A/N I want to start by saying that I was distracted again last week when I posted and forgot to mention that young Officer Carlson was named after my dear bestie positivlythatredheadgirl. She has helped me so much in getting this story written, she's listened to me go on and on and on and also helped to edit the completed story, so I want to give a huge shout out to her :). Also I want to thank all of you for reading and reviewing, I've tried to send a reply back to those that I'm able to, if I missed you it was unintentional, but if you want a personal reply just shoot me a message telling me that I missed you and I'll be sure to reply. Also this story is winding down to a finish, however...drum roll please...I'm currently working on a follow up story to this one. Hopefully at least some of you are excited to know this story will continue after this one ends :)

Chapter 16: Sober again

Jack awoke to a sound coming from the living room. With his training, he was instantly on high alert. He grabs his pistol from the drawer on the side table by his bed and stealthily makes his way towards the noise. There's no lights on, but he can tell that the noise is coming from the kitchen. Jack silently approaches the entryway to the kitchen, holds his gun in the ready position, and flips the light switch on.

"AHHHHHHHHH." Ronnie screams when the light suddenly turns on and she turns to find a gun pointed at her.

"Oh geez." Jack says as he quickly lowers the gun and flicks the safety on. He had forgotten she was here. Actually, his last thought before falling asleep was that he would wake up to find he'd been having a horrible nightmare. He must have subconsciously convinced himself that it was true.

"What are you doing pointing that thing at me?" Ronnie says breathing hard, heart beating out of her chest.

"I'm sorry." Jack replies.

"Well, would you mind putting it away?" She asks, turning around and fiddling with the coffee maker.

Daniel enters the room and asks, "What's going on in here?"

Ronnie starts again and asks, "Who are you?"

"I'm Daniel Jackson." Daniel says diplomatically, extending his hand.

Ronnie takes a couple deep breaths, calms down, takes the offered hand, and says, "Oh, right, I recognize you from some pictures Sam sent. I'm Veronica Carter, everyone calls me Onica."

"It's nice to meet you." Daniel replies. He looks over at Jack, sees the gun and asks, "Jack, what are you doing with that?"

Jack just glares back at him and quietly excuses himself back to his room to put the gun away.

When he comes back to the kitchen, Daniel and Ronnie are drinking the coffee she had made.

"I fixed you a cup." She says, indicating the cup sitting on the counter.

"Thanks." Jack says in reply.

As she stands there, Ronnie starts thinking about the previous night. What was she thinking saying all those things? She feels utterly embarrassed. If Mark ever finds out, he'll never take her back. She has to make this right. The more she thinks about it, the more she wishes she could just disappear.

Daniel looks between Jack and Ronnie, or is it Onica? He's not really sure. She introduced herself as Onica, but Jack said her name is Ronnie, whatever, it's too confusing. It's well known that Daniel is a skilled linguist, and he's reading some pretty uncomfortable body language right now. The longer he stands here, the longer he feels like he's an intruder. Suddenly, he wonders what exactly might have happened last night before he got here.

Daniel walks over and refills his cup and says, "I think I'll go drink this in my room."

After Daniel leaves, Ronnie stands there for a few more moments then says, "So, he seems nice."

"Yeah." Jack says in reply.

"Is he here because of me?" She asks.

Jack looks at her and says, "I thought it would be a good idea to have someone else here."

"Jack," she starts quietly, "about last night, I don't remember everything, but I remember enough. I'm so embarrassed."

"About which part? Wrecking my truck or saying you're still in love with me?" Jack asks, wryly. He knows he's being a jerk, but after everything that happened yesterday, he doesn't care. Because of her, his truck is a mess, his driver's license is suspended, he has three tickets, and he may lose the love of his life.

Ronnie closes her eyes tightly, as images flood her mind. She had completely forgotten about the truck incident. She can't recall every detail but she does remember hitting another car.

"I'm sorry, I hope it's not too bad." She says, looking guilty.

Jack narrows his eyes and replies darkly, "You backed into another vehicle going god knows how fast, and then you came barreling into my yard running over a ginormous shrub. The car you hit is probably totaled, and my truck is getting towed this morning, and it too, might be totaled. Not to mention the three tickets and suspended license I received on your behalf."

Ronnie walks out to the living room and sinks into the couch, wishing she could go back in time. She didn't mean to cause him this much trouble. "I'm sorry Jack, I'll pay the tickets." Then a thought occurs to her, "Wait, why did you get in trouble for what I did?"

"Because, when the officer showed up at my house, I told him it was my fault." Jack sighs, following her to the living room and taking a seat in the easy chair.

"Why would you do that?" She asks, confused. Why would he take the blame for her after all the trouble she's caused him? It doesn't make any sense.

"Because, Ronnie, you were drunk. If I had told the cop about that, you would've been charged with a DUI. You've done stupid stuff like this before and if you didn't have kids to think about, I would've told the cop the truth." Jack replies.

She's speechless, after everything that's happened between them, he's still looking out for her. A funny feeling starts in her stomach, and she looks at Jack with admiration. She smiles slightly as she realizes that this is what it could have been like had she married him. The two of them up early in the morning drinking coffee together, chatting idly about nothing. The smile vanishes as reality sinks in. She didn't marry him, they aren't up idly chatting about nothing. No, she left him and they each moved on with their lives, and now, here they are all these years later and he's dating her sister-in-law.

"I should go." Ronnie says suddenly. She loves her husband and kids, she knows she does, but sitting here with Jack is stirring up emotions she thought were long dead. She already said things last night that she shouldn't have said. When she got up this morning she was sure that she hadn't meant any of it, now though, she's not so sure. The best thing she can do is to remove herself from the situation, before temptation takes over.

Jack, unaware of Ronnie's inner thoughts, nods his head and offers, "Daniel can take you back to Sam's house."

"Thanks." Ronnie says, quietly.

She should also call Mark, but she's a little upset that he hasn't called her. She thought he would have by now, but he must still be too angry she reckons. She pulls her phone out of her bag and sighs in frustration when she realizes that the battery is dead. Hope swells inside her, maybe he did call but her phone was dead so she didn't get it. She wants to charge it, but her charger is in her suitcase at Sam's house, so she'll have to wait.

Jack watches her for a moment, then goes to get Daniel.

Daniel makes his way to the front door, opens it and goes outside, and upon seeing Jack's truck says, "Holy hannah, Jack, your truck is,"

Jack glares at him and Daniel stops speaking, and silently walks outside, leaving Ronnie and Jack alone in the entryway to his house with the front door hanging wide open.

Ronnie turns to him and says, "I guess this is goodbye."

Against his better judgement, Jack says, "I'll take you to the airport this afternoon."

"You don't have to, I'll just take a cab." Ronnie says, shaking her head, then adds quietly, "Besides, I've caused you enough trouble."

"It's alright, Ronnie. I'll get Daniel to drive." Jack says, and wonders why he's being so insistent. He doesn't necessarily want to take her to the airport, he must just want to make sure that she does, indeed, get on the plane.

"Alright, I suppose." She acquiesces, then adds, "I'll need to get there around noon."

Jack nods and says, "I'm sure that won't be an issue." Then turning his head slightly, he asks in a louder tone, "Will it Daniel?"

Daniel whirls around and looks like a deer caught in the headlights and says, "What?"

"Dropping Ronnie off at the airport at noon." Jack clarifies.

"Oh, yeah, sure, no problem," Daniel stammers.

Ronnie smiles once more and heads out to get in the car. Jack watches them drive away, then shuts the door. He looks at his watch and sees that it's after 7 now and figues the tow truck should be coming soon.

Sure enough, not even 10 minutes after they left, the tow truck shows up. The driver tells Jack that his truck probably doesn't have a great future, but that's just his opinion. He finishes loading the truck and takes it away, saying that someone will be in touch after it's been assessed.

Jack watches it go, seems to be something he's been doing a lot lately, watching people drive away. He closes the door and sighs, he really liked that truck.