Authors Note: Thank you everyone for your kind reviews! I have been trying to respond to all of them… apologies if I have missed yours!

I am enjoying writing this immensely. I am probably publishing the chapters a little fast after writing them so do let me know if you see any mistakes! ;-)

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The Virus

Chapter 12

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Sam knew she didn't have much time to wash in the stream before it got dark but she couldn't resist whispering in Jack's ear before she left.

She had touched his shoulder lightly to get his attention and then bent down rather casually to whisper 'Come with me.' She then proceeded to walk away with an extra little swing to her hips. He would have turned to watch her walk away, he always did.

She smirked at the memory and began undressing. One of the boxes the Sollian's had given them was filled with little bars of soap so Sam had no qualms about using her now not-so-precious bar of soap. She washed herself thoroughly enjoying the scent of lavender and the feeling of her now clean body.

"Is it still the woman's bathing area?" She looked up at Jack's voice, hiding her smile. She knew he would come.

"Technically… yes. But I think it's getting too dark for anyone else to come out tonight." She told him. She looked upwards at her words and noted that there was a full moon, this would explain why it wasn't as dark as she had expected by now. The perfect evening for a dip in the stream with a sexy man.

"Good." He told her with a grin. She treaded water and watched him undress with hungry eyes. She couldn't believe she was actually allowed to do this now… a few days ago she would have had to watch him out of the corner of her eye, she let out a snort of laughter and he raised an eyebrow as he stepped into the shallows. "What's so funny?" He asked. She watched him cover his parts with his hands a pained look on his face. "Damn it's colder than I remember!"

She ignored his question and watched him with her full attention as he made his way in until the water reached his knees – the still pained expression on his face. She placed her feet on the ground when she saw him stop. She was going to have to do some convincing to get him in any further.

"Cold huh?"

"Yah think?" He sent her a sharp look.

"Come on, I'll warm you up." His face lit up at this and it seemed to be all the incentive he needed. When he was up to his waist a string of obscenities left his mouth before he sucked in a deep breath and dived into the water beside her. The splash had distracted her and so when her feet suddenly flew out from beneath her she was surprised. Thankfully the moment her head went under she still remembered to stop breathing and she swam forward where she assumed Jack was. He was going to get it for this.

She failed to find him and surfaced to find a laughing Jack staring down at her. She gave him her best glare and stood up.

"Sorry, it was just…" He began speaking. She hit him lightly in the chest and he suddenly stopped part way through his sentence. Her eyes found his and she felt a shiver. His intense brown eyes held hers steady and she saw the desire in them. "You are stunning." She tilted her face up to meet his. She realized kissing him had become as natural to her as breathing… and it had only been two days. She smiled against his lips at the thought and he pulled away to look at her.

"Sorry," she gave him an apologetic peck on the lips. "I was just thinking…"

"I thought kissing might make that big brain of yours go quiet…" Jack pretended to be offended that his kissing wasn't distracting enough and she bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"No, no. I was just thinking how natural it feels to be kissing you." She smiled. It was strange, voicing such intimate feelings with him. She knew it would get easier with time but it felt a little awkward for the moment.

"I'll take that as a compliment." He pulled her into his arms and she wound her wet arms up around his neck and lifted her body in the water so her legs wrapped around his waist. The good thing about water was she could actually do this without hurting him. He bent his head and kissed her and this time with enough intensity that he really did shut her big brain up.

..

She woke to rain pattering on the tent, it was a sound she had always loved. She snuggled closer to her Jack and he grumbled something under his breath that sounded like too early.

"Yes it is, go back to sleep." She told him softly. He tilted his head to look down at her with sleepy eyes and her heart warmed. She could definitely get used to waking up next to him. She just hoped soon it would be in a real bed not an uncomfortable foam mattress, their bodies covered in nothing but a sleeping bag. They were lucky the temperature on Palla didn't get very low as having his sleeping bag opened up and thrown over them wasn't exactly the best way to stay warm.

"Hey Sam…" He began and then shifted so he could see her face better. "We haven't used protection…" She stiffened next to him. She had been hoping to hold off on this conversation for a few days yet. She hadn't quite figured out the words to tell him. She found she couldn't meet his eyes.

"The thing is… I mean you might not want to be with me once you know." She bit her lip nervously.

"Nothing would change my mind." He told her, his voice firm.

"I can't have children." She blurted out, her eyes darted around the tent behind him for something to look at, she was afraid to see his reaction. "We have been exposed to radiation on more than one occasion… and Janet thought it might have been because of that." Her words came out in a rush.

"Oh Sam," his arms tightened around her body. "Look at me." She forced her eyes up to his and instead of finding shock, anger or even pity… she found he was looking at her with nothing but adoration.

"It's okay, I never really wanted kids anyway to be honest." Though her words were true, she still felt sad. She would have liked to have at least had the choice.

"It doesn't change anything." He bent and pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead before continuing. "I would want to be with you no matter what." She felt tears well up in her eyes at his words. She had never really been a romantic and so hadn't expected his words to have such an effect on her. She ran a hand up his chest and left her palm over his heart as she blinked back her tears. The steady beat of his heart beneath her hand soothed her.

"Thank you," she whispered.

She lay in his arms for another half hour or so while they waited for the sun to come up. They were both silent, lost in their own thoughts. She hadn't expected the talk of her infertility to go like this. She had expected shock and maybe disappointment when she told him. He had a way with children and she had always assumed if given the chance he would want to have another child. One day she would talk to him about it – she had wondered in the past if losing Charlie had been too much for him. Maybe he didn't want more children after such a traumatic event. She knew he would never fully recover from the loss of his son, but she would never expect him to either.

..

"'morning Sam." She got up to find Daniel and Cassie eating breakfast around their fire. She glanced behind her to see Jack exiting his tent. Daniel didn't look surprised to see them both come from his tent… She knew she needed to say something, give some kind of explanation… but her brain just wasn't functioning.

"Um," she began awkwardly. Jack sat next to Cassie and avoided eye contact with her, clearly he was going to be of no help. "We… have permission… spoke to Hammond…" She stammered out her words and eventually gave up, running a nervous hand through her hair.

"You don't need to explain." Daniel chuckled. "I'm not stupid, I saw this coming a long time ago. I just hope I don't see Teal'c anytime soon as I'm going to owe him some money." She was not surprised he and Teal'c had a bet going.

"You bet on when we would hook up?" Jack let out a snort of laughter. "Brilliant!"

"He's already paid me." Cassie told them with a laugh. Sam handed Jack his coffee and took a sip of her own. She had been trying to figure out how to tell Daniel and Cassie about their relationship… and for the second time that morning she was surprised at how a potentially deep and serious revelation had gone so well.

"General Hammond wants to see us after breakfast." Daniel told them.

"Don't we get weekends on Palla?" Jack grumbled. She had forgotten it was a Saturday, the days of the week all seemed to merge together of late.

"Apparently not." Daniel replied with a tired smile.

"I'm getting some training today." Cassie suddenly cut in with a grin. "Major Tanner is going to teach me how to fight!"

"You already know how to fight." Sam replied with a small laugh. "Janet told me how you beat up that bully… what was her name again?"

"Ugh, Hannah O'Reilly. She was a bitch!" Cassie scowled at the memory.

"But in all seriousness, I'm glad Major Tanner is going to do some training with you." Sam gave the girl a reassuring smile.

"He's going to teach me how to shoot once I've learned hand-to-hand combat." Cassie told them proudly.

"I don't know if I want you running around with a gun." Jack told her a fake look of concern on his face.

"I'm responsible." Cassie told him her chin going up as a look of defiance crossed her face.

"No kidding." He replied with a raised eyebrow in her direction.

"Well I'm happy for you, Cass." Daniel told her. "We need all the help we can get."

"We are happy for you too." Her eyes widened as she realized what she had said. We? She was speaking for Jack already? Jesus. She looked over at him but he either hadn't heard her, or didn't care – he continued scoffing his breakfast like it was his last meal.

..

General Hammond gave them an update on some of the SG teams out and about. The teams were working on finding a new Alpha site and trading for supplies and dispersing them between the planets where Earth's refugees were currently living. It wasn't until Earth was mentioned that her ears really pricked up.

"We are sending in three teams to begin decontaminating Cheyenne Mountain. I would like you three to help them out today. The first step is getting the power up and running. Obviously there is still some residual power as you managed to use the Stargate… but we need power throughout the entire complex."

"Yes Sir," Jack answered and stood up. "Carter, Daniel. Be ready in twenty minutes." She rose to her feet and nodded at the General before falling into step beside Jack. She was pleased they were finally getting to start work at Cheyenne Mountain… but part of her felt apprehensive at the thought of returning to the devastating sight that had met their eyes only days earlier. It was not going to be an easy mission.

TBC.