General Jack O'Neill walked out of Cheyenne Mountain for the last time. At least, not for a while. Effective this evening he had officially relinquished his command of the SGC to General Hank Landry.

SG1 – the SG1 – was now officially defunct. Daniel was off to do… well, whatever it was that Daniel did. Teal'c was off to help the free Jaffa establish an independent council of government. Carter… as of tonight Carter was officially off to Area 51 to head up Research and Development.

Jack fished in his pocket for his keys as he came to the side of his truck. The late night hour left the parking area lit by only an eerily incandescent glow and once he got the key ring out it took him a few moments to locate the correct key, partially because his attention was no longer on the keys, but rather on the woman currently sitting on the bumper of his truck.

"Carter?"

She turned her head, but didn't say anything. As he moved closer, he wasn't sure if it was a trick of the light or if there actually were tears in her eyes. Carefully, he placed a hand on her shoulder and watched her smile.

"You okay?"

She nodded and looked forward again, staring out over the drop down the rest of the mountain and the lights of towns in the distance.

"It's over. Isn't it?"

Her voice was quiet, almost somber.

Jack thought for a moment before replying. "In a way, I guess." Seeing the small dip of her head, he added. "I have to admit I'm not entirely clear on what we're talking about here, Carter."

Her amused smile had a touch of sadness that he hated to see.

"The team. The camaraderie. Just… us." The last word was barely a whisper, so quiet that he wasn't sure he heard it.

US.

The root of everything.

"Ah." He scuffed his foot in the sand at the edge of the lot, pushing his hands into his pockets as he quietly fidgeted. "Well, um…"

If he was going to be honest with himself, this was a conversation that he'd dreamt of having with her time and time again. Now that it was here, he had no clue what to say, where to begin, or if she was even remotely interested in the same things as he.

The touch of her hand on his cheek startled him and made him look up. Her eyes met his and she stepped a little closer.

"I'm tired of talking, Jack. I don't want to think. I don't want to analyze. I just want to DO, okay?"

The sound of his first name made his eyes snap forward as she moved in. She licked her lips before biting the bottom one slightly, and tilted her head as she claimed his mouth.

Her nails grazed his neck as her fingers moved into his hair, her left hand resting against his chest before fisting into his shirt as the kiss deepened. He parted his lips and pulled his hands from his pockets. Instinctively, he grasped her sides and backing her up two steps, trapping her between him and the truck – though she definitely wasn't complaining.

When they parted, they were both breathless, and he lowered his forehead the small bit so it could rest against hers. "Uh, yeah… definitely okay with that, Sam."

She smiled, and if the lighting had been better, he was sure he would have seen a hue of blush on her cheeks.

Jack couldn't keep his hands still; his fingers flexing against her sides to slip beneath the thin fabric of the shirt she wore. He watched as she closed her eyes and gasped with the skin-to-skin contact. He couldn't get enough of her and before long his light, gentle touches turned to full hand caresses as his lips sought hers again.

Her left hand slipped beneath the flannel outer shirt he wore, running along his chest massaging his muscles through his tee-shirt. She moaned softly into his mouth and his control slipped. Jack pressed his body against hers and slid his hands over her. He moved his left hand around to hold her back, putting at least some space between her skin and the hood of his truck, while his right traced a path up her side before slowly cupping her breast.

Sam's gasped moan and the insistency with which she held him to her sent his head spinning even more. Slowly, he backed his head away from her, their lips separating.

"Jack…." The whispered sound of his name on her lips made his eyes close and his fingers clench. She moaned softly, tilting her head to recapture his lips. Jack pulled back, unwilling to let things go too far too fast.

"Sam…" His voice sounded husky and out of breath even to his own ears. "I really suck at relationships of any kind, never mind the long distance variety." Her soft laughter made him tilt her head so he could fully see her face. "Um… I'm not sure what's funny about that."

She cupped his cheek with her right hand. "Think about it, Jack. We've been traveling from planet to planet, daily, for years. Suddenly Washington to Groom Lake is long distance?"

Jack smiled thinking about it. As usual, she was right. "It's a bit ironic."

She leaned forward, kissing him briefly, "Just a tad."

Her light, tender kiss and resolve was enough to do him in and he kissed her again, enjoying the way her lips felt beneath his, the way she tasted of coffee and blue Jell-O with whipped cream. He enjoyed how everything about her felt so right and that he no longer had to deny how he felt about her.

Now, with nothing stopping him, his hands journeyed across her form, seeking out the soft, delicate curves that had remained forbidden to him for so long. She moaned in a very feminine and un-Carter-like way as he grazed his thumb over her lace-covered nipple and he thought his head might implode.

He moved his right hand down her side, and he was amazed that he could know this woman so well and yet not know her at all. As he reached the curve of her hip, he pulled her closer, pressing their bodies flush against each other. Her left leg moved up and he felt the pinch as her heel pressed into his calf, effectively holding him to her.

Something inside of him snapped at that moment. He needed her now and it didn't matter where they were or who could see them. Jack cupped his hand around her knee, bringing it level with his hip and slipping beneath the fabric of her skirt.

Sam's fingers tensed in his hairline, her nails grazing his neck, as he broke their kiss and moved to the pale skin of her throat. Her breath was ragged against his ear and her head tipped to the side as he made his way from her ear to her jaw. A soft moan escaped, and she bit her bottom lip as his fingers traced the line of her underwear.

Her restless fingers fumbling with his jeans, bringing him the slightest bit closer and he moaned into her neck and nipped lightly at her skin. His own fingers journeyed past the thin fabric barrier to explore the soft, smooth skin beneath. He pressed his fingers into the supple skin of her ass and the gasped breath that ran past his ear caused a shiver to course down his spine as she clenched her fingers around him.

None too gently, he moved her skirt up her leg and shifted his stance before he slid her panties to the side and prepared to complete what they had started. He lifted his head, watching her chest heave as her respiration rate increased and searching her eyes for any sign that she didn't want this. Finding none, he pushed forward, watching as her eyes flashed, her breath hitched and her fingers clenched against his sides.

Rampant thoughts ran through his head, thoughts he should have had earlier but it would have been too wrong. Thoughts and questions that he should have discovered the answers to before starting an escapade like this in such a public place. Thoughts like, was Carter a screamer?

The cool air against his neck as she sighed helped to push the thoughts away.

"Jack?"

He wasn't sure how long he'd been rooted to that spot, head nestled against her shoulder, fingers pressed into her skin, completely surrounded by her. He shivered slightly and his hands shook slightly as he held her closer and rolled his hips against her. Kissing her lips, he moved back, her name coming out as a groan on his lips.

"Sam."

Her mouth claimed his before he could utter anything else, her teeth gently biting his lower lip before pulling him into a mind-numbing kiss. Using the truck for leverage, he set a steady rhythm and their kisses were only punctuated by deep gasps. The first brief flutter of Sam's muscles around him almost sent him to his knees.

Moving back from her kiss, Jack moved his face to the side, leaning his cheek against her forehead as he tried to calm his breathing.

"God, Sam," his voice sounded weak and breathless, "this isn't going to take long."

Her gasped, "Tell me about it," took him by surprise. He hadn't expected for her to be having the same issues. The trembling of her legs combined with the grip of her fingers gave him the tell tale sign that she was close.

Keeping his pace Jack focused on holding out for as long as he could while Sam tilted her head back. She bit her lower lip and then buried her face into his chest, muffling her cries. Her grip lessened, and then fisted into his shirt. Her muscles spasmed around him and her head pressed more firmly into his shoulder. Sam's mouth opened before her teeth pressed into his flesh and she moaned deeply. Jack wasn't sure if it was one specific thing or a combination of all of them that pushed him over the edge, forcing him to grab onto the grill of his truck to keep them upright as his own climax wracked his body.

Jack nuzzled his face into her neck, taking in deep breaths of her scent as he tried to regain his equilibrium. How things had managed to progress so far, so fast he wasn't sure. He just hoped they didn't go downhill from here.

Sam's fingers toyed in the hair at the base of his neck and her leg slowly moved down his to steady her on the ground. He stepped back slightly, nervous to look her in the eye as they slipped apart and he tried to straighten himself up as much as possible. Her head lifted from his shoulder as he moved and the hand on his neck gently pulled him down for a wonderfully slow, passionate kiss.

They broke apart, and even in the pale light of the parking lot he could tell she was flushed. He ran his fingers through her hair to calm down its unruly behavior and marveled by the smile that graced her lips as she carefully smoothed her skirt out against her legs. Her eyes met his and she seemed to shy away for a minute before speaking.

"Jack?" He smirked as he cupped her cheek, but he didn't say anything. "Come home with me?"

Her voice had been so soft, so quiet that he had to re-run the question several times in his head to be sure that he'd heard her correctly.

"Most definitely," he replied, leaning in to kiss her again.

"Sir? Is everything all right, General?"

He stopped just short of her lips, his eyes widening at the sound of the voice. Calmly he stepped away from her, moving out from behind the protective covering that his truck provided.

"Everything's fine, McCarthy. Colonel Carter here just got something in her eye and I was attempting to help her get it out before we both left. Nothing to worry about." He tried to keep his voice steady and believable, even over Carter's muffled snort and the series of low giggles that followed. "The lighting here isn't the best for things like that, you know."

"Um, yes, sir. Of course, sir."

Jack watched McCarthy walk away; wondering what had possessed him to say what he had.

"Something in my 'eye', huh?"

Turning, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her gently. "It got rid of him, didn't it?" He kissed her to interrupt her giggling. "So, my place or yours?"

"Mine. Yours is all packed for you to leave for Washington."