Jack hurried out of his tent into the brisk morning air of Beta on his way to the Prometheus. General Hammond and President Hayes stood waiting for him in the main conference room as he rushed in.

"Thor!" Jack exclaimed with delight.

The diminutive alien was seated comfortably at the table on the Prometheus with that look of Asgard superiority.

Somehow, on any other being it would be condescending, but it just seemed fitting when it was Thor.

"It's good to see you!"

Jack shook his tiny grey hand carefully and sat down across from him.

"The Asgard send their greetings to the remnant of Earth. The T'auri have helped us greatly in the past. Now, we wish to help you as best we can."

"Great! What did you have in mind?"

All those present leaned forward expectantly, awaiting Thor's disclosure of why he had come through the Stargate.

Thor stood and pressed an Asgard transmitter that he held in his hand. A large, oblong container appeared before them, filling the table. Some of those present who were not familiar with Asgard technology gasped and shrank back.

"Within this chamber are seeds from your world representing thousands of plant species. We will leave one of our scientists to work with you to help you identify each species and begin to propagate them. We also have DNA from many of your animal species that we will clone and share with you when this world is ready to sustain them."

"Thor, how did you come to have such a large collection of species from Earth?" President Hayes asked curiously.

Jack grimaced to himself, not sure he wanted to hear Thor's explanation, but knowing he was going to hear it anyway.

"Our race has been studying Earth for many years."

That was the part Jack really didn't want to hear more about.

"We know much about your planet and its life forms. The Asgard are honored to be able to give back to you some of what has been lost."

"We are in your debt, Thor," Hayes responded gallantly.

"To which building shall we beam the container?"

At that, Catherine stepped out from her post near the back wall.

"I will show you," she said eagerly, leading Thor through the doorway and outside.

After they left, Jack stood.

"Does Sam know about this yet?" He asked George.

"No, but she should be told immediately. I don't have to tell you how important a gift like this is for Beta."

George was also standing, too excited to remain seated.

Jack turned and flew out the door almost before Hammond had finished his sentence.

Sam reacted much as Jack had thought she would; that is, she was ecstatic and chomping at the bit to open the container and see what the Asgard had collected from Earth. It didn't take her long to gather several of the other scientists to start the process of retrieving the specimens.

Daniel had heard of the commotion and was there too, avidly looking over Sam's shoulder at the contents of the storage pod.

Jack smiled, grabbing Daniel by the arm as he left with his orders from Catherine to start building greenhouses. There was plenty of wood, but glass would be a problem, he schemed to himself as he went to find Riley and Guthrie and ask for their help. Pete, Daniel, Teal'C... Jack was already organizing the effort in his mind as he strode away.

Two weeks later, four large greenhouses stood ready that were far above and beyond anything Jack and his men had originally imagined.

Thor had been back to visit, interested in their progress, and the Asgard had helped them install Asgard shield technology in the greenhouses, run by their naquadah generator, that took the place of glass; in fact, it was far superior. The buildings were near the lake for easy irrigation. The scientist's soil tests now came in handy as they prepared soil that would be friendly to Earthling plants.

"Tomato, green beans, corn, wheat," Catherine directed as she indicated to her work force which were to be planted where. It had taken round-the-clock research to match the Asgard's names for the various plant species with their own familiar titles. The scientists were beside themselves with joy to discover that the Asgard had managed to supply them with over 200 of Earth's major fruit and vegetable species.

The next weeks, months, and even years would now determine which of these plants would survive and flourish in their new world. The scientists overseeing the propagation and cultivation of these new plant populations took every aspect of their care very seriously, knowing how important each seed and seedling was to the health of the humans on Beta.

The second phase of the Asgard's gift would not be able to be initiated for a while, not until the plants from Earth had had a chance to get a good start. But it was what Sam and many others were most excited about. The DNA of many of Earth's animal species lay in stasis in the labs of the Asgard, who possessed the cloning technology to reproduce these species for life on Beta.

"Sam, you've got some plants growing like crazy over here. What are these?"

Daniel had been hanging around like a little kid at Christmas since the greenhouse projects had been started.

"That's sweet potato, Daniel. Can you test the PH of the soil for me?" Sam held out several test strips.

"How long before we can actually eat something we grow?" Daniel asked as he worked on testing the soil around the potatoes.

"It will be different for different plants. Those potatoes may take up to a year to grow large enough to produce tubers. How about helping me with this irrigation tubing? Somehow I got it tangled."

They worked together in companionable silence on the knotted line.

"Good morning," Jack's voice rang out as he stepped up behind Daniel and Sam.

Jack was chewing determinedly on a hunk of dried meat that looked really unappetizing.

"So when is the food going to be ready?"

Jack gestured with his meat strip at the seedlings growing in pale green rows all around them.

"Let's go to the mess tent, that's the only place there's any food for now," Sam said, casting a satisfied look around at 'her' plants.

She grabbed her parka up and wrapped it around her to prepare for the still artic air outside the protected greenhouses.

"Coming, Daniel?"

"I'll be along in a minute. I want to stay for a bit."

The emerging Earth plants held a fascination for everyone who saw them.

"C'mon, Sam," Jack urged, still hungry.

He led the way to the crowded mess tent. Smoke poured out of the oven chimneys as they ducked through the tent flap door and refastened it. Pete sat near the door on the floor chatting animatedly with one of the nurses from the SGC, who was practically sitting in his lap.

Sam got a strange twisting feeling in her stomach as she watched his face, happy and relaxed for the first time in months. Pete caught sight of Sam frozen near the doorway and waved her and Jack over, seemingly at ease in her presence as he lifted a hand from the girl's knee to wave at them.

'Samantha Carter,' she thought sternly to her piqued ego, 'you have no right to be anything but happy for Pete. Get over yourself.'

But even with the mental spanking Samantha was feeling that sense of rejection common to those who have moved on but don't really want their ex to move on, too.

Jack sat down next to Pete, clapping him on the shoulder.

Their relationship had warmed considerably during the hard months on Beta.

Actually, most petty disagreements throughout the population of the colony had been forgotten in the face of the larger difficulties the colonists shared. But Jack's friendship with Pete had grown more slowly as his former distaste for him, born of unrecognized jealousy, had waned, and he had found in him a solid worker and ally on whom he relied more and more.

"Pete, has Daniel talked to yet about taking an expedition down south for a few days?"

When Beta had first been considered as a secret base by the SGC, Daniel had collected data by long range reconnaissance all over the planet. Now, as he was sifting back through the data that had survived, he was methodically marking off what he called points of interest.

This destination was one of his more interesting sites, at least for an archeologist.

"Oh, yeah, he's talked to me a couple of times," Pete smiled. "Sounds fun."

"Yeah, it does. Here he comes now."

Sam was still standing a few steps away from the seated group as Daniel walked up with a grin spreading across his lips.

"I heard that! I heard that!" Daniel exulted. "So, what will we need and how do we get there?"

Sam got herself some of the local herb tea and yet another slice of dried meat, distracting herself from her confused feelings by making herself work on the problem of regulating the naquadah generators so the greenhouses would receive an even amount of heat.

She glanced over at the guys sitting together near one of the fires and saw that Pete's nurse buddy had walked off too, looking a bit bored, as Daniel began talking excitedly to the two men and sketching something with a stick in the dirt of the floor.

Sam shrugged her coat back onto her shoulders and headed for the door, intending to go to her lab and finish up the work on the generator, but Jack was suddenly right next to her.

"You okay?" His dark eyes were full of concern.

"Sure," said she, in a very unsure tone.

"Where you going?"

"I've got work to do in the lab."

"Okay. I'll stop by in a little while?"

Jack's eyes were still boring into hers, trying to read her.

"I'd like that."

Sam cracked a weak smile, the first Jack had seen since they'd entered the mess.

Encouraged, he reached out, caught her hand with a quick squeeze and gave her a Jack O'Neill smile that made her forget all about Pete.

Jack went back to Daniel to finish setting up their expedition plans, but his thoughts were now on Sam.

He knew exactly what had happened when Sam caught sight of Pete as they had come into the mess. He wasn't sure what to do with the knowledge that there was still something in Sam's heart with Pete's name on it. All the while Sam and Pete were engaged, he had been able to rationalize away any feelings of regret or jealousy.

After all, a relationship between Sam and him wasn't a possibility back then.

Now, for the first time since he had met Sam Carter, he was feeling unsure of where he stood with her, and the feeling genuinely surprised him.

Sam was finished with her calculations and trying to open up the generator casing to recalibrate the intensity controls when Jack came through the lab door. She looked over and warmth shot through her at the sight of him. He didn't seem to have any awareness of how strikingly handsome he was, a trait that made him even more endearing.

She put down her instruments and stood up to stretch, happy to have an excuse to stop for a bit.

"How's it going with that generator thingy?"

In two strides he was next to the machine, causing Sam to instinctively move to protect it.

"It's going well. It's surprisingly simple to adjust. It's quite fascinating."

"Yeah, right. Fascinating. Come take a walk and get yourself away from this for a few minutes."

After a few minutes in the still too cold temperatures of the Beta winter, the two were walking up and down the halls and various levels on the Prometheus, sidestepping people almost everywhere. The large spaceship was being used in every way possible by the colonists as the long winter had taken hold.

They found themselves walking in the direction of a certain familiar cargo hold that was still too full of storage items to attract those looking for a place to stay.

"So what is Daniel so excited about?"

"He wants to go to a site about three days walk south of here that he had mapped earlier when we were first checking out this planet. Sounds like fun to me, at least the expedition part of it. We're leaving in a couple days, be gone about ten days I guess."

"Ten days?"

It suddenly hit Sam that she hadn't spent any time to speak of apart from Jack since that fateful day that they had stepped through the Stargate to arrive on Beta.

"Why don't you come along?"

Jack's expression was so earnest that Sam could see that he really wanted her to come with him.

"No, I can't leave the greenhouses this early in the process of growth. You know how important this project is for the colony."

"You're not the only gardener here, Sam. There's lots of folks who can do that."

"It's not just gardening. I'm the only one who has experience with the naquadah generator if something was to go wrong. If the heat is off by even a few degrees..."

"Catherine knows what to do by now. You've got a whole team of scientists who can fill in. Come on, Sam. It would be good for you to get a look at some new scenery."

Sam was silent.

"Is Pete going?"

"Sure he is. He wouldn't miss it. Riley and Guthrie are going with us too. I know you'd be the only woman but you're used to that."

"I need to stay here."

Jack ventured to open up a more thorny issue.

"You seemed uncomfortable today when you saw Pete."

"I guess I was," Sam admitted readily.

"Why?"

"I don't know."

Jack had been slowly moving closer to her and now he was close enough to reach out and put gentle hands on her shoulders while he talked to her.

"Why?" He said again quietly.

"Oh. It's stupid."

Sam's eyes were moist. Jack looked at her quizzically.

"He was with that woman in the mess, and I – I just wasn't expecting that. I've never been friends with Pete. Our relationship was a whirlwind from the start. He swept me off my feet; it all happened so fast. I don't know how to do just friends with him."

"And you don't want to lose everything you two had."

Sam felt emotional distance creeping into Jack's voice as he tried mightily to be there for her as she worked through her feelings.

"What we had is over, and I'm okay with that. I'm more than okay with it, Jack. But I feel awkward around him. I don't know what to do."

"Maybe this field mission is a good place to start?"

Sam looked unconvinced.

"Okay. Maybe I just don't want to be away from you for ten days."

"Me either. Don't do anything stupid out there, Jack O'Neill. Come back in one piece this time."

"I'll try not to throw myself in front of any wild animals we come across."

"I'm going to miss you."

Jack finally realized she was serious about staying behind.

"I'll miss you too," he breathed as his arms tightened about her and he buried his face in her hair.

Sam returned the embrace whole heartedly.

Jack didn't want to leave her tonight.

"Hey, this cargo hold is pretty comfortable, as I remember. The blankets are still over there," he pointed and then moved over and sat down on them.

Sam sat down next to him.

"So what's so important about this particular site that's got Daniel all hyped up?"

"Who knows. I'm just going to keep his butt out of trouble." Jack yawned abruptly and lay down on the blankets.

"You going back to your cold, crummy tent or staying here with me?"

Jack was sprawled out with an almost arrogant air about him.

Sam laughed but then her demeanor changed.

"Jack," Sam said in a worried voice, "I'm sorry about this thing with Pete today. I'm sorry if I hurt you in any way. I never want to hurt you."

"Sam, the important thing is, you were honest with me about how you felt. That means a lot."

Jack settled in further and closed his eyes, as if to say 'the subject is closed.'

Sam closed her eyes too, suddenly very tired and very grateful to be with this incredible man who took her at face value, who cared about what she thought and how she felt, and with whom she felt utterly safe.

Two days later, the expedition was ready to leave and spirits were high. The temperature was beginning to be consistently warmer and the storms that had been a hallmark of most of the winter hadn't been seen in a few weeks.

The sun was just over the horizon as the men shouldered their backpacks. Sam was there, along with several others, seeing them off. Daniel, still trying to adjust the various equipment he had strapped to both himself and his backpack, looked fit to burst with glee.

Jack took the moment to walk unobtrusively over to Sam, who was leaning against a boulder outcropping to one side of the group.

He shuffled his foot in the dirt in front of her, not knowing how to say what he wanted to, but she spoke first.

"Stay safe."

Her eyes said a whole lot more than her lips just had.

"You too, Sam. I sure wish you were coming with."

Sam's eyes darted over to the rest of the group, where Pete's new lady friend was saying goodbye very demonstratively.

"Maybe the next expedition. When it's warmer. I miss you already, you know."

She reached out and wrapped a mittened hand around his cheek.

Jack seemed to be internally debating with himself. After all the years of maintaining a professional relationship with Carter, it was hard for him to now break the habit with Sam.

"I'll miss you too, Sam. See you in about ten days, if Daniel lets us come back that soon."

"If he doesn't I'm coming to drag you back myself."

"That a promise?"

Sam smiled. Jack's heart finally managed to break through his ingrained training and to Sam's delight he leaned in and gave her a very unhurried kiss.

"Have fun, Jack."

"Bye, Sam."

The men set off in a companionable pack, waving to those seeing them off and conversing excitedly amongst themselves.

As they disappeared into the distance, Sam's heart constricted as she followed them with her eyes as far as she could.

It would be a long ten days.