When All Else Fails

Chapter Thirty One

Disclaimer: Nah, not mine :(

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They ended up going to a small, intimate dinner called Breck's Dinner that was just done the road from Jack's place. Located in the middle of a shopping center, it didn't look much like a mom and pop place, but that's exactly what it was. Family owned and run, those who came in were mostly regulars, and if they weren't they became so. The food was good and the service was great and the prices weren't that bad for the quality. Sam and Jack had gone together once or twice during the time they had off after she descended, but not that many that the owners would recognize her. Especially when her arm was still in a sling and what you could see of her arms was covered in bruises and abrasions. Her face had been left untouched, which Sam guessed was because Thoth was considering her as a queen. The thought made her grimace and Daniel picked up on it.

"You ok?" he questioned, throwing her a concerned look. Sam had behaving strangely ever since they got back from 785, but of course, she had ever rhyme and reason to do so. Her teams had been captured by somebody she knew and worked with, then they had been shut up in a tiny cell with little room to do anything. One of those under her command was taken away and killed (no matter that the man was revived and now up and breathing) then he, himself, was nearly taken, undoubtably to have the same thing occur. If it hadn't been for Sam demanding to be taken instead there was a good chance he'd have another death to add to the pile of already way-to-many.

Sam did her best to smile sweetly and nodded, chiding herself for letting him see her struggle. No, she wasn't ok. She felt useless, like her time as an ascended being had screwed with her ability to command. Perhaps Daniel was the one person that she shouldn't be shutting out, he was the only one who knew the situation she was facing, as it were, but she just couldn't bring herself to talk about it. Not yet. First, she had to sort through her feelings, see where she stood. After that, then she could talk. "I'll be ok, Daniel. I'm just a bit sleepy, is all."

He didn't take her words at face-value, he was smarter than that. She didn't want to talk, so he wouldn't push her. In time his friend would come to him and tell him what was bothering her. Daniel had been ascended before, and he was fairly certain that ascension and descension was one of the biggest things bothering her. When it came to the commanding situation, she would most likely go to Jack, and probably already had, he mused. He understood those things. Daniel understood ascension. Sooner or later Sam would come to him.

"What is it you wish to do today, Colonel Carter?" Teal'c questioned, making his presence known. Not like the two had forgotten he was there, with the man's presence that would be highly unlikely. He simply sensed the tension and the hidden emotions and decided a change of subject would be best.

"I was thinking we could just go back home and watch some movies, order pizza for dinner, that kind of stuff. There are still a lot of movies that I haven't seen from when I was... out of the country. I'd like to catch up on them..." she shrugged. "That is, if you two don't mind. I didn't know if you had anything else planned."

"Nah," Daniel assured her. "But, tomorrow Cassie only has one morning class so we're going to go to the mall. Do you think you'll be up to coming with?"

"I'll think about it," she promised. "Probably."

Daniel smiled lightly, good. He not only wanted her to get out again, back into the beginning of the year of 2006, but he and Cassie had planned on stopping by a jewelry store and subtly hint at the prospect of engagement with Jack, and maybe even gauge her reaction towards different rings. Neither were sure if Jack knew what kind of jewelry she liked, or if they had even discussed it before, so they figured he'd need all the help that he could get. Teal'c was going to visit his son and daughter-in-law for a couple of days while they had downtime, and work with Bra'tac and the Jaffa rebellion, which was once again growing strong.

"So, Colonel Carter," Teal'c questioned. "What movies do you wish to see?"

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Sam sighed and leaned heavily against the back of Jack's couch, her eyes drifting closed instinctively. They had just finished watching their second movie, Gothika, and she was beginning to get tired. She opened them just as quickly as they had closed, however, the last thing she needed was to give Daniel another reason to be concerned about her. He would just tell Jack, and then she would have not only Daniel cornering her for questions, but Jack as well. Then again, Jack and Sam had already discussed what was bothering her- for the most part. And it had made her feel a lot better, but there was still a lot of unanswered questions she had.

"What's next?" Daniel asked, glancing at the mile high stack of Blockbuster Videos.

She glanced over at the stack and picked out a DVD, glancing at the title and the description on the back. 'Little Black Book'. Well, they hadn't watched a click flick yet, so... why not? "How about this one?" she questioned, passing the movie to her friend. Daniel took one look at the movie and frowned, but nodded anyway. If that was what she wanted to watch... she was the one confined to their company.

The movie was more than halfway through when Jack walked into the house. It was almost 1900 hours and they had just called and ordered pizza. He made Daniel scoot over on the couch and sat next to her, pulling her close to him carefully. She smiled at him and rested her head on his chest, thankful for the chance to rest without it being completely obvious. They turned back to watch as Stacy's plan backfired in her face on life-television and Sam found herself actually liking the chick flick. It wasn't really like the normal chick-flick, in this one the girl doesn't end up getting the guy, or as far as she could tell she didn't. It was good.

The movie was over by the time that the pizza got there and while Sam and Daniel were paying for it Jack had saw fit to pick out a movie of his own and put it on. Sam groaned inwardly when she saw the DVD box lying on the coffee table, Saving Private Ryan was a good movie and all, but it was long. Nonetheless, she grabbed herself a slice of pizza and sat down on the couch next to her boyfriend. A smile spread across her face when she thought about the title, boyfriend. It sounded a bit juvenile now that she was getting into her late thirties, but she didn't care. She and Jack were dating. He was her boyfriend and she was his girlfriend and the only thing that would be better is if they were engaged.

Whoa. Back up there. Engaged? Did she really just think that? They had only been dating a couple of weeks, they hadn't even been intimate yet. Which, shouldn't be such a big deal, anyway. A lot of people were engaged without having been intimate. But then again, they tended to date for more than three weeks, as well. Did she really want to be engaged to Jack? So soon, anyway.

As the movie came on she glanced over at him, briefly. God, he was so perfect for her. Maybe being engaged again wouldn't be such a bad thing. This time he was the one, she knew it; deep down in the pit of her stomach she knew it. After only three weeks of dating, was engagement really something she thought was appropriate?

Did he even think the same way? That was the biggest factor in all of this anyway. She was traditional in a few ways, so asking him to marry her was pretty much out of the question, unless he took way too long to come to his senses. If Jack wasn't ready to be engaged, then well, she'd have to wait. But, something told her that he wouldn't be so turned off to the idea. Sam smiled to herself, setting aside her musings, and slid and arm along his leg. He looked over at her and grinned, knowing she wanted attention. He leaned over and kissed her briefly, running a hand through her short hair.

"I love you," he whispered, kissing her again.

It was her turn to grin and she laid her head on his chest once more, "I love you, too."

That was all she needed to know. They were in love and marriage to Jack O'Neill was definitely something that she wanted. Who knew, maybe she could hint at it to him somehow. He was smarter than he let on, he should pick up on it. Even more so if he had the same thoughts as she did... she hoped.

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Jack kissed Sam briefly before turning back to his movie with a sigh of content. There was nothing more he could ask for, well, at that moment, at least. It was just like old times, before Pete, before their promotions, before Sam's ascension, when they were SG-1, the earths first line of defense. Of course, SG-1 was still the first line of defense, except now it was only a three man team, excluding him. He loved his job and everything, he could do a lot sitting behind his General's desk than he could out there off-world, but he missed it. A lot. He missed the excitement and the jokes the team shared, he missed ordering Sam or Daniel to stop working on some alien artifact and eat, and the looks that Teal'c got when they met up with a new race of people. Not fear exactly, for the man had a specific aura about him, but intimidation at his size maybe.

He pulled Sam closer and grinned when she wrapped her own arm around his waist and rested her head on his chest, sighing sleepily. Playing with her hair gently he continued to watch the movie, and think. This setting was like old times, but there was one thing that he was glad changed. His and Sam's relationship. That felt even more natural than being with the three of them watching movies. The two of them seemed to fit together perfectly and somehow he wasn't surprised at that fact.

His thoughts traveled to his conversation with Daniel the day prior. Was engagement really something they were ready for? If he asked her, would she say yes?

Jack looked over at Sam and couldn't help but grin, she had drifted to sleep and was cuddled up against him, a sleepy expression on her face. He ran his hands through her short hair affectionately, and kissed her briefly on the forehead, before turning back to the movie and his thoughts. She was the perfect woman, as far as he concerned. Brilliant, exceedingly so, beautiful, calm and collective (most of the time), but even though she was all those things she was still human and had her insecurities, and it was nice to know that when she had a problem she came to him with it. Even though he knew some things she would go to Daniel or Cassie, even Teal'c, about. Even with her minor flaws she was still the most amazing woman he had even come in contact with, and he didn't think that was ever going to change. In fact, he knew so.

And for some reason, she loved him. Even though he had way too many flaws and was less than perfect, she chose to be with him. It was a mystery to him, but he wasn't going to complain about it. He didn't think she should settle for someone like him, but it was what she obviously wanted, and that was all he cared about. Her happiness.

But, would engagement make her happy?

Turning his attention back to the movie with a small sigh he pushed the musings out of his mind. He would think about it later, when he had more of an opportunity to run through everything without distractions. The sound of gunfire and frantic shouts coming from the television set were distraction enough, and it was hard to think through all the noise. Not to mention the fact that she was practically sprawled out over him and he was doing his best not to notice the way she fit perfectly in his arms.

By the time the movie was over Daniel was snoring lightly and Teal'c was eating his seventh piece of pizza. Sam was still asleep, lying half on him, half on the couch, and Danny boy was on the love-seat, his legs hanging over the edge. Jack motioned for Teal'c to wake the archeologist while he, himself, woke up Sam.

"Sam," he whispered, pushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. "Wake up, Samantha..."

Her eyes opened at the use of her full name and she smiled sleepily, "Hi..."

"Come on, let's get you into bed," he told her as he scooted off of the couch, pulling her with him gently. She went along, leaning in his arms for support, still half-asleep. Jack was about to turn off into the guest room when she spoke up, however.

"Can I sleep with you again?" she questioned, looking up at him with a yawn.

He smiled, "Of course." They changed course and he continued down the hallway, pausing to open the door to his bedroom. After he helped her into bed, pulling the covers over her, he told her he would be back soon and headed back into the living room where Teal'c was gathering his and Daniel's things while the man sat on the sofa, looking around tiredly. Obviously, Teal'c would be driving Daniel home that night, and would probably stay with the man rather than going all the ay back to the base.

"I will see you in the morning, O'Neill." the man confirmed, helping Daniel off of the couch. "Good night."

Jack nodded at the man, "Night, T."

Teal'c bowed gracefully and the Daniel and Teal'c left the house. Jack locked the door behind them and headed back down the hall. When he entered his room Sam was lying in bed, but her eyes were opened slightly. She patted the area next to her and he climbed into bed, allowing her to scoot closer and into his arms. She murmured a goodnight and hid her face in his shirt. Moments later her breathing evened out, telling him that she was asleep.

As she laid there in his arms everything seemed suddenly clear to him. He wanted this, everyday. He wanted to be able to come home and spend all day with her, then have her fall asleep in his arms at the end of the night. This was right.

Maybe Daniel was right, the two were in love a long time before she ascended, so should he really just acknowledge since she returned? And, did it matter how long they had been together, anyway? If he asked, would she really say yes?