Chapter 5: Safety

Author's Notes: Sam's been missing for four months. Jack blames himself and after countless unsuccessful leads, he is beginning to loose all hope of ever finding her.

Okay, so I don't know when the Prometheus had the beaming technology installed but lets pretend it was before this

So far away
(So far away)
Been far away for far too long
So far away
(So far away)
Been far away for far too long
But you know, you know, you know

"I've just gotta make a phone call first… there are people who'll want to know you're okay." Jack smiled at her softly, his mind was spinning with the information it was trying to process.

She looked at him, her eyebrow raised in a gesture Teal'c would have been proud of.

Jack pulled out his new cell phone, his old one still in tiny pieces on his living room floor. He dialled Daniel's cell number and didn't take his eyes off her as he waited for him to pick up. He wasn't going to let her out of his sight, he was so busy taking in the sight of her that he didn't hear Daniel pick up.

"Hello?... Hello?"

"Sorry…" Jack spoke quickly as he was drawn out of his musings.

"Jack?"

"Yeah…"

Daniel had a feeling Jack had good news to tell him… it was clear in his voice, he could hear the difference… it was as though Jack had hope back in his voice.

"I found her." Jack smiled at Sam with a lopsided grin.

"What! Oh my god… is… is she okay?"

"It's hard to explain, but yeah… kinda."

"What's wrong?"

"I'll explain when we get back, I just wanted to let you know she's safe."

"Wait… Jack… Hammond told me to let you know that the Prometheus was back in orbit around earth… they could beam you straight here."

Jack pondered this bit of information, realising this would mean he could get her back to the safety of the SGC much faster.

"Um… okay, well, now's not really convenient."

"Okay, I'll call you back in a bit once I've alerted the Prometheus.

"I'll talk to you in a bit."

Jack snapped the cell shut.

"Who was that?" She asked him quietly.

"Daniel… we all work together." Jack decided to leave it simple, there'd be no point in telling her too much as he'd probably scare her away with the details of her real job. Part of him was grateful the Prometheus was going to beam them straight to the SGC, but part of him was worried that she'd be scared off. She had no idea who she really was and he was about to subject her to being beamed onto an alien ship. 'Maybe it'll help restore her memories' part of his brain told him, 'yeah, but maybe it'll totally freak her out' another part added.

"Can we go somewhere quiet." Jack asked her.

Under normal circumstances she would probably have declined, the whole 'going somewhere secluded with a stranger' scenario would have been brought up, and yet, these weren't normal circumstances and she didn't think of him like a stranger, she felt safe with him.

She reached out and took his hand in hers leading him towards the woodland surrounding the hotel. The feel of his skin against hers, his firm yet gentle grip made her feel protected.

They had been walking down a beaten track for about ten minutes, their hands interlocked. The sunlight streamed though the trees casting a dappled glow on the leafy ground below.

She stopped and turned to him. "Is this quiet enough?"

"Yeah." Jack told her quietly.

As she stood in front of him her fingers made small patterns on the skin of his hand.

"Can I ask you something…?" She asked him.

"Course you can…"

She looked around her, taking in a deep breath. She looked back and her eyes connected with his as she spoke, "Is there something between us… I mean, i… I can feel it, that I know you… but deep down, there's something else, I know I feel… feelings."

Jack was slightly taken aback by the last part, as he remembered saying something similar when they had both lost their memories before.

He took a breath before speaking tenderly, "that's something you need to remember on your own, I'm sorry."

Right then, any doubts she may have had about whether or not she could fully trust him were destroyed… he could have told her and for all she knew he could have been lying, but by telling her that she needed to remember on her own whether there was anything between them… he wasn't trying to tell her what to think.

She smiled, "Thank you…"

Her finger trailed up his arm and caressed lightly over his neck. She gently ran the back of her fingers across his cheek and up to delicately trace her fingertips over the scar across his eyebrow and he closed his eyes against the soft touch.

They had moved closer and he could feel her breath on his face and he was almost powerless against her, and his body seemed to take control over his mind as his hands started their own exploration of her, reminding him of the feel of her, her hands, her arms, her neck… his hands followed a similar path on her body as hers had on his.

His other hand went to the small of her back pulling her against him softly.

Her hand had now moved into his hair, as she ran her fingers through the short silver strands, their faces were mere inches apart.

Her fingertips trailed back down his face and across his lips, they were so soft, and Jack kissed her fingertips tenderly causing her to let out a breath and her eyes fell shut. She needed this closeness, this intimate, all consuming closeness, she felt complete somehow.

Her head fell back slightly and Jack cupped the back of her head with his palm, his lips just over her neck.

He heard her whisper, "Help me remember Jack…"

He spoke quietly, "I promise",

His lips brushed against her neck as he spoke, almost like butterfly wings and she had a flash of a memory,

she was lying underneath him, her body was on fire… for him and his lips brushed against her neck

His nose brushed delicately across her skin, a mere whisper as he moved his face to look into her eyes…

The sharp trill of his cell phone brought him back to earth with a resounding boom.

Absentmindedly he reached into his pocket and fished it out while still keeping his eyes locked with hers.

"What?" Jack spoke into the phone, shocked by the quietness of his voice.

"Jack, it's me. The Prometheus is ready to beam you on board, then they're gonna beam you directly into the infirmary at the base. Are you in a safe place?" Daniel told him.

"Yeah" he replied.

"Okay, they want you to keep your cell on so they can triangulate your position."

"They're gonna use GPS?!" Jack spoke with a hint of sarcasm.

"Hey… if it works!"

"Yeah, okay…" Jack replied then put the phone down to his side while still connected.

He ran his hand over her cheek softly and spoke to her with a gentleness that make her feel as though warm honey were running through her.

"Please don't be scared by what's about to happen… you've done this before."

She looked at him with questioning in her eyes. He wanted to tell her to close her eyes, but knew that if she had lost her memories, suddenly being in another place over the other side of the world may seem like another loss of memory to her.

"You're safe… I promise." He spoke with a confidence that showed her he was telling the truth, and he pulled her softly to him and she wrapped her arms around him. She nestled her head under his chin and he dropped a light kiss to the top of her head and whispered into her hair, "I promise you're safe."

Jack saw the white light engulf them, felt the familiar sensation of the demollecularisation that the Asgard beam did to their bodies in order to beam them from one place to another.

He tightened his grip on her, not tight enough to hurt, but enough to hold her to him securely. It wasn't as if he needed to, the beam didn't make you float in the air, but he wanted to keep her safe and by hell or high water he'd do anything to keep that promise.

I wanted
I wanted you to stay
'Cause I needed
I need to hear you say
That I love you
I have loved you all along