AN: So this is the last chapter. That said, I have a sequel brewing in my mind. If you're interested in that hit the "follow author" thing at the bottom.

0030

Sam woke just after midnight with a start. Her head was pounding and the room was hot. Too hot. She stood and observed the embers of the fire that had been fading as she'd fallen asleep. She estimated she'd been asleep maybe an hour, and was surprised to find the house dark. Groaning, she realised she needed to use the bathroom and proceeded to reach for her crutches, using them as leverage to get her out of bed. She saw Jack's bedroom door slightly ajar, and heard something that sounded somewhere between a grunt and a snore coming from the room. As quietly as possible she made her way to the guest bathroom. Fifteen minutes of brushing her hair with his comb and her teeth with the spare unused toothbrush she left here for no real reason a year or so ago, she felt more human than she had in the past half a day and realised she was far too awake now to go back to sleep again. It was one of the downsides of her job, her body was adjusted to functioning perfectly well on little to no sleep over periods of days. Unfortunately, this meant that in the base, with no natural light, she'd often accidentally stay awake for 36 hours at a time.

She did her best to muffle the clicks of the crutches as she made her way back to the kitchen, and flicked the kettle on. A reflection in the window made her jump before she realised the sleep deprived reflection was that of her CO.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"I wasn't asleep."

"Liar, I heard you snore."

"Okay, I wasn't asleep long."

"Sorry."

"Carter." His voice held warning; he didn't want to go twenty rounds of sorry with her. "Coffee?" He pointed to the boiling kettle.

"Too late, sir?"

"Oh no, I'm sure it's 0600 on some planet somewhere. I'll take an extra sugar with it though."

She let the coffee brew before pouring it into cups and adding sugar. Jack carried them to the couch, still laid as a bed, and stole one of her leg pillows to put behind his head as she sat gingerly next to him. He passed her coffee to her silently, not wanting to be the one to speak first.

They sat like that until the remains in his cup had turned cold before she spoke. "Do you honestly think you could do it, Jack? Could you leave me behind?"

Jack shuddered at the thought, though he'd already spent hours contemplating the matter. He already knew his answer, regardless of how it'd kill him to do so, he knew she'd never forgive him if he let his feeling for her take priority over their mission or let it risk the safety of Earth.

"I can't begin to describe how much I wish this wasn't a question I had to answer... but yes... I don't really like to think about it, but I know if the time came I'd do it. Partly because I know you'd do the same."

"I'm not so sure I could. I already have reservations about that ability, Jack. I don't know how I'd live with the knowledge that I'd given you up like that."

"Sam," he took her good hand in his and brushed over her knuckles. "You've shown me numerous times that you have the strength to make that choice. It's not about being ready to do whatever is necessary. It's about trying not to get into that situation in the first place. We've had to leave each other behind, Sam. What matters is that if I ever have to leave you behind, I fight to get you back."

His words were in earnest, and she could see the way his eyes darkened that he didn't like the conversation anymore than she did, despite its necessity. She shuffled closer to him and felt his body tense for a moment before lifting his arm around her. She laid her head on his shoulders and relished the feeling of familiar warmth. Simply lying there with him, her body begin to relax and exhaustion came over her.

"Wanna watch a movie?" His voice broke the silence of the moment.

"I can't guarantee my state of consciousness, but sure. What have you got?"

"The Simpsons?"

"That isn't a movie."

"Hmmph." He failed to suggest something else.

Sam sighed. She wasn't going to be awake long anyway. "Fine," her word was drawn out. He practically hopped from the sofa bed with excitement and it brought an irrepressible grin to her face.

She made it through the fast forward of VHS ads, and the introduction theme song before the warmth of her position nestled onto his chest began to take its toll. Her eyes slide shut and her last waking moments were filled with the rise and falls of his chest as he chuckled to a joke she didn't hear.


She woke with a start when a phone rang through the house, Jack was slower than her to acknowledge the intrusion but rolled stiffly from the sofa bed to answer a landline, a few gruff 'what's and 'why's later, he padded back to her. "Daniel's going off world."

"What? Why?" Her response was so similar to his it made him smile at a warmth he was letting grow inside him.

"Apparently there are some really awesome ruins that absolutely must be seen by his own eyes."

Sam rolled her eyes and nodded.

Jack groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. "I need a shower."

"Yeah, I hadn't really considered the logistics of showering yet."

Jack waved his hand dismissively. "I'll run you a bath."

She looked at him hesitantly. "I'm not sure I'll have any more luck getting in and out of a bath. I'll just hold my leg out of the shower."

He huffed and walked away; she heard the shower start running before she manoeuvred herself to a standing position and hobbled down the hall to the spare bathroom. Brushing her teeth made her feel almost human again. She was standing in the kitchen, staring pensively at a blank pantry by the time he made his way to find her.

"Shower's free, Major."

She made her way behind him to the steamy ensuite. He did have a spare shower, but it hadn't been used in months, and to be honest, it definitely needed a clean. He left her with a spare towel and let her carefully undress herself. She could hear him opening dresser drawers in the adjoining bedroom before she was ready to tackle the task of actually showering. With the water running, she moved as much of her body under the stream as she could without losing balance. Grabbing the soap holder with one hand, she steadied herself as she let the hot water wash over her. His body wash smelt spicy, and it made her tingle and she cleaned herself.

Half an hour later she'd managed to dry and dress herself, only needing Jack's help once to slip her booted leg into a new clean pair of sweatpants he'd dug out for her and poked through the door of the bathroom. When she'd seen his hand poke around the door she couldn't help but giggle at his awkwardness at the potential of seeing her naked. He'd avoided looking anywhere but her lower leg as he helped her with her pants, and she knew she needed to throw him a bone.

They were seated on the freshly made sofa, with no evidence that it had been a bed except the blanket folded neatly on the arm.

"I'd do it if I had to..." she said out of nowhere. A lack of comprehension from him prompted her to continue. "If I had to say goodbye to you, I would if I had to."

He looked sad. "I wish we didn't have to..."

"But we do, if we want to do this whole 'us' thing."

"You mean..."

"Yes."

He didn't hesitate this time, he put his coffee down and closed the space between them in an instant. His hand was on her cheek and he was soaking up the blue of her eyes. Her good hand touched his and she smiled. That was the rest of the confirmation he needed and he closed the inch more between them so his lips brushed softly against hers before deepening the kiss.

She sighed with contentment. She'd wanted this moment for years, imagined it over and over, with as many scenarios and she could imagine (which was quite a few) and yet not one came close to the perfection of the act.

"We'll figure it out." He said softly against her lips as he pulled away slightly in order to hold her whole body closer.

"We always do." She replied with a gently smile and closed her eyes.

They'd spent enough time avoiding the truth that the truth with a lot of strings attached was good enough for her, for now. Not perfect, but enough.

AN: I hope you've enjoyed this drabble of mine. Thanks for reading! I'll go get a start on that sequel (which by the way will be *significantly* more angsty. Seasons 7 and 8 don't allow for Jack in Sam's life so I'll focus on what causes that. xx