AN: This fic was written in response to a challenge from Sarai to write an S/J Stranded Fic in under 5000 words. Okay, so it's really a ficlet coming in at around 650 words and the challenge was a joke, but that still counts, right?

Set: Around late S4 or early S5. Slight spoilers for 100 Days.

Warning: Apocafic, but no gory details.

Rating: K, Status: Complete.

Disclaimer: They're all mine. Mwahahahaha. They came with the padded cell.

Home

97 days since he'd last seen Earth.

Jack took a deep breath. He was never going home. Home was gone. Actually gone this time. Not just buried in a block of naquadah. Gone. Everyone, everything.

Earth had been taken by surprise; the battle hadn't taken long. SG-1 had been off-world as the unknown aliens had attacked, and had diverted to the Alpha Site when they couldn't establish contact with Earth. The move to another planet had been a necessary precaution.

He'd been here for the last few hours; sitting by the river, going over the plans they'd formed, the progress they'd made since the evacuation of the Alpha Site. He'd taken pride in the men and women under his command and in their determination to survive. But it had been a hollow success - how could it be otherwise?

Instead of blocking the feelings as he had until now, Jack allowed them to wash through him. He remained on the river bank throughout the night, grieving for his family, for Sara, for Charlie - for everyone he'd ever lost. The blackness enveloped him, allowing him the freedom to weep.

As the sun rose, the new day brought healing. He was never going home, but Laira had been right. It was time to stop grieving for what could not be. But he wasn't waiting another 2 days. The rest of his life was starting now.

He raced back towards the camp, enjoying the first feelings of peace he'd experienced since being here. He was going to find Sam - yes, Sam. He was damned if he was gonna call her Major for the rest of his life. He checked his pace as he approached the sentries, returned their salutes and completed the check-in. Re-establishing as much of the normal routine as they could had been a comfort to them all.

He walked quickly to the makeshift labs, knowing that despite it being early, he'd find her there. Afterall, that had been her normal routine for as long as he'd known her. Her back was to him as she worked on...whatever it was. Right now Jack didn't care. He paused for a moment just outside the doorway, unsure what to say, then shrugged. He'd always been crap at the talking stuff, it was a little late to start weighing his words now. He trusted that she'd figure him out anyway.

"Sam." His soft voice barely reached her ears over the whine of her equipment.

"Sir?" She looked around, surprised by his unfamiliar use of her name.

"It's time." He anticipated her question with an upraised hand. "Just...let me..." As she nodded her assent, Jack took a breath. "It's been 98 days Sam. I need to start looking forward."

"Sir?" her confusion was evident. "We've been doing that since we arrived. We've established the Beta Site, made contact with all the teams that were off-world and our allies and started..."

He cut her off again with the same gesture and a look that asked for patience and the need for her to understand. "I mean I need to start looking forward." He took a step into the lab. "I want to start looking forward."

Sam took in his appearance - his hair was disheveled, which had been pretty much the norm for the last few months. He'd been constantly running his hands through his hair to ward off frustration and tiredness...but there was no tiredness in his eyes despite looking like he'd not slept. There was something else - something she'd not seen in a long time.

Jack took another step forward. "This place is our future now. But if we're going to survive, it needs to be more than just a military base. We all need a home." Another step forward took him into her personal space. "I want to make mine with you."

Smiling into his eyes Sam finally recognised the emotion in them.

Hope.