Author's Note: I completely forgot, at the beginning of the prologue, to take a moment to thank my fantastic beta, Fems, for all her hard work and to recognize and thank Samantha-Carter-is-my-muse for the beautiful cover art. I love those two ladies and they work so hard for me, I couldn't appreciate them more!
There have been some questions about updating. You can expect new chapters on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
And now, on with the show.
Jack's watch alarm went off at zero five thirty, but he was already awake, staring at the ceiling, contemplating the reasons why Sam might be so cold to him lately. They'd always had a good working relationship that was friendly and maybe a little flirtatious. The fun, harmless kind of flirtatious, not the serious kind.
Jack rolled out of bed and pulled on his uniform, one piece after another until he wasn't a man thinking about a woman and was, instead, the commanding officer of the flagship team from Stargate Command. He went around the room making sure everything he'd brought with him was secured back in his pack and then, checking his watch, he stepped out into the hallway.
Teal'c was already there, waiting. The big man looked as patient as always holding his staff weapon like a walking stick – a very deadly walking stick. "Morning," Jack said, voice rough with disuse.
"Indeed it is, O'Neill," Teal'c replied, as he often did, with a verification of the time of day rather than a reciprocal greeting.
Jack looked down the hallway and out the window at the end at the grey, threatening sky. "Looks like a bad day for a four hour hike."
Teal'c followed his gaze. "If the rain does not fall, the clouds will keep the sun from becoming too hot. It may, in fact, be a perfect day for a four hour hike."
"Let's hope you're right," Jack said as a loud crack of thunder rumbled. "But it's not sounding good."
Nearly simultaneously Daniel and Carter's doors opened and the scientists filed into the hallway. Daniel looked half dead to the world without his coffee so Jack didn't even try to talk to the younger man. He'd wait until they'd been underway for a while and Daniel had the blood flowing.
Carter was looking down the hall and out the window with a pensive look on her face. "I think we're going to be walking in a downpour," she said. It was the first time she'd spoke before being spoken to in days, maybe longer, but he'd been noticing since they'd been on the planet. He thought it sort of sucked that it was to acknowledge something undesirable.
The foursome trooped down the hallway and out of the sort of hotel-like building to be greeted by Astarte and her collection of high ranking women. "We are sad to see you leaving, Colonel O'Neill. You and your team," she said.
"Thank you for your hospitality," Jack said, exactly as Daniel had coached after their first night getting to know the locals. Daniel had stressed how important propriety would be in a society run by women.
Astarte reached out and placed a delicate hand on Jack's bicep. "I, in particular, wish you would stay. At least wait out the storm," she offered.
"Thanks, but we've got a window and we've got to get back."
"As you wish." She nodded a little wistfully and her long, dark hair, slipped around her shoulders. It was nice hair, Jack though idly, but so long... it must get in the way.
As SG-1 walked off towards the gate, he could feel them being watched. It took a long time for that feeling to go away, perhaps a klick or more. The start of the walk was made silently, it was still early and there hadn't been any coffee and while it was dangerous to talk to Daniel in such a state, it wasn't exactly fun to talk to Carter before coffee.
It was eighteen klicks to the gate and he didn't dare talk until they'd hit the five kilometer mark. When the sun was up and a light drizzle had started he chanced a little conversation. "We can see about coming back," he offered, "or at least send a team to photograph the rest of the temples."
Daniel looked up at him, surprised, and the rain lit on the younger man's features and he blinked behind his water speckled glasses. "Really?"
"We can talk to Hammond about it in the debrief."
"That's... really, that's... unexpected."
Jack knew it was. He wasn't usually so forthcoming with help when it came to Daniel wanting to spend more time on a planet. But Jack had to admit that this stay had been a cakewalk and rather pleasant, even if Astarte had a tough time keeping her hands to herself. If they were going to come back and stay a while, he'd simply have to have the thanks, but no thanks conversation with her. But making the offer was Jack's small way of trying to make up for the things he'd said to Daniel while undercover. It wouldn't kill him to be a little solicitous if that was what helped smooth the ruffled feathers. Jack glanced at Carter and wondered what he might be able to offer her to do the same.
He drifted towards her and, when they were shoulder to shoulder, asked, "How'd you sleep last night?" because she seemed a little more listless than usual. Not too much pep in her step.
"Fine, sir."
Hmmm. Sir. Not that he wasn't used to hearing it from her, but she seemed to punctuate every sentence with it these days as if she were only replying because it would be insubordination not to.
"Too bad it's raining today," he tried again, because it had been a nice hike into the town when the sun was high in the sky, if a little hot.
"Yes, sir." Her voice was an unwelcoming monotone and he gave up, drifting away from her as they walked on.
Jack dropped back to Teal'c letting Carter take point, it wasn't as if there was anything to worry about on the planet, and it wasn't like he'd gone far. "How about you?" Jack wanted to know. "You doing okay?"
"I am fine, O'Neill."
"Looks like you were wrong about the rain."
"Indeed."
Jack knew he was in trouble if he was looking for conversation with Teal'c. The man had short responses down to an art form. Jack heaved a sigh and moved back into point position while resigning himself to a quiet hike.
In the next half hour, the rain started falling harder and the intermittent thunder started coming more regularly. Jack glanced up at the sky and hoped they'd be safe enough on the rest of the trip back to the gate. He supposed the chances of them getting struck by lightning were pretty slim, especially since he hadn't seen the lightning, only heard the thunder. The storm seemed to be centered behind them.
As they walked on, the storm got worse and it was around the fifteen kilometer mark that Jack started seeing lightning ahead of them. The storm had apparently caught up. He was glad they only had three more kilometers to go. He didn't mind a slog, but the weather was really getting bad.
"Colonel-" Carter called and when Jack looked over at her, she was pointing at a circular cloud formation over where the stargate would be.
"Great," Jack muttered. "Let's put a little speed on, folks."
Everyone did put a little more pep in their step and they made it the last of the distance in record time.
"Dial it up, Daniel," Jack called out to be heard over the thunder that was an almost constant companion by that point.
Daniel nodded and jogged over to the DHD. He entered the address for Earth and looked up to watch the event horizon form. They all watched as Carter entered the code into the GDO.
"Okay, time to head home," Jack shouted.
A bolt of lightning suddenly connected with the ground not fifteen feet behind the Stargate making them all jump and making the hair on Jack's arms stand up.
"Whoa!" Daniel yelled, "That was close!"
"Get through the gate already!" Jack hustled them. He watched as Carter jogged up the steps to the platform with Daniel hot on her heels. They both disappeared into the shimmering blue. Teal'c looked back at Jack as he was climbing the stairs and Jack waved him on, he was only ten feet from the platform himself. Teal'c stepped through the event horizon and just as Jack hit the platform another bolt of lightning came down and connected with the gate! Jack jumped back in surprise, turning his back on the sparks. As he did, he saw more lightning strike the DHD. He turned back to the gate in time to see the event horizon collapse.
"Dammit," he swore and hightailed it back to the DHD. He dialed Earth once more but when he pressed the red stone in the center nothing happened. So he tried again and then once more before he realized that the lightning had taken out the DHD.
"Sonuvabitch," he said shaking his head. What was he supposed to do now? Figured that his gate expert was on the other damn side of the gate. Hopefully – and thinking that she hadn't made it, that any of them hadn't made it, just wasn't happening. But as the storm continued to rage around him, he thought of their terse relationship of late and thought maybe it was for the best that she wasn't trapped in the storm with him.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Out of habit, Sam looked back at the gate to watch her team rematerialize after the trip. She kept moving down the ramp to avoid being run over, but her head was turned towards the gate. She held her breath as first Daniel and then Teal'c appeared and she waited, breath still caught, for the colonel, but he didn't arrive.
"SG-1?" came Hammonds voice over the loudspeaker, "Where's Colonel O'Neill?"
"He was right behind us, sir," Sam answered still looking towards the gate. And then it blinked out, suddenly. "Uh-" she uttered.
"Where's Jack?" came Daniel's almost panicked voice.
"Clear the ramp," came Walter's voice, and Sam knew it was in case the gate connected again. They didn't want to be caught in the kawoosh.
From the base of the ramp, SG-1 watched expectantly, waiting for the gate to reconnect. Sam looked up over her shoulder and saw General Hammond looking equally interested in the state of the gate. When minutes passed and nothing happened Sam turned and looked up at the control room. "There was a storm," she said. "Maybe something happened to the gate."
The General waved her up and she hotfooted it out of the embarkation room and up the stairs into the control room. "We should try to dial the planet," she said as she entered the crowded space.
"Walter?" Hammond gave the indirect order.
"Yes, sir," Walter said, fingers already flying over the keyboard.
They all waited with bated breath as each chevron encoded but when it was expected that Walter would say, "Seventh chevron, locked," there was merely silence as the event horizon didn't form. "Seventh chevron wouldn't lock, sir," Walter said, looking over his shoulder at General Hammond.
"Try again," the General ordered. Once more they all waited and once more the gate didn't connect. They tried three more times with no success.
Finally General Hammond leaned over and pressed the button that would broadcast his voice into the gateroom, "SG-1, to the briefing room." He stood up to full height then said to Walter, "I want you to dial every hour on the hour until we've brought Colonel O'Neill home."
"Yes, sir," the technician said smartly.
Sam followed the General into the briefing room where they waited to be joined by Daniel and Teal'c. "If it's the storm, sir, it's possible that something has happened to the gate or the DHD and Colonel O'Neill is unable to dial home. If it's the gate, we'd be unable to reconnect."
"I'm aware of that, Major Carter. Please have a seat." Sam sat as directed. "We'll debrief while we wait to see if we can reconnect."
"Yes, sir."
They went around the table, each member of SG-1 present giving their accounts of the mission. Daniel was particularly interested to note the presence of the symbol of Sokar and they spent a good deal of time discussing the implications thereof. The General agreed with Sam's risk assessment that with Sokar's untimely demise and knowing that he hadn't been a presence on the planet in at least twenty years, that the actual threat was quite low. Daniel mentioned wanting to go back to study the rest of the temples but the General tabled that request until they knew whether or not they could even redial the planet.
Eventually, they were sent to the infirmary for their post-mission check ups. As she popped a thermometer in Sam's mouth, Janet gave Sam a careful once over when she heard that the colonel was trapped off world for the time being. Sam schooled her features. The truth was, she was worried. She'd just gotten him home and now he was gone again, for who knew how long. And with no idea what could have happened to the gate, short of lightning, she had no clue where to start with bringing him home. Of course, she'd been there once before and she managed to perform a miracle, so she wasn't ready to give up hope just yet.
But it was different this time. Her desire to get to him was clouded by her more recent feelings of sadness and betrayal. Not that she'd ever for a moment imagine leaving him stranded just because she was upset with him – not that he'd seemed to notice she was upset.
Janet pulled the thermometer out of Sam's mouth and looked at it with her eagle eye before tossing a concerned yet casual, "How you doing with all this?" at her friend.
"We'll figure something out," was all Sam would allow herself to say on the subject.
Sam could tell Janet didn't want to let it go. There was clearly much, much more she wanted to say on the subject but Sam's schooled features turned just the wrong side of hard and Janet backed off and finished the exam silently. Until, that is, her parting shot. "I'll pull you off active duty so fast it'll make your head spin. Careful this time, Sam."
Sam flinched. Her friend wasn't pulling any punches. As a matter of fact, her friend didn't sound like much of a friend at all and Sam was reminded that her closest friend also had the ability to bench her at any time she chose. It made Sam wonder if she should be branching out in the friends department. But with her social life, she felt lucky to have made a connection with Janet. Part of her wanted to turn angry at Janet's words, but the rest of her took the warning for what it was – Janet's concern that Sam was going to run herself into the ground again just to bring the colonel home.
But again Sam was reminded she had no idea how to do that. And, once again, he was trapped on a planet with a beautiful woman who had eyes for him and wasn't that just fucking perfect? Couldn't take the man anywhere, really.
Sam escaped the infirmary in the wake of Janet's cautionary words and made a beeline for her lab. She wasn't sure what she should do, but anything she would do would be done from her lab. It made her feel in control. And it wasn't until she was seated behind her metal desk that she realized how out of control she felt. How worried she was. How upset she was that, once again, he was gone. She was supposed to be mad enough at him that these feelings didn't surface, but the truth was, what she felt for him could weather the storm of Laira. It could even stand up to the things he'd said to her while undercover. And she hated herself just a little for feeling so strongly for him when he clearly didn't have feelings for her at all. Not that she'd expect him to have...
Sam leaned back in her chair and ran her hands through her hair. She expelled a breath through pursed lips and squeezed her eyes tightly closed. The gate. It had to have been struck by lightning. She leaned forward and opened up her laptop prepared to run simulations. Now she just had to figure out what could be done.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Jack pulled his cap off and ran his hand through his soaking wet hair then plopped his wet cap back on his head. The rain hadn't let up at all since he'd tried to dial the gate about a dozen more times in what he knew was futility. Really, it had just made him feel like at least he'd tried something while he waited around for nearly two hours to see if the SGC could get the gate to connect. When it was clear that there would be no wormhole in either direction, Jack reshouldered his pack and turned to head the eighteen kilometers back into town. He figured he could bunk back down in the hotel and possibly see if there was a gate expert amongst the townspeople. It was highly unlikely, but he was willing to grasp at straws in the face of being stranded off-world yet again.
Alone it took him less than four hours to make the trip despite the rain and the twinge in his knee. When he walked back into big hall where they'd taken their meals he was greeted by a young woman he'd seen a few times at Astarte's side.
"You have returned!" she said, sounding rather pleased. "Are you alone?"
"Trouble with the Stargate," he said. "My team made it through, I didn't. Was wondering if you all would put me up for another night until the storm lets up and I can check the gate again." Not that he was relishing another eighteen klick hike. In either direction, if he was honest, because his chances of getting the gate working on his own were slim to none. The DHD was fried. Even if he had replacement crystals and knew what to do with them, who knew what the overload of electricity did to the gate itself?
"Please wait here, I'll get Astarte."
He held up a hand, "There's no need to bother her. If I could just get a room for the night, I'll be all set."
She looked a little unsure about not fetching Astarte right away, but she led him back to the hotel-like building where one of the staff members was happy to get him settled into the same room he'd occupied the night before. "Thanks," he said, automatically reaching for his wallet for a tip and then realizing that he neither carried a wallet nor knew if one tipped on this particular planet. He settled for a smile and that seemed to go over well enough.
He dropped his pack on the floor in front of the dresser and momentarily felt bad about leaving the sopping thing on the expensive looking rug but it was practically wall to wall and where else was he going to put it anyway? He decided a hot shower was in order and thanked god this planet had fully functioning plumbing.
His clothes clung uncomfortably to his body as he attempted to wrestle his way out of his uniform. He pulled his boots off to find his socks were relatively dry and he chuckled a little at that. Under the hot spray he stood with his hands braced against the wall and let the water beat down on his back. It chased away the chills he'd had since he'd stopped moving. He washed his hair leisurely and all around took his time. After all, he had nowhere in particular to be until dinnertime. He might even catch a nap, he thought as he climbed out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist.
He used a hand towel to dry his face and hair as he thought about Carter and wondered if she'd already figured out what had happened. He wondered if she was already working on a way to get him home. What if the gate couldn't be fixed? He figured then his only shot was to leave by ship so it would get down to whether or not Hammond could convince the Tok'ra or even the Asgard to mount a rescue mission for one man. Jack frowned. How likely was that? He thought, for the first time really, that he might actually be stuck on this planet. And, while it was far from the worst place he could imagine being stranded, he'd just gotten home from an extended stay on an alien world. He was hardly ready to do it again!
Lost in thought, he was startled by the knock on his door. He looked down at his bare chest and the towel hanging low around his hips. "Hang on," he called and rooted though his pack until he came up with a pair of trousers that was relatively dry. He didn't have the same luck with a shirt and so he gave a half hearted shrug and answered the door bare chested.
"Colonel O'Neill," Astarte greeted him before he could say anything. A smile touched the corners of her mouth as her eyes roamed his chest. He suddenly felt incredibly underdressed. "I heard you had asked to take further advantage of our hospitality. I came to tell you you are most welcome to stay as long as you like."
He cleared his throat, "Uh... thanks," and he scratched at his chest self consciously.
"And I would very much like it if you would be my guest at dinner tonight."
"Sure," he said a bit uneasily considering the predatory gleam in her eye. He'd suspected she was trying to put the moves on him but now that he was here alone, now that he was standing in front of her half dressed, he was suddenly sure her interest in him was much more than professional. "I mean," he remembered his manners per Daniel despite her salacious look, "I'd appreciate that, thank you."
"I will leave you to... get dressed then. Dinner will be at sunset, as usual."
"I'll see you then," he said already starting to close the door. She gave him one last all-over glance and then smiled at him knowingly before turning away.
He shut the door in her wake and scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Great," he muttered to the empty room, "just great." Exactly what he needed on a planet he was likely trapped on. Yet another woman who apparently had a thing for him. What was it with alien women, he wondered. He didn't recall being such a stud on Earth.
By the time dinner rolled around one of his shirts had been dry enough to wear even if none of his jackets were. A black t-shirt and BDU pants were hardly dressed for dinner by any stretch of the imagination, but they'd put up with it for four days already, he figured a little longer wouldn't hurt. Once again, inside the dining hall Astarte had saved him a seat next to her. She smiled at him as he walked in and he couldn't help but zero in on her right away. She was, by far, the loveliest woman in the room even if she did make him a tad uncomfortable with her interest.
He took his seat next to her and immediately accepted the plate of meats that was placed into his hands. One of the perks of being the guest of the leader of the people was being one of the first to be served. "I see you were able to find appropriate clothing," Astarte said sotto voce. It made him uncomfortable to be talking about his earlier half nudity with her in an intimate tone of voice. He just cleared his throat and mumbled something about being in uniform. She laughed lowly, a melodious sound that he hadn't heard from her before and he decided that, despite everything, it was nice.
She was kind and solicitous to him throughout dinner and she didn't touch him nearly as inappropriately as she had the night before. Her eyes, however, were suggestive as was the set of her mouth. He was sure, had he expressed desire, he'd be in her bed that very night. As it was, though, he cited tiredness from his 36 kilometer hike. And she, amazingly, let him go with a soft, wistful smile.
As he climbed into bed that night he thought about what life would look like if he were stranded for another hundred days. He wondered if he would come to relish Astarte's attraction to him. If he'd succumb to it. Then, he thought incongruously of Carter's smile and bright blue eyes. Huh. What was that all about? He'd been attracted to her from the beginning, when she'd walked into that briefing room all spit and fire. And he liked her, he really did. She was good people and he trusted her as a member of his team. But why, when he was thinking of a woman who wanted him – a woman he might want – had he conjured up her big blue eyes?
He shook his head to clear it. He'd had enough of women and the problems that came with them for the time being at least. Hell, he was still coming to terms with the fact that he could have left a pregnant woman on another planet because he didn't have the sense enough to keep it in his pants. Though, in his defense, he was pretty sure he had been stuck on Edora for good or at least long enough that any potential ramifications would be seen through. He'd never dreamed that Carter would find some way to save his sorry ass just three months after the gate had been buried. But, then again, of course she had. Because she was Sam-fucking-Carter and that's exactly what she did – pulled miracles out of her ass. Hell, he'd seen her do more impressive things than rescue him, so why was he so surprised?
He turned onto his side and punched at the pillow under his head. All these thoughts of women were messing with his circadian rhythm. He'd had a helluva day – he should be asleep already. Especially considering he'd be making the hike back to the gate the next day. He resolutely closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep.