Greetings! Here's the last new installment for this story (at least for now!). I'll post the short epilogue that was included when I first posted this story right after this!

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 5

Jack had just dropped his grocery bags onto the kitchen table when the doorbell rang. Curious, he made his way back down the corridor, tossing his dripping raincoat onto the couch as he passed.

He opened the door and… stared. "Carter!" he shook his head. "Sam!" Not that he wasn't thrilled to see her, but she rarely left her lab so early in the evenings, and he had not expected her to be, well…here.

She stood on the porch, eyes studying him with a mix of agitation and anticipation, the sleeves and shoulders of her denim jacket sprinkled with rainwater from the distance she'd had to walk from the car. The first thing that crossed Jack's mind was to wonder how come her hair wasn't wet.

"Can I come in?" she asked with a small, almost nervous smile, jolting him out of his surprise.

"Of course, come on in!" he replied, ushering her in. "Sorry, I just got home myself, I was at the grocery-"

"I just found out."

"- store…" Jack stared for longer than was probably reasonable. It explained her sudden appearance on his doorstep, but... "How?" he asked dumbly.

She frowned a little. "I was talking to Hammond about the new position and he happened to mention it. To be honest I thought I'd be the first person you told," she added in a joking tone that did nothing to disguise her confusion.

"You are – I mean you were going to be." At her look he went on. "I haven't told anyone. I was hoping to surprise you. Hammond must have found out through other channels."

"Oh."

"Yeah." There was an awkward silence. "Surprise!" he added and she smiled. Annoyed with the tension that seemed to infuse the air around them, Jack forced himself to snap out of it. There was no need for that anymore. But habits died hard and her apparent nervousness didn't help.

"Here, let me take your jacket," he offered. "So you told Hammond you're taking the Area 51 job, huh?" Jack asked as she shrugged out of her jacket, revealing the familiar standard issue SGC black t-shirt underneath, which made him realize she had been in a big enough rush not to stop home before coming here. Trying his best not to think too much about the implications, he hung her jacket carefully onto the coat rack.

"Yeah. Yeah I did," she confirmed.

"When do you start?"

"Next week. Monday. Well, I'll be leaving Sunday night, I guess."

"Wow." So soon…

"Yeah." There was the awkward silence again as they stared at each other. This time she broke it. "So it's true then, you're officially retired?"

"According to this little letter I got from the Pentagon, yes, I am."

"Wow," she replied as she stood, hands clasped in front of her and looking at him intently, searching. "Are you okay?"

Oh she was good. He really was okay with his decision, he had been ready for retirement for a while, but still, he would be lying if he said that a part of him wasn't a little sad to leave it all behind. And of course she knew that.

"Sure," Jack replied as he started walking towards the kitchen, inviting her to follow. "I've been retired before, remember?" he added as he resumed putting away his groceries.

"Yes, but this is hardly the same thing."

Jack smiled as he threw her a look. "No, it isn't." How could it be? She was here. Sam Carter was standing in his kitchen, and for the first time since he'd known her, there was nothing standing between them, metaphorically or otherwise. (Not counting of course the loop thing. Or the couple of times he had retired to save the day. Those hadn't been real, permanent resignations.) The thought made his pulse accelerate with the urge to bridge the gap between them, but he summoned the strength that had kept him from doing just that over the last several years and stayed where he was.

He wasn't quite sure why.

She tilted her head in an endearingly embarrassed fashion when she understood his undertone, deflecting the implications. "So, what now?" she asked curiously as she swept the room with her eyes. He knew she was talking in general terms about his plans for the future, but he couldn't help teasing.

"Well, first things first… I was thinking a celebratory beer would be in order. Care to join me?"

"I would love to."

Acutely aware that this was truly uncharted territory, he hesitated, his hand on the fridge door handle. "You um, you want to go out for those drinks?"

"Here's fine," she replied, a small, mysterious smile suddenly touching the corner of her lips that sent his blood pumping. But then she frowned. "That is, if that's okay with you…? I just thought, you know, since it's raining…" she added, as if that had ever stopped anyone from driving before. It certainly had not stopped her from coming over.

"Right." Smiling, he got a couple of beers from the fridge and handed one to her. They clinked their bottles after twisting the caps off. "To…the future," Jack toasted as he looked into her eyes.

"I'll drink to that." Her voice was suddenly very soft and her gaze became earnest as she met his eyes. The desire to kiss her was almost too much, but she saved him by taking a sip from her bottle. He imitated her.

They were silent for a moment and Jack took in the opportunity to drink in her beautiful features: the wide, beautiful eyes, straight nose, delicate angle of her jaw, the elegance of her neck…

"Jack," her voice jostled him out of his observation. "Are you sure you're okay with me being here like this?" He noticed her fingers were fiddling with her bottle's label.

Jack blinked in surprise. "You're kidding, right?"

She gave an uncertain shrug. "Well, retirement is a huge thing, and I imagine especially retiring from the SGC, and if you need more time alone to process…?"

"No! No it's all good- all been processed. You stay right where you are." He paused. "That is, unless you need to -"

"No, no…" She gave a small shrug, but he could detect some amusement in her expression at the ridiculousness of the situation. "It's just, this feels a little…" She hesitated. "I don't know. Does this feel weird?"

"Does it?"

She gave him a 'don't do that' kind of look.

"Maybe," Jack conceded. "A little."

"Why? I mean-" She shook her head in frustration. "I thought it would be easier, you know?"

"What?"

"This! Us!"

"Sam you just got here…"

"I know, I know. But I thought, once it was official, we would just be able to…let go." She blushed in a very endearing way, but kept on going in spite of her embarrassment. He'd always known she was brave, but he found himself once more admiring her courage at being able to talk about their relationship with such straightforwardness. Although, all things considered she had always been gutsier than him when it came to addressing their feelings: her visit to his house not so long ago, another visit when he'd had Ancient knowledge downloaded into his brain… And even during the whole Zaytarc thing, he still remembered how she'd walked up to him, talking about their feelings as if they had always been in the open… as if she'd always known how he'd felt about her. Well, maybe she had – he wasn't the most subtle of guys after all. And maybe she had known, deep down, that he would never put her in an awkward position by taking the first step.

"I mean the last few weeks-" her voice brought him back to the present, "we've been getting closer, and it's been great but now, I just can't seem to-" She cut herself off with a frustrated sigh, giving him a questioning look as if asking whether she made sense.

"Let go?" Jack suggested, repeating her own words back to her, suddenly realizing that unconsciously he was feeling the exact same thing. That explained why his first reflex was to hold himself back when the thought of touching or kissing her crossed his mind. Which admittedly happened a lot.

"I guess a habit that was years in the making is hard to shake off at the snap of the fingers, isn't it?" he said.

She looked relieved that he understood. "And now that the way's clear, it's almost… overwhelming. I mean- this just reminded me how much I've been clutching to the regs and the war with the Goa'uld for safety. Emotional safety, I mean."

Jack could have told her that years ago. In fact for a long time he had wondered whether her interest in him had just come from that sense of security: he was unattainable, he was safe. But now that safety net was gone. Of course now Jack knew better than to doubt that her feelings for him ran deeper, but it didn't stop the fact that apparently she was more than a little scared. And to be totally honest he wasn't completely immune either, though his fear revolved around the likelihood that he was gonna mess up.

Jack sighed as he walked up to her. "Look, you gotta cut yourself some slack, Sam. There's no pressure here. Despite our history this is still kind of new."

"But see, that's the thing – I don't want to cut myself some slack, I don'twant to wait. I'm so sick of waiting!"

Jack was dumbstruck at her words. Was she saying what he thought she was saying? Was it possible that he had gotten this all wrong? He had convinced himself that she would want to take it slow, that the entirety of their relationship was too loaded with tensions and 'unsaids' to just bypass. And that in order to do right by her, he had to let her take the lead and not rush anything. But apparently she'd had very different expectations!

And suddenly he understood the expectant glint in her eyes, and realized that the 'weirdness' she was talking about all came from him, and his own reluctance to let go – which ironically had mostly been for her sake. He suddenly felt very, very stupid. Even more so than usual.

But he sure wasn't stupid enough to fight her on this!

"So what are we going to do?" she asked, apparently unaware of the effects her words had on him.

His newfound knowledge prompted him into action and, for the first time since his retirement was official, he let himself touch her. Setting down his beer bottle on the table, he reached out to trace the length of her forearm on its way down to her hand, and marveled at the way his fingers left goosebumps in their wake. He smiled mentally at her sharp intake of breath. Her response reassured him that he wasn't misunderstanding her. He gently pried her bottle from her fingers and set it down next to his.

"I don't know," Jack finally replied to her question. "But let's see if this helps." His fingers tugged on her hand slightly and she took his invitation to step closer, holding his gaze expectantly, though a little uncertainly. His free hand moved up to cup her cheek and fleetingly caress the soft skin just below her ear with his thumb. He could see the dozens of specks of blues, greens and greys that created the unique shade of her irises. Beautiful. His gaze shifted to her mouth, then back to her eyes again and noticed a subtle change in her expression. She wanted this. He leaned in a little before suddenly stopping. "Now, I don't know if this is going to work," he warned teasingly. "But do I have a go?"

"Positive," it came out as barely a whisper. But then she smiled, her expression turning playful. "Your…simple solutions have been known to work in the past."

Jack scoffed playfully. "Well, we'll keep your crazy ideas for plan B, shall we?"

She nodded in agreement, affecting a thoughtful air that made Jack smile. She wound her arms around his neck, and Jack held his breath when it brought their bodies together. "I do have some ideas for some experiments we could try."

"Alright, stop it right there."

She chuckled, and that was it.

Jack bridged the last few inches that separated them and caressed her lips with his own. She sighed against his lips as her arms pulled him closer still, deepening the kiss and fingers sneaking into his hair. Jack heard himself moan as she coaxed his lips open and, in trying to move them backwards, his foot knocked the table, sending the beer bottles rolling to the floor and spilling their content all over the floor.

"Crap," Jack muttered in the second their lips parted, distracted.

She pulled back as if to go take care of the mess, but Jack drew her back to him before she could actually disentangle herself. "Forget it." He heard her chuckle again before his lips found hers once more and he walked her away from the mess, pushing her forward until her back gently hit the opposite wall. Her cool fingers suddenly found the skin under his shirt and a sound that was half-moan and half-growl escaped his throat. God, what was she trying to do to him?

"How's the letting go going for you?" Jack drawled as his lips slid from her lips down to her neck. God she smelled amazing.

She gasped as she tilted her head to give him better access. "Can't remember why I mentioned it."

"Good."

Their kisses were heating up quickly and Jack's hands were starting to wander to wonderful heretofore-unknown places when she suddenly flipped them around and pulled away. Jack opened his eyes, his passion-idled brain confused for a second. Her eyes were bright and a shade he had never seen before, her cheeks and lips flushed, her hair tousled slightly from where his fingers had been earlier- God she was… perfect. And sexy as hell.

The corners of her lips turned up into a slow, tantalizing smile and she took hold of his hand, tugging as she started walking backward. Towards the bedroom. Jack swallowed at the not-so-subtle invitation. But then he smiled.

And followed her to the bedroom.

ooo0ooo

"We should have done this years ago," Jack declared. The rain had apparently cleared some time during the night, and now the purple and blue hues of the early morning created shadow plays over Sam's face and bare shoulder as she lay on her side, facing him, eyes bright despite the small amount of sleep they'd had. His eyes lovingly took in her features. God she was beautiful.

She frowned as she considered his words. "Do you really think so?" she asked, her voice delightfully soft and raspy, though a little too serious for his taste.

"Sam, I was joking, I was repeating what you-"

"Yeah, I know. I know. But still, is that really what you think? I'm curious."

Jack gave a one-shoulder shrug, mostly because it was difficult to do it with both shoulders while lying on one's side. "In a way, I guess. I mean, sure, a part of me wishes that it hadn't taken us so long to get here." He sure as hell wasn't getting any younger, for one.

She nodded as she caught his hand and intertwined their fingers, leaving them to rest between them on the sheet.

"But… I also think it wouldn't have been right," Jack continued. "I've always had too much respect for Hammond. And for you." He'd never told her that, he realized. It was about time.

She smiled as she focused her gaze on their fingers, slowly tracing his palm with her thumb. "I know. It's one of the things that always made me love you more."

He resisted the urge to tease her, instead tugged on her hand in an invitation to shift closer and she took it, coming to rest her head on his chest and flinging one of her legs over his. Jack tried not to let the feeling of her skin against his distract him and to focus on their hypothetical conversation. "I guess I could have retired earlier."

She shook her head. "It wouldn't have felt right either. I think neither of us were willing to give up the fight before it was over."

"So, no regrets?"

"No regrets." She smiled, sighing contentedly. Her fingers trailed on his chest lazily, tracing patterns that Jack couldn't fathom. He was suddenly hit with a memory of last night, when they had finally made it to his bedroom, and Jack had just discarded his shirt before they resumed kissing passionately. She had stopped suddenly, and it had taken Jack a second to realize that her fingers had come across his dog tags. Seeing her hesitation, he'd slowly reached for them and pulled the chain over his head before tossing it onto the night table. Jack wouldn't have read so much into it if it hadn't been from the look in her eyes, and the emotion with which she kissed him then. And then things had gotten out of hand. In a good way. A very, very good way.

"I wish I didn't have to get up in an hour to get ready for work." Sam sighed, bringing him back to the moment.

Jack smiled as his hand trailed up and down her back. "Actually, I have to go in too."

She raised her head and leaned her chin on the back of her hand. "You're kidding?"

"I have my last transition briefing with Hank at 8:00. Hand over the key, so to speak. And they asked that I give some kind of speech this afternoon. Apparently as head of the base I can't just leave without saying 'thanks and good luck'."

She raised an amused eyebrow. "How come I didn't know about this?"

"I'm sure you'll get the memo in the morning."

She grinned teasingly. "Well, I'll be looking forward to the speech."

He snorted. "I'm sure you will."

"So by the end of the day your retirement will officially be public knowledge…"

"I guess," Jack said, unsure where she was going with this. "Although it hasn't exactly been a well-kept secret. I'm pretty sure everyone knows by now."

She sighed. "I know, but the others are probably going to want to celebrate now that it's official."

"Teal'c will. That party animal."

She smiled at his comment, but then sighed. "I know it's selfish, but I was kinda hoping we'd have the evening to ourselves. Especially since I'm leaving next week."

His arm tightened slightly around her. Thinking about her imminent departure always came with a painful pang, so Jack shook the thought away. "Hey, you know how I love a good party, but I'm willing to skip this one if it means spending a few more hours like this."

"You'd skip your own retirement party?" she asked, amused.

"I'd especially skip my own retirement party."

She chuckled softly. "Well, whatever happens, know that you are officially invited to come over to my house when it's over. Think you'll be able to make it?" she asked in a teasing tone.

Jack couldn't help it, he reached down to kiss her, tightening his arms around her. "Let anyone try and stop me."

ooo0ooo

There you go! Reviews and constructive criticism welcome! Short epilogue to follow...