Hi guys. I'm back and apologize for the really long delay. The following chapter is both short and pretty meaningless. I'll be on to more adventure after this.

By the way, thank you to whoever nominated my stories for the Sam and Jack Media awards. I have no idea who it was (they?) but I greatly appreciate the honor. If you haven't nominated your favorite author, check out their website.

Thanks,

The cold water took his breath away, but at the same time he felt invigorated. He took a deep breath and plunged under the water, allowing the cold liquid to rush over his head and face. When he surfaced had wiped the water from his eyes, just in time to see Carter approach the pool.

He grinned when he realized that she had improvised by obviously borrowing a pair of Daniel's boxers, paired with one of her AF issued t-shirts. It wasn't the most sexy outfit in the world, but on her –hell, on her BDU's looked sexy.

"Come on in Carter", he yelled. "The water's nice and warm."

She stopped at the edge and looked at him suspiciously. Then, continuing to watch him carefully, she slowly dipped in one toe. "Uh huh", she scowled, "warm!"

"Hey, it feels warm now. You just have to go for it and jump in. It's great, I promise."

She hesitated for a moment but then walked straight in without pausing until she was up to her neck. She let out one adorable groan and then submerged herself, coming up a few seconds later almost directly beside him. "That was mean Sir", she scolded him. "The water's freezing."

"You need to get your blood moving Major. Come on, I'll race you to the waterfall!"

With a splash of water the Colonel turned, his body rippling through the water with a grace that made Sam stare. But that lasted only a second when her naturally competitive nature took over. With a frown she threw herself into the water and swam as if her life depended on it.

At first she grew close and thought that she might actually have a chance of beating the Colonel. It crossed her mind, briefly, that she'd never actually seen him swim before and she had no idea how strong a swimmer he was. That he had to be competent, she knew. It was a requirement for a field officer. But, as she increased her speed she figured she had a chance. She was a damn good swimmer.

The Colonel looked over his shoulder once, and allowed himself a smirk. That was his Carter, swimming like a tank-full of sharks was after her. He allowed her to grow closer and even that she might even win. About three meters from the waterfall he simply sped up, beating her to it by well over a meter. He dropped his legs down and began a slow dog-paddle. "Warm now Major?"

"Yes", she growled, looking at him with narrowed eyes. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" she asked, very obviously dropping his honorific.

"What?" he looked at her innocently.

"Let me think I could beat you."

"Maybe next time you will", he shrugged, which somehow didn't have quite the impact when he was floating in the water. "You're a good swimmer."

"Mmm", her eyes narrowed. "And you – you're really good."

"Well, I did spend lots of summers at the cabin, by a lake. I've been swimming since before I could walk. Haven't done it in a while though", he frowned, although there was a strange and fleeting feeling that he had been swimming just a while ago. He couldn't quite grasp it and soon the memory, or whatever it was, just left.

"I do feel warmer though", she commented, twirling herself around in the water. "This is so beautiful. I feel like I could stay here forever."

"Yeah, I know the feeling, although we'd turn into prunes and I suspect you'd get bored."

She lifted her brow and quirked her head. "Really?"

"No doohickeys", he told her, as if that was answer enough.

And maybe it was, she pondered. It was true that she needed things to challenge her, to keep her mind interested. She looked at the Colonel – who at the moment was looking away from her – and snorted. She was pretty sure that she'd find him challenging enough to keep her from getting bored that is if she had the chance to find him challenging. The thought made her frown. Sadly, she would never get that chance.

"Whatcha thinkin' Carter?" he asked suddenly, after catching sight of her expression.

"Oh nothing Sir", she told him, and immediately turned and headed back towards the small grassy beach.

"You guys are crazy", Daniel called out to them. He and Teal'c were standing at the edge of the pond watching the two of them. "The water's freezing."

"It's refreshing Daniel. You should try it", Sam grinned.

"Yeah – no. I've got a book and I'm gonna sit here and read. Oh, by the way, one of the Senecksi came by a few minutes ago."

Jack sighed and slowly swam toward the edge of the pool. "And what did he, or she, want?"

"To invite us to a party tomorrow. You're the guest of honor."

Jack's eyebrows quirked. "Why? And what does that mean?"

"I believe it is to celebrate the fact that you are The One they have been waiting for. We asked what it entailed and all that ? would tell us is that it is nothing harmful or bad. I believe there will be a required amount of eating and imbibing of strong drinks. You shall also be given the seat of honor."

"And probably have to listen to a bunch of speeches", he sighed. "Maybe we should sneak away tonight and try a different planet. Surely there's a nice tropical paradise planet out there somewhere with no aliens on it?"

"That would be mean Jack", Daniel scolded him. "They've been nothing if not hospitable and this is a big deal for them. All we have to do is go and be there and let them celebrate. There's no harm in that."

"Famous last words Daniel. These things are never as simple as planned. Oh well', he sighed again and began to walk out of the water, "I guess I can put up with it for one day. But I'm not marrying any of the native women", he informed them bluntly.

"They would not expect it O'Neill", Teal'c informed him. "They believe you to be mated already."

"What?" he stood dripping at the side of the pond, his arm held out to help the Major out of the water. At Teal'c's words his armed dropped by his side and Sam stayed still in the water. "They think I'm mated? How the hell – why do they think that?" He turned his eyes towards Daniel, positive the younger man had something to do with this.

"Hey, don't look at me! It was ? – he was the one that assumed you and Sam – "

"He assumed? Why the hell did he do that? You must have said or done something."

"He did not O'Neill. Daniel Jackson is correct. The Senecksi said that Major Carter could accompany you as you were mated. They indicated that she was the only person who could."

"I – well", he rubbed his face and abruptly turned to the water. "Geesh – sorry Carter." He again held out his hand and helped her out. He knew she was perfectly capable of doing it on her own, but for some reason she had frozen when Teal'c had mentioned being mated.

"That's okay Sir", she answered softly. She slowly got out of the water, feeling a slight shiver run through her. She felt chilled and strangely upset.

"So Daniel", Jack once again faced his friend. "What does this mean?"

"Uh – nothing, I think. It just means I doubt they'll try and match you up with anyone. It's probably a good thing actually. It's not like they expect you to sleep together or something."

"Daniel, you could have gone all day without saying that", Sam muttered, her eyes closed in embarrassment.

"Sorry", he quipped, although he didn't look very repentant. "Look, what's the big deal. We've done this before on planets that are – misogynistic. Sam, how many times have you and I pretended to be married."

She shrugged. "I don't know – five, six times."

"And nothing happened other than the fact that the men on the planets in question left you alone. So, I wouldn't worry about it."

"He's right Carter", O'Neill said seriously. Truth to tell, he was feeling rather uncomfortable himself, and he knew it was because of those damn dreams, or visions, or whatever the hell they were, and not just the 'being mated' situation. Still, it really wasn't that big a deal. Daniel was right. They'd done this a few times in the past, although it had always been Sam and Daniel who were paired, never Carter and him. "I promise not to demand my conjugal rights", he suddenly blurted, trying to lighten the situation.

Ah shit! Why had he said that? He peeked over at the Major – who was giggling.

"Sorry Sir - I – thank you, I appreciate that."

"You're welcome", he suddenly grinned back, feeling much better. "Although I gotta tell ya Carter, it doesn't do a man's ego much good to have a woman thank him for not wanting – uh - that."

"I'm sure it doesn't Sir", she teased. "But I promise I won't demand mine either."

"It's a deal Major, although if you change your mind ….?"

Daniel rolled his eyes and glanced at Teal'c, who had a very strange expression on his face. He was regarding the two Air Force officers with a puzzled look, as if there was something he couldn't quite grasp. Daniel turned back to Jack and Sam and caught a glimpse of something as well, something that passed between the two that he'd never seen before. He shook himself. He had to be imagining it.

"Hey, you guys better dry off. It's not that warm and you're both turning blue."

Sam agreed and quickly made her way to her tent to grab a towel and get dressed. She also needed to spend a few minutes alone, to think, in private, about this 'mated' thing. While she knew it didn't mean a thing – it bothered her. Now because she was upset, but because she liked the idea way too much.

"Maybe I'll be lucky enough to get a cold and miss tomorrow" Jack harrumphed as he made his way to his tent. He hated alien parties, especially where he was the guest of honor.

"No getting out of it I'm afraid Jack", Daniel called after him. "Just remember, try and be polite."

Jack didn't even turn around; he simply lifted his hand and flipped his friend the finger. He then pushed the flap aside on his tent and crawled inside.

"Very mature Jack." Daniel grinned at his companion. "You know Teal'c, I think it's gonna be a good day."

Teal'c regarded him with no expression. "In fact, I think it may be a very interesting day", he replied. He slowly twisted until he was regarding the tents that his two teammates had just entered. "Something has changed between them, Daniel Jackson and I don't think they know it as of yet."

"What do you mean?" Daniel stared at the big man, his manner suddenly becoming serious.

"I do not quite know, but I do know things changed while they were in the Ancient dwelling. I do not know what happened, but I suggest we keep our eyes on them."

"Okay", Daniel stood quietly, even after Teal'c had wandered away. The big man was right. Something was going on. He just hoped it was nothing bad.

"Are you sure we have to go", whined Jack for the tenth time. "You can tell them I'm sick or something. In fact, I do feel a bit warm", he placed his hand on his forehead.

"That's because we're walking and it's hot out", Daniel told him, as they headed towards the alien town.

"I hate this kind of thing", Jack griped. He wanted to go back to the pool and go swimming with Carter again. He couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face at the memory.

"You look fine", Daniel pointed out, a rather suspicious look on his face. "What are you thinking about now?"

"Hmm?" Jack asked, trying to sound innocent. "Nothing. What do you think they're going to do?"

"You mean the Senecksi?"

"No, the leprechauns!" the Colonel said sarcastically. "Of course the damn Senecksi!"

"O'Neill, we are pleased to welcome you back among us." Chkoltay stood directly in Jack's path, no expression on his face.

Damn, thought Jack. Wouldn't you know the guy would be right there, right now? Feeling slightly embarrassed he looked directly at the Senecski man. "Uh hi Chkoltay. Happy to be here." There, Daniel couldn't fault him for that, could he? He glanced at their unofficial diplomat, who was shaking his head and looking rather disgusted. Jack simply shrugged, his attempt at an apology.

"My people await", the alien bowed slightly and turned towards the town, clearly expecting the humans to follow.

"Jack, watch what you say. We're guests here", hissed Daniel as they began to follow Chkoltay.

"I know", Jack sighed. "Look, I didn't know he was there. I'm not going to do anything stupid. I get the fact that we're here at their discretion and they've been – okay – with us. I just wish I didn't have to do – whatever it is I'm gonna have to do."

"I doubt you'll have to do anything", Daniel told him, clearly trying to be encouraging. "They probably just want to honor you, like Teal'c said."

"Right, well I could do without that too." He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Let's get this over with."

When they reached the dwellings on the outskirts of the town, it was to the sight of completely empty streets and the sounds of utter silence. There was no one around anywhere. Jack gave a puzzled glance to his companions but they had no idea either and Chkoltay was moving forward quickly, seeming not to notice anything amiss.

"Uh Chkoltay", Jack finally called. The alien stopped and turned towards him, an impatient frown on his face. "I'm just wondering why it's so quiet?"

"My people await you ahead", he answered. "Come, we must hurry."

"I'm sure it will be okay Sir", Sam told him, appearing silently at his side.

"Yeah – I much preferred swimming with you Carter", he sighed, glancing down at the woman at his side.

"Me too Colonel", she smiled. "After this is over we can go back."

He smiled. "Sounds l like a deal Major."

It was a few minutes later that they reached the center of the town, to see what looked like thousands of people milling about. The humans all stopped and watched for a few seconds, all of them instinctively checking to make sure they weren't walking into a dangerous situation.

"It looks peaceful O'Neill", Teal'c finally announced.

"Peaceful hell! It looks like a damn party."

It was true. The people were definitely dressed up in wildly colorful clothes. There were flowers and bowls and decorations everywhere. Children were playing and laughing and running around. The mood was indeed party-like. Jack shook his head, but felt slightly better.

The noise and the speaking and the laughter of the crowd slowly but surely began to die out as one after another of the Senecksi caught site of the humans. Within moments the crowd of people were completely silent, looking intently, not at all of the visitors to their planet – but directly at Jack.

"He has arrived", Chkoltay announced. The crowd erupted in joyous shouts and surged towards the Colonel.

"Oh crap", he muttered, having a strong urge to flee.

"Just enjoy it Sir", Sam said in his ear. She was standing directly beside him, also looking at the surging crowd.

"Okay Major – as long as you stay and protect me!"

She peered up at him, her expression totally serious. "Of course Sir. Always."

Suddenly not carrying what his teammates thought, Jack reached out and grabbed Carter's hand and took a deep breath.

The circus had begun.