Title: Seven Days- The Return Home
Author: dietcokechic
Email: dietcokechic@hotmail.com
Season: 4- somewhere after "Beneath The Surface"

Notes: I really wanted to break this into two chapters but thought I might be
hanged if you had to wade through TWO more parts before J/S shippiness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 11

After a light lunch of cold cuts and cheese it was decided that a short walk through
the rapidly accumulating snow was in order. The snow seemed to be falling slower
now, although the weather folks insisted it would increase in tempo after the sun set.

Jack made sure everyone was outfitted with mittens and hats and already had spare
socks and sweat pants set aside for when they returned. He filled a thermos with
hot cocoa and serendipitously packed an emergency blanket and a first aid kit into
his backpack as they headed out the door. It might only be a simple walk through
the woods, but Jack O'Neill knew how THAT could go. Even on Earth, SG-1 could get
in all sorts of mishaps.

Jack lived at the very edge of a "developed" neighborhood and only a ½ mile from
open fields and forest. They walked mostly in silence, taking in the sights and
sounds of the falling snow. It didn't take long for Jack to get bored and start a
snowball fight with Daniel. Daniel was not amused but put on a good showing. He
was quite proud of himself when he was able to hit Jack squarely in the forehead
with a rather large snowball. Jack responded by using his military acumen to
construct barricades and snow shields. Daniel kept shouting, "Not fair Jack! Not
fair!" Jack would of course respond, "Love and war Danny, love and war." Sam was
made referee as Jack and Daniel's snow fight grew to epic proportions. Jack was
having a blast and Daniel was getting very, very wet. Sam tried hard to be neutral
and not laugh too hard.

"You win Jack! I surrender!" Daniel declared as yet another snowball hit him smack
between the eyes. He was awfully glad he had chosen to wear his contacts today.
After over an hour of trying to better Jack, Daniel finally admitted it was impossible.
Even with something as simple as a snowball fight. Jack wasn't a Colonel in the
USAF for nothing.

The snow had begun to fall faster now and by the time they made it back to Jack's
the sun had set, the temperature had dropped and all three were in need of a nice
hot shower.

"Daniel, you can use the shower upstairs, I'll get Carter set up in the guest room
down here." Jack said shaking out his parka and helping Sam off with hers. "You
know where everything is, just try and leave me some hot water, ok?"

"Sure Jack." Daniel said heading up the stairs. Both Jack's room and one of the
spare bedrooms were up there. Daniel had stayed at Jack's enough to know where
he kept the soap, towels and even spare clothing. In fact, Daniel didn't even have to
borrow any of Jack's things—he still had a pair of sweats and a t-shirt in a drawer
from the last time he spent the night.

Taking his time, Daniel found his clothes and a towel and chose to go through Jack's
room rather than the hallway to reach the bathroom. As he passed the bed, he
spied the extra socks and sweats Jack had laid out earlier. He grabbed the
sweatpants with a drawstring and a pair of socks and headed back down the stairs.
The pair below didn't even hear him approach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack had convinced Sam to sit down in one of the easy chairs in the living room and
had started a fire in an attempt to warm her up. While he and Daniel had been busy
running around, Sam had stood virtually in one place for nearly two hours. She
honestly hadn't noticed how cold she had gotten until they had come inside. Now
that her coat was off, Sam was visibly shaking.

"Really, Sir- I'm fine." Sam said trying to still her chattering teeth. She was
embarrassed by all the attention.

"You're shaking Carter- that's not fine." Jack said in a clipped voice moving the chair
closer towards the fire. A cold Samantha Carter brought back way too many bad
memories. He helped her out of her drenched boots and socks and grabbed a towel
to dry off her feet. He pulled up the second armchair and moved one of Sam's feet
into his lap.

Sam wanted to say something more but the look on her CO's face stopped her cold.
He looked scared. He was scared because she was cold. Long moments passed in
silence as Jack vigorously dried her feet.

"Jack, I'm really o.k." Sam said stilling Jack's constantly moving hands. The use of
his first name stopped Jack in his tracks and forced him to look up at his 2IC.
Compassion, understanding and something else all mingled in her fathomless blue
eyes.

"Sam, I brought you.." Daniel stopped in mid sentence at the sight before him. Jack
and Sam sitting in front of a roaring fire?! His eyes danced between his two best
friends and he had the good sense to NOT say a single damning word about what he
was witnessing.

"Brought you some dry clothes Sam. Chose the sweatpants with the drawstring."
He set them down on one of the end tables and wished he had the power to teleport
back up the stairs.

"Thanks Daniel, that'll work just great." Sam said gently pulling her foot out of the
Colonel's lap.

"I'll be upstairs taking my shower now." Daniel said feeling like an ass. Before
anyone could say another word he bounded up the stairs and closed the bathroom
door with a loud slam.

"Poor Daniel." Sam said smiling. Jack couldn't help it- he smiled too. Things might
be strange for him and Carter, but at least they both knew what was going on. Well,
sort of. Daniel just caught snippets.

"Shower or bath Carter?" Jack asked grabbing the sweats and socks and heading
towards the downstairs bathroom.

"Bath actually sounds a little more appealing at the moment." Sam said honestly.
Lying down in a tub of hot water sounded heavenly.

"Bath it is!" Jack said as he quickly left the living room and headed to the relative
sanctuary of the bathroom. UST. That's what it was. Unresolved sexual tension and
it was going to drive him utterly insane.

As the bath was running, Jack searched through the dresser drawers in the guest
bedroom and was happy to find an Air Force Academy sweatshirt and a Hanes Size L
t-shirt. Either one of them should suit Carter just fine.

After checking to make sure the temperature was just right, Jack headed back
towards the living room. He was greeted by the sight of a slumbering Samantha
Carter softly snoring in his favorite armchair. As tempted as he was to let her sleep,
he knew she'd want to take that bath. Plus, he was certain that sleeping in a
partially upright position would ultimately hurt her more in the morning. And he
definitely didn't need another lecture from Dr. Frasier.

Jack resisted the urge to brush back a lock of hair that had fallen in her face and
allowed himself a moment to gaze at his Major. He sighed deeply. Military
regulations sucked.

"Bath's ready Carter." Jack said softly tapping her on her good shoulder.

"Wha?" Sam said sitting up a bit too quickly and letting out a small gasp. Sam
noticed the instant look of concern on her CO's face and quickly assured him she was
ok. "Sorry to conk out like that on you!"

"You sure you don't want to skip the bath and head straight to bed Carter?" Jack
said looking once again worried. Neither one of them caught the double entendre.

"I'm fine Jack." Sam said purposefully using the Colonel's first name. "After
spending nearly three weeks lying on my back, I think it's pretty normal to be tired
after a day spent frolicking in the snow and being entertained by my teammates."
She gave Jack one of her rare 100-watt smiles as she gingerly raised herself out of
the chair. On her own, Sam walked into the bathroom and gently closed the door.

"Holler if you need any help Carter!" Jack yelled in a very normal Jack sounding
voice.

"I'll be fine Sir." Sam yelled back dipping her hand in the water. Perfect
temperature! "Besides, " Sam said loudly unable to resist the temptation. "I already
had my hair washed earlier today." Through the closed door she heard he CO
chuckle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel took an extra long time in the shower hoping whatever was going on between
Sam and Jack would be finished (or behind closed doors) by the time he went
downstairs. Breathing a sigh of relief he found Jack grating cheese in the kitchen
while humming to himself. Humming?!

"Hey Jack."

"Daniel." Jack said nodding his head as he continued humming random bars of
music.

"Shower is all yours." Daniel paused and looked around. "Sam still in the
bathroom?"

"Yep." Jack said wiping his hands on his jeans. "Carter??" Jack yelled turning his
head towards the spare room. "You still awake in there?"

Daniel heard a very annoyed Samantha Carter reply. "Yes SIR. I am still awake and
your shouting every 5 minutes is not helping the whole tranquil bath moment. Sir."
Oh yeah, Sam Carter was pissed.

Jack grinned at Daniel. "She's all your Danny. Despite what you might have heard,
Carter IS tired and I'd appreciate it if you make sure she doesn't fall asleep in there."

"Absolutely Jack." Daniel said nodding his head.

"Right. I'll just head on upstairs then. The cheese is all grated and you'll find pizza
ingredients chopped up in the fridge and pasta sauce and crusts in the freezer. Just
defrost the frozen stuff in the microwave and knock yourself out creating the pizza of
your dreams."

"You manage to still surprise me Jack."

"At Midas we try harder." * Jack said bounding up the stairs. Daniel shook his head.
His friend was incorrigible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sam?" Daniel called knocking on the bathroom door. "You good?"

**Depends on how you define 'good' Daniel.** Sam thought to herself.

"I'm awake if that's what you mean." Sam said in a deflated voice.

"Sam.."

"Having a little problem getting out of the tub Daniel." Sam sighed.

"Oh." There had been very few times in Daniel's life when he didn't know exactly
what to say. Unfortunately this was one of them.

"Daniel, I think I am going to need your help." Sam said in a resigned voice. All
attempts at getting herself out of the bathtub had failed and she was only making
matters worse. She needed leverage of some sort and Daniel would just have to do.

"You sure you don't want to wait for Jack?" Daniel asked timidly.

"No Daniel, I'm sure I don't want to wait for Jack." Sam sighed yet again. She
should have known they couldn't keep anything from Daniel. But then again,
nothing had really happened so it wasn't like there was anything to keep…

"Daniel, I need for you to grab my bag near the couch and then come on inside.
Eyes closed!"

"Sure Sam."

Daniel had just grabbed the bag and was about to open the bathroom door when he
heard Jack's voice from the kitchen. "Where the heck IS everyone?"

"Hey Jack." Daniel said casually sticking his head through the doorway. "I'm about
to help Sam with something in the bathroom, but the pizzas are all ready to be put
in the oven." All was said in a rush of words as he quickly turned around and headed
back towards the bathroom. He didn't get very far before Jack caught up with him
and wheeled the poor linguist/archaeologist/anthropologist around to face him.

"Is Sam ok?" Jack asked worriedly. Daniel had begun to notice a definite pattern to
Jack's use of Sam's first name. He had never switched so often back and forth
between 'Sam' and 'Carter' before.

"She's fine Jack. Just needs a little help getting out of the bath."

"Oh." Now it was Jack's turn to be monosyllabic. Daniel paused for another
moment to see if Jack had anything more to say before turning around and heading
towards the bathroom. He was nearly there when he heard Jack ask "You going in
like that?"

"Like what Jack?" Daniel asked turning back around completely confused.

"No blindfold?"

Daniel blushed. "No blindfold. Sam just asked that I keep my eyes closed as I open
the door.

"Oh." Jack seemed to consider saying something else but decided against it. He
turned around and headed back into the kitchen. "Pizza should be ready in 15."

Daniel shook his head to clear the confusion that was Colonel Jack O'Neill and
knocked softly on the bathroom door.

"Sam? You ready for me to come in?"

This time Sam HAD actually dozed off. She awoke with a start and chastised herself
for falling asleep. That could have been dangerous. "All set Daniel. Eyes closed
now."

"Eyes are closed Sam." Daniel said with a smile opening the door. Sam was like a
sister to him. A very smart, attractive sister- but a sister nonetheless. No one
wants to see his sister naked. Wel, no normal guy that is.

"Just another two steps forward and then a little step to your left."

"Ow!" Daniel said hitting the edge of the bathtub with his shin.

"I did say little Daniel." Sam said smiling. "You can just set the bag down on the
floor to your left and then if you could turn a little to your right that would be great."
Daniel did as asked.

"Hold out you right hand Daniel and brace yourself, ok? I don't want you falling in
on top of me." Sam said with a small laugh.

Daniel turned bright red at the thought. He didn't want that either.

Very carefully Sam got to her knees and then used first the edge of the tub and then
Daniel's hand to pull herself straight up. Daniel could hear her ragged breathing and
knew she must be in a lot of pain.

"You ok Sam?"

"Peachy." Sam said through clenched teeth. "I need for you to take a small step
backwards ok?" Silently Daniel did so and Sam carefully lifted first one leg and then
the other out of the tub. *Shit!* Sam swore silently. Before she could get dressed
she needed to take some medication. But her meds were in the bag and the bag
was on the floor and Sam did NOT want to bend down. She sighed audibly.

"Daniel, I need a towel and some pain pills from you. In that order." Daniel nodded
and reached out blindly behind him hoping to find towels.

Sam let out a painful laugh. "You can turn around and open your eyes Daniel!"
Daniel let out an awkward laugh as he turned around and found the towels. He
grabbed one and then before turning back around, kicked Sam's bag in front of him
and grabbed that as well.

"Sam, you want me to grab the medication for you or would you rather have the
whole bag?" Daniel asked handing her the towel from behind his back.

"Just the meds would be great Daniel." Sam said carefully patting herself dry. She
refused to look at her stomach but could feel the constant pull of the stitches as she
moved the towel across her body. "Three of the white pills and two of the blue
please." She felt no embarrassment in asking for this and was thankful Daniel had
helped her through her fear of narcotics.

Daniel was able to get her medication and handed it back to Sam along with a water
bottle she kept in her bag.

Sam accepted the drugs gratefully and after handing back the water bottle,
proceeded to carefully pull on the sweats and the thick cotton t-shirt. Bra be
damned- Sam knew she'd be asleep within the next few hours anyway.

"All safe Daniel." Sam said tapping her nervous friend on the shoulder. "But I need
you to help me with one last thing."

"Is this what Janet was harping you about?" Daniel asked once again at ease now
that Sam was dressed.

"You heard that huh?"

"Oh yeah. And believe me I know how it feels to be on the receiving end of Dr.
Janet Frasier."

"Oh really?" Sam said with a large smile and a raised eyebrow.

"Sam!" Daniel said with wide eyes turning once again the color of a tomato.

"Sorry Daniel but I couldn't resist." Sam reached over and took her bag out of
Daniel's hands. "This is actually asking a lot Daniel, and I can get the Colonel to do
it if you are uncomfortable…"

"Would you rather have Jack do it?" Daniel asked. "Whatever 'it' is?"

"I think I would rather have you actually." Sam admitted uncomfortably. "The 'IT'
involves applying antibiotic crème to my injury and I think it would cause Jack to feel
guilt he shouldn't and go back to treating me like I'm a fragile glass sculpture. That
said, it IS nasty Daniel and if you would rather not.."

"Sam, I can't remember how many times you've cleaned and bandaged me after I
have been injured. I'm not going to say it would be a pleasure but I will say you
shouldn't feel uncomfortable about asking me." Daniel paused. "Although I MAY
close my eyes as I apply the stuff northwards."

Sam laughed. "I should hope so!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack tried not to listen to the quiet laughter coming from the bathroom. He knew
that absolutely nothing had or would ever happen between Sam and Daniel but it still
made him feel jealous. Sam had asked for Daniel's help and not his. Why?

The sound of the buzzer interrupted his thoughts and Jack opened the oven to take
out two beautiful looking pizza pies. His stomach growled in anticipation.

Daniel entered the kitchen just as Jack was setting the pizzas down on the table.

"God Jack, that smells fantastic!" Daniel said reaching for the plates. He set the
table and was just filling the water glasses when Sam emerged from the bathroom.
She looked very pink and was feeling pretty damn good now that the pills had kicked
in.

Despite Jack's discomfort at Sam's bath helper choice, dinner went quite well and the
team's easy going camaraderie soon reappeared. Jack made them continue to guess
Alien-Male-Bad Guys until they figured out what his word was. Sam finally guessed
the answer- Tanith. Goa'uld spy within the Tok'ra. At least the Tok'ra knew he was
there and planned to feed him disinformation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*The Midas line refers to a silly television commercial that was shown constantly in
the 1980's.

The next chapter is going to be the big ol' shippy one. And I think it will be the last.
I haven't quite decided. I might continue along this vein (Seven Days universe) OR I
might try something completely different. You guys tell me. ~dc