Sileem hurried to greet Jack – his highest-paying client – the moment he walked through the door. "Welcome back, Colonel," he ingratiated. "How was your day?"
"Dull," he snapped. "Same room?"
"Of course, and she's quite ready for you."
Oh, Jack wanted to punch the man, but kept walking. "Good."
"What is that, if I may ask?" Sileem pointed to the box he carried.
"Dinner." Damn, he wished the idiot would take the hint and shut up.
"Uh, Colonel… with all due respect, that isn't necessary. You don't need to seduce her."
Jack spun to face the man, annoyed that he couldn't fling him to the ground and beat the crap out of him right then and there. "It's a fine art," he growled. "You wouldn't understand. And since you're paid, you don't have to." He stepped into the room where they held Sam and slammed the door in Sileem's face.
Sam was just as she'd been the day before, secured to the bed. Thankfully, they'd left off the gag and blindfold, though he could see them sitting ready on the nightstand. The lingerie was a powdery lavender. He approved, and raised a suggestive eyebrow at her.
"Sir," she warned, nonplussed.
Giving a chuckle, he pulled out the access card and waved it over the restraint device, releasing her. She immediately covered herself with the sheet. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yes, sir."
"They didn't touch you."
"No. I'm fine."
He tipped her chin up to see her swollen nose and fat lip and cringed. "I brought dinner."
"Oh, I'm starving." Sam cracked open the box and immediately began devouring something that vaguely resembled fried chicken.
"Tasty?"
"Don't care." She demolished her half of the dinner and started on his quickly enough to make him snicker.
"Don't eat too much, Carter; you'll pop a…" he looked up and down what she was wearing, "string."
"I'll pop you," she threatened idly, grabbing his dessert. "I haven't had a decent meal in two days."
"I figured."
She finished up and looked at him expectantly. "And by the fact that you brought me dinner, I'm guessing my research didn't work? No magic beam?"
"No, no magic beam. Yet. But." He whipped a radio out of his briefcase and switched it on. "Prometheus, this is O'Neill."
"Jack?" Jacob Carter's voice sounded more than concerned. "How's Sam?"
Sam took the radio from her CO. "I'm fine, Dad. Just had dinner."
"You doing okay, kiddo?"
"Yeah, Dad. With the colonel here, I'm fine. I promise."
"Okay. Let's get this thing figured out."
Sam spent the next several hours debating technobabble with her father and the other engineers as Jack tried his best to tune them out, only stepping in to replace the batteries when the radio started to chirp. Five hours later, they were no further along than when they had started.
Jack, at that point, stepped in. "Jacob, Sam should get some sleep. She needs to keep up her strength here."
"You said she was okay, Jack," the man threatened.
"She is. For now. But you and I both know that could change in a second."
Jacob and Sam grudgingly accepted that. The engineers insisted work would continue while they slept, and so they signed off.
"It's so frustrating," Sam mumbled at Jack as she slid further under the covers. "But at least we eliminated a lot of possibilities."
"You'll figure it out, Carter. And if you don't, I'll find another way," he promised.
She smiled at him, then rolled over and tried to sleep.
~/~
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"Jack?"
Colonel O'Neill mumbled something unkind in his sleep and snuggled closer to the deliciously warm woman beside him. Her smooth back was pressed tightly against his chest, one of his arms under her head and the other unconsciously caressing her stomach. There hadn't been soft skin and satin like this in his arms for years.
"Jack, answer me," the man's voice insisted.
"Go 'way." He nuzzled deeper into her silky hair and pressed his lips to the back of her delicate neck. She moaned softly in her sleep and pressed against him.
"Jack. Sammy, are you okay?"
He felt her inhale as she woke. Good, now maybe they could –
"Sir," she said softly.
Holy crap, he was in bed with Carter. It took a long moment for the daze to clear and to remember where he was.
"Somebody answer this goddamn radio before I come down there and find you."
Jack chuckled. The look on Jacob's face would be priceless. Then Sam stretched in his arms, touching very, uh, delicate places, and he had to roll away before… well, just before. He pulled his arm gently out from under her head and reached down to grab the radio.
"Jacob, calm down. Everything's fine."
Sam rolled over and looked up at him, blinking, her eyes still clouded with sleep. Talk about bedroom eyes, Jack thought. Damn. "You leaving?"
"Not just yet," he soothed.
"Jack, I was worried about you," Jacob insisted. "Where are you?"
Oh, he couldn't help it. The good angel on his shoulder was screaming at him, but Jacob had left that too wide open not to take. "Exactly where I'm supposed to be, Jacob. In bed with your daughter."
Well, Sam was wide awake now. She sat bolt upright and put her head in her hands. "You did not just say that to my father," she moaned.
"Oh, come on. Did you hear that setup?"
"I heard."
Jacob's tense voice finally sounded through the radio again. "You don't value your life much, do you, Jack?"
He was trying to be threatening, but the sound of Daniel (and some of the crew) laughing hysterically in the background sort of negated the effect. He felt a little bad for them – they had to be getting the evil flashing eyes look.
Sam grabbed the radio from his hand. "Any update on the field, Dad?"
"No, Sammy. But the man who kidnapped you carried a beacon in his clothing that prevented us from getting a lock, much like now. We're studying it, hoping it will tell us something. Maybe we can send Colonel O'Neill back with a beacon that will counteract it."
"He called me by my title," Jack mused. "Uh-oh."
"That's because he's pissed at you, sir," Sam explained, as though speaking to a young child. She picked the radio up again. "Sounds good, Dad. If you need help, please, just ask."
"Getting bored down there, Sam? And by that, I mean you'd better not be doing anything to keep yourselves entertained."
Jack stole the radio back. "Uh… oh, can't talk right now Jacob. We're busy."
"Jack O'Neill, if you lay one hand on her, I swear to God-"
He shut the radio off, and even Sam couldn't help but smile. "He's gonna kill you; you know that."
"But it would be a funny, funny death, Carter." He touched her cheek, and his face turned serious. "You gonna be okay here?"
She shrugged. "I hope."
"Do you want me to leave the radio? Just in case?"
"No. They'd find it."
He really wanted to ask her what happened when he was wasn't there, but he was afraid he didn't want to know the answer. "Okay," he said softly. "Be careful."
She nodded, and thankfully, before she started to cry, he was gone.