Bubblebath

-----------

Written for the June ficathon on GW. Thanks to Aveo for the beta!

-------------

I pushed the door closed behind me tiredly and made my way through the house, shedding clothing as I went. What a day. Boy was I glad to be home. And right now, there was only one thing on my mind. I only had my underwear left on by the time I got to the bathroom, and I made a bee-line for the faucet. Turning it on full and hot, I opened the cabinet above the sink and pulled out the half-empty bottle of lavender bubble bath. Just what the doctor ordered. I poured a generous slug under the running water, watching as the purple liquid swirled and dispersed. A heavenly scent of lavender wafted up and I felt the cares of the day lifting already. I straightened my shoulders, took a deep breath, and rummaged around in the cabinet for the box of matches that I knew was there somewhere. Today had been beyond plain bubble bath sucky. Today required candles. I lit all the ones sitting on the edge of the tub, and the shelf, tested the temperature of the water, shut off the faucet, stripped off my underwear and finally, finally, sank my weary body into lavender-scented heaven.

I entered the house and a smile spread across my face as I noticed the trail of clothing on the floor. It was late, and I knew I was home earlier than expected; in fact, I hadn't been scheduled to get back until tomorrow. But apparently my welcome-home gift was already unwrapped. Sweet.

Mentally reconstructing the strip tease, I followed the discarded garments to the... bathroom door? Hmm. I reached out and pushed the door open to be confronted with quite a sight... Major General Jack O'Neill sunk up to the neck in fluffy white mounds of bubbles, knees poking gauchely out of the water, clumps of stray bubbles clinging haphazardly to his temples, surrounded by enough candles to make a Jaffa proud. His eyes were closed and there was a look of pure bliss on his face. I raised my eyebrow, doing a passable imitation of a Jaffa myself, and cleared my throat.

Jack's eyes shot open, and he jumped a mile, sloshing quantities of water out of the tub. "This is so not what it looks like," he said quickly, sitting bolt upright and brushing bubbles off his arm.

I tried desperately not to laugh. "Really?"

Jack looked sheepish. "Well maybe a little. It's just, well, it works for you when you're tense, and I thought, seeing as you're so smart about everything else, maybe it was worth a try?" His eyes slid to mine hopefully, clearly trying to judge if the flattery card was having the desired effect.

I moved across and sat on the edge of the tub, running my hand through his hair. Well, I couldn't help it, he looked so completely adorable. But I wasn't going to let him get away with it that easily, so I schooled my expression into one of curiosity mixed with just a touch of concern. "And? Is it working?" I ran my hand through his hair again, just for good measure.

"Oh yeah," he sighed, before clearing his throat. "That is, I mean, a bit, I guess." He shrugged and a clump of bubbles that had been perched precariously on his shoulder shivered and slid down his chest.

I gave up and let the smile out, shaking my head. I didn't know who had won this little encounter, but I knew an opportunity when I saw one. Standing, I started to pull off my sweater. "So, you got room in there for me too?"

I watched as Sam disrobed, suddenly feeling rather smug. Another bullet neatly dodged (though it was close there for a while), and now I got naked Carter in the tub with me? Yeah, you've still got it, O'Neill. As long as she doesn't find out this isn't the first time I've done this, I might even have got through with my manliness intact.

Sam dropped her panties on top of the rest of her clothes and stepped into the tub, one long, smooth limb after the other. As she settled in between my legs, she looked back at me with an impish grin.

"You know, I was wondering why my bubble bath always seemed to run out so fast."

Damn. Busted.