This just might have been the most depressing day of his life General Jack O'Neill thought as he laid back in his recliner, sipping a beer, The Simpsons playing silently in the background as he listened to the rain coming down outside. Two hours had passed and he still had yet to hear from Daniel or Teal'c, mostly Daniel, about how the wedding went. Pulling the last swig from his bottle he tossed it into the small pile that had gathered next to him on the floor. Maybe Daniel would let him be? He had only pestered him for the past two weeks straight about the wedding. Telling him he needed to go. To support her. Begging him to come. Obviously that didn't happen as he lay miserably in his worn out chair, feeling all the alcohol he had consumed coursing through his body.

A nap sounded good right about now.

But Daniel had other plans. Letting the answering machine take his phone call, he closed his eyes.

"Jack! It's me, we can't find Sam anywhere! The wedding never started, something happened. She called it off and left! She doesn't have her phone and nobody saw where she went." His feet dropped heavily to the floor as he sat up in the recliner, the foot rest snapping back into place. "Damnit Jack! Answer the phone!" Daniel's voice carried harshly over the machine urging Jack to get to his feet and actually pick it up.

"Yeah, I'm here. Calm down." He practically shouted back.

"Jack! Thank god! Sam-she-" Daniel was about to start his rant all over again, but Jack cut him off. He couldn't listen to it again.

"I heard you the first time you yelled it into my answering machine. And I'm already throwing on my shoes and goin out the front door." Carrying the wireless phone to the front door, he slid the nearest shoes on as Daniel continued to ramble in his ear. Pulling a jacket out of the closet, he opened the front door.

Just as he went to hang up on Daniel and pull on his jacket, he paused, the phone hanging in his hand at his side. He could hear Daniel's voice still carrying through the little box but none of his words carried to his ears. This wasn't quite what he was expecting.

"You can call off the search party." His eyes wouldn't leave the figure hunched over on his curb, hugging their knees to their chest, soaked from the rain. "She's here." Hanging up the phone before Daniel could shout out another torrent of words, he dropped the phone on the small table next to the front door before running out into the rain.

Crouching next to her, he spoke softly trying not to startle her. But it was inevitable. "Carter…" Her cold, wet shoulder shivered under his hand as she jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Jesus Carter, how long have you been out here?"

Her silence worried him. Taking in her appearance he didn't know where to start. The falling bun that was dripping rain? The mud stained dress that stuck to her like a second skin? The makeup making trails down her face? The purple and blue coloring her freezing fingers and toes had taken on?

"Come on, let's get you inside."

Wrapping a hand around her elbow, he guided her to her feet. Wordlessly she let him take her inside which he was thankful for yet concerned. The Carter he knew wouldn't be silent, wouldn't have a vacant look in her eyes. Heading straight for the bathroom, he made her sit on the toilet seat cover before grabbing some towels out of the cabinet.

"Here, dry yourself off. I'll find you some clothes." Setting the towels on the counter top beside her, he shut the door behind himself going in search of warmer and dry clothes.

Not wanting to rush her, or invade on her privacy, he took a little longer even though he already knew what he was looking for and where it was. He already had the sweatpants, crew neck sweatshirts, and socks in a pile on his dresser. Waiting. Thoughts and questions flooded his brain. But the almost silent ding from his cellphone shook him from his thoughts.

'On our way.' Of course he was. Daniel was a great friend, no question. But he also didn't understand boundaries very well or privacy.

'It's alright. I got her.' Carter didn't need an audience right now, or a counseling session, or someone hounding her with questions. She needed space, an escape. And he was going to give her that. If keeping everyone else away meant that, then he would provide that until she was ready.

Grabbing the pile of clothes he headed back to the bathroom, his knuckles rapping twice on the door before letting himself in. He hardly made it two steps in when he stopped almost dropping the clothes from his hands. She hadn't moved. Hadn't even touched the towels. Sitting in the same spot she had been in when he left to find the clothes in the first place, the towels still completely dry, her dress still dripping puddles of water all over the bathroom floor. Setting the clothes on the counter beside the towels, he kneeled in front of her.

"We need to get you out of those wet clothes Carter." No response. Nothing. Not even a blink of an eye. "Sam." Grabbing her knee, he shook it slightly. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes shot to his. "Come on, up." Trying to ignore the confused and hurt look in her eyes, he pulled her up to her feet and grabbed a towel holding it in front of her. "Look, it'd probably be better if you did this yourself. I don't know what happened and I'm not going to bug you like Daniel would or anyone else would for that matter. But you're soaked, you're cold, your lips are turning blue just like your fingers and toes. You need to get some dry clothes on and get out of that dress."

He on the other hand felt flushed. All the beer he consumed was warming his cheeks and he wasn't sure if her arrival had made him even more tired and craving a nap, or sent a rush of adrenaline through him. His body couldn't decide.

If she hadn't been so silent, the sudden turn she made putting her back to him wouldn't have made him jump so much. But then he realized what she needed. The zipper. His fingers fumbled and he couldn't find purchase with all the fake buttons surrounding it.

"Jesus, can they make these things any more difficult?" He grumbled. That's when her own hands came up over her shoulders searching for the zipper. Moving his hands out of the way he watched as her delicate fingers found it and got it started for him, sliding it down barely an inch. Taking the zipper back, her hands disappearing in front of her again, he slowly slid it down going further and further stopping at her lower back as he licked his lips, more and more skin showing as he went.

"Uhm, think you can handle the rest?" Her head nodded slowly in response, relief almost flooded him completely by the small gesture. He wasn't sure if he could handle pulling the zipper down further. Blood was already rushing to places it shouldn't. Especially right now.

"Could you…?" Her voice was barely a whisper as she reached out for the clothes he had set just out of reach.

"Uh yeah sure, which one? Pants? Sweatshirt?" He sifted through the pile, eventually pulling out the sweatshirt at her request. Handing it over, her fingers felt like ice against his skin making him wonder just how long she had been outside. It was Spring. It didn't feel that cold out, it was thunderstorm season, yet she felt like a block of ice.

That thought was fleeting as soon as it came when she slid her arms out of the short sleeves. That was when he realized her upper body would soon be completely bare. How he missed the fact she wasn't wearing a bra as he slid the zipper down, he wasn't sure. That wasn't something he missed often. He couldn't help but be entranced as she pulled the worn grey crewneck sweatshirt on, the rest of the dress sliding down her hips and thighs, pooling at her feet. The bottom of the sweatshirt just barely covered her own bottom as her white laced underwear peeked below the hem of the soft cotton.

"Here, ehm, I'll just-" Clearing his throat he leaned down to pick the soaked dress up off the floor only to find their hands brushing against each other as she did the same. He was surprised that she let it go as they both stood back up, letting him take it from her. He also didn't miss the way her eyes flickered from his own to his lips and back. Making him realize he was doing the same. "Carter-"

His words died on his lips as her cold hands cupped each side of his face, her lips crashing against his. Catching himself in a stumble, he found his own hands grasping her hips to steady himself. Desire shot from his belly straight to his groin as she pressed up against him. Gripping her hips a little tighter, he found himself pushing back, even as his head screamed no at him.

Pulling his head back in shock he looked directly into her eyes.

What he saw there stopped him dead in his tracks. Pain, desire, trust, need, anguish, love. The way she tucked her bottom lip under her teeth in embarrassment had him licking his own, giving out a heavy breath. This was against regulations. Against everything they had been locking in the room for years. But the tightness in his groin didn't care about any of that. The alcohol coursing through his bloodstream urged him. The way she kept her eyes locked on his, the way her chest heaved with every breath she took, her fingers that had moved from his face to his chest flexing in the material of his shirt, the color coming back to her face and tinged lips.

Groaning in frustration he yanked her forward by her hips and pressed his lips against hers roughly, nipping at her bottom lip. Turning them, he pressed her back against the wall behind him. Bringing his own body up against hers, trapping her hands between them, his hands did some wandering of their own. One found itself under the borrowed sweatshirt grabbing at her bare hip while the other trailed up her side to cup the back of her neck. A moan rumbled through her chest as his tongue trailed her lips. Pulling away from her mouth, he nipped his way across her jaw, to the shell of her ear, straight to her pulse point.

The gasp that escaped between her lips as his teeth hit that point had him smiling. He'd never heard that from her before, and he liked it.

"Carter." But the rational part of his brain was yelling at him as he growled into her neck and pulled away once more. This was Carter, one of his best friends, his coworker of almost a decade, and his second in command. They couldn't do this. Could they?

"Jack. Please." Her words came out almost as a plea.

And that was enough for him. Without a second thought he was hoisting her up, her legs wrapping around his waist instantaneously as he headed to the bedroom. Her hands on his body were setting him on fire. Every touch, every caress. He had dreamed about this for years. But that's all it was, dreams. Now here they were, and it was much better than any of his dreams.

The way they fit together perfectly, moving in sync without hesitation, finding every sensitive spot they could reach as if they already knew it would send the other over the edge, and it was over before they had registered it began. Her back was pressed against him and he found himself drawing circles from her elbow to her shoulder and back down. She had fallen asleep as soon as she had settled against him. And boy oh boy, what had they just done? What had happened today? Why had she come to him? Why had she called off the wedding?

With a heavy sigh of his own he kissed the back of her head and settled into his own pillow. That was all something he'd have to worry about another day. For now, he was going to enjoy where he was even if it was just for today. Just for a moment. A moment he was never going to forget for the rest of his life. With her in his arms, together, where they belonged.

Short and sweet. Slightly different approach than my first version, and eventually leading into a new idea to spin off of this. Hit me with your thoughts!