a/n: i was encouraged to explain what on earth i was going on about in the drabble, so this may or may not. this was harder to write than it might seem, because i wanted it to be a realistic as possible - the thoughts going through their minds. hope you like - and i don't own anything. if i did, you'd know about it, i'd be doing some serious gloating! also its not beta-ed as i just wanted to get it posted.

Making up her mind, Samantha Carter opened the car door and climbed out. She paused and took a deep breath, actions that felt so similar to the day she had decided to confront him. After walking up to the front door of the cabin, she pulled out the spare key from the not-so-secret hiding place of under the doormat. Hearing the click of the lock opening, she opened the door and realised she had been holding her breath, and allowed herself to breathe again.

He isn't here.

Not that she really would have minded if he had been, but then she would've had to explain why it was she was here, at his cabin – a question to which she would've been unable to answer.

She went into the kitchen and pulled out a beer from the fridge – the only source of food or drink there – and then headed out to the back yard. It was all still and quiet, the water glistening in the fall sun. She reached the edge of the pond and sat down. Pushing her sunglasses down to cover her eyes, she slid off her sandals and placed her feet gently in the water, watching as the ripples grew and faded away.

Had it really been four months since she had seen him? Even longer than when he was stuck on Edora – and back then she had worked non-stop at trying to bring him home. But he wasn't trapped on some alien planet, and she hadn't worked at trying to see him or keep in contact.

After his promotion to Head of Homeworld Security they had grown apart – fair enough he was in Washington, it would never be like the old days when he was always on base or just a short drive away at home. But Daniel and Teal'c had kept in touch – so why hadn't she? She had been busy - with Cassie, the Ori and Ba'al. It wasn't a good enough excuse though and she knew it.

She still thought of him, more often than she would ever admit. After she broke up with Pete and he was there for her when her father died…she was sure they would eventually do something about all the hidden feelings. But before Pete the feelings were there and not acted upon, so why would there have been anything different?

Their relationship had changed after she started dating the cop, and definitely when they got engaged. She had thought Pete her only chance at having some normality and having a family. After being made General, he had still come to her lab and talked to her, but the barrier between them had grown, a fact she had tried to ignore at the time.

He still came to her lab when she was working late into the night and brought her blue jell-o, coffee or cake. But she had missed his lingering presence, even if he usually annoyed her, or worse ended up breaking something.

Now there wasn't even those quick stop-bys. She couldn't take subtle peeks at him in briefings, hope that he'd pop into her lab on his way back form the mess hall or secretly enjoy their playful banter.

She had spoken to one of her alternate selfs, one who after he left, took the risk and told him her feelings. They were now happily engaged, him using Asguard beams to take him to their home in Colorado Springs. That could have been her. So what was different about this reality? Was it a choice she made differently, or something neither one of them could have controlled?

The video said there had been no fish in his pond. But they had discovered on their fishing trip that in fact, there were. Had they changed something, could that have been the difference?

"Carter?"

It was Saturday, Jack realised happily as he woke up to the faint light shining through his window. No boring paperwork or annoying Pentagon personnel to deal with. And this weekend he was going fishing.

After getting dressed, he threw his bag into the passenger seat and climbed into his truck. As he pulled out of the drive he tried to concentrate on the road, on the scenery, but once again his thoughts lead to her, a certain blonde astrophysicist who refused to leave his thoughts.

He had invited Daniel and Teal'c – not sure whether they would come or not, but they had their own stuff to do this weekend. He had thought about asking Carter, but in the months since he'd seen her, they hadn't spoken much and she was probably busy moving on with her life to come fishing with her former CO.

He had picked up the phone so many times to call her, but what would he say? He missed her for sure – her scientific babbling, the looks she gave him when he did something stupid, her concentrated look whilst she worked, her smile – he just missed her. Heck, he even missed her called him Sir.

Maybe he had been kidding himself all these years that his feelings were reflected back– she was just so incredible and he was a grumpy old General. They had never really said anything, but there had been so many moments when words couldn't have explained. No, there was something much more than friendship there, and he would always know and feel that.

He had stepped back when she got engaged to the cop, but it pained him to see her with someone who wasn't him. He had always told her to go out and get herself a life, but then he had realised that he hadn't really wanted her to have one, when it didn't involve him. When she arrived in his back yard, he wanted to tell her everything – but he wasn't like that, didn't do the whole feelings thing. He had thought they had sorted out their issues on the fishing trip, but he now realised that they had only really acknowledged each other's feelings, and not had a discussion on what to do.

As he pulled into the cabin's drive, he instantly recognised the car already sitting there. He stopped and got out, checking first to see she wasn't sitting in the car. He went to the front door and found it open, house empty, and so walked round to the back and saw her sitting at the edge of his pond, feet placed in the water.

Her blonde hair was glistening in the light, the gentle breeze rustling it about, with her face pointed up to the sun. She took a swig from the beer bottle in her hand, and looked deep in thought.

Pulling himself out of his daydream, he walked closer to her, deciding that he really should say something before she turned and caught him staring.

"Carter?"

a/n2: go on, review, tell me how much of it actually made sense :) this may actually turn out to be a longer story...but only if you want so do tell!