I can't believe how fast this wrote itself… :O …

Enjoy!

M.

Broken Seal.

Even the most hermetic environment can be opened. He had read that somewhere along the many, many eclectic readings he did. He might not be Samantha Carter smart, but he reads. An awful lot. And he had read that phrase somewhere, and it said something about needing to be broken from the inside, and he didn't think he would be strong enough to do it.

Yes, that's what his mind provides him today as he slowly punches the code that will allow him to go in.

Year three of keeping it in the room, and here he is again.

He walks in with his head low; wondering if he will continue to do this until the day he dies. He wonders if he would find an excuse next year to fly from DC to Colorado, just because it's year 4 and he can let her go completely out... And that's when he feels it. He feels eyes on him, and his eyes widen, as possibilities are painted in his brain. He was pretty sure nothing was going on in there today, he had checked, but it is the SGC, and one can never be so sure… He raised his face quickly and surveyed the room.

He was right; it was empty.

Almost.

She had been coming here since that day two weeks ago, when she realized how screwed up she was. She broke up with Pete when they got home. He lowered his head and stretched his hand and took the ring; he didn't say a word until she asked if he wasn't saying anything. And he did.

"I knew this would happen, I saw it… I saw you both. And I was trying to make myself believe we would make it. But I knew, you know? Deep down I knew, I could never be him, but thanks for trying"

It was a cold-water splash on her or a hard punch to her gut. Because he was a good guy and she used him, poorly. Truth to be told, she hadn't figured that much until that day, and she felt the guilt and the remorse and all the bad things one gets to feel when you play with someone good to the point of being able to break them.

He closed the door softly behind him. He didn't scream at her; he didn't say anything that would help her feel better with herself. She deserved it though. When she heard his car far away enough that it wouldn't be so obvious she was leaving, she grabbed her purse and walked out to her car, drove to the mountain and went straight to the room and cried.

She didn't do it every free day for the past two weeks, just because they weren't there most of the time, saving the universe from her replicator-self and all. But then, when they returned, every time someone asked her something too personal, too close to home, she only managed to smile and run down (or up) and hide in here. And to add to how badly she was thinking of herself, her father was dying in a room in the infirmary, Daniel was gone again, and Teal'c stood behind with the Jaffa's. And Jack…

And then she saw the date; she didn't even manage to get to her lab without detouring there first. Her eyes were swollen, her nose red, and her hair a mess.

And she was hiding in the darkest corner of the room. The one that allowed her not to be seen from the security glass up top. She curled up as tightly as her height allowed her to. And then, she heard the door sliding softly and tried to clean herself somewhat and come up with some excuse and then, she saw him.

Their eyes locked.

Hope blossomed in his chest, and he didn't even know why.

She stood up on shaky legs, and he saw the plea before she could put it out there. And he imperceptibly nodded and opened his arms for her, and if she weren't just six steps apart, she would have run, probably did, but she couldn't care less.

"I'm sorry," she cried over and over again until her throat wouldn't cooperate anymore.

He dragged her to the corner where she was sitting before; he was very well acquainted with the same spot. He wanted to bolt and never to leave; he wanted to bring her a glass of water and push her away, but he had promised her and he was going to keep it. Not because he was a man of word, but because he was a man in love.

"You are still here," she mumbled against his chest, marveled with that truth.

She separated her head from the place it had found against his chest, where she could hear his heartbeat, enough to watch him. He felt observed and lowered his head a little to make eye contact.

"Always," He smiled self-deprecatingly, because, he felt like an idiot. She was marrying another guy, and here she was crying in his arms, holding onto him as if there was no tomorrow. Maybe there wasn't, even if Goa'ulds and Replicators were gone because she was going to be out of his reach forever now, and that was worse than the former.

"I …" she gulped, "why are you here?" she asked, hopefully… cowardly. She bit her lower lip, if anyone should be doing some explaining, it should be her not him. He huffed.

"Year three… where else should I be?" She whimpered, she did. He frowned self-consciously, "I don't know if next year I will manage tough. Being in DC and all…"

"You are leaving?" a fresh new set of tears appeared in her eyes, a few of them running down her cheek and into his shirt. He gulped and nodded.

"There's not much left here for me," he explained sadly. "Daniel's gone, Teal'c is gone..."

"I am here."

"You haven't been here in a long while, Sam…" he said, while pushing her back into his chest, not able to look at her, "it took you only six months to start piling rocks outside the door. Nine months, three weeks and four days to finishing with it and accept that you were ready to close this room for good and now, you will be closing it forever in a few more months," he whispered against her hair.

"I'm not ready to close this room, Jack," she whispered.

"You can't have it both ways, Sam…"

"I don't want both ways…" she pushed herself forcefully out of his embrace and sat straight enough that he couldn't push her back to his chest to avoid eye contact… "I want you… I only want you…" she huffed, "I need you…. I love you… I was in love you with, even if I was fool enough to try to pretend I could get 'us' with someone else…"

"Sam…"

"No, listen to me, Jack… you've been doing all the sweet talk in the other attempts, and you were the one pouring out love words because I really suck at them and you don't… And I was the one who asked to keep it inside; I'm the one who caused all this... And I've been wrong… I was the wrong one from day one, and I was wrong until year three…. and I don't like to be wrong…."

"So, you want to be right? Is this what this is for you?"

"No!" Horror covered her face. Yes, she was an idiot and hurt him, but she never thought, never considered.

"Then explain."

"I'm trying!"

"Try harder." He barked.

"Jack…"

"Sam…"

"I don't like who I became; I don't like who we became… I love you; you loved me…. I told you, yes, and then everything was wrong… it was like we never happened like we never existed. You stopped talking to me like we used to, and I didn't know how to ask for it. And then, I saw Kerry…"

"She's only a friend!"

"I know that now, but back then… you flirted with her, and it was exactly what we weren't doing anymore, and my brother, my stupid brother. He pushed Pete into my lap."

"And you accepted."

"I did. I won't deny my mistakes, Jack… I can't. You know, two weeks ago, when we had that barbecue.. when everything was wrong in the Universe, but things were somewhat right around here…"

"Right? I had to watch you with Pete, Sam! I had to sit with the guy and be happy for him… I had to pretend I didn't want to twist his fat neck and kill him. I had to restrain myself from going out to you too and kick the guy because he made you flinch when he invaded your personal space… and you are saying it was right?"

"No! I mean… "

"What?"

"Daniel was here, Teal'c was here… and you were there, and I was there, it was … forever… since the last time the four of us were outside together."

"And Pete was there, and Kerry was there… and heck! Half of the people who are close to Hammond was there, your point being?"

"I didn't realize that I was cheating myself with Pete. I … didn't know… It was always you, Jack. You were always in my mind, even if it wasn't you."

"And yet, you are marrying him…"

"No… I'm not. I finished it that day… how could I go and marry someone else, when I've been in love with you from forever now?"

"Sam… I loved you… I still love you… but you hurt me, bad. This won't be that easy…"

"But we can try?" she asked hopefully biting her lower lip.

"Not inside this room, no."

"And if we take it out?"

He considered her answer; he savored the answer. But he didn't let it show.

"Yes…"

She grinned and kissed his cheek.

"Good, then everything is alright with the world again," she told him smiling as he hadn't seen her since that night when they took it out of the room the first time. And then, the base alarms went crazy, and they were jumping out.

He stopped by the threshold.

"Are we ready?" he asked, and she nodded, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, General." She told him, stepping outside and turning to him, "Jack… I love you, but if we don't move, we might not have a chance to save the world."

"Right!" he walked out of the room. And as he pressed the keys to close it, she grasped his hand and gave it a slight squeeze.

The room was closed, and she was still with him, on the other side. He grinned, she grinned, and they let go. The seal was broken, from the inside out. And the world needed them, now they had each other again; everything was going to be okay.