A/N: Sorry for the delay on this - real life has been getting in the way. Glad some are still sticking with it! Anyhoo, I'm off on hols on a few days but will try and post the next chapter before I go. If not, enjoy this bit of squish and fluff. It didn't quite write itself as it was in my head, but alas.... :)
They had only been back in Colorado for two days before Teal'c had to head back to Dakara. Sam spent the past few days packing, finding herself over whelmed by the amount of junk and belongings that she had built up over the years. Apart from talking to Daniel about which restaurant they should head to that evening, she had spent most of the day surrounded by boxes and sticky tape. That was, until she heard a knock at the door.
"Hey!" Sam smiled at the man stood before her.
"Hey," Jack smiled back, "How's the packing going?"
Sam shrugged with one shoulder, standing back to let him in. "Glad you're here actually – I could do with a break! Fancy some coffee?"
Jack nodded and followed her into the kitchen.
"So how's your packing going?" Sam asked, pulling some mugs out of the dishwasher and boiling the kettle. Jack mimicked her action from earlier, causing a slow smile to form on Sam's lips. "That bad huh?"
"Let's just say that I needed a break too, "Jack sighed, throwing her a grin.
They fell into a comfortable silence until the kettle boiled and Sam placed two steaming mugs of coffee onto the kitchen table. She waited until Jack sat down opposite her before she spoke.
"Mark called last night..." she watched an eyebrow rise but Jack remained silent. "We had a big long chat about everything... and he, well he told me about the letter..."
"Oh?" Jack had put on his poker face and tried to appear nonchalant.
Sam ignored it and simply reached across the table and placed her hand over his. "Thank you."
Jack's eyes widened and he looked up from their joined hands to Sam's face. "For what?"
"For not freaking out..." Sam watched his eyes soften a bit, he was still studying her, unsure of where this conversation was going. She had to smile at that. "Dad was pretty..." She scrunched up her nose and tried to think of an appropriate word, "Descriptive – I always thought we were very discrete with everything but apparently not."
She felt Jack's fingers stroke hers, "Yeah," He sighed, "I thought the same but..." He shrugged and Sam saw his lips twitch up into a small smile.
"He was right, you know?" Sam squeezed his hand and stared right into his eyes. "About how I feel? What he said was true... I just didn't ever want to admit it to myself before..."
Jack's eyes grew wide again and Sam couldn't help the grin that burst onto her face. She leaned over and took his chin in her hand. She placed a brief kiss on his lips before pulling back and sitting back down, her grin growing wider and lighting up her eyes. She watched a myriad of emotions play out across his face, before she squeezed his hand and let go. Picking up their empty mugs, she got up from her seat and turned around, rinsing them out in the sink.
She could hear him clearing his throat, imagining the look on his face as he spoke, "So, do you want a hand with those boxes?" Jack asked.
Sam turned around just as he came to stand behind her. She found herself pleasantly trapped between the worktop and Jack, and watched as a smirk formed on his face. "I think I have plenty of things that you can help me with..."
"I do too you know..." He said, his expression suddenly turning serious, his eyes burning into hers. "Feel the same," he added, clarifying his thoughts and allowing his smile to reappear. "I know I'm not great about talking about 'feelings' but..." He shrugged, "I just wanted you to know..."
Sam smiled, her hands seeking his and holding tightly. "I do," she whispered, "I do..."
-0-
Moments later and Sam dragged Jack upstairs to help with her packing.
"I thought that with all the moving you did as a kid, that you'd be used to 'packing light' and not acquiring such...junk..." Jack called out across the room. He was crouching over a box full of god knows what, picking up each item and studying it rather than actually helping and putting things away. If Sam was honest, she knew that he wouldn't be much help and would use the situation as an excuse to either spend time with her or get to see another side of her by looking through her things without feeling guilty. What did surprise her was her willingness to let it happen. She found herself glancing at him every few minutes, keen to see his reaction to every old toy or book he found.
"What are you calling junk?" She asked, getting up from her position on the floor and walking over to where Jack sat. She sat on the bed behind him, peering into the box over his shoulder. "Oh, that's my Major Matt Mason collection!"
Jack looked up at her, one eyebrow raise and a smirk on his lips. "Collection?"
Sam simply shrugged. "I loved them when I was a kid, thought I'd keep them... you know..."
"In case they'd be worth something?" Jack tried to keep the incredulity out of his voice.
"No..." Sam felt a wave on embarrassment wash over her. "Actually I thought, if sometime in the future, I'd have children..." She shrugged again and tried to avoid his eyes. "I thought it would be a nice thing to pass on..."
Jack, meanwhile simply stared at her for a moment. The figure in his hand dropped back into the box and he slowly rose to his feet. Standing mere inches in front of her own feet, he reached down and pulled her up, encasing her within his arms. Sam daren't make a sound as he merely paused, his face inches from her own, before he leaned down to kiss her.
Some breathless moments later, he pulled back and Sam felt him studying her again. "What was that for?" She whispered, smiling up at him and trying to control her breathing.
"For allowing me to see 'Sam'..."
"In that case," Sam grinned and pulled his lips back to hers.
This time she took it slow, allowing them both time to explore and implore; their hands roaming all over each other subconsciously. At some point Sam felt herself fall backwards onto the bed, Jack coming with her, their mouths still locked and bodies pressed together. Moments later she felt their lips part, her top flying off her head and landing somewhere across the room. She wasn't sure under who's doing it was, but mere seconds later Jack's shirt had joined hers.
"You sure?" She heard him whisper, as soft slow kisses graced her collarbone.
Sam didn't say anything, merely stared into his eyes. A mixture of love, desire and laughter danced in those brown pools of his and she nodded, grinning up at him, and willing her eyes not to water.
He must have seen it anyway, for he paused, looking down at her. "It's my side arm, I swear..."
And when the laughter left her lips, he captured them again, his eyebrows wagging suggestively as he did so.