Title: As the 'Gate Turns: Someday
Author: Annerb
Rating: minor language
Summary: Jack gets a long deserved kick in the butt.
Classifications: Series, S/J, Drama
Season: Mid-season 8, up through End Game (AU from there)
DisclaimerThe characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-1, the Goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.

Author's Note: I'm pretty sure that this is what you have all been waiting for! ;) Hope you packed a toothbrush for some of this! Thanks Montage and Triptnx!

Feedback: Always appreciated!

Part 13: Someday

"Haley! Pizza's here!" Jack called back to his daughter. He shook his head in disbelief as he headed towards the front door. How in the world she managed to find a pizza joint willing to deliver way out here in the middle of nowhere he had no idea. Haley had been pretty insistent that she had found someone to do it and Jack was not one to argue, as he loved nothing more than hot pizza and cold beer. Well, maybe his daughter, but beer and pizza were way up there.

There was no answer from the back of the cabin where Haley had locked herself away in the early hours of this morning, claiming headache and alone time with a good book. Jack had no problem giving her space; after all, they had already been at the cabin together all week. They had had some great bonding time. Haley loved the beauty of the forest and, to Jack's delight, actually loved the concept of fishing as much as he did. In many ways, Haley had seemed like she was back to her old self.

Jack grabbed his wallet and headed for the door, beginning to wonder at her lack of response. He pulled the front door open to find Sam standing there, holding a pizza box. "Special delivery, as requested," Sam supplied with a self-conscious smile as if she wasn't sure how she would be received.

When he still continued to stare at her, his mouth hanging open in a rather cute way, she plowed on, even though the smile began to waver. "Haley did mention that she invited me up for the weekend, didn't she?"

From Jack's expression it was clear that she hadn't and Sam was already formulating a hasty retreat even as she thought of a few things she would like to say to their wayward daughter. "Uh…sorry, I didn't mean to intrude." Sam shoved the pizza box into Jack's hands and headed back to her rental car.

Jack seemed to wake up from his stupor at the sight of Sam's retreating back. Jesus, Jack, he railed at himself, say something! "Carter!" he managed to grind out. "Come back here! You came all the way out here; there is no reason for you not to stay."

Sam had paused halfway up the walkway and Jack quickly caught up with her. "No, I thought you knew I was coming up. I never would have intruded on your bonding time." Jack noticed she was flustered and he silently sent a few choice words back towards his daughter's room.

"Come on, Carter. She's your daughter, too. We'll all bond together. Heck, it's not like I haven't invited you up here a million times before." Sam smiled somewhat sadly at that reminder, but turned back to the cabin with Jack.

"It's more beautiful than I imagined," Sam confessed softly.

Jack looked at her. Had she imagined this place often? he wondered. As often as I imagined her being here? "I'm glad you're finally getting a chance to see it," he said, though he was secretly very, very glad that he wasn't here with her alone.

They stepped into the cabin together and Jack set the pizza down in the kitchen. Sam looked around; noting that this place seemed even more lived in, more Jack-like, than his somewhat sterile house in Colorado Springs. It was all warm wood and soft leather, with a large wood-burning stove. Large picture windows opened up over the small lake and the surrounding woods. She also noticed with a start that there was no TV, though maybe there was one hidden somewhere else. She couldn't believe that he would abandon hockey and the Simpsons, even out here in the woods.

Jack was silently watching her survey the family room, wondering if she liked it or what she saw when she looked at it. Perhaps feeling his gaze, she turned back to him to find him staring at her. Jack quickly looked away and gestured down a small hallway. "Want to go say 'hi' to Haley?"

Sam nodded and followed him down to the second door on the left. Jack knocked on the door, calling out their daughter's name. There was no answer and he knocked again before trying the handle. They both stepped into the room, trying to tamp down the instinctual military alarms going off in their heads at her lack of response. It was clear to Sam as soon as she entered the room that it was empty. Not only empty of people, but also things, as there was no evidence of clothing, books, toiletries or anything. Sam glanced at Jack, but he seemed just as confused.

At the same time, they both noticed a small white note sitting on the middle of the bed. Jack reached for it and skimmed it quickly, his face growing noticeably darker with each line he read. Wordlessly, he handed it over to Sam to read.

Hey guys-

If you're reading this, then I'm already on my way back to Colorado Springs. I know that you are both thinking of very creative ways to kill me, but you will have to wait at least until Monday. In the meantime, I would consider it a personal favor if you guys took advantage of this weekend to actually TALK. I am not the only one who is at my wit's end with you two (Not that Daniel or Teal'c put me up to this; I came up with this wacky plan all on my own). I don't know what happened while I was gone, but I can't help but feel responsible. So, please, for me, figure this out.

Here's the only advice I can think of: Be honest. Jack, you should know better by now and Sam, I thought you were way smarter than this. I'm not expecting miracles (or siblings for that matter), but I would at least hope that you guys could talk again or be friends, like you were before. I'll be safely hidden under the Mountain until you guys get back. Have fun.

Love,

Your dutiful daughter,

Haley

Sam finished the letter, but couldn't get herself to look at Jack. How long they stood there, staring at an empty room, she couldn't be sure. Jack was the one to finally break the silence. "You want a beer?"

Sam nodded mutely. Boy, did she need one.

Jack and Sam had finished the pizza and had a few beers each. Now they sat across from each other at the small kitchen table. The sun had long since set on the little cabin in the woods, and yet neither of its occupants had said a word.

Sam finally decided she couldn't stand the silence anymore. It was not a comfortable silence, the kind they used to easily slip into with each other. The time when they had found solace in simple companionship was long gone. Ever since they had lost Haley to Baal, Jack could barely stand to be in the same room with her. Jack had brutally rebuffed Sam every time she futilely attempted to get him to talk to her. Sam had decided to walk away eventually, mostly out of a need to protect herself from what Jack had become.

Now, all this time later, when their daughter had been miraculously returned to them, damaged, but not destroyed, Sam found all pity and patience for this man disappear. All that was left was a pulsating anger. Even Haley had seen how wrong things were between Jack and Sam, judging by the intricate plan she had laid out to get them here together alone. And Jack still stubbornly refused to even acknowledge her. Damn the man, Sam swore to herself.

"I think I am finally beginning to understand why Sara left you."

Jack's eyes were hard as granite when he looked up at Sam. "Why would that be, Colonel?" His voice was low, and Sam could easily hear the warning in it, but she was too pissed to really care.

"Because when push comes to shove, you really are a selfish bastard."

Jack tried to remain impassive, but Sam knew him well enough to see him flinch at her accusation. Secretly, she was relieved to see evidence that he really did still feel.

Jack looked her straight in the eye and said, "It took you eight years to figure that out?" Then he pushed back his chair and headed to his room in the rear of the cabin, effectively signaling an end to the conversation.

Sam, however, was not going to let him off that easy. Haley was right; they owed it to her and themselves to have this out. It was a fight that had been brewing for months and Sam found that she was spoiling for a fight. She grabbed Jack's arm and forced him to turn around. "No way, Jack. We are going to have this out once and for all. You may not have anything to say, but you are going to damn well listen to what I have to say."

"Actually, Colonel, this conversation is finished." He knew it was a low blow to remind her of their ranks, but he didn't really care. All that mattered was ending this conversation before he said something he wouldn't be able to take back. He didn't miss the hurt in her eyes, though, and he hated that he was the one to do this to her. But self-hatred was an old companion by now. It was comfortable; it was safe.

Jack turned his back on Sam and pushed into his room, certain that she wouldn't follow. He sat down on the bed and had removed his second shoe before she finally spoke, her voice now quiet where it had been belligerent before.

"I believed in you," she said softly. "You have always watched out for me, even when I thought I didn't need it. We have always watched each other's six. I thought you would always be there for me, no matter how crazy everything else around us became. And then, when I needed you most, when I was at my lowest and wasn't sure I would ever be right again; you turned your back on me. Haley was dead. Our daughter was dead, and you were too stubborn or wrapped up in your own pain or something to see that I needed you."

Each one of her soft words had been like a bullet to Jack and suddenly he was wishing for her anger, anything other than the betrayal and anguish in her voice. He sat, completely still, on the edge of his bed with his back to her, unable to respond. Unwilling to even acknowledge that he had heard her.

"I just want to know why, Jack. Why did you do that to me, to us?"

With a swiftness that surprised him, Jack's mood fired into anger at her accusations and assumptions. He also felt a need to see her angry. Push her away, push her away, Jack's self-preservation screeched.

"There is no 'us,' Carter," he ground out. "And I'm sorry I couldn't hold your hand, but you were not the only one who lost someone."

Sam knew he was just trying to be mean, and sensing that he was cracking, she just pushed back harder. "Was that the great and amazing Jack O'Neill admitting that he actually felt something? Do you have a heart underneath all that armor?"

"No, I don't, remember? I am a selfish old bastard. So why don't you take that fun new revelation with you and get the hell out of here."

Sam stared at Jack for a long while. He refused to look at her, but she thought that maybe she was finally figuring something out. "You would like that, wouldn't you," she asked evenly. "You'd like me to just walk away."

"Yes," he hissed.

"I'm not Sara," was Sam's response. Jack's head snapped up at that statement, looking at Sam for the first time.

"I'm aware of that fact, thank you very much." He was disconcerted to see that Sam no longer looked angry or even hurt. Instead, she gave him a speculative look, like she was about to figure out a very complex puzzle.

The next thing Jack knew, Sam was moving towards the bed. She sat down next to him and said, "I'm not walking away."

Suddenly she was too near. "Carter, don't." He hated the pleading in his voice, but his defenses were rapidly abandoning him and he was far too aware that he was sitting on his bed, in his cabin in the middle of nowhere with none other than Sam Carter. He could smell her shampoo and there was just something so wrong about that.

She didn't move away, but rather leaned in and asked, "Don't what?"

Jack shot off the bed. "Jesus, Carter."

"I just want to know why you are so intent on treating me this way, like I'm a leper!"

Jack ran his hands through his hair. "I can't…" he trailed off and looked quickly for the exit, but Sam had followed him, not giving him an inch of space.

"Can't what?" she insisted. "Come on, Jack! What is this really all about?"

Jack really wished she would stop saying his name. It was freaking him the heck out. The shampoo smell was still there, too, and it was making it hard for him to think. Her presence was overwhelming him and he just began speaking without thinking. "I can't…I can't need you, Carter."

She blinked up at him. "I don't understand."

"I thought you were supposed to be the smart one," he shot back as he moved away from her.

"So explain it to me."

"Come on, Carter. I may be a cold-hearted bastard, but I am not completely made of stone. If I let myself need you, what the hell happens to me the next time a Pete comes by? What happens to me the next time you decide to walk away?"

Sam stopped cold, knowing he was right. It had always been her. She had always been the one to walk away, to ignore. So this time, he had just walked away first. Suddenly Sam was filled with the need for him to really understand.

"There won't be a next time," she pledged quietly.

Jack stared at her in shock before shaking his head. "Carter, I've never begrudged you your happiness. I'm not asking you to never have another relationship, I just asking you to not make it any harder."

It was a legitimate request and Sam was once again impressed by how much he would willingly suffer, just to see her happy. But he needed to understand, once and for all where she was coming from. "You still don't really understand what happened with Pete, do you? I didn't just decide that I didn't love Pete; I decided that there was really only one way that I would ever be happy and that I wouldn't be stupid or selfish enough to settle for anything else."

Jack had no voice for a second, disbelieving that she could really mean what he hoped she did. "So, what, you are going to just wait for someday, knowing full well that it may never come?"

Sam simply nodded, but Jack shook his head. "You deserve more. It's not enough."

"It has to be."

"Why?" Jack asked before he could stop himself, not sure if he really wanted to know.

Sam wandered over to Jack, placed a hand on his arm and looked him straight in the eye. "Because despite the fact that you can be a real bastard and you hurt me so much…despite every damn reason that I shouldn't… I…" She took a deep breath. "I love you, Jack."

It was the first time either of them had ever mentioned love. She had broken their unspoken promise to speak vaguely, if ever, about such things. Jack noticed that Sam stood very still, as if holding her breath, waiting to see if the world would end as they had always feared it would in the face of such a confession. When Armageddon didn't come, she looked up once more at the flabbergasted Jack and then she walked out of the room.

Jack was still standing like a complete idiot five minutes later when through the window he saw Sam walking out on the front path. He panicked for a moment, thinking that she was leaving, that he had just managed to royally screw up the one moment he had dreamed about for a long time. But his pulse settled back down when he saw Sam wander out onto the dock and sit on the edge of the lake.

The moonlight washed everything silver and reflected gently off the water. Jack stared at the motionless form on the dock for at least another five minutes as he tried to get his shanghaied brain to compute what had just happened.

Jack eventually walked out to the dock to stand behind Sam, his hands thrust deeply into his pockets. "So now what?" he asked softly.

Sam shrugged. "I have no idea."

Jack took a deep breath and stared out over the water for a long time. He felt that he owed Sam some honesty, especially since she had been the one to step up. "I don't want to just forget this happened, Carter. I'm getting damn tired of rooms."

"Me too," she said softly.

"Just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it. Do you want me to retire? Transfer?" Jack trailed off as Sam shook her head.

"Why don't we just start with honesty?"

"Are you sure I can't just retire?" Jack asked with a slight edge of panic.

Sam laughed softly and reached a hand up to Jack. "I imagine honesty is a big enough step to start with."

Jack knew she was right, but considering they had spent the last four or five years speaking half-truths or not speaking at all, it seemed a tall order. He took the offered hand and settled down next to Sam on the dock.

"I could get used to this," Jack said after a while, twining his fingers through Sam's.

"To what?" Sam asked, cocking her head to one side.

"Actually getting to touch you, without having to come up with some excuse."

Sam smiled somewhat shyly at him and he realized just how much he had missed her these last months. Not just the little dance they had been doing for years, it was more than that. He had missed his best friend. She was the one person who probably could have helped him with his grief and he had turned his back on her. Why? Punishment, maybe. He still felt that Haley's 'death' had in some way been his fault. He had lost another woman her child. Sam was absolution he didn't deserve.

"What are you thinking?" Sam asked, watching him speculatively. "Honesty, remember?"

Jack sighed. "I was thinking that I've been an ass."

Sam didn't look inclined to disagree.

"And also that I've missed you these last months."

Sam leaned her head onto Jack's shoulder. "Me too."

Jack smiled and put his arm around her. "Maybe this honesty stuff isn't so bad."

He could feel her laugh against his side and Jack felt the overwhelming need to just grab her and kiss her until she could no longer pronounce multi-syllabic words. He resisted the urge with difficulty and sighed.

"This hasn't really changed anything, has it?" Jack could tell that she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"I don't know."

"I take it that neither of us are willing to sneak around and lie."

"No," Sam said softly. "I wouldn't want it to be that way."

"Yeah, me neither."

"But something has changed," Sam alleged.

"What?"

"Now we know," she said simply. "I think I could wait forever if I just knew…" her voice trailed off, suddenly sounding uncertain.

Jack gently touched her face, forcing her to look up at him. "I do, Carter, you know. Love you. That is one thing you can be certain of."

Sam treated him to the sweetest smile he had ever seen. "For now, that is more than enough."

Sam woke the next morning to the smell of waffles. The sun was already up and a quick glance at the clock by the bed told Sam that she had slept in later than she had in months. They had been up late, sitting on that dock until the early hours of the morning, watching the stars and talking about nothing in particular. It was probably the greatest night of her life, even if she had spent the second half of it alone in the guestroom.

As she changed into jeans and a t-shirt, though, Sam couldn't help but feel small butterflies of nervousness. Somehow honesty was a lot easier under the cover of darkness. What happened to their confessions in the bright light of day? This would be the true test, she thought as she stood in front of the door, her hand hovering over the doorknob.

"Geronimo," she whispered softly.

She walked into the cabin's small kitchen to find Jack standing at the counter, watching an old fashioned waffle iron.

"Like father like daughter," Sam observed.

Jack turned around with one eyebrow raised. "Oh really?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, she's a bit of a waffle guru."

"Sweet," he said before turning back to pull a perfect golden waffle off the iron.

Sam watched him, unnerved that she was having a hard time reading him. He seemed very…normal. And she wasn't sure what that meant.

With a flourish, Jack put a plate on the table for her and gestured for her to sit. He joined her soon after and Sam took a bite. Delicious, unsurprisingly. Jack was also digging in to his breakfast and Sam wondered what he was thinking. Was he regretting the things he had said last night?

"Carter," Jack said as if reading her mind.

Sam looked up to find him watching her with a smile. "Yes, s-" she bit off the last of that word with a grimace. But Jack just smiled wider.

He waved his fork at her and said, "You're thinking too much."

Sam tried not to look guilty.

"Not that it isn't not cute, mind you," he said with a twinkle in his eye, "but you're going to blow a gasket if you keep this up."

"Cute?" Sam asked disbelievingly.

"Hey, you're the one who wanted honesty, remember," he said with a mischievous smile.

"You are an evil man, Jack O'Neill," Sam said, trying her hardest not to smile.

"You have no idea." His tone promised that one day she would know just how evil he could be. He smiled widely at her and Sam smiled back like an idiot, her stomach doing little flips. These really were the best waffles she'd ever had.

After breakfast, Jack took Sam for a hike to all his favorite spots. Walking through the trees together almost felt like the old days, except that sometimes Jack would take her hand to help her over an obstacle and then not let go. He was different out here, more at ease, more open. They didn't have to worry about off-world surprises, not that Jack wasn't as vigilant as he always was. You can take the soldier out of the field, but you can't take the field out of the soldier. Sam laughed at the cliché and earned a strange look from Jack. Sam just shook her head and smiled.

In the afternoon, they lounged on the dock with fishing poles. Sam wondered if late afternoon was really the best time for fishing, but Jack had just shrugged and grabbed another beer. "It's not about the fish, Carter," he reminded her.

"So what are we going to do about Haley?" Sam asked a few hours later.

"I'd give her the Congressional Medal of Honor if I could," Jack quipped. "Service above and beyond the call of daughterly duty."

Sam laughed, also very grateful to her for forcing them up here. "Something tells me that you aren't going to just thank her and let her off the hook, though."

"Nope," Jack said simply.

Sam recognized the gleam in his eyes. She couldn't help but remember the little prank war between Jack and Daniel that had gotten way out of hand a few years ago. "Just promise me this won't involve permanent markers or laxatives."

Jack winced at the memory. "Definitely not."

Sam giggled, remembering how she had had to explain to Teal'c exactly what a practical joke was as Jack and Daniel had both lay nearby moaning.

"No giggling, Carter," Jack said grumpily.

Sam smiled broadly. "You know, you're cute when you're grouchy."

"Cute?" he said sharply, like she had just insulted him greatly.

Sam grabbed his empty bottle and stood up to head back into the cabin. "Yeah, Jack. Cute," she said sassily.

The next thing she knew, she was spitting out pond water. Jack O'Neill could really move fast when he wanted to, she thought, before she streaked off to get her revenge.

A couple of hot showers and a spaghetti dinner later, Jack and Sam were out on the deck, watching the sun set on their last evening at the cabin.

"I don't really want to leave," Sam confessed wistfully.

"I know the feeling," Jack said, leaning next to her on the porch railing.

"Promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Promise me that we won't go back and just fall into old patterns. Promise me that we won't just conveniently forget or ignore. I don't think I could handle that."

Jack dropped his arm around Sam and pressed a soft kiss to her temple. "I promise," he whispered against her ear.

Then he lifted his beer in salute and said, "To someday."

Sam mirrored the motion with a smile. "Someday."

Late Monday morning, Jack and Sam stood next to each other in the SGC, waiting for an elevator to take them down. When the doors finally slid open, Sam gestured for Jack to go first.

"After you, sir."

Jack looked at Sam. "I can't wait until you can't call me that anymore."

Sam just smiled. "Yes, sir."

"Alright, Colonel. Let's get back to work."

They filled the ride down with shop-talk. Jack complained about the Leaning Tower of Paperwork that was undoubtedly waiting for him, and Sam talked about an experiment she was planning on running.

As they walked out of the elevator, though, Jack had to suppress a random urge to grab Sam's hand. Sam must have seen the aborted move, because she looked sideways at Jack and cocked one eyebrow.

Jack frowned at her and said, "Maybe this is a really bad idea."

Sam's eyes widened and he quickly added, "I've never been good at waiting."

Sam broke into a wide grin. Then, aware of the other airmen walking the halls, she leaned in and whispered, "Hard for you? At least you don't know what you're missing, Sir."

Jack's mouth went dry and he stared at Sam in shock. She chuckled softly and then started down the hall. Was she deliberately swaying her hips! Damn her! Stop looking at her ass, Jack sternly reminded himself. But at that moment the true meaning behind her words hit him and he was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that she had seen him naked.

"Damn it, Carter," he called out after her in a somewhat strangled voice, "that is so not fair!"