The Virus

Chapter 17

..

Sam arrived back at their room first and she slipped out of her BDU's and into shorts and an old t-shirt. She hadn't wasted space packing pyjamas before the evacuation. She began un-packing the rest of her clothes, she folded them neatly and placed them in the top two drawers of the dresser provided. When she straightened and caught sight of her reflection in the mirror she paused. She hadn't actually seen her reflection in a while, a mirror was something else she hadn't bothered packing. She discovered her hair had grown more than she had expected. She wondered if the General would still insist the women cut their hair short, she missed having long hair and hoped he would disregard that regulation.

She had just settled in bed with a book when Jack arrived back. He looked over at her and then around the room, probably noting the lack of bags. She had proceeded to unpack his things too and stored all their bags and boxes under the bed. She hoped he didn't mind her going through his things. She hadn't opened the little box that she knew held things of sentimental value to him. She had just placed it in one of the drawers she had designated 'his'.

"Your things are in the lower drawers." She closed the book and placed it on her bedside table, suddenly feeling nervous. Maybe she shouldn't have unpacked his things without asking. She caught his eye and found he already knew exactly what she was worrying about and he gave her a reassuring smile. She relaxed back against the pillows. Sometimes she wondered how she got so lucky. Jack understood her without her needing to say a word.

"Thanks," he told her and came over and sat on the edge of the bed taking her hand in his and entwining his fingers with hers. "I get you all to myself tonight." He bent down and kissed her forehead, and then her nose, and then her lips before leaning back to look back down at her.

"Yes you do," she agreed, giving him a coy smile.

"I must be the luckiest man in the world." He ran his thumb tenderly over the top of her hand. "I don't know why you would want to be with a loser like me."

"You are not a loser." She frowned. She hated it when he was self-depreciating like this. "You are far from it. I consider myself lucky to have you Jack." She told him seriously. "When I first realized… I had feelings for you… I thought you were out of my league. I thought you would never care for me the way I did you." He looked shocked at her words and he just shook his head as if he couldn't believe it. "I love you." She told him. She hadn't said the words since the first time they had made love… but she meant them with all her heart.

"I love you too." He bent down and gave her a kiss and she felt as if her heart would burst. She watched him silently from the bed as he undressed and found something to sleep in too. When he slipped under the covers next to her and pulled her into his arms she felt a completely different energy around him.

"You know, this is the first time I get to make love to you somewhere private." He kissed the sensitive spot on her neck and she shivered in delight. He knew her so well already. "We can make as much noise as we want." He told her huskily and leant over, capturing her lips with his.

..

She woke snuggled in Jack's arms and she again revelled in the quiet of the room. No voices outside, no clattering of pots and pans, not even any bird song. Although the latter wasn't something she disliked, it had been quite nice waking up to the sound of birds.

They had made the most of their first night of real privacy and she ached in all the right places. Between rounds the tender and sensitive side of Jack O'Neill came to the surface. She held onto his every word, every feeling he spoke of. He didn't open up about things like Charlie, Sara or even the confusion over his feelings for her over the years… but last night he had opened himself to her completely. This was better than an 'I love you' it was an 'I trust you with my heart'. She snuggled in closer breathing in his scent and listening contentedly to his breathing. She placed one hand over his heart and let the thud-thud lull her into that lovely place just between waking and sleeping.

"Good morning," she felt his voice vibrate through his chest and she tilted her head up to see him. "Damn I like waking up to a gorgeous woman looking at me like that." He grinned. "Maybe we could skip today and just stay in bed?" She giggled, if only.

"As much as I like that plan…"

"Awww c'mon Sam…"

"We have work to do."

"At least we get to shower this morning."

"Crap! What time is it?" She threw the covers off the bed and searched the ground for her watch she knew she had discarded at some point during their activities last night. "Oh no, we only have ten minutes left for a shower. I didn't realize how late it was."

"Surely if we are a little late the next group won't mind waiting…" He rolled over, clearly intending to go back to sleep.

"We need to set an example and stick to the routine." She pulled the blankets off him and began tugging on yesterday's clothes.

"Ugh," he made a noise of disgust. "So bossy and we haven't even had a coffee yet!"

"Stop whining!" She threw some clean clothes in a bag and sent a cheeky grin over her shoulder. "See you later, I'm not missing out on my first real shower in more than two weeks!" He was standing in just his underwear looking so adorably half-asleep. She had to fight the urge to run back and kiss him senseless.

..

Once she had showered she headed back to the gate room to work with Walter again. She found herself humming some unnamed tune under her breath and she had a bit of a bounce to her step. Jack was a lifesaver, truly. She was beginning to feel like her old confident self and she just didn't know if she could have recovered this fast without him.

"Good morning Walter," she sat down at the computer she had been at the day before and tapped the keyboard to get it up and running. It was then the klaxons began going off and she had to resist the urge to cover her ears.

Off world activation.

"There is no IDC, Major Carter."

"Keep the Iris closed, Walter." General Hammond, Jack and Teal'c entered to stand behind them. She watched through the window as fifteen or so military men entered through the doors on either side of the gate room, firearms raised.

"Wait… Tok'ra. It's Tok'ra IDC!" Sam leapt to her feet and dodged between Jack and Teal'c to get out the door.

She watched her dad walk down the ramp a frown on his face. She stood at attention with General Hammond, Jack and Teal'c now at her side. She wanted to run up the ramp and throw her arms around him… but as a Major it wasn't really the kind of behaviour that was expected from her.

"Sam," the moment her dad was within reach she put her arms around him.

"Dad," she kissed him on the cheek and stepped back, taking in his appearance. He looked okay… tired but healthy. If he were injured when the goa'uld attacked – Selmak would have healed him.

"Dad," She heard Jack say beside her and his hand shot out to shake her dads.

"Hello Jack," her dad responded. "Teal'c," he shook Teal'c's hand and then turned to the General last. "Hello George, old friend." He shook the General's hand with a smile. "I am pleased to see you all alive and well." He told them seriously.

"We are pleased to see you too Jacob." The General told him. "Now, shall we all head up to the mess hall? I believe its Blue's breakfast and we don't want to miss out." The five of them headed out the gate room and collected Walter on their way.

She was surprised to see her dad so soon. She had planned on speaking to Jack about whether they should 'officially' tell her dad they were together, or just let him figure it out for himself. She was leaning towards the latter though and knowing Jack as she did… she knew which one he would choose.

..

She spent the morning updating her dad on all that had happened since she had last seen him. Jack joined her for the majority of the conversation and while neither she nor Jack were publicly affectionate with each other… she knew her dad had picked up on something. He kept glancing between them and narrowing his eyes. So of course the moment Jack left the room her dad raised an eyebrow in her direction and she just knew what he was going to say.

"So it looks like you and Jack have finally been courageous enough to take a step in the right direction then?"

"Yes," she pressed her lips together tightly. She hated talking about men with her dad, it was so uncomfortable.

"I'm glad, Sam." He reached forward and took her hand in his. "I've watched you two for years and you both deserve to be happy."

"Thanks, Dad." She stood up, now was a good time to finish up their little catch up. Not only did she have a lot to do… it also meant she could cut their conversation on Jack short. "I had better get back to work, I assume you will have to head home soon?"

"Yes, Selmak is needed. Let's head down to the Stargate." She knew her dad would be relieved too. He was never really good at the feelings talk… he was like Jack in that sense.

On their trip down they bumped into Jack. She watched as her dad pulled him aside and though they thought she couldn't hear from where she was standing, she heard every word.

"I trust you with her, Jack." Her dad told him. "I know you would never intentionally hurt her. I know you well enough now to know she made a good choice." He patted Jack on the shoulder.

"Thanks dad." Jack put emphasis on the dad and his lips turned up into a smile. She breathed a sigh of relief. Her dad may not have the most intimidating appearance but on meeting her previous boyfriends he had managed to threaten them simply with his words. She had always wondered how her dad would react if she and Jack did end up together… now she knew.

When they reached the gate room her dad pulled her in for one last bone crushing hug. He told her he loved her and took a step back.

"I will see you soon." He promised and she smiled as she watched him head up the ramp. They had touched on the topic of Mark and his family earlier in the day. She had seen the pain in his expression… but like her – he was not one for breaking down in front of people. She knew he would have to grieve at some point and she was incredibly glad Selmak would be there to help him through…

TBC.