The Vacation 
by John O'Connor
Disclaimer:  Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the
property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom,
 MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko 
Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes
only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright
 infringement is intended. The original characters,
situations, and story are the property of the author.
Rating: PG-13.
Part 1
Dr. Janet Frasier, the CMO of the SGC, was filling out
paper work, the bane of any professional career. "How
many copies of a requisition does the Air Force really
need?' she thought.
There was a knock at her office door, and looking up,
she was happy to see Sam. Sam, Major Samantha Carter
USAF, walked into the medical office and said, "So, I
see you are in line for a Purple Heart for writer's
cramp. Don't waste your time, they only give 'em for
that in combat zones."
"Yes, well, if your commanding officer wasn't such a
macho stud, I wouldn't have to fill all these out,"
Janet smiled and waved at the array of forms on her
desk.
"Jack can go overboard sometimes, but I don't think he
meant to fracture his tibia. As far as I know, he's
not into pain," Sam replied.
"Anyway, that's part of the reason I'm here," the tall
officer added. "Since Jack is laid up for at least two
weeks, SG-1 is on standdown. I have several weeks
accumulated vacation and thought about taking two
weeks away from Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado Springs,
and the whole thing."
"Sounds like a good idea. Where're you headed?" Janet
asked.
"An old family friend has a condo in Destin, on the
Florida Panhandle, that I can use starting Friday."
"Ooo, Florida. I know that area. They call it sugar
sand 'cause it's so white. And the water is almost as
clear as a swimming pool," Janet sighed.
"Yeah, I love it there and I haven't been in years.
What I wanted to do was take Cassie, since she's never
been to the ocean. We'd eat fresh seafood and romp in
the ocean. There's miniature golf, go-carts, and
arcades near the condo," Sam said.
"Oh, I see. I had already gotten some leave time
arranged and I was hoping to get away with Cassandra
myself. We haven't had a lot of time together the last
few weeks and I was going to take her somewhere for a
few days." Janet frowned and added, "But, you really
see even less of her and I know she'd love to go,
so..."
"No, I don't think you understand. I meant for both of
us to go with her. It's a roomy condo." The blond
woman smiled, her eyes lighting up.
"Oh! I didn't realize... Uh, I'm an idiot. I'd love to
go. This'll be fun!" Janet stood and stretched. "I
think I need a new swimming suit, though."
"Okay, this afternoon we'll spring the surprise on
Cass and tomorrow we can go shopping. My suit is kind
of old too." Sam turned toward the door.
"You can stay over tonight and we'll get an early
start tomorrow." Janet, sitting down again, added,
"God, I hate this paperwork. If I really try, maybe I
can get it all done by 3."
Sam looked back, "Okay, I'll be back here then."
******
It was almost 5 o'clock by the time Janet and Sam
arrived at Janet's house. Sam found herself bitten by
the paperwork virus as well, and Janet had a minor
injury to handle when an airman cut a three inch gash
in his arm while doing some routine maintenance work
in the Gateroom.
As they walked into the house, a loud "Sam!"
accompanied by a tall teenager that came hurtling out
of the family room and into the major's arms.
Sam hugged Cass and said, "So how's it going, short
stuff?"
"Hey, I'm not short! Anyway, I have so much to tell
you about, okay?" Sam nodded, looked at Janet to see
her smile widely, and allowed herself to be towed into
the family room, "Well, first Denise..."
The words faded as Janet entered the living room and
checked the answering machine. Several messages, all
unimportant.
She walked into the kitchen to see what she could nuke
for dinner for the three of them. Opening the
refrigerator, she realized it had been some time since
she'd been grocery shopping. All that was in there
were three Diet Cokes, a bottle of white wine,
ketchup, mayonnaise, what appeared to be old cheddar
cheese, a somewhat wilted head of lettuce, and some
dry leftover pizza.
The freezer wasn't much better; a can of orange juice
concentrate, three ice trays (one only half full-she'd
have to talk to Cass about that), the remainder of
some Ben & Jerry's Rocky Road, and a bag of frozen
vegetable medley.
"Damn! Order in or go out?" Janet asked herself.
She headed into the family room to find her two girls
deeply involved in some Playstation game involving
what looked like flying monkeys.
"Hey guys, how 'bout a time out?" she called.
Both contestants set down their controllers as Cassie
reached forward and hit the hold button. She looked at
Sam and then at her adopted mother.
"Wassup?" she asked.
Janet groaned, "You spend too much time with Jack
O'Neill! Don't do those stupid commercial lines,
please." Cassie frowned and Janet continued, "Listen,
we have three options for dinner. One, frozen
vegetable medley with orange juice or Diet Coke. Two,
we go out and get a pizza, Chinese, or something.
Three, we call and get a pizza, Chinese, or something
delivered. So?"
"Pizza!" Cass yelped.
"What a surprise!" Janet smiled. "Sam?"
"Vegetable medley," the tall officer said with a side
glance to see Cassie's reaction. Not surprisingly the
teenager grimaced as if she were in pain. Sam laughed
and said, "Okay, pizza's good for me too."
"You didn't answer all the question. Eat in or eat
out?" Janet threw the two of them a mock scowl.
Finally, it was decided to order in and they ate on
the deck in back of the house.
While choosing a slice of pizza, Janet said,
"Cassandra?"
The young girl hearing her full name looked up
guiltily, and said meekly, "Yes?"
"Don't worry, you're not in trouble. Oh, wait, there
is the matter of the half empty ice trays." Janet
paused, then smiled and said, "We'll worry about that
later. First, Sam and I have some good news for you."
Looking expectantly at the two women who meant more to
her than anyone else in the world, she said, "What?
What is it?"
Janet grimaced, "Don't talk with your mouth full. We
are going to take you on a week's vacation along the
Gulf Coast of Florida."
Cassie, who did well in geography, asked, "Where
exactly?"
Sam said, "Destin. It's a little resort town between
Pensacola and Panama City. The beaches are white as
sugar and the water is so clear... You'll love it!"
Cassie jumped up from the table and squealed in
delight. She had never been to the ocean and had been
almost a pest about going to California sometime.
"When do we go? Huh? When?"
Sam said, "I already got us airline reservations. We
fly out Friday morning and, with a plane change, we
get into Pensacola Friday afternoon. We'll stay at a
condo owned by a friend of my father's. It'll be a
blast."
"Boy, this'll be great! I can't wait!" Cassie was a
bundle of energy.
Janet decided it was time to play mom again. "Well,
you'll just have to. Sit down and eat your pizza.
Tomorrow we'll go shopping for new swimming suits and
I want to get some film for my camera."
After dinner, the three ladies tossed a frisbee around
the backyard until dusk. Then, Janet joined the other
two as they resumed their Playstation competition. She
was quite happy to just sit and watch.
"We're quite an unusual little family unit," she said
to Sam after Cassie went upstairs to get ready for
bed.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked.
Janet laughed and said, "We're like some Afterschool
Special: 'Cassie Has Two Mothers.'"
Sam laughed and said, "Yeah, with none of the
titillation the guys want."
Hearing Cassie running down the stairs, Janet
whispered "Cheese it! It's the cops!"
"What the hell does that mean?" Sam asked as she
cocked an eyebrow a la Teal'c at Janet.
Janet started to laugh at the mixed impersonations of
Jack O'Neill and Teal'c just as Cassie entered the
room.
She stood with a puzzled look on her face that said
she'd never understand adults, no matter how old she
got. "What?"
"Noth...Nothin' honey." This provoked even more
laughter from Janet and Sam couldn't help but join in.
Soon, Cassie, who missed the entire joke but got
caught up in the hilarity of the moment, was holding
her sides and laughing with her "parents."
Finally, the laughter subsided and all three were
wiping away tears on their faces. They all were
panting from the exertion but were all smiles.
Finally, Cassie said, "I have no idea what that was
all about but it was fun!" Walking over to Sam, she
kissed her on the cheek and said, "Good night, Sam."
Then she walked to Janet and planted a kiss on her
cheek and said, "Good Night, Mom."
To a chorus of "Good Night, Sweetie," and "Pleasant
dreams," Cassie went back upstairs.
Janet added, almost as an afterthought, "Don't stay up
too late reading!"
Sam looked at Janet and repeated her question, "What
the hell does 'Cheezit, it's the cops' mean?"
"I don't know. I heard it on "The Untouchables" or
some old gangster movie. We used to say it all the
time in college when the RA was on the prowl in the
dorm," Janet explained.
"Smoking that wacky weed, were we?" Sam teased.
Doing a poor Bill Clinton, Janet said, "But Ah never
inhaled."
To which Sam said, "Yeah, and Monica lost the ability
to swallow."
"Ooo, Sam! That's gross!" Janet complained.
Sam looked a little sheepish, "I spend too much time
with those foul-minded men. Sorry."
"Apology accepted. Would you like some wine?" Janet
offered.
"Sure, that'd be nice. All I drink with those clowns
is coffee or beer," Sam said with a smile.
Janet returned from the kitchen with two glasses and
the bottle of wine. Sam rose from the floor and sat at
one end of the couch and accepted a glass from her
host.
"So, that was quite a good combination imitation of
the colonel and Teal'c," Janet said.
"Yeah, I remember when they got their minds switched.
Except for the danger to Daniel, I thought it was
hilarious to watch Jack's body controlled by Teal'c
and vice versa. To see Teal'c's face crack a wide grin
was priceless!"
"Yeah, it was funny," Janet agreed.
As the evening progressed, the two friends began
exchanging more and more personal details of their
lives. They grew even closer as a result.
Yawning, Janet said, "This has been great but I'm for
bed."
Sam nodded, "Yeah, that sounds like a plan. I'll sleep
like a log from this," gesturing with her empty glass.
"Come along, sleepy head. I'll show you to your room,"
Janet rose and help Sam rise from the couch.
As they reached the upper floor, they both peaked in
on Cassie. She was on her stomach with the sheet and
blanket down around her ankles.
Janet stepped in whispering, "She's always doing that
in her sleep. I'm surprised she doesn't catch cold."
After tucking her "little girl" in, she showed Sam to
the room she used whenever she stayed over. "See you
in the morning, Blondie," Janet kidded.
"Sleep tight, doc," Sam returned.
******
Sam, Janet, and Cassie walked down the high school
corridor. All three were quite pleased with the
glowing report Cassie's geography teacher had for the
young girl.
Janet was saying what a bright young woman they had
and how proud she and Sam were of Cassie. Cassie was
blushing and Sam was experiencing a strong feeling of
love and belonging.
As they exited the front door of the school, they
walked onto the grassy quadrangle of the university
toward Cassie's dorm. Sam was mildly saddened that
Cassie was going away to school but quite proud of her
for getting the scholarship that would allow her to
pursue a career in astrophysics. As they neared the
dorm, a carillon began to ring out from the bell tower
in the administration building. The bells became an
insistent buzzing like a very large insect.
Sam opened her eyes to daylight beyond the sheer
drapes of the guest room. She reached over and shut
off the alarm clock and lay back to try to retain some
of the warmth and togetherness she had experienced in
the dream. Finally, hearing someone in the hallway,
she decided to get out of bed and get ready for the
day.
She really enjoyed waking up to a sunny day. All those
days and nights deep in the SGC with no sunlight could
be taxing to the spirit. Even when they went to other
worlds, it seemed that they were often cloudy, rainy,
or just plain dark; even the sunny ones just weren't
enough like Earth.
"Good Morning, Janet," she said as she came out into
the hallway and saw her host exiting the bathroom.
"Good Morning. How did you sleep?" Janet asked.
"Great! I feel so much better than when I wake up
several hundred feet below NORAD. You?" Sam stretched,
turnin the "you" into a pleasurable groan.
"I feel great. Go ahead and take a shower while I get
Sleeping Beauty up. Then we can grab some breakfast at
Polly's before our mall expedition," Janet said.
Sam smiled and walked into the slightly steamy
bathroom. Pulling off her pajamas, she muttered "I
hope she left me some hot water."
Turning on the taps, she was reassured that she
wouldn't have to take a icy shower. The young officer
pulled open the glass door and stepped into the warm
stream and sighed.
Finishing several minutes later, she walked out into
the hallway, towelling her short, damp hair. Cassandra
was walking blindly along the hall toward her and Sam
had to move out of the way of the zombie-like girl.
"Hey, short stuff, try opening your eyes. You'll get
farther in life," Sam laughed at the incoherent mumble
from the young girl.
As she began to dress in a Colorado Rockies shirt and
faded blue jeans, Sam reflected on how cozy this all
felt. This was the closest she'd had to a family in a
long time. Much as she loved and respected her father,
they were not as close as some fathers and daughters;
definitely not as close as Janet and Cassie were, and
they weren't really related. She didn't realize until
that moment how much she longed for a life like this.
"That damn dream," Sam said as she shook her head.
"After Janet with her family crack last night and
going on vacation together...no wonder I had such a
dream."
Janet was already drinking a cup of coffee (from a mug
saying "World's Greatest Mother," a Mother's Day gift
from Cassie) when Sam entered the kitchen. Gesturing
with the mug toward the cabinet with the glassware,
Janet said, "Help yourself."
"Thanks, I'll just have to take you up on that."
Taking an Air Force Academy mug, she filled it from
the pot and stepped onto the sun porch.
Looking out at the backyard, Sam was aware that Janet
had quietly joined her. They stood and enjoyed the
cool morning air until a cyclone charged down the
stairs and into the kitchen.
"Come on, I'm starving!" Cass declared.
Janet and Sam exchanged 'she gets this from you' looks
before sharing a laugh.
"Okay, Missy, don't be so demanding," Janet chided her
daughter. "Polly's will still be there if we left now
or ten minutes from now."
Sam decided to tease the young teenager a little, "I
have to call the base. It should only take a few
minutes, no more than a half hour."
"A half hour?" Cassie moaned and Sam gave up the joke
and laughed.
Janet said, "Okay, come on. Let's go."
All three piled into the doctor's Taurus and went to a
little family diner nearby. As Sam and Janet both had
light breakfasts of egg-white omelets and fresh fruit,
Cassie put away a Denver omelet, a side of bacon,
toast, milk, as well as half a honeydew melon.
As the two women sat there watching the young eating
machine, Sam lamented, "Why can't we eat like that?"
"We can but neither of us would fit through the
Stargate," Janet replied.
"No, I mean, eat like that but never gain any weight,"
Sam said.
"Metabolism," Janet answered.
"Hey, can I get some buttermilk cakes?" Cassie asked.
Again both women laughed and Janet said, "No, save
room for lunch, Bottomless Pit."
Sam insisted on paying for breakfast and the trio was
soon on their way to the mall. Cassie wanted to go
check out the record and book stores but Janet was
firm that she needed to get a bathing suit first.
Going to J.C. Penney, they went through all the girls'
suits they had, but, being a typical teenager, none
met with Cass' approval. They tried two other stores
with similar results. Janet was beginning to get
frustrated and Cassie was anxious to go off on her
own.
Sam remembered a new Old Navy that just opened down a
side concourse and the three went there. Cassie saw a
purple one-piece that made her squeal, "That's it!"
Janet said, "That is exactly like the one at Penney's
that you wouldn't even look at!"
"No, that was all frilly like a little girl's suit.
This is what a young adult would wear," Cassie
declared.
Janet looked pleadingly at Sam, rolled her eyes, and
said, "Alright, if it fits, we'll get it. If not, we
go back to Penney's and get that one and cut all the
frilly sh...er, stuff off. Deal?"
"Deal," Cassie agreed as she headed for a fitting
room.
"What was that Rodney Dangerfield said? 'Kids: can't
live with 'em, can't kill 'em!'" Janet said.
Sam laughed, "You and I were just like her at that
age, don't forget."
"Yeah, remind me to call my mom tonight to apologize,"
Janet countered.
Cass walked out in the suit and got the needed
approval from Janet for it. After changing back into
her t-shirt and jeans, she handed the suit to Janet
and asked, "Can I please go to the cd store now?"
"Yes, but meet us at TGIFridays at 1 for lunch, okay?"
Janet asked.
"Okay!" Cassie replied as she almost ran out of the
store.
Sam smiled as the girl left, then turned to her friend
and said, "As long as we're here, let's check out the
selection."
"Sure, why not. Prices aren't too high here," Janet
agreed.
The two friends took turns modeling swimsuits for each
other.
First Janet tried a bikini but refused to come out of
the dressing room and made Sam come in. Sam gave her a
wolf whistle and told her it looked great.
Janet,however, felt a little more prudish about it.
She didn't try any more bikinis.
Sam passed on any two piece because of some faint
combat scars on her abdomen but tried several one
piece suits. Sam realized that, due to the cut of the
suits, she needed to do a little trimming. 'Janet
must've figured that out before,' she thought.
The young doctor, if she noticed any stray blond
curls, said nothing as she critiqued the various suits
Sam tried out.
Janet, who had, of course, seen Sam naked during
exams, was surprised to look at her friend and see a
shapely, attractive woman rather than a patient.
Sam was having the same reaction. She realized it
sooner than Janet when she saw the dark-haired woman
in the bikini.
Sam ended up with a white one-piece and Janet with a
navy blue suit. Both agreed that they should still be
able to turn some heads on the beach.
Paying for the suits, a couple of beach robes, and
sandals, the two women headed out toward the TGIF to
meet their young charge.
Cassie, as is typical with most teenagers, was late.
Fortunately, for her, not too late by Janet's
standards.
Again, the women ordered light, Sam got a chef's salad
and Janet a chicken caesar while Cassie got a double
cheeseburger and fries.  She followed that with a
sundae.
Again, Sam bemoaned the metabolism of the young while
Janet commiserated with the blonde woman.
They headed home with a stop by Jack O'Neill's
apartment to check in on him.
"Hi Jack!" Cassie called as they were let in by
Daniel.
"Hi Sweetie. Don't yell that at the airport the day
after tomorrow," Jack warned.
Both women groaned in unison at the tired old joke.
"Colonel, please spare us those old jokes," Sam
pleaded.
"Yeah, Jack. Get some new material," Daniel added.
"Hey, give me a break. I'm on the DL. Where's the
hearts and flowers?" Jack asked.
Daniel looked thoughtful. "Jack, first you hate
flowers and any kind of sympathy. Second, there is no
DL in the military. And lastly, do you really want
another break?" he asked eyeing the cast on O'Neill's
right leg.
Jack pretended to look hurt while everyone laughed
around him before he yelled, "Okay, everyone who won't
get me beer from the kitchen, OUT!"
As the group headed for the door en masse, he
relented, "Hey, I was just kidding. Come on back." As
he saw them nearing the door he added, "Please?"
As everyone sat back down smiling, Cassie volunteered
to play waitress and got beers from the kitchen. As
she pretended to open one for herself, Janet said
sternly, "Don't even think about it!"
The rest of the afternoon passed by rapidly until the
girls decided it was time to head home. Janet drove
back to her house and Sam left for her apartment.
"I'm going to the base tomorrow to make sure I didn't
leave anything hanging," Sam said.
"I'll probably see you there. I want to update a
couple of files before we get outta here. You're
staying here tomorrow night, right?" Janet asked.
"Oh yeah, it'll be much easier in the morning," Sam
said as she got in her car and pulled away.
Janet stood there for a few moments, surprised that
the image of Sam in the swimsuit wouldn't leave her.
Sam, on returning home, got a beer from the fridge
and, after starting a load of laundry, began to pack.
She made a light salad for dinner while the dryer ran
then, after watching some romantic comedy on Showtime,
got ready for bed.
As she tried to drift off, the sight of Janet in the
bikini flashed on like a lightbulb in her memory.
Rolling over and closing her eyes wouldn't make the
image go away.
Muttering under her breath, "First that dream and now
I can't forget about Janet in that bikini. What's with
me?"
That night Sam dreamed of Janet in a variety of
swimsuits prancing up and down a runway in a fashion
show. Sam couldn't make out any of the other models,
her dream-self only had eyes for Janet.
Several miles away, Janet was dreaming of being with
Sam on a deserted stretch of beach. She definitely
didn't notice any extra blond curls now.
The next morning, they both were tongue-tied when they
first ran into each other at the SGC. By the end of
the day however, things seemed to be back to normal as
they headed for Janet's house.
 (c) John O'Conner
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