"What the hell is going on Teal'c?" Daniel asked. He and his teammate were camped out beside the small building Jack and Sam had entered more than a day ago. The Senecksi had left, although they came back regularly to check that things were okay and to provide their Earth visitors with food and drink.

"I do not know", Teal'c answered, sounded irritated. Even his famed patience was wearing thin with Daniel's repeated questions. "We shall find out. We know that they are safe and that is all that matters for now."

"I know, but -"

"Enough Daniel Jackson", Teal'c glared at him. "We shall find out when O'Neill and Major Carter return."

Daniel sighed. "I just wish Jack would tell us something other than they're okay. I mean, what are they doing?"

Teal'c sighed and closed his eyes. He too hoped O'Neill would soon tell them something, otherwise he might not be responsible for what he did to his companion. He was usually able to exercise extreme self-control when faced with the incomprehensible actions of his human friends, but there were days when that restraint wore thin.

Sam watched as the Colonel approached one of the Ancient consoles, slightly nervous about what would happen. She remembered clearly the time that the Ancient library had been downloaded in his brain, and didn't want a repeat of that episode.

"Sir?" she warned as he reached a hand out.

He stopped and turned his face towards her, that serene smile again appearing. "It's okay Carter, really. You worry too much."

"But you always tell Daniel not to touch Sir", she reminded him. At that his face broke into a grin.

"Yeah, but he gets us in trouble."

There was a very pregnant pause in which Sam bit her tongue. The Colonel swung around. "Major!" he said warningly.

This time she grinned. "I didn't say anything Sir."

"No, but you were thinking it. I promise, I won't get us in trouble."

"Okay Sir – if you say so. Just – be careful, please."

"Of course." At that he again reached out his hand. Before he'd even had a chance to touch the panel in front of him, the whole place lit up. It didn't seem to faze him at all, although Sam had to shade her eyes for a moment until they grew used to the brightness.

"There, that's better", O'Neill murmured. He moved his hand again, and suddenly writing and pictures showed up all around him.

Sam tried to figure out what she was seeing, but other than the fact that the language was Ancient – she recognized it from Daniel's various artifacts – she had no idea what she was looking at. She went to ask the Colonel but saw that he was seemingly mesmerized by what was in front of him.

The graphics and words started slowly but began speeding up, moving so fast that she could no longer discern anything about what they were seeing. It became so fast that she began to feel dizzy from watching it. The Colonel, on the other hand, seemed to be following everything. They stood there for a long time – although for how long she wasn't quite sure – until abruptly the images slowed down and eventually stopped.

"Uh – what was that Sir?" she asked softly.

It took a moment for him to reply, but finally he took a deep breath and answered her. "See, I told you it was okay."

"Yes, but what was it?"

"I guess you could call it – school?" he answered. He stepped back from the console and swung around to face her, a strange look on his face. "I think – it was trying to teach me things."

"Teach you – what kinds of things?"

"Oh – stuff about the universe and the history of the Ancients and science – all that sort of stuff"

"All of that? In just a few minutes?"

He looked vaguely surprised but then nodded. "I guess I'm a fast reader."

"And did you understand it Colonel?" she was curious to know.

"I uh – yeah, kind of." He took another deep breath and stepped forward, until he was much closer than he usually stood to her. He reached out with his hands and gently clasped her arms. "Sam I'm not sure what this is all about, not yet, but I don't think it's anything bad. This place – it's kind of like the repository, but it didn't just dump information in my brain. It taught me, but only enough for me to handle. I don't know why or what it means but -" he shrugged. "It's kind of neat."

"Kind of neat Sir?" she asked, bemused. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Oh yeah", he smiled widely. "I'm more than okay. I'm great. I feel – stronger than I have in a long time, healthier." At her worried look he gave her a tiny shake. "It's nothing weird Major. I'm not going to start levitating or something. It's just – I don't know, I think that this place is just really – good for me."

"Right, like a spa", she answered cynically. This whole thing was beginning to worry her, although she couldn't put her finger on why. Even as she was thinking these things she began to feel slightly sleepy and began to relax. It dawned on her that they'd been in this room without food, water, rest or even a bathroom break for over 24 hours. It was no wonder she was tired.

She slowly leaned forward until her head was resting on Jack's chest. It felt so good – so right to be there. She sighed and threaded her arms around his waist. "Hold me Jack", she murmured. Her eyes closed and her breathing slowed. It was so safe and peaceful with him.

Jack looked down at the head resting on him and wondered what the hell had just happened. One minute Carter was in full 'Second-in-command' worry mode, the next she was acting like – hell, like something she wasn't supposed to act like around him.

He stood for a moment, unsure of what to do. He decided the best thing was to gently untangle her arms from around him and wake her up. They needed to head back to where Daniel and Teal'c were waiting. Their two friends must be getting anxious and were probably also bored.

He sighed and went to remove her arms, when he began to feel rather sleepy himself. God, it had been a long time since he'd slept. He just needed to close his eyes for a second. He leaned his head so that it was resting gently on top of Carter's. He breathed in her scent and thought back to those moments where the storm had raged around them. That had been – incredible. He put his arms around her and pulled her closer.

Why had he thought this was wrong? This was where he should be, where she should be. He pulled her even closer and she murmured softly, her breath lightly tickling the skin on his chest. Yes, he thought as his breathing began to slow. This is where he had to be.

"Colonel?" Sam was standing in the middle of a trail in what looked like a tropical jungle. "Are you here Sir?"

"I'm here Sam – but no 'Colonel', okay? Call me Jack." He was standing beside her, looking with curiosity down the trail.

"Okay – Jack it is", she grinned. "Uh, where are we Jack?"

"We're -" he looked around, his lips pursed. "We're here", he said, as if imparting something totally revolutionary.

"Yes, we are indeed here", she agreed, accepting his answer seriously.

"Hey Sam, you sound just like -" he frowned. "I can't remember, but you definitely sound like someone I know."

"Really?" she thought for a moment. "I don't think I know anyone that sounds like me." She bit her lip and pondered for a moment. "In fact, I don't think I know anyone – but you of course."

"Of course", he agreed with a smile. "You don't need to know anyone else and neither do I. So, shall we go take a look at here?"

"Sure", she smiled and stepped forward, her hand outstretched. Jack took it without any hesitation and held on tightly. Together the two of them turned and headed down the small trail in front of them.

They walked, quietly but contentedly together, listening to the soft rustling of the leaves and the sounds of the small creatures who lived in the jungle. They didn't see anything larger than a tiny bird and nothing dangerous or sentient. But they weren't really looking and didn't really care.

"This is nice", Sam commented. "I've wanted to do this for a long time."

"You have?" Jack looked at her in surprise. "What? Walk through a jungle?"

She frowned, considering her words. "Uh, I don't know. I just said that and – I don't really remember if I wanted this. I guess – it doesn't really matter. It's just nice."

"Walking in a jungle or walking with me?" he looked at her out of the corner of his eye and smirked.

"Oh, the jungle, definitely", she quipped. "Well, you're kind of nice too."

"Yes and so are you."

They continued to walk in silence until they came to a clearing. When it opened up they both gasped at the splendor in front of them. There was a clear pond, being fed by the most magnificent waterfall. Surrounding the pond were plants and trees and flowers – an abundance of colors and smells and beauty.

"Oh my", Sam breathed. "This is – amazing."

"Isn't it?" Jack agreed, looking around the clearing. He suddenly got a rather devilish look on his face. "Looks like a perfect place to go for a swim", he announced.

Sam looked at the still and crystal blue water. "It does", she said, sounding hesitant, "but we don't have suits."

"I know", he waggled his eyebrow. "Last one in is a rotten egg!" With that he tore off his vest and quickly began to unbutton his shirt.

Sam watched for a few brief seconds and then realized that a skinny dip sounded heavenly. With a grin she began to quickly undress, determined to beat the Colonel.

The two of them continued to smile as they worked to beat each other into the pool. Sam removed her shirt and bra without hesitation and then chuckled as Jack stopped and stared. While he looked she started on her pants and was soon ahead of him in undressing.

"Hey – that's no fair", he complained when he realized what she'd done. He'd have to hurry if she wasn't going to beat him.

"All's fair in love and skinny dipping", she told him. "Damn!"

"What's wrong", he grinned as he quickly threw off his boots. He watched as her BDU pants pooled around her ankles, overtop her combat boots. It was going to be much more difficult getting those off with her pants in the way. He'd been smarter – boots first, then pants.

He tossed one boot and followed it with the second one. He then unbuckled his belt and his pants were shortly flung away, to land on top of a very exotic looking plant. He smirked when it became obvious that he was now in the lead. All that was left were his socks – which went quickly – and his boxers.

"So – I'm gonna win Carter", he told the woman. He then frowned. "Uh, I mean Sam." He pulled down his boxers and stood there watching as she loosened her belt. "No point trying to beat the master of stripping!" With a cheeky grin he turned and sauntered over to the pool. He knew very well that she was watching closely so, rather than jumping straight in, he slowly stuck one toe in the water. "Mmm, nice", he told her. He then glanced at her and saw she was almost done undressing, so he walked into the water – backwards. There was no way he was going to miss seeing Sam remove that last piece of clothing.

She flung her panties in a perfect arc – landing them right on top of Jack's boxers.

"Nice throw", he called.

She nodded and walked, slowly and deliberately to the edge of the water, also sticking her toe in like he had done. "How's the water?" she asked.

"Perfect", he breathed staring at her. "Coming in?"

"Of course." She walked into the water, leisurely and sensuously letting the water cover her as she kept her eyes on the man in the water.

"You lost, you know", he whispered as he watched her. "And I win."

"Mmm", she agreed. "So, what does that mean?"

"That I deserve something really nice."

She moved towards him, her eyes trained on him fully. When she was within a few inches she stopped. "Do you think I'm nice?" she asked softly.

"Mmm hmm, very nice."

"Then you can have me", she murmured, walking right up to him and pressing herself against him.

It was a short time later before Jack was able to think one thought clearly – that it was a good thing the water was cool or he would have been burnt alive with the heat they generated. It was only a brief thought however, and soon was gone as he instead allowed himself to do nothing but feel. What use was thinking at a time like this?

Afterward they lay on the grass beside the water, arms and legs entwined. They both dozed although every few minutes one or the other of them would stroke the other or trail soft kisses along various tender and sensitive spots.

"Jack?" Sam asked softly, almost asleep on the chest of the man with her.

"Mmm hmm", he answered, his eyes slowly drooping closed.

"Where are we?"

"Uh – I don't know", he answered drowsily. "Does it matter?"

"No, not really." There was a pause and then she asked another question. "Jack, who are we?"

He sighed, not wanting to be disturbed to deal with anything that remotely resembled thinking. "I'm Jack, you're Sam", he said after a moment.

"Right. But who are we? I'm mean, all I know is your name and my name and nothing else."

He thought for a few seconds and then repeated his earlier reply. "Does it matter?"

"No", she sighed and placed her head back on his chest "I guess not."

"We're together Sam, that's all that matters." He moved slightly until he was leaning over, a look of desire in his eyes. He leaned down and kissed her, his body and mind ready for more.

Sam kissed him back and opened her arms to him. "Love me", she said. And he did.

She awoke with a start, her head pressed into the Colonel's shirt. It took her a moment to realize they were standing in the Ancient room, the lights around them still on, although dimmed. The Colonel's was holding her – hell, she was also holding the Colonel! What the hell?

"Uh Sir?" she pulled back slightly, wincing when his arms tightened around her. "Colonel?"

He groaned softly and stirred. It took a few moments but he finally opened his eyes, blinking rapidly to clear them. "Carter?"

"Yes Sir. Uh – can you let go?"

He frowned, clearly confused, and then seemed to realize how they were standing. "Oh", he pulled back suddenly dropping his arms and letting her go. "Sorry Major. I don't -"

"That's okay Sir. I think we were really tired and must have dozed off."

"Yes – well – but I shouldn't have – I didn't mean – I'm sorry", he repeated.

She gave him a small smile. "Really Sir, it's alright. I think maybe we should get out of here. We both need sleep and something to eat."

"Yeah, I think you're right Carter." Jack looked around the room, and quickly realized that he was done here. Whatever information existed in this place had already been shown to him. He knew that his brain was swimming with information, but he wasn't going to think about it right now. Carter was right. They needed to eat and rest – hell, and to pee – before worrying about anything else.

"After you Major", he gestured towards the stairs that had led them down. "I'm sure Daniel is wetting his pants about now."

"Probably", she grinned as she turned to head back.

Jack watched as she walked away from him and frowned. He had a sudden vision of a very naked Carter walking towards him. He shook his head. Where the hell did that come from? He thought he'd dealt with those particular fantasies year's ago. He'd realized a long time ago that nothing good could possibly come out of him fantasizing about his 2IC and had forced himself to stop.

"Sir?" Sam was looking at him curiously, wondering why he'd stopped. "Is everything okay?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry." He swallowed and headed towards her and the stairs. He couldn't get that damned picture out of his mind. What was worse were the other things that began to crowd into his brain – skinning dipping, swimming in a tropical paradise, seeing Sam naked, making love to her – stop!

"Sir – really, are you okay?"

He realized he'd again come to a stop and took a deep breath. He had to get a handle on himself. "Yeah Major – just a bit tired I think. Let's get going." He stepped forward and began to hurry up the stairs, in front of Carter. It wasn't normally something he'd do, but walking behind her was way too distracting.

As Sam watched her CO march ahead of her something began to bother her. She had a fleeting memory of Colonel O'Neill naked. Stop it Sam, she told herself. For one thing, it definitely wasn't a memory and there was no way she was going to start allowing herself to dream. He was an attractive man, and she knew she already felt more for him than she should – but she was not going to let herself fall into the trap of fantasizing about him. That was the way to trouble.

As they walked through the small building towards the outside she continued to have flashes. They felt like memories, but she knew they were simply – what? - figments of her imagination caused by lack of sleep and food. Yes, that's what it was because there was no way she had ever made love with the Colonel in and by a tropical pool, or anywhere for that matter. She shook her head. Stop thinking about it.

"Jack! Sam! Thank God – we've been so worried. Is everything okay?" Daniel rushed up to them and looked them over carefully. "Are you alright?" he asked when they didn't reply.

"Yes Daniel", Jack said, "we're fine. Hungry, tired, but fine. Uh, where are the natives?"

"They returned to their houses to eat and sleep O'Neill", Teal'c informed them. "They will speak with you once you have had time to rest."

"Okay – right. So, shall we head back to camp?" Jack said tiredly.

"But Jack – what happened?" Daniel begged. "Come on – you've been gone almost two days. What was in there? What did you do? Did you see some Ancient artifacts? Technology? Come on, spill!"

Jack groaned, but knew that he couldn't blame Daniel. He'd be just as curious in the other man's shoes. "It was an Ancient – I guess you could call it a learning lab. It was pretty spectacular – lots of lights and weird pictures and stuff. I was able to read a lot of it and it's floating around in my brain, but I'm really too tired to tell you about it now."

"In your brain? Not like the download?" Daniel asked worriedly.

"No – it just showed the information and the Colonel read it Daniel", Sam explained.

"So could you read it?" the archaeologist, linguist and expert in all things Ancient asked his fellow scientist.

"Me? No – just the Colonel."

"So what did you do while you were there?" Daniel wanted to know. By this time the four teammates had begun to head back to their camp.

"Not much Daniel. Look, we'll tell you more after we've rested, okay?" she asked. "I'm really exhausted right now and it's hard to concentrate on much beside the thought of a good meal and a warm sleeping bag.

Daniel nodded, realizing it wasn't fair to bother his teammates about what they'd seen, although he was finding it extremely difficult to restrain himself. He kept an eye on both O'Neill and Sam and noticed that Teal'c was doing the same thing. The good news was that both of them looked healthy and – normal – if a little tired

"Okay", he finally told her. "I won't bug you – for now."

"Thanks Danny-boy", Jack slapped him on the back. "I know how hard that is but we do appreciate it."

The team walked for another thirty minutes before reaching their camp. Both the Colonel and Carter sat and rested, suddenly realizing they'd been on their feet the whole time – except for the time by the water, Jack thought to himself. He then froze. That was a fantasy, a dream. He certainly hadn't gone skinny dipping or made love with the Major. He had to stop this.

"Thanks guys" he said as he put his dish down. "I was hungry."

"You were indeed O'Neill", Teal'c agreed, looking at the empty MRE packages lying on the ground. "You are looking tired. I suggest you and Major Carter retire to your tents. Daniel Jackson and I will stand watch."

"Thanks buddy", Jack yawned and stood up. "Carter, you get to bed too. You look like you're ready to fall asleep on your feet."

"I will Sir", Sam said, standing slowly. She was stiff and sore. It was only as she headed towards her tent that she realized she was sore in places that didn't have anything to do with standing. She decided that it must have been that storm they went through that caused it. It was the only explanation. "Sleep well Colonel."

"You too Major. Sweet dreams!"

"Thanks Sir", she smiled, wondering if those dreams would include scenes of a Jack O'Neill standing naked … stop it Sam. She entered her tent.

She felt like falling directly into her sleeping bag and letting herself go to sleep instantly. With a sigh she decided she first had to undress. She'd feel more comfortable in the long run. Going to her pack she pulled out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt – her standard night wear when off world. She had stripped off her clothes and grabbed the shorts, when she looked down.

And froze. What? She leaned over and examined her inner thighs. There were marks there – finger shaped marks. And they were definitely in a place where there shouldn't be any marks.

Oh No! She closed her eyes and tried to figure it out. Finally she allowed herself to simply feel. "God", she breathed after a moment, opening her eyes. There was no doubt about it – she was slightly sore and felt – exactly like she'd just made love. What the hell was going on?

Jack quickly ripped off his black t-shirt and went to unbuckle his pants when he noticed something on his chest, right by his nipple. Squinting down he peered at whatever it was. There was a mark – that looked like …

"Hell!" he put his hand up and stretched the skin to see if he could see it more clearly. His eyes closed. It was very definitely a bite mark, a human bit mark. "Okay Jack", he murmured, "what the hell happened?" How in the name of all that's human did he get that?

He groaned and flopped back on his sleeping bag. He suddenly knew he was screwed and then he laughed – almost hysterically. The fact was, he was pretty sure he wasn't just screwed but that, in fact, he had screwed. He laughed agains. Not the time for bad puns Jack. What the heck happened and what are you going to do about it?

He sighed and closed his eyes. For now, he'd sleep on it.