Title: Not What You'd Expect

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm just borrowing.

Spoilers: None really. It's set in about season eight.

Notes: There is quite a bit of speech in this part, but the formating seems a bit screwy and I'm not sure how to fix it. Sorry Thanks for the reviews.

He arrived a little after eight; in a vehicle that gave me the first insight into a part of himself he keeps separate from me. He was chauffeur driven, a young military man who saluted. Jack paused talking to the young man before walking up to my front door. It explained a lot that Jack was military. If the young man and car were anything to go by he was pretty high-ranking military at that.

Over dinner, we talked. Well I talked, he made appropriate sounds at the right times but I don't think he was actually listening. There was definitely something on his mind. I hoped that he would open up to me and tell me what it was. To coin an old cliché a problem shared is a problem halved.

"I'm going to retire," he said suddenly, as I lay in his arms. I didn't know what to think or say. So typically I said the first thing that appeared into my mind. "Why?"

"It's time," he said simply. "I'm getting too old, and I'm not cut out for paperwork."

There was something else behind this; it couldn't just be those things. I moved back, so I could see his face. "I never realised you were in the military."

"Didn't you?"

"Do all military get chauffeur driven?"

"Only Generals."

"That explains the death glare then. You've had all those years of scaring the pants off of raw recruits. One little girl didn't stand a chance against you."

"One little girl who is more trouble than a lot of those recruits put together," he drew me back into his embrace.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Later I asked him what had been on my mind for the past six months "Who is she?"

"It's complicated." He didn't deny that there was a she. He confirmed all my suspicions. Part of me was disappointed that there was actually a she. The other part was glad that he was opening up to me. "What's complicated about it?"

"She is getting married, soon."

"She's not married yet."

"She's under my command and she is looking at having children," he finished softly looking anywhere but at me.

"Did she tell you this?"

"The doctor has to inform me of any medical issues that may affect staffing levels. It was all there in blank and white, in one of her weekly memo's"

"Is that sort of thing private?"

"National Security."

"How is that anything to do with National Security?"

"Classified."

"So she's under your command and that means you can't go out with her?"

"Pretty much."

"Well you said you were going to retire anyway…"

"Doesn't matter, she's made her choice. She wants to start a family that's all there is to say."

He turned away; I didn't think there was anything to say to him. So I just hugged him. That was all I could do. Let him know that I was there for him. He had a lot to lose if he told her his feelings. She had a life; there was no guarantee that she had any feelings for him. Unrequited love was a terrible thing. I should know I'd fallen for Jack in a big way. He would never look at me like that though. I was going to do all that I could to make sure that he was happy and loved.

"Can you just leave like that?" I asked.

"No," he paused. "I'll get retirement on medical grounds as my knees aren't what they used to be. The base isn't the most disabled friendly environment."

"What will you do?"

"Go fishing, stargaze and fish some more."

"Can I come fishing?"

"You wouldn't like it, it's in the middle of nowhere and there aren't actually any fish."

I tried not to be hurt that he didn't want me to go fishing with him but it did hurt. It was then that I decided that I should stop seeing Jack. He wouldn't feel about me the way I wanted him to. I don't think it ever occurred to him to think of me like that, after he found out what I do for a living. There may have been a slim chance before then but not anymore. I was just the woman he had to pay to keep him company. I don't think Jack had much faith in his attractiveness to the opposite sex, he was divorced some years ago, he was in love with a woman he worked with – who either didn't notice or didn't care how he felt and then he paid me to keep him company. I can see how that would affect a guy's self-esteem. What Jack didn't seem to realise was he was very attractive but whoever he was with would probably always be second best to this other woman. I don't think many women could put up with that. Luckily I knew just the person.