A/N: I know a lot of you are waiting for the continuation of Promises, and I know I promised an update for this weekend. This is a tough one and I am having some difficulty in the wording. Bear with me, and enjoy this little thing that just came to me.

Gaby

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A new planet, some more weird-looking trees, an alien night sky, an uncomfortable sleeping back, on an even more uncomfortable dry and hard ground. That was the situation. That was where Jack O'Neill currently found himself. It was a science survey trip that Carter just had to go on, that's how he got himself into this situation. A second-in- command who was more interested in how things worked and figuring out the secrets of the universe, rather than just enjoying all the mysteries, is how Jack O'Neill came to be in this terrible situation.

There were times when there was no one to blame for his aching back but the latest Goa'uld chasing after them. There were time when he could blame no one but himself for ache in his knees after a particularly grueling work-out with Teal'c. But this time, this time was different. He had someone to blame who he could actually, well, blame. This time, she wasn't going to get off easy. Oh no, he had plans for her.

He was the boss. He was the commander of this unit. He was supposed to be in charge of the missions they went on, not the slumbering major lying beside him in their tent. She wasn't the boss of him, he was the boss of her. He decided where they went and when. Well, usually General Hammond decided, but he had the last word, mostly. He would never choose to go to some stupid little moon to count the rocks, or whatever it is they were doing here.

Why couldn't they ever find a cool planet to have surveys on? Why could there be some really nice big lake or river. Oooh, that'd be nice. Yeah, why couldn't there be a honking lake with some type of really huge fish that they could maybe catch. They could catch some nice looking fish and put it over a fire and have a mighty fine cook out. Why couldn't these scientists ever think of him when they went off scouting for planets?

He flipped over in his sleeping bag once more and Samantha Carter, the 2IC he had been having the rude thoughts about smiled into her tent. He wasn't fooling her. Half an hour ago he had told the entire camp they could fend for themselves that night. He was going to sleep and wasn't to be bothered until sun-up. Ten minutes after him, she had entered the tent, knowing he wouldn't have fallen asleep yet, but also knowing better than to mention it at the time.

She was well aware that he had not enjoyed this assignement. There was nothing for him to do but patrol the area. There was also no chance of anything coming in against them since this was an Asgard protected planet and no Goa'uld could step foot on it. They had been here for 2 days, and still had another 5 to go. Her CO was already beginning to grate on the others' nerves. In another couple of days he was likely to start shooting the ones who bothered him too much.

"Sir."

"Carter."

"I'll make it up to you for this."

He turned back around to face her and found her eyes staring straight into his, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. That smile, just for him, here in their space, made the experience worth it all of a sudden.

"Make what up, Carter?" He gave her his own smile.

"Nothing, Sir." If he wasn't going to talk about it, then neither was she.

They held each other's eyes, smiling at each other and just so content to lay there. If this was all they could have, then they would both take it while they could. Sam broke contact first as a shiver shot through her. The planet became freezing during the night. So far, this was the only thing she had found to hate about the place, but it really didn't help when she tried to sleep.

Jack noticed and reached out for her from the cocoon he had made for himself. "C'mere."

Sam shook her head. That would be going too far. She was completely in control of her emotions; there would be no excuse for this at this hour. "No, sir. That's ok. I'll just snuggle in. I'll be fine."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Just get over here. You're freezing over there. You sleep with a comforter in the summer for god's sake."

"Sir, I'll be fine." She couldn't give in. It would be too easy.

He reached across the small space and pulled her to him, startling her. This was most definitely a move she hadn't been expecting. He always respected her space.

"Sir!"

"Ack! No. You are cold. We can share body heat. And cool it with the 'sir' already. We're alone. No one is going to reprimand you."

"But, sir. What if someone com…"

He cut her off by placing a finger over her lips. He whispered to her. "Shhhh. No one will dare come in here; first, because those egg-heads revere you as their queen, and second, because they are scared shitless by me. And, no sir. Not here, not now."

He was looking at her with such intensity that all she could do was nod. Besides, she was feeling the cold seep from her body already. She had a feeling that the cold floor beneath them was about to get a whole lot more comfy.

"Alright. Thank you. I do feel warmer."

"See. I have good ideas too."

She put her head against his chest and mumbled. "Yes, you do." Her head leaned up and she smiled at him again. "Goodnight, Jack."

She smiled at her with the one smile he reserved for moments like these. "Goodnight, Sam."

Before he could give into his urge and kiss her, he pulled her closer to him and closed his eyes. She did likewise, fighting off the same urge as he was, but sure that being in his arms was enough for now.

They were still on a different planet. The ground underneath them was still hard as hell. There were still a bunch of scientists just outside their tent, talking about some plant or another they wanted to get their hands on. There were still layers of so many things between them. There was still another 5 days left before they could leave this place and head home.

But there was also the certainty that they had someone to keep them warm on these cold nights. They still had more surveying to do. But there were also sleeping for them to do. And this old Colonel suddenly felt more tired than he ever had off-world. He might just need to get some extra hours of sleep each night, and maybe arrange it so that he and Carter always took the same watch. Yes that could be arranged.

And besides, he hadn't searched behind the mountains yet. Maybe there was a river running down one of the sides. Maybe he could finally take Sam fishing.

Maybe this little trek hadn't been a complete waste of time and patience after all. He squeezed the woman in his arms one more time and nodded off to sleep. Tomorrow was soon enough to move again, right now he was far too comfortable to do anything else.