AN: Okay as promised, a few answers and some J&S goodness. I owe thank you notes for reviews on the last chapter too. Am feeling a little under the weather so am using the little bit of energy I have right now to prioritize getting this posted. So, please forgive the lateness in of my acknowledgements. Don't think this part is too bad for references to specific acts or language, but as always a caution is in effect. Enjoy.

***SG1***SG1***

"O'Neill," Teal'c called stopping in the doorway of Jack's room. "There is someone who wishes to speak with you," he said stepping further in the room to allow the woman to enter. "It would be best if you did so," he added before leaving.

Turning back from watching the big man leave, Tiffany raised an eyebrow. "Succinct, isn't he?" she asked dryly. Seeing the answering amusement in the man's eyes, she took a step forward. "Doctor Tiffany Rogers. I'm happy to meet you, sir."

The appellation raised Jack's eyebrow. "Sir," he reiterated slowly. Cocking his head, he ran his eyes over her clothing. "Is there a rank that goes with that doctorate?"

"Major, retired," she answered. Following his gesture to take a seat, she added, "Instinct I guess, to call you that."

"You're the doc Fraiser brought in for Carter," Jack surmised, easing down across from her. "How's she doing?"

"Better," Rogers sighed. "Physically, she's healing. Emotionally, it's slow going." Gauging his response, she added, "She's concerned about you."

"Tell Carter to worry about herself. I'm fine," he said, his eyes darting away from her as he spoke.

"Really? Wow," Tiffany said, watching his reaction. She had decided before she came in to pull no punches. "You saw someone you care about being raped, killed several men to save her and other members of this command, and now you could potentially be brought up on charges, and you are fine." Sitting back, she raised a hand and allowed it to drop to indicate her disbelief. "You'd have to be a sociopath or some super human who's learned to conquer all emotion if that is the case." Seeing a flash of anger at her words, she pushed. "So which is it, Colonel?"

Hard brown eyes told her to back off.

The intensity of his nonverbal message had Tiffany instinctually straightening her back. Mentally shaking herself to stop the apology for insubordination that was forming in her mind, the thought that this man had obviously written the book on denial and repression of feeling passed through her. "Look, I'm going to be blunt." A snort and a look told her he thought she had been already. "Sam needs you to work through this and come to terms with what happened. She won't be able to move forward if she believes you are blaming yourself or, god forbid, her for what happened."

"It's not Carter's fault," Jack snapped out, his jaw flexing. "I've told her that."

Nodding, Tiffany agreed. "She said that. She also said you're angry with her and those two things don't make sense to her unless you blame her."

Shock flittered across Jack's face. "Angry with her? Where'd she come up with that?"

Shaking her head, she told him she didn't know what it was exactly. Changing topics, she added, "You didn't say if you blame yourself."

Sighing, Jack sat back in the chair. "Look, I know in my head that there was nothing I could have done to prevent what happened to Carter initially." Snorting, he shook his head. "God knows I've gone over it enough, second and third guessed every decision, to know that." His voice was low, rough.

"You said initially," Tiffany noted softly, hearing the deliberate choice of his words. A wince met her words before he looked away from her. "Something happened later. Something you do blame yourself for," she stated, reading him. Cocking her head, she added, "Lieutenant Faber?"

"Part of it," Jack confessed.

"And the rest?"

Sighing, Jack brought his eyes back towards the doctor. "How much has Carter remembered about afterwards? Between the...," Jack stopped.

"Rape," Tiffany stated it for him.

A tic twitched on Jack's jaw at the word. "And when we got back?" he finished his question.

"Nothing, and I suspect she never will. Did something happen during that time?" The flexing of Jack's jaw gave her the answer. "And you think you could have stopped whatever that was?" A wince and brief nod was her reply. "I see," she said softly. Licking her lips, she pinned him with her gaze. "Did you rape Major Carter?"

"No." The barked denial was immediate, intense. "God, no," Jack breathed, the pain that the concept brought clearly on his face and body. Closing his eyes, the memory of her being pinned below him washed through him.

Watching the almost imperceivable change in his features, she took a stab at interpreting it. "But you came close?"

Jack looked down and shifted before a short nod confirmed her statement.

"What stopped you?"

The quietly asked question brought his gaze back to her. A frown flickered across his forehead as he struggled to find the words to explain. "She deserves better," he finally said, a slight shrug telling her he knew they were inadequate.

Tiffany looked away from pain she saw in his eyes. "I'm sorry," she said. "I had to ask, to be sure."

A frown crossed Jack's features. He neither wanted nor deserved the comfort she was offering. Before he could say anything else, a knock on the door brought Jack to his feet. "Sir," he said, greeting the General who entered.

"Colonel, Doctor Rogers," George responded, nodding to both. "I'm sorry to interrupt."

Waving if off, Jack gestured towards his chair. "Doc and I were just chatting," Jack threw out lightly ignoring the raised eyebrow from Rogers. "What can we do for you?"

"General, I can leave," Tiffany started only to be stopped by Hammond waving her off.

"You likely need to hear this as much as Jack," George said, a sigh escaping him. Looking up to Jack, he added, "French and Nelson have showed me their recommendations and I've confirmed the findings with the Pentagon."

"Okay," Jack drawled out, easing himself down onto the end of the bed.

A small smile pulled on George's face. "They are not recommending charges in the death of Lieutenant Faber. They have determined these unfortunate circumstances are similar to a friendly fire situation. There will be a notation made in your file of your involvement, but no charges will be brought. You're free to go," he said gently.

Relief and guilt passed through O'Neill. "I see," he said, looking at this hands. A frown creased his forehead as he cleared his throat. "And the other?"

Hammond sobered. "That one," he drawled, "is a little more complicated." George glanced at Rogers trying to decide how much the psychologist knew. Looking back at Jack, he raised an eyebrow in a silent question if Jack really wanted Rogers to stay. He got a small shrug in response.

"While there is no clear evidence of misconduct on the part of Colonel O'Neill or Major Carter, this investigator firmly believes that the spirit of the fraternization rules have been violated on numerous occasions," Hammond stated, his tone indicating he was reciting from the report.

Jack's jaw clenched at the words. "And?"

"It's not unanimous," George replied. "Colonel O'Neill's and Major Carter's relationship reflects the respect, trust and reliance necessary for military personnel being placed in off-world situations. It is this investigator's belief that no preferential treatment or misconduct has resulted from this close working relationship."

Looking at his commander, Jack tried unsuccessfully to read him. "And?" he breathed out again, the word coming with the air.

"They're still working on that one," Hammond said. Pursing his lips, he added, "I've been asked to conduct a review of all missions and of your conduct on and off base," he said.

Nodding, Jack licked his lips. "You won't find anything, sir. I'd never jeopardize Carter's career that way."

"I know," the large man said gently. "Not intentionally anyway."

Nodding slowly at the implied statement the words held, Jack looked away. "What if I retired or asked for a transfer?"

A sigh escaped George. "Right now, at worse, it could be seen as an admission of guilt. At best, as trying to avoid being caught and the innuendo of that would be enough to damage Major Carter's chances for advancement later on."

"Damn it," Jack breathed, getting up to pace across the room and stop.

"I'm sorry Jack," George said, watching the tension flow through Jack's back. "But right now, the best thing you can do is wait it out. You're both on medical leave until further notice anyway. Take some time, work through what's happened. Let me do the review and send up the findings. After that, we'll have to wait and see."

***SG1***SG1***

Pausing to breathe in the fresh air, Jack closed his eyes and let the feeling of the sun on his face calm him. Before the General left, Jack had asked if he could tell Carter, explain what was happening so she would know before she went to Bethesda. Rogers had agreed it would be best for her to be aware so she did not misinterpret O'Neill's minimal contact while she was away.

He had headed to the infirmary only to find that she had asked to go outside. He couldn't blame her. Climbing up the mountain, he had little doubt of where she would be. Stepping into the clearing, he noted that both Teal'c and Daniel had come with her. It was just as well.

"Jack," Daniel called in greeting coming to his feet.

"Daniel, Teal'c," Jack nodded to each before turning his gaze toward Carter. "Major."

"Colonel?" Sam asked tensely, moving closer. While he may no longer be confined to quarters, his use of her honorific and his countenance told her she was not going to like what she was about to hear.

"Seems I'm a free man," Jack blurted out with forced levity. "No charges in connection to Faber," he added quietly.

"That's good," Daniel said, relief evident.

"There's something else," Sam said quietly, her eyes never leaving Jack's face.

Darting a glance at Teal'c and Daniel, Jack licked his lips. "Can you guys give us a minute?" he asked. Seeing their confused acquiescence, Jack moved to the eastern rock ledge knowing that Sam would follow. Sitting down, he felt her ease herself down beside him.

"Sir?"

Sighing, Jack glanced over the countryside. "We're being investigated for breaking the fraternization rule."

"What?" Sam spilled out in disbelief. "We've never..." she gestured not sure even how to classify what they hadn't done.

"I know," Jack responded. "But you and I both know it's about more than sex." Glancing at her, he quickly looked away from the stricken look on her face.

"Is this about something that happened on the mission?" she asked, her voice small, pained.

Jack fought against the instinct to touch her. "Yes and no." Chancing another glance, he added, "The whole zatarc thingie should have landed my ass in Leavenworth. This last mission," Jack shook his head, "it just blew the door to that room to hell and now everyone wants to take a look into it." He voice was quiet, pained.

A flash of sadness passed over Sam. "You would of done the same thing for Daniel or Teal'c."

"Yes, I would have done whatever I needed to keep them alive," Jack agreed. "But I wouldn't have allowed them to extract promises or," he paused, swallowed, "felt the same as I did with you."

"I'm sorry."

Her choked words sliced through his resolve. Shifting, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders drawing her closer. "It's not your fault Carter."

"What's going to happen?"

Squeezing her slightly, he replied, "You're going to go to Bethesda and get better." Fingers tightening on his leg told him that's not what she wanted to know. A sigh escaped him. "They're going to go through our lives with a fine tooth comb, picking at every little sore to see if they can find anything that will bleed and that could be used against us. Against me," he clarified.

"If they find something?"

"I'll be brought up on charges and you'll never see Colonel," he breathed out. Loosening his grip, he added, "We'll be okay. As you said, there are some lines we never crossed."

Sam snorted, turning her face into his neck. "You understand the irony of that statement right now don't you?"

"Hey, I'd snuggle with Teal'c too," Jack said in mock defense. Feeling a chuckle run through her, he tightened his arm to ease his next words. "I'm not going to be able to contact you when your away. I'll only be able to go through proper channels for updates as your commanding officer." The movement of her head told him she understood. "Unofficially, I'll be keeping tabs."

She didn't need to ask how. It was a given. "They've been so good. I'm going to miss them." She tightened her grip on him. "I'm going to miss you."

Jack swallowed at the whispered admission. The fact that her words both thrilled him and pissed him off confirmed again he needed to resign. "That means you'll not miss the legion of your other fans here?" He asked, a forced lightness in his voice.

Pulling back, Sam shook her head slightly as she looked into the distance. "They try," she breathed. "To act like nothing has changed. But," she eyes darted down as she shook her head. "The looks are the worse." The quietly spoken words broke the stillness.

Glancing towards her, Jack raised an eyebrow at the seemingly random statement. "Looks?"

Nodding slowly, Sam swallowed. "The whole sympathy thing. Like I'm fragile. Broken."

"You've got to admit you look beat up right now," Jack replied, his eyes automatically tracing the black and green band around her neck and fingertip bruises on her jawline, both in sharp contrast to the milky paleness of her skin.

"It's more than that," Sam sighed. Looking away, she licked her lips. "They don't think I'll be okay, that I won't get past this. That I won't be able to do my job again. That I'll always be jumpy and scared. That no man will ever want me again or that I'll freak out if some one tries. That every time I walk into a room made of concrete and windows and there's a table in it that I'll break into a cold sweat and freak out. That I won't be able to sleep ever again without hearing and feeling them. That maybe I'm not capable of defending myself or anyone else anymore." The words poured from her once she started.

"They do or you do?" Jack countered gently. Reading the answer in the wide, startled eyes that snapped to him, it took everything in him to not react. Breathing out, he kept his eyes locked on Sam's. "Carter," he began only to be cut off.

"You don't do that. You and Teal'c. Daniel and Janet try," Sam interjected, her voice shaky and raw. "And I need that right now, to know at least someone thinks I can pick up the pieces."

Looking away, Jack watched a pair of birds flitter around each other to hide how much her words were affecting him. Hearing her sniff, he glanced back to see her struggling to not cry. "You'll be okay, Sam," he said gently. Nudging her closer, he rested his head against hers when she settled it on his collarbone and her arms tighten around him. "We'll get through it."

***SG1***SG1***