Jack O'Neill was sulking. Not only had he lost a fish, not only had he ended up in the water, but his second in command and the guy who was meant to be his best friend had found the whole situation funny. At least Teal'c had managed to conceal his amusement, more or less. However, just to add insult to injury, the Jaffa caught and landed a fish.
It was cooking over the campfire, filling the glen with a delicious smell. Sam was doing potato wedges on the gas griddle. She was humming happily, a pleased smile turning up the corners of her mouth. It was the same smile she'd worn when Teal'c had returned the boat to shore. It was irritating the hell out of him.
"Must you?" He asked her finally, his tone caustic.
Sam looked over at where he was sat. He had changed out of his wet clothes but he was still cold. It made his bones ache. "What?" She said, all innocence.
"Okay Carter, whatever. I'm sure it was very amusing."
"Well Jack," she replied, a wicked gleam in her eyes. "It did have the most interesting effect on your… anatomy."
Jack choked on his coffee. Sam's laughter tinkled like a silver bell. The sound made him shiver with something other than cold.
The fire had burnt down to glowing coals, Daniel had turned in hoping that an early night would see off the lingering effects of his hangover and Teal'c had also retired. Sam tidied the camp, removing Jack's now dry clothes from the makeshift lines and putting away the dinner plates. Tossing a couple more logs onto the fire, Sam looked towards the lake. Jack sat at the water's edge looking at the stars, alone as usual. Sam felt her heart cramp suddenly. She walked over to him and sat down, and gazed up at the deep blue sky.
"So what's where then?" She asked him.
Jack looked at her, disbelief evident on his face. "You don't know the constellations?"
"Nope," Sam shook her head.
"But you're an astrophysicist."
"Yeeeeessss, but I did the science. I can tell you what they're made of and so on. The names are mythos and not really acknowledged."
There was a pause as Jack gauged her interest. Her eyes were very blue and she smiled at him encouragingly. Shifting so he was sat right next to her, Jack pointed towards the sky.
"You see those seven?" Sam nodded. "That's Corona Borealis. In Greek myth it's the crown worn by Ariadne the daughter of Minos."
"The one with the Minotaur?"
"The one with the Minotaur."
"And that one there is Scorpius. It contains the Butterfly Cluster, but you can't see that with the naked eye."
"You should have brought your telescope."
"It's kinda bolted down Sam."
She looked at him, startled by his use of her name. He shrugged. "I don't want it getting stolen."
"No I guess not. But it's a shame – how many of those are planets we've actually been on?"
"The Stargate throws us millions of light years, according to you. I'm not sure how many we could actually see."
"It's a bit surreal though, isn't it?"
Jack laughed. "Oh yes, it certainly is. You want more names?"
"No," Sam sighed. "I've nothing to write it all down with."
"If you're interested I could give you some lessons the next time we get leave." Sam blinked and Jack looked as shocked at his own suggestion as she felt.
A slow shy smile crossed her face. "That would be… nice."