PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY

SAM/JACK, TEAM FIC.

ACTION/ADVENTURE/ROMANCE/HUMOR

STORY RATING: TEEN. MATURE CHAPTERS ARE MARKED. (VIOLENCE, LANGUAGE, SEXUAL SITUATIONS)

CHAPTER 1: GRACE

"Don't you think it's odd that in all the alternate realities we've encountered, the two of us are together?"

They sat together against a fallen log, Commander and 2IC, staring up at another alien night sky. They could hear Daniel snoring in the background, Teal'c doing his kelno'reem whilst the two of them kind of guarded the perimeter. Emphasis on the 'kind of'.

In truth, there wasn't much to guard, the UAV had detected no sentient life forms in the vicinity and this mission was turning out to be another camp out in the forest of, well, trees.

It was therefore perfect for what Sam Carter had in mind.

Jack O'Neill cleared his throat. "To be fair, Carter, we've only seen two other realities, not exactly a great basis for extrapolation."

Sam gave him a surprised look and he shrugged, silently telling her that he wasn't in the mood to play the dumb soldier. Maybe he sensed that what she wanted to talk about tonight was of some importance.

"Maybe..." she admitted, "But if we count this reality, then that would give us another point to extrapolate from, which means we can get something more than a straight line."

This time it was Jack who gave her a surprised look. "Carter, maybe I'm missing something here-"

Sam looked down where her hands was playing with a piece of loose material from her BDU and interrupted him. "You and I both know that if we hadn't decided to keep everything locked up in that room you and I would be together now."

She finally summoned up the courage to look him in the eyes. "We would have caved eventually and one of us," she laughed, "Probably you, would be sitting in Leavenworth, and I'd be out of the Air Force with a baby in tow." It was a bit of an exaggeration. They were both too important to the program to court martial, but disciplinary actions would be taken and it would spell the end of SG-1.

Jack laughed with her. "You'd bake me a cake with a file in it wouldn't you?"

"I'm out of practice with the cake baking."

"Better yet, you call up the Asgard, we shack up with Thor and show'em what they're missing with all that cloning nonsense!"

Her smile faded somewhat. "I think it's time we take it out of the room."

Jack's handsome face marred into a frown. "What's changed, Carter? These kinda things usually have a-" he searched for the correct term, "Trigger? For want of a better word, to set it off."

Sam recalled her conversation with the imaginary Jack on the Prometheus. Jack was a safe bet for her affections because he was unobtainable, and by setting her sights on him, she could avoid getting involved with someone else and potentially getting hurt.

But Jack was only safe if she never acknowledged to him what she felt, and hopefully, what he felt for her. She didn't want anyone else, and that was the problem. If it were just a matter of using Jack as an excuse then it would make things so much easier; She could move on and that would be that.

She loved him though. Anything with anyone else would still be just settling and not the crazy, insane, not to mention illegal love that would make her deliriously happy with Jack. There would be pain, loneliness, even abject misery, but it would be so worth it. Imaginary Jack had been right, he wasn't the problem, it was Sam's own cowardly heart.

Jack O'Neill was no safe bet, he was the most dangerous thing in her life and she was desperately in love with him.

"It was on the Prometheus. I was tired and confused and I thought that I was avoiding getting hurt by setting my sights on you."

"Oh," he said not pretending to understand.

"But I was already hurting, Jack. I was living this content life not knowing the difference between happiness and misery. I've learned that a very fine line separates them."

"Carter... What is it do you want to happen here?" He indicated in the space between them.

"I want us to let go of things that prevent us from finding happiness," she quoted Jacob. "I want someone to love and be loved in return."

Jack stared hard at her. "There's still the regulations. Nothing has changed."

"No, but it doesn't break any rules, does it, to know that someone loves you?"

"I think it's a fine line," he reminded her of her earlier words.

"True, but how exactly do you prosecute someone for having feelings?"

"Kinsey and his ilk would give it a damned good college try," he warned. "How do you know we could stop at just knowing and not go further?"

"I don't know anything, sir" she lapsed back to her formal address for him. "I only know that it's no longer working, pretending that nothing's there."

They remained silent for a long time, digesting the implications of what Sam had brought up. For so long they'd avoided having this talk, this very dangerous talk. As long as each didn't know how the other felt, beyond mere speculation, the thing between them was deniable.

The two of them hadn't moved from their spot, still sitting side by side, the canopy of stars above them, the small camp fire giving a bit of warmth. The only difference this time was that they were holding hands.

"Wow... A toothbrush! I don't know what to say."

"Say, 'What kind of shi-'"

"Colonel!" Sam interrupted the insult to Daniel with a look that said 'Behave!'.

"It's not just a toothbrush," Daniel was used to the insults by now and didn't take any real offense. "It features multiple brushing modes, removes plaque, helps with tooth decay, AND removable heads," Daniel explained further, excitement tinging his voice.

"I think you've put too much thought into that for it to be considered healthy!" Jack just couldn't help himself.

"Removable heads, you say?" Sam pretended not to have heard the Colonel. She was getting rather good at that.

"That was the main feature I was looking for. I got one for Jack too, so that when you guys stay over at each others' place, you don't need to keep borrowing Jack's toothbrush and vice versa... It was kinda getting gross. What?" His two friends were giving him a strange look. "What did I say?"

"Gross?" Jack repeated.

Well, it was. It was one thing to kiss someone, it was another to share toothbrushes and he'd seen Sam use Jack's toothbrush a couple of times after chow time during their frequent team nights. And last time he'd checked, Sam and Jack weren't doing any kissing.

Well there was the the hugging. The occasional arms around each other, sharing beers, food, clothes...

He'd seen Sam with Jack's t-shirt a few times and a part of him found it kind of disturbing. Was it normal for two supposedly platonic friends to share that much? All he knew for sure was that something had changed recently, something that had drastically altered the dynamic between Sam and Jack.

Daniel couldn't really pinpoint the when and where. In the field, they were professional enough. In fact, now that he thought about it, there was a certain freshness to their attitudes when they were out there as SG-1. There was an alertness and excitement that had waned as the years and battles had mounted. Now it was back with a vengeance and he couldn't help but feel that it was related to what was happening between his two friends. To some extent it was exhilarating. It was nice to have all that energy back in the team again.

"Look, Jack. Just say 'Thank You, Daniel' and accept my gift gracefully. You do know how to do that right?"

Jack just glared at him and shifted uncomfortably on Daniel's couch.

Sam poked him.

"Ow! What was that for!" Jack rubbed his injured side.

"Thank you, Daniel. The Colonel appreciates his gift."

"I do no-" O'Neill wasn't able to continue as his second in command had smacked him with a decorative pillow on the face.

Daniel couldn't help but roll his eyes at their antics. He left them in his apartment living room to find some take-out menus. It was a Saturday evening and he had invited Sam and Jack to his place for some company. Predictably, as it seemed these days, the two arrived together in Jack's gas guzzler dressed in civvies and apparently just come back from a hike. It was so damned normal that Daniel was tempted to call the base and ask if the REAL Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter could please stand up.

"Yo, Daniel! What's taking so long? We're starving here."

"Hold your horses, you pain in the Mikta," Daniel mumbled as he pulled out the menus from a desk drawer.

"I think we're freaking Daniel out," Jack told her as he lay stretched out on the archeologist's sofa, his head on Sam's lap. She was absently playing with his short hair whilst flipping through channels on Daniel's ancient CRT.

"Ya, think?" She replied. God, they were starting to sound alike. No wonder Daniel thought they were crazy.

"You think we should tell him about us?" He asked after a beat. He grabbed the remote from her hand changed it back to a re-run of the Simpsons. The new episodes weren't on on Saturdays.

"Us?" She quirked an eyebrow. "Technically, there isn't an 'us'."

Jack snorted. "Only technically."

"Sir, is that even a good idea?"

"Listen, Carter. Daniel's going nutso. It's driving him crazy not being able to ask what's going on. For cryin' out loud, he bought us TOOTHBRUSHES!"

She gave a short laugh. "I guess that his not so subtle way of telling us he's definitely noticed."

"Hell, Carter, we haven't exactly been subtle around him. We've been using him as a damned chaperone. We gotta tell him something."

"Tell me what?" Daniel had stepped back into the room and were giving them a inquiring look. "Here's the menus," he said tossing the items on his coffee table. "We're not having Chinese again. So don't bother asking."

Jack got up from Sam's lap and reached for the menus Daniel had dumped on the table. "Fine by me. We had Chinese last night with Teal'c at Hong Kong's."

Daniel frowned at Jack as the older man perused the Thai menu. Sam had seen the incredulous look on the archaeologist's face and knew they'd have to put Daniel out of his misery soon or the man would blow up.

To be fair, Daniel had been incredibly patient over the past few weeks, only raising his eyebrows at their less than subtle behavior. He trusted her and Jack to tell him what was going on in their own time. If ever. Daniel was a wonderful friend, their best friend, and Jack was right that they should let him in the loop.

"I think I'm gonna go for a Pad Thai, babe. What do you think?" Jack asked her without preamble.

"BABE?" Daniel spat out.

Well, Jack had certainly decided now was the right time.

"Don't get your panties in a twist, Daniel. Sam will explain later."

The Major in question scoffed. "Thanks a lot, Jack."

"I pride myself for my delegation skills, if you must know. It's what makes me such a great commander."

Daniel rolled his eyes and Sam muttered, "Oh, brother!" The man certainly had an ego on him.

The food came and went, Daniel plowing through his food eager to know what the hell was going on with his friends. Either Jack and Sam had completely gone off the deep end and decided to screw the regulations all together or there was some Alien Influence involved and it made him eat faster if only to get to the phone and call the base.

Jack and Sam seemed far too relax. Shouldn't they be a little bit nervous like he was? After all, if what he'd surmised was correct, this was BIG! Momentous and life altering. Sam and Jack: Together.

"Geez, Daniel. You trying to give yourself a heart burn?"

"I'll be fine. When are you going to tell me what I want to know?"

Jack sighed and looked to Sam asking if she were ready to get this over with. He saw her swallow the last of her food and put her fork down on her empty plate. He nodded at her in encouragement and she cleared her throat before beginning.

"Well, Daniel, I guess you haven't failed to notice the change in our relationship-"

Daniel snorted. Jack glared at him. Sam continued on.

"And to be honest, we weren't really hiding it from you. From any of you guys. See the thing is, nothing much has really changed except that we both know how we feel about each other. I love Jack and he loves me. We want to be together in every possible way. We both know that it's not possible right now, but we're done putting our feelings on hold. I want Jack to know how I feel about him and what he feels for me. There's no one else for both of us, and while we can't share our feelings physically, we refuse to not show them emotionally."

Daniel sat there dumbstruck. He blinked owlishly at them for a few seconds before saying, "So, you're not having sex?"

Jack choked on his beer. Sam quickly handed him a napkin, and dabbed at the spillage on his shirt herself.

"No, Daniel. Jack and I are not having sex. That would be against the regs."

Daniel stared at them as if they were both crazy. "But-but, that's just semantics! You're in love with each other, you act all... You know... In front of me, that's just as bad!"

"Daniel!" Jack reigned in his temper. Getting angry at the archaeologist wouldn't accomplish anything.

"Daniel," he said more calmly. "It's a 'fine line' okay? We've cared for each other a long time now, and it hasn't affected our working relationship thus far. In the base, Carter and I are gonna be like we've always been before. This won't affect the team. But outside... Look Daniel, the reason we're telling you this is because you're...Ya know? Anyway, you deserve to know about this. We need you to be there to help us walk the line. Make sure we don't cross it when we really want to."

He sighed. "I don't know what to say, Jack! You're asking me to be your accomplice, to help you not break the regs when in my opinion you already are."

Jack pushed angrily away from the table, quickly standing up. "For crying out loud! Carter-"

"Sir-"

"Would you let me finish!" Daniel yelled at his friends. "I didn't say I disapproved," he motioned at both of them. "Of the two of you. I'm just saying that other people might not see it your way. They won't believe that a sexual relationship doesn't exist."

"Well they would be wrong!" Jack said vehemently.

"But you have to admit," Daniel pressed on, "That the spirit of the frat regs have already been broken."

"Then they've been broken a long time ago." Sam answered. "But try proving that in a court martial."

"Okay! Okay!" Daniel raised his hands in defeat. "So, you've thought this through. But I'm still not convinced that you won't get in trouble if you keep behaving like this."

"What do you suggest then?" Jack asked retaking his seat.

"All I'm thinking is that we have to set some ground rules for... Breaking the rules."

Jack shook his head. "Fire away."

"Well for one, no public displays of affection."

"Does yours and our places count?" Jack interrupted.

"Would you shut up! And, NO, those aren't public places. TWO. You can't spend too much time together. Not alone anyway. One of us will have to be with you. So, no more private trips together, it's not normal for you guys."

Sam and Jack had to smile at that. The two of them would never classify as normal.

"What's number three then?" Sam asked.

"Number three. Number three is... We don't get caught! And if we do, everyone keeps their mouth shut."

"Danny, I didn't know you had it in you!" Jack remarked admiringly.

"Seriously, guys. I like SG-1 as it is. I'm not prepared to break in more fly boys, er, and girls. We've never had this conversation, okay? The two of you can't go all noble on us and accept the blame for everything if the shit hits the fan."

"But-"

"No, Jack! I mean it. Either we do it this way, or you guys go it alone without me."

Jack looked about to argue some more when Sam halted him with a hand on his shoulder. She and Daniel knew that Jack didn't like ultimatums from anyone, even from his friends. But just this once he needed to swallow his pride and just accept that they needed their friends to pull this off. The whole point was to stop hiding their feelings, but at the same time, keep SG-1 together.

Jack O'Neill was missing and Sam Carter was terrified.

Ever since her experience on the Prometheus and their decision to finally admit their feelings openly to each other, they'd been inseparable. When they weren't together at work, they were together at each other's place or at Daniel's. The only time they were forced to be apart was when the evenings ended and they had to retire separately to bed.

It was so hard obeying the rules, seeing the look of desperation and desire on his face most likely reflecting her own. She so wanted to just cross that final barrier and leap into bed with him, abandoning the military regulations with their clothing and just make sweet love to him.

It would be so good with Jack. She knew it from the way he touched her, the way he looked at her, and the way he felt against her when she snuggled close to him on the couch. As per the rules, one of the guys would always be there, but it never stopped Jack from letting her feel exactly what he wanted to do to her with his body.

She would shift against him, pressing her body closer and his hard arousal would be unmistakable. He always felt large against her and she often wondered how he managed to look so calm and in control when she was burning inside, feeling so empty, so bereft from his absence inside her.

Everyday felt so painful, so frustrating, but she'd also never felt so happy and complete in all her life. His love and desire for her soothed away most of the pain if not all of it. As long as they were together she felt she could get through anything.

But now, he was gone. She'd woken up early in his guest bedroom two days before, intending to sneak into bed with him just to cuddle. Daniel was in the living room sleeping on the pull out sofa, so they weren't technically alone.

She'd found the bed empty and cold. Jack wasn't in the house and his truck was parked outside in the driveway. His running shoes were still in the hall closet as were his rollerblades. His bike was in the garage. She'd started to panic then.

After reporting the Colonel missing to Hammond, a forensic team had been sent to Jack's place to see if there were any signs of struggle or clues to who could've taken him. They'd found none and SG-1 immediately suspected the culprits were otherworldly.

It wasn't the first time that one of their allies, namely the Asgard, had taken Colonel O'Neill without permission, but Jack usually made sure that he let Hammond know where he was and what he was doing. This time there was no message. Nothing to let them know that he was okay and with the Asgard.

Sam only hoped that it was the Asgard and not someone nefarious like the Goa'uld.

"Thor?"

"O'Neill."

"What am I doing on your ship?"

"I am sorry, O'Neill. But Loki was able to return with a ship and has performed another unsanctioned experiment on you."

Ah, the Asgard, straight to the point. "You don't say." He couldn't help but notice that he was on one of those floating gurneys again. "I assume that you've stopped or at least reversed whatever it was he did to me this time."

"I cannot say that, O'Neill. We did not know of Loki's actions until your General Hammond informed us that you had gone missing."

"Oh."

Jack cleared his throat. "What's the damage this time then? Another clone?"

"No, O'Neill. Loki has decided to pursue a different line of research. He was assisted by another Asgard, Idun."

"Ah!" Pause. "Idun?"

"Like Loki, most Asgard scientists believe that genetic manipulation is the key to discovering a solution to our physiological degeneration. However, some, like Idun have pursued other research. Most notably in Idun's case, cellular senescence and preservation."

"What? He wants to pickle me!"

Thor ignored his barbed comment. "Idun was inspired by your young clone. She has found a way to reverse cellular degeneration without the aid of cloning technology and had hoped with Loki's help, would find a method of regenerating cells at a predetermined point."

Jack decided to stop playing dumb. He was getting that bad feeling in the pit of his stomach and had an inkling of where Thor was going with this. "I can see why Loki would be interested in this Idun's research. If she succeeds, the Asgard wouldn't have to clone themselves, would they? They could just wave a wand and voilá! Regenerated Asgard."

"You are correct, O'Neill. While this would not solve our current genetic problems, it would halt further genetic degradation giving us more time to find a solution."

"Great, plan! So, where do I fit in all of this?"

"Loki could not locate your clone and was forced to use the original once again. We apologize, O'Neill, but we did not get to you in time and the procedure is complete. I regret that Idun will not be punished, her research is too valuable and the Asgard need her expertise."

"Soooo? Because Idun and Loki actually succeeded they're just gonna go on their way scot-free!"

"We ask that you understand."

"Ya know, Thor, old buddy, I really, really, DON'T! You guys can't keep doing this. Playing with me like some high school experiment. Can't you find some random human on another planet and play with THEIR genes?"

"You are unique," Thor simply replied.

"See, I think you're wrong about that. Six billion humans on Earth, there must be other subjects you can play with."

The supreme commander of the Asgard fleet turned his back on Jack and begun moving stones on a control panel. "I have informed General Hammond that I will be returning you to your facility's infirmary. Goodbye, O'Neill."

And before Jack could say a word, in a blink he was back at the SGC with a startled Doc Fraiser.

"Holy Hannah! What the hell happened to you?"

She hadn't meant to say it that way, but she'd imagined so many bad things, and this wasn't so bad. Not really.

For a second, Jack look terrified. She watched him look at his limbs as if expecting to have grown a new one.

"What? Please tell me I don't have a tail!" He tried to turn his torso in an unnatural angle to see for himself. Sam was tempted to tease him, but she saw that he was genuinely concerned and just couldn't do that to him. Besides, Thor had sent word that the Colonel was fine, he just hadn't informed them of what had been done to him.

"No, sir. No tail. But I think you might want to, um, shave."

"Hmm?" he gave her a questioning look and ran both hands to his cheek. "How many days?"

How many years? She wondered silently. "A week, sir."

Jack groaned. "Ah, crap! I'm gonna have to use scissors."

Sam looked behind her, seeing that no one was about, she left the foot of the bed and sat next to Jack. "How are you feeling? Really."

He picked up her hand and entwined it with his. "Fine. Really. I have Thor's word that I'll be okay."

She smiled for the first time in a week. "Well, if Thor says so..."

He sighed deeply. "God I wish we were somewhere else and I can really show you how I'm really feeling."

Sam swallowed her frustration. "I missed you so much. I was terrified something horrible happened to you."

"Me too, baby. To be honest, I'm still a bit concerned."

She stared at his bearded face, concern warring with humor, succumbing to the urge to comb through his long thick hair.

Jack stared at her wide eyed. "Carter?"

"Sir."

"Get me a mirror, now."

A grin slipped from her lips. "You sure you're ready?"

He gulped. "Is it that bad?"

She shrugged. "Depends on your definition of 'Bad'."

"Carter!" He almost growled.

She pulled away from him and went in search of a small mirror. She was pretty sure Janet had one around the infirmary.

Jack was a bit disturbed by Carter's expression. She didn't look terribly concerned, by the way she kept smirking, but with the beard and the all the hair, he was starting to get visions of planet of the apes. He was pretty sure Carter wouldn't find it so funny if he'd been turned into a monkey, so he dismissed that thought. It couldn't be too bad. Could it?

"There you go sir!" Sam had returned with a small two faced mirror with Fraiser in tow. This time, both women were openly smiling and it scared him a little.

"I've only ever seen you smile like that when you're about to plunge a large needle into my ass."

The Doc raised an eyebrow, but refrained from saying anything.

Right. Let's get this over with, he thought to himself. He took a look at his reflection. The first thought that came to mind was that Loki and Idun had switched professions and had gone into hairdressing. Then he looked closer and saw the difference.

"Did my buddy Thor say anything about how far back they... Reversed me?" He didn't even know if they had a term for what the Asgard had done to him.

"Sorry, Colonel. I guess you just have to figure that out yourself." She pulled out her trusty pen light and Jack let out a groan.

Sam reached behind her and locked the locker room door. Since Daniel and Teal'c were out with another SG team she and Jack had sole use. Doctor Fraiser had finally released Jack and he was literally itching to get rid of his beard.

"Definitely gonna need scissors. Or maybe a weed whacker," Jack muttered, rubbing at his beard.

"You need any help?" She approached from behind and wrapped her arms around his trim waist snuggling into his back. She breathed in his smell, getting dizzy from the sudden desire that surged through her body.

Jack turned in her arms so that he was looking down at her and promptly captured her mouth with his. The kiss was hungry, his mouth devouring hers, their tongues tangling and massaging. Her hands were everywhere, tugging at his shirt, then slipping underneath to caress his smoothly muscled back.

His hands weren't idle either. He was groping her buttocks, pressing their lower halves together, causing friction and Sam moaned at the thought of him pulling her pants and panties down and taking her hard against the concrete.

"God, Jack... I want you so much." She panted in his ear while he laved at her neck.

"I know, baby, I know," He said between kisses.

She didn't want him to stop. She wished that he would just forget his duty and honor just once and screw his 2IC, give them both the release they so craved. She felt him rest his head on her shoulder, his breath coming in shallow pants. Sam felt tears forming in her eyes.

She sniffed away her frustration and gently pulled away from her almost lover. "Come on, let's take care of that beard of yours."

"I'm gonna take a shower first. Softens the hairs."

She nodded and took a seat on one of the benches. She watched him pull off his shirt and couldn't help but gasp. Ho-ly Hannah!

"Nice! I was never this fit before, I would've had to swear off beer." And god forbid Jack O'Neill didn't have a Guinness or three after a stressful mission.

He looked over at her and smirked as he untied the cord of his sweat pants and slowly lowered it down his hips. He was wearing loose fitting boxers underneath but it failed to conceal the large mass tenting the front, his arousal trying valiantly to push out of its confines.

Sam grinned back at him. "You think they made improvements down there too?"

"You're an evil woman, Samantha Carter. Just for that, I'm not gonna tell you."

He turned his back on her and dropped his boxers, giving her a tantalizing, but very brief view of his firm ass which he quickly covered up with a towel cinched around his hips.

"Hey, I wanted to see that!"

Jack laughed at her pouting tone. "Gotta keep you guessing, woman, or you'll be walking all over me."

He stepped into the shower and pulled the curtain close. She saw the white towel emerge a moment later and put into a hook. He was naked in there, hot water pounding on his hard body, running down his beautiful torso, all the way to his long athletic legs. Then there was his arousal. She felt that familiar surge once again and was sorely tempted to just strip and jump in the stall with him.

Sam didn't realize she'd been sitting there gripping the wooden bench, so deep in her thoughts of him, until Jack pulled the shower curtain aside and stepped out dripping wet, hair slicked back, giving her exactly what she'd been fantasizing about. Oooh, boy! Did she need a better imagination.

The look she gave him could only be described as sultry. "You sure they didn't make any enhancements down there?" She was sure she'd licked her lips, staring unabashedly at his semi-erect shaft.

Jack just smirked at her. The man was good at smirking. "Afraid not. All natural down here, " He said rubbing the towel through his hair. "You wanna grab those scissors and get this beard out of the way?"

He'd wrapped the towel once more low around his hips and made his way to the sink area where he'd left his shaving kit. Sam closed her eyes tightly, dispelling the image of her commanding officer in his full naked glory, before getting up and following Jack to the sink.

It was a good thing that she was only a few inches shorter than him. She was wearing combat boots and he was still barefooted, so they were almost eye to eye making what she had to do a lot easier. He stood very still, quite unusual for Jack who fiddled almost constantly. She started on his left cheek, pulling gently on a clump of hairs and snipping off as close to his skin as possible. She continued with this until she was satisfied that his blades could do the rest and put the scissors on the shelf over the basin.

She took a good look at his much less hairy face and had to remind herself that they were still on base, he was still very much her CO and mauling him right there and then would be a very bad idea. Just a bit.

"You're looking at me like I'm a nice juicy steak, Carter. Want to share what's going on in that big brain of yours?"

"If I tell you, would you actually do anything about it?" She asked with just a hint of frustration seeping into her voice.

Jack looked hard at her, that same expression from when they'd been separated by a forcefield making a reappearance. "Trust me, Carter, I'm so weak right now I can't even see that line we've been trying not to cross."

She reached out to his naked chest. "I'm weak too, Jack. This past week has been so hard without you. It made me realize just how much I need you."

Sam saw the instant his will broke, he was going to do it, make love to her-

"Helloooo! Sam! We've been waiting out here for 20 minutes, you done in there yet?"

Daniel.

Shit.

The haze of desire cleared from his eyes and he stepped back from Sam, her hand falling away from his chest. "Better let them in, Carter, before Danny gets any ideas."

Right. The Rules. Daniel would not be impressed.

When the hell did she need anyone's approval anyway? Oh, yes. When she and Jack decided to make them accomplices to their Court Martial.

Sam unlocked the door and let the guys in. Daniel dropping his pack by the door, Teal'c walking sedately behind him.

"You would not believe the stuff we saw- Jack?!"

"Heeee's baaack!" Jack said smiling.

"Oh my god!" Daniel exclaimed, rushing quickly to his friend and enveloping him in a brief hug. "How come no one told us? Teal'c, did you know he was back?"

A small smile graced the big man's lips. "I did not, DanielJackson." He nodded to Jack. "It is good to have you back, O'Neill."

"Same here, buddy."

"What's with the-" Daniel made motions at his own cleanly shaven cheeks. He took a better look at Jack. "And, uh, the-the hair? It's brown!"

"Long story, Danny. We've got a briefing in an hour, so better clean up."

"Yeah..." Daniel agreed still fixed on Jack's change in appearance. Teal'c pushed him forward towards his locker and Daniel shuffled slowly, still staring at Jack. He frowned. "Asgard?"

"Yeah, sure, you betcha!"

"... So to make a long story short, the little guys figured the best way to stave off their cloning problem is to not clone at all!"

Daniel was perched on the edge of his seat whilst Jack explained what the Asgard had done to him. He looked about to explode with all sorts of questions.

Jack looked over to him, fingers steepled, and calmly asked, "You have a question, Daniel?"

"Do you realize what this means?!" Daniel bursted out.

Jack frowned at him. "Not that kind of question."

Daniel ignored him and stood up to pace in excitement. "It's like the fountain of youth. Can you imagine the applications of this. They-they can continuously regenerate cells-"

"I realize that, Daniel. But I doubt the Asgard will be sharing this particular piece of technology with anyone," Jack grimaced. "I just happen to be their favorite 'unique' guinea pig, and frankly it's not that flattering."

Daniel's enthusiasm deflated a little and he sat back down on his seat.

General Hammond finally spoke up when it was apparent that Daniel wasn't going to say anything else. "What we should really be discussing is how this is going to affect you, Colonel."

Jack gave him a questioning look.

"Your appearance," Hammond pointed out.

"Ah!" Jack said making a pained face. Maybe he could grow a beard and dye his hair?

"Maybe they'll think he had something done?" Janet suggested. Jack glared at her. "Cosmetically, I mean," She clarified further.

"For crying out loud," Jack muttered under his breath.

"Or maybe no one will actually comment on it?" Daniel offered. "I mean, it's not like Jack socializes with that many people outside of the SGC. Most casual acquaintance would be too polite to probe deeply if he got 'something done'," He looked over at Jack," AND you don't have any close family that would ask any questions, do you?"

Jack nodded. "Sara moved out of state a few years back." SG-1 was his family now.

"What do you think, Carter?" Jack asked his 2IC. She and Teal'c were the only two that hadn't spoken yet. That wasn't very unusual for Teal'c, but Carter usually had something to say, specially on scientific matters.

"I think Daniel's right, sir. As long as you act normal then most people won't question it." She couldn't help add, "A lot of people get extreme makeovers these days."

Both Daniel and Janet covered their mouths to hide their smiles. Jack certainly didn't look amused by his second in command's insubordinate comment.

Once Daniel recovered he quickly jumped on Sam's idea."That's a really good point, Sam. We could leak out a rumor that Jack sustained some sort of disfiguring injury?" He looked to Janet and when she nodded, he continued. "So, maybe a trip to say-"

"California," Teal'c finally piped in. "They have superior cosmetic surgeons."

"Ah, Teal'c..." Jack just had to know.

"The Learning Channel, O'Neill."

Jack shook his head in remorse. "We just had to get him cable."

"That's brilliant!" Daniel said enthusiastically. "It's not perfect, but it's a good enough cover. A few weeks away... They'll think the time away did wonders for you."

Jack wasn't as keen on the idea as Daniel was. "I don't know, a few weeks? That's kinda long to be out of the field, sir."

Hammond merely shrugged. "There's no pressing missions at the moment, Colonel. We could always recall you and your team should matters arise."

Jack saw that it was a losing battle. Hammond had no other ideas put forth to him and Daniel's seemed to be the simplest one. Jack relented and admitted defeat. "I guess a few weeks under the sun can't be that bad."