SOOOOO sorry for the long delay in posting. All I can claim is - uh - spending time on my other fics and hitting a bit of a road block with this one.

This is a short chapter - and something of an interlude. More adventure, angst, etc to come

Sam woke up first the next morning and spent the first few minutes just watching Jack sleep. She had seen him like this dozens of times, when they had been on missions together, but now it seemed different. Now she knew he loved her so somehow watching him was sweeter and more meaningful.

"Hey", he said softly, his eyes catching hers. "You're awake."

She grinned. "I always knew you were smart."

"And you're sassy!" he said, pushing himself up and giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

"You love it Jack O'Neill!" she told him. She pushed him back down and proceeded to give him anything but a quick kiss. By the time she was done, Jack was panting heavily and wishing they were in a big comfortable bed somewhere. As it was, they were on a cold, hard floor and they needed to get going.

"As much as I hate to say this -"

" - we have to leave", Sam said, finishing his sentence. She pushed herself upright and attempted to straighten her hair. She then looked at Jack and smirked. "You ready to go?"

He sighed. "I guess." He followed her up and stood a moment, trying to regain his equilibrium. It was partly that he was still recuperating from his wound, but more than that he was dealing with his body's reaction to having Sam kiss him.

"Alright, we'd better make our way to the Gate and pray that neither the Jaffa nor Teina's men discover us. Let's collect all our stuff and get the hell out of Dodge!"

They made their way to the Gate taking a circuitous route, hoping anyone out looking for them would concentrate on the more direct paths.

"Up ahead Sir", Sam whispered.

Jack gave her a quick look, surprised at the 'Sir' but then realized that Sam was in full soldier mode and had naturally reverted to calling him that.

"Carter?"

"Jaffa Sir, at 2 o'clock."

"How many?"

"I just saw the one."

He nodded and motioned to the right. They'd get off the trail and move forward slowly. It was tricky going as the jungle was dense but they were both experienced and they made there way forward quietly, stopping only at Sam's raised hand.

She gestured ahead and held up two fingers. Jack nodded. He had seen them as well. He gave a few hand signals and when Carter nodded they split up. In a couple of minutes both of the Jaffa had been disarmed and tied up.

"We'd better be careful Carter, there could be more of them."

"We're about 500 meters from the Gate", she told him.

"Okay – let's move. And be careful Sam."

"You too Jack!"

The two of them moved forward, and little more needed to be said. They made their way together, perfectly in synch after years of working together.

As they moved towards their goal, Sam couldn't help but pray that their lives together would continue on as smoothly as their working relationship had done.

Jack's arm went up and she stopped. She too saw the Jaffa at the Gate. There appeared to be only four of them, but it was totally possible – and probable that there were more hidden around the perimeter.

They did a quick search and discovered three more Jaffa hiding among the trees. They took those ones out quickly and painlessly – at least painlessly for the humans. The Jaffa would all end up with terrible headaches when they returned to consciousness.

That only left four more right at the Gate, although both of the two Air Force officers continued to be cautious in case they'd missed someone.

"Okay, I'll take the two at 3 and 6 o'clock", Jack whispered, "you get the other two. Once they're out, get to the DHD as quickly as possible and start dialing."

She nodded and then slowly headed to her left, to deal with her two assigned Jaffa. Disabling the four Jaffa at the Gate turned out to be an easier task than they had anticipated. Just as they moved forward, there was a rumbling and a shadow grew over the land. Both Jack and Sam glanced up, just in time to see the arrival of an Asgard ship.

The Jaffa had also looked up and what they saw filled them with terror. Unfortunately, as a result of their reaction, they completely missed the real and more immediate threat. Within a few short seconds all of them lay on the ground, unconscious.

Sam ran to the DHD and began to press the correct glyphs. Jack had arrived seconds after her but kept his eyes on the surrounding area, making sure that there were no other Jaffa or locals trying to kill them.

They had decided to go to a known planet – P5K 34X – rather than attempting one of the new ones. They didn't have time to use the Malpette with Jaffa running around, so instead were travelling to a sparsely populated desert world that Sg6 had discovered last year. They had found nothing there – no plant or animal life – but only endless miles of burnt desert. Everyone quickly agreed there was no point in exploring it and it had been marked off their list of planets.

Jack figured that the NID wouldn't bother looking there for them, knowing that no one could live on that planet. But it would work perfectly as a place to stop and check out their next destination.

"Sam!" Jack started shooting as half a dozen Jaffa ran out from the jungles. "Hurry!"

"Almost there – Sir." She hit the center glyph and the event horizon shot out. Reaching out with his hand, Jack grabbed Sam's and they ran up the stairs, dodging staff weapon bursts as they did so.

He felt Sam suddenly jerk beside him and cursed, sure that she had been hit. With a last minute surge of energy he pulled her through the Gate and felt the sudden rush of the wormhole catapult them through space.

He came out as fast, if not faster than he had entered the Gate, Sam's hand still held securely in his. He twisted as he landed, pulling Sam on top of him to break her fall. All of the air was forced out of his lungs and his entire body was jarred from the force of the landing. A second later Sam had landed on top of him and he was only glad that there wasn't actually any more air in his lungs as it would have been forced out again by her using him as a landing pad.

It took Jack a few seconds to get enough oxygen in his lungs to be able to speak. In the meantime he moved until he could see Sam – who hadn't said anything. God – let her be okay.

"Sam?" he gasped out, trying to see her. When she didn't respond he gently rolled her off of him and hoisted himself up on his arms so that he could see her. "Sam?" he asked again. "Are you okay?"

He could hear her take a shaky breath and then saw a small nod. He breathed a sigh of relief, although he still wasn't sure that she was totally all right. "Hey, speak to me. Are you okay?"

"Yes", she said finally. "Just – winded."

"Were you hit?"

She looked up at him in confusion. "I – I don't know."

He immediately threw off his pack and began to check her over, looking for blood or any wounds.

"Uh Jack?"

"What Carter?" he asked, sounding almost frantic.

"Nothing hurts. I think I'm okay."

At that precise moment Jack got a look at her pack, and the hole that had been blasted in it, obviously by a staff weapon. He closed his eyes in relief. It hadn't gone through and she wasn't hurt. He sagged back to the ground, his eyes closed.

"Sorry", she told him softly, kneeling beside him. "I was just winded by the fall – although thank you for providing a reasonably soft landing. Uh, are you okay?" She looked him over carefully, noticing how pale he was. She frowned in concern. "Jack?"

"I'm fine", he said. "I bruised my ass when I landed, but it's nothing that won't heal." He opened his eyes and looked Sam over carefully. "I thought you'd been shot."

"No – at least I guess I was", she looked at her pack. "But it just damaged my pack, not me." She suddenly grabbed her canteen and handed it to Jack. "Here, drink. You look like you're about to pass out."

He took the canteen but glared at her briefly. "Am not!"

She couldn't help the grin. He sounded like such a little boy sometimes. "Well even if you're not about to pass out, you need to rest. You still haven't recovered from your wound and you've been running around taking out Jaffa and then being catapulted through a wormhole. It's enough to make anyone tired."

"And add to that being squashed by a flying Carter!" he mumbled as he took another drink.

She laughed and sat back down. "Yes, that was some exit. I am really sorry about landing on you though. I didn't hurt you did I?" she frowned suddenly.

"No Carter, like I said, it was just my six that bore the brunt of the landing. Believe me, if anyone was going to land on me I'm glad it was you."

"Yeah, I expect Teal'c would be much more painful."

He snorted. "You're telling me." He suddenly began to chuckle. "But I expect it would be Daniel who would be more likely to do it. He's usually the klutz."

She giggled at that, thinking back to the many times Daniel had caused near disaster by being distracted or not paying attention. Suddenly she missed their two friends terribly.

"Yeah", Jack said softly, "I know. I miss them too."

They spent a few minutes just resting, although the planet they were on was hot and offered no shade, so they decided to move on to their next location as soon as possible.

"Did you pick one?" Sam asked.

"Yeah – there's a nice little planet called Zemfora – at least that's what the Ancients called it. It's got a temperate climate with plenty of good flora and fauna. There were a number of small settlements and as far as I can tell, it was a peaceful planet."

"Sounds good. Shall we send through the camera?"

Jack nodded and forced himself to his feet. Damn he was stiff! He opened his pack and reached in to grab one of the small Malpette's they'd created. In the end they had decided to make a number of them, figuring they'd lose some on unlivable planets.

He moved – slowly – to the DHD and began dialing. God what he wouldn't give for a hot tub and a massage – preferably from Sam. He grinned as he began to dial.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked when she saw the grin.

"Uh – nothing."

"Jack!"

He shrugged. "Just thinkin' about how good a massage would feel."

"Oh. My God, yes!" Suddenly she got an impish look as she watched him dial the last few glyphs. "I'll give you one if you give me one", she told him.

He almost misdialed but then forced his hand to the final glyph. "Uh – okay", he coughed out. God – he so did not need to be thinking about that right now. Focus Jack, focus.

Sam continued to grin as they watched the event horizon form and the 'kawoosh' as it filled the space in front of them. They waited a few seconds and then Sam got the Malpette set up.

"Okay Sir – it's ready."

"Let 'er go Sam!"

Sam walked up to the gate and set down the small machine. It was basically a simple camera built on a small, moveable platform. It went through the horizon, disappearing instantly on its way to a new planet.

"Okay – let's see what we can see." Jack held the small screen in front of both of them, ready to see what Zemfora was like.

"Uh – peaceful?" Sam asked.

Jack grimaced at the desolate landscape being projected through the wormhole. It was obvious to both soldiers that a battle – an epic battle – had taken place, leaving mass destruction in its wake.

"Okay – so not the planet for us."

"No", Sam answered, sounding subdued. "Why do people do these things?"

"I wish I knew Sam", he shrugged. "Let's try planet number 2!" Jack put on a voice like a game show host, which made her smile. She knew he was trying to take her mind off the vision of the first planet.

"So, the next place we should try is Sardis. It seems to be an agricultural planet – kind of like the mid-west. Again, there were small settlements dotted throughout the land and it was relatively peaceful."

"Relatively?" she asked.

"Uh – some land disputes, but doesn't look like anything too serious. Shall we try?"

She nodded and watched as he dialed again. They went through the same routine as before and waited for the picture of the planet to appear.

"Damn!" Jack cursed when he saw the projection. "What do the readings say?"

Sam was examining the small screen, which gave air quality and other environmental readings. She grimaced when she saw the results. "I'm afraid we're not going to Sardis either. The air is unbreathable. It's been poisoned, probably from some kind of chemical factory – or even warfare."

"Great! So much for the amazing Ancients! Looks like they were as bad as the rest of us."

"Do you have another planet?" Sam asked. She was starting to feel both hot and tired and couldn't wait to get off this damn world.

"Yeah – lots more. Let me see." He closed his eyes and tapped his finger against his lip. "Let's try Terasano." He closed his eyes to try and remember anything about this planet. "Uh – Mediterranean climate – by the ocean. A larger city and a number of small villages within one to two days ride." His eyes opened. "Looks and sounds nice. Let's just hope the people haven't destroyed it."

By this time Sam was feeling tired and out of sorts. Their life was in limbo and she wanted to stay in one place and simply rest. And, she wanted to be able to spend time with Jack – to get to know him in a new way.

"Alright – here we go!" The Malpette went through and a moment later they were looking at scenes from Terasano.

"Looks nice", Sam said softly.

"Mmm – what do the readings say?"

She looked at her small monitor, her face serious and intent on the screen. "Air quality – looks good. Temperature – 28 degrees Celsius. I can't tell anything about the water quality, but everything else seems good."

"Well then – should we try it?"

She looked at him and gave a single nod. "I'd say yes."

"Okay Major – after you."

Sam picked up her pack – now duct-taped to try and repair the staff blast hole – and swung it over her shoulder. She waited for Jack to gather all his things together and then they walked to the Gate, shoulder to shoulder.

"Alright – here we go!" He gave her a small smile and reached out and took her hand. Together they stepped through the Gate to a new world.