A/N: Wow! Thanks so much to every single one of you who reviewed chapter one! I didn't expect such a great response! I'm dead chuffed! Please keep the reviews coming, they're addictive!

I will try my best to make this next TBC a TBC as in soon... as in before the weekend is over. ;-) Part three will be the last part.

Oh, and just to clarify... this isn't my first fanfic ever, but it is my first SG-1 fanfic ever, and the first non-original, non-script format piece I've written in at least a couple of years. Hope you enjoy this next chapter!

Once again, special thanks to Lingren!

Still spoilers for Threads. Beware. Here we go…

Previously…

Pocketing his keys, Jack left the dry interior of his truck for the pouring rain. With water already running in rivulets down his face and jacket, he pushed the truck door shut and set off at a squelching jog toward Sam.

Chapter 2

Sam didn't think she could hold on much longer. She wasn't sure what was going to happen, but she knew she was losing control. It was as if there was a gaping, dark hole hovering on the edge of her existence, just waiting to suck her up into its endless realm of grief and sorrow. She could almost feel it, like icy fingers reaching out toward her, far colder than the falling rain and much, much more frightening.

Sam balled her hands into fists in her jacket pockets and closed her eyes tightly, forcing herself to take several slow, deep breaths. She couldn't give in. Not yet. If she let go here, all on her own ... well, she didn't think she could handle it. God, right now, more than any time in her life, she really needed him. She really didn't think she could hang on much longer.

She opened her eyes then, and relief blossomed within her as she saw that her wait was over. There he was, jogging across the soggy field, his head ducked against the driving rain. The sight of him making his way toward her gave Sam a glimmer of hope amidst her despair. Maybe it was crazy, but Sam felt like he was coming to rescue her. To save her from drowning just before she slipped beneath the surface and succumbed to the suffocating and crushing darkness of her emotional pain.

She swallowed back a large lump in her throat, and then he was there, ducking beneath the tree's branches to escape the worst of the rain and coming to stand before her.

Jack said nothing at first, just took in the sight of her, his eyes searching her face as if trying to assess the situation, to get a read on what was going on. Sam found she couldn't speak. She just waited silently, so grateful for his mere presence, and willing her tears to stay in her eyes.

A moment passed, and then Jack spoke. "Sam..."

The use of her first name and the tenderness in his voice nearly broke her right then and there, but somehow she managed not to crack.

"What's going on?" he asked gently. "You're a long way from home."

Sam ran a hand across her forehead, wiping away a trickle of rainwater that was making a direct path for her right eye. "I thought a walk would help to clear my head."

"And did it?"

She dropped her hand back to her side. "No."

Another rivulet of water began working its way down her forehead to her eye again. This time, however, it was Jack who raised a hand and wiped it away gently with his thumb. Even with that simple touch, Sam felt her breath catch in her throat. Any physical contact with this man always seemed to have such a powerful effect on her and when his hands came to rest on her shoulders a moment later, she felt a warm and tingling sensation spread down her arms and into her very core.

His thumbs began to move in soothing circles on her shoulders as he looked into her eyes. "You've been thinking about your dad?" he ventured.

Sam swallowed and nodded. "My dad... and Pete."

Jack's thumbs stopped in mid-caress and his brow furrowed slightly. Sam suddenly felt a flicker of nervousness.

"Pete?" He was obviously a bit puzzled.

Sam took in a deep, shaky breath. Here goes nothing. "I called off the wedding." There. She felt Jack's hands stiffen slightly on her shoulders. She wanted to look up into his eyes, to read his reaction, but she found that she couldn't. Instead, she looked out at the grey, pouring rain without really seeing it. After a moment, she turned back, but she still avoided his gaze as she spoke her next words quickly. "I hated hurting him like that, but I couldn't go through with it. It wasn't right."

Jack's fingers relaxed around her shoulders once more. This time she looked up and met his eyes. Those warm, dark eyes. God, they were beautiful, and at that moment they were looking at her in a way that made her aching heart swell.

Jack didn't say anything, and Sam knew it was probably because he had no idea what to say. She didn't mind, though. He was there with her, and that was all the mattered to her at the moment.

She pulled her eyes away from his and bowed her head, her grief still weighing heavily upon her. "But mostly it's my dad. I miss him so much. It's just so hard knowing he's never going to step through the gate again, knowing he's never..."

She couldn't continue. She couldn't hold in her despair any longer. She swallowed hard, trying to control her emotions, but the tears were already running warmly down her already-wet cheeks. She closed her eyes, feeling as though she were unraveling uncontrollably.

She felt Jack move closer and heard his whispered "c'mere," and then she was in his arms. His embrace enveloped her in warmth and safety and she wrapped her own arms around him, holding onto him desperately as she cried into his shoulder.

Time slipped away as Sam finally let go of all the pain locked inside of her. There, with Jack's arms around her, she knew that it was finally okay to come undone. She knew that she wasn't alone.

OoOoOoOoOoO

As the tears began to flow from Sam's eyes, Jack felt an aching pain deep within his chest. Without hesitation, he closed the distance between them and gently pulled her to him, holding her close.

"I'm here, Sam," he spoke softly into her ear. "I've got you."

Her body shook with her sobs, and his heart broke over and over again for her as she let her emotions pour out of her. He wanted so badly to help her, to take away her pain, but he didn't know what else he could do. He just hoped this was enough.

After several minutes, her crying began to slow and eventually it stopped, and she became still in his arms. He continued to hold her, aware of nothing else in the universe but her. Even the cold rain around them had faded from his awareness. There was just him and Sam. Nothing else mattered.

He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head and felt her sigh into his shoulder. Then she pulled back slightly, just enough so she could look up into his face. Her blue eyes were red-rimmed and still shiny with tears, but she seemed calmer now.

"Thank you, sir... Jack." She dropped her eyes. "I really appreciate you coming out here for me."

Jack moved his hands to rest on her shoulders again. "Sam, I said I'd always be here for you, and I meant it."

"I know."

She lifted her head and their eyes met, and the sudden intensity that came with the connection made Jack feel momentarily breathless. He let his hands slide off her shoulders and down her arms to clasp both of her hands in his. He was startled to feel just how icy cold they were against his skin. "You're freezing!"

Sam gave him a shy smile. "Yeah, a little."

"More than a little," Jack corrected. "You'd think we were back in Antarctica, for crying out loud."

Sam's smile widened, and this time it showed in her eyes.

Jack couldn't help but smile back in response. Still holding her hands, he nodded in the direction of his truck. "Come on, let's get you out of this rain."

Sam nodded in agreement so Jack slipped a protective arm around her shoulders and together they braved the full onslaught of the drenching rain, heading straight for Jack's truck.

TBC…