AN: I'm starting to think these update are too shorty to be called 'chapters' but hope you enjoy the pre-departure excitement and the firming up of Jack and Sam's military boundaries :) For all those that ere following this fic 8 months ago when I first started posting it and have found the last few updates familiar so far, the second half of this chapter is finally into new and unposted territory.

They were gunned up, needled up and almost geared up and Jack's boys were clearly fired up. The ribbing and the jibs were flying back and forth. For the third time Charlie stuck the new Captain. This time she lost her temper and shot back at him using inappropriate language and insubordination.

"Captain...a word." Jack barked. Her eyes snapped round to him and he indicated that she should step out into the hallway. Once there she pulled herself to full attention and awaited his words. "What the hell was that?" he asked her.

"I was just trying to defend myself, Sir." she told him, her cheeks growing rosy.

"From who, Charlie?"

"Yessir." Sam voiced, suddenly getting the feeling that she had made yet another mistake.

"Believe me Captain, Major Charles Kawalsky is no threat to you or anyone else on this team. If anything you should be thanking him, but no matter to that now. Look at me a moment."

Slowly Sam brought her eyes round to look at her CO. There she saw only professional respect and low level recrimination, all of the fire and flirt was gone. He was simply her superior and it made her feel strangely calm.

"If you wish to remain on my unit you will treat all of my airmen with the respect they deserve and lose the defensive attitude."

"Yes Sir, I apologise Sir. I guess I over-reacted."

"That you did Captain. And I know you feel you have a lot to prove, but you don't. I also know that despite everything that's happened..." he held her eye as he made the oblique reference to their shared night "...we don't know each other very well, but I would like to think that you realise that there are certain things I won't tolerate. Discrimination of any kind is one of them, another is insubordination and if it continues I get the feeling I won't be liking you very much." Sam dropped her head. "My boys have already been warned, consider this yours." Jack winced as a subtle flash of disappointment crossed her face. "Don't let me down." he ordered with a soft kind of hope.

Sam silently nodded and he opened the door for her. Once back inside the room she made her way back over to her stuff. Not one of the small band of soldiers paid her reprimand any bit of notice and Major Kawalsky even came over to stand beside her. "You know he's a good man, really." he offered when he noticed she was looking troubled.

"Yeah I'm getting that." Sam smiled at the Major, but deep down she felt like she had already failed her new CO.

Kawalsky tilted his head. "No hard feelings?"

"None Sir and I apologise for my behaviour."

Charlie laughed. "Oh please Captain, it's refreshing to have someone actually bite back for a change. Just take it easy, it's all just a bit of fun."

Jack watched the quiet exchange between his 2IC and his newest officer. They were both smiling and he knew that Charlie would look out for her. No matter how confident she may be, being on another world and fighting an enemy who did not even think like a human was going to be more than she could handle. He glanced around the room. The chances were it was going to be more than any of them could handle, but he did not want to think about that. "Right guys, gear up, were moving out."

Silently Jack counted the heads of his team as they out filed through the door. The only thing he could wish for was that all of their heads would be intact and on their shoulders upon their return.

oOo

The stargate was open and Colonel J. O'Neill was ready and determined. Six strong was all that his team was and two of them were new to this whole deal. He was just thinking about how best to safeguard them when General Hammond cut across him with an ultimatum. "Try to follow orders this time Colonel."

"Sir?"

"This time you bring Daniel Jackson back, it that clear?"

"Yes Sir." What was clear to Jack was the fact that this was his second chance. If he did not bring Doctor Jackson home he was going straight back into a holding cell...no way that was happening, not now. He gave his CO a genuine salute and turned to his antsy team. "Move out." he ordered and two by two they did.

Ferretti and Casey took point as they knew the score having been through once before. Then Kawalsky took Major Castleman through on his first trip. That left Jack free to be the one who travelled through along with the new captain, which suited him just fine. He noticed that, at this precise moment in time she was staring intently at the event horizon. He frowned slightly, was that a sign of nerves...surely not? "Captain?" he asked, determined to assess her response.

Sam heard the secondary question in his voice and immediately her distracted mind reverted back to the conversation that they had had outside the kit room just a few minutes ago. "Don't worry Colonel, I won't let you down." she told him confidently. Then she returned to the massive calculations that even she was having difficulty doing in her head. Just how much juice was this thing actually using?

Jack continued to watch her for a moment. She was not nervous, her eyes were bright with intelligent thought. "Good." he said somewhat tritely, responding to her unprovoked reassurance. Clearly the wish to prove herself was still strong, even if she was not fully aware of it. He would have to watch that, it could get her into trouble, he had seen it before. Gung-ho and overly keen officers occasionally popped their heads up too soon and well, that never ended neatly. First things first though, he would have to bring her back into this room, she was clearly off on some higher plain of thought that he could not even hope to understand. One sentence would do it realised and so with no effort at all he pushed her buttons. "I was going to say ladies first..." Deliberately he let the sarcastic tone run over the edge his unfinished sentence.

Sam became aware of what sounded like borderline distain in his voice and looked at her CO as she set foot on the ramp behind him. In that instant all her calculations were forgotten. Was he still that hung up about her being a scientist? "You know you really will like me when you get to know me." she offered, telling him that she was a good and loyal soldier who would follow any order. She just hoped he got the message. His response was no help in figuring out whither he believed her or not.

"Oh I adore you already Captain." he told her and part of Jack realised that he really did adore her already. It took more than a moment to dislodge that thought and in that silence she was speaking again.

"My god...look at this."

He looked over at her...the timber of her voice, it was way too familiar. The last time she had spoken with such breathless awe she had been wrapped around him clinging to his body as if her life depended on it, climbing higher and higher towards the edge... 'Not the time Jack.' he told himself but the images were stuck fast as she continued.

"The energy the gate must release to create a stable wormhole is - is astronomical, to use exactly the right word."

'Oh dear god in heaven!' Jack felt himself becoming unsteady, she needed to stop talking...now!

Sam was completely unaware of what she was saying and the effect it was having on her CO so it came as a complete and utter shock when he ungraciously shoved her through the shimmering puddle.

Jack shook himself. "You can actually see the fluctuations in event horizon." he mimicked. 'And you find that adorable? You are in so much trouble Jack O'Neill.' he warned as he stepped through the gate.

AN: And we're off... will update as soon as I can, probable late in the week.