Jack pulled her closer as she woke. "I've got you, Sam. You're ok."

She rolled her sore shoulders. "I don't feel ok."

"It might be more accurate to say you're going to be ok."

"What…" she sighed, "what happened?"

Daniel and Teal'c left them alone in the cargo bay. Jack moved a strand of hair off her clammy forehead. "You had a couple seizures." He kissed the crown of her head, which was laying on his chest. "I had to give you a couple of doses of morphine."

She turned her head and pressed her face against his chest as she lost control of the tears in her eyes. He rubbed her back while he waited for her to regain control. It didn't take her long, he knew it wouldn't.

"So, what now?"

"Teal'c's gonna find us a nice quiet little planet where we can camp out for a while."

He felt her nod. "I'm sorry, Jack."

"You've got nothing to be sorry for, nothing."

"Here." Daniel handed the foil package to Jack. "It was way too easy to get."

"I bet." Jack tucked the casa into his jacket pocket. "Thanks."

"How's she doing?"

Jack shook his head, "About the same." He looked over towards the fire where she was sitting wrapped up in a blanket.

Daniel moved to her and sat down beside her. "You look like crap."

She snorted. "That's probably because I feel like crap." She looked away from him. "Did you get some?"

"Yep."

"I'm sorry you had to do that."

Daniel shrugged, "It was no big deal."

"Buying drugs for me is no big deal?"

"It's not like it's illegal. I mean these guys treat it like it's candy or something."

"They don't get how dangerous it is. They start giving to their kids when they're still babies. Everyone's addicted."

"They seem to still be able to function."

"Based on what I saw most people did seem to be able to work and live fine. Only a few used it to the point where they couldn't handle it." Sam shook her head. "I didn't even know I was using it at first. Once I knew and I tried to stop, but it became a problem."

Daniel reached out and put his hand over her fingers, which were gripping the blanket. "You aren't doing it alone this time."

"No," Sam gave him a tight smile, "I'm not." Her shivering increased and she tightened the blanket around her.

"Do you need a little something?"

"Is there any more diet coke?"

"Sadly, they don't stock that in this little town, sorry."

"They have no idea what they're missing."

"If you say so. I always found it gross."

"You have no appreciation of the finer things in life."

Jack and Teal'c came over and joined them. "Looks like the guys brought us some fresh fruit and some meat we can grill."

"Maybe you should let Teal'c be in charge of the grilling." Jack's eye widened as he looked over at Sam who was avoiding his stare as she grinned.

"Et tu, Brute?"

"Colonel Carter simply wants well grilled meat as part of her dinner." Teal'c kept a totally neutral face. "I would be happy to take responsibility for tonight's meal."

Sam slumped forward and Daniel reached out and caught her. "Sam."

She shook her head. "Sorry, I got a bit dizzy."

Jack moved over next to her as he took the foil packet out of his pocket. "I think it's time to take a little."

Sam's eyes filled with tears, as a feeling of failure washed over her, but she nodded her head in ascent. Jack wasn't sure how much to give her, so he broke off a very small piece. Sam dissolved it in her lemonade and took a sip. She closed her eyes as a calmness spread through her, which was just as quickly replaced by shame. She slowly drank the rest of the lemonade while the guys unpacked what they'd bought in town and started making dinner. Jack sat back down with her as she started to nod off. When dinner was ready, he woke her. She ate enough to make the guys happy, but not so much that she got nauseous again. Vomiting had been a real problem the first couple of days, and she'd been in real danger of getting dehydrated, until she took enough OxyContin to counteract the worst of her withdrawal symptoms. That had been two days ago, and she'd been running low on OxyContin, even though she'd been cutting back how often and how much she was taking, thus prompting Teal'c and Daniel's trip to town.

Daniel and Teal'c shared a tent while Jack shared with Sam. She'd been disappointed to find he wasn't interested in sharing a sleeping bag, but if she was being honest, he was sweaty and smelled bad and she knew she wasn't a spring flower by this point either. Watching her throw up, shiver and sweat all day, and giving her drugs when it got too bad had to make her less attractive too. She worried taking care of her would be the end of their relationship.

Daniel was the last to wake up and it was only the smell of coffee and the noise Jack made as he tried to cook that finally convinced Daniel to crawl out of his tent. He headed straight for the fire and the coffee pot. He was two gulps into his first cup when he realized Sam wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Is Sam still asleep?"

Jack shook his head as he handed Daniel a plate. "Nope, she'd never be able to sleep this late. She went for a run."

"Alone?"

"Yep."

"Is that safe?"

"She's been running on her own for many years. I doubt she'll trip this time, but if she does, she has a radio."

"You know that's not what I mean."

Teal'c got a plate of food and joined Daniel around the fire. "Colonel Carter needs freedom after being trapped here for two weeks. She has not used casa in several days and seems to be doing well."

"I agree she's doing well but…"

"No buts Daniel." Jack sat down with them and put a scoop of eggs into his mouth, chewing slowly. "She's fine, so fine in fact I think we'll head to town for a couple days. If everything goes well there we can head to the Hammond."

"Did you just say we were going to town?" Sam was bent over breathing heavily just behind Daniel, having just arrived back at camp.

"I sure did. Teal'c says there's a nice little bed and breakfast type place that has actual showers."

Sam's eyes widened. "A shower? Seriously? That sounds like heaven."

"I thought you might like that."

They spent the morning packing everything back up in the ship and making a couple small bags to take with them to town. They hid the ship in a thicket of trees just outside town and walked to the inn, where Jack reserved them two rooms.

"Sam and I will come get you guys for dinner in a couple hours, plenty of time to enjoy a shower."

Sam did a quick walk though of their room and was surprised to see the shower was a misting shower, something that seemed to be more common on other planets than on Earth. She was very excited to see an actual working toilet; she was tired of using a small latrine. She put her bag on the table beside the bed and sat on the bed, giving it a little bounce to check the mattress.

Jack had already stretched out on the other side of the bed. "I've missed sleeping on a mattress."

"Me too." She looked over her shoulder at him. "This was a great idea."

"I do have those every once in a while." He grinned at her as his eyes twinkled. "I've another great idea, why don't you use the shower first."

"Ohhhh, thank you. You don't by any chance have an extra razor I could use do you?"

"Sure, right pocket of my bag."

"Thanks." Sam stood, got out the razor and then got her other supplies out of her bag. She put everything in the bathroom and then came back out to the bedroom. She glanced at Jack as she pulled her shirt off over her head. He watched her through his lashes, trying not to be obvious. She unbuckled her belt and pants, letting them fall to the floor. She slowly bent at the waist to pick them up and tossed them over the chair with her shirt. She turned her back to Jack as she unclasped her bra, which joined the rest of her clothes, and then slid off her underwear. Jack made no sound during the whole show, but his eyes never left her body. She walked into the bathroom and turned on the water that covered her in a soft mist. She wet her hair and lathered in a handful of shampoo, followed by a touch of conditioner on the ends. Once her hair was done, she switched to shaving.

"Jack?"

"Yes?"

"Does the no hanky panky while off world rule still apply when we're in a hotel room and relatively safe from attack?"

She didn't hear a response and started to worry but then he appeared in the doorway to the bathroom. "I could see the argument that this is special case."

"So why are you still dressed and dry?" Jack stripped where he stood leaving the pile of clothes in the doorway. He stepped into the shower and let the mist soak him before he pulled her against him. Their lips met as their hands began sliding across each other's backs and bottoms. It had been too long since they'd been together and neither had the patience to wait long. He turned her around and pulled her back against his chest. His left hand moved to her breasts while his right hand slid across her hip. He nipped and kissed at her neck as his hands made her squirm. Her head fell back onto his shoulder and her breathing hitched as she moaned. She grabbed his right wrist urging him to go faster as she got close to her release. He followed her guidance and held her close as he pushed her over the edge.

Once her breathing was steady Jack lightened his hold on her. "Brace your hands on the wall."

Sam's heart began to race harder, looking forward to what was next. She separated her feet and braced her hands against the wall as Jack's hands slid down to her waist. She looked over her shoulder as he got in position, wasting no time entering her. Her head fell forward as he filled her. He started slowly, giving them both a chance to adjust to their position and the feeling of being joined. As her moaning increased so did his pace.

He leaned forward, slowing his pace as he put his lips near her ear. "If you get much louder, you're going to traumatize Danny."

Sam snorted in amusement but then moaned again as he fully entered her. His movements sped up and he could tell she was close again as her hand moved down to give herself the last nudge. He was seconds behind her release, and it took all he had to stay standing as his knees weakened. He leaned back against the wall as she turned around and moved towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply. When the kissing ended, he grabbed the soap and began to caress her, under the guise of washing her off. She returned the favor, finishing by shampooing his short spikey hair.

Jack quickly toweled off and tied the towel around his waist before grabbing a second towel, holding it open for Sam as she stepped out of the shower. She let him wrap it around her and towel her off, while he gave her neck, shoulders, and back occasional kisses.

They had developed a bit of a routine over the last couple of years when they'd been apart for a while, they usually had a quick screw followed by a much longer session of making love. Tonight, they both knew Daniel and Teal'c were waiting for them, and they were hungry, so they knew the love making would have to wait until later. They got dressed, although he kept interrupting her to kiss her, allaying her fears that their relationship could be in trouble. He'd been avoiding serious physical contact with her over the last couple of weeks. He'd put his arm around her when they were sitting around the fire but nothing else, not even a peck on the cheek since landing on this planet. Tonight, things were finally different, they were back to being Jack and Sam.

Dinner was full of laughs and they enjoyed the well prepared and plentiful food. Sam finally had an appetite, so she ordered dessert, which she shared with Daniel. They decided over dinner that they'd leave in the morning, now that they were all clean and presentable. After dinner they walked through town, stopping to watch a group a teens playing a game, the rules of which they debated but never figured out.

As soon as they were back in their room Sam wrapped her arms around Jack's neck, pressing her body against his as their lips met. Thanks to their earlier activity they were both able to take their time, using their hands and lips to explore and enjoy. Jack had an incredible ability to go from feather light caresses to deep massages as they made love. Sam laid her head on his chest and entwined her legs with his as they both regained their equilibrium.

Sam knew Jack had fallen asleep when his thumbs stopped tracing small circles on her back and hip. She forced herself to stay still for another ten minutes, ensuring he was really asleep. She slipped out of his arms, found her pants on the floor, and took them to the bathroom. She used a flashlight to give the room a soft glow before pulling a small piece of foil out of her pants pocket and unwrapped it. She looked at the granules inside the square of foil. She wanted them, badly. She knew one granule would bring her a sense of peace and help her sleep deeply, but she feared Jack would know. He would know she lied to him.

She balled up her fist, trapping the casa in the foil again. Sam closed her eyes as she battled internally with herself. Her need for the casa felt overwhelming but then her thoughts turned back to the man she'd just left in bed. For the first time in weeks she felt confident again that he loved her, yet here she was hiding from him in a bathroom considering betraying his trust. She turned off the flashlight, stood, and went back to the bedroom crawling back in bed beside Jack. She couldn't bring herself to touch him, not while she still had the casa in her hand.

Jack, having sensed her return, reached out and slid his arm across her waist. "You ok?" He barely mumbled the words, catching Sam off guard.

She tensed at the sound of his voice and feel of his skin against hers. He felt the tension and it made a few more brain cells fire. He opened his eyes and watched her silhouette. "Sam?"

"I'm sorry." She pressed the foil to his chest and scooted away from him. He let go of her as he picked up the foil, knowing instantly what it was. He placed the small packet on the table beside the bed. He forced his anger down as he moved toward her and pulled her back against his chest.

"Did you take some?"

"No." Her response was a whisper.

"Good." He let out the breath he'd been holding.

"But I really wanted to."

"But you didn't." He rested his chin on her shoulder. "When and where did you get it?"

"There was a guy in the hall to the restrooms at dinner selling them."

"I didn't know you had any of the local currency."

He felt her muscles tighten again, as she tried to withdraw from him. "I pickpocketed Daniel."

"Will that boy ever stop being so gullible?" He kissed her shoulder. "You can't avoid all temptation but, in the end, you were stronger than the urge to use it."

"I wanted you, I wanted us, more than I wanted the temporary calm it would have given me."

Jack reached around and put two fingers on the side of her face, encouraging her to look back at him. "I'm not going anywhere."

She avoided eye contact. "Maybe not now, but if you begin to distrust me it'll be over."

"I might not be as black and white as you think, Sam." He played with her long hair. "You're also undervaluing how much you mean to me." That got her attention and she looked at him. "I love you, Sam. I've loved you for a long time and I plan on loving you for an even longer time."

She twisted and scooted until she was facing him again. "I'm in love with you too."

He gave her a quick kiss. "We're in this together and when temptation happens, and it will, I want you to feel like you can tell me. I don't want you to be scared, not of me." She nodded. "I mean it Sam." His hand slid down her arm until he found her hand. Their fingers intertwined. "Us, there's always us."

She squeezed his fingers. "Us."

"Always."

"Always."