Thankfully the arrival of other personnel saved her from having to answer. On the trip down there was little opportunity to talk as people got on and off at different levels. Sam looked straight ahead avoiding him and as soon as the doors opened to her stop, she headed straight for her lab without looking back. She heard him shout after her, telling her to wait, but she pretended she didn't hear him and didn't stop, not for a second, not until she reached her sanctuary.

She hid there for as long as she could, on occasion the others interrupted her, making her take regular breaks aswell as eating lunch with them. Once or twice Cameron joined them but she avoided speaking to him directly, not able to handle even five minutes in his presence she made an excuse and left. She didn't see him again until the General requested a short meeting.

The briefing was short and to the point, he ordered them to take some much needed time off. He more or less instructed them not to show their faces at Stargate Command, for the next three weeks, unless the fate of the world hung in the balance.

Each member of the team stood up as the General exited the room as a sign of respect.

"You heard the man, so what are your plans guys?" Cameron asked out of curiosity.

"I will be leaving momentarily for the new Jaffa home world. I am very much looking forward to meeting up with both old and new friends."

"What about you guys?"

Sam simply shrugged her shoulders in reply. Cameron looked at her closely, she was acting very strangely today and it was annoying him. She hadn't said a single word to him since they had arrived; she avoided eye contact and even made an effort to distance herself from him. Something was going on and as soon as he could get a moment alone with her he would get to the bottom of whatever it was that was bothering her.

Sam could feel his eyes boring a hole in her; she could feel herself redden under his scrutiny. She really needed to get a handle on herself but his close proximity only seemed to bring her that much closer to making a fool of herself.

"…Vegas."

"Think…good…idea…"

Sam tuned in and out of the conversation instead preferring to concentrate on the mug in her hand. She didn't even notice them leave the room, not until she heard Cams' voice filter through her thoughts did she come back from within her inner turmoil.

"Sam…Sam…?"

Cameron looked at the empty coffee mug in her hands, the one she had spent the last ten minutes staring into. It must have held some fascination with her as she had blatantly ignored them.

Lifting her head and looking in the direction from which his voice came, the first thing she saw was Cameron's worried expression.

"Sam? What's going on with you?"

She was lost for words and as hard as she tried she couldn't even conjure a single word to mumble.

Concerned at her withdrawal and distant behaviour he reached for her hand and held it in both of his as support, squeezing it he sent the silent message that what ever she needed, what ever problem she was in she could count on him. The response she felt was another thing entirely.

The instant his hands came into contact with hers she felt like she had been struck by a thousand lightening bolts. The energy surge that flowed through her body was so overwhelming and caught her unprepared, so much so, that she felt the only course of action available to her was to get as far away from him as possible.

"Don't touch me!" Snatching her hand away, she literally kicked her chair back and staggered to the door.

Too shocked to speak, Cam, just looked at her thinking, what the hell was going on?!

Running to catch her before she managed to open the door, he pulled her back and held her tightly as she struggled against his grip. This was thoroughly out of character; he had never seen her like this. He didn't know what he had done to make her react to him this way but he was damned well going to get it out of her.

He thought nothing of it when she remained quiet every time he tried to engage her in conversation. He had just put it down to a bad mood but when he saw her laughing and fooling around with the others he couldn't help feeling hurt. Not taking it personally he had shrugged it off, giving her space but not now.

"It's me isn't it?" He said more of a statement than a question.

Sam stopped struggling and went limp in his hold; afraid she would fall he pulled her into his arms and held her close. Forcing her to look at him he was stunned by what he saw, he couldn't understand why but she looked scared, uncertain and there was something else but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He didn't have a chance to ponder on that thought when Sam spoke to him, properly, for the first time.

"Yeah, it's you." She whispered, admitting it more to herself than to him, her voice breaking.

Unable to stop herself, Sam, grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his head, roughly, down towards her. Going on pure instinct she kissed him, pouring into that kiss everything she was feeling, everything she dreamt and everything she wanted.

They broke apart gasping for air and in that moment Sam knew that she was well and truly in love and everything she felt was amplified a million times over when his lips touched hers. She looked at him for the first time that day, really looked at him, and was dazzled by how gorgeous he was, her dreams didn't do him justice.

Breathing more calmly Cameron attempted to decipher what had just happened but putting together a thought seemed impossible.

She had never run from anything in her life but the way he had her feeling was so intense, so different so out of this world that she didn't know what to do other than run. She left a thunderstruck Cameron and ran as fast as she could.

She was on fire; her insides sizzled with electrified passion. Her body throbbed with need, want and hunger. Starved for his touch it screamed at her to go back to him, ignoring the clash of instincts she hid in a storage room, somewhere he wouldn't think to look for her, until she had herself under a resemblance of control.

"Come in."

Opening the door to the Generals' office Sam smiled and apologised for interrupting.

"Not at all, what can I do for you Colonel?"

Hesitating, she looked around the office trying to come up with a plausible reason for her request.

"Colonel?"

Looking back at him she stood straight, "Sir, with your permission, I would like to spend my vacation time on Atlantis."

"Atlantis?" He asked surprised.

"Yes Sir. It's been a while and I would love the opportunity to look at some Pegasus technology first hand."

"You've got an hour."

"Sir?"

"The Apollo leaves in an hour."

"Yes Sir, thank you Sir."

"Daniel have you seen Sam anywhere?" Cameron asked as he watched him pack a few books into his bag.

Daniel stopped what he was doing trying to recall the last time he had seen her, "No, not since the briefing," Looking at his watch he added, "That was over an hour ago, why?"

"It's nothing," Cameron replied dismissively as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Have fun!" He threw back on his way out.

Half an hour later he gave up, he had looked everywhere, he rang her mobile, her home phone- nothing. Frustrated and angry at her as hell he kicked his locker and slammed the door shut behind him as he headed for her place.

"Colonel, you still here?" General Landry shouted over as he walked passed his office.

"No sir, I was just on my way out." Cam answered standing in the doorway.

"Anything planned?"

"No, not really Sir."

"That offer to use my cabin still stands," he stated accompanying him, "You need to take things easy, I know it's not in your nature but try. Your teams' been through a lot so I order you to put you feet up and have fun. Teal'cs gone and Vala's managed to convince Daniel to take her to Vegas, of all places," General Landry laughed out loud at the thought of Vala being let loose on the unsuspecting casinos, " And Sam's on her way to Atlantis."

"What?! Atlantis?!" Cameron interrupted, stunned, causing the General to stop in his tracks at his outburst.

"Is that a problem Colonel?"

"No Sir, no problem at all."

As always your thoughts are welcomed, so R&R people.