"Constant Craving" by Ziva
Col. Jack O'Neill sat staring into the dying campfire on P3X-204. It was his turn to stand watch while his team members got some much-needed sleep. They had been on this stinking hell hole of a planet for three days now, and Jack couldn't wait to get home. All they had come here for was to get the locals to let them mine the naquadah in the nearby mountains. It had sounded like an easy mission...talk, shake hands, drink, eat, make merry. But soon after the drinking part, Jack knew this one wasn't going to go smoothly.
How the hell were they supposed to know that Sam's actions had been interpreted as an acceptance of Janosh's proposal! All she had done was accept a drink from the man's flask for cryin out loud! And when Daniel figured out exactly what the man was shouting about, he had apologized profusely. But no amount of kissing ass had changed the man's mind; he said he was going to have Samantha Carter for his wife or she would pay with her life!
And it was that 'paying with her life' part that had caused SG-1 to escape the village and hide in these caves. Because although these people were simple folk with no weapons as advanced as the guns and explosives of SG-1, it was their strength in numbers and their simplicity that prevented Jack and his teammates from opening fire on them. And so they had run away and sought shelter, hoping they could some how sneak back to the stargate which was, to their great disadvantage, located within the village in question.
"Sir, it's time for my watch," she told him as she came and sat down next to him. Her hair was tousled from sleep, and she yawned as she took the cap off her canteen. Jack looked at her and thought, for the third time that night, how the hell he was gonna continue to take her into these situations, considering the way he felt about her.
"I know. Not sleepy, Carter. Go back to bed," he told her, poking the fire with a stick like a boy on a camping trip.
They both watched as sparks flew up from the smoldering wood. It was cool in here, but not really cold enough to warrant putting more wood on the fire. Better to let it die, like his heart died each and every time he thought about Carter being with her boyfriend back home. As he sat with her by the fire, the constant craving he felt for her was almost impossible to deny, but deny it he would ... for her sake.
'Maybe I should just go back and challenge that son-of-a-bitch. He might kill me,' he said to himself. 'Then I wouldn't have to think about any of this shit ever again.'
"Sir, I'm really sorry I got us into this mess," Sam told him, looking at his unreadable face. She knew he must be feeling something, but as usual he was keeping his feelings to himself. She hated that about him; he never let her in.
"Not your fault, Carter." There was no way he would let her take the blame for this; the officer in him really didn't see it that way, and the man in him wouldn't allow it. "You had no way of knowing what you were getting yourself into," he assured her.
"But I didn't just get myself into this! I got us all into this! I should go back and challenge him myself, Sir. I think I could take him," she said, silently pleading with him to look at her. Jack didn't respond because at that moment they both heard Daniel's voice coming from the dark recesses of the cave.
"Could you two keep it down over there? Trying to sleep here," Daniel announced grumpily. Obviously Teal'c had no trouble sleeping through their tête-à-tête, as his snores could be heard resonating around the large chamber.
"Sorry, Daniel," Sam told him. "Sir, can we go outside? I need to talk to you," she said quietly.
Jack nodded and got up, following Sam out into the pitch black night. In fact it was so black out that he could no longer see where she had gone. Suddenly he felt a hand on his arm and another around the back of his neck. Then his mouth was being assaulted by two very soft lips...Carter's lips, the ones he craved more than the very air he breathed. At first Jack was too startled to respond, but then his military mind took over and he pushed her away.
"Major, what the fuck do you think you're doing!" He had both hands on her biceps and was holding her at arms' length. Her hands had come down to grip his forearms, her nails digging into his bare skin. Sam's hands felt cool against his hot skin, and his body quickly reacted to her frantic grip, not to mention the kiss she had just given him.
And although his mind knew it was wrong, he couldn't stop his body from seeking what it needed. That constant craving for her won out, and he pulled her to his chest, wrapping her tightly in his arms as he kissed her like there was no tomorrow.
Now his tongue was plundering her mouth, tasting her sweetness, sweeping over smooth palate and slick teeth. His hands had taken up the quest too, finding each and every curve of her body and claiming them for their own. And Jack's body screamed for him to take her now, before the moment passed...before his brain could keep him from owning the one thing that could make his life truly worth living.
Gently Jack lowered Sam to the grass-covered ground, and in the darkness of that distant planet he took the love she offered him ... without a thought to the consequences to both of them.
Four days later...
"Well, Dr. Jackson, while I'm very relieved you were finally able to convince Soldan that Major Carter should not be held responsible for her misunderstanding of Janosh's intentions, I am also very distressed that you took it upon yourself to return to the village. This could have ended very badly, Doctor. I hope you know that?"
"Yes, General Hammond, but it seemed to be the only way," Daniel explained, and Teal'c nodded.
"I am in agreement with DanielJackson; if he had not risked his life to speak to the Vorran leader, we would most likely have had to fight our way to the gate. Many innocent people would have been slain in our effort to depart, although I feel our effort would surely have succeeded," he told the General.
General Hammond looked at Colonel Jack O'Neill the leader of SG-1, wondering why he had not put his usual two cents worth. The man looked pensive and distracted, and that worried Hammond. It wasn't like Jack not to voice his opinion; Jack was nothing if not opinionated.
"Colonel O'Neill, do you concur?" Jack's eyes met the General's only momentarily before he spoke, then his gaze went back to the table where it had been throughout the debriefing.
"Yes, sir. Teal'c said everything that can be said, Sir," he told the perplexed leader of the SGC. Yes, something was definitely wrong with his second-in-command, but now was not the time to get into it.
"All right, then you're dismissed. I'm sure you're all ready for some down time, so take the long weekend off, and I'll see you back here at zero 800 hours on Tuesday morning," he told them.
They all got up, and General Hammond couldn't help but notice the angry looks that passed between Daniel and Jack before Jack dashed out of the room. He also noticed that Major Carter seemed to be avoiding looking at all three of her teammates, and Hammond's concern grew.
Whenever there was friction of any kind between Jack and the Daniel, Sam was usually the moderator. Both men respected Major Carter and considered her their friend, so why was she obviously staying out of this current problem, whatever it might be? George Hammond prided himself on keeping his teams functioning happily together, and SG-1 was certainly THE team he never wanted to see break up because of any disagreement between its members.
Since the actual mission didn't seem to be at the root of the problem, Hammond had to wonder when it had begun. To find out more, he decided to make a visit to Daniel's office. Even though SG-1 had been given some time off, Hammond knew Daniel well enough to believe he would be working on base for most of the next four days. And it was in his office that Hammond found him one hour later.
"General Hammond! To what do I owe this honor?" Daniel smiled at the older man, and pulled out a chair for him, hastily removing a stack of books from its seat.
"Thank you, Dr. Jackson. I will sit for a few minutes, and then I've got to get home. My granddaughter Kayla is going to be in a play tonight. I want to take some photos of her in her costume before we leave for the school." George cleared his throat and proceeded.
"You must be wondering why I'm here, so I'll get to it. And rest assured that nothing we say here will go on anyone's record," he assured the archaeologist, whose eyebrows rose in surprise. "I couldn't help noticing how quiet Jack was this morning at the debriefing," he began. "And then I saw an angry look pass between the two of you. I feel I have to ask you, Doctor, is there anything about which I should be concerned? SG-1 is my flag-ship team; I can't have anything disrupting your ability to function as one."
"Sir, I don't know what you think you saw, but I assure you..."
"I know exactly what I saw, Doctor Jackson, and I will not be lied to," Hammond said sternly. Daniel looked contrite and sighed.
"Okay. There is a little problem between Jack and me. But I'm sure we can settle our differences, and that they will not affect our ability to work together," he stated with certainty.
"That's good to hear. But why do I get the feeling there's more to this? Major Carter seemed to have distanced herself from all of you this morning. She also seemed to take no interest in the fact that you and Jack were obviously at odds over something. Knowing Major Carter the way I do, this seems unusual behavior on her part."
"Believe me, Sam is aware of the disagreement between Jack and myself, and she has expressed her concern," Daniel assured the man.
"All right, Doctor. I'm not going to insist you tell me what the disagreement is about, unless I'm forced to do so. Just be sure you and Jack work this out over the weekend, or you will be on down time till hell freezes over," he said, rising from the chair and leaving.
"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir!"
Daniel closed his laptop and rushed out of his office. He was heading for Sam's lab, but on the way there he met Jack on the elevator. The colonel was dressed in civvies and was obviously heading off the base. There was no one else on the elevator, and since the security cameras did not record sound, Daniel decided to try and talk to Jack one more time about the problem.
"Jack, General Hammond just came to see me," he told the morose man.
"About?"
"About why you and I seem to be at odds, and why Sam was obviously trying to stay out of it," he informed Jack. Jack glanced at him and then back down at the floor. Suddenly Daniel reached out and pressed the stop button, bringing the elevator to a halt.
"Jack, you can't keep avoiding this! You and Sam have got to talk about what happened, and..." Just then a man's voice interrupted Daniel. It was Sgt. Harriman wanting to know if all was okay inside the elevator. Daniel picked up the red emergency phone.
"It's all right Walter, I accidentally leaned on the stop button," Daniel told the disembodied voice. Daniel leaned over and pressed the stop button again, disengaging it, and the elevator began moving again.
"Jack, please! For Sam's sake...for all our sakes...please talk to her and work this thing out! You love each other. Doesn't that count for anything?"
"I'm not sure it does, Daniel. And I'm not sure I deserve to have things work out. What I deserve is to be in the brig awaiting a court martial!" Jack stomped out of the elevator the instant the door opened, and Daniel just stood there looking at the man's back.
"Well, Jack," Daniel said aloud to no one but himself, as the elevator doors closed again, "if you don't work it out, you may get your wish."
TBC
AN: To those of you who have asked for sequels to some of my fan fiction stories, I am sorry but I wrote these stories many years ago and I no longer write fan fiction. I will continue posting my old stories on this site, but I am now writing romance e-books which you can find on Amazon .com or lsbooks .com under my new pen name Marie Caron. I hope you will try them. Thanx!