Author's Note- I just wanted to say thanks again all of you who are reading this. (as well as reviewing!) You guys are the wind beneath my pencil.

Set after The Torment of Tantalus

Precious

For once Colonel Jack O'Neill's day hadn't been so bad. Aside from the fact that his team was almost stranded on a planet, his 2IC was almost crushed to death and he had barely made it back through the stargate. He was trying to be a little bit positive, after all they had found Catherine Langford's former Fiancé, Ernest Littlefield, alive and well. That was definitely something to be optimistic about.

So here they were at Catherine's home trying to catch Ernest up on what had happened in the past 50 years. Daniel was catching him up on the history that had happened, Carter was catching him up on the technological advances and he was catching him up on…the new kinds of beer.

"We've made many technological advantages over the years. This" She said indicating the computer on the desk "went from being the size of a room to this size in a few decades." Her eyes lighting up as she said it.

Jack smirked at his second in command. 'She is such a scientist.' He thought to himself. He never would have thought he'd say it but he actually was starting to like scientists, especially this pretty blonde kick butt second in command of his. 'If she hadn't been under my command…' Jack thought absently. No, best not to think of stuff like that. She was and that wasn't about to change.

He mind went absently to what had happened on the planet with Sam. She had been standing right next to the DHD when it had fallen in the sea. He had quickly grabbed her by the vest and they had rolled down the stairs. If he hadn't been right there next to her she would have ended up with the DHD or crushed by the rocks that had fallen overhead. And this time there would have been no Nox to revive her. Her very important life would have been snuffed out just like that and Jack would have been helpless to do anything about it. Jack's semi good mood was gone in an instant. As much as he knew she could take care of herself, something inside of him wanted to protect her.

Jack glanced across the room as she chatted with Catherine. Sam had such a big heart but she was a tough soldier as well. And she was way smarter then he was. She had so much going for her and all that could have been taken away, not by enemy fire, but from sheer misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

~*~*~*~

Sam laughed at what Catherine had said and looked up, and her eyes collided with her CO's. He was staring at her with a serious look in them, that for a moment Sam was afraid she had done something she shouldn't have.

Sam remembered the fear that she had felt when Jack and Daniel almost didn't make it back from the planet. Luckily they had made it back just in time but a few seconds later and they'd both be dead. As much as Sam loved her job, she really hated the dangerous situations that they were put in, and that a day might come when they weren't so lucky and something bad did happen and she wasn't sure if she'd be able to handle it. SG-1 was so close, like a family and if something happened to any of them she'd be crushed. And if something happened to Jack…Sam knew she'd feel far more then the lose of a CO.

Suddenly Jack got off the chair that he'd been sitting on and came over to her.

Sam swallowed, she was nervous. 'You can give lectures in front of a room full of teenagers you get nervous over your CO…nice.' She though sarcastically. They normally had these team bonding things but today she had chosen to wear a skirt instead of her normal jeans and she knew why she had chosen it, but she really didn't want to think about it.

"Hello Jack, you looked so alone over there by yourself." Catherine said to him.

"Ah yes well I'm a loner as you know Catherine." Jack said pulling his make-woman-melt-into-a-puddle-on-the-ground-grin. "But I've decided that since Daniel is over there talking about wars that I'd come over here to you two lovely ladies." His eyes resting on Sam for a moment.

Oh yeah Sam was definitely a puddle on the floor.

"Oh stop it. You know your charm doesn't work on me." Catherine smiling at him.

"Ah yes but it does work on Sam." He said giving Sam a wink.

Sam blushed she had no idea she was so transparent.

"Oh you shush. Leave Sam alone." As she wrapped her arm around her shoulder.

"Yes Ma'am" He said as he leaned against the arm of the loveseat that Sam and Catherine were sitting on.

"So Sam are you dating anyone?" Catherina asked her.

"Oh uh no." She said.

"Oh no one strikes your fancy…"

"Well…" Sam said before she could stop herself.

"Oh come now Sam you have to tell an old lady about it."

'Oh yeah I'm going to tell you that I have a crush on my CO who is sitting right next to me…right.' She thought to herself.

"He's…umm a nice guy and that's it." Sam said awkwardly knowing Catherine wouldn't give up, she hadn't given up on the Stargate project, she wasn't a quitter.

"Come now Sam give me more then that."

"It's…complicated Catherine. And the feeling only goes one way." At least she was being honest.

"I find that hard to believe." Jack said next to her. "And if he doesn't feel the same way then he's crazy." He said looking at the beer in his hand.

There was a moment of silence. "Thanks sir." Sam said smiling at him.

~*~*~*~

"Anytime Sam." He said honestly.

'So Carter likes someone…wonder if it's someone at work…Daniel maybe?' Jack thought to himself.

Daniel made sense he was a scientist like her. And they seemed to have a bond from the beginning. Yeah that made a lot of sense, but Jack dismissed that thought, she only showed sisterly affection towards Daniel. Jack couldn't help feeling a pang though at her mention of liking someone. Oh sure she could like anyone she wanted. 'Your Jealous' Jack thought. 'Your Jealous that some guy out there has this precious woman's affection and you can never have it.'

Yeah Jack was jealous all right. But the jealousy wouldn't help him, so like he did with so many of his emotions, he packed them away and tried to forget about it.

"How did you an Ernest meet?" Sam asked breaking the rift between conversations.

"Oh well lets see…" Catherine said with fond remembrance.

~*~*~*~

Each of these two people were precious to the other and each one of them was clueless to it. They made up part of a family but it went beyond that. What they didn't know was that if something happened to the one the other would experience a great lose, and they would never be the same.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Note- Thanks for reading and as always if you liked it let me know!