Jack meandered his way through the entering flocks of people with purpose. His firm stride and withering stare had the crowds clearing a path ahead of him, Carter following in his wake. Stepping out into the brisk chill of the Colorado Spring post-Winter breeze, Sam zipped her jacket up a little further and leaned against the railings just far enough to be out of earshot of the people milling by the door. Crossing her hands firmly across her chest, she threw him a concerned look and he responded with a puzzled frown.

"What's the matter, Sir?" She queried earnestly. If he'd insisted on speaking to her now, whatever the issue was, she figured it was fairly important. Jack dug the toe of his boot firmly into the gravel beneath it, making a soft crunching sound, gathering his thoughts and working up the nerve to say what he had to say. After a few moments, nothing inspiring had come to him so he figured, as with all potentially bad news, he might as well just spit it out.

"I'm transferring," he said bluntly. Sam's eyes widened in the dim yellow streetlight. "To D.C." At her questioning stare he continued. "Hammond is retiring and they need me to take his place." Sam's expression faltered for a microsecond before the military mask slipped into place and if he hadn't been scrutinising her face he would have missed the shock and subsequent sting his words had evoked.

"Congratulations, Sir," came her automatic response but the sentiment didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm happy for you-" she began before losing steam and halting mid-sentence, not quite trusting herself to finish it without her voice betraying her. Leaving?

Jack could feel her tense up at his words, her eyes shining with something he recognised in himself; disappointment. Ambiguous as it was, her reaction was enough to spur him on to start the conversation that he was so loathe to have yet so desperately needed to be said out loud. For both their sakes.

"I handed in my resignation but they wouldn't take it," he confessed wearily.

"You're resigning? What for?" She immediately responded. His mouth turned upwards at the corners at the familiar line. Sam obviously hadn't missed the ghost of smile that had flittered across his face so he clamped down on that memory and brought his focus back to the present. He took in a deep breath and slowly released it, his cheeks puffing as he did so. Now or never. Pinning her with his eyes, his carefully placed walls came crashing down as his brown eyes darkened with a heat that was directed solely towards her. Refusing to break eye contact with her, not even to blink, he saw the exact moment she realised what he was trying to tell her and the accompanying involuntary reflexive sharp intake of breath that gave her away. A slow flush was creeping up from her neck to her face but she held his gaze steady. "I'm sorry, Sam."

Just as he looked down at his boots, a smile flickered across her face. Sam cleared her throat awkwardly and he looked back up to a conspiratorial grin. It was the same one that, in the field, would have had him ducking for cover.

"General Hammond's position is Head of Homeworld Security, right?" She asked bluntly. He nodded in response, confusion written across his face. "So you are overseeing the SGC, the Alpha site and our ships, right?" He responded with the affirmative, still none the wiser as to where she was headed. "And not Groom Lake?" She added questioningly.

"Erm, not that I recall," he responded hesitantly. Sam smiled at him in relief.

"General Kerrigan requested that I would consider taking up the Head of R & D position for a twelve month sabbatical last week. I've been mulling it over and it's looking more and more like an offer I should seriously consider."

Jack opened his mouth to protest but Sam cut him off.

"Ah!" He jumped slightly at her use of his expression, "I have several research projects ongoing right now that I have neither the time nor the resources to complete at the SGC. Taking a break from the field would give me the time and the staff I need to complete them. With the Goa'uld all but eradicated, I've been thinking that maybe it's time for me to take a step in a different direction and explore some avenues that haven't been available until now."

Despite her discussion of her pet projects, he detected a hint of something else in her tone.

"Oh, such as?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and holding in a breath and praying he hadn't mis-read her expression. Sam raked a hand through her hair.

"Something neither of us could discuss given our current ranks," she offered hesitantly with a hopeful spark in her eye. Jack's eyes lit up as she confirmed what he thought she'd been getting at. With a smirk, he stepped towards her, leant back against the railing and nudged her shoulder playfully with his.

"Less physics and more chemistry?"

Sam rolled her eyes at the terrible pun but returned his smile with a beaming one of her own.

"Something like that, yeah."

They stood staring at each other for several minutes, both enjoying the moment and the possibility that, finally, this indefinable something between them might have a chance to be test-driven. Eventually Jack cleared the frog in his throat and turned towards Sam with one hand bracing himself against the railing.

"So, is this the part where I ask you if you would like to go out for dinner sometime?" He asked lightly, his body perfectly still, waiting for her response. Sam looked up at him through her eyelashes, turning to face him.

"Actually, how about I cook?" She offered, surprising him. Jack stood up a little straighter.

"Aww, jeez, now I feel bad for not offering first," he replied. Sam laughed.

"Sir, I've seen your idea of cooking," she mocked as he pretended to be offended.

"I'll have you know, Carter, that my steaks are to die for!"

Sam shook her head.

"Oh is that what you call that charred hunk of meat you waved at me-" she halted abruptly and tensed up, realising she'd just brought up the dreadful day that they hadn't really discussed since. Jack schooled his expression as he noted the flush rising in her cheeks. "Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Jack cut her off with a gentle hand on her arm and lowered his voice.

"S'ok. Listen, Carter, about that...," he paused and sucked in a breath, "I should have told you. I'm sorry. I, ah, panicked." He stared at his boots, ashamed of his admission, and chuckled reproachfully, bouncing a balled up fist on the railing. "Facing down a battalion of Jaffa, sure thing. Tortured by a snakehead, no problem," he winced before looking straight at her, "asking the woman I'm in love with not to marry another guy?" Another pause as he steadied his anger. "Jack O'Neill, biggest chicken shit in several galaxies."

Sam's self-conscious smile beamed in the lamplight.

"So, when's your transfer date?" She queried, ignoring his declaration for now.

"Two weeks, officially," he said softly, "then two weeks to get packed up and relocated before I start the new job."

Sam smiled.

"Need someone to give you the guided tour?" Sam asked chirpily to which Jack responded with a frown. "D.C. was my old stomping ground before the SGC." She smirked at him, "or had you forgotten?"

"Oh, how could I forget, Captain "just because my reproductive organs are on the inside doesn't mean I can't handle whatever you can"", he threw back at her causing Sam to wince.

"God, I can't believe I actually said that to you!" A pink hue crept up her neck and Jack laughed at her obvious embarrassment.

"Well you certainly got my attention," he confessed, leaning forward and whispering conspiratorially in her ear "even if I did think you were the hottest geek I'd ever met."

Sam blushed deeper at both his words and his tone.

"Honestly? I thought you were a bit of an ass," she said wryly, earning her a shocked stare, "but I guess you weren't so bad after all." She nudged his arm earning her a grin.

"Well, you do have to be wrong sometimes, ya know!"

Sam shook her head and folded her arms.

"So, how do you feel about dinner at my place a week next Friday?"

Jack positively beamed.

"I'll bring beers," he offered, "and dessert."

Sam pushed herself away from the railing and headed towards the door, turning to respond with a raised eyebrow and an appraising stare that made Jack stop in his tracks.

"How about a few bottles of Guinness and yourself then?"