AN: Okay this came to me when I hurt myself today, doing something stupid that I should have been paying more attention to. Not sure when it's set, either late season 5 or early 7, not 6 as their dynamic was very different in that season I thought, oh and there is one mention of Daniel so can't be 6. Enjoy and please, please let me know what you think :)

Summary:A momentary lapse in concentration whilst helping Carter in her lab leads to a small accident and a little TLC to make up for his mistake. Mid series Jack/Sam Friendship/Humour. Sugary Kplus rated one-shot with just a slightly shippy edge.

SNIP

He was helping her out in her lab, anything to get out of doing his overdue pile of paperwork. Team performance reviews were hard work and there were a number of things he was trying hard to justify not putting into each of their permanent jackets, especially Daniel's and so he had taken a break and found himself standing in her doorway. "What ya doin'?" he asked, leaning casually against the door frame.

Instantly smiling she looked up from her workbench. "Oh hi Sir, come on in. I'm trying to realign the circuit and the breakers in the new modified naqadah generator prototype. Siler got it close but I want another go, see if I can't get it just a little more..."

Her words faded out as her eyes tracked down and her concentration levels rose again, apparently he had interrupted her at a tricky part. Curious he wandered over to see what exactly she was realigning on her...prototype.

Jack cocked his head at the tangle of spaghetti-like wires that sprawled out across the table. "Looks like the inside of my toaster." he remarked as he folded his arms across his chest.

Sam's head popped up. "I should hope not!" she declared, seriously worried that anyone's toaster might look like this. She glanced back down at the intricate circuitry.

Jack held back his gloaty grin, this was going to be fun. "Yeah well you have not seen my new toaster. It's state of the art." He tracked a single hand through the air as if highlighting the toaster's name in lights. "The toast-o-matic 3000." he invented. "High end chrome finish, eight different functions including a high speed toast cooking setting for when you are running late. It really is top of the range in toastage technology." He grinned at her, pleased with himself for his creativity.

"Toastage technology?" Sam asked, somewhat sceptical of his choice of words.

"Uh-huh." he insisted. She gave him 'that look' and his mouth opened and closed once and then twice. "Well...that's what the brochure said anyhow." His face was as deadpan as he could make it. He channelled Teal'c in an attempt to make it even more so.

"Uh-huh." Sam echoed his insistent tone as she watched his features force themselves into seriousness. Then shaking her head she returned her attention to the task at hand. She was on a deadline and much as she enjoyed these moments of absolute O'Neill kookiness she had to get this done.

Jack immediately spotted the pressure she was under and dropped his teasing banter routine. "Need a hand?" he offered genuinely. Once again her eyes came up to assess the nature of his question. "Seriously." he confirmed, nodding encouragingly. "I know I'm no toaster genius but I can hold those wires up let you at that bit in below that you seem to need a third hand to get at?"

Sam considered his offer for a moment. "Yeah, okay. But actually Sir, it would probably be better if I held them up and you cut. They've got to be maintained exactly level or this whole thing might not go back together properly. I was going to use the clamp but saying as how you are here."

"Alrighty then." Jack said, pleased that he could be of assistance and he rubbed his hands together decisively.

He moved round closer to her and reluctantly took the second pair of safety goggles she offered him. "You know I look like a nerd in these things." he told her and his eyes went wide when she momentarily glared at him. "Not that there's anything wrong with that of course. Some people look great with their nerd glasses on." She smiled shyly at this and readjusted the plastic frames that shielded her beautiful, intelligent blue eyes.

Jack popped the glasses on. "These ones?" he asked as he pointed to the largest of the scissors on the desk.

She shook her head. "I would recommend the smaller snips for this task. The less damage to the ends of the wires the neater I can solder them back together later."

Jack's head bobbed in acknowledgement of her expertise and lifted the orange handled snips from the edge of the table. Clearing his throat he shifted closer still and watched as she carefully lifted the string of eight coloured wires of exactly the same thickness.

"Cut them one at a time." Sam told him and Jack looked to her for confirmation as he approached the first of the wires. "Not too close to the base if you can help it, Sir." she instructed him. He nodded and together they watched as he tentatively cut through the first wire.

"Huh, not bad." he stated, but it was more of an enquiry complete with a quick glance in her direction than an affirmation.

"Not bad." Sam agreed. "Now see if you can cut the next one exactly the same distance up as the first."

Her voice was softly laced with both instruction and challenge as she spoke and Jack, finding the combination hot, let it wash over him before he began the process of concentrating on his assigned role. He knew this was something she would consider to be absolute child's play but Jack O'Neill did not do wires with any great success and so he wanted to be careful so that he could get it right for her.

One more snip and then another slightly more confident than the last. They were both leaning in close now, attempting to see the inner layers of wires. Sam adjusted her hands a bit to give him better access. She was watching his work intently.

"Careful." she whispered as he took a small speed wobble on approach to the sixth wire.

Jack paused, her tone and intensity reminded him of a first time mother fretting over her newborn. And he was behaving like he had done the first time he attempted to cut his son's nails whilst he slept in Sara's arms. His eyes ran back to Sam's face and he became all too aware of the fact that his hip was leaning against hers in order to stabilise himself enough to do the job. What a fantastic mother she would make. The unchecked thought caused his breathing to waver and slowly Sam brought her head up to see what had caused the cessation of his work and the wistful noise. Instantly and equally captivated they got unintentionally lost in each other for a long moment.

Jack O'Neill's heart was beating faster and he could see her pupil slowly widening as they looked deeper into each other. He swallowed hard at the forming lump in his throat and licked his lips that were suddenly dry, as was his whole mouth. Sam mimicked his actions, her tongue darting out, telling him more than he ever really aught to know about his 2IC and her feelings towards him. His hand twitched.

Suddenly Sam hissed and was hopping about the room. "Ow!" she called out and stuck her little finger in her mouth.

"What? What happened?" Jack asked completely bewildered by the sudden change in her behaviour.

"You nipped me!" she accused as she pulled her finger out of her mouth to look at the damage. Once more she glared at him as the finger went back in.

Jack shook his head, he did not understand for a fraction then he caught on. "Shit, sorry." he mumbled as he looked down and instantly discarded the razor sharp wire cutters. "Let me see." he demanded, stepping closer to her.

"No it's fine." she told him defensively and turned her back on him so he would not see her grimace.

"Please Sam, let me see." he begged as she once again turned her shoulder to him as he tried to go round her.

After a brief moment Sam turned towards him, her injured hand held tight to her chest and protected by her uninjured one. "It really is fine." she said. "Just a small nick."

Jack held out his hand, he wanted to see for himself. Sometimes Sam Carter's idea of a small injury was anything but, like five stitches and a massive concussion, or three broken ribs.

Quietly Sam surrendered her injury to him. Tolerantly she looked away as she did so. It was not in her nature to let people fuss over her but if her CO wanted to see the damaged he had caused her then who was she to argue?

Gently, aware of her silent objection, the Colonel took the Major's hand into his own. He hissed in a small breath as he examined the semi-circular patch of split skin near the top and side of her little finger. Bright red blood ran freely from it and was already dripping steadily down onto his palm. "This is quite deep Carter." he told her apologetically as he glimpsed a flash of bone when she flexed. "I think you should have Frasier look at it."

"Nah!" Sam protested automatically. There was no bravado in her sentiment. "I do stuff like that to myself all the time. It'll be fine." Once again she stuck her finger in her mouth and turned to pace a bit.

Jack left his suddenly empty hand out in the air for a few moments watching her blood pool and settle into the well worn lines that lay there. Then he wiped his hand on the leg of his BDU so Carter would not notice just how much of it there was. "You sure?"

"Just...give it another minute." Sam said as she reassessed. It was deep, but only a centimetre or so wide, she might yet get away without a trip to the infirmary, besides she had to get this finished today.

Jack fiddle with the wing nut he found in his hand and then tossed it back down onto the table and sighed.

"Not your fault Sir." Sam mumbled round her finger as she heard his discontent.

O'Neill looked up at her, then away again. "How do you figure?" he asked morosely.

She shot him a good natured grin. "I really should have known better than to give you anything sharp to play with."

Jack grinned back, relieved that she felt she could joke about the accident. "Yeah, you should have known better. I mean what were you thinking when you gave me a pair of scissors?"

Sam shook her head. "If you remember I didn't allow you to have the scissors but I was thinking you'd be fine with a pair of short snips. All you had to do was cut eight wires one at a time. Hell even a child could do that." she teased, determined to keep the focus off herself.

The big bad Air Force Colonel was blushing and muttering under his breath. "Yeah well if I hadn't been thinking about a child...and you...and me it never would have happened." he sighed to himself.

"I'm sorry?" Sam did not catch his words but she saw his vivid flush and wondered what had got him so embarrassed.

"Nothing." he rushed out quickly. "Nothing." he said again and then thinking fast, continued. "It's just that I failed to complete a task even a child could do. That's got to make a guy feel absolutely fantastic hasn't it?" he mouthed sardonically. Then suddenly feeling an increase in his mortification, he pressed a fist to his lips.

Sam had to suppress a laugh before she was able to let the man off his emotionally guilty hook. "Well Sir, it's not like it was entirely your fault." She let the meaning hang between them for a moment to see if he would catch on. By the immediate intensity of his gaze she knew he had. "I mean...we...both...got distracted." she further offered all be it some what hesitantly.

Jack's eyes instantly roamed away from hers and down to his boots. "Yeah I guess we did." They wore matching humble smiles.

For a moment neither of them spoke but it did not seem to be at all awkward. This was just the way it was with them. Almost but never quite able to say what they really meant.

"So I think this just needs a plaster." Sam voiced eventually into the peaceable silence. "First aid kit is over there..."

"By the door. I remember." They both smiled at the memory of the last time he had patched her up in this room. Sam did seem to hurt herself a lot. Maybe she was spending too much time with Siler and his bad fortune was starting to rub off on her. He was just about to tell her his theory when he caught her looking directly at him, something unguarded in her eyes. "What?" he asked in a broken breath, the box almost falling out of his hands.

Sam had let the moment get to her and now she was too deep. "Sometimes..." she uttered but she could not risk saying anything more.

"I know." he said tentatively, saving her from having to finish the forbidden sentence.

She nodded and looked down at the floor hoping he would save her from having to think any more about the whole thing.

"Now." Jack whispered, the word catching in his throat. "Let's see if we can't get you patched up, huh?"

Sam smiled kindly at him and dropped into the stool by her desk. Jack made his way over and slowly pulled up the other stool. Silently he worked, painstaking placing first one and then another sticking plaster round her finger. Next he reinforced the whole deal with some medical tape. "Not too tight?" he asked quietly her hand still in his.

"No it's fine." Sam shook her head at him, examining the neat job he had done without removing her hand from his warm, firm grip.

"I still say you should let Doc Frasier check it out. It might need a single stitch." Tiny dots of red were already appearing through the breathable pores that transversed the layers of padding and protection.

"Yeah, I will." Sam conceded now that she had enough covering on her wound to continue with her work.

Jack, in a moment of out of character behaviour, perhaps in a little too deep himself, lifted her hand and gave it a single kiss. It took her completely by surprise. "I'm sorry I hurt you Carter. You know I would never do anything to deliberately cause you pain."

"I...I..." she flushed. "I know that Jack." She had not meant to say his name, they were on duty but now that she had it stripped back the layers revealing the man and the woman that they were. It was not an officer and her CO that sat here hand in hand but a plain man and simple woman who without any effort could be very much in love. But that was not allowed and sometimes that really did hurt her, but it was not his fault and she knew that. They were just a regular old pair of potential lovers kept apart by circumstance, a modern day US military version of Romeo and Juliet...and we all know how that ended.

"Hey, hey, no sad thoughts...remember?" Jack turned her face up so that she could see his sincerity.

For a moment she just looked at him, reading everything he was not saying, slowly she nodded. "No sad thoughts." she agreed, remembering the promise they had made to each other the last time they got into a scrape that almost got them killed. Someday they would be together and until then they would be happy with the knowledge that they were waiting for each other. Though that last part had been unspoken too.

"That's right." Jack sang, somewhat falsely. He persistently looked into her face grinning insanely until he got her to join him. Satisfied with his work he nodded and spoke up again. "I'd better go." he said and pushed to his feet.

"But Sir?" Sam said, rising with him. "What about the circuits?"

Jack blinked at her. "You still want my help?"

"Of course. It's not like I can do it on my own now, not with a busted finger. Please I need you."

Honesty bled through on her voice and Jack hesitated. "But what if I cut you again?"

Sam shook her head and smiled. "You won't." she reassured him. "I'll make sure of it."

Jack barked out a short laugh. "How you going to do that, take all the cutting tools away from me?"

"No." Sam smiled. "I'll keep my fingers well and truly out of your way. Come on, I need to get this finished before I go home for the night." she cajoled.

Jack took one look into her pleading face and instantly folded. He never could refuse her anything when she looked at him like that. "Fine! But so long as you realise that me staying here to help you is really interfering with my ability to get your annual performance review finished and handed in on time."

"Oh please, use me as an excuse all you want but General Hammond will not be fooled by that. He knows exactly what you are like about your paperwork deadlines."

Jack pulled a face at her barefaced cheek. "You want to watch it Major. As I said your review is not completed yet."

She grinned lopsidedly at his idle threat. "Okay, Sir! I apologise and thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to help a lowly Major out with her geeky science project!"

Jack's lip curled at the supreme level of sarcasm dripping from her words. She had probably just out-sark-ed him, which was not good, that was his gig. "Oh just shut up Carter, and keep your fingers out of my road or the next time might not be so accidental."

"Si-ir!" she exclaimed in mock outrage and handed him the tools he needed to complete their task.

"You sure you don't want to do the cutting?" Jack asked one more time, looking deep into her eyes.

"No Colonel, you do it. I trust you." she said not breaking eye-contact.

O'Neill cocked his head staying quiet for a moment. "You really do, don't you." Outwardly he gave her a 'you're crazy Carter' look but inside he was cheering wildly. Sam trusted him and he would not have it any other way. He had the best 2IC and friend in the universe and her performance review would clearly and concisely reflect that he decided as he carefully avoided her fingers and snipped wire number seven of eight.

END

AN: I don't think either Jack or Sam were expecting that little splurge of honesty. I know I wasn't when I started writing this a few hours ago! Hope you enjoyed their mini-adventure into the emotional minefield and back out onto the plains of open friendship :)