Two Hours Of Life Support

The cargo bay doors hissed shut behind O'Neill and Major Carter.

A few minutes passed.

Daniel Jackson swivelled in the passenger seat to regard Teal'c in the pilot's chair.

"You do realise what they're doing in there?"

Teal'c gave Daniel Jackson a steady look. "I do."

The archaeologist's face was a study of emotions. Distaste warred with exasperation. Exasperation warred with amusement. Amusement warred with glee. Glee warred with concern.

The walls of the bulkhead were solid enough that almost no residual noise seeped through, but there was little else to occupy the minds of the two members of SG-1 who sat in the cockpit of the teltac. Were they imagining the sounds coming from the cargo bay? It was possible. It was also possible that they were not.

"They'll be using up the life support that much faster," Daniel Jackson commented, carefully staring out the front of the ship and rubbing the bridge of his nose under his glasses. It did not appear to be a condemnation of their team-mates, merely a statement of a fact.

Teal'c's mouth stretched in a broad grin. "I cannot think of a…more satisfying way to consume air, Daniel Jackson."

His friend turned and a smile twitched the corners of his mouth. "There is that."

*

Daniel was finding the whole situation rather funny.

After taking the asteroid through the Earth using the teltac's hyperdrive engines, they'd all been a little high on euphoria, adrenaline, and all kinds of other mood-altering substances that Janet could probably reel off like a weekly shopping list. Jack had bounced around the cabin, restless as a child on a car journey. Nothing the others could do would slow him down or shut him up. The man's natural energy grated on them all, until, in an excess of annoyance, Sam jostled him a bit harder than she expected.

The resultant wrestling match had ended up with the pair of them on the floor of the teltac cabin staring into each other's eyes like they'd never seen each other before. Their intensity had been such that for a moment Daniel had been completely convinced they were going to get it on right there in front of him and Teal'c.

Then Jack dragged his 2IC up and muttered something about privacy before going into the cargo bay and hitting the buttons to shut the doors behind them.

Human instincts for sex after near-death escapes were pretty strong, but SG-1 had escaped death multiple times before. Daniel was pretty sure that any other times they'd escaped death Jack and Sam had stayed a long way away from each other until the 'urges' wore off.

Unfortunately, in this situation, there was no way the pair could keep a long way from each other in the cabin and cargo space of a teltac. The control room at the SGC was probably bigger than this when you took all the computer equipment out of it.

'Unfortunately'? Daniel considered that rider wryly. Maybe it was 'fortunately' for them. Certainly they weren't going to resolve things any other way.

Was that a sound from the cargo bay?

He chided himself for listening.

"It's nearly as bad as having roomies at college," he muttered, and Teal'c arched an eyebrow.

"You refer to the practise of sharing a room with a fellow student at an educational institution, Daniel Jackson?"

"Yeah." Daniel chuckled at the mental image of having Jack as a roomie at college and having to 'vacate the premises' on Friday and Saturday nights. Then he groaned at the thought of trying to get any study done with Jack as a roomie. There'd never be a peaceful moment.

Okay, I think the adrenaline's getting to me if I'm imagining scenarios of Jack at college at the same time as me.

"You have had such an experience of sharing before?"

"Yeah. Two years at college. The juniors get their own rooms in the frat houses." Daniel grimaced. Fraternity houses. Oh, now those weren't good memories. Definitely not nice ones for the possible last hours alive…

Certainly not as nice as Sam and Jack's last hours alive were probably going to be.

Teal'c had further inquiries regarding college life, and Daniel was pleased to relate some of the more pleasant anecdotal memories of his undergrad and post grad years. It kept them from 'listening' to any noises coming from the cargo bay. And now there were definitely noises.

Some time later, the cargo hold opened, and their team-mates emerged as coolly as if they'd been discussing military tactics against the Goa'uld. Apart from the abstracted way Jack dragged his fingers through his hair, and the faint flush staining Sam's usually pale skin, they looked and acted as if nothing had happened.

They did settle themselves on the floor within a few inches of each other, however. Jack lying down with his hands behind his head, Sam sitting down and leaning herself on the bulkheads next to him.

"So," Daniel said conversationally. "Two hours of life support." He said 'two' quite deliberately. Half an hour ago, they'd had four hours of life support - and his team-mates knew it. "Then what?"

*

"Well, you know, it's not like we don't have everything totally under control…" He saw the exasperated-amused glance she shot in his direction and ignored it. A little while ago, control had been the last thing on his mind.

Oh, they were so going to talk when they got back to Earth.

"…but, sure…render away."

*

THE END