Project Moon Base

Carter keeps glancing at me and it's nice, but it's distracting. And why is she always looking at my hair like that?

In an attempt not to be distracted, I look down, but I notice her gun nestled against her body just below her… Um, not really the time nor the place. Also not helping in the 'staying focused and not distracted' department either. I should have put Teal'c between me and Carter just to be safe.

The ceremony comes to the end finally when the snake shrivels and flops limply on the ground. There's a beat before Mitchell announces that he's disappointed. Well, who isn't?

We make plans for lunch, and everyone starts to move in different directions, Daniel and Vala toward the host body slumped over and being tended to by the Tok'ra. Cam goes off to find the bathroom, I assume. Carter falls in step with me as I head toward the gate.

There's a lot we need to talk about, including the fact that Woolsey is the biggest asshole in two galaxies. There are also choices in front of Carter regarding her next assignment, and, because I'm the luckiest bastard in two galaxies, she's going to want to discuss those options with me. But I doubt very much that she wants to have either of those conversations right here and now.

"Actually, Sir, I was hoping we could go over the plans for the new moon base."

I glance at her, she's kidding right? "What moon base?"

Then she smiles, and suddenly I get it. No moon base. She wants me. Heh.

Carter got back from Atlantis less than 48 hours ago. Between my traveling from Washington to head directly here to oversee this wonderful ceremony, and her lengthy debrief, we haven't had a moment alone yet. It's been six months and whatever she wants to call it, moon base, Jupiter rocket facility, I don't care, getting her alone is all that matters.

We all go through the wormhole minus Vala, and Landry's on the other side. Not a single word of what Landry says registers. Carternaked Carternaked Carternaked is running in my head like the needle on a record that's found a scratch. And it so needs to be itched. Does the General know that it's been six months since I've seen my… I'm too old to have a girlfriend and lover doesn't seem quite right when we don't find nearly enough time for such activities. We still haven't decided what to call it yet… but whatever she is, it's been six whole months.

"Debrief in 15," Landry finally concludes as Mitchell, Daniel, and Teal'c have now joined us and the wormhole shuts down.

15 minutes? I'll be embarrassed if that's all it takes me. "Ah, General. How about 30?"

Landry looks at me for a moment, but if he guesses my motives, nothing shows on his face. I could pull rank but that would likely piss off Carter, thus defeating the whole purpose of more time. Landry nods, "OK, 30 minutes."

I follow Carter as she heads to her lab, not the locker room. Ha! See, I knew it! Carter even told me last time she was home from Pegasus that the cameras had been shut off in her lab, since the lab was closed down in her absence.

Once there with the door shut, I don't wait for words. I wind my fingers into her hair to pull her head back for better kissing access. My other hand covers her butt and yanks her body against my own. So, OK, maybe thrusting my half-hard erection against her a couple of times isn't the sweetest, most romantic 'Welcome Home' I could have thought up. But at least it's honest.

"Jack," she manages to say between kisses.

I fumble with unbuttoning her pants, and, by the time she says my name a second time, it's in an entirely different tone of voice because I have two fingers inside her and my thumb is flicking her clit with the exact level of pressure she likes. Some things are like riding a bike, no matter if it's been six months or sixteen years.

She's got that dreamy, far-off look on her face when I disentangle long enough to remove her boots, panties, and pants and undo my own belt. I lift her up on the lab bench and her legs lock around my back immediately. Her hand guides me inside her body, and it's sweet heaven and all that is holy. Also, maybe I was wrong about that 15-minute thing.

Her lips travel my neck as I start to move, long, deep, slow. She whimpers. OK, so it's been six months for her too. I speed up.

Soon, Carter is throwing her head back and making noises that I really hope can't be heard in the corridor outside. Not that I don't like to hear her make those noises, but I don't want Siler to know what Samantha Carter sounds like when she's about to come. It's my privilege and mine alone. So is the way she looks in this moment, flushed, rumpled, and intensely beautiful.

I plunge hard twice more and she's shaking and contracting around me, and thank God because I was not going to last much longer. The familiar feeling builds intensely until suddenly it's all good and there's lights behind my eyeballs and I can't really breathe but I don't particularly care. All that matters is she's surrounding me and it's warm and wonderful and I don't ever want to leave.

I take a deep breath and raise my head from where it's been resting on her shoulder and meet her eyes.

Carter grins at me, "Hi."

Oh, yeah, I'm in love with this woman. "Hi, back."

"That was quite a welcome home present."

I try to be all macho and shrug. "You're welcome."

She reaches up and smoothes down my hair. This hair obsession thing of hers is really weird. But hey, whatever floats her boat. I'm just glad that it's something attached to me and not some other guy.

She leans into me and goes all soft and cuddly against my chest. I love when she's like this: the strong, confident, capable Colonel Carter weak in the knees because of me. Does a male ego good.

I rub her back and place a few kisses in her hair. She just holds me with both her arms and legs and sighs. This is nice, too. I have to remember to tell her that at some point. Without sounding mushy and gay.

Suddenly, Sam squeaks when she notices the crumpled papers beneath her.

I ask a concerned, "What?" because she never squeaks like that.

She shimmies her butt off the crumpled papers and stares at them. "How am I going to explain this to the guys in engineering?" Her expression is almost panicked.

"What is it?"

Carter looks up at me like I might have some disease. "The plans for the moon base," she says slowly and carefully, as if I'm three donuts short of a dozen.

I squint at her. "There's an actual moon base planned?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

Uh, oh.

A hint of a smile is tugging at her lips. She asks, "What did you think?"

Crap, she's gonna figure it out even if I don't fess up.

"I thought, um," I say while my hands on her hips flex nervously, undermining my overwhelmingly cool exterior. "That 'I want to go over the plans for the new moon base with you' was code for 'I want hot sex ASAP.'"

Carter's eyes go wide. She blinks at me a few times, then snorts and starts to laugh.

"Hey," I feign hurt feelings. "I thought we agreed no giggling at me when I'm being an idiot."

"But you're cute when you're an idiot."

"Well, then…" I kiss her again, mostly to shut her up and distract her from the fact that I'm "cute" and not "a total stud."

"OK," I ask, as we slow the deep kisses to gentle pecks, "how about 'donuts' as a code word?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because." Carter nibbles down my jugular and around to my Adam's apple. She knows my neck is sensitive to her teeth, almost as sensitive as that spot I like to kiss behind her earlobe.

"Jack, the next time you say you're taking Teal'c to Dunkin' Donuts, I'm not going to be able to get certain disturbing images out of my head."

Those disturbing images start to creep into my head, and thanks very much for that, Carter. "How about 'quarks' then?"

"Jack." Her hands are in my hair again as she leans into my ear, "If I want it, I'll just whisper in your ear, 'I want hot sex ASAP.' OK? No need for code."

"Guys?" Daniel knocks on the other side of the door. "Briefing and then lunch," he reminds.

"We'll be right there," Carter answers.

There's work and team stuff to do, there are choices to be made, and all shades of seriousness in the near future. But for right now, I've got her home and smiling, and it's no longer been six months but six minutes. Everything is just about perfect, code word or not.

But I'm still not entirely convinced. "A moon base? Really?"

"Yep." She smiles and hops off the lab bench.

We each begin to rearrange our clothing, and I start to think about it. What are we going to put on the moon? It's a bad place for an alpha site. Perhaps she thinks we should move the spare X-302's up there? Protect them from being photographed by countries with satellites that don't know about the Stargate program yet?

"Carter." I tuck in my shirt and ask, "What the heck do we need a moon base for?"

"I'll tell you later." She winks at me.

Wait a minute. "Oh, that was so code." I trail along after her out the door.

"Was not."

"Was!"