Boy am I a nerd. It's Saturday night and I'm writing fanfiction.

Hey, just to clear something up...I had a few people say that Pete would never be a factor since Jade appeared long before he showed up, but remember, Sam was set up with Pete by her brother. If I was Jade, I'd go ahead and give Sam a heads up just in case Mark tried to introduce them. Wouldn't you?

Please review!

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Sam tried to tell Colonel O'Neill of her plans to resign. She tried to tell him outside of the infirmary while they waited for Janet to release Jade into their care. She tried to tell him in the mess hall, between Jade's excited remarks about all of her plans for the future. She tried to tell him in the parking lot as they waited for Teal'c to bring his vehicle around. Unfortunately, every time she opened her mouth, she found herself chickening out, not sure she was ready for Jack's most likely reaction when he learned about what she was planning.

All four vehicles pulled into Jack's driveway that evening, and the members of SG-1, plus Jade, collapsed wherever they could find a seat in the Colonel's living room. They were all silent for several minutes, Jade lying flat on her back with her head rested on Sam's lap, and Sam played with the girl's hair as she raised her chin and spoke bravely, feeling more confident with the team around her.

"I have something I should tell you."

The others looked around for a moment, and Daniel raised his eyebrows at her.

"Tell who?"

"All of you, I guess," she answered, nervously rubbing her hands together. Jack turned his head sideways curiously, and she took a deep breath before continuing.

"I've decided to leave the Air Force."

Before anyone could jump in, she quickly added, "But I'll still be working at the SGC…hopefully. And who knows, I may even be allowed to be a part of SG-1…at least some of the time."

Jade had shot up and spun around, obviously aware of what this meant, and her eyes widened as she stared at her mother.

"This is because of me, isn't it? You're quitting because of me!"

"No, sweetie," Sam assured her. "It's not because of you."

"Then why?" Daniel asked with a scowl at Jack, as if it was somehow his fault. "Can't you just wait it out? Maybe you guys won't have to wait that long…"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow here and spoke up curiously. "We cannot be certain that this is not the same decision that Major Carter made in Jade O'Neill's timeline. Perhaps this is the reason she and Colonel O'Neill were able to get married."

"No way," Daniel argued. "Jade implied that she was still in the military in her time."

"She implied no such thing, Daniel Jackson."

As the others argued, Sam looked nervously up at Jack, surprised to see that he seemed to be the only one not affected by her news, still leaning calmly against the wall and staring at Sam. Finally, he stepped forward, hanging up the set of keys still in his hand as he spoke.

"Carter, can I have a word?"

The others hardly seemed to notice as she stood, stepping around Jade while the girl insisted to Daniel that she couldn't remember anything about her mother being in the military, Daniel arguing that Jade couldn't remember much of anything at all, so that proved nothing.

Sam followed Jack as he walked slowly down the hallway, ushering her into the bedroom at the end of the hall and closing the door behind her. She nervously looked around the room, eying the bookshelves and the pictures on the walls…the medals and miscellaneous fishing décor. Her eyes widened slightly when she noticed the bed against the wall, and she spun around to see Jack giving her a serious look.

"Carter, what are you doing?"

She tried to remember what she had planned to say, but it was immensely distracting to be standing alone with him in his bedroom, of all places, and Sam found herself unconsciously taking a step towards him.

"I have to do this, sir."

He still didn't move, his hands sitting loosely in his pockets as he stood in front of the closed door.

"No, you don't." He continued to stare at her, his face revealing nothing as he added, "I could retire."

Sam shook her head and took another step closer. "No, sir. Jade made it clear that you have a lot more saving the world to do. Besides, I can still be very useful to the SGC as a civilian."

"While I wouldn't," Jack added in with a smile.

It was strange to Sam how calm he seemed, and she wondered if maybe he was glad about her decision. This was not something she had considered, but it suddenly made sense. He would have never asked her to do resign, but he didn't seem to want to fight her on it either. The possible reasons for this made her stomach flutter a bit, and she took one more step, keeping her eyes fixed on his as she boldly spoke the words in her heart.

"I want to be with you."

She heard Jack's breath hitch slightly, his eyes returning to the intense state she had only seen once before…the evening she stood alone with him in his kitchen and he had gently caressed her skin…

"Sam," he said in a low voice, raising one hand to gently touch her face. His fingers slid up into her hair, and Sam felt like she was in a trance, taking one last step to close the gap between them. She was too close, and she knew it, but something kept her from pulling away, and she closed her eyes, tilting her head up slightly to let her lips just barely brush against his.

Jack made no move to stop her, letting his hand slide down to her neck and over her shoulder as she pressed her lips to his. She only meant to kiss him once…just to show him the things that she couldn't bring herself to say…but somehow, once was nowhere near enough. As soon as she had pulled back, she had to lean forward to taste him again, and again…and then Jack began to kiss her back and she was completely lost.

He wrapped both arms tightly around her waist, pressing one hand against her back as he pushed her against him. His kiss deepened, and Sam tugged at his shoulders, fitting her body against him as she dissolved into his sweet warmth. There was no denying what she was feeling, and for the first time in a very long while, Sam had absolutely no thoughts in her head except for one, and it had nothing to do with quantum mechanics.

The room spun around her as Jack's hands drifted up her sides and down below her back, his lips tugging at hers lightly as he pressed even tighter against her body. The room was completely silent except for both of their heavy breathing and Jade's raised voice drifting in from down the hall. The sound reminded Sam of where she was, and she tried very hard to focus her thoughts.

"Sir," she whispered, pulling back just enough to speak before he tugged her back to him.

"Mmm?" he mumbled in response, stepping forward and pushing her across the room gently. She felt the covers of the bed against the back of her legs, and she let out a sigh.

"The others are just down the hall…"

Jack pulled back slightly, leaning his forehead against hers as he nodded.

"Yeah…I know. Sorry."

She raised her eyes up to meet his, and he exhaled slowly, turning back to look at the door behind him. When he turned back to face her, there was a funny grin on his face, and he lifted her hands to lay them back over his shoulders, whispering into her neck as he pressed his lips to her skin.

"Five more minutes…"