It had been three months since Sam and Jack confessed the existence of their feelings for one another during the Zatarc incident. They both agreed it didn't need to leave the room, and they could continue like before, but Sam couldn't help but think about it. 'I don't know if it's love, but I do know that I have really deep feelings for him. More than I have ever had for anyone before. I know that I am not supposed to, but all I want is to have a romantic relationship with my CO. With the regulations there isn't a way for that to happen right now. I could retire, and work at the SGC as a civilian scientist, or I could talk to General Hammond off the record. He might have an idea I haven't thought of yet, and he is my godfather after all. I should probably talk to the Colonel first though. He might not even want to have a relationship with me. All he said was that he cared about me a lot more than he was supposed to. That doesn't necessarily mean that he has romantic feelings for me. I have to hold out hope that he does have that kind of feelings for me.' With that thought Sam grabbed her purse, got into her car, and made her way to Jack's house before she lost her nerve.

Once she got there, she took a few deep breaths, and then made her way to his front door. She rang the doorbell and waited. It was the longest minute of her life. When Jack opened the door, he was shocked to say the least. She was the last person he expected to show up on his doorstep on a Sunday afternoon. "Carter? Is everything alright?" Jack asked her.

"Everything's fine, but I was hoping that we could talk about that room?" Sam asked, with a hopeful look on her face. Jack looked at her, scanning her eyes trying to determine her intentions before he spoke.

"Are you sure you want to have this conversation?"

"Yes Jack, I am." Sam said, hoping that the use of his first name will show him how serious she is.

"Ok Sam. Come on in." Jack said as he opened the door wider for her to pass by him and into the house. They both sat down on opposite ends of the couch and turned to face each other. "Once we start to have this conversation, we can't go back to the way it was before." Jack told her, giving her one last chance to back out.

"I'm sure. I know that I was the one to suggest we leave any feelings in that room. The truth is, I was scared. I still am. I have a terrible track record with men and dating. My mom died before we had any of those Mother/Daughter conversations about it. Honestly, I haven't told anyone this before but my only relationship to date ended with me in the hospital after getting beaten half to death for talking to another scientist assigned to my project. He happened to be male, and I was a few minutes late getting home that night. When I went to return the ring, he threatened to kill Mark and his family if I ever told anyone. Even though he's dead, he still has a lot of friends, and I couldn't risk it. I know you would never hurt me Jack, but I'm still scared to trust someone like that again. Especially since my feelings for you are so much deeper than they ever were for Jonas. I can't keep living my life in fear. I have to move forward, and I really want to do that with you." Sam said, all the while wringing her hands together with nerves.

"Sam, why didn't you tell me about Hanson before? He may know people, but I guarantee you that I know a lot more powerful people."

"I was ashamed. He got me to trust him and give up my beliefs for him. All it got me was getting beat for two years, thinking that I deserved it. I upped my hand-to-hand training after that, but I still feel like I should have been able to stop it. At the very least I should have been brave enough to get help sooner."

"Sam, I know the black ops unit he was in. If he wanted to hurt you, he would have put you in a position where you would not have been able to free yourself, no matter what level training you had. But Sam, you did get out, and you are safe. If you want, I can put out some feelers to see who he might have had on stand-by to go after your brother and his family."

"Thank you, Jack." Sam said with tears of relief in her eyes. The weight of carrying this around on her shoulders all these years was finally lifted.

"Sam, I can't do casual. I have a lot of baggage, and there's a lot of things you don't know about me. I have deep feelings for you too, but you have to be sure about this. If you want a relationship, I am all in, but once I open up to you about my past, I have to know that you will still be by my side." Jack told her, hoping that she wouldn't betray him in the long run.

"Of course, I will still be here Jack. You know my darkest secret and you are still here, so I won't be going anywhere…" Sam paused and took a deep breath. "What about the Regs?"

"Well, they technically aren't a problem. Sam, you have to promise me that what I am about to tell you stays between us."

"I promise, Jack. You can trust me." She told him honestly, looking into his eyes.

"I know I can." Jack sighed and took a deep breath before continuing. "My real name isn't Jack O'Neill, it's MacGyver. I was a troubleshooter for the Pheonix Foundation." Jack looked up from his hands to her eyes. He saw the look of pure astonishment on her face, her eyes wide.

"The Doctor MacGyver? World renowned physicist? My Dad had an old friend that worked at the Pheonix Foundation. He used to tell Mark and me about MacGyver. That's why I started studying physics." Sam said looking at him curiously.

"Really? Who was your dad's friend?"

"Some guy named Pete; I think. Insisted we call him Uncle Pete."

"Small world. Pete Thornton was the director of Pheonix, and he was a friend of mine." Jack said with a wistful look on his face.

"What happened Jack? You're a genius that worked at a great company. From my understanding you helped a lot of people and had a lot of friends. Why are you using a different identity? Why are you using a gun? I thought you refused to use them." Sam questioned.

"I found out one day that I had an adult son I didn't know about. He found me. I didn't renew my contract with the Pheonix foundation and went on a cross country trip with Sean. But I had made enemies. One of them caught up with us and killed Sean. I broke my no killing rule and ended him. After that I contacted someone I used to serve with in 'Nam. He was a Senator at the time. He helped create an alias and got me into the Air Force. I went into black ops and met Sarah. I never told her the truth about who I was…I still hate guns…especially after Charlie."

"I don't really understand why you are hiding. The guy killed your son. No one would think any less of you for killing him."

"Yeah, but the organization he worked for wasn't so happy. Pheonix managed to put them all behind bars a few years ago, but by that point I was already in deep with the SGC."

"I understand, Jack. So would the others….it must be hard hiding who you really are."

"Yeah, it is." He told her, and in that moment, she could tell by the look on his face and the tone of his voice just how tired of it he is.

"If you ever want to let the real you out, I'm here for you…but I still don't know what you meant about the Regs not existing." Sam said with a confused look on her face.

"Well, MacGyver retired to his grandfather's cabin in Minnesota, where he has been writing the occasional book and paper. His whereabouts are unknown to the general public, and only known to the IRS and a few other people. If anyone dug deep enough into Jack O'Neill, they would know it's an alias. Jack exists enough on paper to not be questioned, but he is not a real person. Sam, you could have a relationship with me, MacGyver and there won't be any regulations to worry about. For us to be open about it means that I would need to resume my real identity. If I do that I don't know if I'll be able to keep using Jack's skills. The SGC needs those in the fight against the Goa'uld."

"No offence Jack, but there are plenty of other good soldiers out there. It's your off-the-cuff thinking that's saved our asses more times than I can count. That's all MacGyver, isn't it?"

"Yep, it is." Jack said with a sigh. After a few minutes of thinking he continued "I don't know what the fallout will be. If I do this, it might change more than just our relationship. You might very well find that you don't like the real me." He told her honestly, worried that it was just the alias she has feelings for.

"I'm sure I will still like you. I never bought the dumb act. You would show your cards occasionally, and honestly, I was just waiting for you to confirm it. I know there is a lot I don't know about you, but I know you're a good man. You care about others and would do almost anything to protect your friends. You're loyal, kind, smart, funny, and handsome honestly. That's the man I have feelings for. The man that I may be falling for. None of that is going to change." Sam said, a little breathless from her revelation.

"Sam…" Jack said breathlessly.

"You don't need to say anything Jack. I can't say for sure if it's love yet, because I don't know what that feels like, but I can tell you I haven't felt this way before. I could easily see my future with you." Sam confessed to him, with tears in her eyes.

"I'm not gonna push you. I know that you're not sure of your feelings, but I am. I'm just not ready to go there yet. I haven't had very good luck with relationships Sam. Let's take this slowly. How about dinner first, and we go from there?" Jack asked.

"That sounds good…. I guess I should get used to using your real name. What's your first name? Everyone only used your last name."

"That is need to know, and you my dear don't need to know."

"Oh, come on Jack!" Sam said with a puppy dog look on her face.

"Don't try it! It won't work….. Fine!...It's Angus." Jack told her with a sigh.

"Angus? I like it. It suits you better than Jack." She told him seriously.

"Really? I've always hated it."

"Yes really. How about I use it in private, and in public I use whatever nick name you decide to go by."

"Ok, Sam I can live with that." Jack said with a smile on his face.