AN: Not as funny as the start but semi necessary conversation before we can get back to our previously recorded silliness. For those of you wondering why the baseball chapter names, look them up. For those of you wondering about the POV being mostly Jack's it's probably because I think he really might have struggled post Threads to figure out why things weren't working out the way he planned. I find his inner turmoil amusing.

Rated M for language and mature situations as Sam and Jack do the normal things couples do. Especially in this chapter.

Shippy nonsense especially towards the end. Lots of Easter eggs from various fandoms to find here if you like me are into that sort of thing. I love feedback. S/J romance

Chapter 4 – Hot Corner

Jack took off the formal clothing of the evening unaware of the sloppy smile on his face. For whatever reason Sam wasn't as mad at him tonight as she had been or when he'd dropped his right hand to his side towards the end of dinner she wouldn't have slid her fingers around his own. Some cake he thought. It seemed to take forever for her to finally close the door to her bedroom. He gave her a few minuets to use the bathroom and realized with a start that he didn't hear her engage the slide bar on her side after she was done. His heart sort of stuttered to a full stop for a moment. Jack swallowed. Geronimo.

He gave a quiet tentative rap with his knuckles on her bathroom door. Woah. Well, at least his heart had started again. Like a rocket ship but started. She chose that moment to open her door and give him a 100 watt smile. His heart promptly stalled in freefall then took off like the Daedalus "Sam" he breathed almost involuntarily.

"Jack." She said softly and his arms were around her, his face buried in her neck. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" he kept saying.

She clung to him, felt his tears on her neck. Jack rarely cried. Even some of his most terrifying nightmares didn't make him cry. "I thought I'd lost you" he mumbled into her neck. They both knew what he meant by that.

"Why didn't you try to stop me?" she asked him, her fingers stroking the back of his head soothingly. She pulled back to look into his eyes before he answered.

"Because I'm stupid and wanted it to be your decision. It wasn't fair of me to put demands on you when my retirement was so far off and if you wanted kids or something you probably needed to get on that pretty soon."

And she saw in his eyes all the anguish it had cost him to let her go instead of asking her to reconsider while feeling he had nothing to offer her. "Jack?" she said softly.

"Yah?"

"I love you."

He looked into her eyes and realized she meant it, had always meant it. Had told him in a thousand ways with her actions when her words could not. "I'm so stupid Carter." His words a resigned sigh.

"Sometimes." She muttered against his mouth. He let out a shattered moan when her fingers grazed his hips having dipped into his boxers.

"God Sam, what are you doing?"

"Accepting your apology" She smirked and nudged him towards the bed. As she could have knocked him down with a feather at the moment he willingly went.


Sated for now, she lay half across his chest, one leg casually draped between his. She traced lazy circles on his chest for a few moments. "In the interest of full disclosure…"

"Hmm?" he murmured softly into her hair, the fingers on the arm wrapped around under her lightly brushed her hip.

"I was being petty" she says softly. "I know you have a really hard time talking about what's going on in your head when you are upset about what's going on with you." She sighs. "Especially as what was going on with you was entirely my fault." She realized how garbled that sounded and frowned.

"Kind of was Carter" he says sleepily but his arm tightens around her and he nuzzled her hair. "Doesn't mean I don't love you anyway." And with that revelation Samantha Carter has her own moment of free fall heart stalling out to a full stop. She levered herself up enough to look into his warm brown eyes. "Fer cryin' out loud Carter, why do you think I drank myself stupid the whole time you weren't on missions?" His hands had slid up her body and now framed her face. He drew her down for a lingering, lazy kiss. "If I'd been sober I would have gone to your house and thrown myself at you." He explained. He decided to kiss away the shock on her face as anything more he added was just future ammunition.

Their lovemaking this time was soft and slow and they fell into an emotionally exhausted sleep together nearly immediately after.