TITLE: Cold Showers
AUTHOR: Allison West
SPOILERS: The Broca Divide, Abyss, Allegiance.
RATING: PG-15, S/J Romance, Adult Themes.
SUMMARY: Jack's getting sick of taking cold showers.
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable 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.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This story is set directly after Allegiance. Okay, it's my birthday and because you're all such great people I just know you're going to send me feedback.


Jack O'Neill stepped into the spray of the shower cubicle. Letting the cold water wash down over his heated skin. He was getting sick of this. This was the third time this week.

Even now as he stood under the cool water he couldn't stop thinking about her. It was wrong, so wrong. He shouldn't be thinking about her like this. They were friends, it wasn't right. He respected her.

But he just couldn't help what she did to him.

It had gotten worse over the last few weeks. Ever since he'd come back from Ba'al's planet it seemed like he just couldn't stop himself from being around her. He felt draw to her even more than before. Maybe it was because he now understood what it had been like for her. What it had been like to have something inside you, controlling you. 'Nah, that wasn't it', he told himself as the water crashed down on him. He wanted her.

He'd always wanted her.

It was just that now he didn't seem to be able to be controlling it as well as usual. Call it frustration. Sexual frustration? Maybe. But never like this before.

He couldn't believe himself. Things were definitely getting out of hand. For cryin' out loud they'd been in the middle of a crisis, on another planet, and all he could think about was checking her out. Thankfully she hadn't noticed, no one had, but that really wasn't the point. He shouldn't have been doing it in the first place.

But she was just so beautiful.

Her skin was so soft, so smooth that he just longed to touch it. The cold drops of water that ran down his muscular body weren't serving their purpose as he continued to think about her. Her eyes, her lips, her hair, the way her brow furrowed when she was thinking, especially when she was thinking. He couldn't remember when he'd ever seen anything so sexy as when she was thinking.

'Oh god,' he thought as he closed his eyes and moved his face directly under the spray, trying to shake the thoughts from his mind.

"Gotta stop this, gotta stop this," he muttered to himself as he turned the faucet in a clockwise direction, shutting off the water. He stepped out of the cubicle and picked up his towel off the bench, drying his face before wrapping it around the lower half of his body. He picked up his dogtags and placed them back around his neck before making his way around the corner to the lockers.

He stopped as he saw the very reason for his cold showers standing by her locker in what can only be described as a semi state of undress. She stood there in her underwear, her *black* underwear, a white towel flung over her shoulder as she fiddled with the band of her wristwatch. He stopped dead in his tracks, frozen in a state of shock, yet systematically committing every detail to memory.

At the same time Sam looked over at him, her face portraying much the same expression. She was stunned to say least to see him like this so unexpectedly. She stared at him, her brain refusing to operate in any state of cognitive motion.

Jack naked. Naked Jack. In nothing but a towel, standing in front of her right now.

Her gaze became transfixed on his chest, little droplets of water running down over his broad shoulders and his well defined pectoral muscles. She was hypnotised. The images she had been trying not to think about for the past six years were now right there in front of her, and she found herself trying very hard not to think about striding over there and kissing him.

Suddenly realising that they were both staring, Jack coughed and turned his gaze to the floor while Sam hurriedly wrapped her towel around her half naked body.

"Carter, what are you doing in here?" Jack muttered, trying to speak to her without actually looking at her.

"According to the sign on the door this is the women's locker room at the moment," Sam said tensely. "I didn't know anyone else was in here."

"Damn," Jack swore. "Did I forget to change it?"

"It would seem that way sir," Sam muttered, her cheeks blushing red. An awkward silence ensued, before Sam opened her locker and pulled out a fresh pair of fatigues.

"Look," she said. "We're both adults here. I'm just going to go around the corner and take a shower. You stay here and get dressed. It's not like we've never shared the locker room before."

She was right. They were acting ridiculous. They'd shared the locker room before, of course that was always in the company of Daniel and Teal'c and there had never been any actual undressing per se. It had always been briefly, in between switches that they had shared. The men would be finishing up, brushing their hair etcetera while the women would hover by the door waiting. He guessed she'd just said it to make them both feel better, to put them at ease. Make them feel like it wasn't so wrong. Hell, it wasn't like they were going to jump each other in the locker room - although it had happened before - best not to go there. He shrugged and moved towards his locker which was next to hers.

"You're right. It's no big deal," he said as he stood next to her. Sam's pulse went up a few beats and she let out a breath, hoping he didn't notice. She stook herself out of her reverie and closed her locker.

"Have you eaten?" she asked casually, looking up at him.

"Uh, no, not since we got back," he said opening his locker and putting his kit inside. "Why?"

"You wanna go to the commissary after, maybe have some cake?" she asked, trying to keep her voice neutral.

"Sure," he said casually, looking down at her.

"Good. I'll only be a minute," she said moving past him towards the showers. Her shoulder brushed against his as she slid past him. The skin on skin contact was electric and Jack felt his body becoming hot again.

"Take your time," he called after her.

Yep, it looked like he'd be needing another cold shower very soon.

The End.