A/N - This story picks up at the very end of Tangent and continues through the events of The Curse, where it then becomes AU. Thanks to MidKnight Rider for the beta.

Chapter 1

"Three, two, one. Mark," Sam said, her calm demeanor belying her rising sense of panic. She held her breath while she waited for Jack and Teal'c to clear the X-301, so Daniel could activate the rings. Her momentary relief at finding them alive was now replaced by an almost paralyzing fear, as she realized that they were currently floating, completely unprotected, in the void of space. Technically, she knew the human body could survive up to 45 seconds when exposed to a vacuum, and she had assured Teal'c that they wouldn't die. But in reality, she had no way of knowing for sure.

Sam was suddenly overwhelmed by a rush of emotions, emotions she had carefully repressed since her time on the ice planet, where she had happily shared her life - and her bed - with her commanding officer. In that instant, it occurred to her that she had no desire to continue this life without him in it.

From the back of the scout ship, Sam heard the sound of the rings activating. She turned to watch Jack and Teal'c materialize in the cargo bay, then immediately fall to the floor.

God, what had she done?

oOoOoOo

Jack squatted down in front of the hearth to stoke the fire, then sat back in his favorite armchair to watch the snow falling outside his living room windows. He was still tired, but at least he was home. Fraiser had insisted on keeping him for observation a full 24 hours after his ordeal in the X-301, and it had just about sent him over the edge. At least Teal'c had been there to keep him company - again. Daniel had dropped in for a while, too, which was nice, but the one person he really wanted to see never came by the infirmary.

He took a swig of beer and refused to speculate about what that might mean, concentrating instead on where their mission had gone so terribly wrong. It had been another close one. If Sam and Daniel hadn't been able to find Jacob, if they had arrived just a few minutes later, if the ring transport hadn't worked, if just one of a million other things had gone wrong, he and Teal'c would be still be floating through the vast and empty reaches of space.

He shivered. Damn, that was not how he wanted to go, cold and alone. Especially not alone. He shook his head and took another swig of beer as that thought brought him right back to where he'd started, with one blue-eyed, blond-haired Air Force Major.

As if on cue, a soft knock on his door roused him from his thoughts.

Wondering who on earth would stop by his house in this weather, he opened the door and was shocked to see his Second standing on his porch, a look of uncertainty momentarily crossing her face. "Carter," he said, his voice revealing his surprise at her unexpected arrival.

He moved aside, and she walked into the foyer without saying a word. After closing the door, he turned to face her, but still she didn't say anything. Her silence was beginning to become uncomfortable. "Um, listen...you wanna beer?" he offered.

She stepped into his personal space and looked up at him with her big blue eyes, full of something he couldn't quite place. Desire? Fear? He couldn't tell. "Carter?"

She moved impossibly closer, and Jack held his breath, as she grasped the fabric of his shirt in her fists and raised her face to his. "Jonah," she whispered.

His heart beat wildly, and all of the blood in his body rushed south. Images of their time under the ice swirled in his mind: his rough hands moving across the creamy skin of her abdomen, sweat dampened tendrils of blond hair stuck to her temple, her unfocused eyes rolling back in ecstasy.

He swallowed hard. "Thera?" he asked, barely daring to breathe, and she answered by bringing her lips to his with a degree of passion that momentarily stunned him.

He'd had plenty of time to think while Teal'c kel'noreemed and the glider slowly inched its way across the solar system. She had been the sole focus of his thoughts, and he had replayed their time as Jonah and Thera over and over again in this mind. But he and Sam hadn't spoken of P3R-118 since the night they'd returned from the planet and she'd left his house in tears, grieving for the loss of their impossible relationship.

The moment he and Teal'c had shot past Jupiter, he'd thought he would spend the rest of eternity floating through space in a crescent shaped coffin. But somehow they'd made it, and it now occurred to him that he had been given not only a second chance at life, but a second chance at happiness. Everything he'd ever wanted - everything he'd had on the ice planet - he was holding in his arms.

His response to her was immediate. In a single motion, he brought his hands up to cup her face, while he backed her up against the wall and pressed the length of his body to hers. She whimpered as he first deepened the kiss then moved his lips across her jawline and down the long column of her neck.

As they made their way awkwardly down the hallway toward his bedroom, attempting to shed their clothing without breaking contact, his last rational thought was to question how he ever thought he could live without this.

oOoOoOo

Sam gazed out the window and saw that the sky was just beginning to lighten ever so slightly. She rolled over and looked at the man snoring softly beside her. Her gut clenched, as she took in his silvering hair, deeply tanned skin, and chiseled jaw. He was so handsome and everything she could ever wish for in a lover, affectionate and attentive in all respects. Strong and funny, honest and stubborn, kind when he chose to be, and always respectful of her. And every bit her commanding officer. She closed her eyes and tried to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. How had she allowed this to happen?

She had decided once they returned from P3R-118 that there was no way they could continue their romantic relationship and remain with Stargate Command. He had agreed, or at least so he told her. But then she'd thought she'd lost him forever when he dropped to the floor of the scout ship. The moment she saw that he was alive, she'd known she would go to him.

They had made love with an unbridled passion. She had called him Jonah and he had called her Thera, and for a while she had been able to delude herself that they were simply reliving their other life, a life that had no bearing on their relationship here on Earth. But in the hour before dawn, when he'd pulled her to him a second time and begun to love her slowly, purposefully, their hands clasped, his eyes never leaving hers, he'd called her by her real name and asked her to do the same.

That was when she realized that she was just as much in love with Jack as she had ever been with Jonah, maybe even more so. And for that love, she had consciously chosen to forsake her duty.

Quietly, she crept out of bed and began to gather her clothes. She knew it was the coward's way out, but she desperately needed some time to think, alone, without the sight and smell and feel of him distracting her from an objective analysis of the situation.

oOoOoOo

Jacob Carter was not a patient man to begin with, but after waiting up the entire night for his daughter to come home, he was fit to be tied. He had returned to Earth when he'd learned his mission for the Tok'ra was unsalvageable. Though he wasn't pleased they'd missed an opportunity to deal a potentially significant blow to the Goa'uld, he figured he'd at least take advantage of the unexpected time off to visit his children.

The only problem was that his daughter hadn't been home when he'd arrived at her house last night, and she had yet to return. By dawn, he'd worked himself into a dither, and no amount of reason from his symbiote could calm him.

"She's a grown woman," Selmak said for the hundredth time.

"That's not the problem," Jacob snapped, though in truth it was, at least in part; he would always think of her as his little girl. "The problem is that I'm pretty sure I know where she is."

He hadn't missed the look Jack and Sam exchanged when the military man had been brought aboard his ship. He'd known for a long time that their feelings for each other were more than just professional. But what he'd seen pass between his daughter and her CO in the cargo bay had convinced him that things had progressed significantly further than the last time he'd seen them.

"And what of it? You yourself have acknowledged that she could do worse."

He was just about to reply, when he heard a key turning in the door.

Sam walked into her house and began making her way toward her bedroom but stopped short when she saw her father standing in her living room. Jacob tried not to notice how disheveled she looked.

"You gonna tell me where you've been?" Jacob asked.

"Subtle," Selmak remarked in his head.

Sam stared at her father for several seconds before responding. "No," she said simply and continued walking toward the back of the house.

"Sam, wait," he said quickly. "I'm just worried about you, that's all."

She stopped and closed her eyes for several seconds. After a moment, she turned to face him. "I appreciate that, Dad, but I'm not sixteen anymore, and I don't have to tell you where I've been. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to take a shower."

"Don't do it, Jacob," Selmak warned.

Jacob ignored the Tok'ra. "You were with Jack weren't you?" he asked.

Sam stiffened instantly. "That's none of your business," she replied, effectively confirming his suspicions.

Jacob turned to gather up his things. "Fine," he said. "I'm going to see Mark for a few days."

Her demeanor softened. She sighed. "You don't have to leave, Dad."

"Frankly, if I stay here, Sam, I'm afraid I'll do something I may later regret. I'll be back next week. Maybe we can talk then." He walked to the door and opened it, turning to look at her one last time. "You're playing a dangerous game here, kiddo. I hope you two know what you're doing." With that, he walked out of his daughter's house, closing the door firmly behind him.

TBC...