A/N: at end.

Set following Into the Fire.

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Warming Up

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Jack O'Neill stretched and leaned back. He rested his back against the low wall behind him, grateful to feel the leftover warmth of the sun seep through his BDU shirt and warm his chilled skin. He fought the shiver that threatened to run down his back, knowing it was more likely psychosomatic than real. He couldn't seem to get warm. Hadn't been able to, really, since their latest encounter with Hathor and her damned freezers. To quell the second chill that hovered he leaned forward and tossed another thick, gnarled log onto the fire then sat back again to watch the sparks swirl up into the night sky.

Two crescent moons met his gaze, one hanging above the other, resembling an odd, lopsided sort of curvy "W" in the night sky. The moons appeared, from his perspective, to be exactly the same size, but Jack knew from Carter's lengthy explanation when they'd first arrived that the upper moon was actually much larger. It was also much farther away. Thus...same size. Jack's lips tipped up into a slight smile as he remembered her explaining it to him just as both moons crested the horizon, one after another, silvery pale in the waning afternoon light.

"It'll be really great to see, Sir." Carter's eyes sparkled with excitement as they walked. "If I'm right–"

"And you usually are."

"Yes, Sir." Oblivious, Sam continued. "Anyway, sometime around two in the morning, SGC-time, the moons should line up. It'll be...well, neat."

"Neat, Captain?"

Carter stopped as she realized her CO was no longer beside her. She turned to face him, her hat pulled low over her eyes, but not low enough that he couldn't see them. Not low enough to prevent that...twist...he always felt when she met his gaze full-on. They stared at each other for a moment and he idly noted the faint blush creeping up her neck and into her hair. Finally she shrugged and ducked her head. She flashed him a smile. That smile. Then she turned away, tossing one last comment over her shoulder. "Yup, Colonel. It'll be neat."

It had taken Jack another full minute to get his racing heart under control before he once again began moving. He jogged to catch up, nudging her shoulder as he did so, then asking her another question to pass the time.

Angling his watch to catch the firelight, Jack shook his head as he noted the time. Zero two hundred, on the nose. Figures. Glancing again at the two moons hovering above, he made a decision. Carter wasn't scheduled for watch tonight, with the shorter nights on this planet he'd gone with a three-person rotation. However, he knew she really wanted to see this. Grunting a little as he rose, Jack rubbed his arms against the chill. He refused to put on his heavier jacket, still convinced that he was imagining the lower temperature.

Gently easing open the ties to their small tent, Jack reached in. He hadn't thought to grab his flashlight, so he hoped she was in the position she normally was when they were offworld. Slowly easing his hand down, his questing fingers finally touched something other than military-issue rip-stop. The silken strands were almost too fine for him to identify at first, but as he reached in farther he found himself tracing Carter's ear. With a slight cough he gave her cheek a gentle tap.

"Carter," he whispered.

"S-sir?"

Her voice heavy with sleep, he could hear her turning, her movements muffled against the fabric of her sleeping bag. She kept her voice low, almost to quiet for him to hear, and he felt a flash of pride at her ability to come awake from a dead sleep and be instantly ready for action. "Shh, it's okay. It's moonshine time, Captain. Wanna come and see?"

"Moonsh–oh." Now she sounded more awake. "Yes, I do. Thanks. I'll be right out."

Jack nodded, even knowing she wouldn't see it in the darkness. He laughed at himself a little. Even if were full daylight she'd have missed it, as his head was still outside the tent. Jack stood and strode back to the fire, adding yet another log to it. Behind him he could hear his Captain getting her boots on. He glanced back over his shoulder and watched as she emerged from the tent, his eyebrows rising as she ducked back inside with a muffled oath.

"Holy Hannah, it's cold out here, Colonel!" Her voice still low, it nevertheless carried across their campsite.

Jack returned to his seat, his arms crossed tightly across his chest. "Is it? I Hadn't noticed," he lied.

Carter studied him for a moment before ducking inside the tent once again. This time she emerged with his jacket in her hands. She silently handed it to him as she joined him on the log he'd placed against the wall. "Sir, put this on, please?"

Jack took the jacket from her and laid it across his lap. He didn't know why this was such an issue with him, but for some reason he was simply determined to not give into the chills that ran through his body. Beside him, Carter leaned back, the log was small enough that her arm and shoulder against his as she moved. She leaned back and watched the two moons, her expression pensive. Jack watched her out of the corner of his eye, secretly enjoying their quiet moment alone.

"I, um, wasn't sure if you wanted me to wake you...you know. For this."

"Hmm." Carter's response was faint, she sounded distracted. After a minute she sighed and stretched her legs out toward the fire. "Thanks, Sir. I'm glad you did." She absently picked up the mug that was resting near the fire and took a sip, apparently unaware that she was, in fact, drinking Jack's coffee. She held the mug in her hands, warming her fingers, and stared thoughtfully into the its depths.

"My coffee that bad, Carter?"

"Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry, Colonel. Habit, I guess. I can make you some–"

Waving her off, Jack shrugged. The motion opened the back of his collar and a draft of cold air blew in, causing another involuntary shiver.

"Sir?"

"Carter?"

"I'm cold. Would you mind putting on your jacket?"

Jack turned to stare at her. "I'm sorry?"

Carter lifted a shoulder and tilted her head. "I can't explain it, it just makes sense. To me. Please, Colonel." As if to emphasize her point, Sam's body shook in a shiver all its own.

He kept his eyes on hers as he slowly slipped his arms into the cool sleeves of the heavy duty jacket. Immediately his own chills began to subside and when he looked over at her he saw that she, too, looked more comfortable. Unsure of what to make of that, Jack fiddled with the zipper on the green jacket, finally getting it to catch and pulling it to about midway up his chest. He leaned and nudged her, then, enjoying the added warmth, maintained the contact. "Better?"

"Yes."

"Great." O'Neill's jaw tightened as he studied her, his gaze flickering over her profile. Once again she'd tilted her head and was watching the moons slide across the night sky. He wondered if now would be a good time. They'd not had a lot of downtime following their encounter with Hathor and he'd never had the chance to have the...talk...he'd wanted to. Watching her now, he decided that this was as good a time as any. Softly he broke the silence. "Carter...how'd you get Makepeace to agree to let you come back?"

Jack was startled to see his Second's head jerk, to feel her pull herself away from contact with him. He reached out and deliberately pulled her back until once again he could feel her warmth against his arm. "Oh no. Now that I'm warm, you have to stay. I don't think I've been warm since we left that godforsaken place."

"Yes, Sir." Carter's broken whisper was tugged away on the night wind.

"Carter? You okay?" He waited, then asked again. "You gonna answer my question?"

Carter let out a deep sigh. "Yes, Sir. I...it's just...I'm not sure how to say this, Sir."

"How to say..." Jack waited another moment. Finally he blew out a breath and forged ahead. "How to tell your CO that you blew off the orders of another SG team leader? A senior officer at that? How to say that you, with complete and utter disregard for your own safety–not to mention the safety of the SGC and Earth–knowingly put yourself in harm's way? And you did so for someone whom you saw, whom you knew to be host to a Goa'uld?"

With his first question Carter had turned to face him. With each subsequent question, every one asked in the same low, quiet tone as the first, she visibly flinched. Despite that physical reaction, she kept her eyes on his, her jaw set. When he was finished she lifted her chin slightly, just enough to show determination but not high enough to be considered defiant. "Yes, Sir. That would be what I'm finding it hard to say."

"Then you should probably hear the rest of it." Jack watched as she closed her eyes and visibly steeled herself for more. When she opened them again, her gaze was once again unwaveringly fixed on his face and, if possible, her jaw set even more firmly than before. "When Makepeace cornered me in SG-1's locker room, demanding that you be written up for 'failure to comply,' 'disobeying a direct order,' and whatever the hell else he could think of, I had a few questions of my own. Wanna hear them?"

Carter could only nod, she seemed unable to tear her gaze away. Her blue eyes shimmered in the firelight and Jack prayed that he wasn't seeing the beginnings of a tear hovering. God, he hoped not. He kept his eyes on hers as he continued. "I asked him how he could live with himself, leaving a team member behind? What the hell kind of a team leader was he? How exactly had he phrased his order that you not return for me? And lastly I asked him how he thought he was going to get his ass out of the situation he'd found himself in if my, and I'm quoting the good Colonel here, 'lunatic Jack O'Neill wannabe Second' hadn't been there to save it?"

"Oh."

"So, Carter. I'm going to ask you again. How did you get Makepeace to agree to your going back?"

"I didn't, Sir. I lied." Still holding his gaze, she offered a faint, very faint, smile. "Well, not so much lied as...stretched the truth."

"Stretched the..." Jack blew out a breath. "Look, Carter. Captain. I need to ask you this, point blank. Did you at any time defy a direct order not to return to find me?"

"No, Sir. I did not." She faced him squarely, her eyes clear and firm, her expression open for him to read.

"Okay." He held her gaze for a long moment, then broke their connection and looked away, his eyes on the fire.

"But I would have." Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper. A confession. A promise.

Jack just closed his eyes and slowly shook his head. He knew that. Knew it without her saying it. It was why she was on his team. Why he was on hers. Why Daniel and Teal'c were too, for that matter. It's what they did. They were a team. A family. And so much more. Once again his thoughts drifted back to that mockery of his SGC.

"...I regret to inform you that everyone on your team…Dr Daniel Jackson, Captain Samantha Carter, and a Jaffa named Teal'c, are all deceased."

He shook his head harder, opening his eyes and fighting down the nausea that swamped him with the memory of that voice. Those words.

"...They didn't make it...Their bodies were sent back, but they were already dead."

"They told me you were dead." Jack shuddered. "All of you. Dead."

"Yes, Sir. Me too. I was..." Carter turned her head, blinking back tears. She bit back a whimper similar to the one she'd uttered when the woman she now knew to be a Tok'ra had told her.

"Yeah."

"Sir?"

"Sam?"

Carter sat forward, angling her head to meet his gaze. "I'm...I don't know how to say this part, so I'm just going to talk, okay? Can you...would you wait until I'm finished?"

Jack nodded. It appeared that she was going to do the hard part and for that Jack was grateful. He'd been struggling with how to talk about this with her, how to address...this.

"Colonel. I...wow, this is harder than I thought." This time it was Carter who lifted the wood onto the fire, who poked and fiddled until it was burning just right. "I...I had to go back, Colonel. It wasn't just our thing, you know. The 'don't leave someone behind' thing. It was, it is, that..." Sam tossed her stick aside and turned to face him. "Okay, Colonel. Here it is. I'm taking you at your word. About our "safe zone" thing, okay? I just need to get this off my chest."

Carter looked down for a moment, then up at him again. Jack could feel how nervous she was, could see the beginnings of fear creeping into her eyes. As she drew breath to continue he stopped her. "I know I promised to hear you out, but...wait, Carter. Just...wait." Jack laid his hand on her arm, stilling her. She shouldn't be the one doing this, taking this chance. "I'm the one who wanted this...discussion, so let me, okay?" At her grateful nod he took his own fortifying breath. "When Hathor put the..." He shuddered and automatically rubbed the still healing scar on the back of his neck. "You know. Anyway. I...when she put it there, the last thing I could see was...well, was you. You refused to look away. I wanted you to, you know. A part of me really wanted to look away. So you wouldn't see. The other part of me...that part that...that...I needed you to keep watching. I held onto that. To...you."

The fire popped, making them both jump. Jack shook his head and continued. Once he'd started it was easier than he thought it would be. He sought and held her gaze, watching her every reaction, waiting for...what he wasn't sure. "Then...later. When you opened up the pod...I really don't remember much. I remember sort of looking up and seeing Hathor. I waited for her to yell at me but then realized she was focused on something. Someone. You. Then you were on the floor and all I could think was, 'oh my God, Sam's dead.' And..." Now Jack looked away. He looked down, surprised to feel her hand, warm on his, her fingers tangled with his own. "It was probably really, really out of line, but I needed...just then...needed to...feel...you. Sam. I...it wasn't that I was cold. Or," he smiled ruefully, "just cold. I was sure you were gone, then you weren't. You were there."

"I was there." Carter squeezed his hand and then leaned back, pulling him with her. She rested her head against his shoulder, keeping his hand in hers. "I...Sir, I couldn't just...leave. I had decided that if I couldn't find you, I would...well.... Doesn't matter, I found you."

"You did."

"I'd do it again, you know."

"I do." Jack pushed out a deep breath and twisted his hand around so that her fingers were tangled in his own. He squeezed those fingers, pressing his palm to hers. This was dangerous, he knew. The warmth of her hand in his took him back, and for a moment he was lost in the memory. Her shaking body pulled so tightly against his shivering one that he wasn't certain where either ended, her arms wound tightly around his waist, her fingers pulling at the fabric on his shoulders because her fists were tangled to tightly in the fabric, the smell of her as his senses slowly returned; the smell of her fear and the scent of her skin. The slow, tingling warmth that spread through him as she held him close, both of them fighting to get closer just as they fought to breathe. He fought the memory down, concentrating instead on what was here. Now. "Same goes."

Carter shifted her grip, reaching for his left hand and pulling it across his lap so that she could wrap her hands around both of his. For just a second, as his hand lost contact with hers, he felt that cold slide through him again and he shivered. Carter tilted her head up, keeping her cheek on his shoulder, her eyes dark with concern. "Warm enough?"

Knowing full well he was pushing that intangible line further and further from its starting point, Jack eased his right hand free, opened his jacket and pulled her hands inside with his. Placing her hands against his stomach, he covered them again with is own. He turned and slid his other arm around her, pulling her close and tucking her chin under his. "I am now." Jack breathed in the scent of her, that slightly sweet shampoo scent mixed with woodsmoke that was truly the Sam-Carter-offworld scent.

"Carter, you know this isn't...um..."

"Yes. I know." She slid her arm deeper into his jacket to circle his waist.

"We're okay with this?" He tightened his arm around her.

"We are."

- -

End.

Afterword: I'm really trying to keep in canon here. Some of the humor and closeness we see in future episodes really began with Into the Fire, I think. I also firmly believe that Sam and Jack, at one point or another, obliquely or directly, addressed the growing feelings they have for each other. And they did so before Divide and Conquer.