I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I finally overcame my writer's block and then my charger almost fried my laptop luckily it didn't but I was left without a working computer for the last 2 weeks. So I took out some paper and a pen (really!) and only just got all my notes typed up and sorted into this…So without further ado, here's Chapter 10. Thanks for sticking with me!

"Only a few find the way, some don't recognize it when they do - some... don't ever want to."
― The Cheshire Cat

Not surprisingly, Sam slept through most of the next day. At some point in the night, Jack really wasn't sure when, he'd carried her to his bedroom and there he'd lain with her for most of the night, soothing her when she became fitful but mostly just watching her sleep.

He knew that she was in no condition to go back to work and so he'd decided the entire team would get at least another full week of down time. He'd also decided that down time would be spent together. Between Daniel's disappearance and almost ascension (again) and Jacob's death, Jack just felt the need to keep everyone close.

He'd just gotten off the phone with General Hammond when Sam made her way into the kitchen.

"What time is it?" she asked through a yawn.

"Noon."

"Wow. And I still feel like I could sleep for a week." She rubbed her eyes and ran her hands through her hair.

He grinned up at her. She was still dressed in his jogging pants and sweatshirt but her bare feet had found their way into his slippers. 'Damn,' he thought to himself, 'I think I could get used to this.'

"Coffee, Sleeping Beauty?"

"Please," she replied grinning back unaware of the effect she was having on her CO.

She took a moment to look around the kitchen. The General was amazingly neat. Whether it be aide of his career or just his personality, she really wasn't sure but for some reason it always seemed to surprise her.

She watched him carefully as he made a fresh pot of coffee. It wasn't as if she'd never been here before, never woken up in this house, but for some reason this morning, she felt as if she were seeing him as if it were the first time. Silver-grey hair, broad muscular shoulders, toned back and...'Sam stop looking at your COs six'...he turned and she felt the blush creep up her neck and over her face.

Busted.

He just grinned wickedly at her, told her to sit, and turned back to the task at hand. Once the coffee had started to brew, he threw a bagel into the toaster. He then grabbed a small frying pan cooked up an egg, covered it with cheese, and proceeded to put both on the bagel.

Jack plated the sandwich, poured the coffee, and turned to place the plate and cup on the table. As he set the plate in front of her, he looked up into her eyes and smiled.

Sam thought that she would melt. She once again felt herself blushing as she took everything in.

So much had gone so wrong in recent months that she could hardly believe she was sitting here. She closed her eyes and sighed contentedly.

It made Jack chuckle.

He tried not to stare as she tucked into the meager meal he'd provided. However, he knew as he looked at her over his kitchen table that this is what life was meant to be. Because, as he'd watched her sleeping this morning, he couldn't help imagining Sunday mornings in bed with coffee and the crossword, or the two of them wrapped in his grandmother's quilt cuddling in front of the fireplace at the cabin, and yes he even let himself entertain the fancy of that little brunette with a head full of curls and a smile like her mother's jumping between them as they try to sleep in on a weekend. Waking up beside her this morning had just felt right.

'Dangerous Jack,' he thought briefly but then just as quickly, he shoved the thought aside. They'd spent so long playing by the rules and letting other people dictate just about every aspect of their working relationship and friendship. Letting procedure and protocol determine how much emotion was too much and how too much concern for the other's well being bordered on unprofessional.

It was time to put it all aside and let themselves be honest.

Jack had spoken with General Hammond about his upcoming transfer to Washington to take his current position as Hammond was moving to a more advisory position. And, just a week before Jacob's funeral, he had personally received the request from Area 51 for Sam to head up Research and Development. He still hadn't had the opportunity to speak with her about it and find out if it was something she truly wanted and he was unwilling to sign off on it until he knew for certain where she stood, where they both stood for that matter.

There no doubt would always be an enemy out there that the SGC would be called to the frontlines to fight and that meant that SG-1 would never truly get a break from fighting all of the big bads they meet through the Stargate. So, waiting was no longer an option.

Over the last year, with him in charge of the SGC, and Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c going it alone (well, going it without him), things had already changed and a new course had begun mapping itself out. His transfer to D.C. would seal the deal. The original quartet would be broken up forever and if Sam decided to take her transfer as well, he was certain that Daniel and Teal'c would follow suit and jump ship. For as much as they loved being a part of SG-1, Daniel was dying to get a stint in Atlantis and the Free Jaffa had been trying to get Teal'c to take on a bigger role in their new leadership.

Life as they knew it was about to be altered for all of them.

Unfortunately, that meant it was all up to Sam. If she decided to stay at the SGC it's doubtful that Daniel or Teal'c would leave. Their loyalties to her were too strong. They would never let her go it alone and abandon her to a new team they couldn't trust to watch her six. But, Jack hadn't really let himself dwell on this possibility because it left little room for he and Sam to discuss, let alone decide, anything "off the record."

He must have been lost in his thoughts for quite some time because when he looked up from his cup, he saw Sam looking at him strangely.

"Penny for them, Sir," she said quietly.

"Carter, we're not on duty, and we're not going to be for quite some time. Drop the 'Sir' and please call me 'Jack,' especially when you're wearing my clothes and eating breakfast at my kitchen table."

"Ok. So, Jack," she loved the way his name played across her lips and smiled as she again offered, "A penny for your thoughts."

"Oh, Carter, these thoughts are gonna cost a lot more than that," he replied still giving her an impish grin.

"Sam."

"What?"

"If I'm dropping the 'Sir' and calling you 'Jack,' you have to drop the 'Carter' and call me 'Sam.' Especially when I've spent the night in your bed and you've made me breakfast." She blushed again but couldn't help donning a smirk of her own.

"Sam it is then," he replied with a nod.

They sat in silence for a few minutes sipping their coffee. Sam glanced outside again and couldn't help standing and walking over to the sliding door that led out to the deck, the deck where yesterday they seemed to have reached an understanding.

Smiling, she took another drink from her mug and turned back to face Jack.

"Well?" she questioned.

He took a deep breath and started the conversation they'd been waiting eight years to have.

TBC