This chapter is short but I'm posting another chapter directly after this. I just felt that they were distinct enough that they needed to be seperated. Also, the spell check doesn't seem to be working right now so if something is misspelled (likely) I apologize.

"Tell me, why do women have children?"

"Well, you see, sir, when a man and a woman really love each other..."

"Shut up, smart-ass."

Sam snickered. She was currently sitting on a chair in Jack's quarter's, watching him lie face down on the bed, wallowing in self pity.

"No, seriously, I don't know how you do it. If this is what cramping feels like, I can't even imagine labor." Jack paused and looked up at the ceiling to some unknown being. "Nor do I want to!"

After a pause, Jack continued, "Ya know, I was cramping a little yesterday too but I just thought you had some weird intestinal issues or something."

Sam frowned.

"I suppose I should have warned you sir, but in all honesty, I simply forgot."

"Don't worry. You get to have the rest of the week after tomorrow. I'm content in that knowledge."

Oh yeah. He was definitely getting a little bitchy. Which for some reason, Sam found utterly amusing.

"Do you go offworld like this?"

"Do you really want to have this conversation?"

"Carter, I think we've crossed quite possibly all personal borders this past week. I'm pretty sure we should be able to talk about anything at this point."

"Anything, sir?"

Her eyebrows were raised in a shocked fashion, though Jack sensed a hint of mocking in there somewhere.

Okay, so she had a point. They didn't talk about anything.

"Point taken."

That thought made Jack decidedly weepy. Which completely ticked him off. There was no way he was going to cry in front of Carter. He had to retain some of his dignity. Stupid hormones. He would never cry over something as silly as repressed feelings before now.

"Carter..." Don't say it, don't say it, don't say it...

"Hmm?"

"We'll talk some day though, right?" Damn it. He said it.

Sam sat in shocked silence. Wow. Jack never brought up this subject.

"I hope so, sir."

Jack nodded, knowing that was all she could say. That was all either of them could say.

The fateful day arrived. Jack was practically bouncing with joy...which was something he could do now. Amazing the difference a bra makes. Jack realized with slight horror that that thought had come to him with ease. Definitely been in Carter's body too long.

Sam, ever the realist, was mentally calculating all the ways this could go wrong. The scientist in her hated not knowing exactly how the device worked. She was seriously contemplating breaking it open once all this was done so she could analyze its contents.

They were afraid to use the device that morning, thinking that if they weren't precise enough with the time, that they would ruin their chances. Yet, at the same time, they were afraid to wait too close to time, in the event that it didn't work. They wanted to be able to have at least some time to look into other alternatives before the full seven days had passed.

So it was decided that they would use the Death Star at 1000. SG-1 gathered in Sam's lab at the due time. Carter pulled the device out and held it in both of her hands. Eyeing Jack nervously, she held it out to him. He placed his hands on the top half of the device and slowly twisted it 180 degrees. The device clicked into place and a brilliant blue light splayed out from the crack in the center of the sphere.

Neither Sam nor Jack moved, both of their eyes still on the device. Daniel rocked back and forth on his feet.

"So..."

"Nothing happened."

"You mean you're still..."

"Yeah."

"Oh god." That was Sam.

"And we have no other alternative?"

Jack sighed. "No, Teal'c, we don't."

Sam was on the verge of tears, which was more than a little unsettling for the rest of them. Daniel had seen Jack almost cry on one occasion, Teal'c even less. They knew it wasn't him, but seeing tears from his body was still a shock. Jack saw the tears, too, and wanted to reach out and hold her. The weirdness of it being himself he would be hugging wasn't on his mind. Sam was in there and she was upset. That was all that mattered right now. But he was upset too. To know that he was going to be stuck this way for the rest of his life, he couldn't even comprehend that right now. Surely they'd find another way. But when? Days, weeks, months, or years from now? And of all people to be stuck in, it had to be the woman he's in love with, didn't it?

Daniel knew that if he got Sam working on the problem that it would help them all to focus on that and not on the fact that they may very well be stuck this way.

"We should look at the sphere some more, see if we can figure it out."

Sam nodded quickly, wiping her tears that hadn't quite fallen away with the back of her hand.

Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c walked with the sphere back to the lab table to start taking it apart. Jack stayed where he was. He couldn't believe it hadn't worked. He was so ready to get back to himself and to get out of this mountain. What if they they were never allowed out of the mountain now? No, he'd go insane. There was no way he could stay in here forever.

Jack started to walk out of the lab.

Daniel looked up. "Jack, where are you going?"

"I don't know," was all he said, over his shoulder, as he walked out the door.