Procrastination: Chapters 1 - 10
Procrastination: Chapters 1 - 10
by Newromantic
Summary: The first ten chapters reposted. To be honest, there's no plot. It's just shippy nonsense. Sorry.
Category: Humor, Romance
Season: Season 5
Pairing: Jack/Sam
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: adult themes, minor language
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s).
Archived on: 04/15/03
Authors Note: This story has actually been posted before, but it went AWOL, so this document contains all of the missing chapters (1 - 10) minus previous footnotes and dedications. All subsequent chapters can be found on Heliopolis, posted as individual documents.
As such, I feel it necessary to dedicate this amalgamation of complete and total plot-free ship to my fellow writers Dietcokechic and Maria; both of whom have been an unending source of support and humour.
I also need to inform anyone who reads this that any moments in the story where Daniel gets naked belong solely to DCC, but Jack's nudity you may share amongst yourselves. Please form an orderly queue...
Procrastination
Chapter 1: Heat
The sun beat down relentlessly on SG1 as they slowly walked the six miles back to the Stargate. Colonel Jack O'Neill, USAF lead the weary troops across yet another sand dune, his weathered but still undeniably handsome face set in a grimace, feet practically stomping in stoic determination on the unyielding golden sand.
Major Samantha Carter was, as ever, close behind her Commanding Officer, treading carefully in the imprints left by his somewhat larger feet (through sheer boredom) as she reached tiredly for her canteen. Stopping to take a long drink of the cool water, she took a moment to look around her whilst simultaneously wishing to any Gods currently sans snake that the Stargate be miraculously moved five miles closer to their position.
After thoroughly scanning their surroundings, she sighed in defeat and resumed her steady pace.
Doctor Daniel Jackson brought up the rear in this little trio, struggling in irritation under the weight of his pack. Teal'c, their alien cohort had been lucky enough to escape this torturous planet by pleading compassionate leave after being informed that his son Ry'ac had been wounded during one of Bray'tac's many, dangerous, training sessions. Despite being assured that Ry'ac was healing nicely, thanks to his symbiote, Teal'c had insisted he leave as quickly as possible.
What the hell had possessed them to come to such a place? Daniel asked himself as he tried in futility to heave the weight of his pack from one shoulder to another. The problem with these backpacks was that, despite the fact that their design was meant to share the internal weight evenly, you still ended up with one shoulder apparently getting two thirds of the total mass and therefore, hurting like a b*stard after only a couple of hours.
Archaeological Interests.
Yup. That was why they had come here. According to the initial UAV sweep of P2X 915 there was a large castle-type-building only four miles from the Stargate itself. Not to mention the fact that after only a mile or so of desert like sand, the ground was supposed to give in to a large shaded woodland initially hidden from view by the dunes. This was the reason they had only bought the 'Foresty planet' amount of water along for the ride instead of the 'Sandy planet' amount, which was a hell of a lot more.
Unsurprisingly, after walking on nothing but sand and in the blistering heat for nearly seven miles - in the direction that Sam had kept insisting was the correct route, Jack had officially lost his temper and ordered a return to the gate.
And this would be why they were trudging, single file, in silence, back to Earth.
Daniel looked over at his friend, who was currently standing at the top of the nearest Dune, binoculars in hand trying in desperation to spot the Stargate. He had removed his sunglasses and was shading his eyes from the brightness reflecting off the sand.
Despite the tension caused by the situation at hand, the archaeologist couldn't help smiling slightly at the sight before him. Sam had finally caught up with the Colonel and was waving her hands animatedly in frustration. Too far away to actually hear what was being said, he contented himself with observing their physical interaction. Sam had stopped throwing her arms around and now rested her left hand placatingly on Jack's right arm, whilst keeping her other hand in a loose grip over her weapon.
Suddenly, in one small moment, their entire demeanour seemed to change. Jack no longer looked completely pissed off, and both he and Sam were staring intently at their point of contact. As if in complete syncopation with one another, they simultaneously tore their gaze away from his arm and looked directly into each other's eyes. Slowly, and without breaking eye contact, Sam removed her hand from her CO's arm and let it drop heavily at her side as Jack reached out and cupped his palm softly across her cheek.
Entirely unwilling to break their stolen moment, Daniel hung back and looked around him once again. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye he saw something shimmer in the distance. Groping blindly behind him, and muttering a few expletives as he momentarily caught his arm behind his back in a very uncomfortable position, he managed to grab his own Military issue binoculars and scanned the distance.
Water!
"Water! Hey, Guys, Water!" The intrepid archaeologist practically tripped over his own feet in a rush to reach the two soldiers who were now intently staring away from each other, their respective cheeks coloured slightly pink with embarrassment.
Jack looked over at Daniel, laughing despite himself as the scientist stumbled slightly on the dune before righting himself and continuing his eager pace. Daniel had always reminded Jack so much of the geeks at junior high school who desperately tried to get in with the cool kids, whilst simultaneously trying in earnest not to get beaten up too often.
The funny thing was, Jack mused to himself as he caught Carter's amused smile out of the corner of his eye, ten years ago Jack had been one of those people who metaphorically bullied geeks like Dr Jackson. But now? Now he was just about as protective of Daniel as a person could get. Despite his initial fury at having a scientist placed in the team that went to Abydos, the archaeologist had saved his life and the rest of the team on more than one occasion. And thanks to his quick thinking and interpersonal skills, he had got them out of more scrapes than could be counted.
Reaching down, Jack grabbed the collar of Daniel's shirt and hauled him the rest of the way up the dune. Not stopping to thank the Colonel for his assistance, Daniel began to ramble excitedly until Jack decided he was hysterical and almost slapped him around the face.
In a moment Jack would describe as purely 'Carteresque' Sam managed to silence Daniel by simply placing her hand on his shoulder and murmuring his name until the excited babble slowed and died.
"Now repeat everything you just said." Jack smiled slightly, but held his hand up to silence his friend as Daniel opened his mouth to speak again.
"Slowly."
Daniel stopped for a moment, and a look of thoughtfulness passed over his face. Then his cheeks reddened in embarrassment as he realised he had no idea what he had just said. Instead, he resorted to neandertholic communication. Raising his hand, he merely pointed east and said "Water."
Sam was stunned - and it took alot to make Sam stunned. "Really? Where?" She asked enthusiastically, grabbing Daniel's binoculars from his hand and scanning the horizon.
The Oasis loomed up in front of the Major's eyes as she peered through the small lenses. "He's right." She murmured incredulously. "There's water."
Jack, who had also been looking frantically pulled his shades back over his eyes and looked questioningly at his 2IC. "You sure it's not a mirage?"
"Doubtful sir." Carter replied, still engrossed in the view through the binoculars. "I've never heard of group hallucinations before. She paused, then added pleadingly "It's not too far out of our way Colonel. Besides, I guess we'll never know if it's real until we get there."
The Colonel stalled for a moment, weighing up the possibilities of actually reaching the Stargate before fainting through dehydration. He ripped off the Velcro cover on his watch and looked at the time. They weren't even due to report back for another six hours, let alone actually return, so they could afford to waste an hour or so...
"Alright Campers." He said, finally giving in to Daniel's puppy eyes (though he'd never admit it...) "One hour only. That includes getting there. " With that, he set off in the direction of the tempting Oasis.
Chapter 2: Aqua
Daniel Jackson ran (as much as one can over sand) the last few metres to the Oasis. Before he even hit the water he had shed his heavy backpack, glasses and Jacket, only stopping momentarily at the water's edge to pull off the rest of his outer garments before wading quickly into the pool.
Jack barely noticed his team mate's relative nudity, having become more interested in securing the perimeter around the Oasis. But Sam stopped short at the edge of the pool and watched in surprise (and some measure of arousal) as Daniel hit the water running and dove quickly under the surface - only to rise again like a Phoenix from the ashes, droplets of water running madly down his muscular torso.
Seemingly unaware of his friend's trance-like state, he turned around in the water and swam a few laps before stopping to tread water in the centre. "You coming in?" he yelled as she blinked a few times in rapid succession.
"Uh, " Give Major / Doctor Carter a Naquada reactor and she could ramble about it for hours on end, but when confronted with a tanned and very naked male in an 'every woman's fantasy' scenario, she was rendered practically speechless.
"Be there in a minute Danny." The sound of Jack's voice next to her shook Sam out of her silent reverie, and she glanced quickly at her CO. "Carter, you okay?"
"Fine Sir." She managed to blurt out before turning her attention back to the unlikely Adonis in the water. "When did Daniel get so..."
"Beefy?" Jack grinned at his 2IC. "One of the proviso's Hammond made for his inclusion on SG1 was that Daniel got up to par. Teal'c and I have been training him for the past few years. Not just getting him fit," he added quickly, pride glowing on his face, "but weapons and basic military training too."
"Wow." Sam murmured quietly. "You did a good job."
Suddenly Jack didn't feel so pleased with himself. "Yeah, I guess." He muttered before setting his pack down on the sand and removing his jacket.
Sam grinned. "You're Jealous!" she stated in surprise.
"Why would I be jealous, Carter?" Jack pulled off his sunglasses and reached into his pack for the empty canteen. He looked back up at the Major. "I may be a little older than Danny, but I can still hold my own."
She smiled in reply. "I know." She said quietly as she looked into his eyes.
That look.
That look that said all he needed to hear. The look that told him he had no reasons at all to worry about Daniel. The look that in less than a second managed to reduce the green eyed monster roaring happily within him to nothing but a mushy puddle.
He smiled back.
Turning his attention back to the archaeologist frolicking happily in the water, he walked over to the edge of Oasis, bent (rather painfully) at the knees and began to fill his canteen. He then returned the now full container to the confines of his weapons belt before removing his hat and Jacket.
"You going in?" he asked Sam as she sat on the sand and removed her boots and socks. "Yeah, in a minute."
Jack grinned cheekily as he watched her peel off her vest and jacket, only to experience some measure of disappointment as she rolled her trousers up around her calves and her sleeves up to her elbows.
"You can't swim like that!" he blurted out, causing her to give her superior officer a decidedly distasteful glare.
"I'm not going swimming sir." Sam stated primly. "It's alright for you and Daniel to strip down to your boxers, but personally, I'd rather not expose myself too much." She looked at him for a moment, a glint of playfulness evident in her eyes. "In case you didn't realise, I wasn't exactly made the same as you two."
Jack blushed furiously.
IwillnotstareatherchestIwillnotstareatherchestIwillnotstareather..."damn!" he cursed as he forcefully removed his gaze from her person and looked determinedly over at Daniel, who was now doing backstroke whilst having simultaneously created a man made fountain using nothing but water and his mouth.
Sam giggled in response before standing up and wandering over to the water's edge. "Don't you think it would've been best if we tested the water before going in?" she called to her CO, suddenly remembering the scientist inside her.
"Probably." Jack agreed as he came to stand by her. "But I don't think a battalion of Jaffa could have stopped Danny going in. Besides," he added as an afterthought, "He seems okay."
Sam nodded absently, desperately trying to ignore the fact that O'Neill was now, also, semi-naked.
"C'mon Jack!" Daniel yelled from the water as the Colonel took a tentative step into the inviting pool. Sam sat down heavily at the water's edge and submerged her feet in the cool water. "Give me strength." She muttered to herself, grimacing at the cruel humour of the Gods. "I'm only a woman! Jeez..."
A cold shower would be great right now she mused as she splashed her face and arms. Unfortunately for her, the water in the Oasis was more like a lukewarm bath, and did absolutely nothing to ease her libido, which was currently behaving entirely unprofessionally.
Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, the humidity in the air dissipated and was replaced by mild breeze, which quickly changed to a high wind.
Sam jumped quickly to her feet. "Sand Storm!" She yelled at her companions. Jack stopped trying to drown Daniel and instead grabbed him and started pulling him towards the edge of the water.
The team dressed quickly, Jack and Daniel's clothes sticking uncomfortably to their damp bodies. "We need to find shelter." The Colonel called over the noise of the now storm force winds.
"Where?" Daniel looked frantically at the horizon. Aside from the pool, all he could see for miles around him was sand.
"I don't know!" Sam yelled back, hauling her vest over her Jacket. "But if we don't get out of this soon we're gonna be in serious trouble!"
"The tents. Get the tents out!" The Colonel ordered, unclipping his own from the base of his pack.
"There's no time to put them up!" Daniel replied, looking decidedly concerned.
"We don't need to. Just open them out and get under them!"
Sam helped Daniel open his tent out just as the first wave of sand assaulted them from the north. Quickly as they could, the team managed to tie the two tents together using the guy ropes and crawled underneath, each sitting on a section of the material in a desperate attempt to stop it blowing away.
"What now?" Carter asked, wincing as the sand battered against her back.
"Now we sit it out." Jack replied, his confidence only wavering internally. "Anyone bring a pack of cards?"
Chapter 3: Waiting
The storm raged continuously for nearly eight hours, during which time all manner of pointless topics were discussed...or, more accurately, yelled over the noise of the wind.
Unfortunately, the tents covering SG1 proved to provide little protection against the sand that ruthlessly battered their tired, aching bodies. Despite this, each of the three cowering humans made it their personal mission to keep up the general morale. Jack told countless bad and, for the majority, entirely un-PC jokes until Sam was forced to give him a glare scary enough to bring Apophis himself to his knees; Daniel explained (in excited detail) about SG11's latest archaeological discovery, and Carter - well, Carter babbled. Judging by the sparkle in her eyes, and the way she kept expressing herself animatedly with her hands, Jack believed what she was saying was, in all likelihood, incredibly interesting.
If only he could understand a damn word of it.
Still, she was nice to watch, which was the main reason he allowed her to continue discussing the latest Astrophysics arguments surrounding Dark Matter and Wimps*. (What the hell...?!). Suffice to say, that over the years Major Carter had not been the only person attending the `Janet Frasier School of Evil Glares', but whereas he was more than happy to silence Daniel with a single scowl, he actually enjoyed watching his Major ramble incoherently for a while.
But if anyone repeated that little epiphany, he would deny all knowledge.
Then kill them.
Eventually (and thankfully) Sam ran out of steam and instead contented herself with surreptitiously watching her CO from the corner of her eye, whilst gallantly feigning interest in a rather futile argument he was having with Daniel about Colonel Simmons and the merits of well-placed grenade.
Not that either believed the idea to be a bad one, you understand, it was just a question of where exactly the best place was for said artillery to cause maximum damage. Daniel was entirely convinced that Simmons' office would be most advantageous, whereas Jack, who argued both superiority and experience, truly and vehemently believed that a single grenade would not be powerful enough to break through the man's oversized ego. Therefore an entire launcher would be more advantageous - especially if placed somewhere a lot more personal...and a lot more painful.
You get the idea.
Soon enough, Daniel relented and came around to Jack's way of thinking (though in all likelihood, it was just done for a quiet life), and subsequently, conversation ran dry and silence ensued.
Sam winced as a strong gust of wind battered another ton of sand against her back. "I don't think it's gonna let up any time soon, sir." she stated as she tried in vain to shake off the sand dune forming against her rapidly collapsing spine.
Jack nodded grimly in agreement before turning to the Daniel, concern marring his handsome face as his friend slumped forward a little further, his body slowly giving in to the pressure of sand against his back. "How you doing there Danny?"
"Fine." came the strained reply as the Archaeologist tried to push back against the onslaught.
Suddenly the temperature dropped once more and Sam shivered involuntarily. And, of course, Jack noticed. "Cold?" he asked pointlessly.
Sam looked at him for a moment. When SG1 was first formed she had done everything to ensure she was seen as nothing more than `one of the boys', right down to hiding anything that could have been seen as a moment of weakness. Now, however, five years later, she had seen past her CO's bravado, just as he had immediately seen right through hers, and was now more than comfortable with their blatant honesty.
Honesty, at least in some respects. Others, well, neither of them were prepared to discuss.
An unbidden image flashed into her mind and she closed her eyes against the mental anguish. She shook her head minutely, desperately trying to banish the memory of the Za'tarc machine and smiled warmly at her commanding officer. "A little Sir." she replied.
"Yeah, me to." He looked about himself. "Danny, where's your pack?"
The archaeologist grimaced in reply. "Outside." he muttered apologetically. "There wasn't time to grab it. I..."
"It's alright." Jack placated soothingly. "We still have two blankets." With that, he and Carter made a grab for their respective rucksacks and pulled out the requisite thermal blankets. O'Neill tossed his to Daniel, who caught it without hesitating.
"Who are you gonna share with?" he asked as he wrapped the blanket around his shivering torso.
Sam was the ideal candidate, not only smaller than the Archaeologist, but closer to her CO, and would therefore require less manoeuvrability, but still he hesitated.
"Sir." The voice of his Second in Command, quietly affirming her consent with a single word was enough to tip the balance and he scooted closer to Sam, quickly placing both backpacks in his place to weigh down the tent.
Internally, Sam was grinning like an adolescent with a crush, but externally she remained the professional. Quickly and efficiently she unravelled the blanket and placed it over them.
But it wasn't enough.
Five minutes later they were both still incredibly cold. The temperature was still dropping and Sam shivered violently. Jack had had enough. He grabbed the blanket and pulled it off their bodies. "Move forward." he muttered in frustration.
"Sir?" Sam asked, bewildered.
"Do it Carter." he growled. Desperately trying to retain his composure. Still confused, Sam shuffled forwards, under the ever-watchful eyes of Dr Daniel Jackson.
She had to bite back a gasp as she felt Jack slide behind her and pull her back against his body. He folded the blanket around them both and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Not a word." he cautioned Daniel who just grinned in response.
After a moments hesitation Sam settled back more comfortably into her CO's unexpected hold and had to fight to keep her eyes open, her body willing her to lose herself completely in his warm embrace.
The sand storm seemed to ease up and Jack settled himself more comfortably. Sam's head was rested against his collarbone and he could smell her hair. It was almost his undoing.
Daniel looked at his watch. It was going to get dark soon, and if this planet was anything like the Deserts back on earth, night time meant it was going to get a whole lot colder. He pulled his blanket tighter around his body and closed his eyes, exhaustion washing over his face.
Soon enough he was asleep.
Sam giggled slightly as Daniel began to snore. "That boy can sleep through anything." Jack murmured into her hair, evoking an involuntary shiver from his companion as she felt his breath stroke her cheek.
"Mmm." she smiled in reply, too tired to form a proper verbal response. Jack tightened his arms around his major and she snuggled unthinkingly into his warm embrace.
Jack smiled quietly, ruthlessly pushing down the urge to grin like an idiot. He tilted his head and looked down at Sam's face. She'd fallen asleep and was looking so peaceful. Like an angel. For once Jack didn't ignore the feelings welling deep inside him and he gently placed a chaste kissed on her crown before closing his eyes and succumbing to the gentle pull of unconsciousness.
Outside of the warm cocoon the three friends had created, the storm raged on.
*(* W.I.M.P.'S = Weakly Interacting Massive Particles)*
Chapter 4: Observations
Jack woke suddenly, as he always did off world. His eyes sprang open, alertness immediately overcoming exhaustion. His back ached a little from remaining in a seated position for so long and for a fleeting moment he wondered how on earth Teal'c managed such long stints at Kel No Reem.
His neck was stiff, but that wasn't the only reason he was loathed to move it. Carter was still cuddled up tightly against him, her legs splayed in front of her, head turned cosily into his collarbone.
When Jack had fallen asleep his head had apparently lolled forward to rest comfortably against his 2IC's crown and his arms were still ensconced protectively around her waist.
The feint light that had previously forced its way through the material of the tents into their little cocoon had long since dissipated, and darkness was now surrounding the team. O'Neill could just about make out the still slumbering form of Dr Jackson only three or four feet away.
Reluctantly, Jack gently detached his right arm from around his Major's body and used his left thumb to depress the button that illuminated his watch. 0400 hours. He groaned quietly to himself. SG1 was now overdue by six hours and in all likelihood, Hammond would be frantic.
Determinedly ignoring the dull ache low in his belly that was currently suggesting it may be a good idea to relieve his bladder sometime soon, Jack replaced his arms and took this unexpected opportunity to study the woman he now held like a lover.
Carter.
Sam? No, Carter. Jack had admitted to himself long time ago that his reasons behind using his 2IC's last name had a hell of a lot more to do with personal detachment than their being Military - which, when asked, seemed a much more plausible explanation, not to mention a safe zone far from offences warranting a Court Martial.
But still, in his dreams (some X-Rated - well, he was only human after all) she was always Sam. And what he wouldn't give to make some of those dreams a reality. Ever since the Tok'ra tests they had been forced to take, there had been an unspoken agreement between them that he fervently hoped no one else had picked up on.
No matter what happened, no matter how long it took. They would wait.
Until he retired? Maybe, but in their hearts they both knew retirement was a long way off for this old Fly Boy, it was more likely he would die in the field before admitting defeat through old age.
What about the end of the war? Lovely idea, but never gonna happen. Everyone who knew about the Goa'uld knew the truth. Hell, it had been pointed out to him by pretty much everyone on his team on more than one occasion. Every time they took out a System Lord, a new and more powerful Goa'uld would take his place. There were thousands of them, all over the Galaxy and it seemed an almost impossible task to even consider neutralising them all.
Promotion? When he made Colonel, Jack had known immediately that this was about as far up the chain of command as he was ever gonna get. He could never see himself pushing papers in Washington, and he had pissed off way too many people to ever be considered as Hammond's replacement when the General was finally forced to retire. But Carter, well, she was a perfect candidate for promotional prospects. From the moment they met he had known immediately that she was Military through and through, and even now, he would put money on the bet that she was going to go all the way. Eventually, she'd outrank him.
Jack stifled a giggle at that thought, the idea of saluting Carter not at all abhorrent, just...well...strange.
Sam stirred a little as his chest vibrated gently against her body. And, as Military minded as he was, she immediately came awake. He looked down at her and smiled slightly as her somewhat confused gaze met with his own. "Sir?" she muttered, alert but still slightly sleepy.
"Yeah. Go back to sleep Carter." Jack's arms instinctively tightened around her slim figure.
"Still here huh?"
Jack chuckled. "Yup, `fraid so." He looked quickly over at Daniel and through the darkness tried to ascertain whether or not they had woken him too.
Apparently not. The archaeologist slept on undisturbed.
Sam nodded, making it more than apparent that she wasn't overly bothered. Her CO's body stiffened automatically as she shifted positions and relaxed once again as she surreptitiously wrapped her arms around his waist.
It took Jack less than two seconds to decide on his next tactical move. Using just a little pressure on her shoulders, he shunted her forward slightly and lay down on his side before pulling her prone body against him once again and covering them both with the blanket.
"Go to sleep." he murmured into her hair, suddenly feeling extremely tired. "It's too early to get up."
Sam nodded wearily and snuggled closer. "Night Sir." she muttered into his chest, stroking her cheek against his body in an attempt to reach a better level of comfort.
"Sweet Dreams." he replied and kissed her forehead instinctively before allowing sleep to claim him once again.
Sam smiled quietly as she felt the moist, but gentle pressure on her head. Sweet Dreams? She mused.
That was something she could almost guarantee right now.
Lying in his arms, feeling his even breath gently ruffling her hair as she slipped into unconscious bliss; Sweet Dreams - most definitely.
Outside, the storm ceased suddenly, and the high wind turned into a gentle breeze, quietly whistling over the sandy plains.
It was almost as if the Gods had taken pity on the sleeping trio.
But not quite.
A few miles away, the Sand that had previously been thrown around so strongly had succeeded in creating a whole new Dune.
One that managed to completely hide the Stargate from view.
Chapter 5: Dune
Daniel Jackson was the first to awaken at the more sociable hour of 0700 hours. The first thing he noticed as he placed his glasses on his nose was that his two friends were still sound asleep, curled tightly in each others arms.
The archaeologist smiled quietly to himself, happy that they could steal a few moments of peace with each other, but also a little deflated with the knowledge that until the world changed drastically, there was little chance that they could ever have more.
Shaking himself from his silent reverie Daniel leaned forward, intent on waking the Colonel but grimaced in pain as his neck and shoulders complained vehemently at the sudden movement.
After taking a few deep breaths he tried again. This time slowly and carefully, rotating his shoulders in an attempt to stretch out the kinks and knots in his body. Eventually he managed to lean over and shake Jack's arm.
Colonel O'Neill, once again, woke with a start. His sudden movement rousing Carter from her comfortable sleep and they both groaned in reluctance. Sam was the first to recover and, realising how their sleeping arrangements must have looked to her friend, she sat up very quickly, her cheeks reddening slightly with embarrassment.
Jack took things a little more slowly and propped himself up on one elbow as he studied his 2IC, trying desperately to mask the grin threatening to erupt on his sleep weathered face. "Morning Danny." he turned to look at the archaeologist. "What time is it?"
"Just after seven." Daniel rolled the blanket tightly and threw it at his friend. "Sounds like the storm's stopped. We'd better head off."
Jack nodded in agreement and made a grab for the blanket, but Sam got there first, bundling up the cover before shoving it back in the pack with ruthless force. Both men noticed her violent actions and Daniel looked worriedly at the scowl on her usually serene face. He glanced at Jack in confusion, but the Colonel merely shrugged his shoulders and crawled out from under the tents.
Jack winced at the sudden brightness of the sun as it shone into his eyes, and after taking a moment to adjust to the change he stood up, grimacing as his knees cracked painfully in protest. Daniel followed, seemingly more prepared for the visual onslaught as he quickly donned his sunglasses and stretched his back.
"C'Mon Carter." Jack called, watching in amusement as the material, now without anything to keep it upright, folded in around her figure.
"Just a minute!" she called back irritably, only adding a "Sir." as a reluctant afterthought.
Realising that there was no way she was going to find her way out of the now flattened tents, Daniel took pity on his friend's predicament and made a grab for the material, pulling it away and slowly uncovering her body.
Sam was seething.
"You could have waited until I was out!" she glared at her CO before snatching up the other tent, rolling it efficiently and shoving it inside the pack.
"Now where would be the fun in that?" he replied with a grin before turning his back on her and wandering off in the direction of the Stargate.
"You okay Sam?" Daniel asked as they moved to follow. "Only you seem a little...tense."
"I'm fine." Carter regarded her friend for a moment, then sighed in reluctant defeat. "Daniel, about earlier..."
The archaeologist knotted his brows in confusion. "Earlier?"
"Yeah." she continued slowly, choosing her words very carefully. "The way we were...I mean, the Colonel and I...when you woke up."
Daniel grinned, realising suddenly the source of her discomfort and subsequent foul temper. "I'm not gonna say anything Sam."
"I'd appreciate that." she replied quietly. "It's not that anything happened, I mean we would never...it's not as if..."
"Sam!"
Carter stopped walking suddenly and turned to look at her friend in surprise. He was grinning in bemusement. "You don't need to justify anything you do or don't do, to me."
"I know." she smiled back, "but I just want you to understand."
Daniel placed a placating hand on her arm. "I do understand." he said quietly. "I know there's something between you and I know that neither of you would ever do anything to jeopardise the team, but..." he continued, his smile fading quickly. "I hope you and Jack both realise what you're giving up in favour of your careers."
Sam paused for a moment, "I do realise." she murmured, almost to herself as she watched her CO wander out of sight. "It's all I think about."
Daniel pulled her into a loose hug as she closed her eyes in frustrated defeat. "Then maybe it's time you stopped thinking." he replied cryptically.
They began walking again. "What do you mean `stop thinking'?" she asked after a long moment.
"I just mean, maybe you two should just stop worrying about it. You need to accept the fact that you're attracted to each other and just deal with it. At least that way you guys can go back to how it used to be."
"How it used to be?"
"Yeah. You know, before it all got out of hand."
Sam smiled ruefully. "You mean before Anise."
Daniel shrugged. "Before Anise, before Laira, before..."
"Carter, Daniel! Get over here!" The sound of Jack's voice broke their quiet conversation and they both ran over to their CO.
"What is it?" Daniel asked breathlessly, remembering suddenly how difficult it was to run over sand.
Jack was stood at the top of a Dune, peering frustratedly through his binoculars. "Wasn't the Stargate supposed to be around here somewhere?"
Sam pulled out her own set of binoculars and scanned the horizon. "Are you sure we're in the right place?" she asked carefully, fearing the wrath of her CO.
"It's what the compass says." Jack replied as he sat down heavily on the sand.
"The storm!" Daniel's excited voice made both officers look at him in surprise.
"The storm must have buried the gate." he continued by way of an explanation.
Jack nodded. "Of course it did." he muttered sarcastically.
"So what now?" Sam sat down next to the Colonel and passed him her water. "Peace offering." she murmured quietly and touched her knee to his own.
Jack grinned, feeling the tension ebb away from him and took a long drink from the canteen. It always amazed him how she could make him feel so much better with just one word, one smile, he mused as he swallowed the cool aqua.
"So? what now?" Daniel repeated, and the moment was broken.
Jack replaced the cap on the bottle and handed it back to Sam. "I guess we head towards where it should be and start digging."
Sam sighed dramatically. "Crap."
Daniel's head almost spun off his shoulders as he looked at the Major in complete surprise, whilst Jack just grinned like a madman.
Chapter 6: Panning For Naquada
"That's the sound of the man, working on the chain gang..." Jack O'Neill was singing.
Badly.
The only reason Sam had not, as yet, gotten down on her knees and pleaded with her CO to cease his infernal caterwauling was that she had currently been rendered speechless by the view of his semi-naked torso all sweaty and rippling muscles in the relentless midday sun. At that precise moment she was standing at the edge of a modest sized hole in the middle of the desert, water canteen poised frozen between hand and mouth, watching the Colonel dig.
She particularly enjoyed the moments where he placed his cupped hands into the sand and threw the contents between his legs. Not to put too shallow a point on it, but his muscles definitely looked their best when all taut and...
Okay, Stop.
Groaning in frustration, Sam closed her eyes and took a long drink from the canteen. The trio had been digging in the approximate spot where the Stargate should have been for over four hours, each person taking it in turn to keep watch whilst the other two continued the seemingly pointless task of unburying the gate. But as every long second ticked by the whole situation became more and more fruitless in her mind.
Sam took one last look about her before calling over Daniel to take his turn at resting. The archaeologist looked up as she called his name and slowly made his way over to the lookout point, grabbing his black T-Shirt en route.
"You okay, Sam?" he asked as his neared his team mate, only slightly concerned at the sight of her flushed cheeks and bright eyes.
"Fine." she replied quickly. "Just a little hot is all."
Daniel grinned. "Well that's hardly a surprise is it? I mean, it's hotter than hell out here and you're stood there wearing the most inefficient colour on Earth!" He paused for a moment to wipe his sweating face on his shirt before continuing. "I mean, what possessed them to make BDU t-shirts black in the first place?"
Sam, who was just too damn hot to argue with Daniel when he got on his soapbox, merely shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know Daniel." she sighed wearily. "All I do know is that if I don't get some cooler clothes soon I'm gonna end up with heatstroke."
The archaeologist's brows knitted in confusion. "Don't you have a tank top on underneath that lot?"
"Yeah..." Sam replied slowly, entirely uncertain as to how she was going to field his next, inevitable question.
"So just wear that!" The expression on Daniel's face was somewhat akin to a child saying `Duh!' and Sam grimaced in response.
"I don't know Daniel, it's all right for you two to strip off a little, but it's different for me..."
"I don't see how!" he shot back quickly, before turning an attractive beetroot red as he realised his error. "Okay, I do see how," he amended, "But it's not as if you'll be down to your underwear or anything."
"Daniel. The tank top is classed as underwear."
"Oh." The red turned a deeper shade. "Well, you do have a...a..."
"A bra?" Sam prompted, using all her mental willpower to stop from grinning inanely at his obvious embarrassment.
"Right. A bra." her team mate sighed in relief as she took pity on him.
"Yeah. I do."
"Well, there you go then. Problem solved!"
Unfortunately for Sam, the problem was far from solved. As a matter of fact, the problem was currently walking towards them, and apparently quite irritated.
"Uh, are you guys done with your meeting?" The Colonel's voice was pure sarcasm as he came and stood by his second in command, looking down on her peevishly.
"Yessir." came the clipped reply as Sam removed her hat and ran her fingers unconsciously through her short hair. "Daniel was just about to take watch."
"Jack tell Sam to take off her shirt." Daniel all but whined at his CO as he tried to grab the canteen from her fingers...which seemed to have formed a sudden vice-like grip on the container.
It seemed to Carter that the linguist had not been observant enough to notice the sudden look of pure hunger that flashed across Jack's eyes as he took in Daniel's last statement, but she had. And in less than a second it had turned her rock hard stomach muscles to a pile of quivering mush.
"He thinks I look too hot." he murmured by way of an explanation.
"I never said that!" Daniel exclaimed rather too loudly. "You were the one who..."
"It really doesn't matter." she interrupted before his foot could fit any further into his mouth. "We really should keep digging." She stepped around her CO and began to make her way determinedly towards the hole.
"Now hold on Carter." Jack's voice was stern and commanding, but his facial expression was definitely amused.
Sam cursed silently and turned around to face him. Once again, she couldn't help the fact that her eyes, as insubordinate as they were, kept insisting on migrating to his toned stomach.
//Crunches.//
Oh yeah, she definitely wanted to see him do them.
"You do look a little hot there." The intrusion of his voice broke her from her silent appraisal and she forced herself to look again at his face.
"Really, Sir. I'm fine."
"Now Carter, you're gonna get heatstroke if you keep all that on." He replied, waving his arms in the vague direction of her upper body. "Maybe you should remove a few layers."
Slowly.
Now where'd that come from? Jack thought to himself, a bewildered expression masking his face. Thanks to her little temper tantrum earlier that day, Jack had tried his hardest to keep all interaction entirely professional, and here he was, only a couple of hours later, thinking about watching her do a striptease.
Dammit!
The Colonel closed his eyes, desperately trying to exorcise the mental images of his 2IC wearing nothing but a...
Was it hot?
Oh yeah, they were in a desert.
Definitely the best excuse for why his cheeks were flaming.
Blinking, he opened his eyes once more only to find a semi naked Carter standing defiantly in front of him, hands on hips.
He closed his eyes. Again.
And open...
No. Still there.
What was the scientific explanation behind mirages again?
Sam's hands were shaking as she stood before her CO, having removed the offending item of clothing. Never in all her years as an Air Force Officer had she envisioned a scenario where she would be standing before her incredibly attractive superior officer, wearing nothing more on her upper torso than a sports bra and tank top.
At least not when in control of her primal urges that is.
Say something... she thought desperately to herself as the air around them began to crackle with electricity.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?!" Daniel piped up, apparently ignorant to the sudden tension surrounding his team mates and Sam released the breath she didn't realise she had been holding.
Jack cleared his throat, and discovered with glee that he was in possession of a voice after all. "We'd better get back to work." he said unnecessarily.
"Right." Carter nodded her agreement and began to walk towards the hole.
"Hold on!" The archaeologist called out from behind her and she swung around to face him once more.
"You'll need to put Sun Screen on the new...skin...you just uncovered." he said as he pointed to her now exposed collar bone.
"Right." Sam replied, relieved, and reached out to grab the lotion from her friend.
Jack purposely turned his back and made out he was viewing the horizon as Sam coated herself liberally in the cream before attempting to hand it back to Daniel. "Put some on my back?" she asked him as she felt the first tingles of sunburn begin to creep across her shoulder blades.
"Sure." Daniel grabbed the lotion and poured some onto his hand. He rubbed it into his palms a little before reaching towards Carter's back and
Promptly falling flat on his face.
Sam's giggling turned into a raucous laughter as the archaeologist tried to right himself, before falling forwards once again and coating his face and hands in sand covered sun cream.
"Dammit!" He exclaimed as he forcefully pulled himself into a sitting position. He grabbed up his discarded t-shirt and began to rub furiously at his hands.
Jack grinned. "C'mon Carter. Back to work." He made a grab at his own hat and pulled it tighter onto his head.
"Hang on." Daniel said, his face still semi-buried under his shirt. "Sam still needs sun cream on her back." He paused for a moment to pass the bottle over to the Colonel, who took it without thinking. "Can you do it? I'm kinda busy here." and with that he resumed rubbing the sand from his face and hands.
Jack looked over at his 2IC, still unsure as to what had just transpired. The shocked look on her face however, answered all questions.
He stared stupidly at the offending lotion before returning his horrified gaze to the Major, then back to the bottle.
If Sam was slightly red, it was nothing compared to Jack.
"Ah, crap." he muttered before pouring the liquid onto his shaking hands. "Come here Carter."
Sam took a tentative step towards him before turning her back on her CO and closing her eyes in resignation.
Both Colonel and Major shivered involuntarily as she felt the first touch of his cooling hands on her burning skin.
Chapter 7: Sleeping Arrangements
Exhaustion was the main course on SG1's menu that evening. They had been digging for ten hours straight and every single muscle and joint in Major Samantha Carter's body was screaming for some serious attention.
Sam's mind was in overdrive as she automatically checked the perimeter surrounding their camp. After a long day of doing nothing but digging with their hands they had achieved absolutely nothing.
Nadda.
Not a thing.
You get the point.
And what's more, seeing as they had no option but to continue the search tomorrow, they had a whole day of futilely digging on their hands and knees to look forward to once again.
The only break she'd had throughout the entire day had been when she had offered to walk back to the Oasis and refill their water canteens. Even then the journey had only served to exhaust her even more. She had, however taken the opportunity to go for a quick dip in the tempting pool before returning to her team. Luckily for her the heat from the blazing sun had dried her short hair in next to no time and so she had no reason to tell her team mates of her digression.
No point in making them jealous, after all.
She sighed dolefully to herself as she made her way back to the camp, strolling slowly as she radioed to the Colonel that they were secure for the night. What was going on with him? She wondered to herself as she carefully retraced her depressed footsteps in the sand. Hell, what was wrong with both of them?
Everyone in the need-to-know category understood that there was something between the two leading members of Stargate Commands flagship team, but everyone also knew that no matter what their personal feelings for one another, their relationship still remained entirely professional.
Everyone, it seemed, except for the two main players.
Normally, and that is to say pretty much all the time, both Sam and the Colonel had managed to curb their emotions and turn any and all frustrations to positive use...like beating the crap out of Apophis, for example, but for some reason entirely unknown to the Major, this whole mission had been one sexual innuendo after another. What with the need for them all to repeatedly remove layers of clothing, and the tempting Oasis, not to mention last night...
Last night.
Sam smiled wistfully as she remembered how it had felt to be snuggled up warm in her CO's embrace, his hand resting lightly on her midriff and his breath blowing a gentle breeze on her neck. Her smile turned to a smirk, then progressed to an all-out grin as she recollected the way his fingers had managed to crawl their way under her shirt in the night and stroke her stomach, turning her insides to jelly.
Growling in frustration, Carter shifted her P-90 to a more comfortable position in her hands. How was it the Jack O'Neill managed to turn her on even when he was asleep? She had, incidentally, been pretty certain that he was still unconscious when his hand had extricated her shirt from her trousers and surreptitiously snuck underneath. She herself had awakened the moment she felt the slight pull on her clothing and had been ready to remove the wandering limb, but after listening to his steady breathing for a moment, she had realised he was still asleep and decided (against her better judgment) that what he didn't know would never hurt him.
But she had known.
Oh yeah, she had known. And for a long time that night she had lain there, her libido quivering with excitement every time one of his fingers jumped involuntarily. It had made for a pretty much sleepless night.
Sam determinedly shook all thoughts of her CO from her over-active mind as she approached the campsite, forcing a look of pure professionalism onto her flushed face as she wandered over to her team mates and sat purposefully next to Daniel - thereby ensuring she was as far away from Colonel O'Neill as she could get.
"How's the leg?" she asked as Daniel handed her a lukewarm cup of coffee.
Dr Jackson cringed at the reference to his injury. "Fine." he answered. The pain's easing up a little thanks to the pills."
"Well, you're due for some more in an hour or so."
"I know." he replied wearily. "I'm sorry I couldn't be more help with the tents and everything."
Jack smiled. "Not a problem Danny boy. You just rest up tonight and we'll see how you go in the morning."
The Colonel had called a halt to the days proceedings after Daniel had tripped on his own bootlaces and twisted his right ankle late into the afternoon. Due to the archaeologist's untimely accident it had taken longer than usual to erect the two tents, and there were no trees in the vicinity from which they could salvage firewood so the trio were forced to once again share body heat as the temperature rapidly dropped in the night sky.
Carter's earlier reactions to the previous nights sleeping arrangements had convinced Jack beyond any shadow of a doubt that he would be sharing a tent with Daniel that night and quite frankly the thought irritated him.
No, scratch that.
It pissed him off. Royally.
The only problem was he didn't know why it got him so angry. After all, it's not as if he had any reason to share a tent with Carter and besides, they had three blankets now so no one had to get up close and personal tonight.
Daniel's sudden and very loud yawn shook Jack from his introspective musings and he reached down over to the camping stove and poured himself more coffee. "Get some sleep." he said to the Archaeologist as he swirled the black liquid in his cup before taking a mouthful and swallowing with a distasteful grimace. "I'll take first watch, then you, and Carter gets the early shift"
Dr Jackson nodded in agreement and limped his way towards the little boys tent. Suddenly the air seemed to grow thick and Sam was finding it hard to breath. A million thoughts whirled around in her mind and she discovered to her dismay that she was finding it increasingly difficult to meet her CO's gaze.
Strange, Jack mused to himself as he watched Carter's hands knit together in anguish, no matter what had happened in the past, be it the fiasco with Anise's Lie Detector machine, or after they returned from that underground plant where they'd had their memories altered, they had still always managed to find it possible to return to their normal working relationship. This time, however, he felt as though he was at the `goodnight kiss' stage of a first date.
Yeah, `cause he needed that imagery right now.
Eventually, and after a long moment of awkward silence, Sam stood up suddenly and announced rather too loudly that she was going to bed.
Jack nodded - well, what else could he do? and bade her goodnight, watching her from the corner of his eye as she made her way to her own tent.
Three hours later the Colonel walked over to his sleeping quarters and gently woke Doctor Jackson. He had nothing to report and so simply kicked off his shoes and climbed into his sleeping bag, pulling it high over his ears to ward off the night time chill.
He fell asleep quickly, the days events having exhausted him more than even he had known, and only half heard the tent zip rise and someone climb in next to him.
All was fine until that someone took it upon themselves to cuddle up close to the Colonel's back and fling their hands around his waist.
Jack tensed and found his voice very quickly. "Uh, Daniel?"
A distinctly feminine giggle emitted from behind him and Jack visibly relaxed...that is until his brain kicked in once more and he tensed up again.
"Carter?" he asked slowly. "What'ya doin`?"
"My tent was cold Sir." she replied quietly. "I needed body heat. You don't mind do you?"
Dumb question.
"Where's your blanket?" he asked, sensibility fighting it's way past his aroused mind and to the surface.
"I have it." Sam admitted quietly, "But I'm still not warm enough to sleep."
Jack sat up quickly and Sam (who had been wide awake in her tent for the last three hours, mulling over the reasons why this was a bad idea) had to force herself not to groan out loud in disappointment.
Grabbing his pack from the side of the tent, Jack pulled out his blanket and covered them both before settling back down an turning to face her.
Nose to nose they stayed in this position for a seemingly endless five minutes, neither blinking, hearts pounding with adrenaline. Eventually Carter forced herself to turn her back on her Commanding Officer and he immediately spooned himself up against her.
"Just body heat, right?" he muttered and pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders.
"Right." she whispered back as she reached behind herself and grabbed his hand, pulling it over to wrap around her shivering body, lacing her fingers with his.
"Right." he repeated with more confidence than he actually felt, and closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep.
Outside, Daniel had watched Sam creep into his tent and grinned to himself as he wondered briefly what he would find when he returned in three hours to awaken Sam for her shift. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that something was seriously strange about the whole `Jack and Sam' situation on this mission, but quite frankly it was so nice to see them like this that he was loathed to mention it.
He did, however, realise that the topic would have to be bought up eventually, and knowing Sam, Jack and military regulations as he did, wondered if their was an alien influence involved in all of this.
Still, he thought to himself as he reached again for the coffee pot, it could all wait until tomorrow, and the least the air force could do was let them have tonight.
Chapter 8: The Dawn Chorus
Dawn came all too quickly for the intrepid explorers. Apparently during the night Daniel had taken it upon himself to cover both Sam's watch and his own - which subsequently found the Major waking up after a good nights sleep, still ensconced in her CO`s arms.
Naturally Sam also woke up with a huge grin on her face (well, wouldn't you?), fully satisfied with the prospects that despite the impending dig-a-thon that loomed menacingly in their near future, today was going to be a good day.
Well what could possibly go wrong? Sure, they were stuck on an alien planet, the Stargate had been buried under what was undoubtedly miles of sand and General Hammond had probably given birth to kittens by now. But, she'd had a full night's beauty sleep, was still cuddled up tight against the man she loved - a position she never imagined herself being in (okay, so she had imagined it, but she certainly never thought it would ever come true), and she could even feel his arm circling her waist and his gentle breath on the back of her neck as he pulled her tighter against his hard, muscular body.
Hard...
Muscular...
Mmm.
Where was she? Oh, right. Good day. So...yeah.
Uh, so the sun was shining (she assumed - it was kinda hard to tell, what with being in a tent and all), the birds were singing, and it was turrr..niii..nggg...
The birds...
...the birds were...
...the, uh...
Singing? In a Desert? Since when did birds sing in Deserts?
Sam blinked. Come to think of it, since when did birds migrate to Deserts? Even just for a vacation?
Finally, the hazy, self-satisfied fog that had clouded her brain since awakening to the masculine smells of a certain Colonel lifted and common sense forced it's unwelcome way to the surface. She rose quickly (much to the chagrin of said Colonel, who was rudely awakened by the sudden movement) and shot out of the tent.
And blinked. A lot.
It seemed to Sam that one of two things had happened. Either A. She was going completely and totally insane (a rather worrying concept for someone who relies on their mind for pretty much everything), or B. in the space of approximately eight hours, the alien planet had decided, under it's own council, to terra form itself.
Suffice to say, she didn't think she was going nuts. Her faculties were all present and accounted for, and she even recited the periodic table out loud three times in quick succession to make sure (including it`s latest additions). However, being the academic of the group, she was also fully aware that it was scientifically impossible for a planet to completely change overnight.
Even entertaining the concept would be construed as mad.
So with that in mind, she wandered slowly over to the tent she was supposed to have slept in the previous evening, mentally preparing herself to ask Doctor Daniel Jackson firstly what on earth possessed him to make the decision that no one need stand watch for half of the night, and also how the hell a whole bunch of trees, grass and cute little furry woodland animals had managed to appear out of what, until five minutes ago, had been a giant sandpit.
Chapter 9: Wish You Were Here...
Daniel awoke to Japanese Water Torture.
Groggily, he opened his eyes to find Sam kneeling over him, her extended arm slowly dripping water from her canteen onto his forehead.
Turning his face quickly in order to avoid the next droplet, he reached over to his pack and grabbed his glasses before sitting upright and glaring as best he could at her until she withdrew the canteen and replaced the lid.
"Morning." he said uncertainly.
"Yes it is." she replied, sarcasm dripping from her words. "Daniel, would you care to explain why you didn't wake me for my watch?"
The archaeologist looked at her for a moment, still not entirely sure what was going on. "Your watch..." he repeated slowly.
Then, as if someone had finally drawn the curtains in his mind, his brain woke up.
And he blushed.
"I thought you'd like the night off." he explained, somewhat sheepishly. "So you and Jack could..."
Then Sam blushed.
"Daniel, we would never..." Before she could finish her sentence Colonel O'Neill shot into the tent, rapidly firing off questions regarding the planet's Rikki Lake style makeover.
No one listened to a word he was saying for fear of having their eardrums burst in protestation, but both waited patiently until the barrage of questions ceased and Jack was stood waiting for a reply.
Daniel was first. "What are you talking about?" he asked as he crawled over to the opening and peered outside, before shock caused his arms to give out from under him and he fell onto his stomach with a surprised `whompf'.
"Well you were on watch!" Jack cried out after him. "Didn't you see anything?" He paused, processing the information his own brain had just provided. "Come to think of it, why were you on watch?"
Daniel looked back at the Colonel and blushed once more, causing Sam's cheeks to redden as she glanced from the archaeologist to her CO and back again.
Then Jack understood.
And a blushing contest ensued.
Sam was the first to recover. "Sir, I was just explaining to Daniel that we would never..."
"Never!" Jack agreed quickly.
"And no matter what he thought he saw last night, we didn't..."
"No. Of course we didn't! We wouldn't!"
"Right." Sam said, somewhat dejectedly.
"Right." Jack agreed, and sighed in frustration, before turning back to Daniel. "But that still doesn't explain how come you have no idea what happened here. I mean, the fact that Carter was sleeping with me means that...okay, not with me, we would never do that. I just meant that as seeing as we slept together last night...ah, crap."
Sam threw the lifebelt. "What the Colonel means is that why, if you were supposed to be on watch, did you not see anything?"
Daniel blinked. "I have no idea." he replied honestly. "All I remember is coming in here to get my glasses cleaner, and the next thing I knew, Niagara Falls had relocated to my forehead!"
Cautiously and with weapons drawn in case the trees or apparently indigenous animals decided to attack them, the three team mates climbed out of the tent and looked around. The planet's overnight transformation was, indeed, spectacular. The sand had given way to lush green grass, and the dunes had been replaced by beautiful evergreen trees. Where once was a barren landscape, with a view for miles of nothing but sand, there now stood a high canopy of treetops, covering the sky, with only a small clearing surrounding them that seemed to have been placed there specifically for the purpose of tent placement.
After securing the immediate area Jack, Sam and Daniel sat down to eat a quick breakfast of cardboard flavoured health bars, with just a hint of bark and some strong black coffee.
"So what now?" Daniel asked before choking on a mouthful of what they had collectively decided was probably oats.
"Well, we need to see if the Stargate's made an appearance, but we also have to refill the water." Replied Sam as she chewed thoughtfully on her coffee.
"Mine's still full." Daniel said quickly, "But I'll refill yours and Jack's." He handed his canteen over to the Major. "You take mine."
Sam nodded her thanks before giving him her empty thermos.
"Right. Daniel, you head back in the direction of the Oasis, Carter can take some soil samples and I'll go see if the `gate's back."
That decided, they packed up the tents and equipment before the two men headed off in different directions, both nodding mutely to Carter's request that they stay in radio contact.
Luckily for the team, the Oasis was still where it had been twenty-four hours earlier, only this time it was surrounded by trees. Despite the foliage, it seemed to be the only constant on this strange new world and Daniel sighed in measured relief as the shimmering water came into view.
He depressed the transmit button on his radio. "Jack, it's Daniel."
"Go ahead, Danny."
"Yeah, I found the water. It's still here." he reported back. "I'll fill the canteens and see you back at the clearing in a little while."
"Acknowledged." Came Jack's reply. "O'Neill out."
The shade of the trees had stopped the worst of the heat from reaching the humans, but it was still a warm day and the trek back to the pool had made Daniel feel hot, dirty and dusty and the water all the more tempting. After hesitating for only a moment, he looked around coyly whilst he stripped off his clothes before wading slowly and blissfully into the water.
Daniel swam erratically for around half an hour, revelling in the sensations of the cool aqua cleansing the dust and sand off his naked body before climbing back out and lying on the bank, allowing the sun to dry him naturally.
Entirely unaware that he was being watched the whole time.
Jack reached the last known coordinates of the Stargate and, discovering it was still apparently on vacation, immediately began looking around for any signs of their previous days digging.
After a while of futilely looking under every rock and leaf for even the smallest of holes he gave up his search and sat down heavily on a boulder.
He reached for his radio. "Carter, come in?"
"This is Carter." came the disembodied reply. "Any luck Sir?"
"No. The Stargate's still AWOL and the hole we dug yesterday's gone too." He reached for his sunglasses. "You finished collecting dirt?"
"Yessir. I was just on my way to meet Daniel."
Jack shook his head at nothing in particular. "No. Stay put, I'm on my way."
"Yes Sir. Carter out."
Jack grabbed his pack before standing up wearily and making his way back to the clearing.
Sam misjudged her CO's arrival time by at least ten minutes, and Jack was mildly surprised and more than slightly aroused as he watched her strip down to her tank top and pour water over her sweaty body.
His feet seemed to become heavier than led and time seemed to slow to a standstill as he watched her pour more water down her neck and spread it evenly over her collarbone with her hands.
Then she reached for the hem of her top and began to pull it over her shoulders.
And he nearly fainted with anticipation.
It seemed he had two choices now. Either he hide behind a tree and watch the impromptu strip show like the dirty old man he now felt he was turning into, or he make his presence known before she went any further and he completely lost all self control.
Hmm, decision time.
Chapter 10: Keeping Abreast Of Things
Jack panicked.
After a second or two he realised it wasn't really helping the situation and decided his best option was to simply walk away in the other direction, back the way he came.
Unfortunately as he turned to leave a random twig decided it would be fun to roll under his right foot and place itself in direct line of fire to Jack's boot.
And of course...
Crack.
He panicked in earnest this time, to the point where his heart started to beat double time and his head almost did a one-eighty turn in surprise. Naturally, and as luck would have it, Sam heard everything and thought it best to check things out.
"Colonel!" The voice appeared from behind him and Jack took a moment before turning around to pray that she had made the decision to re-dress before investigating.
Slowly, very slowly he turned around to face the Major and breathed a sigh of relief as he noticed she had put her jacket back on.
Then he looked down.
Not down enough that he was looking below the waist, you understand. He had tried to let his gaze travel from head to foot but his eyes seemed to get stuck on her cleavage - which was predominantly noticeable since Carter was currently sans tee shirt and her jacket was still undone.
And he could see cleavage.
Her cleavage.
Oh yeah, he was really starting to like those tank tops.
Realising that he was staring in an entirely unprofessional manner (and yes he did take a moment to question the times when this situation would be considered as professional) he forced his eyes to meet her questioning gaze.
"You alright sir?"
Okay, he knew she'd said something just then, but it seemed his blood was still doing a happy little dance down towards his genitals and all he heard in his addled mind was "blah blah blah sir?"
Sam seemed to sense his hesitation and it concerned her a little. "Sir? Are you okay?" she repeated.
He got it that time, but was still having a few problems forming coherent words. He coughed dramatically to remind himself that he still had a voice and then gave her an answer that would have his mind repeating `D'oh!' for at least the next two weeks.
"Chest Carter."
D'oh!
He coughed again. "Yes Carter." he amended. "Yes, I'm fine."
Either Sam had developed previously unforeseen psychic abilities, or her years working on SG1 had taught her to know exactly where her CO's thoughts lay and immediately went to zip up her jacket.
"leave it." He murmured.
Where the hell did that come from?
Carter's hands stilled. "Huh?"
Ah, to hell with it. "Just for a little while."
Did he really just say that? Jack took a moment to rewind his brain and check the archives.
Yep. He'd definitely just said that.
Electricity crackled all around them as they made eye contact one more time. Sam's voice was barely a whisper as she dropped her hands back down to grasp her P90 with renewed force. "Okay. For a little while."
They stood like that for what seemed like an eternity. Only inches apart, neither able - or at all willing - to break eye contact but both ironically holding on to their deadly weapons as if they were a lifeline.
Finally the tension became too much and the breathing became shorter, heavier. The Colonel moved hesitatingly towards the Major, leaves crackling under his feet as he released the death grip on his gun and reached out a hand, pulling Sam towards him.
Then...
Oh, and then...
"Hey guys, where are you?"
Daniels disembodied voice boomed over their radios, breaking the cherished moment of intimacy with a timing that caused Jack to quickly drop his hand and swear huskily.
Sam blinked rapidly and shook her head in an attempt to clear her misted mind. "Get to the clearing Daniel, we're on our way."
She smiled slightly at Jack and moved to finally zip up her jacket. Jack watched in sorrow as the coveted cleavage disappeared under material. "We'd better..." he began and indicated towards the clearing.
"Yes sir." Carter replied, inwardly cursing as she once again forced herself to hide behind the security of rank.
Despite their decision to return to camp, neither seemed ready to move. It wasn't until Daniel's voice came over the radio once again - this time in panic and with frequent pleas for their help to rid him of the "thing' that was chasing him - that they both moved.
And moved damn fast.
If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to Newromantic
Heliopolis Main Archive
A Stargate: SG-1 Fanfiction Site
Procrastination: Chapters 1 - 10
by NewromanticSite Navigation
Support Heliopolis