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 6
Samantha Carter and Janet Fraiser decided to join
Janet's daughter, Cassie, down on the beach to watch
the sea turtle babies hatch. There was an unusual lull
in any conversation between the two friends as they
took the elevator down and headed for the beach. Both
women were lost in thought, each unaware that her
companion was equally distracted.
Sam kept thinking about the question Cassie had put to
her before racing down to the beach to watch the birth
of the sea turtles. "Do you love mom?" Cassie had
asked. When Sam said that she did since Janet was one
of her best friends, Cassie persisted, "No, Sam, do
you love her? Really love her?"
Before Sam could even begin to think of an answer,
Cassie was gone. Since then, her brain was stuck in a
mental loop. She had admitted that she was attracted
to her friend but she didn't want to do anything to
jeopardize their friendship or their careers in the
Air Force. She also was certain that Janet had no
interest in her beyond friendship, regardless of the
position they were in when Sam woke up this morning.
Janet's mind was running in a similar vein. She had
heard the question her daughter had asked and had
waited just inside the sliding doors to hear Sam's
answer.
Janet just didn't know which answer she wanted to
hear. A "No" would save all kinds of trouble for both
of them, personally and professionally. A "Yes" could
lead to major complications in her life, not the least
of which would be being in love with a woman.
In love with another woman? She did love Sam, but as a
friend and that was it. Janet knew this for a fact.
Janet had always been straight. She had never thought
of women in any other way but now her beliefs had been
shaken by several things.
Over the last several days she had been having erotic
dreams involving herself and Sam. She also had felt
warm and loved when she was in bed last night enfolded
in an embrace by a sleeping Sam. She found herself
becoming preoccupied with Sam's body. Lastly, there
had been the girl on the beach who had come on to her
and she was still surprised that she had not been
repulsed by this.
Janet felt a little shiver and the gooseflesh rose on
her arms. When Sam asked if she was alright, she lied
and told her friend it was because of the coolness of
the day.
In fact, the lie was entirely plausible. The beach was
normally quite crowded at this time of day, but a cold
front had moved in overnight causing the temperature
to drop to a not uncomfortable 70 degrees and leaving
the skies a cloudy gray. While not uncomfortable to
the women after living in the Colorado Rockies, it was
a dramatic departure from the normal warm, sultry
conditions of the Florida panhandle.
They continued in relative silence until they neared a
small crowd near the roped off area that contained the
sea turtle nest. Cassie was near the front and yelled
to them, "Mom! Sam! You gotta see this!"
They gently worked their way forward and could get a
clear view of the mound of sand that formed the nest.
There were small trails coming out of little divots in
the mound that led towards the water but no sign of
activity.
"Mom, Sam, this is so cool! A whole bunch, well three
anyway, came out and ran down the beach into the
water." Cassie was talking fast and loud from the
excitement she always felt at something new on her
adopted planet.
"Whoa. Slow down, young lady." Janet placed a hand
gently on her daughter's shoulder. "I know this is a
big thing but just take it easy. Okay?"
Cassie nodded and tried to act calm. Sam and Janet
shared hopeful glances until some activity at the
mound broke the spell.
"Hey, look! More are coming out!" Cassie was pointing
eagerly towards the mound.
Sam and Janet could both clearly see little cascades
of sand in several places followed closely by little
dark objects poking out. The baby turtles paused at
the open air then, working their legs, pulled
themselves out and slid down the face of the mound.
One or two actually tumbled down and worked to flip
themselves upright on the sand.
"Sam, this really is pretty cool," Janet whispered,
not wanting to encourage Cassie. "I mean, I've seen a
lot over the last couple of years, but this..."
Sam just nodded as Janet trailed off, "Yeah, I have to
admit, you're right."
Seven baby turtles, little bigger than the kind bought
in petshops, scurried down the beach with the
onlookers rooting them on. As they reached the water,
the waves picked them up and helped them as they began
to swim out into the Gulf.
Out of the corner of her eye, Sam saw a familiar
redhead walk towards them. "Here comes your
girlfriend," she whispered to Janet. Janet just
scowled at her friend then smiled at the other girl.
"Hi Regina. This is your big day, isn't it?" Janet
asked. Then, looking at Regina's attire (a short
windbreaker over her swimsuit leaving her long legs
bare), "Aren't you chilly?"
Regina shook her head then said, "Yeah, this is pretty
exciting. There seem to be a lot of babies from this
nest, which is a very encouraging sign." Looking at
Sam, she extended her hand, "Hi, you must be Sam. I'm
Regina."
Sam took her hand and nodded, mumbling under her
breath, "Yeah, it rhymes with a part of the female
anatomy."  Sam was amazed to find she was jealous.
"I'm sorry?" Regina asked.
"Oh, uh, nothing. I was just clearing my throat.
Sorry," Sam sputtered. "Uh, nice to meet you."
Janet gave Sam a puzzled look then turned to Regina,
"So, I guess this means you're done here?"
"No," Regina replied, "We'll wait another twenty-four
hours after the last turtles dig themselves out and
then open the nest. We'll collect the shell fragments
and any unhatched eggs to take back to school for
study in the lab for any environmental anamolies, that
sort of thing."
"Lab work. That's one of the things Sam does best,
don't you Sam?" Janet turned towards her friend.
Sam pretended to ignore them and watch the baby
turtles but she was preoccupied by the unusual
sensation of jealousy stirring in her. 'Jealous of a
young girl? Of Janet? This is definitely nuts,' she
thought.
"Sam? Hello? Anyone home?" Janet nudged her.
"Oh, sorry. I was thinking...uh, I was thinking about
the incident earlier today," Sam lied.
Regina looked at her, "Oh? What incident?"
"Nothing," Janet assured her, throwing another look of
annoyance at her friend. "It's nothing."
Cassie came up then and chimed in, "Nothing? My mom is
so cool. She and Sam took out some punks at the arcade
that were giving us a hard time. Didn't you?" Cassie
looked at the two friends with a mixture of love and
awe.
"Really? One of them the sheriff's kid?" Regina asked.
"Yeah," Cassie replied and then told her all about the
afternoon's adventure. By the time she was done,
several people around them were listening avidly and
both Sam and Janet looked like they had severe sunburn
on their faces.
"Wow, you ladies rock!" Regina said. "That's too cool!
And those redneck punks, I had some trouble with them
too. They deserved every bit of it."
Sam stood there with her hands behind her back,
looking down as she moved the sand around with her
toe. Janet looked at her and the embarrasment
disappeared as she laughed out loud.
Sam looked up questioningly and Janet said, "You look
like 'Aw shucks, ma'am. Twertn't nuthin'.'"
Sam turned even redder and stuck her tongue out at
Janet, causing even more laughter from her "victim"
and Cassie.
Regina smiled and cocked an eyebrow, "Janet, sorry.
I'd love to stay and enjoy this but I've got to go
play scientist. See ya." With a wave, the pretty
redhead turned and returned to the mounded nest.
After watching a couple more baby turtles crawl out of
the sand, Janet glanced at Sam from the corner of her
eye. The taller blonde looked like she was a million
miles away.
Janet looked at Sam quizzically, "What's up with you?
I haven't seen you this preoccupied outside of a lab
in a long time."
"Nothing. Don't worry about it." Sam turned and walked
back across the beach towards the condo.
"What's with Sam?" Cassie asked, the concern evident
in her voice.
Janet put her arm around the girl's shoulder, "I don't
know, sweetie. Maybe she's just embarassed. I'll go
talk to her. You can stay here if you want, but not
too long. It's getting late and we haven't bothered
with dinner yet."
"Okay, mom. I am getting hungry," Cassie replied.
"I'm sure you are. See you soon," Janet said as she
started back towards the condo after her friend.
Sam had gotten a good headstart on Janet and was
already waiting for the elevator when Janet walked up
the short boardwalk between the pool area and the
beach. As she rounded the corner of the building, she
saw Sam step into the elevator. "Hey, hold that
elevator!" she called.
Sam looked annoyed but held the door. When Janet
stepped in, Sam slammed the button for their floor.
She turned and stood there looking out at the bay as
the car rose.
Janet kept her peace until they were back in the
condo, then she asked, "Alright, what's the matter?"
"Nothing," Sam said angrily. "Not a damn thing!"
Janet walked up to Sam and said, "Bullshit!
Something's been eating at you all afternoon. What is
it?" The doctor was worried at the possible answer,
considering what she had overheard earlier, but more
concerned for her friend.
"Alright. You want to know what's bothering me? I
don't like being singled out like that."
"You're embarrassed!" Janet realized. "You're
embarrassed at being called a hero. That's it, isn't
it?"
Sam stood there looking over and past Janet's head
before looking down. Ready for ridicule or amusement,
she was surprised to see concern in Janet's brown
eyes. "Yeah, I get this uncomfortable feeling whenever
I get singled out like that. I felt like that when
Jack and I had to go to Washington to get those medals
from Clinton. Thankfully, the ceremony was cancelled
and General Hammond did it quietly at the SGC."
"Sam, I'm sorry," Janet placed her hand on Sam's arm.
"I didn't know or I would have changed the subject.
I'm also sorry I made fun of you. You did take it
well, though. Why did you bring it up, anyway?"
"I, uh, I don't know," Sam stopped. How could she tell
Janet she was jealous of the attention she was getting
from the young redhead?
"Sam..." Janet said slowly. "I know you. What's the
problem? You know you can tell me anything."
"I know I can trust you with anything." 'Except maybe
this', she thought. "Maybe later, alright?" Sam's
voice held a pleading note that Janet had rarely heard
before. "Please, Janet, I need some time to think.
Okay?"
"Sure," Janet gave Sam a reassuring hug and added,
"Anytime you need me, I'm here for you. Now, let's put
smiles on our faces and figure out where we're going
for dinner."
Cassie returned a few minutes later and they decided
to go to a Chinese place that was highly recommended
by Sam's friends.
While waiting for Sam to use the bathroom, Cassie
asked about her and was reassured by her mom. "She's
just bothered by what happened today but she doesn't
want to talk about it. Got it?"
"Sure, I won't say anything else about it," Cassie
agreed. "But you were both really cool!"
They went to the restaurant which was the opposite
direction of the miniature golf course and arcade,
Janet noted thankfully, and had a great time.
As they usually did at Chinese restaurants, they each
ordered a different dish. and egg rolls so they all
could share and taste different foods.
By the time they were on the fortune and almond
cookies, the place was ready to close and they were
all feeling tired.
Back at the condo, Sam and Janet sat on the balcony
for a short while. Cassie went straight to bed, after
falling asleep in the car on the short ride back.
Janet tried to stifle a yawn and failed. "I'm more
tired than I thought. I'm going to bed."
As she rose from the chair, Sam said, "Good night,
Janet. Thanks."
"For what?" Janet asked.
"For being such a good friend," Sam replied. She stood
up and hugged Janet. Janet returned the hug and felt
her pulse increase in Sam's embrace. She was
experiencing conflicting emotions in the embrace.
Pulling loose, Janet brushed her lips against Sam's
cheek and said, "See you later. Don't stay up too
late."
Sam sat on the chair and listened to the distant surf,
her cheek hot where Janet had kissed her, as her
thoughts and emotions ran rings through her mind.
Sam sat there long into the night.
 (c) John O'Conner
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