Tender Loving Care by Sue Corkill

<div align="center" class="storytitle">"Tender Loving Care" by Sue Corkill </div>

Title : Tender Loving Care

Author : Sue Corkill

Email : scorkill@earthlink.net

Category : Sam & Jack, Challenge Response

Status : Complete

Rating: NC-17

Content warnings : M/F, Graphic sex, Angst

Pairings :

Season/sequel info : Fifth season

Spoilers : Ascension, The Fifth Man

Archive : SJAdult, Heliopolis, SJRA

Summary : Sam takes care of Jack after his return from P7S-441.

Disclaimer : All publicly recognizable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Feedback : Cheerfully accepted.

Author's Note : This is a response to the 'No-Penetration' challenge presented to the samjacknc17 list. Enjoy!

Copyright (c) M. Susan Corkill, October 2001.

TENDER LOVING CARE

"Okay, Colonel." Jack watched warily as Fraiser put her penlight back in her jacket pocket. "You check out fine." She smiled down at him, "Nothing that a hot bath, a hot meal and a good night's sleep won't cure."

"Is that your prescription, Doc?" He tried to flash her his trademark grin, but only managed a yawn. He was exhausted, and all he wanted was to go home. He sincerely hoped Fraiser would release him soon; he watched expectantly as she made a couple of notations in his chart. "Ah, Doc?" he prodded after several minutes passed.

She finally looked up from her writing, smiling at him. "You're free to go, Colonel. I don't want to see you back on base for seventy-two hours."

"Yes, ma'am." Jack finally managed to smile at her as he jumped up off the bed he'd been lying on - only to stagger slightly.

Fraiser reached out a hand to steady him. "You all right, Colonel?"

"Yeah," he replied quickly. "Just dizzy for a moment."

"Maybe I should get someone to drive you home?" she asked, concern lacing her voice.

"I'm fine, really." He assured her, backing slowly away from her. At her skeptical look he flashed her a quick grin, holding his arms out at his side. "See - all better."

"All right," she agreed, her tone telling him she didn't quite believe him.

"See you later, Doc," he called as he turned and hurried out into the hallway. She was right to worry, he acknowledged somewhat wryly, he really did feel lousy, but he knew he'd feel much better once he got home. Home...during the four days on P7S-441, when he and Tyler had tried to stay hidden in that crumbling ruin, home had never been far from his mind. His big, soft bed; his bathroom - with hot and cold running water; his kitchen, complete with refrigerator and stove - and hot food. He'd passed many a long watch during those nights, while Tyler slept, planning what he'd do when he finally got back home. Jack couldn't fault Hammond for the decisions he'd had to make regarding sending reinforcements-and rescuing him. Hell, Jack knew he'd have made the same decisions. He had known though, with an unwavering certainty, that his team would return for him. They always did - and they hadn't let him down. Pushing open the locker room door, Jack's footsteps echoed in the empty room as he crossed to his locker, he smiled slightly at the post-it note he saw stuck there. It simply read "your place". Jack felt a fresh surge of energy in anticipation of what waited for him at home. Pulling the note off his locker, Jack crumpled it into his pocket as he opened the locker and shrugged into his jacket.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sam?" Jack called out as he opened his front door. Slinging his jacket over a chair, he walked further into the room.

"Jack!" Sam stood silhouetted in the doorway to the kitchen. She looked so good to his tired eyes, as cool and beautiful as ever. If he didn't know better, he'd swear she hadn't lifted a finger all day - much less led an assault to rescue him. Her blonde hair was slightly tousled, as if she'd been running her fingers through it, and she looked drop-dead gorgeous in jeans and a little turquoise twin-set. Wiping her hands on a towel, she quickly crossed the room to him. Jack sighed softly as her gentle hands eased him into his favorite chair.

"Here, you relax while I finish dinner." He closed his eyes as she ran her fingers through his hair, her lips brushing his cheek in a tender kiss. God, it was so good to be home...and be with Sam. "Do you want something to drink?" he heard her call from the kitchen.

"Yeah, a beer would be nice."

"Janet didn't give you any shots or anything?" He could hear her rummaging in the fridge.

"Nah, nothing that you can't mix with alcohol. Just the usual anti-inflammatory," he added, wincing a bit as he straightened and then flexed his bad knee.

"Here you go, hon."

He felt the cool bottle being pressed into his hand. Without opening his eyes, he took it. "Thanks," he murmured, taking a drink. Jack sighed, the cold brew tasted wonderful. He felt Sam's fingers running gently through his hair and realized she had sat down on the arm of the chair. Turning his head into the caress, he groaned tiredly.

"What did Janet say?"

Taking another swig of his beer, he replied, "Just the usual. 'You're not a young man anymore Colonel, one of these days you're going to come back with more than just a few bruises and various aches and pains'." He mimicked the petite doctor perfectly. Sam chuckled quietly as he continued. "She said to eat some real food, take it easy for a few days - and take ibuprofen for the 'aches and pains'. "

"So, just a little TLC?" Sam asked, ruffling his hair as she stood up.

"What?"

"Tender loving care," Sam called back to him as she walked into the kitchen. Jack heard the back door open next, and decided that she must be using the barbecue. Taking another swallow, he let his head rest on the back of the chair, enjoying the soft comfort of the plush upholstery and the satisfying sounds of Sam moving about in the kitchen. He was almost asleep when he heard her calling his name from the kitchen. "Jack, dinner's ready."

Slowly getting to his feet, O'Neill shuffled into the kitchen, bringing his empty beer bottle with him. His eyes widened at the sight that awaited him there, a generous cut of New York Strip, baked potato, corn and a salad. One of his favorite meals. His mouth started watering at the sight and delicious smell of the food. Sam had a smaller cut of steak on her plate, along with the potato, corn and salad. "Sam, honey," he gave her an appreciative smile as he sat down. "This looks great!" Grabbing his knife and fork, he started digging in as she sat down across from him. "When did you have time to get all this stuff?" he asked as he buttered his potato.

She laughed softly as she replied, "I only had to stop and pick up the steaks, the rest of the 'real food' was already here."

"Well, it's great." Jack smiled at her again. "My favorite."

"I know, that's why I wanted to fix it for you tonight. I knew when we got you back you'd be starving."

Jack chuckled as he cut another bite of the steak. "Yeah, three days of MRE's is enough for anybody!" He saw a frown flash across her face, but it was gone so quickly he wasn't sure if he hadn't imagined it. But, then she was smiling again and offering him another baked potato, so he didn't think anything about it. They finished the rest of the meal in relative quiet as Jack made quick work of the food. Finally satisfied when his plate was empty, he pushed away from the table and with a huge yawn remarked, "Sam, that was wonderful."

She smiled shyly at him, a pleased look on her face. Jack felt a sudden twinge of guilt at having let her fix the meal on her own when she'd had just as hard a day rescuing him as he'd had being rescued. He cautiously stood up, his sore muscles protesting mildly, and began slowly gathering his plate and utensils off the table.

Sam jumped up at his movement and crossed quickly to his side, taking the plate out of his hand. "Jack, let me do that. I know you're tired."

Well hell, she was right about that-he was exhausted-but he couldn't let her do all the work. "Sam, we're both tired - or was that another blonde Major on P7S-441 today shooting at those Jaffa?"

"No, it was this blonde Major." She set the plate on the counter, then turned back to face him, her expression austere. "I've had the luxury, however, of sleeping in a bed for the last three nights and having regular meals - with real food. You haven't - now sit." Somewhat surprised by her vehemence, he did as she said, and sat back down at the table. Jack could only look on, bemused, as in less than five minutes Sam had the kitchen cleaned up. She grabbed hold of his hand then and pulled him up out of the chair, then turning lights off as she went, she led him down the hall to the bedroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam continued through the bedroom and on into the bathroom, pulling Jack along behind her. She let go of his hand, and he just stood docilely in the middle of the small room. It was a testament to how tired he actually was, she decided, that he was doing as she asked. Leaving his side, she began filling the tub with water. Once the water temperature was hot enough, she poured in some shower gel, then let the tub fill. She turned back to Jack, who stood watching her through heavy-lidded eyes. She smiled gently at him, and then began unbuttoning his shirt.

"Sam," he protested, his tone half-hearted as he reached up to help her; but he let her brush his hands away, and she pulled the shirt off, tossing it on the floor. His T-shirt came next, and then she knelt on the floor and unlaced his boots, pulling them and his socks off. Still kneeling at his feet, she reached up and unfastened his belt, then his pants, tugging them and his boxers down until they pooled at his ankles. She stood then, and seeing that the tub was full, turned off the water and taking his hand, coaxed him over to the tub.

"Just soak for a while, you'll feel better," she urged gently, as he put a cautious foot into the steaming water. Jack let out a tired-sounding groan as he settled down into the tub, sinking in under the water and bubbles until only his head was visible. Sam watched in satisfied silence as he closed his eyes, letting his head fall back against the back of the tub. Immediately rolling up a towel, she placed it behind his head.

"Thanks," he murmured drowsily, still keeping his eyes closed. Sam left him soaking in the tub, going into the bedroom and hastily changing into her night clothes - a thin pink cotton camisole and a matching pair of floral baggy pajama bottoms. When she returned to the bathroom, it didn't look like Jack had moved at all. Kneeling down next to the tub, she grabbed a wash cloth and dipped it into the water, bringing it to his face. She had just touched his cheek with the wet cloth, when he suddenly opened his eyes, his right hand fastening onto her wrist.

"Sam, you don't have to do this," his dark eyes searching hers intently.

"I know." She studied his beloved face, his weary brown eyes, the dark circles present beneath them, the extra lines etched into his brow and cheeks. He looked every bit his age - and then some - tonight. The three days he and Tyler had been stuck on that planet hadn't been easy on him. Her lips curved into a tender smile, all of her nurturing instincts coming to the forefront as she gently pulled her hand free of his restraining grip and began gently washing his face. "I just...need to take care of you."

He held her gaze a moment longer, then nodded and closed his eyes again, letting his head relax back against the folded towel. Letting out the breath she hadn't even realized she was holding, Sam continued to tenderly stroke his face, rubbing the wash cloth across the stubble on his cheeks and chin, secretly relieved that he was allowing her this intimacy. Oh, they were lovers all right - but their intimate relationship was still relatively new, and what she was doing right now somehow went deeper than sex. Sex was easy; caring and letting someone else care for you, now that was the hard part. She gently smoothed the cloth across his forehead; feeling pleased when he sighed again and seemed to relax under her touch. She smiled to herself as she reflected that their physical relationship had started under similar circumstances...when Jack had taken care of her after what had happened on Velona. She hadn't wanted to be taken care of; in fact, she had fought him every step of the way, still hurt by everyone's assumptions regarding her state of mind and her relationship with Orlin. But he had been persistent and she had eventually surrendered once she comprehended the sincerity and passion behind his actions.

Finishing with his face, Sam reached for the shower gel, squirting a generous amount onto the wash cloth and after lathering it up, she began washing his neck and shoulders. Her capable fingers stroking and massaging his still tense muscles through the thin cloth. Thinking back, she realized it had only been four weeks since Jack had followed her from the SGC to her ransacked house after she and SG-16 returned from Velona - and ultimately taken her into his home and into his bed. It hadn't been an easy four weeks, what with the aftermath of the raid on her house, Simmons' suspicions regarding her and the rest of SG-1 and the work she was having to go through to rebuild her trust in her team-mates - and they their trust in her. It had been frightfully easy to trust Jack with her body...and where before the events on Velona she would have blindly trusted him with her heart and soul, it had taken her time to rebuild that trust. Of course, she knew - deep inside - that the same was at least partially true for Jack. And just when she had felt that they had begun to heal that part of their relationship, she'd had to leave him behind on P7S-441. Damn, they never should have left him there.

Forcing her thoughts back to the task at hand, Sam slid her wash cloth down the muscled arm closest to her, gently grasping Jack's wrist and lifting his arm out of the water. Using long, firm strokes, she moved the wash cloth up his arm to his shoulder and then back down again. Letting the cloth fall into the water, she took his hand with both of hers and began a gentle massage of his fingers, slowly kneading each joint.

"I knew you'd come back for me," his voice broke the quiet in the small room.

"What?" she asked, glancing quickly at his face.

His eyes were closed, but he opened them and gave her a penetrating look as he repeated, "I knew you'd come back for me."

She dropped her eyes back down to his hand, her fingers stilling as she remembered the paralyzing fear that had almost overwhelmed her when she'd realized that Hammond wouldn't let them return to the planet for him. The very same fear that had quickly turned into disbelief and anger - nearly causing her to use force against her own people in order to return to rescue Jack and Tyler. She took a deep breath before answering in a voice that only shook slightly. "Well, I'm glad you did - because I was beginning to have my doubts."

"I knew you'd do whatever it took."

"Even if it meant disobeying a direct order?" she questioned, unexpectedly disturbed by the implications of his comment. "I mean, since it's obvious that I'm willing to break other regulations?" She went on a bit wildly, "What's a direct order from the base commander going to mean to someone like me?"

"Sam!" Jack's firm voice broke into her tirade. "That's not what I meant - and you know it." He turned his hand in hers, so that he was holding her hand. "Talk to me, Sam. What's really going on here?"

Pulling free from his grip, she put her hand down into the tub and grabbed the wash cloth, and leaning forward she took hold of Jack's other arm. Taking a couple of deep breaths, she started running the cloth slowly up and down his arm. "We never should have left you and Tyler behind." She turned her head to look at him; his eyes seemed even darker and more intent than usual. "You should never have given us that order." His eyes narrowed at her comment and Sam felt her stomach start to churn. She looked away, gripping his wrist tightly, as she waited for his response.

"Major, are you questioning my decision?" he asked, his voice deadly quiet.

Sam almost burst out with a hysterical laugh at his question. Here she was bathing him and he called her Major? Following his lead, she replied formally, "With all due respect, sir, yes - I guess I am." She looked up to meet his eyes then, keeping her expression open as she tried to convey to him the fear and worry she'd felt when he'd ordered them to abandon him on P7S-441.

She held his eyes for a long moment, until at last he let down his guard and she could see a corresponding worry and apprehension in his velvet brown eyes. "I needed to know you and the rest of the team were safe, Sam," he answered finally, his voice heavy with fatigue. "I knew I could take care of myself and Tyler." Closing his eyes, he let his head fall back against the tub. "And I knew you'd come back for me."

Well, she really didn't know what to say to that, and she also didn't know why she was being so bitchy with him - especially when she was just so relieved to have him back safe and sound. Loosening her grip on his arm, she let it back down into the water. Lathering up her wash cloth again, she murmured softly, "Lean forward." Jack wordlessly did as she asked, bringing his knees up and leaning forward, resting his arms on them. Sam began washing his back then, gently massaging and stroking his tired muscles. "I'm sorry, Jack. I don't know why I'm being such a bitch." She sighed, frustrated with herself. "I just felt so helpless, you were stuck on that planet and we were stuck at the SGC." Her voice quivered slightly as she continued. "Don't you know by now that I feel the same way about you? That I need to know you're safe?" Sliding her hands down his back and under the water, she began a gentle massage of his lower back. "At least if we'd been together, well, we would have been stuck together," she murmured softly.

"Yeah," Jack snorted, "and we'd probably all be dead together."

"Well, at least we would have been together," she retorted sharply.

"Sam." Jack turned his head to look at her, over his shoulder, his expression resigned. "Are we going to have this discussion every time something like this happens?"

She smiled ruefully at him. "Yeah, I suppose we are."

"Right, just wanted to verify that." He groaned softly, letting his head loll forward as she continued to knead his back, "Just remember I still outrank you."

"That's not something I'm likely to forget," she muttered under her breath, rinsing the suds off his back.

"I heard that."

Sam chuckled quietly and shifted her position, pushing on his chest so that he lay back in the tub again. "Lift your leg up, please." He obliged her by raising up the leg closest to her and she began washing it, running the cloth in smooth strokes up his calf, to his knee and thigh, stopping just short of his groin. "Next," she ordered and he lowered his right leg back into the water and raised up the left. She repeated the process and then concentrated on his feet, massaging and scrubbing each one thoroughly. "There," Sam dropped the wash cloth back into the water and stood, reaching for the hand-held shower attachment.

Turning back to Jack, she saw him watching her, his eyes once more reflecting his fatigue. "Shampoo?" he asked. She nodded as she knelt back down by the tub again. He sat up and lowered his head to his chest as she turned on the water to the attachment and adjusted the temperature. Sam carefully sprayed his head with water, then let the nozzle dangle in the tub while she squirted some shampoo onto his now wet hair. Using her fingertips, she began massaging his scalp, working up a lather in his short hair. She could tell he enjoyed it by his occasional groan, especially when she concentrated on the back of his neck, her strong fingers soothing the tendons there. Sam spent long minutes rubbing his head, reluctantly stopping when her hands began to tire. She rinsed his hair, and then ran the water over his shoulders and chest, making sure the last of the suds were rinsed away.

"Finished?" he asked.

"Almost, unless you want to shave?" she questioned, as she once more took hold of the wash cloth.

He brought a hand up and rubbed at the stubble on his jaw, "Nah, just have to do it again in the morning."

"Then, I'm almost done." With that said, Sam dipped her hand beneath the water, gently reaching between his legs and carefully washing his genitals. Jack groaned softly, and let his head fall back against the back of the tub at her tender ministrations. Not so tired, Sam thought, her lips curving into a small smile as she felt him begin to harden at her touch. Men, she mentally shook her head as she finished washing him, saying, "All done. Stand up, please."

Steadying him with her hands on his ribs, Sam helped Jack to his feet, water and suds sluicing down his lean body. Once he was upright, she took the shower attachment and quickly rinsed the rest of the soap off. Opening the drain in the tub, she reached around Jack to the towel rack and taking one of the large, soft towels there, she began drying him. Wrapping the towel around his shoulders and head, she gently rubbed his hair, moving on to efficiently dry his torso, then each arm. "Come on, out of the tub, honey," she coaxed, moving to kneel at his feet as he stepped out onto the bath mat. Starting at his feet, she dried his legs, his hands gripping her shoulders as he steadied himself while she lifted first one foot and then the other, drying each one thoroughly. She then let her towel-draped hands move caressingly up his hair-roughened thighs. She felt the almost imperceptible shiver that ran through him as she gently cupped him with the towel, tenderly drying him. She chanced a quick look up at his face, his eyes were closed and even through the fatigue she could still see there, his lips were curved in a contented smile. Slowly releasing him, she rose to her feet and gently swatted his butt, saying, "Let's go to bed."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack lay down in the bed, sighing appreciatively at the welcome softness of the mattress. His bed felt so good, in fact, he was actually starting to feel good. The delicious meal Sam had made and the incredibly relaxing bath had worked their healing wonders on his tired body. His stomach was full, he was clean, dry, warm - and best of all - he was back with his lover. Jack watched idly as Sam tidied up the bedroom and the bath, then finished getting ready for bed herself. God, he never got tired of looking at her and whenever he thought about it too deeply, he was astounded that she had chosen to be with him. Several more minutes passed before Sam finally shut off the bedroom light and crawled over him into the bed; he immediately wrapped his arms around her as she curled into his side. He rubbed his chin against her hair, as her head lay on his chest, delighting in the feel of her soft body pressed up against him. Jack hadn't realized how much he'd gotten used to holding her until now, when she was finally back in his arms.

"This feels so good," he whispered drowsily.

"Mmm hmm," Sam murmured, her hand tracing idle patterns on his chest. "It's nice to be back in a real bed."

"Real bed?" he asked curiously, his hand coming up to stroke her hair.

Sam squirmed a little in his arms, sliding one of her legs over his and nestling even closer to him. "Hammond kept us locked up on base." She chuckled dryly, "And it wasn't in the VIP quarters this time."

"He kept you locked up on the base?" he repeated, his curiosity well and truly aroused. Thinking back to the very short debriefing they'd had, he realized that no one had really explained to him what had happened with his team while they were back at the SGC and he was on the planet.

Sam propped herself up on one elbow, her pale face just visible in the dark room. "Let's just say that when we first returned and Hammond refused to let us return immediately with reinforcements, he met with some resistance."

"From you?" he asked, feeling proud and somewhat shocked at the same time.

"Well, from all three of us really." She reached out and gently caressed his cheek. "We refused to hand over our weapons at first, so he had the Gateroom SF's draw their weapons on us."

Jack was astounded by her confession. "Hammond actually held you at gunpoint?"

"We weren't being too cooperative, Jack," she confessed, her tone one of quiet amusement.

"Well, hell...I guess I'm flattered."

Leaning down, Sam kissed him, brushing his lips with hers. "I was scared out of my mind," she whispered against his mouth. "All I could think about was getting back to you." She pulled back slightly, and he felt her quiver as he reached up and lightly traced her lips with his fingers. She kissed them delicately, replying, "It was really close there for a while, Jack. Hammond was right to lock us up."

Jack pulled her back down into his arms, and she came willingly, wrapping her soft body around him again. Running his hand comfortingly up and down her back, he realized her confession went a long way towards explaining her earlier mood. It was one thing for him to question an order like that, but for Sam to, well, it spoke volumes regarding the depth of her feelings for him - that she had actually considered disobeying a direct order and using force to rescue him. "You made the right decision," he murmured.

Sam snorted, rubbing her cheek against his chest. "It didn't feel so right at the time."

Jack didn't respond verbally, he merely tightened his arms around her, once more luxuriating in the moment and the feel of her in his arms. He knew she loved him, but to have her demonstrate the depth of her feelings by demanding to charge back to his rescue, well, it satisfied him in a way that he couldn't even begin to explain. Verging on the edge of sleep, Jack felt so totally relaxed with her in his arms, that it took him a few minutes to realize Sam's hand had returned to stroking and caressing his chest and abdomen. He sighed softly, enjoying her soft caresses. She always seemed to know just how to touch him...and as her hand strayed closer and closer to his groin, he could feel his penis slowly starting to take an interest in her movements.

As Sam's questing fingers just brushed the base of his hardening penis, he felt her lips and teeth nibbling at his neck, slowing working their way up to his ear. When had she moved? "Sam," he groaned as he felt her warm breath in his ear, and then he shivered as her tongue snaked out to delicately lick at the shell of his ear. Almost simultaneously, her soft hand closed around the base of his penis, causing Jack to gasp and quickly reaching down, he grabbed her wrist. "Sam, baby," he sighed regretfully. "I really don't think I'll be able to finish anything you might start."

Biting at his ear lobe, she quickly soothed it with her tongue. "Don't worry, love. Just let me take care of you," she whispered in his ear, her warm breath and the promise in her words sending shivers up and down his spine. Letting go of her wrist, Jack exhaled slowly and let Sam continue her tender assault on his body.

Jack wrapped his arms around her as she slid more fully onto him, one of her legs coming between his so she lay straddling his thigh. He caressed the soft skin of her back, under the camisole, as she planted soft kisses on his eyes, nose and cheeks. Rubbing his cheek against hers, he chuckled when she grumbled, "You should have shaved." Her hands trailed lightly across his shoulders and he felt her shift down his body a bit as she began kissing and stroking his chest, her fingers and lips toying lightly with his small nipples. He groaned appreciatively as she moved her hips, rubbing her cloth-covered thigh against his burgeoning erection.

"I thought you were tired, lover," she purred, nipping lightly at his nipple, rocking her pelvis seductively against him.

Sliding his hands under the waistband of her pajama bottoms, Jack cupped her ass, pulling her tighter against him. "Guess I'm not that tired."

Wriggling out of his grasp, and a bit lower onto his thighs, Sam kissed her way down his chest to his belly. Her fingers tracing delicate circles on his skin as she continued to nip and suck at his flesh. Jack shifted with her, spreading his legs and bending his knees slightly so that she could lie comfortably between his legs. Raising his head, Jack watched her blonde head inch closer and closer to his groin, then closed his eyes and let his head fall back on the pillow, groaning softly at the first touch of her hands, and then her mouth on his still only semi-erect penis. Jack's hands fell limply from her shoulders, to rest at his sides, as he submitted to the intense pleasure of her touch. Her warm hands tugged and stroked from the base to the tip, urging the blood to flow until he was finally rock hard in her hands. He shuddered as she gently ran her nails down his shaft and then cried out softly as her hot tongue traced the same path her nails had taken. Jack soon found himself moaning helplessly as Sam gripped his shaft firmly and brought her lips to the head, sucking and licking and drawing as much of him as she could into the hot warmth of her mouth. "God, Sam..." he panted, bringing a shaky hand up to rest in her hair as his hips jerked in response to the sweet suction of her mouth. She'd never gone this far with him before; he'd always ended up buried deep inside her soft body long before they'd ever reached this point in their love play. Jack found himself desperately hoping that she would continue, as the combined stresses of the last few days and her thorough job of 'taking care' of him, had all finally added up and left him feeling as a weak as a kitten.

He groaned as she slowly released him, scraping her teeth along his length. "Easy, love," she instructed, her voice husky as she placed a restraining arm across his hips, returning to her task, teasing and licking at the sensitive head before once more taking him into her mouth. His breath coming out in short gasps; Jack tried to force himself to lie still, but quickly gave up as soon as Sam moved her arm from across his hips. His hand clenched in her hair as her now free hand tenderly grasped his balls, massaging them gently while her other hand continued to firmly stroke his penis. Giving into his need, Jack began moving his hips, helping to guide Sam as she followed his movements, her hot mouth never once leaving his straining erection.

Jack's control reached the breaking point as he felt the tightening in his gut that signaled the approach of his orgasm. With one hand he gripped the sheet tightly, the other still clenched in Sam's hair as she continued to work him in and out of her mouth until he finally surrendered to his climax. Thrusting up sharply with his hips, he cried out harshly as he exploded in Sam's mouth. Long moments of intense pleasure followed for Jack, as his orgasm seemed to go on and on forever. Sam stayed with him, milking him dry as she continued to hold him deep in her mouth, swallowing his seed. Jack's breath came heavily as he slowly came down from his shattering release, his entire body becoming heavy and lax as the last tremors of his orgasm chased through him. Exhausted, he was only vaguely aware of Sam's delicate touch as she released him, drying him with the hem of her camisole. She slithered up his body, and cupping his face between her hands, kissed him thoroughly. He moaned softly into her mouth, as he tasted himself on her lips and tongue. This had to be one of the most erotic moments they'd shared since becoming lovers.

"Sam," he breathed softly, "that was incredible." He felt her lips curve into a smile against his, then he rolled with her as she turned onto her side, somehow finding the energy to pull the covers up over both of them as he snuggled up against her back. Wrapping an arm around her and resting his hand low on her belly, he nuzzled her nape and murmured, "You didn't have to do that." He couldn't help the satisfied grin that came to his face as he continued. "I'm damn glad you did, but you didn't have to."

Clasping his hand with one of hers, Sam laced her fingers with his. "I told you I'd take care of you, Jack." He yawned then, fighting to keep his eyes open, and she must have heard him because the next thing he heard he say was, "Go to sleep, honey."

"But, you...?"

"It's okay, Jack," she reassured him. "I'll still be here in the morning."

"Thank god," he muttered, pulling her tighter against him. Closing his eyes, he buried his face in her neck, immensely grateful that they were once more together. During the long nights on P7S-441 he had missed holding Sam close and only his unyielding faith in her had kept him from giving up hope at being rescued at all. But he'd known she'd do whatever it took to get back to him - and he'd been right. And tomorrow - when he wasn't so tired - he decided, as he drifted off to sleep, she'd be the recipient of some TLC from him.

THE END