A/N: First things first – thanks for the reviews! Sorry if I don't reply personally, or if I do so twice, I forget sometimes! Secondly I have a request – can anyone tell me the name of the ep/which series that Jack attaches the Stargate to a death glider or X-302 before it blows up and McKay helps out and Sam ends up kissing him on the cheek? I'm not sure if it is actually this ep but there's a certain scene I'm after and I know Amanda Tapping does the audio commentary for it, and I can't seem to find it. Please PM me - it's bugging me! Thirdly – it also really bugged me that Sam's bed was at a weird angle in Ascension (see below). Fourthly I'm not putting off the conversation (much!) just merely melding events into certain episodes :)

This is set just before Smoke and Mirrors and is just fluff really... or otherwise known as squishy! :D

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"Okay, I have a question," Jack said, his fingers trailing down the bare skin of Sam's back.

They were lying in her bed, covered in rumpled sheets and bathed in the moonlight that filtered through the window. In their haste, they hadn't even closed the curtains. Not that Jack minded – he could see the stars from his position. In fact he wouldn't put it past her, if the woman beside him had deliberately positioned her bed for this very purpose. Star gazing in bed certainly had its advantages.

"Why do you claim to not like hockey?"

The fingers that were playing with the faint curls on his chest, stopped. The woman they belonged to simply looked up at him with big eyes. Her body remained pressed into the side of his, her rising head now creating a cold patch on his chest where it had lain for the best part of half an hour.

"Why do you ask?" Sam simply asked.

"Well, it's a fast paced sport and we all know how much of an adrenaline junky you are." That earned him one eyebrow. "I know full well that you like ice skating – lord knows you've taken Cassie enough times." That one a smile. "And you can't tell me that all the fun you had, when we went to that match, was just for the team's benefit."

Sam's smile turned into a grin and just as she opened her mouth to speak Jack raised his finger.

"And all that hockey jargon you used can definitely not be faked, that much I do know. So... what gives?"

"You really want to know?" Sam asked. She propped her head up on her elbow, her other hand continuing its ministrations on Jack's chest. He nodded silently.

"In college, I dated this guy..."

"You dated in college?! Ow!" Jack feigned hurt as Sam playfully slapped his arm.

"Anyway, he used to play for the school team and so I used to go watch him play."

"And now you hate it because....?"

Jack could see Sam staring at his raised eyebrows and smiled as she stifled a laugh. His playful mood was becoming infectious, he realised, and fast becoming a distraction. Part of him wondered if it was just avoidance tactics or the mere fact that they were enjoying this so much.

"He was a jerk." Sam shrugged, "It put me off."

"You stopped watching because of some guy?!" Jack asked, almost incredulous.

"Hey! I started watching it again because of some guy!" She gave him a slight nudge and grinned.

"Point taken," Jack mumbled and settled back down on the pillows again. After a moment, he felt Sam do the same and his hand took up its previous position on the small of her back.

"Do you think we're suffering from space lag?" Jack suddenly asked. He still found it weird that it was almost four in the morning and neither of them was remotely tired yet. And they should be, he thought. They were normally wiped out after a mission, and given their recent activities, he was pretty sure they should be asleep by now.

He felt her chest vibrate as she laughed, "Maybe..."

A few minutes passed before Jack snuggled closer. "Sam?" He swallowed before finding his voice again. "I've been thinking...." He more felt, rather than saw, her eyebrow rise. "Hey, it does happen occasionally." She patted her hand on his chest in response. "I think I should go away for a while..."

Sam tensed beside him and Jack loosened his grip. He waited a few moments, before she twisted in his grasp too seek out his face; just as he knew she would.

"Might do us both some good... you know, allow us some time apart to think."

If his voice wasn't serious enough, his face certainly was, and he blinked back at her as she scrutinised him. She gave him an imperceptible nod before settling back down again beside him.

"I think that's a good idea," she said.

Neither of them spoke for while.

"Where are you going to go?"

"The cabin."

Sam nodded. She squeezed him them, for a few seconds, before releasing him to pull the covers up to their shoulders. Jack felt her wriggle for a bit, trying to get comfortable, before she finally fell still. Her arms still encircled him, her legs now tangled with his; one foot under his calf to keep her toes warm. He wondered who she was trying to reassure with her actions - him or herself. Or both.

"Jack?"

"Hmmm?" He murmured.

"What you said about Daniel, about feeling him looking down on us..."

"What about it?"

" Do you still... think that?"

"Yeah..." Jack whispered. He tightened his arms around her. "I do."

"You don't think he does it... all the time, do you?"

Jack paused. Her voice was quiet and soft, almost hesitant. But in that last sentence it had begun taking on a different tone. Jack squinted into the shadows as he tried to figure out if it was fear or mirth. Or maybe both.

"I don't think- "

His body went still as the thought suddenly struck him. He could feel Sam's body shaking with silent laughter, and almost jumped out of the bed.

"Ah Carter!" He hissed. He grabbed the pillow from behind his head and whacked her with it.

"What?!" She cried, sitting up on the bed and trying to defend herself. She was giggling inanely at him and, despite the idea filling him with dread, he couldn't help but grin back at her.

"That is just wrong!" He cried.

"Hey, you were the one tha-"

Her sentence was cut short by Jack's mouth on her lips. It was a chaste kiss and totally unexpected.

Jack grinned at the surprise on her face when he pulled back. "When I do that," He breathed, "I wanna be thinking about you, not Daniel..."

"Point taken," Sam said, before leaning in to kiss him again.