A/N: As always, thank you Amara for being a lovely second set of eyes.
Once more she found herself in the long hall, and close to the little glass table. 'Now, I'll manage better this time,' she said to herself, and began by taking the little golden key, and unlocking the door that led into the garden. Then she went to work nibbling at the mushroom (she kept a piece of it in her pocket) till she was about a foot high: then she walked down the little passage: and THEN-she found herself at last in the beautiful garden, among the bright flower-beds and the cool fountains. - Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
Like a couple of teenagers at the Drive-In, they were all lips, hands, and limbs as they made their way into the cabin. Losing their remaining inhibitions, doubts, and fears, they surrendered themselves to the desires they'd wasted so many years denying.
It was still dark when Jack woke her gently the next morning. He handed her some clothes, grabbing a blanket from the bed while she dressed. Wrapping the blanket around her shoulders he handed her a mug of fresh coffee before he led her out to the dock where they'd stood the night before.
"So, which is better?"
She looked beautiful in the early morning light. Her hair untamed, eyes still clouded with sleep, and at this moment, questioning his sanity. "Huh?" It was all she could manage under the circumstances.
"Look." He waved his arm in an arc around them, pointing out across the lake that was starting to once again sparkle with a rainbow of color. "Sunrise or sunset?" He took a sip of his coffee, breathing in the pungent aroma before speaking again. " I've always been partial to the A.M. myself. It's good to wake up knowing that you have a second chance to fix all the things you feel you've screwed up."
He slipped an arm around her shoulders and gazed at the beauty of the scene around him. It'd taken him a long time after Iraq and an even longer time after Charlie's death to really appreciate this gift of days. Riddled with guilt and wracked with pain, sunrises were a curse, not a blessing. But, as bad as some of those days had become, he'd pulled himself out of the blackness. First by focusing on Sara and Charlie and his need to be there for them as a husband and a father. And then, at his worst, it was Daniel and Skaara who helped pull him out of the pit and appreciate life again.
"Both are beautiful. I'm not sure I can choose, but having seen them both, in succession," she smiled up at him, "I think having this moment, this new day, here with you, definitely gives sunrise a few more points. Despite the hour and my lack of sleep."
She leaned into him as he pulled her closer and grabbed the edge of the blanket with her free hand. He moved his hand down to cover hers.
"I've been thinking."
He groaned. "But we haven't even had breakfast yet."
She elbowed him in response.
"I've been thinking about what you said before we left the Springs, about the position at Groom Lake. If you're 'The Man' who's in charge of 'The Man' who's in charge of my position, then technically I wouldn't be in your direct chain of command, would I?"
"Well, I was going to talk to the JCS about that. Hammond says he doesn't think making your position report directly to someone other than the Director of Homeworld Security would be a deal breaker for them."
"Especially if it means I'm grounded, right?"
She turned so she could look directly at him.
"It's your call, Sam. I won't lie, the powers that be like the idea that one of their best and brightest and the world's leading authority on the stargate won't be in harm's way everyday. And I'll definitely rest easier knowing you're not offworld in the middle of some God-forsaken planet getting your six shot at, but it's going to be hard for you to give up gate travel. Trust me, I know."
The sun was now above the treeline and dawn had truly broken. They turned and walked quietly back into the cabin, each refilling their coffee before Sam sat at the table and Jack started breakfast. She grinned at him over her cup of coffee. "You know, General...I could get used to this."
She could hear Jack talking to someone in the next room. She'd just slipped her sweatshirt over her head and sat down to put on clean socks when she'd heard Jack raise his voice with such animation that she grinned knowing he must be talking to Daniel.
She padded out to the kitchen in her newly stockinged feet and refilled her cup with some of the freshly made coffee that'd been brewed while she was in the shower. It smelled wonderful and tasted even better now that she was awake enough to appreciate it. Jack had moved his increasingly loud phone conversation outside so Sam made herself at home on the couch by the fire.
A patchwork quilt lay draped across the back of the couch and she pulled it down around her shoulders admiring the stitching. Despite being noticeably well-worn and slightly frayed around the edges, it was beautiful. Her hands traced the lettering stitched into the lining on the back of the quilt, J ONEILL USAF.
"It was a present from my grandmother."
He walked around the couch and sat next to her. Smiling, he brushed her hair away from her face and leaned in to kiss her as if it were something he did everyday. She could smell a combination of wood smoke, aftershave, and something that she knew was distinctly Jack O'Neill. She drank it in as she deepened the kiss inhaling deeply. She let herself get lost in the moment and when they finally broke the kiss, she moved so that she could lay back against him as he circled his arms around her. "Tell me more about her."
"Well, my grandmother raised three Army brats and was married to a Colonel. So she knew a thing or two about, well pretty much damn near everything. She gave me this quilt when I came home from basic training. 'Jackie, it may embarrass you to tell people it came from your Granny, but it'll keep you warmer than any woman you'll meet on leave and it will put those standard-issue wool carpets to shame.'"
Sam giggled. "So did it?"
"What?"
"Keep you warmer than any woman you met on leave?"
"I plead the fifth."
She giggled again as he tickled her sides and sighed as they settled into one another once more. "Ok, ok, so tell me, what did Daniel have to say that had you so worked up."
"Oh, you know, just Daniel being Daniel. It's been an uneventful trip and they've made such good time that they should be here tonight."
"Ah, Daniel's been driving?"
"Yeah. Teal'c did finally manage to wrestle the keys away for a few hours, but Danny's been tearing up the pavement for most of the trip."
"He's worried about me, isn't he? That's why you took your conversation outside. It's sweet, but you know I'm…"
"Fine? No, Sam. You're not." He sat up on the couch, forcing her to do the same and grabbed her hands. "Your dad just died. And up until a week ago, you were planning a wedding. Now you're facing a major career change that will take you hundreds, if not thousands of miles from the people who love and care about you and we're talking about starting a long-distance relationship. I'm sorry but when you put all of these things together, you are so very much not fine." He reached up to place a hand on her cheek as she tried to turn her face away, "And it's okay, Sam. It's okay to not be fine right now."
She smiled up at him. "I will be, I will be fine, ya know."
"Yes. Yes you will."
She sighed. "So what time can we expect the boys here anyway?"
"Not until after dinner. I'd say between 8 and 9 the way it sounds. Any ideas what we're gonna do 'till they get here?"
She stood for a moment before sitting in his lap and leaning in to kiss him. It was several minutes before Jack could form a coherent thought let alone try to speak. The only thing his brain could process was Samantha Carter. Her lips on his, her hands under his shirt, her soft warm body slowly being undressed before him.
"Oh, I have a few theories I think we can explore." She smirked as she pulled his t-shirt over his head and kissed him once more.
A/N: See my fic In A Perfect Dream (a series of one-shots at the cabin), in the first installment, Jack talks about the quilt his grandmother made him.
