Jack awoke to an empty bed, and a dog panting in his face from the floor. He rolled over and sighed remembering where he was. Last night had been wonderful, even if they hadn't done anything. He just wished he'd woken up before Sam. He usually did when they were off world, but at home he tended to be a heavier sleeper than she.

Rico gave a strangled bark from the floor and wagged his tail, wanting to go outside. Jack rolled out of bed and threw on his pants. He could hear the shower running and knew Sam shouldn't be left alone just yet, so he let the dog out the door from Sam's bedroom that led to the backyard.

Jack took the opportunity while Sam was preoccupied to phone Sean and ask him to meet him in his office at 1000 that morning. There was something about their conversation a few nights earlier that had been bothering him to no end. He wasn't exactly sure what Sean had been told about his mother, so he couldn't be certain if there was something else going on or not.

The sound of the shower turning off brought him out of his reverie just as he was hanging up the phone. Jack got up, walked over to the bathroom door and knocked.

"Hey, you need any help in there?" he called out.

"Nah, you can just send Rico in." Jack laughed and looked out the window at Rico in the backyard.

"Um, he's just a little preoccupied at the moment." He knew she could hear the laughter in his voice and hoped she didn't think he was being a little presumptuous.

"I laid some clothes on the end of the bed. He normally just brings them to me when I ask for them. You could do the same."

"Um, are you sure about that?" As much as Jack would have loved to see her naked, he was sure it would do things to him they really didn't need to be dealing with right now.

"What's the matter O'Neill, never seen a naked woman before?" she laughed from the other side of the door.

"Oh yeah, just never one I've fantasized about," he joked back as he opened the door with her clothes in hand.

"You know, I still have that 'sweet little tank-top number' if you'd prefer." His heart nearly stopped at the sight of her smiling, sitting in the bathroom, waiting for him to hand her, her clothes. He noticed the complicated brace lying on the floor near the sink, and the four red, circular wounds indicating the recent surgeries she'd been through to try to repair the damage to her knee.

He grew serious as he stepped further into the bathroom and handed her her clothes. "Does it hurt?"

"Huh?" Sam looked up into his eyes and followed his gaze to her knee. "Oh, not really anymore. Dad came in to see what he could do, but mostly all we accomplished was taking away the pain. It's stiff and weak most days, but that's all."

"I don't get it," he sighed, sitting on the edge of the tub. "All you did was twist your knee, how'd it get this bad?"

"It wasn't the initial injury that destroyed my knee. That could have been repaired had I not been such a pigheaded fool and insisted I walk back to the 'Gate." He could tell she'd been thinking this since the accident and needed to finally say it out loud so she could finally get past it. "When I fell, the ligaments snapped and pulled apart and the kneecap was just kind of floating. The walk back ground against the kneecap and eventually, right before we stepped through, it shattered. The largest piece was about the size of an eraser from the end of a pencil."

"Dad couldn't do anything?"

"The healing device is great when a bone's broken, someone's poisoned, or sick, but it can't grow a whole new bone. A specialist came in and gave me a new kneecap a week and a half ago." Sam had been pulling on her clothes as she talked, trying, and failing, to act as if everything was okay.

"I'm sorry, Sam." Jack leaned forward from his spot on the edge of the tub and wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned her head back against his shoulder and turned her face into his neck. "I'm sorry for not being here the past three weeks. I was off wallowing in self pity when you needed me."

"You were grieving, Jack. You needed time. Daniel told me about Karol…"

Jack stiffened, wondering exactly what she'd been told. No, Daniel wouldn't tell her anything. He knew the reasons Jack couldn't be the eval. Officer anymore.

"… how you knew someone else in the crash. Nobody expected you to stick around."

He heaved an internal sigh and relaxed against Sam, pulling her closer to him. He didn't have anything to worry about, she didn't know about the boys. He wanted to tell her right then and there, but held back knowing the headache it would cause if he did. She already said she understood about what was going on. He just had to hold off until the training was over, then he could tell her. Right now, though, he had something else he wanted to discuss.

"Sam, I think we need to talk about us." He felt her stiffen and gave her a gentle squeeze to hopefully relax her. "Hey don't worry."

He helped her sit up and get the brace back on her knee, then went and let Rico in the house. He figured this was more of a breakfast discussion anyway, and started preparing bacon and eggs. Sam hobbled in a moment later and sat at the island in the middle of her kitchen.

Jack set the plate before her and sat across from her. "I didn't mean to scare you back there," he apologized taking a bite of his breakfast. "I want to hold off on telling anybody about us until after you're done evaluating the new officers. I don't want anybody to be able to come back and claim you were playing favorites. As soon as you're finished Hammond's going to ask you to sign some papers saying you knew nothing when you turned in your reports."

"I don't see that as a problem."

"Okay. Now eat up, we have to get to the base."

A/N: okay, i'm almost done with ch. 25. after that it will probably take me a little longer to update, but i'll do it as soon as i get chapters finished. Thanks for all the reviews!