Here's the re-post of this chapter, thanks for the reviews!
Chapter 18- Maybe
Since Jack had gotten a ride with Daniel and Teal'c, Sam and Hope had to drive him home. The drive home was silent until they reached his driveway.
"So do you want to come in?" Jack asked once the car stopped.
Sam smiled slightly at his shyness, "Sure." Hope had decided to head to the stairs and pretend to go up to her room but Jack had caught her and made sure she was in the bedroom before he sat down with Sam on the couch. After waiting five minutes, Hope snuck down without her parents knowing and sat on the stairs to listen.
"Would you like some coffee?" Jack asked after a moment of pregnant silence.
"No thanks, I actually want to sleep tonight," Sam said with a laugh.
After another long moment of silence, they both started talking at the same time.
"So..."
"Well..."
"Sorry, sir, you should start." Hope had almost smacked herself when she heard her mom call her father that word.
"You see, Carter, you don't have to call me sir" anymore, just Jack."
Sam looked him in the eyes and smiled, "Then, Jack, stop calling me Carter, just Sam."
"Then, Sam, about my job..."
"Yeah, why didn't you talk to us before you took it? Or, why did you take the job? If you don't mind me asking."
"Sam, you can ask me anything, remember I'm not your commanding officer anymore."
"Sorry, old habits. So, could I get answers to my questions?"
"There is a perfectly good explanation. I didn't talk to you and the guys before because I knew at least you or Daniel would try and talk me out of the transfer and I wanted it to be a surprise, um, surprise?"
Sam laughed, "Yes, I would have talked you out of it, but what about Hope?" Hope sucked in her breath from her position on the stairs.
"Well, I don't really know. I was thinking we could talk it out or something and maybe, goonadatewithmeonFriday?" He said this last part fast in one breath.
"Oh, God," Hope murmured to herself.
"Excuse me?" Sam asked, responding to Jack's question and not even hearing Hope.
"Um, well, that's part of the reason why I took the job," He then whispered in her ear, "No regulations." Sam had shivered from his rough voice and the close proximity.
"What's the other part?" she whispered back, her voice husky with want.
"Well, you know, the paper work and responsibility," Jack answered with a smirk.
"Sir. Sorry, Jack, you know they'll probably be more paper work and responsibility in D.C."
"Okay, okay. Mostly I took the job so I could do this." He took her face in his hands and lightly kissed her passionately, an action she readily reacted to.
When Hope heard this, she ran silently upstairs to Jack's room, to his closet, and went to the right pocket of his favorite leather jacket. She pulled out a black velvet box and ran down stairs to the lip-locked coupled and cleared her throat.
"Hello," she said sweetly.
"Oh, um hi, honey," Sam said as she tried to fix her smeared lipstick.
"Dad?" Hope asked when she showed the box without Sam seeing.
"Oh! Yeah, okay! Sam, close your eyes."
"What?" Sam asked, rather confused at the command.
"Mom, just close your eyes."
Sam rolled her eyes and closed them. Hope dimmed the lights while Jack went into the kitchen. He came back out with a bottle of wine with two glasses. He set them down on the table and poured the wine. Hope placed the open ring box beside one of the glasses and then sat back down on the stairs to listen.
Jack sat next to Sam and said, "Okay, Sam, you can open your eyes now." When she opened her eyes and looked at him, he asked, "Would you like a glass of wine?" and gestured to the table.
"Sure," she went to take a glass and drew in a breath. The ring was beautiful. There was a teardrop shaped stone of real peridot, her birthstone, with a small circle diamond on each side. It was made of real white gold and a perfect fit for Sam's finger. Briefly she wondered how long he had been planning that moment.
She looked up at Jack again and noticed him sitting on the floor.
"Sorry, I would kneel," he said, "but you know the knee, it's been acting up."
Sam smiled and said, "Yes."
"What?" Jack asked, "You're not even going to let me ask the question first?"
"Sorry, go ahead."
"No, never mind, you just ruined it," Jack said teasingly.
"Jack, I'm sorry. Please continue."
He took her hands in his and smiled, "Samantha Carter, will you live with me, raise our daughter and possibly many more kids and maybe marry me?"
"Hm ... maybe."
"Just maybe? Could I maybe get a definitive answer to that? Because I am an old man and get confused easily."
"You're not an old man, and you'd still get confused easily if you were younger."
"For crying out loud, Carter," he stood up, "I know that but you didn't have to point it out."
"Yes."
"No, you really didn't."
"Jack," she stood and took his hands in hers, "I mean yes'."
"Oh. Oh! Yes, you said yes!" He picked her up, spun her around and kissed her with such passion that they both had to sit down afterwards.
"I just have one question that's been bothering me lately," Sam said.
"Just one?" he asked teasingly.
"Please, this is serious."
"Sorry, go ahead."
"When Pete had asked me to marry him and I showed you the ring, what did you mean when you said you wouldn't be here?" she asked.
"Well, um ..." Jack started.
"You mean you never told her?" Hope asked as she ran into the living room.
"No?" Jack said timidly.
"Is that a question or your final answer?"
"Um, final answer, I think."
"Wait, what's going on?" Sam asked, "Hope, how did you know I used to be engaged and what did you mean when you said he didn't tell me yet?"
"Well, Uncle Daniel and Teal'c like to tell stories, and they know everything."
"Not exactly everything," Jack mumbled to himself but that others ignored him.
"Dad, for crying out loud! If you don't tell her now," she pointed her finger at him, "don't be expecting to watch The Simpson's, hockey or have beer and pizza for as long as it takes for you to tell her."
Jack looked genuinely horrified and Sam said silently to herself, "Now, I know what to threaten him with."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, since it seems I have no choice, Sam, to answer your question, if things were different, hopefully we would have three kids right now, that's including Hope, and be happily married with me being retired."
"Why didn't you say that from the start?' Sam asked with humor in her eyes.
"I thought you were happy with Pete."
"I was content, not happy."
"And when are you happy?"
"When I'm with you and Hope." When she said this, Jack took her in his arms and held her close.
"So," Hope got their attention, "When are you getting married?"
Please review!