Season 13
29 December 2009

Sam leaned against the doorframe of the cabin bedroom with her morning cup of coffee cradled in her hands and gazed upon the sleeping figure on the bed. Bared by the quilt that had been pushed away, her husband was sprawled over the mattress amongst the scrunched up sheets. In the winter morning light that was just creeping through the south window he presented the most delicious picture of completely naked debauchery.

Well, almost completely naked. The sheets bunched up over his groin made the picture more seductive than bluntly carnal.

Savoring the uninhibited view of Jack her eyes ran up over his partially cocked knee and down that same thigh. It was rare that she got an opportunity like this, to look at him all quiet and still. Rarer to indulge her desire to just admire him without being caught up in the force of his personality or his dark eyes that had so much power to mesmerize her.

Lying near his hip was one hand with fingers and bent thumb fanned out in relaxation on the sheet and her eyes lingered over the tendons that stood out on the back of his hand and hinted at the strength of his grasp. She had felt many grips from those hands, desperate and life saving in moments of terror and gentle and treasuring in moments of affection.

She sipped at her coffee and trailed her gaze up his arm, over his chest, to his throat to his face that was relaxed in tranquil sleep. The tranquility was disturbed when furrows develop on his brow and she watched him grope about the bed until finally, not finding her as he obviously expected, his eyes opened and he looked around the log room.

His furrowed brow smoothed out and he relaxed back when he caught sight of her leaning against the door jam. The corners of his eyes crinkled up and he gave her a sleepy smile. "Mornin'. Happy birthday Sam. What are you doing over there?"

She lowered her mug and gave him a sweet smile in return. "Enjoying the view."

His brow furrowed again in sleepy confusion. "The view?"

Her gaze held his for a moment and then her eyes swept deliberately downward over his bared body.

"Ah, oh!" His expression cleared and a roguish twinkle came to his brown eyes. "The view."

On the bed Jack deliberately stretched out. Folding his hands together he tucked them behind his head, which propped his head up to see better, and gave her a cheeky grin. "Like it?"

Sam pushed away from the doorframe and stepped into the bedroom. She crossed the short distance to the bed, put her coffee mug down on the side table as she sat on the mattress edge, and lean over Jack. "What's not to like? There's a naked lieutenant general in my bed and today he has to do absolutely everything I want him to do."

"He does, does he?" he challenged. "I thought lieutenant generals were the ones that could get everyone else to do whatever they wanted done."

"Of course he does." Her head dipped lower and her lips touched his in a soft, suckling kiss that filled her mouth with his taste and warmed her blood. She shifted her position and spread her hands out over his chest, delighting in how his breathing hitched in the first moment of tingling contact.

"It's my birthday and today I can do whatever I want. Isn't that what you always say during birthdays?" She gave one last suckle on his lips and her breath mingling with his, finished, "Now, just lie back and… enjoy."

She raised her head to watch him as she dragged her fingertips over his pectorals, down his ribs, to his belly and relished in the texture of his skin. Her fingers slid low on his soft belly but not too low, just low enough to make him twitch in anticipation as she skirted the sheet over his groin before she switched direction and trailed her fingers back up his chest.

"Tease," he grumped.

"Of course," she purred and stood up.

"Hey! Where're you going?"

"Nowhere," her tone was innocent but her grin was naughtiness personified. Now that she was standing she could reach more and she did so greedily, her fingers sweeping down his torso to the sheet that covered him and giving him a sultry look, she tossed the fabric aside.

She took a moment to admire the truly naked view, before her fingers swept down the length of his leg. She lingered over the sensitive skin of his inner thigh, making the skin twitch and ripple under her fingers, before meandering to his knees where her touch was firmer as each hand kneaded a joint.

Jack relaxed a bit beneath the massage as she'd intended him to. She didn't let him relax for long before she racked the tension back up by scraping her nails down his hair roughened legs to his feet.

Taking one foot into both hands, she eased the sexual tension again by firmly pressing into his sole and giving his foot a brief massage. She seated herself at the end of the bed so she could reach his other foot and repeated the massage on his other foot.

Looked up the bed her breath quickened at the sexy sight Jack presented. From his strong feet to the long limbs of his legs that were still shaped by walking thousands of miles on alien worlds to what was proudly displayed between. His balls were drawn tautly up and his thickening sex stretched up his belly. Her gaze slid over his chest to his trim arms that were now sprawled out on the sheets on either side of him, up to his handsomely shaped face that bore an expression of pure pleasure.

Their gazes met and she saw the message of love in his brown eyes and her heart clench, the love she felt for him overwhelming her in response.

Sam closed her eyes to catch her breath and gain control over the primitive pounding of her heart that urged her to take him, to claim him without delay. After two deep breaths, she opened her eyes, pressed a brief kiss to the ball of his foot, and lowered his foot back to the mattress.

She trailed her fingers from his ankles to his calves, brushed them over his knees, teased them up his inner thighs, and enjoyed how different his skin felt in all those places. Her fingertips danced tantalizingly close to the crease of his groin before darting up to linger on his hip bones.

Now on her knees between his spread legs, she flattened her hands out to feel more of his warm skin. Holding his gaze, her hands slid inward from his hips to where his now full erection laid pointing at his belly button and brought her thumbs so close that she was almost touching his shaft, almost—but not quite. Close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating from his heated flesh and only a sliver of air kept their skin apart.

Sam saw the wild spark in Jack's eyes as she held her thumbs torturously close and drew the moment out and with a teasing smile she moved away. Pushing her palms up his belly without touching his erection, she moved up his ribs and over chest until his tight nipples were beneath her palms and his heartbeat was a rapid drumbeat beneath her right hand, its passionate rhythm matching the one that beat in her chest.

Leaning forward, her mouth hovered over his and when he reflexively lifted his head up to kiss her, she quickly laid her fingertips on his lips to keep them from kissing. "Uh-uh. I told you to just lie back."

For a moment his eyes sparked with rebellion and his lips remained firmly pressed against her fingers, but then he relaxed back and conceded in a passion roughened voice, "You're the birthday girl, it's your show."

"You bet it is." She slipped her fingers down his jaw and curled her hand around his nape to cup the back of his head. For a long, agonizing moment Sam held her mouth over his again to draw out the anticipation before she kissed him fully. Her tongue swept across his bottom lip and when he parted his lips she gently slid the tip of her tongue in. As their tongues touched, she swirled the tip of hers around Jack's and then turned the heat up by sucking his tongue into her mouth.

She felt his hands touch her back and she shoved him down with her hands, breaking the kiss and pressing him back into the mattress. Jerking her head up she growled, "I said lie back."

Dazed and uncomprehending his dark eyes looked up at her. "Sam?"

She sat back on her haunches more and stopped pressing against his chest so her fingers could tease the skin of his torso. "Just lie back."

"And not touch?" he was incredulous.

"Well, yes," she arched an eyebrow at him and taking hold of the hem of her sleep chemise she pulled her top off over her head.

Jack made an approving sound in his throat and lifted his hands to fondle her bared breasts.

Sam rose up and stepped off the bed with a twinge of regret. Her breasts throbbed for his touch but his hands were too skilled at shredding her self control and she wasn't interest in that happening this time. She was in complete control and it was going to stay that way.

Smirking down at him she hooked her thumbs in her waist bands and in one smooth motion stripped off her flannel pajama pants and panties. Naked now as he, she folded the garments up, set them onto the dresser, and opened one of the drawers.

It took only a moment to find what she wanted and when she turned back to the bed, she watched Jack swallow hard and his eyes go impossibly darker when he saw what she held in her hands—two of Jack's silk neckties.

Approaching the bed again, she dangled the neckties and let the triangular ends graze over his skin. She traced up his feet, legs, torso, to his arms and enjoyed every moment of watching his skin twitch and ripple in reaction to the silken caress as his breathing broke into pants.

When the end of one necktie touched eased one of his palms, he fisted the silk in his hand, stopping her from teasing him with it, and their gazes locked.

They stared each other down in pure challenge.

Both asserting their dominance.

Their right to be in control.

And then, still holding onto the handful of silk, Jack twisted his hand so that the necktie twisted around his wrist and oh god, the sight of that, the sign of his submission turned the sweet ache between her legs into a demanding throb.

Looping the second necktie around his other wrist, she fashion looped handles for him to hold onto and knotted the ends to the iron headboard. He wasn't tied down, all he had to do was let go and untwist his wrists to slip out of the 'bonds', but he was still restrained. Restrained by his choice to actively submit himself to her will and that made the thrill of power she felt all the sweeter.

Trailing her fingers, lightly, so they tickled down his arms, she grinned as he gave her the evil eye and squirmed. Then she scratched her nails through his hair, the way he liked it, in silent apology for the tickling.

Leaning down she brushed her lips lightly across his eyebrows, lingering only long enough to press a sweet kiss to the scar that bisected the corner of his left eyebrow. She scattered a few light kisses across his forehead before her lips trailed down the bridge of his nose and dropped a kiss on the tip.

Sam pressed a last kiss onto his stubbly chin and then she climbed onto the bed again between his legs. Her hands settled onto his ribs and she just savored the feel of his skin, rubbing up and down before her hands slid all the way down his torso to his hips, gripped his thighs, and pushed outward.

He took the hint and spread his legs apart more.

God, she'd never get tired of seeing him like this. Jack could be sexy even splattered in mud but nothing beat the raw and in your face power of this casual display that emphasized his masculinity.

She rewarded his obedience by sliding her fingers down in an electrifying caress to where hip met thigh, down past his taut balls to the curve where his butt met his legs, and then she switch direction again and dragged her fingers back up the crease. She repeated the motion again, dragging her fingers down the sensitive crease and back up but this time, when her fingers were just beneath his tight balls she pressed in and up.

"Jesus!" Jack roared and lurched upright but was drawn up short with a jerk by the silken ties that he held onto with white knuckles. He growled in frustration and fairly vibrated with tension as he strained against the bonds he gripped.

Licking her lips, she closed her hands around his balls and played. Stroke and rubbed, squeezed and tugged and delighted in watching his legs twitch and quiver around her and his head and arms thrash and flay on the sheets. It made her so hot to turn him into a tormented bundle of need and the fact that his hands didn't let go of the neckties made her all the hotter.

"Oh Christ, Sam please, oh…" his gasping breathing broke with a moan, "Sam please, please, please, ah—ah, please!"

Her thumbs rubbed circles over the fleshy sacks she held, feeling the shape of the testes within as her eyes raked over the debauched picture he made; all flushed skin and taunt muscles glistening with sweat that just begged to be tasted.

But what to taste first?

Her gaze landed on her husband's still untouched erection and the pearly bead of liquid that shimmered on the tip. Grinning like the Cheshire cat she was sure, she leaned forward, puffed her cheeks, and blew a long, gentle breath over the head of his hard-on.

Jack went rigid as his back arched and for a heartbeat he hung there, on the cusp, before with a frustrated groan that came from deep in his chest he collapsed back onto the sheets. His hands clenched and released on the bonds he held, but he didn't untangle his wrists. Panting, he gathered enough breath to gasp, "Evil woman."

She puffed another breath over the damp head of his erection and his whole body shuddered as his hands fisted the ties again. With a chuckle, knowing how close he had been but that the edge was now one frustrating step further away, she leaned forward even more and set her mouth to his belly button and tongued the dip.

"Evil, evil woman," he rumbled gutturally.

"And you love it," she said and flicked her tongue out for another taste of his salty skin. But as much as she loved being evil, holding him in sexual thrall, her own need for him had tightened her breasts into unbearable aches and between her legs was a throbbing emptiness that demanded fulfillment.

Sitting up again, she straddled his hips and just sat there for a bit, racking the sexual tension higher by drawing out the anticipation.

Then holding his gaze, Sam lifted one of her hands to her mouth, and as he watched intently, she licked one finger in a long draw out stroke, then the next, her tongue swirling out to dampen all her fingers. Then she kissed her thumb and dragged it down her chest, between the valley of her breasts, to her belly button and lower to her mound.

Her breath escaped in a low moan as her fingers touched the swollen bundle of nerves at the top of her sex and she couldn't resist stroking herself, stimulating herself and arousing Jack with the teasing sight. Each pleasurable stroke wound her tighter and it was an effort of will to take her hand away, to not send herself over the edge but as good as it would be to come like this, it would be a thousand times better with Jack inside her.

Fingers slick now with saliva and her juices, she finally touched his sex, trailing one fingertip up the exposed vein on the underside of his erection to the base of its flared head before her fingers slipped around his shaft and lifted it up.

Her eyes flicked up to see the fixated expression on Jack's face as he watched her bring him to her and as the flared head pushed up through her slick folds to nudge her clit, the sight, oh god, the feel—was almost too much. She let out a long shuddering moan and rocked her hips against him.

Sensation zinged through her and she rocked against him again and again. Each time his cock stroked up and the tip pressed against her clit, she couldn't help moaning as the pleasure surged higher and reveled in the growling rumble sounding in Jack's chest, plainly saying he was enjoying it just as much.

But as much as she enjoyed teasing both of them, she wanted more. Rocking forward one last time, she lifted up on her knees more so that his erection slid down to lodge against her opening.

Their eyes caught and held.

Panting in anticipation, Sam slid down excruciatingly slowly onto his shaft until she was fully seated on his hips. Sitting there, feeling the agonizing pleasure of stretching around him as Jack speared up into her she felt like she was on the edge of tipping into her climax. Gritting her teeth, she reached deep for her self control and tensely held it off.

When her racing heart no longer felt like it was going to run away on her, she relaxed and gasped as she slid down just a fraction more on his length. She shivered and felt him shudder too beneath her spread thighs.

Eyes still holding each other, she laid her palms on his stomach and then clenched her muscles inside around him in an internal caress and watched his eyes roll back in his head.

Releasing and then clenching again, she matched the rhythm of the internal stroking to her breathing.

Breathe in and clench.

Breathe out and relax.

All too soon she was trembling on him, her thighs tight with tension and the burning need to rise up and down to ride him. Panting she fought to keep still on top of him, to tip them over the edge with this restrained, internal stroking that was driving them both deliciously mad.

But as her muscles clenched around his erection uncontrollably, her restraint broke and her nails dug into his skin.

With a desperate sound she rose up and slammed back down onto him.

Ecstasy whipped through her, engulfed her entire body, and she grew frantic to feel more of the burning pleasure. She began to ride him in earnest and as her strokes grew faster and more forceful the exquisitely controlled love-play turned into carnal fucking.

Her passionate cries and pleasurable gasps joined Jack's in a raw, sexual symphony and as their sounds reached a crescendo, her movements turned jerky and frantic. With a gasped scream, her release tore through her in an explosive end that ignited stars in her mind.

Sam's last sight before her vision went was of Jack's beautiful expression as he came and the last thought before her mind went was of how damn much she loved him.

. . .

Bundled up in snow pants, winter parka, beanie, mitts and chin warmed by a knitted scarf Jack glided on skis behind his wife as they skied through the forest around the cabin. The late afternoon light from the sun shone with a warm yellow light through the bare branches and evergreen boughs to make the snow glitter on the ground.

The bright colours of Sam's winter clothes stood out against the white landscape and while the bulky clothes more or less turned her body into a bunch of shapes, instead of the shapely body he knew it to be, he still enjoyed watching her from behind. It had been a long time since he'd had the opportunity and even rarer in a setting outside the edgy situation of a mission.

The air was quiet, but not silent. Birds twittered and flitted from snowy branches in search of food with the occasional loud scolding of a squirrel and underpinning it all was the rustled of their clothing as they poled through the snow and the barely there shush-sound of their skis over the snow.

Up ahead the trees parted to reveal the frozen creek that led into the pond and they skied along its banks for a while before turning off and skied into sight of the cabin. They glided easily over the packed snow of the ploughed out driveway to the boathouse, which was more an all purpose shed than just for housing the aluminum rowboat used for fishing, and unsnapped their boots.

"That was a lovely idea Jack," Sam complimented as they put the skis and poles away. "We should do that more often when we come up here."

"Glad you liked it. I'll talk to the Lloyds," he named their closest neighbours—who admittedly were quite a few klicks away—and ski enthusiasts who kept the local ski trails in shape, "about having our loop groomed when we know we're coming up. I'm just glad I remembered to ask them to groom it for your birthday."

Glad he'd remembered to ask and that sheer force of habit, which had been passed to him by his grandfather, had made him cut the brush back on the old ski trail when he could get up here in the summer. He liked hiking leisurely through the woods with Sam and skiing with her was something he could see enjoying almost as much. It would certainly be a nice way to get out and enjoy winter at the cabin even more.

Leaving the boathouse it took Jack a few strides to get used to walking again versus the sliding push that skiing demanded. When he reached the cabin porch, he found Sam waiting for him, obviously ready to lend him a hand with the steps if needed.

He gave her a tolerant look. He was well aware of his limits, especially the limits placed on him by old injuries, and as much as he did like her concern for him at times he would also like a little faith that he knew what he could and couldn't do. "It's okay Sam, the knees are fine."

She gave an unrepentant shrugged and preceded him inside the toasty warmth of the cabin.

Inside he stripped off the mitts, unwound the scarf, pulled off his beanie, and started on his parka. Sam finished undressing before he did, even stripping out of her sweater and shirt down to her thermal undershirt after removing her gear. He found he had to do the same as he also found the cabin now overly warm.

Following her into the kitchen, he stole the glass she had used to get a drink of water and got himself a drink as well. The exercise from skiing had made him surprisingly thirsty. Filling up the glass a second time he downed half the glass and then offered, "Want the rest?"

She finished it off and then set it next to the sink with the dirty measuring cups, bowls, spatulas, and beaters that he had used to bake her cake this morning after their very, very late breakfast. More brunch than breakfast but that worked fine for him. He was hoping he'd be able to hold off on the present opening and cake eating until evening without giving away what he was trying to do.

Speaking of cake though, it should be cool enough to put together and ice now. Reaching out he tested the two cake pieces on the cooling racks besides the fruit bowls. Yep cool to the touch and he was rather proud at how they'd turned out.

He'd asked Sam earlier this month if she'd wanted a chocolate or vanilla cake but hadn't gotten an answer so he'd gone with both. And not 'both' like some cakes did, chocolate on one side with vanilla on another, he'd made up the two batters and then poured a bit of each into each cake tin and stirred the batters together a bit to make a cake that had two colours swirled together.

Retrieving the bowls of frosting and vanilla cream filling from the refrigerator he set them on the counter and got out a clean spatula.

"Icing time?" Sam asked with a faint smile on her lips as she propped a hip against the sink and watched him.

"Icing time," he confirmed enthusiastically.

Her smile deepened and without asking she got a large plate out from the cupboard next to her, where they stored the large plates and platters, and handed it to him.

"Thanks." He stacked the first cake piece, the bottom, onto the plate. Using the spatula he scrapped all the vanilla cream filling from the bowl onto the bottom and spread it out. When he was done he offered her the spatula. "Here, you can have it if you want. Or just rinse it off for me if you don't."

She took it from him and he wasn't really surprised when she scraped a taste off on her finger but rinsed most of the extra fill off under the tap water. His wife just didn't have the sweet tooth that he had.

He lifted up the second piece and after eyeballing its position twice, finally set it onto the bottom piece to make a two layered cake with vanilla cream filling. Accepting the cleaned spatula back, he went to work on icing the cake while she watched. "Hey, Sam, could you go get your hair dryer?"

"My hair dryer?"

"Yeah, could you get it?"

"You want my hair dryer." It was more a statement than a question and clearly a statement that said she was questioning his sanity.

Jack looked up from icing to see her confused expression. "Yeah, that's what I asked."

"Why?"

"If you get it, I'll show you why," he challenged.

She gave him a long measured look that again said clearly his sanity was in question but she went to get it anyway.

He hummed a few victorious notes under his breath, happy that either his challenge or her curiosity had led her to fulfilling his admittedly odd-sounding request without further questions. Pulling out the shaker of rainbow coloured star sprinkles he'd bought specifically for the cake, he shook them all over the top of the cake until the top was nicely covered.

He suspected when Sam saw them, she'd think them an interesting choice for her birthday but she would get it later. When she reappeared in the kitchen he eagerly held out his hand for her hair dryer.

Sam however, held it back. "Still not going to tell me why you want it?"

"And spoil the surprise?" he said with mocked innocence as he made a give-me motion with the hand he was holding out.

He kept that false wide-eyed innocent look on his face when she rolled her eyes at him but after she did pass the hair dryer over and he'd plugged it in, he couldn't resist making her twitch a bit by playing with the settings by ramping the heat and the speed up and down and up and down.

It reminded him of the good old times when he'd played with… stuff, in her lab. Never mysterious alien doohickeys, those he kept a safe distance from, but her tools and other equipment had been relatively fair game. The fun of course had been seeing how far he could push his Captain-then-Major-then-Lieutenant Colonel before she called him to task and rescued whatever he was in potential danger of damaging.

That fuse of course was much shorter now that they were married. When it took only moments for her to look like she was on the verge of taking it back, he figured he'd tormented her enough. He really did want the hair dryer for something and it would be a shame if she took it away from him before he actually got to use it.

Turning the heat up and speed down for the last time he aimed the hair dryer and started blow drying the icing.

"Jack?" she drawled out his name questioningly. "Honey?"

"Yes dear?" the tone of her voice had an odd note he didn't think he'd ever heard and it made him look up to see the most concerned look on her face he'd ever seen directed at him. And there had been a lot of concerned looks in the years they had known each other—near-death experiences tended to bring them about and they had had a lot of those in their line of work.

"What are you doing?"

"Um…" he looked down at the hair dryer in this hand he was using on the cake and back up at his wife, "making the icing shiny?"

"Making the icing shiny," she repeated in a monotone, her brows drawing drew together in an intense frown.

"It's a baking trick," he said hurriedly. "You know how bakery cakes icing always looks so shiny and smooth? Well if you blow dry the icing, it melts the icing a bit and it gives a more shiny and um, professional look."

Her frown turned curious. "Who taught you that?"

"Cassie."

Her frown smoothed away as with a laugh she shook her head at him. "I am not surprised. Do you know where she learned it?"

He shrugged. "Internet probably. I can't see it being a, er, Toronto baking trick."

"No, I suppose not. How long is it going to take to finish blow drying the cake?" Her expression twisted funnily. "I can't believe I just said those words in the same sentence."

He grinned at her but admitted, "I have no idea. Until it looks done I guess. Why don't you find a book to read or go do… something on your laptop."

She arched an eyebrow at him and teased. "You're going to let me on my laptop today?"

"Very funny Sam. That no-computers rule hasn't been in place for ages—especially since we installed the router and it is your birthday and you get to do what you want today, so if you wanted to do some things on your laptop, go ahead. On our way up here you were excited about some new Asgard core breakthrough the Area 51's eggheads made and I expect you're eager to go over the specs or whatever."

"If you're sure…?" her voice was torn between reluctance and eagerness.

"Go on," he urged. "This is a one person job. No sense in both of us being here for it. Take your laptop into the bedroom so the noise of the hair dryer doesn't irritate you and don't worry, I'll keep an eye on the time and let you know when you've been at it too long and need to focus on more important things," he wagged his eyebrows at her, "like cake."

She laughed lightly at his antics and with an eager bounce in her step, did as he'd suggested and took her laptop from the writing desk where it was usually set up, into their bedroom.

Jack blew out a relieved breath once she was safely ensconced in the bedroom and rotated the cake to start blow drying another section of icing.

Hopefully whatever the Asgard core breakthrough was would be fascinating enough that she did get caught up in it and lose track of time. It would just be his luck that the one time he actually wanted some computer thing to hold her attention, it wouldn't.

Otherwise he'd have to come up with some other idea to keep Sam distracted so that time passed quickly into the evening without giving away that he was waiting specifically for evening for what he had planned.

He rotated the cake again and hoped that the fates were kind to him today.

. . .

Sam shook her head in annoyance when she found she was squinting more and more at the screen of her laptop. Wondering what had happened to the lighting, she looked up and realized with a jolt that she was squinting because the daylight was almost gone!

Without her being aware of it, the warm light of the early afternoon that had been outside the windows when she'd retreated to the bedroom to take a quick peek at the Asgard core developments had faded to the dim light of the early evening. Soon it would another Minnesota winter night.

Where had time gone? And more importantly, how had so much time passed without Jack coming and getting her like he said he would? It couldn't have taken him all afternoon to blow dry the cake… could it?

In the main room she found the couch had been shoved back from its central position before the fireplace and the dining table had been put there instead. The table was romantically set up for dinner with silverware, crystal glasses, a lace table cloth, linen napkins, and taper candles.

The kitchen was where she found Jack listening with enjoyment to one of the many operatic recordings he had on CD and watching the pots on the stove.

"Hey you," he greeted as he started turning elements on the stove off.

"Hey," she returned. "Why didn't you come and get me?"

"You were enjoying yourself, no point in interrupting that." He shrugged and began transferring the pots to the counter and then started dishing servings onto the two good china plates he had waiting. "Well, at least I assume you were enjoying yourself. I didn't hear any hollering or swearing about incompetent idiots and it did keep you occupied for hours."

There wasn't much she could say to that. She had enjoyed herself and it had been sweet of him to let her indulge in reading up on the Asgard core developments because when their weekend together ended and they went back to work, it would be her job to 'indulge' in it. "Can I help?"

"You can get the wine out of the fridge," he offered as he picked up the plates and carried them out of the kitchen.

She fetched the bottle and then joined him at the dining table as he shook out the match he had just used to light the candles.

"Thank you," he said as he reached for the bottle. "Now you just have a seat and enjoy your birthday dinner."

"Birthday breakfast, birthday lunch delivered while I was on the computer, and now a birthday dinner. You're really spoiling me today," she remarked as she did as bid.

"It's your birthday, no one can be spoiled on their birthday," Jack asserted as he poured the wine and then took his seat across from her.

She reached her hand across the table and settled it on top his. Giving it a squeeze, she smiled at him. "Thank you Jack, it looks lovely."

It did look lovely and it was a lovely meal. Jack had cooked a delicious dinner of battered and fried rainbow trout fillets from the fish that they had caught in the summer during one of their trips up here and paired it with string beans with almonds and rice. Their dinner conversation was all together wonderful too and slightly flirtatious as they discussed a variety of topics.

Before Sam knew it, the meal was done and Jack was removing dishes from the table so she stood up with her plate and cutlery in hand. "Here, let me help."

"No need," Jack took the dishes from her and headed for the kitchen, "I'm just making room for the cake."

"Ah yes," she settled back into her seat, "the cake."

He got the cake from the kitchen counter and with a flourish, set it down on the table in front of her. "But before cake, we must have presents! Hold on a sec."

She directed a smile at his back as he retreated to the bedroom where the gifts were, with their luggage, and then turned her attention to the cake. A handful of birthday candles were arranged to form the numbers 4 and 1 on top and it looked like blow drying the icing had actually worked, as the white icing with its covering of rainbow coloured stars was surprisingly silky and glossy looking.

Jack emerged from the bedroom with a pile of presents in his arm which he deposited on the displaced coffee table. Gathering up the birthday card envelopes he fanned them out like a deck of playing cards and offered them to her. "Pick a card, any card."

She chuckled and picked one of the colourful envelopes. It was a birthday card from her first officer, Major Tyrone Franklin, which included a gift certificate to a well known dessert shop in Washington.

"And no, you may not use it," she warned her husband as she showed him the card and gift. "I don't care if it is your favourite place."

He pouted for a moment before he shrugged and waved the rest of the fanned out envelops at her. "Next?"

She made her selection and began working through them. The other cards were similar to Major Franklin, a card with birthday wishes and a gift card to various coffee shops or similar, from others she knew through work.

The first wrapped gift decorated with a bow was a small one, roughly the length and width of her hand, from Cassie. Sam read the card, smiled over the note penned inside, and then unwrapped the gift to reveal a customized smartphone case. The design on the back was the silhouette of a woman holding up her arm and from her outstretched hand overhead spilled the colourful visa of space, deep navy blues and purples with the pinks and creams of nebula clouds pricked by the white sparkles of stars.

Jack chuckled as he put down Cassie's card after reading it. "'The universe in the palm of your hand'—you've certainly had its fate in your hands a couple times!"

"Our hands," she corrected.

He merely smiled at the rebuttal and passed her another wrapped gift.

She accepted the present that was a bit larger than the first and rather lumpy feeling in silver paper. The card revealed it was from her brother Mark and family and after unwrapping the gift she lifted an eyebrow in surprise. Inside was the usual gift card, this year for ebooks, but it was taped to a large package of 150 glow in the dark stars!

She hadn't had glow in the dark stars in ages. As a child, she and her dad had created the night sky on her bedroom ceiling but they had moved so frequently when she was young and they had just… stopped at some point.

"Sam?" her husband promoted gently.

"Nothing," she took a steadying breath and set the stars down."Just remembering Dad."

"Oh?"

She shook her head. "It's… nothing. Just old memories, good ones I had forgotten. So which present is next?"

He gave her a measured look but didn't fuss further before he passed her a very large box.

It felt very light for its size and Sam gave it a shake but nothing rattled so she set it on her lap and opened the card to reveal the gift was from Vala. "Uh oh…"

"What?" Jack leaned forward inquisitively.

Without a word she passed the card over for him to read.

"'If Muscles can give you leather, so can I'?" he quoted aloud and then with a smirk, said with undisguised glee as he waggled his eyebrows at her. "I can't wait to see this gift."

She rolled her eyes at him. She was afraid of that. Unwrapping the paper from the box she opened it to find… another wrapped box. Setting the first box aside, she unwrapped the second smaller box and discovered a third wrapped box inside. Shaking her head over something that was so Vala, she unwrapped and unboxed three more gifts before she reached the actual gift nestled in tissue paper.

With a last glance at her far too keen looking husband she removed the leather item from the tissue and held it up and was surprised, and delighted, by what it actually was. She had feared Vala would give her a leather bustier or lingerie set but instead the alien woman had given her a leather top much like the one she'd worn during the undercover kassa mission. This shirt though was black in colour, a perfect match for her motorcycle pants, and knowing Vala had probably been bought because of that.

"Oh, that's nice," Jack remarked. "I was though, expecting something a little more... well, Vala-ish."

"That was kind of obvious," Sam remarked dryly as she traced the decorative pattern of stars on the hem and sleeves before folding the shirt up. "But trust me, as much as you think you want me in leather, it's a nuisance to get out of."

"Oh, I don't know about that. I manage your motorcycle pants pretty well."

She threw one of the extra boxes at him.

He caught the box with a laugh, set it aside, and selected another gift for her to open. This one was wrapped in paper decorated with balloon clusters.

She read the card from her Uncle Irving and opened the present to find in the packing peanuts an eight inch tall wooden Moai statue from the Easter Islands off the coast of Chile. "I was wondering where he was going to go after touring all the states."

The next gift was from Daniel and she unwrapped it to reveal a large academic looking text titled 'New Astronomy: Johannes Kepler' translated by William H. Donahue. The book was well known to her. It had originally been published over four hundred years ago and better known by part of its original Latin title Astronomia nova, it was considered one of the greatest books on astronomy providing strong arguments for heliocentrism and contained the first mention of planets moving on elliptical paths.

"Oh wow, that was sweet of him," she mused as she flipped the book open, read the flyleaf inscription, and then laughed aloud. 'Happy Birthday Sam! Hope you don't mind the few corrections I made to Donahue's translation. Love, Daniel.'

"What's so funny?" Jack leaned forward inquiringly.

She held the book up so he could read the dedication.

He read it and chuckled as he agreed. "Only Daniel."

She set the gift with the others and accepted the next present, a large rectangular box wrapped in party hats and cakes, that had some weight to it. Interestingly the card revealed it was a gift from both Cam and Teal'c. She never would have expected those two to get together on a gift.

Removing the paper she revealed two familiar logos on the box exterior, the textual logo of Wormhole X-treme and the reclining lion head of Metro-Goldwyn Pictures.

Turning the box around on her lap she frowned curiously at it. If the gift had just been from Cam she might have suspected a gag gift, something to do with the show's Stacey Monroe character that was based on her, but she couldn't see Teal'c going along with that. She cut the tape sealing the box and folded back the flaps to reveal the surprising gift inside—a Wormhole X-treme Celestron telescope.

"Oh my," she breathed as she carefully lifted the gleaming black telescope with the show and studio logos embossed in silver just behind the lens shade on the optical tube.

Jack gave a low whistle as he examined the sleek telescope she held. "Wow. I know the guys were going to—I mean, I had no idea that they made anything like that for the show. What kind is it?"

"Not sure, says it's a Firstscope 70 AZ," she read off the telescope before setting it aside and digging through the box. Besides more telescope parts, like the tripod legs and Altimazuth mount, she unpacked a letter of authentication from the studio, a Peterson First Guides Astronomy book, and a star and planet guide by Celestron, before finding the manual at the bottom of the box. "Ah, it's a basic refracting telescope. And what's that you know about the guys? You knew they were going to give me a telescope?"

He looked a little sheepish. "Um, well. Kinda. I didn't know it was going to be a Wormhole X-treme one, but they did check with me if you already owned one. So, we going to set it up tonight? Looks like the forecast of clear skies have held up so we'll get a good view of the deep sky."

"That's a good idea," she eagerly agreed. It had been a long time since she'd enjoyed the simple pleasure of backyard stargazing and even longer since she'd owned a telescope herself. If Jack had known about the telescope it would certain explain why he'd worked at keeping her distracted all day, first with skiing and then letting her play without interruption on her computer, if an evening of stargazing with the goal.

"But first, your last gift," he stated and held out the slim square jewellers case wrapped in ribbon to her with a warm, almost shy, smile on his face. "Happy birthday Sam."

"Thank you," she accepted the gift with a warm smile of her own. Her smiled deepened as she read the card from her husband with its touching message of love but then she read the quote from a 90s song that had been in her birthday card last year. Her hands stilled and warily she looked up at him, "Jack?"

"What?"

"You quoted the After 7 song again."

"I know."

"Last time, husband mine, you quoted 'I'll give you the sun, the rain, the moon, the stars and the mountains' you actually gave me the moon—well, a moonwalk. You can't blame me for being a little wary about this!"

"Relax," he chuckled, "I haven't given you the moon again. Or the sun, you don't take good care of your suns after all—"

She groaned at the dig. Really, blow up one sun and it haunted you for the rest of your life, either as an unbeatable achievement or teasing fodder.

"—and as the Madronans don't exactly have a spare Touchstone lying around, giving you rain is out too. And you and I both know that buying a star or naming one is baloney—unless you are the discoverer of the star or comet, then the International Astronomical Union will take your suggestion or use your name.

"As for mountains, there's already a Carter Mountain in Wyoming and the Carter Range in New Hampshire that sadly aren't named for the right Carter. I could put your name forward to name a mountain or mountain range offworld but I think you deserve something more stellar than rocks. Rocks after all, are Daniel's prerogative."

"Oh, you," she shook her head at him and opened up the jewelry case. Nestled on the black velvet were stars of silver. Elegant in their simplicity she couldn't resist touching a fingertip to a star that was one of the earrings, then the star hanging from the necklace chain, and finally she ran her fingertip along the stars strung together to form the bracelet.

She couldn't help the misty smile that formed on her lips or the melting sensation in her heart. Jack was right, one couldn't buy a star or buy a name but he had managed just fine to give her the stars none the less. In fact, her entire family had given her 'the stars' and she had no doubt that her husband was the reason. "They're beautiful Jack."

He reached across and his fingers slid along the curve of her jaw until his hand cupped the side of her face. "Like you."

She sobbed and laughed at that, a little overwhelmed with emotion and felt herself get a little teary eyed. She took a few moments to gather herself back together and then turning her head, pressed a brief kiss to the palm of his hand. "Love you. Come on, let's set up the telescope and go stargazing. We can have cake when we come back in."

"Not now?" his face fell a little.

She smiled at him. "I think cake and a hot drink would be the perfect way to finish off a night of stargazing, don't you think?"

"Ah yes. Cake and hot toddies," his expression brightened, "perfect. You always do have the best ideas."

Together they put together the telescope—well, she put it together while Jack more played with the parts than helped—and after bundling up in their winter clothes and turning off the cabin lights, he held the door open for her to carry the telescope out into the night. Outside the night air was cold, but not unbearable, and overhead the stars twinkled brightly in the clear, moonless sky.

The sound of snow crunching beneath their boots was loud in the otherwise quiet night as they made their way to the pond and set up the tripod on the dock. Here, the view of the night sky was unimpeded by buildings or trees.

She finished setting the telescope up just as Jack got back with two folding chairs from the boat house and stepping back, tilted her head up to gaze at the star studded sky overhead.

As she did so, Jack stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, and with a happy sigh she contentedly hugged his arms with her own, leaned back into his body, and rested the back of her head against his shoulder.

As beautiful as it was to view the stars through a telescope, or amazing seeing them through Hammond's windows, this was the perfect way to stargaze. Snuggling with Jack and taking in the beauty that had brought them into each other's lives and then forged them together through their adventures amongst them.

So here she was, one year older with another birthday gone and she couldn't wait to see what the coming year, and the stars, brought her.

-FINISHED