7?

Jack woke up to pounding on his door. He looked at the clock. It was one thirty in the morning. "This better be good." Jack mumbled on his way to the door. He opened it to find Sam staring at him. "Carter?"

Sam looked tired and uneasy. "I have to talk to you Sir."

Jack nodded and let her in the house, closing the door behind her. "What's wrong?"

Sam looked down at the carpet. "I ended it."

"Ended what Sam?" He always used her name when he was concerned about her. It comforted himself if not her.

"Ended it with Pete." She said quietly, looking up at him.

"Oh?" He wasn't sure what he should say next. "What happened?"

"I figured out, with the help of my friends, that I was settling. I don't want to settle."

Jack nodded. He was fighting the urge to reach out and pull her to him. "As long as you're happy."

"I would have been happier tonight if my team had lost." She said nervously.

Jack's eyebrows shot up. "Yeah? Me too." He grinned at her.

"We can pretend can't we?"

Jack shrugged. "I'm not very good at pretending."

"Yes you are. You pretended to like Pete when I know you hated him."

"I didn't hate him. Ok, yes I did. But only because he was with you." Jack blurted out.

"Your team has just won the Super Bowl, Jack." She emphasized his name. "What are you going to do now?" She asked.

"Go to Disneyworld?" He teased. He knew his could claim his prize. Knew it would be worth any repercussions that might come from it. But he also knew that it'd kill him if it ended there. "I don't know if we should Sam."

She almost pouted. Her face fell and she had to blink back tears. She was suddenly grateful that he hadn't turned any lights on. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"

She was cut off by Jack's lips suddenly pressed onto hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed him to deepen the kiss. When he finally broke the kiss they were both breathless. "You're going to kill me Sam." He said quietly.

"I'll die with you."

Jack brought her into a hug, holding her close to his chest. She clung to him as if it was the last time she was going to see him. "Next year, we'll bet who has to quit the Air Force." Jack whispered in her ear. He looked at her, admiring every feature of her face. "Perhaps sooner then that."

Sam laughed. "I told Cassie she should wait for the guy she wants to be available, and though I'm sure she was making the whole thing up now, I'm going to take my own advice."

"Huh?" Jack asked, lost.

She smiled, kissing him. "I'll wait for us to happen Jack. How ever long it takes."

"Oh, at this rate, it's not going to take long for me to retire." He grinned, kissing her again.

"So I guess we both won, didn't we?"

"Yeah. All of us did apparently. Daniel's taking Janet out next week."

"Good for them!" Sam grinned.

"Poor Pete though. I feel bad for him."

"No you don't."

"You're right. I don't." Jack kissed her again. He was going to soak up all his chances to be with her in secret until he couldn't stand it any longer and he had to retire. He knew giving up the Air Force would be no problem if he got to come home to Sam each night. He'd retired once hadn't he? He could do it again.