A/N sorry for the delay! But i've been so busy lately! And this chapter was very hard to write. Keep in mind that i'm posting this really quickly and i haven't proofread it yet, so if there's any really awful grammatical errors just let me know and i'll fix them when i get back from orchestra camp. Have fun!

Chapter 6 - Sam's House

Jack O'Neill

We come tumbling through the gate, Carter and I, and collapse in a heap on the other side. With a groan i attemp to disentangle myself from my second in command, but only succeed in getting into a bigger mess. Daniel, who has forgotten his previous fear of General Hammond (or is avoiding thinking about it) has taken to pointing and laughing at us floundering on the ground. Teal'c is in the act of raising an eyebrow. Eventually, i manage to untangle myself from Carter, who is breathing heavily and looks slightly flushed. Groaning, i look at her pleadingly.

"Please tell me that what i think just happened, didn't happen?" She cant help it, she starts to grin.

"It did sir." She answers, standing up and dusting herself off. I sigh, and stand up also.

"Great... And now that i've been UTTERLY humiliated, i think we can get on with our mission. Daniel?" I hint, glaring at the more-than-slightly-hysterical archaeologist. He clears his throat, and tries to stop laughing. "If this wasn't so funny Daniel, I'd be very worried for you." I remark lightly. "Considering General Hammond is most probably going to kill you when we get back." Daniel pales, and swallows his laughter.

"You're right." He says seriously, "This is very serious. And i think we should get going. The sooner we can get this fixed the better, right?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth." I say cheerfully, walking in the direction of the city.

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As we walk, i cast a sidelong glance at Carter. She's staring off into the distance and biting her lip, looking thoughtful. Suddenly I remember something that happened yesterday, something strange...

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I was walking along one of the corridors of the SGC, deep in thought. My eye still ached from where Carter had hit me, but Dr Fraiser had been annoying suffocating and had kept asking awkward questions, so i'd grabbed an icepack and escaped while she wasn't looking. Groaning, i pressed the icepack to my face and flinched.

As i walked, i caught a snatch of conversation from some officer walking near me,

"Did you hear," She was saying, "Apparently, Teal'c, Colonel O'Neill Dr Jackson and Pete Shanahan had this HUGE fight the other day..."

I stopped in my tracks. This was news to me. Before i could say anything though, they had gone, disappearing around a corner. Frowning, i ran to catch up to them.

"Hey!" I called after them. "Hey, wait!" She turned around, and looked surprised.

"Colonel?"

"Hey," I stopped to catch my breath. "I heard what you were saying before..." The officer gulped.

"Did.. did you? Umm..." She stuttered. I glared.

"No, it is not true. Who told you that anyway?" She shrugged.

"Umm, i got it from (inserts random name) Captain Anderson..." She said nervously. I scowled at her and said,

"Of course you did." Before walking away to find this 'Captain Anderson.'

In fact, i found him quite by accident. I had given up after five minutes of searching, and was heading towards Daniel's office to ask whether he'd heard the rumours, when i over heard another group of officers gossiping.

"Well i heard..." One of them was saying, "That Daniel's actually jealous of Colonel O'Neill. And that he's been telling Major Carter things about the Colonel and Pete to make her dislike them..." I couldn't help it, i snorted. Really loudly. The officer who was talking almost jumped out of his skin, before turning around to face me.

"C..c...c...colonel...O'Neill...heh.. umm... hi..." He stammered, involuntarily backing away. I adopted a threatening stance.

"You would be... Captain Anderson?" I asked evilly. He nodded, then shook his head, then nodded again, before taking another step backwards. "Well, i was wondering, where did you heard that particular piece of gossip from?" I asked pleasantly. He shrugged.

"I umm.. i heard it from a friend of a friend, who heard it from Sgt Davis..." He trailed off.

"Sgt Davis, eh..." I said, frowning. "And do you know where HE got it from?" The unfortunate officer shook his head.

"No. He only said something about a "major source" but he wouldn't say who. In fact, i dont think anyone knows."

"I see." I replied. "Hmm... that will be all, Captain. Continue gossiping at will." He stammered an apology and then ran off, noticing that his companions had mysteriously disappeared.

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I found Walter Davis at his usual spot, in the control room, and stood menacingly behind him for a few minutes. Since he didn't notice, i leaned in closer. Grabbing something from on top of a computer, he turned around to find himself face to face with me and screamed, falling back onto the keyboard.

"Hello, Davis." I smirked. He stared at me, horrified, and straightened his glasses.

"Colonel!" He said nervously, eyes darting for a quick escape.

"DAVIS!" I bark. "What rumors about me and a certain major have you heard? TALK, NOW!" Sgt Davis tried to look innocent.

"Rumors, sir?"

"YES RUMORS!" I yelled, grabbing his cup of steaming coffee and holding it dangerously above his head. He gulped.

"Umm.. well, i might've heard something about a fight in a bar, involving you and Pete Shanahan..." I raised an eyebrow, looking not unlike Teal'c.

"A WHAT! But... why?"

"Well sir.. ah.. Daniel was jealous of you, and told Pete about your... disease... and ah... yes." I sighed, and handed him his coffee. He gulped it down quickly, spilling half of it on his shirt.

"Can i go now sir?" He asked.

"One more thing..." I replied offhandedly. "Who's this 'Major source' that has been telling you these terrible, terrible lies?" David opened his mouth, and then shut it again, and then opened it to drink more coffee. I waited patiently. Finally he shook his head.

"Cant tell you." He sputtered. I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him toward me.

"Yes you can. And that's an ORDER." He looked pleadingly at me for a few seconds, before sighing, and muttering,

"dffghfrfffaissfghgher."

"What was that?" I asked.

He whispered the name, so softly that i had to lean in even further to hear him. When i did, i stared grimly at him, before letting him go, and leaving the room in a moderate, controlled walk. I continued to walk calmly across some certain corridors, into a certain infirmary, and up to the door of a certain office of a certain person. Where i knocked on the door. That certain person opened the door, saw me, and smiled.

"Why, hello Colonel! What can i do for you? Is it your eye?" There it was. The angelic face, welcoming smile, friendly stance... you could almost see her brain ticking, devising another evil scheme... her intelligent eyes sparkling with malice.

"Hello Dr." I said evenly, eyeing her warily. She smiled brightly.

"Well, just come inside and then we can talk." She said, standing aside so i could walk through, closing the door behind me. She offered me a seat, and then sat down her herself, folding her arms in her lap. "What's the problem, sir?" I also folded my arms in my lap, and gave her one of my worst glares.

"There are... rumors, circulating around the base." I started, "And they all point back to you." She didn't even stop smiling.

"Do they?" She asked politely.

"For crying out loud!" I cried, suddenly exasperated. "Everyone is talking a whole load of crap about me, and apparently, you're their "major source" or something. Come on. Own up."

She just kept on smiling.

"Please?" I pleaded. "If it WAS you who made up all that stuff..."

"Me?" She said innocently. "Oh no, it wasn't me. I'm not actually the "major source," I'm just the reporter. I was given information, and i spread it." I stared.

"But if you're NOT the one who came up with all this stuff... then WHO DID!" I asked, confused. Janet grinned wickedly.

"And now that would be a betrayal of trust." She crossed her arms smugly.

"AAARRGHGH!" I almost screamed, tearing at my hair. "I CANT STAND THIS! I CANT STAND IT ANY LONGER! IT'S NOT FAIR!" Janet had the decency to look sorry for me.

"I can give you a sedative if you want sir." She suggested. I glared.

"No, THANKYOU. I just... WANT to know... WHO, or WHAT, started these rumors." There was a silence. She was considering something.

"Well..." She said carefully, "I could tell you...for a price that is." I frowned.

"What sort of price?" Instantly she had a pen and notebook in hand, seemingly appearing out of no where.

"How do you feel about all this sir?" She asked, sucking on the end of her pen. I sighed...and sighed again.

"Confused." I started. "Definitely confused. And embarrassed. And annoyed. And angry. And...confused."

"What about?" She said, scribbling furiously.

"Well...Carter." I admitted. Feeling completely, and utterly, foolish.

"What about Sam?"

"I dont know... it's just... i keep saying things that... that i'd never say in a million years... but that i'd...like to say... you know?" There was a pause while Janet wrote this all down. After a few minutes i realised that she'd stopped, and was looking at me thoughtfully. "Is that enough?" I asked. "Because that's all you're getting." She looked slightly disappointed.

"Well, i guess that'll do." Standing up, she walked over to me and handed me a folded piece of paper.

"Is that it?" I asked.

"Uh huh. That's the name you need." With trembling hands, i opened the paper. And stared.

"Oh...my...god."

"That's it."

"Are you sure?" I asked, thinking there'd been a mistake.

"Yes." She replied. "That's who i got the rumors from." I shook my head.

"It... it cant be! Dammit... where is she now?"

"She went home." Janet said, surprised. "Didn't you know? I think she felt guilty about hitting you."

"Hmm." I said, biting my lip. This was NOT what i'd suspected. In fact, this was the LAST think I'd suspected. Slowly, I thanked Janet and walked out of the infirmary, still staring at the piece of paper. Written on it was a sole name. A name that i knew, all too well. A name that i'd been thinking about far too much lately...

"Sam Carter."

Sam Carter

He'd turned up at my house at 0700 hours, looking very grim. I must say i was surprised to see him, considering i'd gone home early to HIDE From him. He knocked on the door twice before i answered and let him in, and stood in my living room with his hands shoved in his pockets.

"Ummm... is there something wrong sir?" I asked nervously... thinking that maybe he'd come to tell me that he hated me or something, or even worse, that he was going to press charges. I stared at the ground miserably.

"Carter, you have done a terrible, horrible thing." He said gravely, also staring at the floor. I gulped, wondering if there was any way I could disappear.

"I'm... sorry... about your eye sir..." I said lamely, shuffling uncomfortably. He looked surprised.

"Oh, it's not about that. I don't care about that." Now it was my turn to look surprised.

"Then... what?" He took a deep breath.

"Is it true you started rumors about me?" I burst out laughing, i couldn't help it. The look on his face was so priceless. He frowned, puzzled.

"What's so funny!" He exclaimed.

"You!" I replied. "It was only a bit of fun! Like Daniel's betting... i had to find some way to amuse myself." He folded his arms and pouted.

"Well I don't find it amusing." He said haughtily. I shook my head.

"If it makes you feel any better sir, they're talking about me too. I accidentally let slip something when i was talking to Janet.. and she felt it was her duty to inform the whole base." The colonel laughed with me.

"I think you and i need to find some way to get back at her for this." He suggested, his eyes twinkling.

"I think we do too." I agreed. We both laughed again, and then sighed, and then stopped. There was an all too familiar awkward silence.

"Umm, i should probably go then." He said, shrugging.

"Yeah." I replied, and we walked to the door. "Goodnight sir." I said.

"Goodnight." He whispered, and then i was in his arms, and he was kissing me, but this time it felt somehow different. He gathered me up in his arms and kissed me so passionately and tenderly that could barely breathe. A hand snaked up my back and into my hair, sending shivers down my spine. Something in the back of my mind told me that i shouldn't be doing this, and i went to push him away, but found that i didn't want too. I might as well make the most of it I reasoned, and kissed him back just as passionately. Strange sensations passed through my body. I wanted to be like this forever, in his arms, he was holding me, he cared about me, this was all i ever wanted. This was all there was, a dream fulfilled, my hearts desire...

But then he stopped, and let go of me, stepping backwards, a strange look on his face.

"Well, that wasn't quite so humiliating." He said, with a slight smile. I shook my head, speechless, and could only stare at him. Without another word he slipped out the door and shut it behind him, leaving me standing there, mind buzzing, heart racing, impossibly confused...

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Suddenly i'm startled out of my thoughts by a shout. "That's it!" Daniel cries, "There's the city!" I look over at the Colonel, who is staring off into the distance, apparently lost in his thoughts as well.

"We're here sir." I inform him.

"Eh?" he says, looking startled.

"I said, we're here!"

"And it's about time." He grumbles