Title: The Wisdom of Youth

a/n: Sorry for the delay, I was out of town and very busy over the weekend, even though I did take my laptop with me, I have a tendency to get carsick when I write while driving…Oh, and it's been decided that this will actually take place during season 5 due to the fact that Teal'c still has Junior (thank you Spacemonkey67 for reminding me!) and I don't want to deal with the whole Pete thing. Oh, and Nyrocat…Good idea! Let's see what I do with that, shall we? Anyway, on we go!

Chapter 4: Uh-Huh

Teal'c and Cassie arrived home shortly after Sam, Daniel, and Jack had moved the furniture around in the living room and unrolled enough sleeping bags for them all. Jack had discreetly placed his next to Sam's, pretending it was only because their spots were the only ones left. He of course realized this could be a bad idea, but his impulsiveness won over in the end. Nothing bad could happen, right?

Cassie's arms were laden with groceries and a bag with movies inside, and Teal'c was carrying cases of beer and soda.

"What movies didja get?" Jack took the bag from Cassie, nearly upsetting the balance of her load and causing her to nearly drop everything before Teal'c swiftly put down his cases and steadied her.

"Gee, thanks for the help, Jack!" Cassie admonished once she'd set down the bags. Teal'c leveled his gaze at Jack; a lesser man would have paled under his scrutiny, but Jack had seen it several times, (including when he tried to eat Teal'c's ice cream), and knew that no bodily harm would come to him. Jack felt secure in this notion until he remembered the whole "Jaffa revenge thing" and suddenly realized how glad he was that his sleeping bag was between Cassie and Sam's.

"These are all chick movies!" Jack said after he'd dumped all of the videos out on the coffee table that had been scooted up against the wall. Daniel came over to inspect, as did Sam.

"Is there something wrong with my selection of videos, O'Neill?" The large Jaffa regarded him with one brow raised accusingly from across the room, and Jack noticed Cassie snickering behind him, one hand over her mouth in her attempt to conceal her smirk.

"Uh…no, T…" Jack swallowed, suddenly fearful that his earlier assumption about no bodily harm coming to him was completely and utterly incorrect…

"Oh I love thismovie!" Carter squealed, inadvertently saving Jack from Teal'c's menacing stare as she grabbed a DVD entitled Fools Rush In. Jack rolled his eyes at her girly outburst, but smiled in spite of himself. Selma Hayek was pretty hot, after all. "I like the soundtrack to this, too," Sam said somewhat sheepishly when she realized her two male companions were regarding her with unguarded amusement.

"Uh, o…kay…" Daniel shook his head, eyebrows raised, wondering at her sanity. "Anyway, I'm starving!" He crossed the room in three quick strides, grabbed the pizza boxes from the table, and set them on the floor next to his designated spot on the floor. He then proceeded to plop himself down on his sleeping bag and grab a piece of pepperoni, taking a huge bite out of it. Daniel looked around and saw all eyes were on him. "Anyone else gonna have any pizza?" He grinned, the pizza sauce on the corners of his mouth and his glasses perched on the tip of his nose comical. Jack, Sam, and Cassie burst out laughing, Teal'c merely grinned in his amusement.

"Yea, sure Danny-boy." Jack managed to get out between chuckles and grabbed a case of beer. He sat down on his sleeping bag and handed a bottle to Daniel. After a few minutes, drinks and pizza passed out, and Fools Rush In in the DVD player and on the television screen, Jack leaned himself up against the foot of the couch, his legs stretched out in front of him, as he surveyed the rest of the group.

Sam laid herself out on her stomach, her chin resting in her hands and her feet sticking up behind her, crossed at the ankles and waving about in the air. Cassie had taken up a similar position, chewing on her pizza absently in between the moments when she was talking with Daniel. If he didn't know any better, he might have thought they were conspiring…They kept tossing glances back at him and Sam. Daniel was sitting cross-legged and sipping on his beer, constantly having to push his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose as his glasses were too big for his younger face. Teal'c was in his kel-no-reem position, though his eyes were open and there weren't any candles. O'Neill surmised that Teal'c was the only one who was really paying attention to the movie…well, besides Carter that is.

Her gaze hadn't left the screen, and she smiled or giggled at all the appropriate funny parts of the movie, obviously held in rapt attention. A small smile crept onto his face as he watched her, oblivious to his attentions. She has the cutest feet… Jack shook his head. Oui, O'Neill, seriously... CUTE? Well, it's not like she could help it if her feet were cute. After their close encounter earlier, Jack felt like he was losing control. What is wrong me? He crossed his arms over his chest, silently shaking his head at himself. She seemed more irresistible than ever, and Jack couldn't work out why. Sure, she was a cute girl in her current state, but as a woman she was beautiful. Her startling blue eyes would always be captivating, no matter how old she became. Speaking of her startling blue eyes…

They startled Jack right out of his musings. It was now his turn to have the deer-in-the-headlights look. He grinned sheepishly at her, and she flashed her brilliant smile at him in response. Once again, Jack's insides did a flip-flop. Ho, boy. He did the only thing a man could do in a situation like that.

Run.

Jack shifted his feet underneath him and stood up abruptly. It was now Sam who looked startled. Without looking at her, he turned and left the room, mumbling something about how he needed to go to the bathroom. Did I do something wrong? Sam thought nervously to herself. Suddenly the movie didn't seem quite so intriguing now that she had other worries on her mind. She got up herself and followed Jack.

She walked down the hall and saw that the bathroom door was open. Upon closer inspection, it became obvious that there was no one using it. She checked the guest rooms and his bedroom, still finding no sign of Jack. "Hmm…" The wheels in her head turning, she decided the only other place he could be would be outside. The sliding glass door in his bedroom led out to the deck, so Sam slid it open quietly and stepped outside. She saw a ladder off to her right, and after glancing around to check if he was on the deck or out in the yard, she shivered. The snow on the ground glistened under the clear, moonlit sky. She sighed, her breath puffing out in front of her. She hugged her arms around her and made a move to go back inside.

"Hey," a familiar voice came from above. She looked up and saw a young man perched at the top of the ladder, his brown eyes dark and shining as he regarded her in the moonlight. "What are you doing out here, Carter?"

"Well," Sam shivered again. "I-I c-came out-t here l-look-king for you…" Her teeth were chattering uncontrollably. In one smooth motion, Jack slid down the ladder with legs braced on the sides and landed near her, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

"C'mere," he said, putting an arm around her shoulders and draping the blanket around her in the process.

"T-thanks…" She was still shivering, but she couldn't tell if it was from the cold anymore or not.

"No problem," Jack replied, his tone quiet and gentle as he shoved his other hand in his pocket. He felt her arm tentatively wrap around his waist under the blanket. She felt him tense.

"You okay, sir?" She looked up at him.

"Mmm…" Jack responded.

"What were you doing out here, anyway?"

"Stargazing."

"Ah." She looked back down at her feet, at a loss for words. Despite the cold, she felt her cheeks grow warm.

"So…Wanna come see?"

"See, sir?"

"My telescope!" He waved to the ladder like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh! Um…Sure!"

"After you!" He grinned as he put the rest of the blanket around her and gave her a gentle push in the direction of the ladder. After steadying the ladder for her and having a quick flashblack to earlier with the attic incident (which he promptly pushed from his mind), he followed her up and directed her to the lawn chair he had set up in front of his telescope. "Look, the craters on the moon's craters are really showing up tonight," he said as she looked through the viewer. He put both arms on either side of her to adjust the telescope so he could show her something else. "And Mons Agnes is really visible tonight, too." He realized too late that his chin was almost resting on her shoulder as she looked through the viewer again. Her smell overtook him, a mix between lavender and spice. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

"Sir, I…?" He opened his eyes quickly and moved so he could look her square on.

"Sam," he said firmly. "No more of that 'sir' business. Call me Jack." Her eyes widened slightly.

"But…I thought…" What about "keeping it in the room"?

"Sam." I don't care about that right now.

"O..Okay…Jack," she whispered. "So…" What do we do now?

"Yeah…" You got me…I'm just playing this by ear.

"Jack, I…" She leaned in just a little closer, her pulse racing. He stared back at her, relishing the way his name rolled off her tongue.

"Yeah?" He took her cue and leaned in a little closer as well, his breath leaving him. Suddenly nothing mattered, the cold, the little voice in the back of his mind telling him to stop… Screw the regs…

"I…" She closed her eyes and parted her lips, waiting for it. He shifted so he could close the distance…

"Sam? Jack?" Daniel yelled from below. "You guys out here." Sam sighed in frustration and Jack immediately pulled away, a scowl on his face.

"Ohfercryinoutloud, Spacemonkey!" He growled. "His timing is horrible no matter how old he is!" He looked over the railing and saw Daniel looking out to the yard. "Daniel, we're up here! We'll be down in a second." He turned away from Daniel's questioning gaze to look into Sam's sad one. They stood there for several moments, the unfulfilled longing in their eyes. Finally, Jack climbed down the ladder angrily, Sam following close behind.

"Whatcha doin', guys?" Daniel feigned innocence.

"Stargazing," Sam said simply. "What are you doing?"

"Just wondering what happened to you two…" He regarded them owlishly over the rim of his glasses. "I didn't…interrupt anything, did I?"

"Like the lady said," Jack said forcefully. "Stargazing." He turned on his heel and stalked back into the house, Sam close on his heels, leaving a bewildered and suspicious Daniel on the deck.

"Uh-huh."

a/n: Hehehe…so close…yet so far! What did you think? Keep those wonderful reviews coming!