Sam felt relieved to be in a garment that covered most of her body, even if it was a toga-style dress. They'd come upon a small camp about three clicks from the stargate. The current occupants appeared to have left in a hurry because food burned on a spit as coals in the fire dimmed from lack of being stoked. Luckily, clothes had been left on a makeshift clothesline and they were mostly dry.
Sam had ducked into one of the tents to change while Jack stood just inside with his back to her; maintaining the five foot maximum distance. They'd changed places as he also changed out of his fatigues and into something that would help him blend in a bit better. As they came out of the hut and into the light, Sam bit back an outright peal of laughter.
Jack was dressed in a shirt that hung open from his shoulders to his waist, the opening narrowing until the two sides met at his waistband. His muscular chest was on full display. It looked exactly like what the other men she'd seen were wearing, but it looked so out of place on him. The pants didn't help. They were tight and made of some sort of material that mimicked leather. Riding low on his hips, Sam thought he looked like some sort of medieval pirate. The fact that he held his P90 in front of him, gave him an otherworldly, roguish appearance.
"See something amusing, Carter?" He asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.
"Yes, sir," she said, not even trying to hide the fact that she was staring at how tight his pants were.
"Alright, I guess I deserve that," he said trying to adjust his clothing. "This is one of the most uncomfortable outfits I've ever worn."
"I know the feeling," she said her grin widening. "I did say payback's—"
"Got it, Major," he interrupted, but his voice held no hint of actual irritation.
The sun was slowly fading from the sky and with it came another problem. They had no place to stay for the night. As they changed clothes, staying in one of the abandoned tents was briefly considered. They discounted it; however, because it was easily someplace that could be raided. Without knowing who the camp belonged to, there was no way of guessing possible enemies. Instead, they decided to continue their trek into the woods, hoping to find some sort of shelter for the night.
The sun had completely disappeared by the time they stumbled upon a rock formation. It wasn't huge, but the natural cave looked large enough for two people to be comfortable inside.
"Sir," Sam gave Jack's hand a little tug, "I think we should stop. I haven't slept in almost 24 hours and I'm having trouble seeing in the dark."
"I was thinking the same thing," he said with a sigh. "Let's make camp here tonight. I've got some MREs in the pack," he offered her the canteen first. Sam took several long draws, letting the cool water soothe her parched throat.
Inspecting the cave while staying within five feet of one another proved much easier than either one anticipated. The narrow opening widened into a much larger cavern. The real challenge came when Sam had to relieve herself. It was incredibly disconcerting to pee when your CO stood less than five feet away and could hear everything. Of course, she figured it wasn't much easier for him when he had her plug her ears and hum 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' until he was finished.
Once the necessities were taken care of, they hid the cave entrance with branches and settled down for the night. A fire was out of the question, so Jack pulled out his emergency heat blanket.
"Carter," he said holding up the blanket. "You going to be okay sharing?"
It was the first time, in the many instances they'd had to sleep in close quarters, that he'd asked her if she minded sharing. She thought about giving him a cocky answer, but was too tired to think of one.
"Sure," she said with a loud yawn instead.
Jack laid down on the ground and opened his arms. Without thinking beyond the need for sleep, she sank down into his embrace and used his chest for her pillow. She felt him adjust the blanket over them before closing her eyes and letting blissful sleep consume her.
—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—
Sam jerked away, as a hand covered her mouth and a strong arm gripped her waist, pinning her to a hard body. Panic consumed her as she struggled against the firm hold.
"Carter, shhh," a voice breathed into her ear. At the sound of Jack's voice, her body instantly stilled, finally remembering she was safe. Her eyes partially adjusted to the darkness of the cave enough that she could just make out his face. Nodding her head to indicate she understood his silent command to keep quiet, he dropped his hand from her mouth. He reached to her back and withdrew his pistol and pointed it at the cave opening.
It was then she heard the male voices.
"Zabar wants them found," the first said.
"We're at war, I don't care what Zabar wants! All I want is to go home," The second voice protested.
"Alright," the first voice sighed. "My slaves probably miss me anyway," both men laughed.
At the sound of footsteps heading away from the cave and the fading of their voices, Sam started breathing again. Jack reached behind her and replaced the pistol at her back.
"That was too close," he whispered to her, letting his head fall back against the ground.
"You think they were looking for us?" She whispered back.
"I don't think so, why would he bother with us. Zabar's got his one-hundred pieces of gold. Probably looking for someone who betrayed him," Jack's reasoning made sense, but Sam wasn't so sure.
"I pissed him off pretty good, sir," she told him quietly. "He promised to make me pay."
"He won't touch you," Jack's arms tightened around her. His voice a growl, something she'd only heard on a few other occasions. "I never asked," he's voice softening, "but I need to know. Did he hurt you? Did anyone hurt you?"
Sam knew Jack wasn't asking about her bruised cheek or split lip.
"No," she told him truthfully. "Zabar slapped me around a little, but other than that, no one touched me. In fact, I probably hurt him worse than he hurt me."
Sam heard Jack's breath release in a hiss and his arms tightened around her even more, almost painfully, before he finally relaxed.
"Get some sleep," he told her, "we move at dawn. I want to put as many miles between here and us as possible."
Sam closed her eyes and tried to relaxed. She knew Jack wouldn't be going back to sleep tonight; he'd stay up to keep them safe. He had been right, that was too close. Regardless of who the men were searching for, they could have easily decided to try and kill Jack just to get to her. She couldn't help the shudder that ran through her at the thought.
"Hey," Jack said gently, "you okay?"
"Sorry, sir," she couldn't help as another shudder went through her. "I'm just letting my thoughts get the better of me."
She felt his fingers under her chin, urging her to look up at him. Lifting her head off of his chest, she looked directly into a set of eyes that took her breath away. She'd seen Jack's eyes enraged, sad, happy, afraid, and a million other emotions, but she'd never seen them look like this. His eyes were dark, dangerous, and full of desire. For her.
Her lips parted as he slowly lowered his head, his eyes never leaving hers. He paused when he was a breath away from her, waiting. She didn't make him wait long. Closing the small distance he left, she pressed her lips to his. The fire snapped at that first touch, the feel of him against her more than she'd ever imagined. She felt his hand tangle into her hair, urging her closer as his tongue dipped between her lips.
With a little moan, she shifted her leg over his hips. He lifted her onto him, the hand in her hair moving to her hips. Sam ground her pelvis against his, drawing a moan from him as she felt him harden against her. His tongue, tentatively tasting to this point, thrust between her lips, dancing against hers. She felt his hands move to her thighs and slide the bottom of her toga dress higher, his hands connecting with her skin. She was suddenly aware of how easy it would be to unfasten his pants, finally explore everything she'd kept bottled up. But where they were also came crashing into her mind, and she knew this wasn't how she wanted their first time to be.
"Sir," she tore her mouth away from his, allowing herself one nibble on his earlobe. "Jack," she sighed. "We need to stop."
With a harsh breath, Jack moved his hands away from her, as she carefully climbed off of him and settled back to his side. Sam watched as Jack threw his arm over his eyes and worked to quiet the storm raging in his body.
"I'm sorry," she started, "it's just—"
"Not the right time or place," Jack finished for her. "I should be the one apologizing. It was wrong of me to do that."
"You didn't make me do anything I didn't want to do," she told him, her irritation rising that he'd imply she had no responsibility in what had just happened.
"This blasted thing on my wrist says otherwise," Jack thrust the arm with the controller cuff at her. "I shouldn't be treating you like I—"
"Like you what?" Sam sat up, surprised at how she could go from so turned on to so pissed in just a few seconds.
"Like I own you," he ground out. "Like what you want doesn't matter. Like I'm going to marry you, whether you want me too or not. Like, I don't know," he finally paused. "Like I have a right to you at all, Carter, because I don't. I don't have any right to feel what I'm feeling."
"Jack," Sam gently touched his shoulder, "none of that is true."
All he responded with was a grunt. His eyes were squeezed shut, his legendary stubbornness on full display.
"Dammit, Jack," she shoved at him, her temper flaring, "if our situations were reversed, I'd hog tie and drag you to the alter if it would save your life." She shoved him harder, "And don't you dare say you don't have a right to what you are feeling because it's probably exactly what I'm feeling. Don't you dare cheapen what I feel for you. You might own me on this godforsaken planet, but you do not own my love; it's mine to give to whoever I want."
She gave him one more hard shove before settling back down next to him. Cursing the cuffs that kept them physically close to one another, she turned her back to him. She felt him shift behind her, as he carefully rested one hand on her hip.
"Love, huh?" He said softly after several minutes.
"Shut up," she bit back at him, intentionally leaving off her normal 'sir.' In this instance, she wanted to make a point that while he was her CO, he didn't command this part of her.
He was quiet for several seconds before she felt him sigh and shift closer to her. She couldn't help but snuggle back toward his heat. She may be angry and not like him at the moment, but he still meant a lot to her. Besides, she was really cold. Her eyelids were once again growing heavy when he spoke with amusement in his tone.
"Hog tie? Really?"
She fell asleep with a smile on her face.