Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are not my property. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: I let Jack and Sam's vulnerabilities show in this story, which we rarely saw in the series.

SG-1 sat around the campfire of the latest planet they had come to explore, eating in silence.

Daniel glanced at Sam, then at Jack, wishing he could do something to help his teammates. When they had been underground on P3R-118, he knew the relationship between Jonah and Thera had developed into something more than Jack and Sam were allowed to have.

After the team had finished eating, they set up their tents.

So far, they had seen no signs of life but Daniel had asked Jack to stay one more day to study further the writings on the walls of a cavern they had found.

Daniel pulled out a reference book from his backpack, sat down on the ground and began to thumb through the book.

Teal'c picked up his staff weapon and told Jack and Daniel that he would do a perimeter check of the area one last time before darkness came.

Jack turned to see where Sam was and saw her walking in the direction of the setting sun. He watched as she stopped with her back to them and stared into the horizon, her slim frame silhouetted against the bright orange and yellow rays of the sun. Resting her arms on her P-90, she dropped her head to her chest. When she raised her head several moments later, he thought that she had quickly wiped her cheeks.

Was she crying?

He took a step toward her to go find out but stopped, realizing that maybe he should just leave her alone.

This had not been an easy time for Sam, Daniel or himself. They were still feeling the affects of having their minds altered; memories of being in that hot place under the city, always surrounded by other workers, having very little time alone. The physical labor had been exhausting but he remembered the exhilaration of the people when they learned that it had all been a lie and everyone could now live freely on the surface.

Since their return from the planet a week ago, where he and Sam had been Thera and Jonah, Sam had been avoiding him as much as possible.

As he sat down on a large rock and watched Sam, he remembered sitting with her in a far away corner of their underground world, her head on his shoulder as they talked quietly into the night. He could still remember the soft touch of her skin as she slipped her arm around his and clasped their fingers together while shyly glancing up at him to see if the innocent gesture was okay. Staring at their entwined fingers, he gripped her hand and felt its warmth and softness as they sat in silence, enjoying this stolen time, this chance to be alone. Several minutes later, he pulled his hand free from hers and turned to face her, putting his arms around her shoulders. He stared at her lips before focusing on her eyes, silently asking her permission to do what he was about to do. When she didn't hesitate, he slowly leaned over and pressed his lips to hers as she slid her arms around his waist, drawing them closer together. The kiss had been amazing and sweet and he would never forget the taste of her lips. When the kiss was broken, she leaned her head against his chest and he put his head on top of hers, hugging her close. He would always remember how right it had felt to have her in his arms.

Looking down at the ground he kicked a pebble, knowing that if they had been there on the planet much longer, Jonah and Thera would have consummated their deepening feelings for each other.

When their memories began to return and they went back to Earth, he had noticed an immediate change in Sam. She would hardly look at him and although he wanted to speak with her about what had happened, he didn't know what to say. He only knew that they may have been Thera and Jonah on the planet, but these feelings they still felt for each other were purely Jack and Sam.

Breathing a deep sigh, he knew how hard this was for them both and watched as Sam sat down on the grass.

~oOo~

Sam laid her P-90 on her lap, wiped her eyes once more and knew she shouldn't be crying while on duty. "You should be stronger than this" she whispered to herself. Looking up at the sky, a tear rolled down her cheek.

Putting her hand over her mouth, she closed her eyes and thought back to the one and only time that Jonah had kissed Thera. She could still remember how warm his lips felt on hers, the intensity but tenderness of his kiss and nothing had ever felt so good as being held in his arms when the kiss was over. Even though they had been stuck in that dark and dirty world, she knew she could have stayed there forever if it meant that Thera could be with Jonah.

Opening her eyes, Sam choked back the tears as she realized once again how much she wanted Jack to kiss her the way Jonah had kissed Thera but knew that was not possible.

She remembered the day the team had arrived back on Earth. They sat around the briefing room table with General Hammond as each member of the team gave an account of what had occurred on the planet, but she nor Jack was about to tell their Commanding Officer just how close Thera and Jonah had been.

As she waited impatiently for the debriefing to end, she had caught Jack staring at her with the look of sadness in his eyes that she had seen when she had called him "sir" just before they had left the planet. The connotation of that one little word had closed the door on any potential relationship they might have. She stared at her hands in her lap, wishing she could get up and leave.

After General Hammond finally dismissed them, she could feel Jack's eyes on her as she rushed from the room. It was late at night as she hurriedly left the Mountain, got into her car and allowed herself to cry. Arriving at home, she came into her house and began to undress. Getting into bed, she realized yet again that their lives were governed by military rules that she nor Jack could change and neither was willing to break.

Whenever possible, she had avoided Jack since coming home from the planet. She had not realized how difficult it would be to return to their real lives since Thera and Jonah had become so close and she knew she needed to deal with these strong feelings she felt in her heart for Jack.

She also knew that she and Jack needed to discuss what had happened and attempt to clear the air between them so they could return to some semblance of normalcy, but she had no idea how to broach the subject with him. Tears clouded her eyes as she realized once again that she needed to bury her feelings for Jack and try to pretend that the relationship between Thera and Jonah had never happened.

Quickly wiping her cheeks, she stared off once more in the distance, sensing that Jack was watching her.

~oOo~

Daniel looked up from his book to see Jack staring at Sam.

"Jack . . . Jack!"

Jack quickly turned his head. "What!"

"Go talk to her."

"About what?"

"You were together on the planet. I saw you and Sam talking late at night after everyone else was asleep, sitting close together with her head on your shoulder. You have feelings for each other."

"Thera and Jonah had feelings for each other, Daniel. Jack and Sam are not allowed to."

"Yes, I know the Air Force says you're not allowed but the feelings are there anyway and you can't deny them. Sam hasn't been herself since this happened and she doesn't know what to do. She's hurting, Jack. You need to talk with her."

"And say what? What should we do, Daniel, because I certainly don't have a clue. I know she's hurting and . . ."

Daniel stared at Jack. "And what?"

Jack put his hand to the back of his neck and stared at the ground for several moments before speaking. "And so am I."

Daniel dropped the book he was holding and stood up. Walking over to Jack, he sat down beside him and put his hand on his shoulder. "I know you're hurting. I never meant to insinuate that Sam is the only one who is. I know this isn't easy. You and Sam care deeply for each other."

Daniel glanced at Sam and hesitated for a moment. "I don't know exactly what you should say to her, but the longer you delay talking to her, the worse it's going to get."

Jack knew his friend was right so he stood up and started walking toward Sam just as Teal'c returned. He sat down beside Daniel on the rock and they watched Jack slow his pace the closer he got to Sam.

Teal'c stared at Jack. "Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter have become more than friends and teammates. What do you think will transpire between them?"

Daniel quickly turned his head to look at Teal'c. "You saw them together on the planet too, didn't you?"

"Indeed."

Daniel sighed. "Air Force regulations say they're not allowed to have a relationship while Jack is Sam's CO, but they can't deny that the feelings are there and something needs to be done before the situation gets so bad that it splits up the team."

Jack came to a stop a few feet from Sam and looked down at her. She was so lost in thought that she had not heard him approach her.

"Carter."

Sam jumped and quickly glanced up at Jack. "Sir?"

He noticed her eyes were red.

"I didn't mean to startle you. Mind if I join you?"

"I don't mind, sir."

Sitting down a few feet from her, he laid his weapon on the ground and neither one spoke as they stared off into the horizon.

Sam clasped her hands together. "It isn't often we have the chance to just sit and watch a beautiful sunset, sir."

"True. We're usually stuck in the Mountain or too busy running from some overdressed snake-head who wants to enslave us or shoot us full of holes."

"Yes, sir."

Jack broke off a blade of grass and ran it between his fingers as he gave Sam a sideways glance.

"Sam?"

Sam stared straight ahead. "Yes, sir?"

"What happened back there on the planet . . . we need . . . we need to talk about that."

"Nothing happened, sir. It wasn't real. Thera and Jonah were not us."

Pausing for a moment, Jack decided to say what he was thinking. "In one sense, no they weren't. But what happened between us . . . when I kissed you . . . that was real. Whether we are Jonah and Thera or Jack and Sam, the kiss was real and I don't regret it. Do you?"

Tears filled Sam's eyes. "No, I don't. I don't regret it, but I also know it can't happen again."

Sam turned her head and looked away as she tried not to cry.

Jack moved a little closer to her. "Look, Sam, I know we can't be together in the way we want to be right now, but I don't want to lose you from the team because of this."

Sam wiped her eyes. "And I don't want to leave the team, so what do we do?"

Jack turned sideways to face her. "Believe me, I know this is hard. I don't like our situation any more than you do, but we have to go on the way we always have . . . until . . ."

Sam looked into his eyes and he could see how upset she was. "Until when, Jack? Until one of us dies? Until one of us leaves the Air Force? Until these feelings we have for each other just go away?"

Jack glanced down at the ground and back into her eyes. "I don't have an easy answer to this but . . ."

Jack gently placed his hand on Sam's arm. "I care deeply about you and I know without a doubt that my feelings for you are not going to change, except to grow stronger. I can't ask the same of you though. If your feelings for me change, then so be it, as long as I know you're happy."

Sam sniffed and placed her hand on Jack's. "I know my feelings for you will only grow stronger too."

Sam paused for a moment as she took her hand off Jack's. "As difficult as this is, we have to consider our careers and how much we're both needed right now to fight the Goa'uld."

Jack sighed and looked down at the ground. "You're right."

He removed his hand from Sam's arm and they sat in silence as they watched the sun slip below the horizon.

"Will we be okay?" he gently asked.

Sam looked into his eyes and nodded her head. "Yes, sir. Maybe we can't be together now but . . . some day?"

Jack smiled as he put his hand on hers again and gently squeezed her fingers. "That's a promise, Sam."

The End