*
*
*
He could smell her. Well, okay, maybe he couldn't smell her, but he could smell the shampoo she used, the shower gel. All too easily, he pictured her in the shower he was now standing in, rubbing foaming gel all over her body. Thankful that the noises of three showers running at the same time would cover his instinctive moan, Jack turned until his forehead was resting against the cool tile.
Unbidden, more images popped up behind his closed eyelids and one by one they cruelly succeeded in making his body react in a way that meant Jack had no choice but to flip the shower dial to cold. This time his moan was more of a groan as the cold water drowned out his hot blood.
The mission had been horrible - minimally successful from an entirely scientific point of view - and the weather had been relentlessly awful. Still, it hadn't been that bad and even though Jonas had chimed in with his own claim of tiredness, Sam had no real reason to look that exhausted. It was almost as if all the energy had been drained from her body.
Of course, he had a rather accurate idea of what had caused it. Carter didn't naturally repress her feelings. In fact, when those feelings were acceptable, she was very vocal about them. He couldn't help but remember how she had reacted, naturally, after Daniel's 'death'. She'd wanted to talk, he'd shut her out.
Jack dealt in another way. And it seemed that the way they dealt with what had happened on That Planet was different too. The repression of all feelings, thoughts, wants, needs from that night had sapped Carter of all her normal, exuberant energy, whereas, with him, it had bolstered him. He felt constantly the need to move, to get things done, to keep going relentlessly on and on and on. Because if he paused, like he was doing now, if he paused...
The slick, sensual slid of her torso dragging down his body... down... down... his hands reaching out to hold on, hold on as she wrecked havoc...
That was what happened to Jack when he stopped.
When he stopped, he remembered, he thought and he longed.
She was almost a dream now. A month ago, the dream had been real, flesh upon flesh. But by now, Jack's thought, fantasies and memories of the event had taken on almost heavenly proportions. When he remembered now, it was with heightened sensations. He knew what it was - his body had swiftly got used to sexual release and now he was suffering the abrupt withdrawal of said release.
Other methods weren't quite cutting it anymore, he thought dryly.
Hurriedly, Jack slammed out of the shower, already drying himself with his towel as he headed towards his locker. By the time Teal'c, then Jonas came out, Jack was half dressed, pausing only to rake a wide toothed comb through his hair. He shook a hand through the strands afterwards, out of habit, and then turned to put on his T-shirt.
At which point, he noticed that Teal'c and Jonas were having a seriously intense eye conversation.
'' Guys?''
Jonas looked at Jack, then at Teal'c, then at Jack. '' Ah, Colonel....'' He paused. And looked at Teal'c.
'' Do you want me to leave you alone?'' Jack suggested heavily.
The implication was lost on both aliens, and they regarded him quizzically. Jack couldn't help but think that Daniel would have got it - but these kinds of thoughts got him nowhere.
'' O'Neill, we are concerned about Major Carter.''
Oh for... '' Yeah, I know. Look, she's claiming she'll be taking time off tomorrow. If she doesn't, I'll know. I'll be here and I'll order her to go home.''
'' That has not been effective in the past.''
He rolled his eyes. '' What do you expect me to do?''
'' Talk to her,'' Jonas said, simply.
Jack froze, then, just as quickly, he resumed dressing, doing up the final buttons on his shirtfront. '' Briefing in five. See you there.'' He slammed his locker door closed and left the steamy room.
Three airman got a taste of Jack's bad mood as he made his way to the elevator. One got a dressing down for his uniform, just for the hell of it, and the other two got reprimanded for 'loitering'. Never in Jack's life had he yelled at someone for 'loitering' - and by the looks on their faces, they'd been just as surprised as he had.
Carter was sitting alone in the briefing room, hair still damp and obviously raked back from her forehead with her fingers. She was looking down at her nails, picking at them in fact.
Which, bizarrely, infuriated him.
'' If I find you here tomorrow morning, I swear to God I shall have you transferred back to the Pentagon,'' he snapped the moment he was through the door.
Carter glanced up, bluer then blue eyes wide with disbelief. '' Sir?'' Her mouth flickered, dimples peeping; she thought he was joking.
For once, the dimples didn't break him. '' You will take your downtime, Major, is that understood? Or there will be severe consequences.'' Jack threw himself into the chair opposite her and glared across the table.
'' Sir, I was going to anyway...''
'' Are you talking back to me, Major?''
Subtly, Carter's body shifted. Her spine straightened, her eyes narrowed, her cheeks sharpened. '' Sir, no, sir,'' she snapped, hands crossing on the table.
If anything, this just served to piss him off further, and the control that Jack had been holding onto with his fingernails slipped from his grasp. He leaned forward and managed to hiss, '' I'm not having you walking around like a fucking zombie anymore, Major. You're gonna pull yourself together. Monday morning you better be back to your normal self or Hammond will hear of it.''
For a moment, Carter's mouth gaped, then she too leaned across the table and with masochistic delight, Jack waited for whatever wounding thing she was about to say. Fortunately for Jack, he never got to hear it. Hammond walked smartly into the room and severed whatever tension there was effectively by smiling broadly at them both. '' Showers did you good, I imagine. You're both looking decidedly warmer.''
'' Yes, sir.'' Jack sat back in his chair and glanced down at his lap. He noticed his hands were shaking and he dug his nails into his thighs.
He didn't look at her once throughout the briefing.