"So, um, I probably should have cleaned out the fridge, sorry," Daniel said, pushing the door open and holding it for Sam to crutch in past him. "I'll deal with the packed stuff. Uh…. All the utilities are up to date," he assured her as he followed her down the hallway. "I kept up on the mail and paid the bills. I think I got everything, but we should probably make sure. I -"

Sam stopped dead just inside the living room, and he had to step past her to see what had pulled her up short. "Jack!" he exclaimed in surprise. "Where have you been? We've been trying to get ahold of you days. You must have a hundred messages! Korolev crashed, and -"

He trailed off, because Jack hadn't so much as glanced at him. No, he stood in front of the couch, a single piece of paper in his hand, staring at Sam like… well, like he'd seen a ghost. That made sense. But Sam stared at him almost the same way, her eyes darting between her former team leader and the piece of paper in his hand. Suddenly he understood – the file was nothing. The letter was there. And whatever was in it, Daniel was an enormous, incredibly awkward third wheel. "I'm, uh…. I'm gonna go," he offered, taking a step back backward. And then another. "I'll… talk to you later." He hit the hallway and retreated at speed.

Sam cleared her throat uncomfortably, clutching her crutches a little tighter as she slowly died from embarrassment. "I, uh…. I was hoping you hadn't seen that yet," she managed, though her throat was tense and it came out rough. "I just, um…. I mean, when I wrote that, I…." Still he stared at her, his face incredulous and gravely pale, and her stomach roiled and she thought she might cry. The cat was out of the bag, and she'd ruined everything. What had she been thinking, writing something like that down? "Look, um -"

The paper floated to the floor as he crossed the room in four quick strides, his hands gently encircling her battered face before he pressed his lips to hers, needy and unyielding. Stunned, it didn't even occur to her to respond until he finished the kiss, gasped in a breath and immediately kissed her again, unwilling to let her go even for an instant. Relief and warmth and love flooded through her, and she kissed him back, lifting her arms to wind them around his neck. Her crutches hit the wall and clattered to the floor, and neither of them cared.

Stepping closer, he wrapped his arms around her and crushed her to his chest, pressing his cheek hard against hers. And that's when she felt him shaking. "It's okay," she breathed, holding him tighter. "It's okay. I'm okay."

His lips found the soft skin in front of her ear, then her cheek, then her mouth again, desperate. It pained her to stop him, but she put her hands to his cheeks to gain a little space. "Sir -"

"Don't call me that," Jack murmured against her lips. "I'm not your CO."

Stunned, alarmed, Sam yanked her head back to stare at him. "What did you do?"

"I sent in the info for your DD-1300, that's what I did," he told her, his voice taut with emotion. "You don't have a CO. You're dead." He claimed her lips again.

"Oh," she managed between kisses. "Shoulda thought of that years ago."

"Probably." He kissed her cheek, her jaw, then buried his face in her neck. She held him tight, skin to skin, for the long minutes it took until his arms no longer trembled and his heart stopped pounding against her chest.

She didn't want to, but there was one more thing she had to ask. "What about Agent Johnson?"

He huffed into her shoulder. "Oh, Carter, Kerry left me months ago. She's smarter than both of us. She knew she wasn't the one I wanted."

It killed her that he'd gone through that pain without her even knowing. Holding him tighter, she breathed, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Just be with me." He kissed the skin at the crook of her neck once, twice. "I love you."

She pulled him closer still, swallowing back the lump in her throat. "Ditto." The word made him laugh, but when his arms finally loosened, she pressed, "Wait. Don't let go."

It was his turn to look surprised, because that was a very un-Sam-like thing to say. Sheepish, she said, "I dropped my crutches."

The chuckle that time turned deeper and almost – almost – hid the edge of hysteria. Lost for words, he just kissed her again.