A/N: Hi people :o) So here is the next cute chapter for you all… still dealing with a bit of tension between them but should be just better and better. And the change of rating could have waited, yeah… well, doesn't matter now :o)

Again thanks for the reviews and hits and alerts :o) I'm grateful for you guys! :o)

And as Alia pointed out – there is the link missing between the beginning of the story and this part 'two years later'. I know. Well actually the link is there and more will appear and in the end everything will fall into place perfectly, but frankly – I completely forgot about it while writing the last chapter and I'm sorry about it. But – be patient and careful and you will see it there and in the end everything will make sense :o)

LOVELY LITTLE LADYBUG – CHAPTER 10

The morning found them snuggled together. Jack was spooning behind Sam, holding her close to his body. There was no space between them. They managed to shift under the blanket and now they were separated just by their clothes.

The sun was shining behind the window. The day seemed to be warm and comfortable enough to get up. It was around nine o'clock. Normally they wouldn't sleep till nine, their inner clocks wouldn't allow it. But after last night? They deserved the rest. And the good thing was that they haven't been disturbed by nightmares during the night. That could be considered as a good sign.

Jack had one of his arms stretched across the pillows and Sam was actually using it as her pillow. He had his other hand wrapped around her stomach, holding her hand there. Their legs were tangled together. It felt natural.

Jack woke up first. He didn't want to move at all though. His first thought was to get up and disappear but it all vanished the moment he realized who was the woman in his bed, securely wrapped in his arms. It was Sam. He started to caress her stomach under her t-shirt, not entirely sure why he was doing that. He was a bit afraid of what would happen next. But he would be damned if he wouldn't enjoy these few moments of complete peace.

Sam woke up soon after him. She could feel his hand and it felt way too good. She was enjoying the feeling of his fingers on her skin. She tried to move back a bit to be even closer to him. It was not really possible though.

Their minds were not really working properly during that time. They were clouded with emotions and thoughts of impossible. When Sam turned her head slightly to take a look at him, she caught the spark that was in his eyes. He had his guards down and she could see right into his soul. And she didn't even have time to realize that her guards have been down as well. No defenses… just pure open hearts.

Sam smiled at him and that was the moment he lost it. He moved his head and kissed her. The first touch of their lips was indescribable. It was just amazing, sparkles in the air and everything. They probably even stopped breathing for a moment, both too shocked and too absorbed by the sudden change in their situation.

Jack realized what he had done and he wanted to move away but she didn't let him. She turned in his arms suddenly, her instincts and training kicking in from somewhere deep within. And she kissed him back.

His hand gripped her waist and the other one went to her hair. She was almost lying on him and couldn't mind less. He felt her open to him and then the tip of her tongue darted out to taste his lips. The contact could last a second, maybe less, and yet it was all he needed to stop thinking at all.

He didn't even try to roll them over. He was enjoying the good-morning kiss the way it was.

He couldn't tell how long has it lasted. But they needed to breathe again. She was laying on him, looking down into his eyes. And then she realized what just happened.

She rolled away from him and took some distance swiftly. She was afraid that she just screwed everything up again. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her brain just refused to work!

"Sam… look at me."

And she did it. She turned to him and looked into his eyes. No more running away… no more pushing away. If anything, his soft tone was an indication.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… it just…"

"Well we both participated if I remember it correctly."

She smiled at him with her face blushing, lips being swollen from the kissing. He knew that they should be careful, that they shouldn't be just carried away like this, not yet. But the morning was too precious to be destroyed.

He reached for her, and brought her face closer to his.

"Don't apologize. Not for this…"

And he moved closer to her. She snuggled to him once again, sighing in relieve. It felt right to be held…

After some time passed they've become calm again. Just content while lying there, enjoying the simple presence of each other. But they couldn't stay there in the bed and pretend that everything was okay. Besides they were both hungry.

"I could be lying like this forever…"

"You, Jack? You'd get bored even sooner than me…"

And he laughed. She was able to tease him a bit! And it was nice. Maybe they had the chance after all. They just had to take it slowly… he was not willing to make the same mistakes again. Well, never ever again. But still something in him doubted their abilities to make the relationship work.

"Sam I don't know if we can fix it."

"We don't have to."

"Huh?"

"I mean that we can just learn from what happened and start over, what do you think?"

He was supposed to think long and hard, he knew. He was supposed to take his time. But suddenly everything in him understood and he just whispered 'yes' into her hair. They would make it work… or most probably die while trying to do so. But where was the point of living while suffering and being lonely anyway?

"It's gonna be tough…"

"I know. But I managed to work with you for years, Carter. Nothing can be more difficult than having you and Daniel on one team."

She smacked his chest playfully. That was mean!

"Okay okay, I'm sorry… "

"You better be…"

She was smiling at him, feeling confident enough to joke around him.

"If we take it slowly, baby steps and everything… We might have a chance. But I cannot promise you anything. Not anymore."

"Jack…"

It was almost unreal. She smiled at him and bit the inside of her cheek.

"I really really want to kiss you right now."

"Then do it…"

"You have to behave… I'm just a guy after all and having you here in my bed can be tempting..."

And she laughed again, her chest filled with love and happiness, unsure of the future but no longer afraid. She nodded and promised to behave. He was not the only one that didn't want to lose their slowly appearing second chance.

And he kissed her. It was light and brief, like a touch of a butterfly. But it meant more than the first kiss. It meant that there was still hope. And that was the only thing they truly needed. Hope.

Resting his forehead on hers, he smiled at her. He was actually grinning. He knew it would take time and lots of efforts but he was willing to try. And God should help him…

"You hungry?"

"God, yes… but if you tell me there's nothing but beer and bacon in your fridge…"

"Actually… nope."

She looked curious then.

"You mean that you have decent human food in your fridge and house?"

"More or less…"

"Jack O'Neill, always full of surprises."

His features suddenly changed. She noticed of course. And she knew that she should be quiet and wait for him to say something. He was sitting on the bed, looking at the wall ahead of him.

When she walked around the bed he reached for her hand. So she walked to his side and stood right in front of him. He took both of her hands into his.

"Being honest, right?"

"Jack? What's going on?"

He took a deep breath. God knew he needed it.

"I have decent human food in my house because you changed me. So there is fruit and lots of vegetable and oatmeal and some cereals… some of your eating habits sort of grew on me… I still can have cake for breakfast and survive it though…"

She had to laugh a bit. Leave it to him to make even the most serious confession sound like a joke. She knew it was hard for him to share that. It was just a little piece of him offered to her as a sign of trying. She stepped closer and kissed him into his hair.

"Thank you…"

And they both knew that there was no need for saying anything else. This was enough.

"I'm gonna take a shower, okay?"

"Sure."

And she walked into his bathroom. When she closed the door she almost fainted. She had to sit down for a moment. She hasn't felt like that for ages.

He plopped back down onto his bed. This was crazy. Nobody would ever believe him… After the breaking-up nobody thought they would be able to stand in the same room, not to mention talk. And here she was, taking shower in his bathroom after sleeping in his bed, in his arms.

Daniel would jump three feet high and grin like an idiot with his 'I knew you had it in you guys' look. Jack knew that their friends were affected by their behavior, Janet, Daniel and Cassie, even old George and not to mention Jacob.

They should better behave this time, take things slowly and be careful because those people could easily kill them otherwise. And he wouldn't be surprised…

Life could be pretty strange sometimes. But he was not complaining. Not now, not about this. It would be damn difficult to make it work. But he was willing to try. And he had hope. Which was more than he had during the last six months.

Sam was in his bathroom and she couldn't believe her eyes. She opened the cabinet under the sink and she found a box full of things. Her things. There was her shampoo and shower gel, her toothbrush and a new one as well, her favorite tooth-paste, comb. And he also kept her favorite towel. She was choking back tears and emotions. She didn't expect this…

When she opened the other cabinet she found even more surprises. She used to have a set of spare clothes over at his place. She thought that she has retrieved everything after ending the relationship. But she was obviously mistaken. She had some underwear there, jeans and a t-shirt, even shoes.

She had to remind herself to get the hell up from the ground and take the shower. There would be time for being all emotional and moved later.

Besides his shirt was hanging in her wardrobe… not to mention some of his t-shirts being folded in between her sleeping ones, kept safe and cherished. Janet used to tease her a lot about that…

She took the shower and it helped to sooth her stressed muscles. But honestly she has never felt good like this. It was like everything was making sense again. She had a reason why to live again. And that was something pretty amazing.

Jack went to the kitchen and got everything ready. He just put all the food on the counter to let her decide about the breakfast. He still knew how to be a gentleman after all.

She emerged from the bathroom, dressed in her own clothes. So she found them… but she looked happy. They didn't fit as well as they used to but still she looked comfy. She couldn't resist the temptation and kissed him briefly again on her way to the kitchen. Just one of those quick kisses of a lazy morning. But they liked it. It was full of unspoken promises.

Jack went to the bathroom and almost fainted. His nostrils were filled with her scent. Her shampoo and shower gel, it was all there. She put them away after using them, he couldn't see them anywhere… but still he could smell them. Was she trying to kill him?

Well no… he knew that she was just surprised by finding them there… hopefully she wouldn't think anything crazy… like that he was saving them for the special occasion of her coming back home where she belonged. And actually, after the first month of separation he has forgotten about them. He put them aside for a reason… but he couldn't make himself to throw them away. That would be just wrong.

Sam was amazed in the kitchen.

He really had fresh fruit and cereals there, milk and tea, juice and even yoghurts. But she was surprised by something else. There on his window there were plants. She gave them to him when they started to… sleep together. She had to admit to herself that it was not a real relationship anyway… but it was helping them to go on in the beginning.

He kept those plants. And the pots. They were green and yellow with small ladybugs on them. It made her smile and she felt something warm in her veins.

When Jack came to the kitchen, dressed only in jeans, his t-shirt in his hand, he saw her standing there, humming softly some melody, cutting the apples.

He came to her and sneaked his arms around her. At first she tensed but then she realized what was happening and he could feel her relax completely. He kissed her neck. She leaned back into his chest, it felt just amazing to be held like this. Could the morning get any better? And why didn't he put on his t-shirt before coming this close to her? She could feel her body responding to his proximity... he could be such a tease sometimes...

"You kept the plants…"

"Sure I did. You made me name them so they are part of the family now."

And she laughed at him.

"So the Snowflower is really named Teal'c?"

"Yes it is … see it's always strong and it also takes care of the other ones."

"How so?"

"Sometimes I forget to water them… and you can tell by the way Teal'c leaves fell. So when I know Teal'c is thirsty, it means the other ones are thirsty as well."

They both were enjoying this conversation. She was making their breakfast and he was nuzzling her. She didn't know why he started to display his affection but she didn't mind. She understood that she should be grateful for every single moment and not expect anything… just enjoy the life right there. And she was happy. He could still make her laugh…

"You kept the pots."

"Yes, I did… But you never told me why ladybugs."

"They were my mother's favorite. She had them on the dishes and on the pots, on her hair bands and on her summer dress. We used to be sitting in the garden or in the parks and trying to find ladybugs. She knew songs and verses about ladybugs."

"She sounds like a really cheerful mom…"

"We had our bright moments, yeah…"

He could only guess the story behind it. Being in army family, moving around a lot... He decided to let it go for now and get back to the ladybugs.

"So you like ladybugs."

"Yes, I do. You know, when we had to move because of dad, nothing stayed the same. Nothing but the ladybugs on our dishes and my mother's dress."

She closed her eyes. It was a bit painful to share this memory. It was something she held as a private secret. But with Jack she could talk about her mom and don't feel guilty or … hurt too much. He could understand.

Jack knew that this was another piece of information offered to him as an ice-breaker. She was being nice to him, sharing her past and memories of her mom. And he was grateful.

She put her hands on top of his resting on her body. He had her wrapped in his arms. He was inhaling the scent of her shampoo. It felt like heaven. He could never say what was in that thing she was using to wash her hair, but the scent was intoxicating. She put her head onto his shoulder to give him more space for his lazy kisses.

They both could still feel the fear and pain, guilt and betrayal somewhere deep… But more and more they were willing to admit that there was nothing more they would want than the second chance.

"Jack…?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't let me push you away again."

"Sam…"

She sensed the change in him. She held onto his hands because she could feel him trying to move away. She didn't want him to go though.

"Please. Always try to make me stay… I'm not saying that I will try to push you away. But you know that old habits die hard… and there might be time when I'm gonna try to push you away or to make you push me away. Don't let me do that."

"Do you know what you're asking?"

"Just promise you will always try to fight for us, okay? Don't give up on us only because of my stubbornness or anything like that."

"It has to work both ways…"

"Huh?"

"Promise me you will always try to stay… you will always try to make it work… Promise me you will always try not to push me away."

She turned in his arms to hug him properly. And when he kissed her hair again and locked his arms firmly around her, she understood. They just promised each other that they would try to make this work.

Could she ask for more? Hardly.

After sharing another sweet and more or less modest kiss, they had their breakfast.

They enjoyed the lazy morning, talking about Cassie and their friends, about Daniel's latest mission and about Janet's boyfriend. They talked a bit about Jacob. But mostly they were talking about Teal'c and things they experienced together. Everything felt right and comfortable, no tension, no angsty moments… just few stolen touches and daring looks.

They agreed on taking a walk through the city just because they could. And they would stop by for a lunch on their way back.

They didn't hold hands and they didn't kiss out in the public. But that has always been an issue between them. They were simply both too private to do anything like that. So now they were walking like two friends, enjoying the sun and rather warm day together.

They stopped for lunch and enjoyed every second of it. No awkward moments, nothing. Well when Sam tried to steal some his fries, he was surprised, yeah. But they were both at easy, happy and content so he just teased her about it and made few jokes. She could laugh at his jokes again. Things felt like being falling into the right places suddenly.

They couldn't remember the last day they were laughing this much.

They walked to her place slowly, enjoying every single step.

"Do you think it will be okay on the base?"

"You worried, Carter?"

"A bit… I mean we hadn't been on exactly friendly terms recently…"

"As I said earlier, baby steps… We have to take it one step at a time."

"What do you mean by that?"

"That I will stop by your lab to drag you out for lunch and jell-o… we can just eat or talk or whatever... and the base can be our safe ground."

"And so we can slowly get used to being around each other again."

"Yeah…"

"Good idea."

"I have my moments."

She gave him her mega-watt smile and his heart skipped a beat.

They were right in front of her house by that time. She opened the door, thank God she has taken her keys along.

"It will take time, lots of time…"

"We both can be patient when it's worth the waiting…"

"And we are?"

"Worth it?"

She nodded.

He could tell that she was still unsure. Well he was in no better shape. But his protective instincts kicked in. He took her head into his hands, caressing her cheeks with his thumbs.

"Hell yeah."

And it made her laugh again. He rested his forehead on hers and they closed their eyes.

"Do you have plans for Friday evening?"

"No, I don't… why?"

"Because I would like to take you out."

"Are you asking me for a date?"

"Yeah. I am."

And instead of replying, she kissed him again. It was sweet and cute, filled with love, yet simple. He was grinning at her.

"That's a yes I hope."

"Sure it is."

And after saying their goodbyes, he turned around and walked away. She realized that she left her car over at his place after several hours. But then she looked out and her truck was parked in front of her house. She checked her mailbox and for sure, her keys were there. Could a girl ask for more?

Jack brought the car over and took a run back home. God knew he could use the exercise again. Besides if he wanted to charm the woman, he should get back into shape.

Little he knew that Sam was thinking exactly the same. She should start working out again… she could use some training...

At first she wanted to call Janet and tell her the news… but she realized that she wanted to keep this for herself for now. She had to accept it and process it first. Besides Jack would be taking her for lunch on the base… the grapevine would work for sure and soon the whole base would know about the two of them not being in the silent war anymore.

Life suddenly looked much better.

A/N: So what do you think? :o) Well more cuteness to come with chapter 11 :o) And most probably even in chapter 12 :o) Lots of things to take care of – Sam, Jack, Janet, Daniel… the base… ;o) I have some surprises in my sleeve for you :o)

And the plants – Snowflower aka Spathiphyllum floribundum is a real plant and I love it :o) I have it in happy pots (colorful with small flowers and... ladybugs :oD )