A/N: A huge thanks to Channach for the plot-editing, and Raven Clark for line-editing this chapter with me. All mistakes are my own because I just can't stop touching the story. ;)

Some more romance and fun for all of you.

Again, everyone who left a review on the old chapter 36 will probably not be able to leave one now. Sorry.

Chapter 36 - Sunrise

Sam drew a deep breath. Pine-scented, crisp night air filled her nostrils. The camp lay still except for occasional chatter from the people on watch.

Sleep. Not something she wanted to do yet. Especially because she'd spend another night alone. Jack was on an on-world mission. He'd left about a week ago and was scheduled to be gone for two more days.

How was it that suddenly the days when she didn't see him had become so much gloomier? Sam sighed and wrapped her arms around herself. Above her the milky way glistened with millions of stars. No moonlight polluted the view tonight. If only the days would pass faster.

Not even the files they'd brought back from the alternate universe could replace the anticipation of having dinner with Jack every day.

A dark figure holding a flashlight came trudging up the hill. Sam recognized one of the new recruits.

"Good evening, ma'am."

She'd never get used to hearing them call her ma'am. Even with the rank of ensign, she still outranked them.

She smiled. "Evening, recruit. And good night."

How odd. Not even a year ago, she'd been the new one. Now camp had become her home, and at night, she found her way around even during a new moon without a flashlight. Awareness crashed over her of how much time had passed. Suddenly she was the one helping them through their first days, keeping secrets, always aware she'd most likely never see them again.

Jason. A small sting burned in her heart when she remembered her friend. How many of those new recruits would die before they even made their third month? Bad train of thought. Jason had been an exception, at least in their cell.

But what about the others she'd trained with? Wong and Reyes? How were they doing? Chances were, she'd never hear anything about them again. Better not to get close to any of the recruits until she knew they were gonna become part of Cell 4.

She shivered against a crisp breeze rustling through the pine trees and quickened her steps downhill. As she almost reached the tent, a movement caught her eye. She turned. Somebody lay on the fallen tree trunk next to the tent. Swallowing, she took a step closer.

As recognition hit her, her heart pounded and euphoria filled her veins. "Jack."

Jack turned his head with a smile. "Hey." He shifted to a sitting position.

"I thought you'd be gone for two more days. When did you get back?"

"A couple of hours ago. Things got done faster than expected. I was about to raid the science tents for you." Grinning, he grabbed her wrist and drew her close. When she stood in front of him, he buried his face against her belly and inhaled. Then he froze and looked up, eyebrows raised. "Why do you smell burnt?"

She ran her fingers through his soft, ruffled hair. "There was a minor misunderstanding during one of the experiments today. It started a little fire."

He straightened. "Did somebody get hurt?" Uh, oh. Full command mode.

She shook her head. "No, don't worry."

"Did we lose any equipment?"

"No, sir, it was just a minor explosion."

"Explosion?" Jack stared at her. "Carter, I don't usually hear the words just and minor in the same context as the word explosion. Care to elaborate?"

"It's nothing, sir. We were examining one of the new pieces of technology. Somebody accidentally set the voltage of the generating unit too high. The entire thing blew up when we turned it on. Occupational hazard. We lost the artifact." She sighed.

He relaxed against her.

"So, how was your trip?"

"It was okay." He trailed his hands along her waist and hips, before his fingers opened her belt and tugged her shirt out of the waistband of her pants. Sam held her breath when he pulled her shirt up and placed a searing kiss against her belly button.

His lingering caress sent heat shooting through her abdomen. She fisted her hand in his hair. "Jack…"

"Mmhm?" His low voice vibrated against her skin. Damn, he knew exactly what he was doing to her. Pleasant shivers danced down her spine. Over two weeks ago, they'd returned from Jack's cabin. She missed the intimacy of the cabin, the seclusion. Here at camp, there was always somebody around somewhere.

She needed him, wanted to sleep with him without having to worry about people nearby. One week of separation had only made her yearning worse. She lowered herself, buried her face in his hair, then pulled him close. His strong arms wrapped around her, and she quivered at the increased contact. "I want you."

He lifted his head, a smirk playing around his lips. His fingers tangled in her hair, and then he pulled her in for a long, dizzying kiss, reinforcing his claim on her. Need flared up inside her.

When he released her, Sam panted and stared at him. He grinned. "How about I take you to our tent and have my way with you for the rest of the night?"

Next to them, a man coughed. Sam froze and turned her head. Daniel. She closed her eyes.

"Jack."

Jack leaned back, visibly unhappy about the disturbance. "Daniel."

"I just heard you're back. I wanted to talk to you about that mission to P85-2X3 we have scheduled in two weeks. We have to change that. Another destination looks a lot more promising as far as—"

"Yeah, Daniel." Jack cleared his throat. "I'm kinda busy right now."

The archeologist grinned. "That was obvious. And audible."

Sam's cheeks burned. "Oh God." She buried her face against Jack's neck. Always people around. Not one minute of privacy. Not even in their own tent because the walls were so thin.

Jack's hand pressed her closer. "Daniel, can't it wait until tomorrow? I haven't seen Carter for a week. If that mission's not for two weeks, I'm sure I can reschedule it tomorrow."

"Um, okay, yeah. Sure." The archeologist nodded and turned. "No problem. You two have fun."

When he'd left, Jack's chuckle washed warm down her neck. "Well, that was unexpectedly easy."

Sam giggled against his shoulder and lifted her head. "You were saying? About the tent?"

"We could turn all the lights off—you know, for privacy—and cuddle up close in the sleeping bag."

"Naked?"

He smirked. "Yeah sure, ya betcha. And we could just get creative about being really quiet while we—"

"Colonel O'Neill."

"Oh, fer cryin' out loud." Jack groaned and turned his head. "Doctor McKay."

Sam sighed in resignation. At this rate they were never gonna get any privacy.

McKay came closer. "I heard you were back. I need someone to take the puddle jumper for a test ride as soon as possible. I spent the entire day taking out the independent subsystem and rerouting the power. With the subsystem gone, the jumper's hyperdrive is functional again, and we gotta make sure it can't be accidentally activated. Sheppard's busy training the recruits and he basically threw me out, so I was wondering if you have an hour to—"

"It's—" Jack lifted his wrist to look at his watch. "—one in the morning. Can't that wait 'til after breakfast?"

Rodney gave one of his theatrical sighs. "I'm kinda stuck until somebody confirms it's working. I wanted to get on improving—"

"Oh, for God's sake. Go to sleep." Jack shook his head and stared at Sam. "Doesn't anybody here sleep anymore?"

"Um, well." Rodney seemed perplexed by the question. Sam stifled a giggle.

Jack closed his eyes, inhaled and released a sigh. "I'll look into it first thing in the morning. I just returned from a week of on-world duties. Gimme a break, will ya?"

"Alright. I guess morning's fine." The scientist pouted as he turned and walked away.

Sam smiled. "They're not gonna leave you alone now they know you're back."

"I'm realizing that."

"If you want to take care of camp duties—"

"What I want is to spend some time with you." He pulled her close, then took her lips in a gentle kiss. "And I have an idea how to accomplish that. Come with me."

He entwined their fingers and pulled her with him. Uphill, towards the science camp. What, was he going to hide in her work tent? Sam bit her lower lip to stifle another giggle. Surely nobody would search for him there.

Her amusement turned into concern when Jack took a right turn and headed for McKay's tent. What on Earth was he doing? "Jack?"

"Rodney wanted me to give the puddle jumper a test ride." His eyes gleamed when he looked at her. "So I changed my mind. Why not do that right now?"

"Oh. I don't think that's a good—"

"Don't tell me you never fantasized about having sex in a spaceship." He actually looked smug.

Sam folded her arms. "I haven't." Although, now that he mentioned it…

"Think about it." He drew her close and gave her earlobe a nip. "Thick walls, nobody around for miles."

"Let's go." She grinned. Then her brain kicked back in. "But we can't leave without telling him we're taking the jumper."

"We're not."

She groaned. "He's gonna wanna come with if you tell him, though."

"Carter." With a shake of his head, Jack opened the flap of McKay's tent. "You gotta give me more credit than that." He pulled her inside.

Sam looked around. A chaos of files, gadgets, and tools lay scattered on his desk. McKay wasn't there.

She frowned. "Where is he?"

Jack's eyes twinkled. "I saw him head for the food tent. I'm gonna leave him a note."

Her heart sped up. This might actually work. Alone. With Jack. In a starship. Nobody around. She had to suppress an excited laugh.

She watched Jack scribble a few words on a piece of paper. McKay. Took the jumper out for your test ride. Be back soon. O'Neill.

He placed the note on top of one of the instruments that lay on the desk, then grinned at Sam. "Come on. Let's hurry, before he gets back."

Jack smiled when Sam sat back down on the co-pilot's chair, her gaze fixed on the horizon. The puddle jumper effortlessly glided across the dark water's surface.

"Just a minor fluctuation in the engines. I don't think it's connected to McKay's adjustments, but I'll still make a note." She returned his smile.

"So, notice anything else that's odd?"

"No, why?" She leaned over and looked at the controls. Her scent filled his nostrils. "Any problems?"

Jack smirked. "No. Just making sure we can declare the test flight a success. Shall we test the hyper drive?"

"That might not be a good idea, sir." She leaned back in her chair. "The Aschen can detect hyperspace activity, and even though we're cloaked—"

"Gotcha." Jack nodded. "So… where do you wanna go?"

"How about the moon?" Her eyes gleamed. Clearly a joke. Well, she should know him better than that.

"The moon it is." Almost immediately the jumper reacted to his command and did a sharp turn up towards the sky.

"Jack." Eyes wide, Sam clasped the armrests of her chair.

"I wanted to see how fast this thing can fly in space anyway."

"This doesn't happen to have anything to do with your little bet?"

Jack looked at her in surprise. How the hell did she…?

Her eyes sparkled. "Sheppard spilled that you two are competing about who breaks whose speed record."

"All in the interest of science, of course."

"Right."

Wryness? Wasn't that his field of expertise? He focused his gaze on the view ahead of him. Smoothly, the jumper glided through the clouds, higher and higher, until the stars above became clearer. He almost didn't notice when they left Earth's atmosphere.

"Wow." Next to him, Sam leaned forward, her eyes staring ahead. Damn, that look on her face was worth the trip. "Be careful not to activate the hyper drive by accident, sir. We don't know how quickly the jumper responds to thoughts."

He chuckled. "Carter, you can't tell me not to think of something."

"Sorry, sir." She leaned back, looking out into the black vastness of space. Her eyes took on that far away, distant look, as though she was contemplating some scientific fact or theory.

"Looking at the stars and being among them doesn't quite compare, does it?" His gaze met hers when she turned her head. The light reflecting from the moon made her eyes sparkle azure.

"No, it doesn't."

He wanted to lean in, kiss those lips of hers until science was the last thing on her mind. A few alarms beeped. Damn, he had to keep his focus lest they tumble down onto the moon's surface. He cleared his throat.

In front of him, the rocky landscape of the moon lay calm and peaceful. The jumper slowed as if reading his intention to prepare for a soft landing. With an ever so gentle bump, the ship finally set down on the ground.

Next to him, Sam released a breath. "Oh my God."

Earth shimmered in front of them like a blue crystal in the darkness. Their planet. The planet they were fighting for. Home.

The jumper communicated some values to him. Outer temperature: 89 degrees. Atmosphere: non-existent. Moon does not support life. Protective shielding and artificial life support required.

As if he wanted to take a stroll on the surface. Wait, they were safe in the jumper, right?

Outer hull sufficient to shield against solar radiation. Inner temperature: 21 degrees. Consistent. No danger imminent.

Cool. Now why couldn't scientists communicate this efficiently? "Jumper says we're safe here." He grinned at her.

Her eyes twinkled. "Sounds like soon you won't need me anymore."

"I wouldn't worry about that." He reached out and pulled her over into his lap. She relaxed against him, and he lost himself in her eyes. Her hands cupped his cheeks. Damn, he should have shaved before inviting her out.

She didn't seem to care, but leaned in and captured his mouth. Her lips were soft. Sweet, gentle, so delicious. Heat stabbed at his groin. Damn, he'd missed her. One week of on-world business, meetings with the leaders of Cell 1 and Cell 9, weapons acquisitions and of course recruit requirements. Overall boring, but necessary.

If only he could've taken her with him to warm his bed at night. Might have made the week a little more bearable. But he was bound by secrecy. Carter was too low in rank for him to reveal information about resistance procedures, so that wasn't an option. Maybe someday…

He trailed his palms along her waist, the soft curve of her hip and up to the small of her back. How could she melt into him so perfectly? The blue of her eyes turned a darker shade as she held his gaze.

He leaned back and studied her. "I'd turn the gravity off for a full space experience, but that might not be as hot as it sounds."

"Yeah." She bit her lower lip in a futile attempt to stifle her giggle. "I don't think the no gravity experience would do it for me. Although I like being adventurous."

"Adventurous, huh? Do tell."

"Well." She slid off his lap and entwined their fingers. As she walked backwards to the passenger compartment of the ship, she drew him with her, her eyes remaining locked with his. "There's one thing Vala mentioned a few days ago that I wanna try with you."

{SHORTENED DUE TO RATING RESTRICTIONS! You can find the full version on my website. Just click on my author's name and you'll get to my profile, where you can find a link to Stargate Aschen on my website!}

Much later, when Sam regained control of her breath, Jack nuzzled the hair at the side of her face. "Technically this qualifies as sex on the moon, doesn't it?"

She stared at him, giggling softly. "I guess, if you were very generous, you could interpret it as such."

"This has to set some kind of record." He actually sounded smug.

Sam turned her head to kiss him. "I'm sure it does. But if you brag to Sheppard about it, I'll shoot you with the zat-gun."

"Fair enough." She felt him grin against her ear, and hummed when he dropped warm kisses along her neck. "What planet do you wanna try next?"

Oh boy. She laughed and shifted in his arms to look at him. "You'll be responsible for explaining to McKay what we need the jumper for."

"I'm sure I'll come up with something." His eyes twinkled. "Camp commander's privilege."

"Oh, if only you could." She opened her mouth when he leaned in for another kiss. He'd never abuse his status as commander like that, and she almost regretted it. Camp was so limited in its privacy. If only they could get out more.

He broke the kiss and withdrew from her, allowing her to turn around. She lifted her hand and traced the wrinkles around his chestnut-brown eyes, then ran them through his ruffled hair. He was so handsome. So gentle. Warmth spread through her. So… She swallowed and studied his features.

"What?" Jack's hand caressed along her back.

"Nothing. It's just that…" Yeah. What was it? "A few months ago, I'd have never thought you and I…that we—"

Beep-beep-beep-

Both turned their heads. Controls flashed on the main console.

"I better check that." Jack placed a kiss against her forehead and got up. He quickly pulled on his pants, and picked up Sam's shirt lying on the ground next to him.

She looked up when he held it out to her, her fingers clasping the black garment. "Jack."

He turned his head. She held his gaze, swallowing hard. "You are…I mean…I really didn't think I would…I… I missed you…"

A smile tugged at his lips. "I know." He leaned down and drew her into a quick kiss. "Me too."

Sam looked at his back when he walked to the front of the ship and slid into the pilot's chair. What was going on with her? They'd grown so comfortable, why was it so hard to tell him how much she'd missed him?

She pulled her shirt over her head, then reached for the rest of her clothing. The intensity with which she missed him made her pulse race. When had that happened, that not seeing him made her want to skip the day?

Sighing, she buttoned her pants and picked up Jack's shirt.

"Problems?" Brows scrunched, she ran a hand through her tousled hair to order it as she stepped into the pilot's cabin.

"No, just a warning for an increase in radiation."

"Increase in radiation?" Sam's brows lifted higher as she stared at the controls. "What's the origin?"

He smirked. "Carter. Look up."

She did, and the breath caught in her throat. Earth lay in front of them, blue broken by green and white, and right next to it…

"Lunar sunrise." She stared out towards the small dot of light appearing from behind Earth. Of course. Tonight had been a new moon. And they'd parked in the exact right position on the moon.

She turned her head to stare at him. Had he picked this spot on purpose?

"C'mere." He pulled her close. She threaded her fingers through his hair as they watched the tiny dot of the sun appear from behind Earth.

Earth. Their planet. He'd taken her out here to see this. Her heart swelled and she leaned in to kiss him tenderly. "Thank you."

"What for?" He raised his brows.

"This." She smiled.

He squeezed her arm gently. "Anytime. Hey, if you wanna take a look around… I mean, since we're up here anyway?" He took his shirt from her and pulled it over his head.

"We could take a closer look at the sun."

His eyebrows shot up. "Whoa, Carter. Easy there. I was thinking about circling the Earth. Or getting a bit closer to Mars."

"Well, we wouldn't get dangerously close to the sun without using the hyper drive anyway." She smiled. "Come on… Where's your sense of adventure."

"It disappears when it comes to deadly radiation." Jack smirked. "Here's an idea. Why don't I take you to a nice warm Carribean island and we'll watch Earth's sunrise?"

Images of warm ocean water and beach sand flooded her mind. "That sounds incredible. Can we take a swim in the ocean?"

"Most definitely."

She leaned in to his ear. "How about some sex on the beach?"

"Oh, I don't know… There's places you really don't wanna have that sand." He bit her neck playfully and she laughed.

"It'll be an interesting experiment."

"Well, who am I to dispute that?" He chuckled.

Sam sat down in the co-pilot's chair as Jack started the jumper engines. As if it were weightless, the ship lifted back into the air. The moon's surface grew smaller and smaller below as the jumper raced back towards Earth. The sparkling blue jewel that was their home.

Sam flinched against that scratchy feeling between her legs and ran her hand through her hair. Fine sand grains fell down to the ground.

The lock on the jumper's hatch clicked, then the door slid down with a low hum. Jack wrapped his arms around her from behind. "I got sand everywhere."

"Yeah, you were right." She winced. "Next time I'll think twice about doing that. But you gotta admit, the waves kinda made it exciting."

He chuckled. "Hell, yeah."

"I really need a shower, though." She giggled when he licked her neck. "Jack…"

"Salty…" He grinned. "I love tasting ocean water on you."

Right in front of them, somebody coughed. Sam froze and felt Jack tense against her. She stared into the darkness.

Arms folded, McKay eyed them, annoyance written all over his face.

"Rodney." Jack cleared his throat. "What are you doing up? It's five in the morning."

"Funny." McKay sounded grumpy. "I was waiting for you to return. I wanted to do more simulations in the jumper."

Jack stared at him, a blank expression on his face. "It's five in the morning."

Sam stifled a giggle at his wry tone and looked at McKay. "We left you a note. We took the jumper on a test ride, so you can get on with the research in the morning."

"For almost five hours?" Rodney shook his head. "A test ride is a quick thirty minute ride."

"We didn't think anybody'd need the jumper. People usually sleep at this hour." Jack glanced at his watch. "Speaking of which, why aren't you sleeping?"

"I…" Rodney shifted. "I have work to complete."

Sam raised her eyebrows. He hadn't slept at all yet? She took a step forward. "We took a trip to the moon and tested the jumper's capabilities in empty space."

Rodney's eyes flickered with curiosity. "The moon? Really?"

"Yes. Which reminds me, there were some energy fluctuations initially, before we left Earth's atmosphere. I made a note in the log. We might have to see if we have a problem with one of the crystals."

"Ookay." Jack took her hand and started pulling her with him. "You two can get on that tomorrow. After both of you have slept at least six hours."

"But…" Rodney waved towards his science tent.

"Ah." Jack lifted his hand. "That's an order. McKay, if I see as much as your shadow in the science camp before noon, I'll have doc Fraiser give you one of her sedatives."

McKay grumbled something, but then started towards his tent. Jack smirked, then pulled Sam with him. "Let's get a shower and sleep."

Sleep. In Jack's arms. Her stomach fluttered. "Yes, sir." She grinned.

He smirked. As they strolled down to the bathhouse, Jack became serious.

"Sam, I gotta go to Powhatan next week."

Her heart plummeted. He'd have to leave again so soon. The thought shouldn't disturb her so much. It was part of their job. They fought the Aschen, and he was commander of this camp. She'd known the deal before they'd started dating. It had always been like this. Still, on-world missions were particularly dangerous, and she hated the underlying fear he might not return.

So cliché. When had she turned into one of those oversensitive women?

She forced a smile. "Okay."

He frowned, studying her. "You all right?"

"I'm fine. When do you leave?"

"Actually, I wanted to ask if you wanna come with. I'll meet with your dad. I know you and Jacob didn't exactly part on good terms. It's none of my business. But the meeting would be much easier if we could do it under the guise of me being your husband."

She swallowed. Dad. He'd left Antarctica still mad at her. "I'm not sure he wants to see me, but I'd like that."

"He'll be thrilled." Jack smiled and drew her close. "I can take care of some business and you can visit your dad."

"That sounds good. How long will we be gone?"

"Just for a day. We'll leave here in the morning, and should be home by night."

"Yeah, that'll be fun." She grinned and pulled him close.

Fifteen minutes later, when they lay snuggled in their sleeping bag, Sam stared into the darkness. Powhatan. She'd see her home again. Maybe Minny. An indistinct longing pulled at her. It'd been over a year since she'd left, the memories from back then like glimpses into another lifetime.

Would her father want to see her? Would he welcome her?

She turned and snuggled into Jack's embrace. He pulled her close and placed a sleepy kiss against her forehead.

Well, it didn't matter. Antarctica was her home now.

Next part will follow soon…

So, a little bit more romance and –um- sex. ;) For all of you craving more adventure, you'll get it in the next few chapters.

As always, if you wanna read the full version (including the sex) please head over to my website.

Review Response Time:

Miconis: Thanks, I'm glad you like it. In Aschen, technically, the tv universe was the mirror world. ;) But yes, I loved writing this. I've wanted to do a chapter with the quantum mirror ever since I started this story. And now it just fit.