Chapter 14 – Well that didn't go as planned…

Disclaimer – Not mine, never will be etc. etc.

A/N – Firstly sorry. For a lot of things. This is late and it's short. I am ill and have been all week to the extent I've been laid up in bed for most of the week. But I actually received an e-mail from someone today (Poz you know who you are!) that kicked me to write this. I hope it gives you a little fix that tides you over until I'm back on my feet. I also hope that it's not horrible since I have a fever and could be writing total rubbish - so read at your own risk.

It was truly amazing how Colonel Jack O'Neill and Major Samantha Carter were so in sync sometimes. Amazing because at other times they were completely oblivious to what the other was thinking. That morning could be defined as the former in addition to the latter.

They both arrived at the mountain early that Monday, knowing that they needed to talk. That they needed to clear the air before their "work day" began. And so it came as no surprise that they ran into each other halfway between his office and her lab. Literally.

"Omph!"

"Crap! Oh God! Carter, are you ok?", Jack said as he bent to get a better look at the woman he had just bumped into.

"Yes, Sir. Just a little winded.", Sam replied in a breathy voice. She looked up into Jack's concerned face and smiled, glad that the ice had been broken between them. Although for the sake of her bruised ribs she wished that it had been in a slightly gentler manner.

"I was coming to see you", she said almost shyly.

"That's funny, I was about to say the same to you", Jack muttered as he cocked his head slightly. "Were your next words going to be "we need to talk"?", he asked.

"Actually no", she replied looking contrite. "They were going to be "I'm really sorry" ".

Jack couldn't hide the look of surprise that crossed his face but he recovered quickly saying, "Not here. Let's grab some coffee and go topside, ok?"

"Yes sir. That's fine".

They made their way in silence to the commissary where any on-looker would have been surprised to see Colonel O'Neill making a cup of coffee and handing it to Major Carter with a bashful smile. He made a second cup for himself and since there were no on-lookers to be found, jerked his head skywards to encourage Sam to join him at the elevators.

They rode in silence each sipping their coffee fully aware of the security camera's that were following their every movement in the confined space. When they reached the surface they walked away from the base towards the sanctuary of the woods with not a word between them. Each knowing instinctively that they needed to get away from the line of sight of the SGC, if not for privacy, then at least so they could be Sam and Jack and not Carter and the Colonel.

Without missing a stride, Jack broke the silence.

"Did I do something wrong? Did I upset you?"

"No, Jack. It was me. I don't know how to explain it other than I panicked. I was having such a nice time. It was all so comfortable, as if we did it every Sunday. And I was able to keep kidding myself that it was kind of normal that we would be doing that until you kissed me. And then the bubble burst and I just didn't know what to do. I mean we kissed at your sink and broke the regs."

"But we stood at you door and broke them in full view of the world the night before!", Jack cried out incredulously.

"I know. I know. And I know I started that. Look I'm not trying to justify my behavior, I'm just trying to apologize for it", Sam said pleading evident in her voice.

"So you're not mad at me or anything, are you Sam?", he replied bending slightly making eye contact with her.

"No. Really I'm not. I'm just mad at the situation and how helpless I feel about it. I honestly had a great time with you this weekend and I think things have become a little more difficult for us if we're to be honest."

"How so?", Jack smirked as he tried to make light of the situation. However, Sam obviously didn't pick up the nuance and responded in earnest.

"Well maybe I'm way off base here but I think our relationship changed this weekend", she answered hesitantly, hoping that she wasn't making a mistake by leading the conversation down this particular path.

"Ya think?" he threw back at her.

"Yeah I do and now I don't know what we should do about it", she replied unable to look him in the eye as she spoke. Praying that he would take the lead. Make the move. Say anything to show that maybe he wanted to continue their relationship on the path that it was taking outside of the SGC.

"We have to "do" something about it?" Jack asked, frowning at her, honestly not knowing why she was even still talking about it.

All he knew was that he had kissed a junior officer under his command who had freaked out and ran out on him. All he knew was that he had broken the regs. It didn't matter that it was with the woman he loved more than life itself. He just wanted to shut it "back in the room" that it had snuck out of and stay there. He knew that Sam cared about him, but he cared about her more than he was supposed to and he wasn't going to ruin her career over the silly dreams of a has been soldier. His confusion showed on his face and Sam took it to mean that he wasn't interested in pursuing something now he was face to face with the decision. In person with the opportunity to make it all happen.

She'd messed up her one chance to make this happen and there was nothing she could do to fix it. He wasn't willing to take the risk even though she had laid it all out there for him.

She didn't know if she was more angry at herself for hoping, or at him for dashing that hope. There was nothing else she could do, so she lashed out at him snapping, "No, Colonel, I suppose we don't. Let's forget about it. Actually let's forget about the whole weekend. It never happened. Ok?."

And before the last word even reached Jack's ears she had stormed off towards the SGC.

Jack knew that he should follow her and find out why she was so pissed with him, however, he knew they couldn't afford to make a 'scene'. So he watched her go, head held high, determined to maintain her pride. Once again he found himself cursing his lack of ability to tell a woman what he was actually feeling. However, more than that he found himself confused at Samantha Carter's actions.

He began the walk back to the SGC, slowly, to ensure that Sam rode down in the elevator before he reached it. He needed to think and needed to do it sooner than later if they were going to be able to continue to work together. He shook his head and laughed at the irony of the situation as he realized just how wise those frat regs really were in the big scheme of things.