A/N: Hi my lovelies, hope you've all been doing good since Wednesday! As usual, thanks to all readers/reviewers/followers/favourites, we're really glad to see you're enjoying the story; a tight hug to new and familiar names (in no particular order) LoneWolfOneill, K-9mom, dpdp, vcm and kimduran for their extra attention too! As always, big thanks to Demetra83 for letting me share her awesome work!

Without further ado, here's what you've all been waiting for, enjoy!

Chapter 11 – Confidences

Jack reached Sam's room, and found her awake, an upside-down book resting on her stomach, talking and laughing with Teal'c. He gave her door a two-fingered knock.

"Sir," Sam said, trying to sit upright in her bed.

"Carter, you're in the hospital, no saluting necessary. Teal'c, you'd better go have dinner and rest, you'll need all your strength to keep Carter company and entertain her tomorrow."

Teal'c stood up and bowed in Sam's direction before silently leaving the room.

"The bodyguard you found me is quite... unusual to say the least, Sir," Sam smiled.

"He's got the best qualifications for the job!"

"He has the serious duty to look after a weak amnesic woman."

"Amnesic woman maybe, but I wouldn't go so far as saying weak!" Jack burst out laughing.

"Why are you laughing, Sir?" Sam was puzzled.

"The words Carter and weak do not belong together in the same sentence... at all! It's... all wrong!"

Jack stepped towards her and half-sat on the edge of her bed. He took Sam's hand, which previously rested on top of the blanket alongside her body. She did not protest, although she was surprised, but his touch was quite pleasurable.

"You're the strongest woman I know, both physically and mentally. Nothing stops you, and that makes you a feared and fearless officer. To be fair, most of my men are apprehensive around you; Teal'c is here to protect them from you, not the contrary!"

Jack was honest about his opinion of her, Sam could see it in his eyes. She smiled at his words.

"You can't be serious, Sir."

"D'ya want me to call the last one who disrespected you?"

"Oh no, that's not necessary, but please, I'd like you to tell me about it... if you can."

Jack looked at her, and couldn't help but be compelled to grant her wish.

"Very well. You'd just finished sparring with Teal'c; obviously, you were sweaty and your top was clinging to your skin. You were walking the corridors from the gym to the women's locker room to have a shower and change, and two captains crossed your path: the newbie whistled at you, while the other discretely saluted you."

"Holy Hannah, don't tell me I decked him!"

"No, you gripped his arm and frog-marched him to my office; threw him into it was more like it. I'd never seen you like this, you nearly scared me."

Sam shook her head.

"And what did you do?"

"I ripped him a new one, punished him and made him go to a sexual harassment seminar."

"Well, it seems I'm good at making friends, aren't I?"

"Don't worry, everybody respects you here, especially because you don't let anyone walk all over you. Here, it's better to have a temper than none at all. You'd never have made it this far if for this cold determination of yours."

"Cold?"

"You're a brilliant scientist, your brain analyses things without worrying about the rest..."

"And that's why here I am, single and pregnant, on a hospital bed!" Sam wryly said.

"Who said you were single?" Jack smirked.

"Well, I don't have a wedding ring, and nobody knows who my baby's father is... it's quite strange don't you think?"

"Sam, I can promise you you are married and happy. Your husband is crazy about you but the doctors want your memories to come back on their own. I don't wanna confuse you with all this alright?"

Jack fought against kissing her smaller hand comfortably resting in his.

"Sir, can you tell me what happens here in this base?"

"We'll talk about it tomorrow," soothed Jack.

Sam dejectedly nodded, and tried to get off her bed.

"Hey, where d'ya think you're going?"

"Erm... to the ladies' room Sir?" an uncomfortable Sam replied.

Jack gripped the pole Sam's saline pouch hung from, and followed her to the bathroom. He let her do what she needed on her own, and helped her back into bed when she was done. She was surprised how caring this man was, just like Teal'c earlier.

"Sir, can you at least tell me where we are? I feel like we're locked in somewhere... there are no windows and it sure doesn't look like we're in Las Vegas."

"You know Vegas?"

"Yeah. Did I go there?"

"We'll discuss it some other time. Well, we are in a secret subterranean base in Colorado; it's actually an old disused missile silo. We conduct spatial scientific research projects."

"Spatial scientific research projects? That's really cool, I always wanted to be an astronaut!" Sam grinned.

Sam's words left Jack speechless.

"Did I say anything wrong?"

"No, I'm just surprised you remember that."

Sam giggled.

"We did shake on an agreement a few years ago, colonel."

Sam stopped right there, and apprehensively waited for Jack to continue.

"I said no giggling... it reminds me of the turkeys' cries when we wring their necks for Thanksgiving, so normally as per our accords, you weren't supposed to giggle any longer in my presence, and amnesia's not a valid excuse!"

Sam started laughing, as if it were the best joke she'd heard in years. Her headache came back with a vengeance however, so Jack decided to stop right there. He dimmed the lights and settled in an armchair he'd pulled alongside Sam's bed.

"You're not gonna sleep in this chair, are you, Sir?"

"Well, I could've slept on the floor but the tiles are way too cold. G'night, Sam."

"Sir, who's Jacob?" asked a sleepy-eyed Sam a few minutes later.

"I'll tell you tomorrow Carter, now sleep, it's an order!" Jack softly smiled.

A/N2: See? see? ain't that nice? no cliffies, twice in a row! and the longest chapter yet! *huge grin* anyway, hope you enjoyed the new SamJack goodness. Have a great weekend, and see you all next Wednesday! R&R please? Mwah xxxxx