The next couple of part was going to be part ofone huge chapter composed of vignettes dealing with Sam and Jack adjusting to their new life in Hawaii, but I figured I'd post the vignettes seperately so you get quicker, but smaller updates.

Road to Nowhere

Part 22 A

It didn't take Jack long to realize that Sam Tesla was just as much a workaholic as Sam Carter. In the week since moving into their new home Sam had barely ventured forth from her 'evil lair'. She was writing a book on wormhole physics which he had no problem with. He knew she had been wanting to get around to it for some time. He understood that she needed to keep her genius brain stimulated to be happy. What he didn't understand is why she needed to work on it 19 hours a day. It wasn't like she needed to put in those kinds of hours because she was still in the business of saving the world everyday or finding a way to rescue his ass from whatever planet he managed to get stranded on.

It didn't take Sam long to realize that Jack couldn't order her to stop working anymore. It was one of the few moments that he missed the rank that had kept them apart. Jack tried wheedling, cajoling, bribery, and even dragging her into an argument. Nothing worked she just ignored him. He tried withholding food, but she didn't seem to notice and Jack felt bad after a while and relented.

The one thing in his bag of tricks that seemed to work was seduction. She always responded to that. It might take a while for Sam to find him more interesting than her equations, but Jack liked a challenge. She always reacted eventually and passionately. Jack had the nasty suspicion that she had figured out his ruse and made it a point to wear him out. He hated those moments after he woke up expecting to have the woman of his dreams beside him but, only to find a empty bed. He quite frankly didn't know where she found all the energy and knew she was crash sooner or later. Or give him a heart attack.

Jack stood in the threshold of Sam's 'evil lair'. Same was scribbling franticly on the dry erase board covering one wall. Her hands and fore arms were covered in the powdery ink of the markers. She'd obviously lost her eraser again. Jack heaved a weary sigh and looked at the kitten tucked in his arms, "Well, Thor, buddy, I think it's time to call reinforcements."

"Mreow."

The four men stood in the door way and watched in puzzlement as Sam typed at a maddening pace on her keyboard, glancing over at her notes every now and again.

"What's she doing?" Thomas asked.

"Writing a book on wormhole physics," Jack responded.

"Oh," the three other men said in unison, nodding sagely.

They studied Sam for a bit longer.

"What is 'wormhole physics'?" Rick asked looking perplexed.

Jack shrugged, "Physics about wormholes."

"Ah." Three more heads nodding.

Jack smirked. They had no clue.

"Does she have worms in there?" TC asked.

Jack turned and looked at the other man. He looked more than a little creeped out about the thought of dealing with worms. "Nah, it's all theoretical."

"Good." Yes, that definitely was a sigh of relief.

Jack turned his attention back to the woman completely oblivious to their presence. "Sam." No response. Not that he expected one. "CARTER!" He barked in his best Colonel O'Neill voice and was please to see her jump a little.

"I'm busy."

"Well, I tried," Jack muttered. "Okay, boys. You know what to do."

The four men strode into the room. Jack and Thomas grabbed her chair and attempted to pull her away from the computer. "What the hell do you think you're doing!" She clung frantically to her keyboard, but they had a firm hold on her and the keyboard was jerked out of it's socket. Sam threw the keyboard at Jack. She missed which told Jack how worn out she was. TC and Rick who had been saving her work and shutting down the computers came to stand by Jack and Thomas who had her backed into a corner.

Sam glared at the men surrounding her, "What is wrong with you people?"

Jack was mildly impressed that none of their friends seemed the least bit intimidated. Sam could be pretty scary when she was angry and, boy, was she angry.

"Nothing's wrong with us," Jack told her. "You're the problem. You need to relax."

"You need to leave me the hell alone! You can't order me around anymore, Jack!"

"I'm not ordering you around, Sam. This is polite request from your friends to join us for night out."

"I'm busy!"

"You were busy. Your calendar's been cleared. You're going out with us whether you like it or not. So get off your ass and put on something respectable. You've got thirty minutes."

"Or what?" she demanded defiantly.

"Or were going to drag you out of that chair and do it for you."

Sam met Jack's eye and glared at him. She looked over at the other men and realized they had no qualms about doing what said. She knew he had won.

"Why am I carrying you again?"

"You got me drunk."

"Oh, right. Silly me," Jack dumped Sam on the bed and Thor jumped up to investigate.

Jack sat on the edge of the bed. His knees bad been just short of giving out. Sam had flopped over on her stomach and was petting Thor a little harsher than was normal. He was trying to get away from her but, she kept dragging him back, "Where're you goin', my little sugar man?"

Jack nearly choked on his own laughter. Sam was a pretty funny drunk. "Hey, I thought I was your 'sugar man'," he objected.

"You're a royal pain in the ass. Thor's my sweet little sugar man." Sam tried to give the squirming kitten a big kiss just to prove her point but he managed to escape her grasp. Sam groaned and nearly rolled off the bed. "I don' feel so good."

Sam opened her eyes with a groan. Thankfully the curtains were drawn over the sliding glass doors.

"Sleeping beauty awakens," said an unnaturally cheery voice beside her.

Sam rolled over to face her companion. "That is the last time I ever drink anything out of a coconut." Sam groaned again and began recalling the events of the previous evening. "I should be pissed at you. You got me drunk."

"I had help."

"I hate you."

"I know." Jack reached over to the nightstand and then handed her a couple of Tylenol and a glass of water.

Sam washed the pills down and collapsed back on her pillow. "Why'd you do that?"

"You needed to relax." She glared at him. He knew she hated people telling her that. "Look, Sam, I know this is hard for you, but you've to learn that you're not at the SGC anymore. It's not necessary for you to throw yourself into your work like that."

"It's what I do."

"It was what you did. That isn't your life anymore." She looked like she was on the verge of tears. He hated to see that look. "And I feel like a bastard for taking the life you love away from you, but I prefer to have you living. We can't go back, Sam. We have to move forward, build a new life."

"I know, Jack," she said quietly. "I just don't know what to do. I've spent my whole adult life working like that. Science is my life."

"No one says you can't have your science. Write your book. Write a hundred, but just don't push yourself so hard. It's not like you have a deadline. Live a little."

She reached up to caress his cheek, smiling slightly, "And don't ignore you?"

"It's not about me, Sam. Though I gotta say I don't enjoy waking up in the middle of the night to find you've abandoned me for… antimatter. I just worry about you. I know how hard this is hard for you, Sam."

She knew he was right but she had operated for so long like this, she didn't know any other way. "So what do you suggest?"

"I know this is kinda revolutionary, but how 'bout an average work day 9 to 5. Weekends off to work on your tan."

"I don't tan. I burn."

"You live in Hawaii now. You'll tan."

"What's you're scientific basis?"

"It's Hawaii."

TBC