A/N: I haven't watched Stargate SG-1 until recently, it is my first fanfiction for this show and I have to admit I feel a little nervous publishing it. It is an idea inspired by "Window of Opportunity", which is one of my favourite episodes. Thank you to Byrhthelm for correcting my mistakes.

Disclaimer: I don't own the show or its characters; no financial profit is made from this story. It is for entertainment purposes only.


CHAPTER 1

A gentle frown made its way onto his face when he stopped in the middle of one of the most familiar corridors on the base. It was a matter of just two more steps and he would be standing in the door to his second-in-command's lab and he would be able to see her tinkering with some sort of a doohickey that one of the teams – or maybe even they – brought to Earth to have a closer look at. It was the place, where she could always be found whenever anyone claimed that they haven't seen Major Carter for a while, and he was quite certain it was exactly where she was right now. The only problem was that he had absolutely no idea what he was doing there. He was on his way to the surface with a plan to go home, order a pizza, grab a beer and crash on the couch watching the game. Yet, sometime during his ride in the elevator he was struck with this brilliant idea of going to see her and here he stood right now, wondering if he should proceed, or maybe it would be better if he turned around and followed his initial plan.

As much as the latter seemed like a better idea, he found himself walking forward, stopping in the entrance to the room and leaning against the doorframe. A corner of his lips moved up a little, when he noticed the blonde woman leaning over some sort of a device, which she managed to take apart by now and studying it carefully, gently biting down on her bottom lip as she concentrated on whatever the gizmo was. She was so engrossed in it that she didn't hear or see him appear – or she just chose to ignore it for a moment, as it seemed she always knew when he showed up, turning around to greet him with a smile on her face before he had a chance to alert her to his presence. Not this time, though, and it gave him a really good opportunity to try and figure out what it was that brought him to her.

It wasn't so difficult to guess what it was, although acknowledging it was an entirely different matter. He was doing his best to avoid her ever since that conversation with her and Daniel in the commissary, when Jackson asked him if he was tempted to do something crazy while they were stuck in the time loop. Daniel would probably try pushing him into revealing it if it wasn't for Dr. Williams, another of their archaeologists, calling out his name, and made him suddenly remember that he had promised the man he would work with him on some translations. He had then left his two military friends alone and Jack expected Carter to say something, especially that he could see that her curiosity was raised high, but she didn't. He might have not given them any straight answer, but she was definitely clever enough to figure out that his long look at her as well as the smug expression on his face was a confirmation that there was at least one thing and it had something to do with her. She didn't question it though, probably figuring out that knowing him, it was quite possible that she didn't really want to know.

Still, it turned out to be just the beginning and the more time passed, the more he started to doubt that this kiss in the control room, which had seemed like the most brilliant notion he had ever gotten, was such a good idea after all. It was supposed to be a chance for him to do something that under normal circumstances he would never be able to do and the fact that she wouldn't remember anything was a very good security in case his actions were unwelcome. It was exactly why he waited until the last possible moment, knowing that if she was offended by the kiss, she wouldn't get the chance to make a scene. Her reaction didn't disappoint him, though; she was tense at first, when he took her face in his hands, placed his lips on hers and dipped her, caught completely by surprise, but it wore off quite quickly and before he knew that, she relaxed in his arms and was kissing him back, putting her whole heart into it. It was really difficult not to scream in frustration after they were enveloped in a white light and he found himself sitting opposite her and Daniel with a spoonful of fruit loops half-way to his mouth, and it was a similar feeling to what he was experiencing now.

He was truly starting to see kissing her as a mistake. Oh, he definitely wouldn't mind doing it again, especially that he now knew that it wouldn't be unwelcome at all, but it still felt wrong. It was one thing that she had absolutely no idea that something like this has ever taken place and he couldn't help wishing that she did, but more importantly, the kiss, or more exactly her reaction to it, seemed to have unlocked a heavily guarded place in his heart, where he hid away all the feelings that he had for her, and allowed them to come to the surface. It made him consider all the what ifs connected to the two of them, which he didn't allow himself to think about before, even though during the second Za'tarc testing he heard her admit that she had feelings, which she certainly shouldn't have for her CO. They agreed to keep all those feelings locked in that room, yet with his actions during the time loop, he opened the room to take a peek inside, truly liked what he saw inside and found himself unable to just forget about it and move on.

He eventually decided it was going to be best if he avoided her for some time (at least until the next mission, when he wouldn't be able to escape her presence any longer), because whenever he found himself in the same room, his eyes were immediately drawn to her and it was really, really difficult to prevent himself from staring absent-mindedly, while he was reliving the wonderful couple of seconds, when he got to hold her in his arms with absolutely no inhibitions between them. When he was brought back to earth for the fourth time on the same day, by General Hammond this time, he knew that he couldn't continue like this. It was just a matter of time when he wouldn't be able to put the people off anymore and the last thing he wanted was to involuntarily bring troubles upon them. With the threat of the Goa'uld and replicators constantly on their minds, it was the last thing they needed.

Yet, here he stood now and once again, he found himself unable to take his eyes off her. He would never admit it out-loud of course, but the reason why he was sitting in her lab, while she was playing with the alien devices so often wasn't because he truly enjoyed disturbing her and seeing how far he could go before she would make it very clear that she wanted him to leave, but without crossing the border of insubordination. Of course, he liked that too, but it was nothing in comparison to how much he loved to see the expression on her face, her blue eyes shining with curiosity and fascination, the gentle smile on her lips or the way she nibbled on her bottom lip, when the task required her to be truly careful.

"Sir?"

Her voice was what made him realise that he was staring at her once again, while he allowed his mind to wander. He blinked and saw her watch him carefully with a questioning look, trying to figure out what was going on. He cleared his throat and stood straight, putting his hands deeper into his pockets, while he stepped into the room and glanced around. He couldn't deny that after the Za'tarc testing, things have gotten slightly uncomfortable between them, but right now the tension in the room was terribly awkward.

"Is everything okay, Sir?" she asked, when he finally turned around to face her, although his eyes were focused on whatever it was that she was working on. Right now it looked like a pile of junk, that he would have no idea how to put together even if the existence of the entire universe depended on it.

She would be lying if she said that she wasn't surprised to see the Colonel standing in the door to her lab, especially at this hour of the day, when they weren't expected to go on any mission. On those days he would always get out of the base as soon as possible, yet he didn't seem to be in any hurry now. Moreover, his presence there was the more shocking considering that she almost hasn't seen him at all for the last two days and she couldn't think of any reason, which would suddenly bring him to her. And there was also this look in his eyes, the same one that appeared every time he caught a sight of her ever since the time loop, and which made her heart skip a beat every single time. There was something in his gaze that made her breath get caught in her chest and caused the fluttering feeling in her stomach, but she didn't dare allow herself to dwell on it, especially not after they agreed to keep what was between them locked away in that room.

It didn't prevent her mind from wondering what could cause such conduct in the man and she was certain that something must have happened between them while he and Teal'c were stuck in the time loop. Technically, whatever it was didn't really happen after the reset and thus she had absolutely no recollection of it, but a part of her wished that she had. She had a feeling that she should, and maybe even would like to remember it, even if only to understand O'Neill's behaviour.

Keeping his eyes glued to the table, he opened his lips a couple of times only to close them after a few seconds. The only sound, which escaped them was a frustrated groan, which he let out while he moved one of his hands through his hair. Sam looked at him in surprise, unable to understand his fidgeting, but it seemed to have helped him as after a moment he stood straighter and looked straight at her with determination burning in his eyes.

"It can't go on like this." he eventually spoke and Carter's eyebrows moved up.

"What are you talking about, Sir?" she asked, the tone of her voice indicating that she was starting to question his sanity. He couldn't really blame her, though, considering that he was very close to losing his mind during the last three months of reliving the same ten hours over and over again and his actions towards her during the last couple of days definitely didn't work to his advantage.

"I don't…" he stopped, turning his head to look at the door, the look he sent in their direction caused Siler to stop dead in his tracks. "If it's not about to explode - it can wait, Sergeant." he said to the NCO. "And close the door behind you!"

Siler nodded his head muttering 'Yes, Sir'.

With that he turned to face Carter once again and he couldn't help but smirk, when he saw her cross her arms on her chest and look at him in a way, which could be considered insubordination without her opening her lips. She didn't need to say anything at all, the message in her eyes was clear enough.

"I'm starting to doubt that we've made a good decision with, well…" he moved one of his hand in front of himself, as if it was going to help him find the words he needed, but he only groaned in frustration. He really wasn't good at speaking about such matters, and even less so when somebody was looking at him this way. "Damn…" he muttered and the way Sam's features softened a little let him know that she understood he was struggling there, and even though she wasn't going to help him out with it, she was going to give him time. "What I want to say is that being stuck in this time loop made me realise a couple of things and one of them is that what we have is special… Yet, instead of fighting for it, we are wasting time and letting it slip away from us, and I'm not sure I am up to doing it any longer."

He knew he didn't need to be more specific for her to figure out what he was talking about and he was certain she did that when her eyes widened in shock. He had no idea what she expected to hear, but she obviously didn't expect that he would bring this matter up. There'd been more than several weeks since they were forced to admit its existence and just like they agreed, they hadn't mentioned it, not even once, and he believed she had every right to be surprised. It might have taken him a lot of time to make up his mind and address it, but for her it was still coming out of the blue.

At first, she couldn't believe what she heard. She blinked a couple of times, pretty convinced that she must have misunderstood him but it was then, that she noticed the way he was looking at her. There it was again, this look, this tenderness in his eyes, which was tormenting her for the last two days and she understood that her first thoughts were right, that it was exactly what he was speaking about. Her heart jumped at this comprehension, while her eyes widened in shock and for a moment, she just stood there, staring at him agape and trying to gather her thoughts. A mix of completely different, practically opposite feelings and thoughts ran through her body and mind, making her unable to respond. Generally, she seemed to be divided in half; one part of her, the one led by her heart, wanted to walk up to him, wrap her arms tightly around him and never let go; the other one, driven by her logical mind, knew that as easy as it seemed, it wouldn't resolve anything, that it was just the very tip of an iceberg of everything that was standing between them.

"For crying out loud, Sam, say something!" he spoke up again, but his voice lacked its usual boldness, which was replaced by anxiety, perfectly matching the uncertainty in his eyes.

However, she found it difficult to speak, even more so when she allowed her gaze to met his. There was something in his eyes, which she didn't think she has ever seen before; or maybe she has, that day on Apophis' ship when they were stuck on different sides of the force shield and he understood that there was nothing he could do to save her. The ever confident, maybe even slightly cocky man suddenly seemed so vulnerable and it made her heart clench. She knew – or hoped – that this day would come at one point, when she would be facing this decision but she didn't expect it would happen so soon. That was it, though; the moment, which would dictate the direction, which their relationship would go in. He made his feelings about it clear and it was now up to her to decide what it was going to be and there were only two available options – all or nothing. Maybe not literally nothing, considering they would still be on the same team, unable to sever their acquaintance, but there was no doubts that their relations would be completely professional. He wouldn't ask her to change her mind, he would take her answer and follow this path and there would be no turning back.

"Where does it come from..? What happened..?" she finally managed to say and Jack's heart sunk. If she was asking this question, it meant that she was analysing everything in that genius head of hers and he had a feeling that it didn't bode well. Anyhow, there was no turning back now. Sam, on the other hand, wasn't able to prevent her mind from wandering in this direction. It was obvious that something must have happened to cause this change of heart in him, especially that just few days earlier he was perfectly fine with the way things were and she needed to know it. She felt like she needed to know the whole picture to be able to truly make up her mind, so that her mind and heart could at least try to reach an agreement.

"I've… done something… and it made me think. It made me realise that leaving it hanging like this is the stupidest thing we can possibly do. We should decide what it is that we want – whether we give it a chance, see where it leads us or we put a cross on it and move on with our lives." he held his hand up, seeing her open her lips, preventing her from voicing her thoughts. "I know that it's not that easy. This situation is much more complicated than I could ever imagine finding myself in, but we're never going to work it out if we don't make any choice. I think I've made it clear what I want, and I'm willing to take my chances to give it a try…" he paused, waiting for her response. "It's all up to you, Sam; one word and I'm never going to bring it up again." he added, when he didn't receive any and sighed inwardly, continuing to watch her.

He could see the mix of emotions in her features, he could almost watch the internal battle that was taking place inside her, while he waited for her answer, for any indication what she wanted. The problem was that she didn't seem to be aware of it herself and found herself completely speechless. She didn't really expect to see him until the next mission, and she definitely didn't expect him to come to her lab with his heart in his hands and offer it to her if she wanted to take it. It wasn't truly so simple, it was all much too complicated for it to be so, but it was the generally what was happening right now and she couldn't help feeling overwhelmed.

"I…" she started, but wasn't given a chance to finish. She was interrupted by the door being suddenly open and Daniel storming inside with his eyes buried in a paper, which he held in his hands.

"Sam, have you finished the report for General Hammond? I just ran into him and he said that he can give us a moment if we've got everything ready." he spoke, without even looking up and it was only when he was met with silence, that he raised his eyes from the document. He immediately stopped, his eyebrows furrowing a little when he saw his two friends and sensed the tension, awkwardness present in the air, the unspoken question very clear in his eyes.

"Just let me know your answer, Major." Jack spoke once again, his voice and attitude back to the CO mode; still, the way he looked at her before his gaze regained indifference completed the message – she didn't really have to do anything, and he would simply take it as a sign that she didn't want the same. Then, he pushed his hands deep into his pockets and walked past Daniel, leaving her lab without really acknowledging the presence of the younger man.

"Did I interrupt something?" asked Jackson, puzzled by the scene that he had just witnessed. He watched O'Neill walk away before he turned to face Sam once again, finding her staring after the Colonel as well, lost in her thoughts. "Sam?"

"Uh, sorry Daniel. Yes, I've got the report ready, we can take it to the General." she said, walking to her desk to find the needed folder. Her heart was still beating wildly in her chest and her hands were shaking a little, what didn't escape her friend's attention.

"Is everything okay?"

"Of course." she said, a little too quickly, putting on the best smile she was able to force onto her face and before he had a chance to inquire more, she added: "Let's go see the General, he's probably waiting for us."

He might have not been the most perceptive person in the universe, yet he could see that something was off and he had a feeling that it had something to do with Jack's surprising visit to her lab. Still, it was equally obvious that she didn't want to talk about it. Whatever the problem was, perhaps his friends were going to be able to solve it on their own. If not, it would be his cue to act but for now, he decided to let it go.