AN: Thank you guys so much for the review. Although I've written plenty of fic in my time, this is my first Stargate piece. Thank you for making me feel welcome! Jessa

Chapter Five

Sleeping - or, more accurately, trying to sleep - in the car resulted in Jack being up long before the sun. It worked out well for him because he knew the cadets were usually at the firing range first thing in the morning. And he had a sneaking suspicion Sam would welcome a distraction.

He was absolutely right. He found the group of cadets aiming and missing for the most part. With the large numbers, it should have been difficult to spot her, but it wasn't. In fact, he was alarmed at how easily he spotted her. Her hair was once again untamed. Her cover was lying on the ground behind her, rather than sitting on her head where it was supposed to be. Her shirt wasn't tucked in again. And the most obvious thing - one short burst from the rifle in her hands sent her sprawling on the ground. Jack was pissed off that the instructors weren't paying the slightest bit of attention to her. Even if it was obvious to them that she was going to wash out, they shouldn't have let her fend for herself.

Jack straightened out his rumpled uniform and approached the lieutenant running the exercise. Now, he absolutely hated how Carter - the one in his time - jumped to attention when he walked in the room, but he had to admit he liked the effect of his promotion on everyone else. He especially loved how no one questioned him when he said he needed Sam to accompany him. Although her face remained stoic and impassive, the light in her eyes betrayed just how happy she was to be rescued from such a humiliating situation. She didn't question him; the stars on his shoulders assured her acquiescence. He didn't break the silence as he steered her toward the science building. He knew she was always more comfortable in a lab than anywhere else; he was hoping that had always been the case. He was banking on that comfort - he needed her to relax and trust him. Because she needed to trust him before she would help him. Because she absolutely needed to trust him before he would even dare to tell her the story.

"So, Carter, you seem a little calmer than yesterday."

"It's still early, sir. I'm tired." As she spoke the words, Jack noticed the dark circles under her eyes.

"Up all night playing with one of your little science gizmos?"

Unexpectedly, Sam's shoulders slumped and the tears gathered in her eyes. "I'm sorry, sir. I was going to put it back. I just wanted to try a few manipulations and they were locking the building and they wouldn't let me stay. I swear, it's in my bag. I didn't think anyone would notice it was gone." She frantically pawed at her bag, producing some doohickey which she thrust into Jack's hands. "It's not broken or anything. I just wanted to-"

Jack reached out, thankful for the early hour and lack of witnesses, and clamped his hand over her mouth. "Breathe, Carter. Whatever. I'm sure no one knew it was gone. I don't care. I trust you." Satisfied she wasn't going to start defending herself again, he moved his hand to her bag and shoved the undoubtedly extremely expensive machine inside.

She looked confused. "You didn't know?"

Jack shook his head, although if he'd thought about it, he could easily see Sam making off with scientific gadgets until she was old enough to have her own lab that she could refuse to leave for days at a time.

"Then how did you know I was up all night working on it?" Her panicked tears had abated, replaced by her piercing, inquisitive stare. That was the Sam he was used to.

Jack smiled mysteriously. "All in good time, Carter." It wasn't quite time to start his 'I'm from the future' speech.

She narrowed her eyes at him. Jack watched as her face momentarily reflected annoyance before it was replaced with the blank stare of a cadet. "Not much of a mystery, sir. Obviously my father told you."

He was disappointed that she hadn't taken the bait, but he didn't let it show. "The purple circles helped." He saw the uncertainty on her face - she'd never met a general who was flippant. All the ones she'd ever run into at the Air Force Academy were mean and completely devoid of a sense of humor. "You never sleep. You'd always rather be working on something in the lab."

She offered him a small, forced smile to placate him. "Your insight into my character would seem so much more impressive if you weren't friends with my father."

"Your father has no idea who I am. Call and ask. I dare you."

"That won't prove anything, sir. He'd lie straight to my face about it." She looked down. "Like some general is all of a sudden going to take me under his wing for no particular reason." Her voice and words seemed angry, but her eyes revealed just how much she wished that were the case.

They had finally reached the lab and Jack waited quietly while Sam replaced the whatsermajigger she'd borrowed. Once she was sitting down, Jack smiled at her. "It's not for no reason. I told you before, I need your help. And I can help you."

"How? By not telling my dad that I'm quitting?"

"You're not going to quit. I won't let you."

The irritated look on her face melted away, revealing a deep hurt Jack hadn't realized she was hiding. "Did you see those guys out there? They were laughing at me. Everyone hates me. They don't want me here. I don't want me here. And Dad's trying to make me stay. He just doesn't want me home because he hates me too."

"Your father loves you. He doesn't know how to show it, but he does love you. He wants you to stay here because he knows it's the only way you'll get to be an astronaut. That's your dream, isn't it?" He waited for her to nod. "As for those guys - well, you're just going to have to trust me on this - every last one of them is dying to get to know you. You're a million times smarter than they are and they know it."

"Why would they want to get to know me?" She looked truly baffled.

Jack tilted his head to the side. "Are you kidding? Have you looked in a mirror?" The deep red blush that stained her cheeks told him that she understood his meaning clearly, but he felt compelled to continue. He'd wanted to say the words to her for so long; there was his chance to do it without fear of repercussion. He hooked a finger under her chin, pulling her face up to look at his. He held her eyes as he spoke, belatedly realizing she'd known how he felt about her twenty years before he ever met her. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life, Samantha."

She stared right back into his eyes for a long time. She didn't dispute his words. She didn't point out how inappropriate it was for him to say such a thing to her. He could tell she believed him. Within a second, the obnoxious, teenage glint in her eyes was gone, replaced with that all too familiar gaze of hers - part adoring, part awestruck, part mesmerized.

And he suddenly understood why Carter had always looked at him like that, why she never doubted him, why she never stayed mad at him for more than a minute. He'd been the first man to ever tell her how beautiful she was, the first man to treat her with the respect due an adult woman. And he also knew without a doubt that her love for him hadn't grown slowly over the course of their friendship. No, it had been instantaneous - a childish love born flattery, puppy love. Yet it somehow stood the test of time and at some point along the way, it had become real.

A powerful feeling rose in his chest at that moment, the intensity of which threatened to choke him. Samantha Carter had been in love with him for nearly twenty years. He closed his eyes, unable to hold her eyes any longer with the overwhelming emotion he felt.

One thing was certain - when he got back to his own time, things were going to change. Sam had waited long enough.