Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Stargate or Garden of the Gods.
Chapter 10: The Talk, pt. 1
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
When he reached the surface, his phone beeped. 2 missed calls. Great, I missed Sam's calls. I wonder what's going on. 2 new voice messages. He punched the button to call his voicemail.
"Hey Jack, it's me. I think we need to find somewhere else to go. I called Pete and he's on his way here and he's pretty upset. Why don't you just come by and I'll drop my car somewhere and you can drive us somewhere if that's okay with you. I really don't want to have a confrontation with him right now. I want to give him a chance to cool down. Give me a call."
"Hey, it's me again. I have an idea. Why don't we meet at Garden of the Gods? I haven't been in a while and it's somewhere where we can really talk and not be distracted. I'll give you a call when I head out if I don't hear from you by then. Bye."
He hit number 2 on his speed dial and it started ringing. "Hey, it's Sam. I'm not here or I can't get to the phone. Leave me a message and I'll call you back as soon as I can." She hadn't called him again, so she was probably just getting ready.
"Hey, Sam, I just left the base. I'm gonna go home and change and then pick up the food. The Garden is a great idea. Go ahead and I'll meet you there. How about pull off 10? Call me if you need to."
He finally pulled into his driveway. When he got into the house, he picked up the menu and dialed the Chinese place. He ordered and said he would pick it up in about 15 minutes. Then, he went to shower and change. Twenty minutes later, he had the food and he was on the freeway on his way to the Garden. He got to the pull off and smiled when he saw Sam's Volvo, with Sam sitting on the hood. He reached over to the passenger side and grabbed the food.
"Hey." Jack hopped out of the truck.
"Hey." Sam smiled.
"Sorry it took so long."
"That's okay; I was just enjoying the scenery. It's beautiful out here."
"Yeah, it is."
It took all of two seconds for Sam to realize that he wasn't looking at their surroundings, and she blushed.
Jack just smirked at her and headed for the bed of his truck to drop the tailgate so they could sit down. "Sorry I don't have any chairs or anything."
"This is fine." She hopped up onto the tailgate. She was nervous. She wasn't sure where this night was going to lead. "Hey, sorry about the whole Pete thing, I didn't think about him hauling off and driving back here tonight."
"Don't worry about it. Are you okay?"
"I think so. I haven't really gotten a chance to slow down and think about all of this yet."
"As long as you're sure about your decision. I don't want you to regret anything." Jack looked concerned.
Sam smiled. "The only thing I regret is that it had to happen this way. I am sure about this, Jack."
Jack looked relieved. "Good. Now how about some food?"
"I thought you'd never ask."
After they finished eating, Jack took their trash to the trash can and they just stood there and looked at each other.
"What do you say we walk this off?"
"Sounds good." Sam lowered her voice. "As much as we see of...space, I never get tired of the beauty of Earth."
"I know what you mean."
They started down the path and Jack tentatively let his hand brush against Sam's. He left it totally up to her how fast she wanted things to go. She stopped walking and smiled up at him. She looked down and took his hand in her own and entwined their fingers together. Jack stared at their hands before looking up at her. She smiled again and they continued walking, slightly swinging their hands between them.
"So..." Jack smiled shyly at her.
This was a completely different side of Jack O'Neill, far from the confident commanding officer Sam was used to. She wasn't quite sure what to do or how to react.
"Jack, I know this isn't going to be easy. We've spent so much time trying to hide our feelings we're going to have to work at actually expressing them."
Jack sighed and nodded. "I know, and I apologize in advance for sucking at the whole 'expressing your emotions' thing."
Sam smiled kind of sadly and said, "It's not like I'm much better, but all I'm asking for is a truthful relationship. I don't want us to hide anything from each other. We have a lot of 'getting to know each other' to do." Jack nodded. They might know each other at work and on the field as Colonel and Major. They probably knew each other as well, if not better than any CO/2IC out there, but when it came to knowing each other as man and woman, as Jack and Sam, they were totally lost. Even their knowledge of each other as friends was limited from their fear of getting too close.
Jack stopped on the side of the path and turned towards her. "Oh, um, just so you know, I want you to be comfortable with this, so we'll go as slow as you want. I don't want to push you into anything you're not ready for." He stared at the ground kind of embarrassed.
Sam was touched. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. This time she didn't care if he saw or not. She leaned in and brushed her lips against his, a replay of what had happened earlier that day. When she pulled back, she smiled nervously and said, "I think kissing is okay." This time, he thought, it's my turn. He leaned in and captured her lips with his own. He kissed her gently and tried to let it convey everything he felt for her. Sam swore she heard bells and saw stars. She wasn't much for the romantic mushy stuff, but this man, without a doubt, made her weak in the knees.
After he pulled back, Sam said breathlessly, "Oh yeah. Kissing is definitely okay." Jack grinned wolfishly and said, "I'm gonna hold you to that, you know." Sam smirked seductively. "You better." Jack actually felt his knees turn to jelly as she smiled at him. He pulled her back into a third kiss, this time, he ran his tongue over her lips, seeking admittance and she willingly complied. He explored her mouth slowly, losing himself in the feel and taste of her, relishing every moment. When they finally separated, Sam was flushed and they were both panting. Jack was in awe of the remarkable woman standing before him, utterly amazed that she would even consider letting him be with her, much less touch her and kiss her. Sam was totally overwhelmed at the fact that Jack would still care for her and allow her the chance to be with him after all she had done that hurt him. Their foreheads rested together as they regained their composure, the sounds of nature and their breathing all they could hear. They finally straightened, both immediately feeling an emptiness from the loss of proximity.
"What are you thinking?" Sam broke the silence.
"Just how amazing you are and how lucky I am."
"Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing about you." She was staring at her hand drawing little patterns on his chest with one of her fingers. He grabbed her hand and tucked his other hand under her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye.
"You're too good for me. You know that, right?"
Sam shook her head. "I think you've got that backwards, mister. I don't deserve you...I don't deserve your forgiveness." Jack looked puzzled. "You do forgive me, right?" Sam was beginning to inwardly panic, she mistook his confusion for uncertainty.
"Forgive you for what? You didn't do anything."
"I hurt you."
He moved the hand under her chin up to cup her cheek. "Hey, that's in the past now. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that you can't live in the past. You have to move on and learn from your mistakes. There's usually something good just around the corner." He winked at her meaningfully.
"I still feel like I need you to forgive me."
Jack shook his head. "Sam...There's nothing to forgive. I love you." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Sam's eyes widened and the tears came back. Jack panicked, stepped back, and scrubbed his hands over his face. "God, Sam, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you... I told you I wouldn't rush you and..." Jack gave a frustrated sigh, shoved his hands in his pockets, and looked at the ground.
Sam smiled and shook her head. Silly man. He thought he had done something wrong. He didn't understand that he had just made her the happiest woman in the entire universe. Why is it that men don't understand the concept of 'happy tears'? She would have to show him how she felt because her power of speech seemed to have decided to take a vacation at that very moment. She reached up with both hands to the back of his head and pulled his lips to hers in a fiercely possessive, passionate kiss. His hands instinctively found her waist and as the kiss deepened, he wrapped one arm around her waist and the other reached up her back to her head to tangle his hand in her hair. She looped her arms around his neck and his arms tightened around her, pulling her closer to him. It was cliché, but it was like they were made for each other. They fit together perfectly. Jack lost track of whether it was minutes or hours before they broke apart for air. When they finally did, Sam rested her forehead against Jack's chest as she tried to regulate her breathing and he placed his chin on the top of her head. When she finally thought she could speak, she looked up at him and said, "I love you too, Jack." Then the tears came back. For the second time that day, Sam buried her face in his chest, this time, though, they were tears of joy. Jack held her tightly as she cried; feeling truly alive for the first time since he lost Charlie.
Sam finally stopped crying. She turned her head to rest her cheek against his chest and she loosened her grip on him but didn't let go completely. After a few minutes, Jack kissed her forehead and said, "It's getting dark. What do you wanna do?"
"I can't go home."
"That's what I figured. Um, how about Janet's?"
Sam was a little sad. Part of her was hoping he would suggest they go back to his place, but the logical part of her told her that wasn't a good idea. They still needed to talk to Hammond. God, what were they going to say to Hammond?
"Jack?"
"Hmmm?"
"What are we going to tell the General?"
Oh yeah. Crap. He thought for a minute then said quietly, "Sam, the only way I'm letting you go is if you ask me to."
"I'm tired of hiding this Jack. Like I said earlier today, I'm tired of pretending." Sam sighed. "I want to be with you."
Just then, a happy little tune started coming out of Jack's pocket. He visibly jumped. "What the hell is that!"
Sam tried to hide her smile. "Um, Jack, I think your cell phone is ringing."
"Crap. Sorry."
"Just answer it."
"O'Neill."
"Hello, Jack."
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
AN: I'm not sure if they allow food at the pull-offs at the Garden (the website didn't say and I don't remember any signs from the last time I was there), but they do in my universe... Either that or Jack and Sam just didn't get busted.