Jack rolled over, stifling his groan as half a dozen bits of straw poked him through the blanket, and tried to settle in again for sleep. Several nights of sleeping on either hay or cold earth was just about all he could take, and his back was telling him so. He blinked his eyes, adjusting them to the dim light in the loft, and focused on Sam's bedroll a few feet away.

Her empty bedroll.

Jack sat up and scanned the loft for any movement, or anything that looked like the form Sam Carter. He listened to the night, hearing only the sound of the breeze in the leaves and the song of night insects.

"Damn it," he mumbled and stood, heading for the ladder that led down to the ground level of the structure. "Carter?" Only silence answered. He stepped out into the night. "Carter!"

"I'm here, sir."

He saw her shadow move where she perched on the top rail of the horse paddock. As his eyes fully adjusted to the moonlight, she became clearer against the silver sky behind her. Aaroon had been right, the Ornorean had grown in intensity until the night sky was filled with it and it was beautiful enough to stop him short every time he saw it.

And put it as a backdrop for Sam Carter, and the effect multiplied times ten.

"What the hell are you doing out here?"

"I couldn't sleep."

He reached the paddock and stood beside her, facing into the enclosure, with his elbow resting on the rail and his fingers linked. "We don't wander off alone on strange planets, Carter." We don't scare our commanding officer in the middle of the night, Carter.

Sam slipped down to her feet, leaning back on the wood, putting her head level with his shoulder. "I didn't wan--"

"You weren't beside me when I woke up."

He felt, more than saw, her look at him and he focused on his hands. Rubbing one thumb over the other again and again.

"I'm sorry, sir."

"Yeah, well, next time you can't sleep and feel the need to wander off, wake me up. We'll play cards... or something."

He heard her soft laugh. "Yes, sir."

"What were you thinking about?"

"I'm going to open up the DHD tomorrow and make sure there isn't anything wrong with the symbol connections. Since every symbol seems to connect but the point of origin. Even when I've dialed every other address I can think of, they all work but the point of origin."

Jack nodded and turned sideways to face her, leaving his right arm on the rail and pushing his left hand into his pocket. "I'm going to talk with Aaroon tomorrow. See if I can get any more details about this." He jutted his chin up towards the night sky.

Sam tipped her head back and looked up. "Whatever it is, it's beautiful."

Jack swallowed, watching the illumination of silver and light dance slowly over her features. Her eyes sparkled bright, and a slow smile tipped her lips.

"Yeah. Beautiful."

Blue energy arched from the control crystals in the inner cavity of the
DHD, making contact with Sam's bare hand. A painful surge shot up her arm, and she let out a yell as she stumbled back from the mechanism. She landed in the dirt with a grunt, cradling her singed and tingling hand in her lap.

"Damn it. Damn it!" Tears of physical pain and overwhelming frustration burned her eyes as she tried to assess the burned skin.

"Carter? What the hell happened?"

Jack came down on his knees beside her, cradling her burned hand in his, and Sam sucked in a breath as his touch sent shots of pain up her arm.

"For cryin' out loud, Carter. The DHD did this?"

Sam nodded, swallowing back the tears that just pissed her off now. "I
guess we know it still has plenty of power," she said through gritted
teeth.

"Ya think?"

Despite the pain in her hand, Sam smiled. It was her own fault for
sticking her hand into the crystals without properly grounding the DHD.
Still holding her wrist gently with one hand, Jack dug into a front pocket
of his ALICE vest and took out some triple antibiotic and gauze. Sam
watched, finding herself unable to look away from the way his fingers
grazed her skin and gently massaged on the medicine, as he carefully held her hand in place. The touch was meant to be a ministration, just caring for her injury, but something about the way the veins stood out along the back of his hand and the almost elegant length of his fingers made her skin warm.

Now, she really knew she had been on this planet for too damn long. She was forgetting things like who she was, who he was, and the commitments they both had made. All because of his hands?

"This should do for now, but maybe when we get back to the house Sarai can give you some of that balm she used on Banith last week. When he got too close to the stove. Seemed to heal him pretty quick."

Reluctantly, Sam drew her hand back from his grip and ran her other fingers over the gauze. Suddenly, the early evening air seemed very cold. She lifted her chin, meeting his gaze for only a heartbeat before looking up to the swirling brilliance of colors and silver that laced the sky. Even though she had looked up at the same sky for over two weeks, it still took her breath away. Jack shifted and sat beside her near her feet so he faced her, and dusted off his knees.

"What I wouldn't do for my telescope," he said finally, looking up as well. "I bet it's cool close up."

"It's pretty cool right here," she said softly.

"But you think the Ora Nora thing--"

"Ornorean."

"You're sure that's the reason we can't dial home."

Sam sighed, and pressed the palm of her unbandaged hand to her forehead. "It has to be, sir. We never had any problem at all dialing back and forth before the Ornorean began two weeks ago. Even that last connection Daniel and Teal'c made to go home was showing signs of breaking down. I should have seen it then. We should have left while we could."

"We couldn't. The Gate was too far away, and if they had shut the Gate down, Daniel and Teal'c would be stuck here, too. Besides, it was my call."

Sam pulled her knees up to rest her arms, and stared out into the field around them as the sun set. Insects similair to lightening bugs flashed around in the tall grass and a breeze blew through.

"So, you're sure it's the Ornorean?"

She looked at Jack in the growing darkness. The brim of his hat shaded his eyes, and she couldn't read his expression. "It's the only explanation I have."

Jack nodded and dipped his chin slightly, curling his lower lip beneath the top. Sam took a slow breath, a chill racing over her skin.

"Sir, did you talk to Aaroon?"

Jack nodded.

"How long does the Ornorean last?"

Jack looked up then, enough that the light of the three moons moved over his features. He took off his hat and ran a hand over his unruly hair.

"Sir..."

"Six of their cycles."

Sam stared, running the numbers in her head. "Sir, that's almost five of our years."

Jack nodded, then raised his chin and looked into her face. Their gazes held for several moments before he parted his lips and softly said "Yeah, I know."