Hello! Sorry, I just got back home a couple of days ago. Today, I was invited to have coffee five towns away from my hometown (it's a trip you make in a little more than an hour), so off I went, music loud… and I heard this song… it's called I promise you… Spanish speaker might find it as Te prometi, from Mijares. And that song screwed up my chances to concentrate in Family ties for long. So, here's chapter one…. It won't be long… 3 chaps or so. (I hope)

Enjoy!

M.

PS: I hope they don't sound incredibly OOC. I just couldn't help the neuron was romantic today.

The room, second attempt.

"Jack?" She called entering his house. She shouldn't be there, she knew. Not after earlier that day and not despite (or because) of what it was said either. She was starting to notice what she was doing was going to create some issues or maybe solve them. On the other hand, she, also, was starting to hope for him to have gone to Minnesota as he had said he would when the downtime was announced. But his door was unlocked…

In a panic attack, she took a step walking backward and hit the noisiest plank of his home, one they all knew where it was and how to avoid it, and that Jack resisted changing because it was a sound alarm in case someone strange went in. She gasped for air, and her eyes widened, she hadn't noticed she was that far in, and the towel wrapped gun pointing Jack, for sure didn't know she was that far in either.

"Carter? What the hell?" He chastised her, lowering the gun on the closest place he could find. And she didn't notice. She was too enthralled by the drops moving slowly down his chest. "Carter?" he asked following her eyes and blushing fiercely as his pupils dilated, at their own accord. He wanted to move, to hide… hell! To time travel! But he didn't.

She wanted all the same. However, she also wanted more…. She wanted to trace the path of that droplet who had just lost itself against the towel on his hips, and she wanted to know what it was like to be close enough to him, to touch him, to taste him…. She wanted to know how it would be like to have his touch imprinted on her skin, just as his eyes were on her soul…

She wanted it all.

"Sam… I swear to God that if you don't stop looking at me like that, I'll be unable to keep it in the room, as you asked," she trembled… the only thing she heard was her name. And she licked her lips and took one step forward, avoiding the noisy plank.

"What if…" she started and he held his breath. "I…" she trailed, not quite sure of what she was doing. Her mind kicked in and told her she was making a fool of herself. "I'm sorry," she said and turned around. But she remained glued to the same place she was. He didn't move either. She scrubbed her face with one hand, "Today was… I don't even know what it was… darn it… why this can't be, Jack? Why we can't be?" she asked and her voice trembled. He walked towards her and embraced her from behind.

"I'm sorry, Sam." He repeated a thousand times, and she turned around in his arms and her tears mixed up with the droplets coming from his hair.

"Shit, I don't even know how kissing you feels like… and we are always in danger, I almost lost you, today…"

"I know," he told her, and she nodded. He understood, after all, he was in the same wagon she was in. And he had confessed that much, earlier they had publicly confessed to all the people in the room, they cared about each other a lot more than they were supposed to. And she knew from before, the reason why they had to confess, was because she saw as much, she saw all the love he felt for her in those deep brown eyes of his just like he did in hers. It was evident too, in their actions over the course of their relationship or lack of thereof. He did things for her, she did things for him, they willingly sacrificed themselves for each other…. All in all, the hints were all there.

"How can we move on? How can we accept this can't be?"

"I don't Sam, but we got to."

"Do you think…" she started and then she shook her head. Blushing. Hiding her face on his chest, her hand was trailing patterns in his torso, and he had to try and keep himself in control.

"What?" he asked breathlessly, and she noticed it was because of her. Her hand stilled, and she moved backward enough to see him.

"One night? And we put it back in the room?" she suggested.

"I don't know, Sam… I don't know if once we cross the line, we could go back to before… I don't even know if right now we can go back to before" he told her, and she nodded, she too felt that way.

"But wouldn't it be worth it? Knowing what it is like? Knowing if this isn't just sexual tension built up from the years of interaction and not what we think it is?"

"And if it is what we think it is?"

"Wouldn't give us a memory to move forward and something to hold onto until we actually can?"

"Shit Sam… don't play with me…"

"I'm not playing Jack… I could never play with you." She bit her lower lip, "Maybe I'm being selfish for once, perhaps I just can't stand the idea of not knowing how we are if I lose you."

"Maybe I want to be selfish too, Sam… Maybe I want that memory, burned so bright in my soul that I can come up to on the darkest nights."

"Are we really doing this?" she asked cautiously.

"Before we do this, Samantha Carter… I promise you, I will love you my whole life. I won't stop fighting to get to the point when you can be mine for real. Unless, I must die for you, in which case, I promise you, I will jump in front of anything it might come in your way. I promise you, whenever you feel lonely, I'll be here to hold you tight, I will hold the hope to be by your side, I will always be by your side… no matter what."

"Jack…"

"You matter to me that much Sam," he told her caressing her cheek.

"I love you, Jack. I will love you my whole life, I will die for you if I have to." She choked… and they kissed.

When the morning sun entered his room, he woke her up with a soft caress on her back… and a kiss. And she smiled lovingly at him.

"It's time?" she asked him, and he nodded.

She dressed and walked away, two hours later, she was entering the isolation room. Her stomach burned with tension, and her heart beat fast. She knew she was about to break no only her heart but his. She introduced the code, and the door opened, he was already inside. With a half-smile he greeted her, and she nodded in acknowledgment. She inhaled deeply as her eyes filled with tears that wouldn't be freed.

He inhaled deeply at what was about to happen, they had a lot of baggage, but what they had done was the one that probably would weigh the most. He couldn't care at the moment because now he knew what it was like to wake up with her in his arms and how she looked not only with her head tousled but how she looked while he walked her over the edge. And he was glad he could have at least that memory for himself, for what I was about to happen… again.

"Colonel…"

"Carter…" she gasped, and he nodded. He knew what about to happen, unlike the first time she asked him that… and it was time.

They exchanged a heartfelt nod.

"Sir… none of this has to leave this room" She finished bravely, biting her lower lip.

"We're okay with that?" he answered, following exactly what had happened the previous day.

"Yes, sir…" she added.

"Okay…then let's go have our days off, whatcha think?" he attempted being himself, and he knew he ultimately failed. But she smiled at him for trying.

They walked out, and they both jumped a little and tried not to sigh when the door closed behind them.

It was sealed.