O'Neill left before the sun was up. Sam had double checked his pack even though he insisted he had everything he needed. She wrapped up a couple personal pies and added them to his pack as a surprise. He'd only been gone an hour when she radioed him.

"Carter to O'Neill."

"O'Neill here. Is something wrong?"

"Nope. I just wanted to make sure the radios are working."

"They seem fine."

"Good. They should be able to handle the distance but I'll keep checking in with you just to be sure."

"Gotcha."

O'Neill pushed it hard on the first day. By the time the sun went down he was within a couple hours of the gate. He made camp in an open field. He built a small fire with wood he had collected as he went through the forest. It wasn't a cold evening but the fire was still a comfort and it let him warm up his dinner. He was pleased to find the pies Sam had snuck into his pack. She knew him well; a thought that depressed him as much as it cheered him. She was the only person on this planet that understood him and he couldn't let her in. If he let her in he'd never be able to let her go and when the rescue team showed up letting her go would be the only way to not derail her career.

He picked up his radio. As promised Sam had been calling him every couple of hours. It was his turn to call her first. "O'Neill to Carter."

"I'm here. Have you set up camp?"

"The fire is going and the tent is up. Thanks for the pies."

"Save one for tomorrow."

"I knew you'd say that."

"Did you already eat them both?"

"Ummm…no."

"Yes you did. It's amazing how little self control you have when pie is involved."

"I have to save my self control for things that are more important than pie."

"More important than pie you say. Interesting. How close are you to the gate?"

"A couple more hours I'd say."

"Wow. You made it a long way in one day."

"Figure I can get there, check things out and start back by midday. That way I can come back a bit slower, hunt a bit as I go. I'll stay in the forest tomorrow night and be back the day after before dark."

"Sounds good."

"Are you already outside working on your star charts?"

"I guess you know me about as well as I know you."

He laid back and looked up at the night sky. "Yep. That either means we are both very predictable or we've spent too much time together."

"I'm going to go with predictable."

"So which of these stars are you gazing at tonight?"

"I try to so a full sky survey each night and monitor the direction the constellations move."

"Constellations?"

"Yeah, the Uraba have names for them and I've been learning those but I've also been making up my own names."

"Such as?"

"Octopus."

"Octopus?"

"I didn't say they were super creative or fancy names."

"Right, so I assume octopus looks like an octopus."

"That is my theory."

"So where is your octopus?"

He heard Sam sigh. He assumed there was a head shake that went along with that sigh. "Look towards the mountains and find the highest peak."

It was hard to see the far off mountain range in the dark but he had a general idea where it was. "Ok."

"Go up about thirty degrees and look to the right of the mountain peak." She paused to give him a chance to find the area. "There is a semi-circle of stars that make a rainbow shape. Rainbow was the first name I gave it but then I noticed the lines coming out along the bottom of the rainbow. There are only six lines instead of eight but it was still close enough to be an octopus."

Jack searched the sky while she talked and then he saw it. "I found it. Octopus is better than rainbow with legs."

"I thought so."

They spent an hour locating different constellations. O'Neill even threw in a few name change suggestions that Sam promised to consider.

"Thanks for all your help tonight. I'm going to go in and have a late dinner. I'll check in again before bed."

"Alright. If I find any other sea creatures or holiday decorations, another of Sam's favorite constellation themes, I will let you know."

"I get the feeling you are making fun of me."

"I would have thought you would have named these constellations after science stuff instead of animals and holiday decorations, just saying."

"I love the holidays and animals are part of science."

"I guess." He snickered. "Later." He laid there for a few more minutes coming up with his own constellations then he heard a howl in the distance. The howl got his attention so he sat up and added some more wood to the fire. The howl was far off and he wanted it to stay that way.

"Calling O'Neill."

He picked up the radio. "I'm here."

"Find anything else interesting?"

"I had the beginnings of an elf but I couldn't find his feet. Feet seem important."

"When you get back you're going to have to show me this partial elf."

"Yes, ma'am, a partial elf it will be. How was your dinner?"

"I made a sandwich. I really like that nut spread Shanese brought over last week. It is a bit addictive I'm afraid."

"Tell me about it. I used it for a couple of the sandwiches I brought with me."

"I guess I should ask for a recipe and we can add those nuts to our list of things to plant next year."

"We could start a tree grove between fields two and three. I bet we could get a few trees planted before the third harvest. Even if we aren't here when the trees start making fruit and nuts they'd be useful to someone."

"That sounds fine if we have the time. I just hope the snow holds off long enough for us to get a few more things to can for winter and enough hay for the animals."

"Hay needs to be our main priority."

"Agreed, but for now our focus needs to be this second harvest. The corn looks great and I'm excited about the peppers."

"Excellent, thanks for checking the fields."

"No problem. Call me if you need anything. I'll keep the radio by my bed."

"Will do. Good night."

"Good night."

Sam had trouble getting to sleep. It was too quiet in the house without O'Neill's soft snoring and she didn't like him being out alone. Jamale was so insistent about not being out at night because of the carnivores that neither she nor O'Neill had ever seen. They had heard howls and seen carcasses but the animals themselves remained a bit of an enigma. Worry finally gave way to sleep.

O'Neill slept soundly, despite the occasional distant howl and potential movement in the grass that he decided was his imagination. He got up slightly after the sun, ate a quick breakfast, packed away his stuff, and headed to the gate. He was disappointed to see the gate was still lying down. Grass was growing in the hole formed by the swoosh so he assumed there hadn't been any swooshes since the trip that landed them here months ago.

He put his pack down and sat on the pedestal. He needed to see there hadn't been any gate activity to confirm what Sam had been telling him all along. He removed two small square wooden signs from his pack. He had written SG1 on both sides of the squares and put an arrow on each side. He threw one into the hole. As long as that sign remained in the hole he would know the gate had not been activated since his last visit and he planned to visit once or twice a year from now on. He propped the other sign at the base of the pedestal with the arrow pointing towards town.

He didn't stare into the hole for long, it was too depressing. With his pack back on he headed back towards the woods. He had his midday snack at the edge of the woods. Once he was done eating he went into hunting mode. He hoped for at least one big kill so they could store some meat for winter as well as have one heck of a nice feast. He wondered if Sam would insist on inviting people and being social. Her time working in town had let her make a lot more friends than him. Of course she was just more approachable. He might agree to be sociable if Leila and her family were on the guest list. He enjoyed telling the girls stories.

He was well into the woods as night descended. He was disappointed that he hadn't seen anything worth shooting all day. He had let a few of the smaller fluffy creatures get away because he was aiming higher. As he ate the last of his sandwiches he decided he would change his approach tomorrow. He hadn't had an unsuccessful hunting trip yet and he had no intention of coming home empty handed tomorrow, even if all he brought home was a few small things.

He couldn't see any constellations that night and Sam was more interested in hearing about the gate than the stars. "It was the same as when we left it."

"I'm sorry."

"I guess you can say I told you so."

"That isn't what I'm saying."

"I know. Sorry."

"If they open the gate we'll be able to pick up the radio signals. Your trip has confirmed that for me. I had been assuming the radios would work this far out but now we know it."

"I guess that's a positive." The tone in his voice didn't match the words. His disappointment hurt her. She had quickly known there wouldn't be a rescue so she had opened herself up to this life. He was still very much clinging to Earth and nothing she said or did was helping him let go.

"Have you had any kills yet?"

"Nope. All around bust of a day."

She was sorry she even brought it up. "Tomorrow will be totally different."

"I know it will. I'm pretty tired. Mind if we cut it short tonight."

"Of course not. Good night."

"Good night."

She hated hearing him so defeated. She knew he went through spells that often involved a liberal amount of drinking but he always came out of it, usually because he was needed at work. Perhaps the key to helping him accept life on Uraba was making sure he knew he was needed. She spent her night working on locking pulleys, which would help them lift the hay into the loft once it was harvested.

O'Neill heard even more movement in the forest that night. He hoped by morning he'd be able to find at least one of those critters to bring back as dinner. He slept for brief periods but spent too much time lying awake, much like Sam even though she was hours away from him.

With the morning light came a new resolve to bring home dinner and make Uraba home. Seeing the gate empty should have been like closing a door but if he was being honest with himself he knew the door was still partially cracked open but he hoped he might think about it a little less. He packed up and headed home, a word that seemed more real today than it had a couple days ago.

About three hours into his walk he saw a deer that he was able to bring down. He pulled out a folded up cart that Sam had made for him. The cart came complete with wheels and since he was so close to home he wheeled the deer home to be prepared. Sam helped him skin the deer and cut the meat. They made a couple steaks for that night, a roast for later in the week, and as he expected a large roast for after the second harvest so they could invite over their friends. The rest of the meat was either frozen or made into jerky.

The steaks were delicious. Sam made potatoes and salad to go with the grilled steaks. She also had a fresh fruit salad for dessert. She told him all about the new baby chicks and pigs that had been born while he was gone. They were expecting a new calf soon also. O'Neill had been the one dabbling in animal husbandry by borrowing a bull and penning up a rooster with a couple of the chickens every few days. Sam contributed by building an incubator for the chicken eggs and nursing one of the piglets that was rejected by the mother.

The day after O'Neill returned Sam went back to Jamale's. The shop was filled with machines needing repairs and the second harvest was almost upon them. Customers were getting anxious. Since she had been home for three days she felt it was only fair to stay at Jamale's for three days. She got a little extra work done for him the first night and then worked on her hay tedder and bailer. The tedder was ready and the bailer was close to complete. Hopefully if she could finish the bailer next week they'd have everything they needed to finish the third harvest in a couple months.

It was her second night in town and she was laying in bed reading about the geothermal energy that heated most of the homes and buildings. She checked the clock in her room and was surprised to see it was so late. O'Neill usually called her much earlier than this. She picked up her radio and called him.

"Calling O'Neill." Sam waited ten minutes and tried again. "Carter calling O'Neill. Please respond." The lack of a response made her sit up. "Seriously, please respond. This isn't funny." She gave him five more minutes before she tried again and still didn't get a response.

Her feet hit the floor and she grabbed her clothes. She slid into her pants and put on her shirt while slipping her feet into her shoes. She didn't want to wake Jamale so she left him a note saying she had to go home. She got on her bike and raced through the night. She kept calling O'Neill on the radio but she never got an answer. At one point the light on the front of her bike made a pair of eyes shine in the ditch along the road. Sam gulped and hoped those eye belonged to something small. She peddled faster. When she was about half away to the farm the rain started. The rain and the wind got heavier as she rode on.