Set after "A Matter of Time"

Jack's brain was swimming, trying to grasp the concept of Einstein's Theory of Relativity.

"Since you reported for duty yesterday, two weeks has gone by…" Daniel had said.

"It kept repeating through his mind, taunting his ignorance of scientific theories.

"Janet, I'm fine! All I want to do is conduct a few simple experiments with the shipment of naquadah that SG-10 brought back from P2X…"

Jack chuckled as the petite doctor shook her head at Sam's request.

"Write down a few notes about our last experience with the Theory of Relativity?"

"Nope." Came Janet's firm reply.

"Just write down the experience in my journal?" She begged.

"Sam, you're being treated for minor injuries and exhaustion!" Janet said, exasperated. "I want you to concentrate on relaxing! SG-1 is on leave for a REASON!"

Jack tried to suppress a chuckle as Sam began to pout. "I wasn't going to do anything strenuous."

"Just save the world a few more time, huh?" Janet said, dryly.

Sam grinned, sheepishly. "Funny how that always seems to happen..." She said, limply.

"Carter, stay in bed. That's an order." Jack found himself muttering.

She turned her wounded puppy look to him, and he had to restrain himself from overriding his own order.

"Carter, we'll play some word games to keep your mind sharp."

She looked at him, skeptically.

"It's simple. I'll say a word, then you have to say a word that starts with the letter that ends my word." He said, matter-of-factly.

"Okay," she said, hesitantly.

"It has to be at least two syllables long. And your reaction time counts. The first person to screw up, loses."

"Okay."

J: "Theatre."

S: "No fair, there are two ways to spell that."

J: "Sorry…eyelash."

S: "Happy."

J: "Yesterday."

S: "Yapping."

J: "Glamorous."

S: "Simpleton."

Jack looked at her, a mockingly pained look on his face. "Never."

S: "Retracted."

J: "Dangerous."

The glint in her eye returned. "Simpleton."

Jack smacked his hand on his forehead. "I forgot to mention that you can't use the same word twice."

S: "Sacrifice."

J: "Extrapolate."

S: "Eliminate."

J: "Eradicate."

S: "Extra."

J: "Aerodynamic."

"Nice one," came Janet's voice from the other room.

S: "Characterization."

J: "Naturalism."

S: "Monotonous."

J: "Snakehead."

"That's not a real word!" Sam protested.

"But what if it was?" Jack asked.

S: "Despicable."

J: "Lovely."

Sam smiled. "You lose! Despicable ends with an 'e' not an 'l.'"

Jack groaned. "Dang it!"

"So, what does the winner get?" Sam asked with a childish grin on her face.

"A piece of cake at the commissary when you convince Doc Fraiser to let me out of here."

Sam scrunched up her face. "You just wanted to get on Janet's good side?"

"Do you think it worked?"

She shook her head, chuckling. "Can I play your gameboy?"

He looked at her. "What?"

"I want to play Tetris."

Jack chuckled and passed the gameboy over. As she feverishly tried to eliminate the rows in the game, he reached for his pad of paper. Some words for his poem were running through his head.

Knowledge drives her passion
Like gasoline fuels my truck,
Propelling her through the vast expansion
Of space, but she rarely gets stuck.

Sam, who had paused between games, looked at her CO. He was concentrating really hard. "Sir, what are you working on? Word search or crossword puzzles?"

"Neither. I'm trying to figure out the definitions of half of the words you just said."

She chuckled, and Jack quickly changed the sheet on his notepad. He began mindlessly doodling while he thought about his second-in-command: the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, the woman that he couldn't bear to be rejected by.

Sorry it's been so long since I posted...I've been in the opera and updating my dozen or so other stories...check them out, if you haven't read them already...

Love getting reviews...Keep them coming.