Alright everyone...here's yet another installment of my favorite shippy story...I hope youguys like this...if you don't...please let me know...hey give mesome ideas of where the story should go if you want...I'm open!!!

I hope you guys like the part with Jack and Daniel in the office...I laughed my butt off when I wrote it...it just seemed to fit!!!

Alright, here we go...(by the way, did I mention that stargate isn't mine???)

The lights in the infirmary pierced Carter's eyes as she fluttered her eyes open for the first time in over 48 hours. Her injuries were not serious; sometimes sleeping off a concussion is quicker than medication...

Jack had kept his distance, trying to let her sleep as much as she needed before he pulled her back to her duties. He had needed time though, time to tie up loose ends without any distractions.

The president had granted his request. Although it wasn't easy to pull it out of his commanding officer, Jack had wormed his way through the conversation trying to read between the lines and in turn give his own circumstances for retirement for the Air Force. He knew that there would be questions brought up about his retirement—but his request to remain in command of the SGC as a civilian was not only going to arise questions but he knew there would be theories of his reasons...

"I am granting your request Jack—but I have to ask, why are you requesting to remain as a civilian? Why not walk away altogether or just stay in the military?" The President asked, his voice countering with a solid question in his tone that he hadn't voiced and wouldn't even think about mentioning.

"Sir, I just think I can do my job—"he really didn't know what he was going to say beyond that—thank god the president cut him off.

"Jack—"

"Yes Sir?"

"Just don't show up in shorts and sandals alright?"

"Yes Sir."

Now, it all seemed like a dream. A calm had filled the base that gave Jack the creeps. It was unsettling...all these years he had had to keep him self in check and monitored his every move and every word he spoke—around her. He had been so careful to make sure that his true feelings for Sam were not noticeable to the passersby in the SGC hallways. But now—he was a civilian, and administratively he was no longer Sam's direct supervisor...

Jack took to sitting in his office, working on his third cup of coffee while he reviewed the administrative change over—with the help of Daniel.

"If I knew there would be so much paper work involved in me being a civilian—I never would have quit the Air Force." Jack complained; sifting through the stack of papers before him as Daniel organized the next set he would soon have to sign off on.

"I doubt it." Daniel said, absentmindedly.

"What?" Jack said, snapping his head up to look at Daniel.

"What?" Daniel asked, silently praying that Jack would think he was just hearing things.

"What did you say?" Jack pressed, creasing his forehead as he raised his eyebrow.

He thought for a second to just play it off—but Daniel had kept his mouth shut for the last eight years and never even tried to approach this subject because he knew that it wasn't even a consideration and not at all possible—but now, Jack was a civilian and it was open season as far as Daniel was concerned.

"Have you told Sam that you're in love with her?" He blurted out in one smooth sentence as he cocked his head to the side—expecting Jack to throw any near by object at his head before offering up a verbal response.

Jack's stomach twisted into knots as Daniel's words sifted through his mind. His verbal skills had left him and as he squirmed in his chair and fidgeted with the papers in from of him he could only stutter over his self.

"I take that as a no?" Daniel said smiling at him.

"Daniel—"

"I know it's non of my business." He said standing and waling for the door.

"I told her." Jack said loud enough for Daniel to hear him as he passed through the doorway—grabbing the door jam, Daniel spun back around looking at Jack as though he just offered up the meaning of life. "I told her." He said looking back down to his desk and repositioning the papers again.

Standing in the doorway, not sure if he should try to continue this conversation he opted for a quick exit line as he walked backwards out of the office. "Took you long enough."

The smile on Daniel's face reached his ears as he turned and walked down the hall.

It wasn't until the next morning that Jack even tried to see Sam in the infirmary. The doctor said she was doing better and that she would be released that morning—however by 0900, when Jack showed up to say hello—she was already released and had disappeared into her lab.

Jack, was now walking down the hall to her lab, his step a little nervous and annoyed—she was ruining his plans—he had everything set up and had planned out just how he was going to tell her he had quite the air force.

He ran over his 'lines' as he approached her door and stopped at the entrance as he caught sight of her leaning over a microscope in the dark. Suddenly he was speechless—all his plans had flown far away and the only thought in is mind was how beautiful she was when she was concentrating... "My god she's beautiful..." he thought as he shook his head slightly and walked in the dark room.

He got close enough to touch her before she looked over to him. At first smiling, then wrinkling her forehead as she realized his 'attire'—since when does Jack O'Neill wear suits?

"Hey." He said slipping hands into his pockets.

"What's with the suit?" She asked turning around standing before him.

"You don't like it?" He asked looking down to straighten his charcoal suit as he turned around to model his 'new look'.

"No, it looks fine Sir." She said, trying to make sense of it all in her head.

"I uhmm, I have something for you..." he said reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out an envelope. Holding it in his hands for a moment he held it out to her as he dangled it in front of her.

"What's this Sir?" She asked taking the envelope from him.

"It's uh—"He started to dish out some form of comic relief that would keep his heart fro beating out of his chest. But he couldn't even get words to form in his mouth. Instead he opted for giving her a nod to open the envelope.

With a sideways glance Sam began to open the envelope.

Pulling the paper out of the envelope, Sam unfolded the paper and read it slowly. Her eyes moving over the letters smoothly—then coming to an abrupt halt when she came across the words "retirement" and "transfer to civilian-government employee."

Looking over the top of the paper, Jack could tell she was smiling—he could see it in her eyes. But he waited for her to speak first.

As he watched her, her eyes peered over the top of the paper and right at him—she was smiling even more now.'

"They let you—" she started to say as her ability to speak left her.

She could only smile up at him as she lowered her hand to her side.

Smiling back at her, Jack answered the question in her eyes with that nod of his head.

Not yet sure of what to say—not that anything needed to be said—Jack slipped his hand from his pocket and reached out to touch Sam's fingers and pull her hand into his own as he held her hand between them as he pulled her close to his chest.

Going with the motion of his pull on her, Sam followed through as she reached up on her tiptoes and leaned in and gently pressed her lips against Jack's.

Still holding her hand between them Jack wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her closer as he kissed her back.

"I think I'm going to like being a civilian." Jack mumbled as he moved his lips over hers.

"Really? Why is that?"

"Cause I get to do this whenever I want to." He said releasing her hand between them and pulling her closer with both his arms wrapped around her.