Sorry for the long delay! I just got back from my weekend away. Thanks to all of you for your wonderful reviews (and kind wishes). I'll definitely try and get back to you soon. I'm sorry for not replying sooner.

"Ja aack."

"Mmmmm. Go 'way", he muttered into the blankets. He just wanted to sleep a little longer.

"Jaaaack", the sing-song voice, full of laughter, repeated. Something tickled his nose and he swatted it away.

"Wanna sleep", he groaned. It was Saturday, right? He was pretty sure he didn't have a mission this morning. It was probably Daniel wanting him to go to some museum or something.

"Jack, it's time to get up. The guys want you to go hunting with them."

Hunting? He didn't hunt – hadn't since he was a young man. Didn't like to kill unless he had to. No, not for him. Fishing now, that was different. Relaxing, peaceful – and he could throw the fish right back in.

Soft lips pressed against his. Oh God, he thought, this had better not be Daniel or he was in big trouble. He opened his eyes, praying that it was someone of the female persuasion who was attached to his face.

"Sam", he exclaimed softly, as he looked into her deep azure eyes. She began to grin, even while her lips continued to tease his.

"Yes, it's me. Who did you think it was?" she was laughing, so it didn't look like she was worried. Like a flash of light everything came back to him. Last night – last night one of his fantasies – let's face it O'Neill – his BIGGEST fantasy had come true. He glanced around quickly and realized he must have slept in late. Sam was still grinning down at him, obviously waiting for his answer.

"Uh Daniel." he replied groggily.

"Daniel?" she laughed. "Why were you thinking of Daniel?"

"Well, I'm just not used to being woken up by a beautiful woman – Daniel, on the other hand, likes to bug me on my day off and force me to accompany him to all sorts of weird places."

"Such as?"

"Museums."

"Museums are weird?"

"Well, they're okay I guess. But when I've been on a long mission all week looking at artifacts the last thing I want to do is go look as some more."

"Yeah, that makes sense." She was looking at him with an expression he couldn't quite decipher, although he admitted to himself that it made him feel warm and – happy. Deciding not to overanalyze things he looked at her calmly for a while. Finally, knowing they couldn't totally ignore what had happened last night he just – went for it.

"Are you okay?" he asked carefully.

"Okay?"

"After, you know, last night?"

She tilted her head and looked at him out of what he could only describe as 'soft' eyes.

"I'm fine. And you?" She sounded like they had just been formally introduced. He couldn't quite read what she was thinking or feeling.

"Uh fine." He stopped. What had started out well was starting to spiral downwards. He worried that by the end of this conversation they would be speaking to each other like strangers. So, taking a deep breath he figured he'd better go for total honestly.

"Actually, I'm not fine." She immediately looked surprised and a little worried. He could feel her start to draw away from him.

"I'm not fine – I'm waaaaaay better than fine. I don't think fine is even on the same scale as I'm on right now. I'd have to say that yesterday I was fine. Today – well I'm –fantastic – great even." He grinned, rolled over onto his side so he was facing her and he then leaned forward and kissed her. "Yup – fantastic."

The worry instantly disappeared from her face. Now, instead, she looked happy. Her eyes crinkled and with a small smirk she leaned forward until their lips were almost touching. Closing his eyes he waited for her kiss.

He yelped when she reached out and took his lower lip between her teeth and gently bit down. It didn't really hurt – but it did surprise him. He opened his eyes.

"Wha'?" he asked, which was hard to say with someone attached to his lip.

"Just don't want you to get too complacent – Sir!"

He looked slightly shocked but then, as she released his lip, he smirked right back.

"Complacent? Oh no Carter – that's definitely not what I am right now!"

It took her a second before his meaning registered and then she could feel herself start to blush. Damn! And she'd had things firmly under control until then. It was at that moment, of course, that she began to think about the day ahead and what was in store for them. In spite of last night – or maybe it was because of last night – she was dreading the ordeal in front of them. She really didn't know how she was going to go along with a public spectacle. It would feel like a violation – of both of them, not just of her.

"Whatcha thinkin' Sam?" he asked softly. He didn't think his comment had offended her that much but the humor of a moment ago had disappeared and she was now looking perturbed.

"Ah", she answered, equally as softly, "I'm just thinking of having to 'go public'", she said, using her fingers to form quotation marks. "I'm dreading it Sir."

"Hey, what did I say about the 'Sirs'? And as for the other, well, I don't think we need to worry about that now."

"What? Why not? Igor is going to insist that I go with him if we don't – Jack."

"Well, about that Carter", he smiled as she raised her eyebrows at his use of the name Carter. "I uh – the old lady and the Chief know we're – 'mated', this time it was O'Neill who signed the quotation marks.

"They know?"

"Yeah, they kind of - saw us this morning." He paused, unsure as to how she'd react.

At first she looked puzzled and then he could see the anger build. Oops, he thought, that doesn't look too good, although he couldn't quite figure out why she'd be mad – embarrassed yes but not angry.

"You did this, didn't you?" she asked quietly but with a throb of emotion in her voice.

"Did this?" now it was his turn to be puzzled.

"You arranged for this morning to happen and told them to watch out didn't you? This wasn't about you and me – this was about proving to them that we're 'doing it'." She stopped talking and then started to push herself back. She had to get out of here.

"Wait, Sam", he reached out to take her hand but she pulled it away quickly. "No, you're wrong. I didn't know they'd be watching. I didn't say anything to anybody. Last night was for us. I was surprised too."

She stopped but not turning around, asked a single question.

"Then how do you know they saw what happened."

"Uh – well after you – fell asleep I started to feel a little chilly." She looked at him with her eyebrows raised.

"Yes, well the fur blankets had fallen down. I got up to pull them over us when I saw that the Chief and old lady were looking at us. They'd clearly seen uh – us." This was all so new that he was feeling quite uncomfortable talking about this. Fortunately, Sam seemed to relax a bit. She slowly turned around.

"You're sure they saw?"

"Yeah, pretty sure. They both looked quite pleased about the whole thing. I think they've been rooting for us the whole time."

"But how did they know to watch us?" she asked, looking at him directly. She was definitely appearing calmer.

"I don't know. Really!" he said as she again looked slightly incredulous. "Maybe we were kind of noisy – or something."

He could see the red creep up her neck with his words. He felt bad but didn't know what else to say to make her believe him. He really hadn't known they were being watched.

"Look Sam – I was upset when I saw them. I really had wanted last night be to about just us. I didn't lie to you about that – I wouldn't lie to you! What happened between us was – amazing. It's a memory I'll cherish. When I realized that we'd had an audience I wasn't happy about it at all. But then I realized that it meant we don't have to", he made a indeterminate gesture. He stopped talking, hoping that she would understand and stop being angry.

"Do you think the rest of them will believe the chief and the old woman?"

Damn! Now he'd have to tell her the whole. He hoped she didn't kill him when he told her.

"Uh – I think a few more of them saw too", he murmured quietly.

"A few more?" She sucked in a breath. "By that I suspect you mean everybody." The thought that last night was on display for everyone made her feel ill.

"No, not everyone. I think a lot of them were sleeping. I think it was just a few. And I don't think they saw much Sam – just enough to know what was going on." So, he was stretching the truth a bit but figured she really didn't need to know how many people had been 'in the audience' so to speak.

After a second she nodded and attempted a small smile. The Colonel was right – in a way this was the best thing that could have happened. This meant they probably didn't need to have a public showing which did give her a sense of relief. On the other hand she felt like Jack – she had wanted this to be a private memory. Oh well, they couldn't have it both ways. Finally, sighing, she let go of her anger.

"I guess you're right. It is good we don't have to – you know – in front of everyone. I wasn't exactly looking forward to that."

"You're telling me! I was really worried there for a while."

"Worried about having everyone watching?"

"Yeah – that too."

"That too?"

"Well – let's just say you can be glad you're not a guy."

She looked at him with a puzzled look, not understanding what he was getting at."

"Performance anxiety!"

"Oh!" She stopped for a minute and then giggled. "Yes, I guess we have it a bit easier in that regard Si – uh Jack."

"Yeah!"

With that she rolled over and then stood up. Looking down at him she got a wicked look on her face as she repeated what she'd told him upon waking him.

"They want you to go hunting with them this morning. Think you're up to that Sir?"

Returning her evil look with one of his own he began to stand up as well.

"After last night Sam I think I'm up for anything." That would have been a great line to end things on if he hadn't realized, half way into standing up, that he was totally naked. He knew no one would mind but he still wasn't quite used to the feeling so, with a soft curse, he sat back down and reached around until he found his pants. As he pulled them on he watched Sam saunter (yes, he could honestly say it was a saunter) over to the group of women standing around the central hearth.

He smiled as he watched her and as he remembered the way she'd behaved early this morning. This was definitely shaping up to being something very interesting.

By the time he'd dressed and made it to where the men were standing he realized that the hunting party was starting to get impatient. Hey, he couldn't help it if he was moving a bit slowly this morning – he'd received a severe beating from good old Igor – and had then spent part of the night making passionate love to the woman he – cared about. Don't let yourself get carried away Jack, he said to himself. Just keep it at the 'caring' level and you won't get hurt.

He snorted, knowing that that point had been passed a long time ago. Oh well, he decided philosophically, things were what they were.

One of the cavemen gave him a big grin and handed him a spear. He guessed he'd finally 'arrived' in this tribe if they trusted him with a weapon. He just wished he had his gun – although after what had happened with Igor he figured it was better to keep them out of the picture.

Turning he saw Sam looking at him. He smiled at her and gave her a small wave, indicating he was going to go with the men. He needed some time out of the cave and a bit of space to consider all that had happened. Things had changed and he had to try and get his head around them. With a small chuckle he followed the men out to go hunting.

As she watched Jack leave Sam was thinking many of the same things. She recognized that things had changed drastically but wasn't quite sure how to deal with the new reality. When she'd first woken up this morning, after their incredible love-making, she'd lain there quietly, just watching the man at her side. As bruised and battered as he looked she also thought he seemed rather peaceful. His lips were turned up a tiny bit, as if he were having a pleasant dream. She hoped it was thoughts of their time together that was making him appear so content!

As wonderful as it had been, she admitted to herself that she had been feeling a bit uncomfortable and a whole lot embarrassed. She had been dreading him waking up and looking at her with an apology in his eyes – or guilt – over what had happened. What had occurred had been beautiful and the most incredible gift he could have offered her; and she wanted him to remember it with tenderness and caring, not feeling guilty or somehow as if he'd just 'done his duty'. She had debated with herself the best way to handle their relationship now. Should she pretend nothing had happened or should she act as if they were in a true and loving relationship? She didn't know and it was driving her crazy.

They had slept in a little longer than most of the tribe who were up and moving around. She guessed that since the tribe all knew what they'd been up to they were allowed to rest up afterward. As she had lain there, waiting for the Colonel to wake up, she'd finally decided that the best way to handle the whole thing was with a touch of humor and a 'matter of fact' air. Jack always responded well to humor – as did she – and she figured it would be the most comfortable way for them to act.

Based on some of his comments this morning he hadn't viewed last night (or early this morning actually) as a duty but rather as something special. That made her feel warm all over – but it didn't mean he was in love with her – just that he cared deeply for her and was attracted to her. Whether or not those feelings went deeper, or could grow, she didn't know.

"Oh well Sam, might as well just wait and see. There's nothing else you can do anyway!"

The other women in the cave seemed to be happy for her this morning and there was a lot of grinning and giggling. She wondered if they had figured out that the other night wasn't real?

Sam realized, as she stood watching the women, that she really needed to be doing something or she was going to go stir crazy. That would only lead to worry about her relationship with Jack, which would, in turn, create pressure for both of them. So, she needed something with which to occupy her time.

"Might as well learn to speak 'cavemanese' she decided. It would make life easier if she could communicate with these people. Their language seemed pretty basic so it shouldn't take too long! With a smile she turned to the woman to her left and began to try and speak.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Jack quickly discovered that some of the younger men seemed to have taken a liking to him. He wondered what it was? So far he hadn't exactly acquitted himself well although there was the whole Chewi thing – and then, of course, he did beat Igor. Soon he was actually feeling kind of proud of himself. Finally, he couldn't help but think of his time this morning with Sam. His face broke out into a huge smile. If there was anything to feel proud about, he decided, it was making Sam scream – for real and for pleasure. Yup – he was feelin' kind of good – hell, he was feeling great!

One of the young men had been walking by his side since they left the cave and he hadn't stopped talking – or grunting. Jack had to laugh a bit – the kid reminded him of Daniel – although his brow was much heavier, much, much heavier. These guys truly sported 'uni-brows', even the women. Definitely not an attractive race of people – although he supposed they were happy with each other. At least all the activity in the cave seemed to indicate they were.

The intereseting thing was, as open as they were about sex, (to them it was no more private than eating dinner), he had discovered they had a definite moral code. There didn't seem to be any playing around with anyone other than one's mate (at least not that he could see). It looked like the men stayed away from other men's mates, reserving their 'affections' for their own. That gave him a measure of comfort as far as Sam was concerned, although he realized her safety was dependent on his. He also knew that old Igor was a real threat.

Okay Jack, he thought to himself, time to figure out what these guys were saying. Like Sam he realized that it would make life much easier if he could communicate. So, turning to the young man who was still chattering away, he began to try and talk. The first thing he did was to introduce himself. Pointing to his chest he said 'Jack'. After two or three tries the young man grinned and pointed to him.

"Jawk"

"Yeah, close enough." He then pointed to the young man and lifted his hands, palms up, to indicate he didn't know the man's name. After a couple of seconds he found out the man's name was 'Drobe'.

"Drobe", he replied, pointing. The young man nodded and smiled. He then began to point everyone out. Jack knew he wouldn't remember everyone but at least it was a start. He was really curious about Igor's real name but the man wasn't present so he had a bit of a hard time asking. It was when he finally mimed hitting someone on the head with a rock that Drobe laughed and nodded.

"Boobu"

"Boobu?" Jack repeated, grinning. Oh this was great – the big, tough warrior's name was "Boobu" – he started to laugh. Of course, from that moment on he would often shorten it to 'Boob'. Somehow it fit better than Igor.

The next thing he tried to figure out is what they were hunting. He showed his spear to Drobe and said "Chewi?" He wondered if they were tiger hunting. When the young man got a look of fear in his eyes and shook his head (guess that's a pretty common gesture) Jack figured out that they weren't out looking for Chewi's. He breathed a silent sigh of relief – he didn't feel like being 'Chew'd' again.

Drobe stopped and tried to mime the animal – it didn't appear to be too big, for which Jack was grateful. He had no idea what it was except he did get the name which was 'proku'. He hoped that it was something like a sheep or a goat, or maybe even a chicken. He really didn't feel up to any big, dangerous game hunt.

The morning passed quite pleasantly. He loved being out on a lovely warm day. He felt rather bad for Carter who had to stay back. He really wished he could take her for a nice, romantic walk. After a while he got to thinking of the fact that what he really should be doing was taking her with him to their original cave and then hiking down to the gate. He was starting to worry over the fact that they had heard nothing from anyone. He truly thought they'd be rescued by now.

It was as he was thinking about this that he realized they had walked in the direction of his and Sam's original cave. All they had to do was walk a few hundred more feet and they'd be there. This was luck, he decided. He could take a quick peak to see if anyone had been around and maybe could even check out the area where the Goa'uld and Jaffa had been.

He began to head in the direction of their cave when an arm grabbed him and pulled him back. He looked over his shoulder to see Drobe holding on and giving him a very serious look. He tried to ask what this was about and Drobe pointed to the path that led to the cave. While he was pointing he shook his head violently back and forth. He then reached over and grabbed a stick. Drawing a line in the dirt he made it very clear that O'Neill was not to go that way.

The Colonel wondered if the prohibition was just for him or for everyone? No sooner had the thought arisen than he looked around and noticed how quiet everyone had become. As they turned to the right it was almost as if the men were tiptoeing. Looking again at their faces O'Neill could tell they were truly frightened. There was something about this place that gave them all the creeps.

So, he thought, the prohibition must be for everyone. I wonder why? He knew that somehow Sam and he would have to come back and explore. He'd just have to figure out how without the cavemen catching them. There was something funny going on, and he wanted to find out what it was.

At that precise moment he heard a loud – a very loud – squeal, followed by the shouts of some of the men. He figured the proku was coming. He turned around swiftly, or as swiftly as he could with stiff muscles and newly healed bones, but could see nothing. Suddenly, without warning, the men around him threw themselves to the side, which left him standing smack dab in the path of the wickedest looking – pig - he'd ever seen.

"Holy Shit!" he yelled as the animal – the size of a small cow but much faster – raced towards him. Its head was bowed and it's huge horns or tusks were pointed directly at him. On top of that the damn thing had fangs. What pig has fangs?

All these thoughts ran through his mind in a split second. He knew he didn't have time to get out of the beast's way – it would probably just follow him anyway. He stopped hearing the shouts of the tribesmen as his vision tunneled in on the quickly approaching animal. Without even thinking about it he lowered his spear directly in the path of the wild pig. He braced himself as the animal ran right into the spear.

The force of the animal, as it 'skewered itself' was strong enough to push him back – right onto his back. He fell with a loud 'ooph' – and could feel the pain reverberate right through him. He held on to the spear though, but could hear it give a mighty 'snap' as it broke off. The pig kept coming and he had no weapon now. Closing his eyes, knowing that death, or at least a severe maiming, was heading his way he was shocked when nothing happened. The silence was deafening so, after waiting, not breathing, for a few heartbeats he slowly opened his eyes.

He jumped about 10 feet and let out a yell. Directly in front of him, almost close enough that their noses were touching was a dead – a very dead pig. Closing his eyes again, but this time in relief, Jack said a silent prayer to the god of errant Colonels. He'd survived again.

The silence was immediately broken with the loud voices of the tribesmen. Some were laughing – he must have presented quite a figure when he caught sight of the dead pig, and some were chattering with excitement. Two hands reached down – looking up he saw it was Drobe and …. Kretaw?, he thought who were helping him up. They looked astonished and impressed. Drobe was speaking but he was still too shaken up to try and make sense of the words.

A number of the men walked over and slapped him on the back – which would have been a nice gesture if it weren't for all the bruises he was sporting. By the end he had even more, but he also had the respect of the tribe. Well, to be fair, he probably already had that because of the Chewi – now that respect had moved into the 'here-worship' realm for more than just the young men. Jack was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

As he sat – they wouldn't let him do anything else – and watched them dress the pig to take back he thought of how strange his life was. He'd gone from futuristic science fiction to the Stone Age in a single trip. There weren't many people out there who could say the same.

They finally had the proku – or as Jack referred to it, the 'porku' ready to take back to the cave. This was a fine kill, something the tribe had conveyed very clearly. I guess this was a big one, he thought, looking at it.

It actually blew him away when he saw what he'd done. He would have been frightened to face the damn thing with his P-90 little alone a simple spear. Looking at where the weapon had pierced the animal he realized he was damned lucky. He'd managed to get the animal in what must have been its heart.

He walked back to the cave, suddenly feeling pretty good about things. He laughed as he realized he could truly say he was 'bringing home the bacon'. He knew Sam would appreciate the joke. That thought made him realize how much he missed her and wanted to see her. He began to walk faster and it wasn't until he caught the grins of the men around him that he realized they knew exactly what he was doing. Feeling a blush creep up his neck he looked at them and shrugged, grinning slightly.

Hell, he thought, he'd never be ungentlemanly enough to talk but who was he to complain if the guys knew he was anxious to get back to his very sexy mate! He was sure they also knew exactly what he wanted to do with that self same sexy mate! Yeah, there were days it was great to be a guy!

You should all be proud of me – no cliffhanger (this chapter anyway!).