Title: Two Beds and a Coffee Machine

Author: Matriaya (Ariel)

Rating: PG

Summary: Four people, two beds, and 27 hours with no sleep makes boundaries fly out the window.

Dedication: to my Bella: for putting up with my play-by-play of every SG1 episode I watch, but also, because I really don't like you!

Word count: 1,274

Jack hated stake-outs. God did he hate stake-outs. They gave him a chance to wear street clothes, granted, but after 27 straight hours of staring at the same small little door in the same boring brick wall, it hardly even seemed worth it. Thankfully, Coburn and his men had the next watch, and it started in exactly 30 seconds.

"SG1," Coburn's harsh voice grated like razor wire against a chalk board after the hours of silence they had all fallen into, "you are relieved of your post. There's a motel room reserved if you want to catch some shut eye. General Hammond expects you back in 1100 hours."

No one said a single word. They all just shuffled out of the cramped little van, into the waiting SUV. Thankfully, they had a driver, or, Jack suspected, their already short drive to the motel would have been an even shorter drive into a tree. The 3:00 a.m. chill in the air dug deep in his bones, though he had a jacket on, as they exited the vehicle and stumbled up the stairs to room 248. Teal'c reached out a muscular hand and turned the door knob, and the door swung open and hit the wall with a loud thunk, making Daniel jump. The sight that greeted them on the other side was only slightly better than their last vista.

Two small beds. Queens, probably, though they looked more like twins to the four large adults huddled in the doorway. Two beds, a lamp that jutted out from the fading wallpaper, and a coffee machine with the remnants of yesterday's pot still swirling in its bowels.

"Cozy." Jack managed, as everyone continued to stare, unmoving, at their new dingy residence. Teal'c ventured forth first, hands behind his back, moving with a calm urgency over the stained beige carpet towards the far bed. Sam went next, feeling rather at a loss without her firearm to clutch. Then Daniel, peering around the new environment with an explorer's fascination, and finally Jack. He felt only the overwhelming desire to sleep.

Awkwardly, Sam peered around at her male counterparts. Two beds, four people, which inevitably meant she'd have to share with someone. Daniel was the most likely candidate, since he was married, and they had such a comfortable relationship; or perhaps Teal'c, because he had about as much sexual interest in her as he would a cow. The choice was soon taken out of her hands, however, when Daniel and Teal'c both moved over to the far wall and began stripping off their sidearms.

Shit. She was sleeping with Jack.

He saw her tense up right away, nervously turn away from him, as she took the gun out of her belt and placed it next to the coffee machine. When she moved back, the look on her face was that of strict military obedience. The "yes sir, Colonol O'Niell sir" look that meant she was forcing herself to retain composure.

"Shall I take the floor, sir?" she asked rigidly. He raised his eyebrows in skepticism.

"Carter, we've been awake for 27 hours. You are not sleeping on the floor. That's an order"

And neither was he, which he made quite apparent when he made fast work of his jacket and shoes, then pulled back the covers and climbed into bed. It creaked under his weight, and held the remnant scent of beer and smoke.

"Come on, Major," he pulled back the covers on her side of the bad and patted the mattress invitingly, "we can hide under the blankets with flashlights and giggle about boys."

Then it bloomed, that famous Samantha Carter smile that had knocked him off balance on so many occasions,

"I thought you said no giggling, sir." She retorted, and the smile morphed into a smirk.

On the other bed, Daniel and Teal'c were all ready settled in. The first was curled up on his side, hands acting as a second pillow to cushion his head. Teal'c had decided to take this time to put himself in Kelnorim, on his back, very much resembling the dead. Both seemed well on their way to dreamland (or as much of a dreamland as Teal'c could have) so Sam wasted no time in stripping off her own jacket and shoes, and crawling into bed.

Ten minutes dragged by. Ten hyper-sensitive, very long minutes passed before Jack realized there was no way in hell he was going to sleep. Not like this, with the crackling tension shoving a wedge in the already wide gap between their bodies. She was there, right there next to him, in her little tank top and jeans, entirely too desirable for comfort. In the light of the florescent street lamp that seeped through the thin curtains, he studied the curve of her neck, the pale skin of her back that was interrupted by red spaghetti straps. His mind reached out, traced the delicate skin, and his fingertips tingled with the imaginary sensation of silk.

"Cold." She murmured in a drowsy delirium, trapped in the twilight between consciousness and sleep. 27 hours of no sleep were taking their toll on her, but sleep was unattainable, it seemed. Jack noticed then that she was shivering, The thin walls and hotel blankets did nothing to keep out the chill of early morning, and no one had bothered to turn on the heat when they came in.

For the first time in a long while, Sam looked vulnerable, innocent, child-like. All the strict military visage was stripped away as she lay trembling in front of him. He knew it was wrong, so so wrong, but found he really didn't give a damn as he scooted over the 9 inches that distanced them, and pulled her close against his chest. God, she felt good, all soft and warm against him, with his arm around her waist.

An almost protective urge swept over him, then, a nice break from the other, more dangerous urges he'd been feeling over the past 10 minutes. The crushing desire to steal away this fragile creature in his arms, and shield her from all the evils of their missions. All the blood, and the battles, the pain and sadness she'd endured on the field. In that moment, he would have given anything to smooth away the crinkle of worry that, even in sleep, formed at her brow.

The next emotion that smashed into him was panic. She would wake up, he thought; go rigid, make a big deal and insist upon sleeping on the floor. He hardly dared to even breathe as she shifted ever so slightly, snuggling closer against his chest, then one thin hand unconsciously slipped over the one he curved protectively over her stomach. Her trembling subsided.

As a blissful sleep finally took hold of Sam's consciousness, she registered only warmth and safety, the most incredible sense of security. A small sigh of contentment escaped her lips before she glided over the edge of reality into a dreamland of her own; a dreamland of a home where she drank hot chocolate on a dock in the middle of the night with strong arms around her forever.

Teal'c emerged from Kelnorim two hours before their presence was requested once again at the stake-out site. Everyone else was still trapped in sleep. Next to him, Daniel snored softly. He sat up, careful not to wake his slumbering friend, and looked over at the next bed. Two bodies spooned together under the covers in a haze of utter tranquility.

It would seem our plan was successful, Daniel Jackson. He thought with a smirk, and then quietly got up and disappeared through the door, off to find adequate food for breakfast.

(first SG1 fic, so click the little button and be my friend!)