Super short chapter, but I'm giving you some Sam and Jack goodness...so hopefully you'll forgive me!
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Sam sat on a knoll beside the Stargate as her CO carefully probed her shoulder and ribs for injuries. She'd landed hard on the stone steps, but so far didn't seem to have any broken bones. She inhaled sharply as he hit a particularly painful spot and flinched away.
"I don't think anything's broken," he said, stepping back. "I can wrap your ribs if you want."
"I'm good, sir," she pulled down her shirt and glanced across a clearing to make sure Pete and Mark couldn't hear them. While Mark was engaged in an animated conversation with Daniel, Pete's eyes were trained on her and Jack.
Jack followed her eyes and looked over his shoulder at Pete. "Someone doesn't look too pleased."
"I hate that he's here," Sam admitted. She'd been keeping her emotions bottled up ever since coming face-to-face with Pete this morning. "I know I agreed to this, but—"
"I get it," Jack pulled two aspirin out of the med pack. "You're being forced to play nice with the guy who hurt you. I've been there."
Sam nodded. He did get it, was probably one of the few people who had first hand knowledge of what she was going through.
"After Jonas, I swore I wouldn't trust any man with my heart unless I was positive he was kind and honorable," she took the aspirin and downed them with a gulp of water from the canteen. "I feel like I can't even trust my own instincts anymore."
"Your brother vouched for him, Carter," Jack reasoned. "I'm not saying it's Mark's fault," he added when she started to protest. "I'm just saying you probably let your guard down because of it. It's not a crime to trust the wrong person; it's just life."
"You're probably right, sir."
"Of course I'm right," he gave her a light pat on the shoulder. "You good to continue playing nice?"
With a pained laugh, she shook the soreness and emotions aside. "Yes, sir."
"For the record," Jack slung his pack onto his back and grabbed Sam's so she wouldn't have to carry it, "I'm having a really hard time playing nice too. We should have came up with a better plan."
She groaned as she started to stand, "almost getting blown up wasn't part of the plan to begin with."
"No it wasn't," Jack replied, offering his hand and hauling her onto her feet. "If he gets on your nerves too much, we could always send him back to the SGC."
"The IDC is damaged, sir," she told him. At his blank stare she added, "they wouldn't know to open the iris."
"I believe that's the point," Jack deadpanned.
"Sir," Sam said, chuckling. "Don't tempt me."
