"ALICE

She drank from a bottle called DRINK ME

And she grew so tall,

She ate from a plate called TASTE ME

And down she shrank so small.

And so she changed, while other folks

Never tried nothin' at all."

― Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends: The Poems and Drawings of Shel Silverstein


The next few days flew by in a blur. They fished, they hiked, they spent late nights around the fire, they'd taken the chance to spend time together and truly relax. Most days in real life, it was impossible to complete a task without some kind of interruption. With Jack in charge and Sam his second in command, they were always being called away to handle one crisis or another. This week, however, Reynolds had been left at the helm and Walter knew only to contact Jack if "aliens were invading," or "the world was truly in danger of ending." As it was, Jack had only had to answered three calls from Stargate Command but the world was still deemed relatively safe, for now.

As Sam stood surveying the bedroom, her thoughts strayed. It was their last day at the cabin and she'd just finished packing for the trip home. She'd been alone for an hour or so as Jack had gone with Daniel and Teal'c to turn in their rental car. The four of them had decided the night before that they were going to be driving back to Colorado Springs together in Jack's truck. Though a part of her wished that she and Jack could have had the drive to be alone, Sam was glad she would have a couple more days with all of her friends.

This week had been amazing, but it also had been harder on her than she'd imagined. She really hadn't thought about what leaving the SGC was going to entail or about the fact that she would be leaving her family behind. Now that she'd had to face the reality of it, her excitement over moving forward had been displaced by melancholy over leaving everything she knew behind.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear him when Jack entered the room. His ability to be so incredibly stealthy had always amazed her and she started slightly when she felt his hand on her arm. "Hey."

"Hey yourself."

"How long have you been watching me?"

"Oh, I don't know...eight years give or take?" She turned into his hug and smiled at the glint in his eye.

"You okay?" he asked as she buried her face in his chest.

"Mmhmm. Just thinking."

"Of course you are." She didn't need to see his face to hear the smirk in his reply.

She sighed, breaking the hug and sitting down on the edge of the bed. "I'm scared."

He sat down next to her and grabbed her hand. "Why?"

"C'mon Jack you know why. Everything is about to change. We are about to out ourselves to the powers that be and after all we've been through...I know you said that Hammond would go to bat for us, but we can't be sure about anything these days."

Like Jack had told Daniel and Teal'c, they'd been over all of the what ifs and maybes. There really wasn't anything about their plans left to discuss. But somehow, as the time to leave this safe haven grew closer, Sam felt like all of this was just a dream. A dream that would destroy her heart with it's deception.

"Carter, you know that none of this is going to be easy. People are going to question our relationship. They are going to assume that we've been together for a lot longer than we claim, they'll bring up their old accusations of favoritism, claim you slept your way to the top and that I used my position to get what I wanted and all kinds of other crap. But you and I know the truth. We've fought hard to get where we are, Sam. We can't give up before we even start."

He knelt on the floor in front of her taking both of her hands in his own before continuing. "I'm tired, Sam. And I just don't care anymore. Whatever happens, we've been on an amazing ride these last few years. I don't regret anything. Do you?" He looked up into her crystal blue eyes.

"No." She brushed her fingers through his silvering hair. "Except maybe how long it took us to see the light."

They heard the sound of footfalls in the hallway before hearing Daniel's voice through the door. "Hey guys, we've got dinner started." He pushed the door open slowly. "I'm going to take some stuff out and start loading the truck. Do you have anything ready to go, Sam?"

She sighed and pointed to the bag at the end of the bed. "That one."

He grabbed the bag and shut the door behind him as he backed out of the room giving his friends a gentle smile.

"So this is it." Jack stood up groaning loudly about his knees and she giggled as he pulled her into another hug before turning and grabbing his bag from the floor. She stayed there at the edge of the bed watching him closely as he began packing. Like his command style, he was quick but methodical. Everything had its place and he knew, without needing to over analyze, exactly what went where so that everything fit.

She admired that quality about him. Though he might question the options, he instinctively knew the best course of action. She smiled as his simple action eased her fears. This relationship was not a problem that needed solved, but she knew Jack would handle what they were about to face with the same attitude and no-nonsense approach. As always, he would assess the situation and devise a plan of attack to keep the casualties to a minimum.

He'd protect his team, he'd protect her, and he would fight whatever or whomever might stand in the way of their happiness.

"This is it." She repeated as he slung the bag over his shoulder and grabbed her hand.

It was time for them to let go.

The End.


Thus grew the tale of Wonderland:

Thus slowly, one by one,

Its quaint events were hammered out -

And now the tale is done,

And home we steer, a merry crew,

Beneath the setting sun.

-Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

A/N: A/N: This is it! The End. I can't believe it. This was the first fic I ever published. It was meant to be a one off but Muse had another idea. There were times I was so frustrated in this process that I never thought I would finish it. Thank you to all of you that have stayed with me on this journey, especially dpdp who faithfully commented on every chapter along the way and my beta, Amara, who gave me a second set of eyes and a little literary guidance when I needed it most.

I hope you enjoyed it. -Scully