wasn't surprised she didn't get a response. When Sam was focused, she could block out a freight train. "Sam," she called a little louder but to no avail. Janet shook her head and sighed. There was only one way to break through the blonde's concentration.
Janet used her most authoritative voice and barked, "Major Carter!" She chuckled when Sam startled and actually stiffened to attention.
"Don't do that!" Sam exclaimed as she blushed.
Janet gently laughed. "Come on, Sam. It's late and past time to get out of here."
Sam gazed at the artifact for a few moments but finally shut it off and grabbed her jacket.
"You didn't eat dinner, did you?" Janet asked as they walked to the elevator.
"Uh, no."
"Neither did I. I have a chicken casserole that I can heat up. You're welcome to share it with me and stay the night."
"That would be great. Then we can get an early start on painting Cassie's room in the morning." Sam used her keycard to open the elevator door. After hitting the button for the surface she gestured to the vase and flower Janet was holding. "That's a pretty flower. It's your favorite, right?"
"Yes, it is. I found on it on my desk. Someone left it for me."
"Oh? A secret admirer?"
"As a matter of fact..."
Sam tapped on the open door of Janet's office. "Janet?" When she didn't get a response, she took a step inside and found the doctor sitting at her desk with her nose buried in a book. "Janet?" she asked a little louder.
The doctor startled and blushed as she quickly closed the book she'd been reading. "Sam! What can I do for you?"
Sam grinned. "Must be a good book to have you so engrossed. What is it?" She was surprised to see Janet's blush deepen. "Janet?"
Janet simply held the book up so Sam could read the title: Wild Jasmine.
"Isn't that the last book of the O'Malley Family Series?"
"Yeah. It's the only one I didn't have."
"When did you buy it?"
"I didn't. It was waiting for me on my desk with a note saying it was to complete my set and that it was from a secret admirer."
"Oh." Sam would've bet that no one else knew about Janet's guilty pleasure of reading Bertrice Small books. They weren't ever out where just anyone could see them. They were in her private office in her house.
"Yeah. First it was my favorite flower last week, and now a book by my favorite author," Janet said with a smile.
Sam turned and headed for the door.
"Sam? Was there something you needed?"
"No," she replied on the way out.
"Mmmm..." Janet couldn't help the smile that graced her lips or the soft moan of pleasure that escaped as she savored the exquisite flavor of the silky, dark chocolate that melted on her tongue.
She had been thrilled to find a box of the Amedei Toscano Black 70 napolitains on her desk. As far as she was concerned, Amedei Toscano Black 70 was the absolute best dark chocolate in the world. She first had tasted it when her father had brought some home from a temporary assignment he'd had in Italy. It wasn't something that she bought for herself very often because she just couldn't justify spending money on a treat that was over sixty dollars per pound.
It was only after the last of the delicious morsel melted away that she reached for the note that sat next to the box of delightful treats. Just as she'd suspected, the chocolates were from her secret admirer. She set the note down and took out a second piece of the irresistible treat. She unwrapped the foil and bit the small square of dark chocolate in half.
"Mmmm..."
"Enjoying yourself?"
Janet opened her eyes and saw Sam leaning against the filing cabinet next to her desk. "You have no idea," she replied before popping the other half of the chocolate square in her mouth.
Sam looked at the box on the desk. "You haven't bought any Amedei chocolate in a long time. What's the special occasion?"
"I didn't buy these. Another gift from my secret admirer."
"I see. Any idea who it is?"
"Well, I can't be sure. But obviously it's someone who knows me well enough to know my favorite flower, my favorite author, and my favorite treat." She paused for a moment and picked up the note. "They also know my favorite restaurant," she said with a smile. "I've decided to meet them for dinner tonight, so I'll find out at eight who it is."
Sam paced in front of Trattoria's. She had gotten there at 7:15 just to make sure she arrived before Janet did. She'd waited in her car for a while, but then her nerves got the best of her and she just couldn't sit still any longer. So she'd gotten out of her car and started pacing in the parking lot. Eventually, as the appointed time inched closer and closer, she relocated her pacing to near the entrance of the restaurant so that she wouldn't miss Janet's arrival.
Finally, she turned and saw Janet walking toward the entrance. She felt her heartbeat quicken, and she took a deep breath to try to steady herself. She stepped forward.
"Janet."
"Sam. What–"
"Don't go inside." Sam grabbed Janet's hand and then led her away from the entrance.
"Sam! What's gotten into you?!" Janet exclaimed as she pulled her hand free.
The blonde turned and looked her best friend in the eyes. "Your secret admirer – you don't know who it is, yet they know things about you. Things that they wouldn't know unless they've been in your house, Janet. Think about it. I mean how many people have you told that the Henry's lily is your favorite flower?"
"There are a few people who could know that. After all, it's not a secret I enjoy gardening. I've discussed the topic with a few people."
"And what about your Bertrice Small book collection? I know you don't go around talking about that."
Janet dropped her gaze as she blushed. "No, I don't." She looked back up at Sam. "But I have had people in my home office on occasion."
"But what about your love of Amedei dark chocolate? I happen to know that not even Cassie knows about that. She has no clue where you've hidden your secret stash when you've had some. She doesn't know that you hide it in an ice bucket in a kitchen cabinet so high that you have to use a step stool to reach it." Sam paused half a beat. "How many people know about that, Janet?"
The doctor smiled. "As far as I know there's only one person – you."
"Then why are you here to meet someone who could be some kind of stalker?!"
"I came here thinking you were my secret admirer."
"Oh." It took half a second for Janet's words to really sink in. "Oh!" Sam had never really dared to hope that Janet might harbor feelings for her similar to what she had for Janet. "You came even though you thought it was me?"
Janet stepped forward, closing the distance between them. "Sam, I wouldn't have come if I didn't think it was you."
Sam leaned in and brushed her lips against Janet's. Her heart trip hammered when Janet not only accepted but returned her kiss. As they parted she couldn't keep from grinning.
Janet returned her smile. "What do you say we get out of here, pick up some takeout, and talk about how long I've admired you?"
"Sounds good to me," Sam replied, still grinning.
Inside Trattoria's, Daniel Jackson waited until 9:00 before finally giving up hope that Janet would show up for dinner.
The End