A/N: Just to clear up a little confusion about a previous chapter, the post-it notes were real. The idea was that she had gone home, fallen asleep on the couch, and then started the dream about going over and yelling at him about the post-its, since she would never be able to do that in real life.

Ch 6 – We are such stuff

"Doc!" Jack barked loudly as he entered the infirmary.

"Yes, Colonel?" Janet asked after taking a deep breath for patience.

"Any idea where Carter is? It's ten o'clock. She missed breakfast."

"I arranged for her to have the morning off, sir. General Hammond okay-ed it. She'll be in at noon."

"I thought you said she was fine," he said, frowning.

"She is. She's just... always got a lot on her mind," Janet said evasively.

Jack narrowed his eyes at her. "You do remember that she's my 2IC, don't you Doc? If there's something wrong with her, you have to tell me about it."

"There is nothing medically wrong with her, Colonel," Janet said firmly.

"Ah-ha! So there IS something wrong with her though?" he asked quickly.

Janet rolled her eyes. "Sir, with all due respect, conversations that happen off the clock are really none of your business."

Jack sighed grumpily, knowing he wasn't going to get any information out of Janet Fraiser unless it was information she wanted him to have. She was probably the only person on base who wasn't the least bit intimidated by him when he got into bully-mode.

He decided to give it one last try. "Come on, doc, just tell me..." he wheedled.

"Tell you what, sir?" Carter asked as she entered the infirmary.

Janet sighed and shook her head slightly. "Sam, you were supposed to take the morning..."

"I did."

"That means sleep in."

"I did," Carter repeated.

"All right, Carter, now you're here, do you mind telling me what this big secret is between you and the Doc?"

He hadn't really expected her to answer him, but was somewhat comforted by the fact that she at least looked rather flustered. It DID say Colonel on his uniform, after all.

"There's no big secret, sir," she said once she had recovered from the initial surprise.

"Really?" he asked doubtfully.

"Of course, sir," she replied with a huge smile.

He narrowed his eyes grumpily. How could you argue with that?

--------

Daniel, Carter, and Teal'c were all standing in the embarkation room at ten to two, waiting for Colonel O'Neill and the start of their mission. Daniel was so excited Carter was surprised he wasn't orbiting the room by now.

They were going to the abandoned planet P9X283, which was very similar to Earth aside from the fact that it had been completely deserted some time ago. Daniel was to officially start a long-term archaeological excavation there, to try to find out what had happened. SG-1 would accompany him, in case any other visitors decided to drop by while they were there. They were to be there for three days by themselves, at which point they would be replaced by a long-term research team after they had completely secured the area.

Daniel's excitement was contagious. Well, Teal'c seemed to be immune. So it was really only affecting Carter.

When Colonel O'Neill joined them, General Hammond spoke from the control room: "Nice of you to join us, Jack."

"Had to set my VCR, sir. Didn't want to miss 'The Simpsons,'" Jack called with a casual wave up at the General.

Carter laughed quietly. Daniel was obviously irritated by the pointless (in his opinion) delay in their mission.

"Calm down there, space monkey, or I'm switching you to decaf," Jack ordered as he adjusted his cap.

"SG-1, you have a go," Hammond said. They watched the MALP disappear into the puddle and followed it up the ramp.

-----------

By the end of the day, even Carter's enthusiasm had started to wan. They had walked an impossibly long distance, and as Teal'c lacked the gentle touch required and Colonel O'Neill just flat out refused to "play in the dirt," it had fallen to her to help Daniel start the tedious excavation process, while the other two "secured the area."

Carter's sarcastic comment that "secure the area" had suddenly started to look a lot like "juggle your canteens," while earning a big laugh from Daniel, had not gone over too well with her CO, whom she hadn't realized was listening.

She felt terrible about the comment: it was true, but it was still unprofessional, and she never would have let something like that slip had she not still been irritated by the dreams she kept having.

All in all, she was relieved when they called it quits for the day and sat down to eat. She patiently listened to Daniel going on and on about what they had found that day, because she knew it was a conversation Colonel O'Neill wouldn't want to listen to or join in. Sure enough, he quickly started talking to Teal'c about his newest fishing reel, and Carter had the sneaking suspicion that she and Teal'c were probably feeling very similar at the moment as they both listened to their respective enthusiasts, nodding occasionally whenever it seemed appropriate.

"All right, Campers," Colonel O'Neill finally said, clapping his hands. "Let's all get some sleep. I'll take the first watch, Carter second, Daniel, then Teal'c."

"Yes, sir."

"As you wish, O'Neill."

"Jack, can't I go last?" Daniel whined.

"No," Jack said firmly.

"Why not?"

"Because, if you go last that means dawn. If there's light, you're going to wander from camp and get back to work, which is completely counterproductive to the idea of being on watch," Jack said knowingly.

Carter couldn't help smiling. No matter how dense he pretended to be sometimes, he rarely missed anything.