Jack O'Neill was tired. Not just the long drive to his cabin, but life in general.
As he started the fire in the fireplace and checked the generator, water and general condition of the cabin, he seriously began to wonder why he even bothered any more. He needed to rest. He needed to get away from D.C. It was only a matter of time before some politician or member of the IOA pushed him to the point of killing them. As it was, had his secretary not intervened, he would have thrown one senator physically out his office. She literally had to force him to remove his hands from the very startled young senator's body as Jack had grabbed him. That had led to his summons to the White House for a conference with President. He had offered to resign, been told no, then asked for extended leave and again told no. He finally forced the issue and gave a choice, extended leave or resign, he didn't care. Seeing that he was very serious, the President had granted the extended leave. Hence the trip to the cabin.
He sat down on the couch and wondered just where it had all derailed. When life had passed him by? Daniel had been worried about him. He had even commented on it the last time he had been to D.C. Jack had long been not sleeping right and the weight he had gained since moving to D.C. had long since evaporated due in large part his lack of interest in eating. In fact, his secretary had begun bringing in food for him, and when that didn't seem to work, she began to sit and watch him eat to ensure he at least had some food in him.
Daniel had tried to talk him into going out, but Jack had gotten wrapped up in yet another meeting justifying the program and trying to keep idiots from screwing it up. Daniel had to return to the Springs, and they had not gotten to talk much. Daniel was the last holdout at the Springs. He and Vala had settled there and Daniel pretty much consulted in his lab, not being a regular part of any SG team now.
Teal'c stayed on Daakara more than Earth now, enjoying his grandchildren. He had been by about a month ago, but Jack had not been able to spend much time with him.
Sam, he thought with more than a little pain, was winding down her time on the Hammond. She did not know it yet, but she was going to get her star and take over the SGC. He was proud of her, and always would be. He just could not help but wish things had been different. They had been so much better after their initial trip to the cabin, and they had started testing the waters on the relationship front. But her being in Atlantis had made it hard, and she had been devastated at losing that command.
Jack had been pissed about the way that had gone down and it was a very long time before anyone at the IOA would come near him, at least without an armed escort. But she had gotten the Hammond, and they had tried to work it, and it had gone well until he screwed it up. He laughed at himself.
He had been such an idiot to think he really might have deserved to be happy and especially happy with her. When he had brought up the idea of marriage, she had looked stunned. He knew then that he had made a big mistake. She hadn't replied, just sat in stunned silence. Then her phone had gone off and she had to return to the Hammond immediately. Jack was sure that had been the only thing that had saved him further humiliation. The Hammond had to defend some allies against the Lucian alliance, and then would be tasked help with the Destiny project in a few months. They had communicated a few times, but they always tried to keep those communications professional. He had searched for hidden hints in the first few, but finally gave up. Whatever Samantha Carter's destiny in life was, it obviously did not include a very old and washed up Jack O'Neill. He didn't even finish his beer. He just went to bed and hoped a meteor hit the cabin while he slept.
The next day he woke up and realized the meteor had, in fact not hit. Guess I might as well get up then, thought. He got up and dressed, and fixed himself some coffee. He noticed it had snowed last night. There was a fresh blanket out. He decided he would walk one of his favorite trails. The fresh crisp cold might do him some good.
He did feel somewhat better after the hike, just being away, not thinking about planet security or the fact it was frowned on to shoot politicians. He got back to the cabin and warmed up by the fire. He began to think about his future, or lack thereof. He still had his house in the Springs. He had let Sam use it when she returned to SG1 from Area 51 and when she was at Atlantis so she would have someplace close to base, but not be forced to stay in on-base quarters the few times she came back. Daniel had taken over when Sam had gotten the Hammond. She still had a lot of her stuff there, and she had kept stuff at Jack's D.C. house for visits, but Daniel kept it up and checked on it. He and Vala had their own place now, but he still watched over it. It also gave Cassie a place to stay when she first returned to the Springs as a doctor for the SGC.
Jack and Sam had both been so proud. She had requested them to pin on her bars when she got her commission. They had used Janet's bars to pin her, and they both knew that Janet would have been so happy for her. He really should sell the place now. Daniel really had his hands full with his work and kids, and to be honest, Vala was still a handful although she had settled down tremendously. He figured he could ask Sam if she was interested in it, but she probably would not want a reminder of him every day. Yes, he would sell it. He made a mental note to contact a realtor when he got back to D.C.
As the day came to a close, he had wanted to setup his telescope; however, the clouds had prevented a good viewing, so he decided against it. He read a few magazines, checked the wood in the fire. He finished his beer, cleaned up and headed to bed.
That night he sensed a presence. He looked up and there she was, looking at him and smiling. Crap. Going to be one of those dreams.
When she slid into bed and snuggled up to him, he was amazed how real the dream was. Her lips on his felt so real. It was only when the tears ran down his face and he felt her gently wipe the tears away that he realized. Whoa, this isn't a dream!
"Sam?"
"Yes Jack, it's me." She replied.
"What's going on?" he asked leaning up on one arm.
She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down so he could lay his head on her. "I came to see you my love. Now rest and we will talk in morning. Just sleep and know I will be here when you get up." She gently ran her fingers though his hair as she felt the tears on her skin. "It's okay Jack. I'm here. I love you and I'm here."
The next morning Jack woke up confused. He felt a weight on him. He looked down to find Sam lying practically on top of him, her head on his chest, her leg in between his. She had her arm draped over his chest, hand on his shoulder. His arm had been wrapped around her.
Then he remembered. She had shown up last night. She had held him and comforted him while he had cried over his losing her. Which he realized made this particular situation all the more confusing. He couldn't honestly imagine a better way to wake though. He closed his eyes and savored the moment. He woke up again to find Sam still sleeping. She had not moved from her position. He gently ran his fingers over her back, feeling her react to the touch. She automatically stretched and turned, allowing him easier access to her back.
"Feels good" she murmured.
Jack just grinned and continued to enjoy the moment. He knew that he could keep her relaxed or even put her into a deep sleep simply by rubbing her back like that. He felt her shift some and looked down to see her looking at him through sleepy blue eyes. "Good morning." She said as her eyes closed back down.
"Good morning Sam." He listened for her breathing as it evened back out as she moved back into sleep. He knew she must be tired to have slept this late into the morning already. He was more than willing to let her sleep and rest.
It was another hour and a half before she stirred again. She stretched and shifted then looked up at him. Seeing him raise his eyebrows at her, she moved up and kissed him. "You put me back to sleep" she said playfully.
He smiled. "You must have needed it." He replied. He smiled as she stretched out again.
"Sam, what's going on? How did you get here?" He asked.
She smiled. "Let's take a shower and have some breakfast and we will talk, okay?"
He followed her to the bathroom where they shared a shower, washing each other off and enjoying the feel of each other. After they had toweled off and dressed they moved into the living area, where Sam walked into the kitchen. She looked in the refrigerator and cabinets, and then looked at Jack sharply. "Were you just not planning on eating while you were here?"
Jack looked down sheepishly. Sam got a good look at him. Although he had slept with her here, actually, the best sleep he had had in months, he still had dark patches under his eyes. His clothes were loose, indicating the weight he had lost from not eating. She walked over to the small table at the entry way and picked up the keys to his truck. She held out her hand. "Come on, you are buying me breakfast since you have nothing to eat here."
Jack walked over and took her hand and they walked out to the truck.
In the small, nearby town they had breakfast at one of only two choices. They didn't mind since the food was good and the company was better.
"So, you never answered. How did you manage to show up at my cabin?" Jack asked.
She smiled. "Well, it seems that I may have given a very wrong impression the last time we talked, and then I hear rumors that my favorite general, former CO, my best friend, lover and future husband was having a rough time because of it."
Jack listened to what she said and then started to speak, "I may, wait…what do you mean future husband?" The full impact of her statement hit him.
Sam looked at him as she plucked some of his hash browns of his plate. "Jack, I remember you mentioning marriage. I also remember being so stunned, I didn't answer you before I got called away. I know now that you got into your head that meant I didn't want to marry you."
"Sam, it's okay. I understand. You don't need to…"
"Jack, what is it you think you understand?" Sam asked pointedly.
"Well, I just meant I understand why you wouldn't, you know, want to end up with someone like me. At least that is what I thought until you made that comment about future husband."
Sam sighed. She reached across the table and took his hand into hers. "Jack, I love you dearly, but sometimes you are an idiot." She smiled as his eyebrows rose. "Of course I want you. You may not see it, but you are quite a man. Saved planets, killed false gods, one of the few team leaders to manage to bring your original team home all the time."
"Daniel died" Jack interrupted.
"Daniel dies a lot, but he always comes back, besides, he hasn't died in a couple of years at least. Got to be a record for him." She said, "But that is not the point. You were a father figure to Cassie when she needed it most, a big brother to Daniel, who loves you, by the way and is very worried about you. You convinced the First Prime of the dominate system Lord to start a revolution for God's sake. Not to mention finding the Asgard, saving the planet. The list goes on. Along the way, you taught a very stubborn and hot headed Captain how to be a leader, not take things so serious and most important, about the importance of loving the right person."
Jack looked down. Sam could see he was very uncomfortable with the praise.
"Well, I never could have done any of that without you guys behind me. Everything I accomplished, I accomplished with you guys supporting me and you standing beside me. I just, figured, you know since you didn't say anything, and your communications didn't have anything personal in them, that, well, you changed your mind about me."
"Jack, I was in shock. To be honest, I had thought about it many times, but since we had never discussed it before, I had thought you were not interested or ready for the next step. I just didn't know what to say, and then I got called away. As far as the communications, I saw no hint in yours if you still wanted to pursue that or not. I was so worried after the first few gave no hints; I kind of just assumed you changed your mind."
Jack looked at her a moment, "I think maybe we both were guilty of assuming the wrong thing."
"Yes, I agree, however, just so there are absolutely no wrong assumptions anymore, you asked what I thought about marriage, you did not actually ask me to marry you, but if you did, actually ask me, the answer would be yes." She said, looking deep into his eyes.
Jack looked at her a moment, then stood up, picked the ticket of the table and offered her his hand. They walked to the register where he paid, and they walked to the store, his arm around her shoulder, hers around his waist.
After returning to the cabin with the groceries they had bought, it took a while to unload. Jack had about decided it would have been easier to just to put wheels on the store and move it here, but her logic of ensuring plenty of dry goods were in the cabinet made sense. There was no harm in keeping the cabinets full. She hinted they might want to come back more frequently to the cabin.
They sat down in the living room. She leaned up against Jack as they watched the snow falling out the window. Curiosity was getting the better of him. "So you said you were hearing rumors about me. What did you hear?"
Sam let out a small laugh. "Well, I must have gotten fifty or sixty emails from Cassie asking, then demanding I come home to quote, fix whatever I had done, end quote."
"Ouch"
"Yeah, she was pretty worried about you. And then Daniel, he badgered me with emails, and even somehow managed to commandeer an official call I made back to the SGC. Although he couldn't come out and say anything, let's just say he has gotten very good about leaving big hints. He was really worried about you after seeing you in Washington. He even called in Teal'c to come, but apparently you got busy and couldn't meet that long with him."
She heard Jack sigh behind her.
"Yeah, I know the little Space Monkey was worried. I told him he had nothing to worry about, but he didn't believe me. I hope he was not too much of a pain."
"No, but I could tell he was only nicer than Cassie was because he could not blatantly call me out in case my crew might hear."
Then she got a smile on her face. "I even got an email from your secretary."
"Evelyn emailed you?" Jack asked in shock.
"She was worried about you Jack. You know she told me a while ago that you were the best boss she ever had. Besides, I think she gets a kick out of mothering you."
"Yes, she does." Jack admitted.
"I think the kicker was when the President called, though." She stated quickly.
"I'm sorry? Who?" Jack asked, pretty sure he had not heard that right.
"Henry Hayes, the President of the United States. Your boss?" Sam stated as she felt Jack squirm behind her.
"Uh, what did he say?"
Sam turned to look at him with a smirk on her face. "Did you really intend to throw the senator from Massachusetts out of your office?" Watching his reaction closely.
Jack's face turned red as he squirmed some more. "I may have gotten somewhat upset with him at one point during a discussion."
Sam giggled. "Please tell me you that you honestly at least intended to open the door before you threw him through it." She remembered the President telling her that had been a point of numerous discussions since it appeared that Jack was in fact intent on heaving the senator through the glass doors to his office as opposed to actually opening them first.
"I might have forgotten they were closed, but I wouldn't have actually done it" Jack replied. Sam could tell by his tone that he had really could have cared less it the senator had left his office wearing a lot more glass than he had when he came into the office.
"Jack, please do me a favor and try and control your temper. I am not sure the Federal Penitentiary system allows conjugal visits." She reached up and kissed him. He deepened the kiss as he tightened his arms around her. When they broke apart, he moved to get up. She looked at him with a pout on her face.
"Hold on, I will be right back." He took off to the bed room. After a few minutes he came back and took her hand and led her to stand in front of the fireplace.
"Jack?" She asked questioningly.
He got down on one knee and looked up at her. "Samantha Carter, you are my love and my life, will you do me the honor of marrying me?"
Her eyes watered and she looked to see the ring he held in his hand. "Yes Jack, oh God, yes, I will be your wife."
She watched with tears in her eyes as he slipped the ring on her finger, and then jumped up on him, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. "I love you Jack" she said pressed into his neck.
With his arms wrapped tightly around her he kissed her neck and said "I love you too Sam. More than you could possibly know."
They walked to the couch and sat back down. Jack got a serious look on her face. "I guess I need to call Henry and tell him I am resigning"
"Resigning? Why?" Sam asked
"Well, you were not supposed to know this yet, but you are getting transferred, most likely after the Destiny project. You will be getting command of the SGC."
"But that is a Major General billet."
"Yes, but they made an exception for me when I ran the SGC, and they will again for Brigadier General Samantha Carter." Jack said, watching her reaction.
"Brigadier General?"
"You've earned it and more Sam. You deserve the command. We were going to wait until after you helped out with the Destiny project. It is time for changes. You are way overdue for your star. You should have been given it a lot earlier in my opinion, but you were admittedly not as strong in the management area as you are in other areas. Atlantis and the Hammond have gone a long way to fixing that."
"Who will take the Hammond?" She asked.
Jack knew she was worried about the crew and ship she had been in charge of and he was proud of that. It went a long way to proving how far she had come. "Sheppard needs a command. While he would like Atlantis, he needs a change. He needs a different command and location."
Sam frowned.
"You don't think Sheppard is a good idea?" Jack asked.
"No, he is a good idea; I just know that he loves the Pegasus galaxy. Well, let's say he loves certain things in the Pegasus Galaxy. He was happy that Atlantis finally returned." Sam said.
"Well it's not like we could not arrange the Hammond to make runs there, or maybe Teyla could come here, or…"
Sam grinned. She should have known that very little got by Jack. Even Sheppard's feelings for the beautiful Athosian. "Or?"
"Maybe Teyla would want to be on the Hammond with him. She is a very skilled diplomat, and she is a civilian. The rules would be a little more relaxed for them." Jack said.
Wow, she had not even considered an option like that. Jack really had learned a lot as manager of the program and had apparently thought this through. "Maybe, but that would really depend on if she was willing to be away from Torren."
"That is true. They will have to do a lot of talking."
"And Atlantis?"
"Cam. He needs also needs to progress and work without a net, plus, he has the strength to control McKay and I think his time with Teal'c will help him with Ronan. But then it will most likely be only for a short time. The next cruiser is due to be launched late next year, and then he will most likely take it." Jack replied.
"Jack, I still do not see why you have to retire."
"Sam, I want to marry you. I want us to finally be what we deserve to be. I mean, we have been lovers for a long time now, but making it official makes it a little harder. I don't want any doubt or questions as to your integrity or loyalty."
"Jack, I talked to the President. He is willing, in fact he insisted that he will work to make sure that neither one of us has to resign to pursue our relationship." Sam said.
"We will talk about it then Sam. I don't mind retiring. It would give me more time with you. But, we don't have to rush into anything yet." Jack said.
Sam turned in his arms. "There is one thing I would like to happen right now."
"What's that?"
"I want my future husband to take me to bed and make love to me like there is no tomorrow." She said.
Suddenly a squeal was heard in the cabin as Jack picked her up and carried her to the bedroom to do just that.