ARNING: This deals with Jack tending to Sam's personal needs during her period so if the topic is not to your liking, use your judgement and stay away from it.
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He couldn't believe this. It was raining like mad, Daniel was shouting at him through the radio that the last of the people they were evacuating from the planet had gone through the Stargate and that they had to go now. And Sam was nowhere in sight. The vegetation was so thick Jack could barely see where the hell he was going. Somewhere along the way he fell on his knees in the thick, sticky mud, his clothes soaked and clinging wetly to the skin, rivers running down his face from his cap. Even his boots were filled with water. And even worse, mud. But there was no way he was leaving the planet without Carter. He couldn't leave her behind, not knowing what had happened to her. If he knew for sure that she was ok and in a safe shelter he might consider leaving and coming back after the 24 hour masive storm, to retrieve her. But Like this, not knowing anything, he was not leaving.
Daniel and Teal'c were keeping the Gate open, but he knew they couldn't do it forever. He wished he could tell them to stay here with him and help search for her. They'd cover more ground, stand better chances at finding her. But, God, the natives needed Daniel there, they trusted him, he was an irreplaceable, calming presence for them, and Teal'c, well Teal'c was needed by Daniel to keep him in one piece from the assault of confused, scared people. Dreading what lay ahead for him, Jack gave them the order to go while he was fighting with a thick, huge leaf that wouldn't give way. Sure enough, they didn't like the thought any more than he did. But they knew the logic behind it. "We'll come back in 24 hours, Jack!" He heard Daniel's voice through the radio, almost covered by the loud noise of the storm. "Don't do anything stupid!"
Who? Him? Never. The transmission ended with a good luck wish and a promise to cover his ass with Hammond, and Jack was left to his own thoughts and struggle with the forest. He was fighting to get to her last known position, somewhere on a higher hill. She was supposed to secure the perimeter and keep an eye out for land slides. Damn it, he never should have sent her alone. He was out of breath, his body aching, the rain not letting up, mud sliding under his feet and the forest sheer hell to navigate through. He barely knew where he was, never mind finding her.
All Sam could feel was cold. And wet. She was lying face down on the muddy ground, her head turned to the side, eyes barely able to focus through the rain washing down her face. The other side of her face was cushioned by sticky cold mud, and she was sure she even had some in her ear. She could already taste it in her mouth. Her clothes were soaked and God, she hurt. Her back, her legs, her entire abdomen and chest. She was afraid to move, unsure of her situation and afraid that she would only make it worse. The pain in her back was far too severe for her to take that risk. She had no idea how long it had been since she ended up like that, her mind slipping in and out of consciousness, but she was suddenly aware of the Colonel's voice yelling her name through the radio. She couldn't move her hands, she realized, as she tried to reach for her station. They felt weak and numb, unresponsive to commands. She was starting to get really scared now, as the cold was sinking into her bone deep. He was looking for her, she knew he was. And she wanted him to find her so bad. Pick her up from the wet ground and take her home. She wanted to go home. She wanted those big new towels she had just bought. Her teeth were chattering as she closed her eyes and fought to stay awake, aware. He would find her, she was sure of it.
It felt like an hour or so had passed and she was still in the mud. No matter how much she tried, she could no longer pretend that the tears running down her face were not happening, because she was now crying freely. Her eyes were locked on the little black radio just within her reach, and focusing on the voice coming from it. She couldn't move her arms, she couldn't move her legs. Anything. All she could do was stare at the radio and lie there. He sounded tired, cold, his voice trembling, somewhat frustrated. She just had to wait. He'd find her. The hard rain was hitting her body, her head was starting to feel a dull ache, the blanket of water seeming even colder now. Would it be so bad if she just passed out now? At least she wouldn't feel the cold anymore. Sam screwed her eyes shut, her own tears indistinguishable from the rain almost drowning her. Maybe if she could just pretend to be in her home, in her bed, cuddled with a fluffy bathrobe around her, under the blankets. That wasn't so bad. She could just sleep for a while.
A hand suddenly gripped her shoulder and brutally ended her little fantasy. Jack dropped to the ground by her side, mindless of the mud he sunk his knees in.
"Carter... Carter can you hear me?" His hands brushed her face, pushing the hair off, closely inspecting her face without moving her and repeating her name over and over. She was grateful for the rain because she knew he couldn't see her tears. Although her face probably gave her crying away.
"Hurts..." She whispered.
"I know. You've been trapped under some rocks." His mind was racing, thinking of a million things at once. Getting her out, finding shelter for them. How to move her, what condition she might be in. "You're gonna have to be patient with me while I get you free, ok, Carter?" She nodded slowly. She had made it this far. What was a little longer?
But then a little longer turned into a lot longer, as Jack struggled desperately with the rocks and debris to free her legs and body. "Home..." She whispered weakly, her mind and body having reached the limits of their endurance. She wanted it over, she wanted to go home. Now. She couldn't do this anymore and she didn't care how it sounded or looked to her superior officer. She wanted to go home. He was suddenly by her side, partly stretching on the ground to be at her eye level and she forced some composure on herself as she stared into his eyes. He was just as dirty as she was, rain falling around the edges of his cap. She was stronger than this. She had to be.
"Not for 24 hours, Carter. We're alone here until the storm passes and Daniel and Teal'c come back with the cavalry." He saw her eye close as she understood. "Just hang on, ok? There are the caves these people lived in, nearby. We can find shelter there." Damn it, she just wanted to go home.
"I'm not sure I can walk..." She groaned, trying to push herself up off the ground. Her body was barely responding. Even her arms were of no use.
"Don't do that!" His hand pushed her back down and he winced when she slumped against the muddy ground. "Sorry..." He softly cleared his throat. "I think your back bone took some damage. I don't think it's so smart for you to move..."
"What're you suggesting?" She arched her neck to look at him. He looked cute. Soaked to the bone, the rain dripping around the edges of his cap, mud on his face, his hands. "I'm freezing here, sir. I think right now I'd trade my legs for a dry, warm place." She just watched him shake his head. Damn it.
"Look, just... let me think of something..." She let out a sigh and dropped her cheek back in the mud. Things could not get worse. But Jack once again proved to be a lot smarter than he let on as he used anything he could find to quickly tie together a solid stretcher. He ended up skinning his knuckles, tearing a fingernail, as he tied the wood together tightly, the pouring rain thankfully washing away the mud and dirt from the slightly bleeding scratches. If he kept this up he wouldn't be able to use his hands later, but he knew he had to get Sam out of the rain fast. Her lips were already starting to take on a blue tint and it seemed to him she was more out of it than with him. "Carter..." He patted her cheek, but all he got was a weak moan. He needed to get her to a shelter and start worrying about her injuries. Now. "Major... I need you to stay with me here!" He kept talking to her as he strapped the stretcher to her back with belts from the backpacks wrapped around her hips, waist and shoulders and carefully turned her face up. The fact that she didn't react wasn't good. Sure, it kept her from moving, instinctively trying to balance, but it was totally not good for her condition. "Carter... wake up!" Her eyes opened briefly, squinting against the rain now hitting her face. "This won't be too comfortable..." Jack bent over her to block the falling rain with his body, so she could look at him while he talked. "I'll have to tilt you up a little and drag you..."
The clouds were so dark, she realized as she saw the sky behind him. Grey and black, lightning shooting across it. She couldn't really see his face either because of the odd light from above. It was odd that it was so bright with clouds like that. She nodded at him and he moved from her side to the top of the stretcher, lifting it from the ground. She felt her world tilt, but oddly enough she didn't feel like reacting. Her body didn't seem to be up to it anyway. She felt him struggle with the stretcher until he got a good grip and she felt herself being dragged with the bottom end across the ground. It wasn't much, but she knew that at least she'd be out of the rain soon. She knew it was hard for him, carrying her like that, struggling with her body and their back packs, but Jack managed it. At that point in time he couldn't afford to lose their provisions and he knew it. His lungs were burning from the effort, his back aching and pain shooting down his legs as he felt he'd pop a vertebra too, but he wasn't going to dump any of their packs. He had strapped hers on top of his and put them on his back. Heavy, but necessary.
It felt like ages until the little hive-like caves showed up and he dragged Sam into the closest one of them, as far in as he could, so the wind and cold and dampness wouldn't sneak in. Jack couldn't believe he had made it. Gently, he lowered her to the ground and he dropped to his knees and on his side the next second, breathing heavily and unable to fathom the thought of moving. He was hurting in his every joint. Just laying here for a while was going to be ok. They had made it.
It took a while for his breathing to even out, for the burn to leave his muscles, but even then he really wasn't feeling much better. He was exhausted, he was freezing. Jack eased himself out of the straps of the backpack and pushed up on his knees. His clothes felt wet and cold, sticking to his skin and drawing the heat out of him. "Crap..." He groaned. Sam was in the same condition as he was, even worse. He felt pain shoot up his knees as he crawled to her side. "Carter..." She looked so pale, blonde hair plastered to her face, lips kind of purple. "Major..." His long fingers touched her face, gently peeling the hair off her face. She felt cold, too. "Carter, come on, the least you could do is keep me company through this ordeal..." He patted her face again and watched her open her gorgeous blue eyes. A little bloodshot, a little unfocused, dark circles under them, but he was blind to such things. "Better, huh?" She forced her eyes to focus on his face. He looked like hell. Water was still dripping from him, he looked exhausted and hurt and she wished so badly she could help him out. He worked to unstrap her from the stretcher and as soon as she was free she tried to move. "No, don't!"
The pain was horrific, knifing in her back and shooting all the way down her legs, bone deep. "Oh God!" She yelped. "Oh god, oh God, Oh God..." She fell back and screwed her eyes shut. She felt his hand on her shoulder, gripping tight as he looked down at her, face twisted in agony, while she waited for the pain to subside. It eased out slowly, leaving her swearing she was not going to move again for the rest of her life. "What the hell was that..." She looked up at him like he had the answers. But she knew as well as Jack did that her spine was in serious, very deep shit. "Oh, God, I could lose my legs..."
"You won't..." He whispered, but right now Sam just wanted Janet. And a computer tomograph. So bad.
"You don't know that... Those things could have crushed my backbone and it's just a matter of time until the swelling and the fractures crush my spinal cord and..." Her breathing was really speeding up now and her throat was constricting. She was panicking, she knew it, she hated it, but she could so not stop it. Her hands gripped the edge of the stretcher to ground herself, eyes locked on the ceiling. *Shit, don't do this...* She thought. He bent over her, gripping booth her shoulders and squeezing the muscles tightly, until she looked at him.
"You're not going to lose your legs!" He barked at her. God, how could he be so sure of himself? She stared into his dark eyes, willing herself to pull together. "You're not going to move, you're not going to do anything but just stay here until the boys come and we can take you home. Ok? Nothing is going to happen." He saw her screw her eyes shut and nod. He'd be freaked too, if he was in her place. Actually, he was freaked. Because he had no idea how to care for her. "Ok..." He kept a gentle hand on her shoulder as he looked around. "We need fire..." He dashed to a little primitive piece of furniture, made of wood and, he smashed it into firewood. Most of the things these people had were made of wood, so that was good. They had enough to keep themselves warm. He used the matches in his backpack and a few straws from the makeshift bed they had to light the fire and surrounded it with stones to keep it together. "At least we don't have to worry about being cold..." He sat by her side again. "How're you feeling?"
She swallowed. "Wet..." Jack's face lost its _expression for a second.
"Oh." He cleared his throat. "Right..." He looked down at himself. "Yeah. Same here... You got a change in you pack, right?" She nodded and he moved to the backpacks again, losing his vest and jacket and removing his boots and socks too. They were so soaked. "I guess I should look you over for injuries too anyway..." He told her as he emptied the contents of both packs on the ground to see what he had to work with. Sam hated not being able to look around for him. All she could do was stare at the stone walls, barely decorated with animal skins and drawings, while she listened to him move around and talk to her. The light from the fire was flickering warmly around her, on the walls, the heat wrapping around her skin. "I think I can break this board into something thinner and use it to immobilize your back..." She heard him say. "I need to get you into one of these beds..."
"Can't I just stay here?" She called back. She really just wanted to stop him fussing around for her. She was fine.
"Brilliant, Carter! Wanna add pneumonia to the list?" He came back to her side with what he needed and sat down. He had removed his T-shirt as well and she had to swallow again as she stared at the expanse of skin before her. Nicely tanned, a little chest hair starting to go grey, the nipples tightening in the slight draft. Oh, she was so fucked. He could have warned her at least. "Okay...I'm gonna start taking your clothes off..." He saw her nod and he started with her boots and socks. Starting small, working his way up to the important stuff, letting her get used to what they were doing. He didn't feel that much more comfortable about it either, if he were honest. Getting her naked was something that could do strange things to his brain. And body. But he had to do this for her. Removing Sam's vest and jacket was a little trickier, but he just took one arm out at a time and then slipped it from under her. "So..." He looked at her. Top or bottom?" She actually smiled. "What?"
"I can't believe you asked that..." She smiled up at him, a little sad. He could be so sweet sometimes. Childish, funny. She hated feeling so helpless, and he understood. He would have torn his hair out if he was in her place.
"Just wanting you to get the choice here..." He waved awkwardly at her and waited. He was good at stalling. "So what shall it be?"
She sighed. "Top, I guess..." God, this was beyond embarrassing, she sighed mentally. He was stripping her naked and they had to act like it was really no big deal. Oh yeah, sure, every day occurrence. *If only...* She sighed mentally. Not that she hadn't dreamt about him doing this before. But not like this. The circumstances were a lot more sexual, there was more passion between them, more intimacy. His hands gently pulled her T-shirt out of her pants and carefully pulled it up to her chest before she tensed. "Ok, you sure I can't just stay like this?" She said suddenly. "They'll dry from the fire..."
"Carter..." He held up a new T-shirt for her to see. "Dry clothes..." She stared at the black shirt. God she wanted to feel it on her. Her clothes were sticking to her body, cold and wet, the dampness seeming to sink into her bones. "Look... If you think you can manage alone..." He said letting go of her clothes.
"Can I try? Just do this by myself..." She looked up at him, searching his face. She didn't want to push him away, but she couldn't let him do this unless they had no other choice. It really wasn't proper, she thought, and it also scared her a bit, for some reason. She trusted him with her life. Just not her nudity apparently. Too vulnerable, she thought, or just too intimate. She couldn't let that occur so easily. There were regulations to remember. And quite honestly she wanted her nudity to be a lot more sensual to him than Sam was feeling now. Dirty, hurt, sweaty, wet, cold.
"Yeah, sure." He said lightly. "I'll be over there changing too..." She nodded and Jack left the shirt and towels within her reach, moving to another corner of the room with his own clothes. He watched her out of the corner of his eye, but that was just to make sure she was ok, he told himself. Not that looking at her undressing was an ordeal, but he really couldn't leave her unsupervised. She tried to move her arms to get the T-shirt off her head, but it proved to be a lot harder than she thought. Her fingers wouldn't respond properly, her arms still felt weak and uncoordinated. But she was not giving in, damn it. She could do this. It was just beyond embarrassing needing to have him change her clothes. She only managed to bunch the T-shirt up under her arms, but she couldn't grab it to pull it over her head. No matter how much she tried. Her arms were useless. And she was tired. God this was so fucked up. Sam looked at the dry shirt next to her, her hand reaching out and landing in the warm, dry, cotton fabric. Jack was moving somewhere behind her, changing his own clothes, she could hear him. She wanted to feel dry too. She choked back her tears of frustration and gritted her teeth, trying again to get her shirt off.
He watched her from his corner as she stubbornly struggled with the clothes. It was obvious to him that she was not going to manage, but until she came to the same conclusion Sam was not going to accept his help. Not with something this intimate. He finally saw her hands falling on her chest and she stopped moving. Took her a while to give up. Taking a deep breath he moved to her side, looking down to see her teary eyes. She was one subborn woman, he'd give her that. "Okay?" He asked stupidly, not really meaning anything in particular. She just nodded at him and he sat back down. Jack didn't say a word, she didn't either, as he moved her arms over her head. She didn't argue, didn't protest, didn't tense. He gently pulled the shirt off, leaving her in her white cotton bra. "Always thought you'd be lace, you know?" He joked and saw her smile.
"Doesn't work for off world missions. The matching is all wrong for boots." She saw him grinning. "Sir..." She whispered and his eyes caught her scared ones. "My injury is a lot higher than my middle isn't it?" She asked, as he put the wet T-shirt aside.
He nodded. Keeping her talking was good. Although the topic was not helping either. "You had a log over your shoulders." Sam's eyes closed as she realized that if she was losing anything, it was going to be from the neck down. "Look, as long as you don't move..."
"I know..." She really hadn't meant it to, but it came out on a sob. "Shit..." Her head turned to the side and away from him. This whole situation was stupid. He didn't try to comfort her, didn't try to make her look at him. Right now she needed to feel like she had some space, because he was so totally over her. She couldn't do anything on her own. If he was butting into her emotions as well it would just end up being a disaster for their friendship.
"I need to take your bra off too..." She nodded. What the hell, she thought. Wasn't like it mattered much anyway, just take it all off, what did she care. Jack's hands carefully slipped under her, his warm hands sliding along her chilled skin and she screwed her eyes shut as he had to lean in closer to her. "I hate back clasps..." He whispered jokingly in her ear, but the soft huff of air just ended up tingling along her neck and shoulder and pooling in her belly. She felt beyond exposed and yet something in her craved to just wrap her arms around him. The hook came undone and he pulled back, their eyes meeting briefly on the way and holding onto each other. This was beyond wrong and they knew it. These weren't just necessary actions, for them. They knew there was something between them, always had. They both knew this carried some implication of intimacy for the other. They just weren't allowed to talk about it. It would mean admitting to things they weren't allowed to admit. Things they admitted to once, under threat of death from the Zatarc test. Things they could never repeat again. She gently tore her eyes from him and Jack clenched his teeth briefly and pulled back.
He slipped the straps off her shoulders and pulled at the material. He could see her breathing catch, her throat constricting as ither bra fell away from her breasts and he turned to the side for one of their towels as he pulled it the rest of the way down her arms and off. Sam was trying not to react, but she only ended up stiff as a board as she lay there bare-chested, her full breasts relaxing over her chest without the confinement of the bra, her nipples already tight from the cold and his recently breathed words in her ear. But he would only know about the cold. It surprised her that he didn't look. The effort he made not to was beyond obvious, as he drew the towel over her as soon as he turned back to her, to dry her skin, but the fact that he made that effort meant something to her. And it killed him. Because he really did want to look, even she knew he did. He had already caught little glimpses of her pink, erect nipples, the fullness of her breasts as they fell on her chest once the bra had been pulled away, the pale, freckled skin. Why couldn't he just look at her, damn it, and get it over with? Had to just dance around obvious things.
He patted her skin dry with the towel covering her, feeling the fullness of her breasts under his hands, but again just ignoring it too. "I need to look you over for injuries..." He said, scratching his forehead and frowning. Looked like he'd get his peep show after all.
"I know..." She whispered quietly, her eyes staring at her bare feet. At least she could wriggle her toes. That was good.
"Look, it's just 24 hours..." He said. "If you don't wanna..." He seemed just as uncomfortable about this as she was. But for entirely other reasons. She knew he wanted to see her naked. Heck, she wanted to see him naked. They wanted to have sex with each other for crying out loud, and they both knew it. He was just feeling guilty that he was getting his way, in a manner that even to him was objectionable. And after four years he ended up a pretty desperate man.
"In 24 hours I can get a very nice infection if I have an open wound, and that would lead to days of intravenous antibiotics." Jack had to admit that prospect sucked even more. He removed the towel from her, leaving her naked again. The warmth from the fire really started to sink into her now dry skin, but it did nothing to relax her, her hands were fisted by her side, her jaw clenched and she really tried not to wince as his eyes skimmed over her torso. She was perfect. Beautiful, round breasts, rosy nipples, silky skin covered in random, discreet freckles, over her cleavage, the skin of her breasts, somehow only adding to the sight of her nipples, the pink areolas. His hand touched her shoulder and she finally broke and winced.
"Jesus, Carter..." He growled at her. "What the hell do you think I'm gonna do?" Her eyes closed and she swallowed at the dry lump.
"Sorry..." She said softly. "This is..." With one hand on her shoulder and one on her hip he rolled her slightly on her side to see her back. There were a few superficial scratches, but nothing that needed antibiotic patches.
"I know..." He said. "But try to relax, will ya?" He picked up her fresh shirt. "Jesus, you're making me feel like a violator here!" She looked away again. Hard word he chose, but it was the truth. "Sorry..."
"No... You're right..." She looked up at his face as he slipped her arms through the sleeves. "I should trust you more than this." He met her eyes briefly. He couldn't deny that he felt like one mostly because of the fact that he had enjoyed the view too.
He shook his head. "Can't be easy... going through this..." She nodded. "I can't leave you like this, Carter. You have to understand that."
"I do..." She sighed. "Can we just... get this over with? Do what needs to be done and that's that?"
"Yeah..." Easier said than done, Jack thought. Her pants and panties were next, and God help him there. If he didn't have a stroke, it would be a miracle. He laid out her change of clothes, pants, underwear, clean socks, making sure he had everything he'd need, so he'd keep her naked as little as possible. "Not something I usually tell a woman when taking her pants off, but... I'll be as quick as possible." He heard Sam snort a little laugh as he lowered her zipper. She really tried not to react as he fumbled with her belt, but her belly flexed briefly at his first touch and he saw it. He pretended not to, but he had. His hands felt so warm against her belly, so soft and caring. She craved his touch so much. She always had. Sam clenched her teeth and pushed her thought away. She couldn't do this now.
He pushed her pants off her hips, drawing them down her long legs and off. He had dreamt about this for so long, slowly pushing her pants off, his fingers grazing her silky skin, caressing her teasingly. This had no caresses involved and no teasing. In fact there was no passion involved in any way. And Jack regretted it more than he could ever tell her. He bunched up the wet fabric and threw it somewhere close to the fire, so he'd remember to hang them to dry later. He grabbed the towel again, returning to her. She was wiggling her frozen toes, her thighs as close together as possible. *Self-conscious much?* He thought. "Shit." He froze just as he was rubbing her feet dry, to get the blood moving.
"What?" She said quickly, looking down her body.
"You're bleeding." He rushed for the med kit.
"What???" She said, her voice raising and lacing with panic.
"You're bleeding, Carter. A lot." The white cotton of her underwear was soaked in red blood, thin red stripes having dripped down her legs. He saw her lift her head from the ground to look down, a confused frown on her face. "Don't do that!" He pushed her back down. "Your spine needs to remain in a straight line, for crying out loud! I'll handle this."
"Oh God..." She whispered, lying back down obediently, her eyes closed.
"Pain?" He asked, softly, and she shook her head. "This can't be internal injury." He said. "If you were bleeding this massively internally, you'd have been gone a long time now..." He cleaned the blood from her legs. "This is probably just an open wound..."
"No it's not..." She finally said.
"What do you mean?" Jack finished cleaning her legs and was just about to start looking for the injury, his hands on her legs to part them so he could look her over.
"Would you stop? Please." He did, frowning. "Christ..."
"Carter?" He stared at her, a little unsure and more than a bit panicked.
"Can I have a blanket please?" Jack's mouth opened and closed a few times without any sounds coming out. What did she just say? "Sir, can you please cover me up?" He snapped out of his shock and mechanically obeyed her request, retrieving a blanket from their backpacks and pulling it over her legs and middle. "Thank you." She awkwardly placed her hands over it, sighing a bit in relief and looking anywhere but up at him. She didn't say anything else either, leaving him sitting there and staring blankly at her, then at her thighs, then back up at her face. She played with the edge of the blanket with her fingers, trying to relax and rest now. And Jack stared at her. Until something in his mind fired a synapse again.
"What???" He yelled at her. Sam sighed and closed her eyes. "What the..." He frowned at her. "What???" God, couldn't he just let things go? She couldn't meet his eyes. "Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?"
"No." She said decisively, but in a low voice.
"What?"
"No." She repeated in the same quiet voice.
"So what? I'm just supposed to let you bleed to death?" He looked at her horrified.
"I'm fine!"
"You're bleeding!" He shouted at her. "Look, I have field medical training, I can patch it up... Nudity can't be that big an issue..."
"I don't need patching up!" Sam cut him off, strongly. "I'm fine, sir. Just leave me alone." She tucked the blanket around her awkwardly. This was so embarrassing. "You did enough, thank you." He was staring at her as if she were nuts.
"What?" He could feel his brain short circuiting as he desperately fought to comprehend her actions. Which was quite annoying to her actually. If he said `what' one more time, she was going to break his neck. He frowned, closing his eyes and trying to just clear his head. She saw him slump to the ground by her side, rubbing the back of his neck and just willing himself to relax. She wished she could do that too. Relax. It took a few minutes before she saw Jack open his eyes and just look at her as he sat there on the ground. He really didn't understand it.
She screwed her eyes shut and sighed. "I'm not wounded, sir." She said. "The bleeding's..." She shook her head and stared at her hands. "It's normal..." With the corner of her eye she could see him processing her words slowly. And then he got it. His mouth opened in a silent `oh', his dark eyes widening a little. He snapped his mouth shut a second later and she heard him clear his throat quietly as he looked away from her. He got it. This was nothing but a physiological thing going on, perfectly normal for a fertile woman, but no matter how much Sam repeated to herself that this was no big deal, she just wanted the ground to swallow her. It was beyond humiliating and mortifying. And Jack wasn't saying anything either. He was simply sitting there by her side, arms on his knees and calmly staring into the little chamber.
TBC...
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