Yes, I'm bad to start a new story! But I have an excuse. I'm on vacation in Croatia (absolutely gorgeous country with lovely people) and as I visited some of their amazing parks this story came to mind. I PROMISE to finish my others! But for now ... a new adventure.

As far as Jack was concerned, the visit to P6R 8XT was a wash. There was nothing of interest here, at least as far as he could see. His two science geeks had seemed excited when they'd first arrived, especially when they caught sight of the ancient temple – or whatever the hell it was – sitting about half a kilometer from the gate. But even they seemed to have lost their initial enthusiasm when all the ancient building had produced was – well – an ancient building. It was completely empty, not even an engraving or single artifact to be found – much to Daniel's disappointment.

Teal'c, of course, didn't seem excited, or interested or even bored, for that matter. He was his usual stoic self, patrolling the perimeter, watching out for the humans who he considered to be under his care.

But Jack, well he was bored. He too watched out for his team, making sure there were no hostiles or anything that would present a danger. As far as he'd been able to discover, the most dangerous thing on this planet was the occasional gnat that flew by his ear. Even they were few and far between and were easily swatted away – or in the case of a few unlucky ones – were squashed beneath his palm.

He sighed and stood slowly, stretching out his stiff – and bored - muscles. "Hey Daniel, Carter, you two ready to head back?" When he didn't receive an answer he sighed again and glanced towards Teal'c, who simply gave him the eyebrow.

"Yeah – I'll go see where they are," he told the Jaffa, heading towards the building. At least he'd feel like he was useful for something,

"Daniel," he called, "Carter! You guys finished in there?"

It was Carter – of course it was – who replied. "Yes Sir – I'm just packing up my instruments," she called.

He could always count on Carter to be on top of things. Although she sometimes got carried away by some new discovery or other, she always did her duty. In fact, he'd rarely served with so good an officer as Samantha Carter. She was brilliant – and beautiful.

"Which is something you better stop thinkin' about, O'Neill," he said to himself. The last thing he needed was to let his feelings for Carter grow into something he couldn't control. He'd had a severe talking to himself after the Za'tarc fiasco and an even harsher one after the Jonah/Thera mission. That one had occurred just recently and since then he'd forced himself to not think about his Second – in any way other than as a soldier under his command.

He walked into the temple – he decided that's what he was gonna call it – to see Daniel staring at an empty wall. Carter, on the other hand, was just finishing putting away some of her doohickeys.

"Almost done, Sir," she told him, only glancing up briefly to acknowledge his presence.

He'd also noticed, since the damned ice planet, that she too had become a little more careful around him. It wasn't that she appeared uncomfortable but she was a bit more distant. She didn't giggle at his jokes quite so much and she had become rather more formal with him. It was sad that it had to be that way – but he understood and appreciated her caution.

"Need any help there Carter?" he asked, pretty sure the answer would be "no". She was not only beau - ur smart, she was incredibly efficient.

"No Sir," she smiled, standing and swinging her pack onto her back. "But Daniel might need some help with his things," she nodded her head over to where Daniel's pack lay – things strewn out around it.

"Daniel," he called. "Time to go! Get your stuff together."

"Huh?" Daniel turned around as if he hadn't even realized that Jack was there – which he probably hadn't, thought the Colonel.

"Get your stuff together Daniel. It's time to head back."

"Oh," he glanced around, "yeah, okay." He moved towards his pack, a frown on his face.

"What is it?" Jack asked him (this time with a silent sigh. Daniel's frowns usually meant something – often something bad).

"What?" Daniel looked up and squinted. "Oh – nothing. I just thought there would be something here, but it looks like everything's been removed."

"Yeah," Jack glanced around. "So let's go. No use stayin here if there isn't anything to see."

"No, I guess not, but it is unusual."

"What's unusual?" Jack frowned. "I thought you said there wasn't anything here?"

"That's what I mean. Usually there's something. But it almost looks as if the walls have been scraped clean. There isn't any evidence of anyone being here – for – well, I don't know. I can't even date this place."

"Oh well – next time I'm sure you'll find something more interesting. For now – let's go! I have a date!"

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Sam's startled glance. He was pretty sure she didn't look happy – which he had to admit gave him a tiny jolt of satisfaction.

"Yup," he continued, "I have a date with a cold beer, a pizza and a hockey game! Now let's move it Jackson!"

"Fine Jack, let me just get my things together!"

Jack watched as Daniel made his way to his pack. As he waited for the archaeologist/galactic explorer to put his stuff away he glanced at Carter.

She gave him a big smile. "Sounds fun Sir," she told him.

"You like hockey, Carter?" he asked, surprised.

"Not really – but the pizza and beer sound good. I think I'll watch a movie instead though."

"What kind of movies do you like? And don't say science fiction!"

She laughed. "No – I can't watch most sci-fi movies."

"Don't tell me! You can't take all the mistakes they make!"

She laughed again. "I'm afraid you're right. It drives me crazy! I can't figure out why they don't just hire someone as a consultant to help them get the science right! It can't be that difficult."

"There's a second career for you," he told her. "You could make a fortune!"

"Sure," she rolled her eyes. "Except I don't think they really care about accuracy."

"So then, if not science fiction, what kind of movies do you like?"

"Oh – I don't know – mysteries, drama, romance."

"Really? Don't tell me you watch "chick flicks" Carter!"

"They're not just "chick flicks" Sir," she scolded him. "And there's nothing wrong with a good romance." Almost immediately she looked uncomfortable. "Uh – Daniel," she suddenly turned to her science teammate. "You need some help?"

Damn! He couldn't even have a relaxed conversation with her anymore, Jack thought. He glanced around, checking things out one more time before herding his team back home. But then something over in one corner of the room caught his eye. He wasn't even sure what he had seen, but in an effort to make things easier for Carter and get out of her way, he decided to walk over and investigate.

When he got there it was to see the faint outline of – something – on, or rather in one of the walls. Surprised that Daniel had missed it, he leaned forward to see if he could tell what it was. Not that he'd know, even if he could see it properly.

"Hey – there's something here," he called to his teammates. Part of him wanted to ignore whatever it was and head straight home – but he knew that wouldn't be fair to Daniel or Sam.

"What?" Daniel's voice perked up from where he was kneeling. He put down the things he was holding in order to get to his feet. Carter immediately headed over towards him.

"What is it Colonel?" she asked.

"I don't know – just looks like something in the wall here," he pointed to it. Sam walked up to him and leaned forward.

"Yeah, I see it now too. I wonder how we missed it?"

"Maybe the shadows in here have changed now that it's getting later."

"Mmm," she said, reaching up and touching the wall. "I can't feel anything," she said
"but it looks like it's something in the wall rather than on it."

By this time Daniel had arrived and he too touched the wall. "You're right," he said. "It looks like there's something buried in the wall. The outline is really faint, but I can see it now. Great job Jack," he said with a grin.

Jack groaned, suddenly realizing that he'd probably condemned himself to a few more hours spent without anything to do. He leaned forward again, wondering what the hell it was they were looking at. It appeared to be oval in shape, but that was all he could see.

"I'm going to get some of my tools," Daniel informed them, heading towards his backpack.

Carter again touched the spot. "I can't feel anything, can you?" she asked the Colonel. At that he reached out, being careful not to touch her, and put his hand on the wall beside hers.

There was a flash of light that instantly blinded him and then Jack's stomach lurched as he suddenly felt himself falling. He let out a startled yell, and then heard Sam scream. Without thinking about it he put out his arms and grabbed her, pulling her close as he continued to fall.

Without warning his body hit something solid and he began to roll – careening wildly down and down and down.

He was confused and terrified, but he at least he managed to hold onto Carter, even as they tumbled and rolled wildly. It seemed to go on forever, until finally he rammed into a solid – very solid – surface and they both came to a dramatic stop.

Jack couldn't speak, in fact he could barely breath. He couldn't see a thing as his eyes were still burning and watering from the intense flash of light. He was pretty sure that soon he'd feel the hurt of the wild trip down the hill (or whatever it had been) and even more hurt from the dramatic and very hard stop.

Finally he caught his breath enough to speak. "Carter – you okay?" he gasped. He knew she was alive because he could feel her chest move up and down against him as she too attempted to breathe. In his fantasies having Carter pressed so closely against him would have been wonderful – but right now that was the last thing he was thinking about.

"I – think – so," she gasped. "What – happened."

"No – idea," he gasped back. He took a shaky breath but found it hard to get enough air in his lungs. It was only then that he realized that he was on his back with Carter on top of him. Her weight, along with that of her pack, was making it hard for him to breathe. He also realized that his own pack was making his position very, very uncomfortable.

"Uh – can you move?" he gasped out.

"Uh – I'll try," she said, sounding about as shaky as him. She wiggled around, causing him no end of discomfort, but finally she was able to move off him by basically rolling to the side. He heard her fall the few inches to the ground and let out a soft "oof".

"You okay?" he asked, suddenly able to breathe much deeper.

"I'm not sure," she answered. "I need to take off my pack."

Jack knew he had to do the same, although he really, really didn't want to move. He was starting to feel the results of their wild tumble and didn't relish moving from the relative numbness of his present position into what possibly could be a world of hurt.

But if Carter could do it …. With a "humph" he pushed himself over, so that he was lying on his side. He was now facing a large tree – obviously the object that had caused their sudden stop. At least now he could see. "I hate trees," he muttered.

"What, Sir?"

"Nothing Carter," he said. "Just trying to sit up!" With that he pushed himself, on quite shaky arms, to a seated position. For a moment he felt incredibly dizzy and closed his eyes. When he opened them it was to see a very pale and disheveled Carter staring at him.

"Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" he asked again. She blinked at him and lifted her hand to remove some of the twigs and leaves that were stuck in her hair and cascading down her face.

"Um – I hurt everywhere," she told him, "but I don't think there's anything serious. How about you Sir?"

He spat out some dirt that had made its way into his mouth and also began to pull a wide variety of flora from his own hair. He looked down at himself and winced. His uniform had seen better days. He began to unsnap the straps on his pack, noticing that Sam had already removed hers. "I think about the same," he answered. "I'm pretty sure my bruises have bruises, but nothing too serious. I think my pack – and you," he smiled crookedly, "kept me from getting too banged up."

"Yeah, the same for me," she smiled back, and then spit out some grass. "I was the lucky one – I landed on top of you. Sorry about that Sir!" Suddenly she turned her head and spit. "Yuck – I think I ate half of – wherever we are." She looked around then and frowned. "Uh – where are we?"

Jack had finally pulled himself together enough to take stock of their surroundings. Like Carter he slowly looked around, frowning when he realized they were at the bottom of a long, a very long, shrub and rock covered hill.

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," he said slowly. He pushed himself to his feet, still feeling slightly dizzy, and turned completely around. "Uh Carter?"

"Yes Sir?" she said and she too pushed herself up.

"Where are we?"

"I – don't know Colonel," she answered, sounding puzzled. "This doesn't look like P6R 8XT."

"No, it doesn't," he agreed. "I distinctly remember that there were no hills on P6R 8XT and that," he nodded his head towards the ground behind them, "if I am not mistaken, is a hill – a very large hill."

"Yes Sir, it is."

"So Carter – any idea what just happened?"

"Uh – I expect it had something to do with that object in the wall."

Jack sighed. "And I'm always telling Daniel not to touch," he lamented. "And this time it was me!"

"And me Sir," she reminded him. "But we actually didn't touch the object itself – I mean, we touched the wall, but it was -" she stopped suddenly and looked at her commander. "You're right – we touched it." She groaned. "Daniel will never stop gloating!"

"Damn, I expect you're right! Well, let's move out of here and find him – and Teal'c. Right now I would even tolerate Jackson's gloating in exchange for a couple of aspirin and some muscle ointment."

"Me too," Sam sighed. She reached over and picked up her pack, grimacing slightly as sore and abused muscles screamed at her. She waited for the Colonel to put on his own pack and then they both stopped and looked up the long – the very long – hill.

"We've got to do it Carter," he said, without looking at her.

"I know Sir," she sighed. "Maybe it's not so bad."

He glanced at her skeptically. "Yeah, maybe not. Okay – let's go. The sooner we get back …"

"The sooner Daniel can gloat," she replied glumly.

The two bruised and sore officers slowly began to make their way up the hill.