Later that night, as she lay tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep, she came to a decision. She had to let the Colonel go. She had already let him go but she had to make sure that he knew too, if only for her own peace of mind as well as for his. She wasn't stupid – she knew that he was interested, but after her Eureka! moment aboard the Prometheus, she knew for sure that it would never work out.

'Jacob was right. You deserve more. I will always be there for you, no matter what. Believe me.'

That was true. He would be, just like he would be for Teal'c… but not quite as much as he would be for Daniel, the two men having developed a special bond long before either she or Teal'c came into the picture. She sighed as she sat up and then decided to call the Colonel to make sure that was he still awake.

He answered on the third ring, sounding a little annoyed as he said, "Hello?!"

She grimaced and then said, "Hi Sir."

His voice immediately lightened as he said in surprise, "Carter? What's wrong? Is your concussion playing up again?"

She paused, unsure of how to broach the subject, and then she asked, "Did I wake you?"

"No, no… I just came back from dropping T at the mountain. The guy's getting lonely what with Daniel having a house now, so…"

She asked rather abruptly, "Can I come over?"

He didn't say anything for a long moment and then he said with a little sigh, "Sure. Come on over… you ok to drive?"

"I'm fine Sir… I didn't drink that much."

"Are you sure? I can drive over."

"Thanks Sir, but I can manage."

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Jack opened his door, perplexed at why Carter wanted to come over, and at that hour. He glanced at the clock and then saw her headlights and he waited for her on the front step. She walked past him without a word, standing in the middle of his lounge as he raised his eyebrows slowly.

He asked as he followed her, "You want something to drink?"

She shook her head and then said, still not sitting and it was then that he noticed that she was wearing a pyjama shirt under her leather jacket, "Sir…"

She pressed her lips together for a moment as he waited, puzzled, and she said quickly, forcing the words out, "… this thing that we have… it would never work. Even if you weren't in my chain of command, we're just…"

She sighed and then said, a little slower as he stood in the doorway, impassive, "I guess what I'm trying to say, Sir, is that you deserve better, someone who won't drive you up the wall within a week."

He looked at her, inwardly stunned that she had had the courage to tell him something that he was still trying to work up the wherewithal to tell her, and she said, her gaze hitting the floor, "I'll go now, Sir. I'm sorry to have disturbed you at this hour."

She was about to walk past him when he stepped in her way, saying, a hand on her shoulder, "Carter, Carter, Carter…"

He continued after a pause, his hand dropping to his side, "Thank you."

When she looked at him, surprised, he continued with a regretful expression in his eyes, "I figured it out not long ago… I can't give you everything that you need or want. You deserve a lot better than me, than I could have possibly given you."

She asked, scared, "This isn't going to change the team, is it?"

He smiled slightly and shook his head, remarking, "Only if you go somewhere else tomorrow."

Puzzled, she looked at him and he shrugged before saying with a sigh, "You ok?"

She nodded, allowing herself to smile and he said, "Good. Go on, get some sleep. Thanks for… you know…"

He patted her shoulder and she replied, hugging him, "Thanks Sir."

"Remember, whatever happens, I'll always be here for you."

She nodded, inwardly surprised at his words being similar to the hallucination of him, and replied as she let him go, both physically and mentally, "I know Sir. Thanks."

He watched her leave, whispering to himself as she pulled out of his driveway, "It's over."

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