Sam stared at the phone in her hand and wondered if calling Jack was a monumentally horrible idea or if he'd be receptive to her overture. Just because he'd spoken to her the night he'd had a nightmare off-world, and just because he'd talked to her a little before the mission, didn't really mean he was ready to open up to her again. But open was what she wanted. She wanted Jack back. She couldn't take the distance anymore. Not after feeling oh so close again, no matter how briefly, no matter how she'd held him at bay.

She dialed the first half of his number then hesitated. She disconnected the phone. She got up off the couch and paced the floor of her living room, worried her lip with her teeth, pushed a hand through her hair. She dialed again. Disconnected before the phone could ring. Rolled her eyes at herself and huffed, shifted her weight and cocked a hip before dialing one last time. The phone was ringing when she lifted it to her ear.

He answered on the fourth ring, just before she knew the machine would pick up. "Hello?"

"Hi," she said plainly, opting against either his name or honorific as she wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to call him under the circumstances. Sure, she'd called him Jack in the tent, but that had felt natural. Nothing felt natural at the moment.

"Hey," he breathed, sounding relieved.

It went a long way towards relaxing her and she sunk down onto her couch. "How are you?" It was a loaded question, she knew that. And there were myriad answers. She wondered which one she would get.

"How long have you got?" The question was reminiscent of one she'd asked him once when she'd been tied up in knots.

"As long as you need."

He chuckled, but it was mirthless. "How's forever?"

Pain shot through her gut and tears rushed to her eyes. She sucked in a noisy breath.

"Jesus," he said, muffled – wiping his face, likely, "sorry."

"You made it seem like it was so easy for you," she said and managed not to sound as accusatory as it felt.

"I did what I had to do," he said softly, "it wasn't easy. God, Sam, you have to know it wasn't easy."

The tears made tracks down her cheeks. "It was like you had built a wall between us."

"I did. I had to."

"But not anymore?"

He sighed. "I knew better than to bunk down with you, but..."

"But you knew what was going to happen."

He was silent for so long she started to wonder if the connection had dropped. Then he cleared his throat. "I'm a selfish sonuvabitch."

She shook her head at her empty living room. "No, you're not."

"Yeah, I am. I took what I needed from you."

"You didn't take anything I wouldn't have freely given anyway."

"Carter, I felt the way you didn't..."

She thought back to the stiff way she'd held herself against him. "I couldn't..."

"I know," he said. Resigned.

She exhaled, her breath wavering with her tears. "I..."

"What?"

She hesitated. "Nothing."

"Carter," he said richly, in a way that made her toes curl and her insides tingle. How did he do that?

It did not, however, make her more inclined to tell him what was on the tip of her tongue, clawing at her throat, tightening her chest.

"Sam," he said softly, the sibilant sound of her name licking at her ear. "Say it." As if he already knew.

She sighed, "I miss you." God, this call had been a bad idea.

He breathed deeply. "I can't stay out in the field."

Her eyes slipped closed. Because she hated it as much as she relished it. "I know."

"I'm going to talk to Hammond. Tomorrow."

"And what do you think is going to happen?"

"Hell if I know."

"SG-1..."

"… will be different, but it's not going anywhere."

She nodded to herself. The niggling thought of being able to have him popped up into the back of her mind but she quashed it quickly. He was 2IC of the entire base. Unless he was transferred out of the mountain he was her CO and that was that. Just breaking up SG-1 wasn't enough to allow them to be together. And besides, he hadn't said squat about getting back together. He hadn't even said he missed her too.

But the way he'd crushed her to him in that tent spoke volumes. That was not the embrace of a man who didn't care. And then he'd taken her hand in his because she gave him comfort. Was that the action of a man who didn't feel anything for her? It was not. She couldn't believe that. She had to believe it all meant that he hadn't turned his feelings off. He may have boxed them up and filed them away but he hadn't done away with them.

"You're still a valuable asset to the program," Sam told him. And she believed that.

He snorted. "Yeah."

"No," she said sincerely, "you are. The things you've seen and done... your experiences are invaluable."

"Hammond already has an XO. And flying a desk isn't really my thing anyway."

"You might have to make some adjustments," she said pragmatically.

"I could still retire."

"I thought that was taken off the table."

"After what happened it just may have to be re-introduced," he said wryly.

She frowned. He had blown an entire trade deal. There was no telling what could happen. The word was that SG-2 was making progress cleaning up the mess he'd made but it was slow going repairing the relationship. "Let's cross that bridge when we come to it."

Jack huffed into the phone at her nonchalance. "You're not campaigning for retirement?"

"No, actually, I'm not." It pained her not to jump at the idea of him retiring. And while she knew it was what he wanted she also knew he was a vital man who had a lot to offer the program and it would be a shame to lose him. So she hoped that Hammond could find a good place for him that fit his new demeanor. "I want what's best for you. And if that turns out to be retirement, then fine, but I still think you have a lot to offer."

"Carter, I blew a trade deal because some guy looked at you wrong."

"That's not exactly what happened and you know it," she said exasperatedly. "And so maybe a field unit isn't where you belong now. But there are plenty of assignments with the program."

"I'm good for one thing, or at least I was. And that's not the case anymore. It's time to put me out to pasture."

"Well, as it happens, everyone else disagrees with you."

He sighed but declined to comment further.

They sat quietly for a few moments until, finally, he said, "Hey, Carter?"

"Yeah?"

"I miss you, too."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Hammond walked into the office behind Jack and closed the door. "Have a seat," he directed, then walked around his desk to seat himself.

Jack balled his hands up on his thighs as he sunk into the chair. He didn't know what to make of the General's tone. It sounded like the General had things of his own to say and that Jack wasn't going to get to say the things he'd come to say which boiled down to: I can't do this job anymore.

The General dove right in. "You've put us in a position with your performance on your last mission."

"Yes, sir." Jack clenched his fists but was careful to keep a neutral expression on his face and tone to his voice.

"And the joint chiefs are not impressed with the outcome."

"I imagine not, sir."

"However, we all agree that under the circumstances that this situation was foreseeable and likely avoidable had a different team been sent in the first place."

Jack got the impression that Hammond had been chastised for sending SG-1 to do the job. But Hammond would never directly say so.

"So, son," Hammond say, his voice and eyes going gentle, "an alternative to field work has been made available to you. I suggest you take it because the alternative negates an otherwise exemplary career."

"An alternative, sir?" That sounded promising. And very much like he was going to get out of doing the job he no longer felt as if he could do.

"The academy, Colonel."

"The academy?" Jack asked, nonplussed. He supposed he understood the concept but he wasn't quite sure what he had to offer at the academy. He had a tough time picturing himself as an instructor. But, then again, he'd only been trying for approximately three seconds.

"We're gearing cadets up to come directly into the program now," Hammond pointed out. "And your experience would be invaluable. You could put them through their paces. Instead of running special assessments you would have a full curriculum."

"I'm not a teacher, General."

"We're not asking you to teach as much as we're asking you to lead and assess. Mock missions, mostly, for now. Survival training."

"How many cadets are we talking about?"

"Well, in large part, that will be up to you and the other instructors. We hand pick the cadets we think are suitable for the program and put them through their paces. It's a new program, Jack, we haven't worked all the bugs out yet."

Jack sighed. "And you think I'm the guy for the job?"

"I think this is a good move for you under the circumstances. I'd love to keep you on SG-1, but I think we can both agree that it's not the place for you right now. If you want to move back to a front line team one day we can talk about it but-"

"No, sir," Jack, cut in. "Physically, I'm past my prime. Doc Fraiser's not going to keep passing me much longer anyway, not with these knees. And I think we both know I did what I had to do to pass a psych eval."

Hammond just shook his head. "Those things are in place for a reason."

"Hey, he's the one who passed me."

"There was some pressure from the top," Hammond revealed. "You could have said anything."

"What? Why? I'm not that important!"

"Jack, SG-1 has a helluva record."

"Because of Carter! And Daniel!"

"And because of you. And Teal'c. You're a formidable team. The powers that be didn't want to give that up. But the last mission proved to them that the SG-1 they'd come to rely on wasn't the SG-1 they got back after P3R-289."

"Then why not just let me retire?" Jack asked quietly.

"Because we still need access to you, son, I'm sorry."

"Access?"

"Between your relationship with the Asgard and your strange ability to access Ancient technology, we can't let go of you as an asset. I'm sorry. I fought for you, I really did. But this is where we landed."

Jack sighed. "Well, I guess it's better than nothing."

"There's an upside, if you're looking for one, Jack."

"What's that?"

"You won't be under my chain of command anymore."

Jack nodded slowly, unsure of what Hammond was getting at.

The General huffed lightly and smirked. "You won't be in the same chain of command as Major Carter. If you're still interested, that is."

Jack sat back in his chair and opened his hands on his thighs. Wow. It hadn't even occurred to him when the Academy was being offered that it meant he could have Sam back. That is, if she even wanted to try again, after everything. He wouldn't blame her if she didn't want to after all the pain. But, she had said she missed him. And would she have said it if she hadn't wanted him? Or was it just catharsis?

In truth, though, more time had passed since they'd split up than they'd actually spent together and he wondered if their moment had passed. If it had been squandered. If they could get back what had been between them. He knew his feelings for had only been boxed up, not that they'd gone away, but he had no idea what she'd had to do with hers for him. And then there were the feelings he'd been having for her – the ones he'd thought not to have after his time with Astarte. The ones he still felt guilty, felt wrong about. The kinds of feelings she'd always been careful not to have for him until he'd given her the green light.

The General cleared his throat and Jack was snapped back into the present, his eyes meeting Hammond's. Hammond had a twinkle in his eye that Jack could only attribute to the way he'd drifted off into thoughts of Sam in the middle of their conversation and how telling that must have been. "I assume you're still interested," the General said.

Jack cleared his throat. "Yes, sir."

"May I suggest finding out if she is, too?"

Jack gave a crooked half smile. The day was over. He could head to Sam's house, talk with her there. It would be nice to have this conversation with her off base. "Yes, sir."

"I'll tell the Academy to expect you on Monday. Take the next few days."

"Thank you, sir."

"Good luck, son."

Jack nodded and stood up, effectively dismissed from Hammond's office for the last time. But it didn't feel wrong, like he always expected it might. It actually felt... right.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sam was in the kitchen washing her drinking glass from dinner when she heard the knock on her front door. She dried her hands on a dishtowel as she walked down the hallway. She set the towel down on the table she used for mail and keys as she opened the front door to reveal Jack standing on her front porch looking slightly nervous.

"Hey," she said, suddenly a little breathless to see him there. He looked good, as he always did, despite his oversized civilian clothing. "C'mon in." She waved him into the house and stepped back to allow him passage.

He came in slowly, as if trepidatious, and closed the door behind himself. "I'm not interrupting, am I?" He asked her, sounding like he'd leave instantly if she said yes. She couldn't remember ever hearing him sound so nervous.

"No." She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile and led him through to the living room. She gestured at the couch and he sat, perched on the edged as if ready to get up and bolt as the first sign of... whatever. She couldn't help but grin. "So... what's up?" She wondered if his antsyness had anything to do with the discussion he'd planned to have with Hammond earlier that day.

"I talked to Hammond today."

Score. "Good."

"Yeah." He scrubbed a hand through his hair. "I've been reassigned to the Academy."

She felt her heart skip a beat. She'd known that it was likely coming, his reassignment off the team. But out of the mountain? It was immediately painful to think of not seeing him everyday. "The Academy," she said dumbly, catching up slowly.

"Working with cadets being groomed for the program."

"That's... that's a good place for you," she said woodenly.

"Yeah, it is," he said, sounding hopeful.

She looked up into his eyes, finding that she'd been staring at his knees. "You're happy?"

"I'm not unhappy. And, as Hammond pointed out, there are some perks."

"Perks?"

"We're out of the same chain of command, Sam," he said softly.

She swallowed slowly. Oh.

"They can't stop us from being together now."

Oh.

He seemed to be searching her face. "Say something."

"Do you want..."

"Yes." No hesitation.

She nodded.

"Don't you?"

She did. She really, really did. But she was so scared. At first everything about her feelings for him hurt so much and having to keep it hidden was so hard. And then, telling him was one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do. But then being with him had been easy, despite everything he'd been through. But she'd barely had a taste before they'd been told to cease and desist. Was it possible to just pick things back up?

"Sam?" He sounded mildly panicked.

She raised her fingers to her brow bone and let her eyes slip closed. "I'm thinking. Because of course, yes. But can we? Can we really?"

"Open your eyes." She felt his fingers close around her wrists and pull her hand down from her face. She let him. She opened her eyes and met his pleading brown ones. "Yes, we can."

She took a deep breath. She loved him, she couldn't deny that, not to herself, even if she wasn't ready to say the words to him again yet. And love was worth the risk, right? "Okay."

"Okay?" A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Yeah." She felt an answering smile tug at her lips.

He gathered her into his arms and she wound hers around his shoulders and held on for dear life. If felt like coming home, being in his embrace, smelling him around her, feeling the warm skin of his cheek against her face. He tucked his face into her neck and pressed his lips against her skin. It made her shiver. She threaded her fingers into his hair and directed his face back to hers. She wanted a kiss. He was prepared to give her one.

Their lips met in a practiced motion that didn't seem weeks removed. Her eyes slipped closed as a gentle moan slipped past her lips. It felt so good, so right, to be pressed against him. His tongue stroked against hers and he tasted just like she remembered, just like the way that make her insides clench and tingle. He slanted his head to deepen the kiss and he made a sound that made her push against his chest so she could insinuate herself more fully against him instead of perching carefully on the edge of the couch cushions. She took his face between her hands, and it wasn't until he held her hips in his that she realized she'd pushed him all the way back into the couch and straddled his lap. That they weren't just kissing, they were making out. She pulled back from him and found she was panting, but he was, too, their breaths mingling in the shallow space between them. She met his sparkling eyes and she started to giggle. He let out an answering chuckle.

Her worry from before seemed to melt away. There was no longer a doubt in her mind that things between them were going to work. They'd be fine. Not that they wouldn't have their fair share of problems, she was sure they would, especially considering the fact that Jack had his own issues to work through, but they weren't going to be hindered by the weeks they spend ordered apart. That was just a minor blip on their road to being together.

She leaned back and settled her weight onto his knees as their mirth died down. Soon they were just staring into one another's eyes. Jack's thumbs were rubbing tiny circles against the skin underneath her shirt at her waistband and seriously distracting her from any rigorous though. "I'm on downtime the next couple days," he said idly. "Come stay with me?"

"I still have to work," she said, one eyebrow raised.

"So? Two more days and then it's the weekend."

She'd object, but she liked being at his house, surrounded by him and his things, she always had, even when she was just harboring a crush. Maybe one day that like would go away, but for now, she'd give in to it. "Okay."

"Yeah?" He gave a boyish grin.

"Yeah."

He slid one hand into the back pocket of her jeans. She liked the way that felt. "Go. Pack a bag."

"Now?"

"Yeah, now. You got something better to do?"

She supposed she didn't. Besides, she liked the idea of going home with him. And doing it right away. She liked the idea of spending her night in his bed. She wasn't under the illusion that there was going to be sex, but a night in his arms sounded wonderful, even if her job was merely chasing away his demons. It was a job she took rather seriously.

She climbed off his lap and he looked a little forlorn like he hadn't realized that was a byproduct of Go. Pack a bag. She leaned down and pressed a saucy kiss to his lips. He reached up and threaded his fingers into her hair, anchoring her to him longer than she'd planned, but she wasn't complaining.

When he finally released her, she was breathless. Again. She stood up and looked down at him, chest heaving, to find that he looked glassy-eyed and breathless, too. "I'll be back in ten minutes. Make yourself comfortable."

He gave her a lazy grin and reached for the remote control with a wink.