Jack's POV

Not in my wildest dreams could I have anticipated that reaction to my confession that I wanted to stay married, I was just hoping that she wasn't going to laugh in my face and then tell me where to go. Instead, she's lying beside me on the couch and my arms are wrapped around her now fully naked and ridiculously hot body. We just did it on her couch, my inner child sniggers at the thought and I can't help but smile to myself.

"What?" she asks innocently and I debate whether to tell her my exact thoughts before taking the safe option.

"Just thinking about how beautiful you are" I reply coolly and I'm instantly rewarded with her perfect smile.

"We should probably still talk though" she replies and I nod in agreement before reaching down to find some clothes for us both, it appears we got rather carried away as they seem to be all over her living room.

"So about what I said, I really meant it. I love you Carter, have since the moment we met and if possible after that, I love you even more" Listening to myself speak I can't believe how pathetic and sappy I sound, by the time I finish I'm cringing. Somehow I find myself staring at the floor, unable to make eye contact. Since I'm still expecting her to say no, I jump in surprise when she grabs my hands and tells me to look at her.

"I love you" she replies simply, "but…." Yep here it comes, there's always a but.

"I want to keep this a secret, I don't want to jeopardize either of our careers or SG1"

Okay, I wasn't expecting that, even though I hoped, maybe actually wished, that she felt the same way as me, I certainly didn't expect to hear her say the words to me out loud.

"The fact you feel the same way is all that matters, the rest we can figure out as well go along" I tell her and she beckons for me to come and sit beside her again. As soon as she's in my arms it's like nothing else matters. We both end up falling asleep and when I wake up a few hours later my neck is complaining bitterly. Glancing down I can see she's still asleep, using my best stealth ninja mode I manage to extract myself and get off the sofa without disturbing her. As expected my knees make their usual creaking and cracking noises but I quickly leave and head for the shower.

Standing in the shower I let the hot water ease the tension in my neck, I can't help but allow myself a smile as I think about her and what might happen now. I'm as worried as she is about the wrong people finding out but I'm at the end of my career so my only concern is hers. By the time I get out of the shower she's hobbling around the kitchen making coffee, resisting the urge to come up behind her and start round two I offer to take over so she can have a freshen up.

"Water's still hot"

"I'm a little disappointed you showered without me" she replies with a grin on her face. Holy crap, flirty Carter is going to be the death of me.

"I'm still dirty" I inform her with a wink and quickly follow her back to the bedroom.

Carter's POV

I know he thought he snuck off for a shower without waking me but I wasn't really asleep, my mind has been running everything over and over and as usual I couldn't switch off. Like him I've kept my feelings locked away, knowing forwell I would never be able to act on them, but now it all seems like a dream from which I'll wake up from disappointed. If anyone outside of our team were to find out about us it could spell disaster for not only us but the entire Stargate program, the politicians in Washington don't need any excuse to shut us down. Despite all this though, being with him just feels so right and I can't help but want more. When he comes back to join me, I'm making a feeble attempt at sorting some more coffee in the kitchen. Having realised he had a shower yet still sporting a thin line of stubble, something causes me to blurt out my disappointment that he didn't invite me and before I know it, I'm limping off towards the bathroom leaving him standing shocked in the kitchen.

After round 2 in the shower which was incredible, the guy is seriously useful with his hands, he leaves me alone for a while so he can head home and grab a change of clothes. Watching him leave I'm surprised to find myself missing his presence and it hits me that I might be in deeper than I actually realised. As usual when I'm on my own, my mind starts to wonder and I start panicking about how on Earth we will keep our work and personal lives separate. I don't doubt his professionalism and I trust him with my life but these things always always have a way of getting out, usually when you least expect it.

By the time he returns a few hours later, I'm clearly in a state because he can't get to me soon enough.

"What's wrong? Does your ankle hurt? Did you not rest like the Doc asked?"

"Haha" I reply sarcastically although he doesn't need to know that I didn't really spend any time actually resting. "I just can't help but think that somehow this will get out" I answer.

He looks at me for a moment before moving next to me on the couch. "Trust me, whatever happens I will never let it impact your career. You're too important to the program, hell even the world, and mostly too important to me" he tells me before wrapping his arms tightly around me and pulling me close. We stay like that for a while and I allow myself to relax, enjoying his smell, he does seem to always smell rather good, even after long missions. Not that I've ever noticed though, obviously. That would be unprofessional except it isn't now and for the first time since our first time, I smile.

It's not long before I'm back at the SGC, my ankle isn't 100% but it took all of 5 minutes for me to become bored out of my mind sitting at home although Jack did do his best to distract me. We're not back on mission rotation until Janet clears me but I'm hoping I can convince her later today, we're all keen to put the last mission behind us. I'm about to head down to the infirmary when a rather exuberant Daniel comes bouncing into my lab, he's still being overly nice since the whole marriage incident on our last mission. Therefore I'm rather disappointed when I see he isn't carrying any coffee for me.

"Hey Sam, guess what?"

"Where's my coffee Daniel?" I'm still pretending to be mad.

"Looks like we've got a mission" he replies, completely ignoring my comment. "Do you think Janet will clear you for duty today?"

"I hope so, not exactly busy right now " I reply. "You can take me down there and find out, then you can get me a coffee"

"How long is this going to last?" he whines.

"You got us married Daniel, you tell me"

A few hours later and I'm sitting in the briefing room with a look of smugness on my face, cleared by Janet much to the surprise of both the Colonel and General Hammond. I may not have been entirely honest with her but they don't need to know that and besides, it barely hurts at all now. This will be our first time in a room together with the General since we admitted our feelings and started a relationship and, if I'm honest, I'm a little nervous. I watch as the rest of my team filter in, the Colonel late as always, and I try my best not to make eye contact for fear of, well I don't really know what. It's not as if I'm likely to try and jump him in the briefing room in front of everyone. Mercifully it's a pretty short briefing, we're simply off to a new planet so it's a standard recon briefing. Hammond gives us the go ahead and we head off for our usual pre mission formalities. I'm on my way to the locker room when I round the corner and come face to face with him, I must look surprised because he immediately asks if I'm okay.

"I'm fine" I say, more for my own reassurance than his, and I continue on to the locker room muttering under my breath about what on earth I've gotten myself into. Something tells me things are about to go very wrong.