A/N - So, we're at the final chapter in this story. More on that later. For now, lots of shippiness ahead...
Enjoy!
Chapter 9
The ship was quiet and dark, the dim lights from the console the only illumination in the cabin. Daniel was snoring softly, sitting with his back against the wall, glasses askew. Teal'c sat ramrod straight, legs crossed, hands on his knees, in a deep state of kel'noreem. For his part, Jack had already slept for about 14 hours, and although he was enjoying having Sam snuggled up next to him, he didn't think he could stay in a prone position for one minute longer. Easing away from her, he stood and made his way to the co-pilot's seat at the front of the ship.
Jacob gave him a sideways glance as he sat down beside him. "How're you feeling?"
"Slightly undercooked," Jack deadpanned.
Jacob snorted, but then fell quiet once more.
Selmak gave him a mental nudge. "Talk to him, Jacob."
"Why?"
"Like it or not, he's in love with your daughter, and she with him. He needs to know that even though they're going to have some obstacles to overcome, you aren't one of them."
"I'm not?" But Jacob knew he wasn't fooling his symbiote. Selmak was all too aware of how Jacob's estimation of Jack's character had improved substantially over the course of this trip.
He spoke to the younger man without looking at him. "I read your file, you know. After I met you in Washington two years ago. Even then I didn't much care for the way you looked at my daughter - or how she looked at you."
"This isn't exactly what I had in mind," Selmak chastised.
Jack answered him, unaware of the conversation going on inside his head. "There wasn't anything between us then, Jacob."
Jacob made a noise somewhere between a bark and a laugh. "The hell there wasn't - even if the two of you didn't know it yet." He paused and glanced at him again, then turned his attention back to piloting the ship. "Anyway, after I got to know you a little better I realized you were a good man, despite some of the things I'd read about you, and that you would do everything in your power to protect Sam, including not act on your feelings. So, I came to terms with what I'd learned about your past – not to mention the fact that you're closer to my age than hers." Jack winced.
Jacob continued. "You can imagine how surprised I was when I found out the two of you...I thought maybe I'd misread you; I couldn't figure out what had changed. And then Daniel told me about having your memories erased, and that's when it all came together." Now Jacob turned to face the younger man, and his next words were surprisingly sympathetic. "They made you forget who you were but not what you felt."
Jack looked down at his hands, Jacob's words hitting a little too close to home. "Yeah," he confirmed quietly.
"But here's the part I don't understand - why on Earth is she still reporting to you? There's no way Hammond would allow it if he knew."
Jack sighed and ran his hands over his face. "He doesn't." Jacob raised his eyebrows at that, surprised, but Jack refused to meet his gaze. "We thought we could leave everything behind, pretend that it never happened. And we did, for awhile. But it was too much. Things had gone too far." Jack finally stopped staring at his hands and looked up to address the older man directly. "Now I don't know how to move forward, and we can't seem to get back to where we were before."
Jacob was quiet for awhile before he spoke. "I think you need to accept that there's no going back. Which only leaves one option."
"But how?" asked Jack. "Where do we go from here?"
"Do you love her?"
"Yes," he replied without hesitation.
Jacob shrugged. "Then you'll figure it out." He turned back toward the view screen. "By the way, I don't think I need to tell you this, but if you ever hurt her, Jack, you should know that Selmak has an encyclopedic knowledge of various torture methods dating back at least a thousand years." Jack squirmed a bit, unsure whether he was joking or not.
Sam whimpered in her sleep, drawing the attention of both men. Jacob looked at Jack and inclined his head in the direction of his daughter. "Go."
With a final glance at the older man, Jack got up and made his way over to Sam. He slid down the wall next to her and gathered her in his arms. Jacob watched as she rested her head on his chest and stilled. Satisfied that his daughter was sleeping peacefully, he turned back toward the front of the ship and smiled, along with Selmak.
oOoOoOo
Upon their return to Earth, Jack spent a little more quality time in the SGC infirmary than he had counted on, and though he was loathe to admit it, he understood that Janet had to be sure that he and especially Sam had fully recovered. Fortunately, Hammond had given them another week of leave, and this time Sam readily agreed to accompany him to his cabin. Teal'c, on the other hand, had declined almost immediately.
Jacob graciously offered to give them a ride, and before dropping them off, he firmly shook Jack's hand. It was all the approval the younger man knew he was going to get, but it was enough. Jacob pulled Sam into a bear hug, and she kissed him. "Behave," he said, before activating the rings, though he knew full well that was unlikely to happen.
Jack and Sam walked the short distance to the cabin hand in hand. As they approached, Sam could see that it was everything she thought it would be - a little rough around the edges, but solid and warm, all the things she associated with the man who owned it.
Being spring, it was pleasant during the day and cool at night, so that evening he lit a fire. Sam couldn't help but be reminded of another fire on another planet, a place where there was only the two of them, and they were happy. She smiled. Just like now.
As they settled in, Jack asked her if she wanted anything, and she realized then that she already had everything she'd ever wanted. "No," she replied quietly, "just you," and she looked at him with smoldering eyes that twinkled in the firelight. One look into those eyes, and for Jack, everything else was forgotten. He swept her up in his arms and kissed her face, her lips, her jaw, her neck, all while he moved with her toward the bedroom.
He started out patient and careful and deliberate, aware that she was still recovering and worried about the aftermath of her experience with Osiris. But as her body increasingly responded to his, and she began to give as good as she was getting, he started to lose some of his self control. By then, Sam had abandoned herself to him completely, finally allowing herself to let go, to get lost in everything he was. And as they moved together in a silent communication of a completely different sort, for the first time in her life she truly understood the meaning of the term making love.
At the end, they were breathless and sated and spent, and they fell asleep instantly in each others' arms.
oOoOoOo
Sam's eyelids fluttered open as the first rays of the early morning sun filtered in through the small round window over the bed. Feeling the press of a warm body next to hers, she rolled over into his embrace.
"Hey," Jack said softly.
She smiled up at him. "Hi."
"Good to see you still here." He gave her a wry grin.
"Well," she sighed, "we are in the middle-of-nowhere, Minnesota."
"Ah, good point."
Her demeanor suddenly turned serious. "I'm not leaving again, Jack. Not ever."
"Good."
She ran her fingers through his sparse chest hair. "So," she said.
"So," he replied.
She looked up at him again. "So what do we do now?"
He smiled and leaned down to nuzzle her ear. "I can think of a few things..."
"No," she chuckled. "I mean with SG-1."
"Well, I have a few ideas about that, too." He propped himself up on his elbow.
"Oh?" She mirrored his position.
"I spoke with Hammond."
"You did?" Her eyes widened. She had no idea when he'd done that, but it must have been while she was still in the infirmary. Honestly, she wasn't sure how she felt about it. Her rational side knew that he had to find out about them sooner or later; she just wasn't sure she was prepared for it to be so soon after their return.
"He thinks it's about time you had your own team."
She sat up straighter. "He does?"
"Yep. And I agreed with him." He furrowed his brow as he studied the uncertain look on her face. "Why? Was that wrong?"
"No!" she said quickly. "No. It's just...I'll miss you guys." She gave him a small smile.
"Yeah, well, it's not going to be easy on me to trust someone else to watch your six. But if it means that we can be together..."
"Hammond's okay with that?" she asked, worried about his reaction to the revelation that the two military members of his flagship team were...involved.
"He is. Mostly. He just doesn't want us to advertise."
She breathed a sigh of relief. "I can do that," she said, though as the seconds passed, her mood became pensive. Things were changing. It was all for the best, but she couldn't help but feel a little sad that their team was splitting up.
Jack reached over and lifted up her chin so that he could look into her eyes. "Hey, you okay?"
"Yeah." An idea struck her, and she graced him with a brilliant smile. "I guess any successful relationship involves compromise."
"Absolutely," he confirmed.
"I'm glad you feel that way," she said. She trailed her fingers over his chest once more and looked up at him through lowered lashes. "Because I'm going to request that Teal'c join my team."
"What!" he exclaimed. He hadn't seen that coming. He narrowed his eyes at her and made a mental note to keep close watch on his newest rival team leader.
But Sam just laughed at his response, and he smiled, then captured her lips with his. Soon, her giggles turned into soft moans, as he deepened his kiss and began moving his hands over the length of her body.
She pulled back for just moment. "I love you, Jack."
He cupped her face and brushed her cheek with his thumb. "I love you, too."
It was a long time before either of them spoke again.
The End
A/N - If you think it seems like I left open the option for a sequel, you would be correct. I've already got some ideas brewing for the final story in this trilogy, which I've tentatively entitled Rise of Anubis, so stay tuned. Before I get to it, though, I've got some other things I have to get out of my brain and onto paper, including some chapters in Supposition and my next multi chapter story, which involves a somewhat humorous riff on the Robin Hood legend.
Thanks as always to my fabulous beta MidKnight Rider, and thanks to all of you for reading. If you enjoyed it (or even if you didn't), please let me know!
