So close and yet so far….
Jack retrieved his spare keys from his locker and slammed the door shut. Leaving the locker room, he went back down the hall to the elevator, waiting for Sam to join him. She had briefly explained the situation and he had called General Hammond to make sure that he was at home. He was, and Jack had requested a meeting with him in 1 hour. That left 55 minutes to pick up his truck from Sara's house, drop Carter's bike off and get to the General's house.
He met up with Sam at the topside elevator entry point. She was carrying her spare helmet and looking flushed.
"I spoke to the General - he expects us in about an hour." Jack said as they hurried out of the mountain.
Sam nodded and handed him the helmet as they approached her bike. She handed him an earpiece so that they could talk while riding.
"Are you sure that I can't drive, Carter?" Jack asked, looking at the bike a bit nervously.
"Shut up and put your helmet on, sir," she said smiling, her eyes twinkling. "Trust me. I'll be gentle."
"That's what I'm afraid of," he mumbled, pulling the helmet on and pulling down the visor.
"Can you hear me, sir?" Her voice sounded like it surrounded his head.
He nodded.
"Good. Now, get on."
Jack straddled the bike and as she swung her leg over, he though her heard her giggle.
"Are you giggling, Sam?" he asked, smiling behind the visor. "No giggling!"
"Right, sir. No giggling." She snorted and started the bike. Jack wrapped his arms around her waist and they took off. "Hang on, Jack," she said. "This is going to be fun!"
They rode down the entryway and passed the checkpoint guard with a wave. She accelerated as they began the descent down the mountain. Jack enjoyed the feel of Sam's body tight against his. He hugged her closer to him.
"Sam, about Sara…" he started to say.
"No need to explain, Jack. You don't need…" she said, but he cut her off.
"No, I want to tell you what happened. Last night with you was great. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun! And then that thing with Pete reminded me of who we are and our situation and I can't hurt your career like that; it means too much to you and you mean too much to me to let you sacrifice everything for something that maybe isn't what we think it is at all."
"Jack, can I just..." she tried to interrupt, but he cut her off.
"No, please. Let me finish." He took a deep breath. "I went to see Sara because I didn't know where else to go. Normally, I would talk to Daniel or T but they're both gone and I couldn't talk to you, obviously, and Sara and I…well, let me backtrack a bit. After that thing with the Charlie clone, she and I finally sat down and talked and it was really nice, cause we hadn't talked like that in a long time and we got a lot of things aired out. I mean, our marriage was over, but I still cared about her and she about me and, well, it was nice to be friends again."
He paused to gather his thoughts. "About a month ago, she came to see me late one night. She's been seeing this guy, Mike, for a while now, kinda serious, but she wasn't really sure. Anyway, he asked her to marry him and she asked for a little time to think it over. She called me after he dropped her off and wanted to talk. I went over there and we talked for a long time - about things we wish we'd done, what went wrong in our relationship - anyway, it was a chance for some closure. She said yes, by the way, and they're getting married in two months." He took a deep breath. "Last night, I felt so at odds with what I want and what I would like to think you need. I want to be with you, Sam, more than anything. But, I can't ask you to sacrifice your career for me. I know you wouldn't ask such a thing of me. You are far too honorable for that. I didn't know what to do. I was so confused and I didn't know where to turn. So, I called Sara and Mike was there. They said come over and we all talked for a long time. It helped me to see things clearer. When I was ready to leave I found out that my keys and phone were locked in the truck. I tried to call you, but the phone rang and rang so I thought you might be at the base so I asked Sara to drive me up here. And you know the rest." He finished, slowly.
She didn't say anything.
"Sam? Did you hear me? Or are you just not going to say anything." Jack waited for a response.
Sam pulled over to one of the many lookouts that circled the mountain area. She killed the engine and got off the bike. Pulling off the helmet, she walked over to stand at the lookout - staring off across the distant valley. Jack got off the bike and removed his helmet. Placing it on the seat, he walked over to where she stood, the wind blowing through their already mussed hair. "Sam?" He reached out his hand to touch her shoulder, but drew it back uncertainly. "Sam, talk to me."
Sam bowed her head as tears slid down her face. "I don't know what to say. You've just answered all my hopes and dreams in less than a minute." She turned to him and he saw her tears. Reaching out to her, he enfolded her into the circle of his arms. Sighing deeply, she dropped her helmet and put her arms around his waist, burying her face in his shoulder. "Oh, Jack," she whispered. "I'm scared. What have we gotten ourselves in to?"
He pulled back a little and tipped her face up towards him with his fingers. "Exactly what we need," he said running his hand along her jaw line and around the back of her neck to thread up into her hair. "Each other," he said, angling his face towards her. He could feel his heart race as their lips drew closer to each other, their breath intermingling. She closed her eyes and held her breath.
Just as he was about to kiss her, he heard car noises coming up the road as one pulled into the parking lot behind them. "Tourists," he muttered, as she stepped away. "Foiled again." Sam shook her head and rubbed her fingers across her face, removing any evidence of tears. As she picked her helmet up off the ground, she looked up at Jack.
"We'll have our time," she said smiling at him. "First, we have to find out what Pete is doing with this information."
Jack smiled at her, took her hand and led her back to the bike. They nodded at the couple that got out of a minivan followed by several kids.
"What a beautiful sight!" They heard the woman exclaim.
"I couldn't agree more." Jack replied sotto voce, looking at Sam. Putting their helmets on, they got back on the bike.
"They must be lovebirds," the lady said referring to Jack and Sam as they pulled out of the parking lot. "Hope we didn't disturb them."
"Nah," said her husband of 15 years. "Must be married. I plainly heard the guy just ask if he could drive this time."
TBC…