"I have an idea" Jack stated as Carter took his plate from him and tidied up a bit.
"What would that be sir?" Carter asked turning towards him cautiously. Jack grinned and threw back his drink
"Let's go swimming"
"Sir, it's freezing out here" Carter whined as jack jumped into the heated water of the spa
"it's winter Carter" Jack criticized "get in, the sooner you get in the warm water, the sooner you wont feel cold" Jack tried as he moved into a corner
"Turn around" Carter instructed and Jack covered his eyes as she dropped the towel. Jack peaked as she was slipping into the warm water.
"I know your peeking sir" she laughed "and I heard what you were thinking"
"What" Jack shrugged taking his hands away from his eyes "I'm only human Carter. Besides, it's just a bathing suit" Jack smiled before sipping his drink 'Damn fine Bathing suit' he thought and Carter splashed water at him
"I heard that!" Carter warned
"Argh Carter, now there's pool water in my drink!" Jack bickered "give me yours" he ordered as he reached for her glass. She pulled it away from him and he glared at her
"Come on Carter, give it over"
"No! Its mine sir" she grinned
"Don't make me come over there" Jack warned and a thought came to his mind that made Carter's eyes go wide
"You wouldn't" she gulped
"Oh don't think I won't" he grinned. Carter went to climb out of the spa when Jack jumped over and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in. she struggled to get away as he began tickling her
"Stop" she giggled. And Jack grinned menacingly as she tickled with more fury "ok ok" she called and Jack eased his tickling "here she surrendered, handing him the glass which now was filled with pool water. Jack ignored the glass, staring down at the woman in his arms. Carter looked into his eyes searchingly.
"What do you mean you can't believe how easy it was?" she asked trying to understand his thoughts
"To get you here" he replied
"You pulled me in sir" she said cautiously
"I meant, to salt lake city" he smiled
"Well, I wouldn't exactly…" she was cut of by his finger on her lips hushing her. He removed his finger and replaced it with his lips as he kissed her. Just a gentle kiss but the impact it had felt like much more.
"Um… sir" Carter began breathing heavily "what was that?" she asked
"I don't know" he muttered staring into her eyes "I've had too much to drink" he replied blankly and in deep thought
"Yeah sir, maybe we should maintain a safe distance, we will be spending the whole weekend together and we don't exactly want to violate regulations" she explained as she sat upright and moved away from him. Jacks hand lingered with her fingers, holding her there.
"Do we?" he asked with a slight cheek in his tone but still incorrigibly serious.
"Colonel, don't say things that we both know you don't really mean, or at least will take back as soon as you're sober"
"I'm not drunk Carter!" he snapped " and I wont take it back, you know I mean it" Jack stated as he moved closer to her " you know what I'm thinking Carter. Tell me, am I lying?"
"It's not that simple" she cried taking her hand away from him
"Why not!" he yelled and Carter glared at him
"What do you want me to do!" she asked with great intensity
"Nothing Carter" Jack said taking her hand in his again "do nothing, stop fighting, take it easy" Jack explained and Sam grimaced at the phrase
"Don't say take it easy" Sam warned
"I'm just saying" Jack began
"What! What are you saying?"
"I'm just saying, how I feel" he explained sighing
"I know how you feel" she sighed
"I know" he muttered dropping his head momentarily before raising it again to look into her eyes "it's hard pretending we don't have these feelings Carter, it's driving me up the wall! I'm sick of it Carter. I quit." He stated and Carter stared at him in disbelief
"What are you saying sir?" Carter asked with an obviously panicked tone
"I'm getting out Carter" he sighed "with you or, god help me, with-out you"
"Sir are you… resigning?" Carter asked wide eyed
"Damn right I am" Jack burst out "well retiring, again"
"For me?" she asked after a moments thought
"Wouldn't be the first time" he shrugged swallowing back emotions. She stared amazed, not even wondering what he meant by that. Her thoughts were only of the fact that he was leaving the SGC, for her. Her thoughts raced, faster than usual. She paused on a thought then sighed
"Sir, you can't retire" she began, Jack pushed a hair out of her eyes
"We both know how we feel about each other. I cant work with you, knowing that we don't act on those feelings because I work with you" Jack explained
"This candle light is bright" Sam muttered "I can see every feature of your face" she explained
"Carter don't change the subject, that's something I would do. There aren't even candles out here" Jack accused
"There aren't?" she asked puzzled and started going pale
"No, it's just about pitch black right here" Jack told her and noticed she was shaking
"But I can..." she muttered breathing heavily "my head hurts…" she said half delirious "I feel light headed, my visions blurring" she said holding herself up with his arms.
"You okay?" he asked holding her up. Her legs buckled beneath her and she collapsed into Jacks arms.
"Carter?" he asked shaking her. She didn't respond. Jack put one arm around her and the other under her legs, cradling her as he carried her out of the spa and inside. He carefully placed her on her bed and frantically dialled a number
"Cassie no is no, stop calling me!" Janet yelled through the line
"Fraiser, it's me" Jack blurted out
"Colonel? What's wrong?" Janet asked picking up on his panicked tone
"Carter passed out" he exhaled
"Is she alright? What happened?" Janet asked calmly
"She's breathing but she's not responsive. I think it might be the infection" Jack explained
"You think?" Janet asked confused
"Well we had been drinking, I'm not sure how much she drank" Jack admitted
"What makes you think it might be the infection?" Janet asked
"She could see in the dark, just before she blacked out" Jack told her
"Colonel, you need to elevate her feet" Janet began
"I've done that" he replied
"And loosen any tight or restricting clothing. Does she have a high temperature?" Janet asked and Jack placed the phone down as he grabbed a thermometer out of the first aid kit. He took the phone into Sam's room as he placed the thermometer under her tongue
"How restricting?" he asked as he waited for the little electronic thermometer to beep, signalling it was done.
"Why? What's she wearing?" Janet asked over the distant sound of the thermometer beeping. Jack checked the thermometer.
"Um… a bathing suit" he muttered as he read the thermometer "her temperature's 107.4" Jack said holding his breath
"Ok Colonel, you need to get her temperature down. Put her somewhere cool, use ice-packs, loosen the bathing suit if you can and cover her with a wet sheet" Janet instructed. Jack switched off the heater and opened the window, letting in the cold winter chill. He ran into the kitchen and grabbed some ice-packs out of the fridge. He carefully applied the packs to area's of large blood vessels and then took a sheet to the bathroom and ran it under cold water. He returned and unclipped the bather top to loosen it and then covered her with the wet sheet.
"Okay, how long do I keep her like this?" Jack asked
"Until her temperature is down. If she wakes up, give her water when she's fully conscious" Janet replied "Colonel, I want you to call a Dr Nina Smith I know in Salt Lake City, she has security clearance." Janet instructed and then resighted the number to him. She then left to go inform Hammond. Jack looked at his phone and carefully keyed in the number. His hands were trembling and as soon as he had dialled, he looked over at Sam nervously. The ringing seemed to echo as he waited. The doctor didn't answer and Jack slammed the phone down in a rage. He calmed himself and was about to redial when he heard a knock at the door. He raced over and opened the door. He was stunned by the sight of the red head in heels who had been watching him. She smiled and let out a wheezy cough before introducing herself.
"Hello Colonel O'Neill. I'm Dr Smith but you can call me Nina to save time" she smiled offering her hand.