Yes, it's true, you are not dreaming--I am finally finishing Boyfriend. I appreciate all the encouragement and understanding as I grappled with some pretty rough personal stuff. For those readers who might not have read the intros to the previous chapters (or who may have forgotten), I had a friend who was a victim of domestic abuse. That put a very sour spin on this story for me. A few months later, I had to have an emergency hysterectomy, which (as some of you may know) really screws with the hormones. Every time I tried to work on this story, I cried my eyes out. Then my boss/close friend died from Covid at the age of 44. Then my dog died and I went into a pretty dark place and stopped writing for a while. I came back and published a few other stories, but kept avoiding Boyfriend. Until one day, I finally said enough is enough and opened the file. So if you've read this far into my inner-musings, thank you for hanging in there.

The plan is to drop a new chapter each week until this story is finished.

(Non-beta'd so mistakes are all on me).


The sun was cresting over the trees when they found him. The early dawn light had began trickling through the dense canopy with one bright ray of sun striking Mark, as if marking the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

"Mark!" Sam shouted and darted forward. He was sitting with his back against a large tree trunk, his head pulled forward in either sleep or exhaustion. "Mark!" She called again, now within fifteen feet of him.

His head snapping up, Mark squinted against the increasing sunlight. Surging to his feet, he opened his arms and engulfed Sam. The force of her momentum made him stumble backward with an involuntary oomph.

"Thank god you found me," he said with palatable relief. "I'm so sorry, Sam."

"I'm sorry, too" Sam responded, pulling back to hold him at arms length, looking him up and down to check for injuries. "I shouldn't have let you see me vulnerable like that. So weak. And we're not—It's not what you think, between the Colonel and me."

"What—" Mark looked at her in shock. "You think that's why I left? Jesus, Sam," he turned around, composing his emotions. When he faced her once again, the hurt and unease he saw in her eyes tore at him. He really had failed her as a brother.

"Now you listen," Mark growled, suddenly sounding like his father. "You've been telling me for years that I have no right to judge your life, to tell you what to do." He held up a hand when she started to interrupt. "Don't stop telling me that now. I stupidly ran last night because I felt so ashamed of myself. What you've sacrificed—" his words caught in his throat. "I love you, Sammy," he pulled her into another hug, "and I'm proud of you. So very proud of you."

"About damn time," Jack grumbled, causing Mark to smirk inwardly. Sam had definitely picked a guy more like their dad than she'd ever willingly admit. He met the Colonel's eyes over Sam's shoulder as he hugged her. Each gave a subtle nod, an understanding passing between them. Mark may still be hesitant over Sam's choice, but he would respect her decision.

"For what it's worth," Mark eased back, "I'll be dropping my complaint as soon as we get home. We are getting home, right?" He asked only slightly joking.

"Of course," Sam reassured him. "We've been in much tighter spots than this."

"Stop," Mark held up his hand and laughed, "I really don't want to know."

"No you don't," Jack said, slapping his ball cap against his thigh, then sliding it back onto his head. "We need to get moving and stop wasting light. Let's go back to camp, pack up, and double-time it to the city."

"Sounds like a plan," Mark said, feeling more in control. "But which way is camp?"

"That way," Sam pointed to their right with a relieved laugh.

"Oh," Mark looked in the direction but saw nothing he recognized.

"It's about 30 meters away, just beyond that dense cluster of trees," Jack said, turning on his heels and walking.

"Don't tell Dad I got lost," Mark pleaded half-heartedly.

"As long as you don't tell him I lost you first," Sam replied with a smile.

"Blackmail material," Jack called over his shoulder in a stoic voice.

"He's kidding," Sam told her brother.

"You sure?" Mark still had the distinct feeling that he wasn't Jack's favorite person.

"Yeah...probably. I think."


All of the hair on the back of Jack's neck stood up as they approached the campsite. Something wasn't right. He felt eyes watching him. Holding up his fist, he heard Sam pull Mark to a stop and immediately ready her weapon.

Glancing to his left, Jack noticed one of their packs open on the ground. "Carter," he nodded in that direction.

"No sir," she answered the unasked questions.

"What'd I miss," Mark whispered loudly.

"Someone's been here," Sam whispered back.

"You might as well come out" Jack called, scanning the woods. Movement caught his attention as the last person he expected to see came into view. Immediately raising his P90, he didn't dare a look behind at Sam's quickly indrawn breath.

"Thank goodness I found you!" Pete said breathless as he kept coming forward. "Whoa!" He stopped, eyes widening, when Jack didn't lower his rifle.

"Hands where I can see them," Jack ordered, taking a step sideways to look around Pete. If the slime-ball shrub was here, what had happened to Daniel, Teal'c, and Jacob?

"I'm on your side!" Pete whined. "Teal'c sent me."

"Teal'c sent you," Jack rolled the words out of his mouth slowly in disbelief.

"Yeah, he rescued me from the Goa'uld attack, then told me to run north to find you," he shifted restlessly, his eyes darting between the three of them.

"Okay then," Jack lowered his weapon.

"Sir," Carter's tone was icy; she clearly didn't like his decision to lower his weapon.

"Major," he said back, without taking his eyes off of Pete. Even though he couldn't see her, he knew she'd catch onto his line of thinking.

"You son of a bitch!" Mark roared, springing forward past Jack to land a solid punch against Pete's right cheek, causing the man's head to snap back.

"Goddamnit Mark," Pete howled as he grasped his face, doubled over. "What was that for!"

"For my sister!" Mark screamed. "How could you?!" His voice lowered from outrage to pain-filled as he spoke. "I trusted you with my sister."

"I'm sorry," Pete whined with a growl, "it just happened in the heat of the moment. She pushed—no it doesn't matter. I'm not that guy; you know me, buddy."

Jack barely hid his scoff as he turned to Sam, dismissing the argument. You okay? He asked her with his eyes, pleased to see her angry and not upset.

You think Teal'c really set him free? Her eyes asked back.

He gave a curt nod and received hers in return. No way would Pete overpower Teal'c, and Lya promised to keep them hidden from the Goa'uld until Jack, Sam, and Mark returned. The only logical explanation was Teal'c really had sent Pete directly to them. But why?

Jack sighed inwardly; no reason expending energy guessing. The best course of action was to maintain the ruse of the Goa'uld attack. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.


"I refuse to let you be that asshole's babysitter," Mark scoffed as Sam and he pitched the small tent for the night. The four of them had hiked approximately ten miles before Pete's complaining became too annoying to bear any longer. There were still about seven miles outside the city, and while Sam had wanted to push on, Jack noted how exhausted Mark and Pete looked and called it a day.

"I'll admit the idea of sharing a tent with him is unpleasant," she tried to placate.

"Unpleasant!" He yelled, then immediately looked around to see if he'd been overheard.

Jack had hauled Pete off to find fresh water, giving Sam a chance to fill Mark in on their hastily developed plan, except Jack hadn't signed off on the sleeping arrangements yet.

"Sammy, the asshole beat you. How can you even think to share a tent with him?!"

"First of all," she bristled, "he didn't beat me, he landed one lucky punch. I'd have ended him before he got another." She was pleased when her brother nodded in agreement. "Second, do you really want to babysit him? We all won't fit in one tent and we can't leave him alone."

"No, but Jack—"

"Has to take night watch," she lied, knowing Jack wouldn't breach Lya's warning again. He also wouldn't cotton to her plan of bunking with Pete, but she didn't want to think about what Jack would do to Pete if he got him alone.

"Sammy, I've done a lot of things wrong when it comes to you and me, but this isn't one of them. Let me share the tent with Pete," Mark reasoned. "He still thinks we're best friends. He isn't going to hurt me. Although, I can't promise I won't smother him in his sleep," he griped, causing Sam to smirk.

She nodded once, giving in before she could change her mind. She really did not want to sleep next to Pete. Besides, Mark was right. Among the three of them, he was the least likely to set Pete off.

Her relief was quickly ruined as Pete came back into view with a clearly exasperated Jack following behind.

"Did you find water?" She asked tentatively, trying to play travel companion.

"We did," Pete said with excitement. "Oh Baby, it was so beautiful. No wonder you love your job!"

"Great," she said stiffly, picking up her bedroll. "Here," she tossed it lightly to Pete, who caught it instinctively. His face quickly formed a scowl.

"What's this for?"

"You'll need this to sleep," she turned and gathered the contents of her pack from the tent.

"What about you? Aren't you going to sleep?" Pete's voice was a mixture of panic and anger, giving his voice a nasally sound.

"We'll be sharing," Jack answered, purposefully baiting Pete. But Sam also recognized the look in his eyes; there was no way he would have let her share a tent with the man anyway.

"What!?" Pete stammered. "No, I cannot allo—no I won't force you to—"

"The Colonel and I are each taking a shift at night watch," Sam lied again, hating her automatic response to placate him. "He'll take the first shift and I'll use the sleeping bag, then we'll switch."

Jack merely raised an eyebrow at her reasoning, but said nothing.

"Oh," Pete deflated before their eyes. "So it's Mark and me tonight; that's good, just like old times."

Pete turned to crawl into the tent, missing Mark's rolling eyes. You owe me he mouthed to Sam, shaking his head, as he crawled in and closed the tent flaps.


Jack glanced at Sam for the tenth time in the last five minutes. She lay on her side in his sleeping bag, her head resting against on her other arm. Her shoulders moved slowly and evenly. To anyone else she would appear in a deep and restful sleep, but Jack wasn't just anyone and he wasn't buying it. Quietly moving within arms reach of her, he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You can quit pretending now," he whispered, "there hasn't been any movement from their tent in over 20 minutes. They're out cold."

"Good," Sam rolled over and sat up in one fluid motion. "Now what in the hell are we going to do with Pete?"

"I don't see any other option but to drag him along," he shrugged, hating the idea. The man was a known liability and it was only a matter of time before he showed his true colors again.

"Teal'c obviously thought he needed to be here," Sam stated the obvious as she reached to rub a kink out of her neck.

"Lya too," he reasoned. "Come here," he tugged on her arm until she turned her back toward him. Brushing her hair out of the way, he dug his thumbs into the muscles of her shoulders, then ran his hands up her neck. Her deep sigh of pleasure was tinged with a quiet moan, drawing a growl from within him dangerously close to the surface. He kneaded her muscles with practiced skill, knowing her back had to be sore after her fall the other day. Sleeping on the ground didn't help either.

"Thanks," she said shyly over her shoulder once he'd finished. "I hadn't realized how tense I was. Want me to return the favor?"

"No need," Jack scooted over to put some distance between them. Now was not the time to crack open that locked door. They were stranded off-world, looking for a mystical Knox city, and dealing with Sam's crazy ex-boyfriend who slept 20 feet away.

"Alright," Sam nodded and unzipped the sleeping bag. When Jack didn't join her, she asked, "You're not thinking of disobeying Lya's order, are you?"

"No," Jack sighed, although it was clear he wanted to. "I'm surprised nothing happened after your brother left last night; it'd be reckless to disregard Lya's warning two nights in a row."

"Then what's wrong?" She asked, reading the unease in his body language.

"It's nothing," he sighed heavily before toeing off his boots and shuffled closer to her.

"It's something," she pushed. "I know you're uneasy about Pete, but I really don't think he's going to try anything on his own."

"It's not that," Jack hedged. "He's too much of a coward to attempt something without backup."

"Lya assured us that no harm would come during the nights as long as we stayed in out tents," Sam reminded him.

"I know. I'm still debating on whether to believe her," he said with mock seriousness.

"Then what is it, sir?" She asked again, trusting his instincts.

"It's these 'Watchmen' that Lya warned us about," Jack pressed his lips together. "We've been here before, but none of the Nox have ever mentioned them. Then, after last night, I sort of assumed they'd show. We did disregard Lya's warning pretty blatantly."

"Are you suggesting Lya made them up?" Sam considered the possibility.

"I dunno," he admitted. "But if they are real, where the hell are they?"