I do not own anything. If you recognize it, it is not mine.

Thank you for your reviews. Please comment some more, even when it's not just praise. I want to know how you like the characters, the pace and the direction the story is taking.

I am sorry I had to send Daniel away, but he was really getting in the way lately.

Her heart made a somersault when she landed in his arms. She didn't even have the energy to be angry at herself for losing her focus and slipping as his strong arms enveloped her and she was bathing in his masculine scent. Without thinking, she snaked her hands around his neck trying to steady herself. For a moment they both froze, not moving a muscle. Then as he relaxed his grip a little, she exhaled loudly and at the same time tried to push her inappropriate thoughts out of her brain.

"I'm here. Hold onto me."

His voice was breathy and it came out very close to her ear. She felt her body shivering with expectation as his arms slipped under hers and he carefully lifted her up. Still supporting her with his body, he took her hand and put in on the exercise bar. Her breasts were firmly pressed against his chest as he repeated the action with her other hand.

Quickly she raised herself on her hands, away from his body. Her cheeks must have been burning red by this point. She felt his hand slid to her waist, where it stopped, holding her safely in place. He was still too close for her to continue the exercise. She would bump into him if she made the tiniest step.

"You okay?" His voice shook a little.

"I'm fine. Thank you, sir. Let's carry on."

"Ah! Carter. What did we say about overdoing it?"

"But we haven't done anything yet." Carter lifted her right leg and then put in down again, relying on her hands to prevent her from falling again. She repeated the same with her left leg. "A few more steps, sirrrr."

She almost purred the last word, the prolonged pronunciation giving it an odd feel. He had to remind himself to keep breathing, that's how much of an effect she was having on him. It was going to take him much more time to recover from their intimate moment.

"Okay, but I need you to get into that genius brain of yours that this is only the first try. Only a few more steps and then I'll get you back to the infirmary, no arguing!"

"Yes, sir." She gave him one of those beaming smile that could lighten up a whole room.

He noticed, though, that her eyes were aimed somewhere over his shoulder into the distance, which calmed him down a bit. The most important thing right now was her health.

The first two steps were hesitant, she kept most of her weight on her hands anyway. Then, when she got some confidence back, her steps became steadier and quicker. She could feel him moving in front of her, stepping out of her way every time she moved forward. His hands never left her waist.

"Feeling okay, Carter?" He didn't back away as usual, but stayed in front of her, studying her. Her skin was glistening with sweat and she was panting loudly, but still she nodded in agreement. "Put your hands on my shoulders now, Carter." He could see the confusion hit her, his brow knitted in thought and her lips pressed into a thin line. Before she was able to object, he silenced her with one simple sentence. "Trust me."

She inhaled sharply and slowly let the air out of her lungs. Her movement was swift, since she didn't want to stay without support for long. As she laid her hand on his firm shoulder, she transferred some of her weight there. She hesitated afterwards, but his arms were suddenly under hers, encouraging her further. Again, their stance became very intimate with his body pressed against hers as he tried to bear part of her weight. They would be in full-body contact if he didn't have the presence of mind to thrust his hips backwards beforehand.

"Now we are going to do a very slow one eighty. Just follow my lead, okay?"

It was strangely sad and amazing at the same time. Sad because she was blind and ahead of some grueling therapy, but also amazing because she was there, in his arms, alive and breathing. It dawned on him that from afar it had to look like they were dancing to those slow pacing songs teenagers like because they provide an excuse to get really close. They clung to each other as if their lives depended on it, feeling each other's heart beating.

Their slow rotating movement was constrained by the parallel bars and he slightly scratched his back against one of them, when making sure that didn't happen to Carter. He made sure he wouldn't hiss in pain so Carter wouldn't be aware. His instinct told him he should get her to the infirmary as soon as possible. Even if she didn't admitted, she was exhausted.

As they made their turn, he moved them a couple inches towards the end of the bar and therefore the wheelchair. She must have suspected the turn meant the exercise was coming to an end, but seemed to be concentrating on keeping her posture.

"You okay? Can we continue?" He whispered, still embracing her tightly.

"Yes."

Letting go off her, he stayed close in case she needed him. "As before, if you trip, fall forward. I'll catch you."

She made even smaller steps then before, and took longer to recover between them, clearly thrown by how difficult the task seemed to her. Big frown appeared on her face as she concentrated all her energy on putting one foot after the other.

O'Neill saw her struggle and called on Teal'c to bring the wheelchair forward, who did so without delay. Carter made another shaky step in the meantime.

"Thank you, T."

"You're welcome, O'Neill."

Then O'Neill turned his attention to the Colonel, who was valiantly holding onto the bars. "Carter, another step or two and that's it for today." She was leaning forward a little, her blond braid hanging in front of her face.

He extended his arm, touching her shoulder gently, which caused her to stop and wait what he'd do next. Cautiously he took her around the shoulders, feeling her relax into the contact as she finished the steps necessary to reach the end of the bar. After that she almost collapsed into his arms again, but he held her, leading her to the edge of the wheelchair. As she sat down, completely spent, she let out a satisfied sigh.

O'Neill fixed the footplate in place and even fastened the rubber support so she wouldn't have to strain her leg muscles anymore. Carter became very pliant in his arms - like a rag doll, if he didn't see that her eyes were opened, he might have thought she fainted. He lifted her legs, one after the other and tucked them in behind the support.

With her body secure in the wheelchair, he started wheeling her towards the infirmary. She was constantly yawning the whole way there.

"Jeez, Carter. I hope you're just that tired and it's not my company."

She laughed and it made him realize how much he missed the sound. He vowed to make more of an effort in the future as they entered the infirmary, where Laura was caring for unconscious Gracie.

"Hi, Laura. How's she?" Carter asked, the overtiredness evident in her voice.

"It's just a little setback. Her leg is only slightly swollen, but it hurts. I gave her a sedative to keep her from moving for the time being. Hopefully it'll be okay tomorrow." Before Daniel gated to Earth, he watched over Gracie. And as usual the little tabby rascal mainly ignored him. She jumped from a greater height than was advisable and injured her mostly healed leg. "I hope at least you have been reasonable. That was some long exercise, I was about to head in the gym to check up on you two."

"I am okay, but I'd like to lie down for a bit." Carter declared, letting out another yawn.

"I need you to lie down anyway. I have prepared an IV, just to make sure your body has all it needs. Nutrients, vitamins, all the good stuff."

"That sounds really great, thank you."

"I'll get you to bed, then." O'Neill said to Carter, then pausing for a moment with a scowl on his face. That really didn't come out right. Trying to ignore his own comment, he moved her from the chair to the hospital bed, hoping she was too tired to detect the tension in his body. He didn't escape Laura's raised eyebrow and weird smirk, though. Damn!