Thanks for all those wonderful reviews guys!

I managed to get this written when I found myself with a few spare hours because my company took off for a day out in Nottingham. Housework? No way! LOL! Got this done instead. Hope you find it helps to clear things up a little... This is for you Feb04!

NOTHING IS EVER THAT SIMPLE

By LetitiaRichards

Previously:-

"Whatever you say Jack." She was happy to comply. Jack was obviously thrilled with the truck and she was thrilled at the prospect of marrying him and being with him for the rest of her life.

Life couldn't be better.

Chapter 28 – It's Elementary My Dear Watson.

The guard swiped his card through the reader and the door popped open. Jack pushed his way through cautiously. Not that there was any danger from within the room. He would be perfectly safe. He closed the door behind him, waiving any company away. He stood for a moment, his head cocked slightly to the right as he studied the woman lying on the bunk behind the bars of the cell.

Shoving his hands casually into his pockets he sauntered over to stand a couple of feet away. There was no sense in getting any closer and asking for possible trouble. Not that he deemed her a risk. Far from it. She had already proven that she could have easily killed him but didn't. The gun she fired at him from close range contained nothing more dangerous than a training round. It could just as easily have held more than one live 'bullet', but it hadn't.

Cindy had heard him enter, instinctively knowing it was him, but so far had ignored his approach, until now.

Swinging her legs round, her feet hit the cool concrete floor, and she offered him a cursory smile.

"How's the shoulder?" she inquired, though Jack was sure that it was merely a rhetorical question rather than expressing any real concern over his health.

"Fine." His answer was succinct and just as perfunctory as was the synthetic question.

Jack stood, for once patiently waiting for her to open the conversation but she was just as closed off as he was. Eventually though, his notoriously short fuse sparked and he started the opening round.

"You wanted to see me. I'm here. So...?"

Cindy sighed. Looking up at him, she stood, stepping across the short gap until she was standing facing him; the bars and laser beams merely inches from her features.

"I wanted to apologise."

"And you thought this would make it better? How so?"

"No. Not for that. I was gonna take you out Jack. That's what they paid me for."

"So why didn't you?"

Jack's eyes narrowed until he was almost squinting at her. He couldn't figure her out at all. She had been nice to him; helped him when he needed it... But...? It was a big 'but'; he couldn't figure it out and it bothered him. He'd always relied on his ability to act on his senses, but this time they'd let him down and it had shaken him.

"Because, despite what you did, I..." she broke off, changing tack. "I put myself in Sam's place, Jack. I would have given anything for Nick to have rescued me like you did Sam that time. I got to thinking how lucky she was to have you. Nick... well, I loved him, but he was certainly no Galahad." She snorted with derision then. A sad sound that Jack felt meant that this Nick's adulation was a mere pipe dream in her head. "Don't get me wrong we loved each other, but he wasn't... There was no romance in our lives and I had to learn to live with it. I couldn't take that away from Sam. I saw how you two were together. She's a lucky woman and I envy her."

"Okay. That's..." Jack floundered to think of something that didn't sound too clichéd, but couldn't.

"It's alright Jack. Don't worry. I understand. I wanted to hate her. I wanted to hate you, but I couldn't. The reason being that I hated Kinsey even more than I did you two. Look on it this way if you will; I got paid to do the job, to get rid of you for him, but instead I chose to thumb my nose at him instead. I'm not expecting any favours from anyone, least of all you. I'm just happy that Kinsey got his just rewards and that Sam got to keep you. All those days we spent getting you to walk again... those long painful hours of building your strength up... it was... you were a big challenge for me Jack. I really wanted to get you back on your feet... and I couldn't see all that hard won effort go to waste now, could I?"

"Mark said that you knew what he was going to do. That was why you arranged for me to attend that perticular gym at the time."

"That's true, yes, but... I was under a lot of pressure, and..." She broke off sniffing a little and moved away, turning her back on Jack and flinging herself onto the edge of the cot before she looked up at him again.

"I was angry. Well, more annoyed than that I guess. I wanted revenge, but when I saw the bungled results I felt guilty. Sam was so heartbroken that I guess I felt ashamed of my part in the whole sordid deal. There was still the pressure to finish the job. You're lucky my evil twin didn't win the battle Jack. It could have so easily gone the other way."

Jack took it all in. Every word, and he understood her. Heard the desperation in her voice and saw it in the slump of her shoulders. He could only thank her that she had allowed the good side to win.

Jack ran a hand over his face and up through his hair, making it spike in every which way all the more. He was about to say that the least he could do for her was to have the court go easy on her, when she yelled at him, taking him by surprise.

"Get out of here Jack. Just leave me the hell alone!" Then having succeeded in shocking him, her voice softened slightly; it was now filled with taut emotions running too near to the surface.

"For what it's worth I'm sorry. Sorry I ever laid eyes on you. You and Sam were made for each other. Go to her, you lucky sonovabitch!"

Cindy sobbed and flopped back on the cot, turning her backto him; the conversation evidently over.

Jack didn't say what was on his mind. It probably wouldn't have made any difference to the outcome. He turned and took two strides, knocking on the door to be let out.

The door opened and he stepped into the opening. Pausing there for a brief moment, he looked back over his shoulder at the recumbent form.

There was only one thing left to say, and he would say it even if she didn't want to hear it.

"Thanks!" And then he was gone.

Cindy heard it, and now the tears came faster. She still hadn't explained the real reason she had spared his life. That would remain her secret until her dying day, and she would take it with her to the grave. It had no meaning. It defied logic and held no hope. It wouldn't have made any difference to whatever sentence she was to serve. It wasn't earth-shattering, and it wasn't vital to the Stargate programme either. In fact it was completely the opposite because the only person it was affecting, was her.

She could never openly acknowledge the fact that during the short time she had worked with one pig-headed, stubborn Colonel Jack O'Neill she had actually fallen in love with him. Hook, Line and Sinker. Simply put, she just couldn't bring herself to put a real bullet into him. It would have killed her as well as him. The fact that she'd used a dummy round only went to prove that she couldn't do it. Unrequited love was so very, very painful, and hard to live with. If she was the jealous type then she could have killed Sam, but she wasn't, so Sam got to live and love the man that she couldn't have. She hoped to god that Sam would cherish what she had for however long the couple would spend together in this life. The love they apparently shared was something she had never known could exist. And likely never would.

OoOoOoOoO

General Hammond looked up at the knock and smiled.

"Come on in Jack. Can't stay away huh? What can I do for you?"

Jack, hands back in his pockets now, sauntered in, looking pensive.

"Something wrong Jack?"

"Huh?" he responded absently. "Oh, no sir. I just talked...well 'listened' would be more an accurate interpretation...to Cindy. I got a message that she wanted to see me."

"Ah! And?" Hammond knew of her request of course, and had passed the message on. Whether Jack responded was up to him, and obviously he had called by.

"Well, to cut a long story short, she was supposed to shoot me for real, but...couldn't bring herself to do it apparently. Hence the bruise, which I still have by the way. Still hurts too."

Jack leaned against the shelving units behind him, resting his backside on the edge, then stretched his long legs out in front, only to cross them at the ankles. His relaxed posture giving a false impression of the tension inside him at that point.

"But you don't think it was an adequate explanation?"

"To put it bluntly? No sir." He sighed. There had been something there, hovering just below the surface of her words, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure it out.

"I wouldn't read too much into it Jack. 'Let sleeping dogs lie' and all that. Just accept that she didn't kill you and get on with your life. You can't keep harping on what ifs."

Hammond watched for a few moments and smiled with relief when Jack seemed to come back to himself; his quiet musings apparently pushed to the back of his mind.

"No sir."

Jack fished in his jacket pocket and took out several pale yellow envelopes, sorting through them. He found the one he was obviously looking for and handed it to the General.

"This is for you George. Well, the girls really," he said, grinning like a cat that ate the cream.

Without even reading it, Hammond could tell what it was.

"Thank you Jack. I'll be sure to pass this on to them."

"You do that sir. Your necessary attendance goes without saying of course. Is there any news of Jacob's whereabouts yet?"

"Not yet," Hammond sighed with disappointment. As much as he felt privileged to walk Sam down the aisle, he was sure she would prefer Jacob to be there. "but there's still time Jack."

"Not much there isn't." Jack countered quickly. The date they had set for the wedding was fast approaching. More than anything, he was holding out that Jacob would make it in time.

"Don't lose hope just yet Jack. If it's at all possible he will be here. We've left dozens of messages with the Tok'ra."

"Yeah. Damn snakes!" he muttered under his breath, though Hammond had a good idea of what Jack had uttered softly.

"I guess I'd better get these out, or Sam will call it off."

"I doubt that Jack. Though perhaps it's wise that you shouldn't provoke her."

Jack's eyes widened at this bringing a smirk to Hammond's lips. Was his 'kick ass...hard as nails' 2IC afraid of his future wife already? There was nothing like a woman scorned as the saying went.

"You'd better go then Jack. I'll see you next week."

"Yes sir. Don't be late!"

"That's Sam's prerogative Jack, not mine!"

Jack shook his head but disappeared out of the door quickly. He had things to do before that very special day arrived.

TBC