Disclaimer: Not my character. Sigh.

All mistakes are mind and mine alone.

Set S7, pre-Grace. You know, the episode where Sam apparently loses her mind and thinks she needs to start dating other men, and somehow ends up with Shrub in S8. *grumble*

Most of my stories are quite angsty lately, so I thought it was time to try something that didn't have too much angst in it. Enjoy!

Reviews much appreciated!

Major Samantha Carter lay in the small tent, listening to the sounds of P4X-411, and Colonel O'Neill breathing softly in his sleep. SG3 had visited the planet the previous week and found traces of Naquada, so SG1 was sent back to see if it was a viable source and if there was a chance of trade. After 5 days of searching, they'd found nothing beyond the Naquada traces SG3 had found, and no indigenous people. Sam thought there may have been a mine at one time, but if so, it had long dried up and likely the people died off, as the planet was barely habitable or went to another planet with more resources. Colonel O'Neill had called the mission a bust and decided it was time to head back home. Not wanting to traipse through the dense forest in the dark, he'd decided they would spend one last night, and return to Earth first thing in the morning, leaving Sam sleeping next to him yet again.

She sighed and rolled on her side to look over at the man sleeping just a few feet away. The twin moons of the planet were full and lit the interior of the tent just enough for her to make out his features clearly. His silver hair was sticking up all over his head, and his face was relaxed in sleep. She knew when he woke though, the familiar sharp angles would tense up and his chocolate brown eyes would carry a look of general distrust. She decided she liked the relaxed look on him, and wished she saw it more often. The thought of what his face would look like relaxed post-hot sex, briefly flickered through her mind. She shook her head to clear the image that made heat coil in her stomach, and went back to staring at him. While she liked the relaxed look, Sam acknowledged that there wasn't a single thing wrong with how the he looked when he was awake, though. Goodness knows she'd spent enough time looking at him, and thinking how strikingly handsome he was, even if she wasn't supposed to. She'd also seen the way the other women at the SGC looked at him with appreciation in their eyes, making her want to dress every one of them down. And maybe scratch their eyes out. The women they'd encountered off world were more difficult to deal with, but she'd gotten better over the years at intimidating them and keeping them well away from the Colonel.

She couldn't really blame other women for looking at him. He was tall and lanky and moved with a natural grace, and he absolutely filled a room with his presence. Jack O'Neill may have been a well trained in black ops, but when he was not in stealth mode, he was impossible to ignore. No, she couldn't blame them for looking, but she didn't have to like it. He was an attractive man, and as he'd grown older and his hair had gotten gray, he'd become even more so. Sam's fingers itched to run through the short, unruly hair, and she flexed her them as though trying to keep them from reaching out of their own volition. Stop it, she thought. This is so not appropriate.

"Carter, you're thinking awfully loud over there," Jack said, turning his head to stare at her, his eyes a soft brown, and a small smile on his face.

Sam was glad she was in the shadows of the tent or he'd see the deep flush that stole over her face. "Sorry, Sir."

He rolled on his side to face her. "Can't sleep?"

She shook her head. "No, I guess not. I think I'm going to relieve Daniel early. You know how cranky he is when he doesn't get enough sleep."

"Damn civilians." Jack said her, rolling his eyes. Despite all the years Daniel had been on SG-1, he'd never learned to get by on as little sleep as they did. The only thing that made him tolerable on lack of sleep was copious amounts of bad field coffee. Fortunately, Daniel didn't seem to mind that it was bad, as long as it was hot and caffeinated, and sometimes he didn't even care that it was hot. Jack always made sure there was extra coffee in the supplies they took off world. Without the extra coffee, he wasn't certain Daniel would make it back to Earth in one piece.

Sam sighed again and moved to crawl out of her sleeping bag, but Jack's hand reached out to grasp hers, causing her to stop in her tracks. His hand was warm and she relished in the instant electricity that came with such a simple touch. "Don't," he said quietly. It wasn't an order, but a request. "You'll be leaving me here alone soon enough; stay for now. Please."

Sam wasn't sure what to say. Her brain shifted into overdrive. They'd spent seven years dancing around their feelings for each other, and this was about as much as he'd said out loud since the za'tarc incident several years earlier. There had been a few, slightly intimate touches during difficult situations, of course only when no one else was looking, and they'd had complete conversations with only their eyes, but they'd been very careful not to vocalize anything. "I-um, okay," she said finally. "I'll stay." She shifted back down into her sleeping bag, and was careful not to break their contact. She wasn't sure he'd touch her again if she did.

Jack squeezed her hand. "Thanks."

They stayed that way for a long time, hands clasped in the small space between their sleeping bags, not speaking, but staring into each other's eyes. He smiled at her when her eyelids began to droop. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever known. It killed him every day that he couldn't hold her, or touch her, or kiss her. His mind rolled back to the very long, constantly repeating day when he did kiss her, more than once in fact, and how each time she responded to him with passion and enthusiasm. He carried those memories with him and pulled them out when times got tough. He was just sad that she didn't remember it too. "Get some sleep, Carter. You're on watch in a few hours."

She smiled sleepily. "I know, Sir." Her eyelids slid closed and he squeezed her hand one more time before he spoke softly.

"Carter," her blue eyes opened when he said her name. "Sam," he said quietly. "One day-one day when this whole mess is all over, I'm going to tell you that I love you, and I'm going to ask you to be mine forever."

Sam felt tears well up in her eyes, and her breath hitch in her throat. She swallowed and then smiled dreamily at him. "One day, I'm going to tell you that I love you too, and I'm going to say yes. Hopefully one day soon."

Their hands tightened, and Jack reached out with his other to brush a lock of hair from her forehead. "That day will never been soon enough for me. Until it does come though, just know that it will happen. I promise. Now go to sleep."

"Good night, Sir," Sam's eyes slid closed again, and she fell asleep quickly, safe with the knowledge that Jack loved her. She didn't know when they'd be able to express their feelings in the open, but until the day came, just knowing it would happen was enough.

Fin

Hope you liked it! I'm still upset that the show never gave us "enough."