"Sir, do you think Daniel and Teal'c made it back to the gate?" Sam asked, her breath visible in the cold late afternoon air.

Jack paused his sifting through their supplies. "I'm sure they did, Captain."

Sam only nodded in response, her tongue pressed forward between her teeth in order to keep her CO from noticing how badly her teeth were chattering. She was still so new on SG1; she didn't want her CO to think she was a wimp. It was just a little chilly, anyway. Nothing she couldn't handle.

"Carter," Jack called out, tossing her a tightly-bound set of tent poles. "Start setting these up for us, will ya?" Sam caught the bundle and then set to work fitting together the pole-segments. Jack finished organizing their supplies and began working on the fire. Before setting up camp, they'd managed to collect a small amount of wood. Not enough to keep them toasty, but enough to help them make it through the night. With any luck, Daniel and Teal'c would be back tomorrow morning with back up and more supplies.

Sam finished stringing the poles through the light tent fabric and pinning the poles in place. The ground was frozen and she briefly worked up a sweat struggling to get them in worked into the cold, hard soil. "That should do it." Sam stood up and wiped the dirt and ice off her fingers, realizing as she did so that she was beginning to lose feeling in them. She shook her hands and then buried them in the pockets of her too-light jacket.

"C'mere, Carter." Jack waved her over to the fire. "We might as well take advantage of the fire while it lasts." Jack held up the two MREs he'd retrieved from their packs. Sam walked around the tent and gratefully joined him by the fire he'd built just near the front opening. As Sam reached over to choose her meal, a massive shiver rolled through her body. The heat she'd worked up from struggling with the tent spikes was wearing off as she felt the cold wind at her back, cutting through the neckline of her jacket.

Jack saw Carter's hands trembling as she reached for the food. He leaned back and eyed his second in command. "You okay, Carter?" He'd noticed that this new team member of his never seemed to complain.

Sam looked up, surprised. "Oh, yes, Sir, I'm fine."

Jack nodded his acceptance, but inwardly, he sighed. Her reticence to admit to any problems seemed strange to him and in contrast to every other team he'd worked with. Even when they'd stayed in good humor about it, his old teammates had never been shy to express their discontent. Especially Kawalski, thought Jack with a smile. Even though he'd be joking about it, he'd still be whining loudly if he'd had to make camp in this bitter cold. The fact that Captain Carter never uttered a word of complaint ironically made her more of a liability in the field, not less. Because she kept things to herself, presumably out of some misguided desire to impress upon him how tough she was, he had to keep a close eye on her and monitor her for problems. It was more work for him and frankly a little annoying. He wished she'd just relax a bit and give him more information to work with. When they'd met, he'd told her he didn't have a problem with women, and generally that was true. But if he was being honest, he had to admit that situations like these would be slightly easier if she were a he. This chip on her shoulder tough guy act was unnecessary and decidedly unhelpful at the moment.

As they ate, they sat quietly, each lost in their own thoughts. Darkness settled over the camp, and their small fire dwindled. Jack suddenly stood up and broke the silence. "Well, Carter, we might as well bunk down. There's not much else to do until the morning. May as well get some rest." Sam nodded, and followed Jack into their tent. They each unrolled their sleeping bags and climbed in fully clothed.

Jack pulled his sleeping bag over his shoulders and hunched in for warmth. He'd been on some pretty cold camping trips in Minnesota throughout his life, so he wasn't too worried. He knew it was just a matter of distracting his mind from the cold long enough to fall asleep. He began thinking about this year's hockey lineup and building his fantasy team in his head. He'd just finished choosing the left wing position when he noticed a rustling sound. Instantly alert, he focused his senses to hone in on the noise. It seemed to be coming from Carter's side of the tent. He squinted his still dark-adapting eyes at her and noticed that her sleeping bag was shaking. She was shivering intensely in the cold.

"Carter…" Jack drawled out. "Everything okay over there?"

"Yessir!" Sam's shivering reduced to a continuous tremor as she clearly tried to stifle her motions.

"Really?" He was too tired for this.

"Yessir, just fine!" Sam stuttered out through chattering teeth.

"Oh fer cryin' out loud." Jack muttered under his breath. He reached out and grabbed Sam's sleeping bag, tugging her closer to him.

"C'mere, Captain. It is a bit cold in here, even for me. I think we'd do better if we conserve some body heat." Sam nodded, or at least Jack thought she did; it was hard to tell when her whole body was shaking this badly. At her consent, Jack pulled her close, aligning their bodies through their sleeping bags. Her shivering kept him awake for a while, but she must have gradually warmed up because she eventually stopped trembling. He waited until her breathing had evened out into sleep before deciding she was okay and resuming his previous line of thought. Now who would make a good right wing,he wondered as he drifted off to sleep.

—

Jack awoke the next morning to the smell of grass, flowers and sunshine. He lay there for a moment, confused. The last thing he remembered before sleep was something about a snow storm. And hockey. When he slowly opened his eyes, it was to a head full of blond hair just under his nose. He took a deep breath, enjoying the scent. As he lay there, relaxed, he slowly became aware of the fact that his arm was wrapped around Sam, pressing her tightly against his body. He hadn't noticed last night in his slightly annoyed state just how perfectly she fit against him. He continued to lie there, reluctant to move. He was so warm and comfortable, and it just felt… right, holding her in his arms. As he gradually woke up a bit more, he was suddenly reminded that this beautiful woman whose close presence he was thoroughly enjoying was his second-in-command. His peaceful euphoria faded into as he realized that the USAF might not look so kindly on the fact that their huddling together for body warmth had somehow turned into an intimate embrace during the night. He gently pulled his arm from her body and inched away from her. He reminded himself that that's all it had been, after all, just two officers trying to stay warm. And any loss he'd felt after pulling away from her was just about the loss of warmth. Yes, that was it, the cold air of the tent was just making this more difficult. No big deal.

Once he'd managed to gain some distance from Sam, he cleared his throat and called out, "Morning, Carter, rise and shine!" Sam slowly rolled into a sitting position and took in her surroundings, noticing the daylight that streamed through the tent walls. "Wow, I actually slept!"

"Yep." Jack said, avoiding her gaze by busying himself with rolling up his sleeping bag. "Congrats, Carter, you survived your first offworld snow storm."

Sam looked at Jack thoughtfully. "Yeah. I suppose I did." A smile slowly lit her face. "Sir," Sam reached out and put her hand on Jack's arm, stilling his motions. Jack looked up from his nearly rolled sleeping bag to see Sam looking at him intently with her big, blue eyes. "Thank you. For helping me through it." Sam smiled at him and squeezed his arm. At her touch, Jack's heart started racing uncontrollably. He held her gaze, completely transfixed. Sam released his arm and set about packing up her own gear. Jack sat back on his heels, his heart still pounding, his breath caught in his throat. Sam moved about the tent, completely oblivious to her effect on him.

Crap. He was completely screwed.