"So, I hope you're not too mad at me."
Sam turned her head at the sound of Jack's voice as they made their way to the control room. Woolsey had caught up with Weir and Beckett. She and Jack were trailing slightly behind.
"Mad at you? Why?"
She was anything but mad at him. She was relieved and full of adrenaline and lacking sleep, and so in love with the man beside her that she almost couldn't think straight, but she wasn't anywhere near mad. If anything, she was still feeling the remnants of guilt after the "think of England" reminder that he'd been interrogated again by Replicators because of her.
Jack shrugged.
"I screwed up our trip a few times and then almost got myself killed in another galaxy," he replied. "You know, the usual."
Sam laughed.
"I did think when it all came down to it that out of the two of us, my job right now would be the more dangerous one. You had to go and prove me wrong, didn't you?"
She looked over and caught his smirk.
"I'm not sure if you knew this about me," Jack replied, "but I can be stubborn. I like to prove I've still got it."
"Still got it?" she asked.
The look he gave her was smug and she liked it.
She really liked it.
"Oh yeah. For example, I can hold my breath a really long time."
He winked at her.
Sam did what she had to do and pulled Jack into the closest empty room, after making sure that no one was looking their way.
"Sam?"
She caught the confusion in his voice when she pushed him against the wall. The fabric under her hands was still a little damp from his swim.
Jack raised his eyebrows, prompting a response.
"You presented a hypothesis," she replied with a grin. "We should probably test it."
His hands hooked around her waist and pulled her close.
"Uh, sure. You know how much I like helping with your science experiments. What is this one again?"
Sam moved a hand behind his head and pulled him towards her for a deep, heady kiss before she drew back just enough to whisper against his lips.
"How long can you hold your breath, Jack?"
She wouldn't have chanced this if she didn't trust that Sheppard would be able to take care of contacting the Daedalus and McKay could handle any tech issues that came up. Plus, she was good at what she did. The crew of the BC-304 ship would have received her message. If the crew ignored it, they were as good as dead anyway and she wasn't going to let anything stop her from being in Jack O'Neill's arms.
Plus, they deserved a few moments to celebrate surviving another near disaster before they had to go back to the real world.
Jack was more than willing to go along with her plan. One of his hands pressed on the small of her back and the other threaded through her hair.
"Like I said, Sam. I'm always happy to prove I've still got it."
He cut off her laugh with his lips and before she knew it, he had her pressed back against the wall and was kissing her like the world was ending...which, given the way their days had been, wasn't entirely off.
They'd never done this before, desperately made out against a wall before a mission was complete. It was exhilarating.
The mental timer in the back of Sam's mind was ticking, counting down the time they could be away before everyone noticed, but her attention was on the man who just slid his leg between hers and tangled his tongue with hers.
Her hands were in constant motion - fingers running through his hair, hand trailing down his chest, palm against his ass.
It felt like she had to touch every inch of him to prove to herself that he was okay.
She wished they could stay like this and block out the outside world, but the timer kept ticking.
Proving Jack's hypothesis, Sam was the first to pull back for an intake of air.
She rested her forehead against his shoulder and tried to catch her breath while his lips trailed down her neck and his nimble fingers undid the buttons on the front of her shirt.
"Jack."
She tried to say his name as a warning, but it came out more like a sigh instead. Jack moved his hand under her shirt and went to cup her breast.
Sam pushed against his chest before things could get too out of control and smoothed down her hair.
"We've got to go. Have to make sure they're not going to nuke the city."
Jack blinked and looked around, as if suddenly remembering where they were. She felt a small amount of pride that she'd distracted him that much given how hyper-aware he usually was in the field.
"Carter!" Jack growled her name in frustration. He pointedly looked down at the bulge in his pants. "Do we not have a rule about mid-mission making out for this very reason?"
This time, Sam was the one looking smug.
"I don't think we ever made a rule like that."
The frat regs had been the rules they lived by for years and then once those were no longer in play, they were rarely out in the field together.
"We should've," he grumbled.
"Poor baby," she teased, reaching up to cup his cheek. His stubble was rough against her hand.
He turned his head and kissed her palm.
"You know, if I end up sporting an erection when I'm in the same room as the Atlantis team and Richard Woolsey, I'm going to tell them all it's your fault."
She wasn't worried about that happening. Jack wouldn't let it. When he needed to, he had fairly solid control over his mind and body. It was part of the reason Sam loved to see him lose it. Under other circumstances, she'd pull him back for a kiss just to see how far she could push him.
Unfortunately, they didn't have that kind of time.
"Race you to the control room," she said with a grin, before turning and running down the corridor.
Sam heard him shout her last name and call her a cheater as she rounded the corner.
She was quick, but he eventually caught up to her right by the stairs. Both of them were a little out of breath, but she felt amazing.
They were alive.
Jack grabbed at her elbow as they were climbing the stairs. "You so owe me."
His voice held promises of long nights under shared sheets.
Still, she wasn't about to give in that easily.
"I don't know," she replied as she fixed the buttons that Jack's hands had been too quick undoing and zipped the tac vest back up. She smoothed the side of his hair that looked too obviously ruffled and ran a hand through her own. "I saved your life. I'm pretty sure you owe me."
She gave him a quick grin and then entered the control room, slipping back into the persona of Colonel Carter. Jack followed close behind her.
Beckett, Teyla, and Ronon were gathered in the back of the room and each briefly glanced Sam and Jack's way as they entered. She knew that they couldn't have arrived more than a minute or two after them.
It looked like the Replicators had been able to fix everything after the explosion. The control room was in near-perfect condition.
Sheppard was already at the comms panel and trying to contact the Daedalus.
"I really hope it worked," Sam said, after explaining that she tried to send a message from the jumper to the ship to the pre-empt the nuclear strike.
Jack looked over at her. "I think the fact that we're all not dead is a good sign that it worked."
She supposed he was right. The Daedalus was in orbit, but the ship hadn't dropped its payload.
They waited and then heard Colonel Steven Caldwell's voice.
"Colonel, I'd like to believe this is you."
"Well, it is," Sheppard responded. "Authentication code Alpha Delta Charlie Niner Six."
"That code is no longer valid, Colonel," Caldwell pointed out.
Sam chimed in.
"Colonel Caldwell, this is Colonel Carter." She shared her authentication code. "I sent a message earlier informing you of our situation with a request to disregard General O'Neill's standing order to nuke the city while the rescue mission was underway."
The Atlantis team all looked at each other as they waited for a response.
Sam pressed her palm down on the railing beside her so she wouldn't grab for Jack's hand.
"The message was received. However, Colonel Carter, you know that your code is also invalid. Plus, as you're well aware, you do not have the authority to circumvent that order."
Everything Caldwell said was true, but the fact was, he should have nuked the city as soon as he got here and he didn't after getting her message. Sam counted that as a success.
"Hey, Caldwell," Jack interrupted. "General Jack O'Neill here. That valid enough for you?"
They all heard Caldwell sigh before he responded.
"You may have been compromised, sir."
Sam was fairly sure that she heard Jack mutter the words "compromised, my ass" under his breath. She held in a laugh, but couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face.
Elizabeth Weir tried to reason with Caldwell next.
"We're lowering the city's shields, Steven. You can send a team to come check us out if you need to. We'll explain everything."
There was a long stretch of silence. Everyone in the command center looked around at each other and hoped that Weir's suggestion would work.
"Do you think it would speed things up if I threatened to fire him?" Jack asked.
This time she did laugh.
"You're racking up quite a long list of people to fire." Then, remembering they had company, Sam tacked on an irreverent "sir."
"You know, some people actually find me intimidating and rush to follow my orders," he muttered.
Sam let the back of her hand brush against his.
"Those people just don't know you very well," she replied, voice low.
He glanced over at her and smiled. "You know, you didn't used to be so cheeky."
"Really? I have a strong memory of offering to arm wrestle you the first day we met."
When she looked over to see his reaction, she was struck by the affection and fondness in his gaze.
"Yeah, I never took you up on that, did I? Bad decision on my part."
"Maybe when we get back home?" she suggested.
Jack lifted an eyebrow and she could barely contain her grin in response. This feeling inside her was familiar, the adrenaline and excitement and joy at having survived vibrating through her body like an electric jolt.
The difference, this time, was that she could do something about it. They were together and chain of command was an issue in the rearview mirror and they had both survived. She was tempted to pull him back into another empty room to prove just how alive she felt.
"Carter?"
He drew out her name and said it with caution, looking around at the other occupants in the room.
"You're alive," she whispered. "Lots of adrenaline running through my system. Lots of excess energy."
Lots of excess energy that she wanted to put towards time spent with him.
Jack looked around at the other people in the control room. They were all chatting with each other, waiting for Caldwell's response.
"Sam," he warned, voice low.
She loved when he got that tone in his voice - the one where he was completely on board with whatever she suggested, but still felt like he had to be the voice of reason anyway and talk her out of it.
"Fine," she agreed. "Later."
He looked half relieved and half disappointed. It made her wonder whether he would have gone along with it if she kissed him right here in the middle of the control room.
Caldwell's voice spoke before she could say anything else.
"We'll get a team of marines ready to beam down. Lower the shields, set down any weapons, and stand by."
Caldwell's voice cut out and everyone looked at Jack.
"McKay, lower the shields. Everyone else, head down by the 'gate. Let's do what the nice people with the guns say."
Everyone started to move and then Jack held up a hand and spoke again.
"Oh yeah, and congrats on saving Atlantis and killing a mess of Replicators. Good work." He spared a withering glance at McKay. "Mostly."
The group responded with a mix of tentative smiles and nods of acknowledgement before disbursing to go to their assigned areas.
Jack looked back at Sam and she shook her head at his half-hearted congratulations.
"Really?"
He shrugged.
"You know I hate giving speeches."
They headed towards the stairs.
"But you're so good at them."
His lips quirked into a half smile.
"Smartass."