Thor beamed the warriors back aboard his ship. Teal'c and Daniel were tired but Sam after her ordeal with the replicators, and Jack, after the long stasis, were exhausted. Special state rooms for the Tau'ri had been part of the design of the 'Daniel Jackson' and O'Neill and Carter wandered off in search of them
.
As Jack walked Sam to the deck with guest quarters it was either the exhaustion or the
renewed flood of memories that cause his guard to slip. He remembered her in tears
saying how glad she was that he had survived, her arms tight around his neck her fingers
grasping him. And he remembered too how good it felt to hold her in his arms. At the
door to her room, he stepped closer to her. He took her in his arms lowering his face to
her neck. He muttered into her neck so low she wasn't sure she heard him or just
imagined it. She felt his lips on her neck and hoped it was kisses instead of words;
maybe both depending on the words. And he, nuzzling her neck, inhaling her scent, he
wanted nothing more than to walk her, still in his arms, into that room and shut the door
on the rest of the universe and revel in her life and his. But then he remembered. So
much was still a muddle after being thawed but this of all things, this he had to
remember. He remembered that she had given herself to another and he lifted his head
and dropped his arms.
Sam felt a chill with the loss of his warm embrace.
Awkwardly he wished her a good night and went to his quarters. As he walked away he felt his heart, so recently thawed, refreeze. Maybe it would stop the pain.
