Samantha Carter, to put it mildly, had had enough. She was tired of hiding her feelings for Jack O'Neill. Sam wasn't hiding them from him, of course. No, their relationship was well under way…in secret. No one, not even Teal'c, Daniel, and Janet, knew about it. General Hammond certainly didn't know about it. That was grounds for a court-martial.

Of course, there were a lot of things General Hammond didn't know that were possible grounds for a court-martial. He didn't like soldiers who disobeyed their superiors…whether that meant the soldiers under his command disobeying his orders, or subordinate soldiers disobeying senior officers. He didn't know the half of the times Captain…no, Major Carter had disobeyed Jack offworld. There were reasons this sort of thing didn't make it into the files. Sam laughed at the irony of it all. She had just been promoted for her excellent work…and yet she was one of the most disobedient soldiers in the field. Jack knew it, too. Janet often said teasingly that Hammond would let SG-1 get away with murder, but she didn't know just how much trouble her best friend could be. She certainly didn't know how Sam's transgressions were dealt with. Sam preferred it that way.

Sam turned back to her mirror and combed through her blonde hair. Another figure appeared behind her, reflected in the mirror. He'd come up behind her so quietly that she hadn't heard him. Sam turned around slowly. "Jack."

"Major Carter," he said. Sam's stomach twisted into a knot. We're alone and he's using formalities…what have I done this time? Sam thought to herself.

"Sir?" she replied. He gave her a crisp nod. Jack placed the report from their latest mission on her desk. "Am I supposed to read this through?" she asked. Jack nodded. Sam opened the report and leafed through the pages slowly, scanning each one. She ran her finger down the page as she read each line. Suddenly Sam froze. Oh, no. There was an entire paragraph on the fight she'd had with Colonel O'Neill instead of obeying his direct orders. General Hammond wouldn't like to see that. "Sir…this part, here…" Jack walked over and glanced over her shoulder.

"Yes, Major, I know." Sam bit her lip. She looked up at Jack

"Yes, Jack…sir." She went to the door and glanced in both directions. The corridor was empty. Sam closed the door. "I'm sorry, Jack, you know that. With all due respect, I just thought that…" She broke off mid-sentence. "I was wrong anyway, wasn't I?" She dropped her gaze. Jack cupped her chin in his hand.

"Unfortunately, Sam, you were wrong," Jack said. "I listened to you initially and we almost lost Teal'c to the Goa'uld. Luckily Dr. Frasier can do something for him, and Daniel's with them, telling her what happened." A tear slipped from Sam's eye.

"I should have known better, Jack. I'm supposed to…" Jack placed a finger over Sam's lips. "What?" Sam asked tearfully.

"You're supposed to be human, Sam. You can't know everything, not even with the imprint Jolinar left. You're allowed to make mistakes, even though there's consequences," Jack said, speaking to her gently for the first time since the mission was over. Sam broke down and cried in his arms. "Shhh…all right, Sam, you know I don't like to have you get in trouble," Jack said. "I know you feel bad. If I can help you in any way, just tell me." Sam looked up, her tear-filled blue eyes meeting Jack's eyes.

"Please, Jack, just take the guilt away. I messed up so badly," Sam whispered, still crying. Jack stroked Sam's blonde hair. He nodded assent.