So sorry - company here from Canada so I couldn't update. This chapter contains no action - just some filler - but it's coming soon to a fan fic site near you!
"Well?" he asked, looking narrowly at the pock-marked face of the man opposite him.
"She stayed at the Henderson woman's place", Robert told him.
"And that's it?" James waited to hear if there was more. He needed more information to figure out what to do about Samantha – and more importantly, about her land.
"A man showed up. He went into the house and stayed. I didn't recognize him."
"What did he look like", James scowled. Was there someone new he had to worry about? Could it have been Charlie or Bart? You know, the hired hands?"
"Nah, they didn't come till later. All I know is he was tall and sorta skinny. He walked with a limp. In fact, he looked like he was about ready to fall over."
Who the hell could it be? James thought of all the people in the area, but no one came to mind. The only stranger who had been around lately was O'Neill, and he was dead. Well, he'd have to wait and find out. For some reason, he suspected that the man was tied up in whatever was going on. He didn't have any facts, just a gut feel. It was his gut that had enabled James to survive, and to gain power and money and influence. He wasn't about to stop trusting it now.
"I want you and Griffen to head back to the Stone Circle and keep your eyes open. "
Robert nodded and immediately collected Griffen and headed back to the ranch.
As James stood silently, debating his next move, he pulled his watch out of its pocket and checked the time. Damn, they were coming tomorrow and he had to have something to tell them. If they got angry it could go very badly for him. He sometimes wished he'd never gotten involved with them, but the rewards had been too tempting.
"What" she almost screeched. " You found it?" She sat up straight in bed, almost pushing him over in her haste. "Where? When? How did you know where to look? Is there a DHD? Oh God, why didn't you tell me?"
"Whoa!" he said, half laughing. A flustered Sam was a sight to behold. He somehow thought it was a rare sight, but he had to admit he was enjoying it. "Slow down."
He had to chuckle at the look she flashed him and he put his hands up in mock defense. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you. Where? About four hours ride from here, over south in the red hills. When? Yesterday. That's why I was back so late. How did I know where to look? I didn't. I mean, I was looking, but I never would have found it if it wasn't for a lost calf." He grinned at her confused look. "It's well hidden. I'll explain later. As for a DVD – I don't know what that is. And finally, why didn't I tell you? Well, I kind of had other things on my mind." He stopped and grinned again, pleased that he could give her the gift of the gate, but also continuing to enjoy her look of - irritation. He kind of recognized that one. He suspected he had a habit of driving her crazy on occasion – at least he did if it was always this much fun.
"Well I'm glad you didn't find it weeks ago", she said. "I really would have been – ah – upset at that. As for the calf, well I want to hear more about that. And it's DHD, not DVD – that's a – well it doesn't matter right now what that is. The DHD is short for Dial Home Device – it's what operates the stargate."
"O – kay", he said. "Uh, how does it operate it? I mean, what does it do? I figured the gate had something to do with getting us home, but I can't see how. I mean, it's just a big metal ring with weird symbols on it."
"Actually Sir -", she started, not even realizing what she'd called him.
He looked at her quizzically, but didn't interrupt. She was in full 'science geek' mode, he could tell. He sighed and leaned back. He knew he was in for some incomprehensible explanation. Somehow this was also familiar. She and Daniel used to do this to him all the time.
"It truly is a 'gate' – but it's a gate to the stars."
"Hence 'stargate'", he said helpfully.
"Exactly!" She looked at him proudly.
He could tell she had an overwhelming desire to pat him on the head and say 'good boy Jack'. Before she had the chance, though, he spoke. "Okay, so how is it a 'gate to the stars'?
"Well, the symbols on the stargate are actually glyphs that correspond to points in the galaxy. You have to dial seven of these glyphs to reach another gate. It's kind of like dialing a telephone. Once you dial a correct 'address' or 'number', the stargate engages – uh, it turns on' -"
"I know what 'engages' means Carter!"
"Yes Sir", she grinned. "Anyway, when it engages a wormhole is established. This happens because the gate is made of Naquadah, a quartzite metal not found on earth. When charged neutrinos are applied to the Naquadah it absorbs and energizes the neutrinos. This forms an artificial but stable inter-dimensional path between two planets. You enter the wormhole at one end and your molecules are dematerialized as they pass through the wormhole. When you exit the event horizon at the other end, they are re-materialized. The process is almost instantaneous.
"So, you're telling me you walk in one gate, turn into billions of little pieces, get put back together and walk out another gate on a different planet?"
"Yes, that's it exactly Sir."
"So why didn't you just say so Carter?" he said. "All this talk of nintendos* is confusing."
"I know. You've – always uh had trouble with it."
"I have?"
"Yes."
"Oh thank god. I thought it was my head injury!" He suddenly stopped and stared at her. "Wait! Are you telling me we're from a different planet?"
"Yes", she said softly. She'd been worried about this. What if he didn't believe it?"
"Good. I really didn't feel like I belonged here. I mean, I like horses and everything, but I really miss hot showers -"
"I know, me too. I also miss -"
" – and beer", he said, not even realizing she was speaking. "I haven't had a beer in – I don't know how long. I'd really like a beer Carter."
"Yes Sir", she laughed. "Actually, they do have beer here. We just didn't keep any in the house."
"Sam! What were you thinking? You have to have beer in the house. I mean, what if there was an emergency hockey game or something."
"An emergency hockey game?" She looked at him questioningly. "You seem to be remembering things."
"Yeah", he sighed, growing serious all of a sudden. "But like I said, it's only in bits and pieces. Hell, I don't even know what hockey is."
"It's a game – played on ice. You loved it. The players wear sharp metal blades on their feet, carry a long stick and hit a puck – a hard rubber disk – around the ice and try and get it into a net at one end. You compete against another team who are trying to get the puck into your net."
He stared at her blankly. "Sounds weird", he finally said. "Are you sure I liked it?"
"Oh yes, very sure."
"Who's Daniel", he suddenly asked. He remembered that the name had flashed into his mind a short while ago. He felt like the memory was right there, just floating around his head, waiting for him to grab onto it.
"He's one of your closest friends", she said. "He's also on our team, or at least he was before we were captured."
"What does he look like?" Jack asked. He had a fuzzy picture in his mind, but wasn't sure if that was Daniel or not.
"He's a tiny bit shorter than you, dark hair, blue eyes, very good looking. He also wears glasses and -"
" – he's a geek like you!" he said triumphantly. "I'm starting to remember! And – the big, black guy with the weird tattoo on his forehead?"
"That's Teal'c. He's also a good friend and a member of our team."
"That's right! He's a – Taffy?"
She giggled. "No, he's a Jaffa. That means he used to serve an evil master. He has an infant Goa'uld – uh - snake -"
"Junior!"
"Yes, 'Junior' in his belly."
"I am starting to remember. And you – you were on our same team. What did you do?"
"Me? I'm a scientist – an astrophysicist."
"Of course you are!" He said, shaking his head. He'd known she was smart. He was pretty sure that she'd always been smarter than him.
"So, what do we do about the stargate?" he finally asked. He'd been trying to ignore the whole thing for the last few minutes, although he had been pretty sure the conversation would come around to it again. He still hesitated at the thought of going 'home'. It wasn't the stargate that bothered him – it was the 'home' part of it. He was pretty sure there was a reason he didn't want to go back. He just couldn't remember what it was.
"Well, we need to determine if there's a DHD – the Dial Home Device."
"And if there isn't?" he asked, feeling slightly relieved.
"I'll just have to build something. It might take a while, but eventually I should be able to do it. Of course, the difficulty is going to be hiding what we've found if we have to go there too often."
"And if this – D – thingy works?"
"Then I guess we'll go home", she said. She threw her legs over the side of the bed and pushed herself to her feet. "I'd better get up. How far did you say it was to the gate?"
"A couple of hours", he told her, looking suspiciously at her. "Where are you going?" he asked. He was rather ticked at himself for even bringing up the whole gate. They hadn't resolved this – thing – between them and she was getting up like having slept with him was no big deal. He sighed to himself. In fact it had been no big deal. All they'd done was slept.
"Going? I'm going to get cleaned up and then I want you to take me to the gate", she said. "I need to determine whether or not I have to build something to get us home."
"If the DHD is there", he continued, "will you want to go home immediately?"
"I – no", she said. "For one thing, we can't go directly to earth." When he looked at her in confusion she explained. "There's a protective shield over the gate on earth. You have to have a code so that they'll open it on that end, otherwise you -"
"Go splat!"
"Yes, you definitely go 'splat'."
"Okay then, let's not go home", he told her. "Let's just stay here."
"Jack" she said, in disgust. "Of course we need to get home. We'll just have to take a detour."
"A detour?" God – he wondered if he used to get headaches from this woman or if this was a result of his injury.
"Yes. We'll gate to the Alpha site or somewhere there is a safe planet that has a DHD. From there we'll gate home."
"I see." He still sat quietly on the bed, wondering suddenly at her desire to leave here.
"Don't you want to go home", she asked, as if realizing he wasn't happy.
"I don't remember home", he told her. "I mean, I barely remember my friends and even less about everything else. I'll be totally out of place there. At least here I know what I'm doing."
"But even here it took a while, didn't it?" she asked gently. "Look, it will probably be overwhelming for the first little while, but you'll quickly get used to things. And anyway, Janet may be able to treat your head injury and help you get better even faster."
"Janet? he asked, confused. "Why would Janet treat my head wound?"
"Not this Janet", Sam said. "Our doctor back on earth – her name is Dr. Janet Frasier."
"Really? Wow. That must be why it seemed so familiar to me."
"So Jack – the stargate?" she finally asked. He seemed to want to keep turning the subject. She wondered what was bothering him.
"I guess we could go take a look", he finally conceded. "But we're not going to operate it or go through it until we know more about what is going on?"
"That's fine", she said, "although if the DHD is there, and working, we could try -"
"NO!" he said. "Absolutely not!"
"But Jack -"
"Don't 'but Jack' me. We are not turning it on. For now just take a look. Then we'll figure out what to do."
Breakfast took forever since Jack seemed to draw out every moment. Sam was so impatient she wanted to yell at him, but instead she simply played with her food, too nervous to even feel hungry. Jack finally noticed her fidgeting but simply told her to 'eat up'.
"You have to eat properly Sam", he told her. "You know you're not just eating for yourself now."
She looked at him in shock. How did he know? How could he have found out? Oh god! She put her hand on her stomach and opened her mouth, to try and answer.
"I mean, I don't think I'm quite up to carrying you yet if you pass out from hunger. You have to think of me too you know."
Damn – now she really did want to hit him. He'd scared the living daylights out of her. She attempted to return his grin, although she didn't find anything remotely funny in his comment.
Why she was finding it so difficult to tell him, she didn't know. What she did know is until they found out about the gate and about going home, she wanted – no, she needed to keep it secret. Afterward, she'd tell him.
"Hey, you okay?" he looked worried suddenly. "I was just teasing you know."
"No – it's – I'm just a little worried about what we're going to find. This whole thing was a – shock to me. I'd kind of – well, figured I had, had lost you and that I was stuck here. In the course of one night I found out you were alive and that you'd found the gate. I'm just a little –" she shrugged, not knowing what else to say.
He stood up and quickly walked over to her chair and knelt down beside her. Taking her hands in his he looked at her, his face looking both serious and gentle. It was an expression she rarely saw. "I'm sorry Sam", he told her, gently squeezing her hands. "I know I've been terribly – selfish – and I didn't want to hurt you, not ever."
Her face softened as she looked at this strong man, who was still so hurt and confused, and yet gave her confidence that everything would be fine. She'd spent years relying on him, and forgot that sometimes – like now – he needed her strength every bit, and perhaps more, than she needed his.
She pulled one of her hands free and reached up and softly cupped his face. "You don't have to be sorry. I'm just so glad you're okay and that we have a chance to go home. It's been hard for you – for both of us – but everything is okay now, or it will be soon."
He looked at her closely, as if trying to determine if she truly meant the words she was saying. He wished he could see behind those eyes, to know what she really thought about him, felt about him. He knew she cared – but not if there was anything else there. He sighed. He also knew that now was not the time to ask.
He pushed himself to his feet while keeping a hold of her one hand. Once upright he pulled her up beside him. "Well then, let's go see us a gate!"
They told Janet that they were going out riding and probably wouldn't be back until that evening.
"Don't worry about us", Sam told her new acquaintance. "We'll take a lunch with us and we'll stop for rests."
Janet turned and faced Jack, a small scowl on her face. Something was up and she didn't trust what was happening, although she was pretty sure neither of the two standing in front of her would tell her what it was about. "I don't think Jack's ready to go out all day", she finally said. "I mean, look at what he was like last night."
"I'll be fine Janet, don't worry so much", he told her, and had to stifle a sharp pang as he said the words. Somehow he was sure he'd used them – many times – although in a very different place and to a different person. "Sam is with me. It's just, we have to do this."
"Famous last words!" she snorted. "Fine, I can't stop you, although I think you're both crazy. Just tell me the direction you're heading so if you don't come back by tonight I'll send out my men to find you."
"We're heading over towards the red hills", Jack informed her. He'd almost lied, but decided that it was safer if someone knew where they were heading. He and Sam would spot anyone who followed and when they got into the hills no one would ever know about the secret passageway.
They'd been riding almost an hour and neither of them had spoken. For the first while it had been a companionable silence. After the first couple of miles, however, it began to seem uncomfortable.
Sam kept racking her brains for something, anything to say. She could tell him some more about earth, or about some of the things happening at the ranch, or even some more about the gate and where she was planning to take them. She started to speak a number of times, but something always stopped her. She really didn't know what was bothering her.
"How did he react", Jack suddenly asked, out of the blue.
She started in surprise and then looked over at him, confused by his question. "Pardon me?"
"James. How did he react when you told him you weren't going to marry him?"
"Uh", she stopped and bit her lip. Should she tell him the truth or lie? "Okay, I guess", she finally answered, hoping that would be enough.
"Okay? What does okay mean? Was he happy, sad, angry, upset – what?"
"He was, he was angry", she confessed. She hadn't wanted to say anything to him about James, but she should have known better than to think he'd ignore it.
He didn't say anything although she could feel his eyes burning into her. "What?" she asked impatiently. "Wouldn't you have been angry?"
His eyebrows lifted in surprise and some discomfort. "Maybe, although probably more -" he didn't finish, instead looking ahead at the vast, dry desert.
"Probably more -?" she prodded.
"Upset, hurt – I don't know. I wouldn't want to lose -" his words stopped again.
Lose whom, she wondered? Was he referred to her or was he speaking in general? She wanted to ask him what he meant, but they weren't there yet in their – relationship. She almost said 'not yet', but she didn't know if they ever would get there. She sighed.
He must have heard her because he pulled his horse beside hers so they were riding close. "Did he say or do anything – to hurt you?" he wanted to know. He could tell immediately, from her expression, that the conversation with James hadn't been a good one. He had always hated the man, even before he had a clear understanding of why. Now he really hated him.
"Kind of", she answered. "Look, it doesn't matter. We'll be home soon and we can forget about him. He'll never bother us again."
"Sam! Come on, what did he say?"
She sighed again. She might as well just get it over with. She knew Jack and she knew he wouldn't give it up. "He threatened me", she finally told him. "But I don't think it was because he was upset at losing me – I think he was upset at losing the ranch", she confessed. She'd been shocked, and even slightly hurt when she realized that he really didn't love her at all, but that he'd simply wanted to get a hold of her property. Her next feeling had been one of relief; relief that she didn't have to feel guilty about dumping him. In fact, the a-hole deserved it.
"Do you think he poses a danger?" Jack had switched into soldier mode, without even realizing it. He sat up straighter in the saddle and instantly started to think of different possible scenarios. He wanted to know what they could be facing, and at least try to prepare for it.
"I – he might", Sam knew it was important not to downplay James' potential danger. After she'd talked to Janet – this Janet – she realized that he was a scoundrel. She laughed to herself at her use of such an old-fashioned word, but it seemed to fit him better than anything else she could think of. "But hopefully we'll be gone before he has a chance to try anything."
Jack nodded once, although he was far from feeling happy about it. He had this sneaking suspicion that they hadn't seen the last of James Knightly!
They stopped once to eat a quick bite and have some water. Sam had asked for the stop and Jack had agreed. She knew that if it had been the 'Colonel' with her, rather than Jack, he would have nixed the idea of a break so soon into their journey. She knew that he still didn't have the stamina for long rides in the heat and frankly, neither did she. The last week or so she'd started to feel a bit better, but still found herself getting more tired than usual. She'd had a bit of morning sickness but it was mostly gone. Still, she knew that it was important for her to stay well hydrated and not to get overtired.
"Ready to go on?" Jack asked, looking at her critically. When she'd suggested they stop he'd almost snapped at her and told her a sharp 'no'. One glance at her had shown that she was looking rather pale and tired. He'd immediately agreed, worried that she wasn't well.
He knew that she'd been through hell this past year. In fact, she'd suffered more than he had, in many ways. He could barely remember a good chunk of the time, but she'd had to live with the knowledge of not only what had been done to him, but the fact that they probably wouldn't make it back to earth. No, she deserved some consideration and some care. He certainly owed it to her. In fact, he owed her more than he could ever repay.
"Yes", she said, standing up stiffly. She still wasn't that used to riding since most of the time she'd taken the wagon when out on her day trips. She liked horses but didn't have the ability that Jack had to ride them; he seemed to have a special rapport with the large animals, just like he did with dogs and children.
"Where did you learn to ride Jack?" she asked as soon as they were underway.
"Hmmm?" he murmured. "Oh, when I was a kid my grandparents lived on a farm. We used to spend a lot of time there and I learned how to ride. I used to love spending days on the trail with my grandpa."
"Where was that?" she asked softly, wanting him to continue. She was sure he didn't even realize that he was lost in memories of long ago.
"Wisconsin", he replied. "It was actually a dairy farm, but my grandfather loved horses and kept a couple for riding."
"I thought your family was from Illinois or Minnesota?"
"Yeah. My father's family was from Minnesota but my Dad moved to Chicago to go to college. That's where he met my mother and that's where I was born. It was my mother's family that was from Wisconsin."
"Sounds like a wonderful childhood", she told him, feeling slightly envious. Hers had been spent on one Air Force base after another. Just when she'd settled down and made new friends they'd up and move again. She had a hard time calling anyplace home. Just then a thought stopped her. That wasn't true, she did have a home. Colorado Springs had become her true home, that and the SGC. She suddenly felt terribly homesick.
"It was", he smiled, his eyes crinkling up in the corners and a look of pure – contentment – crossed his face.
She wondered briefly if this was the Jack that she would have seen more often if it hadn't been for all the things he'd been through in his life. She had always suspected that he was a person who knew how to enjoy life to the fullest, to take joy in the little things. She'd seen some of that over the years, but it had always been tempered by the darkness that dwelt deep inside, and by the terrible things they saw and dealt with. She grinned, though, when she thought of him as a dairy farmer like his grandpa – milking cows, mucking out barns, riding horses across the Midwestern plains. Yes she could see him just like that.
"Whatcha grinning at?" he asked.
"Oh, just the thought of you milking cows", she giggled.
"Hey – I'll have you know they use machines now Major", he said seriously, although with a twinkle in his eye. "Still, I can milk a cow with the best of them! My grandpa used the machines but always hated them. Said you only got to really know your animals when you milked them yourself!"
"Yeah, nothing like pulling a girl's teat to get to know her", she snorted.
The dead silence that followed her comment made her realize what she'd just said. She could feel her face go completely red – and the burn had nothing to do with the sun. Finally, as the silence continued, she had to turn and look at him. Had she shocked him?
At first she was worried that something was terribly wrong. He was bent over the saddle and looked like he couldn't breathe. "Jack?" she asked sharply.
He managed to lift his head and she could see the tears running down his face. He was gasping – but not from pain – rather from laughter. She didn't ever remember him laughing quite so hard before, and she couldn't help the tiny grin that appeared. "You okay?"
"Ye – es" he gasped. "Your – face!" He choked back another laugh and had to lean forward again, too weak to sit up straight. "Oh God! I – have to tell – Daniel, and – Janet", he cracked up again and this time actually laid his face down on Sweet Pea's mane. "I – I never thought of – that as a way to – get to - know – a woman!" And he was off agains.
Sam was pretty sure that the horse heaved a sigh of resignation as well, probably used to her rider by this time. Sam simply sat and waited for the Colonel to stop laughing. Finally he was able to sit up and he was clearly trying hard to straighten out his face, although it looked like it might break at any moment.
"Better?" she asked, sounding slightly miffed.
"Oh yeah, better than I've been in a long time!" he cried. "I just – just – " he choked but soon succumbed to more laughter. Eventually it died out and he clicked his tongue and started his horse moving. Sam followed immediately, not saying a word. Every once in a while she could see Jack's shoulders shake.
They didn't speak for quite a while and Sam was sure it was because he was still on the verge of breaking into riotous laughter at the least provocation. She was quiet because – well because, she was quite enjoying the day and didn't want to break the mood.
"So, you're pretty sneaky Carter", he finally spoke after a few miles of silence.
"Sneaky?" she asked, unsure what he meant.
"Oh yeah – got me to talking about my childhood without me even realizing it!"
"Do you mind?"
He looked at her in surprise. "Mind? No, of course not. In fact, it's a huge relief to have remembered all of that. I – worry – that there's only bad stuff to remember so when it's a good memory, I'm grateful."
She smiled, but felt bad that it had never occurred to her that he must imagine all sorts of awful things. It would be terrifying not knowing about yourself. Suddenly her guilt returned in full force. "Would you – like me to tell you some things?"
There was more silence – except for the rhythmic 'clip clopping' of the horses hooves. With a deep breath he spoke. "I've – wondered whether or not I should ask you to tell me things -" he paused.
"But?"
"But – then I think maybe I should maybe remember them myself. If they're important – people, events – will I feel badly if I don't remember them on my own? And if you tell me – will they then be real memories or only those that you gave me. Geesh – does that make sense? I just – I don't know. There are times when I want to know everything but – "
"I understand", she told him. And she did. It had been what had kept her from saying more – at least since he'd gotten better. "If you want, I can tell you some of my memories of you and times with you. That way it'll be my memories – not yours. Does that make sense?"
He thought for a moment and then nodded. "I think so – and I think I'd – like that." He stopped and grinned. "As long as they're only nice memories."
"We – el", she frowned. "I don't know how many nice -" she choked when she saw his face. "Sorry – just kidding. Why don't we start with team nights? They were always pretty fun."
She spent the next hour telling him about team nights at his place. She had him laughing in a number of places and raising his eyebrows in a few others. If she embellished a bit – well, there was no one here to stop her. She knew that one day, if he did remember everything, he'd probably come back to her on some of the things she'd said. But, since they were usually at the expense of Daniel or Teal'c, she didn't think he'd mind too much. In fact, he'd probably get a kick out of it.
Her musings were interrupted when Jack reached out and pulled on her reins, effectively stopping her horse. "What?" she asked, concerned. She looked around but could see nothing but the face of a hill about twenty feet in front of them.
"We're here", he gestured to the hill. "That's the entrance over there. We'll have to leave the horses and go in on foot. They won't fit through the tunnel."
They left the horses a couple hundred of feet away, on the off chance that someone came by. They made sure the animals could graze while they were in the valley with the gate.
"I would never have known this was here", Sam said, wonder in her voice, as he parted the bushes. "It doesn't look like anyone has used this for a long time."
"No, I don't think they have", Jack answered, waving her forward. "I think I must have been the first in a long time. At least, the calf was first, and me second."
"But that doesn't make any sense", she answered, looking puzzled.
"What do you mean? As far as we could tell no one around here knew about the gate. It's probably been hidden and unused for years."
"Then how did we get here?" she said. "We must have been brought through the gate and I doubt there are two of them here. And how did they get us out of the valley and to the desert where Henry found us?"
Jack blinked, wondering what the hell he'd been thinking. He should have picked up on that immediately. He shook his head a bit. It was at times like these that he grew frustrated, knowing that he still had a long way to go before he was back to what he assumed was his old self. "I don't know", he finally muttered, wanting to swear. "I guess there must be another way in and out."
"You didn't see anything the last time you were here?"
"No – nothing except the gate itself. But then again, I wasn't looking for anything."
Just then they exited the tunnel and were hit with blinding sunlight. It was earlier in the day than what it had been when Jack first found the gate, and the sun was directly over head.
"Where is it?" Sam wanted to know, shielding her eyes.
"This way. Come on." He carefully grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the circle that would lead them home.
In a moment her eyes got used to the light, although she continued to shield her eyes. She really wished they had sunglasses in Mariscola. "Oh my god!" she stopped dead.
"Yeah, it's something, isn't it", Jack whispered softly, looking at the stargate standing in their path.
Sam could feel goose bumps lift up on her arms. It was here. He had found it. It wasn't that she'd doubted him, it was just she'd given up and – and this – this meant home, and was almost too much to bear.
"You okay?" he asked softly.
"Huh?" She turned to look at him and he could see she was looking stunned. "I'm – I'm fine. Oh god Jack – it's really here."
"Yup. Why don't we go and see if we can find that DMV thing."
"DHD" she said absently, allowing him to pull her forward. She continued to stare at the gate, mesmerized by this symbol of so much in her life and right now, the symbol of hope.
Jack stayed back as she walked up the stairs, and right up to the gate. She carefully laid her hand against it and looked up and around at each of the symbols. He could see her lips move, but had no idea what she was saying. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that Sam was safe, she was here, and – as she turned to him with a blazing smile – she was happy.
She checked it out – or simply enjoyed it – for a little while longer and then turned and purposefully walked to where he was standing, at the base of the stairs. "Let's find that DHD Sir", she said. "It's got to be around here somewhere."
They searched for the next twenty minutes, with no luck. He could see Sam get more and more frustrated, although personally, he couldn't care less if they found the damn DHD or not. He was pretty convinced he'd rather stay here with her anyway. Still – he should help find the thing. It wasn't fair to let Sam do all the work.
"Maybe they hid it in the side of the hill", he finally suggested, when it was obvious it was no where within the vicinity of the gate.
"Why would they do that?" she asked, sounding snarky.
"Uh – I don't know. Maybe they were trying to keep people from leaving. Maybe a herd of buffalo ran through here and they figured it was better to put it out of range. Hell, maybe a mama Ancient hid it out of sight from her children so they wouldn't break it. It was just a suggestion Major!"
"I'm sorry Sir. It's just that I"ve never seen one hidden before. Either the gates have one, and then it's visible, or they don't."
"So, let just look and make sure. It could be that this is one of those times when there isn't one. In that case you'll just have to build it."
They both headed towards the face of the nearest rock and began to search around, but as far as Jack was concerned, it was pretty much nothing but rock!
"It's here!" Sam's voice startled him, although the excitement in her voice was a beautiful thing and something he hadn't heard in way too long.
"You found it?" he asked, surprised.
"Yes and you were right Jack. It was hiddenin the face of the rock."
"So, I'm smarter than you thought, eh Carter?" he asked, feeling proud as punch.
"Yes!" She ran up to him and gave him a kiss – right on the lips. "You were right – and we're going home!"
*Nintendos' - this is from a Stargate episode (The Crystal Skull) but was one of my favorite lines so I stole it shamelessly. Also - please forgive me if my science explanation is lame. I definitely put myself in Jack's place when it comes to understanding the science behind anything.