Thanks as always for the reviews. My apologies (also as always) - for not getting back to everyone. My life is crazy, crazy busy. I'm afraid this story is kind of losing steam so I think I will be bringing it to an end the next chapter.

Fluff followed by angst with a dash of silliness and UST.

They ended up staying another three days at Area 51 while the scientists tried to figure out how the device worked. In frustration they'd finally asked Carter to have a look at it. She had agreed calmly – Jack had smirked.

"See, I knew they couldn't do it without you Carter", he'd said.

"I'm afraid in this case Sir, I probably won't be able to do it either."

"Yeah, maybe, but you'll not do it with much more class than they don't do it!"

She shook her head, trying to decipher the Colonel's thought processes but eventually gave up and simply returned his grin. "Yes Sir", she'd said.

Simmons – to no one's surprise – grew angrier as each day went by and they were no nearer to finding any answers. It didn't help that O'Neill tended to pop up anytime he came near Carter, and generally drove him to distraction with his sarcastic and witty remarks.

"Why the hell don't you go - ", he'd finally turned on the Air Force Colonel, practically yelling.

"- go?" O'Neill asked with raised brow. "I can only assume you were telling me to go and have a refreshing cup of coffee", he responded. "And I think that's a great idea. Hey Carter", he called to the woman who was furiously trying to see inside the box with her latest electro-bio-ultrasonic-radiographic-magnetic – doohickey – "you want something from the cafeteria?"

She glanced up. "Uh – a coffee would be good Sir, with two -"

"Two cream, no sugar – yeah, I know. How about something to eat?"

"That's okay, I'm not -"

"Carter! What have I told you about not eating?"

"Okay fine" she replied. "Just get me some – toast or something."

"Toast – or something? Carter, you've really got to pay attention to what you eat. Toast is not a well-balanced meal. I'll bring you some pie."

"Okay Colonel – pie is fine", she answered, completely distracted. She only looked up after she heard his footsteps fade. She wanted to grin but Simmons was still standing there, watching her. She bent her head, not really wanting to deal with the NID man, but then glanced up again as she heard him move closer.

"You don't expect to find anything, do you Major?" he asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Well Sir", she answered, straightening up. "We've tried just about everything we can think of and haven't had any luck so, probably not."

"Oh, I don't think it's the instruments or the tests that are the problem. I think you don't really want to find out how it works."

"That's ridiculous Sir", she frowned. "There's nothing I'd like more than to know how this things works. And anyway, your own scientists have tried everything as well, and they haven't had any luck either. Do you suspect them of not wanting to find the truth?"

"You and I both know, Major, that they are not anyway near your league. I think you know very well what's wrong but you're trying to protect O'Neill. Or is he in on it as well? He is, isn't he", he exclaimed when Sam said nothing? "He knows how it works but he's done something to stop it."

"Colonel Simmons", she said, sounding tired, "why would Colonel O'Neill stop the box from working? If it really did do anything he wanted, don't you think he'd make sure it kept working, if he could? Especially with -." She stopped suddenly, seeming to think better of it.

"Especially with me around, is that what you were going to say?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I would never say something like that about a superior officer Sir", she replied calmly, turning back to the box. "If there's nothing else Colonel, I really have to get back to this. Who knows, maybe I'll find something."

"You do that Major", he sneered. He watched her for a second and then decided there was no point in sticking around. Somehow though, he'd have to figure out how these two were doing this. He was positive they'd done something to the box – he just had to figure out –

"Ow!" He yelped as the door opened and hit him in the face. "What the -"

"Oops, sorry Simmons", Jack smiled apologetically, his hands full with a tray on which were two pieces of pie and two coffees. "Oh dear, I didn't get one for you. Did you want a piece of apple pie Colonel – it's very 'patriotic' you know?"

"I know what you're up to O'Neill, and you won't get away with it!" he pushed his way past and strode on down the hall.

O'Neill looked after him quizzically and then turned back to Sam. "Yeah, I'm afraid he's figured it out all right", he sighed. "I'm trying to take over the known universe through apple pie!" He walked over to Sam's table and set the tray down. "Okay Carter – time to take a break and have some of this!"

"If I eat it will it put me under your evil power Sir?" she grinned as she took a piece and a fork.

"Of course Carter. That was my plan all along. Once you've eaten it", he waggled his brow, "then you will have to do everything I say!"

She took a bite and grinned again. "Sounds like a plan Sir."

They ate the pie in companionable silence. Once she was finished Sam sighed and pushed the plate away. "I really was hungry."

"Of course you were Carter", Jack answered, as if there was never any doubt. "I know you better than you know yourself when it comes to your appetite." As he said it he was finishing off the crumbs on his plate and didn't notice her strange expression. After a second the silence made him look up. "What?" he asked, suddenly concerned.

"Uh – you're right, you do", she answered wonderingly.

"I do what Carter?" he frowned.

"You do know me" she smiled, "and my appetite better than me. You always seem to know when I need to eat, or sleep or play."

"Yeeaah?" he asked, looking at her strangely. "Is that a problem?"

"No Sir, not a problem, it's just -"

" – just?"

"Weird Colonel. It's just weird."

"No it isn't Carter", he said, finding one more crumb that he managed to capture with his fork. He looked at it intently and then stuck it in his mouth. "We've been working together for years and I just", he paused and looked at her, "know you. You're the most competent, smart, brave and amazing person I've ever met – but sometimes you need someone to watch out for you." He stood up and gathered the dishes, put them on the tray, and headed towards the door. He then stopped and looked back at her. "And that's what I do." With that he left the room, leaving her staring at the space where he had been standing.

She smiled and nodded to herself. "Yeah Colonel – that's what you do – and I wouldn't have it any other way." She felt a pang as she thought about the man who'd just left. He meant everything to her – and there was nothing either of them could do about it. She bowed her head and began to work on the box, knowing that it was a useless endeavor but, for the Colonel's sake, she had to make her effort look real.

"Ready to go Carter?" Jack stood with his gear, watching his 2IC as she made her way down the hall, her duffle bag in hand.

"Yes Sir, all ready."

"Good, I'd really like to get out of here. There's only so much of Area 51 I can take. Too many geeks!"

"But I'm a geek Sir", she answered.

"Yeah, but you and Daniel are different Carter", he explained as she took her place beside him and began walking towards the exit.

"How are we different Colonel?" she asked, looking at him out of the corner of her eye, her lips upturned slightly.

He stopped and looked surprised. "You're my geeks", he replied, as if that explained everything, and then resumed walking.

She smiled to herself as she quickly followed his lead. The smile left her face however as Simmons came into view and stopped in front of them.

"So, you're leaving", he said, the lines between his eyes looking like they'd grown deeper over the last few days.

"Yup", O'Neill answered. "General Hammond ordered us home. Said we'd spent enough time on a 'wild goose chase'. I guess he spoke to the President who agreed there was no point – 'wasting valuable resources just sittin' around on our asses'." He smirked. "You see Simmons – Carter here is much too valuable to waste and me – well, the General misses having me around."

Simmons nostrils flared. "You think you're so funny, don't you O'Neill?" he hissed.

"Who me? Funny? Do you think I'm funny Carter?" he asked the Major.

She bit her lip to keep from giggling. "Funny Sir? No, Sir, not right now Sir", she answered.

"See Simmons – not funny."

"I know what the two of you are doing and you'll be sorry. I've still got the box and I'm gonna make it work and then we'll see who's laughing."

"Uh – okay", Jack answered. "I really hope you find what you're looking for Simmons, because frankly you need to lighten up. A laugh would do you good. And you can keep the box because frankly, I think it's more trouble than it's worth. Now if you'll get out of our way, Carter and I have a transport to catch." He motioned with his head and began to walk around Simmons.

"I'm not finished!" the other man ground out. He grabbed O'Neill's arm and swung him around.

Jack suddenly felt dizzy and would have fallen except that he grasped a hold of Simmons' arm and held tightly. He closed his eyes, feeling almost sick, when a scene suddenly appeared to him. It was the NID Colonel, standing and talking to Knightly. At first he couldn't tell anything more, but then he heard Simmons tell the Professor 'do what you have to to the woman – just make sure you don't kill O'Neill."

Jack's eyes popped open just as Simmons let go of him and stepped back. Jack dropped his arm at the same time. "It was you", he said.

"What?" Simmons frowned. "What are you talking about O'Neill? Are you on drugs or something?"

Jack shook his head to clear it. "Come on Carter, we've got to get going." He reached back and gently took her arm and pulled her along.

"I said I wasn't finished", Simmons went to again grab the other man when, without warning, he slipped on something invisible on the floor and went flying back, landing hard on his rear end. "What the hell!" he gasped.

"Gotta watch out Simmons", O'Neill told him. "You wouldn't want to hurt yourself." He motioned again to Carter. "Uh we'll see you around." Without waiting for the other man to pick himself up he strode out of the building, Sam practically running after him.

They got into the car that was to take them to the transport. Jack was looking distracted so Sam didn't say anything. She had a feeling that something had happened back there to which she wasn't privy. She knew enough to wait until they were away from here, and from Simmons' men, before saying anything.

They were in the plane, their seatbelts buckled and the plane taxiing for take-off before she spoke. "Uh Colonel, what was all that back there?"

"Back -?"

"Yeah, right before Simmons fell. What happened anyway?"

"I don't know. He slipped or something."

"I mean before that. You said 'it was you'. What does that mean?"

He took a deep breath and faced her, full on. "It means that Simmons was behind the kidnapping."

"What?" she asked, although she didn't sound surprised. "But he wasn't there – and he was hurt."

"I know – but not badly. He was hurt just enough to make it look real but not enough to do any serious damage. Look, who else knew all the details of our trip? Other than Walter and Hammond, Teal'c and Daniel, there wasn't anyone and I don't know about you, but I would never suspect any one of them!"

"Walter as mastermind spy?" she asked with a grin. "No, I guess not. So that means the leak had to be on Simmons' side. We've known that all along and he has been looking into who it could have been."

"Major , who else at his end would have known? Since when have you known Simmons to inadvertently give away classified information", he asked.

"Well, okay – but he's not perfect. There's always a first time."

"I don't think so", he mused. "Don't you think it's much more likely that that snake masterminded the whole thing?"

"Well, it wouldn't surprise me. But if that's the case, wouldn't he be worried that Knightly would give him up?"

"Oh yeah – unless he has something on the guy. Either that or -"

"Or?" she asked.

"Or he's going to make sure he doesn't wake up."

"Damn", she grimaced. "We'd better tell General Hammond."

"Yeah, because if we can't get Knightly or one of the others to testify, we'll have no proof." They arrived later that morning in Colorado Springs and decided to head directly to the SGC. Hammond was waiting for them in his office.

"So people", he asked when his two favorite officers walked in, "how did it go?"

"Well, it didn't Sir, not really", replied Jack. "The box doesn't work."

"So you said in your call." He turned to Carter. "And you couldn't find out what was wrong with it?"

"No Sir. I couldn't find anything about it at all. None of the tests, before or after it stopped working, revealed much of anything. All we really know is that it's Ancient – or at least it has Ancient writing on it, and that Colonel O'Neill could, for a time, operate it. Now, it does nothing."

"And you were unable to open it?" The General asked.

"No Sir and we even tried explosives."

Hammond raised his eyebrows at that. "That sounds rather dangerous."

"It was", she replied. "Colonel Simmons insisted – and his scientists carried out the experiment."

"And nothing happened?"

"Except a few of the scientists kind of blew themselves up", Jack grinned.

Hammond looked at him in shock. "Blew themselves -"

"None of them were seriously hurt Sir", Carter interjected. "Just a few scrapes and bruises."

"Okay - good", Hammond said. "Well, as I told Colonel O'Neill, the President feels that too much of your time has been wasted sitting in Nevada. He's authorized the NID and the folks there to keep seeing if they can get it to work. In the meantime I want the two of you to take a few days off – and then you're back on regular mission rotation."

"Thank you Sir", Jack smiled. "Uh just one thing General?"

"Yes?" Hammond looked up in surprise. "What is it?"

"Well Sir, Major Carter and I are convinced that Simmons was behind the whole kidnapping thing."

"How do you figure that?" the General asked, his brows meeting over his nose.

"Well Sir – it's just a – gut feeling", O'Neill shrugged. "I can't explain it – exactly – but it was kind of the way he spoke. Look, I know we can't prove anything, not yet at least, but I think we should take extra precautions around the Professor and the other kidnappers. If it was Simmons I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to get to them."

"I see. Well, I can put more security on them I suppose, although if it's only a hunch Jack there's not much more I can do. I certainly can't go accusing Simmons unless you have some proof."

"I know Sir. Hopefully one of his partners in crime will implicate him and we'll get him that way."

"So Sir, any plans for your time off?" Carter asked him as they walked away from Hammond's office.

"No, nothing in particular. I don't really have time to go to the cabin, so I'll probably just stay around and get some things done around the house. The yard needs some work."

"Yeah, me too – at least, not my yard – but my house. I've been meaning to get my spare room fixed up for a while now. I want to clear everything out, paint it and put up drapes and things. That way I'll have a nicer place for Cassie or my Dad when they come for a visit."

They walked for a few more seconds until Jack cleared his throat. "Would you like some help?" he finally asked.

Sam stopped, startled and not sure what to say. "Uh – I'm – that's okay Sir. I didn't mention it to try and hint that I needed help."

"I know Carter – still, it'll go a lot faster if someone helps you. I mean – if you'd like I could get Daniel and Teal'c and the four of us could get it done in no time. It'll be fun."

"You're sure Sir? I don't know how much fun painting and decorating will be."

"Hey, with you there – uh and Danny and Teal'c of course – it'll be great. Look, I'll bring the beer and you can order the pizza. After we're done we can get a movie or something!"

"Okay", she laughed. "You have a deal – although don't say I didn't warn you. Thank you Colonel. I really do appreciate the offer."

"Anytime Carter! Let's go find the guys and tell them what a treat we have in store for them."

The four of them spent the next couple of days working on Carter's house. Jack would never say it of course, but he had more fun painting and putting up pictures than he'd had in a long time. There was something so – domestic, so 'homey' about the whole thing and he realized how much he had missed this. He sighed and pounded in another nail.

"You okay Sir?" Sam's voice startled him and he hit his finger on the next stroke of the hammer.

"OW!" he dropped the tool and stuck his finger in his mouth. "Bloody hell!"

"I'm sorry Sir! Here, let me take a look", she said, trying to pull his hand out of his mouth.

"It's okay Carter", he finally said. "I'm not even bleeding."

"I really am sorry! I didn't mean to startle you."

"Hey – don't worry about it. It's not really renovation if you don't injure yourself at least once!"

"Really?" she grinned. "I hadn't heard that before."

"It's a guy thing."

"Oh, I see – a guy thing! Well, I came to see if you wanted to stop and have a drink. I have some soda or cold beer. There's also juic -"

"Carter, Carter, Carter – you have to have beer after hitting your finger with a hammer."

"Oh, and why is that Sir?"

"It's another -"

" – guy thing?"

"Yeah." This time he grinned. "Where are Daniel and Teal'c?" he asked, looking around. He just realized he hadn't heard them for a while.

"They went out to pick up some snacks and pizza. Teal'c was hungry."

"He's always hungry", Jack answered, gratefully accepting the beer.

"Well, he's big", she explained.

"Yeah –big and strong and he loves pizza. Who would have thought that an alien warrior from a distant planet would develop a passion for pizza?"

"And ham and pineapple pizza at that!" she giggled.

"Hey, what is it about that anyway?" he asked, puzzled. "Ham and pineapple is so not a guy's kind of pizza. Where in the world did he get to like it?"

There was a moment of silence and then –

"Daniel", they both said together.

"Yeah – it's definitely a geek pizza."

"It is not Colonel", Sam answered indignantly. "And anyway, there's no such thing as a 'geek pizza'."

"Yes there is", he told her, taking another swig of beer. "Anything fancy – like with 'goat cheese' or fresh basil or artichoke hearts or pesto – all geek pizzas. Real men eat pepperoni and mushrooms and green pepper – you know, real pizza."

"Real pizza?" she laughed. "You're kidding Sir, right?" She suddenly frowned. "Wait a second – you love pesto and artichokes and you hate green pepper. Does that mean you're not a real man? Hey, Colonel Jack O'Neill is a geek!"

"I'll show you geek Carter", he said with a mock scowl. He placed his beer on the counter and slowly approached her. "No one – absolutely no one calls me a geek and gets away with it!"

Just as he reached her she squealed and ran. "I'll have to tell Daniel", she panted as she worked to avoid the Colonel. "You're a closet geek!" she screamed as Jack caught her. Before she had a chance to resist – which she didn't have much hope of anyway as she was laughing so hard she couldn't fight back – the Colonel had picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder.

"Aaaak! What are you doing – Sir?" He took her into the living room and threw her gently on the couch. He then proceeded to reach down and tickle her.

She squirmed and squealed and tried to get away. He effortlessly grabbed her wrists and held them over her head so that she was at his complete mercy. It was only a few minutes later – after she'd cried 'uncle' that things changed.

Both of them stopped laughing and then simply spent a moment catching their breath. Jack still held her arms above her head and suddenly, without warning, his expression changed.

Sam noticed it – and could feel her breathing start to increase again. "Sir?" she said softly.

He continued to look at her – and couldn't help himself as he leaned closer. He stared into her blue, blue eyes – and then glanced down at those luscious –

"Pizza's here!" Daniel's voice called from the front door.

Jack quickly – although smoothly – straightened up and turned, as if nothing had happened. "Good", he said as his two friends walked into the room. "We're hungry."

Sam had also quickly stood up as soon as she had heard Daniel's voice. If she was looking a little rumpled – and a lot flushed – then no one commented, although Daniel did a quick double take.

"Uh – okay. Do you mind if I grab a drink Sam?" Daniel asked.

"No – no that's fine Daniel", she said. "Uh – why don't I get it for – Teal'c, you want one too?" She knew she was babbling but she really needed a few moments alone to get her equilibrium back.

"That would be good Major Carter", Teal'c told her. "A ginger ale would be fine."

After taking Daniel's order - and the Colonel's – "another beer Carter", she escaped to the kitchen where she leaned up against the counter. "Damn!" she muttered. What the hell had she been thinking?

"What's wrong with Sam?" Daniel looked at O'Neill, who was now sitting on the couch, picking the label off his empty beer bottle.

"Wrong?" he glanced up quickly and then back at his bottle. "Nothing's wrong. She's fine."

"Then why does she look like she was just wrestl – oh." Daniel stopped speaking and stared, his eyes just about popping out of his head.

Jack did look up then, a frown on his face. "Oh? Oh what Daniel?" he asked. He then looked at Teal'c. "What's the matter with him?" he asked the Jaffa.

"Nothing O'Neill. I believe he is simply worried that Major Carter was looking - flushed."

"Huh? She's fine. What's gotten in to you guys anyway?"

"Teal'c's right Jack. Sam looked – kind of funny." His eyes narrowed. "What was going on?"

Jack briefly closed his eyes, aware that his friends had walked in at a really bad – or good, depending on your point of view – time. "Look, I know what you're thinking and you're totally wrong. Carter accused me of being a geek and I got back at her – okay, I tickled her – and that's when you came in, that's all. We were – she was, kind of embarrassed, that's all."

Neither of the two men looked as if they actually believed him, but they didn't say anything more so he quickly turned the subject. Inside he was cursing himself. What the hell had he been thinking?

He went home later that evening, satisfied that they'd finished the room – but totally unsatisfied with the way his life was going. Damn it but he wanted Carter in his life, not as his friend, not as an officer under his command, not even as a fellow soldier. No – he wanted her – all of her – in his life forever. And there was no way it could be.

He looked up to the sky. "Thor buddy – if you're around I could use that box again – just this once. I have something I really, really want to wish for." He sighed and unlocked his door and entered his house – alone and lonely.

"