Jack opens his eyes on the second day to find a bleary-eyed Carter reaching into her pack. He's grown accustomed to catching some rest on hard ground, but none of it fitful. He stretches before staggering tiredly over to where Carter is sitting on a log, she looks like she's slept as much as he did. He slumps down next to her. She manages an eye roll as she tosses a protein bar in his lap.

"Leftovers for breakfast," Jack comments as he tears open the wrapper. "I don't suppose there's coffee."

"Sorry, Sir," she apologises, shaking her head and hiding her smile by taking a bite of her own protein bar. Given the ten minutes notice she had, Jack's grateful Carter had the forethought to put a basic pack together for what was supposed to be a suicide mission than to be actually bothered by the lack of coffee. It's cooler this morning with a breeze in the air that's a bit nippy. Carter's jacket is pulled around her.

Teal'c crouches at the edge of the stream, collecting water in the canteens. He drops a tablet into each one, securing the caps before returning to their little camp. Carter holds out another protein bar to Teal'c. She doesn't toss it at him.

"I can locate Master Bra'tac to procure items we may require," Teal'c offers.

"Yeah," Jack agrees. While none of them is a novice when it comes to roughing it, they will need more supplies than what's in Carter's pack. They will need to find some sort of cover if the weather turns nasty. Maybe a couple of blankets to cover the ground. Also having someone, an ally – more than one- know where you are, helps.

"Looks like we're going to be here a while, he could join us," Jack suggests. Bra'tac is always a good time, always manages to put Jack on his ass in some way. He doesn't mind taking one for the team if it keeps morale up. Besides, it'd be good to touch base with Bra'tac.

"I shall pass along your invitation, O'Neill," Teal'c replies, straight-faced as always, though there's something in his tone which makes Jack stop. Teal'c's messing with him.

"More the merrier, I always say," he mutters, scuffing his boot on the ground. Beside him, Carter's shoulders shake with quiet laughter. When Jack looks at her, she turns her attention to the morning sky. He can see the corners of her mouth turn upward though.

"I will take my leave as soon as possible," Teal'c says, broking no argument. The sooner he leaves, the sooner he returns.

They accompany him back to the Stargate, dialling Earth for their daily attempt before Teal'c dials the planet Bra'tac has made his latest home. They watch him disappear through the even horizon, standing there as it shuts down a few seconds later.

"What's the plan for today, Sir?" Carter asks, squinting at the bright pink sun just rising over the ridge of the mountain.

Jack looks around, thinks about kicking back for the day. It'd be perfect if he had a couple of beers and his yoyo or his fishing pole and a deck chair. "You know how much I love protein bars, but they're not going to last forever." Carter's eyes flutter closed as though she knows what's coming when he claps his hands together. "You ever been fishing, Carter?"

888

As it turns out, Carter had secreted a short length of fishing wire at the bottom of her pack. Just in case, she'd told him.

A few hours after Teal'c disappeared through the Stargate, Jack sits at the edge of the river dangling the reel into the water. He's about twenty minutes south of the mountain where the fish are a bit bigger and livelier. The water is deeper yet clear enough to see the silt settled at the bottom. Jack observes the fish skim the river bed. None of them biting, though. Smart bastards. Jack smirks.

Jack senses Carter watching him. She decided to leave the fishing to the expert. Her words. He'd smirked at the smartass reply instead of reprimanding her. This isn't their run of the mill off-world overnight stay. Carter doesn't have any equipment to take samples, ruins to explore or locals to charm. She only has the notebook to make observations for when they get back to the SGC. Nothing to do except kick back and relax. Two things he doesn't associate with Samantha Carter.

She usually has something to do. If she doesn't, she'll find something to keep her occupied. Jack figures she'll come up with something within a day, if not sooner. He doesn't know how to deal with a bored Carter.

Personally, he's crap at waiting. He's restless and easily agitated. He fidgets. His yoyo is a part of his pack for a reason. Bored doesn't suit him, his mind and hands wander, usually getting him into trouble. Usually, right around the time when Carter moves the doohickey away from him before he breaks it.

At the moment his second in command is sat on the flat grass behind him, listening to the birds and watching the trees swaying in the breeze. Perfect weather, idyllic forest, no one around for miles, reminds him of the woods in Minnesota and the week he was supposed to be spending up there. He's got to admit there are worse places to be stranded.

He ponders the impromptu invitation he issued before he was engulfed by Thor's beam. The words were already halfway out of his mouth before he knew what he was saying. Carter was as startled as he was because she stammered for clarification. Jack tried to justify it, even though he knew how it would look. He just wanted her to go fishing with him, drag her away from being hunched over her workbench. An innocent enquiry that suddenly became loaded with something which Jack isn't ready to acknowledge, to himself or anyone else.

They've always bantered, exchanged friendly ribbing. Jack's pretty sure they both started it during their first briefing. Either that or they were too stubborn to back down, or something like that. She pulled back for a while, before Edora, after her double came through the Quantum Mirror. Jack let her, that was confusing for him too.

If Jack was pressed, he'd say that's when it got complicated. The moment he stopped trying to convince himself it was just a crush he had on his second in command. He stopped denying it wasn't like what her double had with his.

Since Edora, since the undercover op, he's made a conscious effort not to be an ass. Or at least, less of an ass and she's letting him.

A twig snaps behind him as Carter edges her way down beside him for lack of anything better to do. She perches on a rock a couple of feet away to watch him with the thin wire clasped between his thumb and index. There's enough reel to cut in half for them both to have a go.

"How long do you think Teal'c'll be?"

Jack has been thinking the same thing in the back of his mind. He expected their friend back a while ago, but Jack figures it could take a while to organise supplies even for a man as resourceful as Bra'tac. Teal'c can look after himself. He hopes there's no trouble in Jaffa land, Jack doesn't feel like diving into another crisis after the techno-bugs. He shrugs off the niggle of worry. "You know how he and Bra'tac are when they get yacking, Carter, can't shut 'em up."

She rolls her eyes at his nonchalance. He gives her a sideways glance. "Bored, Major?"

"No, Sir," comes her prompt reply. "Just thinking."

"Thinking can be as dangerous as being bored," Jack quips, earning himself half a smile.

They should probably start on establishing their camp before Teal'c returns with supplies. They haven't found a better location on their quick scout around the area. He wants to figure out if the fish are a viable source of food before they head back to camp. They haven't had any problems drinking the water, so that's promising. He wants to test the berries they've seen on the bushes too before they all have some.

"You ever been fishing, Carter?" Jack repeats the question she never answered. This time his voice is a little rougher, yet still genuinely curious. Her brow twitches, curious as she focuses on the way he dangles that unbaited hook in the water.

"No, Sir," Sam answers, wrinkling her nose. "My uncle offered to take us when my dad was stationed overseas. I was five." Her face softens, thinking back. Jack looks over at her when she huffs happily at the memory, watching the wistful look crossing her face briefly. Jack sees her expression shift before she shrugs. "Mom thought Mark and I would be bored on the boat, so she took us to Yellowstone to camp out and watch a meteor shower instead."

"Maybe she knew you'd be more interested in the stars," Jack offers softly, being drawn into the precious memory. She doesn't talk about her mom too often. Jack always assumed her dad was behind her first foray into stargazing. Carter followed Jacob into the Airforce, after all. He wants to ask more, say more, but he'd rather she volunteer her anecdotes than feel pressured to share.

"Something must've stuck, Sir," Carter tells him. Doctor, Major, Theoretical Astrophysicist rolled into one. Jack laughs at her. "I couldn't stop staring at the stars racing across the sky. When it got cold, Mom sat in between me and Mark and wrapped a blanket around all three of us." She smiles softly. "I think she just wanted us to stop arguing."

"Nah," Jack drawls, certain her mom wanted to snuggle with her kids under the star show. He nods at the sky, "Are we close enough to Earth to see anything we'd recognise when it gets dark?"

"Sorry, Sir," Carter shakes her head. "If we had a telescope we might have a chance to see some, not with the naked eye though."

Jack sighs. "Hey, did you have those glow in the dark stars on your ceiling when you were a kid?"

Her lips quirk. "The constellations weren't to scale, but they were up there, Sir."

"You don't say," Jack chuckles softly.

She grows quiet for a couple of minutes, thoughtful. "I'm sorry your vacation got hijacked, Sir."

"I don't know Carter," Jack starts, gesturing at their surroundings. "Trees, water, fishing." He turns to her. "The only thing missing is a cooler full of beer."

Her head cocks to the side. "Sounds nice, Sir."

He glances at her, catches her wry expression. "There'd be no doohickey's to play with, but I think you'd enjoy it."

"Yeah, I think I would," she admits softly.

"Looks like you won't be getting back to your reactor anytime soon," Jack comments. "Guess you're on an enforced vacation."

"Sounds nice, Sir," Carter mumbles, shaking her head at him. He might like to tease her about spending her free time at work, because she does, but she has an innate sense of adventure and appreciation Jack shares. He likes her approach, her attitude. He likes her too much. He clears his throat, beckoning her closer with a bob of his head.

"Fishing one-oh-one, Carter." He pulls the wire from the water, measuring it roughly with the hook hanging just above the ripples before cutting it with his knife. Jack pats the rock beside him. He hands her the reel with the hook when she shuffles closer. Luckily, he had a couple of hooks in the pants he'd put on to drive up to his cabin.

She accepts it with a bemused expression, the kind she bestows on him whenever he asks her to simplify her technobabble or compares Gate travel to a worm burrowing through an apple. He quickly attaches another hook to his line, casting it into the calmly flowing river. Carter ducks her head as she copies his action.

"Now what?" Carter asks after a few minutes. Jack cocks his head to the side. "Sir," she tacks on sheepishly.

Nice save.

"Now, we wait," Jack drawls, leaning back against the grassy incline.

888

When Teal'c returns, he has Ryac with him. The teen walks next to his father. He has a bag slung over his shoulder and a basket full of vegetables in his hands. He grins at Jack and Sam as Teal'c greets them.

"O'Neill, Major Carter, Ryac wished to accompany me. Master Bra'tac, however, declined your invitation."

Carter avoids looking at Jack as she holds out her hands for the basket Ryac is carrying.

"Oh well," Jack dismisses the blow-off with a shrug. "How you doin', Ryac?"

"I am well, Colonel O'Neill," the young man answers. "Father says you are unable to return to the Tau'ri."

"Yeah, we're trying to phone home, but we keep getting a busy signal," Jack jokes. Ryac tilts his head at him, clearly never going to understand the reference. "Are you joining us for the time being?"

"I must return to my training with Master Bra'tac," Ryac informs him, sending a questioning look in Teal'c's direction.

Jack recognises it as the look Charlie gave him just before deployment. Jack's a sucker for that look. Teal'c would never ask to go, but he doesn't have to. "We're going to be here for a while, Teal'c, why don't you go back with Ryac?"

Ryac tries but fails to keep the hopeful look at bay. Teal'c brightens too, straightening as he regards Jack. "Are you sure that is wise, O'Neill?"

"Check-in daily. We'll redial the SGC. In the meantime, spend some time with your kid, T," Jack tells him. he adds when Teal'c cocks his eyebrow.

He bows slightly, "Thank you, O'Neill."

Jack nods at the fire with the fish cleaned, speared and ready to cook. "You staying for dinner?"