**“I haven’t said yes.”**
**“And yet… you haven’t said no.”**
**“What about you, sir? If things were different…”**
**“I wouldn’t be here.”**
“Um, Jack. Are you okay?”
Jack looked up from the folder on his desk, to look at Daniel in the open doorway of his office. Behind Daniel, in the Briefing Room, Jack saw SG-1 assembling for their pre-mission briefing. Sam was talking to Teal’c about something, and whatever the big Jaffa said made her smile. She shook her head, and the tips of her blonde hair swirled around her neck, caressing her cheek.
“Jack! That pen is about to snap.”
Jack stopped, and glanced down at the pen in his right hand. The edge of his desk blotter was heavily dotted with blue ink, an obvious indicator of his tapping. He grimaced at the big glob of ink at the end of the pen and tossed it in the waste basket beside him. Daniel still stood in the doorway, hands in the pockets of his BDU’s, when Jack looked back. The expectant ‘I’m-gonna-stand-here-until-you-spill-it’ expression on his face had his eyebrows arched well above the rim of his glasses.
“What?”
“Something on your mind, Jack?”
It took all the discipline he had learned since being recruited to Special Ops not to look out the window. To her. Jack just arched his eyebrows and tried to look non-committed. “On my mind? Nope. Ready for that pre-mission briefing?”
He stood out of his ergonomic, real leather, ‘general’s’ chair and brushed past Daniel into the Briefing Room, ignoring the mumbled “Ja-ack” as he went by.
“Good morning, Kids. What exciting news do I need to hear before I send you off into the Wild Blue Yonder?” He rubbed his palms together before flopping into the chair at the end of the table. “P9X-4EV, right?”
Teal’c leaned back in his chair as Sam swiveled to face Jack, and Daniel sat down. “Yes, sir,” Sam began, and Jack almost smiled at the way she folded her hands across her stomach and crossed her legs as she reclined. “This is our fifth visit to the planet. And thus far, it has been fairly uneventful. The inhabitants are somewhat rustic. No electricity, but some basic tools such as well pumps and metallurgy. Their leaders are more than willing to discuss the SGC setting up a base outside their town to mine the Naquida veins we found on our first visit.”
“In exchange for what? The usual? Gate addresses?”
Sam shook her head. “No, sir.”
Jack cocked his head. “Really…”
“They aren’t an ambitious people, Jack,” Daniel said, flipping open the folder in front of him. “They seem very content to live as they are. Although they were surprised to see us, they weren’t all that surprised to hear that we came from another planet. I think they’ve chosen this simpler way of living consciously. They are willing to let us be there, as long as we don’t try to change them. They will let us have all the Naquida we want as long as we are careful to preserve the land when we do it. They have no use for it.”
“Oh. Okay. Is there something we can offer them? They haven’t asked for anything? It seems a bit wrong to just… you know… take and not give.”
“I was just saying the same thing, sir,” Sam said, and Jack turned just enough to look into her eyes. She didn’t look away. He loved it when she didn’t look away. “And I would like to offer them some basic medicines on this trip, along with a list of ingredients and processes to make and develop their own. Mainly antibiotics and anesthetics.”
“Sounds like a good idea.”
“Thank you, sir.” She smiled, and Jack had to look away. Sometimes, the smiles hurt worse than the avoidance game they’d played for so many years.
“Okay. So, we go today and finalize the deal – spit on our hands and shake on it – and then SG’s 24, 25, 26 and 27 move in next week for the long haul with a planned schedule for returns to Earth.”
In unison, they all stood, their chairs sliding across the hard floor.
“The three of us will be ready to leave in an hour, sir.”
“Four.”
Sam’s head bobbed and Jack felt a small sense of gratification in the fact that he could still shock her from time to time. She didn’t know him so well… he pushed aside the thought.
“Four, sir?”
“Yeah.” Jack tapped his fingertips on the tabletop. “I’m coming along for the ride. Need some fresh air. This place has plenty of trees, right, Colonel?”
She still looked surprised, and yet a small smile tipped one corner of her lips. “Yes, sir. Lots and lots of trees.”
“Good.” He turned and headed back to his office. “Because we **all** know how much I love trees.”
*[]*[]*[]*[]*
“Aaaahhh, fresh air. Can’t get air like this in Colorado.” Jack sucked in another deep breath through his nose.
Sam looked at him through her sunglasses, and smiled. She couldn’t help it. The big grin on Jack’s face was enough to make anyone grin. He was in his element again. Feeling the rush of demolecularization and reconstitution… course, that wouldn’t be how he saw it. To him, it was just the power of the Gate.
“Good Day, Samantha,” called Aaroon Sonarnon as he walked across the field towards the base of the Gate. He was dressed, as usual, in the simple brown-tone clothing common in his community. The overall-style pants formed a placard across the front of his chest, covering a long sleeve shirt in a slightly darker hue. The shirt was slightly open at the throat, and his face was shaded by the wide-brimmed straw hat he wore. “It is good to see you again.”
“Good Day, Aaroon,” Sam said as she descended the steps.
“Daniel. Teal’c. It’s good to see you, as well. You have brought a new visitor?”
“Yes. This is General Jack O’Neill, my commanding officer,” Sam said, turning to face Jack as he approached.
“Jack. Welcome to the Calla Hills community. Come, everyone. My Beloved waits with the mid-day meal.”
The four followed behind Aaroon, easily falling into the same comfortable positions. Jack and Sam side by side, with Teal’c and Daniel several paces behind. How many times had they explored worlds in this configuration? When did it become so natural? And with a heavy ache in her chest, Sam realized just how much she missed it and wondered if Jack’s feelings were the same.
“Is he the… what?... chief? Leader? Head honcho?” Jack asked in a hushed voice, leaning slightly towards her as they walked.
“Sort of. They live in small communities, and the elders are looked to for guidance, but there really isn’t one person who leads. There are religious leaders, and social leaders, and medical leaders. Aaroon is a kind of, um, agricultural elder. Which is why we’ve been mainly speaking with him. The direct result our mining would have--”
“--on the environment. I get it. But, elder? He’s what… thirty-nine? Forty?”
“One-hundred and seven cycles of the season, as they call it.”
Sam suppressed her chuckle as she saw the surprise wash over Jack’s face. “Keep in mind, sir, that their year is slightly different than ours. Shorter. So, a cycle goes by faster for them. Roughly, nine months to our twelve.”
“How old is he in Earth years, then?”
“Seventy-eight. Roughly.”
“Why is it, Carter, that we never visit planets were the humans age **faster** than us? We always meet these lucky so-and-so’s who live for, like, 3 zillion years and look like they haven’t turned thirty. And us, we hit forty and everything goes to hell in a hand basket. Just once, I’d like some alien look at me and say ‘Wow, for fifty-something you look great! We’re usually dead by forty-five, you know’.”
Sam smiled pausing for just a brief moment to take in the angles and profile of her commanding officer. As far as she was concerned, forty had done great things for Jack O’Neill. So had fifty.
“Wow, for fifty-something, you look great… sir.” She didn’t even try to hide her smirk as his head jerked sharply in her direction, and their stares met. Then Jack’s lips tipped just slightly, but the smile went all the way to his eyes. “Thank you, Colonel.”
**God, how she missed this!**
“Maybe we can find out their secret while we’re here, sir.”
“According to you, Carter, I don’t need their secret.” He didn’t look at her this time, but the deep dimples in his cheek told her he was smiling.
They continued another click down the wide dirt road until they reached Aaroon Sonarnon’s home. Three children played in the yard with a wooden wheel, each child holding a stick they used to keep the wheel in motion and from falling over. The young laughter reached them well before the house was in sight.
“Beloved,” Aaroon called out as they reached the door of the two-story home. “I have brought Samantha, Daniel and Teal’c and they have brought a new visitor.”
Sarai Sonarnon came into the entry room, her lovely blonde hair tied back in a queue with curls around her face, holding the hand of their youngest child, Banith, who looked to be perhaps 3 Earth years old. Sarai’s other hand rested on her slightly extended abdomen. Sonarnon child number eight. When Sarai reached Aaroon, he pulled her close and pressed a long kiss to her cheek.
“It’s good to see you all again, and to meet new friends.” She stepped to Jack, and when he extended his hand, she held it between both of hers. “I am Sarai, Aaroon’s Beloved.”
Jack glanced sideways at Sam, and smiled his best diplomatic smile. “Jack. Thank you.”
“Come into the house and rest while I help Sarai,” Aaroon said, motioning towards a room to the right of the doorway.
The room focused on a central hearth made of fieldstone, and the floors were wide planks polished to a stunning shine. A variety of wooden children’s toys littered the floor near the hearth, and a doll sat perched against the wall. In one of the chairs sat a young girl, looking about eighteen in earth years, with an open book in her lap. She looked up as they entered, and a wide smile spread her lips when she saw Daniel.
“Daniel!” she said on a breath, and color flooded her cheeks. Then she blinked and looked away. “Samantha. Teal’c. It is good to see you.”
“Hello, Tella,” Daniel said and sat down beside her. “I was hoping to see you when we visited today. I brought you the book I told you about.”
Sam walked to a bench that sat facing the hearth, and Jack sat beside her, leaning in as he lowered himself. “Daniel’s newest admirer?”
Sam chuckled and nodded. “You know Daniel. Can’t stay on any one planet for too long without attracting at least one or two admirers. And as usual, he has no clue. That’s Tella, Aaroon’s oldest daughter. He has two sons who have already joined – um – married, and have farms of their own.”
Jack turned enough to look out the window behind them, and watched the children playing. “Just how many kids does he have?”
“Eight including the one on the way.”
Jack looked at her, his eyebrows arched high. “Really. Not bad for over a hundred.”
“They are a very, ummm, prolific race. Although, by what I can tell, Aaroon and Sarai are more prolific than some,” she said, leaning closer to him so she could speak softly without her voice carrying. “They’re also a very affectionate race.”
“What do you mean by affectionate?”
Sam bobbed her chin towards the open doorway beside the hearth than led to the kitchen. From their vantage point, they could see Sarai and Aaroon clearly. They stood facing each other, with Sarai’s arms around him and he held her face in his hands. They were talking, and by the smiles on both their faces, Sam almost wished she knew what the topic of conversation was. Occasionally, Aaroon leaned forward and kissed her. He brought his hand down to her waist and rubbed slow circles over the soft swell of their unborn child.
Sam’s cheeks were suddenly warm, and she looked away. “That’s what I mean,” she managed to say.
Jack cleared his throat and shifted beside her, purposefully looking away from both the couple in the kitchen, and apparently Sam as well. “Yeah. Okay.”
*[]*[]*[]*[]*
“Hurry, Papa! We have to hurry! I want to see Calab and Orin before they start the bonfire!”
Aaroon laughed as his son, Tannin, tugged urgently at his hand to try and rush the entire group forward faster. Pella and Gabrae, the youngest of the clan except for Banith, ran in excited circles several feet ahead of the group. They all walked together towards the village; Aaroon and his family and SG-1. And Jack. He forgot once in awhile that he wasn’t part of SG-1 anymore.
“You couldn’t have chosen a better time to come to Calla Hills, Jack. Tonight’s bonfire and meal begins a three day celebration for the coming Ornorean.”
Jack groaned internally. SG-1 and off world celebrations never seemed to bode well. Someone either ends up drunker than a skunk and hornier than a college freshman, or full of alien nano-things, or betrothed. He glanced back to see where Daniel was, to find out what he knew about it, but saw Daniel and Tella deep in conversation. The young girl was fascinated by every word he said, and Daniel didn’t stop talking. Jack couldn’t blame him. It wasn’t often Daniel had a completely captive audience. Cornering Teal’c in his lab didn’t count.
“Celebration, huh? So, what happens at this **celebration**?” he asked of Aaroon. They were approaching the center of the Calla Hills Community, a cluster of buildings gathered in the shape of a horseshoe. It reminded him of the town from **Little House on the Prairie**. All they needed was Olsen’s Mercantile, and they’d be all set.
“Everyone gathers together here in the village, and we enjoy three days of rest from our work. We eat good food. Dance. Celebrate.”
“Anything **weird** happen?”
Aaroon looked at him with a puzzled expression. “Weird?”
“Yeah, weird. Uh… out of the ordinary. Do things you wouldn’t do otherwise.”
Aaroon smiled. “No, I don’t believe so, Jack. The Ornorean brings a period of bountiful crops and good health, and we simply celebrate it by enjoying time with our family and friends.”
“Kind of like a holiday.”
“Yes. Please, continue to the meeting hall. We will join you shortly. I would just like to tell my brother Aeric that we have arrived.”
He paused in the road, watching Aaroon and his substantial family move towards one of the buildings, Aaroon’s hand linked with Sarai’s. Jack rotated in a circle, taking in the surroundings. He wanted to find something **wrong** with the planet, and its people. That chink in their armor, but as of yet, he hadn’t seen or even suspected anything. And Sam had been here four times before. Her radar for the freaky was just as honed as his, and she hadn’t suspected a thing. They just seemed to be good people living happy lives, willing to share with outsiders. It wasn’t some idyllic paradise that screamed ‘too good to be true’. It wasn’t a hellhole with half the population needing salvation from the other half. It was… nice.
Which, while that should have made him feel better, it just left him waiting for the second shoe to drop.
“Sir?”
Jack spun around to face Sam.
“Something wrong?”
He shook his head, but not with any conviction. “What do you know about this Ora Nora thing Aaroon is talking about?”
Sam pursed her lips slightly and shook her head. “I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. Daniel has spoken with several community members, and he’s read some of their histories. It’s a natural phenomenon – kind of like our Haley’s Comet. It comes by the planet every one hundred of their years, and by what I hear, it’s beautiful. They claim that the harvests are more bountiful, as are the births--“
“Like Aaroon needs any help.”
She smiled her ‘I-can’t-believe-you-said-that-Jack’ smile. “Anyway. I don’t believe it’s anything to be concerned over.”
Jack shrugged one shoulder. “Good enough for me.” Sam lifted her chin to look up at him, a small and slow smile bowing her lips. “So, hear anything good about this celebration?”
“Think Thanksgiving for three days.”
“Sweeeet. Think they have cake?”
“In some form, I’m sure. Want to check out the spread, sir?”
“Lead the way, Colonel.” He grinned and swept his hand towards the meeting hall. They turned together and walked towards where Daniel and Teal’c stood. “Oh, and Carter. Do me one favor?”
“Yes, sir?”
He did something then that he hadn’t done in a very long time. He put his hand on her shoulder and patted it once before squeezing gently. “Don’t drink anything funky. We all know how you get.”
Sam stopped short, spinning to glare up at him with her eyes wide and her mouth open. “That was **eight** years ago, sir. **Eight** years! Are you ever going to let me live it down?”
Jack let his hand fall from her shoulder. “Probably not.”
“And you know, I’m not the **only** one who has gotten into trouble eating odd things on strange planets. Or have you forgotten Kynth--”
“Ah!” Jack shot his hand up, palm to her. “Stop right there, Carter. That’s an order.” Sam chuckled softly, and shook her head, making a soft click in her cheek. “Besides, it’s more fun to tease **you**.”
Sam shook her head again, but the smile on her lips let him know she didn’t mind. Without another word, they turned and headed for the meeting hall.
*[]*[]*[]*[]*
The stack of kindling and logs gathered for the bonfire had to reach at least fifteen feet in height, and the heat thrown off by the massive flames made Sam’s cheeks burn hot even while the back of her arms felt the cold of the evening air. Music and laughter filtered to her from the darkness where figures and structures disappeared outside the ring of light from the fire.
The crowd had thinned some, with the youngest of the children having been tucked away to sleep in the tents set up around the area. Apparently, for the three days of the celebration no one left except to see to the necessary needs of their livestock. It truly was a gathering of the community.
“Are you finding it to be an enjoyable evening, Colonel Carter?”
Sam turned enough to see Teal’c standing near by, just far enough into the firelight that she could see his face. The orange flames made his golden tattoo glow.
“Yes, I am. It’s almost like a vacation.”
Teal’c smiled and dipped his head, stepping closer until he stood beside her. “It has been, as you would say, like old times to have O’Neill accompany us off world. Is it not?”
Sam nodded. “Yeah, like old times. He couldn’t have picked a better mission to come on. Last I saw him, he was having another helping of Kakaoah cake.”
“It is a celebration like none I have seen.”
They slipped into a comfortable silence as Sam watched the flames and the citizens of Calla Hills as they gathered near the warmth to talk. Some danced to the music being played by four or five adults on instruments that reminded Sam of fiddles and guitars on Earth. The sound was the same.
“Teal’c, can I ask you something?” Sam said after several moments of no conversation.
“Indeed, Colonel Carter.”
“Does the General seem – that is, before we came here – did he seem **off** to you?”
“Off? What would he have been on that he is now off?”
“I mean different. Not himself.”
“O’Neill is who he has always been, it is those things around him that have changed.”
Sam looked at Teal’c, thinking about what he said. She took in a breath and turned to face him. “Teal’c, I just wonder if… how being General has… Oh, forget it. I don’t even know what I’m asking.”
“Perhaps the best place to find answers would be with O’Neill.”
She shrugged, having to agree at least mentally with Teal’c. If she thought she’d get a straight answer, and could ask without crossing that invisible yet obvious line they had established years before, she might just ask him.
“I believe I saw O’Neill walking north of the encampment not fifteen minutes ago.”
“Thanks, Teal’c.” Before she had time to think of why, Sam stepped out of the circle of light and headed north.
She found him ten minutes later, sitting on the crest of a small hill looking down on the bonfire below. He had his ankles crossed and his legs drawn up with his elbows on his knees, a broken branch twirling in his fingers. Once she left the light of the fire, her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and could see his form outlined by the light of the triple moons. Sam didn’t say anything, but approached him and sat down beside him Indian style. She figured he had known she was coming a good hundred feet or so before she got there. After all, she had known where he was right about then.
“Daniel and T having a good time?” he finally asked.
“Well, Tella hasn’t left Daniel’s side all day and I think he’s finally getting a clue about her interest. And Teal’c is just taking it all in. You know Teal’c.”
“Yeah, I do.” He tossed the branch aside.
“What about you, sir? Having a good time?”
“Hell, yeah. These guys may not have any use for a Naquida mine, but they sure do know how to cook. So, you learn anything else about this thing they’re celebrating?”
“Nothing much. Just that it’s a natural phenomenon. Has been happening longer than recorded history. There are some adults in the community who have never experienced it, and some that this is their second time. Like Aaroon. He was only about seven cycles old when it last happened.”
“So, it’s once, maybe twice in a lifetime kind of stuff.”
Sam nodded. “I guess tonight will be when it starts to appear, growing stronger for the next three days to its highest intensity.”
“Cool. Carter, check this out.”
She glanced in his direction, surprised to realize he had lain back on the grassy hillside without her ever hearing or feeling the shift of his body. “Check what out, sir.”
“The sky.”
She looked up. The stars were bright, but other than the three moons that overlapped visually over the horizon, she saw nothing spectacular. Sam gasped as Jack grabbed her shoulder and yanked her back onto the grass beside him.
“Now look.”
Sam was speechless, and could barely breathe. Silver filaments of light swirled across the sky like ribbons of glitter on black velvet. They shifted slowly, intertwining and dancing around each other reminding her of clouds on a breezy day. Lazy motion. Dazzling beauty. Some of the filaments shifted in hue from silver to a pale pink, and then to purple.
“Wow,” she finally managed to say.
“And they say this gets better each day?”
Sam nodded, her head rustling against the grass beneath it. “At it’s most intense, I heard it’s partially visible during the day. But mostly at night.”
“This I’m gonna have to see.”
She turned her head towards him, and smiled at the soft glow from the Ornorean as it touched his profile. His lips were apart and his eyes wide open as he watched the sky. After all they had seen, and the things they had done – and despite the sometimes rough face he put on – Jack O’Neill was entranced by an evening light show. Then he turned and their stares met, and Sam’s breath stopped.
The brown depth of his eyes made them look almost black in the moonlight, and for several beats of her heart they just looked at each other. It was hard to be sure in the low light, but Sam thought Jack’s stare shifted away from her eyes to the vicinity of her mouth before coming back again. The cold that had chilled her skin was suddenly gone, and she had to tell herself to take a breath.
Then Jack snapped his head away and rolled up off the ground in one long, fluid motion. He dusted off his pants quickly before offering her his hand to help her stand. As soon as she was on her feet, he released her hand and snagged his hat from the grass.
”We should get back before Daniel finds himself betrothed again,” Jack said, his voice heavy in the still silence.
Sam just nodded, not trusting her voice to be strong enough to speak, and followed him down the embankment towards the fire.
*[]*[]*[]*[]*
**She’s engaged, Jack! To another man! And let’s not forget the fact that you’re still her commanding officer!**
The raging voice inside Jack’s head hadn’t shut up all day, no matter how he tried to ignore it. Every time he found a bit of peace from his own conscience, he would up and see her. Just like right now.
She stood twenty-five, maybe thirty feet away talking with several women of the community. As he watched, Gabrae Sonarnon ran up to her and tugged on her pant leg. The little girl looked about four, with a mass of honey blonde curls that hung half way down her back. She held a ribbon out to Sam, and Jack watched as she combed the girl’s hair with her fingers and skillfully plaited the curls into a braid. When she finished, she knelt on one knee and Raeya hugged her before running off again into the mass of children on the other side of the field.
Jack had to look away. The thoughts that invaded his head were ones that had no place. Like how natural she looked braiding the hair of a little girl. How happy she seemed. How he wished he could be the one to put a smile like that on her face. And wondering if she smiled for Pete the same way she smiled for him. Because she did smile for him, a different smile than for anyone else. It had been that way for a long time, but he hadn’t seen it in awhile. Not since Pete Shanahan.
Jack chucked away the rock he had been worrying between his fingers. He had decided they could stay for another night, a diplomatic gesture to join in their celebration since they so graciously offered. And he knew there was no use denying he wanted to stay here for just a while longer. The more he was here, the more depressing the gray walls of the SGC seemed.
“You appear pensive, O’Neill.”
Jack looked up from his perch on a rock to where Teal’c stood on his left. “Nah,” he said, and bent over to pick up a new stone. “Just enjoying the fresh air.”
“It has been many months since you came through the Gate with us. Of all the worlds, you chose well to accompany us here.”
Jack picked up more rocks, shaking them in the palm of his hand like dice. “I’m thinking you’re right, T. A nice safe planet. No risk. No gunfire. No Jaffa breathing down our necks. No System Lords hovering over the atmosphere.”
“Does this disappoint you?”
Jack let the rocks fall from his hand. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
“Hey, Jack?”
Jack dusted off his hand and stood as Daniel jogged over to them. “What up, Daniel?”
“Uh, I’ve been talking with Hetta. He’s the educator here for the children. And he told me about some ruins about five miles from here – or, at least, that’s my best calculation trying to convert their methods of measurement to ours. It’s not exact, but either way it’s not too far. I believe we could walk to it and return in a day, and I’m very curious to see if I can determine a point of origin for these people. Or maybe even which, if any, goa’uld brought them here—“
“Daniel!” Jack snapped, and Daniel stopped, staring at him expectantly. “Are you asking me something? Or telling me. Either way, **get to the point**.”
Daniel blinked, his eyebrows bouncing up over the rim of his glasses. “I’d like to check them out. But I want to return to Earth and pick up some materials before I go. I didn’t pack for an archaeological study.”
“Did you ask Carter?”
Daniel glanced over his shoulder to look at Sam, where she still talked to the group of women, and back to Jack, his lips pursed. “Well, uh, no, I just--“
“This is Carter’s gig. I’m just extra baggage, Daniel. Clear it with her.” Jack knew there was an irritated edge to his voice, but he was irritated, so it was completely justifiable.
“Uh, okay. I will. You.. okay? Jack?”
“Fine. Let me know what Carter decides.” He moved between Teal’c and Daniel and headed for the main Meeting House. Everyone seemed to be outside this time of day, and right now he felt like being away. Just… away.
The inside of the meeting house was dark compared to the bright sunshine outside. All four walls were banked with low tables, leaving the center open for young children to play while their parents ate. There were no chairs, just thick cushions and everyone sat on the floor during dinner. The room was empty except for three people at the far end who were talking together. Jack nodded his head as he entered, a silent greeting across the space, and walked to a pile of cushions in the corner of the room. With a sigh, and a groan for the ache in his knees, he sank down into the cushions. He figured he was still digesting the meal from the night before, never mind the bountiful breakfast that had been served, and a nap would do him a world of good. Kind of like during half time of the game on Thanksgiving Day. They weren’t set to meet with any elders until later that afternoon, anyway.
He was just slipping into sleep when he heard the doors open with a slow creek. “Sir? General?”
Jack clenched down with his teeth. He once thought there was nothing he hated more than to be called ‘Colonel’ by Sam Carter. He was wrong. ‘General’ was ten times worse.
“Over here, Carter.” Sam moved from the door to stand near his knees, looking down at him. Jack crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head back on the cushions to see her. “What’s up?”
“I just wanted to let you know, I gave Daniel and Teal’c the go ahead to return to the SGC. They’ll be back within an hour, but Daniel wanted to collect some things to go to the ruins tomorrow. And Teal’c was running low on Tretonin.”
Jack nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
“I hope that’s--“
“Your gig, Carter. Your gig.”
Sam frowned slightly. “Yes, sir. Sir, have I--“
The radio at her waist, clipped there when their ALICE vests were set aside for the visit, buzzed and clicked before Daniel’s voice came through. The background feedback was heavy with static, and Jack barely heard what he said.
“Sam, I think – problem – Gate dialing through.”
Sam held the radio to her lips. “Repeat that, Daniel.”
“The Gate is acting weird. It seemed to delay in connecting. I thought you might want to come see before we go.”
“It’s going to take me at least fifteen minutes to get there. What is it doing?”
The static lessened, making Daniel easier to hear. Jack stood from the cushions and stood near Sam, listening from her radio.
“Nothing now. The last chevron didn’t engage right away. It took probably five or six seconds longer than usual. But then it connected and the wormhole opened.”
Sam arched one brow, and shook her head. “Does the event horizon seem steady?”
“Seems fine.”
“Sound familiar?” Jack asked.
Sam shook her head. “We’ve had situations where the chevrons didn’t seem to engage immediately, but we’ve never had any wormhole continuity issues when it happens.”
“Should we close the Gate?” came Daniel’s voice again, the static heavier than moments before. “And try again?”
“Do you think there’s a problem?” Jack asked.
“Not that I know of. But, just to be safe, I’ll head to the Gate and check it out. I should be back in an hour, or so.”
“I’ll come with you. Tell Daniel to go. The sooner he goes, the sooner he’s back.”
Sam relayed the message, and Daniel responded. They left the meeting house together, and once they found Aaroon and explained where they’d be, Jack and Sam headed south to the Gate. It was a good fifteen or twenty minute walk from the village, and a bead of sweat had formed down Jack’s back by the time the hit the clearing. The season was much like fall in Colorado. Cool nights, but the days could be surprisingly warm. Especially in the direct sun. As they reached the DHD, Jack motioned towards it with his hand.
“I guess we dial ‘er up and see what happens.”
“Yes, sir.”
Sam pressed the familiar symbols on the DHD to get them home, the familiar click-thud sound of each echoing through the valley. The inner wheel of the Gate turned, and the corresponding chevrons lit up. But when she pressed the final symbol, the one for point of origin, nothing happened. The inner wheel didn’t move. The familiar hum stopped. Sam pressed on the central dome of the DHD. Nothing.
Jack looked from her to the Gate, and back to Sam.
“What’s up?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
She dialed again, with the same results. The first six chevrons engaged, but at the seventh chevron, nothing. As if the button was broken.
“Carter…” Jack said, drawing out her name.
Sam shook her head. “I don’t know, sir.”
“Is it not getting any juice? Why isn’t it--“
“I don’t know, sir,” Sam said, her voice tense. She tried the symbols again, with the same results. “We can’t dial home.”
Thunk! There went the other shoe
