A/N: Things do get a bit 18+ after Jack storms off, so if you are underaged I am telling you to skip the section between the next pair of lines. I know you will not do that, but now you have been warned and no one can complain.

A/N 2: Things again sort of go 18+ after Jack and Daniel's corridor scene, but underaged readers should not take any more damage from that scene than the one warned about above.

"Anything else on the agenda for the day?" Jack asked. He'd been sitting in the same chair in the conference room for most of the day, listening to people's requests and suggestions before moving on to a meeting with some of the higher ups in the city, a meeting he now tried to end. Daniel was the only one who raised his hand around the U-shaped table, which had been brought back now with Woolsey gone, and got a tired look from Jack in response. "What about you Teal'c? Any luck finding Bra'tac and restoring the Free Jaffa Nation?"

"Bra'tac was killed before you rescued me O'Neill, he tried to flee in an Al'kesh which was destroyed over Dakara. I was captured on the same day. I have no reason to contact the Jaffa."

"Come on Teal'c, you've been fighting for the Jaffa's freedom for almost two decades. Are you going to abandon them just like that? And who knows maybe Bra'tac managed to escape using the rings," Carter said.

"Indeed, the Jaffa have grown weak. They do not deserve freedom."

"Right, well uhm…" Jack begun but was saved when the gate tech on duty declared they had an incoming wormhole over the towers internal com system. Quickly he hurried out of the room to see what was going on.

"That's not what I expected you to bring back Sheppard." Jack said from the balcony above the city's gate room. Sheppard had just arrived back through the gate with the two doctors from the Milky Way and their clothes were just as bloody. Beckett's arm still dripped blood on the floor as the two were helped away by some guards.

"I couldn't very well bring back the ships through the gate Sir could I? But they needed to be brought back here for medical treatment, I left a few dozen people with lesser injuries on the planet we came from so we can do a proper screening before we let them come here" Sheppard reported from below.

"That's all good Colonel but your mission was to retrieve the Odyssey and find out why we lost contact with the outpost on Earth." Jack's tone was full of irritation but inside he felt relieved that they had rescued someone who might help to bring some clarity.

"I know the mission and both the Retribution and the Odyssey are on their way back here."

"Good work then Colonel, we're having a meeting in the conference room, get cleaned up and join us afterwards."

"Yes Sir" Sheppard replied and walked away into a side corridor while Jack headed back to the meeting.

While Sheppard had retold what had happened in the Milky Way everyone had listened with different emotions coming and going. At the end they all had a feeling of dread and horror and Jack's eyes were burning with rage.

"Carter! How's the fleet looking?" Jack growled.

"As I already said Sir we have managed to increase production to two Retribution vessels a month and as many retrofits of Traveler ships as they can bring. But it will take us a year to match the fleet occupying Earth and any future ships they create." Her tone was as calm and comforting as she could make it, but she had worked with him for a long time and she could see that his anger was spilling over even before he acted.

With one of the longest lines of curses and foul words anyone in the room had heard Jack stood and pulled the table up with him, flipping it over and sending the chair into the wall. With everyone watching Jack drow his right foot through the table, breaking the metal table top into two halves with his Lantean strength before storming out, still rambling curses.

"Right, we will continue this meeting at a later time," she said

"Do you wish me to speak with him Colonel Carter?" Teal'c asked

"No, I'll take care of him."

"How can we do this with everything working against us?" Jack asked as she approached. With the internal sensors she had found him in one of the empty towers. He was sitting on a fold-up chair on a balcony and looked out over one of the larger piers.

Behind Jack another fold-up chair was leaning against the grey metal of the tower and she placed it so she could lean on the railing while looking out over the city. "I don't know Jack, but we always do. As long as we all stay together I'm sure we can overcome both the new Ori ships and take back Earth."

"I'm not so sure anymore Sam. First we crushed the Goa'uld, then the replicators, twice. After that we held off the Lucian Alliance while we destroyed the Ori. Not to mention the shit we have had to deal with back on Earth and the people there. Somewhere along the line we got into a war with the wraith too and sent a small expedition across the universe to top it all off. Now the Ori and the Goa'uld are both back to enslave the galaxy while we are preparing for a new war with the wraith. And just to make things a little bit worse some morons have taken control over Earth." Had there been something around to kill Sam was sure Jack would have done it simply with his sharp tone.

"We will find a way to deal with it Jack, I'm sure we can. We just need to stay on track and we will figure it out. One step at a time, we start with Earth, block the Ori gate and go after the Goa'uld. One victory at a time we'll take back the Milky Way."

"Thank you Sam, but it's times like this I wish I had stayed touched by the barbarian virus." Her chair scraped lightly against the floor as she moved closer to him.

"You mean the histamine virus from P3X-797?"

"Yea, that one. How easy it would have been to live that way. To just do what your body tells you to instead of having to worry about laws and regulations."

"Well then it's a good thing the Alterra don't have laws against many of your more primal needs Sir." Her chair again scraped against the floor as she placed it right next to his. "From what I heard there's a good chance you're the highest ranking man in the american military who's alive Jack, even if it still exists there's no one who can say what you can and can't do back on Earth."

"Now that's a jolly thought, to get rid of all the paper pushers and do things the right way, our way, again." His mood was on the rise again. When he felt Sam's hand sliding onto his own and clasping it his heart skipped a beat, he could feel his whole body tingle as they sat there in silence. "Do you know how hard the last years have been? To sit in an office and see all the cute marines and secretaries walk by outside, to know that a good portion of them droop that pen on purpose or those papers, to known that you could have everything they show and everything they don't if you just asked them to, simply because you can make sure they get the next promotion. Yet there's nothing you can do because you would lose your career if it came out that you fancy one of your subordinates. That's the worst torture you can do to a man."

"You've become a paperpusher yourself Jack, when was the last time you even picked up a weapon to kill something?"

"I'm not a paperpusher Sam because the last time I picked up a weapon was when I was going to check on the dome farm and ended up destroying both the Daedalus and the Hammond, would a paperpusher do that? They would be worried about the costs of rebuilding the ships and the dome farm afterwards."

"A job which Daniel was given instead. But I'm sure I..."

"And I did kill the president, so maybe I'm not in the employment of the Air Force anymore?"

"Probably not Jack. But as I was saying I think I can torture you much better than those ladies. There's things we women know will drive you mad which you don't even know could be done."

Now he was sure they had both been infected with something, but it had been a long time since he was this happy and content with a situation. No matter what they had caught he was happy it had struck them. "My ex-wife was pretty crafty Sam, I'm not sure you can come up with something we didn't…" He fell silent when she switched her grip of his hand so that her hand was on top of his with their finger twisted together. With a trembling hand she guided his to her leg and he only now realised that she was in her dress uniform, he could feel her body twitching under his hand as she guided his hand beneath the thick fabric of her black skirt along the inside of her thigh.

Her pulse climbed as she felt his cold hand climbing higher and higher up her thigh. He had closed his eyes and leant his head back while his hand rose. Slowly her grip around his hand hardened and a second before their joined hands reached the end of her thigh she changed direction and pulled them back out again. "Now how's that for torture Jack." She stood up without letting go of his hand and he quickly followed.

Without a thought he locked his arms around her and let his hands slide across her stomach and over her hips. As he stood there and savored her smell and how her body felt her hand let go of his and instead she took a firm grip of his arm. Against his skin she put something slightly moist and hot, a great contrast against the cold air which was licking his bare arms, then she broke free. "Don't go now Sam."

She disappeared through the door back into the tower and he hurried after. "Why don't you come and return them tonight and we can talk more about this Jack, if you take care of everything that needs to be done. Daniel wanted to speak about the dome farms and Larrin wanted to borrow Sheppard a bit."

While she disappeared down the corridor he looked as her hips swung from side to side. When she was gone he looked down to see what warm and damp thing she had tied his arms together with.

"Jack" Daniel shouted as the two men approached each other in a corridor. "I need to talk to you."

"I know."

"You do?"

"Yea, Sam told me. So what is it?"

"You know the dome farm which was destroyed? Well I think we should build a new one."

"Go then, do it. As long as you do it properly, get some people who know how to grow stuff and don't pull resources from any of the more important projects you're free to do as you want."

"Really? No limitations at all?" Daniel sounded surprised, he had expected some protests or some limitations.

"You know what, there's one thing I want you to do. Teal'c needs something to do, I think he's getting tired of beating up the marines and airmen down in the training halls. Let him help you and I'll transfer some of the new Asurans to your control."

"I thought he's heading the expedition to the other galaxies?"

"He is, or was. Things are going to hell so hard back home we can't send any ships on an expedition. Until a better time it's delayed."

"Then I'll get right to it." Daniel turned to walk away but Jack put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"One more thing, find Sheppard and tell him that Larrin wanted to work with him on something and if he thinks it's a good idea she's got then he can go with it. Just make sure you both send me lists of what you need and I'll have it shipped out to you."

"Will do Jack" he said and walked away when Jack let go, then he stopped a few meters away. "What happened on Earth is hard to understand for all of us, everyone is angry about it. Even the people from Pegasus want blood in retribution. But we trust in you and Mokar, we trust you to lead us against them when we are ready. I'm just happy Sam managed to calm you down so you don't throw everything away."

"Sam did more than just calm me down, she made me realise that it's time we truly showed we're serious about rebuilding the Alterran Empire and if we're going to do that we need to let go of whatever rules are holding us back. We need to trust each other to do our job, I can't be looking over everyone's shoulder to make sure they do it right. If you know someone who has some literature about uniting people I won't mind if you send them to me."

"We're a bit short on any sort of literature here in Pegasus Jack, but maybe someone brought something with them. I'll see what I can find." With those words Daniel left Jack in the corridor.

The door control chimed when Jack swiped his hand over the sensor. It was dark outside and the only light in the corridor came from the lights mounted on the walls. Inside the room he could hear someone moving around for almost a minute before the lights in the corridor dimmed. He heard how the door opened and he felt his way forward into the room. Outside rays of light from one of the planets moons broke through the clouds and his Lantean eyes could see the outline of her bed, it was a double bed with posts in the corners and three pillows, not the normal generic bed the rest of the rooms had. Then the door closed behind him and everything went dark.

He was less then three steps inside the door but somehow Sam managed to come up behind him. Her hands swept across his blue Air Force uniform and from one of his pockets she fished out the underwear she had tied his arms together with. "I hope you liked them" she whispered into his ear. The air which moved into his ear gave him goosebumps and he shivered.

It was still completely dark but her hands moved unhindered and begun to loosen his jacket. "I would much rather feel were they came from." He stood there and allowed her to remove the jacket, then she pulled his shirt out of his pants.

"Now you're moving too fast Jack, stay with the plan and everything will be fine." Her soft hands moved in under his shirt.

"I have waited more than a decade to feel your touch Sam, I am not moving too fast and I do not have any other plan than to put you onto that bed and let my instincts take over."

"Well I have a plan Jack. I have perfected it over the years and I am not going to let you ruin it by being too horny. Now shut up and do as I say." Her hands were cold and his body tried to avoid them but she pressed him against her own body and caressed his chest until they became warm and comfortable. Slowly she unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off, leaving it lying on the floor. When she pressed herself against him again he could feel her bare skin against his back, her bare breasts rubbed against his back. She slid a hand into his and begun to lead him forward towards the bed. At the bed she told him to drop the pants and get into the bed. He could hear her walking around the bed and it shifted when she sat down. When he slid down under the covers she was there and waited for him. She pulled him into a deep kiss and his hands moved across her skin.

Without warning the door opened and the lights turned on. Sam panicked and rolled three times until the covers formed a cocoon around her body, leaving Jack as naked as the day he was born. His newfound nudity sent him into a panicked rush to get his clothes back on, but ended with him covering his groin with a pillow while trying to get his boxers on.

"How good that you have begun to procreate" Mokar said from the doorpost when he had finished laughing. He was wearing his usual white Alterran clothes, but with plenty of added brown and green spots where dirt and plants had rubbed against them.

"You never heard about knocking?" Sam scolded

Mokar let out another laugh while Jack dropped the pillow and got the rest of his clothes. "I didn't know you had returned to the city." He quickly proceeded to get dressed.

"I have heard of knocking but the concept is new to the Alterra. We never had any need for privacy, we were a very open race and we had little to hide physically. But if I did anything to bother you I apologise." Then he turned to Jack. "I returned just a few minutes ago and I need to talk to you urgently. Carter is free to listen in if she should want to."