She just sat there on the couch, starring. It wasn't so much that she was surprised at his response. Deep down, she supposed that she had always known that the feeling was mutual. The thing that was grounding her was more so the pure relief that everything was coming out into the open. She couldn't believe the transformation happening in the very depths of her soul. Hiding their feelings for so long had caused her to not want to know, not want to ask the questions. Now, questions were almost overwhelming her very being. She wanted to know everything.

"How long?"

He couldn't believe the transformation either. He actually chuckled with delight because this time, her smile was actual genuine. She looked like a kid in a candy store, and he supposed that he looked just about the same.

"That I've loved you?"

She nodded eagerly.

"Well, aren't you just a little nosy? Well, truth be told, I've liked you from day one. It takes some kind of woman to challenge her soon to be commanding officer to arm wrestle. My god. Love, though? Honestly? I knew I loved you as I made the decision to undergo Anise's experiment during the za'tarc testing so that any information obtained could be used to save you."

There was no doubt in her mind that he was absolutely serious. If the look on his face right now didn't give him away, the look on his face during as he walked down that hall to undergo the experiment surely did. She remembered that day very clearly. She is just glad that she gained just an ounce of courage compared to what he must have mustered up so that she had the gull to get them to express their feelings.

"Do you regret it?"

"What? Agreeing to undergo the experiment to possibly save your life? Not in a heartbeat. Would do it again in a second."

"No. You know what I mean."

He starred down at the almost empty wine glass in his hand. There was never any denying that he was bad at relationships. Communication at this level was never quite his thing, but he knew that she knew him at a level surpassed by everyone else, including Sara. They had been through too many intimate things to not know each other on this type of level, so if he was going to be honest with anyone, it would be her.

"Truthfully? No. Probably not. I mean, sure, would I have liked to have pursued a relationship with you? You betcha, but we both know that we wouldn't have been able to continue working together. Sam, we've done some pretty exciting things side by side. You were the best damn second in command an air force officer could ask for. Heaven only knows just how much of a national treasure you are. I wouldn't have traded those moments for anything."

He looked her straight in the eyes, truly tried to connect to her in the fullest to get his message across.

"What about you?"

She thought back to all their years of service together. She had learned so much from just about every mission they went on together, and she knew she wouldn't be just who she was today if it wasn't for his command. She also thought about all those times that he held her close, lingering in a hug because that was as far as they could even think about going.

"There are times that I had genuinely wished that things could have been different. I mean, in all honesty, if we would have took our feelings out of that stupid room, I would have never met Pete. None of this would have ever happened...."

She saw his face completely drop. His eyes fell back down to the empty wine glass. His shoulders slumped. Obviously, he had never thought about it from that perspective.

"Hey, look at me."

Slowly, he began to raise back up so that they were once again face to face.

"Sure, the whole Pete thing would have never happened, but if it wasn't for that whole Pete thing, these past few months with you would have never happened. If it wasn't for everything that happened with Pete...the dating, the engagement, everything that followed...well, let's just say that all made me appreciate you that much more. I just hope that the whole thing doesn't make me appear flawed."

With a raised eyebrow, he cleared his throat like he always does when exceptionally shocked.

"Flawed? Now, why in the world would I think of you as flawed?"

"Well, I did have quite the uncharacteristic emotional breakdown for awhile there. Heck, I even dyed my hair..."

"Sam. It's perfectly normal for a woman to, you know, feel that way after that. Yes, I know you think of yourself as having to maintain this perfect military persona, but you and I both know that a real human being, with wants and feelings, lives in there somewhere. That doesn't make you weak or flawed. That makes you human, just like the rest of us....except maybe Teal'c, of course, but even Jaffa must have emotional breakdowns at some point, right?"

She just laughed a full hearted laugh, the one that always escapes when she thinks something is ridiculous. This, of course, made him completely crack up. He knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Yeah, you're right. Of course Jaffa don't."