Sam walked across the yard from the house to the barn, a glass of cold water in her hand. The mid-morning sun was warm and bright and wonderful, and she let the heat sink into her bare arms. The summer -- the 'growth' season -- had been warm and beautiful, and now the harvest approached,
The sound of wood being chopped came from the other side of the barn, and Sam passed through the building to reach the other side. She stopped in the doorway, her shoulder against the jamb, to take in the view. Jack's new kiln stood fifteen feet from the barn, to keep the heat from being too intense so near a wood structure, and a bright flame burned inside the open door at the bottom. Jack stood just a few feet from her, chopping more wood to build the fire to several hundred degrees.
His back was to her, his shirt discarded on the stack of round logs nearby. With each swing of the ax, the muscles of his shoulders and back flexed, the light sheen of sweat on his skin glistening in the sun. Each time he raised the axe, his drawstring pants rode low on his hips, gifting her with a pleasant view of the two dimples right above his...
"Would you like a drink?"
Jack stopped mid-swing, letting the axe head fall into the chopping block. He turned to face her with a smile, his chest rising and falling with the exertion of the work.
"Yeah, thanks."
She walked to him, holding out the glass, and he drank it greedily, two drops of water falling from his chin to his chest. As he drank, Sam took the opportunity to look at him. Something she did whenever she could.
Jack had always been in peak physical shape. He had to be to do his job. He was a soldier, had been most of his life. But the physical labor of living on a world where hard work was a way of life had done things to his body that many young men would envy. His arms were hard and strong, his chest and stomach hard and flat. He moved like a well-oiled machine, fluid and sleek and sexy as hell.
She had to break away from her voyeurism as he finished the water and sighed in pleasure. "Good stuff." He wrapped his arm around her waist and brought her hard up against his chest. "Better stuff," he said, almost as a growl, and pressed his face to her throat.
Sam leaned into him, running her hands over his damp chest and arms. "We need to leave for the joining ceremony soon. It begins at mid-day."
"Yeah, sure," he mumbled against her neck, right below her ear, and a tremble moved through her. "You betcha." His hand slid from her waist to her backside.
Sam moaned softly. "You need to clean up, Jack." She gasped when he bent and scooped her up in his arms. "Jack! What are you doing?"
"I'm going to wash up. In the creek."
Sam's mouth fell open. "No. Jack. No!"
"Yup."
"Jack!"
He carried her effortlessly down the embankment behind the barn to the small creek that ran behind their house. The whole time, Sam squirmed in his arms, and was nearly free, but not in time to stop him from hauling them both into the cold water. The shock of the cold snatched Sam's breath away as he walked out deeper until the water hit them above the waist, then he set her down on her feet, holding her tight against the current.
"Jack, I swear..." He silenced her with a kiss, and all thought of cold disappeared as a different heat moved through her.
Sam sighed as Jack wrapped his arms tightly around her and squeezed, almost taking her breath away, as he pressed his face into the bent of her throat. He kissed her skin before pulling back to look down at her. Sam smiled at the spark in his dark eyes, and the deep dimples in his cheeks from his smile.
"What?" she asked.
"Are you happy, Sam?"She touched his cheeks, brushing away drops of water that had splashed up from the rushing creek. "Of course I'm happy."
"Even without your lab and your doohickeys and--"
Sam covered his lips with a finger. "Jack, I'm happy. Happier than I can ever remember being. Besides, I'm not without my doohickeys, thanks to you."
"Find out anything good," he asked non-chalantly as his fingers worked the hem of her shirt from the waist of her skirt.
Sam's eyes fluttered, but she managed to keep her focus on him. "Um...not much yet. I'm kind of doing things the old fashioned way. I'm running tests on that metal. Corrosion, tenacity, those types of...Oh..."
His hands were doing glorious things beneath her blouse, and his lips played against her throat until her knees were weak.
"I love it when you talk science."
"I'd like a little less talk, Jack O'Neill," she whispered as her cold fingers found the drawstring of his pants. "And more action."
"Yes, ma'am."
Some time later, Sam sat on the bank running her fingers through her now damp hair as Jack stood mid stream and finished washing. Every few minutes, Jack would look her way and smile. It was a smile she had never seen on his face before, not before coming here. Certainly, not before the beginning of the growth season. Okay, maybe once.
"Jack, can I ask you something?"
"Of course. What?"
"Four, almost five years ago. When you and Teal'c were caught in that time loop..."
"Yeah..." He dunked his head beneath the surface and scrubbed at his scalp before flipping back, wet streams of water running down his back and shoulders.
"When we stopped it, the next morning, do you remember talking at breakfast?"
Jack shook his head, sending water flying so far it spotted her skirt. She wiped the drops from her face. "I remember." He came out of the water and pulled on his soaked pants that he had left on the bank. He offered her his hand and pulled Sam to her feet.
"Daniel asked you if you did anything during the loop... something you wouldn't have done otherwise if you had to face the consequences."
They walked hand in hand up the embankment and headed back towards their house. Jack walked with his head down, watching the ground, then he raised his head and squinted at the sun. "Yeah."
Sam sighed. He was going to drag this out. Like pulling teeth. "What did you do, Jack?"
"Do you want to know everything?"
Sam stopped walking, and they turned together to face each other. "Not everything. Since I don't think you knew how to throw pottery when I met you, I'm guessing that might be one thing. What I want to know is what you did to put the smile on your face that morning."
"What smile?" His lips turned up just slightly, first one corner then the other.
"That smile. Daniel asked you and you looked at me with that smile. Jack, did we... did you and I..."
"No," he said abruptly. "No, I wouldn't have -- I wouldn't do that."
"But something did happen."
Jack started walking again, bringing her with him. "One day, I waited until the end. Just minutes before the loop would reboot. Then I went to the command center, and I handed George my resignation."
"Your resignation? Why?"
"Because, then I did this." Before Sam could prepare herself, Jack stopped and took her face in his hands, covering her mouth with his own. Then he wrapped his arm around her and dipped her back, still holding the kiss. Sam circled his neck with her arms and held on, kissing him back. Then he brought her upright again and let go, linked their hands, and walked again towards the house.Sam waited for the flush to cool in her cheeks, licking her lips before she spoke again. "Why did you resign? If there were no consequences, you could have just kissed me and nothing would have happened."
"Maybe."
"So, why did you?""Because, I figured that maybe – if I didn't resign first – you wouldn't kiss me back. You know, still worried about ... stuff."
Sam nodded, watching his profile as they walked. "Uh huh. And, did it work? Did I kiss you back?"
The same slow, sexy smile moved over his lips. "Hell, yeah..."
In the Calla Hills, there was only one way to do a celebration. BIG! Big party. Big bonfire. Big spread of food. And at least a solid twenty four hours of partying, if not more. And their Joining ceremonies were no exception.
So, that evening, Jack found himself once again in the big Meeting Hall with his stomach full and his eyes heavy. He reclined back on the pile of cushions behind him and watched the children playing in the middle area. The newly joined couple sat at the head of the room on a raised dias as the members of the community took their turns congratulating them and giving them gifts.
He and Sam had already presented their gifts, a set of stoneware he had fired himself. Not his first attempt. It had been awhile since he had thrown anything, so it took a few tries. But it wasn't half bad, if he did say so himself.Sam returned from talking with Sarai and sat down, cross legged, beside him. Jack stretched out his hand to rest it on her knee, having little energy to move while he digested the gigantic meal.
"These people know how to throw a party, huh?" Sam said with a smile. "Sarai was telling me how they believe that any union during the Ornorean is especially blessed, that no bad will ever come to the couple. And any child conceived while the Ornorean is in the sky will be healthy and strong, and destined to be a leader of the people."
"Wow. They put a lot of stock in this Ornorean thing, huh?"
Sam nodded. "I suppose they do. But by what I can see, there's nothing here to prove them wrong."
Jack brought his arm back onto the cushions, spread out away from him, and motioned to her with his fingers. "C'mere."
With a sexy smile, she shifted to her knees and crawled towards him. Were they not in a room full of people, Jack would have done a hell of a lot more than let her curl against his side with her head on his chest. She draped her arm over his body and drew her leg over his. Jack combed his fingers through her hair.
He could be happy here.
Despite the fact that he didn't have hot water, cold beer, or his truck... It was a pretty damn good place for an extended vacation. And he was happy.
All because of the woman drawing cartouche symbols on his shirt. Jack kissed her forehead and hugged her closer. "Hey, Sam..."
"Mmmmm," she hummed softly, and he knew she was dozing off.
He kissed her forehead again, smoothing her hair away from her temple and brow. "Join with me."
She chuckled softly. "Don't you think it's a bit crowded in the meeting hall, Jack?"
Her skin was soft beneath his fingertips as he stroked her cheek and followed the elegant line of her throat from the lobe of her ear to her shoulder. A shiver moved through her and she shifted closer. Jack suppressed the groan her simplest touch induced."That's... not what I meant. Join with me, Sam."
Her head came up off his chest, and she stared at him with wide eyes and parted lips. Jack grinned. "Close your mouth, Sam, before something flies in you won't like."
Her look of shock slowly changed to a wide smile, and she pulled her lower lip through her teeth. "Jack O'Neill, are you asking me..."
"Yeah, I guess I am."
She stared at him, without saying a word. After several moments, Jack shifted and cleared his throat. "Uh, Sam. Could you not take quite so long to answer? You're making me --"
Sam laid her hands on his cheeks and slid up his body to kiss him, and he drew air in sharply through his nose against the intense and weakening effect of the kiss. He cupped the back of her head and held her in place to deepen the kiss as much as possible. Her fingers curled into his shirt.
Before he forgot completely where he was, Jack pulled back and drew in a breath. "I'm hoping that means yes."Sam nodded. "Yes, but Jack. What about when--"
He put his thumb to her lips, holding her chin in his fingers. Jack shook his head. "Here. Earth. Doesn't matter. Right?"
"It will eventually," she said, her voice more serious.
Jack raised his finger and tapped the end of her nose. "Not as much as you think, I'm willing to bet."
Her eyebrows arched, and she looked at him expectantly. "Oh? And why is that?"
"You don't think that they're going to find a new General to run the SGC? You think they haven't already? Sam, either way, we can't do anything about it. We both knew this wasn't without consequence, right?"
She nodded.
"The question is... are the consequences worth it?"
He held his breath as she seemed to take in the details of his face, his hair, his mouth. She touched the lines at the sides of his mouth, ran her finger along his lower lip, put her palm over his heart.
Jack swallowed hard against the sudden dryness in his throat. "Sam..."
"Yeah, Jack. It's worth it."
The tension in his body seeped away, and he pressed his hand into the small of her back, bringing her closer. "Just so we're clear..." Jack motioned between them. "We gonna do this union thing?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah, we're gonna do this union thing."
Jack grinned. "Cool." He curled forward and stood up from the cushions, offering her his hand.
Sam took it and he brought her to her feet, pulling her to her side as they headed for the door.
"Where are we going?"
He pressed his lips to her ear, and kissed her before whispering "I kinda liked the idea of that other joining. Remember that hill we sat on the first night we were here?"
Sam's breath hitched, making his blood burn. "Yes."
They stepped out into the cool evening air, the change in temperature not nearly enough to reduce the fever under his skin. Sam's arm circled his back, her hand slipping into the waistband of his pants. Jack closed his eyes, but then figured it wasn't good to be walking in the dark with his eyes shut. As they moved away from the party, the sounds of music and laughter diminished until they heard only the sounds of the night.
Jack remembered the path he had taken nearly a cycle before, and with a smile, realized they had been on this planet almost one of their season cycles. It was kind of like an anniversary. He led Sam through the darkness until he found the same spot she had found him sitting during the celebration of the Ornorean. They sat down beside each other, and without needing to say a word, reclined back onto the cool grass.
The silver cotton candy filament of the Ornorean swirled and danced over them, and Jack thought about that night. He hadn't been on a planet with Sam in months, and back then, things had been so different. Yet, he had wanted her then just as much as he wanted her now. It had taken all he had to look at her, with the illumination overhead highlighting her face, and not kiss her. Now, he looked at her again, and smiled.
"C'mere," he said softly.
Sam read his mind, and moments later she straddled her legs across his hips and leaned over him for a kiss that would have knocked him to his knees if he had been on his feet. Jack gripped her hips as she straightened up and slipped her shirt off over her head. Behind her, the Ornorean swirled and danced like a glorious, silver halo.
Yup, the Ornorean made a great backdrop for Samantha Carter.