Jack nods his head to the bartender when he enters the bar. It's only bar he's found which isn't full of bureaucrats or their assistants; somewhere which is an oasis free of politics and negotiation in a city that was born on those things.
He takes a seat at the bar and gazes up at the hockey game on the screen above the wall of bottles and glasses. A Guinness is set in front of him alongside a menu. Okay, so the bartender knows him.
For a midweek game, the bar is quiet. Jack doesn't mind that. For all the anonymity the bar offers, Jack knows anyone can intrude his solitude at any moment and he'll be recognised as military. That's not something you can easily hide in this town.
Jack flips the menu despite knowing he'll order the steak and mash potatoes. He ponders a slice of pie for moment versus being stuck at a desk. He's feeling his age and feeling lonely.
Schedule clashes and last-minute meetings and missions have conspired to keep him and Sam apart for a few weeks now. They don't get enough time together as it is. He doesn't know why they thought a long-distance relationship would work better than retiring. He chooses to forget they didn't really have a choice; either Jack took over from Hammond or someone they didn't know or trust would.
He sips at his beer. The bartender returns and Jack gives his order. Screw it. He's getting the pie.
"Long time, no see, Jack," a voice says behind him.
Jack pauses and meets the eyes of Kerry Johnson in the mirror behind the bottles of spirits. "Kerry," he greets.
"Don't worry, Jack, no one sent up the Bat signal," the CIA operative tells him, sliding onto the stool next to him. "I live around the corner and had nothing in the fridge."
She flags down the bartender and orders herself a beer and burger. She doesn't need a menu. She cocks her head to the side, "Hope you don't mind me imposing."
"Not at all," Jack takes another swig of his beer. "How you doing?"
"I've been good, not much time between travelling back and forth from Colorado," she comments easily.
Right now, he's envious he doesn't get to go to Colorado as often as she does. As lonely as he gets in DC, it's better when he and Sam are together.
"How about you? Enjoying the endless meetings?" she teases.
"Oh, I enjoy them so much, I'm actually missing trees," Jack muses. At least when he was stationed at Cheyenne Mountain, he had the occasional jaunt through the Stargate. Kerry snickers.
"How's things going with...?" She trails off, both knowing who she's referring to.
"Good," Jack admits, not bothering with the normal denial.
He wouldn't disrespect Kerry like that. He'll always carry a little guilt for the way their relationship ended. She'd asked him out and he said yes because he couldn't tell her the real reason if he turned her down.
To Jack's surprise, they'd had fun. One dinner turned to two, three and more over a matter of weeks before it was over. Their dalliance started and ended so quickly, he doesn't think he hurt her; if he did, he didn't mean to. He did, however, get her caught between him and Sam. That, he regrets.
Kerry squints at him as their food arrives, and he knows there are more questions about to fired at him. "You know, when I heard she called off the wedding, this isn't how I thought it would turn out, Jack."
"Me, either," Jack says. From the moment Sam kissed him on the deck the night before Teal'c and Daniel joined them at the cabin until the phone call from the president, he'd envisioned a different future than the one they have. "Got an offer we couldn't refuse."
"You're doing a good job, Jack," Kerry tells him. "For what it's worth, I am glad you're at least trying to take my advice."
Jack winces.
Kerry catches it, as Jack knew she would. "What?"
It's not the happy ending they wanted but it is better than before. He's able to tell Sam how he feels, show her how he feels. He doesn't have to shut down and leave an open chasm between them. He can hold her without using an excuse of one of them being hurt or almost dying. Kerry doesn't need to know that though. What was the old saying, rubbing salt into wounds, right?
"We're good," he says simply. Just because Kerry knows and they had a relationship, doesn't mean he will spill the secrets of his relationship with Sam. Jack clears his throat. "I owe you an apology, for what happened between us."
Kerry holds up a hand to stop him. "I'm not going to lie; I wish I had known before but I get it Jack. It was an impossible situation and you two were too concerned with the regulations and implications for everyone around you to do anything about it." She sighs wistfully. "Besides, I'm a romantic at heart. You're in love. Love means never having to say you're sorry."