Sam only managed to get a few of hours of sleep before she found herself tossing and turning. "I do care about you; nothing has changed there." That's what he had said. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw his dark eyes staring back at her, and her mind replayed the moment in a loop. Instantly, she felt herself getting pulled back into a memory from years ago, when they had been separated by a force field on a ship. The desperation and hopelessness she felt as she begged him to leave, and the look on his face when he refused. His expression fierce, intense…scared even.

Her eyes opened and she felt her heart pounding as the raw emotion from the memory came flooding back. Suddenly feeling hot, she threw the covers off of her and stared at the ceiling. That was the first moment she realized that she cared about him… Wait, how had he phrased it? Oh yeah…more than she should. After their feelings were betrayed by the Za'tarc detector, they had decided to ignore the whole thing; act like it never happened, so they could keep the team together. That was her choice wasn't it? She couldn't remember exactly. She only remembered that after that, things had changed between them.

The fantasies about something more developing with him slowly faded away. He kept things light between them; teasing and making her laugh. Their relationship becoming more of a harmless flirtation than anything else. The more time that passed, the more she chalked her feelings for him up to infatuation, and tried to move on. After all, he was consistently telling her to get a life. And when he seemed to encourage her relationship with Pete, it was obvious to her that he didn't think of her as anything more than a close friend, and a solid SIC.

But last night, everything changed. Closing her eyes again, she pulled herself back into the moment when he was wrapping her hand. Remembering how he leaned into her touch as she caressed his face. How his soft lips pressed against her skin...his tongue against her wrist. She felt a flush of heat. God, his tongue. Damn he had felt good. She may have thought about him sexually here and there in the past, but now she had a reference to fuel it. She bit her lip as she thought of how gentle he had been, how he had breathed her in while he hugged her goodbye.

Suddenly her mind flashed two things back to back, linking them together. The inflection of his voice yelling "no" in front of the force field, and his voice last night asking her to forgive him as he embraced her from behind. Different volume, but the same tone, the same desperation as he breathed against her neck and called her Sam.

Had his light flirtation over the years simply been an act of self-preservation?

She groaned, berating herself. It doesn't matter how you feel about each other, he's still your CO Sam. She glanced at her clock, 0600hrs.

How was she going to be able to look at him again without feeling that longing to be in his arms, that warmth and ache to share his bed? How was she supposed to ignore loving him? Shit. Shit. Shit. She threw her legs over the side of the bed and headed into the bathroom. She needed to get out of there. Maybe she'd go for a run. No, she was too tired for that. A ride…yes, that's what she needed.

She drank some coffee to chase the cobwebs away and took a quick shower before putting on her leathers. Stopping inside the door to her garage, she pulled out her cellphone and looked at it. He said he would call but he didn't give a time. It was 07000hrs, there's no way he would call this early; she'd be back in an hour…tops. She reminded herself to set up a voicemail later for her new phone and tossed it up on the toolbox. Where she was going, the cell reception would be spotty at best. She grabbed her gloves from her jacket pocket, realizing quickly that they were going to be too tight to allow for the newly applied dressing. So she took off the gauze and winced as she gingerly gloved her swollen hand. She flexed it and grimaced through the pain, deciding quickly that it wasn't going to be enough to stop her.

As she strapped up her helmet, she eyed up her options, already knowing which one she was going to choose. It would be her new toy, the Ducati. She had just gotten it, and hadn't had to chance to really open her up since she had made the engine modifications. Hopping on it, she heeled the kickstand out of the way and started it up, smiling wide when she felt it come to life like thunder underneath her. She stuck her hand in her jacket pocket and hit the garage opener before giving the throttle another twist. Inside her helmet she closed her eyes at the sensation between her thighs. Soon the sensation would numb, but right now, the vibration felt amazing. Opening her eyes, she put the bike in first gear and headed out.

Once she had made her way through town and got to Highway 82, it was still early enough that the traffic was minimal. It wasn't long until she came up on her destination. There it was, Independence Pass. It was at the top of her list of favorite routes, and one of the highest elevation paved roads in the state. There were scenic overlooks that highlighted the beautiful views of Mount Elbert and it had switchbacks that hooked precariously close to the steep ledges. It was the closest thing she had to flying.

Still pretty chilly out, she crouched down against the engine for some warmth as she hit the throttle hard. She felt everything in her mind clear as she concentrated on the road in front of her; calculating the maximum speed the bike would allow as she leaned into each curve. Her heart raced as she took more risk, leaning a little harder, going a little faster…it was exhilarating. Before she knew it, she saw signs for the summit and slowed down, angling into a parking spot. She got off and stretched, smirking as she looked at her watch… so much for an hour. It was now 0800hrs and depending on traffic, she figured she could still get back to her place by 0930hrs at the latest. Her mind wandered back to her Colonel, wishing she had brought her cell phone anyway, just in case it did manage to get a signal. Well, she'd call him as soon as she got back. By now he was probably busy inside the mountain, up to his ears in paperwork as usual. She headed for the stack of flat rocks she usually frequented when she made trip up there, and sat down. It gave her a breathtaking view of Mount Elbert, and as soon as she felt herself getting comfortable, her thoughts slowly drifted back to him as she watched the sun reflect off of the beautiful landscape.

Just as planned, Sam was back on the road by 0830hrs. Traffic had picked up a bit, forcing her to slow down, but she would've had to anyway coming down on such a steep descent. She was less than halfway down when it happened.

She watched as an impatient driver on the other side of road decided to pass. They obviously didn't see her. Sam's stomach clenched as she saw the oncoming vehicle and downshifted fast, leaning hard to the right, and applying the brakes as she felt the air from the near miss breeze against her leg. She tried her best to pull up from the severe lean, but knew from experience she had passed the point of correction. Bracing herself for the impact, she waited until right before the bike made contact with the ground to push off, hoping to get some separation and avoid trapping her leg underneath the nearly four-hundred-pound weight. Landing on her right side, the hard impact knocked the wind out of her as she slid on the asphalt. Looking up, a jolt of fear coursed through her as she and her bike went careening toward the edge of the steep cliff.

Jack opened his eyes and his jaw clenched as he snapped the cell phone shut, "Fuck." His mind raced and his stomach turned as the concern for her hit full force. Best case scenario, she was curled up in bed and ignoring his call. And even though that wouldn't be good news for him, he hoped that's all it was. Worse case, she had gone back to drinking after he left. The memory of seeing the blood dripping from her hand as she pulled it out of the sink flashed through his mind and he swallowed hard. He couldn't explain it…he just had a bad feeling. Hands shaking, he pocketed his cell phone, grabbed his wallet and keys from the coffee table, and ran out of the house.

Fifteen minutes later, he was pulling up fast at her house, noticing immediately that her car was still there. Jogging to her door, he stopped. If she was just ignoring his calls, barging in probably wouldn't be his best option. He rang the doorbell. Listening for any signs of life as he shuffled his feet impatiently. He rang again. "Come on," he muttered. Ok that's it, she could be mad at him later. He took out his key and let himself in. Stillness met him on the other side of the door. He glanced around quickly, listening, and smelled a hint of coffee. She'd been up, and what, maybe laid back down? "Carter?"

He walked back to her bedroom slowly, being mindful of his steps and glanced in…finding her bed empty. She's gone? But her car. He took out his cell phone and dialed. After a couple of seconds, he heard a faint ringing and followed the sound to the interior garage door, opening it. Spotting her cell phone on the toolbox, he looked around. Her new bike was gone. He let out a pent up breath and snapped his phone shut. Okay, so she just took a ride to get some fresh air…maybe let off some steam. When he noticed the ball of gauze he frowned. Her hand had to be hurting and riding with it would only aggravate the injury. He would have to get on her about that later.

His phone rang in his hand and he frowned at it before answering. It was never a good sign getting a call when he was on leave. He had decided to put in a last-minute day after Hammond told him about Carter's reaction to the background check.

He flipped it open, "O'Neill."

Walter's voice piped through, "Sorry Colonel, I didn't know you were on leave sir…and"

"What is it Walter?" Jack cut him off impatiently.

Walter stuttered, "Umm, its Major Carter sir, she was in an accident and…"

"Where," Jack barked, his voice loud but strained as he felt his stomach drop.

"She's up on Independence Pass sir …."

Jack snapped his cell phone shut; his heart in his throat. Oh God. He ground his teeth together to keep himself from screaming as he turned on his heel and ran to his truck.