Author's Note: Back by popular demand ... ;-) I just want to say thank you to everyone who took the time to review. It means a lot to know that my writing is appreciated. I only intended this to be a ficlet but you all asked for it to continue, so I hope I can live up to what you all want to see. Just remember, you asked for it :-) . Read and review please.

Jack sat at the head of the table in the briefing room, absentmindedly tapping his pen on the table. It was several days after the night Sam had unexpectedly called, turning his life upside down. He was supposed to be listening to a mission briefing, but his mind was busy reliving that night.

"Hello Jack."

She only needed to say those two words and Jack felt his heart race, his blood pounding so hard in his ears it had sounded like a battalion of Jaffa on patrol. His name on her lips, her voice a breathy whisper, he'd never heard anything so sweet. He'd dreamed of this countless times. Hearing her voice call his name, hearing the words she spoke. His heart flooded with emotions he didn't think he was capable of feeling anymore. Then, it all came crashing down around him.

Jack shook himself from his silent reverie and focused his attention back on the briefing he was currently supposed to be paying attention to.

"We can't just let the Fensia people go on sacrificing themselves to this Goa'uld Jack. Not when we can stop it. Not when we can tell them the truth," Daniel was saying. Jack nodded distractedly, his eyes straying in Sam's direction.

Sam was deliberately focusing her eyes on anything else rather than Jack. She could feel his eyes on her. His gaze burned into her, but still she refused to look up. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. She wouldn't let him see what he had done to her.

"Jack," Daniel said exasperatedly. "Can we go or not?" Daniel asked, bringing Jack's full attention back to him. "Yes Daniel, you can go," Jack said patiently. "Take Sg-11 with you." Jack stood up, signaling the end of the briefing.

Sam rose quickly, trying to get clear of the briefing room before Jack could say the words she knew were sure to come. "Carter, hang back a minute," the words came, and Sam halted in her tracks with a barely audible groan. She turned around and her eyes immediately locked with his, his expression inscrutable, his eyebrows raised. "Sir?" Sam asked coolly. "In my office," he said walking away.

Sam followed slowly, her feet refusing to move, her legs feeling leaden. She was dreading the conversation that she knew would come as soon as the door to his office shut. Sam walked past him into his office and stood in front of his desk. The door shut with a solid click, and suddenly they were encased in complete silence.

Jack came to sit in the chair behind his desk, looking at the strained expression on Sam's face. He could tell that she was struggling to reign her emotions. "Have a seat," Jack said, gesturing to one of the chairs opposite him. Sam shook her head, her stance rigid, her gaze fixed on the wall behind him. "No thank you sir. I'd prefer to stand," she said in a clipped voice, sounding every bit the trained soldier she was.

Jack could feel his patience wearing thin. "Sit Colonel!" He ordered roughly, his control slipping. Sam's eyes flashed with anger at the order, but she complied, sitting stiffly. He took a deep breath, lost for a moment in the memory of the last time he'd made her angry at him. She hadn't spoken to him for weeks, and it had driven him up the wall. She hadn't been as angry then, he had never seen her this angry before.

"I'm not going to apologize," he stated simply, his voice rough with emotion. Sam stared straight ahead, her eyes unblinking, her mouth set in a firm straight line. She'd offered him everything he'd ever wanted, and it had all disappeared in one terrible moment. One moment he would give his life to take back. His heart ached with regret and he would give anything to take back the pain he'd caused her. But he'd done nothing wrong, and there was no way he was going to say he had.

She just sat there in silence, staring into the void behind him, refusing to look at him. "If that's all sir," she said after several seconds of silence. "I have a mission to prepare for," she bit out, rising to her feet. Sam turned and headed for the door. She made it all the way to the door, her hand resting on the knob, before he spoke. He spoke quietly, his voice full of sorrow. "We have to talk about it sometime Sam. You can't just run from this."

Sam squeezed her eyes shut tightly, her hand clutching the knob tightly. The tears she'd been reigning in with a savage strength broke free and ran down her cheeks. "Watch me," she whispered before turning the knob and walking out of his office.

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