Thank you for all the well-wishes and get well soons! Surgery went well and I'm pretty much back in my feet. We're waiting on the test results from the biopsies, but the doctor said everything "looked" ok.

The silver lining is that I had time to combine the next two chapters into one longer one. Please forgive any errors due to pain and anesthesia. Enjoy!

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Sam kept low to the ground as she made a wide semi-circle around the Jaffa patrol. Her military training forced her focus to remain on the mission, instead of worrying about her brother and Jack pinned down by staff fire.

Careful not to make any noise, she positioned herself directly behind the Jaffa and squeezed the trigger of her P90. Gunfire exploded onto the group as two of the five Jaffa guards dropped; the others taking cover and returning fire in her direction. Diving behind a tree, Sam darted through the forest before spinning around to fire; dropping another Jaffa with a quick shot.

Jack picked that exact moment to pop up from behind the large fallen tree to take out one of the two remaining guards. Charging forward, he aimed at the final Jaffa. "Drop your weapon!"

"I think not," the guard sneered and jerked his staff weapon upward to fire. Without hesitating, Jack and Sam fired simultaneously, eliminating the threat.

"You good?" Jack called to Sam, motioning Mark out of hiding.

"I'm good. You two?" Sam began walking across the clearing to rejoin them. The cracking of twigs behind her made her tense, as she knew instantly what was coming.

"Sammy!" Mark screamed as a Jaffa who had been hiding, stepped out from behind a tree and grabbed Sam around the neck.

"You will surrender or she dies!" The Jaffa hollered as he jerked Sam backwards.

"Not happening," Jack shook his head, causing the guard's eyes to widen. He obviously hadn't been expecting that response.

"O'Neill!" Mark bit out in protest, but Jack silenced him with a sharp look.

"I will kill your woman!" Their enemy jerked Sam off her feet.

Recognizing her advantage, Sam allowed her body to flow with the momentum and drop. The sudden dead weight threw her captor off balance as he stumbled sideways. Twisting, she broke an arm free and drove an elbow into his face. When his grip loosened, she pulled a tactical knife from her boot. With a quick upward jab, the blade embedded through the Jaffa's neck, rendering him dead before he hit the ground.

Climbing to her feet, she barely had enough time to retrieve her weapon before Mark was pulling her into his arms.

"I thought you were going to die!" He shook slightly. "And you!" He swung around to Jack. "What the hell was that? You risked her life!"

"Calm down, Mark," Sam told him firmly. "Colonel O'Neill knew I could handle myself."

"Carter's been in much worse spots," Jack shrugged as he clipped his P90 to his tack vest. "I knew she could easily take down a single Jaffa."

"My god," Mark finally looked around at the carnage. "How did you take him down, he was twice your size?" He said with a bit of awe.

"Military training," Sam hedged, suddenly embarrassed. Her brother had never seen her in action before. She'd always maintained her cover as a deep space telemetry analyst. He didn't even know about her hours in the cockpit during battle, and that was long before the SGC even existed.

"Holy Hanna, Sammy!" He shook his head. "All this time, I thought you were just some geeky scientist."

"She is," Jack seed cheerfully, "but she's also a badass." He winked at her before tossing her one of the staff weapons.

Sam handed Mark a zat gun. "Remember, these can kill," she reminded him. "But this'll be safer than handing you a loaded gun." She demonstrated the controls, firing on one of the dead Jaffa three times to vaporize the body. "Try it."

"Umm," Mark hesitated.

"He's already dead," Sam told him gently. "We need to erase any signs they found us."

"Who's going to care?"

"The second patrol that isn't far behind," she gestured behind them. "Jaffa almost always split into two or more groups when hunting."

"Hunting?" Mark squeaked.

"Yes, hunting," Jack sighed heavily. "And they undoubtedly heard the firefight. If they catch us before we reach the Nox city, it isn't going to be pretty."

"I thought you said the Nox abhorred violence and would protect us? Isn't that why we came here?"

"That's usually the case," Sam answered.

"You'll find the truly advanced species love to change the rules," Jack's voice dripped with sarcasm and disdain. "For whatever reason, Lya decided we're on our own."

"She probably has her reasons, sir," Sam pushed back. While she agreed with him, she also had learned to give their allies the benefit of the doubt. Something her CO had been burned by one too many times. Most recently he'd trusted the Tok'ra and that had led him to being tortured by Ba'al.

"It doesn't matter," he dismissed the conversation. "We've got a long way to go. Let's put some distance between us and here before setting up camp for the night. I have no desire to engage in another firefight."

"Yes, sir," Sam acknowledged and handed a pack to Mark. "Let's move out."

OoooOoooOoooO

Jack pitched the standard two-man tent as Sam secured the perimeter and Mark gathered firewood. Lya had told them they would be safe at night, and that it was imperative they stay together. Her instructions were no night watches. No night traveling. Nighttime on Gaia was meant for sleeping and the 'Watchmen' made sure of that.

Of course when he'd demanded to know who these Watchmen were, Lya just smiled and ignored him. It didn't matter anyway. They needed to fix the GDO and the only way to do that was getting into the city. Whoever or whatever these Watchmen were, he and Sam had likely dealt with much, much worse.

"Perimeter is secure, sir," Sam announced as she unclipped her P90, but kept it within arms reach. Shrugging out of her tack vest and jacket, she placed her hands on her lower back and arched backwards in an obvious attempt to relieve the tension in her muscles. The last few days had been stressful, and Jack's body was feeling the fatigue, too.

He couldn't help his eyes wandering over her as she stretched. Her eyes were closed, so he allowed himself a few heartbeats to take in the way her breasts pressed outward, straining against the material of her black t-shirt. The way her hair shimmered in the rays of the setting sun. The terribly disheveled golden locks should have appeared messy, but Jack envisioned running his hands through them after spending a passionate night together. Even the two dirt smears on her right cheek were attractive; he'd love to be able to caress them away with his fingers.

Stop it! He corrected himself; she's your second-in-command! Plus, she'd just gotten out of a toxic relationship. Having her CO ogle her wasn't fair or appropriate. Huffing out a harsh breath he turned to find Mark staring at him with a peculiar expression. Caught red-handed, Jack froze as he glanced back at Sam before returning to and holding Mark's gaze. He expected her brother to say something; to call him out, make the situation awkward for everyone, but that's not what happened. Instead, Mark's gaze hardened as he just stared at Jack. It seemed like minutes, but only an actual second or two passed before Mark finally continued past him to dump the wood onto the growing pile.

"Good job, Mark," Sam said, opening her eyes, completely unaware of what had just transpired.

"I think one more load," Mark said. "But I'm going to hang close by," his gaze flickered and Jack received the message loud and clear.

OoooOoooOoooO

Mark shifted uncomfortably on the ground inside the two-man tent. Tonight it was a two man and one woman tent, he qualified to himself. Two very uncomfortable men for very different reasons.

He'd known O'Neill was lusting after his little sister; knew Sam obviously had feelings for her CO. Daniel had confirmed that much, but given that neither of them had supposedly crossed the line, Mark assumed it wasn't much more than a typical overactive male libido for O'Neill. No man would willingly sacrifice being with the woman he loved for honor and duty. At least that's what Mark had thought.

The look on O'Neill's face when Mark had caught him watching Sam was unguarded. The pain Mark saw on his features was heart wrenching, but what really got to him was the open adoration. There was no doubt in Mark's mind now that O'Neill was in love with Sammy. Ironically, Mark was beginning to feel for the man. O'Neill had stood back and watched as Sammy planned an entire life with another man and didn't say a word. He'd been willing to let her have a life without him. He was either the most honorable man alive or the stupidest.

Mark scoffed inwardly. How could Sammy do that to Pete or Jack? She'd turned her back on a man she loved and embraced a man she didn't. Mark resolved to get to the bottom of this. Hell, he'd introduced Sammy to Pete; for that alone he felt somewhat responsible. He might not have been much of a big brother in the past, but it was time he started acting like one now.

Beside him, Sam let out a whimper, followed by a quick cry of pain. Instantly awake, Mark shifted to sit up, but paused as Jack moved first.

"Carter," he said softly, "you're dreaming." When she didn't respond, but whimpered again, he gently touched her the side of her face. "Carter," he said a little louder. "Wake up."

"What's wrong," Mark finally asked as Sam's head began thrashing back and forth.

"Nightmares," Jack replied without looking away from Sam. "She gets them occasionally after a firefight," he explained. "We all do."

"Oh," Mark replied, helpless to do anything except watch.

"Sam," Jack's tone changed, became softer, more intimate, "I'm here. You're safe."

With a jerk, Sam's eyes popped open. Her breathing was harsh as she searched Jack's face. "We're okay," she panted.

"We are," he confirmed. Mark noticed Sam's hand had reached for Jack's and gripped it tightly. "Wanna tell me about it?"

She shook her head quickly, but answered him nonetheless, "Ba'al," she clenched her eyes shut. "Had you. I couldn't save you," her voice cracked slightly.

"C'mere," Jack pulled her into his arms as Sam fought for control of her emotions. "I'm fine, I made it out. You gave me that chance; you never gave up on me."

"You died, over and over," her voice finally broke, shaking as the thick emotion filled the confined space.

"I did," he stroked the back of her head, ran his other hand up and down her back comfortingly, as his face buried in her hair. Despite his own look of anguish, he kept his voice gentle and even. "But I came back. I'll always come back to you."

Mark turned over with his back toward the couple, providing as much privacy as he could, given they were crammed into a tiny tent. Pressing his hands against his eyes, he tried to dissuade the burning tears from falling. Despite Lya's warning, he scrambled out of the tent as the tears started to fall. Not caring who might be waiting, he staggered into the night.