It doesn't really hit Sam, not entirely, until she's getting dressed to head for Cheyenne Mountain.
She's worn BDU's for so long that getting dressed is automatic. She doesn't really think about it, just tugs her shirt over her head, tucks it in, reaches for her dogtags. Uniforms make everything simpler. She usually appreciates this. But now there's a cognitive dissonance she can't quite shake. She's a good officer. She's a disciplined scientist. And now she's holding onto a secret that could sink both of them.
When she glances in the mirror, though, she sees it: her uniform shirt doesn't quite cover the darkest marks on her neck.
At a loss for what else to do, she digs out concealer and dabs it carefully over the broken blood vessels, hiding the visible evidence of what she let Jack O'Neill do to her last night.
Jack shows up to the SGC showered, shaved, and hoping it's not blatantly obvious that he's feeling pretty damn good.
The morning passes quietly; he grudgingly catches up on paperwork, then gets bored. Eventually, he meets up with Daniel to grab lunch.
As they walk into the commissary, he sees her.
Carter's sitting with Janet, looking for all the world like it's just a normal day.
But the moment he sees her, she glances up, catching his eye as if it's pure instinct. Her eyes sparkle for a moment before she catches herself, looking back at Janet, saying something he can't hear from across the room.
Daniel, of course, grabs his food and beelines to join the women's table, leaving Jack no option other than following. As it turns out, the only chair left is across from Carter, who looks up as he slides into the seat.
"Doc. Major."
"Sir." Carter's voice is perfectly even. After hearing her whispering Jack last night, it's strange how intimate she makes Sir sound. Like he can imagine her gasping it against his skin in bed.
…and he really, really needs to stop thinking about it here at a table in the middle of the commissary with Daniel and Janet next to them.
"Colonel." Janet looks up, fork in one hand. "Have you been feeling anything strange?"
Jack coughs. "Sorry. What?"
"Sam assures me she's feeling perfectly fine after your most recent adventure," the doctor explains, "but I'm feeling uneasy. You were just under the influence of alien technology."
Oh. Right. The armbands. Not…the other thing.
Jack shrugs. "I'm fine. Daniel?"
"Yep." Daniel nods, reaching for his sandwich. "I haven't noticed anything."
Janet frowns. "I still don't like it."
"You checked us out yourself," Sam points out. "You said we were clean."
"You are." Janet sighs. "Maybe I'm just being overprotective. Do you understand how scary this was? The three of you were in serious danger. You're all lucky to be alive."
Daniel pauses, sandwich halfway to his mouth. "Well, that's true."
"We got out," Jack says. "It was close. But we got out. No harm done."
"You're in an awfully good mood for having just been a Tok'ra lab rat," Janet says. "Not usually your favorite thing. Is there a reason you're feeling so cheerful?"
"Not sure." He carefully doesn't look at Carter. "Guess I just…woke up on the right side of the bed this morning."
Janet gets paged back to the infirmary, and Daniel grabs one last cup of coffee and heads off to his books, leaving Sam sitting across from the colonel.
"The 'right side of the bed?' Really?"
She's feeling a little cheeky, but he doesn't seem to mind. He gives her a lazy, lopsided grin, the kind that makes her face heat up and her heart race.
"Yep."
She opens her mouth, but before she can reply, the alarm goes off, and a voice comes over the base intercom. Colonel O'Neill to the control room. Repeat, Colonel O'Neill to the control room. Unscheduled offworld activation.
It's Bratac's IDC, but Bratac's not the one who steps through the Gate.
As Shaun'auc's revelations lead to meeting with the Tok'ra, Jack's feeling paranoid. He's not in the habit of carrying on clandestine affairs with his subordinate officers, and he wonders how strange it'll be. Will it be completely obvious? Is it possible to look at her and not immediately lose himself in remembering her naked and gasping in his bed?
But as it turns out, it's easier than he thought it would be.
They've always worked together well. Carter's still the brilliant, resourceful officer he's known her to be, and when she fixes on a problem, she aims for a solution. Not much has changed. Maybe he glances at her a little more than he should, or maybe she gives him that warm, secret little smile more than usual, but it doesn't feel different.
Although he wonders – is it really different now, or were they just already halfway here, long before they fell into bed?
In the end, Teal'C's grief at Shaun'auc's death affects all of SG-1. The weight of his loss hangs over them all, even though they only briefly knew her.
It's a silent, unanimous decision that they'll attend her public funeral back on Chulak. Despite the unrest, Teal'C has arranged for her ceremony in a small, deserted clearing, not far from the village. There are a handful of Jaffa there – Bratac stands with Teal'C, conferring quietly – and SG-1 take their place in the back. Out of respect, Sam and Colonel O'Neill wear dress blues, and Daniel wears a dark suit and tie; they garner a few curious glances, but they're mostly left alone.
As the funeral rite begins, Sam catches her breath. Teal'C's face is away from them, but his sorrow is palpable. She can guess enough of his history with Shaun'auc to understand the darkness he wears like a heavy mantle.
As the sun sets, the funeral pyre is lit, and they all stand in silence, watching the crackling flames rise against the night sky.
The memory of standing behind the forcefield, begging Jack O'Neill to leave her to die alone with all her regrets, is sharp and bitter in her throat, and Sam swallows hard, willing away the sudden sting in her eyes.
She doesn't move, doesn't look beside her, but when Jack's hand brushes hers ever-so-slightly, she twines her little finger through his. It's the tiniest motion in the world, but his touch is warm, comforting, here in the solemn light of the fire.