~ 2 ~

"Oh god..." Jack grumbled as he emerged from his dew covered tent. He forgot how cool it could get on a mountain range, even if it was the equivalent to summer on earth. Sam was sitting on his log close to the dwindling fire; she looked a little cold, but bright-eyed.

"How dare you look so cheery at this hour of the morning," Jack teased, knowing that she wouldn't take his unseemly attitude too seriously. Sam smiled, shook her head at him and leaned backwards to retrieve something from behind the log. She lifted up his fishing rod and tackle box, and deposited them at her feet.

"Come on Sir. The sun won't make it past the summit for another few hours. You still want to go, don't you?" She asked with a worried frown.

Jack hadn't survived for so long without a strong sense of self preservation. Honestly, it was about fifty-fifty, but Sam wouldn't appreciate him bailing on her, since she'd woken up early and was completely ready to go. Then again, the fact that she seemed more than happy to accompany him, pretty much turned that fifty percent interest into eighty five.

"Yeah, sure. I need my boots though." Jack retreated back into his tent and put his cold combat boots on. Damn leather! Not ideal for keeping aging tootsies warm. As soon as he re-emerged from his tent and headed straight for the fire, Sam stood up and shouldered her small backpack.

"What are you bringing that for? We're just fishing... You're not taking your computer, Carter." Jack said sternly, pointing his finger at her.

"No Sir, just the first aid kit, some lunch, a tarpaulin and my sleeping bag. The weather is unpredictable and the terrain is pretty iffy. Just in case... and no Sir, I won't be bringing my computer." She attached her P-90 to the clip on her vest; he couldn't expect her to just leave that here.

"Alright. Just don't let it slow you down." Jack yawned. "Hang on a second..." he quickly went to his tent and returned with a power bar.

"It's not heavy Sir. Did you want to grab a coffee or something more than that for breakfast?" She held out his rod and tackle box. He took them, pausing as he leant in and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I don't need coffee," He whispered conspiratorially.

Jack took his fishing gear and began walking downstream. Sam scoffed quietly before following her General along the rocky trail. It was definitely cold this morning, and the sun wouldn't begin to hit the base of the mountain where they had camped until midday. There was a river of fog running over the stream, but it wasn't too thick and would not inhibit their vision if they scaled the mountainside above it.

She wasn't sure how far downstream the General wanted to go, but the exercise would do them both good, and though she would never tell anyone, she enjoyed the prospect of getting some time alone with her Commanding Officer.

The events surrounding her father's recent death had been far more dramatic that she was used to, particularly where she and Jack were concerned. She had realised that she couldn't marry Pete; he represented a level of normality that she would never be able to adjust to. She had to confess, her unrequited feelings for her Commanding Officer was been a contributing factor. She had also been very surprised to hear that Jack had broken up with his girlfriend on the same day. Kerry was ideal for him; she was able to give Jack a relationship that Sam was forbidden to offer.

But since that day, nothing more had happened between herself and Jack. It left her in a lull, wondering where to go. They had tried to move past their mutual attraction, and failed spectacularly. Now they were here, there was no going back to the way things were before. Their inability to move on had only confirmed that those emotions were still there.

They walked for a solid hour before Sam's radio crackled. Her pace slowed and she instinctively grabbed the device, waiting for the call to come through. Jack's ears pricked up and he listened for the transmission.

"Sam, its Daniel. Over." Offworld, they hardly ever used correct radio procedures.

"I'm here Daniel, go ahead," Sam kept walking as she spoke; Jack gave her a quick glance over his shoulder.

"Just letting you know that Teal'c and I are on our way back," The transmission was filled with static and difficult to understand.

"General O'Neill has decided to go fishing, so he and I have headed down stream. We've left the camp as is." Sam advised, her eyes flicking up to the man in front of her.

"Ah okay, in that case, Teal'c and I can go upstream and check out some of the settlements. See what we find."

"We'll meet back at the campsite this afternoon. Carter out." She released her radio and it snapped back against her chest. She turned her attention to the General, who appeared to have no intent of slowing down. "How far are you planning to go, Sir?"

Jack turned back to her, a small smirk playing on his lips.

"Why? Backpack getting heavy, Carter?" He dropped back as the spacing between the trees widened; the trail had disappeared a long time ago. He easily fell in by her side, separated only by the tackle box.

"Not Sir; it's just the further we go, the longer it will take to walk back," And she certainly did not want to have to drag whatever he caught all that way.

"That's the idea Carter," Jack nudged her in the shoulder, though she wasn't entirely sure what he meant. "Another ten minutes and we'll stop."

"Alright then," They continued walking side by side in companionable silence.

"Aha! Over there!" Jack pointed at a spot about two hundred feet down the rushing river, that seemed to suddenly disappear. Jack took off ahead of her and stopped, looking down at something. As Sam got closer, she realised he was at the top of a waterfall.

She halted next to Jack, looking over the edge of the fall; luckily it wasn't a straight drop, but it was still probably twenty five feet high. The water pooled and bubbled at the bottom and the stream continued further down into an even faster flowing river.

"Down there. That's a good spot." Jack grinned. Sam considered his proposition.

"You want to go down there?" Sam repeated, eyeing the rocky – but manageable – climb that led to the base. It wasn't impossible, but again, she considered the fact they would have to climb back up.

"Yeah," He nodded. Well, if he felt up to the challenge, she could handle it too.

"Fine, but on one condition: you carry everything you catch," She said seriously.

"If I even catch anything edible, we'll eat it or toss it. Save's carrying it back. Daniel and T don't have to know. It'll be our secret..." Jack trailed off as he began precariously climbing down the side of the waterfall, tackle box and rod in one hand. Sam hooked her rifle onto her backpack and followed him, keeping a close eye on the placement of his hands, as well as her own hands and feet.

"Just us?" She asked inadvertently. She didn't mean to say that out loud. He didn't reply for a full five minutes as they carefully edged navigated down the rocky cliff.

"Sure. We'll do lunch; it'll be great." Jack grunted and stopped on a rock that sat flat and provided a good place for a break. He waited patiently as Sam continued to climb down, trying to not ogle her backside. He couldn't resist and brought his hands up to her waist as she carefully manoeuvred onto to the flat rock. As soon as she found her balance, he let her go.

"I couldn't quite wrangle a movie first, but maybe..." He reached over her shoulder to a small flowery planet hanging off the side of the small cliff. He plucked a tiny yellow flower and held it out to her. "...There! Matches your hair."

Her frown slowly turned into a shy smile, knowing full well that he was once again teasing her, but she was willing to indulge him and endure his flirting. Although, remembering the recent changes in their personal lives, their usual playful conversation was not quite as harmless as it once was. They were at the risk of having that conversation, which would be uncomfortable for both.

But the innocent flirting was a relief. It allowed then to express themselves; even if only a minute part of what each was feeling. It certainly eased the tension and excused awkward silences. That and it made conversation a lot more fun. She wedged it her hair just above her ear.

"How about that?" she turned her head to offer him a better look at the pretty blossom. Jack chuckled in amusement.

"Very nice," He nodded.

She pushed past him and began climbing down again, flower still in her hair.

"Throw me your stuff when I get to the bottom," She ordered; her focus on the path she took down. Jack stood and watched as the top of Carter's head moved further and further from him. After a minute or so, she had safely arrived at the base of the waterfall. She stood on a large grey rock and looked up, her hair flicking slightly from the rushing air.

"Ready?" Jack held the tackle box over her head. Sam opened her arms, waiting.

"Yep," She called over the sound of the falling water. Jack dropped the box, hoping the impact wouldn't harm his bait. Sam caught it easily and placed it on the rock, in between her feet.

"Watch the hooks!" Jack warned, throwing his fishing rod down to Sam. When she had both items in her grasp, she stood and waited for her General to descend the side of the cliff.

It took Jack close to three minutes to climb down the remaining ten feet. To his credit, at least he was still able to scale mountains at his age. Not that Sam expected him to be unable to do so.

Jack dusted the dirt and leaves off his olive drab uniform.

"See? No problem!" He grinned, looking back up the waterfall. Okay, it did look a lot higher from down here. "Let's go a little downstream, or we'll get wet." Jack pointed to the spray being thrown up by the waterfall. Taking a closer look at his second in command, she seemed to be well aware of this fact. Parts of her hair were clumping together and she had a fine layer of moisture across her face. The flower had fallen out and he couldn't help but miss it.

They walked down the stream until the air was void of the fine mist, but the water was still reasonably calm. Jack planted himself on a rock and dug out his bait. Sam let her backpack fall from her shoulders and unclipped her P-90, sliding it under her pack.

"What are you going to do whilst I'm doing this?" Jack asked. He jumped when he accidently stabbed his finger with a hook.

Sam dug out a book, treading carefully over the bank to join him on his rock and leant back against the boulder behind them. She pulled her feet up and positioned the book on her thighs. Jack looked at the cover: Equus.

"What's that about?"

"It's a play about a boy who blinds half a dozen horses with a spike and is sent to a psychologist. He has this religious love for horses, and the doctor has to cure him, then he decides that curing him might do more harm than good." She explained as she flicked through the pages, looking for her bookmark.

Jack frowned and gave her a sceptical look.

"I'm sorry I asked..." Jack grimaced.

"It's not what you think, Sir," Sam argued.

"Carter, you said this kid is in love with a horse and likes to stab their eyes out," Jack reiterated. He finally managed to get a worm to stay on the hook and carefully cast out into the flowing waters.

"It's about insanity and sanity, and... and, worship and religion-" She began, her words faltering as she tried to describe the complicated themes of the play.

"...and our own worship of the concept of normality. I know. I saw it in Denver a long time ago. It was good." Jack smirked. Sam was visibly irritated to find that he was teasing her again.

"Yes. I decided I liked it enough to go out and buy the book. I went to nine different bookstores before I managed to find it." Sam adjusted next to him, trying to get more comfortable.

"It had some good monologues," Jack mused, still watching his line in the water.

"I liked the closing soliloquy," Sam admitted.

"Passion cannot be created, it can only be destroyed... or some mumbo jumbo like that." Jack shrugged and crossed his ankles. Sam smiled, though he didn't see it. She was pleased that he was not feigning ignorance like he usually did. Letting her head fall back against the boulder, Sam settled in for a quiet morning with her General.

~ SJ ~

Yes, I've read Equus. Yes, I did go to nine book stores in Sydney and Brisbane to find it. Got it on the last day of my trip :) Reviews welcome.