Chapter Two: Expect the Unexpected

A/N: Wow, thank you all so, so much for all of your support! They mean the absolute world to me! I do want to clarify for one reviewer—listed as 'Guest' so I'm sorry I can't personally reply!—the fight was more about Sam letting out her frustration than Jack actually fighting back. He never wanted to hurt her and he didn't much care about gaining the upper hand. I know I didn't make that clear, I'm sorry! We all know Sam is crazy kick ass, but Jack is in another league; something that they're both aware of. Thank you!

Enjoy!

"It can't go any further than this." His voice was hoarse as he rested his forehead on hers, feeling her heart stutter against his chest.

"I know." Her voice was surprisingly strong, but full of regret.

He straightened to his full height again. Letting himself enjoy the moment for just a while longer, he pressed the backs of her hands against the wall and, slowly, inched them up until they were above her head. He watched her face carefully, his chest constricting when her eyes never betrayed what she was really thinking. He had taught her well.

Too well.

…..

Sam had never felt more vulnerable in her entire life. She was entirely in his hands, literally and figuratively, and it was taking all of her willpower to keep her knees from giving out. She'd never seen him look so intense. It scared her that she found this whole thing so incredibly arousing, though, she knew if it had been anyone else in his place, he would be out cold before he could say, "uncle."

She knew he knew that too.

And, in that moment, Sam wished for something harder than she'd ever wished before in her life. She wished he would just say to hell with the Air Force and SG-1 and rules and she wished that he would end her suffering. Sam wished he would close that last inch between their lips and make her stop wishing for awhile.

….

Jack felt her breath quicken and knew that she was fighting to remain in control…the same way he was. He wondered if all of this was even worth it anymore. He wondered if anything could be worth more than her.

Slowly, excruciatingly, he lowered their arms and stepped back; the tension between them too much, too suffocating. He needed to get out, get away before he did something that would hurt them both. Tearing his gaze from hers, he turned away, heading for the door he was sure Teal'c and Daniel were still waiting behind.

"Coward."

The word, though whispered, rang across the room as though she'd shouted it. His body reacted without giving his brain time to think. Spinning on his heel, Jack closed the distance between them and, tangling his fingers in Sam's hair, crushed his lips against hers.

The kiss was bruising in its intensity; lips, tongues, and teeth clashing as they each fought for dominance. Sam moaned into his mouth, the sound reverberated through his entire body and cruelly exploited his most primitive desires. Her hands clutched at his shirt as his own fingers slipped from her hair and explored her neck, her shoulders, her hips, her—

Yanking back, Jack was pleased to see the dazed but hungry look on her face. Planting his hands firmly against the wall on either side of her head, he smirked dangerously. "I am many things, Carter…a coward isn't one of them."

Impossibly, she managed to take a step forward, forcing him to straighten fully. "I don't buy it. Sir." She added belatedly, letting the title roll off her tongue. She watched his expression darken and the corners of her mouth tilted upwards, rather invitingly in Jack's opinion.

"Carter." A warning.

Sam could feel the blood rushing to every part of her body except her brain. She felt like she was on fire, from her toes to the tips of her hair all she could feel was him; all this and the man wasn't even touching her. If he said her name again, she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that would be her undoing. She would throw him on the mats again and then pray that no one walked into that rec room for a really long time.

But he didn't say her name again. Instead, he stepped back, hands falling away from the wall as he put a fair amount of distance between them. Swallowing her groan of frustration, Sam took her own step back, silently letting him know that she was—once again—going to follow his lead. Her back had grown very accustomed to this particular spot on the wall, so Sam decided that this was where she would stay for a good long while. Maybe until most everyone on base had gone home for the night, maybe until the next apocalypse.

It was a toss up really.

The soft sound of the door opening had both officers turning to look at who was intruding, neither of them sure if they were thankful for the interruption or not.

"Are you guys done?" Daniel and Teal'c stepped into the room, but left the door open this time. An invitation.

An escape.

"Yeah." Jack turned unfathomable eyes on Sam. "We're done." Turning away from his second in command, he strode towards the door, straightening his shirt as he went. "Go home, Major. I don't want you on this base." He didn't turn around to watch her reaction.

Sam fought the urge to squeeze her eyes closed, knowing that both Daniel and Teal'c were watching her closely. Squaring her shoulders, Sam pushed off the wall and walked as casually as she could to the door. As she passed her two teammates, Daniel reached out a hand, his palm warm on her bare shoulder.

"Sam." He waited until she turned to look at him, her eyes carefully blank. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, Daniel." She smiled, a little too abruptly.

"But, Jack-,"

"The colonel has to do what he has to do. He's my superior officer." Daniel blinked at the staccato pattern Sam's words had adopted.

"We'll talk to General Hammond. We'll tell him-,"

But Sam shook her head, staving off the rest of his plea. "The truth, Daniel. I accept full responsibility for my actions." Turning away from her teammates, the people that had become like family, Sam walked away with her shoulders straight and her head held high.

Nobody saw her face screw up against the sudden onslaught of emotion. Tears fighting for release, she felt her breath catch and knew she absolutely had to get out of the mountain before she completely lost it. She'd already lost everything else.

….

Sam was still in her sparring clothes hours later when the sharp knock resonated through her entire house. She had gotten home, thought about changing, thought about cleaning up, thought about pulling the leaves off of her Class A's, thought about just leaving…but she had done none of those things. She had sat on her couch and watched the shadows melt together.

Standing slowly, she relished the ache and stretch of her muscles as they lengthened and unwound. It reminded her that she was still anchored to something real.

Her steps were cushioned by the plush carpet lining her entryway and Sam felt suddenly sad that she'd taken that stupid carpet for granted all these years. She wanted another minute, just one , to enjoy her house as it stood now and all of the freedom within its walls that she'd never noticed before. But another knock—more of a pounding, really—shook her from her wishful thoughts as she reached forward with a steady hand and opened the door.

What she saw sent her heart racing, but not in the way she had been anticipating. Colonel Jack O'Neill stood on her doorstep, alone and grinning. Alone and grinning and carrying a pizza.

A quick run through of the mental checklist she had compiled of the possible things that would be waiting for her on the other side of that door lead her to the relatively frightening conclusion that she had not accounted for a variation in which her CO had gone insane.

"Aren't you gonna invite me in, Carter?" He didn't sound like he'd gone insane.

"No, sir." A nervous laugh bubbled up in her throat and she nearly choked on it.

"Do you know how many times you've said that to me today?"

"No, sir."

Jack was about to respond, when he caught the barest of glimmers in her eye. "Carter…was that a joke?" She opened her mouth to reply, but he held up the hand that wasn't carrying dinner. "Ah! I have a feeling I know the answer. Now, scooch."

Feeling quite like she was in some sort of dream, Sam stepped aside and closed the door behind the man she should've expected this from. Should've and hadn't and now, once again, he had the upper hand.

"Carter?" Sam nearly jumped out of her skin when his fingers brushed her shoulder. She hadn't heard him come back into the entryway after putting the pizza in the living room.

"What are you doing, sir?" Sam turned to face him, for the third time that day finding herself between a rock and a hard place. Which one he was at the moment, she wasn't sure.

"Checking on my second in command. I heard she had a tough day." Jack shoved his hands in his pockets and it was then that Sam noticed his clothes. He was dressed in jeans and a long sleeved black tee shirt, his feet clad in a pair of hiking boots. She'd always loved him in civvies. She decided she didn't see him in them nearly enough.

"I don't understand, sir." Sam told herself that the hitch in her voice was entirely due to confusion and not at all to do with the way he was looking at her. Hadn't he gone off to report her?

"That's a first." He threw her another grin before tilting his head in the direction of her living room. "Hungry?"

"Starved." The little wrinkle in between Sam's eyebrows didn't fade as she followed him to her couch, watching as he settled himself onto the cushions like he did this every night. "Sir, I'm sorry, I have to ask-,"

"What happened in that room stays in that room, Carter." Jack looked up at her, searching her face.

"But, Daniel and Teal'c-,"

"Weren't in the room." He held out a slice of pizza, but Sam didn't relent.

"Sir, my behavior was highly inappropriate."

"So was mine." This time when their eyes met, Sam saw the darkness swirling in his again. "Eat, Carter."

"I…" But Sam trailed off, deciding against arguing. If he wanted to let it be water under the bridge, she sure as hell wasn't in any position to stop him. But she did need to make one thing very clear. As she sat on the couch next to him and took her proffered slice of pizza, Sam fixed him with an intense stare. "Sir, if we leave it in the room, we leave everything in the room." She raised her eyebrows for emphasis, searching his eyes for comprehension of what she was saying. "Again." She added, knowing that she probably shouldn't have.

"Oh, Carter." He leaned back, biting into his slice with an enigmatic grin on his face.

"Oh, Carter?" Sam repeated, dubious.

"Wait. Let me enjoy this." He took another bite while simultaneously raising his eyebrows at Sam, a silent command that she start eating. Sam blinked a few times before raising the pizza to her lips and taking a larger bite than she'd originally intended.

"Enjoy this, sir?" She tried to talk around the large mouthful of food and succeeded in nearly choking.

"Yeah. I so rarely know something you don't." Reaching for another slice, he kept his eyes studiously looking anywhere but at Sam.

His second nodded slowly, eyes narrowed suspiciously as she put her half-finished slice back in the box and licked the grease off of her fingers. Jack watched her do it, even when her eyes narrowed further, having figured out where his attention had gone. Putting her hand in her lap, she cleared her throat.

Jack frowned in mock concern. "Throat dry, Carter? Want a beer? I brought those too, but I left them in the truck. Figured I should have a free hand in case…" He trailed off, gesturing vaguely with his pizza.

"In case?" Sam prompted.

Jack winced, giving the very distinct impression that the phrase, 'Like pulling teeth,' was not so much figurative as very, very literal. "In case you tried to slam the door in my face."

"Oh." Sam sat quietly for a minute, letting that sink in. "Hold on, you weren't going to let me close my own door?"

Jack stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. When it became clear that he had absolutely no intention of answering, Sam shook her head in exasperation and grabbed her previously abandoned pizza slice. Jack grinned when she started to eat with renewed interest, going after a second slice within seconds. "I knew you'd be hungry." Sam rolled her eyes, figuring that if he hadn't dressed her down for fighting him, he wouldn't care about a little insubordination. She hated it when he was right.

When the pizza was entirely gone, save for a couple of crusts that Sam had tossed back in the box, she fixed Jack with her best "Teal'c stare." He glanced at her, then looked away, smirking. He wasn't kidding before, he rarely ever got to hold all the cards and he was very much enjoying it. "Fine." Sam said after a moment, hands slapping her thighs. "Fine." She stood abruptly and shook her head as a half-strangled laugh made its way up her throat. Turning on her heel, Sam left the living room, no longer noticing the plushy feel of her hall carpet or the freedom-filled walls.

"Uh, where're you going?" Jack shouted after her, completely taken aback.

"I'm going to change!" She hollered back, still half-hysterical and laughing incredulously to herself. Laughing was probably a strong word.

"Into what?" His voice lacked any sort of comprehension.

"Clothes, sir! I'm going to change my clothes!" She didn't think to close her bedroom door, the thought that he would follow her literally never occurring to her.

"Why?" His only response was another weird, high-pitched laugh. As Jack sat alone on his major's couch, he felt that there was the very real potential that he'd just gone and broken her. His own personal interests aside, he realized that was probably very, very bad for Earth. And the galaxy.

Right.

So, ignoring the fact that she had given no indication that he would be at all welcome to follow her, he followed her. Her room was dark, but he could hear the sound of fabric rustling. Soft light from the hallway spilled into her bedroom in a long rectangle, illuminating a narrow strip of Carter's bed and part of her desk and closet.

As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he caught a flash of blonde hair as she moved briefly into the shaft of hallway light. Her hair was followed by a flash of something paler. It took Jack a second, but he realized that that 'something paler' was, in fact, Carter's bare back.

Well.

Jack realized that now would be a good time to announce his presence. He also realized that, even after a few more seconds had passed, it was still a good time to announce his presence. An even better time, considering that she had just pulled off her black sweats. And there she stood.

Her back was to him still, and there wasn't even enough light for Jack to make out the freckles he knew adorned her perfectly creamy skin, but none of that mattered. Sam Carter was standing in nothing but her underwear, toes curling into the carpet, and her hands running haphazardly through her hair.

Scratch the 'announcing himself' plan, he should get the hell out of there and then pretend that he hadn't seen anything when she came back into the living room. He had taken a single, silent step when she spoke.

"Running away again." The words came out flat and Jack wasn't sure if it was meant as a question or a statement. His hesitation didn't seem to surprise her as she shook her head and huffed a laugh to herself. Her arm jerked and she suddenly became harder to see. It took Jack a second to realize that that was because she had pulled on a shirt. Turning to face him, Sam took a sort of sadistic pleasure in watching as his mask fell away, unable to hide his shock.

She had pulled on a flannel button down that she was pretty sure she'd had since college. It was threadbare in places, but it brought her comfort—and Sam had never been the type of girl to take comfort in clothes.

What she hadn't done was button up the comforting flannel before turning around. So here she stood, in only a pair of regulation black underwear and a very un-regulation flannel and she had never felt more powerful.

"You going to insult me again?" Jack knew with one hundred percent certainty that if she called him a 'coward' again he would not be able to stop himself, so with a herculean effort, he managed to tear his gaze from the incredibly tempting strip of skin Carter's shirt revealed and met her shadowed eyes.

"It's not an insult if it's true."

"I don't think that's how that works."

"I don't think this is how this works." Sam shot back, desperately trying to ignore the way her voice broke.

Jack didn't have a snappy comeback for that one. She was right. Unsurprising, that.

So, instead of speaking—or trying to speak, he was pretty sure that shirt had killed him—he acted. Jack shut the door, plunging the room into darkness…and himself into light. Instead of locking himself in the room with the half-naked Carter, he had stepped into the hallway and closed the door between them.

Huh.

TBC

A/N: I'm evil, I know. Sorry! The third and final part will be up tomorrow!