A/N: So you surprised by another story? Yeah, me too :o) I'm having absolutely wonderful time in Egypt and ideas for stories keep on coming… and now I have sort of a free evening so here I am, writing… I promise to get back to all of you (reviews, PMs, everything) once I'm back in Czech. And I will also finish the last story. Really! Now enjoy one little piece just for fun :o) Greetings from Cairo! :o)

Timeline – beginning of the story is during the beginning of season 4

Spoilers – possibly some minor ones up to Entity but nothing major for sure (as usually, good to know what happened up till that episode…)

Dedication – to this lovely family here in Cairo that took me in and showed me the real amazing and beautiful Egypt I had always wanted to see. Thank you from all my heart!

Oh and folks – no time for corrections or beta work so – forgive me my mistakes and I promise to get to this later and fix everything that hadn't been fixed yet.

DANGEROUSLY PLEASANT SECRET by Isobel

Sam Carter wasn't one of those soldiers complaining about post mission's checks in the infirmary. No, she had started to crave them after one very bad incident of becoming a host. These checks seemed to be a waste of time and sure, Janet with her light pen and army of nurses could be a bit … dangerous, but still, they had their meaning and they were important.

But now after sitting on the bed for another half an hour, trying to explain that the fact, that she had almost fainted had nothing to do with the mission, she was ready to kill. Guys could already leave. But Janet kept her there for extra time.

"Janet, please, I'm fine."

"You almost fainted and I wanna know why…" And she knew that sooner or later Sam would give in and tell her. Usually she was being open and honest with her, well since they'd become really close friends. She had no idea what could cause this.

"Sam?"

"I might have been a bit… dizzy before." She admitted.

"Okay… anything else?" But of course, there was no answer.

"Sam… you can either tell me what you are not telling me or…"

"Or?"

"Or I will do some more tests and take you from active duty till I know what is wrong with you."

"Janet…" Yes, she sounded like a child. And yes, she was about to get very desperate.

"No arguing, not now. Normally I would say you're exhausted or that you haven't eaten in a while. But the mission was a piece of cake, I'm sure guys made you eat regularly and I'm also sure that you were more or less forced to sleep at least few hours per day. So… are you going to tell me?" And she used the most doctor-mother-like voice she could come up with.

Sam knew she was in troubles. But how was she supposed to tell her friend and doctor that it had nothing to do with the mission and food and sleep?

"Okay okay… but you're evil you know?'

"I've been told…" She replied, now both nervous and relieved. What could possibly be such a big secret?

"I think your results will show that my sugar level is really low."

"How so?"

"I may have skipped few meals before the mission … more than few… and then I didn't take anything sweet with me and …."

"Sam…"

"I had to finish the project, you know? I got so caught up in it. And usually after something like that I need some granola bars and chocolate, you know, to get the sugar up again… but I noticed that I've been… gaining some weight recently so I stopped with the sweet things and pushed myself a bit harder in the gym and so all of it together…"

Janet couldn't believe it. Sam feeling fat? What the hell? She actually …. Wow, she didn't see that one coming, not by a long shot. She sat down next to her, ready to let her go but determined to talk to her first.

"If you wanna be on a diet or something, we can work on it. But you can't be skipping meals and then living without sugar and sweet things, not while you're pushing yourself so hard…"

"I know. I'll be careful, okay?"

"You better be… and… tell me, any special reason for the … desire to lose weight? Which is totally unnecessary by the way, you look just fine for."

"Special reason?" Sam decided not to comment on the last part.

"Usually it's the strange species called males…" Janet winked at her. Sam just blushed and hopped down from the table.

"No, not really… " And she was hoping very much that Janet would let this one go.

The minute she felt her blood pressure going down, before the almost fainting moment, she knew that there would be consequences. And here she was. And no, she was not going to tell Janet that after spending some time in the gym with certain Officer she desired to look a bit better. Because it was truth – she was gaining weight. During the last few months her nerves were stretched and her life had been more or less difficult. Well, more than just difficult. So she was helping herself with sweets in the middle of the night and then the result came. And she didn't like it. So she opted for no more sweets and for a bit more exercising in the future. She was sure she would get her figure back pretty soon and nobody would notice. Ha.

"Hey… before you disappear, I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure?" Sam knew she would answer probably anything now, worried that otherwise Janet would made her do something about the diet and all other stupid ideas like that. And that she would want to know how she gained the extra weight in the first place. And why.

"It's been little crazy here lately…" Oh yeah, it was. Sometimes life here in SGC could be described only as crazy. Especially when it came to SG-1 and people close to them.

"I agree." Sam smiled.

"So I was thinking… would you like to do something together?"

"Like?"

"I don't know… movie, dinner, shopping… massage…" And the emphasis was supposed to be there. She knew Sam would get the hint.

"Oh…"

"Come on, it will be fun. We let some very skilled hands to take away the pressure and stress, huh?" Janet was almost begging, she knew, but she didn't care.

"Janet… I'd love to do something together, you know that. And I admit that I've been neglecting you as a friend recently because of everything but a massage?"

"We can start with something light… Swedish maybe?"

"I'm sorry Janet but there's no way. Think of something else and I'm in but not this… I'm sorry." And she truly was.

Janet just nodded and let Sam leave. She knew that the answer would be negative but she had to try anyway. She really wanted to take Sam there and let her be spoiled and pampered. She deserved it.

She used to be like that… skeptical and not really wanting other people around her while she was lying naked on a table with nothing but a towel on her body. But then she tried. Once. And she got addicted. She would never stop being grateful that Cassie had made her go.

Janet knew that Sam was a proud woman. And she sustained some injuries that … marked her body. She offered her that they would contact a cosmetic surgeon, which they could given the circumstances, or ask one of their allies about their healing technology, but Sam refused. No, she had lived through the battles and those scars were reminders of too many things. She just had troubles with feeling satisfied with herself from time to time.

Sam knew that she had just hurt her best friend. She knew that Janet wanted to do something nice for her. And she could definitely use a massage. Those knots in her neck were killing her. But she just couldn't go somewhere and let complete stranger touch her. Maybe ten years ago… but not now.

She took a shower and then went to see Daniel. She was supposed to pick him up from his lab so they could take something to eat together. She was about to knock on the doorframe when she heard him talking to someone on the phone.

"I know you wanted to do it for her… just give her time… - Janet, she's a proud woman, you know that. Being vulnerable like that must be difficult for her. Besides I think that all the women here don't want to be explaining to anyone how they got some of the scars. - Okay, not just women… - No, we'll think of something else, okay? I'm sure there are many things you women like to do together… - Sure, tell her I'm saying hi.- Yes, we'll do the Moroccan dinner on Thursday… Me too, bye.."

Sam couldn't really believe it. First – Janet was talking to Daniel about this. Why? And for what reason? It was supposed to be like secret, right? Or maybe not… well… And then second thing – Daniel knew. He knew all of it. And he seemed to understand. Third – Daniel was having a dinner with Janet. Private dinner in Moroccan style. And before she managed to analyze the rest, her head started to spin.

She really had hurt Janet by refusing. It was very bad. She never wanted to hurt her… never. She felt so bad that she just went to her lab and sat there. She started to work on something and she kept on thinking. She forgot about the arrangement with Daniel as well. She realized it later but let it go again. She had to figure out what to do to make it up to Janet. She was about to call Daniel and apologize and offer rescheduling when there was a knock on her door. She looked up and saw Colonel O'Neill standing there.

"Sir, hi."

"Hey… "

"What can I do for you?"

"Have dinner and go to bed?" He tried with the usual smirk. He walked in and leaned against her work bench.

"What's up, Carter?"

"Nothing, Sir.'

"Sure… that's probably why you've been playing with that pencil for almost ten minutes at least…"

Sam looked into her hands and actually… she had really been playing with her pencil, not doing anything, just sitting there and staring. And her CO caught her. Ouch.

"So… wanna tell me?" He tried again. And when his eyes met hers, he wasn't sure that it had been such a good idea anymore. What the hell was he doing?

"I failed Janet." She answered, not really knowing where it came from.

"By almost fainting in the infirmary? And I'm gonna ask about that later so get ready…"

She looked at him again and knew that this was not a conversation between two officers. No, now they were friends. Maybe she could… but she really should figure out what to tell him about the incident in the infirmary. But maybe going for the skipping meals excuse would do. He would probably just start trying even harder to make her eat regularly. She could live with that.

Now here he was, waiting for her to come up with answer. How crazy was that?

"It's a thing between women, you know? I screwed up, Sir."

"Then fix it." He offered.

"I wish I could."

"Not that I know what's going on so forgive me for being dumb, but what is stopping you from trying, Sam?"

And actually he was right. She smiled at him softly, absolutely not understanding where this conversation came from but actually, she was glad that he had showed up. Maybe it really was that easy. Maybe… just maybe. Could it be?

"From what I know, Fraiser's your friend. So… go and fix it."

"I might do just that, Sir." She smiled again. She really loved it when he had these simple ideas. Her mind was trying to figure out what to do, how to make it up to her and maybe it was really that easy, maybe she just had to go and apologize and give it all a try.

And Jack knew that after all they have been put through, they still could be friends. He was proud of himself. Again, he could make her smile. And that was something he really loved. That smile she had reserved just for him. Actually, in the first place he was coming to ask her why is Daniel eating alone in the commissary looking like a lost puppy but well, this was apparently important as well.

Sam left him standing there and went to the infirmary. She was a bit worried that she got so closed to her CO to share this with him but well, she knew better now. Her relationship with Jack O'Neill could be described only as unique.

Sam found Janet in her office and told her that she would go with her to the SPA to take the massage. And when she saw Janet's huge smile she knew that she had just done something good. Actually she was surprised by her own behavior. Why it took her so long to figure it out? Maybe it was the missing sugar in her blood.

And so she went to the commissary, apologized to Daniel and smiled and Jack, wishing him nice evening. Back home she turned on the TV, started one of the oldest black and white movies and enjoyed sweet chocolate cake. She would go for a run in the morning anyway.

On Thursday Daniel was having dinner over at Janet's place. It was a traditional Moroccan dinner. Cassandra had a project for school so he decided to help. Besides he had to admit to himself that he really like spending time with Janet. It was like … his heart was slowly opening to another person and despite being scared of losing her and having his heart broken again, he could feel the affection growing by every day. And he liked it.

It was fun. Really. Everything traditional, food and drinks, seating and serving of things, music and even some decorations. He had spent some time in Morocco few years ago and one of his friends was living there so they had all the possible help. This guy even went online and so they could talk via the web-camera, Cassie was asking questions and it was actually pretty good.

When there was time for the dessert, Daniel went with Janet to the kitchen to help her. They got everything ready and then she stopped him. He was a bit puzzled but it was obvious she had something on her mind. And so he waited.

"Thank you." She said, smiled at him and kissed his cheek sweetly. Daniel refused to admit that all his senses were on high alert and that his heart was about to jump out of his mouth and go for a run. Very happy run.

"What for?"

"For talking to Sam… we're going to the SPA together."

"Ehm… I didn't talk to her."

"You didn't?"

"Nope…"

"Oh…"

"But the kiss was nice anyway…" He admitted and with a smile took the desserts to the living room. Janet was still standing in the kitchen, trying to figure out everything. Did she just kiss Daniel? And did he say it was nice? And who the hell talked to Sam? She was very confused.

In a day Sam knocked on Janet's door, nervous and smiling. She didn't know what to expect so she was a bit anxious. She had been to some of the medical massages with her muscles and body parts due to her injuries from… battles but this was the first time it was purely to enjoy it.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, just … nervous."

"Don't be, you'll like it. I promise."

And so Janet took them to her favorite SPA. It was small and very beautiful. The pale lights and nice smell, the quiet and everything. It was a sanctuary and she knew that she would always love the place. At the reception, she talked to the girl and then with a smile she took Sam deeper into the labyrinth of the whole building.

They got their baskets to put their things in there. They got fluffy white robes and warm slippers to change into. Sam was getting more and more unsure, she was about to apologize and leave. But then she remembered – she deserved it. She deserved to be taken care of. And if Janet wanted to help with that, she would allow her to do so. So she changed into the robe and prayed that this would not end badly.

They handed their things and got little keys. Then they moved into the waiting area. Soft comfortable couches, candles, scent in the air, soft relaxing music in the speakers, it was heaven.

Janet noticed the tension leaving Sam's body. Her shoulders and neck, her whole face, she seemed to be relaxing already. She closed her eyes and tried to calm down and apparently it was working. Oh yes, this was a very good idea.

When two ladies came, Sam panicked a bit. She thought that Janet would be there with her. It was stupid and pathetic but still… but then she lied down onto the table and felt the warmth from the air seeping through her skin, she felt the scent again as well.

Covered only in towel, she fell asleep while those two amazing hands were doing the most magical things to her. She couldn't believe it but she really loved it. Some parts were a bit uncomfortable but well… the whole thing was incredible experience. She got woken up when the lady asked her to turn around. With a smile of course.

"Madam, you fell asleep…"

"Sorry…"

"No, that's all right, don't worry. Close your eyes and feel free to fall asleep again."

"I might try…"

And she did. She tried. And she fell asleep.

Later Sam and Janet were sitting together , relaxing in their fluffy bath robes, sipping white tea and feeling like never before.

"So…"

"Okay, I must admit, this was really good."

"Good?"

"My neck is so better now… and my back and my legs…"

"Just good?" Janet teased.

"All right! It was fantastic!" Sam admitted and made Janet smile in satisfaction. Mission? Completed.

"I so didn't want her to stop… oh my why she had to stop?" Sam asked. Janet just grinned at her, knowing that Sam had just fallen for this little pleasure as hard and fast as she did before.

"And Janet… thank you."

"For what?"

"Claudia talked to me… so… thank you." And Sam knew that Janet would understand. She did. So she just smiled at her again and nodded. No words were needed.

Back in the room, when she had to turn around, the skilled magician working on her body really talked to her. And it made her understand many things.

"You seem to be very stressed."

"Difficult job."

"Army?"

"Air Force." Sam answered, not really sure why.

"You seem like you've been put through a lot…" She noticed the scars of course. Sam knew. It was hard not to notice while she was naked there on the table.

"You can say that, yes."

"So … now you just lie here and try to relax, okay? You deserve it." And then she started her work again. Sam on the other hand was really surprised.

"You don't mind?"

"The scars?"

"Yes." She surprisingly admitted.

"I guess Janet didn't tell you, huh?"

"Didn't tell me what?"

"Main part of the people coming here are soldiers, Marines, Air Force, take your pick. And with them also lots of stressed wives and mothers and sisters and daughters… but here are no wars or conflicts. Here all of them, including you, should just relax and realize that no matter what, you are beautiful human beings."

And with that Sam could live. Of course Janet would be that thoughtful. She really had to apologize again and make it up to her.

"Oh… well, I thought it would be better."

"I guess some others from SGC are coming here?"

"Actually… no."

"Why not?"

"This SPA has another building on the other side of the town. I'm sending them there… this is… different. Just ours."

"Nice." Sam had to admit. She wouldn't run into anyone and there would be no rumors whatsoever.

"So … what do you think? Next time also with body scrub or manicure or something?"

"What?"

"Well I couldn't tell you in the beginning that I would try to corrupt you like this… you would have never agreed… but now you know how beautiful it is so…"

And Sam had to smile. And she was actually grinning. She really had the best possible friend ever.

"But Janet… nobody can know about this."

"I absolutely agree."

"No, really, I'm not joking."

"I know." And by the way she was looking at her, she really did.

"Look, Sam, we as women had to work really hard to get our positions and respect and everything. The base is so filled with testosterone that anybody knowing about this would mean a disaster."

And neither mentioned the fact that Daniel knew. But they were both thinking about it. They had different reasons but still…

In the next few weeks they started to live with this little pleasant secret. Nobody knew, nobody was told and the both of them were really enjoying it. The SPA had become one of the most favorite places for those two. They could relax, they could drink tea and nobody was making fun of them. And the SPA was opened till early morning hours and some days since early morning hours so they always managed to go there and enjoy every minute of it. It was still a bit hard to believe it, but it was working for them.

Daniel knew that Sam had agreed. Not just because Janet had told him before but also by the way she looked. She seemed to be happier in between the missions, always looking forward to something and what was the most important thing, she was willing to leave the lab more often, she was eating more and she really looked better. And from what he knew, Jack noticed too. It was hard to miss the looks sometimes. Really, he had it bad.

Jack knew that something was going on. After what they had been put through he was surprised that his team could still work together. It was almost impossible. No, really, he thought that they would need a therapist and then somebody to help them survive the therapist, that they wouldn't be able to work together or do some things, that some missions would be beyond their powers. He certainly felt like that.

But no, they surprised him, all of them. They were doing well. Daniel was smiling sheepishly more and Carter was obviously having fun at least sometimes. Of course he was checking on her in her lab, still bringing her food and drinks and making her go to sleep, but sometimes she wasn't there and sometimes she was leaving with Fraiser. It looked like whatever had been bothering her all those long weeks, actually months ago, was solved. And it was good. Those two deserved the friendship.

He just wished he knew what was going on.

And was it just him or was Sam more and more beautiful every day? He'd swear her skin was glowing and her hair shining, that all the dark circles from under her eyes were gone much faster than they used to and that she seemed to more comfortable around some things and topics. One part of him was screaming that she was having someone… a date, a boyfriend.

And maybe it would explain everything, yes, but he just couldn't believe it. No, when she was doing something, she would always give it her whole heart. And he just knew, he knew that she had done the most stupid thing on this planet and gave his heart to him. And he was glad and also a bit sorry. But he did the same thing and he knew he would never regret it. He would be hurt and he would probably end up broken anyway, but regrets? No, not really.

So he just had to wonder, what was the secret?

Then a miracle happened. One of his old friends called him and they met in one diner to have something to eat together. And this guy had a younger sister, she was picking him up that day cause they were about to go and visit their mother. And so that morning turned out to be much more interesting that he would ever dared to hope for.

Sam knew that she should do something about herself. She was stressed and she felt horrible after some of the missions. Visits in the SPA were helping but still there were some very important things missing in her life. And it hurt. She found herself craving hugs and crying more often, she felt lonely and she knew that some things in her life were just wrong. But she had her friends and many reasons to pull through everything that the life had in store for her. Still, she decided to label this year as one of the most difficult ones. Ever.

Maybe because of that mood she didn't see one surprise coming. Once she had a present on her table. She tried to think about all the important dates of her life but she just couldn't think of a reason why the present should be there. No anniversaries, birthdays or anything. And so she opened it and found a season ticket for the SPA. It was like a huge credit she could use for whatever she wanted.

She went to the infirmary to ask about that thing. It was nice but still… but Janet had no idea. It was not from her. So she tried to call Cassie. It was, after all, her idea to go for the SPA in the first place. But not even Cassie knew. She was getting a bit nervous and actually about to ask Daniel. But when she was sitting in the café with the phone in her hand she noticed something very strange happening on the street. She saw Claudia, her magical angel from the SPA, she was walking between two men. One of them looked like he could be her brother. And the other one was Colonel O'Neill. They were talking and smiling, sipping coffee.

Sam felt herself blush, the heat in her cheeks and on her neck. Oh my! She wanted to run and scream. So he knew… he knew that she was a woman after all. It was very bad… Okay, one part of it was good because it was nice to remind the guys that they had a woman among them. But mostly it was the opposite. And now her Commanding Officer new she was a soldier when she had to be, geek in her free time and absolutely hopeless case of SPA-loving person. Nice. Her reputation would go to hell soon.

But maybe not. He didn't seem to mind at all. Still, she had to know why the present. Was it because he was making fun of her? No, that wasn't his style. No, he actually wanted to do something for her. On the card was a writing saying "For the beautiful person you are..." and although Sam knew it was just the motto of the SPA, she liked to think about another meaning anyway.

She suddenly found herself looking into his eyes. He smiled her across the street and with a twinkle in his eyes and grin on his face he kept on walking. But they both knew what just happened.

Claudia knew that something bad had happened. She hadn't see Sam in weeks and there was no sign of Janet either. She knew that being in the Air Force and doing some important things could be dangerous, so she was really worried. She had seen the scars on Sam's body after all. And there were more and more through the months. In the end she decided to get some information. She couldn't help it, those two were amazing women and she loved spending time with them.

Jack was surprised when he got a call.

"O'Neill."

"Jack, hi, I'm so glad I finally reached you… it's Claudia Dell."

"Oh, hi. What can I do for you?"

"Ehm… I was wondering… is Sam all right?"

"Why?" He asked and hoped that she wouldn't hear the worry in his voice.

"She hadn't showed up in few weeks. And I haven't heard from Janet either. I know you guys have pretty dangerous jobs and I was just worried…"

"Oh… yeah, well…"

"You're not telling me that she… they…"

"No no no, both alive and rather well, really. Sam just had a … a mission and she was… really busy. I'm sure she'll contact you soon though."

And they both knew that Claudia wasn't stupid, she understood. He couldn't talk about it, it was very bad but there were good chances.

"Thank you."

"Think nothing of it."

But the phone call made them both feel pretty sad. Truth was that Sam was still recovering from having her personality copied into a computer, from almost being killed and all. Jack knew that it would take her time. She was still rather confused and not really well. And she wasn't the only one. He was still having deep issues about this particular thing as well.

It took them few weeks, several sessions with psychologist and some very painful and deep conversations, hugs and sleepless nights to figure out how to deal with that all. The whole team, the whole base was affected by this incident.

Sam got better and was allowed to start working again, no depressions or bad feelings anymore. And as a celebration there was a movie night planned over at Janet's place. They all needed some bonding time and with Janet and Cassie it was always the best.

Janet noticed that Sam and her CO were able to joke around each other again. And she was glad. She knew how much this incident had hurt them, how deeply. And seeing them smiling and joking was really nice.

Daniel was in the kitchen when Jack came, followed by Sam. They were talking about something, going for chips and popcorn to start the movie. They probably didn't notice him anyway. Sometimes they had the ability to do so.

"No really, Carter, it's nice you have such fun."

"I don't know how did you…"

"Claudia's brother is my friend. Trust me, it was just a coincidence." He said, smiling at her. Teasing her could be real fun. Especially about this.

"But really, Carter, it's just so hard to imagine you lying and not doing anything for an hour or more…"

And that was the moment Sam knew she couldn't let this go. Things were getting back to normal between them and it was time she tested the borders. So she smiled at him and looked him deeply in his eyes.

"Well, let's see. I'm lying naked on this warm comfortable table, covered by nothing but a tiny towel. Sometimes. There's this exotic scent in the air, lights are soft and not really bright so I can just take one deep breath after another and relax. And there's this pair of skilled hands massaging oil into every inch of my skin which is all smooth afterwards. It's a nice feeling, brings a lot of pleasure and leaves me really satisfied, sometimes I can't help it and I moan or whimper, it just feels so good. Yes, I can see why it's hard for you to imagine that, Sir."

She smiled, took the bowl of popcorn and walked away. Her heart was beating erratically but she felt good. The shocked expression on the Colonel's face was priceless. His mouth slightly open, eyes wide, he didn't see that coming.

Jack didn't know what to think. He knew that he would have the image of Sam Carter getting a massage in front of his eyes forever. That little vixen! She did it on purpose. She knew the effects, she knew what she would cause. His heart was jumping and his breathing should be much slower, he knew. Damn woman. Was it hot in the room?

Suddenly Daniel cleared his throat and so Jack noticed him finally. He still couldn't even speak.

"Well, Jack, I don't want to witness anything like that, ever again."

And he had no idea how to respond. What the hell…? He shouldn't have teased her. Oh my. But he still couldn't respond. It took him some time and thinking before looking at Daniel. That guy was grinning. What?

"I deserved that, didn't I?" Jack asked.

"Yup, you pretty much asked for it." Daniel said with a smile.

Of course he was sometimes annoyed by their behavior but mostly it was fun watching them dancing around the rules and lines and everything. Sam really gained some points by this. Seeing Jack losing his equilibrium that much was priceless indeed.

Daniel took the drinks and went to the living room, he left Jack standing there in the kitchen, alone, thinking. And he was sure he had some thinking to do.

Slowly, smile appeared on Jack's face. Oh that woman… he loved her, she was indeed something else. When he joined them in the living room, they were all smiling and having fun. But those dirty images kept on running through his head anyway. And he was planning on payback. Revenge could be sweet…right?

A/N: I didn't want to deal with the episodes between and with Entity itself… sorry but this was another story, just fun and friendship with more or less subtle hints :o) Hope you liked it :o)