Author's Note – Thank you everyone for your patience. This chapter has proved harder to write than some of the others but I'll explain more at the end.

Standard Disclaimer applies.

………………………………………………………

'Ya know, Sam, your Jack sure is one grumpy old fart.' John was feeling evil but he also wanted to know which bit of that particular understatement Samantha Carter was going to object to first. The two of them were standing over the sofa in Sam's living room, looking down at an unconscious Jack O'Neill.

'He's not old.' John congratulated himself on a mental $10 win. 'But the grumpy part … that, I'll let you have.' Sam sighed. Sometimes it was harder than others to hold onto the reasons she'd carried a torch for this man for the best part of 10 years; particularly when he was passed out on her sofa in a drunken stupor after unsuccessfully attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to her gardener. 'Shoot first, send flowers later' she mused to herself, looking at him snoring quietly with his head hanging over the edge of the sofa cushions.

She hoped Jack wasn't going to throw up on her floor because he'd sure as hell be cleaning up after himself if he did.

Sam turned back to John, who'd helped her drag Jack inside once he'd passed out in her back yard and was still mentally wrestling with the fact that she wasn't even going to touch the 'your Jack' issue. 'You okay?'

She'd been surprised, not only by the fact John hadn't appeared too fazed by the drunken and virtually incoherent lunatic who had rounded on him, seemingly from nowhere, but by the neat precision with which he'd managed to fend Jack off. Even drunk, Jack was no pushover but John had held his own with economy and actually tried to talk sense at the same time. When that had proved impossible, he'd overpowered the older man with an efficiency she would have found admirable in some of her more highly trained colleagues, let alone the average 18 year old. When John just nodded, without making eye contact, she gave a rueful shake of her head 'John, where on earth did you learn to look after yourself like that?'

John smiled at the euphemism, 'Mis-spent youth.' he wasn't going to elaborate and to Sam's further surprise there was absolutely no trace of the pride in his answer. He grimaced at his own triteness. 'It wasn't exactly difficult. I suspect the alcohol did most of the work for me.'

Sam shook her head in bemusement. 'Tell me again why you're not joining the Air Force, John? Because I'm telling you now, even without a recommendation from me, they would snap you up.' They'd talked about it all those weeks before and, ever since, Sam just hadn't seemed able to let it go. She wasn't normally the type to extol the virtues of military life, herself all too uncomfortably aware of its pitfalls, but there was something about John made her feel he might be capable of making it work for him rather than entirely the other way around.

John's eyes didn't lift from the lanky figure currently sprawled across the sofa. 'Oh yeah, and I can see what outstanding examples of humanity a lifetime with the Air Force produces, Sam.'

He was sickeningly aware of self-loathing and pity, not entirely sure whether he hated himself or Jack most just at the moment. He only knew he had no intention of indulging either emotion. 'Gimme some credit here. Is it really so hard to imagine that all I could want is to be a nice, normal person with a nice, normal life? Anything else is just icing on the cake, Sam.' He had no intention of making himself any more vulnerable than he already was by admitting he wanted the chance to love and be loved and the hope of a family he wouldn't screw up.

He knew it got to her; the unacceptable, at least to her, perception that he had absolutely no ambition so, without putting too much thought into it, he found himself blurting out the first thing that came to mind. 'And I gotta say, if this guy is one of your 'family' then your family's dysfunctional, and no way in hell do I want that.' John could have kicked himself. Was he ever going to drop Jack's habit of making asinine and inappropriate comments at the worst possible moments?

Trying to overcome the feeling that she was shoring up the Leaning Tower of Pisa with matchsticks, Sam defended Jack's character. 'You're not exactly seeing him at his best, you know.'

John shot her another of his too wise for his years looks 'Yeah? But neither are you.'

Not appreciating the sensation that she was being out-manoeuvred once again, Sam's voice was low and serious, 'John, you don't know this man. Not what he's been through, not what he's been forced to deal with, not the pressures he exerts on himself and certainly not how I feel about him. So don't you dare judge him on one afternoon's behaviour.'

The statement, and its delivery, was too much and on too many levels, for John to want to analyse and, not happy to back down but uncomfortably aware he'd overstepped Sam's boundaries as well as those he imposed on himself, John was thrown onto the back foot.

'I'm sorry, you're right, I don't have any right to judge him.' He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans and gazed at his feet for a moment, hating himself all over again for the subterfuge, before lifting his eyes back to meet Sam's. 'But he certainly thought he knew enough about me, so what was all that about, Sam?'

Despite, or maybe even because of, the seriousness of the moment and the desolation all too apparent on Sam's face, he couldn't stop himself from voicing the words that sprang to mind. 'Do ya think your 'glue' mighta come just a little un-stuck?' The corners of his mouth drew up slightly, the merest intimation of a familiar smile if only Sam had been in any condition to recognise it.

Smiling back at him in spite of herself but still at a loss for real answers, Sam blew out a sharp breath of defeat. 'I don't know, John, but unless you want to go through the whole thing all over again, I'd suggest you make tracks now. Him,' she straight armed at Jack on the sofa, 'I can deal with but I don't think I can cope with another round of the two of you squaring off.'

………………………………………………..

Thanks again for everyone's patience with me. I'm not sure how long it's likely to be before I can get this updated again as I found out last week that my position at work (which I love) is being made redundant and it's knocked me a bit flat. I will post more as soon as I can. Thanks for the lovely reviews too – I appreciate the support.