The Virus

Chapter 13

..

SG-1 was the last team to arrive on the isolation planet that had been dubbed 'Iso' for short. Daniel had lamented about how unimaginative the name was while they were still back on Palla. He had made a good point though, the planet wasn't always going to be used as a place of isolation. She had actually heard a few whispers that it might become the new Alpha site.

"I'm Doctor Harlan," a nervous looking man approached them the moment they exited the gate. "You must be SG-1."

"If you follow me, I'll show you where the contamination suits are."

"Damn, we still have to wear those things?" Doctor Harlan twisted his hands anxiously in front of him at Jack's words. She elbowed Jack in the ribs and he gave her a 'who me?' look before shrugging his shoulders at the Doctor.

"Don't listen to him." Daniel told the Doctor apologetically. Sam smiled at Daniel gratefully and sent a glare in Jack's direction. He had a way of antagonising people. Sometimes she wondered if he wasn't even making a conscious effort to do so, it just seemed to come so naturally to him.

Once they were in their suits and back at the gate she finally had a moment alone with Jack. He looked over at her, the head piece in his hand.

"I really wish I could kiss you right now." He told her with a sly smile. She snorted in response. Why would he want to kiss her while she wore this hideous bulky orange suit? She dreaded having to move around in it once they reached Earth. The faster Cheyenne Mountain was decontaminated the better.

"Oh yeah, I look really sexy right now." She told him.

"You look sexy in everything…" He smirked. "And in nothing." She felt a flush creep up her neck at his words and she glanced over her shoulder to see Daniel heading their way. She shushed him and put her head piece on. It was strange hearing him say those words… out of their little bubble back on Palla anyway.

The moment the wormhole opened she took a deep breath, readying herself for the long, hard day before her.

..

"Major Carter!" The moment she arrived in the gate room, she was pulled away from the boys and dragged down the corridor. "Thank God you are here, we actually have no idea what we are doing." And Sam had no idea who it was leading her. The suits made everyone look the same unless you got a close look and she couldn't pick out the voice.

"Uh…" She started and the figure ahead of her spun around and she recognised Nellie one of the lab technician's that had worked with at Cheyenne Mountain. "Oh, hello." She smiled warmly. It was good to see a familiar face.

She listened as Nellie described the problems they had encountered so far in getting the power up and running throughout the entire complex. She felt the wheels in her head begin turning, slowly as if rusty to begin with and then all of a sudden she felt her brain engage and she smiled, relieved. She had forgotten how much she enjoyed having her mind challenged, all her previous anxieties about the day fell away as she lost herself in her work.

..

It took the better part of the day to get the most important systems up and running. It wasn't until Jack found her and insisted she took a break and had something to eat that she realized how hungry she was.

"What time is it?" She asked as she followed him down the hallway.

"It's nearly 1700 hours." He replied.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To eat." He responded simply.

It didn't take her long to realize they were heading to the isolation wards. "Why are we down here?" She asked, confused.

"Because one of the isolation rooms has been decontaminated, so you can take your suit off."

"Oh,"

"You must be hungry! You can't eat unless you go somewhere you can take your suit off." He threw a worried look over his shoulder. He knew her well, her brain never worked well when she was hungry.

"Ugh," she frowned. "I must be. I should have thought of that!"

She shed her suit the moment the isolation door shut behind them and let out a huge sigh of relief. The cool air felt incredibly good against her skin. She turned around to take in the rest of the room and her jaw dropped in surprise. A table sat in the centre of the room absolutely covered in food. She grinned. Real food.

"They did the whole…" Jack waved his hand at the food. "I don't know, they said it was good to eat anyway." He moved across the room and she noticed there was a tray filled with mugs, a jug and a jar she guessed was filled with coffee.

"Oh this is great!" She picked up a plastic plate and began loading it up with food. It was an odd assortment. Obviously a lot of food would have been perishable but someone had taken the time to cook and she loaded her plate up with the steaming pasta from one bowl, the stir-fry from another and then grabbed a bunch of what seemed to be chocolate chip cookies and put them on the edge of her plate too.

"Coffee?" He held up an empty mug, his eyebrows raised in question.

"Yes please." She took a seat at an empty table behind him and picked up her fork ready to dig in.

It wasn't long before he had finished making their coffees and he took the seat next to her. She gave him a grateful smile but because she was eating, chose not to speak. Well, more like stuffing her face full of food. She knew it wasn't probably a pretty sight the way she shoved far too much into her mouth but damn it was good. She was so sick of MRE's and weak coffee.

"Enjoying yourself I see," Jack leaned back in his chair with an indulgent smile. "There is one more thing…" He pulled something out of his pocket and placed it next to her plate. She chewed quickly and swallowed her current mouthful.

"Chocolate!" It was her favourite brand too. She snatched up the bar but calmed herself and found her manners somehow. "Thank you." She opened the wrapper and took a bite, letting the chocolate melt on her tongue she closed her eyes. Heaven, she had to be in heaven.

"Are you going to share?" She looked over at him in surprise and then back at the chocolate bar in her hand.

"I thought you knew me better than that." She told him, her eyes going wide. She never shared food. He smirked at her words.

"I know." He pulled out another chocolate bar from his pocket and held it up for her to see. "That's why I got myself one too." She sighed with relief. "You are so adorable when you get all protective of your food like that." He told her with a laugh. "It kind of turns me on." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and she rolled her eyes.

"Who knows? Maybe you will get lucky tonight."

"I did give you chocolate."

"That you did." She popped the last piece into her mouth and stood up. She looked around the room reassuring herself they were alone before straddling him and bending down to give him a chocolate-y kiss. He looked up in surprise when she pulled away.

"Oh boy, let's go home now." He told her with his lopsided grin. She smiled back and removed herself from his lap in case anyone decided to come into the room. Before returning to her seat she couldn't resist bending down to give him one last lingering kiss.

TBC.