If this is a bit doesn't quite meet the usual standard, it's because I'm half asleep. Please review and let me know if I have to rewrite this chapter.
The sound of the door squeaking on its hinges was enough to lift Sam from her light slumber. The familiar silhouette, outlined by the light in the hall, was about to leave.
Not wanting to be alone, she called out to him. "Sir?" It was quiet and the word grated as it left her mouth.
The figure in the doorway halted in its movements, but did not turn around.
"Colonel…" she tried again, in a stronger voice.
Still, he did not face her.
Her barely attained equilibrium shattered all around her, as anger, fear, loss and rejection waged war on her soul. She heaved a quiet sob, before whimpering "Jack?"
She sounded so lost. So confused. Not at all like the Sam Carter he had come to know and love. Yes. Love. The 'know' part he was not so sure about. While they had been working together for the last six odd years, their knowledge of each other was professional, friendly at best. Romantically, they were strangers. It was obvious to him, right then and there, that there were more sides to Sam Carter than just Major and Scientist. A great deal more. And it was high time that he start to get to know every little part of what made this woman who she was. There was only one thing holding him back.
Reciprocation.
If he wanted to know all that there was to know about her, she would, in turn, want to know about him. She would want to know what his favorite foods were, how he liked his coffee (although she probably already knows), which hockey team he supported, and so on, getting more and more personal. It was only a matter of time before the topics of Sara and Charlie came up, not to mention his parents. She would want to know why he hadn't ever mentioned them.
All of these later things, he knew he could deal with, he lived with them every day. But he didn't expect anybody else to. In fact, he expected them to run away, screaming. Which is why he didn't want Sam to know about any of them. Seeing her hightailing it away from him was not something he could handle at this point in time.
"Jack?" she called again, rousing him from is inner turmoil. "Don't go."
Her plea pulled at something inside of him, at the same something that had convinced him to accept the Tok'ra symbiote. In the space of a breath he was on the bed, pulling her into his arms.
"Don't go, Jack" she whispered, clutching at his back. "Don't go."
As he hugged her closer, he realised that, though it would take time, it was worth the risk of having her walk away. She might flee when she heard of some of the things he had had to do and witness in the darkest moments of his airforce career, at least what was no longer classified. She might also decide that he was not worth the emotional stress. But he would damn well do everything possible to keep her at his side, just for moments like this. Moments when they need nothing but to feel the comfort of the others arms.
"I'm here, Sam. I'm not going anywhere."
More to come...