Holding On
by Jara
Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions.
A/N: This story overlaps and adds to a scene from season's four episode "The Serpent's Venom". Nhawk is to blame for this entire fic! So any complaints, direct them to her. I actually had a lot of fun writing this. It's nice to be able to spam someone while you're writing and getting direct responses. Not only in the way of writing is this a revolution but also in the subject. It's a sort of missing scene but most part is actually based on what you see in the episode. Ow well, just read and find out! Thanks nhawk for the great betaing job!
Feedback will be very much enjoyed. I'm really nervous about this one!
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Sam tries not to think about the fact that there is a mine hovering above her head. Of course the humming isn't helping at all. Lying on the cold floor only seems to magnify the sound. She tries to concentrate on the blue flashing screens. Somewhere in the corner of her eye she is aware of Daniel lying down with her. She's actually relieved to have the company.
"Daniel? What do these mean?" She motions up towards the mine, restraining her movements as she doesn't want to accidentally touch it.
"Um… those indicate the various frequencies the mine is sensitive to." The answer comes strained, as Daniel must be reading; at least she thought she saw him holding a book. It doesn't seem worth straining her neck to find out.
Right away she forgets the danger hanging over her head as a new challenge presents itself. "So, we need to erase them all, and input only the ones we want, right?"
"Right." Daniel doesn't sound as convinced as she wishes he would be.
With a soft sigh she concentrates on the screens again, feeling a bit useless as she doesn't understand what the symbols mean. Her mind is still straining to understand it and find a way to finish the job as suddenly her attention is drawn away from the altering icons and the penetrating hum.
Sam hadn't heard him approaching and from where she is lying she didn't see him coming. It's more a feeling... an intuition that tells her he is there. Close, much closer than she had expected, as she feels the air brush over the hand that is resting on her stomach. Caught by surprise she pulls back her hand as she feels him coming even closer.
She cranes her neck to look at her CO and wonders which evil part of her brain decided that she has to know *exactly* how close he is. Sure enough, his head is hovering just like the mine above her. Only he is a *lot* more nearby. His eyes meet hers for a second and in a slight panic she quickly rests her head back down on the floor.
*Cold... cold is good.* She shouldn't be thinking about the warmth that is radiating from his cheek as there is a mine right above them all. She shouldn't... her breath gets stuck in her throat as she feels the tips of his hair stroke over her abdomen.
"How long is this gonna take, Kids?" She can feel a soft vibration washing over her belly as Jack speaks. She fixates her eyes on the screens above her head. Her hand moves down by its own will, wanting to touch the soft grey hairs. Only when she suddenly feels his temple gently brush against her abdomen does she realise what she is trying to do. Swallowing she quickly changes trajectory, putting the rebelling hand with its palm down on the ground by her hip.
His head moves up again for a second and then back down, gently brushing over her. She sucks in a breath and realises he must have felt the movement. That's when she freezes. Her hand presses down against the cold floor and the other remains immobile. Her eyes are staring up to the screen but she knows she isn't trying any longer to recognize the symbols. They just flash by. The only thing she does know right now is that she can't let Jack know his proximity is affecting her in any way whatsoever.
"I have NO idea!" She vaguely hears Daniel answer but she isn't all too sure what exactly he is saying. How could she anyway? For a moment she had thought that he would move away again when he had his answer. She couldn't have been more wrong as she suddenly feels his forehead touching her abdomen again. This time it's not a gentle brush, she can feel the pressure softly building up inside her as he lies his head down. Sam just knows a shiver would be running up her spine if it wasn't for the fact that she was lying cramped up, trying to not even blink.
*Blue, nice beautiful blue. Nice soothing and relaxing.* She still doesn't dare to move. Her body is whispering for her to close her eyes, to revel in the feeling of having his head lying on her belly. Even here, lying underneath a mine with Daniel a couple of inches away the small contact feels intimate. Her hand is aching to move off the hard floor and run her fingers through his ever-disheveled hair, to gently caress his cheek and never let him move again. Still, somewhere there is enough sense left in her to not move an inch.
The only thing Sam can do right now is wait and hope he will let her and Daniel continue with their work. She tries to cling to that thought as suddenly he moves a bit and her self control wavers. She draws in a breath and somewhere her body betrays her, making it shudder slightly. It isn't much but it's enough. With reluctance she can feel his head shooting up, but not far enough to take her from under his spell.
His eyes are moving over her body. She doesn't need to sit up to know it. They never needed words to know when one of them was looking at the other. A bond that up until now has always seemed useful, especially in combat. But right here, she curses it. She knows where his eyes are going and she wishes she didn't. Her cheeks are heating up and she prays he can't see her blush from this angle. Just when she thinks he will make some kind of remark he seems to be moving even further away again.
Both relief and disappointment wash over her as she thinks he is about to move away again. Only to be surprised once more as his head comes to rest back down on her abdomen. There is no reason for his staying any longer. All questions have been answered and he won't be able to help them. Maybe he just wants to keep from being bored. The thoughts race through her head as she tries not to think about why he would want to stay entertained by resting on her belly. Knowing she can't stay lying here like this, as if she just turned to stone, she takes in a deep breath and collects all her courage. She had taken on the goa'uld, surely she could convince her CO that there are more interesting parts in the spaceship.
"Sir?" Did she even speak the words? It more seemed like she sighed them, and not in the annoyed and exasperated way either.
"Mmmm?" He hums softly against her belly and all thoughts of asking him to leave dissolve into nothing. The vibration makes her knees go weak and she's grateful that she is lying down on the uncomfortable floor. She doesn't realise that she has been quiet for a while as she feels him move up a little again. Sam has to fight the whimper that wants to escape her lips. "Carter?" He asks, concern in his voice.
She blinks and tries to remember what she was going to say. "Sir, this might take a while…" It actually surprises her that she is able to find her voice again.
"Mmmm." Comes the reply again as he settles back down on her belly. A curse narrowly escapes being voiced by her. He really should stop doing that because the next time she isn't all too sure if she's going to be able to keep her hands on the ground.
"How about we call you when we make any progress?" It is beyond any doubt that she wouldn't get anything done with him lying there. She can only barely make herself remember she is lying under a mine. A mine, and she is thinking about her CO… groaning. Jack O'Neill actually groaned and she has to suck in her breath. "We need to get this…" She starts to explain. Sometimes Sam surprises herself as she doesn't have the slightest idea where her mind found the willpower to actually object to what her body was thoroughly enjoying.
"I know, Carter." Jack sighs and his head slowly moves away again.
As Sam loses the contact between them her eyes close and she can still feel her skin tingle where his head had been. A warm impression is left on her belly, aching to be filled again. Mind and body battle again as one of them wants to ask the Colonel to stay anyway. Sadly, the Major in her has to win. It's only now that she realises Daniel is speaking to her but her mind isn't ready to get back to the mine just yet. Slowly she moves her head up and opens her eyes. Jack is still hovering close over her. A too satisfied for her liking grin is lighting his face and making his eyes twinkle.
"I'll be around." He tells her and all she can do is nod before she lies her head back down on the cool ground. She can hear the rustling of his BDU's as he is getting up. Suddenly she feels his hand brush against her left hip. Her head jerks back up at the touch and their eyes meet again. He's sitting with his hands on either side of her, about to push himself back up as his knees are probably aching from the position he was just in.
Sam swallows as she reads something in his eyes that she knows shouldn't be there. For a moment the humming fades to the background and all she is aware of are the dark and hungry eyes. His grin is mischievous as he pushes himself up slowly. The movements more those of a lover rising out of bed than of a Colonel. The image sticks in her mind as his face disappears out of her view and he rises back to his feet. She can see him walk up to the wall at the other side of the room.
For a moment Sam allows herself to appreciate the view and then lies back down. As her eyes move back to the blue screens she realizes Daniel is speaking to her and probably has been for a while. Sighing she closes her eyes for a minute. When she opens them again Major Samantha Carter takes back control and concentrates on the symbols and what Daniel is saying. All the time unaware of the dark eyes that are constantly keeping watch over her.
THE END