A/N: Spoilers for Season 7 as this is set after "The Kiss" in Better Angels. Thank you once again to Justine and Diane I hope they know how much I appreciate all their help.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or WAT, only in my dreams.

Rating: M

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Reflections

By

Littleguinea

The moment the ice cream touched his lips it melted instantly, slowly running over his tongue. It was sweet and creamy, but not as sweet as the ice cream that he had tasted on her lips earlier that evening.

***

They had just shared one of their most intimate moments for almost seven years and as he now sat opposite her in the restaurant, staring into her eyes, he reflected on their conversation and those that they'd had over the course of the day.

He knew, or so he thought, that she had always held feelings for him, but when she'd told him that she was pregnant all those months ago, it had sent him into a spiral of depression that had culminated in him nearly getting himself killed. It was then that he had realized that he had been bottling up his feelings all these years. In fact, Jack Malone was an expert at bottling things up.

And yet, now he could hardly believe it because here they were in Los Angeles after weeks of flirting and testing the waters, and they had finally both admitted that they wanted to make a go of their relationship.

He couldn't help but regret the wasted years. They should have been together after he and his wife had divorced, but the time never seemed right and the threat of OPR was always a constant deterrent. Maybe it was the fact that they were both that bit older now and their priorities had shifted, but the obstacles just didn't seem insurmountable any more. Even OPR, they would cross that bridge if they ever needed to.

Finally, snapping out of his daydream, he smiled at Sam while she looked adoringly across the table at him, and he carried on with his ice cream.

***

She had loved the man sitting in front of her for as long as she could remember. But the Jack Malone of late hadn't been the one she'd fallen in love with all those years ago. He had become damaged in some way…had she contributed to that? She thought that probably she had. Maybe he had always been slightly tainted, but there were many things about Jack Malone that she didn't fully understand. She hoped now that she could finally unlock his secrets, and help him sort out his life.

She'd enjoyed the attention he had been giving her since she returned from her maternity leave. She knew that it had been easier for him to work with her and be close to her when he wasn't her supervisor, but now that he had his old job back and he was once again her boss, she thought that things would change.

So, when he had called her into his office and asked her to go to L.A with him, it had almost left her speechless. It hadn't taken her long to agree, though, and the butterflies had started fluttering in her stomach before she'd even left his office.

Even though she thought she still loved him and she'd told him so in a round-about way, she'd still been annoyed when he'd refused to finish their conversation, a one that was very important to her because it involved Finn, the one most important thing in her life at that precise moment. If Jack wanted to be part of her life again, then he needed to understand that she now came as a package and the most important part of that package was her son.

Thinking about his kiss sent the butterflies fluttering again. The touch of his lips had been electrifying, even though it was the most tender and loving kiss he'd ever given her.

He'd taken her a little by surprise, especially when he'd told her that he wanted to be there for her and to be all the things she needed him to be.

This wasn't the same Jack Malone that had done a background check on Finn's father, it wasn't the same Jack Malone who had nearly gotten himself killed trying to save Jenn Long, and it wasn't the same Jack Malone who she'd had an affair with all those years ago. This one was showing a huge amount of humility and was prepared to open up to her in a way that he had never done before and this one was apparently ready to make a commitment to her and her son.

As she stared across the table at him once more, she took his hand in her own and it was then that she realized that she had never ever fallen out of love with him.

****

They finished off their meal and left the restaurant. The warmth of the air hit them as they stepped outside.

"Want to go for a walk before we call it a night?" Jack enquired.

"I'm really tired Jack, it's been a long day," Sam replied, the weariness obvious in her voice.

"Okay, honey, I think we could both do with an early night anyway. We've got to be up pretty early to catch that flight back tomorrow," Jack said.

He reached for her hand and they walked silently back to the hotel.

As they arrived at Sam's door, they stopped and he took hold of both her hands in his.

"I meant everything I said tonight, Sam. I want to be a part of your life and I want to be there for you and your son."

Jack's voice started to waver now and Sam could see the sincerity in his eyes. He lifted her hands up to his lips and he placed a soft kiss on the back of each, before leaning in and kissing her tenderly on the lips.

"Get some sleep, I'll see you at breakfast," he said, before turning and walking away from her, towards his room.

Sam shouted after him, "So you really did reserve two rooms?"

"Of course I did. I respect you too much to have done any thing else," Jack replied and carried on up the corridor.

Turning before he reached his room, he shouted back to her, "I love you Sam, sleep tight".

She stood there astonished and more than a little disappointed. They just had the most romantic evening, where they had admitted their love for each other, had decided they would both give their relationship a second chance and now he just walked away, off to bed.

She knew she should be feeling great admiration for him for showing her so much respect, but there was only one feeling running through her body at that precise moment and it wasn't admiration -- it was a far more base instinct than that.

After watching him disappear into his room, she unlocked her door and walked in.

Sam paced the room a few times, before deciding to take matters into her own hands. She opened the door again and stepped out into the corridor.

Jack was in his room sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at his watch. Hmm, he thought, this was taking her longer than he expected. Maybe she'd just decided to call it a night.

After she'd questioned him earlier about the room situation, he thought that the right way to play this would be to act cool and make her think that he had no intention of taking advantage of the fact that they were alone together, thousands of miles away from anyone that knew them.

Then he heard the knock at the door.

He opened it and there stood Sam with a slightly embarrassed look on her face.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Hey," replied Jack. "I thought you were tired and wanted to get an early night?"

"Well… I am, sort of," said Sam, "but I just thought it might be nice if we could… be tired together."

"I can't think of anything better," said Jack, a big smile now spreading across his face as he took hold of Sam's hand and led her into his room.

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