Jack was whistling as he strolled down the hallway towards his meeting with General Hammond when the emergency claxons went off. He double timed it to the gate room to meet up with his team. An hour later he had kissed Sam goodbye and was making his way up the ramp to the gate. One of the teams was having trouble off world and needed SG-1 as back up.

: : : : : : : : : : : :

One week into the mission and things went from bad to worse. The gate had shut down and they were unable to communicate with any off-world teams. Sam was working around the clock to get it fixed but it seemed as though she was no closer to a solution.

Her only highlight was when Janet had pulled her into the infirmary and she had sat there with her laptop working while Janet removed her cast and fitted her with a small ankle brace.

Janet had forced her to take a two-hour nap and she hated stopping her work. It gave her time to miss Gracie, who she hadn't seen in four days, and Jack, who she hadn't seen in over a week. She wanted them both with her snuggled on the sofa watching some ridiculous Disney movie that Jack insisted Grace had to watch so that she experienced a 'normal' childhood. As far as Jack was concerned she was going to play in the mud and go fishing and get into all kinds of mischief with him. Just because her mother was the smartest person on the planet it didn't mean she was going to recite the times table for fun.

By the end of the second week Sam was walking almost normally, had gone home a few times to see Grace, slept in two-hour intervals and took breaks for physical therapy and the occasional meal. She was so close she could feel it. She had gotten telemetry working and almost cried that night when Jack was able to check in. He was a little banged up and looking forward to coming home.

Finally on day 19 Sam got the gate up and running. She hadn't slept in two days and desperately needed a shower but there was no way in hell she was moving from her spot in the control room until she saw Jack O'Neill walk through that puddle. As senior officer he would wait for everyone to get home safely before he went through. Finally she watched Daniel, Teal'c and then Chuck stumble through. She held her breath as she watched the love of her life limp down the ramp and shake General Hammond's hand. Immediately he looked up for her and smiled. She let out the breath she had been holding and smiled radiantly back at him.

She knew everyone missed their families and there were a few people lucky enough to have a significant other who worked in the mountain. General Hammond had allowed them all to congregate in one of the large meeting rooms to welcome everyone home. Being a senior staff member had its privileges and so Sam carefully made her way down the spiral staircase to meet Jack by the door to the gate room.

She had been watching where she was putting each foot, so as not to fall, and was taken by surprise when she was lifted off the last step and embraced. She knew those arms that firm chest and that unforgettable Jack O'Neill scent. She relaxed into him but then tried to pull back, "Jack you're hurt!"

"Don't care," he mumbled against her neck and then pulled back to drop a small kiss on her lips. They both knew that no matter how long he had been gone they needed to save their desired reunion for a more private location. He was the base 2IC and she was the Civilian Director of R & D, rank had its privileges but this was one of its drawbacks.

"I've missed you so much," she mumbled trying to hold back her tears. She was completely exhausted and an emotional mess so she laughed as the tears rolled down her cheeks.

He reverently wiped them away, "I know I am in desperate need of a shower and Janet is going to want to poke at me for at least an hour or two, but before I get dragged off I need to tell you something."

Sam blinked a few times. She had a feeling what it was because she had been thinking about it since the gate went down twelve days ago.

He reached back up and gently took her face in his palms, "I'm completely and hopelessly in love with you."

Sam's tears were now falling freely. "I'm in love with you too."

They shared gentle kiss and then held each other, oblivious to the rest of the SGC and the small celebrations taking place around them.

T.B.C.