A/N: Consequences. Hope everyone enjoys, stares at my profile and other works. Read, review, for the end is nigh for this story. Natters, ever my inspiration, hasn't spared me the rod. The final chapter will be up in a day or two thanks to her whipping me along. Yeah, I promise the final act in this drama will be something shy of spectacular.

Jack felt everyone's eyes on them as he descended the ramp. The males sensed a change, circled Carter distantly with smiles. The females too felt the coming change in pack structure, and Jack felt his own share of smiles and attention. He didn't feel comfortable. He knew what they saw- firm reprimands, perhaps a transfer. Looking up, he saw General Hammond positively smoldering as he stared down from the control room.

Aww, Christ. It was going so well.

Almost immediately, Carter was seperated from Jack by the SF's. He was taken to medical, and she to bear the brunt of Hammond's fury without so much as the opportunity to shower or change. She cringed as she stood in parade rest, staring mostly at her soft boots as he pointed and raved.

"I see that being reasonable has finally failed me. Why is that, Major? Why?"

"Don't know, sir."

"We've all known how you two felt for a long, long time. But now...now I have to do something about this! You've crossed the line. "

"Yessir."

Hammond sat back down, rubbing his temples. Once his voice took on a weary quality that she had never heard before.

"How long has this been going on?"

"What, sir?"

"You an' Jack."

"Don't know what you're talking about, General Hammond."

"Carter, be honest with me. The gate guard saw you two come in together."

"I crashed my bike, General. He gave me a lift in. Nothing wrong with that."

"People saw you walking close."

"General..."

"You forgot every elevator has a camera, Major."

"Oh..."

"Yes, that. Caught in the act. Plus, judging by what Dixon and Castleman tell me, there's a little more to the story than you're telling me."

Carter put on her best poker face, determined to protect Jack.

"Yessir."

Hammond sighed, a great gusty thing that carried his frustration. He continued rubbing at his temples as Carter stared straight ahead.

"Carter, what am I going to do with the both of you?"

"Don't know, sir."

"The Colonel is an integral part of the SGC command chain and our most experienced field officer. I can't get rid of him. You're the best field scientist on the planet, so I can't take YOU out of the field either. Moving you two around would mean a massive reshuffling of the SG teams. So, I'm stuck. "

"You are, sir."

"Git, Carter. I need an aspirin to help me think this over. Dismissed."

He waved his left at her as his right went for the top drawer of his desk. Carter performed a quiveringly correct salute and about face, closing the doors behind her.

Now what?

Janet gave Jack a grumbling okay to walk around, warning that he would need to check back in to see if the blade piece would require removal. Throwing on a shirt, he nodded a response, lost in thought.

Someone's going to be moved, or demoted, or transfered. I don't know what I can do to stop it. Carter's young, she has a career ahead of her.

Janet patted his back as he shuffled out the door for his own session with Hammond. Suddenly, it struck him. He realized there was only one way out. He remembered, once upon a time, his own father had passed down his wisdom. He had kept it close, remembered it

A true hero isn't brave, or fearless, or better than anyone else. He isn't anything but an ordinary man. A true hero understands what must be done. A true hero is a man who understands what must be done, the price it carries, and does what he must none the less.

Carter lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling like she had that night, three years ago. This was a time like that. She remembered, back then, how she had been forced to confront her emotions. Trying to ignore them hadn't helped. She remembered feeling like a chunk of her soul had been ripped out as he walked down that corridor, SF's dragging him along. Losing him meant losing herself. She realized in that instant three things:

Firstly, that more of her than she could have possibly imagined was tied up in Jack. She didn't ever want to feel the pain she felt when she thought he would die. It was worse than the torture on Netu, worse than the run from the supersoldier, worse than having her genes shredded by Nerti.

Secondly, she would do ANYTHING for him. She would lay her life down without question. She would move heaven and earth to see him smile.

Lastly, she realized feeling like that for a man scared her shitless. She had tried to convince herself that the feelings weren't real, or that they wouldn't last...but there she was. She could deal with the fear, now. She had him, she could do anything.

Where is he? What is he doing? Is he thinking about me?

Jack signed the paper, signed away the last thirty years of his life. He cleaned out his locker, threw his heavy canvas jacket over his shoulder, filled the duffel with the little momentos and pictures collected over the last seven years. Photos, especially the one of a married alternate Jack and Carter. A small scarab, a gift from Daniel from a long time ago. He handed over his ID to the SF, remembered the good times, and tried to smile. He couldn't. He was giving up what he loved to do, all his friends. His pack. He knew exactly what was going to happen- he was going to go home, get drunk, and pass out. There was no avoiding it. He would start the long, slow slide...but it would be worth it if Carter got a second chance.

Maybe she wouldn't care anymore.

Maybe he'd end up hurting her.

After Hammond made it clear that no matter what, there would be consequences. But Jack knew, he understood that he could lessen those consequences for her. She loved her career, and he loved her. So, he did what he could.

Call it a Parthian shot. Call it my last gift to you, Carter. I love you.

"Did you ever think of me,

As your best friend?

Did I ever think of you?

I'm not complaining. .."

A small alarm clock played on, the eerie chanting in background suiting her mood perfectly. Her room had slowly filled over the years with trinkets and junk. She had always felt like she didn't have a home, and compensated by trying to make anywhere she spent a good deal of time hers. She stared at the Luis Royo poster taped to the ceiling. She had once thought of it as her avatar, a way to represent herself. It was of an angel, dress spattered in droplets of blood. Her wings were tattered, and she gripped the collar around a slender, deathly pale neck.

A fallen angel.

But every since that night at Jack's, she felt exalted and full of life. She had found a home, in Jack's den. Her mate. Thinking about him made her smile. She swayed subtly on the mattress to the music, thinking about following through on the promise interrupted. She rather enjoyed the dress she wore, the bandolier, the boots. Made her feel...sexy.

A knock on the door.

She sat bolt upright on her bed, opened it. She expected Jack, wanted it to be Jack, a coy smile playing her lips. Hammond's anger was forgotten in her rush for the door.Instead, she looked down to see one Specialist Janice Polito staring up at her. She frowned, extending herself to her full height, towering a full four inches over the shorter woman.

"Yes, Specialist?" she managed to hiss.

"Begging your pardon, ma'am. Can I come in?"

The frown deepened, but Sam nodded. She had often caught the squat woman making eyes at her Jack. While not unattractive and not really a threat to their relationship, the specialist's unrequited affection for her man still meant a chilly, if not outright hostile relationship between the two women. Carter stared at her angrily.

"Yes?"

"General Hammond has decided your punishment, ma'am, on charges of fraternization and conduct unbecoming."

She nodded. Another song came onto the radio, and she barely listened as the other woman uneasily listed her rival's penance.

"Firstly, you are hereby demoted to captain."

That hurt, but it was nothing she couldn't recover from. Her career could recover- in fact, she was long overdue for the jump to colonel. She nodded, steely eyed.

"Secondly, you are docked pay for three weeks."

She had savings. She'd have to pinch pennies, but that would be okay. At least she wasn't out of the Airforce. She could still go through the gate, adventure with her mate by her side...

"Thirdly, you are hereby confined to quarters for a period of two weeks."

Well, maybe not.

"And ma'am, as one woman to another, I think there's something you should know."

"What's that, specialist?"

"Jack was 'retired'. He took the brunt of the blame, submitted his resignation."

Sam felt like she had run full-tit into a brick wall. He had given up everything he had to shelter her. The strength and vitality disappeared. Her legs felt weak as her mind churned. She was very suddenly on her bed again.

"Sorry ma'am. I'll leave you be."

The airwoman snapped a salute, and headed for the door. The radio played on as Sam all but imploded, lyrics mirroring her thoughts as the first tears came to her eyes.

'Cause I'm broken when I'm open

And I don't feel like I am strong enough

'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome

And I don't feel right when you're gone away.