DISCLAIMER: Stargate isn't mine...if it were...more episdoes would end up like this one...
"Yours, mine and OURS..." A Clone Jack story...
After two days without sleep, all Samantha Carter wanted was a good nights sleep.
She should have known better.
The phone rang just after 3 a.m.
With a sleepy grunt under the covers, Sam reached for the phone and pulled it under the covers.
"Hello?"
"Hello Ma'am, I'm sorry to disturb you. I'm trying to reach a Samantha Carter."
"That's me." Sam replied, still hiding under the covers.
"Ms. Carter, my name is Tara Parsons and I'm a nurse at C.S. Memorial. I'm calling because we've admitted Jonathan O'Neill and you are listed as his emergency contact—"
Sam was awake now. "C.S. Memorial? Colorado Springs Memorial!" She asked sitting straight up in the bed.
"Yes, Ma'am."
"What happened? Is he alright!"
"There was a car accident."
"I'm on my way."
She ran through the front door of the hospital and stopped at the front desk of the ER.
"Excuse me—" She said, trying to get the attention of the lady behind the counter. "I'm looking for a Jack O'Neill."
The young woman turned and smiled at Sam as she walked around the counter. "Yes Ma'am, I'm Tara—he's this way…"
Tara led her down the hall quickly and stopped outside him room. "He got a good knock on the head so if he sounds a little off—don't worry. You can go on in…I'll get the Doctor."
Pushing the door open, Sam tried not to imagine the worst as she walked into the dark room. Two other beds occupied the room besides Jack's and Sam walked softly to Jack's bedside as she pulled back the curtain.
The dim light over the bed illuminated the face of the young man as he lay on the bed. His left leg in a cast and a bandage around his forehead.
"Oh my gosh—I'm sorry." Sam said backing away from the bed and pulling the curtain close behind her.
She hadn't taken two steps when he called after her. "Carter—it's alright…it's me."
She froze in mid step and slowly looked over her shoulder as the young man pulled the curtain back and waived at her apprehensively.
"Hey Carter…long time no see."
She was still standing a few feet from his bed and staring with her mouth open.
"Oh my god…"
"Will you stop saying that?" He said, as he waived for her to come back over to his side.
"What in the—I mean—" She was still stuttering as she walked back to his bedside. "I'm sorry—are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I told them not to call you—but I'm still considered a minor so…"
She couldn't help but stare at him.
"So, uhm…do you need anything Sir?"
"Wow—it's been a while since anyone called me that…try "John", I go by John…" Adjusting on the bed John pulled at the bandage on his forehead and looked over at Sam as she sat in the chair next to him. "You really don't have to stay—They just—"
"Yeah I know." She sat in the chair and glared over at him—she knew better. "So…you don't need anything and they insisted on calling me because…you're—"
"A minor…wana rub that in a little more Carter?" He was squirming now.
"Sam."
"What?"
"You can call me Sam." Smiling as she stood, Sam understood the situation now. "So—you're alright?"
"Yeah—I'm good, the Air Force is picking up the tab and I'll get a cab back to the house."
"I see." Standing at the end of the bed, Sam pulled out a pen and wrote something on his cast.
"What's that?"
"I got a new cell phone number. If you need anything—use it."
"I told you—"
"I know—but, just in case you need a friend…" With a half smile, she walked to the door and stopped outside the room.
She had to shake her head, this was just too weird.
"Ms. Carter?" A man called out behind her.
Turning around, she saw a doctor coming up with a clipboard.
"Yes?"
"I'm Doctor Norman. Are you the mother?"
"Oh no—just a uh, family friend." She said, shaking the doctor's hand. "Is he going to be alright?"
"Well, besides being a cranky teenager—yeah he'll be fine."
She had to smile at Jack being called a cranky teenage—something's never change.
"Has no one else been to see him?"
"Not that I know of. He was the only one in the car at the time of the accident and you are the only one he asked us to call."
Taking a mental step backward Sam looked back to the Doctor, "He asked you to call me?"
"Yes, is there something wrong?" The Doctor asked.
"No, nothing wrong—what time will he be released tomorrow?"
By lunchtime, John O'Neill had been released from C.S. Memorial and was hobbling down the hall to the front entrance to wait for his cab.
Frustrated to the point of beating the automatic door with his crutch—he didn't even notice her until she had grabbed the crutch in mid swing.
"Carter! What the hell are you doing here?" John asked as he pulled the crutch out of her hand and balanced.
"I'm being a friend. You know—we were friends once." She said walking over to her car parked at the curb. Opening the passenger side door she motioned for him to get in. "Come on—I'll give you a ride home."
"I'm getting a cab." He said defiantly.
Leaving the door open, Carter walked back over to John and looked him straight in the eyes. "Let me be your friend John—get in the car." Without another word, she walked back and got into the drivers side. She waited a moment and leaned forward to look at him through the open passenger side door.
Shrugging his shoulders in defeat, John gave in and walked to the side of the car.
Pausing another moment, he moved into the car and pulled his crutches in before slamming the door shut.
"So—where's this apartment of yours?" Carter asked with a notable added hint of perkiness.
The drive was short—and silent.
Carter couldn't figure out what was making John act so uncomfortable around here—above everything her and Jack had always been friends.
As she pulled up to the front of John's apartment—Carter turned off the car and stepped out of the car to help John out.
"What are you doing?" John asked as he pushed past her and crutched his way to the sidewalk.
"You know something—you can be a jerk all you want, but I'm still going to help you."
Walking over to the stairs she waited for him to walk up next to her and held him arm as he hobbled up the stairs.
"Wow—" She said, opening the apartment door and stopping at the mess of bachelor hood that filled the living room. "Nice apartment."
"Well—what do you expect? I'm 18 years old…" He said crutching into the living room and plopping down into a beanbag chair.
As she walked in, Carter saw the kitchen counters covered with take out food containers, clothes in a hamper in the corner and video games scattered across the living room floor.
"Alright I'm here—happy now? Are we done with the friend thing for the day?" John asked.
Looking at him curiously, Carter sat in the beanbag chair across from him and glared. "I'm going to chalk up your crankiness to the pain you must be in. I got your pain killers from the doctor already—take two and lay down. They should knock you out for a few hours." She said pulling the small brown bag out of her purse and holding it out to him.
With out a word, John took the bag and sat back in the chair.
He was glaring at her again.
After a moment, Carter got the message and stood.
"Alright, I'll leave you alone." She said, walking to the door. She opened the door and turned back to John, "Look—I know you have your own life now-but it seems like you could use a friend right now. I won't tell General O'Neill that I've seen you—but if you do need anything, you have my number." Closing the door slowly, she left and returned to her car.
John sat in the beanbag chair and still stared at he door after Carter left.
"Good to see you Sam."
After returning from lunch, Carter tried her best to make up some passable excuse for ducking out—the only thing she could think of was getting her oil changed in her car. Daniel didn't seem to care, Teal'c didn't respond—but General O'Neill shot a look at her that made her uneasy…
The workday passed by as uneventfully as possible. For once—nothing blew up, no one needed help and the only work that was piled on her desk was a backlog of reports that needed to be signed off on.
So by 1800, it was no wonder that Sam was well on her way home—when her cell phone rang…
"So…who did Jack piss off to get General?" John's voice came over the cell phone clearly but there was a definite quiver in his tone—he was nervous.
"He uh—saved the world."
"Oh that…"
Silence fell over the phone line and Sam tried to bridge the gap. "So how's the leg?"
"It's fine—but I uh…"
"I'm on my way."
"What?"
"I'm on my way there."
"Oh—okay."
"I'll be there in about an hour." Sam hung up her cell phone and pulled onto the highway.
John cleaned up his apartment as best he could before Sam knocked on the front door.
"Yeah?" He called out.
She opened the door and walked in with a brown grocery bag in her arms.
"Hey—sorry it took me so long, I stopped by the store."
"I noticed…" John said as he watched Sam put the bag in the kitchen and throw her coat on a chair. "Uh…you didn't have to uh…"
"Yeah—I know…I know…but I did." Unloading a few things into the kitchen, Sam grabbed two cokes and handed one to John before sitting across from him on a beanbag chair. "How's the leg?" She asked, taking a swig from her coke.
"Just peachy…"
"Hmm, so uh, should I go to the school and pick up your class work…so you don't fall behind?" Sam was slipping to conversation so easily that it set John back a moment.
"Uhmm, yeah—you wouldn't mind?"
"Of course not. Anything else you need? I brought some groceries—stocked the fridge up with cokes and yoo-hoo." Smiling at him, she winced a little, "Sorry—no beer."
"I figured. So uh…Jack got promoted…saving the world?"
"Yeah, he's in charge of the SGC now."
"Wow—I think I would prefer high school."
"How's that going by the way?"
"Classes are good—my GPA is 3.8." His eyebrow arched in the classic Jack fashion as he smiled, Sam couldn't help but smile back.
"3.8? Really? Do you know what college you want to go to?"
"I was thinking about UVA."
"East Coast?"
"Yeah, get an official new start—besides, it's got a nice campus…woodsy…"
"Ah—good point. What do you want to study?"
He was about to speak but looked off to the window and sighed before looking back to Sam. "I can't do this."
"Do what?"
"Sit here and talk to you like…like…"
"Like what?"
"Like it's normal."
"John, it's alright—this is okay." She said gesturing between them. "We were friends. There's no reason why we still can't be."
"Jack said he didn't want any contact between us."
"He said that—not me."
"So…we can talk?"
"About anything."
"Anything?"
"Yep."
"Who gave you the engagement ring?"
Absentmindedly, Sam covered her ring finger and drew a short breath before continuing. "Pete."
"Pete? And what does Pete do?"
"He's a cop."
"Don't tell me—he pulled you over for speeding?"
For a millisecond, her throat clenched together and released. That's exactly what Jack had said to her. "No…"
"Have you set a date?"
"Oh—uhmm, not yet—we're just uh…"
"I see—so how's work? Blow anything up lately?" He recognized the look in her eyes and remembered why "Jack" had never tried to talk to her like this…there's the wall.
"No-" A wary laugh escaped her and she smiled. "A few things have happened…"
Talking late into the night, Sam and John talked about everything that had happened in the last year.
The goings on of the SGC were enough to make John laugh a little and relax.
He told her about school and that he was actually a pretty smart guy when he put his mind to it.
After ordering Pizza and playing video games—Sam helped John to his room before his pain pills kicked in.
"You didn't ask why I called you…" John said, as Sam turned out the lights and walked to the door.
Turning back into the darkness, Sam thought a moment, "I know why you called—goodnight John."
It was another two weeks before Sam heard from John again—only she wasn't expecting to see him…like this…
"Hey Carter." General O'Neill said as he walked up behind her.
It was still early in the morning and she had yet to change into her uniform.
"Sir?" She asked, turning around as he motioned for her to follow him.
"Come on—you gotta see this."
"See what, Sir?" She asked, following him down the hall as he walked slightly faster than normal.
"Ohh, just more crap."
He took her straight to the infirmary and stopped just beyond the door as Carter waked pass him and stopped dead in her tracks as she saw John laying on the bed before her.
"Hey Sam…long time no see."
"Hey…" She said, walking slowly to the side of his bed as she looked down at his leg—the cast had been removed.
"Turns out that my leg was worse than a simple break…"
"What?" She asked, not paying attention to her own actions as she looked at his chart and felt his forehead for a fever. "John—why didn't you call me?"
Jack's walked to the end of the bed and watched Carter.
"My first visit to the hospital got the attention of Air Force security—when I went back they came and got me and brought me here."
"By the looks of these tests…it looks like—"
"Gene therapy."
"What?" Jack asked, abruptly.
Sam and John looked back at Jack and then back to each other.
"My genetic make up is a little hay wire." John said as Jack screeched his forehead up.
"It's a simple procedure, Sir—but it will have to be done here at the SGC." Carter said, setting down the chart.
Jack nodded and walked out of the room.
Looking back to John, Sam really didn't know what to say about Jack's behavior.
"I creep him out." John said, trying not to laugh.
After changing into her uniform, Sam headed for her lab to run the series of test that would be conducted on John the next few days…
Hovering over her microscope, Sam was completely oblivious to the man standing in the doorway.
"So this uh…thing you have to do to…"
He trailed off before he even walked into the room.'
Sam turned around and watched him walk over to the table. "John," She said, completing his thought.
"Yeah…so uh…anyway—I got stuff to do, just wanted to check in." He said, making a B line for the door.
There was something there that he wasn't saying and she was very aware of it—but she didn't say anything.
He reached the door and turned back around to say something but Sam had already bent over her microscope and was once again ignoring the world—so he walked out into the hall and walked to his office.
Working through the night, Sam didn't break from her lab until the halls had fallen silent.
Only then could she hear her stomach growling.
Making her way to the commissary, Sam stopped when she heard grunting coming up ahead of her in the hall.
Walking slightly more cautiously, Sam rounded the corner and saw John crutching down the hallway.
She thought to leave him alone but then walked up behind him and cleared her throat.
He froze and slowly turned around.
"Need help?" She asked propping her hands on her hips; she was in mommy mode now.
"No—I've got it."
"Really?" She asked, walking up beside him as he tried to open the door to the commissary only to have it shut on him. Reaching around him, Sam opened the door and let him walk under her arm.
Still in his moping mode, Jack pushed from his chair and drug himself down the hall to the commissary.
He had been fighting the same headache for the last two hours and food was his last resort.
As he swung the door open and walked in to the doorway—the room filled with laughter.
A quick glance to the right side of the room and he realized that it wasn't directed towards him—but to the young man sitting in front of Sam Carter.
He backed into the doorway and watched them—watched her.
There was something different about her. Her smile was different, the way she sat in her chair and leaned on her elbow. She was never like this around him; never this unguarded or open…she was comfortable around him and that, for some unknown reason…made his blood boil.
The walk back to his office was a blur, so was the slamming of his office door, the five minutes he cursed under his breath—and Carter appearing at his door.
"Sir?" She asked, standing in the doorway as Jack stood over his desk cursing under his breath.
That one word brought him to a halt. His fingers stopped moving; his lips stopped moving and his eyes locked onto the mess of papers on his desk.
It took him a moment before he looked up. By then she was standing on the other side of his desk and looking right at him as though he'd lost his mind.
"Are you alright Sir?"
"Uh—yeah I'm fine—why do you ask?" Jack spoke rigidly as he tried to calm himself.
"Are you sure?" She asked, knowing full well that something was wrong.
"Yeah—did you want something?"
Tilting her head to the side, she thought to confront him on the issue but set it aside and stood straight as she clasped her hands behind her back.
"I just wanted to tell you that the gene therapy is a go for John—I regulated the specs to his genetic code and there should be no problem in—" Stopping in mid rant she caught the glimmer in his eyes.
For a moment she just glared at him. Then she turned from the desk and walked to the door—and closed it.
"Carter—what the hell—"
She just held her hand up to him as she walked back to the desk that separated them.
"What's going on?" She asked, leaning forward a little closer than she had originally planned.
She startled him only for a second before the anger in him took over. "Back down—Lt. Colonel." The look in his eyes set her back and she stood from the desk and crossed her arms.
"Sir—"
"Don't." Jack blurted out as he sat in his chair.
"Don't what?"
"Don't come in here and act all concerned—just get out."
Carter was speechless.
What the hell was going on?
She really didn't want to back down. She didn't want to leave, she wanted to stand there and make Jack talk to her. But she knew that if she pushed it that he would pull the rank card and then she'd be in a whole lot of trouble.
With the nod of her head, Carter turned on her heels and walked for the door.
Pausing only for a second, Carter snatched the door open and slammed it shut as she walked out of his office.
Jack slumped into his chair and stared at the door—he didn't really know what had just happened…but he knew he was going to regret letting it happen.
Carter had been mad at Jack before.
She had wanted to punch him and kick him for making snide comments—but this was different. Walking out of that office was the last resort to pulling him across his desk and…well…doing something other than beating the crap out of him.
Before heading home, Carter stopped at the gym and found a nice quite punching bag to take her frustration out on.
Well into her second hour of "therapy", Carter found that her shoulders were beginning to weaken under her self-inflicted torture.
She gave a right jab to the top of the bag and then a left, a low blow from her knee and then—the bag moved out of her reach and there was Jack O'Neill standing right before her.
Following through with her right hook, Carter's gloved hand came across Jack's chin as he caught her fist with his hand.
She jerked her hand out of his grasp and pulled the bag out of his hands and continued with her "workout".
Jack now stood behind the bag as Carter continued to wail on the bag.
"Will you talk to me?" He asked, holding the bag as she rammed her fist into it.
"With all do respect, Sir—No I don't."
"Anything you want to say—come on—I deserve it."
Weaving back and forth on her feet, Carter glared at him around the bag…the look in her eyes was clear, "No shit."
She drew back to punch the bag but Jack stepped in front of it and grabbed her hand as it came at him. Going with the momentum, Carter spun and threw all her weight into throwing him to the ground.
Jack was shocked—but stood from the floor as Carter backed off.
"I hate this." She whispered under her breath.
"What was that?" Jack asked, rubbing the back of his head.
She didn't answer.
"Oh come on Carter—don't hold back…tell me how you really feel."
In a second they were nose to nose. "Tell you how I really feel? How I really feel?"
"Yeah, come on…"
"Right, so you can charge me later?" Backing down, Carter walked over to the bench on the sidewall and pulled off her gloves.
"No ranks." He said flatly—he had her attention now.
Slowly, she looked over her shoulder at him to confirm what he had just said.
The raise of his eyes brows was his only answer.
Throwing her gloves on the bench, Carter picked up a towel and whipped her face.
"Okay—Jack." She sauntered over to him and stood a few feet from him as she tossed the rag back to the bench. "What happened earlier?"
He had made a deal with himself that he wasn't going to hold anything back—and he wasn't about to start. "I was pissed off."
"About what?"
"John."
She knew that was the answer, but he said it so plainly—it was just so simple.
"Are you kidding?"
"No—I don't like you around him."
"What! What the hell does that mean?"
"You're different around him."
"Different around him? What's that supposed to mean?"
"You laugh around him! And you—you let him joke around—"
"You're jealous! Do you have any idea how weird that is!"
"Yeah I do!"
Silence filled the room as the conversation came to an abrupt halt—but there were still issues to cover…
Carter walked back to the bench and sat down, letting her head hang down as she leaned on her knees.
"I don't like you with Pete either." His voice was softer now, more controlled and honest.
Carter closed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking up at Jack.
This conversation had been a long time coming.
"Oh?" She asked, trying to fill the silence—it was the only thing that came to mind.
"No I don't." Lingering in the middle of the room as he spoke, Jack didn't quite know how to get from point A to point B.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why don't you like me with Pete?"
He was floored—he'd never made it that far.
"He uhmm…he uh—"
"WHAT!" She screamed, standing from the bench and walking right over to him. "He what?" She was getting mad again, and pushed him away from her as she spoke. "Come on Jack—why is it that you can't stand to see me with Pete!"
She tried to push him again, but Jack grabbed her hands first and pulled them down.
"Because…he…isn't…me."
TWO HOURS AGO…Peering into the infirmary, Jack tried to talk himself into actually walking into the room. But he couldn't do it and leaned against the wall outside the door.
As he tried to get up the courage to walk in the room—footsteps echoed down the hall and in an instant he was in the infirmary.
"I was wondering when you were gonna turn up." The younger version of his voice chiding him sent chills down Jack's spine.
"Well—here I am." He said, walking over to John's bedside as he shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Sooo, how's the whole General thing working out for ya?" John asked.
"Ah—good…I get to tell people what to do…"
"You hate it don't you?" John asked with a grin.
"And what makes you say that?"
"Do you really have to ask?" John asked as he narrowed his eyebrows at Jack.
"Right—so uh…"
"Oh come on—"
"What?" Jack asked, set a back by the young man before him.
"I know why you're here—you want me to just tell you flat out so you can stop wasting time?"
"You lost me." Jack said, with a classic innocent smile.
"You're an idiot—I mean I don't remember being this stupid…maybe I've been out of the loop longer than I thought—or maybe it just looks different from this angle."
"What are you talking about?"
"Sam."
"Sam?"
"Yeah, blonde, 5'9, blue eyes, great smile—makes you wana kiss her every time she babbling about some scientific."
Jack averted his eyes to the ground, and tried to clear his throat. Woops—he wasn't supposed to know that.
"Oh I forgot…we aren't supposed to talk about that." John said sitting up in the bed.
"This was a mistake." Jack said, as he made a B line for the door behind him.
"You suck!" John yelled after him.
John's out right childish insult had Jack turning on his heels and smiling at the young man. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me. You suck."
"Care to elaborate?"
"It's only been a year Jack." John said, as his words pulled Jack's attention back to him.
"A year away from everything I knew—every one I loved…and I still can't get her out of my head." Jack was at the foot of the bed now, listening to every word John said. "Did she tell you that I called her?"
"No." Jack said. The slightest hint of a relationship between him and Carter made his hands tighten on the bar at the end of the bed.
"Yeah—when I got in the wreck, the Doctor's called her cause I had her listed as my emergency contact. Even after everything that's happened—even after I left and started a new life, I couldn't forget her. Do you have any idea how much it's sucks to know that I actually had a chance with her once and now there's not a chance in hell that she'll even see me as anything more than a little brother?"
"Look—"
"Oh no you don't—just listen. I saw you earlier—when you came into the commissary, she saw you too. That's why she went after you. And judging by the brooding act you're putting on now I'm guessing whatever was said after that wasn't good."
Jack didn't say a word.
"Yeah, that's what I thought. Look—you've got a chance here—"
"For WHAT? Huh? A chance for what?" Jack blurted out as a nurse walked pass them and into the next room.
"To be happy. Or do you not remember what that feels like?"
"What is this the ghost of Christmas past?"
"Jack—I know why you do this…I know why you refuse to let her get too close. I know why you won't retire and I know why you let her get involved with Pete."
Again, Jack was silent.
"Sara and Charlie." Jack's eyes locked with John's as he spoke. "You keep holding on to what happened—you keep thinking that you don't deserve her, that she wouldn't love you if she ever knew everything…but it's all bullshit—and so is this militant frat rules crap you tell your self every time you pick up a beer. It's all bull shit—and you know it."
Jack didn't have a come back for this one. Because he knew John was right—about everything.
Without a word, Jack moved to the seat beside John. "Not seeing her every day must…"
"Suck? Now you're getting it."
Suddenly Jack understood it all—and he wasn't mad anymore.
"And what's with this Pete guy? What's his story?" John asked.
"He's a cop—Carter's brother set her up with him a while back."
"Hmm, she talk about him much?"
"Not willingly."
"Why don't you just have him taken out? We know people—it can't be that hard."
"Oh—not that I haven't thought about it." Jack had to laugh at the idea—because he had thought about having Pete taken out.
Somehow the two men found a common ground. Somewhere between a mutual understanding of love lost and missed opportunities—they started to understand one another.
And as Jack walked to the door of the infirmary he felt a sense of peace he hadn't known…in a very long time.
"So you're sure it's alright if I come around once in a while?"
"Yeah, I'll uhh—introduce you to Cassie." Jack said jokingly.
"That's just wrong." He was laughing, but the idea still made John sit uneasy.
"But uh—one thing…"
"What's that?"
"I get Sam."
"Understood…now go get our girl…"
After changing over to civvies, Jack hopped into the elevator and watched the numbers tick by as he reached the top.
He was going to find her and talk to her.
She was going to be mad.
She was going to furious.
And she would no doubt give him just what he deserved.
But he was going after her…
She wasn't getting away this time.
PRESENT TIME: THE GYM…
Holding Sam's wrists down at his side, Jack tried to keep her steady as he spoke—but she wasn't having any of it. She pulled form his grasp and stormed for the door as she mumbled under her breath.
"Talk to me!" He said, grabbing her arm he tried to spin her around—but she pulled out of his grasp again.
"Talk to you? NOW—you want me to talk to you! Every time I tried to talk about this you've just said, "I know", like it's the solution to everything. Like we shouldn't have to talk about it…well ya know what? I got sick and tired of waiting for you to want to TALK about this."
"I'm an idiot." Jack said plainly.
"Give me one reason."
"What?"
"Just one reason Jack—give me one reason why I shouldn't marry Pete."
It seemed a lifetime before Jack could move again. But once he regained the ability to move—there was no doubt in his mind what he had to do.
She was only a few feet away from him. Standing there in her work out clothes, soaked in sweat from beating the crap out of the punching bag—that was his fault. She was so mad at him that her bottom lip was trembling as he walked closer to her-that was his fault too.
When he first reached for her she tried, with not effort on her part, to push him away but he easily pulled her arms away and pulled her right into him.
He stopped.
Every so slowly he pulled her arms around his waist and let her hands rest on the small of his back.
Hovering just above her lips, Jack moved slowly. He brushed her hair away from her face first then wrapped his left arm around her waist until she as right against his chest.
She was at his mercy now. She didn't fight back and didn't try to pull away from him as he lifted her chin with his finger.
As he spoke, he leaned in closer to her lips, "For the same reason I don't want anyone but you…no one else can make you feel like this."
It might have been the stupidest thing she'd ever done—but Sam Carter pushed away from Jack and walked to the other side of the room.
"I can't do this, Jack."
Completely stunned-Jack didn't know what to think. "Uhmm, why not?"
"This isn't going to work Jack—it never has."
"I'll quit the Air Force."
"No you won't—neither will I."
"No—really—say the word and I'll sign the papers."
"You'd quit? Just like that?"
"Yeah, I will."
"Why?"
"Ya know—I'm trying to do this whole grand gesture thing and you're not helping."
"I just didn't think that…"
"You're worth it Sam."
"I can't let you do that."
"It's not your choice."
"Jack—"
"Damn it woman! I love you! Can't you just let do this?"
Blinking a few times, Sam looked up at Jack and walked over to him as he continued in his rant.
"Jack…" She said, holding his face in her hands.
"What?" He asked, looking at her as a smile enveloped her face.
"Say it again."
"Say what?"
"What you said a minute ago?"
"Let me do this?"
"Before that."
"Damn it woman?"
"After that."
"Oh…you mean…the uhh…"I love you" part?"
"Yeah…that part."
"Yeah…that part…I love you."
Wrapping her arms loosely around his neck, she pulled him down so his forehead rested against hers. "Why didn't you just say that in the first place?"