Here is the next chapter - sorry it took so long to get it up... I got caught up in my Letters From Solitude fic. But, now that it finished and I can focus on this one.

2002

He had asked her out. She still couldn't believe it.

No, not Jack, even though he technically could. No, they hadn't spoken for, well, a year. As it turned out, it was the Ambassador. Faxon, er, Joe. She was so shocked she could barely choke out a 'yes'.

Sure, he had looked at her in that way, but lots of men did. He never really showed any other signs he was interested in her, not that she'd noticed anyway. Jack, Daniel, and even Teal'c did always seem to get a little... strange around the Ambassador... er, Joe. She had accepted Joe's offer, she just wanted to have some fun.

And he was kind of cute.

The date had gone well, Sam found herself really enjoying Joe's company. She felt like a normal person for the first time in a long time.

He'd dropped her off at her house (he had a car even thought they were on the way out, another thing she liked about him), and gave her a sweet, ninth grade kiss goodnight. That was it. It wasn't rushed, and he was truly pleasant to talk to.

Best of all, she could be completely open with him about the things she'd experienced during her time in the Stargate program. The program was close to going completely public, they were even turning Cheyenne Mountain into a museum, but Joe had full clearance now and that was another thing she liked about him.

They had a second date, and then a third, and then a fourth. They kept it slow, took things at a snail's pace, but she was enjoying herself. Joe would get called to a meeting in another country with the Aschen and they wouldn't even speak until he got back. Then he'd show up at her house for a spontaneous dinner date and they'd pick up where they had left off.

She would have to go off-world for weeks at a time to take care of some sort of dispute, but she'd come back and Joe would be there waiting when she stepped out of the gate, holding flowers and tickets to some sort of event.

Their jobs didn't seem to matter, they were able to take breaks and then come back like nothing had happened. Long-distance relationships didn't really seem to bother them. Sam was having fun. She was being a normal 30+ year old woman and she was having the time of her life being just that.

And for the first time in... forever, she felt like she had a chance of feeling complete.

So? Any thoughts? Please review and let me know! Thanks for reading! :D