Jack's nightmare was a chaotic maelstrom of fear and desperation. In the darkness of his mind, he was running, running faster than he ever thought possible. His heart pounded in his chest, and the staccato bursts of gunfire echoed in his ears. Each breath was a struggle, and his vision was blurred by the sweat pouring down his face. But he had a purpose, a mission that consumed his every thought - he had to keep her safe.

She had been shot. The image of her falling to the ground haunted him. He needed to get her back to the SGC, to Janet. Janet would fix her; she had to. Everything would be fine; she would be fine. He ran faster, willing himself to go beyond his limits, but something was wrong. He couldn't move as he wanted. Panic surged through him, and he looked down to see his legs buried in the shifting sands of a desert.

His surroundings shifted abruptly, and he was now in Iraq, surrounded by the relentless expanse of dunes. He felt trapped, lost in a nightmare of confusion and despair. She was still in his arms, unconscious and bleeding, her life slipping away with each passing moment. He had to get her out of there, back to safety, but the desert held him in its grip, refusing to let go.

Then, with a sudden jolt, Jack woke up. His scream pierced the silence of the bedroom, and he thrashed in his sweat-soaked sheets, desperately trying to break free from the grip of the nightmare. He was disoriented, gasping for air, his heart racing as if he were still in the midst of that desert nightmare.

And then, as if from a lifeline thrown to a drowning man, he felt the touch of a familiar hand on his leg. Sam, his anchor in both dreams and reality, had been startled by his scream, and her presence slowly began to draw him back to the waking world. Her soothing voice called his name, breaking through the remnants of the nightmare's grip.

"Jack," she whispered, her voice filled with concern and love. She kept her distance but continued to talk with him, trying to calm him. "It's okay. You're safe now. It was just a dream. Come on, Jack. Wake up."

Jack's breathing began to steady, and the racing of his heart gradually slowed. He slowly turned his head to see Sam's worried but caring eyes looking into his, her hand still gently resting on his leg. Too many nightmares had taught her not to get too close to him at this time when he didn't quite distinguish between reality and nightmares. He became violent sometimes. At that moment, he knew that he was indeed safe, that the nightmare was over, and that he had someone by his side who would always be there to bring him back from the darkest of dreams.

With a shaky sigh, Jack reached out and clasped Sam's hand, holding it tightly as he whispered, "I'm awake, it's okay, I'm sorry."

As Jack reassured Sam that he was awake and wouldn't be violent, she moved closer to him, her arms enveloping him in a comforting embrace. She held him tight, feeling his tension gradually melt away as he held onto her as well. It was a ritual they had grown accustomed to over the years, one born from the shared experiences of their time on SG-1 and the close quarters of their shared tent during off-world missions. Even if no one knew at that time. They had to keep that part only to themselves.

With a tenderness that came from a deep understanding of each other's vulnerabilities, Sam gently asked, "Do you want to talk about the nightmare, Jack?"

He hesitated for a moment, as he always did when she asked this question. It had become their routine, the unspoken acknowledgment of his recurring nightmares. But just as he had done many times before, Jack shook his head, signaling his reluctance to delve into the painful memories that haunted his sleep. He was a man of few words when it came to his inner demons, and even though they had shared so much, some wounds were still too raw to expose.

Sam respected his decision, as she always did. She knew that Jack had been through a great deal during his time in the Middle East, and she understood that some experiences were too painful to revisit, even with the person he loved most in the world.

Their shared silence spoke volumes, and in that moment, their connection was unspoken but profound. They had weathered many storms together, both on Earth and across the galaxy, and this was just another challenge they now faced as a couple.

Lying together in their bed, Jack and Sam held each other close, finding solace in the warmth of their embrace. The faint glow of the bedside lamp illuminated their faces, casting a gentle light on their features. Jack's expression softened as he looked into Sam's eyes, silent gratitude for her unwavering support.

Sam, in turn, brushed her fingers through his hair and kissed his forehead, offering her love and understanding without words. It was a love that transcended the nightmares and the scars of their pasts, a love that had grown stronger with each passing year.

In those quiet moments, as they lay together in the darkness, Jack and Sam found a sense of peace and security in each other's arms, like it always happened. She knew what he had been through in Iraq, her curiosity being greater than her common sense as an officer as his 2IC at SG-1. She had hacked his files and found out every mission and every torture he had suffered, everything that was marked as classified in his file. She had never told him that and probably never would. But she knew and she would always be there for him when he needed her.

Strangely the nightmares that had been fewer as their time together at SG-1 came to an end, started to increase as soon as they married. Sam was still trying to work on that as she knew he was probably doing the same thing. Although they didn't speak about that. They didn't speak about a lot of things. It was true that they had been married for over just a year and were still adjusting but neither of them was a big fan of long, deep personal talks. They just went along with things. Like the nightmares.

"You know you can always talk with me, Jack. About everything", she said after a while. Trying to reverse their weird logic of not confronting their problems.

Jack continued to caress her hair in silence. He was still shaken by the visions of her bleeding in his arms during the nightmare.

"I know", he simply said.

"And that I love you no matter what", she said, kissing his neck slowly.

He held her even tighter, his hands moving to her hips, caressing them with his knowing fingers. She knew what that meant. After he had these powerful nightmares, Jack needed reassurance. Physical reassurance. That always meant sex. He needed her and her contact. Sam started to kiss him.

"I'm here, Jack", she said next to his ear.

He held her head and kissed her gently, his lips almost trembling. She let him take his time, he needed his control back and she was more than happy to give him that. Slowly she took his drenched t-shirt and tossed it to the floor. His damp chest was still rising too fast for her liking so she slowly started to kiss it, trying to calm him down.

"Relax, honey, everything is okay", she said between kisses.

Jack let her mouth explore his chest while his hands were busy with her body. The images of the nightmare were starting to fade away as the wonderful sensations happening on their bed started to replace them.

"I love you so much", he said, holding her chin and making her look at him.

"I know", she said with a smile.

Jack pulled her to him and kissed her passionately, rolling them on the bed. And then he spent the rest of the night actively showing her how much he meant that. Until they were too exhausted to move and fell asleep in each other's arms.