Chapter 15: Home, at last

It had taken the better part of a day but the Asgard had got Sam and Jack back to Earth in one piece. Sam's leg had been attended to and the journey afforded them both time to rest. For once, their return trip went without incident.

The planet, they had been left on, had not been uninhabited after all, as Sam and Jack's last evening had shown. Villages and settlements had been left abandoned when disease and environmental catastrophes hit. The group that had attacked the Hidden that night had travelled a long way to reach the crater. That was all that Thor knew. What had led that group to the crater that night, Sam and Jack would never know. They could only hope that they had succeeded in their fight against the Hidden.

As for the Asgard's fight with the Hidden: Thor had given few details, the taciturn being that he was. It had seemed that Sam and Jack's help had been invaluable and, although it had come at the cost of many lives and ships, the Asgard had managed to put a stop to the onslaught. At least for now. Thor had taken command of a different ship, after his had self-destructed, and there was a calm in the universe. They all knew it would be temporary, but it was a nice reprieve, nonetheless.

Earth had been a welcome sight once the ship had reached their solar system. The relief of coming home was one that never got old. Although, this time there was a tinge of sorrow. A sense of foreboding. Being back in Stargate Command, under the eye of superiors and subordinates alike, brought a scrutiny that set Sam's teeth on edge. No one could possibly know what had happened on that planet and yet it felt as if every set of eyes were upon them. It made them both nervous.

Debriefings were held, reports written. They stuck to the facts. Their exploration, the fire fights, the injuries. Nothing about their feelings. Nothing about their night together. It wasn't until the forms and recordings were filed away that they both felt able to breathe again. Nothing had been suspected. Nothing accused. Their jobs and careers were safe. They were safe.

For a while, they both went on with life as normal. The odd bit of banter here. The odd look there. Always playing with fire on the edge of what was allowed, but never quite crossing that line. There was a gap between them filled with the known and unknown. A tumultuous expanse of longing and love. Of touches remembered and embraces desired. Memories of those nights on that planet kept them both awake at night. Both wishing they were in each other's arms, and not alone in cold, empty beds.

It was torture: finally knowing what it could feel like but being forced apart by their jobs, their dreams having so briefly turned to reality. But neither would change it. Neither regretted it. Their souls called out to each other. Sirens in the dark of each cold, clear night. Relief sought but only found by their own hands, muffled moans calling for the other.

It was on one of those nights that Jack found himself wandering the halls of the SGC. Corridors all alike, many would get lost, but Jack knew them like the back of his hand. So often he'd walked the same route around the complex that he didn't even have to think as his feet propelled him towards Sam's lab and office. Slowing, as he approached, he ruffled one hand through his hair before leaning against the doorframe, not at all surprised to see Sam still awake and working.

"Can't sleep?" Jack called out, without knocking or otherwise announcing his entrance.

"Wha…? Oh, Sir," Sam responded as she was startled out of her concentration, soon beaming as her eyes fell upon Jack. "Just catching up. You know how it is."

"Uh huh," Jack murmured, not believing a word of it. He knew Sam too well to not know that work was her go to distraction. A puzzle, an investigation, were the perfect tools to distract her mind from whatever worry that week had brought her. Jack knew what it was that was driving her to distraction this week. It was the same reason he found himself wandering the halls in the middle of the night.

Looking over his shoulder at the empty corridor behind him, Jack made sure no one was watching before stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. He sidled over to the table in the centre of the room and picked up one and then another object, neither things he knew anything about.

"Can I help you, Sir?" Sam was doing her best to keep to the unspoken rule she had promised herself. What had happened on the planet had been wonderful, but she knew it couldn't last here. Sam did wonder, however, if Jack had other ideas.

"Just thinkin'" Jack murmured again, almost as if stuck in his thoughts, off in his own little world.

"Oh?" Sam asked, putting down the tools she had been working with so she could give Jack her full attention, just as he rounded the table.

Jack stopped a couple of feet away from Sam and made himself look up and into her eyes.

"About the planet … what happened."

"Oh," Sam said again, quieter this time as a slight blush suffused her cheeks and realisation made her heart thump in her chest.

"Carter," Jack started but stopped with a sudden huff. He was not good at this.

"Sam," he started again, his hand reaching out to where one of Sam's lay on the tabletop. One finger drifted over her knuckles and he smiled at the good memories of their time on that planet. "I want more than just one night on a stinking, hostile planet."

There, he'd said it out loud.

Sam's eyes widened and she looked over her shoulder, half expecting someone to be there. Someone to catch them and learn of their feelings. Letting out a shaky breath, Sam turned back and gave a tentative smile.

"I do too. More than anything. I … I just don't see how."

"I know. It's difficult. But there might be a way. We could try and find a way."

"How?"

"I don't know right now. Something to think about," Jack frowned and shrugged. "I couldn't sleep without telling you. Didn't want you to think I'd forgotten. Or didn't care."

"It's all I've been able to think about."

"I can tell," Jack smirked as he picked up a doodad from in front of Sam and pretended to examine it.

"I hope I haven't been so see-through to everyone else."

"No. I don't think so. I just know you, Carter. Know how you think."

A calm silence enveloped the room for a few minutes, save for the ticking of a clock on the wall. They couldn't kiss here or touch in any way that wasn't normal for team-mates – the CCTV would catch up with them. But they could stand in a companionable quiet, comforted by the knowledge that they both felt the same.

"We've both got some vacation time coming up." Sam said with an unspoken suggestion.

The pair had been offered time off after what had happened and, unusually, they had both agreed to it.

"Mmm," Jack hummed as an idea came into his mind. They might not be able to talk or be together on base but away from the base, there was a chance.

"Fancy going fishing?" he asked, knowing that Sam would know that he meant his cabin by the lake. The lake that had no fish. It was secluded and safe, as far as either of them knew.

Sam brightened up instantly. Back straightening and a beaming grin appearing on her face.

"Fishing sounds great. I'll bring some beer."

"Sounds like a great week, already," Jack chuckled. "See you there, then."

"Till then," Sam agreed as she watched Jack turn away from her and walk back to the door.

"And Carter, go to bed. Don't make me have to make that an order," Jack said although it was with less authority than usual.

"I won't be long, sir."

The door opened with a soft creak and Jack was soon back in the corridor. With one quick, informal salute, Jack started to make his way back to his room where he found sleep came easier to him. It was a sleep filled with dreams and possibilities of what was to come.

Neither could stop themselves from counting down the days to their break away. It was with great joy that they signed themselves out of Stargate Command and made their ways, separately, to the log cabin.

Jack arrived first and got to work making sure everything was in order. More firewood was needed and one of the fuses had blown but all in all it was in good condition.

Sam had stopped at home first before making her way, via a store, to the cabin, not needing a map or GPS to help her there. It wasn't unheard of for the team to spend time there. That was all this was, to anyone who asked. Their achievements had afforded them a little privacy and so it wasn't questioned, much to the relief of them both.

Pulling up and parking next to Jack's car, Sam grabbed her bag and the case of beer she'd promised before heading over to the cabin door. It wasn't the steak dinner they'd talked about only a couple of weeks before. This was better. This was exactly what Sam had dreamt of.

Opening the door, before Sam had chance to knock, Jack grinned before taking the beer off Sam and all but pulled her into the cabin.

Bags were dropped, abandoned without care, as they found they only had eyes for each other. There, in that place, their place, the relief they felt at being alone was soon replaced by an intense longing for each other. A longing they could now act upon.

Hearts pounding, breathing heavy, blood thrumming through veins.

One step.

Two steps.

Arms wrapped around torsos and shoulders as their lips came together in a heated kiss. Their bodies closed the last, small gap completely as they finally let themselves give in to their feelings. Into their love.

There was much to discuss. Much to figure out. But in that moment, the pair had only one act on their minds.

A few hours later, sated for a while, the pair found themselves laid, in a pile of sheets and limbs, on the bed – staring out towards the fireplace. The embers of the fire needed tending to, but neither could bring themselves to move, just yet.

"Everything's going to be ok, Sam," Jack murmured. He might not know for certain; it was just something he felt. A gut instinct that it would all work out in the end.

"Yes, sir," Sam chuckled, curling into his side, at ease at last.

N.B.

This chapter brings this story to a close.

Thank you so much for everyone who stayed with this and came back to read each chapter. It's been a long road, but we finally got there.

Hope everyone has enjoyed it. Thanks again!