Archive: SJD – Yes, Jackfic, , My site (when I put it on, lol).

Spoilers: 100 Days

Disclaimer: It's not mine, there's a shocker!

Feedback: Always, the good the bad and the ugly.

AN: Big thanks and hugs to Lori for betaing this for me, Lori, you're a gem. This FIC is for Beth, who coerced me into writing, lol, but in a nice way. :o)

Where the heart is.

Standing not more than 20 feet from him, she watched as he carefully placed his arms around her shoulder, bringing Laira into a comfortable embrace. Shock and anger tore through her at what she was witnessing. Not quite sure how to deal with her turbulent feelings, she turned away from him, hurt and pain etched in her face. It was clear from his actions, that he never expected to return, and in believing that, he'd began to set up a life with someone: Laira.

Her stomach felt as if it were being ripped in half. All this time she'd spent trying to save him. For the last few months, she'd barely eaten or slept, she had to get the Colonel home; that was her only objective. Now though seeing him with her, and the uncomfortable feeling that fleeted between them, she wondered if she'd made the right decision.

Janet had asked her, if the Colonel's disappearance was going to cause a problem, and obviously she'd said 'No'. How could she tell Janet the truth? Jack was her superior, and she was his 2IC, that's all there was to it. But, if that was the case, then why did it tear her in half to see him in the arms of another women? She didn't have an answer.

Less than a week had passed since Jack return from Edora, and Captain Samantha Carter was only just recovering from her own after-effects. Working night and day had taken its toll on her body.

Tired and emotional she watched him saunter down the corridor; and it annoyed her. His casual attitude, his expectations that everything could return to normality without a word of thanks, was she expecting too much? No. At least she didn't think so. At every opportunity he seemed to avoid her, and she didn't know why. Not one word of thanks had passed from his lips. He'd greeted everyone with a smile, everyone that is except her. On the surface, he appeared to be the same colonel that left the SGC 3 months ago, but there was something different lurking behind his eyes, something that she couldn't put her finger on. Was it possible that he resented her for finding a way to bring him back from Edora?

It hurt her that he could dismiss her so offhanded as he had the last few days since his return, the least he could do was acknowledge her efforts, couldn't he? Didn't he realise how much of her life she'd sacrificed, in trying to bring him home? Obviously not. Good old Sam Carter, always able to find the impossible, no matter what the cost. This time, though it cost her more than her time. His nonchalance had hurt her more than anyone realised.

Carrying her toolkit, she thought about avoiding him, she didn't know if she could face him without losing her temper, but she couldn't ignore him forever. They were on the same team, and they had to sort it out, before it got out of hand. She didn't know if he had a problem with her, or if it was just one sided, but she knew that until they sorted things out, they wouldn't be able to work together. At least not without there being an uneasiness between them. He'd already made it clear that he couldn't stand to be in the same room as her, or look at her as he did before. Over the last few days a frosty, uncomfortable atmosphere had been enveloping them. As time went on she hoped that the uneasiness would fade into the background, but it hadn't. How could they work around each other, when from all appearances it seemed as if he didn't want her near. If she was to remain working with him, they had to cleat the air. And now seemed like a good a time as any.

Standing at the entrance to the elevator Jack nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Carter."

"Sir."

Then that uncomfortable silence began.

Jack shifted his feet uncomfortably, for the first time in his life; he didn't know what to say to her. He'd heard what she'd done for him; the hours she'd spent slaving away to bring him back; the lack of sleep she'd forgone to enable his return. He could tell she was uncomfortable on his homecoming from Edora - her silence, the fact that she held herself back when walking towards the Stargate was a sure sign that something was seriously wrong. It wasn't until his return though that he found out why she had looked so pale and gaunt; and he felt guilty.

He thought initially that they'd find a way to bring him home…that Sam would find a way. But as the weeks turned into months, he began to realise that maybe he had to rebuild his life there on Edora. And after 3 months, he needed someone; it wasn't as if he loved her, but she was kind and they'd fallen into a comfortable reverie.

His feelings for Laira were more of kinship than love, and she reminded him so much of Carter, that same tenaciousness, the will to survive against all the odds. It just seemed like the most natural thing in the world – to turn to someone when you felt lost and alone. And that's exactly what he did. In doing so though he'd un-intentionally hurt her and if he could find a way to stop her hurting he would, but as things stood now, he really didn't know what to do…or what to say.

Sam, in the confines of the elevator tried to stand as far away from him as possible. The bag filled with tools felt heavy on her shoulder, feeling as if the weight of the world was encumbering her she laid down the instruments on the floor, but it didn't ease the heaviness that settled around her shoulders. That pain would, she knew would only go away when the time was right.

Suddenly, without warning, the elevator juddered before coming to a dead stop. Bracing himself, Jack grabbed onto Sam as the turbulence abated slowly. Realising he still held her with his hand, he looked sheepish before placing his hands back down towards his side, looking everywhere except at her eyes.

"Sorry." He mumbled, partly incoherently. Not wanting her to see his embarrassment or the slight flush in his cheeks, he turned away.

Ignoring his pleasantries, she sighed loudly.

Noticing her increasing melancholy mood, he didn't fancy being stuck in such a confined space as this for a long time with her. Trying to end their situation, he began pressing all the buttons sequentially in an effort to get it moving again.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked with slight exasperation.

"Trying to get this thing moving." Jack replied with a slightly harsher tone than he intended.

"Well, with all due respect, sir, that's not going to help."

"It might."

Rolling her eyes with slight exasperation, she continued. "Lets just call maintenance, sir, with any luck we might be out of here within the next few minutes. I don't know about you, but I don't relish being stuck in here for hours."

Attempting to lighten her obviously dark mood he joking asked. "Not keen on my company these days, Captain?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he'd touched a raw nerve. From the look on her face, he could see that in truth he wasn't that far from hitting the mark.

Okay, that answers that question, Jack remarked inwardly before picking up the telephone in the hopes of being rescued once more. The atmosphere was becoming decidedly frosty when he finally got through to someone.

"What do you mean it's going to be a couple of hours?" Jack replied heatedly through the end of the receiver.

"Great! Just what I need right now." Sam mumbled in silent defeat. She didn't think that this day could get any worse…until now. Her efforts at trying to avoid him began slowly falling to the wayside. In retrospect, fate seemed to be playing a cruel trick on her. No matter what she did, she knew she couldn't avoid him forever. And from the looks of things, fate had decreed that this was their moment to sit down and talk…whether they liked it or not.