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A Face I've Seen Before 

Chapter 2

Casey looked up when the klaxons went off. "Wanna bet that's the ointment Janet's been waiting for?"

Daniel didn't look up from the photographs he was studying. "Probably."

"Let's go."

Blue eyes locked on his wife. "Go where?"

"To the infirmary. Janet told Sam, who told me, that there are side effects to this stuff. I don't want to miss anything."

She'd been sitting at her desk all morning. Just when had she talked to Sam? "Um, just when-"

"Email, Stud Muffin. Ever heard of it?" Casey giggled. She was halfway to the door. "Well, aren't you coming?"

"I suppose so," he admitted. He would not admit, however, that the idea of side effects left him curious…and just a bit apprehensive. 'Side effects' and SG-1 were notorious enemies. Like the side effects from a sarcophagus. Those things played havoc on a person’s mind. He’d damned near shot Jack because of one of those damned boxes…he shuddered slightly at the thought. He sent up a silent prayer than any side effects from this ointment would be far less trouble.

By the time the Jacksons had arrived at the infirmary, Janet had already finished slathering the sweet smelling, slightly oily salve onto Jack's back, shoulders, and his arms. She allowed him privacy to apply the ointment to his butt and 'other effected areas' himself.

"You mentioned side effects," Janet said, once she had pulled the curtain around Jack's bed completely closed.

"They are rare, but occasionally a patient's skin becomes…discolored…for a matter of days," Daria explained. "The color fades away, usually within twenty-four hours."

"It smells…sweet," Sam said, sniffing the air near Jack's bed.

"Like expensive perfume," Casey added.

"The smell will also fade within twenty-four hours," The ambassador assured the lieutenant-general.

"You're certain about this?" Janet asked, a worried frown on her face. Skin discolorations and slight 'sweet' smells could be easily endured. But her dawning fear was that the physiology between Tegerians and humans could be different enough that there might be other - unexpected - side effects. A worsening of the rash, for example.

Daria frowned slightly. "Yes, of course I am."

"I don't mean to offend," Janet said quickly. "It's just that I was in such a hurry to offer the general relief, I didn't bother to run more than basic compatibility tests to make certain that any differences between the Tegerians and humans…er, Tau’ri, wouldn't be…problem. I didn’t run any comprehensive compatibility tests."

The alien's frown deepened. "I did not even consider such a thing."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see if the general develops any…side effects," Janet sighed.

"If he does," Sam said, "do you have anything to counter them?"

Daria and Pallin exchanged uneasy glances. "The side effects to this salve are so rare, and so…minor, there was never a need to worry about them," Daria said. "If General O'Neill should suffer because of what we have offered-"

"It won't be your fault," Daniel interjected gently. "And if the worst that can happen is a bit of skin discoloration and slight sweet smell, well I think Jack…and we…can live with that."

Daria returned his warm smile with one of her own. "I shall be more responsible when offering assistance in the future," she promised. "I certainly should have considered any possible physiological differences between our races before even offering the salve."

"Hey!" a voice called from behind the closed curtain. "I've stopped itching! Sweet!"

Sam chuckled loudly. "If he's not itching, any side effects will be born gladly," she promised.

"What color will he turn?" Casey asked, her green eyes shining with innocence.

Daniel ducked his head. In spite of how sweet and innocent she looked, his wife was a regular spitfire. Jack had screwed up her plans, and she wanted him to pay for it.

"I'm not certain," Daria replied.

"Usually it's just a variant of the pigment in the salve itself," Pallin said.

Everyone looked at the jar Janet had just retrieved. The contents were a very light lilac.

"I hope he turns bright Barney purple," Casey muttered under her breath. A wish she would soon regret.

Exactly twenty-seven hours later, Jack walked through the corridors of the SGC, heading for the 'gate room. Now that he wasn't itching like crazy, the rash caused by his battle with poison ivy nothing more than a horrible memory, he was ready to get back to work. He was not, however, anxious to sit through what would most probably be many hours of very boring diplomatic posturing. He frowned slightly. Why couldn't SG-9 deal with this meeting between the Tegerians and the folks from the Land of Light? I really need to come up with a name for them, he thought absently.

Two approaching marines saluted as he passed. The preoccupied general completely missed the looks of confusion, or the hands that went immediately to cover their noses.

The rest of the team was standing at the bottom of the ramp, waiting for him. Which was highly unusual. If the team didn't arrive in the 'gate room together, normally he was the first. Darned paperwork. Sam…and General Hammond…had insisted that he have all of his paperwork for the next few days finished before embarking on this mission. The SGC, or rather, the running of the SGC, created a mountain of paperwork. He was a man of action. Sitting behind a desk reading reports and request chits drove him nuts. "Hey ho, campers," he said jovially as he approached the team. Sam had gathered his gear for him, she handed it to him with a smile. The belt for the Beretta 9 mil holster went around his hips, he worked the straps of the backpack over his arms. He slid the strap of his P90 over his shoulder, put on his ball cap and adjusted it absently.

Sam gasped and took a step backwards.

"Whoa!" Daniel exclaimed, putting the back of his hand up to his face. "Jack, you smell like a whorehouse on Saturday night!"

"What?"

Casey had put her hand to her face as well. "It's not Chanel Number 5, but it's close."

"O'Neill, your skin is purple," Teal'c said, pointing to the back of the general's neck.

Jack frowned. He'd noticed the purple in the mirror after he'd showered. It was one of the side affects that Daria had told him might occur. It was all on his back, so he hadn't been worried. Sam had teased him a bit about having a purple butt, but other than that…apparently enough of his neck was showing to give a hint at the color it had become.

"I noticed the perfume-y smell earlier," Sam said, now covering her nose. "But it seems to be getting stronger."

"I don't smell anything," Jack argued.

"That's because you're already accustomed to it," Sam informed him.

The salve that Janet had generously applied to his rash had been sweet smelling. Annoyingly so, he’d thought. But after a few minutes, the smell had faded…Jack closed his eyes. He hadn't been paying much attention to the discussion about the side effects, not after he'd heard 'sweet smell' and 'slight skin discoloration'. He could live with those. The alien hadn't indicated that, if they appeared, the side effects would last longer than twenty-four hours. He glanced at his watch. Twenty-four hours had passed three hours ago.

General Hammond approached the group. "Doctor Jackson, do you think our allies in the Land of Light will understand the reason for Jack smelling so…so…"

"Cloying?" Daniel offered.

"Yes," Hammond nodded. He gave up the battle to remain dignified and put his hand to his face. "Considering that you have a bit of a walk before you reach the palace, do you think it will…" His voice faded and he shrugged.

"We can only hope being outside will help," Daniel said. "When we explain that the Tegerians offered a cure for the rash that Jack had, and they see the purple skin and smell him, they may or may not decide that the Tegerians offered a curse rather than a cure."

"Well, see if you can reschedule the meeting," Hammond said. "According to the Tegerians, these…side effects…shouldn't last much longer."

"I'll do so. Pallin and Daria might be able to explain the reason for the…uh…reaction. That should go a long way to soothing any feelings of being slighted the leaders might have."

"We have to think of a name for them," Jack interrupted, not a little upset that a conversation about him was going on right in front of him.

"They're Minoans," Daniel said offhandedly.

"Then why don't we call them that?"

Daniel frowned. "We do."

"We do?"

"Yes. That's the name I've used in every report," Daniel added.

"But whenever we talk about them, we always say 'people from the Land of Light'," Jack argued.

"No we don't."

"Can you guys argue about this on the way? We've got to get some fresh air here," Casey grumbled.

Jack opened his mouth to protest. Then closed it. From the looks he was getting, he must be putting off a pretty strong funk.

General Hammond turned to look up at Walter. "Dial the 'gate."

"Yes, sir," Walter replied.

Just as the second chevron was locked and the stone circle began to rotate again, the guards who had been tasked with escorting Pallin and Daria to and from their respective quarters entered the room, their charges following closely behind.

Both Tegerians stopped short of joining the group waiting at the bottom of the ramp. Daria sniffed carefully. "I apologize, General O'Neill. It seems that I was incorrect regarding the side effects of the salve. I don't understand why it seems to be so…strong."

Pallin coughed, trying to hide his smile behind a fist raised to his mouth. "It would seem that there is enough difference in the physiology of a human and a Tegerian to…intensify…the normal side effects."

"Intensify?" Daniel asked. He was aware that Pallin and Daria had studied the English language carefully. It had been their way of showing respect to their allies. But perhaps there was still a bit of linguistic confusion.

Pallin frowned. "Yes, I believe this is the correct term. It does mean 'to make stronger', does it not?"

"It does," Daniel confirmed.

Daria shook her head slightly. "There is occasionally a slight discoloration of the skin, and a slight scent of the salve itself, but nothing like…this," she said, waving her hand in Jack's direction.

Everyone's eyes were beginning to water. The final chevron clanged into place, and the event horizon opened with its customary splendor.

"There's a bit of a walk from the Stargate to the palace," Daniel said. "We're hoping that might help a bit."

Daria frowned, chewing on her lip slightly. "We can only hope so."

"If not, we'll explain the situation to the Minoans, and reschedule our meeting," Daniel replied.

Pallin nodded. "This is quite acceptable."

"These are very primitive people," Daniel said. "But they're also very kind, and very understanding."

"Then it will be a honor to finally meet them, face to face," Pallin said.

"SG-1, you have a go. Godspeed," General Hammond said, nearly gasping out the words.

Casey and Sam ran up the ramp and through the event horizon. Teal'c wasn't far behind.

Jack gave a huff of indignation, then followed, leaving Daniel to lead Pallin and Daria up the ramp.

Once the travelers were gathered, still slightly cold from their trip through the wormhole, Jack took point, grumbling something about staying ‘downwind’ from the others. Sam was flanked by the Tegerian ambassadors, Daniel and Casey following. Teal’c took the six.

He was a bit surprised that Pallin and Daria had chosen to engage Sam in conversation as they followed Jack and Teal’c…he had an established relationship with the aliens; but Daniel supposed it had something to do with their desire to get to know other members of the team, and of the SGC. They had requested that he give them a tour of the facility and introduce them to the others, but he’d been in the middle of a briefing when they’d arrived. Major Farnsworth had dealt with Tegerians for two days before pulling him into the negotiations, so they were willing to accept him as their tour guide. They’d also requested a personal meeting with General Hammond. The fact that the entire visit was described as ‘unofficial’ made a difference in the protocol that was followed. It was ‘unofficial’, Pallin informed them, because it was more curiosity about Jack’s condition than any real need to visit the SGC.

The Stargate was still located on the dark side of the planet. The home of the Minoans didn't rotate in the same way as Earth. It rotated, or it wouldn't be able to sustain an atmosphere, and thus life. But it spun on its axis horizontally rather than vertically, leaving one side of the planet in perpetual night, and the other in never-ending daylight. The Minoans had discussed moving their Chappa'ai closer to their main temple - the building where all meetings took place. For some reason, information to which the Tau'ri weren't privy, it remained in place just about two miles from the temple, in the same place it had been when SG-1 had walked through the 'gate the very first time.

Daniel couldn't help but look around and recall the first visit, and his decent into barbarism. He didn't have full memory of the events, but enough that it made him shudder to think about it. At least, he thought now, as he did every time the memories rose, he'd been able to protect Melosha, Counsel Leader Tuplo's daughter. He had foggy memories of trying to…well, at the time, in his condition, 'mating' would have been the proper terminology, but had been interrupted and forced to fight off several other males…men. If there had been a successful 'mating' between them, he didn't remember it. He did remember that several of the males…men…and their 'mates', had decided that he was a capable leader. Wherever he wandered, they followed. He'd even managed to put together a shelter, which, if his foggy memories could be trusted, had impressed his 'followers' even more.

Casey had read the reports about the missions to this planet. She'd been more interested in the first few, when SG-1 had arrived for the first time, and then returned to share the cure for the disease that had run rampant among the people. It was amazing that a simple antihistamine could prevent the 'Untouched' from becoming 'Touched', and devolving into savages. She glanced at her husband. Daniel had suffered from the disease, just as Sam and Jack had. In fact, Janet had told her, only half a dozen other people, other than Teal'c, and the doctor herself, had managed to escape infection. She'd read Daniel's report. He'd mentioned trying to save a young woman, the same young woman he'd been found with a few days later, both of them suffering from the disease. She wondered just how much he remembered of that time, or if it was like having a high fever, when little of what happened remained in one's memory. She gave a mental sigh. Not that she had any right to be jealous over what might or might not have happened. That had been five years before they'd met. And anything that might have happened was nothing more than animal behavior, if she could believe Janet. And she knew she could.

Everyone, including Pallin and Daria, were wearing night vision goggles. Which prevented him from seeing her eyes. Daniel had noticed Casey looking around, then tugging her lower lip between her teeth. Something is bothering her, he thought. He knew she'd read every mission report every created by SG-1. Most of the mission reports of the other teams as well. He also knew that she had carefully scrutinized his reports. He reached out, took her arm, pulled her to the side of the path, motioning that Teal'c should pass them. "Casey?" he asked softly.

"Hmm?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, why do you ask?"

"Oh, it just seemed as if something was bothering you," he replied casually.

Someday, I am going to find a way to hide what I'm thinking, she thought, just a bit upset that her husband knew her so well. "I guess I was just thinking about the mission report of your first visit here."

"I thought as much," he said quietly.

"Do you remember much, I mean, during the time you were…" she paused, unable to find the right words.

"When I had reverted to a savage, half-man/half-beast?"

"With cranial ridges and everything," she said, not bothering to hide her grin.

"I have a few blurry memories. Not much, though. And no, I don't remember - mating - with her," Daniel said, his voice soft.

"I shouldn't be this way, so damned jealous," Casey sighed.

"I think it sort of goes with being in love," Daniel smiled. "Even if we know in our heads that any relationships before we met are in the past, it's hard not to be jealous of those relationships. Not that you've had any for me to be jealous over."

"Well, a couple, but we've agreed that you being jealous of a six-year-old and a thirteen-year-old is just over the edge," Casey giggled softly.

Daniel chuckled quietly. He knew about the neighbor boy Casey had played with, a friend who had made the hell of her childhood a bit more bearable. The boy who had proposed in his tree-house, determined at that tender age to rescue the little girl from a woman he knew was abusing her. He also knew about her first 'real' boyfriend, in eighth grade, and how they'd held hands in the hallway, and written pages of love notes and poetry to one another. "To be honest, I was thinking about it myself. I can't help it, I guess. Every time I come here…" He shrugged. "I'm just glad that we were able to find such a simple cure."

"It must have seemed like a miracle from the gods, to have family members return home," Casey murmured.

"Probably. It certainly earned us…well, the SGC, a group of very loyal allies."

"Hey, you two gonna join the rest of us?" Jack called, some twenty yards ahead of the couple.

"Just trying to get a breath of fresh air, Jack," Casey called back. She smiled when Daniel wrapped his fingers around hers. "I'm fine," she whispered.

Daniel gave a smile and a slight nod, then led her up the path toward the others, who had paused to wait for them.

At the edge of the forest, where sweeping grassland and perpetual daylight began, the team and their guests removed their night vision goggles. They all blinked for a moment in the bright sunshine. The sound of horns, those from a bull no doubt, sounded in the air. A procession of Minoan leaders were making their way down a stretch of carefully paved road.

"Daniel, you should go ahead and meet them, let them know about the General," Sam said. She turned to her husband. "Right?"

"Right," Jack mumbled. "Be sure to tell 'em it's not my fault."

"Sure, Jack. None of this is your fault," Daniel smirked. He reached out for Casey's hand. "C'mon, Angel. Let's go say hello."

"Nuh uh," Jack said, shaking his head. "She stays here."

Blue eyes went wide behind hastily cleaned glasses. "Why?"

"Because she'll tattle on me," Jack huffed.

Daniel blinked, his expression one of open disbelief. His best friend - and CO - had one hand on his hip, P90 in the other. It was only the presence of the weapon that prevented Daniel from thinking of Jack as a petulant child in that moment. 

Casey snorted. "Ya think?"

"Casey, can you be nice and not say anything about Jack's…condition?" Daniel asked with exaggerated patience.

"I won't have to say anything. By now they can probably smell him," the seer replied, motioning toward the approaching group.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Daniel, take Pallin and Daria, and go say hello. See if these folks will be willing to meet with them and just you. The rest of us can just hang around here."

With a nod, and a barely suppressed grin, Daniel led the Tegerians to meet the Minoans.

"You know they're going to find out the whole story sooner or later," Casey said, casually examining her P90.

"Well, they can learn it later. Without all the details," Jack retorted.

"If I tell them, I'll be sure to explain that it was meant to be a romantic tryst, and you just got turned around on your own property, and didn't recognize poison ivy, even though you're special ops trained to prevent things like that," Casey continued, as if her CO hadn't spoken. "Ya know," she said, tapping her chin thoughtfully, "considering that they have an entire festival for fertility and sex, I'm betting they'll be very understanding."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Details aren't important."

"Of course they are," Casey argued.

"Here they come," Sam said, nodding in the direction of the road.

Daniel, Pallin, and Daria were walking back toward them, smiles on their faces.

"It would seem that the conversation was successful," Teal'c observed.

"Well?" Jack asked, as soon as the archaeologist was close enough.

"Considering that we could smell you clear over there, the Minoans understood that trying to conduct any meetings with all of SG-1 present would be…problematic."

"You used that word, or did they?" Jack asked.

"I believe Tuplo used the word 'vexatious'," Daniel replied.

"Some diplomat," Jack grumped.

"Daria explained that your…condition…was the result of them offering a salve to cure a rash you had developed, unaware that our two species were different enough that the side effects are more…pronounced…in humans…Tau'ri," Daniel continued. "Tuplo was quite willing to wait another day. He said if you're still…exhibiting symptoms…tomorrow, to send a messenger through."

"We regret that our lack of foresight has caused this delay," Daria said, lowering her eyes.

"You have no need to apologize," Daniel said gently.

"You don't suppose Jack's ancient genes have anything to do with his reaction, do you?" Casey asked suddenly. Sam had used the same salve, although she'd required much less. And her skin hadn't changed color, nor was she putting off any strong 'Chanel No. 5' aromas.

"Seriously? You think that could be the cause?" Jack asked. He brightened considerably at the thought that his condition was one beyond his control.

Casey motioned at Sam. "It's the only plausible explanation I can come up with. If that's the case, it might take two or three more days."

Daniel frowned. Daria and Pallin did as well. "Let me talk to Tuplo again," Daniel said.

Before anyone could object, he trotted to where the Minoans waited patiently. He was excited, Casey thought, a surge of love and amusement filling her as she watched his hands and arms in motion as he talked.

Daniel was speaking quickly, Jack thought, watching the young man; twice the leader of the Minoans had held up his hand, as if to stop the flow of words. Been there, done that. Can't understand half what he says when he's in that mode. The Minoans turned their attention to him for a brief moment, heads moved up and down, and smiles covered their faces. Each of the Minoans offered a salute of sorts, each of them then bowing toward him. Daniel said something else, there was more nodding, and then the Minoans turned to walk back to their village.

"What was that all about?" Sam asked, not bothering to hide her amusement.

"I told them what we'd discussed, about Jack's connection to the Ancients, and that because of those genes, it might take longer for him to 'recover'. They were quite impressed to learn that the leader of SG-1 is a descendent of the Ancients," Daniel replied.

"They know about the Ancients?" Casey inquired. "Weren't they brought here by Goa'uld?"

"Yes, the Goa'uld brought them here," Daniel said. "But they've been 'free' of Goa'uld influence for over a hundred years. They've also been trading with other cultures for at least half that long, and many of those cultures, including our own, know about the Ancients."

Casey nodded her understanding.

"If it is all right with you," Pallin said, somewhat anxiously, "We would like to return to Tegeria. We will await word from you. When General O'Neill is fully recovered, we will return to this most interesting planet."

"That's fine," Daniel agreed. "I don't see that there's any need for you to return to the SGC."

"Agreed," Daria nodded.

"Then let us return to the Circle of Light," Pallin said.

SG-1 walked down the ramp, sans their Tegerian guests. General Hammond was waiting to greet them. "I take it the Minoans were willing to reschedule the meeting?"

"Yes, sir," Daniel replied. He gave a sideways glance at Jack. "They were about a hundred yards away from where the team waited. They could…uh…smell him…from there. They were more than willing to wait."

"Not my fault," Jack grumbled.

"So Sam forced you into that poison ivy?" Casey asked innocently.

"Not going there, Radar," Jack growled.

"Wish you'd have been that way when you were in Minnesota," the seer sighed. "Then I wouldn't have missed-"

"Sir, request permission for SG-1 to take early secure," Jack interrupted, tossing a frown at the slender blonde.

"Granted," Hammond replied immediately. While the rest of the team could no doubt work on projects awaiting their attention, getting Jack out of the facility was necessary. The air scrubbers were hard pressed to keep the pungent odor under control.

Jack stomped the rest of the way down the ramp, past quickly scattering Marines, and into the corridor.

Hammond turned to Sam. "If he's still as…potent…tomorrow, keep him home," he said quietly.

"Yes, sir," she replied, trying not to smile.

"Dismissed," the general said. Watching as the remainder of the team sauntered to the door. No doubt talking about their very…aromatic…team leader.

Jack was nowhere to be seen when the members of SG-1 made it to the infirmary. Sam and Teal'c had accompanied Daniel and Casey to their office to retrieve their wedding rings before moving back down to level twenty-one. Janet was waiting for them.

"Did Jack come in?" Sam asked.

"Long enough to let me know he was fine, and going to his office," Janet replied. "I'll take it on faith that nothing happened that I should be worried about."

"Just a bit of a beating to his pride," Sam chuckled. "I'll go talk to him."

"Ma'am, could you just take him home?" one of the medics asked.

Her chuckles became a throaty laugh. "Still that bad, huh?"

"Still that bad," Janet confirmed. "My guess is, when the purple fades, so will the smell."

"I hope so," Sam sighed.

Casey remained silent, although she was dying to know what Jack thought about his purple iris.

Daniel took one look at his wife and moaned. "You put it in his office."

"Right beside his purple Care Bear," Casey replied nonchalantly.

"Put what beside the Care Bear?" Sam asked.

"A lovely purple iris. Got it from the florist next to Piggly-Wiggly," Casey said.

"I thought we agreed you'd just put in on your desk, so you could tease him about it whenever he was in our office," Daniel said, rather accusingly, his wife thought.

"You agreed, I didn't," Casey responded.

"You are punishing O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

"Damned straight I am. One day I'm gonna prove he got that case of poison ivy on purpose. Just to prevent us from going to the Land of Light for that ceremony. He didn't want to be there for three days, so he planned a nice little nighttime stroll, right into plants he should have recognized, even with a flashlight and being half-drunk." By the time she'd finished speaking, not only were her teammates laughing, but so were Janet and the medics who were in the room.

Janet drew a deep breath. "Okay, let's get the four of you checked out."

"While we were there," Sam said, watching as one of the medics wrapped a blood pressure cuff around her arm, "we discussed the fact that the Ancient genes Jack carries might have something to do with his reaction to the Tegerian salve."

"Very interesting," Janet replied. "Looks good," she told Daniel, pulling the cuff from his arm.

"He used a lot more than I did as well," Sam added.

"Did he apply more after you went home last night?" Janet asked. She'd sent the jar home with the couple, not certain that it would control the itching if it were to 'wear off'.

"I'm not sure," Sam admitted. "He didn't ask me to put any on his back."

"Could it simply be because more of his body was covered with the rash…and the salve?" Daniel asked.

"It could be," Janet allowed. "Although I think your idea of the Ancient genes may be on the right track. I'm going to make a note in his chart. We have enough of the salve left that we can treat at least one more person for any rash that might appear."

"I hope that stuff wears off soon," Casey sighed. "I love Jack, but right now, I can't stand to be near him."

"No one can," Sam said. She waited until the medic had finished writing on her chart. "Done?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Thanks. I'll go get him and take him home. Hopefully he can find a hockey game or two to watch," Sam sighed.

"See you tomorrow," Daniel said, waving as the colonel left the infirmary. He turned to Casey. "You know he'll find a way to get back at you."

"I know," Casey sighed.

"I only hope to be present when such actions occur," Teal'c said, quite seriously.

Daniel laughed. "Me, too."

Jack was, at that moment, staring at the flower-pot that was sitting beside the Care Bear. Didn't have any doubts whatsoever about who had placed it there. "That's not funny, Radar," he growled. Part of him was completely amused by its presence. Part of him was a bit miffed at being teased. Another part determined to get even.

Sam opened the door. The overwhelming scent of perfume hit her in the face, made her eyes water. "Jack?" she said, choking slightly.

"What?" He looked up and saw his wife's reaction to the air in the room. "Damn it!"

"It's not your fault," Sam said softly.

"Sure it is. If I hadn't-" He jumped to his feet, started to pace the room.

"Jack, I know you were miserable from the poison ivy. I was, too. And this," she waved a hand in the air, "will pass, too. What you did that night…what we shared…I'll go through it all again for a night like that."

The crooked grin he was known for spread over his face. "Really?"

"Really. I…I'd never made love outside. Not like that. Not completely naked and so…so free," Sam confessed.

"It was, special, wasn't it?" Jack’s voice became soft. He reached for his wife, pulled her into his embrace.

Sam wound her arms around his neck. "Yes, it was."

"Damned near spiritual."

"I think it was one of the best times I've had with you," Sam said. She caressed his cheek with one hand. "Let's go home. It might not be making love in the forest at night, but I'll bet we can have fun."

"I'll bet we can, too. It…it doesn't bother you?"

Sam shook her head. "I’m already accustomed to it."

"I love you," Jack sighed, hugging her tightly.

"I love you, too. Let's go home. And give the air scrubbers time to work."

Jack pulled away, looked down into laughing, sapphire blue eyes. "You're getting as bad as Radar."

Sam giggled. "You love me anyway."

"Yeah, well…" Jack gave up pretending to be offended. His heart fluttered in his chest and made his stomach do that funny up and down thing. He could tell Sam he loved her. She could tell him that she loved him. And leaving the SGC meant being together, and alone. "Let's go home, Colonel."

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