Set shortly after the events of "Desperate Measures". A gift for fems for the S/J Secret Santa on GW.

Sam checked her watch once more. It wasn't like the colonel to be late for a mission. Just as she looked up to ask Daniel again if he had any idea why he would be late, the door to the 'gateroom slid back to reveal said colonel still trying to get into his vest.

"Everything okay Jack?" Daniel asked the question that was on Sam and Teal'c's faces too.

"Indeed O'Neill, Daniel Jackson is usually the one to be seen arriving late for our missions" said Teal'c with a slight smirk.

"Nice T, everything is fine. Just didn't set my new alarm clock right apparently. Shall we get going now?" Jack's tone was short. As he drew closer, the rest of his team could clearly see the lines from a restless night across his face. They all started walking up the ramp towards the newly formed wormhole.

"Are you sure you're all right sir? We can put this mission off if..." But before Sam could finish her sentence the colonel turned and cut her off.

"Everything is fine Carter, just leave it." The response was much sharper than they were used to and Daniel and Teal'c shared a concerned look as Sam dropped her head in embarrassment. "Sorry sir" she mumbled as they stepped up to the 'gate.

The rain struck the faces of SG-1 as soon as they stepped from the 'gate on the other side. They were in a small clearing that encompassed the 'gate and the DHD. The trees around them were oppressive, their large leaves funnelling the water pouring from the heavens straight to the ground and onto them. The team's breath created clouds of condensation around them in the cool air and the smell of the damp ground was pungent.

"Oh well this is just perfect." Jack yelled through the rain. "Isn't the MALP supposed to show stuff like this up Carter?" The question was more of an accusation and it showed on Sam's face.

"Yes sir, but when we checked the telemetry just before we came through, it wasn't raining. In fact the weather was clear from what we could see." She yelled back. The team dropped their bags and pulled on their ponchos. Sam pulled out her scanner and began to sweep around the immediate area.

"Carter can't we come back another time? We're not going to get far in this weather." Jack was standing by the DHD ready to dial them back to Earth.

"I'm sorry sir, but the energy signature that we picked up with the MALP is intermittent and Daniel and I think that it could disappear if we don't find it soon. The source can't be that far from the gate." Sam looked to Daniel for back-up and Jack followed her gaze. Daniel, while squinting and trying to clean his glasses, nodded fervently.

Admitting defeat, Jack pulled his poncho down further and adjusted his backpack - "Fine".

"Sir, the signature is going to be much easier to pinpoint if we split up. Daniel knows what to look for and it should halve the amount of time we have to spend in this rain." It seemed Sam had said the magic words as Jack agreed to the plan with a quick nod.

"T, go with Daniel and make sure he doesn't end up in a bog. Radio check-in every ten minutes." The Jaffa agreed with a nod and the pair headed out into the forest.

-.-.-.-.-.-

The colonel and the major trudged on in silence. It had been nearly an hour and the pair had barely said a word to each other despite Sam's attempts at eliciting a response of any kind from Jack. Sam looked continually between her scanning device and the path she was trying to follow through the trees. Her commanding officer walked carefully behind her, keeping an eye out for anything that could be following them.

"No!" The exasperated utterance slipped from Sam's mouth before she could stop it.

"Major? Something wrong?" He stopped behind the still form of the major, taking the time to wipe his face.

"The signal, it's disappeared."

"Disappeared? How does a signal just disappear?"

"I told you that it had been intermittent, I was hoping that we would find the source before it dropped off again but apparently we missed it." The aggravation was clear in her tone and also a tinge of disappointment.

"Great. Well does that mean we can at least head back to the 'gate?" The colonel didn't do a good job of hiding the satisfaction from her.

"Yes sir. We would have heard from Teal'c and Daniel if they'd had any luck with the source. We can analyse the data we do have better at the SGC then send out another team once this rain has stopped." They both turned back down the path they had followed for the last hour.

"Daniel, Teal'c come in." Jack leant down to his radio.

"Hey Jack, I guess you lost the signal too?"

"Yeah, Carter thinks we should go back to the SGC. We'll meet you and Teal'c at the Stargate. O'Neill out."

"Understood. See you soon." The radio clicked off.

"Come on then Carter, before we start melting."

Carter hoped that a Wizard of Oz reference meant the colonel's mood had lightened slightly.

-.-.-.-.-.-

"Not far now sir." said Carter trying to lighten the mood between herself and her CO.

"Yeah well I'll just wait until we actually step through that 'gate before feeling better. Don't count your chickens and all that..." And before Jack had even finished his sentence they saw that the small river they'd forded earlier had turned into a raging torrent. "See this is exactly the kind of thing that would happen today." The flow of the water reflected the anger in Jack's tone.

"There's no way that we're going to be able to cross that sir. We'll have to walk back upstream to see if there's somewhere better to get to the other side." The trepidation was clear in Sam's voice – she obviously didn't want to be any further cause of annoyance to Jack. "I'm sorry sir." She added.

"You're sorry? What for Major? For leading us on a wild goose chase or for getting us stuck in the rain for another few hours? For suggesting a completely useless mission that has wasted our time and the SGC's? Which exact part of all that are you sorry for?" Jack was yelling at her through the sheets of water pouring around them, his position a little down the bank from Sam put his eyes at the same level as hers. They flashed with anger and something intangible. He turned and started to retrace the track beside the river.

"Sir, with respect, you have no right to speak to me like that. You know damn well that this was not my fault so why the hell are you yelling at me? What's really going on? I know it's not just because you were late this morning or because it's raining? So just tell me." She was angry and it showed, her courage depending on that anger.

He stopped in his tracks, surprised by the outburst from his second in command and even more surprised by the genuine concern in her voice. But he still couldn't bring himself to tell her what it was that was troubling him. She didn't need to know.

"I don't care if I've hurt your feelings Major, I don't need to tell you anything so let's just carry on and get home, okay?" The reply was even more bitter than the onslaught from before.

"Yes sir." Sam said as she brushed past him, stomping on through the thick undergrowth that bordered the torrent below them. She didn't see Jack drag his hands over his head and she certainly didn't hear the groan over the sound of the water around them.

They kept moving along the river bank, neither of them uttering a word as they continued to look for a suitable place to cross. Sam stepped around a wide tree in their path but as she did so the sodden dark earth gave way between her feet and she tumbled down the bank towards the river. It happened so quickly that she couldn't even call out.

"Carter!"

Jack scrabbled to edge of the solid ground looking down towards the rushing water below expecting to see his major in the torrent but instead finding her hanging desperately onto a root several feet below where she'd fallen. The bank wasn't particularly steep but with all the water running around her, the ground was slick. However, Samantha Carter had never been a damsel in distress and apparently didn't plan on being one any time soon either – she had already started to heave herself up the slope towards the path. As soon as she was within reach, Jack grabbed Sam below her arms and hauled her up over the edge and to safe ground.

Now they both stood, breathing heavily from the effort, suddenly very aware of their proximity.

"Thank-you sir," said Sam stiffly pulling back. She took a step and winced, stumbling at the same time and nearly falling back down the bank. Jack grabbed her again, pulling her back up to him.

"I'm fine sir, really, just a twisted ankle, it'll be fine in a minute." She refused to look him in the face, the anger was radiating from her like the heat from a fire. But Jack still wouldn't let go, he held her arms tightly, too tightly almost. He didn't say a word but stared at her, looking intently as if he were trying to find something.

"Sir, let go. I'm not a child I can support my own weight." She was stern but Sam was also completely baffled by this behaviour. Minutes passed. "Sir, what's going on? Please. Just tell me." Her face was turned towards his, her eyes meeting his. Jack's eyes were haunted and unrelenting.

"I couldn't find you." The words were quiet and he still didn't really engage with her.

"What do you mean? I'm right here sir."

"Not here. The hospital. Every night it's the same. I can't find you. But then... That room... And... You're lying there. You don't move. You're..." He gulped as if he couldn't take in enough oxygen.

The kidnapping. God knew that Sam had had her own set of nightmares about that hospital and the crazed doctors trying to cut her up. But Jack had saved her, he'd been there with impeccable timing as always. Why would he have nightmares about that?

"But I'm here, I'm fine. I'm fine." She shook him gently, trying to get through to the man caught up in flashes of things that never were. He surfaced slowly, leaving the night time visions below and reaching the fresh air of reality. He held her eyes, the only things that held him above the terrible sea of what could have been.

"I thought I'd lost you Carter." The anger and fear had gone, replaced by honesty and sorrow. The rain and mud surrounding them was forgotten, they were both swept up in a flurry of emotions long suppressed. Now she clung to him as tightly as he did to her.

"But you found me. I was fine. Thanks to you." She smiled slightly remembering her relief and happiness at seeing him burst into that room. Sam knew she was the only one who could convince him that it was over.

"I know it's stupid. I know that you're fine but the dreams are just so real. Every time I get there too late, you're already..." Again he couldn't utter the word. To say it would make it surface from that sea of muddled images and bring it into reality in a way he couldn't face. Sam took his hand from her arm, his grip loosening enough to allow the movement. She placed his hand on her wrist, moving it so his fingers would feel the racing pulse beneath the surface.

"Feel this? I'm alive. I'm safe. You did this. Countless times. You've kept me alive."

The feel of her strong pulse beneath his fingers pulled Jack the rest of the way from his waking nightmare. The tactile sensation enough to make him realise how close he was to this woman, how he could feel her warm breath on his cheek, the heat that stole through her soaked clothing to his hand that held her other arm. She'd lost her poncho somewhere down the bank and was now standing dripping wet before him. Her eyes were clear and bright with concern, the rain running down her face in streams. His eyes followed those streams down to her lips, flushed red with the exertion of the previous minutes. He watched as her breath hitched under his close scrutiny of her face.

"Jack?" The tone was questioning but heavy, conveying any number of things.

He pushed her against the tree behind her, the twisted ankle forgotten. He moved his face within an inch of hers. Sam's eyes were now darting between his lips and his eyes. Jack kept his left hand around her wrist, two fingers on the pulse that had quickened. His right arm moved up from hers to her neck, caressing the wet skin above her jacket softly.

There were no words needed to explain his actions. The need to feel the life in her, the way she had said his name. Jack crushed his body against hers, the gentle curves deliciously apparent through her soaking uniform. Sam was soft beneath him, allowing herself the luxury of this. It was something straight out of her dreams and this allowed her to forget the reality of the last few weeks. Sam's eyes closed as she let this man take the lead.

Jack's head lowered further as his eyes locked on the rosy lips before him.

"Jack?" The radio clicked. Sam's eyes flew open as reality kicked in with one little sound. She found Jack's eyes. The disappointment was clear. He dropped his head.

"Guys?" Daniel's timing was as good as Jack's.

"Yes Daniel?" Jack replied. He stepped back from Sam.

"We were wondering how much longer you were going to be?" Sam pushed herself up from the tree trunk, a bright blush was creeping up her neck and face.

"Not too much longer. Half an hour. We should be able to cross the river soon." Jack didn't take his eyes from Sam. The disappointment still darkened his features.

"Oh okay. Well, we'll be here. Waiting. In the rain." A pause. "Is everything okay?"

"We had a little trouble but everything's fine now. We're alive." Sam's head bounced up and the blush retreated. A look of compassion and love passed over her face as she held Jack's gaze.

"Okay... Well tell us about it when you get back. See you soon. Daniel out."

"Sir?" The salutation was back and so was the second in command. Yet again with that one word Sam had brought them both back to reality with a jolt.

"Let's get back to the 'gate before Teal'c and Daniel leave without us Carter." The colonel mask slipped back into place just a little too easily. "Need a hand Major?" He didn't expect an affirmative answer, Sam wasn't one to be downed by a twisted ankle.

"Yes actually sir, my ankle's a little worse than I thought." She hopped over to him and he took her arm over his shoulders. Sam turned her arm imperceptibly so the inside of her wrist was beneath Jack's fingertips. He felt the pulse beating steadily. Jack turned his head to look at Sam but she was concentrating on not falling over the roots on the path as they moved forward.

After crossing the river with some difficulty, Jack grabbed Sam's wrists again pulling her over to him so they could resume their awkward gait - "Still alive over there Carter?"

"Fine sir. Just fine." She smiled up at him.

They reached the 'gate some time later to the relief of one very damp archaeologist and a rather grumpy Jaffa. Jack offloaded Sam onto Teal'c as Daniel dialled the 'gate.

"Is she all right?" Daniel asked Jack as they followed the other pair up the steps.

"She's fine. She's just fine." Jack said with a slight smile before stepping through the shimmering horizon.

I'm travelling a lot at the moment so this was a little bit of a rushed job, but I like it all the same. Hope everyone enjoyed it and of course, HAPPY SHIPMAS!