THE WATCHER

Part Two

I've watched them for years.

I thought at first I was the only one who saw the beginning. Later I realized that Hammond saw, too. But they each thought no one saw. No one but themselves.

I don't think Jack even realized what that little jolt was, not at first. Sam did – her spine stiffened as she felt the tug of attraction. I'm sure it wasn't the first time she had been attracted to another officer. I'm sure she intended to treat it like any other time. I'm sure she tried. It just didn't work.

At first we were all getting used to each other. Becoming a team. Friends. Except for Jack and I, none of us had met, let alone worked together. It didn't take long. I know that it sounds cliché, but we really bonded quickly. The chemistry was there, the common ground. Jack and I had history, that original trip to Abydos. Sam and I are both scientists, explorers. Jack and Sam are both military officers. Teal'c joined us, bound by a shared purpose and his warrior's honor. Within a few weeks, we were a team. On duty and off. Bound by trust, by friendship, we stopped watching each other so closely.

Except Jack still watched Sam when he thought no one was looking. Sam watched him when she thought no one saw. But I saw. That little jolt in the briefing room became familiar. It happened each time the two of them were in the same area. And it grew. They fought it, hid it. For the sake of the team, the world, their careers.

Then one day they pulled it reluctantly into the open. To save Jack, save them both. For a brief moment, it shone freely acknowledged between them. Then they shoved it into a room, to preserve their careers, keep the team together. I think they thought that we forgot it was there. But I never did. I could always see it there, waiting quietly in the background.

They tried to live with it, live without it, live without each other, live with others. It didn't work for Sam. Nor for Jack. Finally they admitted to each other that there would be no others, only the two of them. Together.

Now we will all watch as Jack and Sam make two lives into one. The love they share will shine for everyone to see for the rest of their lives.