Sunrise and a new day...

Jack woke cold and alone because Sam had stolen the quilt. He shivered as he pulled on a pair of sweats and went in search of her. He found her in the kitchen making breakfast at five am. He stepped quietly up behind her and slid his arms around her waist, kissing her neck gently.

"Good morning, Mrs. O'Neill," he whispered.

"Good morning, Jack"

"Making me breakfast?"

"No, I'm making us breakfast, you'll probably be brunch," she quipped.

"What would you like to do today?" he asked, sitting down at the kitchen table. Sam took a minute and set a steaming plate full of food down in front of him and took her own seat before answering.

"There are a lot of things we need to do, but they can wait--"

"Like what?" he asked.

"My dress and your tux both need to go to the dry cleaners before they go in storage, and--"

"Nope, nope," he interrupted, "too boring. I have a better idea."

"What might that be?" she asked grinning at him and completely ignoring her food.

"Oh you'll see. Right after breakfast, dress in jeans and a comfortable shirt," he suggested.

To speed things up Jack even loaded the dishwasher while Sam showered and dressed and then he did the same. Finally he came out to the living room.

"You ready?" he asked her with a devilish grin.

"Bring it on," Sam teased.

Jack dropped four Scrabble tiles on the coffee table.

"If we're playing Scrabble, I will so kick your butt."

"Who said anything about Scrabble?"

"Then what are the tiles for?" she asked, looking a bit perplexed.

"That's a secret. See, each tile stands for something, but I can't tell you what. You just randomly pick a tile and we'll go from there."

Sam ran her fingers over the four tiles, twisting them around trying too form a word MAPH was the best she could come up with.

"Come on, Carter, "Jack said impatiently. "You don't have to make a word, just pick a tile. She sigh in mock frustration and blindly drew a tile.

"Here," she said, handing him the H tile.

"Good choice," he laughed, "Let's go."

They loaded into his truck and began to drive into the mountains. Jack whistled and smiled as he drove, making conversation about the weather but being careful to give away absolutely nothing about their destination, no matter how hard Sam tried.

After driving for forty-five minutes they pulled into a riding stable.

"H is for horseback riding."

"Jack I haven't been on a horse in years."

"Neither have I, but it'll be fun, c'mon."

They got out and he took her hand. They wandered into the barn and found the manager's office.

Jack tapped lightly on the doorjamb.

"I'm Jack O'Neill, I have a reservation for two."

Sam laughed and squeezed his hand, wondering how long he'd had all this planned.

The woman behind the desk rose and greeted them. She was a very earthy person who they both relaxed quickly with. She asked about their riding experience, sizing them up for possible mounts.

After a few moments she called for one of her stable hands to saddle two horses and had them brought to the big arena. She insisted they take a round or two in the arena before turning them loose to ride the miles of trails the facility boasted.

Once she was comfortable with how they sat on the horses she motioned them over to the open gate.

"If you take the left trail it goes up to the waterfall, the middle trail is a big loop, and the right trail goes up to a look out. Each one can easily be ridden there and back within one hour at a walk, and if all else fails, the horses know their way home."

"Which way do you want to go?" Jack asked her.

"Let's go see the waterfall," she said with enthusiasm.

"Let's go then."

In open areas they rode side by side and talked in narrow areas going up through timber Jack was in the lead. The path was clearly marked and the day was an idyllic early summer day, but Sam couldn't help but be curious what the three other tiles stood for.