"I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again."
― Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass


They walked in silence to the commissary. No one else was here this late but Sam took a seat at their usual table while Jack fetched some coffee and a snack for each of them. As he turned to take the tray to the table, he paused and took a moment to look at her. Even in exhaustion, she was beautiful.

It tore at his heart that he couldn't really help her right now. Her father was about to die and no one could change that this time. Because they knew that this time there'd be no last minute save. Standing there, he could see the strain on her face. She was thinking, wheels spinning, trying to figure out just what was needed to fix this problem. But this problem could not be solved.

She started as he set the tray down on the table, obviously just as deep in thought as he'd assumed. He handed her a cup of coffee and a piece of chocolate cake. "Sorry, no Jello tonight."

"S'okay. Thank you, General." She gave him a small smile. "I really needed this."

"It's not even good coffee, Carter." He said as he smiled back.

"It's ironic, don't you think." She looked at him with clouded eyes.

"What's that?"

"I was just thinking about how Selmak saved Dad's life just a few years ago and now Selmak is the reason Dad's going to…" she couldn't bring herself to say it.

They sat in silence finishing their snack. When they'd finished, Jack put their dishes away and walked her back to the elevator.

"Carter, go get some sleep." Before she could protest he continued, "I'm going to go check on Dad. You're exhausted. Just take a couple of hours and I'll wake you if anything changes."

She merely nodded and when the elevator stopped, Jack got out and walked her to her room. She opened the door and turned to face him.

"Sir, I…" He grabbed her hands in his and didn't let her finish.

"You can't fix everything, Sam," his eyes were soft as he said it. She pulled her hands from his and turned and walked into her room.

"But that's my job, right," she argued. "It's what I'm always expected to do." She started pacing as she spoke. "Aliens are coming to annihilate the planet. Don't worry, Carter will figure something out. Trapped on another planet with no way to get home? Relax, enjoy the local fare because Sam's coming to the rescue you just have to wait for her to rewrite the laws of physics and create something that shouldn't exist."

He winced when his eyes met hers but he merely closed her door behind him and let her continue.

"Blow up a sun, Sam. Keep a black hole from sucking us up, Sam. Figure out this ancient device and make it work, Sam. We're in trouble, c'mon Carter, think of something!"

Her voice had risen to a shout but now dropped to a painful whisper, "I can't do it this time, Sir, I don't have another rabbit to pull out of my hat."

He looked at her not knowing exactly what to say.

She looked back and couldn't keep the tears from welling in her eyes. "It's not fair, sir."

He knew that all of this had been building inside her for quite some time, probably years even, but her Air Force training and her Carter stubbornness had helped keep everything at bay. Now, as she faced losing her father again he knew that she couldn't hold onto her strong façade any longer. She'd been wading waist deep for a long time and he now needed to save her from drowning. And despite the current state of their "relationship" he knew that he was the only one who'd be able to help her face the harshness of her this reality.

"Life rarely is, Carter, especially for us. But, we'll get through this, I promise."

"We?" she asked through the tears that clouded her vision but refused to fall.

"Yes, Sam." He closed the distance between them and opened his arms. "C'mere."

She wilted into his embrace and let herself give in to the sobs that had been straining her words. "We."