Jack is not a "hurry up and wait" kind of guy, which makes the prospect of hanging around on the Revanna crash site of a cargo ship while Sam and a band of eggheads patch it back together (hopefully) almost more dreadful than than the prospect of an asteroid destroying life on Earth if he doesn't go-almost. So here he is, hurry-up-and-waiting.

He does his best to keep out of the way while they do repairs, but is happy he can make himself useful to Sam when needed, whether it's helping carry shit around or holding her funny penlight for her while she searches the crystals for whatever it is she needs, carefully adjusting the light's direction at her request.

If later pressed, he will admit to enjoying himself when she'd tasked him with watching the green glowing orb thingy while she worked on an adjacent panel. His instructions were only "don't touch it, and let me know if the light goes out at all," so he doesn't touch it (with great difficulty) and he keeps his eyes on it. He doesn't tell her he's pretending to be the Wizard of Oz, but when she sneaks up on him to check in, he knows she knows.

Hours later when he sees her pinching the bridge of her nose, eyes tightly shut, and her body looking tense like a cat ready to pounce but with nowhere to go, he grabs his backpack and tugs her by the elbow into an alcove of the ship where they can be left undisturbed.

"Sir?"

"Carter, you need a break."

"I appreciate that, Sir, but we don't have time for breaks."

"We don't have time for you to flame out, either, so sit down for a minute," he says. When she resists with a semi-mutinus look, he raises his eyebrows and says, with a little more edge in his voice, "I'm saying please, but I will make it an order."

"Yes, Sir," she complies, sliding down to the floor and crossing her legs as he drops down next to her.

Jack opens his pack and digs a little before hauling out his prize. "Here we go, Carter; I brought your favorite!" With a flourish and a wide grin, he presents a four-pack of blue jell-o cups and spoon. "Did you know they made these for home, Carter? I've been hiding them in my office mini fridge in case the commissary ever runs out, and I fig-" He gasps in surprise as Sam crashes into his chest, arms wrapping around his ribs, her legs awkwardly bumping into his. He automatically returns the embrace, one arm around her shoulders, fingers squeezing her tightly, the other hand running up and down her spine. "I… figured you might want some, in case… I dunno? Everything okay, Carter?" Not that this isn't nice.

"Yes, Sir," she says, and he almost believes her. "I'm sorry; I guess I'm a little overwhelmed with, you know, the whole situation. And this… this is really very sweet, Sir." She sits up a little, drawing her arms back but leaving one hand against his chest.

"Carter, there's no one else in the whole universe I trust to pull this off, or we wouldn't be here," he whispers.

"I know you mean that, Sir."

Jack nods and reaches to brush the backs of his fingers against her cheek. "I need you to believe it, too, though. So please eat this now-warm electric blue jell-o and tell me where to point the little light, yeah?"

"Yes, Sir," she says, laughing.

"There's my girl," he smiles.

They eat the bright blue jell-o and Sam returns to work, re-energized and even smiling a little. Jack isn't needed for the light or any lifting right now, so he hangs back and even manages to avoid pranking Daniel by stealing his glasses while he's asleep. He really wants to, but the stakes are too high, and he can't add any potential stress to Sam right now. So he behaves, for her. And for Earth, too.