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"Dad's gone, Sam. You can stop pretending to be asleep." It took a moment for her to move, a moment in which he doubted his ability to read her as well as he thought. When one eyelid opened to look at him, Jack arched an eyebrow. "What gives, Carter?"
"I feel drunk but I'm not," Sam complained, blinking up at him owlishly. She lifted her hand to his face, her fingertips trailing along his jaw as a pout arranging her lips. "You have very pretty eyelashes. Where did you get them?"
Confused for a moment at the change in subject, Jack arched an eyebrow. "My mother, I think."
"I love your lips. Has anyone ever told you how soft they are?" Her finger traced them as she spoke.
He gave in to the impulse to part them, capturing her hand in his to keep it next to his mouth so he could kiss her finger. Despite his best efforts, he could feel his body stir at the way her own lips parted and her eyes darkened. "You have the most incredible eyes," he murmured, the effects of the drug slowly sweeping over him.
For a long moment, they simply stared at one another. Although he acknowledged it was a sappy thought, Jack thought he could get lost in her eyes very easily.
Too easily.
"It's going to be hell trying to concentrate next time we're in a briefing," he confessed, the world bubbling out of him in time with his thoughts.
"I don't know how I'm going to stop myself from kissing you randomly in the hallway," she returned with a soft smile. "But I've been doing that for years now, so I'm sure we'll manage somehow."
"You've been kissing me in hallways for years?"
The teasing had the desired effect of making her laugh, not a full-blown Carter laugh but a soft Sam chuckle that somehow sounded more intimate because it was quiet and meant just for him. "No, Jack. I think you would've noticed."
"Definitely." A slow grin curved his lips and because he was thinking of kissing her, he leaned in to do just that. Tasting her, drinking her in, he pulled away with a groan and let his forehead rest against hers. "I've never wanted anyone as much as I want you."
She smiled but there was a touch of uncertainty in it. "I don't know why you do."
"What?" The self-doubt in her voice had him pulling back, as far back as he could with her hand resting at the back of his neck. "Why on earth or any other godforsaken planet wouldn't I?"
"I meant it when I said I'm a mess," she told him with stark honesty, her blue eyes shadowed. "I've never had a successful relationship. I don't know how. I still randomly have flashbacks to Jolinar's life that make me want to curl up in a ball for the rest of my life. I've never… I've never felt good enough to keep the partners I've had happy. To make them want to stay with me. I have a tendency to screw things up when they're going well, and I've been told I'm a hard person to love."
Jack stared at her for a long moment, struggling to take in the words and understand what they meant.
"Oh, Sam," his voice unbelievably tender, he lay down beside her, cradling her body with his. She went to him willingly, allowing him to wrap himself around her. He didn't see or hear her cry but felt the tears soak through the thin material of the shirt he wore. "Baby, please don't cry. All I need to be happy is you. We'll get through the flashbacks and figure out how to make this work together. I'll probably screw up, too, but we'll get through it because what we have is worth it. You're not a hard person to love," he continued, manoeuvring them so he could see her face. He cupped her cheeks in his hands, catching her tears with his thumbs and wiping them away. "Falling in love with you was one of the easiest things I've ever done," he confessed. "I didn't know it was happening till it had, couldn't have stopped it even if I wanted to. You are incredible. Smart. Strong. Sexy as hell." Each statement was punctuated by a kiss, to her cheeks, her forehead, her nose and finally her lips.
Her hand tightened at the back of his head, keeping his mouth against hers when he went to pull away. Her lips parted beneath his, her body shifting to accommodate his weight, wrapping her leg around his to keep him in place.
"I might disappoint you," she murmured against his lips. "But I'll do my best not to."
"All you have to do is be yourself, and I won't be disappointed," Jack assured her, tearing his mouth from hers to kiss his way along her jaw, down her neck to the delicate strap of the gown she wore. He moved a hand to peel the strap away from her skin, dropping a kiss to her collar bone. "God, Sam. You're so beautiful."
"Jack." His name was a throaty moan, her fingernails raking over the sensitive skin at the back of his neck. "Please."
"Please what?" He lifted his head, eyes dark and breath coming in short pants.
She drew his head back to hers, kissing him fervently, saying with her actions what she couldn't with words.
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Jacob kept his footsteps light as he made his way through the temple towards the banquet chamber. The building was old with tall walls and high ceilings. The slightest of noises could create an echo that bounced from wall to wall so he took his time, making sure his visit would not be detected.
It was because of this that he was able to detect the voices in the banquet hall before he rounded the corner and made himself visible to its occupants, pressing himself back in a carved alcove to keep from being seen.
"Tell me, Borral," the feminine voice of Thmei's host purred. "Why do you serve Heset so willingly? What is it she gives you to deserve your loyalty?"
"I give my loyalty freely. She is my Goddess. She is the very breath I breathe, that which gives me life," Borral answered unwaveringly.
"Do you love her, Borral? Do you have feelings… of attraction… towards her?"
"She… She is very beautiful."
"Do you think we are beautiful?"
"Of-of course, my Lady Thmei. You, too, are very beautiful." Borral sounded nervous and Jacob couldn't blame him. The human slave was probably wondering why he couldn't refuse to answer the Goa'uld's question. "I must go now. My Lady Heset will be wondering where I am…"
"Your Lady is being entertained by one of her Jaffa, is she not?" Thmei laughed lightly. "Does that bother you, Borral? Do you wish it could be you and only you who shared her bed?"
"I… Of course, I desire her attention, my Lady, as do all who love her."
Thmei laughed again, and Jacob risked peering around from the alcove to see what was happening. He saw Borral gulp as the Goa'uld moved closer, her hand-device clad fingers playing idly with the collar of his shirt. "What if we could give you a way to guarantee that closeness, Borral? What if we could get Heset to desire you and only you?"
"I… I would like that. I would like that very much."
"We are sure you would," Thmei all but hummed. "Now, in order to do this favour for you, we need you to do a favour for us. Tell us, Borral, what is the status of Heset's alliance with the one known as Ba'al?"
"Lord Ba'al?" Borral's voice shook. "I.. I…"
"Tell us, Borral." Thmei's voice was soothing, persuasive. "Has Heset spoke with Ba'al since Anubis returned? Is he aware of this alliance she wishes to begin with us?"
"I…" Borral groaned, a sound of half-pain, half-pleasure. Jacob decided not to chance another look to see what was happening. "My Lady spoke with another, but I know not who. None of us were permitted in the room, not even I."
"Hmmm." Thmei was quiet for a moment, and Jacob heard the laboured sounds of Borral's breathing from his hiding place. "Would you be able to find out for us, Borral? We would reward you richly for your service."
"I cannot betray my Goddess!" Borral protested. "She is all-seeing and all-knowing. I cannot –"
"Even if it is for her own good, Borral?"
"Her own good?"
"Yes. We are worried Heset has been tricked, Borral. She could be hurt by it. She will be very appreciative of your loyalty if you help us protect her from the vile one who has fooled her so callously." Thmei's voice dropped to a low purr.
"She would be appreciative," Borral repeated, sounding as though he were hypnotised. "I would be protecting her, yes? Helping her?"
"Yes, Borral," Thmei purred. "You would be. Find out what you can and meet me here tomorrow night." There was a short pause in which Jacob peaked out from the alcove. He frowned as Thmei pulled back from kissing the slave with a stunned expression on his face. "Until tomorrow, Borral."
Jacob leaned back into the shadows as the Goa'uld swept past him, a satisfied smirk on her face.
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AN: This took forever to write, mostly because I wrote and deleted three versions of their conversation before deciding on the one in this part. For those wondering about Jack calling Sam 'baby', he called Sara it in Cold Lazarus and I decided he might use the term for Sam, too. This is as mature as the story's going to get due to mixed responses, so I'll just save some of the things I had planned for another story ;)
Your next choice… Should another, more established Goa'uld enter the scene or should it stay with Thmei and Heset?