Chapter Text
P3Q-227:
“CYN’EA”
The stargate activated – the tidal force of the wormhole exploding from the center. As the shimmering pool rippled, SG-1 walked calmly through. Per usual, they were in a clearing, with a well-trodden path heading towards a town. Even at the gate, the sounds of a party reached them. Colonel Jack O’Neill cocked his head to the side, a mischievous smile playing on his lips as he looked to his second in command – Major Sam Carter. “Sounds friendly enough,” he commented.
Sam smirked, shaking her head. “Yes, it does, sir,” she replied and then turned to look at Daniel and Teal’c. The ever-watchful Jaffa surveyed the area, watching for any signs of a threat. Daniel, as always looked for clues as to which civilization on Earth these people might have come from. She turned her attention back to her CO and saw that he’d been watching her. He’d been doing that a lot lately – ever since Netu. In turn, she’d been watching him closely too. The entire team had gone through nearly unspeakable things on that planet of the damned.
Daniel listened to the sounds of music and laughter. “Sounds like a festival of some kind,” he mused. He did his best to ignore the look being shared between Jack and Sam – it wasn’t the first and it wouldn’t be the last. Taking in their surroundings, he noted the road looked heavily traveled. “These people might use the gate to go to other worlds like we do,” he added. “They might be ahead of us, technologically speaking.”
“How’s a dirt road tell you that, Daniel?” Jack asked, looking over at his friend. It meant taking his eyes off of Sam. He would have to be satisfied with knowing that she was standing just a few meters away from his right side.
“It’s an archeology thing,” Daniel replied. It was a waste of time trying to explain his reasoning to Jack. His eyes would glaze over two seconds into any explanation he could give. So, why bother when he didn’t have to.
“You had me at ‘party’,” Jack responded in his usual manner. He didn’t have to glance at Sam to know she was concealing a smirk. Turning towards the raucous sounds, he set off, leading his team towards the town.
The walk was easy enough, rather straight forward through an idyllic stretch of countryside where it looked like some form of wheat was being harvested. Half the field the team past by was culled with a tractor of some sort abandoned in place. “That must be some party,” Sam muttered. The sounds of celebration getting louder and louder.
“It could be a harvest festival,” Daniel surmised from the fields they walked by.
“Why stop with half the work done?” Sam asked, glancing over her shoulder at him.
“I have no idea,” Daniel said with a shrug.
Jack smirked. The longer they walked, the closer to dusk they got. Gate Lag? Wasn’t that what Sam called it once? When they stepped through, they wouldn’t know what time of day they were entering.
******
The town was in full party mode. Every square inch of space was taken up by people laughing, drinking, eating, and dancing. The buildings resembled something close to Victorian London but with a country touch. SG-1 saw many different kinds of clothing ranging from jumpsuits to linen shirts and trousers, to varying styles of dresses. Floating orbs gave off a soft yellow glow surrounding a massive fountain with fairies and fauns and other whimsical characters. It was certainly different than any other planet SG-1 had visited. Daniel, for one, was awestruck. He saw evidence of Irish folklore woven throughout the construction of the town.
Jack shared a look with Carter. They both shook their heads, sighing for effect. Daniel was in geek heaven. It seemed like they weren’t going to get any questions answered tonight, as the party was going strong. Jack could feel his mood lightening as he was getting into the spirit of things. To his right, Sam even looked like she was enjoying the sights and sounds. He knew this from the lax hold she had on her P-90. Still, doing his duty as SG-1 team leader, he said, “Daniel, don’t get lost and or abducted. Teal’c, stay with Daniel. Carter, you’re with me.”
“Yes, sir,” Sam responded. They started to move through the throng of people, heading towards the fountain. At a glance, it looked to be a normal stone carved water fountain, but upon a more cursory inspection, she saw deep crimson liquid spilling from the horns of the fauns, the flutes of the fairies. “It looks like wine,” she muttered to Colonel O’Neill.
“Thirsty, Carter?” Jack asked in a teasing manner.
“You know I prefer beer, sir,” Sam replied in the same tone.
“Welcome to Cyn’ea for the festival of unity.”
Jack and Sam turned together, seeing a woman in her mid-thirties wearing a gauzy, sprite inspired shift. CO and subordinate shared another look. “Thanks,” Jack finally said, smiling his most charming smile.
“Please, drink this,” the woman said and offered a silver chalice filled with wine from the fountain.
Sam tried not to look apprehensive as she took the goblet. Cautiously, she sniffed at the red liquid and mainly smelled fruit. She took a sip, pleasantly surprised by how good it tasted. It reminded her of blue jell-o and pie with a hint of whip cream. Licking her lips, she tried to hand it back to the friendly woman, but she shook her head, motioning she should pass it to Colonel O’Neill. Sam looked at him, offering it to him sheepishly.
“Deja view,” Jack said holding Sam’s gaze.
“Come on, sir, it’s not like than can happen again,” Sam replied, shrugging her shoulders.
“Yeah, all right,” Jack responded, taking the cup from her. He put his lips to the rim almost in the exact spot hers had been. The drink wasn’t as bad as he thought – had a taste like pie and jell-o combined. Moments later, the strange, albeit friendly, woman took the silver goblet from his hand.
“Here, you two share this,” she said, handing over a clay jug the size and shape of a wine bottle.
“Thank you,” Sam said a little awkwardly, accepting the bottle. After the woman floated happily away, she looked from the bottle to the colonel and back to the bottle. “When in Rome…” she muttered, popping the cork. Gripping the long neck with her right hand, she touched her fingers to the bottom, tilting it up slowly until she felt the cold touch of liquid against her lips. She took a generous drink before handing the bottle over to Colonel O’Neill.
Jack accepted the bottle, taking a drink after. After having the strange alcohol on his tongue, he was surprised to realize they were drinking water. It was a refreshing palate cleanser. Pulling the clay bottle away from his lips, he swallowed the mouthful, and then asked, “You tasted water, right?”
“Yeah,” Carter responded quickly, nodding her head.
“Just checking,” Jack clarified. “This is some of the best water I’ve ever tasted,” he added, handing the bottle back to her.
“I noticed that too,” Sam replied conversationally. She was feeling her mood lift being here, being surrounded by people laughing and dancing, and generally having a good time. Her right hand hadn’t even gone back to hold her P-90. There wasn’t even a niggling sense that she had to have her weapon ready to fire at a moment’s notice.
“When in Rome, right, major?” Jack asked, winking at her.
Sam chuckled, because she couldn’t help herself. “Yes, sir,” she answered, handing him the bottle after having taken another drink.
“Let’s mingle,” Jack announced with a broad grin. He wanted to offer his arm to her, but he clamped down on that urge. Instead, using his free hand, he motioned for her to pick a direction.
Sam playfully narrowed her gaze at him and then set off towards the sounds of a competition taking place. She threaded her way through people laughing, dancing when the spirit moved them, and drinking. There were couples who all carried the same clay bottle she and the colonel had. At the moment, it didn’t seem like anything she should be concerned about. This was one of the first planets they’d been to in a while where no one paid any attention to them.
Jack gave himself over to the good humor of the moment. He and Sam chatted idly, laughing occasionally when he made one of his trademark stupid jokes. All around them, the floating orbs grew brighter as the light of the sun faded into night. The tone of the music changed too. It had been happy, upbeat melodies that turned into romantic music that had more than a few people dancing close together. Jack motioned to a bench with a slight jerk of his head.
Sam nodded, following him over, and taking a seat next to him. The colonel offered her the bottle, their fingers touched, and they shared a look. It was one of the looks that made the world stop between them. They couldn’t look away. She knew there was color rising in her cheeks the longer his fingers lingered under hers. Long, drawn out seconds later, his fingers were slipping out from under hers and she had to grip the long neck of the bottle to keep it from falling to the ground. To distract herself from the heated stare they just shared, she took a deep drink.
Jack didn’t take his eyes off her. The little blush coloring her cheeks held his rapt attention. He wanted nothing more than to reach out to her, caressing the red flush with the back of his fingers. Her skin would be soft, perfectly warm. The desire to stroke her cheek changed in a split second. He could see himself pressing his lips to her supple skin, feeling her jump in shock, and then relax. Jack would love nothing more than to kiss her, to never stop kissing her.
Sam knew he was looking at her, studying her with such blatant intensity that it made her heart flutter. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his hand come up. She turned her head just as the tips of his fingers brushed against her cheek. “Sir?” Sam asked.
“Eyelash,” Jack lied, and Sam knew it. He had felt her startle but almost immediately relax into his touch. Whatever was in the air of this planet was making him reckless. This was a shocking disregard for the regs – she was his 21C. Yet, as he sat next to her, none of that mattered.
There was that moment again. Time was slowing down. Sam stared at him, wanting nothing more than to lean into him, to kiss him. She wanted to remember what it was like when she had no inhibition and only sought to take what she wanted. It had been due in large part to a virus, but it still felt amazing to let loose. To distract her mouth and her mind, she lifted the bottle to her lips, and took a long drink. The look in his eyes made her want to break the rules. The look in his eyes matched what was in hers. They were both in love and couldn’t admit to it.
Jack watched the way Sam swallowed and it conjured all manner of vivid naughty images for his mind to play with. When he was returned to active status, he hadn’t imagined meeting someone like Samantha Carter. She was young, driven, smart, passionate, and about a million other things that were so far beyond him. It hadn’t stopped him from falling for her. He knew it the moment she’d been taken over by that snake. It had pretended to be his Sam, calling out his name in desperation. That had about killed him. Being in love with her wasn’t always easy.
Sam lowered the bottle, blindly handing it over to him. She lowered her head and tried not to watch him the way he’d done to her. Something had her turning her head, letting her eyes rove over his profile – strong and confident. That was her colonel. She didn’t know when she started to think of him as ‘hers’. Yes, she did. It was the moment the other Samantha came to their reality – the one who was married to O’Neill. It was that moment; she knew that Jack O’Neill was hers.
Jack put the clay bottle down, licking the liquid from his lips while Sam watched. She mirrored his movements. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the flash of her tongue as it darted out and back into her mouth. Oh, what he would give to be able to have the taste of her on his tongue again. This time he turned his whole body to fully stare at her. It was time to stop pretending that he wasn’t in love with her. After seeing the pain she went through – emotionally and physically – on Netu, he couldn’t keep hiding it from her.
Sam sucked in a sharp breath. The weight of his stare went right through her. She found her hand resting over his, not knowing how it got there. Her gaze was firmly locked with his. For this moment she got to see everything he was hiding from her, from the world. She saw his love, his desire, his happiness at being with her.
Jack was losing himself in this moment. He wanted it to last for the rest of the night so he had something he could revisit in dreams when they were forced to go back to being commanding officer and subordinate at the SGC. Unfortunately, the moment was shattered when another woman came towards them. She was motioning for them to come with her. Jack looked at Sam again, asking her with his eyes. ‘Do we want to do this?'
Sam got up with her mind made up. Whatever this night held; she would carry the memory of it with her for the rest of her life. Leaning down, she wrapped her hand around the long neck of the bottle, smiling at him, giving him a wink to entice him to follow her. Though, she knew he would anyway. There was something about this place was making their deeper desires harder to ignore.
ANCIENT STONE PALACE:
Jack and Sam followed about twelve other couples as they walked through the well-kept halls of a palace by the sea. The walls were decorated with silk tapestries depicting mythic battles. He didn’t really stop to look at them. It was strange that he and Carter were invited to this very lavish castle, but then he took a look at all the other couples. They were carrying the same clay bottle. It should have had his suspicious mind turning in circles, trying to figure out what was happening. Carter’s hand brushed against his every once in a while during their trek from the town. The touch of her skin distracted him for the most part.
Sam felt her abdominal muscle quiver with nerves. She was a battle-hardened soldier – having faced death multiple times – and a walk down a hall was making her more nervous than she could ever remember being. The only difference this time was, she was knowingly walking into something that could end her career. It didn’t stop her. At the end of the day, she wanted Jack O’Neill. It was a risk she was willing to take.
One by one, the couples were shown to rooms for the night. Finally, Jack and Sam were given theirs. It was a corner suite, with a veranda overlooking the ocean. The doors closed behind them without either one of them noticing. Jack went to the balcony door, opening them to smell the salt of the sea. It helped to clear the haze from his brain that was clouding his mind. He left the doors open, letting in some of the cool refreshing air.
Sam looked at the bed, draped in red and gold silk sheets and multiple pillows. Her mind conjured images of her and Jack making love in that bed. She closed her eyes, turning from the sight of it. Some common sense rose up inside her, forcing her to walk to the door. Her fingers wrapped around the massive iron ring, ready to pull it open. Seconds passed and she didn’t open the door. Seconds after that, he was standing behind her, his hand resting on top of hers. Again, her heart skipped a beat.
“Say stop, and we walk out right now,” Jack said softly, whispering close to her left ear.
“That’s the thing,” Sam said, her voice trembling, “I don’t want to walk away.”
Jack stepped back so she could turn to face him. Under his watchful gaze, she lowered the zipper of her tactical vest, taking it and the strap of her MP5 from her body. She slowly let it fall to the stone floor by the door. Jack mirrored her – his vest and weapon clattered to the ground next to hers.
Sam counted every breath she took as she lowered the zipper on her uniform jacket, shedding it, letting it fall to the floor, to pile on top of her vest. He followed suit and then they stopped just in front of each other. She rested her hands on his chest, sliding them up and over her shoulders to cup the back of his neck. His hands resting on her sides, slowly slipping around to rest against the small of her back. She stepped in close and finally kissed him. It was only a second before the passion swelled between them in a thunderous wave to carry them along on a tide that would change their lives.
MORNING:
Jack felt a number of things upon waking – the silk of the sheets, the harsh cut of sunlight across his closed eyes, and the naked body of Carter snuggled against him. Bringing his left hand up, he rubbed at his eyes, banishing the last bit of sleep from his mind. As he pulled his hand away, he noticed something odd on his ring finger. Curiously, he rubbed his thumb along the underside of the digit, noticing that was he was touching wasn’t metal. It was his skin. The intricate woven pattern was a mix of blues/greens/yellows.
Jack shifted onto his side, mindful about waking Sam up. Her face was relaxed, her lips slightly parted, tempting him to kiss her. He had imagined this moment more times than he could count. Of course, he thought it would come after he retired – again – and she was in command of SG-1. That’s the future he wanted for her, while he faded away in a cabin in Minnesota. Giving into that want, he angled his head so he could kiss her sweetly, hoping to coax her into the waking world.
Sam moaned. Her brain was slowly processing the most delicious sensation ever. She was being kissed by lips she knew all too well. Soon, her eyes fluttered open, and the kiss stopped. She was left staring into the eyes of her colonel – her Jack. They were alert and playful; a look she’d come to know very well from him. “Good morning,” she said, her words slightly slurring. Sam wouldn’t waste time with pretending to be guilty, to be shocked over their actions. She wouldn’t scramble out of bed, looking for her clothes. This was what she wanted.
Shifting again, Jack settled himself between her thighs, and said, “Good morning.” Her body melded to his, her knees coming up to rest against his sides. He felt himself falling into the pool of her beautiful blue eyes. Happily, he would let himself get lost in her eyes for as long as he could.
Sam brought her left hand up to cup his face but noticed the band on her ring finger. Staring at it, she tried to comprehend how it got there. The twisting pattern reminded her of a double helix – the representation of DNA. It wasn’t metal. It was more like a tattoo.
Jack chuckled. His scientist was fully awake. Moving off of her, he sat back against the headboard as she pushed herself up, holding the red silk sheet to her torso. This gave him the chance to study the long lean line of her back. He lightly touched the nape of her neck, drawing his fingers down her spine, feeling the way her skin warmed to his gentle caress. She turned to him, and he held his left hand up, wiggling his ring finger. “Oh, yeah, I got one too,” he said.
“There could have been something in the wine,” Sam surmised, studying the bands side by side. They were the same twisting, twining the blue, green, and yellow together to form the double helix.
“I thought you said that couldn’t happen again?” Jack teased.
“We’re not rapidly aging, so no, it’s not happening again,” Sam replied, rolling her eyes. “This is something else,” she added thoughtfully.
“Yeah, I’m guessing we got married,” Jack responded, half sarcastically, and half hopeful that it was true.
“Married?” Sam asked, her eyes still focused on their fingers that were now laced together. It had been something she’d always wanted but never had the time to have.
“Look at the rings, Sam,” Jack said. “We’re in bed, we had sex last night….” If it wasn’t the wine that did this, then it had to be whatever was in the bottle they’d been given. Even though it tasted like water – really good water – there could have been something in there.
Sam covered his mouth with her right hand stopping him from continuing. “I’m okay with this,” she stated. Last night, she knew what she was doing. They both did. There wasn’t alcohol to blame it on either. This was one hundred percent them. Lowering her hand, she waited for him to say something.
There were a hundred good reasons why Jack should put a stop to this. They should get dressed, go search for Daniel, and forget this even happened. Even as he thought it, his insides twisted in dread. There was no way he could leave her – not after this. Putting all thought of the military and their ranks out of his mind, he leaned in to kiss her. They fell back down into the welcoming embrace of each other, letting their bodies fit together like they were meant to.
Sam arched her back, taking him inside her. “Oh, God…” she moaned as they started to move together. He thrust in an out of her, his eyes never leaving hers. Her right arm was above her head, her hand gripping the edge of the bed. Her left arm was draped over his shoulder, her fingers digging into his back as he brought them both to the brink of ecstasy. Each powerful thrust from him had her moaning louder and louder.
Jack was close to losing himself inside of Sam. Her moans danced through his ears as he drove into slow and deep. “Sam…” he gasped, holding himself still inside her.
“Don’t stop,” Sam panted, shaking her head back and forth. Raising up, she kissed him, plunging her tongue past his lips and into his mouth. She ravished him. He moaned into her, thrusting at the same time. She broke the kiss, pushing the back of her head into the mattress, and arched her back. A whimper of pleasure filled the silence of their room. Her body tensed, ready to fall over the edge with him.
Jack surged into her one more time. Her legs wrapped around him, holding him where he was as he came. His body shook from it. They had made love more than a few times last night, and each time, it felt like he was completely drained. Somehow, he found the strength to raise himself up, to stare down at her, to see the hazy contentment in her blue depths. He managed to move off her, lying on his stomach.
Lazily, Sam rolled over, resting half of her body on his with her cheek resting on his shoulder. Her left hand rested on the middle of his back and her eyes fixed on the rings. She watched two parallel bands appear at the top and bottom of the double helix. “Jack…”
“I see it…” Jack responded.
“Jack. Sam. Respond.”
They both looked at the pile of their gear by the door. Sam winced at the sound of Daniel’s voice coming through the radio. “Guess it’s back to our lives,” she grumbled dejectedly. Daniel’s voice had effectively killed the morning buzz of her orgasm with Jack.
Jack braced himself on his forearms, glancing at her over his shoulder. “We still have to decide what to do when we get back to base,” he said softly. He’d march right into Hammond’s office and resign. Losing Sam wasn’t an option any longer – not now that he knew what it was like to make love to her, to have her kiss on his lips. He didn’t want to pretend this never happened. Though, it didn’t matter what he alone wanted. Sam was in this too. What she wanted would count for what they did next. Whatever that was, they would do it together.
A brief flicker of fear raced through Sam. Did she honestly have what it took to face General Hammond? While she mulled this over, she kissed Jack’s back lightly. All her life she had imagined making the rank of Major – and beyond. She got to travel to different planets multiple times a week. It was better than she ever thought and all she had wanted was to go to space with NASA. Then, what should happen? She came into contact with Colonel Jack O’Neill. Little by little, what she wanted for her future had started to change. There wasn’t any part of her that wanted to sacrifice what they could have just to keep going through the gate. “We tell Hammond we knowingly broke the rules,” she finally responded and touched her forehead to the muscle of his shoulder as he tensed under her.
“I won’t lose you, Sam,” Jack said, making her aware of where his head was. He didn’t know when it happened, when she had become so intrinsically necessary to his everyday life. All he knew was that whatever they were together was something worth fighting for.
“I won’t lose you either,” Sam responded. She kissed his shoulder once more and then moved away to sit on the edge of the bed, the sheet wrapped around her body. On the floor beside the bed, she found his fatigues. Picking them up, she tossed them to him before getting up to find hers.
Jack sat in her vacated spot on the edge with his pants draped over his lap. He watched her move around the room looking for her clothes and thought about what he would say to Hammond. The offer to resign was as good as anything he had. Realistically, he didn’t want to lose the team and he didn’t want to have to let go of Sam. There was always a chance – a snowballs chance in hell maybe – that Hammond would ignore this and let them continue on. He pulled his pants on and got up to go to her.
Sam had located her pants when Jack gently gripped her arms pulling her close to him. His lips took hers, infusing her with all his love and courage. She wrapped her arms around his waist, holding on to him. When the kiss broke, she was breathless, but she felt a little better about confronting this head on.
TOWN SQUARE:
Daniel and Teal’c sat on a bench. The Jaffa was stoically watching the few people milling about this morning while the worried archeologist tried not to imagine a whole manner of terrible things. He had radioed Jack and Sam – neither answered. That was enough to make him start to think something had happened to their friends. “Where are they?” Daniel asked himself. Bringing his hand up, he tried the radio for what felt like the millionth time. “Jack. Sam. Come in.”
Teal’cs ears perked up when he heard the echo of Daniel Jackson’s words come from across the square. Standing up, he shouted, “O’Neill!”
Daniel stood up as well and looked annoyed. When Sam and Jack got closer, he snapped, “Where have you two been? We’ve been trying to contact you since last night.”
“We’re fine, dad,” Jack remarked sarcastically, shaking his head as he glanced at Sam. She looked more herself in her fatigues, her vest, and MP5 in her hands. Her gaze met his and she nodded slightly.
Daniel had seen Jack look at Sam a million times before. Something about this was different, though. Jack’s face was softer as he looked at her. Sam’s eyes were a bit brighter, and her cheeks were flushed. “So, umm… guys… I may have been wrong about what this festival was actually celebrating.”
“We figured that out Daniel,” Sam said, holding up her left hand. Jack did the same.
“Oh, boy…” Daniel mumbled. “Yeah, so, this was more like a planetary marriage day and there’s no dissolving it apparently. Every couple that comes here, comes with the understanding that will be bonded for eternity.”
“That’s a long time,” Jack quipped because Daniel expected it of him. Eternity with Sam Carter didn’t sound like a bad thing to him.
“What, people here haven’t heard of the concept of divorce?” Sam asked before she could stop herself. Jack looked at her. She shrugged, shaking her head.
“Apparently not. Every sentient race in this part of the galaxy knows of Cyn’ea, of this day. They recognize the bonding of two souls when they see the unique bands…” Daniel let his eyes drift to Jack and Sam’s ring fingers. From a distance they appeared to be metal, but up close he knew they would be part of their flesh. He had asked a lot of questions last night from anyone who would answer them.
“You hear that, Carter? Wherever we go, people will automatically know you’re my wife,” Jack joked. She smiled – as she always did when he said something flippant.
“Can’t wait, sir,” Sam responded genuinely amused by him.
“Does this not concern you, O’Neill? You and Major Carter were tricked into this,” Teal’c stated in his usual matter of fact way.
“We weren’t tricked into anything, Teal’c,” Sam said before Jack could. “We knew what we were doing.” Once they figured out what was happening, of course.
TBC....