Mountainside

Four weeks had passed since I'd had the audacity to grope Sam Carter in a public parking lot. Since that time, I had hardly seen her. She was either on a mission or in her lab, and crises of medical and parental design kept me occupied as well. There'd been those five hours dealing with a Goa'uld biotoxin, and phone calls at least three times a week, but it wasn't the same.

Base-to-home and base-to-base phone calls were dangerous. I was always afraid of being overheard, or recorded. Our conversations were short and awkward. And what did we have to say to each other after one and a half dates and a few kisses? "I love you" was out of the question. "I miss you" seemed to be the three defining words of our existence.

Today would be different. I would be bold.

I wanted to set up a third date with her. On third dates, certain people expect certain things. I wanted those things. I wanted her to want those things, too. I wanted to make love to Sam Carter, and after four weeks of waiting, I was frustrated enough to ask her outright.

The only problem was that I was unable to find her. Sam's most recent mission, which had ended two hours ago, had been uneventfully successful. I knew that after every mission that didn't require my services in medical or Sam disarming some sort of earth-destroying device, Sam got 24 hours leave.

I reasoned she hadn't left yet, because I had found her car in the parking lot and left a note, so I was standing outside Sam's lab, staring at the closed blast door. I had not been able to find Sam anywhere else on base, and maybe I was just missing her in the hallways, but this was the only locked door I encountered, and it stymied me.

I tried my access card again. I knocked. I pressed my ear to the door. Fucking soundproof secret military labs.

I began to pace. I worked out a routine: six steps down the hall, two on the perpendicular, six steps back. I was on step 47 when Colonel O'Neill appeared.

"Hey, Doc," He slowed his footsteps and looked between the door and me. "Mind if I ask what you're doing?"

~Stalking my girlfriend.~ "Waiting for Sam," I ventured.

He nodded. "She brought back a hot little thing from the planet. Didja hear?" He whistled. "Bet she's in there right now, learning those secrets."

I was rendered speechless. Luckily, he winked and was on his way. As soon as he turned the corner I faced the door again and growled. The door did not respond. I sighed. I pressed my ear against the steel again. I heard muffled buzzing. Machinery? Sam making passionate love to a beautiful alien girl?

I was probably old enough to be that girl's mother. I had wrinkles. I was anal about my work. Sam probably just seduced me so she could notch me on her belt, since I had a higher rank then those wide-eyed lieutenants that treated SG1 like a pro sports team. At least there was that.

I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead against the door. I imagined Sam, her expression shy and wide-eyed as she bent to kiss me. She was loyal. She respected me. I was just crazy. I banged my head against the steel.

"Doctor Fraiser."

I yelped and whirled around to see Teal'c standing in the middle of the corridor.

"Are you in need of assistance?"

"Me?" I asked.

"You seem to be injuring yourself purposely. Are you well?"

"I was just... hoping to see Sam."

He accepted this information noncommittally. I appreciated that. "Do you believe she is inside?" He inquired.

"I believe--I mean, I think so."

He nodded and studied the door. "Can you not get into the room."

"My card access doesn't work." I frowned.

Teal'c pondered. "Would you like me to force the door."

"Force the door?"

He looked steadily at me. I considered. If we busted in, and Sam was engaged in a tryst, how would I feel? Miserable. If we forced the door, and Sam wasn't doing anything, or wasn't inside, how could she ever trust me again? What kind of person would I be? I was ashamed just considering it. "No, Teal'c," I murmured. "Thank you."

He inclined his head, and ambled down the corridor.

I exhaled.

I was on step 95 when Daniel Jackson appeared. "Hey, Janet."

"Hi, Doctor Jackson." I returned. I gave him my best miserable puppy dog look. "Have you seen Sam?"

He nodded. "I saw her on level 24 about a half hour ago. Are you looking for her?"

"Yes."

"Then why are you here at the lab?" He glanced at the door.

"This is where she normally is."

"Ah...yeah." He exhaled. "It's being fumigated, though. That's kind of my fault... See..."

I wasn't listening. "She's not in the lab?"

He looked bewildered. "No."

"Then I should go find her."

I was halfway down the corridor before Daniel stopped me. "Wait!"

I turned around.

"Is it an emergency? Is she okay?"

"Everything's fine!" I was already moving again. "It's just about dinner plans."

"Okay..." He waved as I rounded the corner.

* * *

Night had fallen when I finally found Sam. She was sitting on an outcropping on Cheyenne Mountain. I shivered. The nights were getting colder. "Sam?" I called into the darkness.

Sam's head turned toward me, and the blonde broke into a smile that warmed me.

"Hey!" I called.

"Hey, yourself." Sam responded, still smiling, still watching me. I blushed under her gaze and approached the ledge. She was wearing civvies--jeans and a leather jacket over a flannel shirt. She looked stunning--the unassuming garb directed my attention to her features. Her blond hair was slightly mussed, and her eyes were dark in the reflected searchlights.

"If you want to be alone..." I offered, politeness overcoming my libido briefly.

Sam looked at me curiously. "Why would I want to be alone? I've been waiting for you."

"Waiting for me?"

"Didn't you get my note?" Sam squinted.

"Your note?"

Sam frowned. "I left it on the chair in your office."

"My office?" I echoed, as I finally reached the ledge, scrambling to Sam's side, wondering why she had chosen such a high ledge. She was used to outdoor adventure, but damnit, I was a doctor, not a goat.

Sam offered a hand to steady me, and I forgave her. We didn't let go once I was safely seated at her side.

"Are you going to keep repeating everything I say?" Sam asked lightly.

"Was I repeating everything you--" I stopped and blushed.

Sam grinned.

"What have you been doing?" I asked, before she could call me a goat. I knew she would, the way I was nervously repositioning my feet in the dirt, and trying not to look down.

"Stargazing," she answered softly.

I looked up into the cold night sky. Stars twinkled above like distant ice crystals. I shivered again. Was the air thinner up here? Were we closer to the vacuum of space?

"Janet." Sam murmured, interrupting me before I could reach out and touch the velvet night. "You must be cold. Why didn't you change clothes?" She let go of my fingers and began shrugging out of her jacket.

I was willing to freeze if she'd hold my hand again. "Because I didn't get your note." I smiled. "Sam, you don't have to--" I said as Sam draped the leather coat over my shoulders.

"Shush," Sam said, tucking the collar gently around my neck.

"But you'll be cold," I chided.

"Then warm me."

That was the invitation I'd been waiting for all day. For four weeks, even. I wrapped my arms around Sam and rested my chin on her shoulder. I could smell her hair, and inhaled deeply.

Sam found my hands encircling her waist and covered them with her own. "Look upward."

I again looked at the stars. Warmed by Sam's body heat, surrounded by her scent and the warm jacket, the stars seemed further away. Their coldness didn't touch me anymore. "Bet you can name them all," I murmured against Sam's ear.

"I can," Sam said quietly. "See the brightest one? At 4 o'clock?"

"The one that's moving?"

"Yeah, the airplane," Sam said, chuckling. I squeezed her. Snuggling is punishment for setting me up. "Two stars above that... That's where we were today."

"All the way out there." I looked at the distant, dim speck. I shivered again.

Sam felt it, and lifted our clasped hands. I felt her lips against my palm. "It was nothing special," Sam reported. "Just the ruins of yet another civilization that died off before we had a chance to meet them. But--" She let go of my hands, then turned toward me, sliding her hands into the jacket I was wearing. She stroked my sides.

I sat still. "Uh, Sam..." I refused to confess how much she was tickling me, as her fingers wriggled determinedly.

Sam grinned and pulled out a brown paper sample bag from one of the jacket's inner pockets. She thrust it at§ me. "A present," she announced. Her smile was wide, but she sat back from me. In case I hated whatever she brought me, she'd have space to run.

"Sam." I opened the paper bag. Inside was a shard of pottery in the shape of a disc, broken in half. The figure of a woman was in the center. The edges of the circle were decorated with symbols--runes--like the Zodiac or the Stargate.

"It's a starchart," Sam said, betraying her eagerness as she touched the stone herself, moving closer to me again and tracing the lines on the stone. "Daniel thinks the woman is their sun, maybe their goddess. He doesn't think the similarity to the Stargate is a coincidence, but the symbols seem to line up with the local star field, not the cartouche."

"You brought me a starchart?" I winced at the incredulousness in my voice, and how Sam blushed at my tone.

"Or maybe a coaster," she explained. "Daniel's not sure. But since you rarely get off-world, I thought...bring some of the wonder to you."

"Sam." I exhaled, turning the disc over in my hand. "It's beautiful."

"Really?"

I tucked the fragment back into its bag and slid it into my jacket again. "You did good," I reassured her. "Really, really good." I cupped Sam's face in my hands and leaned in, kissing her cold lips. "I have something to offer you in return," I said.

"What?"

"Myself."

Sam's eyes widened and I kissed her again. This time I coaxed her lips apart and slipped into her warm, yielding mouth.

Sam welcomed my intrusion by capturing my tongue and suckling. I moaned against her lips, and grasped for her hand, squeezing it tightly.

Sam drew back. "I get you?"

I led Sam's hand inside the jacket, pressing it against my left breast. I knew by the way her eyes widened that she could feel my heart beating. The intimate touch of her hand made me blush. The barest pressure aroused me. "My heart and my body, Sam, if you want them."

Sam cupped my breast and I closed my eyes. She gently squeezed. "Janet."

I opened my eyes and found our mouths millimeters apart.

"What about your mind?" She asked seriously.

I grinned. "Sorry, lost that years ago."

Sam leaned back and laughed. She looked up at the stars and then back at me. After a moment's pause, she bit her lip and stood, offering me the hand that had abandoned my flesh. "Let's go back inside."

I clasped her fingers and allowed myself to be pulled to my feet. "Why?"

"I want to make love to you in my quarters."

I froze. "Your quarters?" That had not been part of my plan. I looked at the Colorado sky. "Why not...at home?"

Sam squeezed my hand. "Base is closer. Besides," She said, drawing me closer. "Haven't you thought about it that way? Fantasized about me in uniform?" Her breath brushed my ear with each word.

"Yes," I admitted. "But you're not in uniform."

Sam grinned. "I'm still wearing my dog tags."

"Well, then," I teased. "Sweep me off my feet, Major."

* * *

We walked back into the base, not exactly hand-in-hand, but shoulder-to-shoulder. We spent the 20-odd levels of elevator not looking at each other. I was fidgeting. The anticipation was causing me more stress than performing surgery and the performance anxiety was comparable.

Sam Carter was going to sleep with me. Right now. I shivered and drew the jacket around me as a shield, despite the mild temperature of the installation. I could say no at any time. I could say no and it wouldn't affect our relationship. She'd understand. Despite this being my idea, she wouldn't hold it against me.

I inhaled sharply. She looked at me, startled by the sound. I met her eyes, and saw fear in her expression. "Sam," I said softly, stepping toward her.

The elevator stopped.

I gave her a small grin and stepped out into the corridor. She quickly took my side, and we walked to her base quarters. Rank, prestige, and the necessities of the program had allowed her to install a double bed. The door slid shut behind us.

I slid out of the leather jacket and draped it carefully over a chair. I looked at her. Did we just start kissing? I tried to remember how things had worked with my former lovers. Awkward stumbling... That wasn't helpful, although the awkwardness was certainly familiar. I smiled.

Sam smiled back, so encouragingly I finally accepted that she wanted this. She wanted me, and while I might find her opinion crazy, she wasn't going to change her mind. Suddenly, I knew I could please her.

She'd known this all along. Sam was a smart one.

"Sam," I said. My voice cracked and I cleared my throat. "Did you mention you had dog tags?"

She happily lifted her shirt. As she tugged the cotton over her head, I couldn't have told her under threat of interrogation if she was actually wearing the promised dog tags. I was staring at the swell of her breasts. She was wearing a sports bra and I could see her nipples pressing against the fabric.

"Hey, Janet," she called, drawing my attention back up to her face. She was grinning and moving closer. "You're the one still in uniform."

I was? I glanced down at myself. I was.

She reached for the buttons of my blouse. I looked up, finding her expression coy and rakish. "Can I see your dog tags?" She asked.

"Yes, Sam."

I exhaled as she carefully unbuttoned my shirt. I helped her along by stepping out of my heels and unbuttoning my slacks. My actions distracted me from the sensation of her hands brushing my breasts, and the sudden exposure.

She found the steel chain at my neck and toyed with it. I placed my hands on her hips, hooking my fingers into denim belt loops. "Sam."

"Mm?"

"Kiss me."

She did. Her mouth descended to crush mine and I could only succumb to her and try to remain standing. I allowed myself to enjoy the brush of her tongue over my lips until she let out a mewling sound. I opened my mouth and her tongue, delicate and warm, slipped against my teeth. We kissed, standing there in her quarters.

Her soft mouth moved against mine. I was tugging at her jeans to urge her closer. Our bodies were already pressed together. If she moaned against my lips one more time I was going to faint. I released my fingers from the loops and wrapped my arms around her. My palms slid across her bare back.

She moaned, and my knees went weak. I dug my nails into her skin to hold myself upright, and she moaned again. She at least had the decency to notice I was falling and held me tighter. She arched her head back.

"Sam," I panted, pulling myself more sturdily against her. God, I could feel her heart beating against my cheek.

"What?" She asked, and began nuzzling my hair.

"Stop moaning," I breathed.

"Aw." Her hands went to my hair, and she began tugging at the barrettes that kept it pinned back.

"Sam, what are you doing?"

"I want to see your hair down."

"No, you don't," I blushed. I found the edge of her bra and worked my fingers under it, hoping to distract her.

"Yes, I do," she insisted, and to prove it she released the clasp, and my hair cascaded around my shoulders. I sighed.

I felt her breath against my scalp. "You wanton woman," she declared, fingering reddish-brown strands. Suddenly, I felt beautiful. I stepped back.

Sam watched me, her nostrils contracting and expanding with her breath. I reached behind my back and unclasped my bra, then drew it down my arms. Sam made a sound, not quite a moan, not quite a whimper, but damn encouraging.

I moved back into her personal space, and put my hands on her sides, sliding up to her bra. I tugged it upward, and she had to finish pulling it over her head herself. ~Damn tall people.~ I reached for the button on her jeans.

"Janet," she warned.

"Yes, sweetheart?" I watched her convulse at my endearment. Goosebumps appeared on her breasts. I watched as her nipples puckered, seeming to reach toward me. I leaned closer, my head at the perfect height to blow against them.

"Janet!"

I blinked and looked up. My hands stilled on her fly. "What?"

Her face was flushed. "Either kiss my nipples or unzip my pants, Janet... God, do something."

I chuckled, sliding the zipper down on her jeans. I slipped my hands inside, pushing the denim down and catching her underwear with it. I helped her step out of her clothes, and then stood up, wrapping my arms around her nude body.

God, her skin was exquisite. And warm. And expansive. My hands traveled everywhere they could reach, and only found more Sam. I pressed my nose into the side of her breast, inhaling her scent.

"Janet!" Sam yelped.

I looked up at her, bewildered.

"Cold nose," she said apologetically.

I grinned and reluctantly stepped away from her. "Should we turn down the bed?" I said, gesturing to the bed.

She looked over. "Uh... Yes." I watched her bite her lip, then flash a brilliant smile. "We definitely should."

We walked to opposite sides of the bed and pulled the blankets down, walking in tandem until we'd freed a space for ourselves. I knelt on the bed.

"Wait," Sam said.

I looked at her.

"Take off your panties," She asked.

Who was I to refuse? I took a step back so she could see me over the bed, and slid my panties down. She moaned, and then looked apologetic. I blushed. I resisted the urge to cover my bush, as untamed as my hair, and forced myself to stand before her.

She knelt on the bed. "Janet," she murmured. "I want you." She crawled toward me, four-legged on the sheets, her back arched into a curve that I wanted to trace with my tongue.

I slid into bed, leaning back on the headboard just as she reached me and kissed me. I buried my fingers in her short hair and held her against me as our mouths opened to one another. I curled my tongue along hers, drawing it between my lips. She groaned, and I slid further down, pulling her over me.

Her breasts pressed against mine, and I could feel the hard points of her nipples against my skin. We continued kissing, as I slid my hand down her back, tracing the flesh I had fantasized about only moments before.

I spread my legs as her knee nudged its way toward my center. I gasped as cool air brushed against me, cooling the wetness I hadn't realized was on my thighs. "Sam," I breathed, willing her to see my arousal and how much I needed her.

She immediately slipped her hand between my legs, touching me. I moaned.

"Moan again," she begged, cupping my vulva, her fingers industriously working their way between my lips.

I moaned again and tugged her into another kiss. I bent my knees and opened my legs wider, willing her to keep her hand where it was, and keep her weight on top of me. Her fingers stroked my clitoris, and her other arm was next to my ear, propping herself up, although I wouldn't have minded if she crushed me.

It felt more different than I had imagined having a hand other than my own touch me. Her fingers were deft and gentle. I realized she was being careful as she explored me, and my stomach flip-flopped with sudden emotion.

Breaking away from the kiss, I turned and nibbled at her arm, the one at my head. I felt the corded muscles tense against my lips, and Sam let out a groan of frustration. "Janet," she urged, drawing my attention back to her face.

We locked gazes. Her fingers urgently worked me. She was touching me intimately and watching me squirm and shiver under her. Her position over me seemed protective. I let myself go in a way I never had before. I grunted, and surprised myself with the sound. We'd barely started, but I felt I couldn't see or feel her any longer without coming. "Sam," I whimpered.

She bent down and kissed my forehead. I convulsed, and had to turn away, tossing my head. With the heat of her lips against my skin, I came against her hand. I shook violently with the orgasm. She continued to stroke me and kiss my face. "Sam, stop," I begged.

"Did you--?" She asked, pulling back to look into my face.

I grinned weakly. "You got me."

She lowered herself to my side and wrapped several long limbs around me. Several minutes passed as I caught my breath. She nuzzled my face. "Sam," I finally breathed.

"Mm?"

"Lie on your stomach."

"Busy," she murmured, kissing my jaw.

"Please?"

She lifted her head and grinned playfully at me, then flopped down, narrowly avoiding crushing me.

"Brat," I said, and her body shook with laughter. I sat up and considered smacking her ass, but I wasn't sure we were there yet, so I settled for stroking it. I could see blond curls glistening between her legs.

"Did touching me arouse you?" I asked her in a husky voice.

Sam moaned.

"You brought me to orgasm, Sam," I murmured. I felt as if I was confessing a dark secret. My hand moved down to Sam's inner thigh. "How did it make you feel?"

"Alive." She pressed her face against the pillow.

I froze. I looked down at her body, at the lean expanse of back, the muscled shoulders, the arch of her neck where sweaty strands of hair were clinging to the skin. These were all things I wanted to taste, but knew I couldn't, not right now. Sam had undone me with her declaration, and I needed to show her my gratitude. Foreplay would have to wait for the next date.

"Turn over, sweetheart," I asked, using the endearment just to see her quiver again.

She flushed at my words. "No," she declared, and stretched out contentedly on the blankets.

~Fine.~ I slid down to the foot of the bed, and spread her legs. I listened to her low, imploring noises as I leaned in and nosed at her vulva. The scent of her aroused me and I could feel myself aching again. "Sam," I whispered, using the word as caress.

She whimpered.

"Sam," I said again, before sliding my tongue across her cleft, then lower, slipping into her.

"Janet," Sam whimpered. "Please, more."

I held her legs apart, my arms wrapped around her thighs, while I tasted her. Her wetness coated my face, and I smelled only her, became sticky with her fluids, as I found her clitoris and licked gently.

She screamed, a short sound, cut-off as soon as it escaped her lips. She lifted her hips slightly toward my face.

I liked the power of making Sam scream. I lapped at her, wanting the sound again.

I could tell she was biting her lip the way her muffled cries reached my ears. I suckled on her clitoris earnestly, straying occasionally to penetrate her with my tongue. I was greedy and tasted every fold of skin, every crevice, every odd bump that made Sam _Sam_. With each touch of my mouth, I claimed those parts of her as mine.

When she grew rigid and started rocking against my face, I abandoned my explorations and held her hips, working her bundle of nerves. She cried out, the sound free this time, and was suspended for a moment against my mouth before she pulled away from me.

"God, Janet," she was panting. I reluctantly pulled myself up to lie beside her. I missed her heat already. The wetness was drying on my cheeks.

She leaned over and kissed me. I took her in my arms, finding her as weak as a kitten, and smiled as she tickled my face with her exploring tongue. Our mouths met, parted, and met again, before I ventured bravely, "So..."

"Fourth date? Your house?" She asked, smiling at me. A light was dancing in those large blue eyes. She was already planning something.

"Yes," I agreed.

She snuggled against me. As I reached up to stroke her hair, a beeping came from across the room.

"Sam," I pouted. "You're supposed to be off-duty."

"I know." She nodded against my chest. "That's your beeper."

"Crap."

She nodded again.

I slipped out of bed and gathered my clothes, protesting when Sam offered to get out of bed and help me put them on. I washed my face and hands vigorously in her sink to get rid of the smell of sex. When I was back to being Doctor Fraiser, I paused in the doorway and looked at her. She was rumpled and sexy, and I wondered how I would survive until our fourth date--Or even going out the door.