7 DAYS LATER

"That's the end of the MREs..." Sam announced as she carefully burned the empty packages and leaned back in contemplation.

She had been investigating possible food sources and had found that the river from where they had been drawing water contained something akin to fish and was frequented by a plentiful supply of birds as well.

Janet for her part, had spent time and lent her expertise to finding possible plants and had reported seeing animal tracks on one of her ventures.

Now they would just have to figure out how to catch the animals and harvest the plants in question...

"Well, it's been a while since I went fishing, but I doubt I've forgotten it all." Janet said abruptly as she dug out her survival pack from a pocket in the webbing she wore.

"3 hooks, 100 feet of line, 2 weights..." She read in a monotone from the back of the package, which also contained 3 snares, waterproof matches and freeze dried bait.

"Let's use mine for now, that way your's will remain as a spare if we need. You go set up the snares, I'll go take care of the fishing." Janet suddenly said and stood up, handing Sam the snares and grabbing her knife and sidearm as she turned to walk down to the river, not waiting for Sam to respond.

Slightly startled, Sam watched her walk away and contemplated the past week that they had spent together.

Each day they had gone to the Stargate in the morning and then spent the rest of the day hiking in ever widening circles around their camp and on improving their living arrangements. A sturdy lean too had been built, incorporating the pile of rocks they had used as shelter for the first few nights. A covered hearth and a sleeping area padded with branches completed the interior and their gear was stored on the natural pegs caused by cutting off the branches from the struts of the structure.

The military women were both inclined towards order, so the camp area and the lean too were impeccable.

Last but not least, a larger pile of firewood completed the picture, secured under an overhand of one of the rocks and covered with an emergency poncho that Sam had leftover from a not too long ago mission where they had been helping a monsoon stricken people with some cleanup.

Shaking herself out of her stupor, Sam secured her sidearm and marched off determinedly, having already scouted out possible locations for snares should the need be. Any animals on this planet were probably not wary of humans, but would naturally be inclined to shy away from the foreignness that a human would seem to be. Thus, there was more chance of snaring something starting about a quarter mile away from the camp and working outwards.

Sam Carter had been well trained in military survival so it was without any hesitation or squeamishness that she found suitable locations and set up the snares, carefully concealing and securing them before tiptoeing away from them. She marked a nearby tree for reference, made a note of the locations and then proceeded to collect and armful of firewood on her way back to camp.

By the time she had returned and had managed to built up the fire, there was still no sign of Janet, so Sam banked the fire and made her way down to the river to check that the other woman was ok.

There had been no hint of any larger or dangerous seeming animals on this planet, but still, Sam was compelled to go check up on her wayward colleague, friend...

Walking silently along the riverbank, Sam eventually spotted the brunette Doctor sitting on a large rock that was conveniently positioned in a deeper part of the river. ow she had gotten to it was somewhat of a mystery to Sam until she saw that Janet had removed her boots and socks and her fatigue pants were rolled up to the knee.

As Sam watched, she saw Janet adjust the homemade fishing pole she had carved minutely and then she saw the woman jerk her arm quickly. A moment later, a gleaming fish was pulled from the water, frantically splashing and wriggling as it did.

Sam barely paid any attention to the fish however, it was the expression on the woman's face who had caught it that captured all of her attention.

Joy, pure, unadulterated and vibrant joy...

It was clear as day that the Doctor loved what she was doing and Sam was loathe to disturb her tranquility. However, as if feeling the perusal, the woman turned towards her and spotted her with an ease that made Sam feel like she should ask Janet a little more about her childhood. Perhaps this woman had spent much time camping and fishing and even hunting when she was younger, she certainly seemed to be very comfortable in the woods and though it was easy to attribute it to Janet being a professional soldier, Sam knew that there was probably a deeper reason.

"Take your shoes off and come on over, I need help to carry the fish!" Janet called over as she stood up and begun to collect her improvised fishing tackle with reverent care.

Smiling in spite of herself, Sam quickly complied and some chilly moments later climbed onto the rock where Janet had finished collecting her things and had sling her boots around her neck by their laces.

"Wow! There's got to be at least a dozen fish here..." Sam said as she reached down to pick up the fish, conveniently threaded onto a branch.

"Yes, good pickings today. We'll clean them on the shore and save the good bits for bait." Janet said in a matter of fact voice as she splashed into the water and walked with confident ease back to the shore, fishing pole in hand...

So a routine developed...

Every day, Janet would go fishing and Sam would take care of the snares, sometimes having luck, catching small mammals and the like. She would then collect firewood and tidy the camp and then in the remaining time, she would walk and talk with Janet as they collected some plants that the Doctor had deemed edible after running a series of harrowing experiments on some likely candidates.

Without equipment, the only way to check if a plant was edible was to select one based on what you knew and try it and be ready to throw up and enact any number of counter measures available in case it made you feel even slightly ill. Half a dozen plants had passed the test before Janet had declared that they would be sufficient to help with their nutritional upkeep.

Thankfully, the fish and the small game proved to be plentiful and the women were not suffering from lack of food, though its blandness left much to be desired. However, it was better than MREs and neither woman even thought to complain.

On the tenth day of them being stranded on the planet, Sam and Janet had finally become comfortable enough with eachother that they no longer had the slightest inkling towards shyness or modesty, which was just as well, as their situation did not really allow for it.

Despite of their careful attention to personal hygiene, an earthy, musky scent had permeated both women, as with only water and handfuls of leaves to wash with and only leaves and moss to attend to personal matters with they had really gone back to nature.

It was not an unclean scent, but it was natural and it caused Sam to reflect on how life must have been at some time, when things were simpler. On a personal level, she had admitted to herself that Dr. Frasier's natural self smelled delicious... The thought had brought Sam long moment's of consternation as she had reflected on the possible implications and probable consequences of that observation.

She knew she was attracted to Janet and not in some mild 'I have a crush, ain't that sweet' way...

She had known before they had been stranded together, but the enforced togetherness and natural stress of the situation had brought it to bear and away from the military confines and very watchful eyes of the SGC, her feelings had flourished.

'So now what?' Her inner voice mused, as she removed a rabbit-like creature from the snare she had been checking and quickly tucked it into the bad she was carrying before moving back towards camp, automatically picking up firewood as she went...

DAY 17

Samantha Carter woke up to find the lean too empty, Janet was nowhere to be seen but Sam had an idea where the other woman must have gone.

Fishing...

It was a source of tender amusement in Sam, the amount of time that the brunette woman spent finding the best spots to fish on the lake and always so patiently, for so many hours, fishing.

Though the snares that Sam set and adjusted daily, brought in a regular supply of meat, it was Janet's fishing that was keeping them from going hungry.

In difference to that, Sam made it a point to shoulder some more of the camp duties, though they still spent hours each day walking and talking and gathering foodstuffs together.

As their military and professional persona's were gradually stripped away by their environment, the women had started to touch upon personal aspects. Anecdotes, dreams, fears and worries were discussed and stories and thoughts were exchanged.

Sam could not remember a time when she had so thoroughly enjoyed the company of another person and for so long...

Rising, Sam quickly built the fire up, secured her handgun and knife and wandered down to the river, both women having abandoned the concept of shoes around the campsite a few days before. The feel of the rich earth under her feet and the wild scent of her body and of the forest around her invigorated Sam as she walked.

Arriving at the river, Sam looked around for Janet in the nearby fishing spots she knew the woman kept and did not see her. Shrugging minutely, Sam walked along the river bank silently until she heard a splash that was out of place; Janet...

The thought captured her mind as she rounded a group of rocks and then stopped as if welded to the ground she was standing on.

Janet, naked, obviously having taken a bath in the freezing water and now in the process of laying out her freshly pounded clothes to try on one of the sunbaked rocks nearby.

After a moments hesitation, Sam decided that it seemed to be an excellent idea and without thinking, stripped herself of her uniform after carefully laying her gun belt to the side, even though the Glock it held would not suffer from a dip, she did not fancy drying it out...

Janet did not notice Sam until she heard a splash behind her and turned around. Sam, naked, standing in the river looking like some Nordic version of Aphrodite, pounding her clothes against a rock.

The sight captivated Janet even though she was already completely enraptured by Sam Carter, had been for a good long time...

Before they were stranded together, even though Janet and Sam had become tentative friends and they did enjoy a good working relationship together. Janet had been aware of the fact that her libido was more than a little interested in the blonde Major, but there was precious little she could imagine realistically doing about it.

Since they had been stranded and everything except who they were as women was gradually stripped away, Janet had found it almost impossible to ignore the pull she felt towards Sam.

In this, most intimate of situations that they were sharing, Janet knew that it was only a matter of time, be it a minute or a day, before her resolve finally broke and she would find out one way or another, just how Sam felt about her.

When Sam turned from her laundry and waded towards Janet's location, wet clothes in one hand, gun belt in another, Janet felt her heart stop in her chest for a few moments.

Sam was breathtaking, her pale skin having taken some colour in all the outside time they had been spending and her body defined and glorious.

Licking her lips involuntarily, Janet could barely breathe when Sam arrived within touching distance of her. Feeling dizzy from the combination of Sam's naked by and her delicious scent, Janet squeezed her eyes shut for a moment.

When she opened them, she found Sam looking at her intently, a shy but clear expression on her face.

"You ok Janet?" She asked quietly, quickly tossing her wet clothes onto the rock and turning to give Janet her full attention.

Feeling trapped, Janet could only nod...

Sam took a step closer to her, seeming oblivious to their mutual nakedness, her only concern being Janet's welfare.

Now, with Sam's bare breasts within a hairs breath of her suddenly dry mouth, Janet forced herself to look up into Sam's cool blue eyes. Except they were not cool, they were blazing with a fire that she recognised.

Emboldened, Janet leaned forward, seeming to accidental brush their bodies together and then, whatever control the two women had evaporated in an instant.

"Oh my God, Janet..." Sam said in a low whisper before she crushed their mouths together.

There was to be no fishing that morning as the sounds of the river and the forest were joined by a new set of sounds; that of two women making love as nature intended, unencumbered by any trappings of the modern world...

72 HOURS AFTER RESCUE

Major Samantha Carter walked through the cool metallic corridors of the SGC, debriefing done, shower accomplished, food in her stomach and new and crisp uniform on.

Even her medical and psych evaluations had come up smelling like roses...

The blonde woman had something else in mind as she marched down the corridor with her mind singly focused on her goal.

Stopping outside a door, she rapped her knuckles on the heavy frame and was promptly beckoned from the other side of the door. Pulling the door open, Sam stopped abruptly, unable to control her reaction to seeing Doctor Janet Frasier.

Aware that there were eyes and ears everywhere, Sam quickly entered the CMO's office and pulled the door shut behind her. The brunette woman just looked at her for a long moment, before she put down whatever she was doing and came around her desk.

Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around Sam and kissed the blonde woman soundly.

"I missed you..." Janet whispered into their kiss as the two women reacquainted themselves with eachother.

Though Janet (and herself of course) now smelled only of shampoo and a hint of perfume, Sam's sharp senses picked up the scent of the woman herself. The one that she had come to know in the 25 days that they had been trapped on the planet together, the last 8 of which they had spent making love and becoming lovers and falling even more completely in love with eachother.