PART 19
She had laughed as both Jack and Teal�c had ganged up on Daniel and tortured him by burying him in the sand and tickling his toes. Jack had soon abandoned the torture, too. He had finally gone to sit in the shade next to Sam, leaving Teal�c to unbury Daniel. Whatever their conversation had been about, Daniel was never to know, but it had had Jack and Sam�s heads close together all night.
Daniel smiled now as he watched Jack and Sam watching each other. Sam had thrown a gauzy floral shirt over her suit when the sun had risen past its zenith. Daniel could barely see the top of her suit through the shirt, which she had tied in a knot just above her navel. She�d also pulled on a pair of hip hugging cut-off shorts that made her leg look longer than they already were. Daniel kept catching Jack glancing at those long gams.
Jack had also added a shirt to his �ensemble� just before dark to keep the sun off. This was a wild Hawaiian multi-colored print that made Daniel�s eyes water at its brightness. It hung unbuttoned as Jack leaned forward to say something private to Sam. Sam blushed shyly when she caught Daniel watching her look at Jack�s chest.
They were settling down for the night around the campfire. Teal�c was off doing his Kel�no�reem. Sam and Jack were showing no signs of being tired. And even though they were trying to include him in their conversation, Daniel knew he was once again nothing more than a third wheel.
�Well,� he yawned, the start of the fake yawn turning into the real thing, �I think I�m going to hit the hay. I�m a bit waterlogged tonight.�
Daniel stood and crossed to Sam. He reached down and patted her shoulder a little awkwardly. Sam grinned at him then.
�I�ll protect you tomorrow,� she promised, �We�ll gang up on the both of �em if we have to!�
�Yeah . . . well, good night guys,� he said, suddenly needing to beat a hasty retreat.
�Good night, Daniel,� Sam said.
�Good night, Daniel,� Jack grinned.
�I love that man,� Jack thought as he watched Daniel crawl into his tent, �He always knows when to disappear.�
He turned to smile at Sam. She was watching Daniel as well.
�I�m not real tired,� Jack said, stretching into the sky to release some of the tension in his back, �Wanna go for a walk?�
�Sure,� she said with a grin, �I�m not as tired as I thought I�d be,� she admitted.
�Good,� Jack said as he stood, reaching out to help her up, �Ready?�
Grabbing his hand, she said, �Sure. Where to?�
�The shore?�
�Duh!� she laughed, �Which one? This is like, the land of a million lakeshores!�
�Well,� he whispered conspiratorially, �Andrews said there�s a great waterfall about a half a click in that direction.�
Her eyes followed where he was pointing. Jack knew there were no major obstacles that could make for a difficult climb or walk.
�Okay,� she smiled as she headed that way, tugging him along.
When they reached the waterfall, they both just stopped. With the rising of the second moon, they could see everything almost as if it were the middle of the afternoon. The moonlight reflected in the white water at the base of the falls. Jack watched the water tumbling, all silver, white and black into the small pool before it wandered off lazily down the river back toward camp. Overhead and around them stood trees of all shapes and sizes, some he recognized and some he didn�t. The trees surrounded them enough to make the grotto secluded, but opened enough in the middle to let the moons shine down on this little piece of alien heaven. He heard the leaves rustle in the light breeze and smelled the flowers. He recognized the scents of wild roses, jasmine and lavender.
Neither of them wanted to move. Neither of them wanted to speak. Jack turned to look at Sam and realized they had made the entire trip with their hands clasped together.
�Sam,� he said softly, trying desperately not to break the beauty of the moment.
She turned toward him, a look of desire on her face that he�d never seen before. She didn�t speak, just leaned into his body.
He almost stopped breathing as he wrapped his arms around her. This was so completely different from anything he�d experienced with Sam in the last six weeks. Now, she was turning to him, but not for comfort, not for a shoulder to cry on. Now she was turning to him because . . . because she wanted him. He knew from all the signals she�d been giving him all day long. She wanted him, not as her �Colonel�, not as her CO, but as him, Jack O�Neill, the man.
His body knew it. And his heart beat just a little faster for it. Everything was perfect in this spot, in this moment. His brain kept intruding, though, giving him the nagging feeling that he was forgetting something. Something important. Something concerning both of them . . .
�Sam?� he whispered.
�Just hold me, Jack, please. Don�t ask questions. Just hold me.�
And he did. And it felt so right. She�d called him Jack. She so rarely did that. It stunned and thrilled him at the same time. Whatever else happened, his day was perfect because she�d called him by his name.