Vacation
Episode tag to 'Nemesis'
"You know," Jack says as he swirls a blade of grass between his fingers, side-eyeing Carter with a cheeky smile. "This replicator thing was just a big scam to get you out of your lab and take some time off."
"So you and Thor plotted this?" Her eyes beam at him and tickle his smile to grow bigger.
"Actually, it was all Thor's idea. Those Asgards take vacation time seriously."
"Do they?" She's enjoying this carefree banter just as much as he is.
"Yup. Beaming me up, letting you play with his ship, faking his sickness—all Thor. Only the replicators were my idea."
"That's a dangerous one." Carter can hardly conceal her laughter.
"Yeah." He looks at her proudly, and eventually, she can't hold back anymore and lets her wide smile shine at him. Proud of having produced that one, Jack lies back in the grass and looks into the sunny sky.
"First, I thought about replicator humans instead of bugs, but that would have been too crazy," he says in eager anticipation of her reaction. And he's not disappointed because the next thing he hears is another giggle—a sound that sends a warm tingle through his body. Maybe, Jack thinks, he enjoys making her smile a little too much.
The past four days since they had escaped Thor's ship and found asylum on P4X-234 has been all sunshine and Carter giggles and Teal'c's eyebrow wandering in unprecedented heights while he watched their exchange silently. Yesterday they tried to dial earth for the first time. Carter wasn't surprised when it failed. Getting the second gate up and running and that without her help would take them a bit. Strangely, Jack didn't mind. By now, he had quite some experience with getting lost, and so far, this was his favorite time.
Jack sneaks another look at Carter, letting his eyes linger for a moment; the sun on her face, the smile on her lips, the breeze in her hair—yeah, he could stay another day or so. He looks back up into the sky and slowly, lulled in by the warm sun and the victorious feeling of having saved earth yet another time, he dozes off. After the first attempt to activate the gate had failed, Teal'c left to stay with his son on Chulak. In a one time delivery, Teal'c supplied them with all they needed, and ever since then, it was just the two of them. Not so different from the fishing trip he had invited her to before Thor beamed him up, and the entire drama had started. Back then, he didn't think his invitation through. He had asked her just like he had asked Daniel. Only her surprise and hesitation made him feel that this could be considered inappropriate. That rumors would spread if the people at the SGC found out that the two of them spent time in his cabin together. So, after all, this was better. No rumors, just a bit of Carter time. It's not that Jack is surprised he enjoys hanging out with her. It's more surprising to him how much he enjoys it. They are good together. Of course, they did stuff like this all the time. Setting up camps and surviving in the wilderness is part of their job, but without a threat or a clear task, they still work well together. All that without getting into each other's hair, which he considers an outstanding fact given that he could be annoying in times. They quickly found their routine of doing the things that needed to be done and enjoyed the rest of the time like a vacation. Just like on this evening when they are sitting around a fire, staring into the darkest sky, trying to find stars they've been too. At least, Carter—he invents new star constellations like Marge Simpson or the Donut.
"Do you think this star in the Canucks shark fin has a gate?" he asks, pointing at some stars which, through the eyes of Jack O'Neill, do look like said Canucks shark. It says a thing about her that she has no difficulty seeing it too.
"Perhaps, if I had my computer, I could calculate its address and cross-reference it with the cartouche from Abydos…"
"Argh, Carter. That sounds like work, and we're on vacation, remember?" he interrupts her.
"Yes, Sir," she says with a smile in her voice.
They fall silent for a bit, and then Jack starts to wonder if he's the only one enjoying the time here and if Carter is just bored. "You know if you get antsy, you could go somewhere else. Anywhere basically. Like P3X-whatever. With that… that thing I had to drag you away from because it was so interesting." Secretly—also a secret to himself—Jack hopes he's not putting an exciting idea in her mind.
"Nah, I think you and Thor are right, vacation is good," Carter answers. "How about you? Would you rather be somewhere else? You could go to Edora, Sir."
The Sir follows after a brief pause. Almost as if it took her a moment to realize what she just asked him. By now,
Jack can hear the difference in the way she says 'Sir.' This one sounds like an apology.
"Carter." He's searching for the right words, and when he eventually finds them, they sound like a promise, "I'm not planning on going back there."
He's confused when he notices how important it is to him that Carter understands what happened on Edora happened because he was trapped there. He would never voluntarily leave earth and everything for another woman. When he thinks the words 'other woman', he gets scared by his thoughts. Carter can't be a woman to him. And especially not THE woman. He quickly shoves his thoughts away, points at another bundle of stars, and says, "This one looks a bit like Hammond."
It's worth a try to think of Hammond to stop thinking about her that way. For the next days, this plan seems to be working pretty well. The time passes uneventful, just how a vacation from a job like theirs should be. They enjoy each other's company, but none of those confusing thoughts creep back. On day 7 of unsuccessful attempts of going home, Teal'c comes back from Chulak, fashioning a golden soul patch on his chin.
"I have returned," Teal'c says as he steps closer to Carter and Jack, who lay in the shade of a tree, dozing through yet another day.
"Hey, T," Jack says. He slowly blinks his eyes open and immediately spots Teal'c's new facial hair. "Teal'c, you've got something…" Jack rubs his chin right where Teal'c's beard is growing.
"I have acquired a Nac'tel." Teal'c blinks proudly.
"A Nac'tel?" Carter asks as she gets up.
"When Jaffa reach their prime age, it will be shown by the appearance of the Nac'tel."
"Prime age? On earth, they call it a midlife crisis," Jack quips with a Carter eyer-roll as a reaction.
"Teal'c, is it your birthday?"
"You could call it that, MajorCarter. The 122 year after a Jaffa gets is symbiote is the most important day in the life of a Jaffa. I came to invite you to my celebration."
The prospect of cake, which Jack hopes to come along with a Jaffa party, gets him excited. "I could go to a party. Whatcha think, Carter?"
"We would be honored to celebrate with you, Teal'c," Carter says.
Teal'c bows his head slightly, and as they gather their few belongings and walk to the gate, Jack says, "There will be cake, right?"
It turns out a Jaffa Party has not much in common with earthling parties. For the past hours, they went through one ritual after the next. Right now, it's time for ritual combats.
Jack leans a bit closer to Carter and whispers, "They should bring out the cake now."
She chuckles, which earns her a dismissive look from a big Jaffa, who's sitting across the room.
"You should be careful, Sir. This big Jaffa over there has been sending evil looks at you the entire time. He might challenge you for combat if you don't behave," she answers, and he's surprised by how cheeky it sounds.
"Oh, I think he's just jealous that you're my date and not his," he answers and notices the slight blush on her cheeks. Jeez, is he seriously flirting with her? He looks into his cup and wonders if it has alcohol after all.
"You know, a girl likes it when guys fight for her," Carter says with a teasing grin.
Oho, she's flirting back.
But before he can think about what that means, Bra'Tac leans closer and says, "O'Neill, this is the highlight of every Nac'Tel celebration. Please watch."
Jack flinches a smile. What did he expect from a Jaffa party given the crazy party animal Teal'c is? He leans closer to Carter again; this time so close, her hair tickles his nose and her smell his senses—only to not interrupt the highlight of the event, he tells himself.
"I guess no cake," he whispers. Suddenly Carter turns her head, and then her face is only inches from his. Her eyes grow wide, and unconsciously her tongue darts out from between her lips before she pulls the lower lip in and bites it. When she realizes what is happening, she blushes charmingly, smiles, and drags her eyes away from his.
Well, this might be better than cake, he thinks as yet another pair of Jaffa step into the center.