A/N: There are no specific TWs for this chapter.

I hope you all enjoy this one. It was my second favorite chapter to write.

Sam stood on one leg in front of the bathroom sink. She'd just taken her nighttime painkiller and needed to change the bandage covering her lower abdomen, but was having some logistical issues. The mirror was too high, for one, and when she tried to bend forward to see herself, it compressed her wound causing a significant amount of pain. She had a floor-length mirror in the bedroom, but there was nothing for her to prop herself against. Here, she could settle a hip against the sink to balance. Jack had offered to help but—well she didn't even want to consider letting him see the stark reminder of her own weakness.

"Carter, you okay in there?" Jack called through the door.

Sam looked at herself in the mirror. She looked tired. Scratch that, she looked downright weary. She was fed up with feeling weak and powerless.

"I'm fine," she called back. Straightening her spine, she pushed upright and away from the sink. Using the toe of her injured leg, she balanced and wiggled backward until she could just see the top of her bandage in the mirror. "Here we go," she muttered under her breath as she carefully began to pick at the medical tape securing the bandage to her body.

She carefully peeled back the edge of the thick gauze pad. Unfortunately, she couldn't quite see the injured skin in the mirror. Taking a deep breath against the pain she knew it would cause, she leaned forward and looked down.

Three things happened simultaneously. First, the shift in her center of gravity made her take a small step forward placing too much weight on her injured leg. Second, the step forward caused her abdominal muscles to tighten, tugging at the already abraded skin. Third, she jerked upright at her sudden loss in balance as her leg gave out, which pitched her forward. With a hard grunt, she caught herself against the sink as all of her supplies crashed onto the floor.

Jack burst through the door just in time to see her sling herself around, so her backside was propped against the sink. She was shirtless, panting from the exertion in just her sports bra and panties. Closing her eyes at the way she must look, she growled out loud and slapped one palm angrily against the top of the vanity.

"What do you need?" Jack asked, not moving from the doorway.

"I need a body that works," Sam ground out. "I need to not be such a pathetic weakling!" She clenched her eyes shut in anger, knowing she couldn't physically hit or kick something.

"You are not pathetic," Jack stated calmly and carefully approached her. "And you are certainly not weak."

"Aren't I?" Sam countered snidely. "I barely escaped a Super Soldier. I barely escaped Pete. I couldn't stop him from—," she snapped her mouth shut and took a deep breath through her nose.

Jack placed a hand on one of her shoulders. "You survived a Super Soldier attack on your own. Hell, Carter," Jack scoffed, "I doubt I'd even be able to do that. And as for Pete," he waited for her to look at him. "I saw his face at the police station. You did more than escape. You laid one hell of a beat down on him." Jack smiled at her. "You're stronger than you give yourself credit for."

"I—" Sam started to disagree then stopped. She might not see herself the same way Jack did, but he had a point. She survived. She was a survivor. They all were. They'd all survived some pretty horrific things. Jack, specifically had survived torture at the hands of Ba'al. Sam remembered how he'd been when they'd finally gotten him back. She remembered the team spending a few nights at his place, listening to his nightmares before he'd jerk awake. He'd been brave enough to let them in just a little bit so they understood what had happened. They'd even talked about his time as a POW and the parallels. How it had taken time to get his head screwed back on right that time, too. He'd been brave enough to let them in.

"I'm afraid," she admitted the truth in a soft voice before she lost her nerve.

"I understand."

"I'm afraid of you," Sam's voice shook. She needed him to understand. "Of your reaction to the reminder of what I did."

"Sam," Jack reached for her, confusion evident on his face.

"I let him near me," she shook her head as the emotions threatened to break through. "I invited him into my life. I slept with him," she looked away, closing her eyes in disgust at her choices. "Now every time you see this," she traced her hand along her bandaged wound as a single tear escaped, sliding down her cheek while Sam fought to remain in control. "You'll be reminded of what I did to us."

"C'mere," Jack said, pulling her against his chest, unsure of how to proceed. He knew that nothing would ever change the way he saw her, but it didn't change the way she felt. And he understood that her perception of what they could withstand was the important thing.

"He said he'd make it so no one would want me," Sam whispered against his neck. "I know you," she said firmly. "I trust you. But his voice is constantly in the back of my mind taunting me. What if it's right?"

Jack pulled back enough to look at her and see the truth in her eyes. He also saw trust. A trust in him that he wasn't sure he deserved. But that wouldn't stop him from trying.

Slowly, he eased her back until she was leaning against the bathroom sink once again. He gently kissed her lips, a soft caress, before lowering himself to his knees. They groaned in protest, but he ignored the pain, settling in front of her until her lower abdomen was at eye level.

As carefully as he could, Jack eased the white bandage away from Sam's delicate skin. He inched it back millimeter by millimeter to ensure the movement didn't cause her any additional pain.

He could feel Sam trembling as she stood before him, her hands gripping his shoulders to take some weight off her leg. But it was also in apprehension of his reaction. She thought he'd be appalled, but the truth was he was in awe of her strength. He'd seen lesser things break hardened soldiers, yet here Sam stood, bravely trusting him.

For this reason, Jack fought back the rage he felt as he finished removing the bandage to reveal the full extent of damage. While Janet had done an excellent job, there was no hiding the word that had been chemically branded into Sam's body. It stood out prominently, the puckered skin partially healed but still raw.

At his hesitation, Sam's fingers clenched involuntarily and she drew away from Jack in a futile attempt to hide. But Jack followed her, grasping her hips with his hands and easing her forward again. With the most delicate of touches, he brushed his lips across the top of the first scarred letter, careful not to disturb the healing skin. Moving to the second, he repeated the gesture. When his lips reached the third, Sam let out a broken sob and moved one hand from his shoulder to his head.

Jack paused to look up and found her watching him. Holding her gaze he continued, placing a featherlight kiss directly onto the last scar. The hand on his head trembled and tugged him closer. He didn't want to hurt her, so he shifted his lips higher, running them tenderly across her abdomen until he could firmly press them against the uninjured expanse of skin just below her navel.

"Jack," Sam breathed his name out like a plea.

"I will always want you," he vowed, his lips still against her skin, their eyes still locked.

Sam shook as the force of Jack's pledge washed through her. Anything less than unreserved acceptance would be an injustice to the man who knelt before her offering up his heart.

"I love you," her voice rang steady and sure. She tugged him upward, welcoming the possessive kiss as he enveloped her.

Jack held Sam tenderly against him in stark contrast to the way his lips claimed hers. She clung to his shoulders, trying to press herself flush against his body, desperate for him to understand how much she had needed his acceptance. How much she wanted him now.

"Easy," Jack spoke against her lips, reminding them both that her body wasn't ready for what she was asking. With a groan of disappointment, Sam pulled back, resting her forehead against his.

"We don't need to rush," Jack used one hand to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. The other arm was wrapped around her waist as he kept her slightly angled to protect her lower abdomen. "I'll be here when you're ready."

"I'm ready now," she bit her bottom lip, surprised at the truth behind her words. Despite the injuries to her body, she craved his touch. Needed it to feel whole again.

"Come with me," Jack shifted and lifted her into his arms. Striding to the bedroom, he placed her in the center of the bed. He left for only a second to retrieve a clean dressing and salve.

Sam closed her eyes and sighed deeply at the sight of the supplies, assuming their brief interlude was over. Jack wasn't going to allow her to rush things. She knew she should appreciate that, but she hated what had to come next. Redressing her wound always caused some pain and that was the last thing she wanted to feel right now.

She watched as Jack arranged the supplies and opened the jar of salve Janet had given them. She took a deep breath as he scooped out a small amount, her muscles tensing in anticipation of the sting she knew was coming. But instead of touching his fingers to the abraded skin, his other hand caressed her hip. She was so focused on bracing for the oncoming pain that his touch surprised a gasp from her.

"You can tell me to stop at any time," Jack said as the hand on her hip traced a line down her uninjured leg. When he reached her knee, he scraped a nail lightly across, and began a slow path back up the inside of her thigh.

Sam's eyes closed at the delicious caress. Her nerves registered an unpleasant coolness along the injured flesh on her abdomen; the telltale sting there but secondary to the distraction Jack's other fingers were creating as they slowly inched upward.

Just as his questing fingers brushed against soft cotton covering the curls between her thighs, they shifted and began trailing downward again. Sam made a disappointed whimper, but his fingers continued on their painstaking path lower. He continued past her knee this time and her whimper turned into a moan of approval as he massaged her calf muscle.

Sam didn't seem to register the additional salve Jack applied to her lower abdomen as he shifted again and pulled her leg upward so the inside of her knee met his lips as he bent toward her. The open-mouthed kiss he pressed there overpowered everything else.

"Jack," Sam breathed out his name, making him smile. He remembered this. Remembered the things that made her hum. Made her sigh. Made his name spill from her lips as she came apart for him. He knew, as he trailed his fingers up her body that when he touched her here—Sam gasped—it would bring her pleasure.

And so he coaxed her softly, building the fire within her slowly. With each caress he took her closer to the precipice until whatever discomfort the salve caused was forgotten, buried beneath the sensual layers he'd created. And then he took her higher still. Easing her further until she slipped over the edge in a tender release.

The soft 'oh' followed by his whispered name on her lips made Jack smile. Sam was breathtaking when she came apart for him and no amount of physical damage could ever change that. But it did make him ease back when he would have continued on. He didn't push her body toward another release, like he knew she preferred. Instead, he brought her back down gently.

He chuckled at the way she relaxed, her entire body going lax as an unexpected sleep overtook her. She needed rest to heal, so Jack quickly redressed her wound and cleaned up. He stripped down to his boxers and slipped into bed behind her, enjoying the way she instinctively snuggled back against his chest. "Love you, too," he murmured in her ear before closing his eyes and joining her in sleep.