AN: Sorry! I really did think this chapter would be out by the end of last week, but first Real Life got in the way and then for some reason this site wouldn't let me upload documents. But, here it is! They're alone together at last.

"Jack, if you need anything let us know, okay?" Jack turned back to see Daniel standing. Teal'c gave him a slight bow, and the two left together. As they moved out of his line of vision Jack looked back at Sam; she was still watching them go. After a bit she turned back to him.

"I smell a conspiracy," Jack said mock suspiciously.

Sam raised her eyebrows at him. "Do you care?"

"Well, now that you mention it, no," Jack said with a slight laugh. "So, how're you doing?" he asked. "How have things … been while I've been gone?" He regretted asking, because her face lost a lot of its glow.

"I missed you," she said. "I was so worried. And I felt so useless, especially after General Hammond ordered the samples destroyed and there was nothing more I could do to help." She wrapped her arms around herself, blinking back tears. For the first time, he noticed how red her eyes and nose were. "How are you doing? You were the one who was going to die, after all."

"Well, yeah," Jack admitted, "but I was unconscious for most of it. Besides," he said with a shrug, "I've been in worse situations. Not a prisoner, no real injuries, nice weather, nice people …" he trailed off, trying to think of something else that would comfort her. "Dan-el was a pretty cute kid," he said, throat tightening. "He helped me search. He was the one who actually found the damn thing—it was hidden inside that statue. The Argosians pulled it down after I told them what Pelops had done to them, and he spotted it while the kids were playing on the statue…"

"Jack," Sam interrupted, voice thick, "please."

That shut up his patter. "I'm sorry."

"I know Argos is a nice place," Sam said, "but after what that woman did to you…" She trailed off, shaking her head, not able to look at him. Jack came up to the window and placed his hand on the glass in front of her. God, he wished he were on the other side of it. She looked like she could desperately use a hug, and he wouldn't exactly turn one down at the moment, himself. She placed a hand on the glass on the other side of his, staring at them.

"I know," Jack said quietly. He tried to remember how to talk about the hard stuff. If he'd ever really known, he'd forgotten a long time ago, casualty of a classified life. Sara had always complained about it, and it had been the straw that broke the camel's back in their marriage, after Charlie's death. "She didn't know any better." He tried to convince himself, but a wave of nausea flooded him. Now that Pelops' damn bugs were out of his system and he was sleeping normally, he'd have nightmares for sure. And he'd be in the infirmary for everyone to see and hear. Wonderful.

Sam snorted. "Maybe so, but that still doesn't make it right. And I really doubt it makes you feel any better!"

"You got me there," Jack admitted, "but like I said, I've been through worse. Don't worry about me."

Sam narrowed her eyes. "What, you've been raped before?" she said sarcastically.

Jack could feel himself shut down, emotionally. "Can we not talk about that?" It came out harsher than he'd intended. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, forcing his thoughts away. It wasn't usually so difficult, but then, the memories weren't usually this clear, either. God, the shrinks were gonna want his ass. He'd had more than enough of their crap after Iraq, and he was so not looking forward to going through the whole thing again.

"Jack?" Sam was watching him, he realized. Well, staring might be a better word for it. "Have­ you been raped before?"

Damn. He didn't think she was going to let this go; Sara wouldn't have. Sam didn't know him as well, but from what he knew of her she substituted a geek's curiosity and tenaciousness for Sara's wifely instincts. "Can we not talk about this right now?" he repeated. He had no doubt she'd get it out of him sometime; he couldn't exactly freeze her out, not given what was at stake; he wanted to be his kid's dad, and that would be a problem if they didn't get along.

"All right," Sam replied slowly, still eyeing him suspiciously.

They stood in silence like that for some time, hands pressed against the glass, neither quite sure what to say. At last, Jack broke the silence. "How about O'Malley's?"

"What?" Sam looked confused; he made himself a mental reminder to mark that one down on his calendar. It wasn't every day a dumb flyboy like him got to confuse a scientist as brilliant as Sam.

"O'Malleys," he repeated patiently, giving her a bit of a smirk. "You, me, food. As soon as I'm cleared to get out of here. What do you think?"

She gave him a half a smile. "I'd like that."

"Sweet."

Sam paced, waiting for Janet to finish her rounds. The clicking of heels announced the petite doctor's arrival. "Sam, hello," she said. "What can I do for you?"

"Can I talk with you?" Sam asked, shifting from foot to foot.

Janet raised an eyebrow. "Sure," she said, leading the way to a lab room not currently in use. "What is it?" she asked after closing the door.

"I know you have to be careful about doctor-patient confidentiality," Sam said, "but Jack mentioned something to me but wouldn't explain it, and I was hoping you'd be able to at least confirm what I thought he meant." She took a deep breath. "Has Jack ever been raped? I mean, before now?"

Janet's face grew still. "Sam, without his consent I can't talk to you about anything in his medical record."

Sam nodded, blinking back tears. That sounded like a confirmation to her. "Okay." She looked away, biting her lip, trying to figure out what to do from here. Jack wouldn't accept sympathy for it; he'd made that clear enough. He didn't want to talk about it at all. But it wasn't something she could just ignore.

"Sam—" Janet sighed, folding her arms. "Colonel O'Neill is a very private man. You know this as well as I. He was in special ops for many years, doing a lot of difficult, dangerous things. He's bound to have some skeletons in his closet, and if he doesn't want to talk about it, you can't force him. The only advice I can give you is to see a counselor, who can help you find the best way to handle the situation."

"But Jack's the one who needs counseling," Sam objected.

"It might help him, yes," Janet agreed. "But, honey, he has to want it, for it to work. You can't force someone to deal with their problems. That's something they have to choose for themselves. And Colonel O'Neill has been … resistant to counseling in the past. He doesn't like psychologists. All you can do is learn to give him the support he needs to deal with things in his own way." She shrugged. "A psychologist might be able to help you do that. There are several good ones in the area that I could recommend."

Sam looked down, thinking. "I might ask for that later," she said slowly, "but not now. Let's see how this goes, first."

"Okay." Janet smiled. "How about we go get some coffee?"

"Sounds good to me," Sam said. "Just let me clean up a little, first." She brushed some of the moisture away from her eyes. "I'll meet you there in a couple of minutes."