Little Pieces of Her Heart

by Sarai

A/N: Characters and names don't belong to me, yada yada...but the story does:-P. Also just a little warning, the next chapter will contain graphic scenes so if you're under age or don't want to read smut PLEASE skip to the Epilogue (once I've uploaded it!). Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter Four

The rain beat down on the pavement outside the restaurant. Covering his head with his hands, Jack looked to the left and right, no sign of her, not that he could see a lot. A river ran in the parking lot as he looked towards his truck. Sam was nowhere near it. He worried, she must be getting soaked.

FLASHBACK

The room was quiet, hushed in the silence of impending death. The shallow breathing of the man in the bed matched the steady beat emitting from the heart monitor. His face was peaceful; wearing the faint smile of one who is calm and at rest.

Jack smiled slightly as he entered the room. He'd badgered Carter until she had gone to eat and take a nap; she was exhausted after sitting at her father's bedside for over fourteen hours. He winced lightly as he took the seat next to the bed, propping his elbows up on it. Jacob, wakened by the movement, opened his eyes.

"Jack." The figure came into focus, as Jacob slowly blinked.

Jack leaned forward. "Hey buddy. How ya' doin?"

Jacob's faint laugh turned into a cough. Looking concerned and wincing at the spasm of pain that crossed Jacob's face, Jack rose.

"I'll get the doc."

"No! Jack…sit." The younger man complied as Jacob closed his eyes again.

"I'm glad you came." Jack smiled. "You're a good man, Jack."

The General smiled thinly. "And here I was thinking I'd managed to keep that one a secret."

"Stop it Jack. You are a good man, however much you try to deny it, or I ignore it."

They settled into a comfortable silence, Jacob drifting in and out of consciousness.

"Where's Sam?"

"I made her go take a nap, get some food."

"Good, she needs to rest."

Jack nodded silently. Jacob opened his eyes. Despite his obvious weakness his gaze was piercing and it was focused on Jack.

"Why are you doing this Jack?"

Jack blinked in confusion and smiled.

"Jacob…?"

"Why are you kidding yourself?"

"Jacob…I'm not sure I…"

"You're not happy seeing her with this Pete any more than I am."

The statement threw Jack off a little, especially on top of the conversation he'd just had with Kerry. He took a deep breath.

"As long as she's happy Jacob…"

The strength in the older man's voice returned, "But she's not Jack! She's only saying she is. She's being stubborn." His mouth twisted in a wry smile. "Wonder who she learned that from?"

Jack looked away. "Look, Jacob I don't really know what to say."

Jacob frowned slowly. "Do you love my daughter or not?"

Jack looked back, sighing heavily.

"Jack," he stopped, "I don't have that long," closing his eyes, his voice thick with emotion he repeated, "Do you love my daughter or not?"

Jack looked down. "I guess…I mean…yeah, I do."

"Please," he paused, searching for breath, "please tell her. She loves you Jack. She's just too afraid to admit it, even to herself." Jacob's voice was losing strength. "Promise me you'll talk to her." His hand flexed as it rested on his stomach.

"It's ok Jacob, you can rest now."

"Jack! Promise me." With that effort Jacob's head rolled to the side; he'd passed out.

Jack laced his fingers, resting his chin on them.

"I promise."

Jack looked again from left to right. "CARTER!" He shouted out into the rain, hoping she might be somewhere nearby. No answer. Jack headed for the truck, figuring he could find her easier, and keep her dry, in it.

He drove in anxious silence, scanning the sidewalk for his 2IC. There! He spotted her walking quickly, face upturned to the rain, hands clenched into fists at her side. He banged his fist on the steering wheel and slowed down, pulling over to the side. Sliding down the passenger window he called out to her.

Sam was distraught. He was leaving? What the hell did he think he was playing at? After the conversation on the roof, and the fishing trip…he was just going to up and leave them…her? Sam's battered heart, bruised by the loss of Janet and her father threatened to smash into a thousand tiny shards. But she was tough; crying's not for Carter's she told herself.

It's ALL his fault, her brain screamed in frustration.

The rain had soaked Sam to the skin, her breath forming mists in the cool air. With the blood boiling in her veins, however, she barely felt it. It wasn't fair that one person could hurt another this much! Through the haze of anger in her mind Sam dimly registered a voice. It was calling her name. A black truck pulled up beside her, moving slowly against the kerb. Great, she thought, just what I need! Kerb crawlers!! She whirled, about to tell the jerk where he could go, when she realised who it was.

He'd followed her. He'd had the nerve to follow her! She stayed on her current path, striding down the street, not knowing what else to do. Ignoring him seemed to be the best, and safest, option.

"Carter!" He was out of the truck now. She could hear him jogging down the street, splashing through puddles and catching up on her quickly. Just as she span around to yell at him, to vent her frustration, he'd caught up with her and grabbed her elbow, turning her roughly to face him.

"Didn't you hear me calling you?"

A flash of pain, followed by the familiar glare of defiance framed Sam's face. The hands that had been balled into fists now flexed dangerously by her sides. Sam was mad. Sam's chest was burning; her heart on fire. Yet she schooled her face to blankness in a way she knew would needle him.

"I heard you. General." She spat out his rank, with as much venom as she could muster.

He was confused, hurt by her verbal attack. But Jack knew Sam well; better than she knew herself. Eight years of carefully studying her face, over breakfast in the mess hall, out in the field, during a briefing, had taught him all he needed to know about her. Right now, he knew she was trying to piss him off, to make him think she couldn't give a rats ass about him, even after storming out of the restaurant. He tried an ironic smile.

"Come on Carter. You're getting soaked. You know what they say – you'll catch your death of cold." He winced at the inappropriate words, forgetting the both of them had very nearly caught their 'death of cold' in Antarctica. Emboldened by the memory of their closeness under the ice and spurred on by the pained silence between them, he took her hand.

"Carter?"

The increased warmth on Sam's fingers was like a hot iron. She yanked her hand away, feeling hot anger rushing into her throat.

"NO! I DON'T THINK I WILL THANK YOU 'SIR'!" she yelled.

He started forward.

"Carter if you'll just let me expl--..."

"You know what you are 'Sir'?" Her eyes blazing, Sam let all the emotions in her heart pour out, past the barriers she had erected to keep him out, "You're a coward! Instead of dealing with things, sorting them out...you…you run away. You blow things up, you don't sort them out, deal with them head on. It was like that when Daniel 'died'. It's like that with me."

Jack stood, mouth agape as she layed into him. She was still going, talking about his inadequacies and his issues. She seemed to have given it a lot of thought. Jack was listening, but only partially. The rest of his concentration was taken up by just looking at her. Gazing really. He could hear the pain in her voice, cracking as she tried not to look into his eyes. He noticed the tears on her face, mixing with the continuous rain. He longed to sweep back the wet, blonde hair that fell tantalisingly over her forehead. He registered the way her now see-through sweater clung to the contours of her body.

And he'd never loved her more than he did in that moment.

"Carter." It was a voice Jack had picked up from years of field service. He knew it could cut through battlefield chaos to find its source. It was a quiet, heartfelt please intended to reach out to her very soul.

"Enough." His own voice broke. She stopped her tirade. "Enough now."

Jack stepped forward, closing the gap beneath them. He could feel the heat from her body, her breath on his lips. She was reminded of that afternoon on his roof. His chocolate brown eyes found her blue ones and Sam's anger melted away.

Slowly and tentatively, with nothing to stop him anymore, not even his own fear at her indifference, Jack lowered his mouth and pressed his lips lightly against hers.

It was like a thousand hot coals had erupted in Sam's body. If she'd thought herself hot in anger, it was nothing compared to what she was experiencing now. Time slowed languidly to a standstill even as her heard speeded up, thumping in her chest. She could focus on nothing save the places where his body was pressed to hers and the intensity of his deep brown eyes. The electricity flowing between them made her fingertips tingle. The kiss lasted all of three seconds, but for both it was as if a lifetime of longing and desire had passed.

Drawing back slowly, Jack smiled. He opened his mouth to speak but before he could do so she laced one hand through the hair on the back of his head and the other through the fingers of his left hand, pulling his mouth back down to hers. This kiss was ferocious and passionate; pent up hunger and desire from an eight year struggle against repressed feelings. Neither noticed the rain that washed down their faces and between their interlinked hands. They were completely oblivious to everything around them.

After a long moment, Sam leaned back in Jack's hold. Her eyes searching his.

"But you're leaving?" Jack smiled.

"I'm leaving the SGC. I'm not leaving you."

Her mouth opened, eyes regarding him with worry.

"But…but…Sir…there's so much…I mean…Pete…and…and the regs?"

He laughed softly. "Undomesticated equines Carter. And I think after the way you just kissed me, 'Sir' is a little inappropriate." His small smile turned into a full blown O'Neill wry grin as he noted her confused frown. Like when one of her doohickey's didn't click into place. He could tell he was trying to work it all out for herself so he shut up, waiting more patiently than he ever had his whole life.

"You're leaving the SGC, to work at the Pentagon, out of the direct chain of command with…" she stopped, looking into his eyes, "…with me? Si…Jack, you're leaving to be with me?"

Again he laughed. "I'd have thought that was fairly obvious by now. Even to a dumb scientist like you."

Sam paused, frowning, then punched him on the arm. "Why didn't you tell me? That was what the secret trips to Washington were all about. You had Daniel on tenterhooks for weeks." His smile fell, a sheepish expression taking its place.

"Carter…I…" Now it was her turn to laugh at his unease. She swiftly covered his words with a kiss. It lasted long enough that he forgot what he'd been about to say. Breaking away, but only a little, the smell of him still far too inviting, she laid her forehead against his.

"Call me Sam."

He looked at her; his intense gaze had a powerful effect on her. The little pieces of her heart, shattered after the loss of Janet and her father, gathered themselves back up. Jack buried his face in her neck, reminding her of the hug he'd given her after Janet died; the smell of him, the way he'd clung to her…Except that time he hadn't been peppering mind-altering kisses down the curve of her neck and shoulder.

There was so much left unspoken between them, so much left to do. But for now, it didn't matter. They were finally safe in the knowledge that they belonged together. Eight years of repressed emotions and fears could be realised and released. Rules and regulations no longer stood in their way. They'd stopped being General O'Neill and Colonel Carter. They were just Jack and Sam.

Suddenly Jack broke off the hug, lifting her up and spinning around in a way that made his knees protest. But he didn't care. His former 2IC, the woman who'd helped make his dreams a lot more bearable for the last eight years, was safe in his arms. And she was laughing happily.

Settling her on her feet he ran a thumb over the drying salty track on her cheek. He appeared to notice something and looked around.

"Hey. Rain's stopped."

Sam's eyes were fixed on his face.

"Yeah," she sighed happily. "Yeah it has."

A/N: Didn't expect this to be so long, oh well! Another warning - the next chapter should be skipped over if you don't want to read gutter stuff! And it's also strictly for over 18s. Just go straight to the epilogue if you don't want to read smut.