Chapter 13: Let Sleeping Dogs Lie…Or Not.

Disclaimer: Only my stuff is mine.

A/N: So sorry I've been away! I am a terrible person! I should be smited! Wait…smited? Smote? Smoted?

I'm pretty sure (and my spell check agrees) that smote would be the correct term.

Please forgive me!

Thank you so much to Matrix234 for this wonderful idea! I tweaked it a little to go with the scenario, but the genius funniness is totally Matrix's!

ENJOY!!!

A cool breeze rustled the leaves on the trees, sending red and gold leaves fluttering to the ground. The leaves shimmered on the moist dirt with an ethereal glow, sending shafts of sparkling light into the air.

Sam closed her eyes and breathed deeply. No one was barbequing, but the distinct scent of burning wood filled the air. Maybe there was some cosmic law that dictated cold air must be scented with a comforting fire-y smell…?

She leaned against a tree and surveyed the landscape. They were on P7J-335; otherwise known as 'O.W.R.R.C.' or the Off-World Research and Reconnaissance Center. Or 'Homer' as the colonel had…affectionately…dubbed it.

The O.W.R.R.C. was the first of its kind. It wasn't a permanent fixture…at least, not yet. The SGC's best scientists were ordered to remain here and 'tinker' for two months. From there it would be decided whether or not to keep the temporary base up and running.

SG-1 had been sent out to the planet for a week to 'watch over the scientists.' But Sam knew the General had done it for two completely unrelated reasons. One: he knew that Sam and Daniel were chomping at the bit to get out there and see what kind of technology had been transferred off-world. Two: SG-1 needed a vacation.

They never got the easy missions and, as much as they didn't want to, often turned down downtime. They were all needed at the SGC and every time they got away from the mountain, they were invariably called back within a few hours.

So, Hammond had taken pity on them and given them an easy, in and out, no muss, no fuss mission. At least now they had a valid reason for taking a breather from the constant demands of the SGC.

They had been given two two-person tents. But, they weren't just any old tents. They were, apparently, made with some new high-tech gadgets that kept the interiors nice and warm in the cold weather. They also had base-wide intercoms built into the "walls" of the tents so an alarm could be raised without running around the entire perimeter.

All you had to do was press a button and voila! You could talk to anyone, anywhere on base.

Sam took another deep breath, savoring the smokey smell, and reluctantly headed back down the wooded trail. She had followed a small, little used path away from the base and up onto a small ridge surrounded by gilded trees. It was a gorgeous day and the colonel had told her to enjoy herself.

Sam shook her head. He had no idea how much he could help in that department. Sam stopped suddenly, the quick and unbidden, very dirty thoughts startling her into stillness. Usually, she had time to clamp down on those thoughts before they scuttled into her consciousness, but…

Wow.

Had those come up fast.

Sam would never admit it, but the depth of her feelings for her CO scared the crap out of her. Sure, they'd known each other for almost seven years, and in the kind of close-quarters work they did, it was natural for people to grow closer.

But, not like this. No…she knew what she was feeling. She also knew that the feelings were fruitless; they could never be realized. Not to the extent she wanted them to be. For one thing, she was almost positive that he didn't have those kinds of feelings for her.

For another…regulations.

It also scared her that she thought of his feelings first, and regulations second.

What the hell did that mean?

"Carter!" Sam jumped and whirled towards the voice, her gun raised.

The colonel half-raised his hands and his mouth quirked slightly. "Whoa, Carter. Didn't mean to startle you."

Sam dropped her P-90 and glared at her CO. Respectfully, of course. "Sir. Didn't hear you coming."

"I suppose you wouldn't. You looked like you were on another planet." He smirked at his own joke and Sam rolled her eyes.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir." Sam smiled when he shook his head and groaned. "Did you need me, sir?" 'Oh, you have no idea how much I wish you did.' Sam's traitorous thoughts startled her once again.

Little did she know, Jack was actually thinking along the same lines. Though, he would never admit it. "What? A guy can't check on his 2IC just because he wanted to?" At Sam's pointed look he sighed. "One of the eggheads needs your expertise. A Doctor…Melon…or something."

Sam groaned. "Milling?"

"That's the one!" he bounced on his heels and touched his index finger to his nose in a 'got it in one' gesture. Noticing the slightly dark look on her face, he frowned. "Carter? There a problem?"

Sam's eyes snapped to his and her blue gaze was slightly mutinous. "No." She knew she sounded petulant, but she couldn't help it. The doctor was a creep.

Jack gave her a look and moved to stand directly in front of her. "Carter." He drew out her name in a 'don't give me that crap' kind of way.

Sam's breath hitched when he moved so close that he blocked the sun completely from view, casting a long shadow over her. He was so tall…

"Really, sir, it's nothing. I'm…I'm overreacting. It's fine." She paused, looking somewhere over his left shoulder. "Really."

Jack narrowed his eyes. "Did he say something to you?" Anger lanced through his veins. "Carter…did he do something?"

Sam glanced at him, but looked away quickly. "No…he hasn't done anything." Sam hesitated. "Per se."

"Per se?" Jack questioned, moving slightly closer.

"Sir, I…it's nothing." Sam ducked her head and twisted her hands together.

"Don't do that, Carter!" Jack said, frustrated. "Do I have to make it an order?"

Sam's eyes flashed, but she sighed. "No, sir." She paused. "He just…creeps me out. A little."

"He…creeps you out." Jack repeated, expression carefully blank. If that guy had said or done anything to Carter…oh, he was so gonna get it.

"Yes, sir. It sounds stupid, I know. It's just…he's made some…comments…and," Sam paused, unwilling to admit the other thing that bothered her. "And he reminds me a lot of Jonas."

White-hot anger flashed through Jack and he reached up without thinking. Gently grasping her chin, he lifted her head so her eyes met his. He saw something flash through them, but it was gone before he could identify it.

"That's not stupid, Carter." He told her earnestly. He held her gaze for a moment, then, with an inner strength he didn't know he possessed, he released her face and took a halting step back. That wasn't disappointment he saw flicker in her expression…was it? "Now, come on, let's go visit with Doctor Melling." He paused. "Both of us."

Sam raised her eyebrow and didn't bother to correct the name. "Both of us?"

"Yep. Got a problem with that?" he smirked when she shook her head. "Good. Now…tell me…which of his bones would you like me to break?"

Sam's laugh spiraled up through the crisp air and into the gold streaked sky.

…………………………………………………………………………………….

Daniel collapsed onto "his" log next to Teal'c. The fire was warm and blazing cheerily in the cold night air. Teal'c handed him a hot mug of coffee wordlessly.

"Thanks." Daniel took a deep breath, inhaling the warm scent of his coffee before taking a long sip.

"It is my pleasure, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c nodded solemnly.

"Oh?" Daniel frowned, sensing some underlying joke he wasn't getting.

"Indeed. You are most unpleasant to be around when you have not received your nightly intake of caffeine." The edge of Teal'c's mouth quirked, but the rest of his face remained stoic.

"Oh, ha, ha." Daniel narrowed his eyes, glaring at Teal'c. "You've been hanging around Jack too much."

"Not as of late." Teal'c responded with a small smile.

"Hm?" Daniel frowned and took another long swallow of coffee. Damn, this stuff was good…

"Have you not noticed, Daniel Jackson? O'Neill has been hovering near Major Carter all day."

"What? Why?" Daniel looked over his shoulder to where he had last seen his other two friends. Sam and Jack were sitting at a table with a scientist. From where Daniel was sitting, it did look like Sam was practically sitting on Jack's lap.

And he didn't seem to mind.

"Oh." Daniel said, turning back to Teal'c and raising his eyebrows in an 'I don't want to know' manner.

"Indeed." Teal'c inclined his head and smiled slightly.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

Jack glared witheringly at the scientist sitting opposite Carter. She kept shifting her legs, suggesting that the man was attempting to play 'footsie' with her under the table. Jack could feel his muscles tense as the man leered at Carter. He did look a lot like Jonas.

Acted like him too.

"Um, I've just remembered…that thing." Sam said suddenly, jumping up from the table.

Misreading the look of anger and disgust on her face, the scientist, Milling, stood up too. "Right." He leered some more and cocked his head towards his quarters. "That thing."

"No!" Sam said quickly, almost stumbling backwards away from the table. "That thing…with the colonel. Right, sir?"

Jack stood up slowly, threateningly. He glared down at Milling and he saw the man shudder with no small sense of pride. "Right, Carter. If you'll excuse us." Without waiting for a reply, Jack turned and followed Carter away from the table, towards the edge of the woods.

Once they were away from the base and out of earshot, Sam shuddered, looking like she was trying to get out of her skin. "Ugh…that man…" Her voice was tight with barely restrained fury and she forgot that she was talking to her CO. "He's so disgusting! And arrogant. He's presumptuous, pretentious, and conceited, and…and…oh, I just want to shoot him!"

Jack glanced nervously at her hand, which was hovering dangerously over her gun. She sounded like she meant it…and he really didn't want to be in her way if she decided to…do something crazy. All of his energy was already going into controlling his own temper. That bastard! How dare Milling insinuate that Carter would ever want to …to…do that with him!

Sam glanced up, as though just realizing who she was talking to.

Whoops.

"Sir, I'm sorry. That was completely inappropriate of me." Sam opened her mouth to say more, but Jack held up his hand.

"It's not a problem, Carter. Trust me; I wouldn't mind shooting that bastard myself." Jack grinned darkly.

"No, sir, I really shouldn't have--," Sam started, but Jack cut her off again.

"Carter. Don't worry about it." Jack patted her shoulder and jerked his head towards the fire. "C'mon. I think we should grab some coffee before Daniel and Teal'c drink it all."

"In a minute, sir. I just want to wait until he goes away." Sam glanced over his shoulder to the shadowed figure of the distant scientist.

"Ah, don't worry about him, Carter. Besides, I'll protect you from the big bad scientist." Jack knew the second those words left his mouth that they were the absolute wrong thing to say.

He saw her eyes flash and the tell tale stiffening of her spine.

Sam struggled against her rising emotions. She knew that her nerves were already taut and frazzled and that comment just sent her over the edge. The thing was…it wasn't even his comment that bothered her.

It was her reaction to it that bothered her.

Instead of immediately feeling defensive and angry, she thought it was sweet. She knew he didn't say it because he thought she couldn't defend herself…he said it because he cared.

He cared about her.

She fell in love with him just a little bit more because of his comment and that frustrated her. It hurt to love him and not be able to tell him. It was a physical pain. She never wanted him out of her sight and it just made her angry that she kept falling deeper and deeper.

This was getting really old. The rules needed to just…go away.

But, instead of screaming 'I love you!' as loud as she could, she stepped back and glared up at him. 'Good.' She thought, aggravated at her lack of choices. 'Be angry. Hide what you really want to say. He expects you to be angry about that comment. Give him what he wants instead of what you need.'

"Crap, Carter, I'm sorry. That wasn't what I--," Jack started, but Sam shook her head, her eyes icy.

"You don't think I can take care of myself?" she asked hotly, though she felt only anger towards herself. She knew that wasn't what he meant.

"Carter, I didn't mean it like that. I know you can take care of yourself." Jack grimaced. This was definitely one of Carter's sore spots. "Hell, I've been in the field with you hundreds of times. If I didn't think you were capable, I wouldn't trust you to watch my six."

"Oh, well, then I guess it's a good thing you trust me, right? Wouldn't want me to slip up because some guy distracted me." Sam's voice had risen to a fever pitch and she saw Daniel and Teal'c glance over at them.

"Carter, keep your voice down." Jack said quietly, holding out his hands in a placating gesture.

"Yeah, don't want me bringing any enemies down on us. Then you'd have to trust me and my capabilities to watch your back!" Sam shouted, her fists balled at her sides. Jack's eyes widened. He would never bring her up on insubordination charges, but he had never heard her speak to a superior officer with such disregard for rank before.

Least of all him.

"Carter, relax. I'm sorry." Jack glanced over his shoulder and saw that both Daniel and Teal'c had risen and were walking towards them, worry clouding their features.

Oh, dammit. Milling was walking towards them too.

"Carter--," Jack started, taking a step towards her, but he was cut off by a whiny shout.

"What do you think you're doing, Colonel O'Neill?" Milling's voice grated from over his shoulder.

Daniel and Teal'c, seeing the physical reactions in both Sam and Jack to Milling's voice, changed course immediately, putting themselves between the two officers and the scientist.

"Having a chat with my 2IC, Milling, what does it look like?" Jack growled, not turning away from Carter's blazing eyes. "Though I don't remember inviting you." Jack's voice was laced with a fury that showed on his face, flaring in his eyes.

Sam took an involuntary step backwards and hoped nobody noticed. She wasn't afraid of him; she knew he would never hurt her, but he looked like he wanted to murder Milling. She desperately wanted to apologize, then throw herself into his arms and be kissed senseless…but…

She couldn't do that.

And that knowledge just pissed her off even more. She couldn't have him, dammit!

"Okay," Daniel said loudly, not moving from his position. "I think everybody needs a good night's sleep. We can figure this out in the morning."

"You may go to bed, Doctor Jackson." Milling tried to look and sound threatening. He failed. "I want to make sure Colonel O'Neill doesn't hurt Major Carter."

"Oh, boy." Daniel muttered and hurriedly stepped away from the doctor. Teal'c gave the scientist a 'you're a dead man' look before he, too, moved away.

Jack whipped around and drew himself up to his full height. His eyes blazed with a fury Daniel had never seen before. His mouth was set in a hard line and his breathing was shallow and quick. He took a step towards the doctor, but Sam beat him to it.

She burst out in front of Jack and brought a heavy fist down onto Milling's jaw. The man crumpled onto the ground at her feet and a thick silence filled the area. Daniel's eyes were wide as he stared at the unconscious man on the ground and then at the enraged woman standing over him, fist still poised.

Teal'c looked slightly surprised, but approving. He clasped his hands behind his back and nodded his head.

Jack stood stock-still. Carter had just hit Milling. Hit him and knocked him out cold. But…why…?

"You son of a bitch." Sam breathed furiously. "You arrogant, good for nothing, bastard! How dare you presume to think that Colonel O'Neill would ever hurt me. How dare you think you have the right, after knowing us for a day, to assume that he has no self-control. And to assign yourself as my protector? You bastard!" Sam moved as though to kick the still unconscious man, but turned away at the last second.

"Leave me alone." She growled at the three members of her team. Sam threw herself down by the fire and picked up Daniel's cup of coffee, drinking deeply from the mug, pointedly ignoring the three men staring at her in shock.

Daniel turned back to Jack and lowered his voice. "What…the hell was that about?"

Jack turned wide eyes to Daniel. "I have no idea."

Daniel cocked his head. "Oh, please, Jack. What did you say?"

Jack shifted uncomfortably, glancing at his 2IC. "I may have made a flippant remark about…protecting her." Jack winced. "Then she kinda lit into me…and then…hit…him." Jack finished, shrugging helplessly. "Why did she hit him?"

"It seems that Major Carter was most displeased at the doctor's opinion of you. It angered her deeply that he thought you would harm her because of a disagreement." Teal'c said quietly, inclining his head slightly.

Jack blinked at him, refusing to acknowledge what that could mean. He loved her, dammit. He loved her with everything that was him…but, she couldn't possibly return the feelings.

Right?

Daniel glanced at Jack and had to fight to hide a sly smile. Those two were so inept at hiding their feelings. Seemed everybody knew it but them.

Typical.

"I believe Daniel Jackson was right in suggesting that it is time for rest. I shall take first watch." Teal'c turned and walked towards the fire and settled himself against a tree to keep an eye on the surroundings.

Daniel turned to Jack. "Should we just leave him here?" He toed Milling's leg. The man didn't even groan.

"Let him sleep on the ground." Jack shrugged uncaringly. "Nothing is gonna hurt worse than his jaw in the morning. Carter dropped him hard." He couldn't help the small note of pride in his voice.

Daniel shrugged and led the way back to camp. Sam was nowhere to be seen.

At Daniel's questioning look, Jack shrugged. "Probably in the tent."

"Damage control." Daniel nodded at Jack. "Don't screw it up."

"Shut up." Jack smiled to take the sting out of his words. "Night, Danny."

Daniel rolled his eyes and stepped halfway into his tent. "Night, Jack." Daniel zipped the tent behind him and moved to take off his jacket when he realized he wasn't the only person in the room. He whipped around and saw Sam's blonde head sticking out from under a blanket. Daniel sighed and frowned slightly. "Sam?"

"Not a word, Daniel." Sam growled.

"Sam, this isn't your tent."

"I'm aware of that, Daniel." Sam rolled over and fixed him with a glare.

"Sam…" Daniel rubbed his temples. "Go back to your tent. Jack's sorry for whatever he did."

Sam rolled her eyes. "No."

"Sam. Go." He pointed at the door to the tent.

"Daniel." Sam half whined, half growled.

"No. You two need to work out all this--," Daniel broke off realizing he was about to say sexual tension. He cleared his throat. "You need to work out all this tension."

"Not now." Sam pouted.

"Yes, now." Daniel said, unyielding.

"You're supposed to be my friend." Sam said petulantly. Daniel smiled. She could be really adorable sometimes. He told her as much.

"You're really adorable, you know that?" Daniel grinned when she scowled.

"Shut up."

"Now, go be adorable with Jack." Daniel unzipped the tent and gestured out of it.

"No." Sam's cheeks flamed as her mind automatically imagined 'being adorable' to Jack. And what that could lead to…

No, dammit! No more thinking.

"Daniel, please don't make--," Sam started, but Daniel cut her off, leaning against the side of the tent.

"Dammit, Sam! Go sleep with Jack! You know you want to!" Daniel frowned and shook his head slightly when he heard his own voice echo.

Sam's eyes widened and she jumped up. "Daniel, you idiot!" she hissed, yanking on his arm, pulling him away from the wall.

And the intercom button.

Whoops.

"Sam, I didn't know…" Uh-oh. He had definitely said something about Sam sleeping with Jack. And her wanting to do it.

Crap.

The tent flap was suddenly ripped aside and Jack stepped inside. However, he hadn't taken into account how close Sam would be to the flap and, subsequently, toppled over.

Taking her with him.

Sam grabbed onto the front of his shirt as they fell. He instinctively wrapped one arm around her and used the other to brace them as they hit the ground. He managed to save Sam's head and upper back from hitting the ground, but she would definitely have a bruised tailbone.

Daniel threw himself away from them to avoid getting knocked down. Looking down at the pair, he couldn't help the laugh that rumbled from him. Jack had lowered them both onto the ground and their faces were mere inches apart. Sam's eyes were wide, but Jack was smiling.

Sam's mouth worked as though trying to say something. She finally settled on, "I'm sorry, sir."

"For what?" Jack's voice was low and slightly husky.

"For being so disrespectful. I wasn't angry at you. I was mad at myself and I took it out on you. It wasn't my place. You have every right to bring me up on charges."

Jack laughed and dropped his head into the crook of her neck. Sam's eyes widened and she shivered pleasantly when he spoke. "Carter…you had every right to say what you said. I'm not bringing you up on charges. I would never."

Daniel cleared his throat uncomfortably, but, seeing no reaction from them, stepped out of the tent. He knew they wouldn't do anything. They had too much damned honor. He knew they would just lie there; for one night, allowing themselves some comfort in the knowledge that they felt the same.

It was all they could do.

'For now.' Daniel thought. Moving towards Sam and Jack's tent, he nodded to Teal'c then ducked inside.

A/N: Please R&R!