The Virus

Chapter 11

..

She woke curled against him, one of her naked legs trapped beneath his. She couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face. How many times had she fantasised about this moment? Not only had they finally slept together… but he had even told her he loved her. He had spoken the words they had both kept buried for so many years. He was still asleep so she snuggled in closer and just took comfort in being with him… like this. She thought back to their conversation with Hammond the day before and bit her lip. Poor General Hammond, he had enough to worry about without now having to deal with this.

..

"Sir, I just wondered if I could have a moment of your time." Colonel O'Neill asked.

"Of course, what is it?" General Hammond asked.

"I wondered if we could go for a walk… and speak somewhere private…?" She couldn't believe how calm her CO sounded. She was so nervous her palms were sweating.

"This is not about your recent mission is it?" General Hammond sighed. They had already briefed him on their findings.

"I think I should come with you." She looked up at Colonel O'Neill with pleading eyes. He had told her he would speak to the General alone but now she wanted to be there. She needed to hear it first-hand. General Hammond didn't look surprised at her request and she wondered if he might have an inkling of what was coming. He was a smart man after all.

Once they had walked far enough away to be able to speak privately her anxiety levels rocketed.

"I'm guessing you are about to retire, or resign… or something along those lines?" The General spoke first. She and the Colonel stopped in their tracks.

"Uh…" Colonel O'Neill regained composure faster than she did. "Yes Sir." The General looked between the two and she felt a blush rise to her face.

"Well, I've been expecting it." He shrugged his large shoulders and let out a sigh. "Things are so complicated right now." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't even know how the military will work now… not until everyone from Earth is reunited in one place." He seemed to be thinking aloud so she and the Colonel remained silent. He finally seemed to come to a decision in his mind. "As far as I'm concerned you are a civilian now Jack. I will still want you to help wherever possible so don't go running off…"

"-I won't go anywhere." The Colonel cut in, quick to reassure the General. "I'll do everything I'm doing now… I will just no longer officially be Colonel O'Neill." Was this really happening? She felt like her heart was in her mouth.

"I'd prefer if you kept things… discreet." General Hammond told them. He looked sick with worry and she felt guilty. They couldn't really have chosen a more stressful time to bring this up.

"Of course. Only…" She felt a tug on her sleeve and she turned smiling to the Colonel. To Jack. Her Jack. He was hers now. She would have to get used to using his first name. With her heart feeling as though it was going to leap right out of her chest she fell into the Colonel's arms and let him kiss her until she could hardly breathe. The moment he pulled away she turned, embarrassed to face the General. "Sorry, I have just waited a really, really long time for that." Jack apologised, but didn't look very sorry. Clearly uncomfortable with the sudden display of affection General Hammond just nodded.

"I'll talk to you two later." He turned and walked away and her no-longer CO cupped her face in his hands.

"I can't believe it," she whispered looking into his eyes.

"You are finally mine." He told her. For some strange reason his words brought tears to her eyes and she ducked her head blinking them back.

"Yes." She snuggled into him letting her head rest on his chest. "Yes I am."

..

By the time Jack woke she was wide-awake. She had considered getting up for coffee but was loath to think of having to detach herself from him.

"Morning," he grumbled. She looked up into his eyes and smiled in response.

"Did you sleep okay?" She asked. The sleeping bag was tangled around their waists so he trailed fingertips up her naked side cupping a breast in his hand. She watched a look of sudden awe spread across his face.

"I can't believe that this is actually happening." He looked back down at her body and she felt a flush of pleasure. He had a way of making her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world, even before they had slept together he had managed it.

"We should probably get up, I think it's late." He groaned in response and disentangled their legs before sliding over top of her. She tried to keep a serious face but ended up giving in, a smile gracing her lips at the sight of him above her. He bent down and kissed her deeply sending shivers of desire down her spine.

"I don't wanna," he whispered in her ear.

"Hammond might change his mind if we spend the rest of the day in this tent." She smirked. "Not that staying in here all day isn't an appealing to me…" He sighed loudly.

"Damn it," he gave her one more kiss before rolling off and throwing the sleeping bag to the end of the tent. "Guess we should find our clothes then…" They both looked around the tent to find it looked like a bomb had gone off. Clothes were discarded haphazardly and things had been knocked over during their love-making the night before.

"I think that's my…" she reached around him and plucked her bra from beneath a pillow. "Yup, pretty sure that's mine." He cocked his head to the side.

"I could help you get dressed." He offered, a hopeful expression on his face.

"I think that would take a long time." She chuckled and hooked her bra on.

After a fair amount of wrestling they both managed to finish dressing. It wouldn't have taken so long if the man could stop kissing her every couple of minutes… not that she minded. They emerged from the tent one at a time – trying to look casual. Thankfully everyone seemed busy with their breakfast so they needn't have been so cautious.

"Good morning," she sat down next to Cassie giving the girl's knee a squeeze. "Did you sleep well?" Cassie looked up at her a slow smile spreading across her face.

"Yeah I slept well." She handed Sam a coffee. "Did you sleep?" She asked teasingly.

"Yes." Sam smiled into her coffee, she knew what Cassie was insinuating. She met Jack's eyes over the top of her mug, he had one of those 'cat got the canary' smiles on his face. She would have to talk to Cassie about her relationship with Jack at some point but clearly the girl already knew things had changed between them. It was all so new and overwhelming for her so she was glad she didn't have to talk to Cassie immediately… she needed time to sort things out in her own mind.

"Daniel was by earlier, he said something about that shopping trip." Cassie told them.

"Great!" Sam responded, with perhaps a little too much enthusiasm because Cassie seemed to be trying not to laugh.

Just as they finished their breakfast she was surprised to look up and find General Hammond hovering near the edge of their 'camp'. She waved him over.

"Good morning Sir," Jack who had been having a staring contest with Cassie snapped to attention at her words.

"Good morning Major… Jack." He put emphasis on Jack's name and took a seat on the remaining log. He looked stressed and Sam felt sorry for him. She did not envy him his job right now. "Daniel wants to head out to find supplies. I want the three of you to go to Sollia." Sollia was a technologically advanced planet they had visited a couple of years before and she was surprised they were going there. The people there hadn't been keen on sharing their technology… maybe things were different now. It wasn't technology they were after, it was simply food and supplies.

"Sollia, sir?" Jack asked, looking confused.

"Tiko." She rolled her eyes at him. Tiko was the leader on Sollia and Jack had kindly called him a stuck-up prick behind his back. She watched his face drop as he realized who she was talking about.

"Ah, yes." Jack sighed. "Why Sollia Sir?"

"Sollia have decided to help us. Our team of scientists who were working on a cure are heading to Sollia to use their labs. They will begin working on a vaccination now."

"Coffee Uncle George?" Cassie handed the man a mug and General Hammond smiled gratefully.

"Have they found a cure?" Sam asked, surprised.

"No." General Hammond took a sip of his still steaming coffee. "Unfortunately there is no-one left to cure." Once the words sunk in she felt a painful twist in her heart. "Sam I'd like you to head over to the labs once you reach Sollia and see how they are getting on. Jack, you and Daniel can trade for supplies, I have a list of things we are in need of." He finished his coffee and stood. "Gear up and be ready in ten minutes."

"This is going to be a fun mission." Jack stood up. "Tiko just loves me." He told them sarcastically.

"I wish I could go." Cassie told them wistfully. "It's getting really boring here."

"I'll talk to General Hammond about finding you a job here if you like?" Sam asked. She was sure they could find something around the camp that needed doing.

"I guess so." Cassie shrugged her expression grim.

"I'll try bring you back some tasty food." Jack told her with a grin. "I wonder if they have marshmallows…" He headed back to his tent and Sam smiled wistfully as she remembered their evening toasting marshmallows. It felt like so long ago now.

..

Once she reached Sollia and assured Jack and Daniel she would be fine she followed a lady named Tala to the labs. It was strange being in a place that didn't have tents and she felt disorientated to begin with walking beneath the high-rise buildings.

..

Sam stared around the lab in amazement. She recognized many of the scientists and doctors from Earth. Talking to them was easy and she found their discoveries so far fascinating.

It wasn't until her radio crackled and Jack's voice came through that she looked at the time. She had already been in the lab for well over an hour.

"Are you ready to go Carter?" She looked up at Doctor Lou who nodded at her. They were done.

"Yes, I'll see you back at the gate soon." She hoped she could find her way back, Tala had left not long after showing her into the lab.

She reached the gate before the boys did so she sat down on the stairs leading to the gate and rested her elbows on her knees and chin in her hands. She took in the surroundings and wished for a moment the Sollia people had been the ones to take in the refugees. Sure they weren't the easiest people to get along with… but camping was only fun for a short period of time. She was getting sick of lighting fires, eating MRE's and washing in the stream. She would have to brave the cold water of the stream again tonight, she grimaced at the thought.

"Daydreaming on the job Major?" She looked up at Jack and leapt to her feet.

"No Sir," she responded automatically. He just chuckled and gestured behind him. There were four men and Daniel dragging a large trailer.

"I took point so that I wouldn't have to drag the damn thing," he whispered. She laughed lightly at this and tried to figure out what was in the trailer. Everything was in boxes though so she would have to wait until they returned to Palla to find out.

"Please tell me they have coffee in Sollia… and that they were willing to share…"

"Dial the gate," he told her. She sighed, clearly he was going to make her wait.

She headed over to the DHD and dialled the sequence for Palla looking back over her shoulder at him. While she had the chance she took in his appearance and felt a small smile tug at the corners of her mouth. She knew she had more pressing issues to attend to… but at the same time she couldn't help wondering if maybe she could convince him to come and bathe with her in the stream that night. It would be a lot less cold if he were there.

TBC.

Authors Note: OK so I HAVE written an M rated scene for this but I'm not going to include it. Simply because this is a multi-chapter and a random smutty porn piece in the middle probably isn't really suitable, haha. I will publish the "M scene" separately for those of you interested.