The next few episodes of season 2 loan themselves to exploring exactly what it's like to be married to a member of an elite off-world team.

This is a missing scene and will be followed by a tag to Spirits. (For anyone who may not recall, this is the episode with the trinium and the Native American tribe. Jack is wounded in the very beginning and Sam takes the lead in this one.)

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Sam saw the arrow come through the window and head for Jack in slow motion. She could still see it, every detail of it, and would probably be able to see it for the rest of her life. She'd been so paralyzed with terror that she couldn't move. Even when it was over and Hammond was hollering, asking if everyone was all right, she couldn't move. Daniel got to Jack first, holding him still. Daniel. The supposedly untrained civilian had gotten to their wounded CO faster than she had, faster than Teal'c, even.

"Jack," she choked out, scrambling to her feet.

His pain was obvious but he made an attempt to straighten up when he saw her.

"Stop it," she admonished.

He ignored her, flailing around with his good arm until he got a handful of Daniel's jacket.

"Help me up."

"Jack!" Sam said.

"I'm not getting carried out of here," O'Neill said, "and it's not about some macho ego trip so don't argue with me."

Sam stepped back and swallowed. Her husband was wounded, though not badly and certainly not fatally. So she had to set that aside and consider how it would look if the CO of their flagship team, second in command to Hammond, got carried away on a stretcher.

"Yes, sir," she said.

Jack was grimacing in pain as Teal'c and Daniel helped him get to his feet. But he managed to give her a short smile of gratitude before clenching his teeth again.

On the way down the stairs, with Sam walking in front of him so she could catch him if he fell, Jack said, quietly, "It's just my arm, baby."

Right, Sam thought, just your arm that's what, inches from your heart?

But she managed to nod, biting back tears. If Jack could walk to the infirmary for the sake of morale, she could hold up her end of the bargain.

"I'll be fine," he went on.

Unless that thing is poisoned. She ground her teeth together, physically muting her own voice. She didn't want to be humoring Jack. His first instinct was to protect the people he loved and downplay everything so that no one would freak out.

She didn't want to pretend that she wasn't freaking out. She didn't like the little voice in her head that was promising to find whoever had done this and….

Sam didn't let herself complete the thought. It wasn't the right path and she knew it. That she had learned from Daniel.

In the elevator, Jack leaned heavily on Teal'c and Daniel. Sam hovered close to him. Jack was getting paler by the second but he locked eyes with Sam and tried to look reassuring.

"Don't," she said.

He lifted an eyebrow and gave her the most innocent expression he could manage. It just irritated her more.

"Don't say you're fine," she ordered. "You are not fine."

"I'm a couple of minutes from a state-of-the-art medical facility and a shot of morphine. If I'm not fine now, I will be soon." He swayed a little but Teal'c had a firm hold on him. "Look, just to make this official before they knock me out. I'm handing command of SG-1 to you."

"Because that's what I'm worried about right now," Sam said, with a roll of her eyes. "Jack-"

"I know what you're worried about," he said, "I still want you to take command of the team."

The look in his eyes changed. It became far more shrewd and alert than Jack should be in his present condition. Sam got a weird feeling in her stomach, as if she'd had the wind knocked out of her. Jack knew all the thoughts going through her head. Of course he did. If she'd been the one who had been hurt Jack would be having all the same thoughts – what if it had been a few inches to the left? What if it was poisoned? Jack would be swearing to follow whoever had done this into hell.

Jack knew all that and he still wanted her in command of his team. That level of trust was breathtaking.

It had taken some adjustment but she'd gotten used to the tennis match that took place before their public and private lives. At least Daniel and Teal'c were used to it as well.

Sam lifted her chin and said, "Yes, sir."

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