Author's Note- Sorry for the really long author's note but I have to explain some things. This 'story' is part of a challenge in the community 'lover100' on Live Journal, where you get 100 prompts and you have to write 100 different stories. They can be drabbles, ficlets or fics. And yup you've got it. I'm doing Sam and Jack. So most of the fics that I post for that challenge will also be posted here. I'll put the summary and the prompt for each chapter in an Author's Note. If the ratings change I'll let you know for that chapter. Most of these I believe will be Sam and Jack established stories. Oh and I'm also doing another challenge, for a community called 'fanfic100' and again for Sam and Jack. You can find those in the story 'The Days that You Live for'. I have these marked as Complete because they're all stand alone. If you're interested the link to my Live Journal is under my website in my info.

Prompt for this is 'dirt'. She had never had time for something as simple as gardening. Now she did. Fluff.

Dirt

Samantha Carter knelt to the ground and dug holes for her seeds. The sun shown brightly on her, highlighting her long blonde and silver hair.

She had never found time through the years to actually plant anything. She'd spent so much time at work and so little at home. And when almost everyday you stepped through a device that took you to a planet covered with plants, it sort of dampened the urge to garden. But now…now she missed that. Missed the planets with the three moons and the ones with the trees that seemed to stretch to the sky.

Sam stopped for a moment and looked around. As much as she missed that, she could never replace what she had in this small cabin in Minnesota. It was early in the morning and a chill still hung in the air. Dew covered the ground. Spring was in full swing and the leaves were already on the trees. The air held the distinct smell of dew and flowers.

She gently placed the seeds in the holes that she had dug before covering them with the rich soil.

Her eyes were drawn to her hands. They weren't the smooth hands of a cadet anymore. Nor the well worn hands of a Major. Rather they were the time worn hands of an older woman. They held scars, calluses and memories. These hands weren't used to shoot a P-90 anymore. Instead they were used for days like today, to do work in her garden.

There were still the occasional brushes with the enemy when they went through the stargate. It was unlikely that it would ever be peaceful in the galaxy. But that undertaking had been left to a new generation of officers and scientists. And for once that didn't bother her. She'd done her duty to her country and to her planet. Now she could relax.

She slowly stood up, wincing briefly at the pain that shot up her leg from sitting in an awkward position for so long. Sam wiped the dirt off her hands on her worn jeans. Her gaze roamed over the woods and pond behind the cabin. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of fresh air. The wind swept over her causing long strands of hair to blow into her face.

Behind her she heard footsteps and a smile tilted up the corners of her lips. She'd know that walk anywhere. She'd heard that walk so many uncountable times off world.

Strong arms came behind her and wrapped around her waist. Her smile turned into a grin as callused hands brushed aside the hair at the nape of her neck and placed a tender kiss there.

"Aren't you a little bit old to be sneaking up on me?" She said with a laugh.

"Nope." The muffled voice said as he rained kisses on her neck.

Sam quickly turned around in his arms to face him.

"How about a proper kiss?" Sam said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah sure ya betcha." He said as he dipped his head to meet hers.

After years of his kisses you'd think they'd become routine. But they still managed to make her go weak in the knees. He deepened the kiss and she quickly pulled herself closer to him.

A while later he pulled back and she moved her hand to stroke his cheek. She stared up at those chocolate brown eyes, and she swore she fell in love with him all over again. Those eyes had concealed so much over the years. Concealed his pain and heartache. That mask in his eyes had been an impenetrable wall for so many years.

But now his eyes were so clear. She clearly read what he was feeling in his eyes. The love he felt for her was written plain for her to see.

She'd never tire of it.

There had been days through the years where she never thought she'd end up here in his arms. Days when this seems so far off in the future. It had taken a lot to get here, a lot of heartache and pain. But they were here nevertheless.

She quickly leaned up to kiss him on the lips again. He stayed with his arm wrapped around her waist for a few minutes before they walked hand in hand over to the two chairs that sat next to their pond.

Sam smiled as she looked over her shoulder at her garden. In a few short weeks the seeds that she just planted would start to sprout. Life would begin again in that dark soil. And as her eyes strayed back to the man she loved, she wondered if her own life wasn't so very different from that dirt and seeds.

Her feelings for this man had been planted so long ago. And slowly they had changed and evolved. There had been times when storms had come and those feelings were barely hanging on. Other times when those feelings had thrived. There was an elegance and beauty to what she felt for him.

Just as those plants would soon have an elegance and beauty to them as well.

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Author's Note- Thanks for reading and if you liked it let me know.