Will was set into the bathtub in the only bathroom that the cabin boasted. Helen was bent over him, her knees pressed into the fluffy bathmat as she started to undress him, her hands gloved in latex. Sam brought in towels and a bucket filled with ice, while she had Jack filling the ice-cube trays again. It wasn't a second longer before she was also bent over the edge of the tub and helping Helen to undress the man.

"What's his name?"

"Will," Helen answered tersely.

"He'll be okay."

"Of course he will." Her voice was sharp and she pulled both his shirts off. Soaking on in the water she had filled the sink with she started to wash his hand clean of the blood that was dried and staining his fingers. Sam worked at his boots and pants while the other woman cleaned him. "He'll be quite fine a few hours, minus the concussion he sustained." Her fingers flitted over Will's ribs where he had been gripping them earlier. "Seems he just bruised these, no breaks like he thought." Her eyes scanned over his face, before her fingers skimmed over his cheek.

"Are you a doctor?"

Helen turned to her then. "Yes, among other things." Flipping her hair over her shoulder, Helen pulled Will's jeans down until he was only in his boxer shorts. Turning on the water to the tub, cold and unrelenting with any heat she waited for it to start to fill. "And you? What is it you do, Sam Carter?"

"I'm retired, Air Force."

Humming, the brunette leaned over Will again as his body started to move. "Hey there," her voice went from distracted and distant to soft and warm as her eyes glided over his face. "It's going to get cold for a bit, okay?" Will nodded and she leaned in to press lips to his forehead. "I'll be right back." She turned back to Sam and looked her over. "Keep the water running and make sure he doesn't get out of the water, it's going to get cold." She took the bucket of ice and dumped it into a terrycloth. Rolling it up, she pressed it over his shoulders and behind his neck. Helen gave one more look to Sam before standing and exiting the room.

She made for the kitchen, her feet silent and Jack following closely behind. She didn't think he was going to leave her alone in the house ever. Sighing, Helen started to open cabinets. "I'm not going to harm her."

"Why do I not believe you?" He had his hands in his pockets and was resting against the island in the center of the kitchen watching her carefully.

Helen didn't answer. Pulling out a pot, she turned to the sink and filled it halfway with water, setting it on the stove and turning the pilot on to light. She leaned back against the counter and stared at him carefully. "I'm not here to cause trouble."

"But I'm sure you do cause a lot of trouble."

When Helen's eyes locked on Jack's brown ones, she saw truth and honesty. "I do, although not intentionally. Often times, when I'm with William, I am cleaning up the trouble."

"Like tonight?"

"Like tonight." She gave him a sweet and soft smile, hoping to calm him. Her eyes scanned the room and she saw all their weapons set on the dining room table. Turning back to Jack, she noticed that he had watched her line of sight. "I'm not here to cause you any undue harm, of that I can assure you. We just happened on your property by accident."

"Accident… what were you chasing?" He had his fingers on the marble counter-top and was tapping them in a pattern. Helen's ears were aware of how he picked up the pace when she stretched out the silence before answering. "Well?"

"We were tracking a rare species of mammal closely related to the black bear. It's so rare that one has not been seen in the last fifty years." She paused and gave him a pointed look. "Until tonight that is, and that was probably one of the last still alive."

Jack didn't respond right away. He stared at her, looking over her black leather jacket, jeans and belt with holsters. "So what is it you do then? Run around chasing rare species?"

"I run a private research facility. We protect these species from humans."

Rolling his eyes, Jack's hand flew up into the air and he pointed at her. "You're one of those hippies with money!"

"Hardly," she scoffed and turned back to the stove looking at the water that was standing still. Both turned suddenly when they heard the footstep in the hall. Helen's eyes locked on Sam's as she stood there. "What is it?"

"He's asking for you."

Helen turned back to the stove and caught Jack gaping at both of them. His eyes were swinging back and forth between each woman, but she ignored him. "Tell him I'll be there soon, I need to finish making this."

Sam nodded and turned back to the tiny bathroom door, taking a deep breath before heading in and kneeling once more by the cold body in the tub. "She says she's coming, but she's cooking something."

Will nodded, his teeth chattering as he spoke, "T-t-the ant-t-i-d-d-ote." His hands came up to his upper arms and he squeezed hard as more shivers ran through his body.

"I would presume; do you know what it is she's making?" Sam took a wet cloth and trailed it over his chest and abdomen to keep his skin cool.

Clenching his teeth tightly, "S-salt w-wat-ter." His knee jerked and hit the edge of the tub hard, spraying water over the side and down onto the bathmat below. Sam pulled up a towel and dried as much as she could, her hand warming slightly on the cotton. She felt sorry for the poor man who had to lie in the cold water. "Ab-so-orbs p-p-ois-son." He answered without her asking.

"From the blood?"

Will nodded his answer, his head bobbing up and down.

"All right, then." Sam brought the soft cloth over his neck, trailing the cold water along his skin. "It shouldn't be long then, right?" Again, Will's head moved up and down. "You're always the one that gets hurt, aren't you?"

That caused Will to chuckle, but the laugh turned quickly into a cough that had him hacking. Shoving a hand in front of his mouth to try and prevent anything from leaving his lips, he waited until his chest calmed. Pulling his fingers away, they both saw the blood staining is pale skin.

"Helen!"

"Mmf-fine."

They spoke at the same time, Sam louder. Her eyes tracked to the door before pulling back to Will. "You're sure?" Her eyes were wide and focused on him. She got an affirmative answer, but the door was already opening.

"What is it?"

Sam sat back on her heels and looked at Helen's head poking into the room. "He's coughing up blood."

"How much?"

Her eyes scanned Will's body before deciding on a response. "Not a lot."

"It'll be ready in about five more minutes. It's going to be hot to drink." Helen poked her head in to see Sam smiling at Will.

"Somehow I don't think he'll mind."

"Perhaps not this evening, tomorrow is a different story." Sam turned her head to the side and the smile that she was giving the man faded as she saw the look on Helen's face. It was so soft and gentle: the lines by her eyes faded and her lips were upturned. Helen was lost in the moment and Sam was sure that would change as soon as Will turned his head to look at her, or as soon as Helen turned to look at Sam. The blonde filed away the moment as Helen took a step forward and schooled her features. "Are you well, William?"

"P-peach-chy."

"I'm almost ready, you can start to warm if you like." Will nodded his head vigorously and tried to reach forward for the hot water. Both Sam and Helen stopped him with thin fingers, Helen's on his chest and Sam's on his arm. Sam was the one who reached over to drain the cold water while turning on the hot. "Not too hot now." Helen issued it quietly to Sam while she threaded fingers tenderly through Will's hair. "I'll be right back, you sure you're all right?"

He loved the way she said that word: the glottal stop and the way her eyes were always serious made anyone on the receiving end of the question feel as though her entire being depended on the answer they gave. "Mmg-good-d." They both smiled at each other before Helen closed her eyes, standing, and turned to leave.

Sam watched her go before turning back to Will. "She's your boss?"

"F-four ye-ears." He answered and ran his hands back and forth along his forearms in a vain attempt to try and get warm. "Th-that f-feels g-good." He cupped his hands as best he could and pulled the warmer water over his chest.

"I'm sure," Sam giggled and warmed the cloth before trailing it over him like she had done before. "What is it that you do for her?"

Will took a deep breath as the warmth started to seep back into his limbs. Sam could tell because his shivering slowed and his breathing became far more regulated. "A lot. I do a lot; I'm her p-protégé."

"Her protégé? That sounds important." Sam took the towel that was behind his neck with the ice cubes away from his body and set it in the sink. It was mostly melted and wet anyway. "I'm retired USAF."

"Retired?"

"Well… for the most part. Both of us actually." She gave him a quick smile. "They still call us in a lot for consultation." Her hand was moving over his bare skin and she was smiling. A strand of hair fell into her face and she blew on it to get it away from her nose. She looked back up and caught Will staring at her with a strange expression on his face. "What?"

"Got it!" Helen came into the room interrupting them. She knelt next to Will and Sam was forced to slide away. "You have to drink all of it." She lifted the mug to his lips and watched as he took a sip.

"Guh, Magnus, that's awful." He cringed.

"All of it." Her head cocked to the side and her eyebrow lifted. Sam watched carefully as they stared each other down. Helen presumably would win.

"It's hot." Will was pouting when Sam's eyes returned to his face; his lips were drawn and there was a furrow between his eyes. She was sure he was feeling warmer.

"Really?" Helen's head rocked forward before her eyes searched the room. Spotting the terrycloth in the sink, she moved over to it picking out a few of the ice cubes and plopping them into the glass. "Better?" She was staring at Will and he lifted a hand for the drink. "All of it."

Will took a deep breath and cupped the glass with both of his hands before he started to drink it down as quickly as possible.

"Oi! Slow down!" Helen grabbed the cup and tilted it back as Will sputtered. "I don't want you to choke." He did as he was told and both women watched until he was done drinking. He handed the offending item to Sam, who pressed a palm over the top of it while she observed Helen checking Will's vitals. "How are you feeling?"

"Snug as a bug."

"Cheeky." She smiled at his smirk and tested her fingers in the water. "You can get out if you're warm enough."

"Yeah?"

Sam handed Helen a towel. "You've got some color back," Sam commented to him before pointing toward the door. "I'll just be outside if you need anything." She shut the door and could hear them mumbling before the water sloshed. Jack was waiting at the end of the hallway and she moved over to him, pressing a hand against his stomach.

"I don't like her."

"You don't have to like her, she's not staying." Sam's eyes were glittering as she moved into the kitchen to set water on the stove for tea.

Jack pulled up a stool and sat, watching her ever careful movements. "She's hiding something."

"Everyone is hiding something, Jack. Like we aren't?" She stepped back to him, leaning over the corner of the counter he was at and pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "Isn't that why we're out here?"

"It's snowing."

Shaking her head, Sam returned to the kitchen sink, cleaning the utensils that Helen used. "I saw that on our way in."

"It's snowing bad…" He let the sentence hang and Sam turned to look out the window. "It's going to look like Antarctica."

Turning back to him slowly, her eyes locking on his, she cocked her head to the side. "Would that be a bad thing, because I remember some moments in Antarctica that were quite pleasant?"

Jack rolled his eyes and his shoulders before giving her a dorky grin. "Not with guests."

"They'll be leaving."

"It's snowing!" He burst the words out of his lips and opened his hands with palms up. "They'sa not leavin'… they'sa gettin' snowed in."

"What is that JarJar Binks?"

"I'm impressed, Sam." His eyes softened.

Sam shrugged, "Teal'c made me watch Star Wars, remember?" She took the tea off the stove and set in the leaves to stew. "I'm going to check on them."

"I don't like her."

"You don't have to," she called over her shoulder. "They're not staying." She disappeared down the hallway with a sway to her hips and a swing to her pony tail.