Trick-Or-Treat Fun

Title: Trick-Or-Treat Fun

Author: Suz W.

Feedback: Feedback is welcomed here!

Spoilers: None

Rating: PG

Category: S/J Friendship

Summary: Jack and Sam decide to relive some “tricky” childhood fun!

Disclaimer: All publicity recognizable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret Productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended.

Copyright: The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. Copyrighted on October 17, 2003, by Suzanne R. Whitmarsh.

Author’s Notes: I decided that I couldn’t leave “One Halloween Night” where it left off. Therefore, here’s the conclusion to that story. Enjoy!

Dedication: For all those devoted to Sam and Jack! And an early Happy Halloween to all of you! May the holiday bring you “spooky”, safe fun!!

Jack tossed restlessly in his sleep. Rays of moonlight quietly danced in the room, softly illuminating the tiny glistening drops of sweat that were slowly rolling off his forehead.

She was smiling. Her blue, sparkling eyes danced as she gazed at him. He thought he was going to be swallowed up by the way they seemed to follow his every move. He couldn’t escape them, and he didn’t want to. Her hair, instead of a sunlight blonde, was now a silky, chocolate brown, braided neatly, and ran parallel down her shoulders. She wore a dress of simple, tiny, blue and white squares, with a white shirt underneath, and glittering red, sequined shoes that dazzled from her feet as she walked beside him. She was beautiful. He felt like soaring to the heavens each time she called him by name: “Jack”. It felt so normal, so real. His heart pounded as their arms brushed, sending a chill up his spine and alerting his senses. They were walking down a long, dark hallway, with only enough dim lighting cast from miniature lamps mounted on the walls to light their way. They got closer to each other as a sense of uneasiness overtook both of them. He wanted to hold her, protect her, to tell her how much he cared. She turned to look at him, and he became lost once more in the watery depths of her eyes. Their gazes held, seeing nothing else around them in the shadowy depths of the hallway. He knew he should turn away, run away, from what he was feeling, from what he was wanting at that moment, but he could. And she made no effort to pull away from the gaze that had seemed to capture their movements. He brought his hands to her face, cupping each cheek softly. Her skin felt like silk, and she leaned into his touch, ever so slightly, but enough to increase the rate of his breathing, and make his heart pound even harder. Without knowing it, or putting out any effort to stop himself, he drew closer, her eyes watching him with tenderness. Inches away now, his vision started to dim, as his eyes began to close, letting sensation and instinct take over, guiding him the rest of the way. Their lips met, softly, tenderly. The warmth that was being emitted from them was intoxicating, and he wanted more, so much more. And his heart skipped another beat when he realized that she did too. He could feel it in her touch, in the way her lips formed to his. As he started to wrap his arms around her, pulling her closer to him, not wanting to break their connection, he felt cold, incredibly cold, and alone. He opened his eyes, reaching out for her, but she was gone. His eyes tried to focus, to find her. He was still in the same dark hallway, surrounded by nothing but gloom and mist. He called out for her, yelling her name in desperation: “Sam! Where are you! Sam!”. He had to find her; he couldn’t lose her. Suddenly, a shrilling scream invaded his ears, and the walls responded by shaking violently. He looked ahead of him, and saw that a bright light had appeared from under one of the closed doors. His heart raced as he realized that she was standing in front of it, terrified, reaching out for him. He started running, calling out to her. He ran harder as the door flew open, and an apparition appeared, spilling white light everywhere around them. It started to engulf her, making it hard to see her. She was calling to him; he was running, harder, faster. He wasn’t going to lose her, he couldn’t. “Sam!”………

Jack’s eyes flew open, and he sat up in bed, breathing hard. He felt the perspiration on his brow and the aching in his chest. He shook his head quickly, trying to take in his surroundings. The room was dark for the most part, as beams of moonlight painted parts of the floor and bed white. Jack’s eyes searched the room for familiar things, but found none. Furrowing his brow, he forced himself to focus harder, as he brought his hands to his face, and wiped the moisture from it. It was then that he remembered that he was at Sam’s house. He had stayed the night due to the icy roads, and by the fact that after the experience at the Halloween party, he really didn’t want to go home to a dark and empty house. He shook his head again, trying to remember the details of the dream that had woken him from a sound sleep. All he could really remember was seeing her eyes, thinking how beautiful she looked, and then being terrified of something. He looked over at the clock and groaned. It was 0230 hours, and it felt like a wrecking ball had just rammed into his chest.

He collapsed back onto his pillow, and tried closing his eyes. When moments later they were open again, he knew that it would be pointless to try and force himself to sleep. He groaned again, getting up slowly, as he tossed his legs over the side of the bed. Hesitating, he wondered if it would be okay go to the kitchen for something to drink. He knew Sam was sleeping, hopefully peacefully, in the next room, and he didn’t want to wake her.

‘Oh, come on, Jack,’ he told himself, ‘you are Special Ops trained! You actually think you can’t sneak your way into the kitchen?!’ He shook his head slightly and smiled to himself for his own scolding.

Quietly, he made his way to the door, and opened it slowly, cringing as it creaked ever so slightly. The hallway was dark, and he found goosebumps forming on his arms as the chill from the air caught his bare arms. He was wearing an old T-shirt and sweatpants that he just happened to have had in his truck. He had been taking them home from the base, and had forgotten to get them out of the backseat. For this, he was grateful, because he didn’t want to see what he would look like in anything she might have to spare. Not that he would be able to fit it anyways, but the thought still brought a smile to his face.

As he approached the doorway to the kitchen, he noticed a soft light coming from it. Rounding the corner, he found Sam standing at the kitchen counter, drinking a glass of milk, and looking out the window. He watched her for a moment, her profile filling his view. She looked like an angel, the soft lighting bouncing off her once-again blonde hair, and white shirt and flannel pants. He could have stood there forever, just watching her, but discovery of his presence was inevitable. He cleared his throat softly, watching as she jumped slightly, startled at the sudden invasion of sound in her quiet solitude.

Turning around, she smiled. “Jack, hey, I didn’t hear you come in.”

He smiled in return as he entered the kitchen. “Yeah, sorry, bad habit. Special Ops and all.”

“No problem. Did I wake you?”

“No. I just couldn’t sleep,” Jack said, as he pulled out a chair from the table, and sat down. “What are you doing up at this hour?”

“Same reason. I was having weird dreams all of a sudden.” Sam came around the table, setting her cup down opposite to him.

“You too, huh. Maybe it was something we ate.”

Sam smiled as she sat down. “I kind of doubt that it was something we ate. Maybe more like what we encountered.”

“Yeah,” Jack said, scratching his head, “what was that. I’m still trying to figure it out. Surely you have some kind of scientific jargon that can explain what we saw.”

“Not this time. I really don’t know what to make of our experience, except for the fact that it gave a whole new ‘spooky’ meaning to the word Halloween.” Sam hesitated slightly, and then inhaled slightly. “Oh, I’m sorry, can I get you something to drink?”

“That would be great, thanks! I’ll have…what you’re having.” Jack watched with a slight smile as Sam walked over to the fridge and got out the milk. He was amazed at how comfortable he felt there, sitting at her table, in her kitchen, at 0300 in the morning. Suddenly, he was glad that he couldn’t sleep.

Shaking himself out of thoughts that would probably do nothing but get him into trouble, he got up from the table and walked over to the window that faced the street. Looking out, he found that in the short few hours since they’d gotten back from the party, a new layer of snow of at least 4 inches had fallen, making the ground glow a sparkling white under the moonlight. He was about to turn away and head back into the kitchen when something caught his eye. Using his hands to shield his eyes from the soft glow of the kitchen behind him, he peered closer out the window.

“What the….those little…rats!” Jack’s breath fogged up the window pane as he exhaled his frustration, obscuring his view. Quickly, he took his hand and wiped at the window, pressing his face even closer.

Sam, hearing his sudden rush of emotion, came over to see what the problem was. “Jack? What’s wrong?”

Hearing her approach, he motioned to her with one of his hands. “Com’ here, quick! Look out the window!” Jack moved over slightly, making room for her.

Sam looked out the window, pressing her face close enough to the glass that she could feel the cold from the outside irradiating from it. Squinting her eyes, she searched the front yard to see what had him so upset. Then she saw it, and her lips began to curve into a hidden smile as she shook her head and let out a soft laugh.

Jack looked at her, stunned. “What! You think that is funny! Those little brats just used about 50 pounds of toilet paper on my truck! Now it’s going to freeze onto it, and I’ll be driving around town looking like…well, a bathroom!” Jack dropped the curtain and started to pace in the living room. “Did you see them as they ran off? Do you know who they are? Maybe if I start now, I can catch up to them.”

As he started to walk off towards the front door, Sam laid a gentle hand on his arm, stopping him, while still trying to suppress her grin.

Jack stopped at the feel of her hand on his arm, strangely feeling a slight soothing calm attempting to overtake the frustration he really wanted to feel. The effect she seemed to always have on his senses continually amazed him. He still couldn’t believe that she wasn’t at least slightly appalled by what had happened. “What is so funny about this situation?!”

Sam tried to compose herself. “I’m sorry, Jack, it’s just that, well, I should have warned you.”

“Warned me about what….the fact that you have kids in the neighborhood who like to teepee cars instead of trees?” Jack was trying to stay mad, but as he looked at her, with that continual foolish grin on her face, he couldn’t help but breathe a little easier.

“Well, kind of.”

“Kind of! Did you see my truck?!”

“Yes, and I’m really sorry. They do this every year. They got my car last year, and they usually don’t do the same house two years in a row. So, I thought that it would be safe.” Sam watch with curiosity as Jack’s expression changed from frustration to confusion.

“You know that they do this? And you’re okay with it!”

“Well, no, of course I’m not okay with it,” Sam said defensively. “Trust me, I’ve thought about bringing it to the attention of their parents, but what proof do I have? And I usually don’t catch them at it. Actually, I’ve only managed to see them one other time.”

“And what did you do?” Jack folded his arms over his chest, waiting for her answer.

“Well, I ran outside and yelled at them. I think I gave them a pretty good scare.” Sam shrugged her shoulders, trying to look innocently at Jack, still giving him a small, shy smile.

“You yelled at them,” Jack said in disbelief. “Sam, you travel millions of miles through the Stargate, visiting distant planets, fighting off powerful enemies, and always managing to impress me with your unending brilliance. But you can’t manage to take care of a few little rug rats?”

“You don’t have to live in this neighborhood,” Sam said, still trying to find the right point in order to defend her lack of action. “And besides, it’s not like they’re really hurting anything. I can imagine that you did a bit of mischief in your younger days.”

Jack smirked at her. “That’s not the point. And yes, you’re right, I don’t live in this neighborhood.” Jack’s expression suddenly changed from frustration, to a look that just spelled trouble. “You said you know these boys? Where they live?”

Sam raised her eyebrows at him. “Yes. Why? What do you have up your sleeves, Jack?”

“Well, as you said, I don’t live in this neighborhood. Therefore, I think it’s about time someone taught those little troublemakers a lesson. And you’re going to help me.”

“Oh, I am, am I! What makes you so certain on this fact?” Sam wanted to return his earlier frustration, but she just couldn’t. She was enjoying this way too much.

Jack gave her a sly smile. “Because, if you don’t, I’m going to make you clean off my truck all by yourself. And it looks like that might be quite a job.”

“You can’t make me clean off your truck! I didn’t ask them to come and wrap toilet paper all over it!”

“True, but you knew that the possibility existed that something like this might happen…ahha! So there!”

Sam just shook her head and found a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “All right, Jack,” she said, sighing, “what do you want me to do?”

Jack, feeling proud of himself for winning the argument, smiled. “Alright, that’s more like it. Now, do they have a place they like to hang out? A fort or a tree house, or something like that?”

Sam thought for a moment. “Well, their dad did just build them a tree house in their backyard last summer. Whenever I drive past, they always seem to be playing in it.”

“Perfect! Come on, get dressed.”

“Get dressed! Jack, it’s 3:30 in the morning. Don’t you think this could wait until later?”

“Absolutely not! It’s a Halloween tradition, and since they were kind enough to perform their duty, we need to do ours. It’s for the good of the neighborhood. Now come on, let’s get rolling.” Jack grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the hallway that led to the bedrooms. “Five minutes, and dress warmly.”

Sam couldn’t believe she was doing this. “And just what are you going to wear? Your costume?”

“Well, I was hoping that you at least had some kind of extra large sweatshirt laying around? I’ve got my coat, so I should be fine if you could just fill that one need.” Jack gave her a hopeful look.

Sam couldn’t resist thinking how cute he was whenever he was trying to convince her to do something. “I think I may have a few of my brother’s old college sweatshirts lying around. I’ll get one for you.”

“Perfect! I’ll be waiting.” Jack watched as Sam gave him one more final smirk before turning and walking down the hall to her bedroom. He had to admit, he was really enjoying himself.

Ten minutes later, they were wading through the snow in her backyard, making for the treeline that followed the neighboring backyards. The boys who had done the “tricking” lived four houses down, and before leaving the house, Jack had managed to collect all the toilet paper in her house that he could find, carrying it in a trash bag over his shoulder.

“You know, it was very generous of you to leave me one roll of toilet paper. I really wanted to spend my Saturday going to the store in order to replace what you’re going to use on their tree house.” Sam’s teeth had begun to unwillingly chatter as the cold of the snow began to invade her body.

“Sam, may I remind you that it is we who are going to be decorating the tree house, and I will go to the store for you to replace what we’re using.” Jack gave her a quick look, making sure she wasn’t as irritated as she sounded. But when he looked at her, all he saw was how beautiful she looked, despite the fact that she was bunched up in an overstuffed black coat, sweatpants, and snow boots. Her hair was glistening with snow that had fallen from the occasional tree branch that they happened to brush as they walked along side by side. Her cheeks were a soft pink, flushed from the cold, crisp air that came with 4am. She looked at him, giving him a quick smile before turning away and trudging forward. The cold that had invaded his body suddenly felt a lot warmer.

They reached the boys house a few minutes later. Jack and Sam approached quietly, putting their military skill to use. Crouching down next to each other, they determined that the two boys must have gone to bed, because the house was as dark and quiet as the night, and nothing occupied the tree house except for an occasional squirrel. Jack formulated how he wanted to go about “decorating” the tree house, and after another few minutes, they started out.

A ladder hung conveniently down for their access to the target. Climbing up first, Jack reached the platform, and turned around, holding out a hand for Sam to pull herself up with the rest of the way. After reaching the top, the two of them got to work, using the moonlight as their guide to the placement of the toilet paper. Trying to stay as quiet as possible, they kept any conversation to a minimal whisper, and worked quickly to stay warm.

Ten minutes later, they had sufficiently covered every square inch that they could with toilet paper. As they were finishing up, they thought they heard a sound coming from the front of the house.

“Sam!” Jack whispered quickly, “I think we’ve got company. Let’s move.”

Sam, her ears already tuned to the sound, followed Jack’s lead. She let him get halfway down the ladder before she turned and started on the ladder as well. As Jack dropped quietly to the ground, her foot hit the third step down, slipping on a thin layer of ice that had formed from the melted snow off their shoes. As she felt herself losing her footing, she grabbed on for anything that she could hold onto to steady herself. All she found was the side of the side of the ladder, and with her gloves, it wasn’t going to be enough to do the job. Jack heard her foot slip, and looked up quickly in response. Whatever was coming towards them from the front was getting closer, and they didn’t have time to waste. The drop from the tree wasn’t that big, but he didn’t want to risk Sam getting hurt. After all, they were out there because of his idea.

“Sam, just drop. I’ll catch you!” Jack whispered as quietly, but with as much conviction as he could.

Sam, taking only a moments hesitation, looked down and then let go. She fell fast, but not far, as she securely dropped right into Jack’s waiting arms. Wanting to get to cover fast, Jack just turned around with Sam still in his arms, and started for the trees that weren’t too far away from them. As soon as they were out of sight, Jack dropped to his knees to silence the crunching under his feet. Not wanting to make any extra sound, he continued to hold her close, as both of them looked in the direction of the approaching noise. Holding their breath as best as they could, they were relieved to see a deer emerge from the side of the house, padding quietly through the snow.

At the sight of the deer, they both exhaled, relieved to know that their trickery had gone undetected to anyone but the deer. Both of them looked at each other, then up at the tree house, now “decorated” beyond recognition, and laughed quietly together. Jack looked back at her, her smile glowing in the moonlight that filtered through the protection of the trees. He could have held her like this for the rest of what was left of the night. It was the second time that he gotten to inadvertently hold her, and he was beginning to really like it.

Afraid of his level of self-control, he set her down and stood up, offering her both hands to help her up. She took them gratefully, in order to get off the cold snow. Not wanting to attract any more attention, they exchanged one more long look, smiling into each other’s eyes, savoring the moment, before heading back in the direction they had come. The cold in their bones had begun to set in, so they found themselves lightly jogging right back into her back door. The tracks they had made getting there and back would soon be goon by first light, as snow had begun to softly fall around them. So the proof that they were the ones responsible for getting back at the boys would be gone.

As soon as they were back in the house, they both let out the laughter they had been holding in at what they had just done. A Colonel and a Major, in the Airforce, who normally spent their evenings sleeping on another planet during a mission, or at the base recovering from one, now found themselves teepeeing a tree house at 4am on Halloween.

“Well, I must say,” Sam said, between fits of laughter, “I think you have sufficiently taught them a lesson.”

“I hope so! I want it to take them twice the amount of time to clean off their tree house as it’s going to take me to clean off my truck.” Jack was finally able to catch his breath, still smiling at the memories of what they had just done.

“That would be the amount of time that we will have to spend cleaning your truck off. After all, I was partly responsible.” Sam gave him a smile before heading towards the kitchen to get herself a glass of water.

Jack followed her, loving the idea of getting more quality time with her. “You know, I was just kidding earlier. You don’t have to help me clean it off.”

Sam smiled at him. “I know, but I want to. It’s just a good thing it’s a Saturday today, and that we don’t have to report to the base. I’d hate to have to explain the lack of sleep to the General. Do you want any coffee to warm you up before we go back to bed?”

“That’s okay, but thanks anyway. I think I’ve managed to exhaust myself enough to sleep good now.” As if on cue, Jack yawned, making Sam smiled.

They headed back down the hallway together, each standing outside of their respective bedrooms. Jack hesitated, not wanting to say goodnight. Deep inside himself, in the depths of his soul that he couldn’t hear, he secretly wished that they could fall asleep in each other’s arms.

“Well, good night, or, I guess, good morning.” Sam said, sighing quietly, wishing she didn’t have to go to bed by herself. She had decided to give up trying to deny, at least to herself, that she felt something so much more than friendship for the man who now stood in front of her. What the extent of that feeling was, she had yet to figure out, but she was willing to spend more sleepless nights like this one trying to find her answer.

Jack opened his door and turned around to face her. “Good night. And no more wired dreams for either of us.”

Sam casually saluted him. “Yes, Sir!”

As Jack started to step into his room and close the door, Sam called out softly. “Oh, and Jack, thanks for a really fun evening, from start to finish. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had that much fun reliving childhood memories.”

Jack smiled at her, lighting up his dark brown eyes, making her suddenly feel like mush. “You’re very welcome. I had a great time too. It’s really a comfort to see that you can really relax and have fun. And I’m glad you chose to share it with me.”

With that, they gave each other one last look before going into their respective bedrooms, each sighing contently at the evening they had just shared, together.

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