AN: I hope this clears up the confusion. :) Please R&R!

Chapter Two

As we step into the elevator, I decide that if it ever comes up, I'm going to pretend I was far more inebriated than I really was that night and that I don't remember a thing. But then he presses the button for the wrong floor and rather than saying something like I would have done without a second thought before I made an ass out of myself, I stand there mutely, wondering what the hell he's doing.

He inclines his head for me to follow him as he steps out. "I've got something for you."

Oh, this cannot be good.

I follow him into the locker room, saying nothing as he opens his locker. I want to hide. I want to melt into a puddle and seep through the drain in the floor. I want to not be here right now.

He turns back to me with a grin and offers me a paper bag. "This is for you."

He's being so perfectly charming that I would have treasured this time a few weeks ago, but I can't now. I feel my face burning again. He knows I've humiliated myself. He knows it, but he won't let me go off and lick my wounds. He still wants to be friends. I reach into the bag with a smile that I hope doesn't give away how nauseated I feel. When my hand closes around a small cube, I feel the bile in the back of my throat.

I clench my teeth, trying to force back the sickening feeling. I look down and find exactly what I'd feared – a brand new slinky. I'd politely thank him except I'm unable to speak and almost certain I'm going to die from shame. I don't know if that's possible, but I'm about to find out.

"I forgot to give it to you the other night." Did he have to mention it? Did had have to bring it up? Could he have possibly missed my nonverbal clues? He's never going to let me forget.

But at the same time, I know he's not that mean. He's not malicious, at least not towards me. He's smiling warmly, like he has no idea what I'm going through. And I can't imagine this is how he'd behave if he did.

He looks genuinely concerned. "Carter? Are you sure you're all right? You really don't look so good."

I thrust the slinky back into his hands and bolt for the door. I'm not going to get sick in front of him. Because that would just be more embarrassment for me to deal with later.

I make it to the ladies room and immediately sink to the floor. I need to get a grip. He's fine. He's not acting normal; he is normal. He's either forgotten, or he's trying to forget, that night and I need to do the same.

There's a knock at the door and I ignore it. Most women, at some point in their lives, have walked into a restroom and seen another woman hiding out in the midst of a personal crisis. It's just polite to suddenly remember that you hadn't meant to go in the bathroom at all and promptly walk away. I assume this will be no exception. And failing that, since I'm the highest ranking woman in the mountain, I'll just order her to leave.

But it is an exception. Because it's not some woman who walks in. It's him. He walks right in and slides down the wall to sit beside me, so close that our legs are touching. I almost whimper at how good he smells. No one should smell that good. It's not fair to the rest of us who are trying to think clearly despite a rampant attraction to the man who smells so damn good who is not attracted back.

"This is about the other night, isn't it?"

No one should ever have to hear those words.

I've accepted that I was wrong. I've accepted that I've been arrogant. Can't the torture just end now? I lean forward and rest my face against my bent knees.

His hand falls on the back of my neck and his fingers sift through my hair. It feels so wonderful and soothing and intimate and my skin is tingling from the contact. But I shouldn't like it and I won't let myself enjoy it.

"Carter, we need to talk."

Now that's another one no one should ever have to hear.

I take a deep breath and force myself to sit up. I resolve that despite how bad I feel at this moment, I'm going to hold myself together in front of him. "No, sir, really. It's fine. I'm fine."

He stares at me, holding my eyes with one of those looks that have always made me fear I'll melt. As I search his gaze, I'm absolutely baffled as to how I ever could have misinterpreted that look. I mean, I must have. I must be. I'm just not sure how it could mean anything other than him feeling the exact same way I do.

And that moment of immobile confusion is all the time he needs. He uses the leverage from his hand still being in my hair, which I hadn't realized was still there, to pull me forward, planting a kiss directly on my lips.

A fleeting eternity later, I feel his teeth nipping gently at my lip, his tongue begging for entrance. I'm powerless to resist him; I always have been. So I acquiesce.

Oh my.

Ok, the kiss was definitely his idea, but I made no attempt to stop him, therefore I get to share in the glory of that brilliant decision. And it was definitely brilliant because I'm seeing stars. But that might be from the lack of oxygen.

He pulls back, panting, and rests his forehead against mine. "Wow."

I giggle because I can't imagine a better time for it. "Yeah, exactly."

After a moment, he shifts his face against mine and his kisses are interspersed with his words. Kiss. "So." Kiss. "Carter." Kiss. "I was-" Kiss kiss kiss. "Trying to-" Kiss. "Say-" Kiss kiss. "Ah, fuck it." And then the kissing starts in earnest again.

It's a startled squeak by someone who might well have been Janet that finally drives us apart. Luckily, whoever it is, leaves as quickly as she came, postponing our embarrassment for whenever we find out who it actually was.

But the mood is broken nonetheless and, although we're still sitting side by side and quite close, Jack's attention is focused on his lap. "Like I was saying, Carter-"

My giggle interrupts him, but only for a moment. "I kind of preferred the way you were saying it before." I feel like I should apologize, that I should slip back into professional mode as quickly and easily as he did. But I can't. I'm too busy being happy that I haven't been misreading him for seven years. And then there's the fact that he's grinning at my joke. Jack grins are so not the way to discourage me.

"I wanted to talk to you about the other night because I was afraid you might have thought it was something you did and I didn't want you to think that." He bites his lip hard and, with a smile at my own audacity, I reach out and carefully smooth my thumb against it. He kisses my fingers lightly and I'm overwhelmed with love for this man – who is giving me enough of a glimpse of his tender side to know that it's really there. And for Jack, that's a very big deal.

He takes my hand in his, letting his surprisingly soft skin smooth over mine until our fingers interlock. "I freaked out, Carter." He turns to me, leaning his head back against the pink and white tiles, and shrugs. "It was such a perfect night and I was afraid you'd regret asking me to stay and I didn't want to ruin this."

"I did regret it." I look away because I can confide my feelings, but not if I have to look into those eyes to do it. "When you left, I thought I'd read the whole thing wrong." I dare to glance at him, ashamed to admit my insecurity, because with him here, like this, I remember why I feel so damn confident. How can I not feel confident when this man believes in me so strongly? The way he looks at me - it's like I'm God's gift to the Earth, at least as far as he's concerned.

"I know." He closes his eyes and shakes his head. "I knew you did and I felt so bad for doing that to you, but I didn't know what else to do." He shrugs again. "Like I said, I freaked out. It wasn't you."

"I thought you were avoiding me because I'd made an ass out of myself." It's easier to be honest with him when he leans over and rests his head on my shoulder.

"I was avoiding you because I'd made you feel like an ass and I was afraid you'd want to hurt me." He shifts his arm to press against mine. "You should have kicked my ass for that. I was so afraid of screwing it up that I damn near screwed it up."

I snuggle closer to him. "I thought I'd screwed it up and you were too embarrassed to look at me."

"I'm sorry." He lifts his head up, letting his lips press into my hair. "I never meant to hurt you and if I'd known that I would, I never would have left like that, and I swear, as soon as I realized you wouldn't look at me, I knew it was all my fault."

"So despite attempts by both of us to sabotage this, we're ok?"

He moves to face me, kneeling down in front of me. "Can we try it again? Pretend that other night didn't happen?"

I smile at him. "Except for the last two minutes and the two weeks that followed it, that night was perfect."

"Please, Carter? I don't want to live with the idea that I completely fucked up our first date." He moves forward and nuzzles my nose with his. "I'll beg if I have to."

Now that's something everyone should get to hear.

I'm so tempted. But who could ever tell him no? And who could argue with his logic? "Should I ask when we're going out?" Because now that everything's ok, I really, really don't want to wait anymore.

"How's tonight sound?" He leans forward again and kisses me until my brain has melted into a happy, squishy puddle.

"It sounds like a date." I kiss him again, not quite read to relinquish the contact. "Can we leave early?"

His eyes darken the slightest bit, obviously encouraged by my impatience. "I don't see any reason why we can't leave right after lunch."

My face must betray my confusion – here I am, doing my best to seduce my CO on the floor of a public restroom on our base, and he's, once again, oblivious. "Are you kidding me?"

He chuckles as he stands up, offering both of his hands to help me up. "I'm starving, Carter." He grins, leaning forward and pinning me against the wall with the entire length of his body. "And something tells me I'm going to need the energy."

I grin as I kiss him. "Well, I am a little younger than you."

Our unspoken agreement leads me to peer out the door, checking for any possible witnesses. Seeing none, I lead him out into the hall, only dropping his hand when I know we're getting in range of the security camera. "I'm going to check my lab so that nothing will burn up if I suddenly have to leave after lunch, sir."

He winks at me before heading in the other direction. "I'll meet you in the mess."