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Flat tire.
It was just his luck. Jack could only blame it on himself.
She had come up to him, out of the blue, and had announced him she would join him on the way to the cabin.
Saying it surprised him was the understatement of the year, heck! The understatement of a lifetime! He kept inviting her since year one, and now after eight years (the one he hadn't bothered to ask any of them anymore), she came to his house, duffel bag shouldered and told him without a hint of doubt: "Is that fishing trip invite, still available?"
He blinked a couple of times and even pinched himself. And sure, a bemused expression on her face and all, she was still standing there.
"It is if you want to come?" he said without sounding like a fool. "I was about to leave. So, come in, I need to grab my bag and close up the house first."
She entered the house feeling a bit self-conscious and chewed her lower lip. It was the first time since she knew him that she wasn't under his chain of command, and the years of friendship shared, still didn't make her feel at ease being alone with him, mostly for the feelings she always fought so hard to keep in.
While she pondered her awkwardness, Jack had gone and returned from his room. The lights of his house were all on when she entered. They were slowly turned off as Jack moved across his home, his bag hanging now from his shoulders.
"So, sir," she started as he moved to the back to lock his backyard door. "Daniel mentioned you were leaving around this time, but you didn't ask me to come?" Sam said. She wondered if he would tell her if her presence was unwanted on this trip of his.
"Well, it's been years of open invitations, Carter. I figured you either didn't want to come or would take it when you'd want to come," he shrugged, getting close to her. "I guess I was right," he grinned. Walking towards the main door, he grabbed his wallet and keys that laid in a bowl near the entrance; and then opened the door for her. "Shall we?"
"Sure," she said. It was past nine, and the only lights on were the shining yellow one on Jack's porch, the streetlights, and the full moon. They all cast an angelic glow over Sam that he thought it was wise not to dwell on.
"Want to put your car inside the garage?" he offered as he locked the door. When he turned around and found a blushing Sam, he squinted, looking around. "Carter, where's your car?"
"I took a cab," she said, a hopeful expression replaced a quick grimace. "I kinda' hoped you wouldn't mind me joining you this time around?"
Jack blinked several times. Wondering if he heard what he thought he heard or if he might have fallen prey into another one of those many things that gave him weird visions during his years at the SGC.
"Look, if you don't want me there, I can always call a cab," Sam offered.
"No!" Jack shouted, making her flinch. "I mean, don't be silly, why would I offer you to join me if I didn't want the company to start with?" He said, "Jump in."
"Well, that was at least a year ago? I mean, you could've wanted some alone time, right?" she said but entered his truck, anyway. Jack eyed her with an expression she couldn't quite place.
"Let me warn you; it's a sixteen-hour trip, Carter. You'll be stuck in this truck with me until we arrive. Well, except those times when we need to stop for gas," he said, turning to watch her.
"You mean sixteen hours with you in a small space that has comfortable seats and air conditioning? With chances of getting out and grabbing some coffee and maybe even some decent food on the way to a mysterious place that few people know about?" she offered with a grin.
"I guess so."
"I think we've endured worse," Sam pointed out.
"If that's what you think, then there's one condition I need to put out there." Jack sighed, and Sam frowned.
"I'm listening," she said, but fear settled at the pitch of her stomach.
"You can't call me 'sir,' and I will do my best not to call you Carter."
"Oh."
"You think we can manage?" He asked, hopefully.
"Yes, sir!" she grinned playfully, and he rolled her eyes.
"I'll let that one slip, Carter." He smiled and turned the engine on.
"If it is a sixteen-hour trip, why do you leave so late?" Sam asked, looking at the clock in the dashboard as the last seconds of nine pm turned into ten.
"It's less crowded," he shrugged. For some reason, he risked a look to her side and saw Sam smiling knowingly. "What?"
"Well, I always thought you had an obsession with the dawn."
"How come?" He asked.
"If our camp were at a nice viewpoint, you would always pick the fourth watch," she said.
"What can I say, there are stunning things around that shouldn't go by unobserved," he smiled, and under his barely-there gaze, she blushed.
During the first leg of the trip, they avoided calling each other anything besides 'you,' until after the first several hours had passed by. About the time they were entering South Dakota, Sam had needed to stop. They had fallen silent sometime earlier, and he was so focused on the road ahead that she didn't know how to get his attention.
"Hmm, Jack? Can we stop at the next exit?" she asked, and it felt weird hearing herself calling him something other than 'sir' after so long. It felt strange for him to listen to her calling him something other than 'sir' after so long. He smiled and decided that it was only fair he returned her request in the same manner.
"Sure, Sam. I could use a stop too."
They didn't say much until the next stop appeared in sight, but they were both grinning like idiots as they went inside the dinner next to the gas station. They walked to the restroom area, and then each disappeared inside the marked doors. Jack was the first out, went to the counter, ordered two coffees, and went to find them a table.
"God! He is so sexy!" Sam heard one woman say to another, as she got out of the bathroom. She followed their gaze only to find they were talking about her Jack.
"He is, isn't he?" Sam grinned to them and walked out to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder to let him know she was back, even if Sam knew, by the way he had straightened himself, that he knew she was near. "Hey."
"Is everything all right?" Jack asked as her hand lingered a bit longer than usual before she took the seat in front of him.
"Perfect," she said, grinning to the women duet she had encountered before.
"I've ordered us some coffee; it should be here in no time. Maybe it's a good time to get some breakfast?"
"Sounds perfect, Jack."
They ordered some food, and after finishing, Sam excused herself to go to the washroom before they left, and Jack went to fill up the gas.
"I'm ready," Sam said, entering the truck, and he grinned.
"I need to pay for this, and we can go," he said before he walked inside the store. Picking them up some water bottles, in a spur of the moment, Jack also grabbed candies he knew she loved but rarely bought.
"You are one hell of a lucky bastard," the cashier spluttered, and Jack raised his eyebrows, confused.
"I beg your pardon?" He frowned.
"Sorry, dude. You have one helluva good-looking wife," the man said, and Jack shook his head, amused.
"Thank you," he said.
His mind said he was a liar since Sam wasn't his wife and, at the same time, told him he didn't need to explain himself to someone he didn't even know at all.
"Everything okay?" Sam asked as he got in the truck, with a pensive look in his face.
"Yup, Sam," Jack grinned. "Everything is okay," he said, turning the engine on and starting to drive away.
"Huh, it's getting easier, isn't it?" She asked.
"What is?"
"Calling me Sam?" she let out, a lovely shade of pink painted her features.
"Does it mean that it is getting easier for you to call me Jack?" he teased, looking at her from the corner of his eyes and smiling. He noticed then that besides the cute blush, she was wearing one of his favorite smiles.
"It does," she answered, looking at him, and he gulped to control the ridiculous butterflies that he felt in his stomach.
After that, she found an innocent conversation topic, and soon, Sam was searching for a music station. Surprisingly for her, not that long after their last stop, they pulled off out of the highway, stopping in a small convenience store where he got them some coffees to go, and then, he drove to a beautiful viewpoint where they watched in awe as the sun rose.
Once the sun was out, they jumped back in the truck and continued their friendly chatter. During the following hours, Jack learned that Sam liked to sing along to old songs. She loved classical symphonies over other music. That she couldn't bake cookies anymore, because that was what she was doing when she found out her mother had passed away.
In that weird over-sharing note, Sam wasn't surprised when he mentioned having a brother. She confessed she had hacked into his files way back in the day. Jack shook his head and let out an 'of course you did,' before she asked him why they had never met his brother. Then, Sam knew exactly how much he trusted her; Jack confessed that he hadn't seen his brother since he was in high school.
"Is that why you pushed me into fixing my relationship with dad?" Sam asked.
"Well, what can I say? I know how it feels to be part of one messed up family," he shrugged.
They continued talking and sharing bits, and pieces that made the other understand from were particular quirks came from.
Around the twelfth hour of the trip, a couple of hours since the "Welcome to Minnesota" sign appeared in their view; they stopped for a quick lunch before they traveled on. They followed the highway for a while until Jack turned into a county road saying something about better views and less crazy people, and twenty minutes into that, was the last time they saw a car.
Another three hours passed by, and Sam's anxiety level skyrocketed. She was barely an hour away from spending a whole week alone with him. Suddenly, there was a noise that could only mean one thing. Jack slowed the truck down and got out of the road as the sounds of a flat tire made itself known.
Jack grimaced and got down of the truck. He tried not to swear to his bad luck when he noticed that the rear passenger tire was as flat as the road below it. Sam heard him mutter something before she got down.
"Need any help?" she asked as he moved around, finding all the things he needed to change the flat for his spare. There was a coldish breeze, and her tank top left too much of her flesh exposed, and she shivered.
"You are freezing, get inside," he said in a commandng tone. Sam squashed the urge to salute him, nodding instead, while feeling a bit angry.
"Suit yourself," she threw over her shoulders, deciding to wait inside the truck until he finished. Half an hour passed by, and she couldn't fight her anxiety any longer.
Sighing, she got down of the truck in time to hear a string of swearing words coming out of him. A wench flew a mile away as he threw it in anger.
"I'm afraid to ask if you need help," she said.
"Go back to the truck, Sam," he let out as he stood up and went to get the wench. Something dawned on her. It wasn't anger; it was frustration. He wasn't ordering her around because he thought she had no business changing his flat, but because he felt embarrassed about something. At first, she didn't understand until the wench touched the lug nut, and he tried to loosen it.
"Jack, you have never changed a tire before, have you?" She smiled knowingly.
"I know how to do it," he huffed.
"It's just that you never had to do it before?" She asked, her eyes were filled with merriment.
"Don't laugh at me, Carter!" He huffed from his place in the ground.
"You look cute, so flustered," she said out of the blue. "So, how come you never had a flat before?" She asked, surprised. "Scoot over; I'll do it."
"It never happened," he shrugged but didn't move. "I replace my tires when I need to and keep them in condition. I guess I never was this unlucky," he waved.
"What do you mean with 'unlucky'?"
"I mean, the few times I was in a vehicle that got a flat tire, either it wasn't mine, or there was someone in charge of that sort of thing. The last time, Daniel changed it, saying he couldn't let me do it due to my knees," he shrugged, but under the bright light of the afternoon sun, along with the sweaty pearls that grazed his skin, there was also a faint embarrassed blush. "I thought I could spare my embarrassment because of my old damaged knees."
Sam laughed.
"Now, I'm stuck with a flat tire and a hot girl, and I'm not able to fix the damn thing!"
"There's no need to be embarrassed, Jack," she rolled her eyes, blushing as his comment but preferring to ignore it for the moment. "It's a skill that comes handy from time to time, but I guess if you survived this long, it's not really needed, right?"
"Stop embarrassing me any further, will ya?" Jack sighed. "It's enough as it is."
"So, as I said, scoot over and let me change it," Sam smiled.
"No," he said firmly.
"Come on, sir. Why not?" Jack looked at her the moment 'sir' left her mouth and then shook his head.
"Because you are a woman, and I'm a male. I'm supposed to do it." Sam raised her eyebrow unamused.
"I never pegged you for the sexist kind," she admitted, his eyes widened in horror.
"I'm not sexist, and you of all people should know that," he shook his head, not at all amused by her comment.
"I know, Jack," she rolled her eyes. "I thought by pointing that out; you would move out of the way." Jack sighed; he looked utterly mortified. So, Sam shook her head and raised her hands in surrender.
"Okay, you do it then," she added.
"What? I thought we have established I've never changed a flat tire in my life," Jack let out.
"Yes!"
"So?"
"We also established you know how to do it," Sam stated matter-of-factly.
"We will be here until someone comes offering to help," Jack muttered.
"No, you will change it, and I'm going to teach you how. So you get to learn a new skill, do your chivalrous thing, and we can finally get to your cabin," Sam grinned. "I mean, you got the first steps covered, it's only getting the tire up, out and replace it now. What do you say?"
"Okay," he mumbled.
"So, tell me, what do you know about changing them?"
"Find a safe location, turn the hazard lights on, apply the parking brake, and then, make sure to apply wheel wedges or something to make sure the vehicle won't roll," Jack said, counting with his fingers as he did.
"Well, you got that covered," she grinned. "What else?"
"Remove the wheel cover, loosen the lug nuts, raise the vehicle with the jack, remove the lug nuts, remove the tire, install the replacement, tighten the lug nuts, lower the vehicle a bit, tighten the lug nuts completely, lower the vehicle, replace the hubcap. Stow all the things you got out in the first place," Jack huffed.
"Well, you do know all the steps, so why are you still thinking about it?" Sam wondered.
"I can't loosen the stupid lug nuts!" he growled and tried to loosen them up once more. "See?" Sam blinked, then she laughed out loud. "Really?" he huffed.
"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just that... you must use your weight to do it, Jack," she said, barely containing her laughter.
"What?"
"To break the resistance of those things, you need to use your weight. Here," Sam said, offering him her hand and pulling him up. "Let me show you one, and you can do the others?"
Reluctantly, Jack gave her the lug wrench, and Sam squatted to place it on the highest lug. Then she stood up fully, put her foot on the wrench, and using the vehicle for support; she pushed her weight down on the wrench. The lug nut didn't budge.
"Whatcha doing?" Jack asked as he saw her doing a small jumpy movement over the wench until it moved, and she fell, right on his arms.
"Good catch," she grinned and blushed.
Their gazes locked, and out of an impulse, Sam kissed him. Surprised by her actions but unable to resist her, he kissed her back. She parted her lips for him, and he took the offer gladly.
They didn't know for sure how long it was since they started kissing, but both knew they had to stop at some point. The point came when the first car they've seen in hours honked at them, and the driver rolled his windows down.
"Hey, guys," he grinned. "Sorry to interrupt you, but do you need help with the tire?" the driver asked, and Sam hid her face on the crook of Jack's neck before she chuckled.
"Nope, we got a bit distracted, but we are good," Jack said.
"Oh, great. I live a few miles down the road, stop by if you find you need help."
"Thank you," Jack said. Soon the guy was rolling up his window and driving away. "You can stop hiding now, Carter," he chuckled. When she took a step away from him, he could see the mirth in her eyes and the fact that she was biting her lower lip to stop herself from laughing.
"What?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Nothing," she managed to say. Then she took the forgotten wench and placed it in the next lug nut. "We better get back at work," Sam added. "I can't wait to reach the cabin, oh, and Jack, it's your turn," she said with a mischievous grin that took Jack's mind straight into the gutter until she gave him a knowing smile and looked down at the floor, where the jack laid all but forgotten.
With a bit of a struggle, Jack finally completed the steps for changing the damn flat tire, and they eventually got back on their way.
"Jack," Sam said as he finally turned into the cabin's driveway. He killed the engine and turned around to face it. "I meant it. It is your turn," she said and got down of the truck.
He blinked, confused by her words, then they made sense to him, and he rushed out of his truck, stopping her, he placed her right between him and the cabin wall. She grinned, and he claimed her lips.
It was later that day when they had put many flat surfaces of the cabin to good use, that Sam started laughing.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"We are! We've been through deaths, mind stamps, time travel, interdimensional travel, time loops, black holes, hundreds of prisons, a zat'arc test, and that stupid wall when all this time all we needed was a damned flat tire!"
"Huh, I guess changing a flat tire is a nice skill," Jack grinned. She laughed even more.
"Sam," he said thoughtfully.
"Yeah?"
"You know I love you, right?"
"All this time," she stated. "You've shown me every single day," she said, caressing his face. "Do you?" Sam asked.
"Do I what?"
"Know that I love you, of course," Sam grinned.
"I do. For years it was written in your every action," Jack pointed. Then, he laughed. "A damned flat tire."
"A damned flat tire," she agreed.
"This so isn't the story we're telling our grandchildren?"
"Grandchildren, huh?" she bit her lower lip and giggled as Jack blushed. "Then you better get creative, Mr. O'Neill," she said.
"Yeah sure you betcha," he said, wiggling his eyebrows, and finally kissed her.
The end.