Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Stargate (except a few dvds!). All for fun.

Pairing: Sam/Jack

Season: None in particular.

Summary: My take on how Jack and Sam could get together. This idea's been done before, but I hope this is a somewhat original take on it!

A/N: I'd be much obliged if people would be lovely and reveiw! Let me know if you liked it, if there's anything I can improve on, if there's anything you'd like to see, whatever! It would be a great help to me. Thank you!

Enjoy!

Chapter 1: In which we discover something of what passes through Colonel O'Neill's mind during a typical offworld festival.

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The evening sun cast a warm light across the village square, bathing the mingling crowds in golden hues. Faintly appearing in the distant sky were the two moons of Caradonia, seeming to glow gently as they peered over the distant hills. The few buildings surrounding the square were decked out with colourful pennants and flags, and there was the mood of celebration in the air. In the centre of the square, a large, dark stone block reminiscent of an altar rested, around which tables had been set up, piled with food and drink from which people partook of, gathering in small groups as they wished. Filling the rest of the square were those people not currently eating, engaged in dances supported by a cheerful band at the side.

Colonel Jack O'Neill was currently occupied in the centre of this merriment, by investigating the particular culinary speciality of the Caradonian people. Cake. His eyes roved over the various offerings, drawn towards one particularly spectacular example. He had not believed any alien civillisation capable of producing any cakes comparable to Earth's, but the Caradonian's seemed to have done it, and done it with style. Thick, soft icing was layered over this particular creation, looking so sweet he could practically taste it already. Several slices had already been cut, revealing the inside of the cake to be rich, moist, ever so slightly crumbly, with an enticing layer of the most delicious buttercream he'd ever seen dividing the middle. It looked delicious. Oblivious to all else, Jack's eyes hungrily took in this perfect vision of culinary goodness. His tongue darted out, wetting his dry lips. He swallowed. No, that was it. He'd tried. He couldn't resist it any longer. His eyes never leaving the cake, he raised his hand slowly. He began to reach out towards one extremely tempting, perfectly sized slice. His long fingers extended. The anticipation was almost too much. He reached further, his fingers closing around the plate.

"O'Neill!" Jack's hand snapped back down to his side. His eyes closed briefly, turning to face Tea'lc, who stood nearby. "I do not believe it is wise, based on past encounters, to indulge in any consumables which may have negative effects of which we are unaware." Maybe Jack was just imagining it, but he could swear that his large Jaffa friend looked smug. His eyebrows raised, pleadingly.

"Aw, c'mon T! It's just one slice of cake! One slice. These people aren't gona hurt us! Look, it's good cake. Other people have eaten it! One slice won't do any harm...," he turned longingly back to the cake in question. "I'm sure Daniel would insist it was rude not to... If we've been invited to participate in their festival, that should include the food!" He turned back hopefully towards Tea'lc, who stood still with an impassive expression. There was no sympathy there at all. Maybe a touch of amusement, Jack noted, grumbling internally.

"On the contrary, O'Neill. Was it not on the planet Argos that you partook of local confectionary, the result of which nearly caused your death? I am fairly certain no harm was intended there, yet it was the result nonetheless." There was a definite light of amusement in Tea'lc's eyes now. Jack thought it was distinctly less funny. "Was it not also the case, in your Tau'ri Bible, that the woman Eve ate of a particularly enticing fruit, the result of which was the spread of sin throughout your world, and - "

"Ack!" Jack held a finger up, silencing his large friend. "Alright, I get the picture. No cake for this poor, tired Colonel, hungry after a hard days negotiations, right?" His shoulders drooping with resignation, he turned from the heavily laden and enticing table.

"If you require sustenance, O'Neill, I believe we have a plentiful supply of MRE's with the remainder of our equipment," Tea'lc supplied. Jack frowned at him, folding his arms in frustration.

"Yeah, thanks a bunch T," he stalked away from the offending cake, deciding he needed to put as much distance between it and himself as possible to reduce further temptation. Maybe he could sneak back later... Tea'lc smiled in amusement at the Colonel's retreating back. The cake did indeed look spectacular, he decided. The Jaffa warrior turned, smoothly picking up and consuming a slice. Indeed, the Colonel had surmised correctly. The cake was of a superior quality to that he had tried on Earth.

Desperately trying to think of anything but the cake he had just left behind, Jack scanned the dancing crowds around him. The people of Caradonia were actually very pleasant. It had been refreshing to discuss trade with people who genuinely seemed to have no ulterior motives, no dark secrets, no rampant desire to explore use of the Stargate further. All they wanted was some fertiliser, to help grow the plants which produced their rather remarkable medicines. SG-1 had seen several demonstrations, including herbs which appeared to reduce pain in a wound dramatically, as well as reduce to practically zero any chances of infection. Furthermore, the leaders were very kind and obliging, and as well as complying to all of Earth's trade propositions, had invited SG-1 to stay for their annual festival. Jack figured that had probably been Daniel's main intention all along. It was too good to be true, really. The planet had not been disturbed by the Goa'uld, there were no apparent threats. There had really been very little for himself and Tea'lc to do, in fact it had been rather relaxing. There were some pleasant streams running through the woods on one side of the village, and some of the townspeople had promised to show him the fish there one evening. Sweet. Carter, of course, had spent the whole mission fascinated and completely absorbed by the Caradonian medicine. It was the science not of advanced technologies, but of nature. Something naturally occurring in the soil, she'd thought.

Carter. His fiery, brilliant, kick-ass Major Samantha Carter. Not to mention beautiful. He smiled to himself, thinking of her childlike curiosity and excitement as she'd been shown the simple labs where the Caradonian's processed their medicines. That was a major bonus for him on these missions. Even if he didn't understand a great deal about what they were negotiating for, he could still appreciate Carter's excitement. And hey, if she was excited about something, it had to be worth having, right? Even if he didn't understand a word of what she was saying, he was content to listen, enthralled by the light in her blue eyes and her melodious voice. Within reason, naturally - there was only so much technobabble that he could stand.

He caught sight of her across the sea of swaying people around him. She was talking animatedly to someone he recognised as one of Caradonia's leading scientists, a man named Werran, gesticulating enthusiastically in a manner somewhat reminiscent of Daniel. He watched Werran, who appeared enthralled by his blonde Major, as was the case with far too many alien men for Jack's liking. Not from a personal opinion, of course. It just wouldn't do for his 2IC to be compromised by being in any way involved with people they were negotiating with, he tried to rationalise to himself. No, it wasn't jealousy at all. Whilst he didn't feel as if he held any claim over her at all to himself, he just... didn't want anyone else to either. That wasn't the same thing, was it? No. He was just trying to protect all their best interests, as a good Colonel should. Nothing at all, not in any way, to do with the fact that he happened to be completely in love with her. Which he wasn't, of course. He could admire her without being in love, right? It was only natural, surely, to be aware of the fact that she was completely and perfectly beautiful, insanely intelligent, fiercely brave, a gifted technician, not to mention -

Jack shook his head, stopping his train of thought mid flow, bringing his mind back to a state of alert. He knew thinking like that was dangerous, and couldn't afford it. Pursing his lips in frustration, he swung round, searching out something to take his mind off of cake and Carter, other than joining in the dancing which, despite numerous propositions from various women, he refused to do under any circumstances... There. Daniel. SG-1's resident archaeologist, it appeared, was in typically animated conversation with the village's head elder, Kela. Jack blew out a breath forcefully. No doubt Kela was busy telling Daniel in depth about the origins, purpose and traditions of the current festival. And the entire history of the Caradonians. Daniel, of course, would be enthralled. There was no way in hell Jack would be joining that conversation, he decided.

He found his gaze swinging back to Carter, still conversing with Werran. Who really did seem to be worryingly interested in her. His eyes narrowed as Werran's hand came to rest on Sam's arm a little too eagerly, and didn't miss Sam's frown and shake of the head. The noise of the music and chatter prevented him from hearing the words exchanged, but he'd seen enough. His hand rested lightly against his firearm as he began to make his way towards the pair. Werran's attention clearly hadn't been diverted, despite the fact that Sam was now attempting to turn away from the native scientist. As Werran tightened his grip on Sam's arm, a shadow fell across him. The scientist turned quickly, stumbling backwards as he was suddenly faced with the tall leader of SG-1. The Colonel smiled deceptively sweetly.

"Hey, kids. Having fun?" He didn't miss Sam's grateful smile, or Werran's sudden nervousness. The less than imposing scientist began to stutter.

"Ah, well, yes, I was just going to show- "

"Well, that's just swell," Jack interrupted. Unwilling to provoke any conflict, he quickly formulated a plan to get them both away from the situation as smoothly as possible. Without pausing to think too much about the wisdom or ramifications of his next words, he carried on quickly. "Sorry to interrupt your pleasant little chat," he narrowed his eyes briefly at the smaller man, and turned quickly to Sam, looking down somewhere near his feet. This was so not a good idea. Terrible, in fact. Well, not in all respects. Yes, it was definitely the right course of action. Suddenly finding his zipper to be fascinating, he continued. "I was ah, just wondering... Carter, care to dance?"

Their eyes connected in a flash, Sam ascertaining the Colonel's motive. She smiled sweetly at her superior officer, swiftly taking his arm and gliding into the crowd. Werran, surprised and feeling somewhat humiliated, watched them disappear into the throng of people, just catching the faint reply of the beautiful woman he realised he had lost to a better man.

"I'd love to, Sir."

TBC

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A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Once again, I'd be so grateful if you could let me know what you thought. Thank you!