It was the first time they�d been off world in what felt like months, but was probably only weeks. Sam knew she had enough crap in her lab to keep her occupied on base as long as needed, but she also knew that her teammates, Jack in particular, didn�t. And so they all relished the chance to get out of the dank, underground complex and go somewhere that wasn�t the local bar and grill.

In fact, P49-936 was about as far from a bar and grill as it was possible to get. The various probes had returned no signs of a current civilization, though after a five minute walk from the Stargate, SG-1 found themselves in what Jack described as a big pile of rocks and what Daniel described as the archaeological find of the year. So the bespectacled archaeologist was off in a flash to take rubbings of one of the pillars.

Having nothing better to do, Sam whipped out one of the sensors from her backpack and switched it on. She was surprised when the needle jumped. �Sir, I�m picking up an energy reading from�� She looked up, then pointed to the center of the ruins where a large building was still intact, for the most part. �There.�

�Go check it out, Carter,� Jack said, nodding. �Teal�c go with her. I�ll secure the perimeter and make sure Danny-boy doesn�t get into any trouble.�

Sam nodded and started off towards the building, the large form of the Jaffa close on her heels. She was severely disappointed to find the only entrance to the building sealed off by a formidable hunk of stone, engraved with lines of writing that looked more like a child�s doodles to Sam, but that Daniel would probably be able to translate fast as all get out.

Sam held the sensor against the door, watching as the needle pushed the upper limits of the register. She let out a sigh and pushed fruitlessly against the door.

�Teal�c, give me a hand.�

The Jaffa set his staff weapon aside and they both pushed and shoved, though nothing happened except a small shower of dust and stone chips fell on their heads. Sam pulled out her radio and told Jack and Daniel they needed help.

Ten minutes of watching Daniel translate what was written on the door and Teal�c gave up being patient and went off to look for something to raise his eyebrow at. Sam and Jack sat down on a large piece of stone and pulled out water canteens and sandwiches.

�So what do you think is in there that needed to be sealed up so bad?� Jack asked.

�Advanced technology.� Sam took a swig of water. �Some old goa�uld laboratory maybe. Or an Ancient one, if we�re lucky.�

�We usually are.� Jack thought about that one for a moment. �When it comes to saving the world though. We do that more often then find technology.�

�SG-1, guardians of the planet,� Sam muttered.

�We�d be on the cover of TIME if it weren�t for the whole confidentiality thing,� Jack said, taking his baseball cap off and running his fingers through his hair. �We�d be regular celebrities.� He replaced the cap and carefully used both hands to shape the brim, then looked at Sam from behind his dark sunglasses.

�Good thing the confidentiality�s there,� Sam replied. She was glad they weren�t celebrities. The last thing they needed was to have their private lives splashed out across the cover of tabloids. General Hammond might like to think that his flagship team was the perfect military operation, abiding by all the rules and only wanting to serve their planet, but Sam knew better. Daniel knew better; Teal�c acted fairly na�ve when it came to these things, but he knew better also. And Jack most definitely knew better.

Sam poured some of the water from her canteen into her hand and splashed it over her face. The planet�s sun was high in the sky and the air was warm. She was glad she�d remembered to use sunscreen.

Hell, even Janet knew they were far from perfect. The petite doctor wouldn�t make a bad psychologist; she could read people as well as she read medical files. Even if she and Sam didn�t spend so many late nights talking about the lives of their co-workers Janet would probably have been able to guess most of it.

They were like a couple of high-school girls sometimes, and that made Sam want to laugh.

�Got it.� Daniel plopped down on the ground in front of Jack and Sam, waving his open notebook at of them. �There�s some sort of lab in there, I think. But whoever sealed it up seems to think that the knowledge is too powerful for any one person to know. It�ll take a while to break in.�

�Good thing we packed our tents then,� Jack stood up, stretching and wincing as his knees popped. �You two wait here, I�ll go check in with Hammond.� Jack pulled out his radio. �T, looks like we�ll be spending the night. Start looking for a good campsite.�

�Very well, O�Neill.� Came Teal�c�s reply.

Jack turned and started walking back to the Stargate to contact Hammond. Sam watched him leave. Daniel was absorbed in his notes and Teal�c was still nowhere to be seen, so Sam took advantage of this to stare at her CO�s ass until he vanished behind a clump of trees. Then she had to turn back and listen to Daniel explain in detail what was written on the door.

They set up camp. There wasn�t anything that could really be called a clearing, so the two tents had a stand of trees between them. They lit a campfire, though more to provide some light and to keep bugs away then anything else. Worse than the warmth, the night was humid. Sam swore that if she rubbed her fingers together she could feel condensation between them.

Daniel let out a loud sneeze.

�That�s it!� Jack said suddenly. �No way am I sleeping with Danny tonight.�

�It�s the humidity,� Daniel complained stuffily.

�And you�re going to be snoring!� Jack tossed an empty MRE wrapper into the fire. �Which means you can share a tent with T, cus he doesn�t sleep anyway.�

Teal�c raised an eyebrow, but obviously knew better than to argue with Jack about sleeping arraignments. Jack rounded on Sam.

�Unless Carter�s got some objection, in which case one of us can sleep outside.�

Sam shook her head. She�d shared a tent with each of her teammates at one point or another and had gotten over being bothered by it. Hell, work with three people for almost six years and sleeping with them is the most chaste thing imaginable. And besides, though the three men had more sense than to mention it, Sam was positive they�d all seen her naked at least once. Private showers weren�t always an option and sometimes all they had was a waterfall.

Jack always had to stay up for a while after the fire was put out to watch the stars, but Sam immediately went into their tent and lay on her side on top of her sleeping bag, one arm tucked under her head. The only sound she could hear was the chirruping of nighttime insects and the occasional grunting snore from the other tent that was a hundred feet away.

Finally she heard footsteps, then Jack pushed back the tent flap and climbed in, flopping down next to Sam and sighing heavily.

�You asleep, Carter?�

�No.� An animal moved in the underbrush near their tent, disturbing the sleep of some winged creature that took off with a loud flapping noise.

�What was that?� Jack propped himself up on his elbows, eyes squinting in the dark. The first of the planet�s moons had risen, but all that did was turn everything into thick dark silhouettes.

Sam murmured, �Probably just a bird, Sir.�

Jack lay down, but a moment later began shifting around. Sam half turned her head and saw him wrestling out of his jacket. �It�s too fucking hot,� he growled by way of an explanation. Laying back down he threw one arm out, accidentally brushing his hand along Sam�s back and causing her to shiver. �Sorry.�

�It�s ok.�

She felt his hand again, running gently down her back. It wasn�t an accident this time. She heard Jack roll over onto his side, mimicking her and tucking his left arm under his head, his free hand caressing languidly up and down her back. Sam knew what he was doing; it was a game they played � see how far they could push each other without actually going over.

Of course, sometimes, they did go over.

Jack�s hand moved to her side now and Sam jerked as his fingers brushed a particularly ticklish spot. His arm came around her middle then and pulled her close to him. Sam opened her mouth to say something, then decided against it, pushing her back flush against Jack�s chest as his hand flattened against her stomach.

I need this. Sam thought reluctantly as Jack�s hand slipped under the hem of her shirt, his fingers lightly stroking the skin of her stomach. The last mission, a couple weeks ago, wasn�t overnight and she knew Jack would never pull something like this on base. It was like a drug, this wanting, this desire that the officials in Washington thought they could control with all their regulations and the security cameras that were everywhere in the Cheyenne Mountain Complex.

But there weren�t cameras off-world, and if she couldn�t get caught, it was okay to get high off her own personal opiate.

Jack�s other arm slipped underneath her, wrapping around her. His hand that had a moment ago been stroking her stomach moved upwards. ��Too fucking hot�� he grunted.

�What is?� Sam moved her hand behind her, letting it rest on Jack�s thigh.

�You.� Jack�s lips were on her neck now, kissing the soft skin as his hands moved to gently massage her breasts. Sam let out a low moan.

�...Pushing me!� She managed to gasp out.

Jack�s hips gave a lazy thrust as though to prove to her that yes, he was pushing her, and also to show how much he needed her. Sam�s fingers tightened on his thigh and she hissed sharply; she could sense his arousal in more ways than one and it was driving her crazy.

�Shit�I give up�� Jack moved suddenly, pulling Sam onto her back and beneath him. His lips came crashing down, hot and heavy against hers. Their mouths opened against each other, tongues pushing and tasting while hands moved down to push pants out of the way.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Sam realized that screwing your commanding officer in the middle of the forest on an abandoned alien planet wasn�t exactly a bright idea, especially if your teammates were sleeping well within hearing distance. The thought actually made it as far as her lips.

�Sir��

�Carter.� His voice was gruff and full of the same desire that Sam felt pulsing through her own veins. She needed this. He needed this. They both needed the kind of release that only this could give them.

And, goddamn, her name sounded so sexy when he said it like that. Their lips came together again, and Jack�s fingers hooked around the waistband of her underwear, tugging it gently downwards.

�Ok, Danny, what�s with the huffing and puffing?�

Daniel�s eyes narrowed. �Nothing.�

�Right, and you�re the big bad wolf.� Jack said, his voice dripping with its usual sarcasm. �Seriously. You�ve been shooting me dirty looks all morning.�

�I think you know why I�m a little annoyed, Jack.�

Jack raised his eyebrows. �A little annoyed? So that�s what you call it?�

�Jack.� Daniel tossed his notebook and pencil down, rounding on Jack with his hands on his hips. �We�re supposed to be a team, right? And team members tell each other things. Especially if you�ve been working together for what? Six years now?�

Jack gave Daniel a calculating look. �There�s plenty of stuff we don�t tell each other and you know it.�

�Exactly. Maybe we should tell each other things. Like�maybe you should tell me what�s going on with you and Sam.�

�Carter?�

�Yes, Sam Carter!� Daniel looked severely annoyed.

Jack wondered what this was about. If it was about Sam, or if it was about Daniel being jealous for some reason. Maybe it was all he said and he just thought he should know everything about Jack�s life. SG-1 was like a family, after all. One big, incestuous family� Jack thought bitterly.

�You don�t ever think about anyone except yourself, do you?� Daniel really was pissed, and Jack just couldn�t figure it out.

�No,� Jack decided to stick to humor. �Obviously, I was thinking about Carter last night.� Whoops, that was not what he�d meant to have come out of his mouth. Honestly.

Daniel made a move towards Jack as though he was about to punch him, and Jack actually sidestepped a little. Instead, Daniel just scowled and muttered, �You�re such an arrogant bastard sometimes.� Shaking his head, he turned and stalked away towards Sam and Teal�c.

Much as Sam loved the girl, she was always somewhat glad when Cassie had a sleepover to go to. That meant that Sam and Janet could go out and not have to worry about being too drunk when they got back�especially because the next day was Sunday and they both had off. Sam had spent plenty of Sunday mornings sleeping off a hangover on her best friend�s couch while Janet, who seemed impervious to such trivial things as headaches, flitted around trying to get Sam conscious before Cassie got home.

Janet leaned back in her chair, her dark auburn hair cascading down her shoulders as she rewarded the young men at the bar with a brief smile. The guys had been watching her and Sam ever since they came in, and Sam was ready to start chucking empty shot glasses at them.

Of course, Janet pointed out, that would probably only attract them more.

Sam knew she�d had too much to drink because she couldn�t for the life of her remember the atomic number of carbon.

�You wanna head back?� Janet swung her head around, her hair sweeping around and over one shoulder. �The guys at the bar are driving me crazy and besides�you�re going cross eyed.�

Sam looked up, blinking. �What? Sure.�

They left money on the table and Sam stumbled to her feet. A moment later Janet was gripping her upper arm in a vice like hold and steering her outside. They�d had more sense than to drive, and luckily the bar was two blocks from Janet�s home.

Sam let out a breath and draped her arm around the shorter woman�s shoulders. While her head started spinning when she got drunk, Janet�s seemed to get more solid. At least on the outside. All they had to do was get talking and Janet would start giggling uncontrollably.

Somehow they made it back to the Fraiser household and through the front door before collapsing onto the soft carpeting of Janet�s living room. Janet managed to lean against the couch, her arm resting on the seat cushions. Sam had fallen a little ways away and crawled over.

�So,� Janet was flicking at errant dust specks with her slender fingers. Her hair was still draped over one shoulder and she didn�t move when Sam reached out to run her fingers through it. �What�s going on with you and the boys?�

�Same shit.� You and the boys. That was funny. Sam let her head fall back. �If we�re the front line team, I bet the backline teams get away with a helluva lot of shit.�

�Lots,� Janet agreed. �I�ve seen the results.�

Sam was surprised Janet hadn�t seen the results of what SG-1 got away with. They messed around far too much and never took any precautions. Sam voiced this aloud and the small doctor giggled that drunk Janet sort of giggle.

�That�s why we give you those injections, honey, we know you�re not careful.�

�Don�t ever let Cass be on a team with three guys�she�s too good for that,� Sam slurred, not really thinking about what she was saying.

Janet leaned forward, scooting a little closer. She tilted her head to one side, her hair falling like a dark waterfall down the left side of her head. She reached out, putting a hand on Sam�s shoulder to steady herself. �Wasn�t planning on it.� She looked at Sam with dark eyes. �And don�t think I don�t know what you think you�re getting away with.�

�Whassat?�

Janet giggled again, but this time it was more of a deep-throated chuckle, her lips parting over perfect teeth. �Oh, I know each time you come home you�re back into the good girl mode. But when you go that way through the gate,� she made a vague gesture with one finger. �You re-define interfacing for Colonel O�Neill.�

�Janet!� She pretended to sound hurt, but felt more smug than anything else. �You�re right.�

�About?�

�Bad girl, definitely.� Janet was looking at her with something that could be interpreted as disbelief, but Sam couldn�t be quite sure. Whatever logic pushed her to say what she said next was beyond her. �What? You need me to prove it to you?� It wouldn�t be too hard, they�d some how ended up nose to nose.

�Seeing is believing.� Janet�s breath was warm against her lips. Sam could faintly smell the alcohol there, but that wasn�t quite registering in her mind. �Why do you guys do it, Sam?�

The question floated lazily to Sam�s ears. She could hear herself mutter in response something about fucking for fuck�s sake, but she wasn�t really concentrating on it. Instead she was concentrating on Janet�s lips, which were grazing lightly over hers.

And there she was, a high school girl again, kissing a girl she knew on the cheerleading squad just to see what it was like. Nothing wrong with experimenting; it�s what scientists did all the time. Besides, the girl had been hot. Everyone in the school had a crush on her. Everyone.

But shit, this was Janet after all.

Sam pulled away and chewed her lip. They were drunk, and had already run through their list of gossip subjects.

�This have anything to do with your ex-husband?� Sam asked, squinting.

�This have anything to do with your ex-boyfriends?� Janet shot back.

Sam scowled. �I asked first.�

�Colonel O�Neill too rough for you last time?� That distracted Sam. That distracted her right into knocking Janet flat on the carpet and lightly biting her neck. It felt good to be in control for once, but shit�this was Janet, after all.

�Fuck.� Sam sat back, only just realizing what it was she was doing. Or maybe the buzz was starting to wear off. Janet pulled herself back into a sitting position, raising her perfect eyebrows at Sam. �Fuck, I should go.� Sam tried to stand up.

�Sam,� Janet grabbed her wrist. �You�re going to sleep on the couch and I�m going to sleep in my bed. Tomorrow you�ll have a horrible hangover and I�ll drive you home before Cassie gets back.�

Sam nodded, then collapsed on the couch and promptly began snoring. Janet giggled a little, draping a blanket over her friend�s form and lightly kissing her forehead before going upstairs to her room.

And it didn�t help, either, that Janet was being Miss Unreadable. She was in her Dr. Fraiser mode and that meant that short of her asking out right, Sam wasn�t getting any answers. She needed to drag her ass down to Janet�s office and find out what the hell had possessed either of them to do that.

Part of her thought of it logically. She was addicted to the whole forbidden love thing. She�d read �The Thornbirds� several times over and actually owned the first three seasons of Ballykissangel on DVD. Tough, motorcycle driving, goa�uld ass kicking Sam Carter could be sucker-punched with a good romance.

Jack O�Neill was her forbidden romance. Regulations forbade it. Some people would have Jack court martialled if they ever found out what was going on, but General Hammond would just give Jack and Sam a slap on the wrist and probably reassign one of them. That turned out not to be enough. So there was Janet. Sam knew that if she got caught kissing another woman, no matter who was in charge, she�d be out of the air force fast as anything. And that risk was exciting.

But it didn�t mean she really wanted to screw around with her best friend.

Janet was at her desk when Sam entered, closing the door behind her. The doctor set her pen down and the two women eyed each other as Sam took a seat.

�I�m sorry.� Sam said finally.

Janet shook her head. �Don�t apologize.�

�I just�I really don�t know what�s going on with me lately.�

Janet sighed, resting elbows on the table and chin in hands. Her brown eyes looked calculatingly at Sam, unreadable as ever. �Do you know what you want, Sam?�

�No, and that�s my problem.�

�Do you want to have sex with me? Because if that�s what you want I can always make time for you.�

Sam stared at her, trying to tell if she was mocking. But the one thing she could read in Janet�s expression was that she was being dead serious.

�No,� she said after a long think. �No that�s not what I want Janet. I�m not going to be a buddy fucker just because I can�t get all my�� she searched for the right word. �all my�whatever...sexual energy, released.�

�Good girl.�

Sam eyed Janet suspiciously for a moment. �Wait�you didn�t want��

�Complete acts of selflessness, honey, I do them all the time.� Janet grinned, making an odd sort of half salute with two fingers. �Don�t worry about it. I was just offering to help you release some of that sexual energy. It�s safer; unlike Colonel O�Neill, I can�t get you pregnant.�

�Give the whole Colonel thing a rest, already!� Sam sighed heavily. She gestured to herself and Janet. �So you�re not awkward with this at all? Me and you?�

�I said don�t worry about it,� Janet�s eyes had softened. �You may try to be independent all the time, Sam, but you need someone to love you. And you know what? I do. I love you a lot. Just�not like that.�

�Remind me not to get so drunk next time.�

Janet rolled her eyes. �I tried this time.�

�Oh��

�Listen to your doctor more often.� Janet glanced at her watch. �Don�t you have a briefing to be at?�

�Yeah, but it�s not�� Sam saw what time it was. �Yeah.�

Janet smiled sweetly. �I�ll see you later, Sam.�

Sam returned the smile and stood up, happy to have at least a little closure. She left the infirmary and wandered up to the briefing room. She was still five minutes early and poured herself a cup of coffee before collapsing into her chair and closing her eyes.

�Headache, Carter?�

Sam opened one eye to peer at her CO. �No�just not ready to start this week yet.�

�Hrmph. I don�t think any of us are.� Jack sat down and propped his feet up on the table until Hammond entered and scowled at him. Jack looked around. �Where�s the big T?�

�Teal�c is at a meeting of the rebel Jaffa leaders,� Hammond folded his hands in front of him. �He would like you three to join him this afternoon.�

�Trouble in Jaffa land?� Jack asked, smirking.

�No, but some of the Jaffa leaders would like to meet you.�

�See, Carter,� Jack playfully slapped at her shoulder with the back of his hand. �We are celebrities. Celebrities that are outta this world!�

�Sir.� Sam gave him as much of a reprimand as her position allowed and Jack shut up while Hammond explained what the procedures were. Go, meet, talk, make nice, come home. The usual. Maybe this week wouldn�t be that bad after all.

Continue to Part 2

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