 | ShatterStorm Productions
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| ShatterStorm Productions
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Pairings: Whoo ho! There's all kinds o' smut and bonding goin' on here! Janet and Art pass quite a hurtle in their relationship. Sam gets lucky, finally, but the exact circumstances will make you gawk...
Series: Reflections
Category: yet another mirror universe for the SGC.
Disclaimer: Stargate SG1 and all their characters belong to MGM, Showtime and Gekko Productions. But I think we all knew that, hmm? Art and Cooper are mine. You may remember Lieutenant Aster from ‘Divide and Conquer' in the forth season. She was such a delicious little cutie that me and AJ had to get her in on the action. Oh, and in my version, she won't get a bullet in her head, so there!
Spoilers: References aplenty to the majority of the third season here, consider yourselves warned...
Summary: SG1 discovers that technology can really mess with your social life... Janet is reunited with a very old friend and the gang gets a lesson in the differences between men and women.
++ Janet ++
"Janet?"
Startled by the voice, I whirled around to face the newcomer. That grin flashed, blissfully familiar, and I felt myself smile in response.
"Darya!"
It was as though no time had passed between us, as though the pains we had been subjected to had never happened. With a squeal of delight at odds with my uniform and position and state of mind, I pounced on my old friend as was relieved to feel her arms around me again. Shoving aside my melancholy over Art leaving for a mission earlier today, I held Darya at arm's length and gave her the once over.
"You look good Dare. I'm so glad this worked out and you agreed to come here and join in."
"With the offer the Air Force gave me? How could I resist?"
Flashing her a wry look and deliberately ignoring the odd looks the hospital staff were firing at me, I crouched down to say hello to her daughter. "Well hi, Emily. How are you doing?"
"Hi aunt Nanet! Wen' on plane!"
"Fun huh?" Plucking Emily from the stroller, I grinned at Darya and jerked my chin in the direction of my office. "Come sit. We have tons to catch up on."
Darya Farazell and I had been the closest of friends in that restrictive boarding school a lifetime ago. Together with Xavier and Kim, we had been a force of nature until our college years had began to draw to a close. From the best of friends, we'd also become lovers. It was she that coaxed me out of my shell and taught me what a part of me already knew. When I had panicked and run from the relationship, I had hurt us both, not to mention Kim and X. Then Darya had met Emma and true love had allowed her to forgive me. From that much-needed forgiveness a beautiful friendship had blossomed. Even with thousands of miles separating us, we had stayed close. When Em had died in that tragic car accident, I had rushed to Darya's side to help her through the loss.
"So," Darya said expansively and snuggled down into the spare chair to eyeball me. "Tell me what on earth is so secret that you had to recruit me from halfway across the country and the military had to do a background check that made the original one pale in comparison?"
It was so easy to forget that Darya had once been AF as well. When she had fallen for Em, she had ditched her commission to be with her love. I was still awed and appalled by her bravery. And faint with relief that the SGC was willing to let her in anyway.
"I need you for Cassandra," I said softly and her dark head canted to one side in curiosity.
"What about Cass?"
They had met once or twice when I had visited after adopting Cassandra and gotten along fine. But Cassandra needed someone with more heart than Mackenzie to talk to and she needed to be able to have the option to be completely honest with that person. So I had begged General Hammond a month and a half ago to try and get permission for Darya to join the project. As an experienced psychiatrist specializing in Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome in veterans, and someone I trusted implicitly, she was perfect. Better still, Cassie liked her. So I made myself comfy and prepared to fill Darya in on the basics of what I had been doing for the past three years.
"Hey Dare? Do you believe in aliens?"
++ Darya ++
It had been five days since I had been told what was going on under Cheyenne Mountain. That Cassie was an alien, and Janet had set foot on other worlds. There was a huge part of me that still didn't believe it. I mean, really, there was the teen, splashing around in the pool with Emily, both of them squealing with delight. How on earth could the stories be true? Yet Janet had shown me enough proof that I had to believe it. What I really wanted to do was see this ‘Stargate' and the facility that housed it. But I had been brought in on the secret for the sole purpose of Cassie's well-being and that would be enough. As though conjured by my thoughts, Janet appeared beside me with a tray in hand.
"Hey girls," she called out. "I have your favorite."
"Appa juice!" Emily yelled and tried to squirm away from Cassie. The inflatable ring built into her swimsuit and the teen's secure grip kept her safe in the water.
"Sheesh, Em," Cassie groused from the jostling and I felt my heart catch. The short nickname always brought on the ache of my true love's loss. My precious baby had been named after the woman who was to have been her other parent. Now she would never know that wonderful woman.
"You okay?" Janet asked softly and I glanced over to see a similar pain in her eyes. Then it hit me, that niggling curiosity that had been bugging me since moving here to Colorado. Janet, hold-them-at-arms-length, Fraiser... was in love. Would wonders never cease? And she was missing that lover desperately if her expression was any indication. Cursing my uncharacteristic cluelessness, I gave her a measuring stare that made her swallow and cringe away. There would be no hiding from me now. Then I smiled winningly at the girls as though nothing was up.
The day of sun and fun had been exactly what the doctor ordered and we were all pink and happy. Well I was more coca than pink, and when I said as much, earned laughter. Heavy with tiredness, Emily was sprawled in my lap with her fist against her mouth. That was an inescapable indication that she needed sleep.
"Okay sweetie, time for bed."
Before I could do more than shift our combined weight, Cassie jumped to her feet. "I'll do it. You guys stay put. Mom, when you're ready to go, I'll be with Emily."
We both said something appropriate as Cassie gathered up Emily's unresisting weight and they vanished into the depths of the townhouse. That left me alone with the always-hard-to-read Janet. Only, when I looked at her, she was obviously lost and hurting. In all the years I had known her, I'd rarely seen the vulnerable expression on her features. So I grabbed my wineglass and flopped my body down into the cushions beside her.
"So," I began in my gentlest voice. "Tell me about her."
That was all it took. Great, sad tears welled up in those brown eyes and Janet's breath caught in a sob. In an instant, I had my arms full with her, and concentrated on stroking her hair and soothing her. In time, Janet began to speak of the amazing woman that had so unexpectedly walked into her life. By the time we grew weary, I felt as though I had almost gotten to know Janet's lover through her. My own heart ached with the loss of my own, but I was ecstatic for my aloof pal. She had been alone far too long.
"I know how you felt now," Janet said quietly after we'd sat in a comfortable quiet for some time. "And how much it must have hurt to lose Em."
There wasn't much to add to that.
++ Teal'c ++
It happened so quickly... One moment we were prowling down the dusty halls of some unknown and seemingly dead technological world, weapons at the ready. Then there was a strange electric sensation like a lightning strike that froze me in my tracks. Before my eyes, both Colonel O'Neill and Sergeant Goldston went rigid... and disappeared as though they had never been. For a timeless instant their gear and clothing hovered motionless in the exact shape of their now-missing bodies. Then the paralyzing force released me and the gear collapsed noisily to the floor. Even before I whirled to check on Major Carter and Daniel Jackson, I knew that they too, were gone.
For long, suffocating moments, neither Cooper nor I moved. Then he whined in distress and began to sniff around. There was terror in his amber eyes as he nosed the pile of camouflaged fatigues that had been his Handler only a few heartbeats ago.
"Colonel O'Neill," I called out in a voice that carried only the faintest hint of a tremor. One by one, I called their names but was met with only silence.
Once the shock had worn off, I quickly gathered my teammate's gear and bundled it together. Everything was there, from boots to underwear. The distinctive dogtags and Daniel's glasses were placed respectfully in the pocket closest to my heart. If the worst had occurred, I would bear those few things back to the home of the Tau'ri to be properly discharged. Then I moved silently into the complex with the nervous Cooper on my heels...
In time, the urge to admit defeat grew strong. Cooper and I encouraged one another when morale grew low. His unspoken support was invaluable to our search and I found it difficult to believe that we had once been so distant. Then, after days lost in the ghostly silent catacombs of the alien complex, Cooper paused. I had long since learned to trust his animal instincts and froze in response. A long moment passed while Cooper scented the air, every muscle taut and straining. Then his proud head cocked to one side and he whimpered uncertainly.
"What is it Cooper?" Something about his body language reminded me of that first time we had met. It was the same uncertainty that he had displayed over the smell of the Goa'uld on myself and Major Carter... "Do you sense them?"
Another whine sounded in the dimness and Cooper began to move hesitantly down the hall. It never occurred to me not to follow. As the invisible trail of scent led Cooper further into the unknown, he began to pick up speed. Soon we were running as though pursued by Apophis himself. Then he slid to a clumsy halt outside a pair of massive metal doors before gathering himself to paw urgently at them. They were like nothing I had ever seen. It would undoubtedly take considerable time and effort to open them. So when they swung open easily with my touch, I was both surprised and worried.
Inside was a chamber of horrors. Great banks of indecipherable equipment stood in various states of activity and repair. But what made me follow Cooper into the room were the four Human figures sprawled on identical metal tables. Only, I did not know them. And by the manner Cooper was broadcasting his confusion and distress, they were unfamiliar to him as well. Still, I would not leave these strangers in this forbidding place. They were naked, two men and two women, and one of the males caught my eye. The disarrayed gold of his hair in the bright spotlight reminded me strongly of Major Carter. As I drew closer to the table, a bolt of shock the likes of which I had never felt before lanced though my body.
It was impossible... the straight, narrow nose beneath the fringe of unruly hair. But the chin was too strong, the cheekbones more pronounced and the jaw squarer than I was accustomed to beneath the gold fuzz of beard. My eyes jerked up to stare at the second, swarthy male and the distinctive pattern of ugly and puckered scars tracing over the muscled thighs and torso. And beyond that was a woman with an untidy shock of short, dark hair with silver feathering back from her temples...
++ General Hammond ++
When SG1's code finally transmitted through the Stargate, I nearly leapt right through the armored glass window.
"Open the iris!" I shouted and leaned forward as though I could wish my people to walk through the shimmering Stargate unharmed. They had been gone too long, too damn long... then at last, a figure appeared from the glow, but it was not what anyone had expected. It was Cooper's tail end and he was obviously dragging something in his teeth. Sure enough, a limp body began to appear even as a heavily laden down Teal'c stumbled through the event horizon and promptly collapsed to one knee. The male bodies dangling from his fists slumped boneless beside him and he nearly lost the small woman draped across his shoulders. Some part of my brain registered that something was wrong even as I rushed down into the Gateroom.
"Teal'c! What happened?"
Then the gold hair registered. For a moment I had thought that it was Jack by the build, but that color was distinctly Carter's... Too exhausted to speak, Teal'c shrugged the woman across his shoulders into my arms. By all that was holy... was this Jackson? There were strong hints of the man's features in the pretty face lolling against my chest. A shocked glance at the blonde confirmed that the unfamiliar man did indeed bear a striking resemblance to Carter and the dark man to Goldston.
"What happened?" I asked again and ignored the note of shock in my tone. Teal'c was breathing as hard as Cooper, now standing silent sentinel over the last member of what could only be the rest of SG1. The gray at the temples was not as pronounced, but it was still recognizable. Forcing myself to be professional about this, I turned to the stunned guards at the bottom of the ramp. "Get the medical teams in here, stat!"
++ Janet ++
Oh, this was going to make one hell of a story one day, I mused to myself as the last of the four were gently deposited on gurneys. It had to be them; it was just so difficult to rationalize the familiar with the unfamiliar. I immersed myself in the banal physical details of the transformation to combat the emotional shock of the situation. Who knew Sam would make such a tall, strapping man? Dark golden fuzz curled along Sam's chin and spread across her/his muscled chest like prairie grass. Or that Daniel would make such a delicate woman? Jack was a handsome, busty woman that bore the same character lines on his/her transformed face.
While Art's height had not increased significantly, the muscle mass certainly had. Thick black facial hair matched the scattered patterns of the stuff decorating her/his changed body. My hands trembled as I traced the unfamiliar, masculine lines of my lover's form. It had only been a month and a half since that fateful morning in my backyard where we had first kissed. Memories of her svelte body wrapped around mine threatened to drive me mad. So I brutally forced myself to be the aloof doctor I had always been before she had walked into my life. A quick, thorough medical exam showed them to be healthy and physically unharmed. So the blood samples were sent to the lab and I settled in to wait.
It did not take long. I had nearly dozed off in a chair among the gurneys when a low moan alerted me. Shooing away the rest of the staff, I spotted Jack stirring restlessly and moved to his/her bedside. I watched the movements halt and the dark brows furrow in confusion.
"Jack?" I greeted her/him softly. While I had never called my superior by his first name, now seemed like a good time. A long beat passed before one brown eye slit open to eye me soberly. "You and the others, except for Teal'c were... abducted by an alien technology that... transformed you. There doesn't appear to be any physical damage, but..."
I could not finish the thought and Jack's eyes finally opened to look around the room. He/she stared long and hard at Sam, sprawled inelegantly not three feet away.
"Carter?" The tremor in the alto voice made my heart ache. Shaking hands traced lightly up Jack's changed body to rest on her throat. "Oh, this is good. What happened?"
That was the Jack O'Neill I knew, sarcastic and adaptable. Wearily, she sat up and glared at me while I obediently passed on what little the thoroughly exhausted Teal'c had managed to tell us. Even now, he slept beside Daniel with Cooper curled up on the floor beside him. The poor dog was skittish and hopelessly confused. Eyeing Art, I could understand his feelings. If the four of them looked this different, I could only imagine what they must smell like.
About that time, Sam began to stir and I quickly grabbed the fatigues that had been the blonde woman's a short time ago. Thrusting them into Jack's hands, I gestured for my office. "Go change. You'll probably feel better in clothing instead of a hospital gown. I'll take good care of your team."
Miserable and freaked out, Jack stared at me owl-eyed for a long beat before obeying. Then I turned my concentration to the changed Sam. If she had been a fairly tall woman, she made a towering man and I worried about restraining my friend if it became necessary. Blue eyes abruptly snapped open and I leaned comfortingly over her/him. "He-ey. Don't freak, I know this is strange, but you need to stay calm."
"Janet?" The low tenor voice cracked alarmingly halfway through my name and Sam's brows drew in. Boldly, I laid a hand on the broad chest and the other on her/his forehead. And with those sky eyes desperately searching mine for reassurance, I explained again. Once Sam was calm, I helped pull him into a sitting position and grabbed his muscled biceps when his changed center of gravity nearly toppled him.
"Easy, easy. You're significantly taller and heavier now. You'll need to be careful until your brain adapts to your body."
The door behind me clicked open and Sam and Jack were left staring in shock at one another. Neither spoke, the situation was too raw, but various things were said with their gazes alone. One of the orderlies discreetly handed a pile of fatigues to me. "Sam," I said firmly and broke the staring contest. "Go change clothes. Here, these should fit. We'll get you shoes once we figure out what size you wear."
Some time passed and I still didn't know why Daniel and Art hadn't regained consciousness and it bothered me enormously. Jack and Sam were sitting quietly after being gently debriefed by General Hammond. Teal'c and Cooper still slept, completely wiped out from dragging their teammates through the alien complex for heaven only knows how long. Each time someone walked into the Infirmary, Sam and Jack would flinch. Neither would meet the eyes of any of their co-workers. The transformed Sam was hugging one knee to his chest, the other dangling loosely over the edge of the gurney. It was such a familiar pose of the woman we all knew so well that it was eerie to see this handsome man doing the same thing. Jack would flash some well-known body language or gesture that would confuse me every time.
++ Jack ++
An odd movement in the corner of my eye made me glance over to see that Sam was starting to shake. With a quick gesture to a nurse, Janet seemed to teleport over and grabbed Sam in a tight hug. Trembling in shock, Sam clung to the small woman hard enough that it must have been fairly painful. Janet just stroked the familiar blonde hair and whispered comfortingly under her breath. To my mortification, I bitterly envied them for an endless moment. No one would comfort me over the shock of this transformed body. Even if someone tried, they would be turned away. Unbidden, my eyes drifted over to where Art and Daniel still lay unconscious. What would happen when they woke? What would happen to Cooper? What would happen to any of us? Too turned-around to think straight, I rested my head in my hands and tried to let it all go. Even for just a moment.
Eventually, Fraiser finally sent me off to regroup in my quarters. They looked and smelled all wrong. Did it really make such a huge difference? Letting my senses adjust to my once-familiar surroundings, I could only concluded that the sexes really were as different as I had always thought they were. Shaking off the almost humorous thought, I moved further into my quarters and froze when a flicker of movement caught my eye.
Good God...
If I'd had a sister, this is what she would have looked like. Fascinated and horrified, I stepped closer to the silvered glass and faced myself. The hair was just graying at the temples of my familiar buzzcut and it was slightly softer when I touched the short strands. The weirdest thing was, the longer I stared... the more I still looked an awful lot like me. The bone structure was gentler, the lines of time around my eyes in slightly different patterns. I looked like a handsome woman just at the young end of middle age. But my eyes were the same.
When I winced, the stranger looking back at me responded like those ridiculous cartoons with the characters pantomiming one another through a space they thought was a mirror. This was gonna be really hard...
++ Sam ++
Holy Hannah! How could men deal with this damn thing day in and day out? Where was I supposed to put it when I got dressed? And was it ever so painfully sensitive! The dammed testicles were even worse. Now I understood why kneeing guys in the crotch caused them to double over. I only nudged myself with a boot as I was putting on my new fatigues and the pain was excruciating! Like gas cramps and a crotch full of broken glass. I wish there was someone who could help me out with all this...
Maybe I could ask Janet. Or Art. She has brothers. Or, I guess, he has brothers is more correct. This damn gender confusion was nearly as bad as the foreign sensations in my body.
Then I paused. Poor Art and Janet! They had only just gotten together and now... They were such a great couple. Shocked, I felt the damn penis stir with even the mere thought of my friends together, and I wasn't ready to deal with exactly why.
And what about Bob? It's not like we were in love or anything, but it could've been so good, maybe lasting longer than just a love affair... Now, that wasn't even a possibility. Thankfully, the budding erection began to subside.
That gave me an excuse to go back to seething over damned outdoor plumbing. Tuck it up? Let it trail down the pants leg? God, what should I do with it?
For years in the military I'd heard the jokes men would make. Now I was really beginning to understand.
Boxers or briefs? For the sake of my sanity and my nervous system, probably the latter. The idea of the stupid thing dangling loose was horrifying.
There was one bright side to this. Now the colonel and Daniel would see what it's like to be a woman. Oh, I didn't envy them their first period! I needed to remember to stay away from Jack after those first signs appeared...
Oh God, were we stuck this way? Forever?
++ Art ++
Cooper...
Oh, my poor, poor Cooper.
My heart was shattering into a thousand pieces, shredding my soul. He didn't understand...
He was even more lost than I was. How could he understand that it was me in this muscular, male body? I smelled different even to my weak, human nose. My stride was awkward and heavy, my body language completely wrong. When he had finally growled at me in confusion, I'd grown so concerned for everyone's safety that Cooper had gone into quarantine. And there my heart remained, bloody and tattered.
And Janet... The very thought of her made my throat close even tighter and tears threaten to expose my pain. On the surface, my darling seemed to be taking this in stride. But neither of us could do more than be awkwardly polite. I suppose that made our cover as 'just friends', very convincing. I hated sneaking around... but the military was very clear on what they would do to us if we were caught. Shrugging off the pain, I tried to think about something else, anything else.
Poor Sam. She... he? Sam didn't really have anyone to lean on. She and Bob were too new, too raw as a couple. Even the two of us were having trouble socializing, and we weren't lovers.
I looked up from my lunch to see Sam step into the commissary. If I were wired that way, I would be drooling. I knew most of the straight women officers on the base were having a damn hard time keeping their eyes off of him. Drop dead good-looking, but not in an overblown macho way like so many men in uniform, there was a softness that made him undeniably appealing. This was my Sam, regardless of the packaging.
It looked like Sam had been fighting crying. I sympathized completely. Theh-mou,
what a shock! To suddenly wake up and find you've been changed into a man!
Hair in weird places. Body mass all wrong and long bones all the wrong
lengths. I wasn't even going to dwell on my new sexual equipment.
I had to wonder how Daniel and Colonel O'Neill were coping. Probably
no better than we were. Especially Mr. Macho O'Neill...
"Art?"
Sam was standing there looking at me. I must've chuckled aloud. "Yeah, uh, I was just thinking about... uh, what the Colonel must be doing. I haven't seen him... her or Daniel in days."
"Me either."
There was an odd tension in Sam, a trapped animal kind of body language. "Join me?" I ventured and his relief was almost comical.
"I'd love to."
Neither of us knew what to say, so I watched Sam eat. Very deliberately and cautiously, he picked up the fork and began to work on the pile of noodles and sauce on the tray. It was like watching a little kid try and use a utensil for the first time. After long moments I understood why. Sam had been a fairly tall woman at five foot ten. She had probably been that height since puberty. Now suddenly she was trapped in a towering male body that stood a full six inches taller that her former frame. The arms alone must be a good three inches longer. Almost in response to my revelation, Sam reached for his drink. The brain was expecting to only reach a certain distance, but the too-long arm smacked the glass over hard enough to send hot coffee splashing across the table and all over me. The sensations were so shocking that I half-jumped to my feet and went crashing into the officers behind me.
Ouch.
Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around my head and curled up my body protectively, pinging off bodies and smacking something hard with my shoulder before thumping to the floor with a ‘whuff'. Oh yeah, so graceful Goldston. At least I had only gained a couple of inches and the muscle mass was proving helpful in this case. There were people fussing over me as I warily unwound from my defensive curl. I recognized the woman crouching over me as Major Taylor. "You okay?"
I couldn't help myself.
The stress of the last couple of days bubbled up from deep inside to escape in an explosion of laughter that had a distinctly hysterical quaver to it. Major Taylor gave me a small, sympathetic smile and grunted as she bodily hauled me to my feet by my shirtfront. Those emerald eyes gave me a quick once over before she nodded decisively and grabbed my chair.
"You should finish your lunch Sergeant," she said calmly and soothingly before turning that gaze on Sam. "So should you Sam. Let me know if you need anything."
And with that, Taylor returned to her table and the scattered conversations started up again. Bless the woman; she had diffused our humiliation with professionalism and kindness. Sam met my gaze and we burst into girlie giggles that had us both feeling much better. Together, we could survive this trauma. Now we just had to figure out what to do about our teammates.
++ Janet ++
Oh, thank you Art, my love. I'd walked into the commissary just in time to see Art's spill and subsequent laughter. Both of them seemed far less tense now, their old camaraderie showing. That laughter was just what the doctor should have ordered.
Oh, but when I saw them acting almost their normal selves... My heart clenched up so hard I was dizzy. I missed them both so bad, but was still unnerved by my lover. The thick carpet of inky hairs bristling from jaw and cheeks, the thick muscles, the even-lower voice... How was I supposed to deal with this?
And poor Sam? She's spent her whole life proving that a beautiful woman could be intelligent, a genius really, and hold her own with any man in or out of uniform. Now she was this towering, clumsy man. Different body, different thought processes. I couldn't even imagine what they must be going through. Even more than that... I knew Sam. She was all woman beneath the layers of scientist, warrior and explorer. She reveled in it.
My Art did too. I wondered how this would affect us in the long run. I still loved her with all my heart, but all I could see was the masculine appearance. I could accept her, given time. I only hoped she could accept herself as well as me.
++ Lieutenant Carol Aster ++
"Yeah, yeah, tell me one I haven't heard. C'mon Aster, you've got to have something more original than that," Karen taunted and my scowl only made the other two laugh harder. This Friday ritual had become as habitual as possible, given all of our weird schedules. With serious-faced Betty Garibaldi as second in command of the Infirmary and Mac and Karen and me on teams, it wasn't as often as we liked. It was rare for me to pal around with co-workers, but I had grown to like these three and this stupid game we often played. God only knows how it started, but it had given us multiple opportunities to do things we wouldn't normally do. When we had figured out what a great poker face Karen had and the fact that she was so damn hard to shock, we all did our damnest to do just that. Now one of us would try and get a response, no matter how slight, while the other two acted as judges. If she didn't crack, the challenger took a shot out of whatever bottle of nastiness had been bought that night. If Karen cracked, she took the hit. Few of us went home sober on these nights. It wasn't easy and somehow I had ended up in the hotseat tonight. Seemed like that happened awfully frequently. Something to do with dueling competitive streaks and the lowest alcohol tolerance no doubt. Still grinning, Betty smoothed back her long mane of blonde hair and filled my shotglass from a fifth of whisky.
"Bottoms up," she smirked and I scowled again. I really should know better than to get involved in these ‘go-on-shock-me' binges with Karen. With a quick toss, the shot joined its mates and the other three howled in approval. Oh yeah, I was getting fucked up and fast.
Just then, a rowdy crowd of disheveled men poured into the bar, along with some of their womenfolk. By the shouts of recognition, this was some local football team. It also appeared that this probably wasn't the first place they had hit. My eyes zeroed in on a tall, strapping blonde guy who was the center of a happily drunk little knot of men. My mouth went dry when I recognized him. Two and a half weeks ago I had dragged myself wearily into the Commissary to spot the most gorgeous man I had ever seen. It was lust at first sight. When I had found out later what had happened to SG1, it was revealed that the golden Adonis was in fact Major Samantha Carter. Once I had seen all four of them together, it was fairly obvious and I was saved the humiliation of making a pass at him. But even now it was difficult to pull my eyes away, illicit thoughts of what I could do to him running through my imagination. The sight of O'Neill, Jackson and Goldston in the crowd finally chased off my speculative gaze... only to find my tablemates eyeing me curiously. "What?" I snapped defensively and they laughed.
"See somethin' you like in that meat caravan?"
Mac's taunt made me flush and the others laughed even harder. Amid much bantering, we continued to drink and challenge one another to foolishness. Several rounds later, Karen had regained her poker face and I was once again facing the bottom of the bottle. I was getting desperate and was more than drunk enough to do something stupid about it. So when I fired a sharp look at Karen, she sat up and took notice. "Okay, let's up the stakes," I challenged belligerently and suddenly had their undivided attention. "Not only can I shock you, but fifty bucks and the rest of the bottle says I can make you gawk like a beached fish."
They stared at me as though to evaluate how drunk I really was. Oh, this was probably a really bad idea, but I couldn't bring myself to back down. Karen grinned at my mule-headed glare and went for her wallet to throw three twenties on the table. "You're on. Impress me, Aster."
Well, that cut it. With their curious, goading stares egging me on, I stood woozily and headed for the bar. It wasn't easy to muscle my small body into the crowd of football players, but I quickly found myself thumping solidly into the sculpted chest of the very man I was intent on. Maybe some of this borderline obsessing over him had something to do with Carter being SG1. After all, they had a near-mythical status among the other SG teams. I had always been the hero-worshipping type and coupled with those frank good looks; I really didn't have a chance.
"Hey," he responded softly to my sudden proximity and a steadying hand came to rest on my waist. "You okay?"
After a shy moment, I tilted my head back to meet the crystal blue eyes and swallowed hard enough to make my throat hurt.
"I know you," Carter smiled in delight. "Hi."
Aw, man, I had it bad. This was like being in high school again and having a crush on the star quarterback. "Umm," I began idiotically and struggled to bring my higher brain functions online through the haze of alcohol and hormones. "I was hoping you could help me out with something."
"Sure, name it."
"Umm, it's kinda personal."
"That's okay, I trust you."
Dammit! And he had to be friendly and helpful on top of being brilliant and drop-dead foxy. With a quick, nervous glance around to ensure that no one else in SG1 was looking, I hooked a hand around Carter's neck and pulled him down for a quick kiss. It was a fairly chaste kiss; after all, he was way too shocked to respond. The intoxicatingly blue eyes were quite surprised when we separated after only a moment. "Sorry," I explained hastily to my superior officer. "I was dared. You understand."
A smile ghosted across the expressive face and I tried to ignore the memory of those firm lips and the faint taste of beer. There was a whoop and some guy threw a rough arm around Carter, nearly upsetting us both. "C'mon Sam," he laughed. "Give the poor girl a break and give her a real kiss. How many guys get such a great come on?"
That earned him a wry look and a dry, "how many, indeed."
Carter twisted to set down his beer before turning back to me. All this time that big hand had remained snuggled lightly in the curve of my waist and he tugged me closer as his football teammates took up the taunt. "I was dared," he teased lightly and my heart rate kicked up at the gleam in his eye. "You understand."
Whatever I had been expecting, this hadn't been it. This was the kind of kiss my dirty mind had conjured up when I had first spotted this handsome fellow two weeks ago. Unconsciously, both hands reached up to wind into the gold hair and hang on for dear life. Rough and curious, lips and teeth and tongue branded me and left me shaken. By the time we came up for air, the whole damn bar was howling along and I found myself crushed up against that strong chest. Oh yeah, this was a memory I was gonna keep close. Those captivating eyes stared blankly into mine for a long moment before his whole face flushed bright red. The audience went nuts. Embarrassed and hornier than hell, I pressed a fond kiss to the tip of his nose and pulled away from the embrace. Ah, so this is what euphoria felt like, I giggled madly to myself.
And when I approached my table, all three of them were indeed gawking in astonishment. Karen actually had to shake herself out when I flopped down into my chair to grin evilly at her. The three twenty dollar bills were passed over while the other hand reached for the bottle. "For that stunt," she muttered. "You can keep the change."
And put the rest of the whiskey down without coming up for air.
++ Sam ++
When I noticed that it was nearly one thirty, I sputtered into my beer. That made Art follow my gaze to my watch and his eyes grew round. "Gahmoh toh," he muttered. "We need to get home. C'mon Sam." With some nonsense sound of confirmation, I pulled my heavy body off the barstool and helped Art to his feet. "Janet's gonna kick my ass." For a long moment I envied Art stressing about having a loved one to fuss over him. Bob was still too weirded out for more than the standard social niceties and I was lonely. Outside, we shivered in the unexpected cold and wished we had brought coats. "C'mon Sam, you can sleep it off on the couch. There's a cab. Hey buddy!"
While Art flagged down the cabbie, I hugged myself and glanced around. A flicker of movement caught my eye and I was surprised to see Aster step out of the shadows. She looked a little green around the gills and I couldn't help but grin. "Little too much indulgence tonight, huh?"
That earned an embarrassed duck of her head and a murmured, "yeah, the hard shit always kicks my ass. Now all I need is a ride home. The others ditched out to make sure Karen got home okay."
Despite the embarrassment of that earlier kiss, or maybe because of it, I grabbed her arm and hauled her along with me. "You can share with me 'n' Art, c'mon."
There was no way I was gonna let a teammate suffer in the cold. Overdeveloped sense of duty I guess. There was no way in hell I was ready to admit to myself that I was intrigued by the gleam in her light brown eyes. Carol allowed herself to be dragged into the cab and wedged in between our masculine bulks. Art fired me a questioning look before smiling woozily at her and offering a hand. "Pleased t'meetcha. I've seen you around, but we haven't been intra'duced. I'm Art Goldston."
"Carol Aster. You guys are drunk."
We laughed in stereo and she didn't seem to take offense at us drunkenly jostling her. Some time passed while the cab sped through the night. None of us seemed to have the energy to chat and willingly relaxed into the comfortable quiet. Little by little I was lulled into a doze that blocked out the night and the warm body pressed into my ribs...
"Sam?"
The low query jolted me awake with a groan. The soft pillow under my head stirred in time with gentle fingers in my hair. Ooops, it seemed I had fallen asleep in Carol's lap. It was very comfy there and the thought roused me almost instantly. When I jerked away, brain and body objected violently, nearly spilling me onto the floor of the cab.
"Need a hand with him?" I heard the cabbie ask.
"No, I got it. C'mon Carter, I can't send you back to base like this and I have no idea where you live. Get up. You'll have to sleep on my couch."
It took some effort, but I was eventually outside the cab with her strong hand on the back of my belt to keep me upright. Casual goodnights and monies were exchanged while I glanced around the little apartment complex. "This place 's nice."
"Thanks, now march," she replied and the other hand grabbed the back of my shirt to steer me. This was monstrously amusing and I chuckled in delight. If I could get over the embarrassment of tonight, I'd have to cultivate a friendship with her. Once inside the apartment, I was sat on the couch and she glowered down at me. "Stay."
Carol sounded so much like Art instructing Cooper that I collapsed into hysterics, leaving her to throw up her hands and stalk out of the room. And that made me laugh even harder.
++ Carol ++
In the bathroom, I confronted my flushed reflection. Handsome, alluring, very masculine Sam Carter was drunk on my couch for heaven's sake. Could this be any more awkward? I brushed my teeth to get rid of the taste of my overindulgence and glanced around my bathroom. Good thing I had left a t-shirt and shorts on the floor, ‘cause there was no way I wanted to face him in a robe right now. Not that I needed to worry about it. Sam was sound asleep, draped all over my little couch, with his snoring thankfully within the range of what I could ignore. Since the apartment was only a studio, I climbed into my bed and tried to ignore his presence so close by.
It was a vague sensation, the subtle shift of the mattress and faint warmth near my skin. Startled out of sleep, I flipped over to meet Sam's shadowed eyes. "Sorry," he murmured. "I'm freezing."
Why the hell I didn't stop him was beyond me. In a few quick moves, seventy-six inches of cold, friendly man was wrapped around me. Then I felt bad because he was actually shivering. So I pulled the blankets around us and felt Sam melt into our mingling heat. How long had it been since I had felt this? Not to mention certain other things a strong, kindly guy like this could do for me. I blushed so fiercely that Sam burrowed in even closer for the heat. One cold hand was tucked under my ribs and a strong leg thrown over mine. The soft blonde hair was tickling my temple and his breathing feathered across the underside of my chin. If he didn't back off, I was gonna take advantage of him, the truth about Sam Carter be damned.
"You smell nice," Sam breathed across my throat and stirred lazily against me. Lordy, was this some kind of test for sainthood or something?
"Thanks," was all I could manage to squeak out.
"Mmm," he murmured and nuzzled in even closer. In only moments, I felt his weight settle in more heavily as he started to drift off. Once I realized he was comfy for the time being, my guard began to drop enough to let sleep creep in.
I was usually bad about sleeping with someone else in my personal space. But not this time. Oh, sure, my hormones were jangling, but this was Carter... How could I not trust? That comforting darkness was close, my nose tucked into the soft blonde hair, when I felt it. Sam shifted lazily, one hand moving to mold itself around the curve of my breast. It was an instinctive response, the tightening of my sensitive flesh and the hiss that left my throat. When my nipple hardened against his palm, Sam's long fingers tightened enough to make me groan, "are you trying to kill me?"
Much to my astonishment and embarrassment, there was a low chuckle from my bedmate. In a single, sinuous move, that muscular body stretched against my small frame like a lazy cat. It brought his head up beside mine and I looked over to search the shadowed blue eyes. There was something there... not an invitation exactly, just a sense that I wouldn't be turned away. Dare I? Dare I take a crazy chance and show this kind soul the pleasures of being male? There had probably been few so far.
"Oh, the hell with it," I growled and sank one hand into the gold hair to pull him into an exploratory kiss.
++ Sam ++
I suppose I should have expected the kiss, after all, I was the one with wandering hands. She was so soft and willing, her body heat pulling me in like gravity. In mere moments, I was intoxicated anew, but this time on the feel and taste of her. Some primitive instinct drove me to tuck her small frame under my body as though protecting her. The burn of my sudden need was wildfire under my skin. The pressure of my changed anatomy had grown almost familiar over the last few weeks, but this time I took a close look at the sensations and decided to just surrender. So far ignoring the urges had only made them more persistent and quite excruciating. Like a predator waiting for its prey to tire, the roaring, physical need of this virile body pounced on me. The uncomfortable monster in my pants awoke with a jerk and swelled painfully against the entrapping denim. Some tiny, sane corner of my brain marveled at the contrasting sensations of pleasure and pain. There was little thought of consequence as clothing was quickly stripped away, her smooth curves settling perfectly against my angular frame. Old curiosity drove me to suckle down her throat to work my way down to hard nipples. She was quietly vocal, writhing underneath my weight.
"C'mere," she finally growled and tugged hard at my hair. Again we kissed, and the press of our flesh around the roaring erection was too much. In moments, I had lost control of my unfamiliar reactions and flushed in embarrassment.
"Sorry," I groaned and buried my face in the crook of her neck. Carol laughed softly, her touch gentle on my skin.
"Oh, I suspect there's more to you than just the one shot, see?"
Indeed, my anatomy was stirring to life again, repressed hormones and curiosity driving me to act further out of character.
"Carol? This is insane, but I want... Do you..."
"Yes, now shut up and go with it Sam."
There was little chance for further conversation as she awkwardly rooted around in the side table while kissing and caressing me senseless. Slowly, she worked her way down to my flat nipples while her hands continued downward. Those gentle hands on my stiff need nearly sent me crawling out of my skin, sheathing my unfamiliar equipment in latex. I couldn't understand how guys didn't like this... her touch was exquisite. Part of me couldn't believe it would get any better, the sensations any more intense. Such denial. She wriggled around until she was where my lizard brain needed her, one hand still wrapped firmly around my hardness.
"Careful," she whispered and I could barely hear her around the roar of blood in my ears... Slowly, she controlled the need of my body to have her, allowing me to slide in carefully until I was utterly stunned by her tight heat.
"God...." Was all I could moan into her hair and she nipped at my throat.
"Do it Sam," she groaned and my body took on a life of its own. With her reactions and her voice she taught me how to make love to her properly. It was awkward at first, but she was an incredible teacher, and so the night passed...
++ Art ++
I stumbled into the house as quietly as I could, not wanting to wake up Janet or Cassandra. Of course, Cooper met me at the door. In the last few weeks, we'd come to a position of neutrality that still made my heart ache. Even as drunk as I was, I could see the disapproval in his dark eyes. "C'mon, Cooper," I slurred softly, stumbling through to the kitchen and the patio door. "One more potty break before I have to tackle those stairs."
I watched him run out to the big oak in the backyard to do his business and blearily noted that there was no normal sniff around the yard. It was obvious he knew I wasn't at my best, but then again, it was a frigid 0215 in the morning, and we were normally sleeping by this time. Quickly, he ran back into the house, darting past me toward his spot by Cassandra's door. Locking the back door, I turned to follow him, and ran into ahgahpee mou. She was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over her chest and eyeing me speculatively. Wearing that silky, short robe I adored. A sheepish grin crept over my face. "G'morning, Janet."
"Do you know what time it is?"
"Umm..." I squinted at the microwave, but still couldn't quite make out the exact numbers. "Way too late to be any good to anyone?"
She snorted softly, then went to the sink and filled a glass with water before handing it to me with a piece of cheesecloth. "Drink this through the cloth," she said in that patented ‘Doc Fraiser' voice. "It'll help with the hangover."
I took the glass, but stood there with it in my hand. Her tone of voice was disapproving, indicating that my overindulgence had been duly noted. I'd more than overindulged. The difference in my body mass and the sheer enjoyment of playing church football all afternoon had geared me up for a righteous drinking binge with our new pals. I knew she was disappointed in me. Hell, I was kind of disappointed in me. But we'd been locked up in the mountain for the better part of three weeks and it had been our first chance at fresh air and people after the change. Of course I'd overindulged. What else was I supposed to do? "I'm sorry," I whispered softly and held out the glass toward her, willing to take the hangover as punishment.
"No," she replied, pushing it back toward me. "Just trust me."
"'Kay," I murmured and did as she had instructed. I wiped off my chin as she took the glass, spun me around and pushed me toward the stairs.
"Up to bed with you, mister," she said softly, hesitating just a bit on the ‘mister'.
I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked at her for a long moment. "Janet, I can sleep down here on the couch, or in the spare room. I don't want..."
"I said, up to bed with you," she said in a firm voice, but I noticed something a little different in her dark eyes, something I hadn't seen since before I'd returned to the SGC as a man. That got me moving again.
"Yes, ma'am," I shot back, tossing off a sloppy salute before tackling the stairs. My little spitfire was right behind me the whole way, a hand on my lower back, helping to steady me as I made my way up to our bedroom. Standing next to the bed, I began to fumble with my clothes but paused when I felt a slender pair of arms wrap around my waist from behind. Janet pressed her forehead into the space between my shoulder blades and just stood there. After a moment, I realized she was trembling just a little bit. "This has been hard on you, hasn't it?" I asked softly and covered her hands with my own. After a long moment, I received a nod against my back in response. Thank God for my Greek genes. They let me drink well beyond normal capacities, and then metabolize a hell of a lot faster than most people ever could. Even as we stood there, I could feel the alcohol working its way out of my system. Needing to sit down, I carefully unwrapped Janet's arms from my waist, then sank down onto the bed and pulled her into my lap. After wrapping both arms around her, the half-embrace turned into a proper snuggle.
"I've missed you," she sighed into my chest and clung with that unexpected strength of hers.
My hand soothed along her narrow back and I settled my chin on the crown of her head. "I've missed you too, Janet. I'm sorry I didn't get home sooner. The boys..."
"It's okay," came the soft reply, but I knew there was something still bothering her by the tone of her voice.
Only then did I realize just how worried she'd been about me. Worried about what I was doing, how I was holding up, where I was. And I was certain it had only gotten worse as the night bled into the wee hours of morning. I tipped up her chin to gaze into those warm chocolate eyes. "I'm sorry ehromenee. I really did lose track of time. It's been so long since I've been here, that I didn't think to call."
She nodded, and attempted a tentative smile. "Did you have fun?"
A lazy grin spread across my face as I remembered some of the night's events. "I've never played football that rough, not even with my brothers. And damn, it was fun. Sam made a perfect defensive lineman with that build, because nobody could get through him. Good thing we were on the same team. I really wouldn't have wanted to face off against that aggressive brick wall. You should have seen all the women there, ogling Sam like a piece of meat."
Janet chuckled at that. "Are you serious?"
"Theh-eh mou, yes. And, of course the Colonel was egging them on. I swear, Sam was so red-faced, we thought he was gonna pass out." Smiling at my lover's low laughter, I sprawled back on the bed and tugged her down beside me. It only took a few seconds for Janet to situate herself next to me, draping herself along my side. We lay there quietly for a moment; just enjoying the close contact, and I realized just how much I'd missed having her body next to mine. "Oh! And this one guy had his kid sister along, and she really had it bad for poor Sammy boy. She was home for the weekend from college and..." I couldn't finish the sentence because I was chuckling so hard.
"Let me guess. O'Neill was goading that poor girl on the most? Just to make Sam more embarrassed?"
"Oh yeah. Sam swore revenge on the Colonel at some future point when it was least expected. And of course, we can't forget the guys giving poor Danny the eye."
Janet leaned up on her elbow to look down at me, a protective look in her eyes. "Were those brutes trying to manhandle my petite friend?"
I gave her a slightly offended look. "Do you honestly think we would let those big guys bother poor, defenseless little Danny? We freaks have to stick together."
A dark look passed over her face. "I don't think you're a freak, Art."
I glanced speculatively at her. "Are you just saying that to make me feel better?"
She shook her head slowly. "Don't get me wrong, Art. I love you as a woman, but you do make a damn sexy man."
I arched an eyebrow at this admission. "I here I thought I was the one who'd been drinking," I teased in a light voice, only half kidding.
"No, I mean it," she purred coyly, tracing one finger along my chest. "Do I have to prove it to you?" Before I could reply, she leaned over and pressed her lips to mine. There was a long moment where I debated with my discomfort before telling it to go to hell. I groaned softly when Janet flicked her tongue out to tease me unmercifully. After endless moments, she pulled back to stare down at me, her obvious need deepening her already dark eyes to almost black. "Was that proof enough?"
"Uhh..." I couldn't have strung two words together then if my very life depended on it.
++ Janet ++
A sort of giddy triumph spread through me that I had made Art speechless. I glanced down at him with a mischievous twinkle in my eye. "I guess that was, hmm?" I teased, running my finger down along his chest again, tracing the long torso scar and onto his t-shirt-clad stomach. He sucked in a breath as my finger slid across the belly scars, seemingly even more sensitive than I'd remembered. Perhaps the thicker muscle beneath them? I told the analytical doctor in me to go to hell for the time being, she had no place here. An impish smile spread across my face as I tugged the hem of the t-shirt from his jeans. As my teasing fingers drifted across those jagged lines, those beloved eyes turned pale with feeling. The eyes were the only thing that had not changed in any of my friends. Gently, almost hesitantly, Art's hand curled around my skull to coax me into another kiss. This time he was far more involved and I made my brain shut up about how different he felt. It was my sweet lover wearing this foreign body. If nothing could be done, this was how he would remain forever. That thought made me determined to make this a healing experience, a way to renew the bond we had forged in secrecy.
When I shifted to settle my small weight onto Art's broad body, I felt a telltale bulge against my thigh. Oh my, this could be fun... There was a startled noise lost in the passionate blending of our mouths as I rubbed the flat of my hand demandingly over the sensitive scars. He jerked and moaned, the grip in my hair tightening. It was a quick maneuver to yank open the row of buttons straining over the blatant thickness of his arousal and the soft, vulnerable noise he made when my hand wrapped around his unfamiliar equipment was a memory I would cherish forever. There was a desperate, nervous need in the blue eyes when I leaned away to watch. While I'd never had a male lover, there had been a few woman and they had taught me various things about my own body. Not to mention that being single most of my life had forced me to relieve my hormones in various ways. So I knew what I could handle and his was a near-perfect size. Not of frightening proportions like that brute Sam had been cursed with, and just thick enough to get my hormones percolating. Gently, I pressed soft kisses to his handsome face and began a firm stroking.
"Trust me," I whispered softly and Art let go with a whimper. I had made an educated guess that my transformed friends had probably been too self-conscious to explore their bodies much. By the way he was thrusting awkwardly into my hand, I had obviously guessed correctly in at least this case. Very soon, there was a grunted oath in Greek and my wrist was abruptly drenched.
"Better?" I asked gently and kissed him. It was a soft, undemanding kiss, meant to reassure rather than beg for a second round and earned a crushing hug and a broken sob into my hair.
"I love you Jan," he whispered and we lay cuddling for a long time. Then the wet spot began to chill and we burst into giggles at the same moment. "This is embarrassing," Art mused and smiled. "But it felt good."
My own need was sharp in my body, and this time my kiss was rough and demanding. Twisting around to straddle Art's body, I let that energy be seen in my eyes and my body language. "I have something better."
It was kind of unfortunate that I was wearing anything under the robe, despite that fact that the teddy and matching panties hardly qualified. I could feel the hard press of the buttons and denim against my groin before I leaned over to drop teasing kisses over the broad chest. "Jaaannnet," he groaned and threw his head back into the pillows.
"Mmm," I hummed into his dusky skin. "I'm glad this scar is still so sensitive. ‘Course, with a month of celibacy, so am I."
After giving me a moment to nip at the flat nipples, Art abruptly tossed onto my back and pinned me down. One big hand trailed demandingly over my curves while I clung to the coveted black curls. A startled and pleased squeak was muffled by our kisses when he tugged open the robe to worm under the lingerie.
"Oh yes," I hissed against his mouth when two curious fingers began to map out my gathered wet. "Please Art, I want to feel you inside, please..."
There were wonderful things to be said about his bigger hands, but I wanted the bonding experience and perverse turn-on of his reawakening maleness. A grip on his wrist stopped the teasing fingers and I met his roiling eyes. There was so much there, both good and bad.
"I want you to make love to me, like this. Good old fashioned missionary style, because I need to be close to you and I want to see your face, want to feel you, only because it's you."
"Oh Janet," he groaned shakily and rolled away to strip out of his clothes. Trembling with anticipation, I quickly did the same. In the briefest of moments he had turned around and I welcomed him to my body. Arms and legs wrapped around this unfamiliar frame, I knew a certain peace in being with Art again. The pure visceral thrill of his thick erection was fun too. Propped on his elbows, head thrown back, Art moaned in ecstasy at the feel of my tight warmth surrounding that sensitive erection. Thankfully, we figured out what we were doing fairly quickly and I felt the orgasm rushing at me. Pinned beneath his gentle strength, I gave up any fears or inhibitions I had secretly harbored and once more became Art's soulmate. The peak crashed over me in that moment and pulled Art's climax from his inexperienced body.
"Kala... oh Theh-ohs... " He panted in my ear and I chuckled breathlessly. "No wonder guys are always so desperate. I can't even describe how incredible that felt."
"Mmm, I can imagine."
With our hormones temporarily sated, I was free to run my hands over his strong back until he rolled away. So I curled along his side and continued to explore. There was wiry hair painted in a faint line down the middle of his chest to be broken and twisted by the cruel scars. Even after repeatedly seeing the painstaking exactness of the transformations, it was still amazing. The hair grew thicker and wirier low on Art's body where his equipment lay quietly. Faint dustings of the stuff decorated arms and legs and I rubbed my cheek against the ever-present stubble on his face.
"You're skritchy," I giggled in true girlie fashion and earned a wry look. After a moment my laughter got me rolled onto my back again and kissed with a playful growl. This is what I had missed even more than the sex. I had missed my playful, funny lover who even now rubbed that stubble over my cheeks and throat as I laughed and laughed. Groans threaded themselves into my laughter as Art began to kiss his way down my chest. He suckled at one nipple until I was moaning in earnest. Especially when he turned his attention to the other and deliberately rasped that bristly fuzz over my hypersensitive flesh. Once I was clinging and begging, he began to work his way down and I waited with baited breath. Wet kisses were pressed to my skin, white teeth nipping lightly. Only millimeters from my navel, he paused to fire me a hot, mischievous glance from under ebony lashes. Oh, Art knew perfectly well what an exquisite hotspot this was and hovered only a hairsbreadth from my skin to blow softly. Now I was whimpering in earnest, but dared not move. I knew from past experience that this was the best kind of torture. Like the most delicate of caresses, his warm breath caressed that little hollow and the muscles around it pulled tight with the strain. After a seeming eternity, I felt the fleeting touch of his tongue, tracing idle circles where the flesh began to dimple inward. It was maddening to lie there as the caresses increased by tiny fractions and my voice begged incoherently. The room echoed with my broken cries as I felt his tongue deep in my belly button and his mouth suckling hard at the flesh around it. While I had never actually climaxed from this hot spot alone, I had come damn close. Then, abruptly, Art swooped down to repeat the rough sucking at my most sensitive spot and the world went white.
++ Art ++
It was like a second chance at heaven to make her cry out in ecstasy and buck underneath me. Despite the odd salty taste of my own orgasm, I drank at her wetness until she squeaked and tugged me up to be kissed. "Too sensitive," she murmured and we spent lazy minutes cuddling and kissing.
"I've really missed you," I finally whispered and she hummed in agreement. We had ended up with her sprawled loosely atop me and I was horrified by how light she was. "You've gotten too thin," I admonished and she burrowed in closer.
"I was worried about you. And Sam and Daniel and Jack. I didn't mean to neglect myself."
That was more honesty than I had been expecting and I hugged her tightly. "No more of that ahgahpee mou. I'm here now and I'm here to stay. If we can deal with this, we can deal with anything, hmm?"
Again she hummed and drowsiness began to get the better of us both.
The urgent need to pee dragged me from slumber some indeterminable time later. Janet stirred and complained when I shifted her off me to vacate the bed, but a quick kiss on her tousled hair quieted her instantly. It had taken a bit of getting used to, the daily maintenance needs of this strange body. I still didn't dare pee standing up. Who knows what kind of mess I'd make...
In the combined light of the bedside lamp and the bathroom light behind me, Janet was propped on one elbow and watching me with a lazy, hungry look in her eye. I had to admit that her looking at me like that did wonderful things for my soul. Not to mention my ego, and the former inconvenience between my legs.
"Come back to bed," she purred and patted the mattress beside her. Nearly tripping over myself, I hastened to obey and she was draped all over me in a heartbeat. It was a relief to know that her drive was the same, for Janet Fraiser had always been a demanding and satisfying lover. "Ready for some more?"
"Oh yes ma'am."
With an evil grin, she sat up to straddle me and look down at me with glittering, midnight dark eyes. There was a ripple of movement and I jumped in shocked pleasure as the soft curls protecting her secrets brushed against my sensitive scars. Both hands traced random patterns as her body drifted lower, that delectable ass brushing against the erection suddenly straining at my groin. A wicked grin signaled her pulling that wanton heat away even as she continued to stroke my belly. Hands clenched into the sheets, I watched with baited breath and rode the sensations in my body.
"You like that?" She purred softly as those perceptive doctor's hands outlined the thickest scar that bisected my body from sternum to groin. Earlier, I had noted that my sexual sensitivity was far stronger than I was accustomed to since the accident. Probably due to the much larger surface area. At least something good had come of this weird change. I moaned in response, my eyes flickering from her hands to her face to where her body poised teasingly above me. My hands stroked her tense thighs lightly, desperate and patient for her next move. "Hang on lover."
The erotic image was forever burned into my neural pathways, not to mention the feeling... Slowly, ever so slowly she lowered herself until the heat of her crotch was making my hard-on twitch impatiently. Damned if the silly thing really didn't seem to have a mind of its own. It was hard to stay focused as she brushed those curls over the glands until I could feel her wetness. Almost silent in her concentration, Janet continued to torment me with the small movements of her body. I could feel her hands flexing and relaxing where they were braced against the lower curve of my ribs. Then finally, there was a decisive twitch and press, her heat opening to engulf the reddened head of my sex. It wasn't easy to force down the urge to let go of the need inside me, but it would be worth it if she kept this up. Millimeter by teasing millimeter, she eased down and I began to tremble with the pressure. There were faint sounds escaping both of us as the pleasure mounted. At last she settled completely onto my body and I traced wondering hands up the insides of her thighs to where we were joined so intimately. There was a hiss of response as I reverently combed aside her matted curls to stare in awe. Moaning long and deep, she finally began to move, my hands still holding her open for my eyes to follow what our bodies were doing.
It was an amazing sight, allowing me to partially set aside the feel of her surrounding me. Slick and hot, she arched up to let my erection nearly slip free before settling back onto my body and engulfing me again in her heat. Unconsciously, I pet the pads of my thumbs along the rigid shaft of her own pleasure in perfect sync with her movements. The game continued for some unfathomable time until we could no longer hold out. Only then did I throw my head back and cry out as the dam burst and pressed down hard with both thumbs. With a hoarse shout, she joined me in paradise.
++ Sam ++
Waking up to a four-alarm hangover was never pretty. But waking up to the very tactile sensation of a lazy mouth mapping my physique? Oh yeah, this was a slice of pure heaven... and then, as Carol's soft lips sucked at the curve of my side, I realized that those fantasies had been completely and utterly...
"Oww!" I squeaked as she sank her teeth into the rib she'd been toying with. Pain and pleasure ripped across my nervous system, shocking me fully awake. Carol glanced up at me through dark lashes and smiled mischievously. In the morning sunlight from the window, they sparkled a delightful light brown, warm with good humor. Humming a quiet apology, she tenderly licked the sore spot and I trembled from the sensation. She stretched up to drape herself over my larger mass and kissed me lovingly.
"'Morning," she murmured when she finally let me up for air.
"Uuhh, yeah," was all my lizard brain could manage and she grinned wider. There was panicked chatter in the back of my mind as my upper brain stammered in shock over my behavior. And then Carol's small hand drifted through the curly fur all over my chest and lower body to wrap around my awakening erection. Any and all repercussions went out the window as the lizard brain won, hands down. Good God... I hadn't even realized how ready my body was. Her cool fingers trailed a random pattern over my sensitive skin as she planted a quick kiss on my chin and began to work her way down. Lazily, that hot mouth followed the trail her fingers had so recently mapped out and my breathing began to grow ragged. Lower and lower she moved until my head fell back into the pillows and my sense of touch took over. Stars roiled behind my eyelids like a ride through the Stargate as her lips wrapped around the flushed center of my changed anatomy. The gentle suction made my skin crawl in the most delicious way and I began to understand why Bob had adored my clumsy past attempts at this. A quick pang of guilt fired through me, but was quickly squelched as I felt the length of my cock slide down Carol's throat.
Holy Hannah! I nearly leapt clean out of my skin at the sensation. A strangled cry tore from my chest as her fingers carefully fondled my testicles. The sheets were clenched up tight in one fist, while the other tangled into Carol's silky hair. The grip seemed to spur her on to greater efforts and my body sang with pleasure. After the half-dozen odd rounds last night, alcohol or no, I knew what an impending orgasm felt like. And, oh God, this was shaping up to be a doozy...
Hearing her soft whimpers of delight and need piqued my natural curiosity. Carol's head bobbed up and down, that talented tongue playing a counter tune on my skin. One small hand was wrapped firmly around the base of my erection, massaging in time with her mouth's suction. Once more, sociological rules and military regulations wrestled with the physicality of our passion. I willed my fingers to release the sheet so that I could prop myself up on an elbow to watch. For a moment, I could set aside the feelings burning through my body and took a good look at my unexpected lover. Here was a strong-willed, competent woman who could have had a wide choice of partners with far less complications than me. The least I could do was set aside any preconceived notions I had of myself and return the favor. Her hips twitched to the same beat as my roaring pulse and her obvious need chased off any of my persistent inhibitions that may have been threatening.
"Carol," I growled hoarsely, then tugged lightly at her hair. Those hazel eyes were as glazed over as I'm sure mine were. "Swing around," I coaxed. "I want to taste you..."
For a long moment, we stared at each other as though finally realizing exactly what the hell we were doing. Then I pinched her lower lip lightly and smiled to reassure us both. This was a once in a lifetime experience and we couldn't pass it up. She smiled back tremulously before shifting to eagerly straddle my head and picked up where she left off. For a long moment, I ran curious fingers through the glaze of her arousal and relished the similarities and differences. She moaned loudly, hips rocking into me, the pull around my cock growing stronger. So I let the lizard brain loose and wrapped both arms around her hips before running my curious tongue through her wetness. She was warm and musky and soft, her lean body pressing against me in a frantic attempt at more contact. Curiously, I explored the dips and swells of her swollen sex, searching for her release. Then suddenly mine was on me, the pressure like water against a dam, desperate to find a way out. And again she swallowed me whole to accept the shattering climax that ripped me apart.
There must have been some absence of time, because when I opened my eyes, Carol was draped over me with her head tucked into my neck.
"'Morning indeed," I groaned and sprawled loosely across her big bed. A soft chuckle was the only response as she snuggled down even closer to my chest while I rested. Then I felt the small tremors echoing through her. They weren't aftershocks, but the precursors to the earthquake that had been withheld by my own release. So I ran a caressing hand down her back to the curve of her cute backside and before she could do more than squeak in response, had her impaled on two strong fingers. Seems the discrepancies in height were working to my advantage now. A quick change in positions had her straddling my wrist, straining into my probing fingers. "C'mon baby," I whispered, enthralled by the look on her face. The climax rushed over her as she threw her head back and cried out softly to the ceiling. Those strong contractions rippled around my hand and set my own hormones aflame... again. "Wow," I marveled as she crumpled into my chest, leaving my arm trapped between us.
"Wow indeed."
"Um... Carol?"
"Mmm?"
"Thanks for having me over."
Our laughter probably saved both of our sanity. It also gave me an opportunity to scramble from the bed and retreat into the bathroom. Staring at my reflection, I took note of the flush on my cheeks and the fact that my eyes were dilated. She had really gotten to me, and it wasn't only a physical reaction. Her gentle kindness and versatile lovemaking had made me feel wonderful. "You still wear your damn feelings on your sleeve," I muttered at my reflection before turning away.
By the time I wandered back into the main room, Carol was again sprawled boneless among the tangled bedding. Warm sunlight painted her golden and rosy as she stirred lazily and cracked open one eye. There didn't seem to be much to say and I dragged my dirty clothes back on. The feel of those hazel eyes on me made my hands shake, but eventually I was covered and slightly more settled. I knew I should walk out and leave all this behind me... but I just couldn't. Carol had done me a world of good and deserved better than that. Pleased surprise shaded her gaze as I sat on the bed and ran my fingers through her brown hair. It was a gentle, chaste kiss we shared there in the sunlight.
"Thank you," I murmured softly against her mouth and she smiled. It hurt to see that the expression was more than a little sad. Braced on my elbows, I allowed her to toy with my hair and trace my features one last time.
"I'm gonna miss you," she whispered in a suspiciously husky tone and gave me a quick kiss before pushing me away. "The phone's in the kitchen. Go on."
In the doorway of the little kitchen, I paused to fire her one last glance. She had curled up in a tight ball with her back to me.
"Me too," I whispered and forced myself to walk away.
