He slowly caressed her hair.
"I'm sorry I was such a jerk", he said.
She had her head near his neck, her eyes half closed.
"Yes, you were", she simply said. "But you also saved my live on the planet", she added. "Why didn't you just tell me, Jack?", she asked.
He continued to play with her hair.
"I was afraid…That what we had in the planet was a one-time thing. How could you be possible be interested in a guy like me?", he asked with a chuckle.
Sam moved her head from his neck and looked at him.
"When I accepted your ridiculous proposal that didn't give you any hint? That I was willing to risk court martial to have sex with you? Did you really believe that I was having sex with you without feeling anything for you? Really Jack?!", she asked.
Jack's hand stopped and rested on her neck.
"I hoped but I really never let myself believe in it, Sam. It hurt too much", he admitted.
"So you decided to hurt me too", she said. Resting her head in his chest.
"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I never wanted you to see that darker side of me, never. Trust me, I'm not proud of it", he said. Kissing the top of her head.
"You are a very difficult man to love, Jack O'Neill", she said. Caressing his arm.
Jack swallowed. Love?
"I'm sorry, I'm getting a little deaf with my age. Did you say love?", he asked. Clearing his throat.
Sam smiled.
"If you are getting deaf you must see a doctor. I can talk with Janet and see if she can recommend one", she said, still playing with his arm.
Jack put one hand on her chin and made her look at him.
"I heard you crystal clear just now. So please just repeat what you said before, will you?", he asked.
She blinked twice.
"You are a very difficult man to love, Jack O'Neill", she said again.
Jack smiled.
"See? Heard you perfectly!", he said.
"Did you now?", she asked, also smiling.
"Yes, I did. For the record, I have loved you since the first time I laid eyes on you, Samantha Carter", he said. Giving her a small peck on the nose.
Sam blushed.
"Don't call me Samantha", she asked.
"Why?", Jack asked, caressing her air.
Sam turned her head to him.
"That is what my father calls me when he is mad at me. I really don't like it", she said.
"Okay, so Sam it is", he said. This time kissing her on the mouth.
When they stopped, Jack was holding her in his arms.
"I know this is maybe not the right moment to talk about it but we need to discuss about what happened in Hammond's office. He said to me that if things don't improve between us, you might get reassigned", he said.
Sam was gently playing with his chest hairs.
"Well, I guess we have to decide if it's best if I get reassigned or not", she said carefully.
Jack put his hand over hers, stopping her.
"What do you mean? Get you reassigned? Do you really want to leave SG-1?", he asked. Sating on the bed and making her move her position also.
Sam passed a hand quickly through her hair.
"Come on Jack… Are we doing this for real?", she asked pointing to her bed. "Because if we are we need to seriously discuss things, not what we discussed before, not your rules. Which were fine and I agree with them but we need to go beyond that", she said with a serious face.
He was looking at her with all his attention, studying her expression.
"Do you want to do this for real? Real, real?", he asked.
Sam grabbed his hand.
"I just told that I love you. I already broke the frat rules several times. Willingly. We will never get a permission to be together and continue to work in the same team so either of us is reassigned or has to leave the Air Force. I don't want to leave the Air Force. I just want to stay with you and continue to work in the Program", she said.
Jack held her hand tighter.
"Good because I love you too but I don't want you to get reassigned, Sam. I want you in SG-1, where I can protect you. Where Teal'c can protect you. Shit... even Daniel can protect you if he isn't falling or some crap like that. You belong to SG-1!", he said.
Sam swallowed. She didn't want to leave SG-1 either.
"We would have to lie then, Jack. They can't know", she said slowly.
"I trust Teal'c with my life and Daniel will never tell. We can trust them. Only them. I know you and Janet are best friends but she's an officer also. She will be conflicted between her duty and your friendship so don't put her in that position. Teal'c and Daniel aren't in that situation", he said wisely.
Sam closed her eyes.
"I'm a terrible liar, Jack", she warned.
He pulled her to him and held her tight, both arms around her back.
"Ask yourself if we are worth the risk. If the answer is 'yes', you will be able to lie and no one will notice. If not, we don't even start", he said with a pained voice.
Sam had her head buried in his neck.
"I love you, I want you, you are worth the risk", she said close to his ear.
Jack swallowed hard.
"Are you sure, Sam? You have to be absolutely sure", he asked. Kissing her naked shoulder.
"Yes, I'm sure", she said. Her hands moving through his back, feeling his muscles.
Slowly, Jack let her go and looked at her. His eyes were so dark that they were almost black.
"Okay then. We invite the guys for dinner and tell them. And then we keep everything as it is in SG-1. And you start acting as my 2IC for real, no crap anymore, Sam. We have to be able to keep the military side working as a Swiss clock for SG-1 to continue to operate as the flag team. And for you to thrive in the ranks", he said.
"All right", she said passing her fingers through his hair. "But Jack if I can't manage to keep working at SG-1 and us together, we need to talk again", she said.
"Of course. We are going to see if this is viable at all in the field. God I hope it is. But if by any chance we cannot and it isn't, we talk again and see other options", he said.
Sam smiled and rested her forehead against his.
"Okay. So do you want to call the guys? While I'm suspended…", she said.
"Don't start…", he warned.
Sam gave him a quick kiss and left the bed.
"I'm having a shower. Ask them to dinner", she said, walking naked to her bathroom. She stopped at the doorway and turned to him. "And Jack?"
He was mesmerised looking at her.
"What?", he managed to ask.
"I'm not cooking", she said with a wide smile. And then she entered her bathroom.
Jack stood on her bed smiling like an idiot. After hearing the water from the shower he picked his cell and called Daniel.
"Hi Jack", Daniel said.
"Hi Danny boy. Any plans for dinner tonight?", he asked.
"Not really. I'm reading a very interesting book about the ancient civilizations of…"
Jack made an irritated sound and cut him off.
"I'm sure it's fascinating, Daniel but I don't want to know. Carter is inviting us all to dinner tonight. Can you pick Teal'c and come to her house?", he asked.
"I heard she was suspended because of you…And she's inviting you to dinner?", he asked suspicious.
Jack sighed.
"She's a very forgiving person", he said.
"Yes she is", Daniel agreed.
"So? Coming?", Jack asked again.
"Yes, of course. I'll pick Teal'c. What time?", he asked.
Shit. They hadn't talked about that.
"Hum…I think she said 1930", he said.
"Okay, we'll be there. See you", Daniel said. Hanging up.
Jack got off her bed and moved to her bathroom. The water was still on.
"Ah, Sam? Dinner is set for 1930. Is that okay?", he asked.
She was turning off the water.
"Yes, I guess", she said.
He was standing, naked at her shower entrance, looking at her with a smile in his face.
"What?", she asked. Grabbing a towel.
"Nothing. You are just beautiful", he simply said.
Sam blushed.
"Right. I'm still not cooking", she said. Starting to dry herself.
Jack grabbed her by the waist and kissed her neck making her giggle.
"Don't worry. I'll order something. Chinese or Italian", he said.
"Do you need to go home and change?", she asked after the kisses ended.
Jack let her go.
"Yeah…It's better. I'll bring beer also", he said.
"Oh Daniel will love that. Try to give him only after we talk with him otherwise he won't listen a word", she said.
Jack gave her another kiss and went back to her room where he started to get dressed. After he finished, she was already dressed.
"I'll be back after I showered and change. I won't be long", he said.
She was holding her front door.
"Okay, I'll be here", she said.
There were no kisses since one of Sam's neighbours could be watching them.