Sorry this took forever to do! And sorry my last upload was messed up!

The four of them sat in the middle of the hut. The three men subconsciously surrounded Sam. No had one said much since Erik had showed them their accommodations. They probably shouldn't have been so shocked to learn that Sam would be desired so much. They come across more male dominated civilizations than not, but this time seemed to be a little different.

An hour passed in silence when Jack finally said, "Let's all try to get some shut eye." He gave a slight nod to Sam who looked slightly worried. She made herself as comfortable as she could on the pile of skins and her pack. When she closed her eyes Jack made eye contact with both Daniel and Teal'C. Protect her. They were way ahead of him. Both of his friends had their weapons easily accessible incase anyone dared to try and enter their hut during the night.

On normal missions one person would stay awake and they would each take turns keeping watch in 2-hour intervals, wake the next person, and so on until daylight. Tonight, however, they pulled double duty. 2 of them stayed awake at all times rotating until Erik came back in after dawn. 3 women entered their hut behind Erik to bring in some fresh milk, bread, and something that resembled fruit.

"Erik sympathizes with us, Jack, but he says this is a normal thing for them." Daniel and Erik had been talking for the better part of the morning. "Sometimes they do it for important alliances brought together by marriages. Both villages like to be sure a solid deal has been made. Sometimes they do it as punishment," he added grimly.

"Ridiculous," Sam said under her breath.

Jack quickly glanced at her, trying to assess her state. "Here's an idea. Why don't we go see this stash of naquadah and see if it really is all it's cracked up to be?"

Sam sat as far away from the door as possible. Without a doohickie or her computer to mess with, she seemed a little nervous. Jack had ordered her to pack light, since this was a first contact mission. At the suggestion of a trip to see the naquadah, she perked up a bit. "I think that's a great idea." She rummaged through her pack and pulled out her element testing equipment.

"Me, too," Daniel said. As he asked Erik for a guide to the mountain, Jack went over to Sam.

"Maybe the drone was wrong and we can skedaddle out of here before it gets dark again."

She knew he was just trying to help, but she also knew that he knew it was a long shot. "I guess we will find out."

Erik left the hut and Daniel said, "So, Erik says he can take us. It will be about an hour's hike." Daniel checked his gear even though he hadn't really taken anything out.

"And I'll know within 5 minutes whether it is naquadah. But without a thorough expedition, I won't know how much is actually there."

The original SG-1 set out on their trek following Erik and his 12-year-old son Ivan. Daniel stayed close to Erik discussing his village's history. Teal'C stayed in the middle while Sam and Jack picked up the rear again.

"Are you ok, Carter? You seem a little quiet."

Sam was flattered that he would notice a change in her demeanor. "I just want to get this over with as soon as possible, Sir."

"Don't worry. We will be home before you even know it."

"I don't see how this is going to go well, General. You were ordered to make this deal happen. If we just leave then they won't like it and they won't help us and I'm afraid we'll be ordered to go to war with these people. It just doesn't seem right."

"I think that's a bit dramatic, don't you?"

"No, sir. How else will we get it?"

Jack sighed. "I don't know, I'll think of something."

Sam grew increasingly worried as they approached the base of the mountain. She knew that this amount of naquadah would help the SGC more than anyone else realized. She should be happy that they had found this planet. Instead she dreaded the next 20 minutes. Maybe the General was right and the drone's reading of the mountain was wrong, but she highly doubted it.

"There are naturally made caves in the mountain," Daniel told them. "Erik says they sometimes hide the young children when their enemies invade. He knows the spot where a lot of naquadah is."

"Excellent! Then this should be easy," exclaimed Jack.

Ivan ran ahead when they reached the mouth of the cave. "He says it's only another 50 feet in." They all lit their flashlights and Erik examined Daniel's. He looked like a kid turning it over and around, pushing the button to turn it off and on. "He says it's magic."

Jack saw Sam smile at the innocence of their new friend, but it was brief. He knew exactly what she was thinking.

10 minutes later Sam put her kit down. "Yes, it's naquadah, alright." The look on her face was difficult to make out. "It's as pure as I've ever seen it. This is precisely what we need and judging from this spot alone this mountain could supply us for years.

Damn, Jack thought. He was afraid of this. How was he supposed to make this deal without handing Carter off like a sacrificial lamb?

The group took up their previous positions while walking back to the village. Jack had less than 5 hours to come up with an answer to his big problem. Sam was even quieter on the hike back. He had tried to think of something to say to cheer her up or assure her that this deal would not involve her, but he just couldn't. He remembered the first time Sam was offered up simply because she was a woman. He just loved thinking of her in that dress. It obviously wasn't today's style, but she still looked good in it. Then when she kicked the ass of that Mongol, he started feeling slightly attracted to her. He remembered because he had never been turned on by a woman while she was beating the crap out of some guy.

"What are we going to do, General?" She said it so quietly Jack almost didn't hear her.

"I don't know yet."

"What if we just go home and tell them the drone was wrong and I can lock this planet out of our dialing computer, and no one will ever know."

"Then how do you expect us to come up with enough naquadah for all your gadgets?"

Sam sighed. "The SGC needs it. Earth needs it. I guess when I promised to defend my country, I inevitably promised to do whatever it took to make it happen. I've done everything I can to make sure this program is successful! I've risked my life hundreds of times on hundreds of missions. What if I have to marry the prince in order to secure Earth's freedom?"

Her ramblings were out of character for her. He knew she must really be worried. Jack stopped walking and grasped Sam's arm. "Over my dead body, Carter. Forget it! It's not happening!" He looked her in the eye and for a split second he was afraid he'd lose all control and make sure she knew he had claimed her a long time ago. It reminded him of when they were trapped on opposite sides of a force shield but this time there was nothing preventing him from claiming her except sheer will power.

The rest of the hike back to the village was silent for Jack and Sam. Teal'C seemed to enjoy the unusual silence from them and Daniel was still talking Erik's ear off.

They all returned to the village and had lunch. Teal'C was keeping Sam company so Jack figured it would be a good time to talk to Daniel. "I have no idea how I'm going to get us out of this," he said.

"I'm sorry, Jack. I've tried everything! They don't seem as interested in the usual stuff, even gold and jewels. Erik says they like faithful alliances and they respect trust. Once you've lost their trust then you are their enemy."

Jack ran his hands through his hair. "The brass is not going to like this. Did Hammond have to go through this kind of stuff?"

Daniel merely shrugged his shoulders knowing it had been a rhetorical question.

"Did Erik give you any details on how I'm supposed to 'claim' Carter?"

"Well, uh, he said that everyone gathers in the great hall and just watches as a couple consummates. When someone is being punished anyone is allowed to, um…"

"What? Allowed to what?" Jack said nervously.

"Participate."

"Its usually a daughter or wife of whoever is being punished."

"Damn it!" Jack yelled.

Sam and Teal'C looked toward them.

"Sorry," he grunted. He turned back to Daniel and quietly said, "They just want a reason for an orgy!"

"Viking legend only says the orgies are rare and usually for big celebrations. This 'practice' is new to me, too. I'm guessing these people haven't ever come across a different civilization and they just want to test our willingness to be allies. They know that if we agree to their terms then we are legitimately on their side and that we won't screw them over."

Jack sat and thought things over. He now had just under 3 hours to come up with a way to get that naquadah. "Maybe we can get ahold of Thor. He could convince these people to let us have it."

"Be reasonable, Jack. They wouldn't believe that we could actually communicate with him. They certainly wouldn't be able to see him. I highly doubt the Asgard would even interfere with this.

This was supposed to be easy. Jack had thought of only one way out of this, but he didn't want to go there if he didn't have to. Now, though he had no choice. He'd have to comply with their demands. He had to go about it the right way. Jack gave a big sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "Carter!"

"Yes, General?" She walked over to where he and Daniel were.

"Have you been able to determine how we go about extracting the naquadah?" Really, Jack was stalling.

"Yes, it's fairly easy. It is usually set up like a traditional mine. Luckily the Tok'ra have assisted us in minimizing cave-ins and the dangers from mining things like coal don't apply here."

"Uh, good." He paused. "But, do these people know anything about mining? They look like they're just farmers and some damn good warriors."

"No, but given the right tools and good education, we can maximize the output and benefit both societies."

This wasn't working the way Jack had wanted. Once again he had underestimated her. She probably had this kind of thing figured out 5 years ago. Jack paused again, this time a little longer. Daniel and Sam started looking at one another wondering what Jack was up to. "Well, I've given this some thought. And I changed my mind! We're leaving. Now."

"But…" Sam and Daniel protested at the same time.

"Pack up and let's go!"

"Jack, we can't just go! They might not even let us leave. They'd be highly offended!"

"Daniel, I don't care. Their 'request' is too much." He looked at Sam hoping this would work. "Colonel, that's an order."

"I, uh…" Sam stood there blankly staring at her commanding officer. She thought for a moment, took a deep breath and said, "No, sir."

"No?"

Teal'C and Daniel both stared in amazement.

"I'm sorry, General, I," she swallowed, "I have to respectfully refuse." Never in her military career had Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter ever refused a direct order.

"Carter, are you refusing a direct order from your commanding officer?"

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, but this is too important."

"I'm sorry, too. Therefore," he stood up straighter, "Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter, I hereby relieve you of duty." Jack did his best to remain intimidating.

"Jack, I don't think that's nec…" Daniel tried but Sam interrupted him.

"How dare you?" She was barely loud enough to hear. Sam cleared her throat and spoke louder. "I have followed you around this galaxy with hardly a second thought to your orders."

Jack's resolve to remain intimidating started faltering with her unexpected outburst.

"I have risked my life every time we've walked through that gate." She was almost shouting. "I have put more on the line than anyone in this universe to make sure my country and my planet have remained safe! How dare you relieve me of my duty because you think we can't solve a problem?"

Jack let out a small cough and tore his eyes away from her. He silently asked Daniel and Teal'C to go outside. Once they were gone he calmly said, "Carter, I'm very sorry, but how else did you expect us to pull this off?"

Her jaw dropped to the floor. "What?"

Jack stepped closer to her. "Sam. I was ordered to make this happen any way possible. Do you have a better idea?"

"No."

"Then what better way to beat all the rules? Sam," he said huskily as he took her hand, "I've wished for this for a very long time. I know it's not a conventional way of starting a relationship, but I think we could make this whole mess work for our benefit."

Her mouth still hung open, but at his offer she lost all ability to function normally.

"Sam?" He grasped her shoulders and gave her a small shake. It was enough to bring her back to reality. "Forget about all the details." He looked into her eyes. "So, what do you say?"