A/N: Once again I am apologizing for a delay in posting these stories. Thank you to the many of you who wrote and sent notes regarding my father's passing. I appreciate each one of you, thank you. As always, all feedback and critiques are welcome, saved, and answered.

Set on a planet of my own choosing, following The Fifth Race.

To Protect and to Serve

Captain Samantha Carter came awake slowly. She kept still, trying to catalog the sound that had awakened her without giving away the fact that she was awake. The Colonel had taught her that. She kept her breathing measured and even while listening to the muffled night sounds of their camp. Daniel's steady snores continued, undisturbed by whatever minute change had awakened her. A slight rustle of brush to her left caught her attention and she focused on that. Another rustle, followed by a softly placed footstep had her faking a restless mumbling in her sleep and turning over, flinging an arm across her face. Under the cover of that arm she eased her eyes open and quickly found the foot in question. Teal'c. Sam eased up, propping herself up on her elbows as she glanced at her silent teammate.

Teal'c caught her eye, then nodded once, acknowledging her glance. He flicked his gaze from hers to the curled form of their CO, then back at Sam. At the same time, O'Neill groaned again in his sleep. He tossed his head back, then curled back into a ball, his foot grazing the edge of the dying fire.

Sam quickly followed his gaze, then nodded to Teal'c. Got it.

Satisfied that Sam would take care of O'Neill, Teal'c favored her with another of his enigmatic nods before disappearing silently into the night.

Sam glanced across the fire at Daniel, making sure he was still deeply asleep. She knew her Colonel wouldn't want anyone, Daniel included, to see him not at his best. She was worried. He'd been complaining of headaches since his experience with the download of Ancient knowledge into his brain. Headaches that seemed to get worse at night. Sam wondered if perhaps the little green men O'Neill had encountered had, in fact, gotten everything out as they said they had.

Inching upward slowly, Sam eased herself up and out of her bag. She slipped on her boots, leaving the laces undone, and pulled an extra sweater out of her bag. A quick glance at her watch confirmed that it was just past midnight, well into the time Teal'c should have awakened O'Neill for his turn at watch. Sam glanced around again, knowing that the Jaffa had taken it upon himself to stand a double. Again. She squinted down at her CO in the near perfect darkness, knowing he wouldn't be pleased with Teal'c's decision, but also knowing it was a good idea.

Sam shivered slightly and rose, picking her way gingerly in the dark to the woodpile they'd set at the edge of camp. Gathering a few more logs for the fire, she quietly made her way back and gently set another log on the fire, setting the rest aside for later. She didn't really want the extra light, but she certainly needed that warmth. They'd decided to camp out last night rather than pitching tents. It was something they all preferred if given the choice. Sleep under the stars rather than separate and sleep in the small tents. What had seemed a good idea at dusk, however, wasn't proving to be so as the night was colder than they'd anticipated.

Beside her O'Neill groaned again, and Sam's heart clenched at the pain in his voice. She pulled her sleeping back closer to his, debating her next move. He'd set his gear up as he usually did, his pack and vest serving as a pillow and resting near hers, allowing them to sleep head-to-head, their feet extending on opposite sides of the fire. Daniel slept, as he usually did, completely zipped into his mummy bag, only a small tuft of hair showing from the small opening. His journal lay nearby, far enough from the flames to not be dangerous, but close enough that Sam knew he'd probably fallen asleep reading it. Again.

When O'Neill shivered again, Sam reached back into her bag and pulled out her spare Thinsulate blanket. The lightweight microfiber material allowed her to carry a spare, something she didn't advertise to her team. You just never knew when an extra blanket would come in handy. She carefully shook it out, then leaned over her CO and gently covered him. O'Neill didn't respond right away, only twitching his fingers slightly as the material brushed across his hands. Hoping that had done the trick, Sam turned away. Quickly easing off her boots, she slid back into her bag. Before she could get settled, however, another pained groan...almost a whimper this time...came from beneath the blanket she'd just laid over the Colonel.

Damn.

Sam glanced again at Daniel, then beyond the small fire to find Teal'c. Assured that neither teammate would see her action, she slipped her hand free of her bag and slowly reached across to O'Neill. This wasn't quite the technique her Mom had used, but Sam figured it was safer. Frustrated that, despite their proximity, she was unable to reach him, Sam shimmied her bag and pack closer still. Bumping her vest against his, Sam tried again to reach out to her CO. This time her fingers found the top of his head. Holding her breath, Sam lay on her stomach, one hand under her chin as she slowly traced the fingers of her other hand down across O'Neill's forehead. She held her breath as once again O'Neill let out a low, pained moan. She felt the skin beneath her fingertips tense and flex, felt the slight sheen of moisture bead as he reacted to whatever he was feeling. Sam inched forward again, sliding her own vest and pack out of the way and moving to share O'Neill's impromptu pillow, albeit from the other direction.

"Shh, Colonel," she whispered into the darkness, her voice low and soothing. "It's okay, Sir."

The Colonel didn't respond, his breathing becoming sharp and staccato, more sweat forming on his brow.

More concerned now, Sam propped her self up and slid both hands to O'Neill's head, sliding her fingers through his hair, her thumbs gently caressing his forehead, her fingers sliding down to cup the sides of his face. "Easy, Sir. I've got you. Easy...shh...easy..."

Sam continued to murmur reassurances, her heart racing as O'Neill continued to mumble in his sleep. She was considering waking him when she felt the change in his breathing, then felt his warm hand cover one of hers.

"Carter?" O'Neill rumbled, his voice thick with sleep and confusion.

"Yes, Sir, it's me." Sam tried to pull her hands away, only to have O'Neill keep a firm hold on the one he'd already captured. Thankful for the darkness that hid her rising blush, Sam whispered quietly, "You were, ah...you seemed to be in pain, Sir."

"Oh." O'Neill's hand suddenly jerked and he released Sam's hand. "Sorry...did I wake you?"

"It's okay, Colonel. It's just..." Sam slid back down into her bag, but instead of retrieving her own pack she rested her head on the opposite side of O'Neill's. "Are you okay, Colonel? I mean, did the, ah, little green men get everything out?"

She could hear the Colonel shifting in his bag, he gave a soft grunt as he turned over. "They're grey, Carter. And yes, I think they–ah...hey. I don't remember this blanket...?"

"Oh. That's mine, Sir. You were curled up and looked cold, Sir, so I gave you my spare."

"Ah."

More shuffling came from O'Neill's position and Sam looked up to find his brown eyes remarkably close to her face.

"Lose your pillow, too, Carter?" O'Neill's voice, barely above a whisper, was pitched low to avoid waking Daniel.

"No, Sir." Sam glanced away. "I, um...Well, Sir. My brother, Mark, gets really bad migraines. And it always helped him when my mom would, um...well, she'd sort of rub his head, and face. Gently."

O'Neill didn't say a word. He simply kept his eyes on Carter's, the dying light of the fire hiding his expression. Finally Sam shrugged. What the hell. "Anyway, after Mom...well, after she died, he'd come to me when they got really bad and I'd do it. He'd sit with his head in my lap and I'd just rub his head. Well, not really rub, but...anyway..." Sam trailed off, still avoiding O'Neill's gaze, uncomfortably aware that she'd probably way overstepped the bounds this time.

She couldn't help it, she'd just felt such...pain...with each groan that her Colonel had made, until she finally couldn't stand it. She'd had to reach out, to try to take some of that pain away. After a moment she stole a glance at her CO, expecting to see some censure in his face. She peered into the darkness, aware that he was still so very close. Finally, the silence was too much for her. She began to stammer out an apology. "I...I'm sorry, Colonel, if I've made you...if I've–"

Two warm fingers pressed gently across her lips, silencing her as effectively as any hand across her mouth would have. Sam was stunned for a moment by the feel of those fingers against her lips. So stunned that she missed the first words out of O'Neill's mouth.

"...okay. I...ah...appreciate you helping out."

The fingers fell away, leaving Sam's lips tingling with the loss. She shook her head, trying to clear the haze of fog that seemed to have enveloped her brain, chasing away all coherent thought. She felt O'Neill pull away, then felt the pack jostle as he settled his head on the other side. Figuring he'd want his own pack to himself, Sam took a breath and reached out, patting the ground beside her in an attempt to locate her own bag.

"Sorry, Sir. You can have your–"

"Sam."

Carter froze. "Sir?"

O'Neill reached out, his fingers fumbling in the dark. He found her head and gently guided her back to her side of his pack. "Relax. You can find your own pack in the morning." O'Neill sighed again. "And, I really did mean it before...thanks. It did help."

"You're welcome, Colonel. Anytime."

"Ah...well, it's probably not a good idea if I plop my head in your lap anytime I get a migraine."

Sam chuckled quietly, firmly pushing aside the image his words invoked. "Yes, Sir." Sam gingerly set her head back down, tucking her fingers up under her chin. She heard O'Neill's sigh as he settled in on the other side of the bag, accompanied by the rustle of the sleeping bag as he burrowed deeper inside. "Good night, Sir," she whispered softly.

"'Night, Sam."

They lay there peacefully as the stars slid lazily across the sky, chased by the planet's tiny moon. Eventually Sam heard the Colonel's breathing even out as her own did the same, each of them slowly drifting off to sleep. Beside them, the log that Sam recently added to the fire slowly burned to embers, black shadows chased orange and red across the coals, pushed by the eddying breeze. The silence of the little campsite was broken again by a soft whimper from O'Neill as his headache returned, even as he slipped deeper into sleep. This time, however, Sam's response was instinctive, her movements not waking either of them.

Hours after the small burnished copper moon slid slowly into the hills, Teal'c quietly returned to the firepit. It was time to awaken Captain Carter for her turn at watch. As he made his way toward her, he paused, taking in the sight before him. Carter's hair, its golden hues bleached white in the dim light of the barely warm coals of the firepit, was just visible above the edge of her sleeping bag. One arm snaked out of her bag and...Teal'c followed it's path, his eyebrow slowly rising in surprise. Captain Carter was now sharing a pack-turned-pillow with O'Neill, and Carter's fingers were entangled in the short, greying strands of O'Neill's hair. One of O'Neill's hands was resting on Carter's outstretched forearm, his fingers curled gently over the sweater she wore, holding her arm in place. Both Air Force officers were sound asleep.

Teal'c bent closer, studying O'Neill's face. For the first time since O'Neill's experience with those known as the Asgard, the features of the man for whom he'd betrayed his God was relaxed, almost at peace. Carter's face, too, was more relaxed than Teal'c could ever remember seeing it. Her breathing was slow and even, her features smooth and tranquil, her fingers occasionally twitching in O'Neill's hair as she dreamed.

Teal'c slowly straightened, his eyes still upon his sleeping companions. His normally stoic expression softened as he took in the proximity of the two officers, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth. He would keep his counsel about this development, he decided. Both O'Neill and Carter where honorable warriors who deserved to find comfort where they could. If they should find comfort in each other, then so be it. He, Teal'c, would do all in his considerable power to protect what they had as he would protect the two themselves. Offering the two a brief and unseen bow, Teal'c turned and stepped back into the curtain of the night as silently as he had come. This was not the first night he alone had stood guard over those whom he had sworn to protect, and it would not be the last. Now, however, he felt he had more to protect.