Janet stopped rowing and stretched her arms out to either side, rolling her upper body back and forth to loosen the muscles. "You okay?" Sam asked from behind her.
"For the moment," Janet said with a groan. She put her hands in the small of her back and stretched until she heard a pop. She grunted and took up the oars again. "How much farther to this mythical island?"
"It's just around this bend," Sam said. "When we get there, I'll give you a back rub."
"Oh, done," Janet said.
The outing was supposed to be their spring break. General Hammond had all but insisted upon it after the trials of their last few missions. Unbeknownst to him, the strain was more than he knew. Sam and Janet had nearly come to blows several times, stupid fights over nothing that were starting to wear on their relationship. They had talked it out and decided that a week away from the world was exactly what they needed to get back to what they had once had. The rowboat had been Janet's idea. They had once rented one, rowed out to the middle of a lake and made love on the waves.
The plan seemed to be working. Their first night camping on the banks of the river had transformed them into schoolgirls. They had made love, giggling and without any self-consciousness. They had slept in and, in the morning, gone after each other with renewed vigor. They had climbed into the rowboat after lunch with a bag of provisions and set out to find the cabin Jacob Carter and George Hammond had built for their fishing expeditions in the eighties.
The water had seemed magical. The sky was slightly overcast with dark blue clouds, which were reflected in the glass-still water ahead of them. Thick trees lined the bank, stretching up and out as if to form a corridor for the lovers.
An hour into their trip, however, the glitz had worn off and Janet wasn't sure of much. She wasn't sure the river would ever end, she wasn't sure there was an island with a cabin waiting for them at the other end of this journey... But she was absolutely positive of one thing. Despite their arguments, despite the anger Sam sometimes showed after returning from a mission, the woman sitting behind her truly loved her. That alone was worth all the endless rowing in the world.
They came around a bend and, miracle of miracles, she spotted the cabin. The island was hardly big enough to be called that; it was a teardrop-shaped piece of land, with a wide dirt expanse fronting the cabin and a thick copse of trees behind it. Sam angled the boat toward the dock and reached out to secure them to the piling. They stood carefully and Sam helped Janet out of the boat and onto the truncated dock.
Janet brushed off the seat of her jeans and pulled Sam up as well. Sam picked up the bag with their food and water and slung it over her shoulder. "Well, here it is. Daddy's cabin."
Janet took Sam's hand as they walked up the dirt incline to the cabin's front door. She squinted and said, "I'm picturing a knee-high Sammy Carter running around in baggy shorts, no shirt, and a big fisherman's cap."
Sam laughed. "I never ran around topless."
"Never say never," Janet said. She pressed against Sam's side and said, "It's beautiful, Sam."
They stopped on the porch and Sam ran her hand over the windowsill to find the key. She retrieved it, unlocked the door and kicked it open. "Well, here it is..."
Janet stepped inside. The cabin was tiny; a two-room shack with a half-wall running down the middle to separate the two. To the left was a living room with a bed at the far end, to the right was a make-shift kitchen with an icebox and a plank of wood that served as a dining room table. There was furniture, but not much, and nothing to brag about. A wooden chair, a sagging couch...
Sam put down the bag of food and picked up a lantern. "No electricity out here in the boonies," she said. She pulled a box of matches from her pocket, used one to light the lantern and put it on the dining room table. She sighed and held out her hands. "Well? What do you think?"
Janet shrugged out of her down vest and tossed it onto the back of the wooden chair. She turned to Sam as she pulled her blouse out of her jeans. "Does that bed still work?"
"I don't know," Sam said. She started to undo the buttons of her own shirt as she crossed the living room. "Might as well find out now rather than later. Besides... I still owe you that backrub."
#
The storm rolled in later that afternoon. The dark blue clouds Janet had seen split around the bow of their rowboat grew and became more ominous. The sky prematurely turned to night, and rain began to hammer down on the roof of the cabin.
Sam was on the floor with Janet in her lap. Janet's sweater was bundled under Sam, giving her a bit of padding between her naked ass and the hard, wooden floor. Janet was thrusting against Sam's hand, her own hands running up and down Sam's chest, from her shoulders to the peaks of her erect nipples back up to her face. Sam had her back against the couch and rolled her head back against the cushions.
"You okay?" Janet gasped.
Thunder rolled across the river, and another wave of rain slammed against the side of the cabin. It seemed to shake the building to the foundation, but it held. Sam turned her hand and slipped a third finger into Janet. "Yeah," she said. She put her free hand on Janet's hip and thrust against her. Janet cried out and threw her head back as the heel of Sam's hand brushed her clit. "Is that good?"
"Uh-huh," Janet managed. She touched her tongue against the corner of her mouth, quickly swept it across her bottom lip and sagged forward. She looked into Sam's eyes and said, "Does this place leak?"
Sam shook her head. "Mah-Mark... fixed the roof... last summer..."
"Good man..."
"Uh-huh..." Sam replied.
"Sam..." Janet grunted and leaned forward. She put her head on Sam's shoulder, and Sam wrapped her arm around Janet's waist and pulled her close. Janet opened her mouth and swept her tongue across Sam's shoulder. She tasted of sweat and of Sam, a taste Janet had never been able to accurately pinpoint. She was definitely addicted, though. "Sam, I'm going..."
"I know," Sam whispered. She closed her eyes and held Janet tight as she began to tremble. She was well attuned to Janet's orgasm... the quick gasps, the full-body shudder and then, right on schedule, Janet went limp against Sam and exhaled. Sam moved her hands and wiped the wet fingers on the side of the couch. She cupped Janet's head, stroking her hair until Janet raised her weary face. They kissed tenderly and Sam said, "I love you."
"Mmm, I love you, too." She kissed Sam's chin, the tip of her nose and then her lips again. She rose and the lightning illuminated her naked body as she moved onto her knees. She licked her lips and kissed her way down Sam's chest, letting her fingertips guide her way. Sam laid her head against the couch cushions and spread her legs, moaning appreciatively as Janet kneaded the inside of her thigh.
Janet knelt on the floor and bowed before Sam like a supplicant. Sam said, "Baby, let me get up on the couch..."
"This is fine," Janet breathed as she lowered her head. She licked her lips one more time and then touched her tongue against Sam's folds. Sam grunted and lifted her hips, her eyes open to admire the curve of Janet's ass. She reached down and ran her hand over Janet's spine, leaning forward and stretching her fingers to touch the dimple where her back became her ass. Then she leaned back, arms out to the sides against the seat of the couch, and let Janet do her work.
The first time Janet had gone down on her, Sam had barely lasted for one stroke. She had apologized for being a hair-trigger and Janet had just laughed, "That's okay, baby. I'm a doctor. We know where all the triggers are..."
She had gone on, through their relationship, to show Sam what wonders could be done with just an index finger and a thumb... and sometimes a pinky.
Sam shuddered at the thought of that and whispered, "Janet... p-pinky..."
Janet looked up, but kept her lips and tongue at work. She slipped one hand under Sam, squeezing between the cheeks of her ass. Sam whimpered and then went rigid as Janet's pinky circled her tight opening. Not forcing, not pulling back... just a gentle pressure. "Yeah, yeah," Sam breathed. She pushed her hair out of her eyes and exhaled, which turned into a growl, and her legs shook as they tried to support her weight.
"Lie down," Janet cooed. She used her free hand to push Sam back to the floor. Once Sam was still and quiet, Janet closed her lips around Sam's clit as her pinky finally pushed in. Sam cursed as lightning flashed again, this time followed by a lingering rumble of thunder. Sam shoved back against the couch, making it stutter-step across the floor as Janet tugged with her lips and circled with her finger.
"Janet! I'm coming... I'm coming..."
Janet slipped her tongue over and between Sam's folds and held on while she trembled. Sam muttered encouragement, twisted and her muscles contracted as she came. Janet was seized, her tongue inside Sam, her pinky trapped, her shoulders locked between Sam's thighs, but she didn't care. She held on until Sam released her, withdrew herself and slid her body across Sam's. Skin-against-skin excited her nipples and raised goosebumps, and she slid her tongue easily into Sam's mouth with a moan.
The rain continued to pound the small building, surrounding them on all sides as if they had somehow slipped under a waterfall. But Janet didn't care; all she cared about was being in Sam's arms, being warm and safe right here. She sucked Sam's tongue and then pulled back, stroking Sam's hair and finding her face slick with sweat. "You want to run naked in the rain?" she asked, resting her wet thumb against Sam's bottom lip.
"You're a doctor," Sam said. "You should know better than that."
Janet smiled and lifted a shoulder. "I thought I'd offer..."
She settled against Sam, straddling her lover's body, and Sam pulled the blanket off the couch. She draped it across Janet's back, tucking the ends under her own thighs, and kissed Janet's forehead. "The bed would be more comfortable," she whispered.
"Shh," Janet whispered. "Sleepy. Comfy here."
Sam laughed and cupped the back of Janet's head. "All right. Bed can wait." She rested her head against the couch and looked past Janet, to the rain streaking down the window.
#
Sometime in the middle of the night, amid the rain, Janet got up and stumbled to the back of the cabin. Sam rolled onto her side and blinked lazily at her lover. "What?" she whispered.
"Bathroom," Janet said, standing naked by the bed.
"Outside."
"An outhouse?" Janet gasped.
Sam smiled. "No."
Janet groaned. She picked up a shawl and opened the front door. The rain was still trickling down, but it was enough to be wet. "This wasn't in the brochure," she said as she went out into the night.
Sam chuckled and got up, stretching to relieve the kinks in her back. She limped to the bed, one hand in the middle of her back to massage the ache that had come from sitting against the couch for three hours. She tossed the blanket onto the bed and was about to do some more intense stretching when Janet's voice rose above the rain. "Sam!"
Sam grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around her body as Janet yelled again. "Sam!"
Lightning flashed as Sam got outside, ready to fight anything in this world or any other to protect her lover. The rain had picked up in the last five minutes and quickly plastered Sam's hair to her head. The blanket became like shrink wrap, clinging to every curve as she scanned the edge of the woods for Janet.
"Down here!" The words were almost pulled away by the wind and the rain, but Sam finally locked onto Janet. She was standing at the dock, which was almost completely underwater. She ran to Janet's side and Janet said, "The boat!"
Sam looked at the water and then, with increasing panic, the surrounding water. The boat was gone.
Janet was soaked to the skin, shivering, staring at Sam with wide, frightened eyes. Sam reached out and drew Janet to her. She hugged Janet tightly, rubbing her shoulders and back to get the blood circulating. "Come on. There's nothing we can do out here except catch pneumonia."
They walked back up to the cabin together. Sam closed the door against the weather, went to the couch and got a towel from her bag. She brought it back to the door, helped Janet get out of her wet shawl, and wiped the rain from her face. Janet said, "The boat."
"I know," Sam said quietly. "We'll figure it out in the morning." She wrapped the towel around Janet and walked her to the bed. She laid Janet down, dried herself and spooned against Janet's back. She held Janet close, kissed the base of her neck and spread her fingers over Janet's stomach.
#
The morning had a 'fresh-day' feel, the smell of the world after a heavy, cleansing rain. The water had gone down in the night, so the dock wasn't flooded. But the boat was definitely missing. The rope Sam had used to tie it down was snapped, trailing in the wind. Sam woke up not long after the sunrise and went out to check on the damage.
The wind had blown some debris onto the island, and a few of the shingles had blown off the roof and were currently littering the ground around the cabin. Sam knelt to gather a handful and, when she stood, Janet had appeared on the porch. "Hey. I didn't want to wake you." She patted the cell-phone shaped bulge in the pocket of her jeans. "No signal out here."
Janet nodded. "The boat...?"
"No sign of it," Sam said. "The water has gone down a bit, though. That's good..."
"Sam, we're stranded without that boat. It'll be three days before anyone even knows we're missing."
"We brought enough food. We'll just have to ration it a little. We'll be fine, Janet."
Janet sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I guess..."
"And besides," Sam said, dumping her handful and stepping onto the porch. She kissed Janet's forehead and said, "There are worse things than being stranded together..."
Janet smiled and pressed herself against Sam's body. She sighed and said, "I suppose as long as you're here and we have enough food..."
"Yeah," Sam said. She kissed the top of Janet's head and said, "Speaking of which..."
"Mmm?"
Sam pressed tighter against Janet.
"Morning glory?" Janet asked.
Sam smiled and said, "Why not?"
Janet stepped back and took Sam's hand. She walked backwards, pulling Sam back into the cabin. "Okay. But this time you're on top."
"Fine by me. Why?"
Janet ducked her chin and arched her eyebrows. "Because I have some moves I want to try and they don't work if I'm on top."
"I'm intrigued," Sam said. She kicked the door shut behind her.
#
Janet's face was tucked against Sam's arm, both of them spent and dozing after a rigorous three hours celebrating their solitude. Sam was asleep, her breathing a hot and steady constant against her back. She was trying to figure out how to get out of Sam's arms to go to the bathroom when she realized what she had been hearing for the past few minutes. It was a steady drumming, getting louder, and she suddenly made the connection: a helicopter.
She jumped out of bed, grabbing her shawl as she went. As she tugged the cloth over her head, she heard Sam say, "Janet?" She stepped into her boots and ran out the door without answering, clearing the porch in a single step and running down the steep, sandy slope toward the dock. She frantically scanned the sky and spotted the orange-and-white helicopter a few hundred yards over the trees.
"Hey!" she called. She waved her hands over her head and jumped. "Over here! Hello!"
The helicopter turned a wide radius, and then angled back toward civilization.
"No! Hey! Stranded people here!" She waved her arms back and forth, crossing them over her head in a desperate attempt for the pilot to see her. When the chopper was too far away to ever believe in a rescue, Janet stopped signaling and bent forward, hands on her thighs and growled.
Sam walked up from behind. "That shawl is really too short for bending over like that," she said.
Janet exhaled a laugh, straightened and turned to face her lover. Sam had thrown on a T-shirt and a pair of jeans, the latter of which was unbuttoned and unzipped. Janet said, "Sam, someone's going to..."
"What?" Sam said. "Someone's going to see?" She pushed the jeans down her hips and stood, like Janet, naked from the waist down. She held her arms out and looked around.
Janet laughed, walked over to Sam and knelt in front of her to pull her pants up. "Just because we're in the middle of nowhere is no reason..." Sam put a hand on Janet's shoulder to keep her from straightening up. Janet looked up and said, "Honey?"
Sam raised an eyebrow. Janet rolled her eyes and licked her lips. "You're a freak, you know that?"
"It's your fault for getting me addicted."
Janet shook her head and leaned forward. Sam pulled up her T-shirt a little and Janet kissed the bump of her belly. She opened her mouth and slid her tongue down to the patch of coarse blonde hair. She brushed her cheeks against Sam's hair and then ducked her head. Sam spread her legs a bit, slid her fingers through Janet's hair, and sighed as her lover's tongue touched her.
Her mind went back to the countless times they had done this; in Janet's office at the base, at night after Cassandra had gone to bed... Janet joked, but it was true. Sam was definitely addicted to this. And Janet seemed more than happy to comply. Sam closed her eyes and focused on the movement of Janet's tongue, the pressure of Janet's fingers on her naked hips...
She came quicker than she expected and whispered a warning to Janet. Janet pressed her tongue deeper, moaned, and Sam twitched. "Ahh, God," she hissed. "Janet..." Janet pulled back and kissed Sam's thighs. Sam crouched in front of Janet and pulled her close, kissing her soundly before lowering her to the sand.
As Sam kissed her way down Janet's neck, easing the shawl up over Janet's hips, Janet looked over the top of her head at the water. "What if... mm...," Sam's lips found Janet's nipples through the material of her shawl, "...rescuers show up before we're done...?"
"Then they'll have to wait..." Sam said. She kissed Janet's belly and then settled between her legs.
"Okay," Janet said. She draped her legs over Sam's shoulders, settled against the sand and laced her fingers behind her head. "So long... as we have a... plan, oh, God..."
#
That night, they dined on what Sam called a "Supermodel buffet." They had planned to stay at the cabin for two days, but they had to stretch their supplies for the possibility of being stranded for three, four, maybe even five. So they ate a meager dinner, shared a bottle of orange juice and went to bed early. Janet put on a pair of boxer shorts and a T-shirt, both of which Sam eyed as she got into bed.
"I do plan to get some sleep on this vacation, Major Carter," Janet said.
"Fine, fine," Sam said. She stretched out next to Janet and pulled her close for a good-night kiss. Janet rolled onto her side and Sam pressed against her from behind, spooning her body. Janet took Sam's arm and held it against her chest, kissing her knuckles. "Night, babe," Sam whispered. She kissed Janet's shoulder and settled her head against the pillow.
"Night," Janet whispered back. She looked out the cabin window at the blue-purple sky outside. It was the last thing she saw before she drifted off the sleep, but the last thing she heard was Sam muttering quietly in her sleep. Janet was unconscious before she could think to wake Sam from her nightmare.
#
The next day, Janet didn't bother to dress when she went out to use the bathroom. She figured if someone did see her, it wouldn't matter since they would be rescued. Unfortunately, she got to the trees and back without being spotted. She returned to the cabin and left the front door open for the cool breeze off the water. Sam was on the couch, knees pulled up against her chest, staring out the front room's window. She had taken the time to pull on jeans, but no shirt, her breasts pressed against her thighs.
"Hey," Janet said. "What do you think about breakfast? Share a fun-sized box of Cheerios?"
She walked into the kitchen and had dug into the bag of supplies before she realized Sam hadn't even acknowledged her. "Sam? Honey? Breakfast?" She returned to the front room and realized Sam was crying silently. She knelt and cupped her lover's cheek. "Sam? Honey, what's wrong?"
"We closed the iris."
Janet frowned. "O-okay... when?"
Sam closed her eyes and rested her cheek against her arm. "When we got back from Alar's planet. They were under attack. He wanted to come with us... we knew he was coming through the Stargate right behind us. Colonel O'Neill closed the iris anyway."
"Oh," Janet said. She didn't know what to say. She had heard most of the mission report first-hand during the post-mission exam. Alar's people believed in cloning a 'superior' breed of humans, Nazis in outer space. Sam had seemed aloof afterward, distracted, but Janet thought she had moved on. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Sam shook her head. "I kept thinking I would stop... thinking about it."
"A man died. It's natural to feel bad about it."
"He was a clone. He was uncomfortable around Teal'c because he was black. They were creating a race of clones, they had poisoned an entire world... Sam, it's natural to feel bad because someone died. But he was an awful man."
Sam nodded. "I know. I know, Janet, and the fact is if I had pulled the trigger and put a bullet in his brain, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I don't know why I'm so shaken, I don't know why I can't stop thinking about it."
Janet thought for a moment and said, "Honey, how close to the Stargate were you when Alar hit the iris?"
"I don't know," Sam said. "A few feet. Still on the ramp."
"You go through that Stargate, what, ten times a month? More? Coming home, you have to have faith that someone is sitting at that console, ready to authorize your IDC and open the iris for you." She held Sam's hands and squeezed. "You're scared that one of these days, you'll be moving too fast, or they'll be an instant too slow." She rose up and kissed Sam's forehead. "It's okay to be scared, Sam. It's a frightening thing."
Sam put her arms around Janet's waist and pulled her close. She kissed the warm skin between Janet's breasts and breathed deep. After a moment, Sam turned her head and spoke against the inside curve of Janet's left breast. "I like naked therapy."
Janet laughed. She stroked Sam's hair and said, "Are you going to be okay?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah. I will be. I guess I just... needed to... get that out." She kissed Janet's breast. "Thank you for listening."
"Any time you need it," Janet promised. She held Sam for a moment longer and then pulled back. "Okay. Breakfast. What did we decide on Cheerios?"
"That'll do," Sam assured her. She stood up and let her eyes trail down Janet's body. "Naked therapy worked so well... are we going to have naked breakfast?"
"Depends on whether or not you get those pants off in time. Did you pack all the regular cereal stuff? Milk, sugar...?"
"Oh, yeah," Sam said. "And some other stuff..." She undid her pants and let them fall, visions of what she could do with the strawberries she had packed dancing in her head.
#
They were both naked in the center of the bed, Sam's left thigh thrown over Janet's right. They were holding hands tightly, rocking against each other with slow determination. Janet threw her head back and Sam bowed to run her tongue along Janet's throat. Janet growled low in her throat and moved one of her hands to the small of Sam's back. She pulled her close and said, "I'm coming, baby... don't stop..."
"I wo--"
Janet's eyes snapped open. She was suddenly alone in bed, the scent of sex rising around her like a cloud. She scanned the room and moved her hand between her thighs. She had to get off; she was too close to stop now. Sam's disappearance could wait until she... until... "Oh-oh," Janet moaned. She arched her back, tightened her thighs around her hand and trembled as the first wave hit.
The second thing to hit her was Sam. The sudden weight of her lover's naked body was enough to throw Janet into a second wave. She cried out and Sam's fingers dug into her shoulders. "I can't believe you finished without me..." Sam whispered, kissing Janet all over her beet-red face. Once Janet had calmed down, she moved her hand between Sam's thighs. Sam moaned and rocked against Janet's fingers. "Right there..."
"Where did you go?" Janet asked, her fingers dancing across Sam's clit.
"Thor... needed... ungh! Janet!"
Janet kissed her lips and, once Sam had climaxed, ease her hand away. She rolled Sam off of her so they were lying face-to-face. Sam slid a hand over Janet's stomach and said, "Thor needed an explanation of how we defeated the Replicator ships."
"Your stupid plan?" Janet asked.
Sam nodded. "Mm-hmm." Sam's eyes were closed, post-coital bliss. She flattened her palm against Janet's stomach and said, "I asked for some time to get prepared. He'll beam me back up in twenty minutes."
"What about me?"
"You're coming, too. When we're done, he'll transport us to the campground where we left my car."
"So we should get packed."
Sam nodded, but kept her eyes closed.
"Sam?" Janet said.
"Mm."
"You're going to make me pack all by myself, aren't you?"
Sam murmured, then said, "Well, if you want to..."
Janet smiled and kissed Sam's lips and rolled out of bed. She found Sam's pants on the ground, picked them up and threw them at her lover. "Put those on."
Sam growled. "The Asgard don't notice human nudity. They didn't care."
"Well, I care about them seeing my woman naked. Cover up."
"Ugh, fine," Sam muttered.
They got dressed and Janet packed all their things into a bag. She draped it over her shoulder and looked around to make sure they had gotten everything. Sam put her hands on Janet's hips and said, "Hey..."
"Sam, no!" She squirmed out of the blonde's grip. "I don't care how open-minded Thor is about human sexuality, I will not be beamed with your hand down my pants!"
Sam laughed. "Janet, no." She turned Janet around and said, "I wanted to say thank you. For listening. I was hoping this trip by itself would be enough to clear my head, but... I needed you."
Janet smiled. "Any time." She stood on her toes and kissed Sam gently.
Halfway through the kiss, Sam opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling. "Um... hon? Thor is going to beam us up any time now..."
"I said I didn't want your hand in my pants when we beamed," Janet said. "I didn't say anything about where you tongue should be..."
Sam grinned and kissed Janet again. A few seconds later, the two women disappeared in a beam of light, leaving the Carter/Hammond Cabin empty behind them.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading! Please check out my website for information about my novels!