A/N: thanks for the reviews ya'll, hope you enjoy this next one.

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Alternate Reality Nine

Sam was freezing and she wasn't even off world.

Her house had been bombarded with chunks of hail earlier that month and now it was being encompassed by snow that had been falling since that morning and had not let up in its fast moving pace.

Her heater had broken over an hour ago, and though she was a physics genius and could fix the most complicated machinery the SGC and current friendly alien planets had to offer, she could not for the life of her figure out how to fix her heater.

So she sat on her couch piled under every quilt she had been able to find, with her laptop resting on her knee and her gloved fingers typing away at the keys as she did research on some interesting Tokra technology, the data of which she had been able to sneak off the base with despite General O'Neill's watchful eye.

She had surprisingly been forced away from her lab by a tired looking Daniel, who had pulled a few straight all-nighters with her that week since they had no currently scheduled missions, and even he agreed that it was about time to get some rest.

She had invited Daniel over so they could still work together at her house, and he had agreed because even in the face of extreme exhaustion the science twins' idea of relaxing was with an intellectual challenge.

But unfortunately, the General had foreseen this and ordered RO'tib to take Daniel home, knowing that with the steadily falling snow, he would not risk the trek to Samantha's end of town just for brainstorming and vise versa.

Sam worked on her computer until her hands began to get numb in spite of their wool covering. She realized she wouldn't be able to stay in her house much longer without managing to contain any real heat.

Her roommate, Major/Medical doctor Janet Frasier had decided to brave the weather as soon as the heater had knocked out and was over at Daniel's, no doubt with RO'tib and Sybil, the other two members of SG-1.

RO'tib, an Alarisian, had been on Sam's team since their second mission when SG-1 rescued his planet from the deceptions of the Goa'uld, and he was pronounced as a 'gift' to the humans for the use of being a protector of the heroes that had shown them the truth.

At first O'Neill had protested this new addition, but it was ultimately up to General Hammond who had decided it would be a good idea, and soon the alien had become a respective member of the team and was now arguably Jack's best friend.

But Sybil was fairly new, having joined after O'Neill was promoted to General, and so far having been a good addition to the team.

Sam would have preferred that Janet join them, but the General rationalized that she was very valuable personnel, being the chief doctor on the SGC staff, and he did not want to risk her when she was the reason so many of them had kept alive all these years after numerous encounters with alien viruses and disease.

So Sybil, a civilian botanist and cultural study who had previously worked on SG-5 until it was decided that her expertise would be better suited to more advanced explorations, was chosen.

It had become a custom for everyone on the SG-1 team to socialize during off base hours at Daniel's house. Mostly because it was the largest and had all the interesting intellectual stimulants that their group desired, and because it had a comforting aura that never quite allowed you want to leave.

The only reason she hadn't joined Janet was because she knew that being there with everyone would just distract her from work and for some reason, on this particular day when nothing of utter importance required such attention, she needed to treat her current research like it was a life and death situation.

She knew she was not working on the real issue that had made her thrust herself even more adamantly into work. Her boyfriend of almost a year, Pete Shanahan, had gotten shot (A/N: Okay, Lets hear the collective cheers) two months ago, and she was still feeling hurt by the fact even though she knew she had no right to his grievance.

She had turned down his offer of marriage only a few days prior to his death, because of some tiny inkling of need that she harbored in her subconscious for another man.

When she had told the General about his proposal, she had gauged his reaction carefully. It was thoughtful, he did not meet her gaze as he examined the velvet box and when he did look at her there was an underlying question in his eyes.

Sam decided to leave the house before her thoughts got the better of her, and she bundled up and climbed into her car, turning the heater on full blast. She wasn't sure if she should attempt going to Daniel's, it wasn't exactly the closest, but she ultimately feared driving to the cozy country looking home that was the safest drive from her vicinity.

She figured facing her CO was probably better than freezing to death in the long run. So she showed up at his house with her arms tightly wrapped around her and no desire to explain herself.

Jack stood at the door a minute in a t-shirt and jeans that was contradicting to her own apparel and to the obvious season's wrath blustering outside. He looked her over with a grin threatening to light up his face as he said, "Cold, Carter?"

She glared at him incredulously as he let her in. But the temperament that he always caused with his witty sarcasm melted in the heated warmth of his abode as a comfortably fire-lit living room greeted her ice cycle body.

She quickly pulled off two layers of clothing and was left with a black turtleneck and jeans.

"Janet called," he mentioned as he welcomed her over to the couch, "She told me your heater broke, what took you so long?"

Carter shrugged, "I was working, Sir" she attempted lamely, and sat down on the generously cushioned sofa, which sunk downward and supported the impression of her body.

Jack gave her a look but did not say anything as he fixed some coffee for the both of them and joined her.

"So why didn't you head over to Daniel's?" he asked, picking up a recently abandoned remote and turning on the television to find a movie that had just begun to show its opening credits.

"I didn't think it was wise to drive that far, Sir" she said, sipping her steaming cup of concentrated caffeine, causing the wafting vapors to curl around her face and warm her cheeks.

"Lethal Weapon Three?" Carter voiced the title that flashed across the screen.

"Good movie" Jack commented with a smile, "Ever seen it?" he then asked.

She nodded, "Surprisingly enough, RO'tib made me watch a Lethal Weapon marathon with him a while ago, he was adamant that I would like it"

"Did you?" Jack questioned a bit suspiciously, perhaps afraid to accidentally open the floodgates of Carter's amazingly dramatic critiquing abilities, which often left most astounded and completely disgusted with themselves for ever at one point enjoying what she so expertly criticized.

"Yes, to a certain extent..." she said, trailing off into her own thoughts. She had actually thought that Mel Gibson's character strongly resembled that of a particular then Colonel, and maybe that was just in her head, but RO'tib's commentary on her being similar to the Lorna Cole character certainly earned him a few verbal reprimands.

Less than a quarter of the way through the movie, Jack began scanning different channels but finally gave up and turned it off so he could focus his attention on his visitor, "I'm probably going to regret asking this," he began, "but have you read anything good lately? And I mean an actual book, with imaginary characters and a plot, non of that science journal junk"

Sam had to think hard before responding, "There were a few old legends that Daniel translated from some hieroglyphs he found on PN4-738. He uploaded them onto my computer so I would have something to do on my downtime besides work, especially after...after Pete died"

Jack did not respond to this statement, but instead changed the subject entirely, "You've been doing great with command so far" he complimented, hoping to lift her spirits a bit.

Sam gave him a tiny smile, which disappeared quickly, like most of her expressions of happiness had been doing lately. You had to really concentrate nowadays to notice any real enjoyment being mirrored on her lovely face.

Jack glanced at a clock on one of his lamp stands and noticed it was almost nine-thirty proceeding into the nighttime hours so he decided the best thing he could offer his troubled officer right now was sleep.

"I hope you're not planning on heading back to that fridge of a house any time soon, I wont have my favorite Colonel freezing to death in her sleep" he commented nodding towards the clock and drawing her attention to the time.

Sam raised an eyebrow at him, "Is that an invitation, Sir?"

He was hurried to reply, "No, it's an order, you have a tendency to turn down my invitations"

That warranted a beaming grin and he returned with a slight smile, "The guest room is already stocked, Leann did the decorating herself"

Sam tensed a bit at the name, but hoped he didn't notice.

Leann was Jack's girlfriend of almost a year and she was also one of the nurses at the SGC; he had started dating her around the same time Sam had hooked up with Pete.

At first Sam and Leann had gotten along fine. They had been acquaintances long before Jack showed interest in her, and then had become friends when she started asking Sam questions about him. But not even a week after Jack and Leann had started seeing each other, Sam walked in on Leann kissing another man.

Leann had tried to cover things up by insisting to Sam that it was nothing, just an old flame that wanted to get back together, and who had kissed her against her will.

At first, though skeptical, the Major had let it slide, but on occasion she'd catch evidence of Leann having continued affairs with other men, and just recently had caught her once again in a compromising position with someone who wasn't Jack.

Needless to say she no longer liked the girl, and in fact harbored malice towards her, but she was not going to be the one to tell her CO this. Experience kept her from notifying the General, knowing full well his reaction would not be in her favor, and she decided that she wanted to avoid that type of confrontation.

"Um...speaking of Leann" Carter tried, a little flustered at the fact that he was going to let her spend the night here while his girlfriend was out of state on some business, "Will she mind that I stay?"

"Why would she?" O'Neill asked, typically clueless, although Sam new for a fact that he had noticed the thin line that Leann and her had been walking with each other as of late.

"Well, Sir, we're not exactly...on speaking terms" and understatement but phrased effectively enough.

Jack shrugged, "I know"

He did not offer any further clarification, opting instead to stand up, guzzle down the rest of his coffee while heading in the direction of his room, "See you in the morning, Carter"

Sam sate there for a while after he left, trying to wrap her brain around the complicated dilemma that her supposedly uncomplicated CO had just given her.

He had made it clear that it was an order. But what was he going to do if she disobeyed it, court martial her for insubordination? That would go over nicely with the Air force: a decorated officer of male persuasion orders his female subordinate to spend the night at his place for warmth.

She almost laughed.

But with the tedious way things had been going with Leann, Carter was not sure if it was a good idea, and was thinking maybe she should head over to Daniel's.

Though one look at the clock told her there was no way that was going to happen.

So she sighed and headed in the direction of the guest room.

It was an order after all.