Sam smiled as she watched the puddle jumper disappear into the event horizon, Daniel whistled lowly next to her.

'Jack is going to be pissed.'

'Yeah, until I kill him.' Her face contorted as she stared at her own reflection in the glass, the fury that had been boiling in her since she heard of his last order.

'Sam...' Daniel's reflection turned to face her, one hand in the air making to move to her shoulder but he seemed to double guess the action as he made a fist and slowly lowered it.

'Daniel, he told us to leave him behind. He told me to leave him behind. He had the luxury of knowing that I couldn't stay. If and when he makes it home... It's not going to be pretty.' She turned as Landry ran up the stairs, Teal'c, Cam and Vala close behind.

'Colonel Carter, what is the best way to take out Atlantis?' She could feel everyone's eyes swivel between the General and Sam; she bit her lip and looked at him apologetically.

'It'd be a poor guess sir. The people to tell you that just left, and somehow when they return, I think Atlantis will be safe.' Behind Landry, Cam's jaw dropped at her blatant disregard for answers, Teal'c nodded approvingly and Vala gave her a huge thumbs up, not one for subtlety that girl, as a laugh escaped her and Landry glared at both women.

'The odds are not in their favour.'

'When are they ever sir? I can't help you, and I think you'll find that no one in the base will be to either.' She crossed her arms, lifting her shoulders in a half hearted shrug not caring in the slightest if she went down with Sheppard for refusal to comply with orders.

'Oh I should think not.' Daniel shrugged and as Landry looked at him, he pulled the blankest look he could. Coincidently, it just happened to be eerily similar to Jack's own. And suddenly her chest felt all too tight, her throat closed, she nodded and left the room as fast as she could manage without fleeing.

Sam made it as far as his old quarters, now Vala's oddly enough, before she drew in a haggard breath.

'Sam!' She turned and saw the slight woman sprint down the stairs, taking three at a time, turning at the waist and gesturing violently behind her.

'Well you clearly need to be here, so inebriation is not the answer. I think I might have it.'

Sam's face twisted in confusion as Vala smiled her customary wide smile then becoming slightly thoughtful.

'Inebriation comes after Sheppard and his lot save General Jack and then you can yell all you please at him. The louder and more passionate the better, first...' Sam found herself unable to process a single thought as she found herself being dragged along the corridors

'Really? Sparring?' Sam frowned as she stood in a pairs of sweats and her old tank top looking at the other woman holding the punching bag.

'Yup.' She popped out, bracing on the other side and indicating for her to start.

'Vent, get angry. You are angry and sad and all kinds of screwed up. Let it out. You can do the crying later, I have the boys out getting the supplies.'

Sam leaned to one side to get a good look at Vala as she smiled encouragingly at her and then down at her strapped hands, smiling to herself.

She squared up and started punching.

Sam would happily admit to anyone who cared to ask that Vala was bang on about the need to let it out. Each strike to the heavy bag, the impact radiating up her arm and the pull of wanting more was freeing.

What Sam didn't see was Vala's confused face; as a stream of profanities flowed out of Sam's mouth unbeknownst to the woman herself. Why Vala grasped the general concept of the ones she didn't understand, it was putting them together that was the problem.

'I'm pretty sure that's physically impossible... At least for his sake I hope so...' Sam blinked, pausing and looking at Vala who was holding the bag and thinking.

'What?'

'What?'

Two sets of eyebrows shot to hairlines and continued as the pair continued on as they were before.

Sam plopped to the ground once her energy levels gave out, chest heaving in exertion.

'What. Gave. You. This. Idea?' Her question was punctuated by her heavy breathing, and Vala sat down slowly next to her on the mat.

'Helped me a bit after Adria. Letting the anger out, just letting everything go and not caring about what is happening around you. In a bad situation you need it, you most certainly did. Helped me before, in the aftermath of Que'tesh; anger overwhelms other emotions, who need to let it out, so you can deal with all the other ones.'

Sam leaned on her forearms, unsure what to make of either Vala's confession of her scarily accurate observations.

'I know that you and General Jack aren't a typical pair, Daniel's hedging and Muscles veiled looks have taught me that, if you need to talk, I am a vault.'

'Why? You barely know me...'

'I trust you, and that's not easy for me, never has been.'

'If I talk to you, would you talk to me?'

'You'd listen?' The surprise in her voice caught Sam completely off guard, here was this woman offering to listen to her and not breathe a word of it and yet be flummoxed when someone else offered to do the same. She was beginning to see why Daniel was so drawn to this woman, so damaged inside but with such a giving heart it hurt to think about it.

Birds of a feather, flocking.

'Friendship goes both ways Vala, of course I would. But right now, I can't feel my fingers.' Sam collapsed back on the mat inelegantly as Vala laughed at her wiggling her fingers in front of her face.

'So you and General Jack? Complicated?'

'Ooooo you've no idea.'

'But I will.'

'You will.' Vala rubbed her arms as she mock glared at Sam, winking and giggling slightly, eliciting a chuckle.

A couple of days later Sam sat in the infirmary, legs crossed on the bed in front of her, tapping away loudly at her laptop, face set in irritation. Daniel and Teal'c were standing by the monitors and Vala was in between them watching Sam carefully. Sheppard and his team stood in another corner, Rodney blanching at the sight of Teal'c moving slightly behind Ronon. Ronon smacked him across the back of the head causing five heads to turn.

'So.'

'So.' Daniel mimicked his friend, eyes peeling away from McKay, turning a glare onto Jack who was perched in the bed trying to shift her legs and failing.

'How mad are you all?'

'Furious.' Daniel agreed, smiling tightly at him, eyes glaring daggers at Jack.

'It is Colonel Carter I would be concerned with.'

'Ah right.' Jack's eyebrows raised to his hairline and he swallowed loudly eyes skittering over to Sam and looking down at his feet.

'Hm.'

'Grovel.' Vala added to the stilted exchange patting him on the shoulder as she fixed a stern look at the bewildered man as she signalled the other to leave. Sheppard and Teyla exchanged a look as they watched the pair on and by the bed, pushing their teammates out after a second. A tense silence filled the room, only pierced by the occasional forced type of Sam's fingers.

'I'm not good at that.'

'Try.'

'Oh are we talking now?' The sarcastic retort seemed to fall out of his mouth despite his brains protests and he winced as she glared at him.

'Really? You order us to kill you, leave you behind, damning the consequences and now you're giving me attitude? If you want me to throttle you Jack, you should really just ask, right now I would be delighted to.'

'Sam.'

'No. I am mad, and I am going to stay like this for as long as I damn well please you ass.' She spoke quietly and calmly, closing the laptop and placing it to one side with slow care, deliberately.

'You told us to leave you. Told me to go.'

'How could you? If it had been me, you would've knocked Sheppard out before letting him go in your stead.'

'Carter, I thought I had no options.'

'The kill order? That was your option?'

'To protect Earth!'

'NOT TO GET YOURSELF BLOWN UP YOU SELFISH BASTARD!' She stood up, jostling his IV harshly as she moved, yelling as loudly as she liked. Vala was right about that, it was better to scream.

'Sam...'

'No, you do not get me to forgive you! No! You were going to leave, after everything just like that! You had a choice!'

'Not at the time! You know that!'

'It hurts. Every other time, I've been there, I've known what the situation was, this time I didn't.' All the panic that had been building up in her gut since she heard his voice telling them to destroy the base, kill him, was bubbling over.

'Now you know what it's like for me.' Oh. Well he had a very good point there. Damn it.

'You were supposed to be safe.'

'No one is safe Sam, not really.'

'Give a girl something to work with!'

'You've never been a false hope sort of woman.'

'Damn.'

'Forgive me?'

'No.'

'Maybe?'

'... No?'

'C'mere.'

Sam curled up onto the bed, both of them knew that she had hacked the security system a while ago and that no one would say a word.

'I still hate you.' She murmured into the crook of his neck as his arm wrapped around her, rubbing the top of her arm with his thumb.

'I know.'

'Try not to do it again.' Her voice was muffled by her burrowing her head into his neck, but the plain order was clear.

'As long as you do.' She didn't have to see his face to know that he was now smiling down at her head.

'I always do, I'm the smart one.'

'Funny.'

'I'm a hoot.'

She looked up at him, a lone tear slipping down her cheek, Jack's eyes followed its path as he reach up with his left hand to brush it away. He touched his forehead to hers, eyes sliding shut and taking a deep breath.

'I am sorry.'

'You better be.' She reached up and kissed him gently, relishing in him still being alive, though the kiss was running the risk of becoming anything but gentle as he nipped at her lower lip. Sam pulled back and tucked herself in closer to him, one hand on his chest counting the heart beats.

Proof he was still there with her.

Well I think this is it.

I think this is the final chapter of this story and it has been a blast.

Thank you to everyone who has followed, favourited and reviewed this story you've all been fantastic!

Thank you so so much!