Wow, I think I've discovered the secret to lots of reviews - threaten to kill characters! Oh, and leave the characters in perpetual states of unrelieved horniness. Hmmmm.

Y'all need to be careful about what sort of reinforcement you give me. :-)

December 28th, 2010, Colorado Springs, CO

Jon followed Teal'c and Trisha into Teal'c's house, and began stripping off his layers. Christmas had been picturesque with the light snow showers, but the snow had finally arrived in full force. So of course Trisha and Teal'c had wanted to do another running trip. In a snowstorm.

Normally Jon would have loved it, but he'd been up until 0300 with Cassie. He smiled at the memory. They'd just cuddled on the couch, sharing kisses, and talking as the mood struck them. That first passionate kiss was seared in his mind, but he kept anything from getting even close to that again. The smell of her, her soft hand in his, the little kisses which were all he dared to do.

If he didn't keep it carefully light he was going to be dragging her down on the couch and taking her. Hard. Yanking her clothes off. Licking those perfect breasts. Feeling her clench about ...

"Earth to Jon!"

"Huh?" Trisha's voice broke his train of thought.

"You've just been standing there with your hoodie half off for a minute now. You ok?"

"Yeah, yeah." Jon hurriedly finished pulling off his hoodie and cold weather BDU pants. "Just thinking."

"You and Teal'c both. Ever since the party. What's up with you two?" She poked Jon in the shoulder. "You I can figure out what you're thinking about. That's easy." Her grin had a decidedly wicked look and Jon tried not to give away anything.

"You, on the other hand," she punched Teal'c in the side of the chest before rubbing her hand over his chest, looking up into his face, suddenly speaking more softly. "Are more of a mystery."

"I too am thinking," Teal'c said, looking uncomfortable. Jon looked at him in surprise - he'd known something was occupying the big man's thoughts, but he knew Teal'c would bring it up if he needed to. But - uncomfortable? And it hadn't been a subtle thing, either - that had been obvious.

Trisha smiled at Teal'c and bowed her head with a slight tilt. Jon recognized it as a Jaffa signal of acquiescence and openness. He was impressed.

"I'm going to do something for you two that I want you guys to know I don't lightly do. I'm going to cook for you two. We have piles of eggs and meat. Omlets will be ready in twenty minutes."

She walked to the kitchen, and Jon watched Teal'c's gaze follow her, a disquiet shadowing his stoic expression.

"Come on, if we grab some showers we can help her out and give her a chance to get a shower too before we eat."

There was a tiny hesitation in Teal'c's response, but he nodded.

Jon relaxed with nearly five minutes of hot water before wrapping up and stepping out. Teal'c, already washed and wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, was standing in his room, waiting for him.

"What's on your mind, big man?"

"I am uncertain of how to proceed. I wish for your advice, JonO'Neill."

Nerves coiled in Jon. "Of course."

"GeneralO'Neill has given his support to the efforts to bind the Jaffa into a single nation. I shall be returning to the Jaffa. You, Daniel, and Trish'a have been of great help. I am confident the Jaffa will join together, though the effort will take many years."

"I wish for Trish'a to join me. I do not trust my own judgement in this, though. Meditation on this is difficult. I am … distracted."

Jon began pulling on his clothes, letting Teal'c speak at his own pace.

"I do not know if it is right for me to ask this of her - leaving one's people behind is a great sacrifice. I believe I may be desiring her for my own pleasure, and not truly wishing for her to follow her own path of honor. I do not wish to have her come against her judgement."

Jon took a deep breath.

"Whew. For a second there, I thought you were going to ask a hard question, old buddy."

A brief scowl crossed Teal'c face.

"I'm not making light of this Teal'c. Truly. This is not a hard question. It's only your own confusion which makes this difficult for you to see."

Teal'c brow cleared and a soft chuckle escaped his lips.

"JonO'Neill, I hear Bra'tac's words from your mouth. Often he has scolded me thus. How have I been blind?"

Jon smirked to cover his own surprise. 'Wow. Compared with Bra'tac.'

"Is Trisha a weak woman?"

"No. She is strong of spirit and body."

"Is she easily confused?"

"No."

"Uncertain of herself?"

"No."

"Unable to walk her own path of honor?"

"No." Teal'c voice had growled a little there. Jon knew that last question had been chancy. Only the fact that it was clearly rhetorical kept it from being a grave insult.

"Then I suggest you let her decide what her path is and not try to figure it out for her."

Teal'c was silent for several moments and Jon finished dressing in the silence.

He was pulling on his socks when Teal'c finally spoke. "Indeed."

Jon smiled.

'That's the Teal'c I know and love.'

"Come on, let's let Trisha go get showered."

He looked at Teal'c and smiled. A tension he hadn't fully noticed before had fallen away, and a familiar contented confidence was again evident in the stoic Jaffa. He truly envied the Jaffa that ability to almost instantly resolve himself to a path he saw to be right without second guesses. Jon could do that in combat, but it was harder for him to do it in personal matters.

Matter so duty? No problem - he had some calls to make after breakfast. Personal matters? Harder to do.

"Hello, sir. This is Jon O'Neill. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas! You know we aren't in the service any more, you can drop the sir, especially around Christmas!"

Jon smiled. He liked Alphonso White, Blackbriar's president. A very fat year-end bonus had also helped. They had cleaned up from breakfast and were relaxing about the house. Jon was starting some things moving at Blackbriar.

"Thank you, um, I'm calling with a bit of news that the company might be interested in."

"Really?" Alphonso's voice had suddenly become very interested. "Your advice has certainly been a boon in the past. I'm listening."

"This isn't a secure line, so I can't say everything, but I would like to talk in person relatively soon."

"Absolutely. I can meet as soon as you want."

"I need to be back at the site by the 31st. I'll need to take a flight out to Washington. I'm in Colorado Springs right now."

"Hmm, that's Friday. Today is Tuesday. I'll have my secretary get you a ticket on a flight out tomorrow morning."

"That's fine. There's good news on the conflict front, and you might even be getting some rumors. You might look at the end of the conflict and think that our jobs might be cut back."

"Ahh, well I appreciate the …"

"But,," Jon overrode, "you might wait to see further developments before acting. In fact, it's possible that good preparation might be in order to … um, capitalize on the possibility of, uh, expanded opportunities."

Alphonso was silent for a moment, either considering the possibilities or trying to decipher the obtuse wording, Jon wasn't sure. "You're certain about this, Jon? Because I've gotten a lot more than rumors about the end of the conflict. There have already been some fairly high level meetings discussing the reduced need for our services."

"Yes, sir. There's to be an immediate need for our services as things expand, though in different ways than they have so far. We might want to broaden our services further beyond our current offerings."

The phone was silent for a moment longer.

"Awe, bugger it. I think we're going to need to talk more clearly in person to get much more out of this, but I appreciate what you've been able to say. We'll meet tomorrow afternoon and get the real details."

"Sure, I can give more details then. This is going to start soon, and I want to make sure we're ready. There are some impressive possibilities."

"I appreciate it, Jon."

"You're welcome."

Jon sat back after the call, considering. Jack would be pushing to expand the number of bases across the galaxy. He could start to see some of the plans that Jack might be working on - letting the wrong sorts of companies get into place before public revelations could change the tone of Earth's actions throughout the galaxy from one of exploration and learning to one of exploitation. The first people out there would do a lot to set the tone for everyone else.

Of course, eventually Earth's actions through the galaxy would be out of any single person's control, but hopefully with the right direction at the beginning, Earth wouldn't be a pox on the galaxy. In fact, if Jack was working with the Jaffa …. Jon didn't know enough of the facts to guess at the details of what Jack might be trying to accomplish with the Jaffa, but Jon could start to guess what the general shape of what Jack would try to get with the Jaffa.

Plans began to roll out like a battlefield in Jon's mind. Placing forces, the right type of forces, in the correct places could determine the outcome of a battle before a single shot was fired. Seeing where actions, reactions, and interactions would happen - where opposition might pop up, where no opposition might cause rapid expansion, where resources would help those who held them …

Jon didn't even register Teal'c begin to enter the room and then stop upon seeing him sitting in the chair, staring into space. Teal'c backed out quietly and spoke to Trisha. She looked toward Jon's room with curiosity, but nodded to Teal'c, and they slipped away, leaving Jon to his thoughts.

An hour later Jon shook his head and dismissed his ruminations. Jack was playing a very deep and very long game here. He wasn't sure how he could help yet, but it was definitely something worth doing.

The bad part - he and Cassie were just starting out and this meant visits back to Earth would be few and far between. Long-distance relationships were one thing - this was on a whole different level.

He suddenly thanked his lucky stars he and Cassie hadn't done more than cuddling and kissing. This was going to be hell parting ways, even just now.

The thought flashed through his mind of telling Cassie it would be better to consider their relationship to be "off" until, or if, they got back together. He couldn't bail out of this work - he wasn't in the military any more, but this was still work to make a galaxy where people were safe from tyrants and abuse.

He shook his head, though. They had started something together, something wonderful, and even if it was new they needed to decide together. Just … he hated to be the bearer of bad news like this.

Well, he'd wait until he got back from Washington. Maybe Alphonso wouldn't be interested in adding in full alien base management to Blackwater's work. Maybe, maybe, maybe. Too many 'maybes' floating around to make a decision right now.

Trisha poked her head into the living room. "Hey Jon, am I interrupting anything?"

"Hmm? No, I was just thinking over some plans."

"Ok. Teal'c expressed interest in a weapons range and we're going to one in Denver. We'll be gone overnight, so you won't need to suffer again."

"Actually, I'm heading to D.C. tomorrow morning for a meeting. I need to be back to the Alpha Site on Friday, so I'll be back by then. Other than that, though, I'm not sure of my schedule."

"Better you than me."

Jon looked at her sourly. She didn't know future plans, but she had hit on the other downside of what Jon was seeing in the future.

"Yeah, yeah. Karma is obviously paying me back for teasing Jack about suffering through meetings. I'll lock the place up before I take off tomorrow morning."

"All right. Thanks, Jon. Have fun on your trip and meeting!"

Jon flipped her the bird.

He started to work over some plans. He wanted to talk with Jack a bit more now that he'd thought things through and had better questions.

Cassie, too. His stomach flipped at the thought of seeing her again. She was light and sweetness, and Jon could tell he was falling hard. And now, he'd be leaving not just for a few more months at the Alpha site, but if everything went well, he'd be heading out for possibly years on end. Now that he'd just found someone who really did light his life up.

"Sometimes, Jon, I think the universe hates you," he mumbled to himself.

Cassie was curled up on the couch at Jack's house talking with Sam, but her concentration was shot - Jon had let her know there were some 'work' changes coming up when he'd picked her up at Sam's house, and he needed to take off tomorrow morning for a trip to D.C.

She hoped tonight was the night - if he was going to be gone for a day or two and possibly getting back just in time to run into the Stargate for months, there was no way she wanted to be separated without having done more than kissing. She loved cuddling and kissing with Jon, but he was putting the brakes on things, and she was definitely not interested in brakes at the moment.

Her gaze drifted to where Jack and Jon were sitting in the dining room, conversing in quiet and serious tones.

She'd expected to have Jon take her home Christmas Eve and they'd spend all night together. Nope. That had been a bit frustrating. To put it mildly.

Jon had kept it low-key since then, too. Since that first time in the study, he hadn't so much as let his hands drift. The kisses still curled her toes, but it was starting to get very frustrating - every time the kisses got too fierce Jon slowed it back down. She hadn't gotten the nerve up to out and out jump him, but she was getting there quickly with every kiss that got broken off as it got heated.

"It's about future plans for the Stargate program."

Sam's voice broke her train of thoughts. "What? What is?"

"Jack and Jon's conversation. You seemed distracted watching them. They're talking about future plans for the Stargate program. Now that the Ori are no longer a major threat, it'll go public one of these days and he wants to be ready for when it does."

"Oh, yeah. Jon mentioned he might have some work changes coming up. He's flying out to D.C. tomorrow morning." Something must have shown on her face because Sam reached over and laid a hand on her leg.

"Tell me to butt out if you like, but things going alright with you and Jon?"

Cassie hesitated. It was almost like a mom asking - good and bad. Good that she loved, trusted, and relied on Sam - bad that she was talking relationship with the woman that was a mom and big sister rolled into one.

'Awe, hell with it.'

"Yeah. We, um, we're seeing each other now. Not, you know, all the way seeing each other, but dating. He's taking things slow, but we've been spending time with each other."

"He's taking things slow?" Sam's voice was curious, and Cassie almost giggled. Sam was smart, really smart. She'd just meant to confirm they hadn't recklessly jumped into bed right away, but … yeah, the way she'd phrased that had been accurate.

"I've been in love, or at least I've had a major crush on him, for years now. He's playing catch up and he's taking it slow." The longing to have him in his entirety washed over her, leaving her aching. "Really slow."

"Ouch," Sam winced in sympathy.

Cassie gave Sam a little smile. "Yeah. Just a little."

Sam bit her lip for a second before replying. "Jon has a few more issues than normal, you know that. He might be uncertain and playing it safe. I don't know what he's thinking, but he's not in this casually - that's just not his nature. If you're together, then he's serious about it. Don't doubt that."

"Yeah, I'm serious too, it's just a bit … frustrating. I ..." Cassie lowered her voice. "I haven't ever, you know. I haven't been able to find a guy who I can get serious with, so I'm still, um, inexperienced, and I'm really, really ready to get some experience with Jon. Scared too."

Sam smiled sympathetically and leaned in conspiratorially. "Cassie, I know you'll be nervous as hell, but I can also assure you that that part of it is the last thing you need to worry about. That part always works out, and with you and Jon I can promise you it'll be great."

Cassie could feel her face warming. Janet had given her "the talk", though it had been more like an ongoing discussion for a few years. Sam had talked with her several times too. This wasn't the first time they'd talked about sex, but having a specific person and time at hand was much different.

"I guess. I'm more worried about him leaving and not seeing him for months at a time. And I definitely don't want to wait six months or a year before, er, yeah."

"I certainly understand that. Don't stress about that too much, though. Things will be much better if it happens when you're both ready and not rushing things."

"So you think I'm rushing things?"

"I don't know how things are between you two - whether you're rushing it or not. That's up to you to decide."

Cassie sighed and then laughed. "Blah. Relationships are hard."

Sam smiled and sipped her beer.

"Yes, but the good ones are very … " she wiggled her eyebrows at Cassie, " … very good."

'Oh god. Way too much from Sam.'

"T.M.I. Definitely, T.M.I. Suddenly I'm ready to change topics. How about these plans? Has Jack shared much?"

Sam gave a wicked grin. "Well, he doesn't usually talk much, but get him in the right mood and he'll ramble."

Cassie wrinkled her nose. "Remember? Changing topics? We were changing topics!"

Sam giggled, and Cassie noticed Jack look over suddenly. "Ok, ok. Jack's looking to expand the number of bases that …."

Cassie listened with interest to what Sam knew. Sam had set her at ease, at least enough that she was able to pay attention to their conversation instead of drifting over toward Jon.

As they left Jack's house late in the evening, Sam hugged her and whispered in her ear.

"Confidence - confidence not to feel like you have to hurry something, and confidence to seize the chance when it comes. Jon loves you, I can tell. You can be completely confident about that."

"Thanks, Sam. I'm feeling a lot better, I appreciate it."

She turned to Jon who was standing out on the porch with Jack waiting for Sam and Cassie to finish their goodbyes. Something about the way they were standing together seemed to denote comfort - something she realized was new. Jon and Jack comfortably scheming together? Yeah, the galaxy was in trouble.

She giggled as she walked over to Jon and wrapped an arm around his waist. She and Jon had been keeping things just between them, but Cassie suddenly realized she was getting comfortable too. Comfortable enough to start allowing the rest of the world in on their secret.

She stretched up and kissed Jon's cheek. "Sorry to keep you boys waiting. Ready to go?"

Both Jon and Jack had startled expressions on their faces, and she stifled the urge to giggle again.

"G'night Jack, Sam," Jon finally got out and they headed out toward the car. Cassie tucked her head against his jacket as they walked. She felt Jon press a kiss to the top of her head.

The drive back to Sam's house was quiet, but Jon had reached over and taken her hand in his and brought it up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to it. Cassie squeezed his hand in reply, reveling in the feel of the simple but intimate gesture. Her entire body seemed to flush in pleasure - a contented and loved feeling.

When they got into Sam's house, Jon didn't pull off his jacket and Cassie felt a moment of disappointment, but he was looking at her with so much tenderness that she had little room for any feelings other than a warm feeling of being loved.

She stepped into his arms and reveled in the comfort of his arms wrapping her up.

"You could stay for a bit," she whispered.

She felt his arms tighten and a deep hum resonate in his chest. "I don't dare."

She nuzzled his chest and felt his hands began rubbing her back in soft strokes.

"I know you have to leave early, but you could leave from here."

There, that had to make it completely clear to him.

She felt Jon shift slightly, pulling away enough that he could see her face.

"I might be gone for a long time, Cassie. I - I don't want to jump into things just because we're going to part. I want to jump into things and never let go."

Jon's words were soft and low, but rocked Cassie back on her heels. She couldn't move for a moment and then energy jolted through her and she grabbed his head and pulled him down for a searing kiss. She could feel his arms wrap around her and hold her close as her tongue traced back and forth over his lips, and then his own tongue was there answering her own. Her whole world seemed to be absorbed by the feel of their lips and tongues sliding, sucking, licking. She finally felt Jon slowing down the kiss and groaned in agony.

Her body was beginning to tingle and vibrate, desire pooling in her chest again.

"Jon, if you don't take me to bed, I'm going to hurt you."

A chuckle rolled through him as he captured her mouth with his own and renewed the kiss, though more slowly.

'No rushing. Not rushing. And don't push. Don't push. He's not ready. But, gaaaahh!'

She finally broke the kiss herself.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have - "

"No, don't be sorry. I, well, I would love to take you to bed." Jon shifted his hips a little and she could feel the hard length of him against her belly and a tingle ran through her again. "I just don't want this to be a goodbye time. I'm serious - I want years and years and I want to do it right."

His words both soothed her and stoked her with anticipation. She had certainly imagined years, even forever, with him but knowing that he also had the same thoughts reassured her and gave her an eager anticipation that screamed to be be started now.

She sighed. There was even part of his words that made sense, though the lust still roiling through her suggested it was only a very little sense in the way of a very big lust. Still …

"I understand, I do. I'm … just … not feeling like putting things off right now." An idea popped into her head. "Compromise? Maybe just stay with me tonight, just sleeping? I won't be seeing you again for a long time once you head back through the Stargate."

Jon nuzzled her hair. "That sounds like heaven. Torture, maybe, but heaven too."

Pleasure welled again in her.

'Having a guy like Jon confess his reactions to me certainly does do wonders for my ego.'

"Thank you, Jon. I'll try not to torture too much." To confirm her words she stepped back, immediately missing the warmth of his embrace.

"You can't help that, Cassie. How about I grab a shower, first?"

Cassie giggled and glanced at the crotch of his jeans, still bulging. The sight sent a shiver through her again.

"I'll grab one too. I don't think we'll be running out of hot water."

Jon reached out for her hand and gave it a squeeze before pulling off his jacket and heading toward the bathroom. "Yeah, hot water is safe from me right now."

Cassie raced through her own shower in the guest room's bathroom - the straight cold water certainly having an immediate effect, though as soon as she was toweling off, the rough friction across her skin started her thoughts warming again. She darted out to pull on her sleep pants and … she considered a little halter top but put it back in exchange for a loose "Special Forces" t-shirt before crawling into bed.

Two minutes later, the door to her room pushed open with Jon tentatively looking inside. She giggled at the nervous expression on his face, but suddenly stopped when he stepped in. A pair of tight black boxer briefs and a white undershirt was his outfit, and it was stretched tight - everywhere.

His boxer briefs twitched.

She dragged her eyes away and cleared her throat. "I thought you were supposed to return the favor - you know, not torture me either."

Jon stepped quickly across the room and slid into the sheets, pulling her close up against his body. "I wasn't planning on nightwear. Sorry. My bags are packed back at Teal'c's place."

Cassie snuggled into Jon's side, laying her head on his shoulder and throwing an arm and leg over him.

"Mmmm," she hummed. The feeling of being able to wrap him up like this was … "Heaven."

Jon grunted. "And torture." His arm pushed her leg down so her thigh wasn't directly on his hard rod. She was tempted to slide it back up, but she had promised.

She squeezed him tight. "I'm going to miss you."

His arm tightened around her. "Gonna miss you too, so much," came his murmured reply.

She settled into his embrace, pushing aside the thought that he'd be gone for months on end. Sleep was a long time coming for both of them.

It was still dark when the bed shifted enough to wake her. Something was tugging at her attention, but she just wanted to sleep. Jon. Hmmm. Jon. She was having a wonderful dream of sleeping with Jon.

She could feel his fingers running across her bare stomach. She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to let the dream end. She felt kisses fall on her cheek.

"I love you," was whispered in her ear.

Jon's hands felt so good, but they would feel even better on her breasts. She grabbed a hand and put it on her breasts. The weight of his hand gave a delightful throb to her body and when it squeezed just a little, tingles jolted through her. That was really intense!

'I'm awake?!'

She pushed her eyes open to see Jon sitting next to her, lip caught in his teeth. Moments later the fact that he was fully clothed registered.

'Oh, damn, he's leaving!'

"I wanted to say goodbye. I'm heading out. I'll be back in a couple days, though. I'll get back as soon as I possibly can, I promise."

Her sleep-fogged mind slowly absorbed his words and she worked to sit up to hold him.

His hand, still on her breast, pressed her back down.

"Shhh, go back to sleep." His lips came down to meet her own and then were gone, far too quickly.

She pulled her eyes open just in time to see him step out the door, blowing her a kiss before he closed it.

She closed her eyes, wanting to go back to the wonderful dream of being wrapped in his arms. Being awake meant she'd be missing him.

A/N: I want you guys to know I really do love you. I was seriously considering stopping the chapter up where Jon is moaning about the universe hating him. I don't do nice things very often, so consider this as my good deed for the year.

I'd threaten to kill Cassie again in the next chapter, but I think you guys are all on to that little stunt. ;-) She and their unborn child don't die until the very end, you know - give Jon the maximum angst.