As soon as his arms wrapped around her, he wanted to break down. He could feel himself barely holding it together as he tried to convince himself she was okay. She felt so good, so warm… so alive. He breathed in her sweet scent as he felt her arms wrap around him tight. And when she said she was okay, relief washed over him and it was as if he remembered how to breathe again. Feeling her this close, with no space between them, anchored him in a way nothing else could. Suddenly he felt her soft lips on his neck and froze. Was he hallucinating? But when he pulled back and saw the look in her eyes, he knew it was for real. The next moment she was pressing her lips against his, slow and gentle. He had dreamt about this moment for years; the moment when she would let him know that it was okay to cross that line.

Sam pressed her lips against his gently, marveling at how unbelievably soft they were. She kept her eyes open at first, gauging his reaction; but when his eyes slipped closed, so did hers. She felt him lean into her, his lips parting…and then his hands were cradling her face as he pulled away. When she opened her eyes, his eyebrows were furrowed and his breathing quickened as he searched her eyes for any signs of apprehension, finding none. His response was immediate…

With a deep ragged inhale, his mouth captured hers hard with a moan of relief.

Sam whimpered, feeling his desire for her coursing through her body as his lips glided possessively over hers. Warmth shot to her core as all of her buried feelings for him were pulled to the surface. Her gloved hands gripped his shirt, and pulled him impossibly closer as her tongue snuck through his parted lips and swept greedily over his. He groaned as she deepened the kiss, and captured her tongue with his lips, sucking on it gently. When he released it, she moaned and melted into him. Their tongues danced languidly as their kisses shifted from passionate to sensual. When their lips began gliding again, it was slower than before; their tongues touching like periods at the end of a sentence. After some tender kisses, they finally pulled apart to catch their breath; their bodies buzzing from the excitement.

She heard him mutter, "Damn," under his breath and smiled as they opened their eyes. Damn was right...

Neither one of them wanted to let go, their faces remaining inches apart. Her hands roamed his chest as his fingertips grazed down her neck, shoulders, and back. Their movements were intimate, as if they'd doing it for years…and maybe they'd had to a certain extent.

She looked down and flushed as it dawned on her, embarrassed she hadn't seen it sooner, "You've been waiting for me this whole time?"

He swept a finger under her chin, encouraging her to look up. When she met his eyes, he gave her a gentle smile, "I needed you to be sure, and believe me," he emphasized, "you were worth the wait."

She smiled softly but shook her head slowly in disbelief, "But I thought…you weren't interested anymore."

With his eyebrows raised and pulled together, and wearing a small smirk, he looked at her like she'd lost her mind. Putting a hand on the side of her neck, he tilted his head and leaned in, "Carter…" he breathed softly, grazing her lips with his, "I've never stopped wanting you." When he captured her lips again, she moaned, pulling his bottom lip into her mouth and licking it gently before letting it go.

He groaned and pulled away grudgingly, licking his lip to taste her again, "You know, as much as I would love to keep this going…we really need to get you back to the base to get checked out."

She dropped her head against his shoulder and groaned in disappointment. "I really just need a hot bath," she argued.

"Carter," she looked up and saw his lop-sided grin, "I'll carry you if I have to."

She cocked an eyebrow and smiled, "Hmm…tempting…"

He chuckled and gave her a hug, kissing her neck before pulling away, "Damn, it's going to be hard to keep my hands off of you. Then again, it always has been."

They heard a loud beeping and turned to see a tow truck backing onto the shoulder. "Perfect timing. Come on, let me get you into the truck, I'll chat with the driver, then we can head to the base."

She put her arms around his neck, "And after that?"

He smiled softly, "I guess we have some things to work out."

She nodded and leaned up to get one more kiss before he put an arm around her for extra support, and walked her to the truck.

Back at the SGC

"Come on Janet I'm fine…really," Sam pleaded, hoping she wouldn't make her stay the night on base.

"How's the patient doc?" Jack came strolling in and Janet rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, she has two very badly bruised ribs and heavy bruising down the side of her leg. Apparently, she cut her hand yesterday and decided to ride with it anyway," she folded her arms, making her disappointment obvious, "and it was so swollen, we had to cut the glove off to treat it."

Jack stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels, doing his best to keep a straight face, "So, not good then?"

Sam glared at him and then dropped it quickly when Janet looked her way, "Janet, I promise I'll take it easy when I go home."

Janet pursed her lips, which was usually a sign she was about to cave, "Do you have someone that will check on you?"

Jack's eyebrows raised and he cleared his throat, "I have a few days off, I'll check on her Doc."

Janet looked back and forth between the two, "Alright Colonel, I'll leave her in your hands."

Sam went into a coughing fit trying to cover a laugh, which ended in a grimace from her rib pain.

Janet was too busy frowning at Sam to see Jack flash a boyish smile and wag his eyebrows.

It wasn't long until Sam was patched up and they were on the way back to her place.

"So, how're you really feeling?" Jack reached over and opened his hand so she could lay her bandaged one on top.

She gave him a small smile, "I've been worse sir." She winced, "sorry."

He shrugged, "It's going to a tough for me too."

She looked over at him, "Well, no one else calls me Carter, so I've always kind of liked it actually."

His eyebrow raised, "Really? Well, the dirty old man part of me doesn't mind the 'sir', but Jack might be the way to go while we're in public."

Biting her low lip, "Dirty huh? Hmm, I'll have to keep that in mind," she teased.

He gave her a dark steamy look that made her stomach flip flop as they parked in front of her house.

"Ah! Don't you move," he warned teasingly as he got out and came around to help her. Sam smirked and waited to allow him to help her down from the cab. His strong arms wrapped under hers, and she purposefully slid her body against his as she went gently to the ground. She saw his eyes narrow as he muttered, "Careful Major…"

Directly against him, she tilted her head into his neck and breathed in his aftershave and natural musky scent. An instant flash of heat made her wonder, hurt or not, how long she'd be able to hold out. Not long, she thought with a smile as she looked back at him, "Yes sir," she purred.

He made a lusty noise in the back of his throat as he shifted around to help her inside. He definitely had way more control than she did, and years of practice apparently.

When they got to the front door, Jack took out his key and stuck it in the lock. He frowned and his chest tightened. Something was wrong.

The look on his face made Sam reach instinctively for her thigh. Shit, her gun was in the safe.

His voice was low as he stepped in front of her protectively and leaned into her ear, "The door's unlocked, and even in my hurry to get to you, I know I locked it. Stay here." He turned and withdrew his handgun from the holster at the back of his waistband, nicked off the safety, and slowly turned the handle.