See Part 1 for disclaimers and story details

Author's Notes: It's been brought to my attention that readers outside the US are unfamiliar with the GED so I thought I'd clear that up a little. The GED is the American high school equivalency test as well as the name of the certificate. It takes the place of a diploma for people who want to leave high school early but still want to "graduate", people who drop out and go back to school some point later, or for people who immigrate into the country and don't have some kind of certificate or diploma showing a high school level of education. Almost all colleges and universities require either a high school diploma or a GED. My apologies for any confusion this created when reading Part 3.

Heartfelt thanks go to the readers who continue to send such wonderful reviews. Hopefully Part 4 will live up to your expectations. Special thanks and a bag of Jaffas to Lynette for her beta skills, especially when I'm about to pull out every last strand of hair off my head. I think I'd look pretty stupid bald. (vbg) As always, any and all feedback is appreciated.

Part 4
"So these guys like me, right?"

She could hear the smile even though she didn't look up at his face. "Yes, they do."

Watching the car come to a halt in the driveway from her spot in the doorway, she couldn't help the shiver that worked its way down her spine. "And I like them. Right?"

"Yes, you do." The smile was even bigger now. Jack cupped one hand over her shoulder in a quick squeeze she enjoyed far too much for her jumping thoughts to process. "Would you relax? They're not going to bite."

That's actually what she was afraid of – that she really would find herself liking them, as she'd found herself liking the man at her side with each passing hour spent in his company. No topic had been safe from his humor. Television to politics was treated with the same sharpness of tongue he'd displayed at the hospital that morning. She'd even surprised herself as she chopped the onions by responding to something he'd said with the first thing that came into her head, one of the little sarcastic thoughts she normally kept firmly under control ever since her time in lockup. But the smile he'd given her had spoken of his familiarity with her sometimes off-color comments. Maybe it was his personal brand of humor, so similar to hers, that convinced her it was okay to really speak her mind. By the time she was done with the second onion, her hesitation had disappeared. And after the first twenty minutes together in the kitchen he couldn't seem to move past her without reaching out a hand to brush over her arm or the back of her neck. She honestly didn't think he was even aware of it. He'd told her in the truck he touched her a lot. He hadn't lied. And she'd enjoyed every one of his casual little caresses.

Their afternoon had ticked away in a quiet, comfortable and completely normal way Faith had never experienced before. She'd chopped vegetables, admittedly the slices weren't anywhere close to even, and shifted raw meat in a marinade Jack had called the closest thing to heaven you could eat. Remembering the look on his face as he'd mixed the brew brought a tiny smile to her face as three doors opened on the vehicle EM1 and two men and a woman stepped out.

From Jack's descriptions she knew the names that went with the faces, knew how they fit into the puzzle that was his old team, at least as much as he could tell her, and what their specialties were. What she didn't know was how she'd first met them, under what circumstances, what they talked about when they got together. All the important little stuff she could have rattled off about any one of the Scoobies. She also didn't know what could possibly have brought four less diametrically opposed people together long enough to form the close relationships – she couldn't call it friendships since it appeared to be so much more than that – that had lasted eight long years.

"You sure it was a good idea to not give them any advance warning?" Jack had insisted it would be easier to tell them when the three arrived rather than call each one individually and explain the problem multiple times.

He didn't answer, merely squeezed her shoulder one more time before stepping forward to greet the trio moving up the walk. The imprint of warmth his hand left through her t-shirt traveled down the length of her arm as she watched him lift that same hand in a jaunty wave. Reaching up slowly to rub the spot, she breathed out a sigh. She was going to have to decide what to do about her reaction every time he touched her. But for now, she was curious to see how he'd break the news. She should have known he was going to just blurt it out. She'd done as much to B earlier that day and Jack's sense of tact was about as refined as hers.

"Hey guys. Take it easy on Faith for a little while tonight. She's not really feeling like herself. Actually, she's not feeling like herself before three years ago."

He stopped them dead in their tracks. "Uh, Jack?" Daniel asked, shooting an apologetic look over to Faith who'd stayed in the doorway. She smiled. Somehow she knew he'd be the one to ask. "What are you talking about?"

As Jack waved them up the porch and into the house, breaking their paralysis, he gave such a concise report of her memory loss and Brightman's lack of findings that Faith could have sworn he was briefing a room full of military brass. Biting back a laugh she realized he was, at least to a certain extent.

"But you are otherwise uninjured?" Teal'c asked, his voice deep and the words carefully enunciated.

Meeting his eyes, Faith momentarily forgot the question. She'd seen eyes like his only a few times in her life. Buffy had eyes like that. And Faith saw them staring back at her every time she looked in a mirror. They were full of shadows, of a darkness that had nothing to do with color and everything to do with too much life in too little time. She wondered what had put such intense shadows there. As Slayers she and B had plenty of reason. Teal'c didn't have that excuse. And, she realized with a jolt, Jack had them as well. Just what had he lived through to put them there? Abruptly realizing Teal'c was still waiting for an answer, she shelved the questions for later and gave a shrug. "Perfectly healthy according to Dr. Brightman."

Jack gave her a smile as he walked past her into the kitchen, one hand trailing down her arm as he went. "You guys want the normal?" She found herself grinning at the gesture. Whether he'd meant it as comfort for her or himself she couldn't say, but she appreciated it nonetheless.

None of the three answered Jack's question as they stood in stunned silence in the living room. She held her smile, but it was starting to turn stiff when he came down the two stairs leading from the kitchen with a glass of juice in one hand, a diet coke in the other. "All right already. Enough with the gawking. I know she's gorgeous, but let's not give her a big head about it." Heat worked its way up her neck and into her face. Was she blushing from a tossed off compliment that hadn't even been meant as one? Hoping it would fade before anyone else noticed, she caught Jack shooting the trio a glare she couldn't interpret. Apparently they could, however, since Carter – or was she supposed to call her Sam? – accepted the coke with a quiet thanks and turned to Faith.

"Why don't we relax and let the menfolk turn perfectly good meat into charcoal briquettes?"

"Hey!" Jack's intent glare disappeared in a puff of indignation. "One burned steak and you never let me forget it."

"Of course not, sir." Carter didn't sound the least bit contrite, the smile barely curving her lips and yet lighting up her eyes. "We can't let Faith start thinking you're perfect." Without waiting for a reply, she grabbed Faith's arm and tugged her farther into the room toward the couch. Faith shot Jack a slightly panicked look over her shoulder only to receive his nod of approval. Teal'c had the smallest of smiles on his face and Daniel was smothering a laugh behind one hand.

"Gentlemen, let's retire to the grill. We don't have to put up with this kind of abuse. Daniel, grab your own poison and meet us." The injured tone pulled a laugh from Carter as Jack spun around and stalked off into the kitchen.

"I do not believe Colonel Carter's comment was directed at either of us," Teal'c said pointedly to Daniel, his smile still firmly in place.

"I heard that!"

Letting her own grin widen at the banter, Faith settled herself more comfortably on the couch as the two men followed Jack into the kitchen. Carter sat in the armchair next to her, can of coke held easily in one hand. The other woman was blonde, tall and, according to everything Jack had told her, way smarter than Faith could ever hope to be. That intimidated feeling came creeping back, seeping through her just like when she'd stared at Jack's wall of wonders. She didn't like the feeling any better this time. Forcing her voice to not show it, she swallowed dryly and said, "Jack told me you're a scientist, an astro-something or other."

"Astrophysicist."

She appreciated the fact Carter didn't sound like she was talking to a three year old. "He also told me we're pretty good friends." The blonde nodded and took another sip of her coke. The nonjudgmental look in the blue eyes seemed to give her permission to be honest. "I've got to tell you, though, I just can't see how we'd have anything to talk about. I've never really been one to meld with the books."

"Faith." Carter stopped the almost babble with just her name. "The general is one of the best judges of character I've ever met. And by no means did he marry an idiot. Book smarts aren't always the most important knowledge."

What was it about these people? Every feeling of inadequacy that popped up they disarmed with a few simple words of kindness. Had she been that starving, that desperate for acceptance for who she was instead of what she was? First Jack and now Carter. Was it because they were older than she was? Even Daniel had a decade on her. Well, it could only be seven years if she counted the three years she was missing. "So what do we talk about, Carter?"

"Men," she answered instantly, face innocence personified. They both chuckled, the last of the tension easing from Faith's body. "And Faith? Call me Sam."

"You got it." She stood, intent on the kitchen and a coke herself when a thought struck. Turning quickly, she blurted it out before she could change her mind. "You were at the wedding, right? Mine and Jack's?"

"I was one of your bridesmaids."

Damn. Just how many people had she asked to be in the ceremony? "Would you mind if we went through some of the pictures? You can give me all the gory details. I mean, I would ask Jack, but. . ." She trailed off, uncertainty creeping back in.

"I'd love to help you out." There was not one iota of impatience in her voice. "I'll get the album and you get whatever you got up for."

Smiling her thanks, Faith headed into the kitchen. This was going to be the most interesting evening she'd had in a long time. Grabbing a beer instead of the intended soft drink, she popped the cap off and tossed it in the trash, returning to the living room in time to see Sam sit on the couch with a large, light grey photo album in hand. "So where did we do the deed?"

"The deed? You make it sound like an execution." Plopping down next to the other woman, Faith wasn't sure what kind of response Sam expected so she took the safest route and kept her mouth shut. Thankfully, Sam went on without appearing to notice. "It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon at the Air Force Academy Chapel." She flipped the front cover of the book open, revealing a smaller version of the candid shot above the fireplace. "I've always thought this summed up your relationship with the general perfectly."

A little startled by the comment, she looked up from the picture to meet Sam's eyes. The other woman was smiling, but it was a smile filled with awe and not a tiny bit of wistfulness. "Why do you say that?"

"Head over heels. No other way to describe the two of you." She held up a hand to halt the questions already forming. "Don't get me wrong, both of you can be more stubborn than a mule in a snowstorm and I have to tell you when you do fight it's pretty spectacular. But there's never a doubt you love each other, even in the middle of an argument."

Faith looked back down at the picture, her stomach twisting at the emotions plain on both faces. "He seems like a really good guy." It was all she could manage to force out.

"There's no one better to have watching your back."

The highest praise that could be given from a career military woman. What the hell had he been thinking when he'd chosen her?

"You said you wanted gory details," Sam interrupted the depressing thought before it could get any farther, seeming to realize Faith desperately needed a shift in mood. "Well, you came to the right person. I've got them all."

Faith took a long drink from her bottle, clearing the feeling of cotton from her mouth and throat. "Let's hear it. Don't leave anything out."

Before long Sam had her giggling and tossing in her own snarky comments without holding back. Jack's team seemed to find trouble anywhere they went, a talent Faith had thought was exclusive to the Scoobies. There was one picture in particular that had sent Sam into a round of laughter that had her reaching for a tissue to wipe her streaming eyes. Everyone had been in it, the Scoobies, Jack's team and a whole slew of people Sam had told her were from Cheyenne Mountain where Jack worked. Apparently it had taken almost twenty minutes to take the picture. The photographer had insisted they couldn't get that many people into the frame which had turned it into a challenge neither Jack or, surprisingly enough, Buffy had been able to pass up. Sam's descriptions of the ensuing chaos had Faith wiping a few tears from her own cheeks.

At one point in the telling, she felt eyes on her and looked up quickly, all senses going to max. Jack stood in the kitchen doorway, barbeque tongs in one hand, a smile she could only call tender on his face. Their eyes met for a long moment and her mirth faded, Sam's voice a muted murmur next to her. In that moment, feeling the love and acceptance from Jack across twenty feet of empty space, it didn't matter how she'd gotten there. It didn't matter that she couldn't remember any of it. She'd been handed everything she'd never allowed herself to hope for. B had said it plainly and while Faith had heard the words, she hadn't understood.

Jack and all they'd built together was worth everything.

His lips twitching farther upward into a full-fledge grin, he winked at her, nodded once, and walked back through the doorway. Sam's voice finally penetrated the thoughts crashing around her head. Turning back to the photo album and the other woman, she focused intently on every word coming out of Sam's mouth. If this really was her life, she had a lot of work to do to get it back.

That feeling stayed with her throughout the rest of the evening. By the time Daniel, Sam and Teal'c were heading out the door, she was hurling mocking insults as often as Jack, as if she'd known them all for years. And while the entire evening was one she'd remember for a long time, there was one moment that stuck out vividly in her mind. Teal'c had been bringing in the last of the dishes from the grill on the back patio when Faith had cornered him to ask a couple of questions that had been bugging her since they'd arrived.

When Jack had described the man that afternoon, Faith couldn't imagine a less likely candidate for a one letter name. "As in a cup of?" she'd asked. Laughing, he told her it was more like Mr. T and to just go with it.

After taking the large platter from him and setting it into the sink, she turned, one hand on her hip. "That's a hell of a tattoo you've got."

She would have sworn his hand almost reached up to rub the emblem in the center of his forehead. "A reminder of mistaken childhood beliefs."

That was something she could understand perfectly. "Ah. I've got a couple of those myself. They're just not as cool as yours." When he nodded in response, she smiled, liking him even more for the simplicity of his answer. "Where did your parents come up with your name?"

"It is a family name from long ago." He must have understood the perplexed look that came over her face because he continued without a pause. "My family was very traditional and maintained many habits others discarded through the generations."

"I noticed only Jack calls you T. Was he pulling my leg when he told me to call you that?"

Helping her transfer plates and silverware from the table to the sink with an air of someone who'd done it plenty of times before, he shook his head. "O'Neill was speaking the truth. You and he seem to enjoy using it over the full version."

"Is that why you never call him Jack?" If it sounded like she was grilling him for information he didn't show it. The man's composure never seemed to falter and his formal way of speaking gave her the impression he'd seen even more in his life than his eyes showed.

His small smile couldn't hide the shadows lurking behind the words. "O'Neill and I have been through much together over the years. I suppose it is our way of showing our respect for one another."

"In a manly way, of course." She couldn't help the smartass comment from escaping, but she didn't think he'd take offense to it. Teal'c had shown an understated humor that had taken her a little while to figure out.

"Of course." Stacking the final plate in the sink, he straightened, facing her full on. "He and I are as close as brothers. When O'Neill met you I feared your relationship would create a rift between us." He pushed on when she would have interrupted. "It was an irrational emotion that had no bearing in fact or history. It has been a joy to me to see him find happiness with you." He placed one large hand on her arm, his serious expression keeping her silent. "In the past when you have called me 'T' it was more than acceptable."

Now, watching Teal'c pull the door open to let the others out, his full meaning finally sank in. Somehow she had earned this man's respect, a feat she had a feeling was easier said than done. Lost in realization, she jumped slightly when Jack's voice broke through her contemplation.

"I'll see you guys on Tuesday. I'll call Walter tomorrow morning and let him know I'm taking Monday off, barring any emergencies."

"We've got it covered, sir," Sam said, tossing her coat over her arm. "I won't let him call you for anything less. Faith, let me know later in the week if you're feeling up to keeping our workout."

"Sure. I'm always up for a little exercise." She followed Jack out the door and onto the porch, reluctant to let the night end. But before she could come up with a reason to stop them, the three were in Sam's car and pulling out of the driveway.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Wrenching her eyes from the taillights growing smaller and smaller down the street, she looked over at Jack. "No, it wasn't bad at all. I liked them."

"I told you. Maybe next time you'll believe me."

She reached out a hand and smacked him lightly at the smug tone. "You think you have all the answers, huh?" Turning to go back into the house, she simply couldn't help herself. "Is that why you surround yourself with people who are smarter than you are?"

Her insult had no effect on him. "Yep. It keeps my enormous ego under control."

Giggling quietly, she headed for the kitchen and the small cluster of soda cans and beer bottles needing to be cleared off the table. One thing Jack couldn't be called was egotistical. But before she got anywhere close to the table, something she'd wanted to ask hours before and had forgotten in between chopping veggies and Jack's assault on her senses ran through her mind. "All those books in the office on astronomy?" Most of which she couldn't even pronounce the titles of. "Have you actually read them? Or are they just for decoration?"

"We have a telescope on the roof," he said, head jerking upwards. "We spend a lot of time up there during the summer."

A telescope? As in could actually see the stars in the sky? Could see the serenity of the heavens high above the chaos she knew the Earth to really contain?

"It's not really that late," Jack started a little hesitantly. "Do you want to head up for a little while?"

"Could we?"

A wide smile split his face at her obvious pleasure. "It's a clear night. Should have good visibility." She was out the kitchen door before he finished speaking. "Grab a sweatshirt first," he suggested, following her to the door. "It gets a little chilly up there."

Five minutes later she was comfortably wrapped in a Bronco's sweatshirt and watching Jack pull the cover off a telescope that was five times bigger than what she'd pictured. Apparently he really did understand all those books. "Can you see Pluto with that thing?"

He chuckled, setting the folded cover to the side. "No, but you can see Saturn's rings and Jupiter's eye on a good night." She stepped closer as he began fiddling with buttons on the main body. The tripod stand had been bolted to the roof, a solid affair she didn't think a good wind storm would have a chance of budging let alone ripping out. A remote control came out of his pocket and the cord was quickly plugged into the waiting socket.

"When did you get into astronomy?" she asked as he frowned at the small device and tapped a couple of buttons. The frown cleared when it beeped twice quietly.

"About ten years ago. Let's just say I got a crash course through my job and it stuck." She would have asked him what he was talking about, but he waved her closer with a grin. "Here. Take a look."

Eagerly, she took his place at the side of the telescope, leaning down over the eyepiece. He stepped back to rest one hip against the half wall surrounding the small area. "What am I looking at?" It was a ball of orange laced with dark browns and the smallest hint of red at the darkest parts. It was something so far away she didn't even know what words to use to describe the distance. It was amazing.

"Venus," he said quietly from his position a few feet away. "It's always been your favorite. There are more glamorous looking planets, more exciting comets and asteroids, but you always come back to Venus."

Staring through the eyepiece, she asked just as softly, "Did I ever tell you why?"

"Venus moves all alone in the sky, too fast for anything else to keep up. Because of that it can't be a part of any constellation. It doesn't have any moons and it sees its nearest neighbors once or twice a year from a few million miles away."

She blinked quickly when the tiny planet blurred for a second. "It sounds lonely." Why, out of all the miraculous things in the sky, had that been her favorite?

"You said it was your life before us. And every time you saw it you were reminded of how lucky we were now. You never wanted to take us for granted."

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get Venus back into focus. Jack's quiet words burned into her, searing their way through her gut and down deep into her soul.

"You and I, we don't talk about our pasts. There's too much pain on both sides and most of it is better left behind us anyway. I'm guessing that little planet is your way to tell yourself not to repeat history."

Leaning back, she turned to face him, one hand still on the telescope. "Jack, I'm so sorry."

"For what?" He genuinely didn't have a clue.

"For not remembering this, us."

"It's not your fault, Faith. I'm pretty sure you didn't make yourself forget parts of your life for the fun of it."

But that was one point she couldn't agree on and couldn't even talk about. Maybe she had. Maybe she'd asked Willow to do a spell and it had backfired. Maybe she'd pissed someone off one too many times and they'd decided to take it out on her years later. Hell, maybe she'd pissed someone off yesterday. She had no way of knowing unless Willow managed to come through with more information than they had now. "So Venus is my favorite. What's yours?"

Thankfully, he accepted her change of subject without a look or comment. Picking up the remote again, he scrolled through a list of what she assumed were coordinates. He touched a button and the telescope shifted itself on quiet gears, refocusing to a new spot in the sky. "This is my favorite."

Once again looking through the eyepiece, she found herself looking at something that definitely wasn't a planet. "What is it?"

"Andromeda Galaxy. The Milky Way's closest neighbor." There was a wistfulness in his voice that brought her head up to stare at him. She didn't ask, didn't need to. He read it on her face. "It's so close to us, on a cosmic scale. And yet we've never been there."

"Kind of a long flight, huh?"

That startled a laugh out of him. "Yeah. A bit."

About to ask him to show her something else, a jaw popping yawn caught her by surprise. "Where did that come from?" She didn't expect an answer, but she got one anyway.

"You've got to admit it's been a long day. We can come back up tomorrow night." Already he was unplugging the remote and reaching for the telescope cover.

She'd have argued if he hadn't made so much sense. There was no need to cram everything into one day. There was always tomorrow. Grabbing one side of the heavy material, she helped him secure it over both the telescope and stand. In a comfortable silence, they climbed off the roof and went back into the house. The cans and bottles they'd abandoned for planets and galaxies were dumped quickly, the few remaining dishes into the washer in even less time.

Slipping off the sweatshirt, Faith made her way down the hall toward their bedroom, limbs growing heavier with every step. All she needed was a few good hours of sleep. The days' events had taken more of a toll on her than a fight with four vampires. Her mental gyrations hadn't had the adrenaline-like effect any battle would have. Tossing the sweatshirt onto a chair by the bed, she paused to stretch her arms above her head, enjoying the pull of each muscle across her abdomen and back. Wow, did that feel good. Releasing her stretch, she saw Jack hesitate in the doorway, his eyes jumping from her to the bed before slowly entering the room.

He reached the side of the bed, his hands clenching and face getting tighter with each step. What was wrong with him? Everything had been fine just a few seconds ago. "Faith, I'll stay in the guest bedroom tonight."

If he'd slapped her it would have shocked her less. "Why? What's wrong with this one?"

"I'm a virtual stranger to you right now. How well are either of us going to sleep?"

Mouth opening to tell him she'd slept next to plenty of strangers before, she stopped the words before they formed. Not so much of a good thing to tell her husband. But her stomach ached at the thought of spending the night alone in their bed without him at her side. "You said this was our house, right?" She waited for his nod. "Then that means this is our bed. I expect you to sleep in it." Without waiting for his response, she fled into the connected bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Heart pounding in her chest, she found what looked like an appropriate soap in one of the cabinets and washed her face and neck with shaking hands. It was up to Jack now. She'd let him know what her preference was.

After she'd finished everything she needed to do she dawdled as long as she could without appearing like she was stalling. Meeting her own eyes in the mirror above the sink, she took a deep breath. Would he still be in there when she walked out?

He was. Sitting on one side of the bed, his jeans and t-shirt had been replaced with what appeared to be larger versions of what she'd worn that morning. He met her grin with one of his own. "I learned a long time ago to not disobey my wife." A flood of relief ran through her entire body as he walked over stand in front of her. "It plays hell on my domestic bliss." Planting a soft kiss on her forehead, he ran a hand through her hair and then disappeared into the bathroom she'd just inhabited.

Her smile didn't get any smaller as she changed into her own t-shirt and boxer getup. After stuffing her clothes into the hamper by the bathroom door, she slipped under the comforter. What was with her? All they were going to do was sleep. Jack's reaction to merely sharing the same space with her had told her that. So why did she feel as if she'd just won a brand new car? The door clicking open drew her eyes. As Jack made his way around the bed she snuggled deeper into the sheets. She was about to spend her first night in bed with her husband. Not a single thing was going to happen. And she couldn't have cared less.

Less than a minute later the overhead light was out and Jack's warm body was taking up space alongside hers. Slowly, giving him time to get used to the idea, Faith slipped her arm over his chest and rested her head on his shoulder. After a stunned moment of complete stillness, he relaxed, one hand coming up to clasp hers, the other curling around her back and waist. Already the beating of his heart was soothing its way through her, pulling her toward sleep.

"You were right. This is much better than the spare bedroom."

The whispered words vibrated in his chest against her arm. She felt her lips twist upward as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Still smiling, she fell asleep to the steady rhythm of his heart.

TBC