Jack woke in the darkness of the cargo hold, lit only by the green glow of the emergency lights left on at night. He was instantly assaulted by pain. Between the bump on the back of his head and the stabbing catch of his bruised ribs, he hurt everywhere. A dull ache in his stomach reminded him that it had been a long time since he had last eaten.
With difficulty Jack sat up slowly, gingerly touching the back of his head and wincing in pain as he breathed. A momentary panic born of disorientation shot through him.
"Sam?" Jack called hoarsely.
"Right here," Sam answered immediately, though his voice had awoken her from a deep slumber.
She stumbled to her knees and was at his side in one floppy movement.
"How do you feel?"
"I've been better. Is there water?"
"Sure, just a minute."
Sam stretched and stood up, trying to get her bearings in the dim hold.
By the time Sam returned with water and food, Jack was up on his feet, walking around slowly and testing his limitations.
Sam placed the meal on the floor near the makeshift bed and watched him sharply, ready to come to his aid if he faltered.
"Come sit down, Jack," Sam urged and motioned towards the plate and canteen.
As he eased himself back down on his bedroll, Sam slipped her arm under his to lend support. Finally seated again, he let out his breath with a hiss.
"I don't think I'll be doing that again for a little while." Jack's face was pinched with pain.
"Drink," Sam ordered as she opened the canteen. Jack took it from her and drank deeply. She handed him some pain medication as well.
"Now eat," she went on.
"Is this from that big one that fell on me?" Jack asked as he chewed the cold meat with a vengeance. Sam just smiled and shrugged her shoulders, glad to see him finally eating.
When he finished she took the empty plate and canteen and put them behind her, noting with satisfaction that Jack looked much more at ease.
"You should lie back down; it's a while yet 'til morning," Sam suggested with a hand on his shoulder.
"I've been lying down too long. Sit up with me a while?"
Sam nodded and gently settled down next to him.
"Was Jacob here earlier?"
"Yes. We sat here with you until you regained consciousness. Dad's returning to the Tok'Ra base in the morning."
Jack's face grew serious and a little melancholy. He reached over and touched the back of her hand.
"You'd be better off going with him, Sam," Jack said.
"Well, that's not an option for me. Beta is my home now."
"You know I don't want you to leave, but even with help from our allies this has been a rough existence. And it's going to get worse before it gets better."
"We could all leave and spread out among the planets of our allies. But we'd lose ourselves, Jack. Without the Beta colony Earth would be gone for good. I'm not letting that go; I'm not leaving Beta."
Sam teared up as she pictured Earth again in her mind, still unable to grasp that she would never see it again.
Jack's arm circled around her waist and he drew her closer to his side, his eyes tender as he watched her face. She wrapped her arms around him lightly, mindful of his painfully bruised body.
"What do you miss the most?" Sam asked wistfully.
"My truck," Jack responded without a second's hesitation.
Sam chuckled at the image of Jack driving his truck around Beta.
"How about you?"
"Chocolate."
"Ah."
Jack grinned to himself, having on many occasions seen evidence of Sam's love affair with all things chocolate.
Jack settled against the back wall of the cargo hold, pulling Sam into a slouch alongwith him.
"What's your favorite chocolate dessert?" Jack asked next.
Sam's eyes closed dreamily as her imagination took over.
"I have more than one favorite, actually."
"Go figure."
"My favorite of all favorites is chocolate chunk cheesecake. And I love, love, love hot fudge Sundaes when the fudge is really hot and gooey. And I wish I could have a big piece of my aunt's Chocolate Tornado Drizzle Cake."
"My favorite dessert is pumpkin pie. Pumpkin's best, but any pie will do."
"I thought cake was your favorite dessert."
"Oh. Well, I have a lot of favorites. Desserts, I mean."
"Okay, my turn to ask a question," Sam said.
"Which place do you miss the most?"
"That's easy. The cabin and the lake. In Minnesota."
Jack looked through his mind's eye as the images of his wilderness refuge came back in a kaleidoscope of memories.
"You?" Jack asked after a minute, playing with her hair.
"There was this dirt road, near the base of Pike's Peak, where I used to ride my bike. There were deer everywhere. Once in a while, if I sat very still, the deer would walk by so close I could just about reach out and touch them. Once I fell asleep there, and I woke up at dusk just as the stars were becoming visible. It was so incredible and so peaceful, like I was the only person on the planet."
Sam shifted in Jack's arms and looked away.
"All those years I spent wishing I was out in space, and the years we spent traveling to other worlds through the Stargate...I only wish I'd known what I had."
Sam's voice trailed off and they sat there silently, remembering.
Jack reached over and affectionately brushed her cheek with his fingertips.
"So let's make sure we don't make the same mistake here."
She looked at him now in amazement at his ability to bring light to her dark places.
"How do we do that?" She mused.
"First, you reinvent chocolate. You're the scientist, you can do it. I'll have to put some thought into how to build a truck, though."
"We could build a cabin out by the lake."
"Now you're talking."
Jack closed his eyes and Sam could see he was beginning to drift off.
She carefully moved over so he could lay down on the pallet to rest some more. She stood up, intending to leave and let him rest alone, but as she studied his sleepy face she realized this is where she most wanted, needed to be.
Sam took up her earlier position near him, leaning back against the cargo bay wall.
"Sam? Still here?" Jack mumbled groggily.
"Right here," she responded in a whisper, scooting a bit closer.
Jack blindly reached a hand out towards her voice.
"Here," she repeated, taking his calloused hand in hers.
"Okay. Good."
Sam smiled contentedly as she nestled down further, not really sleepy, but comfortable in the knowledge that there was no where else she would rather be. Not quite asleep, Jack, completely secure in the knowledge that she loved him, pulled her in closer and tucked her head protectively under his chin.
A few days later, Sam was back in one of the labs working with Catherine on some soil testing when Jack walked in and stood just inside the doorway, watching them with his hands in his pockets.
"Hey, Catherine, Carter. Watcha doing?"
"Uh oh, Sam. He's bored. My memory tells me that Jack O'Neill can do a lot of damage when he's bored."
"Catherine, being around you is never boring," Jack shot back.
"Dirt? You're experimenting with dirt?"
Jack had almost got his hands on a test tube rack when Sam herded him back towards the doorway.
"You seem to be feeling better," she observed drily.
"Yes, much," Jack answered her. "Have you invented chocolate yet?"
"Not just yet."
"I see."
He pulled a package wrapped in a rag from behind his back and, refusing to let Sam touch it for the moment, brought it over to Catherine and laid it on the table in front of her.
"Here's a little something I found stashed away in the cargo storage containers."
Jack allowed Sam to unwrap it as Catherine watched curiously.
A lone Hershey bar, wrapped in foil and the traditional brown wrapper, lay before them. Jack looked triumphant.
"I thought maybe you could back-engineer it, Carter," Jack suggested smugly.
His teasing was lost on Sam, who stood staring at the chocolate, lost in her own world for the moment.
"It's—beautiful."
Catherine was staring too, with a greedy light in her eyes.
"Well, it's not getting any fresher, so just eat it. Enjoy."
Sam looked up at Jack, actual tears in the corner of her eyes.
"Wow, I really got to you, huh?" Jack exclaimed.
He was practically crowing with pride.
"Well, if you're just going to stand there..."
Jack carefully opened one end and broke offa small square for each woman, then proceeded to wrap the remainder of the bar back up tightly with the foil. He then fed each of 'his girls' their piece, watching their reactions with the greatest delight.
"Ohh."
"Wow."
"Delisshhous."
"Unbelievable."
"I love you," gushed Sam, tears now rolling down her cheeks.
"I know."
"Me too," sniffed Catherine, hugging the breath out of Jack.
"My turn," Sam protested, taking Catherine's place.
"Oww," Jack complained weakly, smiling broadly at the two women.
He kept his arms wrapped possessively around Sam, immensely enjoying their response to the chocolate bar.
"I think I'll hold on to this," Jack decided, pocketing the remnant, "And maybe you'll both be nicer the next time I pop in to the lab, hmmm?"
He let go of Sam and turned to leave the lab.
"Where are you going? Catherine, I think I'm going to take a little break. Be back later!"
Sam tagged after him like a lost puppy.
Some things were so worth groveling for.
