A/N: Sorry for the delay. I have four words to explain it: "twin toddlers" and "stomach flu." Even my muse couldn't stay romantic in the face of THAT upheaval. (And yes, pun FULLY intended.)

Am I done with this story? Oh, surely you jest! You're talking about ME – you know, the long-winded author of the 28-chapter, 81,000-word "Reap What is Sown." Besides which, there hasn't been a DROP of angst in this story yet, and you all know how much I LOVE angst! (Evil "mwah-ah-ah" laugh…)

"Shameless plug" alert: Please go to the Sam-Jack fanfiction awards page and vote. If nothing else, the ballot is a WONDERFUL list of some fantastic Sam-Jack fanfiction, most of which can be found here at (And, of course, if you'd happen to vote for "Reap," under the "Best Romance" category, well, that'd be nice, too…) Please, however, do make an effort to vote in several categories. There are some fantastic authors on those pages, so it's definitely worth your time to check into it. If you want to find the site, go to my author summary and click on my homepage link. I have a link to the Sam-Jack Fanfiction award site on my "links" page.

Anyway, back to the story…

Chapter 10

Sam blinked up at the dimly illuminated ceiling of the tiny tent. In spite of her usually well-organized thought processes, her brain was currently a muddled tangle of emotions. While there was far too much going on to absorb it in one giant lump, every time she'd try to process one of the zillion thoughts in her head, another one would spring up and interrupt her mid-stream. It was hopeless.

The large, warm mass beside her continued to snore quietly. Sam couldn't help smiling at the contentment she felt laying there beside him. At the same time, however, she was acutely aware of the giant wall of anxiety and terror that was just waiting to fall on her head at any moment. When they returned to the SGC, she knew things would change. Either they'd have to bury their feelings and live with the pain of that decision, or they'd have to come forward and admit their relationship to the Air Force and face the consequences. Neither option was particularly appealing, and Sam was not looking forward to settling the issue.

Sighing, she decided that the best thing to do right now was to put it out of her head. She refused to ruin these incredibly precious moments with thoughts of a sad future. It would come soon enough. In the meantime, she would just enjoy the present.

With that in mind, Sam leaned over to the man beside her and whispered in his ear. "I'm going to go check the seismometers. Be right back."

Though his eyes never opened, the snoring stopped immediately. "Are you gonna be naked when you check them? Because if you are, I'll be happy to supervise you."

Sam grinned. "As much fun as it might be to run around an alien planet full of unknown dangers in my birthday suit, I thought I might get dressed first."

"Fine," he said with a decided pout in his voice. "Have it your way. But I think you'd get much more accurate readings if you were naked. No clothes to confuse the sensors."

Sam laughed out loud at his assessment. "Jack, I might take your suggestion to heart if I thought you had any idea what the sensors were actually sensing."

"Well, that's easy…" A lengthy pause ensued, where Jack was obviously struggling with an answer. Finally, he opened his eyes and spoke, sounding very authoritative. "Data. Your sensors are sensing scientific data."

Amused, she looked down at his rugged face and smirked. "And they'd be more accurate if I was naked?"

"Absolutely." His response was immediate and enthusiastic.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to live with the inaccuracy, because I'm not running around out there naked."

Jack's deep brown eyes slowly perused her features. His gaze was soft and lethargic, lacking its usual intensity. Letting the humor of the moment fade, he studied her carefully. "How are you, Sam?"

Sensing the shift in his mood, she took a deep breath. Honestly, she wasn't sure just how to answer that. On one level, she was fantastic – better than she'd ever been. Nothing could compare to the experience of being held in his secure embrace. On the other hand, however, she'd never felt more heartbroken. They were living out-of-time, and they both knew it. The crash at the end of this flight was going to be cataclysmic.

Jack saw the array of emotions flicker over her features as she struggled to put her thoughts into words. Unwilling to watch her discomfort, he reached up and brushed a hand along her cheek. "Me, too," he whispered.

Their eyes locked, and Sam felt tears rise in her throat. With one look, she felt his complete and total understanding. He really did feel the same things she was experiencing. It was both comforting and humbling to realize that she could share such a deep bond with him. There was no need for words. He just knew.

Swallowing, she blinked rapidly and reached for her cast-off clothing. "This will only take a minute," she said softly. "I just want to see how the volcano is doing."

Jack watched her dress in silence. He wished there was something he could do to make this easier for both of them, but he was completely at a loss. Oddly enough, in spite of recent events, the need for that 'pizza and beer' conversation had not diminished. If anything, it was more pressing than it had been originally. When Sam wordlessly opened the zipper to leave the tent, he had to bite his tongue to keep from calling her back. After all, what could he possibly say?

Once outside the tent, Sam made quick work of checking the sensors. One half of her brain gathered the scientific data on autopilot, while the other half wrestled with the deep emotional dilemma of her relationship with her CO.

On the surface, none of this should have surprised her very much. After all, they'd been wrestling with the attraction for years. When the zatarc testing finally brought all those forbidden feelings to the surface, it opened new doors inside both of them. She really should have expected this seemingly inevitable release of emotions.

In spite of that, she was completely taken off-guard by this whole trip. Perhaps their attraction had been brewing for years, but their unflinching dedication to the SGC and the Air Force weren't just excuses. They both believed in their cause – believed in it enough to endlessly risk their lives for it. Which is why she'd had no time to brace for impact when the full force of their emotions had come crashing down. She'd just assumed that this time would be like every other time they'd been confronted with their attraction. She had analyzed the situation and had wagered that they wouldn't cross 'the line.'

And, of course, she'd been dead wrong.

As she continued examining the seismograms, she felt a niggling sense of unease creep over her. Something wasn't right.

Why had she given in to her feelings for Jack? What was so different about this trip that made them both abandon years of protocol for an impossible fling that was only going to end in disaster?

Apprehension welled up inside her like a rising tide. She paused, fiddling with the paper strip on her remote seismic receiver. Her soldier's sense was telling her that something was amiss. That intuition had saved her life on enough occasions that she wasn't going to dismiss it now.

What, exactly, was bothering her? She recognized that her abandonment of military protocol with Jack was part of the issue, but not all of it. Was she worried that something sinister had contributed to her lapse in willpower?

That was just crazy. It would be handy to blame her recent actions on a reaction to an alien germ or plant, but honestly, she knew without a doubt that she'd chosen this path with a clear mind. Sam snorted at her overactive imagination – drugged by alien herbs? C'mon, Carter. Get real.

No, she acknowledged, there was something else making her uneasy. And she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Just then, the zipper to their tent opened. Stretching leisurely, Jack pushed aside the flap and slowly got to his feet. As he stood there, gazing into the distance, Sam was overwhelmed by the picture he presented. Silver hair glinting in the late afternoon sun, he stared at the smoking mountain with the eyes of a hawk. Wearing only a rumpled pair of camouflage pants, his lean body still managed to radiate deadly alertness. Scars of various shapes and sizes peppered his chest and shoulders, emphasizing his rugged good looks.

And as she knelt there beside her instruments, Sam suddenly was struck by two enormously powerful revelations. It was an epiphany that nearly knocked her over with its implications.

Jack turned from his examination of the volcano just in time to see his second-in-command grow white as a sheet. "Sam?" he asked uncertainly.

She continued to stare at him with a sickeningly shocked expression on her face. "Sir, I just realized something."

At that, his eyebrows shot up. She must be upset. She'd just called him 'sir.' "What's the matter, Carter?"

Swallowing, she didn't even register their return to military protocol. "My seismographs." She gestured to the equipment before her. "They're still collecting information."

Jack looked puzzled. "Isn't that what they're supposed to do?"

She nodded, still visibly rattled. "Yes. And no." Seeing his complete confusion, she continued automatically. "The seismographs were on the same side of the mountain as the SGC's remote radio transmitter. If the transmitter was knocked out, the seismographs shouldn't be working either."

Jack absorbed the information, but failed to see its significance. "Okay…" he said, clearly waiting for her to elaborate.

She didn't disappoint him. "Daniel's conversation with us was interrupted when the volcano blew. We assumed it was from the destruction of the transmitter." Looking him in the eye, she spoke faintly. "I think we were wrong, sir. I don't think the transmitter was destroyed."

Her words finally began to sink in. "If it wasn't the transmitter which caused our break in communications then it had to be…" he trailed off, meeting her gaze with sudden realization.

"The gate." She finished his sentence with grim certainty. "It was in the direct path of the blast."

Jack sank to a sitting position, clearly blown away by her analysis. "Well, that's…" he couldn't find any words to cover the situation. Then, snapping back into 'soldier mode,' he glanced back at the volcano. "How long before we can go over there and assess the damage?"

Gathering her scattered wits, Sam tried to think clearly. "Weeks, at least. Perhaps longer if there are significant fires."

Sighing impatiently, Jack shook his head. "Well, then, I guess it's a good thing they sent us extra supplies."

Sam nodded, still a bit woozy over her discoveries.

Suddenly, Jack turned to her, grinning impishly. "Well, thanks to Daniel, we've got plenty of ways to pass the time."

Sam couldn't repress a smile at his eager expression. Still, there was something else weighing on her mind; something she hadn't told him.

That epiphany she'd experienced moments ago had been a two-parter. One half, of course, was the realization that the gate was likely damaged or destroyed. But that hadn't been the only shock she'd gotten.

The second half of her revelation was far more personal, and perhaps even more earth-shattering than the first. She'd finally realized why she'd given in to her attraction to Jack.

As if hearing her thoughts, the object of her musings cocked his head to the side with concern. "Is there something else wrong, Sam? Because, even if the gate is a pile of ashes, the SGC does know where we are. Someone is bound to come for us eventually." He crawled the few feet that separated them and pulled her up against his side.

Sam nodded, trying to look reassured. "You're right. I'll be fine." She rested her head on his shoulder and breathed deeply. She couldn't tell him the rest of what was bothering her. It would make everything a bigger mess than it already was.

"You sure?" He didn't sound convinced.

"I'm sure. I just need a minute to absorb all this." She looked up at him and smiled at the tender concern in his eyes.

Silently, she wrestled with her emotions. She would be all right. She just needed to figure out how to cope with the loss of the gate. And with their sudden isolation. And with her latest revelation.

Because, unknown to Jack, the facts were simple. She'd fallen into his arms for one reason, and one reason only. In spite of her best attempts to prevent it, Sam now knew that she was hopelessly, utterly, undeniably in love with him.

And that was a disaster she had no idea how to fix.