Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter... I had to take a little vacation!

Sunday Afternoon A park

"Sam!" a voice happily cried out.

Sam looked up at the sound of her name. When she looked around she found herself in the center of the park's plaza. She looked to one side of the plaza that was filled with tables with pairs of people sitting across from each other over a chess board. She finally located the source of the voice, and for the first time that weekend, let a small smile cross her face. "Jason!" she exclaimed as she walked over to meet him and give him a hug.

As Jason wrapped his arms around Sam he noticed the tension in her body as she held onto him longer than normal. "How are you? I've been trying to call you all weekend," he told her as he led her over to the table where he was involved in a match.

Sam sheepishly answered, "Yeah, sorry about that. I haven't been in the mood to talk..." she told him as she sat down. She looked at Jason's challenger and she let another genuine smile appear on her face, "Hey Mr. Parker."

"Hello Samantha," the older gentleman replied as he barely looked up to acknowledge her as he continued to study the board.

Jason looked over at Sam, "What's wrong? Trying to avoid your coworkers?"

"Yeah," she answered as she gave him a look letting him know that she couldn't talk about it where they were.

"I see," he replied as he looked at her before watching Mr. Parker make his move.

"Check."

Jason looked down at the board quickly and made his next move, "Want to play a game when I've finished this game? That is, of course, if Mr. Parker here doesn't mind letting us use his set," he smiled as he raised his hand and indicated the man across from him.

Mr. Parker spoke up, "I don't know how they do it where you're from, but here the winner stays."

Sam analyzed the board and saw what Jason saw and couldn't help but smile, which she didn't bother hiding from the older man. "What's got you all amused?" he asked her as he made his move.

Sam looked over at Jason who smiled back and gave her a small nod. "Mr. Parker, he has checkmate in three moves," she told him as Jason again quickly made his next move.

The old man stole a quick glance up at the pair across from him before returning his attention to the board and trying to see what they could both see and he could not. After a few moments he saw what they were referring to. "Well I'll be..." a dumbfounded Mr. Parker told them.

"Don't worry Mr. Parker, he's pulled that one on me at least five times," she told him as he laid down his king. "Jason's actually the one who taught me how to play."

An hour later, Sam and Jason got up from their table and thanked Mr. Parker for the use of his board and hospitality. As they walked away Sam got the first question in, "So what brings you to Colorado Springs Jason?"

He answered her quietly and somberly, "I brought Katie over for a visit with Maria's parents."

"I forgot they lived here..." she told him. "How are you holding up?"

Jason shrugged his shoulders as he answered, "There are good days and bad days... I really miss her," he told her as the tears started to form in his eyes.

Sam stopped and offered him a comforting hug that he gladly accepted. She didn't say anything to her friend, there were no words that could comfort him. When they released their hold on each other Sam made a suggestion, "Let's go have a cup of coffee at my place."

"Yeah, that sounds nice." Several cups of coffee later, Jason asked Sam a question, "Sam, what's on your mind?"

She looked up, trying to act as if she didn't know what he was talking about, "Nothing."

"Come on Sam, I've known you too long to know when you've got something on your mind."

Sam looked at her friend, grateful for his presence as she finally decided to talk to someone about what had happened to her. "I've been thinking about my life… and where I am in my life."

"Why the deep reflection? Something happen?"

"Yeah... I can't tell you too much because of my work."

Jason smiled, "I know you're in some pretty classified stuff... so be general if you want... That is, if the scientist in you can be general," he added lightly which brought a small smile to Sam's lips.

"Well I met someone a few weeks ago that shouldn't be here. When I told my coworkers about it they thought I was crazy." Sam noticed the confused and questioning look on Jason's face.

"What do you mean by someone who shouldn't be here? Like a ghost?" Jason noted the distraught look on Sam's face, "Never mind, it doesn't matter... go on."

She let out a sigh of relief as he absolved her of trying to explain that the person she saw was an alien, "Anyways, this guy told me a lot of things, including some stuff on something I was researching. After hearing what he had to say about it, I recommended they not go forward with the experiment. But they did anyways. This guy stopped the experiment from becoming a terrible disaster, but he was killed in the process... Before that he showed me who he was, and I... I saw me through his eyes..."

As Jason listened to Sam he could detect the insecurity she felt, "What did he see?"

"Someone who lived in the world of science and was afraid to take a leap of faith... Someone who had exiled her heart... Who knew what she wanted, but hid behind the regulations because it was safe... Someone who knew a lot of pain and heartache, yet still had a good heart... He saw someone who still had hope..."

"Was he right?" he asked her after a few moments of silence.

During the few days of analyzing her life after Orlin's death, she had come to terms with what he saw, "Yeah, he was... I saw how lonely he had been and I don't want that for me..."

Jason detected her hesitation, "But...?"

"But I love my work and it's really important," she told him. "Do you ever regret resigning your commission?" she finally asked him, hoping that it wouldn't cause him too much pain to talk about the circumstances surrounding his resignation.

Jason looked down as he considered his answer, "No, because what I got in return was more important... besides I didn't really like my work..." He then considered who Sam was and what she was going through now, "Look Sam, don't make a decision where you feel you're sacrificing something. I know you love the work that you do and the people you work with. You're a smart woman Sam… you'll find the balance if you want to. At least now you know what you want… The question is what are you going to do about it?"

Sam listened to his words and realized that she still had some work to do. She gave him a small smile, "The doctor is still working on that one."

"Yeah, well don't wait too long Sam," he told her as he recalled his own life with Maria. As he looked down he read the time on his wristwatch, "God, it's almost seven!"

Sam looked at her own watch startled by Jason's sudden animation as he stood up, "Do you have to be somewhere?"

"Yeah, I'm having dinner with Katie and her grandparents tonight before we have to catch our flight back to D.C." he told her as they headed to the door. He continued to speak as he opened the door, "I had a nice time today Sam. I'm- oh!" he exclaimed as he saw someone come up the steps.

Sam recognized her visitor and her shock was evident, "Sir?!"

Jason looked from Sam to the visitor, who appeared to be equally surprised, and recognized him from her description. "You must be Colonel O'Neill," he said as he extended his hand.

Jack accepted the hand as his gaze raced between Sam and her visitor, "Yeah, and you are?"

"Jason Barnes. Sam's told me a lot about you," he told him warmly.

Jack's own mind and thoughts were conflicting with the warm reception he was receiving, "She has, has she?"

Jason smiled as he looked back at Sam, "Yeah..." He then wrapped his arms around Sam and gave her a hug that she warmly returned. Jason whispered in her ear, "I had a great time today Sam, thanks."

"Me too," she whispered back.

Jason whispered one last thing in her ear before releasing her, "Remember, the question is what are you going to do about it?" he told her as he let on that he knew about her more than professional feelings for her CO. He then pulled away and spoke normally, "Well I gotta go, but, hey, next time Sam, answer your phone," he told her as he kissed her on the cheek.

"I will," she told him with a smile.

"Colonel, it was nice meeting you," he told Jack as he once again held out his hand.

Jack watched the exchange between Sam and Jason with a certain level of unease and jealousy which peaked when he saw that Jason had made her smile, something which he hadn't seen on Sam's face in a while. "Likewise," he replied as he shook hands with Jason before he walked down the stairs.

"Have a safe flight and say hi to Katie for me," Sam wished him with another genuine smile that Jack noticed.

As Jason got into his car he turned back to the pair on the porch and smiled and waved before driving off. Once his car was no longer visible, Jack turned to Sam and saw that the smile was still on her face. Jack stared at her face and admired it; he had been missing her smile recently.

When Sam returned her gaze to her CO, the smile on her face disappeared and was replaced by a serious expression, "Colonel?"

Jack's face fell when the smile disappeared from her face, "Uh, yeah, I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing... So, how ya doing?"

"Fine sir."

"Come on Carter, you've been avoiding us all weekend. You haven't been answering your phone and you're hardly here during the day… What's going on?"

"Keeping tabs on me again sir?" she asked him.

"Come on Carter, you know that wasn't us! We're just worried about you."

"Well I'm fine sir. I've just been doing a lot of thinking recently."

"About what?"

"I'd rather not discuss it with you sir... If you don't mind sir, I have to get back to a few things," she told him as she stepped back inside and was poised to close the door.

"Yeah… okay… sorry to disturb you," he told her before she nodded her head and closed the door. He silently added, "See ya tomorrow Sam."

TBC