13. OK, next two chapters for S/J folks and some character development. And then we're back to the story. Thanks for the reviews and comments! I appreciate them. FYI, this one is very short…probably should have combined it with the next, but really different POVs.

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Jack gunned the motor as he headed back to the houseboat after dropping off Teal'c and Daniel. The day was spectacular – blue skies, blue water and red rocks. The late fall weather was cool enough to be invigorating, not too hot.

And Carter was waiting for him at the houseboat. There'd be enough time, if nothing happened at the site, to even do some fishing and then have a quiet dinner with her.

The whole thing was what he'd imagined and the idea that it was actually happening was making him totally nuts. It was a fantasy, for crying out loud. Just a thought. It wasn't supposed to be real.

Crap.

CO. He needed to tattoo it on his forehead as a reminder; nah, he wouldn't see it there. Maybe his right hand. Or elsewhere. He grimaced and got his mind out of… yeah, wherever.

The last time they had been alone on a mission they hadn't been strictly alone. Teal'c had been there as well during the week while they'd waited and worried about whether the SGC was going to be able to reactive the gate. But Teal'c had kept to himself for most of that week.

He thought about it. Truth was, he'd been alone with her before on so many missions he couldn't remember them all. But that was different – then, they were off world, and living their lives off world was private. Sure, nothing happened but he didn't have to watch his back every minute or pay attention to the politics or what someone was bound to suggest… badly… about a houseboat on Earth and a night alone together.

It was official - missions on Earth were a huge pain.

He gunned the boat again, irritable. He was not going to let any unfounded rumors get started and he'd squash the first person that made the suggestion. Carter was more important than that.

And why was that?

That was easy to answer. A woman in the military... yeah, sure. That was part of it but he was just lying to himself. Truth was he wanted her to be happy.

Great. Just great. He was certifiable.

And Carter... He had no idea what kind of mood Carter would be in when he got back or if she was talking to him or not. She'd been unusually erratic this entire trip. First, she was pissed, then she was happy and apologized for something that he still wasn't sure what it was, then she's pissed again, and then she's apparently happy with him.

Totally un-Carter like. Carter was calm and sensible and predictable on missions. And if he thought she was also stunningly beautiful and brilliant and amazing all the time, he was able to keep it to himself.

The fact was that, especially with him, Carter was impeccably professional.

Until this trip. Huh. She wasn't being… Carter. Like her comment about the towels... what was that about?

Any other woman, it would have been… flirting at the least and a possible come on at the most. He'd had his share of that stuff coming his way even when he'd been married to Sara. Carter would never... she'd just been deflecting. She'd been embarrassed. She definitely wasn't interested in him and he needed to be sure that he didn't cross the line.

Ah, jeez. He had to stop comparing Carter to anyone, Kalwalsky and women in the generic sense included. She was Carter. She was different. She was a great second, a good friend and an amazing person, brilliant, fascinating and difficult.

And he was in very serious trouble.

He sighed. Nothing new there.

He quit thinking about it and stared out at the view.

An hour later, he docked the speedboat with Carter's help at the back of the houseboat.

She pulled the rope taught as he climbed the ladder. "Did T and Daniel-?"

"Yeah, they're fine. Off into the wild blue….uhh…. probably red, Bluff. Anything from the site or the SGC?"

"No emissions. General Hammond is sending SG3. They should be here tomorrow morning with an expected ETA of 11 hundred. "

"He's sending in the Marines?" What was Hammond thinking?

She grinned. "Actually only half of SG3. Reynolds and Santos. Lee and Harris insisted on coming as well. Apparently, they threatened to come on their own on downtime if they weren't included."

"Ah." Well, that explained that. He'd send the Marines as well if two scientists were going to be let loose on Earth. He sighed, revising his earlier thought. The whole 'mission on Earth' thing wasn't just a huge pain; it totally sucked.

She smiled at him, and it nearly blew him away. Ok, so she was in a good mood. He could deal with that. "You missed lunch, sir. I made some sandwiches."

"You cooked?" He broke in, teasing her.

She stared him down in what was a classic 'don't mess with me' military expression that made him proud and slightly horrified at the same time.

"I am perfectly capable of putting meat on two slices of bread.

"Uhh.. sir."

He said seriously, "Of course you are, Major." And after a beat added, "Of course, I've had your MREs, so you have to understand my concern."

She shook her head, grinning, and wandered into the houseboat.