Chapter 7

The drink was now really starting to have its effect, as Jack was shamelessly spilling his emotions to Daniel. The younger man was surprised at how much Jack had to tell him, although he knew none of this would ever had reached him if it weren't for the special potion the Erogans had provided. Jack talked passionately to Daniel about Sam and apparently everything else that had been weighing on his mind. It took Daniel all the patience he had to keep Jack on the right track. When he started to talk about Charlie, Jack got really emotional, and Carter soon picked up on his distressed state of mind.

"Sir, are you okay?", she asked. Jack rolled his eyes, a muttered "sir" rolling off his lips. Sam frowned and glanced at Daniel, who shrugged his shoulders as a sign of denial and ignorance. "What's wrong?", Sam tried again. Jack O'Neill heaved a big sigh, and suddenly pushed his younger friend out of the way.

"Everything is wrong, Carter!" he hissed at his 2IC, who was very surprised. Sure, she had seen Jack in pissy moods before, but there was just something off about him now. His eyes were so dark and intense… Despite his anger, she leaned closer. "This is wrong, we are wrong, you are wrong!", he practically sniped. Sam sat up, anger pooling in her belly now as well. "Excuse me?" she stuttered.

Daniel opened his mouth, trying to come between them before things got out of hand. Apparently, Jack had more anger than love to share, he thought. But Jack didn't let him interrupt, he merely waved his hand as if to dismiss him and continued his hissing tirade. "I cannot do this anymore Carter, spending every day with you, pretending to be my wife, wearing these ridiculous outfits" Sam looked down at her outfit in shock, "and then every night in that stupid tent. You're barely dressed most of the time, what the fuck is that about?" Jack ended passionately. Sam's eyes were wide with shock and her cheeks were flushed.

She really wasn't sure what her commanding officer was trying to say, but the fact that he had been noticing her state of undress caused something else besides anger to pool in her belly as well. The blue in her eyes turned to ice, and as she faced her commanding officer, Daniel swore he could feel daggers shooting out of them.

"I don't think that my outfit is any of your concern, sir", she bit at him, crossing her arms over her chest in a protective gesture. Jack opened his mouth to talk back, but before he got anything out, he was interrupted by Deran, who had apparently noticed their growing argument.

"Jack, Samantha, are you alright?" he asked worriedly. "They're fine, Deran" Daniel assured him, "it's just a small marital spat". Unfortunately, Deran could see right through Daniel's nervous smile. His eyes turned serious as he asked: "What is going on with them Daniel?"

The youngest member of SG1 sighed. "Alright," he admitted, "I gave them some of the Emora potion that you showed us, to get them to open up to each other, but it only seems to have made them angry". Deran looked confused. "Why?", he just said. Daniel paused. He realised that he would have to blow their cover in order for Deran to help him, but he wasn't sure how their new friend would react, knowing that he had been lied to all this time. He sighed. "Could we talk about this in private?" He asked. And so Daniel explained the whole thing, or close to it anyway. When he got around to his plan for Sam and Jack, Deran actually tsked, making him feel like a naughty little boy. Fortunately, Deran was quite forgiving. He didn't really understand the military rules, but he did recognize Daniel's good intentions towards his friends. "You should not have lied to us, Daniel Jackson", he said solemnly. "We would have agreed to trade with you even if not for the marriage. Those laws are ancient, and no longer relevant at this time." "That's good to hear." Daniel smiled. "Now, as for your friends," he continued, "I believe they are just in the right place." "Sorry?" Daniel said. "You see," Deran explained", the potion you gave them releases your inhibitions, with is why they are reacting with anger. From what you have told me, I gather their professional relationship hasn't allowed this in the past." Daniel nodded. "If they have something deeper to share, they will do so in time", he concluded.

Although not quite reassured, Daniel realized there wasn't much more he or Deran could do. The Erogan leader suggested taking Jack and Sam to a more private area, so the whole village wouldn't have to witness their exchange. Daniel agreed and suggested the tent they had stayed in. He and Deran quickly grabbed the arguing couple, who were being supervised sternly by Teal'c and shoved them unceremoniously away from the others and into the tent. If their friends were at all fazed by this brutal action, they didn't show it. In fact, Daniel could still hear them shouting outside the tent. "Let's uh, just give them a moment, shall we?", he asked. The three men moved away from the tent, all of them hoping that the two people inside would be able to solve their issues, or at best avoid killing each other.

Inside, the angry voices were still going strong: "So the problem is that I'm a woman?" Sam nearly shrieked, her arms again crossed in front of her chest as she faced her commanding officer inside the dim-lit tent. A small part of her protested, as she realized yelling at her CO was probably not acceptable behaviour. However, his furious "YES!" only made her angrier and she no longer cared about propriety.

"I cannot fucking believe you!" she shouted, "After all we've been through together, after all I have done, you still think women are inferior? You really think I can't deal with these people just because they put me in some revealing dress?". Her face was red with anger and she was now practically nose to nose with Jack. "How dare you? I've saved the planet, hell, the whole universe more times than you can even count, and you know it!" she ended passionately.

Jack let out a bitter laugh, which only served to increase her frustration. Irrationally angered by his reaction, she lashed out in the only way that remained: with violence. Sam threw herself on her CO, her fists crashing against his chest, the insults flying out of her mouth. "Dammit, Carter, knock it off", her CO yelled, all the while trying to keep her fists at bay without hurting her. Finally, he pulled her bodily against him, holding her hands behind her back and effectively immobilising her. "The problem with you being a woman is not that I underestimate what you can do!" he hissed in her face, "Hell, you're a thousand times smarter than any of us, and I've always been the first to admit it." Sam struggled in his hold, only slightly placated by the seemingly complimentary words coming out of his mouth. "The problem, Sam," he continued, "is that it shouldn't matter to me that you are a woman. As your commanding officer, I shouldn't even notice that you are a woman. But it does matter, and I do notice. In fact, I notice too much. Sometimes, it takes all the fucking strength I have not to push you up against some wall and kiss the living daylight out of you! You're the most valuable member of the SGC and the smartest person I know, Carter. But when you wear a dress like the one you wore yesterday, all civilised thought leaves my brain, I can't help it, and I hate myself for it!"

His long-winded explanation had taken the edge of his fury. Suddenly aware of how tight he was holding his 2IC, he let her go and took a step back. Sam stumbled, suddenly having to stand on her own two feet again. Her body felt numb, withdrawn from the warm and strong chest she was pushed up against. Seeing the look of despair in her CO's eyes, her anger dissipated as well and she was left with nothing but confusion. "I…. I don't understand. Wha… What are you saying?" she asked, a small seed of hope starting to grow in her belly. Sam searched for his eyes, and when the brown orbs finally met her blue ones, she gasped.

Jack looked at her, reading the fear and spark of hope that was hidden in her gaze. Suddenly, he felt braver and he stepped closer, taking her hand in his. "I'm saying, Samantha", he said softly, "that I want you. You are an amazing soldier and a genius, and anyone can see that. But you're also a beautiful and kind woman, with an amazing heart and a free spirit. And I'm so obviously in love with you, it's ridiculous! I've spent a lot of time denying it, but I can't anymore. This mission has been hell, Carter, pretending to have you as my wife. It's the life I can only dream of, a life I can never have, and it's like God is dangling it in front of my face, but I know I can never reach it." He chuckled bitterly.

Sam stood frozen in place, no longer hearing what he was saying, the only words that mattered ringing repeatedly in her ears. 'He's in love with me'? Jack was still babbling, apparently moving on to apologies now, but she didn't care, rudely cutting in his sentence with a broken "You're in love with me?".

Jack quieted immediately. Not sure what she was thinking, and afraid he had royally screwed things up for the whole SGC, he just nodded and stared at his feet. Apparently though, she wasn't done. "What about the frat rules?", she asked quietly. He looked up. "I don't care," he said. "I'll resign, ask for a favour, head another team, it doesn't matter."

Sam swallowed. She felt nervous, but also hopeful and excited. The combination led to some nausea as well, but she tried to ignore the swirling going on in her belly. Jack noticed her brain going 200 miles an hour and he took another step closer, his hand now on her jaw. "I love you, Samantha Carter, and nothing will ever prevent me from saying that to you again", he whispered. Sam's heart suddenly stuttered, and when she looked up and saw those warm chocolate eyes staring back at her, with nothing but pure love, she forgot all her surroundings and lunged forward to press her lips against his.

Jack stumbled, not expecting this kind of reaction, but quickly found his footing again and wrapped his arms around his wonderful, stubborn and passionate CO2, the woman he had loved and admired from afar for all these years, hardly daring to believe that this was really happening. His hands found her bare back and stroked up and down, causing Sam to hum into his mouth. He moved his lips to her neck, delighting in her sounds of pleasure. His hands rounded her waist, his thumbs toying with the edge of the skirt, right under her bellybutton. She jerked his head up again, and slid her tongue into his mouth, causing him to groan rather loudly. Broken out of her trance by the sound, Sam suddenly pulled back. Jack looked up, worried that he had taking things too far. Sam cleared her throat and laughed shyly: "We probably shouldn't do that here." He chuckled and slowly took a step back. "Let's go home", he said, "we've got a lot to discuss with General Hammond."

The End