Daniel's forehead twitched in his sleep, drawing her attention from her book to the angry red mark the hand device had left behind.

She reached out in what had become a familiar gesture to soothe him back to sleep, away from demons both real and imagined, but stopped when her hand reached his bangs. She didn't want to hurt him. Having been on both the giving and receiving end of the kara kesh, she knew its power to inflict unrivaled anguish, physical and emotional. But for that very reason he needed to be grounded to reality, so she reached out gently, just above the mark, to stroke along his hairline. Her father said that this motion was the only way he could ever get her to sleep as a baby, and it was one of few mothering instincts she carried with her now. It had soothed her niece and nephew, to the amazement of her sleep-deprived brother and sister-in-law.

When her thumb touched his forehead, he flinched slightly before relaxing into the mattress for the first time all night. Ever since he had arrived back on base, he'd seemed prepared to jump from the bed and run, even in his sleep. She stroked for a few more seconds, chuckled suddenly when she remembered a day in her lab, back when he used to wear his hair long.

He had been trying to read some writing on a piece of technology she had asked him to look at, but his bangs kept falling in his eyes, so she had reached into her drawer for a butterfly clip and twisted his hair back into it before he realized what had happened to him. He had looked simultaneously impressed and horrified with her feminine technology.

When they were done, he reached to hand it back.

"Keep it," she offered. "I have more at home. "

He looked down at the alien object in his hand, then at her, then the doorway. He squinted at her while pocketing it. "Not a word of this to the guys," he said.

She nodded, suppressing a snort, and clapped him on the shoulder. He was so much more enjoyable to be around than her brother Mark.

Satisfied Daniel was resting comfortably for now, she settled back into her makeshift chaise lounge constructed of infirmary chairs, pillows, blankets, and perhaps some equipment she shouldn't be appropriating for personal use, but that she figured no one missed for now. She reached for her book and furrowed her brow when she remembered the clue she was stuck on.

Jack had been watching her for far longer than he originally intended. He had come to offer relief from her watch, but caught her tender act of comfort and was frozen to his spot. The relationship between these two was puzzling and mesmerizing. They had bonded almost immediately over their mutual nerdiness, and that bond had quickly solidified in battle. Carter, tough as she was, had offered more tactful and compassionate tutelage in the ways of the military and combat than either Jack or Teal'c could have. She was younger and less experienced, but she remembered to tell him the things they took for granted, like how to tie knots or make a more covert campfire.

They had also been each other's outlet for geekiness the likes of which Jack was happy to have not been the sounding board for. Sometimes their playfulness bordered on flirtatiousness, and were it not for Daniel's devotion to Sha're, it may have developed further. He wondered if that would change after Daniel had mourned her loss, but quickly dismissed the notion, though he wasn't sure if that was because the ship had truly sailed or because he couldn't bear the thought.

His brain was getting too touchy-feely for his liking, so he decided to carry out his original mission. She didn't look up from her book, probably recognized his bootsteps, which made him wonder if she had heard him in the hallway. She probably had, as they were both creatures of habit and each had their people watching spots on base. As he neared her perch, he watched her brow furrow again in consternation not much unlike that which she had just erased from Daniel's face.

"Mind if I sit?" he motioned to her impressive fort of hospital furniture.

Janet had recently banned teammates from empty beds in the infirmary in hopes it would deter them from staying after hours, but it had only forced them to be more creative. Carter looked up and realized for the first time she had basically ignored her commanding officer's presence. He had long ago ordered her at ease, but she sat up straighter out of habit. He narrowed his eyes at her in disapproval, and it had the same effect as her stroking Daniel's forehead – she relaxed back into her former position.

"Of course not, sir, go ahead." She moved her bag and a bottle of water from the seat next to her.

He nodded in approval and sat in an armless chair that had been braced against her own seat and the wall, as well as covered with a cushion likely pilfered from the visitor's lounge. She had essentially created an L-shaped couch and was currently stretched out on the longest leg alongside Daniel's bed. And staring at him rather than her book as he settled in himself. He realized she was worried he would mess up her creation, and her childlike indignation tickled him, but he suppressed his chuckle.

Confident he was done fidgeting for now, she turned back to her book. It struck him then that he hadn't brought anything to occupy himself, but wasn't quite close enough to see her puzzle. He tested the waters and scooted over without dislodging the cushion from its position. He noticed she was in the middle of the book.

"Hey, you been working on those a lot lately?"

"Hmm?" she mused without looking up. He reached over the top of the book to grasp the stack of pages on the left between his thumb and forefinger. She glanced at his hand.

"What? Oh. No. I skipped ahead." His mouth dropped open in over-dramatized shock, which she sensed rather than saw, and ignored.

"But, isn't that against the rules?" he continued.

"Yeah, well, I broke the rules for Daniel this time." She pointed to the bottom of the puzzle, where its title was proudly emblazoned in all caps.

"INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CROSSADE"

Understanding dawned. "Ah," he stated, "good choice."

"Well, I thought so, considering he's made me watch the trilogy so many times."

"Us, Carter, us. I get the medal, too," he said as he tapped the left side of his chest.

"Yes, sir," she acknowledged, poking the same spot with the end of her pencil. He brushed away eraser crumbs in mock offense.

"Okay, now, Major," he announced in his best commander voice, "We have a mission to complete."

She pursed her lips and nodded in defiance of the expected yes, sir, and he was actually impressed. First time for everything, he supposed. Instead she leaned her shoulder into his in acknowledgment, and also to keep him from scooting and futzing with the cushions anymore.

Most of the puzzle was completed, which left him both proud and a little disappointed. It made sense, though, as she had had more exposure to this particular sector of pop culture thanks to their resident archaeologist. Jack, don't be jealous of your unconscious friend, he scolded himself.

As she was filling in the word Venice, he read the first unanswered clue his eyes were drawn to and he laughed out loud. She stopped writing and looked from him to her answer. Then flipped the pencil around and he realized she thought he was laughing at her current answer. He shook his head.

"No, that's right, go ahead," he encouraged, but when she kept looking at him, he grabbed her pencil-laden hand where it was hovering over the last box and made her write the letter e. She opened her mouth to ask what he was laughing at, but he beat her to it.

"Nineteen down."

She tracked it with her pencil and read the clue out loud.

"Henry's nickname for Indy." Her forehead crinkled. "But Indy is a nickname."

He saw the moment it clicked and joined her in declaring the answer.

"Junior!" He'd have to remember to tease Teal'c about that later.

Their announcement and subsequent chuckles echoed off grey concrete and escaped down the dark hall. It occurred to him then that his team only seemed to express their mirth in shadow, as if the light would devour it with its harsh truths of a galaxy in turmoil. He wondered if that had been his effect on them, but realized it had rather been their effect on him, as they had resurrected his mirth he thought died on a sunny day in '95.

"Daniel has a new holy grail."

"Hmm?" she half-asked as she went back to writing.

"This harcesis." If she noticed his correct pronunciation, she didn't say anything.

"Yeah."

"I just hope it doesn't keep him from mourning Sha're," he mused. She stopped writing and looked straight at him.

"Maybe it will help." They had teased her for being a Susie Sunshine in the early days, but had come to realize that science made her quite the realist and she only exuded positivity when she truly meant it. She still held his gaze and he wondered if her words held a deeper meaning, wondered if she was implying Charlie and his own quest. Or if he was projecting his own inner thoughts.

"Maybe."

Satisfied, she nodded and scribbled Dnepr on thirty across. He was about to compliment her when she then quickly wrote Walther PPK on twenty-seven down and with barely a glance at the clue WWI Tank _ _, filled in the final boxes with Mark VIII and looked up with smug satisfaction. It was a good thing he was her CO, because otherwise he didn't think anything would stop him from proposing on the spot. Not even sleeping Indy.