They were led to another part of the fortress, obviously the residential area, and showed to their 'rooms' exactly like when they were at Kyyato's: Sam and Jack together, Daniel and Teal'c into separate rooms.
Sam and Jack didn't have time to exactly register the situation. Again, an army of servants came in their room and started asking questions O'Neill could not understand.
"Sir, if I'm not mistaken, they're offering us a bath." Sam said, recognizing the same manners as when they were at Kyyato's, rather than actually understanding their words.
This time, O'Neill didn't even think of refusing the offer. A bath or any way to relax his tired limbs and sensitive joints sounded really good, but he was still a gentleman, and Carter had priority. "Carter, you go ahead, I'll wait here."
"Thank you, sir," she said. She didn't have sore knees, but her bruised shoulder needed pampering, and if the only way to achieve that was a bath, then she would take it.
She bowed her head, now used to showing her agreement this way, and two servants led her outside the room. One remained with O'Neill, quietly sitting on her heels by the sliding panel where from Sam had disappeared.
He considered for a moment getting rid of his boots, but he was sure the smell of his socks would kill any insect in his immediate vicinity. Out of respect for the young woman, he decided instead to sit down and leaned against a wooden beam in the center of the wall.
After a moment, the girl turned a ninety degrees and opened the panel, letting in another servant carrying what appeared to be towels. She came to O'Neill and reached for the buttons on his jacket.
On impulse, he steadied her and gently indicated that he would undress himself.
The girl looked a bit troubled, but she slid back a little on her knees and waited.
O'Neill reached for the top button, then stopped as the girl kept staring at him.
He frowned.
The girl didn't move, and the other one, although not looking his direction, was still in the room, stoically staring in front of her.
He raised an eyebrow: 'was it the custom on that planet to be an obvious voyeur?' he thought.
He stood up sharply, causing the girl in front of him to give a startled jump. He smiled briefly, waving his hand to show the girl he was all right, and strolled to a side of the room that was hidden by a small panel made with the same material as the walls.
It appeared it was probably what was the equivalent of the restrooms. He rolled his eyes. 'How humiliating!' then thought better of it and quickly shed his clothes, draping a rather short towel around his lower body.
He took a deep breath and stepped out of the secluded area.
The girls didn't look at him, but bowed and the one who had been kneeling in front of him quickly led him out of the room, apparently undisturbed by his almost bare body.
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Bliss. Pure bliss, he thought as his body slid deeper into the warm water.
The girl that had led him here was kneeling behind him. She lathered her hands with some scented lotion and started massaging his shoulders.
He sighed in contentment. After the tiresome trip in the cart, he was really grateful for the bath. He saw Teal'c meditating nearby, some cloth hiding his mid body, while his upper body was shining with the massage oil the servants had used after his bath.
He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling.
Suddenly, Daniel jerked awake. He didn't know how much time he had been sleeping, all he knew was that the girl he had left previously massaging his shoulders, was now naked in the warm pool next to him.
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Jack was really uncomfortable. Sam was nowhere to be seen, and that girl was starting to get on his nerves with her continuous need to touch him and rid him of any kind of covering cloth he wanted to keep! After one last attempt, the girl seemed to finally get it into her mind that he wanted to keep something draped over his groin, and let him cautiously enter the water.
Once he was seated inside the small, warm pool, the girl started lathering his upper body. He had the urge to resist at first, but soon relaxed as the girl expertly eased the tense muscles of his lumbar region. She gave him what was probably the equivalent of the soap for him to tend himself in the areas she couldn't reach, then rinsed him and led him to another room.
There was a thick cot on the floor, and the girl beckoned him to lie down on his belly on it before she disappeared, only to be replaced by another woman, far older this one. The woman knelt and straddled the back of his thighs, once again causing him to jump, but the firm grip of the woman on his shoulders pinned him down on the cot, and he finally decided to relax as he understood the woman's intentions.
After massaging his back, the woman took care of his limbs and gently probed at his joints. When Jack flinched as she touched his left knee, she grabbed a pot containing some dark greasy mixture and applied it on the sore joint.
Apparently satisfied with her job, she gathered her things and exited the room, closing the panel behind her. Jack was left wondering what to do next, but only a few seconds passed before the first girl returned and led him out. He was then brought to a small room full of steam.
He sat on a wooden bench, his body entirely relaxed, and let the relaxing scent fill his nostrils. Some essential oil had probably been thrown on the hot stones he saw steaming in the center of the room and it completed the state of deep relaxation he seldom achieved. He closed his eyes, deciding for once to let his vigilance drop at its lowest. When he opened them, the steam had dissipated a little. Coming slowly to his senses, he suddenly realized a hand was reaching for a ladle in a wooden bucket and throwing some liquid over the stones, in front of him.
He unwillingly gave a little yelp.
"Sir?"
He heard the unmistakable voice of Carter. "Carter? What are you doing here?" he asked panicked, fumbling with his towel to check it was still in place.
Sam squeezed her eyes shut. She was not naked in a steaming room with her probably as naked CO!
Searching quickly for whatever could cover her, she was horrified to realize that the towels were definitely out of reach and if she remembered correctly, neatly folded by the place where the Colonel sat.
"Err... Carter?" she heard him say.
"Yes, sir?"
"Look, I am going to leave the room--"
"Sir," she interrupted.
"Yes?"
"The exit to our room is right behind me."
"Oh."
A small silence ensued during which Sam realized the steam was getting thinner and she could start discerning the form of the Colonel. Once again, she reached for the ladle and sprayed liquid on the stones, but to her dismay, they must have been getting cooler since the steaming effect was far less impressive than previously. She put one arm across her chest.
"Carter?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Why don't you go inside the room, then?"
"Good idea, sir. Only the steam is getting thinner."
"So?" he asked, not understanding.
"So, you'll see."
"Oh!"
"Sir?"
"Yes?"
"The folded towels are just by the bench you're sitting on, can you throw me one?"
"Sure!" he said, relieved that she had thought of that. Either his brain was far too relaxed, or it was fogged with whatever essential oil it was they had put on the stones, or worse: he was losing the battle over his feelings and the idea of a naked Carter just a few feet from his highly receptive body.
He forced his mind to concentrate and threw her the whole pack of folded towels, one after the other.
Sam grabbed one and unfolded it with one hand, realizing with horror that the 'towel' was in fact a succession of square cloths, about fifteen inches large, folded one with the other. She unfolded all the linens that had landed next to her, but they were all the same. What purpose did the servants leave these for was beyond her. Her panic went up a notch as she realized the steam had almost completely dissipated.
"Sir," came her strangled voice.
"Yes?" Jack's breathing was becoming increasingly ragged. Now he could clearly make out the form of his naked 2IC, clutching desperately at her chest in an attempt to cover herself.
"I… I'm going to ask you to keep your eyes shut."
"Towels not good?" he managed to ask.
"Not 'exactly' towels," she replied.
"Oh."
"Sir?"
"Uh-yeah?"
"Please?"
"Sure!" He squeezed his eyes shut.
"I trust you, sir."
"What?" he asked, opening his eyes.
"Sir!"
"Sorry!" He squeezed his eyes shut again. "Just… Call me when you're safe, okay?"
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."
"No sweat, Carter." 'Oh! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!' he thought 'Carter + sweat don't fucking go there, O'Neill!'. Although his groin had other ideas, he managed to keep his eyes tightly shut until he felt she was not into the room anymore.
He called softly before opening them. "Carter?"
Hearing no response, he cautiously opened one eye, then the other. 'Nope: definitely no Carter in the steaming room.' He relieved the breath he didn't know he had been holding.
He slowly stood up. The steam had now completely cleared of the room. He crossed the small space that separated him from the panel leading to their room and entered. And froze.
His very naked major was fumbling with the bed linens – or at least what stood for a bed - desperately trying to cover herself and failing.
"Sir!" she shrieked, when she realized he had entered the room and was currently doing a nice Bass imitation.
Jack once again tightly squeezed his eyes shut, grasping at his own towel on his hip, but only succeeding in making it slip as the knot became loose. 'Oh Crap!' he thought.
Unable to take more, Sam stood in bewilderment, thinking about the succession of embarrassing events of the past minutes and suddenly broke into a hearty laugh.
O'Neill opened his eyes frowning.
"Hey! What are you laughing at!" he exclaimed.
Which only prompted another fit of laughter.
There they stood, both in their birthday suits, and his Major was 'laughing'?
Suddenly, her laughter subsided and she refrained from trying to cover herself once more: what was the point now?
"Sorry, sir."
"May I know what you are laughing at, Major?" he asked icily.
"Oh! It has… it has nothing to do with you, sir." Realizing he might have misunderstood, she quickly explained, "It's just the absurdity of the situation. I mean we're seasoned officers, and here we are both--"
"Stark naked," he supplied.
"Yes."
His foolish feeling that she was laughing at what was definitely defining him as a man had disappeared as it had come-- in an instant, and he felt highly embarrassed for thinking that. But he had little time to dwell on that thought as realization dawned upon him.
"And that's a situation neither one of us has been trained to deal with," she concluded in one breath.
They stared at each other in a heavy silence. Was it O'Neill or was it her? They couldn't say, but suddenly they were in each other's arms kissing like their lives depended on it.
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Daniel awoke slowly, as his body registered the chill caused by the empty space beside him. He drowsily opened his eyes, and saw that the girl who had been with him since his arrival back in the room, was putting on some kind of robe.
He blinked. 'What just happened?' he thought, trying to rid his mind from the last foggy remnants of sleep.
The girl saw him rise from his lying position and smiled shyly, before bowing her head and stepping backwards towards the door.
"Wait!" he said, raising his hand. He started sitting up, but realized his state of undress and quickly grabbed the sheets, draping them over his lower body. "Wait." He repeated in the girl's language.
The girl had stopped moving and looked at him questioningly.
"I… I don't even know your name," Daniel stuttered in her language.
The girl smiled faintly and once again, bowed. "Shimikko," she replied.
Daniel smiled. "Why did you do this?" he asked gently.
"Isn't that a custom, honoring a guest where you come from?"
"Of course we do, just…" he hesitated "…not like that."
Shimikko looked at him with a confused expression.
"You…ah… was surprised and extremely relaxed. Normally I wouldn't have--"
"Maybe you would prefer a man?" she asked, seeming genuine.
"What! No! Absolutely not!" he shouted, making Shimikko back a little. Then realizing his outburst must have frightened her, he calmed down and smiled gently. "This has absolutely nothing to do with you. Nor with the fact that you are a woman, but where I come from this kind of service is… well… professional."
"What do you mean?"
"People usually pay for that kind of service." He felt his cheeks becoming redder by the minute.
Shimikko seemed even more confused. "You have to pay to be honored?"
"No, that's not what I meant." Daniel winced, then took a deep breath. "Where I come from, most people have that kind of relationship with long term partners, significant others."
"Oh! Wife or concubines?"
"Yes."
"I understand. You are betrothed, then?"
"No."
"Then you are dissatisfied with the way I tried to please and honor you?"
"No! It was great, really, but-- I'm not used to that, that's all."
Once again Shimikko misunderstood. "Oh! You should have told me it was the first time!"
"No! It was not!" Daniel exclaimed.
"Your people are strange."
"Our customs are certainly different than yours. I feel like I used you."
"You did not."
"Oh, wait a moment! Did the other servants do the same with my fr-- with Lord O'Neill and Teal'c?" His tongue had almost slipped.
"O'Neill-sohn is with his wife, we showed them the proper way to bathe and relax. As for the Sehai, we respect his vows."
"The Sehai?"
"The black man. Isn't he a war monk?"
"He is."
"Then we respect his vows."
"So when you have guests you all offer this kind of-- err-- service?" Daniel asked, trying to comprehend.
"Not all of us. It is an honor to be introduced to the ways of the Gaisheruns. I was rather young when I entered Hai-Ri-Ki-sohn's service. Servants have no right to marry or have concubines, but some of them may become Gaisherun. Gaisheruns are educated in the art to entertain, converse, are masters at the Tô ceremony, we also know the art of massage, and are educated in the arts of love, so that we can give the most pleasurable experiences to our guests."
"I see."
"Do you not have such traditions where you come from?"
"Ah-no. Not like this anyway." He smiled. "Will I see you again?"
Shimikko smiled. "If you request it." She replied, bowing her head.
"Not for… err… this" he said, gesturing around him. "I would be most interested in learning about your history and your traditions."
Shimikko smiled again. "Then I shall remain in your company. Maybe tomorrow you would like to share the Tô ceremony, or learn more of our ways?"
"Oh, yes, why not?" Daniel said, wondering a brief moment what the Tô ceremony was. "But I'm not sure we'll have time if we want to help Lord Hai-ri-ki with the war."
"Then I shall retire now. Have pleasant dreams--?"
"Daniel," He supplied, smiling.
Shimikko bowed her head.
"Daniel-sohn."
"No, just 'Daniel'." he said thinking she had misunderstood.
"'Sohn is a mark of respect, Daniel-sohn."
"Oh." He bowed his head. "Good night, then."
Shimikko then slipped backwards on her knees, slid the panel open, and exited the room, leaving a slightly bewildered Daniel.
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Sam felt Jack's tongue gently brush against hers. She must be dreaming. But was it a good or a bad dream? Oh, definitely good! His hands were on her hips and the gentle massage they were exerting on her skin put her in a daze, her logical mind reduced to mush as well as her military sense.
Jack gently probed the sweet recesses of her mouth, stroking the velvety texture of her tongue, enjoying her taste, and loving the contact of her silky skin on his own. In a perfect world this would have been so right. But…they were not in a perfect world.
Jack suddenly realized where they were headed – the bed. A previous situation popped up into his mind as well as the thoughts he had had then: 'not naked in a private room'. He was - naked in a private room - with his 2IC, his 2IC, Major, military, regulations.
He shuddered and gently, but oh-so reluctantly pulled away.
Sam was breathing heavily and her eyes were closed.
Jack squeezed his own shut not to be tempted by the nude body displayed before him.
He rested his forehead against hers and framed her face with his large hands. "Sam," he choked.
She looked at him with surprised eyes.
"Sam, 'he reiterated. "We--" he tried to swallow the lump in his throat, hating what he was going to say. "We can't. Not now, not here, not as long as we're both in the military or the same chain of command," he murmured to her ear, his lower body betraying his words as he spoke them.
She took a deep breath and nodded slightly. "I know," she breathed, "but can't we just for once forget about it?" she said in a strangled voice.
"No," he said gently, yet firmly. "That would take out all the purpose for doing it and the beauty of it, and when I make love to you, I want to do it right. I don't want the consequences of it to tarnish your name or your reputation," he said in a soft voice. "I want Sam Carter and Jack O'Neill to be, but I want them to be out in the open, which right now, isn't possible."
She took a deep breath. "I understand," she simply said, trying to calm her inner storm of feelings.
"We've already crossed the line, Sam," he stated.
"We haven't 'actually'--"
She started to protest, but he interrupted her. "Yes we have. Not just now. A long time ago, when we allowed ourselves to care for each other in a way that is forbidden in our positions."
"But we couldn't help it!"
"Yes, we couldn't. But I should have done something about that then."
She took a step backwards, distancing herself from the warm comfort of his body. "By retiring?" she asked defiantly.
"I don't know," he replied honestly. "But if that's what it takes, then so be it. I know Hammond wants to retire and he's asked me not so subtly on many occasions, if I would take over after him." While he answered, he looked around, trying to spot some kind of garment he could cover himself or Sam with. But the room was bare of extra clothes, except for the ridiculous "towels" they had before, and theirs had mysteriously disappeared, including their underwear.
He then stepped towards the bed. "But I'm not sure I want to take over," he resumed, "if it means we're still in the same chain of command, I don't want to."
"You're the best person for the post!" she exclaimed, walking towards the bed too.
"So they say," he said dejectedly, slipping underneath the covers.
"Jack."
He jumped a little: she had put her hand on his arm. He looked her in the eyes. Her oh-so beautiful large, blue eyes, which held some kind of ingenuity that always moved him to the core and an honesty he had seldom witnessed.
"I might have another solution," she resumed.
"I think I'm not going to like it," he said, chuckling bitterly.
"Let's not talk about it yet, okay? We should try and get some sleep and we'll inquire about some clothes tomorrow," she said calmly. "Think you can manage with us both naked in the same bed?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows to lighten the mood.
He chuckled and pulled her swiftly into his embrace, before placing a kiss on top of her head.
"It's going to be hard- Oh, bad choice of words!" he said, raising his eyebrows, cringing.
She chuckled against his chest.
"Hey, if you go on like this, we won't sleep and I'll definitely cross the line!" he reprimanded her mockingly.
"Sorry, sir," she said, straightening herself and looking him in the eyes.
He let go of her regretfully.
"I promise we'll sort it out when we get back, sir," she said honestly, putting some emphasis on the word 'sir'.
He smiled bitterly. "Yes we will, Major. Now scoot to the farthest side of the bed, I'll do the same, and let's sleep," he said authoritatively.
"Yes, sir." She obeyed dutifully.
O'Neill blew the oil lamp next to him out and tried to relax as much as the presence of a naked Carter beside him would allow. He didn't know if it was the combined effect the sweet scents the essential oils still gave the room and the massages, or the nervous tension leaving his system, but he fell asleep mere seconds after having closed his eyes.
Sam noticed his regular breathing and was content that he would be able to sleep at last. The past two days had not provided enough calm for him to do just that. She put herself in low vigilance mode and started going over the previous events in her mind.