As B'Elanna and Sam worked together on the warp core components that had been broken or damaged during the fight with the cube Jack wandered around engineering under the careful watch of a security officer who had turned up shortly after they had arrived in engineering.

"I have to ask Major," B'Elanna said, "But don't feel you have to answer."

Sam looked at her and nodded, "Sure go ahead Lieutenant and please call me Sam."

"B'Elanna please," B'Elanna replied but before she could get any further Sam shouted across the room.

"Sir, don't touch that."

Across the room Jack hastily drew his hand back and gave Sam a sheepish look. As the other engineers returned to their work Sam shook her head at Jack and mouthed the words pockets to him. He got the message and stuck his hands in his pockets, just like he had done a hundred times before in Sam's lab. Once Sam was happy that he wasn't going to touch any more potentially dangerous thing she turned her attention back to B'Elanna, "Sorry. You were saying?"

"Um, you say you know us so you know that there is something going on between me and Tom. What I want to know is if there is something going on between you and Colonel O'Neill? There's something about the way you look at each other and how he was in the infirmary when you were unconscious."

Sam was so shocked by the question she rammed her fingers into the side of the console they were working on as well as catching her thumb on the corner causing it to start bleeding. "Damn it," she said, sticking her thumb in her mouth and sucking at it.

"Sorry," B'Elanna said, "If you don't want to answer don't feel you have to."

Sam shook her head and took her thumb out of her mouth to say, "It's ok, you just shocked me. There is nothing between me and the Colonel, we work together and we're friends I guess but that's it. Anyway, there couldn't be anything between us; the regs wouldn't allow it."

"Oh," was all B'Elanna said as Sam stuck her still bleeding finger back into her mouth.

They continued to work in silence, Sam only using one hand since her finger was still bleeding. They had just reconnected another component when a voice behind them made B'Elanna jump, "Hey Carter, been in the wars again have we?"

Sam took her thumb out her mouth and looked at it before answering, "Nope, all good."

Jack raised an eyebrow and Sam wordlessly stretched out her hand to him, he took it before saying, "You'd say you were fine with a bullet in your leg and I seem to remember you saying the same thing when you were suffering from a massive concussion and three cracked ribs." He gave her thumb a quick look and when he was that it was still bleeding he pulled the small first aid kit he always carried and proceeded to pull out an antiseptic wipe and plaster.

He ripped the top of the wipes packaging but before he could get it anywhere near Sam's hand she pulled away, "Sir, really it's fine."

Jack shook his head and said in a teasing tone, "Really Carter, if I'd known you liked getting stuck with needles so much I wouldn't have even bothered to try. You know full well that as soon as we get back the lovely doctor is going to be sticking us full of needles and if you have an open cut that is as deep as that one that hasn't been cleaned you're going to get even more than the rest of us."

Sam sighed before stretching out her hand once more. As Jack took it and wiped it he said, "See, you are smarter than you look."

"Thanks for that sir," Sam replied sarcastically.

Jack replayed what he said in his head and then grimaced, "Um opps, that sounded way better in my head." He stuck the plaster on and then released Sam's hand. "So what you working on Carter?"

It was B'Elanna who answered and she started off on some complicated spiel that Jack didn't understand a word of. Once she had finished speaking Jack gave Sam a confused look.

She smiled and said, "Well you did ask sir. Basically where working on getting the warp core working with the ship again."

Jack nodded, "Well that sounds fun."

Sam shook her head, "To me sir it is."

She and B'Elanna went back to what they had been doing while Jack sat behind them and watched. After ten minutes he began to tap annoyingly. B'Elanna rounded on him and snapped, "Can you stop that, it's annoying."

Jack stopped tapping but pouted before saying, "But I'm bored, at least at home when Carter is working on her doohickies I can play pick up with Teal'c or the marines, here I got nothing."

Sam sighed gave B'Elanna an apologetic look before she reached into the breast pocket of her BDU jacket and pulling something out. She handed it to Jack and he took it from her before beaming at her, "Why do you have one of my yo-yo's Carter?"

"It's the one I took off you before the briefing sir," Sam answered before turning back to the console.

Jack walked away and found a large area and started playing with the yo-yo. B'Elanna watched him for a moment before she asked Sam, "What is that?"

Sam smiled and shrugged, "It's a toy but it keeps him occupied."

B'Elanna nodded but didn't say anything more. The two got back to work and when they had finished on the console they moved on to something else.

Hours later Jack, who had played with the yo-yo for a half hour before coming back to sit with Sam and B'Elanna, said, "Ok Carter, I think it's about time to call it a night." He stood and stretched.

Sam looked at her watch and nodded, Might not be a bad idea sir." She looked over at B'Elanna and said, "Do you think you could take us back to where we left Daniel and Teal'c?"

She nodded, "Sure." Jack offered her his hand and pulled her up before doing the same for Sam. Once all three of them were standing B'Elanna led the way out of the room and towards the turbo lift.

They walked into the conference room and saw that Daniel was concentrating hard on the tape in front of him while Teal'c was sat in the corner kelno'reeming and Tom was looking through Daniel's notebook, while Tuvok was just standing watching.

"So space monkey," Jack said, causing both Tom and Daniel to jump, "How's it going?"

Daniel looked at him and shrugged, "I'm getting there; I've done nearly three quarters of it already."

Jack nodded, "Good. We're going to call it a night Danny-boy."

Behind them Captain Janeway walked in at the end of the sentence and said, "You are welcome to make use of some of the spare quarters on the ship."

Jack looked at her and shook his head, "Thanks but I think we'd all prefer outside right now, but you are all welcome to come to our campsite if you want, we can't offer much in the way of good food but Sam makes one hell of a fire."

Sam shook her head before walking over to Teal'c and placing a hand on his arm. When he was kelno'reeming he was aware of everything going on around him but thus far he hadn't moved. At Sam's touch he opened his eyes and uncrossed his legs before standing and inclining his head.

"So how do we get back onto the surface?" Jack asked the room in general.

"I'll take you to a transport pad," Janeway answered, "And I would like to find out more about you all so I think I will except your invitation to join you, later."

Jack nodded happily, "Fine, see you whenever."

Janeway led the way out of the room and towards the nearest transporter room.