Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jack blinked, confused. Someone was touching him and… where was his shirt? He opened his eyes in the dim light as a lithe feminine body filled his field of vision. A body purely the product of his imagination. Oh yah, this was going to be a great dream he thought with a grin.

The slender lithe woman straddling his legs utterly nude was none other than one Samantha Carter. His subordinate in name only. She was in every way his equal and in many ways his superior. To say he desired this woman was simplistic. He would rather die than be without her. He was sure that was why his brain had conjured her from memory. He’d seen enough of her body to know what she would look like entirely nude.

The very thought of what she was doing straddling him was enough to have his body respond accordingly and Jack grinned.

“C’mere” He told the vision of the woman he loves and gently tugged her down for a long deep kiss.

She moaned and rubbed against him, sliding herself along his now rock hard cock. He could feel how ready she already was for him but let her take the lead, let her take what she wanted from him and she did. The Sam of his imagination was insatiable with need and his vision ended with her moaning his name as she shook in his arms, grinding down on him as he gripped her hips pushing against her with his own release.

The next morning he woke up in an exceptionally good mood and not sure why. He only had vague recollections of his dream the night before. Wondering at the musky funk his body was covered in that reminded him of her scent, he got in the shower and stripped his bed before he even got dressed. He would have sworn he was wearing a t-shirt and shorts when he went to bed but they were laying on the floor next to the bed when he cleared the bed of its coverings. Must have gotten too warm and pulled them off in my sleep, Jack thought absently and dumped the whole thing into the hamper He’d handle it when he got back tomorrow night. They had a day trip to deal with but no other missions this week. Sam had way too much on her plate and most of the new planets were duds lately.

Jack whistled cheerfully as he headed down to 27 for his briefing with SG-1 about their little day trip. He stopped off on 25 to change for the day first. He passed Siler on his way and wished him a good morning. Siler grinned back.

“Good morning, Sir, you’re in a good mood.”

Jack smiled. “It’s just a nice day out.”

Siler looked at him oddly. It had been overcast and drizzling when he came in an hour earlier. Had the weather cleared? He shook his head and went along his way. It hardly mattered hundreds of feet under a rock.

Jack showed up for the briefing on time which had Hammond curious but not unusually so. Once in a while O’Neill was extremely reliable and it had been his own choice to bring the maverick colonel back into the program for his knowledge of how to deal with the Goa’uld.

“Good morning, sir.” Jack told him cheerfully and made himself a coffee. Sam came in a moment later on time, with Teal’c. She gave him an odd look for arriving first as it was mildly out of character but shrugged and sat in her usual spot. Jack plopped down in the chair next to hers and idly spun it back and forth. “Still waiting on Danny, huh?”

“As usual, yes sir.” Sam said. Her mood slightly subdued.

Jack drummed his fingers absently on the table. He smiled and leaned back in his chair when Daniel finally showed up, dropping his research onto the briefing table in a disorganized heap.

“Sorry, sorry.” Daniel said and pushed his glasses back up his nose.

“All right, people, now that we have everyone here, lets go over our next mission.” Hammond told them. “Doctor Jackson?”

“Er, yes, P3X-127A is a relatively arid world with some ruins that look Mesopotamian in nature about five clicks from the Gate.” Daniel went into his explanation and Jack zoned out. Unless it involved big honkin’ space guns he wasn’t super interested. His eyes cut to Carter and pointedly looked back at Daniel. After that dream last night he really shouldn’t spend too much time looking at her right now. That had been… intense.

An hour later, they were gearing up and standing in front of the gate. It was only an overnight trip. If they found stuff, Daniel would assign a team to come back. If not, it was one and done. The UAV had found no signs of recent human activity so Jack had already packed his Gameboy and a deck of cards. He’d bet Carter had her computer and a couple solar charged batteries for the same reason.

“All right, campers, let’s get this one over with. I have a date with my VCR.”

“Sir, why aren’t you using the DVR I bought you for Christmas?”

“Carter, I can’t even figure out how to hook that thing up let alone use it.” He complained.

“Would you like me to come over and set it up for you, sir?” She asked, laughter clear in her voice.

“I might.” Jack admitted mutinously.

Sam grinned as she walked through the Gate with him.

Daniel and Teal’c came through next and they spread out and started traveling in the direction the UAV had told them the ruins were. Sam was unusually quiet Jack noted, but she had about a dozen projects going on right now so he wasn’t especially worried. Just something to keep an eye on. She pushed herself too hard on a regular day as far as he was concerned. He spent half his time making sure she went home or at least went to bed.

Jack really shouldn’t have thought about Sam and bed in the same mental exercise because that dream was floating back to the front of his mind. Not that he was complaining necessarily but it was a little distracting and he was glad this was a cake mission.

“Jack, I think I see the ruins ahead.” Daniel called from the front of their little procession.

“Daniel Jackson is correct. We are approaching the ruins he spoke of.” Teal’c informed them.

“Great. Don’t touch anything, Danny.” Jack admonished him but his tone was amused. He and Sam had gotten zapped by the last thing that they had brought back. It hadn’t done it to anyone else and Sam figured it had just built up a static charge that nailed them both when he helped her move it on to her bench. His fingers had tingled for an hour and they had a good laugh over it when he threw his arm over her shoulders in an impulsive hug.

Janet had said they were both fine before their trip as both had laughed about the incident during their pre-mission physicals to the admonishment not to play with strange boxes.

Daniel all but skipped ahead in glee as they got closer. Jack just shook his head. How that guy got so excited about rocks was beyond Jack but he was happy and Carter had work to do so he and Teal’c did a parameter check around the less than enthralling ruins behind him.

Jack and Teal’c met in the middle and compared notes. There wasn’t anything around for miles. No sign of large animals and no indication of humans or any other intelligent being had been here in decades so they agreed to take turns checking the perimeter and settled in for a game of cards. Sam having finished her samples joined them.

“Find anything, Carter?” Jack asked affably as he moved a card from one spot to another in his hand.

Teal’c drew a card having discarded one.

“Nothing worth mentioning, sir.” She told him and sat cross legged in front of the log Jack had pulled up to sit on but which was currently doubling as a Rummy table.

“Well, if Danny doesn’t find anything by nightfall worth looking into, we’re packing up at first light tomorrow then.” The only reason they were staying overnight was to give other teams time to dial in themselves. Hammond liked nice wide windows and Jack couldn’t blame him. There were enough unscheduled activations as it was. “Take my hand, Carter. I’ll start dinner.” Jack had folded his hand and stuffed into Sam’s fingers before she could protest and got up to dig through the packs for MREs and sterno.

“Are we lighting a fire tonight, sir?” She asked absently as she looked at his hand and started strategically discarding low cards.

“We probably should. There’s nothing out there that Teal’c or I could find. It was either hunted out when it was occupied or they terraformed this one and there wasn’t anything in the first place.” Jack said while he dug around. “Ah ha! There you are!” He said of the MREs then frowned. “I told them no ham.” He muttered.

“Shoe leather and fake butter tonight, sir?” Sam said chuckling.

“Shoe leather would taste better. I thought I asked Hammond to not order these.”

“Reynolds likes the ham ones, sir.”

“His taste in food is as bad as his taste in women.” Jack grumbled which made Sam giggle.

Al’s current girlfriend was very sweet natured but even Sam had noticed she wasn’t exactly fashionable. Not that Sam had room to talk. Janet was on her pretty often about dressing in something besides jeans and t-shirts. Most of the time if she was home they weren’t clean either as she was either working on her bike or puttering with her flower beds.

“Be nice, sir. She’s a nice girl.”

“Let’s just say I set the bar a bit higher than average.” He said with a suggestive smile to Sam who pretended he wasn’t flirting with her.

“That is difficult to determine, O’Neill, as you have not been on a date in some time.” Teal’c said as he played.

Sam snickered. “Don’t feel bad, sir. I haven’t been on a date in ages either. Our jobs aren’t exactly conducive to relationships.”

Jack however grunted without comment. If she had any idea what he’d dreamed about last night she’d have no doubt why he wasn’t at the bar trying to pick up women. It was bad enough that he was already hung up on her, a feeling he knew was mutual and they had decided to just not talk about it ever for obvious reasons. That feeling wasn’t fading any. If anything since their mutual admission, their feelings for each other had become more pronounced. It was frustrating both emotionally and physically. Apparently his brain had figured out a way to resolve the physical frustration.

They had both tried to solve the problem by backing off from the flirting and private conversations with just their eyes but that was only semi effective. And speaking of semi, if he didn’t stop dwelling on this he was going to have one.

“Daniel! Take a break!” Jack yelled across the campsite to his friend who was busily making a rubbing of something on one of the walls.

“This is fascinating, Jack. Apparently when the area was no longer useful, the Goa’uld actually took their humans with them to another planet instead of abandoning them.”

“That’s great, Danny. Enjoy your mac-n-shoe.” Jack told him and handed him his MREs. Jack had split two servings of the ham with two of the macaroni. He personally planned to bury the ham like substance in artificial cheese sauce and pray it disguised the flavor.

Daniel sighed. “I thought you told Hammond not to order the ham anymore.”

Jack shrugged. “I think I have some pop tarts left if you’re a good little archeologist and eat all your shoe leather.”

“Great. The cheese tastes like chicken and the ham tastes like feet.”

Sam snorted in mirth. She had chocolate but she wasn’t sharing. Not even with Daniel.

“We are all subjected to the same inedible food, Daniel Jackson. Complaining about it will not help your situation nor make you feel better.” Teal’c admonished him.

Daniel sighed. “No… but it was something to do.”

Jack rolled his eyes. Usually complaining was his job. He couldn’t blame the younger man though. Sam had grown up on this crap and Jack had been eating it since the sixties but Daniel had only had to survive on it off and on for the last couple years and some of the contents of those foil packs required more getting used to than others.

“I’m adding ham MREs to my list.” Daniel grumbled.

“What list, Daniel?” Sam asked, curious.

“Things he’s never doing again if he ever retires.” Jack supplied while poking unenthusiastically at his macaroni.

“What’s on your list, sir?” Sam asked in amusement.

“Classified, Carter. Very classified.”

Daniel laughed. “What’s on yours, Sam?”

Sam smiled enigmatically. “Also classified.”

“Are you two going to start a life of crime together when you retire?” Daniel asked laughing.

“We might.” Jack said with a grin and started assembling the fire. Teal’c who had dragged over brush and logs got out the fire starting kit and set Jack’s tidy pile ablaze.

“Did you bring marshmallows, O’Neill?” He asked Jack.

“Nope, I have them.” Daniel said and dove into his pack for the bag of fluffy treats.

The evening wore on. Daniel told his team what he’d learned from the ruins and Sam enthusiastically described finding parts for her Indian in some backwater bike shop on her last trip to see her brother.

Jack leaned back and watched his team drowsily. He had last watch tonight so he slipped away to get some shut eye. Teal’c nodded to him as he left. Daniel had first watch so he knew the other two would be in the tent soon. Sam to sleep, Teal’c to meditate.

When Jack woke for his watch Sam was lying on her side, one arm stretched out under her and her hand was above her head and had worked itself into the hair on the top of his head. It was a soothing sensation and he regretted having to get up but duty called.

Thankfully he’d had no repeat of last night’s fantasies. It was bad enough when you had a dream like that in a tent full of guys. It was mortifying to have one about your second who was laying across from you fondling your hair in her sleep.

Jack got up and relieved himself in the dug out latrine before walking the parameter and settling in for his watch.

Three hours later his team started waking up for the day. He’d give Daniel a couple of hours of work then they would head back. He’d found just enough to justify staying a little longer on the planet and Jack really wasn’t in the mood to go home and clean his house anyway.

Sam sat on one of the logs and started working for the day on her laptop while Daniel headed back to the ruins. Teal’c followed him to keep a nominal eye on the younger man.

A few short hours later they were packed up and heading back home. Jack was satisfied Daniel had found all he needed to plead his case to Hammond about sending another team to read all the ruins and find out where the people here had gone. Jack had a couple days off so he headed home, remembering he had to put sheets on his bed and clean out his fridge again.

Chapter Text

It wasn’t that Jack minded the dreams starting this way but he liked a little foreplay. “Sam.” He growled and flipped her on her back, pinning her. “Slow down. I want to take the time to enjoy being with you.”

She blinked up at him, surprised that his taste in love making ranged further than hot and dirty. “Make love to me, Jack.” She told him softly and that was all the encouragement he needed. He eased the grip he had on her wrists and slowly trailed lingering kisses along her neck, his hot breath against her skin making her moan and writhe under him.

“Easy, Sam. We have all night.” He said softly and claimed her mouth while his hands explored the soft skin under her arms and trailed slowly down the outside edge of the globe of her breast. He teased her with his fingers, stroking the sensitive areas of her skin as his mouth trailed lingering kisses and nibbles behind them. When he got to her breast, he trailed his tongue lightly around one areole as his fingers gathered up the sensitive peak of the other and tugged gently.

Sam moaned and arched against him. “God, Jack.” She moaned.

He chuckled. Driving her mad with need really did it for him. “Liked that, huh?” but his only response from her were her fingernails digging into his back when he switched sides and did the same thing again.

He trailed kissed down her stomach while lifting her knees and spreading her out under him. She was already ready for him but he wanted her so lost in her own need that she couldn’t think any more. He kissed the inside of her thigh, working his way towards his goal slowly. Her fingers were threaded in his hair, nudging him closer to what she wanted but he resisted. Hs fingers trailed lightly along her vulva, gently stroking the outside edges of her reverently. He nipped the delicate skin just below where her leg met her center and she jolted. He smiled in amusement. That jolt had brought a gush of fluid to the surface. Jack growled in satisfaction and slowly lapped up the taste of her while he held her legs down.

His tongue trailed around her folds, tasting every inch he could reasonably reach until he came to the taut little pearl above her opening.

“Jack… please…” She moaned.

He knew he was driving her crazy. Knew if he tormented her much longer she wouldn’t last more than a minute so he stopped which elicited a whimper from her. Oh yah, she was close. His breath was hot on her neck as he slid into her slowly. With a wicked smile, he pressed his thumb lightly against her clit without stroking while he slid slowly in and out of her.

Sam whimpered. He was keeping her on the edge and wouldn’t let her go over and it was driving her mad with need. “Jack…” she pleaded.

“What do you need, Sam?” He knew what she needed, wanted. He wanted to hear her say it.

“I need... I need you to…” She moaned and pressed against him. “Please Jack. This is torture.”

He chuckled and claimed her mouth, finally gently swirling his thumb over her and she shook apart under him. His hips spasmed as he moaned out his own release.

“God, you do it for me, woman.” He said softly into her hair as he floated back to earth and into darkness. Apparently these hot dreams wouldn’t involve any post coital cuddling was his last disappointed thought as he drifted away.

The next morning Jack woke to his sheets smelling musky with sex again. He shook his head as he stripped his bed. It had been one hell of a dream and he was a bit glad he didn’t have to see Sam today. He didn’t think he could look her in the eyes after his overactive imagination had turned her into a trembling moaning mess in his arms.

Jack got in the shower and scrubbed off the smell of lust and unquenched need. The worst part was getting laid wouldn’t help. He didn’t want just any woman under him. He wanted Sam and he wanted her in just the worst way. Sure he could hit a bar, bed some willing woman, but it wouldn’t really help. He also knew he’d feel nothing but guilt doing it. How do you feel like you’re cheating on a woman who isn’t even yours to cheat on.

Jack shook his head to try to clear it and told his dick to stop trying to do all his thinking for him. An image of Sam writhing under him and moaning his name and he was instantly hard. He cursed softly and stroked out some measure of release before turning off the tap, watching his seed swirl down the drain. He sighed. This needed to stop.

Chapter Text

Three days later Jack was a little frustrated with his imagination. The dreams hadn’t stopped or gotten less distractingly sensual. Last night Sam had shown up in his dream in crotch-less panties and presented herself to him. Like a stallion he mounted her from behind and drove into her until both had moaned the other’s name. The dream had faded after they collapsed on the bed in exhaustion.

Where before it had left him in a dreamy pleasant sort of mood now, it was leaving him frustrated. He was living in a limbo of having what he wanted and knowing it both wasn’t real and wasn’t right for him to be doing. And he couldn’t figure out what had prompted it. In the past he’d had such dreams but generally they weren’t this absolutely vivid. He could smell her, taste her in these intense dreams. Things that didn’t usually happen and in the past he’d usually only had dreams about her like that when one of them had faced danger. His body’s way of affirming they were both alive as he couldn’t just take her home and bed her in reality.

So when she cheerfully greeted him from under the control room consol with a chipper “Good morning, sir.” He just grunted and headed to George’s office to turn in his reports. Fortunately Hammond was not in so he dropped them in the in box and left.

Sam watched him in confusion as he stalked back through the control room to the stairwell.

“What’s eating him?” Walter asked her.

“No idea. He was in a good mood when I talked to him before he left for a couple days off.” Sam said mystified.

“Do you suppose something happened while he was off?”

Sam shrugged. “I was busy here all weekend so I didn’t drop by or call him for anything. I’ll ask Daniel later. He’ll probably know.”

But Jack stomped down the stairs and didn’t hear their conversation. He was busy making his way to his office before he had to talk to anyone and the foul expression on his face kept everyone he encountered from wishing him a good morning anyway.

In the safety of his office he closed the door and huffed a sigh. The last thing Jack wanted was to look Sam in the eyes. Seeing nothing but her BDU clad legs sticking out from under a console had made him want things his overactive imagination had been filling in the blanks about in vivid detail.

He groaned and scrubbed at his eyes. She was driving him mad and it wasn’t even her fault. He knew a good workout would help but he really didn’t want to run into anyone so he threw himself into his paperwork. That’s where Daniel finally found him about an hour after lunch time.

“Are you that far behind, Jack? NO one has seen you for hours. Not even Sam.” Jack was a predictable man. He spent his morning handling anything that had popped up over night, spent some time with Daniel or Teal’c then ate lunch, grabbed his paperwork and camped out in Sam’s lab writing reports for a while before checking in with other team leaders and heading out for the night. Daniel could almost set his watch by the man usually but there was occasional deviation so it didn’t raise any flags when Jack never surfaced all morning. He’d only gotten concerned when Jack worked through lunch and never showed up in the gym to work the kinks out.

If Sam had kicked him out for being a nuisance, he’d have shown up in Daniel’s lab to bother him instead and complain that Sam had kicked him out.

“Just busy, Danny. Did you need something?” Jack said absently not looking up from his work.

Daniel looked at Jack’s sorters and his out box was overflowing. “Did you get yelled at again, Jack?” he said waving at the full bin.

“Everything is peachy, Danny. Just trying to get some work done for a change.” Jack said not looking up from his work.

Daniel narrowed his eyes. “Did you and Sam have a fight?”

“What?” Jack yelped. “No.” He ground out and tapped savagely at his keyboard now pointedly ignoring Daniel.

“Oh… kay… well, I’ll leave you to your work.” He said and left.

“And shut the door.” Jack called out.

Daniel waved his hand down dismissively rather than flip the other man off and shut his door.

“Sam.” Daniel said conversationally when he got to her lab.

“Oh hi Daniel. Did you find the Colonel?”

Daniel nodded “Yup.” He tilted his head. “Did you say something that upset him?” Daniel asked her.

Sam looked up from her work. “Not that I know of. Did he say something?” Her face settled into concern for her commanding officer.

“It’s more what he didn’t say.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well as soon as I mentioned you, he got very jumpy.” Daniel told her.

“Why though? I haven’t talked to him except to say good morning to him and he grunted at me and left. I figured he was just having a Monday and he’d feel better after some coffee.”

Daniel shrugged. “I don’t pretend to understand how Jack’s mind works, Sam, but since it seems to be connected to you somehow you’re probably the only one that can fix it.”

Sam looked thoughtful. She hadn’t had a disagreement with him or tossed him out of her lab in days. She had no idea why he might be avoiding her honestly. Come to think of it the other day, he’d been unusually affectionate with her. Had she missed some social cue? It wouldn’t be the first time. She let out a small huff of breath. So it was up to her to sort this out. She bit her lip. She had things to do. It would have to wait. “’I’ll take care of it when I have time, Daniel. I have too much work to do right now. See if you can get him to go work out. That usually improves his mood no matter what the problem is.”

It wasn’t lost on Daniel that Sam automatically knew what Jack needed emotionally with just a description of his mood. Even though he was Jack’s best friend, Sam knew him better than any of them. So possibly it was about Sam… but not directly about her. Daniel headed back to Jack’s office.

He rapped a knock on the other man’s door first before popping his head in. “Hey, come spar with me. I need a workout buddy.”

“Daniel, I really don’t have time to…”

“Jack… your inbox is empty.” Daniel pointed out. And Daniel was pretty sure he’d never seen Jack’s inbox empty. Ever.

Jack looked at the empty box as though it was a traitor. He frowned up at Danny’s hopeful smile. “I suppose I could take a break.” He admitted reluctantly. That Daniel was back instead of sending Sam after being dismissed meant she’d been busy and wouldn’t be wandering around the base. He had thought a workout might help earlier.

An hour later he was tired, sweaty and focused on beating the crap out of Daniel with a Jaffa training staff instead of his frustrated libido. He wasn’t doing that great of a job at it either. Daniel had the focus Jack had lacked at the start of their sparring session and Jack was fairly bruised at this point.

Daniel sensing he’d softened the older man up a bit finally went for the kill. “So what was bugging you earlier?”

“Don’t know what you mean, Danny.” The staffs hit each other with a loud whack.

“Sam said you didn’t even say good morning to her then you hid in your office all morning. Is everything ok?”

“Everything is fine.” He said, feigning at Daniel’s legs only to crack his staff on the other man’s wrists.

“Ow! Jack! That was cheap.”

“I don’t plan to fight fair against a Jaffa.” Jack reminded the younger man.

Daniel shoved him backwards across the mat as he knocked Jack off his feet.

Jack sprang up and made to thump Daniel on the head. When Daniel blocked he twisted and jabbed him in the armpit instead.

“Technically we try to shoot Jaffa.” Daniel reminded him as he rolled his shoulder back into its proper position.

“Are you going to yammer or fight, Danny?” Jack swung at Daniel’s knees and the younger man jumped back. He looked up at the clock.

“Crap. I have a meeting with team eleven in half an hour. Sorry Jack.”

Jack just shrugged though. He knew Daniel wasn’t going to drop the subject about him and Sam and he’d only come to spar to work off some steam. “Let’s go hit the showers. We’re too evenly matched these days anyway.” Jack told him.

“I’ve been practicing.”

“I’m getting old.” Jack countered as they hit the locker room door.

Daniel chuckled and they stripped to get into the shower. “How hard did I knock you back? That’s some bad mat burn, Jack. You should have Janet check it.”

“It’s fine, mom. Stop fussing.” Jack said and shook his head as he moved under the water, not caring that it wasn’t quite hot enough yet. “And quit checking out my ass.”

Daniel laughed. If he was going to check out anyone’s ass it wasn’t going to be Jack’s. He wondered if Jack had been itchy in his sleep. A couple of the furrows looked more like fingernail marks than mat rash. He shrugged though. Now Janet’s ass… That was one he’d check out. Some time during Daniel’s pleasant imagining of a semi clothed Janet Fraiser, Jack had left the locker-room. He shut off the water and dried off. He still had no idea what was bothering Jack but Sam had been right, he was more relaxed after their match and he had a briefing to get to.

Chapter Text

Jack managed to avoid Sam the rest of the day and sneak out of the mountain without her noticing his absence as well, or if she did, she didn’t have time to track him down to find out what the problem was.

He could just imagine the honest version of that conversation. What’s wrong, sir? Oh nothing, just struggling with nightly visions of balling your beautiful brains out, Carter. Want to do it again tonight for real so I stop having nightly fantasies about your ankles around my neck?

Oh yah… I’ll see myself to Hammond’s office to be arrested for propositioning you.

Jack sighed. I need to go home, drink a lot of beer and pass out for the night. His first few months with SG-1 he’d spent drinking himself to sleep still until Daniel asked him if it was really helping him or not. He’d cut back then eventually stopped as he wasn’t an alcoholic, just depressed still and struggling with how he’d ended up right back in the place that almost killed him the first time.

But things had slowly changed and he’d found himself with a new family of sorts. A couple of brothers, one older, one much younger. And… well Sam would just never feel like a sister to him like she did to Daniel and Teal’c. He’d never be able to love her that way because… because there was something else there and it wasn’t just lust. He was way over his head and he knew it and he was pretty sure she knew he was too which was why they had made that stupid agreement to not talk about it in the first place when it had come up a couple months ago.

And now his overactive imagination was doing a number on him. He kicked the tire on his truck and drove himself home. Beer. Beer and football and not thinking about Sam even a little he decided.

She had her knees between his legs and her elbows on either side of his chest.

“Hey.” He said groggily. God not this again. How was he supposed to resist her when she shows up in these filmy things or utterly nude and smelling like machine oil and warm delicious Sam.

“Hey yourself.” She replied brightly. Her fingers idly stroked his upper arm.

Jack groaned. “Carter, we can’t keep doing this.”

She lowered herself onto his chest and started slipping her fingers gently through the sparse curls of hair on his chest. “Why not?”

“Sam.” It came out nearly a growl of lust. God what was she doing to him. “I’m your commanding officer. We can’t keep doing this.”

“But I’m not really here Jack so we aren’t doing anything at all.” Her mouth descended on his chest and she flicked her tongue over one of his nipples.

“Oh fuck, Carter. Please…” his hands against his will grabbed her hips and ground her against him. He couldn’t take this from her at all. Thank god this was just a dream. If the real live living breathing Sam did this to him he’d be lost to her forever.

“Is that an order, sir?” she asked him in amusement. He hand slid into his hair and she was trailing hot kisses up his neck until she got to his earlobe where she stopped to explore with her tongue. Hot breath fluttering on his neck until he groaned in submission. “Better.” She murmured and claimed his mouth in a slow dual of tongues while her fingers lightly explored the planes of his body, memorizing scars she knew of but hadn’t seen.

When they broke the kiss both were panting. Jack looked up into her soft blue eyes. He threaded his fingers into her golden halo of soft waves. “Well… drinking didn’t work.”

She snorted in amusement. “You thought this would stop if you got drunk enough?”

He hummed thoughtfully.

“I don’t think that’s how this works, Jack. I’m not picky if you are sober or not.” She was smiling at him. “You’re pretty fantastic in bed either way.”

“Even in dreams you think way too highly of me, Carter.” He said as he sat up, gently nudging her off him in the process.

“Probably but I haven’t had any complaints the last couple weeks and it’s just a dream, Jack. It doesn’t mean anything other than you turn me on. God you turn me on. I get wet sometimes just thinking about you, even on base. I used to worry you could smell it on me honestly but if you do you’re too polite to say anything.” She rubbed herself against the length of his body. “Now, are you going to make love to me or not, Jack? Because if not, I’m going to lay here getting myself off until you can’t take it anymore.”

Jack swallowed hard. The very thought of her laying there stroking herself while he watched had him instantly hard as a rock. “How the hell am I supposed to look you in the eye tomorrow knowing I’m dreaming about doing this stuff to you nearly every night?”

Sam shrugged. “Probably the same way I do all the time.”

“All the time?” He asked her, his eyebrows going up in surprise.

“At least once a week, especially if I masturbate before bed.”

“Sam are you thinking of me when you stroke yourself?” he asked her, a little surprised she’d even consider the idea.

“Jack, you have a huge cock and you kiss like the devil. Of course I think of you when I get myself off.” She giggled. “Don’t try to lie to me and tell me you don’t do the same thing because I know you do. You talk in your sleep and I’m not that deep of a sleeper.”

Jack had the decency to blush.

She giggled again though. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. Daniel sleeps like the dead.”

“Well this is just fucking terrific.”

“You know what would be really fucking terrific, Jack? Some terrific fucking.” And with that she gently shoved him back down from his sitting position and straddled him again. “Now you can make love to me or I’ll restrain you and you’ll fuck me anyway but I am getting laid tonight Jack.”

“Restrain me?” He squeaked.

Out of nowhere Sam held up a royal blue piece of cording he’d not noticed earlier.

“Oh fuck me.” He sighed and held his hands out wrists together.

She smiled and tied his wrists then tucked his hands behind his neck. “Now you just lay there and be a good colonel while the nice major rides you like a four ticket wheel of fun.” She said chuckling.

Jack felt himself twitch against her leg and she grinned at him. She got off him though and turned around so she could straddle him backwards. He closed his eyes for a moment and savored the feel of slowly sliding into her. She was as turned on as he was already and the realization that her being in control made her hot was enough to make him twitch again in anticipation.

Her chuckle was low and warm. “So how do you want it, sir? Hard and dirty or slow and grindy?”

Jack opened his eyes and looked at her beautifully muscled back. “I want to watch. Go slow.”

She grinned over her shoulder at him and raised herself up until he was barely inside her then lowered herself slowly with a grinding swish of her hips.

“God… where did you learn that?” he moaned.

“From you actually. You’re my first decent lover. Everyone else has been more interested in getting himself off or tried too hard to get me to enjoy their kink instead of mine. Are you ok that I tied you up?’ She asked in concern.”

“Carter, I wouldn’t have let you do it if it didn’t turn me on to let you control me like this.”

“Good.” She said with a smile. “I almost wish this wasn’t a dream. I’d love to know if I really turn you on this much.” She admitted and with that neither spoke again, too caught up in her slow methodical rise and fall on his cock until she started getting close and switched to just rocking on him, trying to find her release.

Realizing her problem Jack spoke up. “Pinch one of your nipples and rub your clit, Carter. Most women can’t get off with just penetration in most positions. Even with as big of a cock as mine.”

She hummed thoughtfully and followed directions. Within seconds she was clenching around him and grinding down as her orgasm ripped through her.

He couldn’t help it. She came so hard she took him with her. “God, Sam.” He growled as his hips pushed up to her, almost unseating her from her perch. When she could move of her own accord she flopped against his side, both of them slick with sweat.

“That was great. I’ll have to remember it next time I’m not dreaming.” She said sleepily and he remembered nothing more. The dream had faded.

Chapter Text

Jack remembered the advice dream Sam had given him. It was just his imagination so it didn’t mean anything. He shook his head to himself as he signed in. Sam had never signed out last night. That was a bad habit. He should make her go home tonight.

Something was bothering him though. Something he couldn’t quite pin down. It would come to him he supposed and in the meantime, he had a briefing to get ready for.

Jack sat through the briefing on the next planet they would go to in a couple days. It was another not much to look at snore fest so his mind wandered to his second who wasn’t acting even slightly unusual. Clearly the problem was entirely himself or seemed to be.

After the briefing he took care of some of his usual responsibilities then grabbed his paperwork and headed for Carter’s lab figuring it was time to meet this problem head on. Then winced internally at his choice of phrase. He really had to stop doing that to himself. He’d start by proving his subconscious was right. That it was all in his head anyway and he should just stop worrying that he was frustrated sexually and it was centered on her.

He wandered casually into her lab and set his files down on the corner of her work bench until she noticed him.

She smiled fondly when she looked up. “Good morning, sir. What can I do for you?”

“Just dropping by.” He said, jamming his hands deep into his shirt pockets. He looked around her lab in interest. She had various things they had collected stacked in corners on rolling carts in various states of disassembly. The box that had zapped them sat untouched in a corner. “No progress on that one?” He asked in interest.

“Daniel is still translating it and I didn’t want to fiddle with it and accidently open Pandora’s box.”

Jack chuckled. “Yes. Let’s not do that.”

She smiled then remembered her conversation with Daniel yesterday. “Was Hammond giving you a hard time about your paperwork being behind again, sir?”

“What? Oh… yesterday. Yah he’s always on my as… er… back about that so I figured I’d bite the bullet and get caught up. This is the current stuff.”

“Daniel was worried about you.” She told him while she poked at her project and scribbled something in her notebook.

“Yah, I got that.” He finally decided to screw himself up and just ask. “Carter…” He rocked on his heals a little and his eyebrows drew together as he frowned. “You haven’t been having any strange dreams this week have you?”

Sam looked at him, perplexed. “Strange? No sir. Can’t say that I have.” She smiled gently. “Sir, usually when you start having nightmares it’s time for you to take a few days off and go fishing to relax.”

His frown canted sideways. She read him far too well. “No… nothing like that. So no weird dreams?”

“Nope.” She smiled and went back to work knowing he’d pull up the other bench stool and start making notes on his paperwork at the other end of the table.

They worked silently together for a couple of hours until he reached a point where he couldn’t avoid a computer anymore. Something was still niggling in the back of his mind about that dream last night. “You ever have really weirdly vivid dreams?” He finally asked her.

She looked at him thoughtfully. “Usually only when I’m working on a coding problem that I can’t seem to solve.” She grinned. “I’ll dream this great string of code that’s perfect and solves all my problems and wake up and go to write it down… and it will just be total nonsense.” She giggled. “You would think I’d learn too but no. At least once every other month.”

Jack grinned. “Coding, huh?”

“Yes sir.” She said, her eyes dancing with laughter. “Everything all right?”

He bobbed his head nodding. “You told me it was just a dream so, just a dream.” He said absently and left.

Sam watched him, a perplexed frown on her face. When had she said that… unless?

“So what if they aren’t just dreams?” He asked the apparition of Sam he found in his arms that night.

“Of course they are just dreams. Do you think I’m driving to your place, breaking in then jumping you every night? I mean, I’m not complaining, Jack. You have no idea how much I want to throw you against the wall of my lab and wrap my legs around you until you can’t take it.”

“I can’t take it now.” Jack admitted.

“See. You’re very distracting.” She agreed while stroking his short silky hair.

“I’m distracting? Carter, you’re the one talking about ripping my clothes off in your lab.” He frowned. “Besides my fantasies about you involve your class As and you bent over the briefing table.” He said grinning.

“Oh do they?” She purred archly. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Sam… god… what are you…” Jack moaned. She had worked her way down his torso and taken him into her mouth and was slowly and sensually swirling her tongue around his cock. “Oh Jesus… Sam… please…” He ground out.

He could feel her chuckle as she continued her ministrations, one hand fondling his balls while she stroked him with her tongue. It was nothing like any porn he’d ever watched. There were no theatrics or mugging for a camera. It was just all Sam and her extraordinarily clever tongue swirling and thrusting around his cock until he couldn’t take it anymore. “Sam…”

“Do you want me, Jack?” She asked him softly.

“You have to ask that?” he asked, his voice shuddering with need.

She straddled him and slid him inside of her with one movement. Her breasts brushed lightly against his chest as she held herself up over him. “I don’t have to. I just like hearing you saying it.”

“I want you, Samantha. God I want you more than I’ve wanted any woman in my life.”

“Good.” She said with a grin and took slow forceful thrusts, grinding her pelvis against his. She bit her lower lip as she stated to get close and he grabbed her hips and instead of lifting her he rocked her hips hard against his so her pelvis rubbed back and forth on him until she was shaking. “Jack.” Came out a strangled gasp as an orgasm rolled through her.

He pumped into her while she shook until he came himself and pulled her hard against his twitching hips and sighed her name.

She flopped down on his chest and nuzzled his neck affectionately. “Very nice.” She told him, a chuckle in her voice.

“Hmmm…” He agreed. “Very nice.” He drew her arm to his lips and nipped and sucked on the inside of her elbow.”

“Jack, what are you…?”

“Just an experiment.” He said softly and the dream faded.

The next morning Jack acted like nothing was wrong. Nothing was different. They laughed over breakfast and made fun of Danny’s latest pet idea. Sam asked about the box and Daniel hadn’t even started working on it. Daniel being the only member of the team whose reports were even more behind than Jack’s and at least Jack had the excuse of base commander duties to perform and file paperwork on between missions.

After breakfast Jack casually walked next to Sam chatting on their way to the elevator. Teal’c and Daniel had headed to Daniel’s lab already. Jack scanned the hall and when they got to a supply closet he opened the door yanked Sam in and closed it.

“Sir! What are you- “

“SH! Keep your voice down, Carter.” He hissed at her covering her mouth with his hand.

She looked up at him with startled eyes. As tall as she was, he was still taller.

“Sir, this is very inappropriate.” She finally said when his hand lowered.

“Carter, I’m going to ask you again. Have you been having unusually vivid dreams lately?”

“Sir, what on earth are you talking about?”

But Jack had grabbed her right arm and tugged her shirt sleeve up to reveal a bruise on the inside of her arm. “This!” He said triumphantly. “This is what I’m talking about.”

“Sir, I bumped my arm on something. That’s all.”

“Really, Carter? Is that why I know what you taste like… on the inside? Would you like to test the theory if I demonstrate how I think you got that mark on your arm if what I did wouldn’t exactly match the one next to it?”

Sam blushed and he let go of her arm.

“We need to figure this out, Carter. Until we do I need to have us taken off rotation.” He said his mouth firming into a frown.

“What? Why?!”

“Because you and I are compromised, Carter.” He said, taking her hand and turning her arm so they could both look at the obvious hickey on her arm. “This isn’t just a dream. Something happened.”

The conversation had turned personal enough that Sam dropped any pretense of subordination. “Jack, do you honestly think I drive over to your house at night, break in and… and…” She couldn’t bring herself to admit out-loud what they had been doing with each other.

“Carter, I don’t know what’s going on but we can’t go on missions in this condition together and I doubt apart would be any better. That box did something to us”

“I think… actually I think together is fine… it’s only when we are apart.”

“What?” Jack’s eyes were getting a little white around the edges. He wasn’t a man to panic but this definitely had him spooked. He was effectively sleeping with his second and she wanted to… ignore it?

“When we went to P3X-819, neither of us dreamed about um... this.” She bit her lip and glanced at her arm.

“What are you saying, Sam?”

“Sir, what if… what if it’s a long range communication device and we’ve been um... using it wrong.” She blushed.

He looked at her hard. “Carter.”

She put up her hands though in supplication and just happened to lay them on his chest. He backed off in embarrassment, not realizing he was still standing so close. “Sir… hear me out. Please.” She said softly.

“All right.” He nodded and waved for her to proceed.

“Our um… interest in each other might have led us both to think we were just dreaming and we aren’t responsible for our behavior in dreams, sir. We aren’t. And because of that we aren’t compromised or… sir, I was telling you the truth. If that sort of thing compromised us then I should have left the team years ago.” She blushed again. “I’m ah, sure you could probably say the same thing, if not about me than possibly about another person you have served with.” She trailed off embarrassed. “Anyway sir, until Daniel finishes the translation we don’t really know for sure what the intent of that device is.” They both assumed the box zapping them had caused this as it was the only mutual incident that correlated with the dreams.

“So what are you saying, Carter?”

“I’m saying we just carry on as usual. I’d like to experiment a little with it honestly. When we were in close proximity we didn’t have any effect from it so it might be connected to us being separated. This might be a really effective long rang communication device we’ve stumbled upon.”

Jack thought about it for a little bit. It was true, they had both thought they were dreaming and if Sam habitually had vivid dreams of making love to him as she claimed, it was possible she really didn’t notice something strange was going on until he put the pieces together. Also, he was a little envious. His erotic dreams of her had until recently been vague at best. “All right but only as a communication device Carter. No more…” he flipped his hand between them.

Sam nodded. “Of course sir.”

He huffed out a sigh. “Are we all right, Carter?” He asked, shoving his hand into his hair.

“We are sir.” She told him, a smile in her voice.

He wasn’t sure why she was letting him off the hook like this but he’d take it. He belonged in the brig for the things they had been doing to each other at night. God he knew every inch of her, knew what made her hot, knew what she fantasized about. Jack swallowed hard.

“All right then.” Was all he said and went to the door. He turned. “You should probably leave first and um... do something about the security footage of us coming in here.”

There was a chuckle in her voice as she said ‘Yes sir.” Anyone who saw it would think something vastly different went on, well, not vastly but surely more than an argument about should they tell their commanding officer they were having an affair in their mutual dreams or not. Sam was firmly on the side of not. If she could find a single good reason to break the frat-reg rule that wasn’t self serving she’d have already done so. She hadn’t told Jack the entire truth. None of her fantasies of pleasant orgasms had lived up to the reality of actually making love to Jack O’Neill. Even in a dream state.

Chapter Text

This time when she showed up, she was in her class As. Jack was in his BDU fatigues. Clothing. Good. Clothing was good. More clothing less thinking of spreading Carter under him like a buffet and devouring her. Why had she worn her class As? Was she taunting him after what he’d told her about his fantasies?

“Hello Sir.” She greeted him and sat on the side of the bed.

Jack began to wonder why always his bedroom but possibly it was the only room they both recognized. He’d never been in her bunk on base and had pointedly avoided sneaking a peek into her bedroom at home but they both knew his room because there had been team nights he slept on the couch and let her have his bed. Something he doubt he’d be able to do now. It was something he’d done if everyone was drunk since Danny always passed out on the guest bed early and Teal’c was happy with a chunk of floor. There might have been some initial wish fulfillment going on at first too if he was honest with himself. He’d rarely changed the sheets after. Enjoying the lingering scent of her as he fell asleep for a couple nights after.

“Carter.” He said simply from where he’d found himself sitting stretched out, his back against the headboard he’d been hanging on to for dear life last night while she drove him like a rental.

“So I was thinking, sir.”

He grinned. When was she not. “Go on.”

“We should try passing previously unknown information to each other during this to find out how well the connection works Something the other didn’t already know before tonight.”

“That makes sense Carter. I vote for zero mathematical equations. I won’t get them right anyway.”

She gave him a long look. How does a man this smart with a Masters in Engineering be this unable to memorize equations?

“Did you have all your trig written down on cheat sheets, sir?” She asked him laughing.

“Don’t you dare tell Colonel Collins I had to do that.” He told her pointing a finger in accusation.

“I don’t even know Colonel Collins.” She said primly which elicited a chuckle from him.

“All right. There’s mine. My math nemesis is Trig at the hands of Colonel Collins.”

She grinned. “Let’s see.” She said thoughtfully, crossing her legs, which had him narrowing his eyes so they didn’t bug out of his head.

“I already know where your mole is Carter. And it has a friend.” He pointed out.

“Sir!” Sam blushed.

“I didn’t want you to worry about trying to come up with physical details.” He said innocently.

Sam narrowed her eyes at him.

“All right. I’ll stop.” He surrendered and put his hands up placatingly.

“Let’s see… oh! Um, this one is a little personal.”

He nodded. “I’ll keep it between us.”

“Thank you. Chocolate chip cookies make me sad.”

“Because of your mom.” He said softly.

She looked at him startled.

“Dad told me. He figured um…” Jack didn’t want to say Jake considered watching out for Sam as more than Jack’s responsibility as her CO but as her friend and what Jake suspected rightfully was going on between them.

“Well that blows that one.” Sam huffed.

He chuckled. “Dad was watching out for you, Carter. That’s all.”

“I know.” She sighed sadly. “All right let’s try something different. I got a B on my fifth grade science fair project because I forgot to write a conclusion.”

Jack looked at Sam like she was an alien. “Really?”

“Yes and I was very embarrassed about it but there were things going on that distracted me.”

“Such as?”

She looked at him, narrow eyed for a moment. If anyone could be trusted with this, it was him. “My first couple periods were really bad. I had no clue what I was doing and I was really emotional so I spent three days in my room crying.” She gave him a mutinous look, daring him to laugh.”

“The shots level you out some, don’t they?” He said gently.

Sam nodded, her body relaxing with relief that he understood. “I’m glad Janet insisted all the women going off base get them unless they are actively trying to get pregnant. I don’t miss being a moody mess every month and I doubt Daniel would deal with me being that way very well either.”

Jack smiled though. “If you were, you hid it well, Carter. Other than raiding my kit for chocolate bars you don’t take it out on anyone.”

“I didn’t think you noticed sir, you never said anything.”

“Well, I packed them for you in the first place even if I do let Danny have one now and again and I didn’t want you to be embarrassed about me doing it.”

“That’s very sweet of you, sir.”

He grinned. “Now that you know I’ll pack the ones you specifically like. I didn’t want to be too obvious about it.”

She looked at him wide eyed.

“What? I watch out for my people Carter. I keep pop tarts for Teal’c.”

Sam chuckled. “Thank you sir.” She said smiling.

“So… how do we?”

She thought about it. I have no idea, sir. Before we though we were dreaming. We still are technically though we seem to be able to effect each other’s realities slightly.”

“Carter, did you show up in your class As because of what I admitted to you?”

“What? I was trying to be professional and it was the first thing that came to mind.” She said defensively but he knew her, she had done it to provoke him if only slightly.

“Carter.” He drew out slowly.

Sam had the decency to blush a little. “Sir… I don’t know how to get it to turn off. Before, the dream ended after we both um…”

“Yes. Yes it did.” Jack forced his face into a frown. He sighed and got up and headed for the bathroom. “I’m going to go um… why don’t you try that too and see if that does the trick.” He said and shut the door behind him.

Sam watched him perplexed. She shrugged. It was worth a shot she guessed. She bit her lip in amusement when he turned on the water to give them both the illusion of privacy. Oh like we aren’t both thinking of the same thing anyway. Honestly Jack. She thought with a little giggle. She scooted to the center of his bed and laid back on his pillow. Enjoying the scent of him while she fondled herself thinking of their recent adventures on this very bed.

A few minutes later he came out of the bathroom and they looked at each other, wearing mutual expressions of frustration.

“Now what?” Jack asked her.

Apparently just an orgasm wasn’t the trigger. They apparently had to make each other orgasm. “Plan B?”

“It’s a good thing you’re using contraception, Carter, or you would need Plan B.” he growled as he joined her on the bed. He was already getting hard again. Her uniform was rumpled from hiking it up. She started to tug at it and he stopped her. “Don’t. We may as well get this one out of the way.” He told her and captured her mouth in a lingering kiss while his hand slid up her thigh and pushed her panties away.

Sam let out a small whimper of submission as he pulled away from the kiss and moved backwards, pulling her with him to the edge of the bed.

“Hm… it’s a little low. Dresser.”

“Hm?” she asked perplexed.

He tugged her over to the dresser and turned her so she was facing the mirror. “Hmm… this is actually better. I can watch you while I do this.” His grin was wicked with lust and delight as he slid her skirt up to her hips. He ran his hand reverently over her bare rear. “I normally wouldn’t do this, Sam… but I want you to call me sir during this if you don’t mind.”

She met his eyes and gave him an amused smile. Oh yah. This one had been on his mind a lot to have worked out if she should moan his name or his rank. “Yes sir.” She purred at him and smiled when his only answer was a groan as he threw his head back to thank whatever entity had put this woman in his bed.

Jack slid his hand between her legs first, spread her slightly so he had full access. He loved the taste of her and he might try that some other time if this was going to keep going on but for now he wanted to abandon reason. “Tell me you want me, Carter.”

“I want you, sir.”

“Do I turn you on, Major? How does the thought of me taking you this way make you feel?” His hand had slid between her legs again and his long deft fingers were stroking her already slick folds.

“Yes sir. Please… sir… I…” she squirmed and moaned when he flicked her clit as his fingers ran around her opening and slowly slid into her.

“Shhh…. I’m in charge this time, Carter.”

“Sir.” She moaned. Her eyes closed as she pressed her hips back into his hand.

“You like that, don’t you, Major? There’s something you want more though, isn’t there?”

“Yes sir.” She nodded.

“Open your eyes, Carter.” She did and made eye contact with him. “I want to look in your eyes while I enter you.” He said softly as he withdrew his fingers and stood, the tip of his cock pressed to her dripping wet vagina. “Are you ready, Major?”

“Oh yes sir.” She said breathlessly and he held her from the front, pressing a finger against her clit as he slowly drove his long hard cock into her. Jack held her eyes the entire time and smiled in satisfaction when they glassed over with pleasure.

They stared at each other in the mirror while he slowly drove into her again and again, each thrust slow, hard and bringing them both to the edge of release.

“Please sir.” She finally begged him. Go faster, harder or stroke me, her eyes pleaded but please oh please let me cum.

Jack obliged her with all three and Sam moaned his name as her hips bucked under him and her knees gave out. He gripped her tightly so she wouldn’t hurt herself and shook himself as he spilled inside her. “You broke character.” He chuckled against her neck, kissing her.

And everything faded out.

Chapter Text

He’d called her when he woke up and told her to meet him at the diner around the corner from his house.

She slid into the seat across from him and set her purse on the floor. The waitress took their coffee orders.

“So this is a problem.” He said without preamble.

Sam sighed. Jack O’Neill. Master of the understatement. “Sir, with all due respect, we still haven’t done anything.”

Jack gave her a long look. Last night he’d watched her eyes as an orgasm ripped through her. An orgasm caused by his kinky fantasy about fucking her silly in her class As and him acting on that fantasy. “Carter…” he growled.

“Sir.” She said firmly.

“Carter.” He yelped.

“Sir. Nothing has happened.” She said with such finality he was taken aback.

“Carter. That’s not true and we both know it.”

“Sir, if we were physically interacting during those events, there would be… evidence when I wake up.”

“I am extremely reluctant to ask you this Carter… but, what… evidence?”

“Let’s just say physiologically sir, I’d have proof.”

Jack’s eyes about goggled out of his head. He had not considered that aspect of the situation.

“Relax sir. Our interactions are purely cerebral.”

“But what about the marks I had and the um… evidence I used to prove to you it wasn’t just a dream.” He countered. His voice still a little high with panic.

“Sir, respectfully you probably also had some mild rope burns you didn’t notice but those are the result of the interaction not physical evidence.”

“So… like a pressure mark?”

“Yes exactly sir. Apparently we can affect each other but not physically exchange things.”

“Oh.” He looked thoughtful. “Oh.” He said with some surprise.

She grinned at him.

“So nothing…”

“Happened sir. Nothing.”

“Doesn’t that seem… convenient?”

She shrugged. “Hopefully Daniel will get it translated soon so I can turn it off.”

“I will personally make it my mission to do so.” Jack told her.

She nodded and smiled. “It does seem to have a proximity trigger. If I slept in your guest room it might work like us sharing a tent.” She suggested.

“And if it doesn’t?” He asked her pointedly.

“Oh. Oh, I see your point.”

“Yah.” He said and sipped the scalding hot coffee he’d been served only to wince and swear as it burned his tongue.

Sam giggled at him.

“Please don’t giggle, Carter.” He begged her. It had been enough of a turn on before but now that he associated it with moaning and sighs and… other things…

She tried to draw her face back into a serious expression. “Sorry sir.” The words were repentant but something about her tone wasn’t at all and Jack’s level of concern about the situation escalated exponentially.

I am in very big trouble. Jack decided. “All right... let’s just… go to work and we’ll deal with this best we can Carter.”

Sam smiled at him over her cup of coffee. “May I finish my coffee first, sir?”

Jack shoved his hand into his hair. “I’m starting to understand why Hammond went bald.” He sighed.

Sam bit her lip trying very hard not to giggle at him.

Jack gave her a stern look which did not help.

Sam put the back of her hand up against her mouth but her eyes were laughing at him.

He sighed. “Fine. Laugh.” He said waving his hand at her in permission.

“I really am sorry, sir.” She said snickering. “Are you ok?”

“It’s just a burnt tongue.” He said sighing.

“Would you like some ice water, sir?”

“Carter?”

“Sir?”

“Quit mocking me.”

“Yes sir.” She said. Her eyes twinkling.

Jack was starting to think the problem with breaking the frat-regs wasn’t favoritism, it was your subordinates giggling at you. His next thought though was far more troublesome. Because his next thought was how much he loved making her giggle. If this war ever ended he was going to retire and beg her to marry him so he could hear that sound every day. Oh yah. He was in very big trouble here.

Chapter Text

“So here we are again.” Jack said with a sigh. They at least had their clothes on. Sort of. He was wearing the Homer boxers and white tank he’d gone to sleep in, she had on a ridiculously small pair of tap pants and a cropped camisole that indicated the room might be chilly.

She sat next to him and drew her knees up to her chin. “Did you talk to Daniel?”

“Yup.”

“And?”

“You’re not gonna like it.” He told her.

“Just spill it sir.” She sighed.

“It’s in Fuzzy.”

“Fu… Furling, sir?”

“Yah. Fuzzy.”

“He can’t translate it.”

“He can’t translate it.” Jack agreed with a sigh.

“So what do we do?”

Jack looked at her and wiggled his eyebrows.

“Jack!”

“Samantha… we’re stuck in this situation. We’ve established whatever the thing does, it has certain… requirements to let us go back to sleep.”

She nodded. “I’m going to ask for a day off.”

“You’re what?”

“I want to try something.”

“Oh?”

“Well sir, what if it has a time limit in it’s programming? Like… what if we just wait long enough and it will let us get up anyway.”

Jack thought about that for a long moment. “Do we have any way of knowing how much time passes in this... program or whatever it is?”

Sam thought for a long moment. “I know what time I go to bed, it’s usually well after you do and we normally get up at about the same time so it stands to reason there’s about a six hour timetable we already work with. Our um… experiences seem to last about an hour or so. I’d suggest trying it tonight but I want to see how long we can wait it out and see if it has a terminus point when I don’t have to explain to Hammond why we are both several hours late for work.”

“Oh… oh yah that might be awkward.” Jack agreed.

“Nice shorts, sir.”

“Thanks Carter. I like yours too.” Then he winced. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have said that.”

Sam turned her head and rested her cheek on her arm, looking at him. “Jack.” She said softly.

“Carter?”

“Shut up.”

“I’m stating to understand the point of those regs. I have lost all control of this situation.”

“Respectfully sir… you never had any to begin with.”

“What?”

“I just follow orders to make you happy.” She grinned.

“Carter… are you... mocking me?”

“We have to have sex tonight or we can’t go back to sleep.”

“I’d figured that part out on my own, Carter.”

“So you see the problem.”

“Hm, this is going to get pretty kinky if I make you call me sir while I turn you into a puddle of well… you know.”

“Not that I mind Jack but we need to have some rules about this while it’s going on. Starting with neither of us is in charge.”

“Good point. Can I have another rule?”

“What’s that?”

“If we tell the truth about something here, it stays between us.”

“Such as?”

“Sam, you know how I feel about you. I’m probably going to blurt it out at least once.”

She nodded in agreement.

“Besides… It’s really hot when you order the cadets around. Instant chubby every time I watch you do it.”

“Jack!” she laughed scandalized.

“C’mere.” He told her and she came willingly to his arms. “All things considered… if I have to be stuck in a dream program that forces me to make love to the other person trapped in it, I’m really glad it was you and not Daniel.”

Sam giggled. “Wait… Daniel touched it the same time I did too and it didn’t zap he and I. Just you.”

“What are you saying Carter?”

“What if… what if it scans people before it zaps them?”

“Why though?”

“I haven’t worked that part out yet.” She admitted.

“I’m sure you will figure it out, Carter.” He nuzzled her neck while he held her in his lap. His fingers of one hand strayed between her legs while the other slid up her side under her shirt to stroke the underside of her breast. “In the meantime…”

Sam hummed in agreement and they slowly removed each other’s clothes, kissing each other’s bare skin before returning to each other’s lips. She was straddling his lap at this point and he raised his knees so she slid down into his lap, his erection pressing against her. She slipped her hand between them and arched her hips, pressing him into her slowly.

“God Sam, how are you this wet already? We’ve barely done anything.”

“Jack. It’s you.” She explained simply.

“You’ve got really weird taste in guys, Samantha.” He chuckled against her hair as his hand splayed against the small of her back, pulling her tight against him.

“Says the guy who is currently hard as a rock inside a socially inept utter dork.” She pointed out.

“You have no idea how beautiful your soul is, do you?” He asked her in wonder.

Sam blinked at him in surprise.

“Carter, you’re stunningly beautiful but it’s not your body I… It’s your heart, Sam. It’s always been your heart.” And with that he claimed her lips and they rocked together sitting on his bed until he felt her tighten around him and her breath came in short pants punctuated by moans. “Let go, Sam.” He said gently and nuzzled her neck as he slid his thumb against the tight sensitive nub of her clit and her nails dug into his back as she ground down on him.

“Oh god Jack.” She moaned as she went over the edge. He thrust a few more times and he followed her, puling her tight against him.

“It’s always been your heart, Sam.” He told her softly as everything faded to black.

Chapter Text

“Ok, so we just sit here and what?” Jack asked her.

She shrugged. “We wait.”

They were both fully clothed.

“So what happens if there’s no terminus?” Jack wasn’t bothering to play dumb. There was no one here but them and she knew better anyway. “Want a beer?” He asked her.

Sam chuckled at him. “That’s an interesting theory to test actually. Are we confined to your bedroom and bathroom or could we say, go exploring?”

“Why the hell not?” Jack said philosophically.

They got off the bed and headed out of the bedroom. Without realizing it, their fingers entwined. Sam blushed when she noticed and tried to tug her hand away but he raised it to his lips and gently brushed her knuckles.

“Jack.” She admonished him.

“Sam… regardless of anything else… this is still just a dream and I can still do whatever I want.” He grinned.

Her blush deepened and he chuckled.

“What?” she demanded.

“That’s very cute.” He told her as they came to the kitchen and he opened his refrigerator. “Son of a…”

She looked inside. Empty. “You haven’t memorized the contents of your fridge.” She told him.

“What?”

“The program. It only fills in things you have memorized or I have. I don’t know your fridge, just your bedroom and the regular parts of your house. I’m not certain but it may not be able to create anything we haven’t both seen or it might only be able to create things at least one of us has memorized.”

“So you couldn’t walk home then.”

“Let’s find out.” She said and went to his front door. But when she opened it… she couldn’t pass through the frame. There wasn’t a physical barrier so much as there simply wasn’t anything there. Her hand faded slightly as it passed through and Jack pulled her hand back.

“Carter.” He barked in alarm. “No touching.”

She wiggled her fingers to make sure they were still there and nodded worriedly up at him.

“Don’t do that again.” He said, slightly panicked.

“I’m all right.” She told him.

He pulled her against his chest and held her tightly. “Sam, I literally had a heart attack when you did that. Do not touch the weird empty void again.”

“Ok, ok. I’ll keep my hands to myself.” She told him.

“Better.” He slid his hands into her hair. “I’d literally rather die, Sam. I mean it.” His dark eyes held hers. “This might be why that thing picked us you know.”

“Probably.” She agreed putting her hand on his cheek.

“We really need to sort this out, Sam. It’s all well and good to lock it in the room but we seem to be locked in the room with it.”

She looked at him startled. “Do you suppose?”

His look was intense. “It’s the most logical explanation.”

“I don’t remember you being a fan of logic.” She said in amusement.

“No, I don’t like technobable... oh hell, yes I do. I like it too much. I stop you because I start thinking stuff I’m not supposed to.” He admitted.

“Would some of those things happen to be what you and I have been doing to get out of the room?”

“Quite a few of them.” Jack agreed. “There’s a few I haven’t tried yet.” He lowered his brows wondering why on earth he’d just admitted that.

“Jack, I don’t think it’s because we haven’t admitted how we feel. We did. We each knew exactly what the other meant.” She told him.

“So what is it Sam? I’m running out of ideas here.”

She shrugged. “Damned if I know.” She admitted.

“Sam!” He gave her a shocked look for swearing.

“Clearly you have never seen me when the Gate refuses to function, Jack, because I swore a lot while you were on Edora.”

“Mitigating circumstances. You were worried.”

She nodded. “I was.” She agreed.

“And you missed me.” He smiled gently.

“I did.” She admitted.

“I missed you too.” He told her and leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss.

She smiled against his mouth. “I was under the impression we were going to try not doing that?”

“I adore you.” He admitted.

“So you keep telling me.” She patted his arm affectionately. “Let’s go see if it lets us sit on your observation deck.” She said as she slipped from his arms.

“Wait… Carter!” He yelped. “Dammit.” He growled and followed her back upstairs wishing there had been beer in his fridge.

She had stopped holding the door to his deck wide open.

“Carter?”

“It’s the same, Jack. The only place we’re allowed is inside the house apparently. Possibly the program isn’t strong enough to generate more than the designated space which might be why it’s never put us in my house or your quarters at the SGC.”

Jack nodded. “I don’t suppose it really matters anyway does it? We aren’t technically trapped.”

She looked up at him.

“We can leave whenever we want.”

“Yah.” She agreed.

“Sam, I will never do anything against your will.” He told her.

She shook her head though. “It’s not that, Jack… I…”

“Hey… you don’t have to tell me.” He told her.

“No… I think I do actually. I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to wait this out.”

“We’ve been in prison before, Sam.”

“Not all prisons have bars, Jack.”

He took her hand and drew her back to his bedroom. “C’mere.” He told her and pulled her down on the bed and just held her, stroking her hair slowly. “Tell me.” He requested softly.

Sam sighed and Jack hugged her tenderly. “Jack, I didn’t tell you everything with what happened with Jonas.”

“I didn’t figure you had, Sam.” He said nuzzling her hair gently.

“Yah well, I figured you got the basics when I said he liked to control things.”

“Meaning you.”

“Meaning me.” She agreed. “I felt… trapped. I was allowed to go to class and work and that was it. If Catherine hadn’t offered me the job with the SGC… I don’t know that I’d have had the strength to leave.” She admitted.

“Carter, you are the toughest woman I’ve ever known. You would have gotten out.”

She shrugged though. “I wasn’t able to on my own. I packed my clothes and left his ring on the counter with a note and... Jack, I was an utter coward about it.”

“Sam… I met the guy. You did the right thing. He was insane. As tough as you are, he’d still have hurt you more than just emotionally.”

“I… I know that now, Jack, but at the time… I didn’t know how to cut ties without sending him over the edge. Everything I did was met with suspicion and accusations and… and…” She bit her lip.

“All right.” He said and rubbed his nose gently against Sam’s crown. “Let’s kill some time taking a nap. With any luck. we’ll wake up back in reality.”

“It can’t hurt to try.” She agreed and tightened her arms around him.

He’d never thought his house might ever feel like a prison but he’d never been imprisoned in his own house before. He found it interesting that subconsciously, she considered his house home as much as he did. More stuff they would just stuff in the room… except the room was getting crowded with people and sex that wasn’t sex and sharing a home emotionally because she loved him though she’d never say so.

It wasn’t that complicated for him but he was a simple man, if the war ended and they both made it out, he was going to make their fantasy sex life a reality, find out if she wanted to get married. Go from there. He was ok with most of the outcomes other than her moving on from him. That one might be a problem but if she did so because something or someone made her happy. Well. Then he was going to pretend he was happy for her. Then go buy a dog and disappear onto his pond for the rest of his years.

They woke in each other’s arms. “Well, that didn’t work.” Jack sighed.

“How much time do you think has passed?” She asked him.

“My watch doesn’t seem to work.” He admitted. “Sam?”

“Yah.” She admitted. They both knew.

“I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to, Sam.” He said, holding her large blue eyes with his own darker ones.

“You think I don’t want to make love to you, Jack? I swear sometimes for a brilliant tactician, you are as dumb as you pretend to be.” She said giggling as she pressed him back into the bed.

“Carter… It’s probably a good thing this is all in our heads. I don’t think I could keep up with you in reality.”

“Jack.”

“Sam.”

“Shut up and make me cum my brains out so we can find out how long we’ve been asleep.”

“Is that a demand?” he frowned.

“Jack!” She admonished him and started pulling at his cloths.

“Oh so it’s that way is it?” He grinned. “Fine.” He flipped her on her back and tugged her pants down. He thrust her legs apart and buried his face between her legs to lick and stroke and suck at her until she was whimpering.

“Jack. Oh please Jack.” She moaned.

He pulled his sweatpants and shorts down and kicked them aside. He claimed her mouth with his own as he pulled her knees over her shoulders and thrust into her hard and fast. His thumb flicked over a nipple as he stroked a breast and he rolled it and pulled gently until she arched her back and cried out with release.

He slammed into a few more times before moaning her name as he spilled into her. “God Sam.” He panted.

She hummed contentedly as her knees fell from his shoulders. He kissed her slowly and the dream faded.

Chapter Text

Jack woke to the jangling of his cell phone. “O’Neill.” He said groggily.

“Sir… we have a problem.”

Other than I want to do every single thing to you we’ve done in our dreams lately and then some…

“What time is it Carter?”

“That’s the problem, sir. It’s past thirteen hundred. We’ve been asleep for over fourteen hours.”

“Why do I feel like crap?” He whined.

“Because for all intents, we were conscious for most of it.”

“Craaappp…” He growled. “All right. Go take a nap, Carter. Get some rest. Call me when you wake up and I’ll take a nap after you get up.”

“Sir?”

“Look Carter, if you feel as dragged out as I do you need some sleep and you won’t get it if we sleep at the same time.”

“We can’t sleep in shifts, sir.”

“We can, Carter, and we will. That’s an order. Go to bed. Call me when you get up.” He hung up the phone and scrubbed his hands into his hair.

He stomped down the stairs to go watch something mindless for a couple hours. He felt like crap. They had stayed up apparently hours waiting for the program to end. They would have to try something else.

They met over dinner at another local diner. They didn’t want it to look too much like they were socializing so they avoided going to the same place twice in a row. Not that they had anything to hide but they both felt like they did.

“All right so that didn’t work, Carter.” He grumbled as he cut into his pork chops.

Sam nodded absently over her chicken salad. “If there is a terminus, it’s an unrealistic one for normal humans. Given its creators… who knows if that’s just normal or it’s designed to out last human patience and bladders.”

Jack chuckled. “So sleeping in shifts seemed to work.” He said thoughtfully then bit into a piece of zucchini.

“The problem is, sir, we can’t do that indefinitely.”

“No, but it’s a good short term solution so how about I hit the sack, you wake me up when you are ready to go to bed for a few hours.”

“But sir, it could be months of each of us only sleeping half the night.”

“I’ll doze in my office, Carter.” He said dismissively.

“And you don’t think General Hammond is going to notice you are sleeping on the job?”

Jack shrugged. “Worst case he writes me up.”

Sam sighed and toyed with a tomato in her bowl. “I know, sir.”

“You were the one that recommended against going to him.” He reminded her.

She nodded dumbly. “Yes sir.” She said softly.

“So what’s the problem, Carter?” He grumped.

“Sir if we say anything…”

“We’re off the roster, the one time we can, ironically, actually get some sleep.” He waved his hand dismissively.

“Technically we were getting sufficient sleep before, sir.”

Jack gave her a sharp look.

“Hear me out, sir.” She said to him. “There wasn’t technically a problem until we realized what the artifact was doing.”

“Carter…”

“Sir.” She said to him firmly. “There wasn’t a problem until we made it one.”

“Other than I couldn’t look you in the eye more mornings than not.” Jack groused.

Sam snorted in amusement.

“This isn’t funny, Carter.” He grumbled.

“It’s a little funny, sir.” She tittered.

“Sam.” He hissed at her. “We’re…”

She waved her hand. “Stop it, sir. We haven’t done anything than have some very vivid dreams about each other. Dreams neither of us can control either, in spite of trying to.”

“Why are you just accepting this?” He asked her in a startled voice.

“I’m not, sir. I’m choosing to ignore a non problem.” She said over her coffee cup with a smile.

“Carter…” His voice was a slightly panicked squeak. “You’re suggesting…

“That we do nothing further about this.” She said simply. “It’s no different than what’s normally going on.” She said pointedly.

“Aren’t you making an assumption?”

“Am I, sir?”

Jack gave Sam a little bit of a panicked look.

She grinned and Jack had the decency to blush.

Chapter Text

“Carter.” He groaned, his arm over his eyes.

He could hear laughter in her voice when she replied to him. “Yes sir.”

“Please don’t answer me that way when we both know what we have to do to get this over with.” He pleaded.

She lifted his arm off his eyes and smiled down at him. “Is sex with me such a chore already, Jack?”

He blinked. She was wearing… good god what was she wearing. Whatever you called it, it was black and see-through and… she smelled so good. “I really want to enjoy this but I know I’m not supposed to.”

“I still have the rope if it makes you feel better that I made you, Jack.” She said grinning. She ran her eyes along his body and raised a Teal’c worthy eyebrow at his obvious erection. “Do you want me to do the work tonight?”

“You are the worst kind of tease, Sam.” He grumbled.

She straddled him in that black see through concoction she wore that barely skimmed her breasts and rode high on her thighs, giving him tantalizing glimpses of the golden curls clustered at the top of her legs. “Why don’t you teach me a lesson then?” She asked holding up the blue silky rope she’d tied him with already once before.

Jack’s eyes widened. He’d been deeply aroused by her dominating him. Would she consent to a similarly comprising position? Did she genuinely trust him not to hurt her? He took the cord from her hands and drew it along her cheek. “Tell me if you want me to stop.” He said before dropping it on the bed and tugging her forward for a lingering kiss.

She ran her fingers through his chest hair and slowly down to the V of hair around the base of his long hard erection. He groaned against her mouth and pulled her hand away and pressed it behind her back while he pulled her hard against his body and ravished her neck.

“Mine.” Jack growled and pulled her other arm behind her back. When her head fell back with a soft sigh of submission his hands released her wrists and settled gently on her face. “My sweet, beautiful, kind-hearted Samantha. I wish this could be real.”

“Jack…”

He kissed her gently. “Since it’s not, I’m going to do some really kinky things to you tonight, Carter.”

She smiled up at him. “Why do you think I offered you the rope, Jack?”

“Oh woman.” He growled and snatched the proffered rope from her fingers as she’d somehow gotten hold of it again and turned her to face the bed and nudged her down. He swatted her rear lightly then grabbed her hip and tugged her up. “On your knees, Samantha.” He told her while pressing her shoulders to the bed.

She scooted back, creamy globes of her muscular rear shifting as she worked into the position he indicated.

“Put your arms at your side on the bed.” He told her while he stroked the spot he’d slapped seconds before.

Once her hands were where he could easily reach he tugged them towards him behind her knees and laced the rope around one wrist then the other, drawing the loop in the center just tight enough to restrain her but not enough to cause pain. She was already getting turned on and in this position he could easily see and smell her arousal. “Do you want me, Sam?”

“I want you, Jack.” She admitted.

Jack leaned in and spread her butt cheeks enough to stroke his tongue along her dripping labia.

Sam whimpered.

His fingers stroked the gossamer fabric covering her breast. “I don’t even care what this thing is called. I love it.”

She chuckled.

“Now I’m going to take you, Sam. Do you want it hard? Fast? Slow?”

“Jack, would you please, please stop being so chatty and fuck me silly like I asked you to earlier?” She wiggled her fingers for effect and Jack chuckled.

He leaned down and bit her gently, making her yelp then laugh. “Don’t get smart with me, Samantha. Well… you’re already smart… you know what I mean.” He growled to her tinkling laughter that ended suddenly with a startled moan when he drove into her. “That’s what you get for being a brat.” He growled and pulled nearly out then pushed slow and hard into her again.

Sam moaned his name and pushed against him.

He grabbed her hips hard and thrust into her over and over until she was whimpering and begging him to finish her.

“Please Jack… I need… I need…”

“Say it, Sam.” He demanded.

“Make me cum, Jack. God... please… I’m so close.”

He changed his angle and grabbed her breasts to roll her nipples through the sheer fabric.

“Oh shit! Jack!” she cried out and pressed against him.

He couldn’t take it anymore and spasmed against her hips before pressing against her back with a huff. “God Sam.” He moaned. “Love you.” He said softly as he collapsed on the bed next to her and pulled her against him before the dream could fade.

Chapter Text

Jack woke up and sighed. Dammit. He thought. He’d warned her he’d slip and sure enough he had. And it wasn’t like she didn’t know but dammit.

He got dressed for his day reluctantly. The biggest problem was exactly what he thought would be the biggest problem. Normally his physical attraction to her was a very pleasant background hum in his body and sometimes mind. Oh he’d get a zing of need now and again but most of the time he was able to casually flirt with her and it would cause a pleasant sort of light endorphin rush.

Now… Now he knew intimately what she tasted like, where to kiss her to make her wet, which spots made her giggle as much as it turned her on. So when she smiled at him in that way… he knew she was thinking about him sweating and naked thrusting into her like there was no tomorrow. He needed to get a handle on his libido in public. He supposed he’d start by being very professional with her on base. They could talk about it later if it hurt her feelings but he really couldn’t handle thinking about her that way at work only to go home and ball her brains out every night even if it was nothing more than a shared dream.

Plus he couldn’t walk around base pitching a tent all hours of the day. Someone was bound to point it out.

They had a briefing at 1000 anyway. At least they would get a reprieve for a few days which reminded him. Jack detoured to Daniel’s lab.

“Oh Danny…” He sang through the door then poked his head in. Jack knew he was on base. He’d checked the sign out log.

“Hey, ah, what’s up, Jack?” Daniel asked him distracted.

“Make any progress with the fuzzy box?”

“No and I didn’t yesterday either. Why are you and Sam so interested in that thing?”

“We have a bet on what’s inside.” Jack lied.

Daniel shook his head. “If it’s bothering you so much, try to get Lya to translate it for you.” He suggested.

“Lya reads fuzzy?”

“No… but Anteaus does and I think she’d put a good word in for you.”

“Anteaus and I get along pretty well actually. I could probably ask him directly unless it’s a chain of command thing.” Jack said thoughtfully.

“Well in either case I’d need some kind of Rosetta stone to translate so if you can get one from them that would be very helpful to settle your bet with Sam.” Daniel said thoughtfully.

Jack snapped his fingers. “Great idea.” Jack wandered out trying to figure out how to get Hammond to let him contact the Nox about the box without telling his commanding officer that he needed to turn the box off because it was a gigantic frat-reg violation waiting to happen. As things stood, he had no idea how he and Sam were supposed to go back to having a professional relationship that didn’t involve fulfilling each other’s fantasies about each other. Right now he was taking Sam at her word that they would both treat it like they were having racy dreams because it was all in their heads.

The problem started because he was in her head and she was in his. Details, he thought dismissively. They would figure things out because that’s what they did. They figured it out or they shoveled it in the room with admitting how they feel, making out when drunk and that one time she’d… nope do not think about that even a little bit. No sir! He ordered himself.

“Good morning, sir.” Sam said to him cheerfully from her spot on the Gate platform with some kind of diagnostic equipment wired up to the Gate.

“Is that safe, Carter?” He asked her mildly.

“Of course not, sir. That’s why Walter has the iris locked right now.”

Jack bobbed his head. “Good. I’m just going to…” He pointed at the stairs leading to the briefing room and Hammond’s office.

“Yes sir.” She said. Her voice downright chipper.

It was going to be a really long day he decided.

Jack managed to make it through the day and act sort of normal. He’d been a bit more quiet at lunch than usual but Daniel and Sam were working on something so neither had noticed anyway or had just assumed he was allowing them to work unfettered. Teal’c had invited him to work out so he’d taken the other man up on the idea and they had spent their afternoon boxing. The briefing had been for a mission coming up in a couple weeks. The planet was inhabited by technologically advanced humans who wanted to send an emissary to the SGC first before Earth sent them anyone. Hammond needed to hash that out before they made any further commitment with the other society involved.

Jack did a load of laundry before heading for bed. He only had three sets of sheets so currently they were in constant rotation right now. His water bill was going to be sky high this month that was for sure. He winced at the hate mail he’d get from his bank that was set up to autopay the amount. It would probably have to dip into the account he socked his hazard pay away into.

Once his bed was made he got into the shower to scrub off the rest of the day’s funk and ease the soreness where Teal’c had gotten in some very effective punches. The man punched like a dock worker. When Jack got out of the shower, he decided there was just no point in putting anything on as Sam was just going to strip it off him anyway and he was sore and tired. He briefly considered easing his aches with a cold beer but beer had only made things hazy while she ravished him anyway.

Jack admonished himself for getting hard just thinking about what Sam might have in mind for him tonight. Initially she’d been playful and relaxed because she’d thought she was dreaming and while they’d had some awkwardness due to the realization that they were both remembering the exact same events. He liked this side of her though and had drawn it back out as soon as they knew they were stuck in the situation. He loved seeing her laugh. Loved laughing with her. It gave him a delicious taste of how their life could be in the future.

He stretched out on his bed and smiled as he drifted off. If he was going to go to hell, at least it was a pleasant one.

She was stroking his hair gently. “Like that.” He murmured softly and tugged her down to his side with his eyes still closed.

“Shouldn’t we?” she asked him.

“You can keep petting, Carter, but I need to talk to you first.”

“Oh. Ok.” Sam got a sinking feeling in her gut. The last time a guy had said that to her she’d been dumped the day before Valentines. Day.

Jack though snuggled her closer until he winced when she brushed a bruise in his side too hard.

“What’s the matter?” she asked him in concern, her worry fleeing in response to his injury.

“Teal’c punches really hard.” He said dismissively. “I’ll live. Just need you to be really gentle tonight.” He said as he stroked his fingers down the dip in her back to settle cupped around her bare rear, one finger stroking her mole in amusement.

“So was that what you wanted to talk about?” She asked him, her fingers gently stroking the planes of his face.

“One of them.” He agreed, finally opening his warm brown eyes to silently regard her. “Carter.” He said softly. He’d wanted to tell her about his realization but instead he’d leaned in and claimed her petal soft lips with his own and was quickly becoming more invested in the dual of tongues than what he needed to say.

Jack finally cleared his throat once they came up for air. “Um… Carter…”

“Jack?” her mouth settled into an anxious frown.

He sat up with a groan of protest at his body’s aches. “Carter… what is it you think I’m about to say here?” his eyes were filled with concern.

She seemed mollified that he was concerned but her reactions were still jumpy. “Well…” she plucked at the blanket at her fingers.

Jack sighed. Sometimes he forgot how fragile her self worth was when it came to her desirability as a woman. “Carter... look at me.”

Sam looked up and he swore her eyes were unusually bright.

“Sam, after everything that has happened do you really think what I have to say is something that will break your heart?”

She opened her mouth in protest. Snapped it shut. Frowned. “Well…”

“Ok, I admit I was a little disappointed about the sir thing after we got our memories back but Sam... Sam… we need to talk about the fact that I kind of slipped up last night like I said I probably would and I need some ground rule so it doesn’t affect our working relationship.” He was now stroking her fingers with his own and when she nervously pulled at them he instead lifted her hand and uncurled her fingers so he could kiss her palm and then the inside of her wrist.

“Jack.” His name was breathy in her lips and he smiled at her.

“I’m not going anywhere, Carter. I’m not. But it’s too hard for me to flirt with you at work and come home to this. I need to put that in the room with all the other stuff until this sorts itself out.” He looked at her pleadingly with his eyes to understand that it wasn’t because he felt less for her but because he wanted more and couldn’t do anything about it.

She chewed on the inside of her lip thoughtfully then looked up at him. “Ok.”

Jack let out a sigh of relief. He knew eventually they would find a way out of this situation. He had sent Lya a message that he needed to talk to Anteaus when he was free to do so. The Nox were usually fairly good about getting back to them right away and he hoped the other man would both understand his predicament and be discreet about it.

In the meantime he had a request. “Carter.”

“Yes Jack?” She asked him softly.

“Please be very gentle tonight. I literally hurt all over.” He admitted.

She smiled softly in amusement at him “I think I know how to make you feel better.”

“By all means… demonstrate.” He said in professional interest which made her smile wider.

“Let’s see…” She busily started arranging pillows against his headboard and patted them invitingly once she was satisfied.

Jack groaned in protest at having to move but he had to admit he felt a little better sitting up.

Sam set herself gently in his lap, her legs wrapped around his hips and placed her hands tenderly on his shoulders. “This all right?” She asked him, one hand slowly straying up his bare shoulder to rest gently against his neck.

He smirked while he explored the sight of her nude body in front of him in his lap. “Well, there’s a naked lady in my lap.”

Sam snorted out a giggle.

“She’s really hot by the way.” He grinned at the blush that bloomed from her cheeks down her neck and across her breasts. “But that’s not the part I fell for.” He said smiling and kissed her startled lips. She melted into him and he ignored the pain in his arms and torso as he held her, reveling in the feel of her hands stroking his skin.

“Jack… I…”

But he put his finger to her lips and shook his head gently. “If we both say it, we have to make decisions we aren’t ready for, Carter.”

She looked into his eyes. Saw the love and the truth in his words. “I’m not ready to leave SG-1”

“And I’m not ready for you to go and we both know Hammond isn’t allowed to let me step down.” He captured her face with his fingertips, holding her as if she was delicate as a butterfly’s wing. “We’ll have to let this go when we turn that thing off, Carter. We don’t have any other choice.”

“I know, Jack.” She stroked the outside of his hand gently with her own. “It can hold.”

“I know you’re strong enough for this, Sam.” He said softly and his lips descended on hers and he kissed her slowly, gently. Saying with his kiss all the things he wanted to say to her, wanted to let her say to him. “My Sam.” He murmured against her mouth and deepened the kiss, drawing her against him in his lap, a satisfied growl escaping when she shifted her hips in his lap. He lifted her and repositioned his cock so she slid down on it as she settled back into his lap.

Sam moaned softly as he entered her. Jack was not a small man and so was big enough to take advantage of how he made her feel when pushed all the way in. He shifted her so her spread labia rubbed the curls surrounding his cock. “Jack, what are you…?”

“Shh…” he held her hips and rocked her slowly backward and forward on his legs, never withdrawing. He claimed her lips again as she took up his rocking motion.

It was gentle and slow and sensual and soon Jack was teetering on the edge of holding on to his own control. “Let go, sweetheart.” He told her as he released her lips to suck on a nipple while he fondled the other.

“Jack…” It came out a shuddering moan as she trembled in his arms.

“Oh god Sam.” He ground out, unable to hold back anymore. His hands locked on her hips and drew her hard and fast against his own hips while he twitched and shook under her. “Sam…” he moaned. But the dream faded.

Chapter Text

A day and a half later Anteaus contacted him. “Jack, my friend, how may I help you?”

Jack grinned at the eccentric old man. “Good to see you too, Anteaus. We picked up an artifact and I was wondering if we could get some help translating Furling.”

“I could teach Daniel Furling, my friend, but the tone of your voice suggests this is of some urgency. Bring your artifact with you to Gaia and I will translate it for you.”

“All right, I’ll get my team together.” Jack said.

“No Jack. Just you.” Anteaus gave Jack a significant look while he smiled.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Jack hedged.

“Do not worry that you will be turned down. We would also like to see you about some defensive technology Lya has told me you would be interested in.”

“Now that I can get Hammond to agree to.” Jack said to the image in front of him. Lya had thought the MALP was cute and exchanged it for a small holographic device that could be used much the way Thor’s Asgard tech could but it was a little more sophisticated in style.

“Until tomorrow then.” Anteaus said with a smile and a small bow before disappearing.

The other man had really come through for Jack. He still wasn’t used to having more than one ally that could be trusted completely but he liked the Nox and knew they had no ulterior motives. Jack punched in the number for Hammond’s office and got Walter. “Has he got a minute, Walter?”

“Sure thing, sir. I’ll patch you right through.”

Jack found himself on the horn with his commander. “Sir, short notice but remember I said I wanted to ask the Nox if they could translate something for Daniel in case it was useful? Well they want me to drop by for a chat.”

It was two days before Jack was able to get to Gaia with the box. Anteaus met him at the gate.

“Forgive me my pretense, Jack. I could see you were deeply troubled and thought it best that we spoke privately about the problem. It shall go no further than you and me, all right?”

“Uh, sure Anteaus but, um, really I just need to know what the writing on this says so Sam can turn it off.”

Anteaus took the proffered box from Jack that he’d had under his arm like a football. “Ah. Yes, I see why this has caused you both some trouble.” His eyes twinkled a bit. “It should come as no surprise to either of you as to why you are in your situation.”

Jack gave him an enquiring look. “Let’s assume I’m as ignorant as I am young.” Jack suggested.

Anteaus chuckled and pointed at some lettering on the lid. “This here says this is a bonding box. It won’t even activate if those involved are not bonded in the heart.”

“So that’s why it did nothing when Daniel touched it the same time Sam did.”

“Indeed, his heart is bonded to another while yours…” Anteaus didn’t need to finish his sentence. Jack’s love for Sam was quite apparent to the observant Nox who used their emotions to control their science.

“All right as useful as such a thing could be, um… we kind of need to turn it off. For now at least.” He admitted.

Anteaus grinned. “Yes I suppose you do. Let’s see what the rest of the instructions say… ah. Yes. How foolish of me. I should have seen that.”

“Seen what?”

“Kiss her.”

“I beg your pardon?” Jack asked confused.

“How does one greet one’s love after a long absence, Jack?” Anteaus asked him patiently.

Jack frowned. “Oh…. Oh!” And now he felt a little stupid for not trying that himself.

Anteaus grinned at him. “Wisdom takes time my young friend. Come now, Lya wishes to speak to you about defensive measures you asked her about at your last meeting.”

“Oh… good.” Jack was still a little dumbfounded.

Anteaus laughed good naturedly. “You might wish to brace yourself.” He suggested.

“Why would I-?” and they both disappeared in a flash of light.

They appeared again on a platform inside the hidden city of the Nox. “Woah.” Was all Jack managed.

“I did suggest you brace yourself. Ah! Lya, my love, come tell Jack all about your wonderful idea.” He said in his effusive way.

“It is good to see you, Jack.”

“It’s good to see you too, Lya.” He said with a grin. Their transporter tech was nearly as jolting as Gate travel.

“Did Anteaus solve your problem?” She asked him as they walked the short distance to their private quarters.

“He did, thank you both for helping us. I’m betting Daniel will be disappointed that you didn’t give him a full written translation though.” Jack told them as they invited him in and they sat at a communal table.

Anteaus tisked. “I’d never invite trouble for you, my friend. Your Doctor Fraiser would have many questions about any side effects the artifact has caused that I suspect you would not wish to discuss with her at this time.”

“You’re telling me.” Jack agreed.

“Now then dear, let’s see if we can be of any help.” Lya said and sat down next to him. A bowl of fruit appeared at his elbow and she waved a hand at it invitingly as she brought a data pad out of seeming thin air.

Jack took a piece of fruit “Do I need to peel this?”

“It is quite like one of your apples.” Anteaus told him so Jack bit into it and smiled. It was tart and juicy and crisp like an extremely high quality apple.

“Now then…” Lya said amused at the two men at her table more invested in their snack now than they were in world security. “Little ones.” She said affectionately of them both. Jack and Anteaus started at her admonishment guiltily and sat back up to focus.

Lya chuckled.

Chapter Text

Jack came back through the gate with the box and a data read out for Hammond and the joint chiefs to look over. He dropped off the paperwork and shook his head when Hammond asked him about the box.

“It’s useless, sir, from a military standpoint.”

“How so?”

“It only works on people in a bonded relationship. It pretty much just ignores everyone else.”

The likelihood that the SGC program would attract a married couple willing to use alien tech to communicate long distance was next to zero and they both knew it and Hammond knew it would really be best if he didn’t ask either his second or his second’s second about why they seemed to have so much interest in the workings of the thing. “Fair enough. Have Jackson slap it into a crate and we’ll ship it off to Groom Lake with the other useless junk we can’t use.”

Jack chuckled. “Yes sir. The last tag was Carter’s so I’ll take it to her to sign off on then get it out of here.”

“Let’s look at this idea of Lya’s, shall we?” Hammond said inviting Jack to take a seat.

It was a solid two hours later before he finally got to Sam’s lab with the damned box still under his arm. “Carter.” He greeted her affably.

It was later in the evening Colorado time and she was shutting things off for the night.

“I was starting to think General Hammond would never let you out of his office, sir.” She said with a grin. “Did you get anything useful in the translation?”

Jack smiled at her enigmatically. “It’s late. Let’s go grab something to eat. I’ll tell you after dinner.”

“Only after, sir?”

“I haven’t eaten since breakfast and the last thing I want is base food. Come on. I’ll buy.”

“All right. Let me finish up here. Is that thing ok to just leave?” she asked pointing to the box.

“Oh yah. It’s pretty much harmless to nearly everyone.” He said. His eyes agreeing with her that it was not harmless for them.

“All right, well, put it on that cart over there with it’s mil-spec tag and I’ll take care of it in the morning.”

Jack nodded and put the box directly on its paperwork. “Ready to go?”

“Yes Sir. I just need to stop by the locker room to change.”

“Me too, Carter. Tell you what, I’ll meet you at Quinn’s. If you beat me there grab us a table and order a basket of onion rings.”

“Yes sir.” She said smiling. Whatever it was he clearly had an answer, he just didn’t want to discuss it on base.

Twenty minutes later Jack slipped into the chair across from hers.

“I ordered you a beer.” She told him.

“Thank you.” He said ginning. “Anty sends his love as does Lya.”

Sam smiled. “I’m a little surprised he insisted you go alone.”

“He’s always been able to read me a little too well. Bringing you wasn’t the problem; it was everyone else.”

“I see.” She toyed with the straw in her drink. “So um…”

He waved off her question though. “Ah! Food first, Sam. I’m starving.” He effusively thanked the waitress for bringing the rings he’d asked Sam to order.

She watched him patiently through the meal. He discussed everything but what was worrying at her and she was starting to think he was doing so intentionally.

At the end of the meal, he still had not explained the solution and Sam was getting impatient with him.

“Carter… not here.” Was all he said of her impatient question about the matter so she huffed at him when he ordered the brownie sundae to split between them. She knew he was softening her up with sweets and fried fish and she hated that it was working as well as it had.

He walked her to her car in the crisp fall air. “Sir…”

He put his hands on her shoulders. “Sam…” One hand rose to stroke her cheek and she turned into his hand and closed her eyes.

Jack gently tipped her chin and claimed her mouth in a searing kiss that had her melting into his chest. He pulled away though when she steadied herself against his chest and her other hand crept to his neck. “Carter... Carter, look at me.”

“Jack?” She said, her voice a little dazed.

“That should do it.”

“Huh?”

“Anteaus said if I kissed you like I’d come home from a trip that it should break the link as long as we don’t both touch the box at the same time again.”

“Oh.”

And Jack would have sworn he heard the disappointment he felt in her voice. “Yah.”

“Oh… Well… good.” She said nodding dumbly.

“Go home and get some rest, Carter. I’ll see you in the morning on base.”

“Um, yes sir.” She said nodding. “Goodnight sir.” She told him and got into her silver Volvo and drove away.

Jack stood watching her drive off. When he couldn’t see her any more his shoulders sagged and he turned to his truck. He already missed her.

The next morning Jack woke with no memory of making love to Sam that night. ‘I guess that’s that’. He thought as he got ready for his day.

When he reached base, Daniel stopped by and told him they had a go for the mission to Langara. “Good. Great Danny. What time do we go?”

Chapter Text

He’d shown up at her door that night. Jacob had told Jack to go check up on her because he thought she might still be a little spooked about having nearly drowned. Jack was just relieved Thor was ok. He’d lost two close friends far too close together for his taste and if he was honest with himself, he was very relieved to get one back. He hoped like hell that Daniel would be back eventually too. It had been a month since they had lost his best friend to being ascended.

“Carter.” He said softly when she opened the door. Surprised it was him and not the Chinese take out delivery guy. “Can I come in?”

“Sure but I didn’t order enough for both of us.” She admitted.

“Ah… when I called I checked to see if you had an order to go and picked up yours too.” He said holding up a bulging bag of cartons.

“Sir…” She said, chuckling as she took the bag and moved so he could get his shoes off.

He took the bag back though and went to her living room to start laying out their spread of food, knowing she’d get the good chop sticks from the drawer in her kitchen.

“So who sent you, Dad or General Hammond?”

Jack gave her an innocent look.

“So Dad.” She said with a smirk, knowing Jack would almost always cover for her father being a worry wart. “I’m fine, Jack. A little rattled but no more than you were.”

Jack sighed though. “Dad just gave me an excuse, Sam. He wasn’t the reason I came over, bearing mu shu pork and egg rolls.”

“No?” She asked curious as she dug into her Thai noodles.

“No.”

She waited him out though. She knew when something was bothering him, he really struggled with getting it out and pestering him for details would just make him clam up.

“I ah…. Sam, I owe you an apology.” He poked at the fried rice in his hand a couple times. “I haven’t been exactly pleasant to be around lately and I’m sorry.”

“Jack,” she said, putting her hand on his. “You’d lost Thor, then Daniel, you hurt so much you had to shut down before it hurt more than you could bear.” Jack’s reactions to losing people he loved were never strictly healthy. Uncle George never made him pay for the broken car window but Sam had realized then and there that Jack used rage to keep the grief from overwhelming him again. She knew about his late night sessions in the gym punching a bag until he wore out or his hands hurt too much to continue. Even now his knuckles showed signs of abuse.

He looked at her for a long time, gratitude in his eyes that she understood. “It’s not worth losing you over Sam.”

She bit her lip and squeezed his hand. “You haven’t lost me yet.” She finally said.

“We’re ok?” He asked her. Worried.

“We’re ok Jack.”

“Good.” He bobbed his head nodding a couple times. “Rice?” He asked her and proffered the carton of fried rice over.

“Thank you.” She said with a smile and accepted the carton. “Did you get extra egg rolls?” She said noting the greasy bag of fried treats seemed unusually large.

“I was thinking cold egg rolls and scrambled eggs for breakfast tomorrow.” He told her. His expression was hopeful.

She gave him an arch look.

“I might have picked up a couple Nat-Geo documentaries you mentioned on my way over.” He admitted.

She smiled at him. A night of snuggling on the couch with Jack after stuffing herself full of Chinese food and a terrible day at work sounded just about perfect right now. She told him so and he grinned at her.