Inescapable: Chapter 23

Yes, I know, its a lot later than promised. It's short and I won't promise the next one will be along quickly because I'm back at college and have a lot of course work but I'll hopefully squweze some time for the story - its been going on too long. Thanks for your patience! Disclaimers and all in chapter 1.

Sir?" Sam enquired with a huge warm smile as she entered his office.

Jack narrowed his eyes at her as he leant his weight against his desk and folded his arms.

"How's it going, Carter?" He asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Good, sir … you?" Her smile was fading and she was beginning to wonder what the weird air was that accompanied the odd question.

"Oh, you know… the usual, thoughts of being senile…" He threw his eyebrows up and nudged his shoulders up in time. Her eyes were beginning to scan the room uneasily. Good, he was making her uncomfortable. Carter tended to get babbly when she was uncomfortable.

"Senile, sir?" She wondered with a very curious yet nervous expression.

Jack waved his hand at her in dismissal. "Enough about me. Anything bothering you, Carter?" She shook her head, the uneasiness was growing, permeating even the colour in her eyes and she knew he could see it, she knew he was up to something. He turned his lips downward in dissatisfaction. "No sudden cravings for paper?"

"Excuse me?"

"Or letters?" He ignored her interruption, noticing she was getting impatient. "Perhaps just paper with ink?"

"Sir, what is all this about?" Her brow was creased and her eyes set hard on him. She hadn't got time for this sort of pointless childish behaviour that Jack seemed to dabble in so frequently.

"You tell me." He swept a hand between them, she only stared at him.

"I've no idea what this is all about but I'm beginning to take aliens or at least a little senility into consideration." She folded her arms in a small act of defiance towards him.

Jack dropped his arms to his side and pushed himself from the support of the desk, taking a step closer to her. "Sam…" His tone was sad and his eyes shone with a melting comfort that dissolved her annoyance as she stared into them. "Have you changed your mind?" She blinked at him, he was closer now. He winced slightly, showing the wrinkles at the side of his eyes. "About us?"

Her mouth fell ajar just the slightest bit and her arms loosened to fall at her sides. She chewed on her lip and looked at the ground as she heard him sigh and back off.

"I see."

Her head shot up. "No." She said quickly. His eyes went to her and he waited for more. "No, I'd never change my mind. I couldn't." She promised.

"Then why are you trying to stop me from resigning?"

She broke eye contact for a second. "I don't know--"

"I know you took the letter, Sam." She pulled a face and stared at the wall as he continued. "And even if I wasn't sure, you're one helluva bad liar."

"Jack…"

"Why?"

"You can't give this up." She told him, a quietness in her voice, as if she didn't want to say it.

"I can and I will," he vowed.

"I won't let you."

"You can't stop--"

"If you have no reason to quit…" His eyes widened at her hidden threat. She wouldn't!

"Sam, this is insane!" He yelled.

"We need you here, Jack."

"And I need you!" He shouted so loud it made him shake, he was furious with her. After all the fighting he did to ignore it, after all the fighting she did to force him to accept it, she was acting as if it wasn't even worth trying for. "Sam…" His voice pleaded with her.

"No, Jack." She grimaced and turned a little from him.

There was no way she was walking away from this, from him, not now. "Goddamn it, Sam, I love you!" She froze.

"Wowa!" A gasp came from the other door and Jack spun to see Daniel's head peeping through the door. "Oh," he said as the tense atmosphere pelted him. "I was just stopping by to see how arrangements for the fishing trip--"

"Get out, Daniel," Jack spat less than kindly. He glanced towards Sam when he saw movement and realised she was leaving again. "Out!" He headed for her while pointing at Daniel. "Sam, get back here!" She was out the door and he ran to it. "That's an order!" He called after her but she had disappeared down the corridor already.

Jack sighed heavily. "Oi!" He needed time to calm down. He hung his head and closed the door. As he did so he heard someone clearing their throat behind him and he prayed for some semblance of restraint or else Daniel was going to be dismembered very soon. He turned and fixed hard eyes on Daniel.

"Am… so…" Daniel began as Jack attempted to ignore him and returned to his seat at the desk. "I guess that answers a lot of questions."

"Really?" Jack asked acerbically. "Well then I do hope you'll refrain from asking any."

"Of course," Daniel said, mildly afraid of being an undeserving victim of Jack's temper.

"Well then, I'll just go."

"You do that." Jack didn't even lift his head, hearing Daniel open the door.

A second passed and Daniel spoke very timidly. "So, does this mean the fishing trip is off?"

Daniel shot through the door and closed it before something very large and airborne hit the other side of the door.

Please let me know if I should continue!