If You Go Down To The Woods Today.....
Spoilers: None
Content Rating: 12
Type: Other
Characters: Sam Carter/ Janet Fraiser
Summary: Fun and games on a camping trip, with a few ridiculous problems along the way *G*
Content Rating: 12
Type: Other
Characters: Sam Carter/ Janet Fraiser
Summary: Fun and games on a camping trip, with a few ridiculous problems along the way *G*
Disclaimer : The characters from Stargate SG-1 aren't mine. They belong to MGM, Gekko, Double Secret and a whole host of other people, who are an awful lot richer than me. This fanfic is purely for fun, not a bean has or will be made from it. I promise to put them back when I'm done playing. Oh, there's no point suing me, cause I'm skint and it would be pointless. LOL. This story idea is mine, and so are Major Lomax, Dinger and Megan.
Warning: This story involves two women in love, so if you're underage, or this kind of thing is illegal where you live, LEAVE NOW! You prolly won't enjoy this if the idea of two women being way more than just friends offends you.
©Kelspook 2004
If You Go Down To The Woods Today....
*Riiiiiiiiiiiiing!*
"SAM!"
"Mmmmmmm?"
*Riiiiiiiiiiiiing!*
"Can you get that?"
"What?" Sam Carter hit pause on the playstation, and looked in the direction of the kitchen.
"The phone!" called Janet.
"Oh, yeah..." said the blonde, ignoring Cassie's anguished glare at the interruption. Leaning over, she snagged the cordless handset from the coffee table.
As was normal, when Sam wasn't offworld, barely controlled chaos was reigning in the Fraiser household. For all that Janet loved the tall blonde, at times she felt as though there were two teens in the house. It amazed the doctor how someone as intelligent and normally self possessed as Sam Carter could get absolutely lost in battling against Cassie on a computer screen.
Sam grinned apologetically through the doorway at the petite brunette as she brought the phone to her ear.
"Hello?"
"Ah, just the bugger I was looking for. Wasn't sure you'd be in." said Major Siobahn Lomax's voice at the other end. The SAS officer had known Sam since the first gulf war, when she'd led the team that had extracted Carter and her reel from the clutches of the Iraqi Republican Guard. Max and her team had joined the SGC after an operation with SG-1 in southeast Scotland, and the dark haired Scot had also become friendly with Janet- most recently helping Sam, along with Dinger, rescue the doctor from two attackers when her car had broken down in a less than upmarket part of town.
"Max!" smiled Sam. "When did you guys get back?"
"A couple of hours ago- just got finished with the debrief."
"So what's up?" asked Sam, curiously. Every team had their routines, and generally SG-22 headed straight for O'Malley's after a mission. Janet wandered through, wiping her hands on a towel. She cocked her head slightly and raised a curious eyebrow at the blonde.
"Uh, well, I have an idea I want to run past you two." Max actually sounded a little nervous.
Sam mouthed Max's name, and shrugged to indicate still not having a clue what it was that the Scot wanted.
"Okay, what's the idea?"
"Tell you what, I'll pop round. You two be there for a bit?"
"Uh, yeah.... what's this about?" asked Sam, frowning. Her curiousity was now definately piqued.
"Don't really want to talk about it on the phone.... I'll be there shortly," said Max, evasively.
"Max....."
"Look, it's nowt bad, honest," the Scot chuckled. "All will be revealed in half an hour- see you soon."
Sam sighed. She knew from experience that whenever Max started acting this way, she was up to something. She also knew that there was no point pushing the dark haired Scot for information as her warped sense of humour meant that she simply found it amusing, and became all the more determined to give nothing away until she was ready to.
"Okay, we'll talk to you when you get here."
"Yup, half an hour," grinned Max. "Cheerio for now."
"Bye."
Sam hit the button to end the call, set the phone down and smiled ruefully at her partner.
"She's doing it again," said Janet. It was a statement, not a question. The little brunette crossed her arms, a half smile playing on her lips.
"Yup." The tall blonde frowned. "I haven't any idea what she's up to this time though."
They'd just finished clearing the debris after dinner when they heard the distinctive sound of Max's Ducati motorcycle drawing up outside. Sam opened the front door just as Max was hanging her helmet on the handlebars.
"Wotcha," said Max, grinning excitedly.
"Hey," smiled Sam. "Come on in."
The Scottish officer bounded up the steps, her green eyes sparkling. "You're gonna LOVE this...." she said, scrubbing her hand through her flattened short dark hair.
Oh boy, thought Sam. What is she up to? She's nearly bouncing...
Sam led Max through to the kitchen.
"Hiya, Doc,"
"Welcome back," said Janet, smiling. "So are you ready to stop being so cryptic?"
Max flushed, then chuckled. "Yeah, sorry. It's just I know how nuts that drives Carter. Have to find some way to get one up on her extreme geniusness over there."
"Now that you've had your fun, what's got you so excited?" said Sam, leaning against the counter.
"Actually, I wasn't doing it on purpose this time. Never sure if anyone's listening in on the phones at the base- and just cause I can't get in any bother, doesn't mean that you two won't." Max scowled as she shrugged out of her leather jacket. The whole "don't ask, don't tell," mindset was something that struck her as extremely unfair, especially since the British Army had significantly relaxed it's attitude. She glanced up and caught the somewhat exasperated glare Janet was directing at her.
"Sorry, sorry," she grinned, a slightly evil glint in her eye. "I'll get to the point- those medicals are uncomfortable enough as it is, certainly don't want to give you any reason to make 'em worse."
"Max....." said Janet, warningly. The little brunette leaned against the counter beside Sam.
"Right. You know Megan? My other half?" Max laid her jacket on one of the breakfast stools.
"Yeah," said Sam, nodding. "You've spoken about her before."
"Well, she flies in tomorrow for a week's leave. I know both SG-1 and SG-22 are off the rotation this weekend, and I sneaked a squizz at the infirmary rota and saw that you're off too, Doc, so I was wondering if you guys fancied joining us for a little hiking and camping trip..... Y'know, no saving the world crap, just nice scenery, marshmallows, hotdogs, beer and good company."
"Hiking?" said Janet a little dubiously.
"Yup," Max answered, growing more animated by the second. "I've reccied the route, it's gorgeous up there."
"Reccied?"
"Why can't you bloody colonials speak proper english? You know, recon. I've checked it out, found a great wee secluded lake to camp beside. Very romantic," finished the Scot, raising an eyebrow and smiling wickedly.
Janet glanced up at the tall blonde beside her.
"It could be fun..." grinned the blonde. Janet gave her partner a wry look.
"Well, Cassie is staying with the Colonel this weekend," said Sam, hopefully. "And we haven't had much time to ourselves recently..."
Janet sighed, and decided to give in gracefully.
"Okay, okay." she said ruefully. "How can I stand up against a two-pronged attack like that?" She looked at Sam. "But if I get eaten alive by bugs, it's your fault."
"I can live with that," smiled Sam, "I'll make sure I pack the insect repellent."
"No need," said Max, "I got some great eucalyptus based stuff. Keeps all the bugs away." She looked thoughtful for a second, then grinned. "We might have a problem if there are any hungry koalas in the area though." she finished, chuckling.
"Very funny." said Sam with a short laugh. "When do you want to leave?"
"I'll pick you up at 0700 on Saturday." Max scooped up her jacket.
"You don't have a car," frowned Sam. "How are you gonna pick us up?"
"Well, I had a feeling you'd agree, so I've got Dinger's Land Rover for the weekend. Right, I'd better get going. Beers to be drunk at O'Malley's, you know how it is."
Max started toward the door.
"I'll see you out," said Sam, following Max into the hallway, and out onto the stoop.
The Scot quickly pulled on her jacket, and throwing a leg over her bike, crammed on her helmet. The bike started first try, and she carefully backed it out of the driveway.
"See you Saturday!" she hollered, before gunning the engine, dumping the clutch and haring off down the street, leaving a patch of rubber smoking on the hardtop. Sam shook her head as the powerful Italian sports bike wheelied at the end of the road, before Max dropped the front wheel back down and howled off round the corner with her knee just scraping the tarmac. Janet had joined her outside, worming her way under Sam's arm to run her own around the blonde's waist.
"She's as bad, if not worse, than you are." chuckled Janet, gazing down the street. "Actually, this could be a lot of fun."
Sam dipped her head to kiss the little brunette. "Absolutely," said Sam, drawing back to gaze down at Janet. "You, me, a quiet moonlit night out in the wilds... should be a lot of fun..."
Saturday O700hrs.
Janet took a final look around, and closed up the rucksack, satisfied eventually that she had everything. Hefting the pack onto her shoulder, she headed out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Sam looked up as the little brunette entered the kitchen, and a wide grin immediately appeared on her face.
"What?" said Janet, dumping the pack onto the tiled floor.
"Nothing," Sam answered quickly, trying unsucessfully to school her expression, but failing miserably to hide the amusement sparkling in her blue eyes.
"Out with it, blondie. What's so funny?"
"Nothing, I swear."
"Funnily enough, I don't believe you."
"Well... that pack is nearly as big as you are!" the tall blonde finally supplied with a laugh. Walking across, she picked up the backpack. "Umph..... You'll have to take some stuff out of here, Jan."
"I'm stronger than I look... and that's quite enough of the heightist jokes. I get plenty of those from Jack O'Neill."
"Heightist or not, you'll be exhausted inside a couple of miles carrying all this lot. What on earth have you got in here?? We're only staying out one night!"
"Just the essentials," humphed the little doctor.
"These? These are the bare essentials??" said Sam, holding up two pairs of boots. Rummaging a bit further, she found a pair of sneakers as well.
"Okay, so I always overpack."
Sam discarded the two pairs of boots, added a few other items from the pack to the discard pile including a bulging washbag, and replaced the sneakers and toothbrush before closing it up.
"What about those toiletries? I NEED those!"
"No, you don't. I've got a bottle of shower gel and some toothpaste, that'll do for both of us."
"But Sa-am..." said Janet, a little plainitively.
"Nuh-uh. Try it now." said Sam, wagging a finger.
Janet picked up the pack, noting reluctantly that it was considerably lighter.
"Fine." she muttered. "But if I end up stinking to high heaven, you'll only have yourself to blame."
"I'll deal," grinned Sam, just as they heard a car horn outside. "They're here. You good to go?"
"I suppose," said Janet, eyeing the washbag longingly. Sam smiled wryly and propelled her diminutive soulmate toward the door.
Max had just jumped out of the driver's seat as they locked the front door, and trotted over to take Janets pack and throw it into the back of the jeep. Her grin slipped a little as she took the weight.
"Bloody hell, Doc! What you got in this thing? Bricks?"
"Don't even begin to go there."
"You should have felt it ten minutes ago." said Sam, throwing her own pack into the vehicle.
"You want to watch yourself trying to cart that much weight about, Doc, it's not like you can chance losing any more inches from the ones you've already got."
"Enough with the height jokes!!" said Fraiser, stamping her foot.
Max exchanged an amused look with Carter, but wisely decided to say nothing else. They all clambered aboard, and Max introduced them to the redhead sitting in the front passenger seat.
"I think we'll stick with first names while we're out and about, yeah? Sam, Janet, this is Captain Megan McCormack, she's with the Intelligence Corps back in the UK. Megan, this is Major Sam Carter and Dr Janet Fraiser, who I've been working with up at the mountain since I got here."
Megan extended a hand to each in turn. "Pleased to meet you," she said in a soft Irish brogue. "Max has told me a lot about you."
"Likewise," said Sam, smiling, Janet echoing the sentiment as they shook hands.
A little later, the jeep rolled to a halt in a wooded parking area. As they all clambered out and started offloading gear from the back of the vehicle, Sam looked over at Max.
"So how on earth did you manage to part Dinger from this thing?" asked the blonde.
"It was easy," Max grinned. "I made the big git an offer he couldn't refuse."
"And that was?" asked Janet as she shrugged her shoulders to settle her pack in place.
"Let him have my bike while we were away." The tall Scot held up a finger. "But that was under pain of death that it doesn't get the arse ragged off it, scratched, scraped or suffer any type of damage at all."
"He would take you up on that, right enough," said Megan, smiling.
The day was wearing on, and Janet was hot and getting increasingly grumpy. The fact that she was trying to battle her way through ferns that were almost as tall as she was certainly wasn't helping her mood. If wasn't for having Sam's pack to focus on, she'd be totally lost.
"This is ridiculous," she muttered.
"What's wrong?" asked Sam, stopping and turning to regard her irate partner.
"Have you taken a look around you lately? Where's the trail?"
"From what I saw on the map, it should have been here..." said Sam, thoughtfully.
"Well, it clearly isn't now." Janet frowned. "I think I need to ask our glorious expedition leader a question or two."
A few seconds later the SAS officer's cheerful face appeared through the undergrowth, Megan just behind her.
"What's up, Doc?" Spotting Janet's expression hardening at the Bugs Bunny reference, she hastily backtracked. She knew when to draw the line, after all. "Sorry, Doc. What's the problem? Noticed you two had stopped... you've not went over on an ankle or anything, have you?"
"I thought you said you'd checked out this route?" said Janet, crossing her arms in front of her.
"I did."
"When?"
"Uh, well, pretty recently." said Max, biting her bottom lip.
Janet's suspicions were solidifying. "How recently, exactly?"
The scot was almost squirming. "Okay, so it was a few months back." She yelped as Megan dug her in the ribs.
"Ye great muppet!" said the redhead. "You can go into enemy territory, plan it to the last detail and emerge without a scratch, but you can't sort a hiking trip?"
Max spread her hands helplessly. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I had no idea the local flora was going to go bonkers though."
Megan stalked away, shaking her head and muttering under her breath in gaelic. Max's head snapped round.
"Kiss your what??" she hurriedly turned back to the two American officers. "Seriously, I had no idea it was going to be this wild. It's not much further though, then we'll be clear of it. Okay?"
Janet sighed. "Okay... but this had better be the last of this kind of terrain."
"I'm sure it is," grinned the Scot, before she took off after Megan. "Come on, hon, wait up...how was I meant to know?"
Sam smiled. "It's kind of a fun adventure though, isn't it? Knowing that all we have to deal with is hyperactive ferns and the odd snake?"
"I suppose so- nice to not have any pressure...... snakes??" she finished, her voice raising a little.
"Don't worry, they're way more scared of us than we are of them. Just watch where you put your feet."
"Great..." the petite brunette sighed.
"Carry on then?"
"Do I have any choice?"
"You have got to be kidding..." said Sam as she veiwed the gully they had to go through. The walls stretched up sheer a full thirty feet on either side, and the cut through the cliffs was filled with prickly bushes, the trail disappearing into them without a trace.
"I don't bloody believe this!" said Max, poking at the gorse bushes with a stick. "This wasn't here either, I swear!!"
Janet had sat down on a rock, and was indeed starting to veiw the whole thing as a somewhat surreal adventure. She began to laugh softly, and Max turned, letting them all see the pained, frustrated expression she was wearing.
"Honest to god, the trail was clear when I was last up here."
Sam had hunkered down where the trail vanished. "Hey, take a look at this," she said, pointing into the undergrowth.
Janet went over to join her. "You think we can get through that?"
Sam looked into the green tunnel that had been formed when the bushes had overgrown the trail. It was around two feet wide, with the top of it a couple of feet above the ground.
"Yeah, I think so.... we'll have to crawl though." Sam straightened up, and looked at the cliffs. "I'd say that it's the only way through without using ropes. We've come too far to turn back now."
She looked back at Janet, who had shucked off her pack and was pulling on a long sleeved shirt over the tank top she was wearing. Sam raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Feeling cold?"
"What? No," said the brunette, hefting her pack back on."But if you think I'm going to end up with elbows full of thorns, you're very much mistaken."
"Oh, good idea," said Sam, pulling her own from her rucksack, Megan and Max doing likewise.
Once they were all suitably attired, they started along the leafy, thorny tunnel. It was too low to allow them to crawl normally, so they worked their way along the thirty or so yards on their bellies, pausing now and again to untangle the grasping branches from their backpacks and clothing.
Janet was the last to emerge, swearing vociferously. She was the only one of the quartet to have long hair, and her ponytail had snagged on the bushes constantly as she dragged herself along. Sam was grinning widely as she helped Janet to her feet, and picked a twig out of the brunettes hair.
"You okay?"
"Fine," Janet snapped, her eyes blazing. "Max, give me that stick!"
"What?"
"Stick. Now."
Max handed over the branch she'd picked up along the way to use as a walking stick. The little brunette turned, and began furiously hitting the offending bushes with it.
"Take that- and that- and THAT!" she yelled, punctuating the words with vicious blows. The other three tried unsucessfully to hide their smiles as Janet turned back, smoothed her hair, and threw the stick back to Max.
"Feel better?" asked Sam, smiling.
"Much," sniffed Janet as she began to walk again. "Shall we?"
The next few miles went without incident. The soaring mountains lent spectacular grandeur to the sweeping vistas, the clear air scented heavily with pine resin and allowing them to see for miles, and Janet found that she was beginning to enjoy herself as she watched an eagle floating effortlessly skyward on an updraft.
Sam was walking beside her, the brunette's small hand clasped loosely in her own, with Max and Megan bringing up the rear.
"Actually, this isn't so bad." Janet murmured, squeezing Sam's hand. Sam glanced down and smiled.
"Regained our composure, have we?"
"Well, those damn bushes deserved everything they got. Evil things."
Sam laughed. "Well, you'll be pleased to know we haven't got far to go. I had a look at the map, and we have a farm meadow to pass through, then a small wood, and we'll be at the lake."
"Thank god," groaned Janet. "Max's crack about losing inches through carrying weight is starting to feel as if it's coming true." she finished, shifting her stiff shoulders in the rucksack straps.
"I'll see what I can do about that later..." Sam murmured, a wicked smile playing on her lips.
"I'll hold you to that."
"I certainly hope so," Sam grinned.
Janet stopped dead as the meadow came into view. "Sam, there are cows in there."
"I know, they were here when Max last came up here. She said they're fine though, we ignore them, they ignore us."
Max and Megan had caught up. "Everything okay?" asked the scot. "Not far now."
"What about them?" said Janet, gesturing at the livestock milling around in front of them through the wildflower interspersed knee high grass.
"No worries, it's only some heifers and their calves. We haven't got a dog along, so they'll pay us no heed."
"Are you sure?"
"My dad has a farm," said Megan, smiling. "Believe me, we'll be fine."
"Okay," said Janet, dubiously.
They climbed over the gate and started across the field, smiling at the antics of the youngsters. The baby cattle seemd to be playing tag, and certainly seemed to be enjoying the glorious summer day as much as the humans were. The party was about halfway across when Janet noticed that one of the cows seemed to be quite a bit bigger than the others. She touched Sam's arm, and pointed to it. "Why's that one so much bigger than the rest?"
Sam followed Janet's gaze, her eyes widening as it stood up. One glance between its rear legs told her everything she needed to know. It was NOT a cow, but a bull. A very, very large bull. Which was now ambling curiously towards them.
"Ma-ax...." said Sam in a low voice.
"Oh shit..." muttered Max, catching her first glimpse of the huge beast. "Ohshitohshitohshit..."
"That's a bull, isn't it?" said Janet quietly, involuntarily stepping backwards.
"Yup," said Sam, just as quietly.
"This is a bad thing, yes?"
"Oh yes," said Sam, fervently.
"Listen carefully," said Max. "Don't make eye contact, or he'll think you're a predator after his bloody harem. Just walk slowly toward the other gate, and hopefully we'll be fine."
"Hopefully??" said Janet, her voice raising a notch.
"Ssssssh!" snapped Max. "Just start walking slow. Megan, you and Janet go in front, me and Sam will bring up the rear."
Max kept glancing surreptiously behind her as they walked. The bull had stopped fifty yards away, and was eyeing them suspiciously. He stamped his front foot.
"Walk faster," said Max through clenched teeth.
They picked up the pace, the gate now only about twenty yards away. The bull backed up a little, then tensed and pawed at the ground with his front hoof. Max spotted the movement.
"Ohbloodybuggerybollocks!" she swore, the words running into one another. "shitshitshit, he's gonna charge! We're close enough- RUN!!"
The bull began to lumber forwards just as Max finished speaking, and all four broke into a sprint for the gate. The could hear the pounding hooves as Megan got to the gate first, Max grabbing her and hefting her up and over. Max and Sam grabbed one of Janet's arms apiece and sent the little brunette sailing over the gate to land in a heap in the dust, and then both Sam and Max vaulted the gate, stumbled and both tumbled together into a tangle of limbs on the other side.
They weren't a moment too soon as five hundred pounds of accelerating, angry hamburger hit the metal gate headfirst with a resounding clanging crash. As they looked on, hearts pounding, the huge bovine staggered back and shook its head dazedly, trying to clear it. The steel gate now sported a large dent in the rail. The massive animal glared at them for a few seconds, then obviously deciding the group were no longer a threat, turned with a dismissive switch of his tail and ambled off.
The four exchanged wide-eyed looks as the beast wandered away, then one by one, they all started to laugh. Sam staggered to her feet, and wiped tears of laughter from her eyes as she helped Janet up.
"I swear, Max, this is the last time you pick the route."
"He wasn't here either!" said Max, plaintively, sending them all into fresh gales of laughter.
"Never mind." chuckled Sam. "None of us were hurt, and we'll certainly have some stories to tell Cassie."
"You're right about that," said Janet, controlling her giggles with some difficulty. "Come on, lets get down to that lake."
They'd had dinner, put up the tents, and now the four were relaxing around the campfire Sam had built. Max and Megan were sitting snuggled together on one side of the fire, leaning against a log, and with a sleeping bag spread over their legs.
"I'll say one thing, Max," said Sam, gazing around the beautiful spot. "You weren't kidding about this lake..."
"Yes," agreed Janet, pulling Sams arm around her, "This is a wonderful place."
Sam smiled down at the small woman who had become the absolute centre of her life. "You want to take a stroll down by the water?"
"I'd love to," smiled Janet. "How about you two?"
Megan whispered something in Max's ear, and moved slightly. Max yelped, and her face burning, stammered, "Uh, no, you g-guys go ahead.. we'll be fine here."
Janet winked at Megan, who, smiling wickedly, winked back. "Fine, we'll see you in a while.... Come on, Sam," she said, standing up and pulling the taller woman up with her.
Sam glanced back as they walked away, and saw Megan dragging Max into their tent.
"Hmmm, we perhaps better make this a long stroll."
Janet chuckled. "Yep, I think you could be right."
They wandered down to the waters edge, and Janet sat down on the moss, gazing around her contently. The lake was ringed with trees, branches from willows trailing in the slight waves caused by the gentle breeze. Waterlillies dotted the surface, adding splashes of green and white to the blue from the sky reflected from above, and filling the air with an intoxicating scent. The setting sun angled through the trees, spotting both the water and the ground with speckles of golden light and dark shade.
"This really is glorious," said Janet, as she unlaced her boots, took off her socks and sank her toes into the sun-warmed moss. "I'm glad I let you talk me into this."
"Naturally," grinned Sam, "All my ideas are great."
"I wouldn't go that far." Janet chuckled, stretching out lazily. She wiggled her toes happily.
"Why barefoot?" asked Sam, idly.
"I like how the moss feels.... actually, I think I'll go for a swim."
"Janet, that water will be freezing- it runs off straight from the snow at the top of the mountain."
"So what? A bit of cold water isn't going to hurt me." As though Sam had dared her, she stood up and began yanking off her clothes.
"JANET! What Max or Megan come down here?"
"Did you see the look Megan gave Max? They're going to be busy for a while, I assure you."
"But what if-"
"Don't be such a prude! We're miles from anyone, and I'm not getting my stuff wet if I don't have to."
She ran on light feet to the edge, waded in, and dived cleanly into the water. She surfaced a couple of yards out, sucking in a high pitched breath at the sudden chill.
"Are you coming in or not?"
"No."
"What, is the brave Samantha Carter scared of a little cold water??"
"No, I just don't want to catch cold in the middle of the summer!"
"Come on Sam, take off your uniform and relax!"
"I'm not wearing my uniform."
"Take off something else then!" grinned Janet. She chuckled, then turning, struck out for the centre of the pool, droplets of water flying into the air to catch the sunlight with each stroke of her arms. Reaching the middle, she rolled onto her back and floated happily, gazing at the butterflies flitting from flower to flower.
Sam sat and watched, her back resting comfortably against a warm tree trunk. It amazed her that every time she thought she had Janet Fraiser figured out, the petite brunette did something to reset the scale. Janet had floated closer to one of the waterlillies, and a butterfly had just alighted on it. Breathlessly, she submerged herself until only her face was above the water, and smiled as the butterfly came over to investigate, wings ablaze with riotous colour brushing her face as it fluttered above her.
"Great, now you're consorting with butterflies." chuckled Sam.
"I'll do whatever I have to for a kiss," said Janet, raising her head and giving Sam an arch look.
"Well, I can certainly help you with that."
"Come on then."
"Janet, you're right in the deepest part." Sam pointed out. "Why don't you come on out?"
"You offered kisses, Sam. There weren't any conditions."
Sam sighed, and standing up, began to pull off her clothes. "Okay, but if we catch cold, just remember that it was your idea, genius."
"I can live with that."
Sam waded into the pool, drawing in a sharp breath at the icy chill of the water. Plunging under the surface, she pushed off, and re-emerging, swam over to Janet with clean strokes. As she drew beside Janet, the petite brunette linked her arms behind Sam's head and pulled her into a long, lingering kiss as Sam wound her arms round the smaller woman's waist. Sam's heart began pounding, and she could feel a slow burn starting that had nothing to do with the water temperature. They broke for air, and blue eyes gazed into brown.
"I love you... you know that, right?" Sam murmured, before dipping her head to capture the brunette's lips in another passionate, searing kiss. Janet ran her hands down Sam's sides, just grazing her breasts.
"I'm glad to hear it," said Janet softly as they broke apart again. "I'd hate to think this was a one-way deal..."
"Never," said Sam fervently. Janet then smiled wickedly, and raising her legs, used her weight to pull them both under the water. Sam surfaced spluttering, only to see the little brunette swimming off giggling wildly. Sam gave chase, and caught up to her at the edge. Sweeping Janet into her arms, she grinned. "You are SO gonna pay for that!"
"What do you have in mind?"
"I'm sure I can think of something..." murmured Sam as she pulled Janet into a tight embrace.
Sam and Janet woke early the next morning, both pleasantly sore in places that had been neglected for a little too long. With a teen in the house, opportunities were sometimes hard to come by.
"Morning," murmured Sam sleepily.
"Morning..." Janet responsed, kissing Sam tenderly. They would both have been quite happy to remain snuggled warmly together just as they were if it hadn't been for a shout from outside the tent.
"Come on you pair! You gonna sloth in there all day?" yelled Max cheerfully. Megan punched her in the arm. "Ow.... what was that for?"
"You could have let them be a wee bit longer... it's still early!" said Megan, arching an eyebrow at the dark haired Scot.
Max muttered something under her breath.
"What was that?" said Megan, the redhead's eyebrow hiking even further upwards.
"Just said that it was too nice a day to bide in bed."
"Really?"
"Of course- would I ever do anything to offend you, my beloved?" said Max expansively, spreading her arms and gazing at her innocently.
"Hmph." snorted Megan, trying not to smile at the Scot's antics.
Sam and Janet emerged during the two's bantering.
"Wotcha," grinned Max. "Scoff's up- we'll take the other tent down while you guys are eating."
"Thanks," smiled Sam. "Finding it kinda hard to get going today for some reason."
"I bet you are," said Max, winking. "Ow." She turned to her mate, who had just gouged her in the ribs again. "Okay, what was that for??"
"If you don't know, I'm not telling you," said the redheaded Irish woman, smiling archly as she started to remove the pegs from the tent.
"So how far do have to go today?" asked Janet as she finished closing up her pack.
"Oh, about a mile and half," said Max off-handedly.
"What??"
"Picked this bit for three reasons." She held up a hand and began ticking off the points on her fingers. "One, this place is lovely. Two, even though it's close to the road, hardly anyone ever comes here. And three, not far to walk next day."
Janet had gone beetroot as she realised that anyone could have stumbled over herself and Sam as they made love beside the lake the previous night.
"Never mind," said Sam, reading Janet's mind as she often did. "Nobody did.... and it was fun, wasn't it?"
"You knew??"
"Yup," grinned Sam. "I saw the map, remember? But Max was right, nobody comes up here, and you'd never have relaxed if you'd known, would you?"
"Okay, see your point," Janet chuckled ruefully. "Ready to go?"
A couple of hours later, they were back at the Fraiser house. As they offloaded Sam and Janet's gear, Max grinned.
"Wasn't so bad, was it?"
"Actually, no, it wasn't," said Janet, smiling.
"Same time in two months time then?"
"We'll see."
Max jumped back into the Land Rover, and started the engine.
"See you all tomorrow!" she called as she backed out of the driveway, Megan giving the two a wave.
Sam and Janet waved back and the jeep disappeared off down the street.
"So," smiled Sam. "You want to do that again?"
"It had it's moments.......okay, why not?"
"I'm so glad you said that," said Sam, draping her arm around Janet's shoulders. "Cause I really want to try out the other side of that lake......."
*******************************FINI************************************
Warning: This story involves two women in love, so if you're underage, or this kind of thing is illegal where you live, LEAVE NOW! You prolly won't enjoy this if the idea of two women being way more than just friends offends you.
©Kelspook 2004
If You Go Down To The Woods Today....
*Riiiiiiiiiiiiing!*
"SAM!"
"Mmmmmmm?"
*Riiiiiiiiiiiiing!*
"Can you get that?"
"What?" Sam Carter hit pause on the playstation, and looked in the direction of the kitchen.
"The phone!" called Janet.
"Oh, yeah..." said the blonde, ignoring Cassie's anguished glare at the interruption. Leaning over, she snagged the cordless handset from the coffee table.
As was normal, when Sam wasn't offworld, barely controlled chaos was reigning in the Fraiser household. For all that Janet loved the tall blonde, at times she felt as though there were two teens in the house. It amazed the doctor how someone as intelligent and normally self possessed as Sam Carter could get absolutely lost in battling against Cassie on a computer screen.
Sam grinned apologetically through the doorway at the petite brunette as she brought the phone to her ear.
"Hello?"
"Ah, just the bugger I was looking for. Wasn't sure you'd be in." said Major Siobahn Lomax's voice at the other end. The SAS officer had known Sam since the first gulf war, when she'd led the team that had extracted Carter and her reel from the clutches of the Iraqi Republican Guard. Max and her team had joined the SGC after an operation with SG-1 in southeast Scotland, and the dark haired Scot had also become friendly with Janet- most recently helping Sam, along with Dinger, rescue the doctor from two attackers when her car had broken down in a less than upmarket part of town.
"Max!" smiled Sam. "When did you guys get back?"
"A couple of hours ago- just got finished with the debrief."
"So what's up?" asked Sam, curiously. Every team had their routines, and generally SG-22 headed straight for O'Malley's after a mission. Janet wandered through, wiping her hands on a towel. She cocked her head slightly and raised a curious eyebrow at the blonde.
"Uh, well, I have an idea I want to run past you two." Max actually sounded a little nervous.
Sam mouthed Max's name, and shrugged to indicate still not having a clue what it was that the Scot wanted.
"Okay, what's the idea?"
"Tell you what, I'll pop round. You two be there for a bit?"
"Uh, yeah.... what's this about?" asked Sam, frowning. Her curiousity was now definately piqued.
"Don't really want to talk about it on the phone.... I'll be there shortly," said Max, evasively.
"Max....."
"Look, it's nowt bad, honest," the Scot chuckled. "All will be revealed in half an hour- see you soon."
Sam sighed. She knew from experience that whenever Max started acting this way, she was up to something. She also knew that there was no point pushing the dark haired Scot for information as her warped sense of humour meant that she simply found it amusing, and became all the more determined to give nothing away until she was ready to.
"Okay, we'll talk to you when you get here."
"Yup, half an hour," grinned Max. "Cheerio for now."
"Bye."
Sam hit the button to end the call, set the phone down and smiled ruefully at her partner.
"She's doing it again," said Janet. It was a statement, not a question. The little brunette crossed her arms, a half smile playing on her lips.
"Yup." The tall blonde frowned. "I haven't any idea what she's up to this time though."
They'd just finished clearing the debris after dinner when they heard the distinctive sound of Max's Ducati motorcycle drawing up outside. Sam opened the front door just as Max was hanging her helmet on the handlebars.
"Wotcha," said Max, grinning excitedly.
"Hey," smiled Sam. "Come on in."
The Scottish officer bounded up the steps, her green eyes sparkling. "You're gonna LOVE this...." she said, scrubbing her hand through her flattened short dark hair.
Oh boy, thought Sam. What is she up to? She's nearly bouncing...
Sam led Max through to the kitchen.
"Hiya, Doc,"
"Welcome back," said Janet, smiling. "So are you ready to stop being so cryptic?"
Max flushed, then chuckled. "Yeah, sorry. It's just I know how nuts that drives Carter. Have to find some way to get one up on her extreme geniusness over there."
"Now that you've had your fun, what's got you so excited?" said Sam, leaning against the counter.
"Actually, I wasn't doing it on purpose this time. Never sure if anyone's listening in on the phones at the base- and just cause I can't get in any bother, doesn't mean that you two won't." Max scowled as she shrugged out of her leather jacket. The whole "don't ask, don't tell," mindset was something that struck her as extremely unfair, especially since the British Army had significantly relaxed it's attitude. She glanced up and caught the somewhat exasperated glare Janet was directing at her.
"Sorry, sorry," she grinned, a slightly evil glint in her eye. "I'll get to the point- those medicals are uncomfortable enough as it is, certainly don't want to give you any reason to make 'em worse."
"Max....." said Janet, warningly. The little brunette leaned against the counter beside Sam.
"Right. You know Megan? My other half?" Max laid her jacket on one of the breakfast stools.
"Yeah," said Sam, nodding. "You've spoken about her before."
"Well, she flies in tomorrow for a week's leave. I know both SG-1 and SG-22 are off the rotation this weekend, and I sneaked a squizz at the infirmary rota and saw that you're off too, Doc, so I was wondering if you guys fancied joining us for a little hiking and camping trip..... Y'know, no saving the world crap, just nice scenery, marshmallows, hotdogs, beer and good company."
"Hiking?" said Janet a little dubiously.
"Yup," Max answered, growing more animated by the second. "I've reccied the route, it's gorgeous up there."
"Reccied?"
"Why can't you bloody colonials speak proper english? You know, recon. I've checked it out, found a great wee secluded lake to camp beside. Very romantic," finished the Scot, raising an eyebrow and smiling wickedly.
Janet glanced up at the tall blonde beside her.
"It could be fun..." grinned the blonde. Janet gave her partner a wry look.
"Well, Cassie is staying with the Colonel this weekend," said Sam, hopefully. "And we haven't had much time to ourselves recently..."
Janet sighed, and decided to give in gracefully.
"Okay, okay." she said ruefully. "How can I stand up against a two-pronged attack like that?" She looked at Sam. "But if I get eaten alive by bugs, it's your fault."
"I can live with that," smiled Sam, "I'll make sure I pack the insect repellent."
"No need," said Max, "I got some great eucalyptus based stuff. Keeps all the bugs away." She looked thoughtful for a second, then grinned. "We might have a problem if there are any hungry koalas in the area though." she finished, chuckling.
"Very funny." said Sam with a short laugh. "When do you want to leave?"
"I'll pick you up at 0700 on Saturday." Max scooped up her jacket.
"You don't have a car," frowned Sam. "How are you gonna pick us up?"
"Well, I had a feeling you'd agree, so I've got Dinger's Land Rover for the weekend. Right, I'd better get going. Beers to be drunk at O'Malley's, you know how it is."
Max started toward the door.
"I'll see you out," said Sam, following Max into the hallway, and out onto the stoop.
The Scot quickly pulled on her jacket, and throwing a leg over her bike, crammed on her helmet. The bike started first try, and she carefully backed it out of the driveway.
"See you Saturday!" she hollered, before gunning the engine, dumping the clutch and haring off down the street, leaving a patch of rubber smoking on the hardtop. Sam shook her head as the powerful Italian sports bike wheelied at the end of the road, before Max dropped the front wheel back down and howled off round the corner with her knee just scraping the tarmac. Janet had joined her outside, worming her way under Sam's arm to run her own around the blonde's waist.
"She's as bad, if not worse, than you are." chuckled Janet, gazing down the street. "Actually, this could be a lot of fun."
Sam dipped her head to kiss the little brunette. "Absolutely," said Sam, drawing back to gaze down at Janet. "You, me, a quiet moonlit night out in the wilds... should be a lot of fun..."
Saturday O700hrs.
Janet took a final look around, and closed up the rucksack, satisfied eventually that she had everything. Hefting the pack onto her shoulder, she headed out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Sam looked up as the little brunette entered the kitchen, and a wide grin immediately appeared on her face.
"What?" said Janet, dumping the pack onto the tiled floor.
"Nothing," Sam answered quickly, trying unsucessfully to school her expression, but failing miserably to hide the amusement sparkling in her blue eyes.
"Out with it, blondie. What's so funny?"
"Nothing, I swear."
"Funnily enough, I don't believe you."
"Well... that pack is nearly as big as you are!" the tall blonde finally supplied with a laugh. Walking across, she picked up the backpack. "Umph..... You'll have to take some stuff out of here, Jan."
"I'm stronger than I look... and that's quite enough of the heightist jokes. I get plenty of those from Jack O'Neill."
"Heightist or not, you'll be exhausted inside a couple of miles carrying all this lot. What on earth have you got in here?? We're only staying out one night!"
"Just the essentials," humphed the little doctor.
"These? These are the bare essentials??" said Sam, holding up two pairs of boots. Rummaging a bit further, she found a pair of sneakers as well.
"Okay, so I always overpack."
Sam discarded the two pairs of boots, added a few other items from the pack to the discard pile including a bulging washbag, and replaced the sneakers and toothbrush before closing it up.
"What about those toiletries? I NEED those!"
"No, you don't. I've got a bottle of shower gel and some toothpaste, that'll do for both of us."
"But Sa-am..." said Janet, a little plainitively.
"Nuh-uh. Try it now." said Sam, wagging a finger.
Janet picked up the pack, noting reluctantly that it was considerably lighter.
"Fine." she muttered. "But if I end up stinking to high heaven, you'll only have yourself to blame."
"I'll deal," grinned Sam, just as they heard a car horn outside. "They're here. You good to go?"
"I suppose," said Janet, eyeing the washbag longingly. Sam smiled wryly and propelled her diminutive soulmate toward the door.
Max had just jumped out of the driver's seat as they locked the front door, and trotted over to take Janets pack and throw it into the back of the jeep. Her grin slipped a little as she took the weight.
"Bloody hell, Doc! What you got in this thing? Bricks?"
"Don't even begin to go there."
"You should have felt it ten minutes ago." said Sam, throwing her own pack into the vehicle.
"You want to watch yourself trying to cart that much weight about, Doc, it's not like you can chance losing any more inches from the ones you've already got."
"Enough with the height jokes!!" said Fraiser, stamping her foot.
Max exchanged an amused look with Carter, but wisely decided to say nothing else. They all clambered aboard, and Max introduced them to the redhead sitting in the front passenger seat.
"I think we'll stick with first names while we're out and about, yeah? Sam, Janet, this is Captain Megan McCormack, she's with the Intelligence Corps back in the UK. Megan, this is Major Sam Carter and Dr Janet Fraiser, who I've been working with up at the mountain since I got here."
Megan extended a hand to each in turn. "Pleased to meet you," she said in a soft Irish brogue. "Max has told me a lot about you."
"Likewise," said Sam, smiling, Janet echoing the sentiment as they shook hands.
A little later, the jeep rolled to a halt in a wooded parking area. As they all clambered out and started offloading gear from the back of the vehicle, Sam looked over at Max.
"So how on earth did you manage to part Dinger from this thing?" asked the blonde.
"It was easy," Max grinned. "I made the big git an offer he couldn't refuse."
"And that was?" asked Janet as she shrugged her shoulders to settle her pack in place.
"Let him have my bike while we were away." The tall Scot held up a finger. "But that was under pain of death that it doesn't get the arse ragged off it, scratched, scraped or suffer any type of damage at all."
"He would take you up on that, right enough," said Megan, smiling.
The day was wearing on, and Janet was hot and getting increasingly grumpy. The fact that she was trying to battle her way through ferns that were almost as tall as she was certainly wasn't helping her mood. If wasn't for having Sam's pack to focus on, she'd be totally lost.
"This is ridiculous," she muttered.
"What's wrong?" asked Sam, stopping and turning to regard her irate partner.
"Have you taken a look around you lately? Where's the trail?"
"From what I saw on the map, it should have been here..." said Sam, thoughtfully.
"Well, it clearly isn't now." Janet frowned. "I think I need to ask our glorious expedition leader a question or two."
A few seconds later the SAS officer's cheerful face appeared through the undergrowth, Megan just behind her.
"What's up, Doc?" Spotting Janet's expression hardening at the Bugs Bunny reference, she hastily backtracked. She knew when to draw the line, after all. "Sorry, Doc. What's the problem? Noticed you two had stopped... you've not went over on an ankle or anything, have you?"
"I thought you said you'd checked out this route?" said Janet, crossing her arms in front of her.
"I did."
"When?"
"Uh, well, pretty recently." said Max, biting her bottom lip.
Janet's suspicions were solidifying. "How recently, exactly?"
The scot was almost squirming. "Okay, so it was a few months back." She yelped as Megan dug her in the ribs.
"Ye great muppet!" said the redhead. "You can go into enemy territory, plan it to the last detail and emerge without a scratch, but you can't sort a hiking trip?"
Max spread her hands helplessly. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I had no idea the local flora was going to go bonkers though."
Megan stalked away, shaking her head and muttering under her breath in gaelic. Max's head snapped round.
"Kiss your what??" she hurriedly turned back to the two American officers. "Seriously, I had no idea it was going to be this wild. It's not much further though, then we'll be clear of it. Okay?"
Janet sighed. "Okay... but this had better be the last of this kind of terrain."
"I'm sure it is," grinned the Scot, before she took off after Megan. "Come on, hon, wait up...how was I meant to know?"
Sam smiled. "It's kind of a fun adventure though, isn't it? Knowing that all we have to deal with is hyperactive ferns and the odd snake?"
"I suppose so- nice to not have any pressure...... snakes??" she finished, her voice raising a little.
"Don't worry, they're way more scared of us than we are of them. Just watch where you put your feet."
"Great..." the petite brunette sighed.
"Carry on then?"
"Do I have any choice?"
"You have got to be kidding..." said Sam as she veiwed the gully they had to go through. The walls stretched up sheer a full thirty feet on either side, and the cut through the cliffs was filled with prickly bushes, the trail disappearing into them without a trace.
"I don't bloody believe this!" said Max, poking at the gorse bushes with a stick. "This wasn't here either, I swear!!"
Janet had sat down on a rock, and was indeed starting to veiw the whole thing as a somewhat surreal adventure. She began to laugh softly, and Max turned, letting them all see the pained, frustrated expression she was wearing.
"Honest to god, the trail was clear when I was last up here."
Sam had hunkered down where the trail vanished. "Hey, take a look at this," she said, pointing into the undergrowth.
Janet went over to join her. "You think we can get through that?"
Sam looked into the green tunnel that had been formed when the bushes had overgrown the trail. It was around two feet wide, with the top of it a couple of feet above the ground.
"Yeah, I think so.... we'll have to crawl though." Sam straightened up, and looked at the cliffs. "I'd say that it's the only way through without using ropes. We've come too far to turn back now."
She looked back at Janet, who had shucked off her pack and was pulling on a long sleeved shirt over the tank top she was wearing. Sam raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Feeling cold?"
"What? No," said the brunette, hefting her pack back on."But if you think I'm going to end up with elbows full of thorns, you're very much mistaken."
"Oh, good idea," said Sam, pulling her own from her rucksack, Megan and Max doing likewise.
Once they were all suitably attired, they started along the leafy, thorny tunnel. It was too low to allow them to crawl normally, so they worked their way along the thirty or so yards on their bellies, pausing now and again to untangle the grasping branches from their backpacks and clothing.
Janet was the last to emerge, swearing vociferously. She was the only one of the quartet to have long hair, and her ponytail had snagged on the bushes constantly as she dragged herself along. Sam was grinning widely as she helped Janet to her feet, and picked a twig out of the brunettes hair.
"You okay?"
"Fine," Janet snapped, her eyes blazing. "Max, give me that stick!"
"What?"
"Stick. Now."
Max handed over the branch she'd picked up along the way to use as a walking stick. The little brunette turned, and began furiously hitting the offending bushes with it.
"Take that- and that- and THAT!" she yelled, punctuating the words with vicious blows. The other three tried unsucessfully to hide their smiles as Janet turned back, smoothed her hair, and threw the stick back to Max.
"Feel better?" asked Sam, smiling.
"Much," sniffed Janet as she began to walk again. "Shall we?"
The next few miles went without incident. The soaring mountains lent spectacular grandeur to the sweeping vistas, the clear air scented heavily with pine resin and allowing them to see for miles, and Janet found that she was beginning to enjoy herself as she watched an eagle floating effortlessly skyward on an updraft.
Sam was walking beside her, the brunette's small hand clasped loosely in her own, with Max and Megan bringing up the rear.
"Actually, this isn't so bad." Janet murmured, squeezing Sam's hand. Sam glanced down and smiled.
"Regained our composure, have we?"
"Well, those damn bushes deserved everything they got. Evil things."
Sam laughed. "Well, you'll be pleased to know we haven't got far to go. I had a look at the map, and we have a farm meadow to pass through, then a small wood, and we'll be at the lake."
"Thank god," groaned Janet. "Max's crack about losing inches through carrying weight is starting to feel as if it's coming true." she finished, shifting her stiff shoulders in the rucksack straps.
"I'll see what I can do about that later..." Sam murmured, a wicked smile playing on her lips.
"I'll hold you to that."
"I certainly hope so," Sam grinned.
Janet stopped dead as the meadow came into view. "Sam, there are cows in there."
"I know, they were here when Max last came up here. She said they're fine though, we ignore them, they ignore us."
Max and Megan had caught up. "Everything okay?" asked the scot. "Not far now."
"What about them?" said Janet, gesturing at the livestock milling around in front of them through the wildflower interspersed knee high grass.
"No worries, it's only some heifers and their calves. We haven't got a dog along, so they'll pay us no heed."
"Are you sure?"
"My dad has a farm," said Megan, smiling. "Believe me, we'll be fine."
"Okay," said Janet, dubiously.
They climbed over the gate and started across the field, smiling at the antics of the youngsters. The baby cattle seemd to be playing tag, and certainly seemed to be enjoying the glorious summer day as much as the humans were. The party was about halfway across when Janet noticed that one of the cows seemed to be quite a bit bigger than the others. She touched Sam's arm, and pointed to it. "Why's that one so much bigger than the rest?"
Sam followed Janet's gaze, her eyes widening as it stood up. One glance between its rear legs told her everything she needed to know. It was NOT a cow, but a bull. A very, very large bull. Which was now ambling curiously towards them.
"Ma-ax...." said Sam in a low voice.
"Oh shit..." muttered Max, catching her first glimpse of the huge beast. "Ohshitohshitohshit..."
"That's a bull, isn't it?" said Janet quietly, involuntarily stepping backwards.
"Yup," said Sam, just as quietly.
"This is a bad thing, yes?"
"Oh yes," said Sam, fervently.
"Listen carefully," said Max. "Don't make eye contact, or he'll think you're a predator after his bloody harem. Just walk slowly toward the other gate, and hopefully we'll be fine."
"Hopefully??" said Janet, her voice raising a notch.
"Ssssssh!" snapped Max. "Just start walking slow. Megan, you and Janet go in front, me and Sam will bring up the rear."
Max kept glancing surreptiously behind her as they walked. The bull had stopped fifty yards away, and was eyeing them suspiciously. He stamped his front foot.
"Walk faster," said Max through clenched teeth.
They picked up the pace, the gate now only about twenty yards away. The bull backed up a little, then tensed and pawed at the ground with his front hoof. Max spotted the movement.
"Ohbloodybuggerybollocks!" she swore, the words running into one another. "shitshitshit, he's gonna charge! We're close enough- RUN!!"
The bull began to lumber forwards just as Max finished speaking, and all four broke into a sprint for the gate. The could hear the pounding hooves as Megan got to the gate first, Max grabbing her and hefting her up and over. Max and Sam grabbed one of Janet's arms apiece and sent the little brunette sailing over the gate to land in a heap in the dust, and then both Sam and Max vaulted the gate, stumbled and both tumbled together into a tangle of limbs on the other side.
They weren't a moment too soon as five hundred pounds of accelerating, angry hamburger hit the metal gate headfirst with a resounding clanging crash. As they looked on, hearts pounding, the huge bovine staggered back and shook its head dazedly, trying to clear it. The steel gate now sported a large dent in the rail. The massive animal glared at them for a few seconds, then obviously deciding the group were no longer a threat, turned with a dismissive switch of his tail and ambled off.
The four exchanged wide-eyed looks as the beast wandered away, then one by one, they all started to laugh. Sam staggered to her feet, and wiped tears of laughter from her eyes as she helped Janet up.
"I swear, Max, this is the last time you pick the route."
"He wasn't here either!" said Max, plaintively, sending them all into fresh gales of laughter.
"Never mind." chuckled Sam. "None of us were hurt, and we'll certainly have some stories to tell Cassie."
"You're right about that," said Janet, controlling her giggles with some difficulty. "Come on, lets get down to that lake."
They'd had dinner, put up the tents, and now the four were relaxing around the campfire Sam had built. Max and Megan were sitting snuggled together on one side of the fire, leaning against a log, and with a sleeping bag spread over their legs.
"I'll say one thing, Max," said Sam, gazing around the beautiful spot. "You weren't kidding about this lake..."
"Yes," agreed Janet, pulling Sams arm around her, "This is a wonderful place."
Sam smiled down at the small woman who had become the absolute centre of her life. "You want to take a stroll down by the water?"
"I'd love to," smiled Janet. "How about you two?"
Megan whispered something in Max's ear, and moved slightly. Max yelped, and her face burning, stammered, "Uh, no, you g-guys go ahead.. we'll be fine here."
Janet winked at Megan, who, smiling wickedly, winked back. "Fine, we'll see you in a while.... Come on, Sam," she said, standing up and pulling the taller woman up with her.
Sam glanced back as they walked away, and saw Megan dragging Max into their tent.
"Hmmm, we perhaps better make this a long stroll."
Janet chuckled. "Yep, I think you could be right."
They wandered down to the waters edge, and Janet sat down on the moss, gazing around her contently. The lake was ringed with trees, branches from willows trailing in the slight waves caused by the gentle breeze. Waterlillies dotted the surface, adding splashes of green and white to the blue from the sky reflected from above, and filling the air with an intoxicating scent. The setting sun angled through the trees, spotting both the water and the ground with speckles of golden light and dark shade.
"This really is glorious," said Janet, as she unlaced her boots, took off her socks and sank her toes into the sun-warmed moss. "I'm glad I let you talk me into this."
"Naturally," grinned Sam, "All my ideas are great."
"I wouldn't go that far." Janet chuckled, stretching out lazily. She wiggled her toes happily.
"Why barefoot?" asked Sam, idly.
"I like how the moss feels.... actually, I think I'll go for a swim."
"Janet, that water will be freezing- it runs off straight from the snow at the top of the mountain."
"So what? A bit of cold water isn't going to hurt me." As though Sam had dared her, she stood up and began yanking off her clothes.
"JANET! What Max or Megan come down here?"
"Did you see the look Megan gave Max? They're going to be busy for a while, I assure you."
"But what if-"
"Don't be such a prude! We're miles from anyone, and I'm not getting my stuff wet if I don't have to."
She ran on light feet to the edge, waded in, and dived cleanly into the water. She surfaced a couple of yards out, sucking in a high pitched breath at the sudden chill.
"Are you coming in or not?"
"No."
"What, is the brave Samantha Carter scared of a little cold water??"
"No, I just don't want to catch cold in the middle of the summer!"
"Come on Sam, take off your uniform and relax!"
"I'm not wearing my uniform."
"Take off something else then!" grinned Janet. She chuckled, then turning, struck out for the centre of the pool, droplets of water flying into the air to catch the sunlight with each stroke of her arms. Reaching the middle, she rolled onto her back and floated happily, gazing at the butterflies flitting from flower to flower.
Sam sat and watched, her back resting comfortably against a warm tree trunk. It amazed her that every time she thought she had Janet Fraiser figured out, the petite brunette did something to reset the scale. Janet had floated closer to one of the waterlillies, and a butterfly had just alighted on it. Breathlessly, she submerged herself until only her face was above the water, and smiled as the butterfly came over to investigate, wings ablaze with riotous colour brushing her face as it fluttered above her.
"Great, now you're consorting with butterflies." chuckled Sam.
"I'll do whatever I have to for a kiss," said Janet, raising her head and giving Sam an arch look.
"Well, I can certainly help you with that."
"Come on then."
"Janet, you're right in the deepest part." Sam pointed out. "Why don't you come on out?"
"You offered kisses, Sam. There weren't any conditions."
Sam sighed, and standing up, began to pull off her clothes. "Okay, but if we catch cold, just remember that it was your idea, genius."
"I can live with that."
Sam waded into the pool, drawing in a sharp breath at the icy chill of the water. Plunging under the surface, she pushed off, and re-emerging, swam over to Janet with clean strokes. As she drew beside Janet, the petite brunette linked her arms behind Sam's head and pulled her into a long, lingering kiss as Sam wound her arms round the smaller woman's waist. Sam's heart began pounding, and she could feel a slow burn starting that had nothing to do with the water temperature. They broke for air, and blue eyes gazed into brown.
"I love you... you know that, right?" Sam murmured, before dipping her head to capture the brunette's lips in another passionate, searing kiss. Janet ran her hands down Sam's sides, just grazing her breasts.
"I'm glad to hear it," said Janet softly as they broke apart again. "I'd hate to think this was a one-way deal..."
"Never," said Sam fervently. Janet then smiled wickedly, and raising her legs, used her weight to pull them both under the water. Sam surfaced spluttering, only to see the little brunette swimming off giggling wildly. Sam gave chase, and caught up to her at the edge. Sweeping Janet into her arms, she grinned. "You are SO gonna pay for that!"
"What do you have in mind?"
"I'm sure I can think of something..." murmured Sam as she pulled Janet into a tight embrace.
Sam and Janet woke early the next morning, both pleasantly sore in places that had been neglected for a little too long. With a teen in the house, opportunities were sometimes hard to come by.
"Morning," murmured Sam sleepily.
"Morning..." Janet responsed, kissing Sam tenderly. They would both have been quite happy to remain snuggled warmly together just as they were if it hadn't been for a shout from outside the tent.
"Come on you pair! You gonna sloth in there all day?" yelled Max cheerfully. Megan punched her in the arm. "Ow.... what was that for?"
"You could have let them be a wee bit longer... it's still early!" said Megan, arching an eyebrow at the dark haired Scot.
Max muttered something under her breath.
"What was that?" said Megan, the redhead's eyebrow hiking even further upwards.
"Just said that it was too nice a day to bide in bed."
"Really?"
"Of course- would I ever do anything to offend you, my beloved?" said Max expansively, spreading her arms and gazing at her innocently.
"Hmph." snorted Megan, trying not to smile at the Scot's antics.
Sam and Janet emerged during the two's bantering.
"Wotcha," grinned Max. "Scoff's up- we'll take the other tent down while you guys are eating."
"Thanks," smiled Sam. "Finding it kinda hard to get going today for some reason."
"I bet you are," said Max, winking. "Ow." She turned to her mate, who had just gouged her in the ribs again. "Okay, what was that for??"
"If you don't know, I'm not telling you," said the redheaded Irish woman, smiling archly as she started to remove the pegs from the tent.
"So how far do have to go today?" asked Janet as she finished closing up her pack.
"Oh, about a mile and half," said Max off-handedly.
"What??"
"Picked this bit for three reasons." She held up a hand and began ticking off the points on her fingers. "One, this place is lovely. Two, even though it's close to the road, hardly anyone ever comes here. And three, not far to walk next day."
Janet had gone beetroot as she realised that anyone could have stumbled over herself and Sam as they made love beside the lake the previous night.
"Never mind," said Sam, reading Janet's mind as she often did. "Nobody did.... and it was fun, wasn't it?"
"You knew??"
"Yup," grinned Sam. "I saw the map, remember? But Max was right, nobody comes up here, and you'd never have relaxed if you'd known, would you?"
"Okay, see your point," Janet chuckled ruefully. "Ready to go?"
A couple of hours later, they were back at the Fraiser house. As they offloaded Sam and Janet's gear, Max grinned.
"Wasn't so bad, was it?"
"Actually, no, it wasn't," said Janet, smiling.
"Same time in two months time then?"
"We'll see."
Max jumped back into the Land Rover, and started the engine.
"See you all tomorrow!" she called as she backed out of the driveway, Megan giving the two a wave.
Sam and Janet waved back and the jeep disappeared off down the street.
"So," smiled Sam. "You want to do that again?"
"It had it's moments.......okay, why not?"
"I'm so glad you said that," said Sam, draping her arm around Janet's shoulders. "Cause I really want to try out the other side of that lake......."
*******************************FINI************************************
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