Sam's place - 1998
"Sir?" Sam asked, surprised, as she approached the door.
Cassie was in Washington, staying with her grandfather on a long-planned trip. Still, Sam had to admit she would have given anything to hold her daughter close after the mission. Once again, they had come too close to the end, and she missed Cassie's comforting presence more than ever.
Sam had just returned from an evening walk with Colonel and certainly hadn't expected to find another Colonel on her porch.
"Sam," Jack murmured, turning to face her, startled to see her approaching from behind as he had just rung the bell. "We need to talk."
Bending down to unclip the leash from her dog, who immediately jumped on Jack, Sam stayed quiet and walked past him to unlock the door. "About what, Sir?" she finally asked, opting to play innocent rather than jump straight into a confrontation.
"You know exactly about what," Jack replied, stepping inside without waiting for an invitation.
She closed the door behind them, Colonel happily trotting inside before settling into his basket, oblivious to the brewing storm. Jack stood rooted in place, arms crossed, his intense gaze fixed on her. Sam busied herself by hanging up the leash near the door, trying to maintain composure despite the slight tremor in her hands.
"Well?" she asked, keeping her tone neutral and avoiding his eyes.
Jack took a deep breath, as though searching for the right words. "Why?" he finally asked, his voice low but heavy with a vulnerability he had never shown—not even after losing Charlie.
Sam furrowed her brow slightly. "Why what?"
Jack felt his patience snap, though his voice remained steady—calm, but filled with raw emotion. "Why do you keep hiding behind these damn regulations, Sam? Why throw everything away because the Air Force says it's against the rules? We almost died," he paused for emphasis, «again, » he added dramatically. "And the only thing I could think about was how much I wanted to kiss you one last time before watching Earth get destroyed by those goddamn snakes. So yeah. Why?"
She straightened slowly, her breath catching, stunned by the turn of the conversation. Stunned by how openly he was baring his emotions when she had never been able to read him before—never sure of how he felt. "Because it's the truth," she finally said, her voice quiet but firm. "You know it as well as I do, Jack. We're in the same chain of command. It's against the rules." She exhaled sharply, exhausted by repeating the same arguments she'd given when she returned the ring.
"And what if I wasn't in the same chain of command?" he threw at her, stepping closer, his gaze locked on hers. "Huh? If I had stayed retired, would that change anything?" He paused. "If I'd decided never to come back to the SGC after Abydos, where would we be now?"
Sam's eyes flashed with anger. "We'd be in the same place, Jack. Need I remind you that you're the one who disappeared without a word of explanation?"
She moved past him into the living room, purposefully ignoring him as she walked over to close the curtains. Jack clenched his jaw, his mind flickering back to that damn General West who'd implied he was too old for her and would only ruin her life. He dropped his gaze to the floor, exhaling audibly.
Sam turned back toward him, opening her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Jack lifted his head and met her gaze with an intensity that froze her in place. She averted her eyes, seeking refuge in the kitchen after finishing in the living room. "It's not that simple," she whispered, running a hand over her face.
Jack followed her, his anger simmering just below the surface. "It's never simple with us, Sam. But don't try to tell me it's just about the Air Force. I don't believe you. I already made the mistake for both of us."
She spun around abruptly. "What do you want to hear, Jack?" she asked, her voice rising. "That I'm terrified? That the idea of losing everything is already breaking me, even though it hasn't even happened yet?" Her voice cracked. "I already lost you once, without an explanation. Then you never tried to stop me when I had to leave Ireland… Then you almost die on me..." Her gaze bore into him, searching for answers in his face.
Jack stood frozen, his breath uneven. "You're afraid of losing me, Sam? Because right now, that's exactly what you're doing." He was being selfish. Again. Asking her to act when he had run away because of West. But years had passed, and yet here they were, stuck in the same place.
Sam shook her head, anger flaring. "You don't get it. It's not just about you, Jack. There's Cassie now. What do I do if she loses you too? If you realize you don't want this life—with me, with her?"
Jack stepped back as if she had struck him. His hands clenched into fists as he turned and headed back into the living room. "You think I don't want you? Don't want Cassie? You think I haven't asked myself those questions a thousand times already?"
She closed her eyes, swallowing back the tears threatening to spill. "I don't know what you want, Jack. You probably just want to get laid, like always."
Jack stopped abruptly, spinning around to face her. "What the hell are you even talking about?" he demanded, his brow furrowed.
Sam hesitated for a moment, as if searching for the right words, then lifted her chin defiantly. "I'm talking about reality, Jack. Our reality, where you and I can't work. We sleep together when the opportunity arises, but we both know it will never be anything more."
He seemed caught off guard by her words, his expression darkening. His arms dropped to his sides, as if the weight of the conversation had become too much to bear.
"Sam," he murmured, shaking his head. "Did you hit your head that hard on the ship? Have you lost your mind?"
Sam crossed her arms, holding herself as though she needed protection. "I wonder every day if I'm crazy, yes. Crazy for believing there could be a happy ending for you and me."
"Stop that, right now," Jack said, his voice tight.
But she continued, her gaze fixed on him, defiant. "Crazy for believing you'd stop me at the airport when we had to come back."
"Sam…" His voice was barely a whisper, but she ignored him.
"Crazy for thinking I loved you more than I've ever loved anyone, but that it wasn't enough for you…"
"Carter!" Jack's voice cracked like a whip, his hand lifting as if to halt her, his gaze burning. "Stop."
Sam fell silent, her lips pressing shut as if she'd been struck. The silence that followed was so heavy it felt almost suffocating. Her breaths came quick and shallow, her chest rising and falling with the force of her anger and pain. It was the only sound in the room.
Jack took a step toward her, then hesitated, uncertainty flickering in his eyes. "You don't get it," he finally said, his voice softer now but trembling with emotion. "It's not you who's scared here."
Her brow furrowed in surprise. "Excuse me?"
He shook his head, frustrated. "Oh for crying out loud! I'm scared, okay? I'm scared of screwing everything up. Scared of losing you. Scared that… that I'll be too much, or not enough."
She opened her mouth to respond, but he held up a hand, stopping her. "And you know what? It pisses me off. It pisses me off because you're hiding behind excuses. Behind the regs. Behind Cassie. Behind me. But never yourself, Sam. You never say what you really want. So say it. What do you want? Because we both know you wouldn't have wanted me to stop you at the airport, and we both know you'd choose your career over everything."
She took a step back, her breathing quickening again. Her thoughts were a whirlwind, but she couldn't form a response. Because she knew he was right. She was hiding. She'd been hiding for years. She'd always been good at running.
But Jack moved closer, closing the space between them, and this time, she had nowhere to go. "You want to know why I'm here?" he asked, his eyes boring into hers. "Because I can't pretend anymore. Not after everything we've been through. So if you want to push me away, do it. But do it honestly. Don't throw bullshit excuses at me."
Sam clenched her fists, tears burning in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "Do you think this is easy for me? That I can just... open my heart and hope it won't destroy me? You know my story, Jack. I've worked hard for my career because at least it won't hurt me."
"Well.. Maybe that's exactly what you should do—open your heart," he replied, his voice rough. "Because right now, Sam… you're breaking mine."
She inhaled sharply, her breath uneven, and everything she had been holding back exploded in a single phrase. "I hate you."
Jack gave her a sad smile, stepping closer. "No, you don't."
"I do. I hate you," she repeated, but her voice was trembling. "I hate you for making me feel all of this. For making me hope."
"Then show me," he whispered, his breath brushing her face. "Show me how much you hate me."
The silence shattered. She lunged toward him, grabbing his shirt as if to push him away, but instead, she pulled him violently toward her. Their lips met in a brutal clash, filled with anger, frustration, and a desperate need. It was a kiss without compromise, without restraint, where all the emotions they couldn't put into words poured out.
Jack responded with the same intensity, his hands tangling in her hair, holding her to him as if he feared she might vanish. The world seemed to disappear around them, leaving only the heat of their embrace, the taste of their fury entwined with a passion they could no longer deny.
But they didn't stop there. Jack pivoted them and pressed Sam against the wall, capturing her mouth again as his hands slid under her top, his fingers brushing over the soft skin of her stomach.
"This means everything," he whispered against her lips, the memory of their first time in that rundown motel flooding his mind. The words were the exact opposite of what he'd said to her back then.
"I know," Sam replied with a smile, echoing the same response she had given that day as her hands slipped under his shirt.
"My heart isn't made of steel," he added as he pulled her top off, capturing her lips once more. If someone had told him back in 1992 that this same woman would become such a vital part of his life, he wouldn't have believed it.
"I know," she moaned again, burying her face in his neck, recalling how certain she had been after that first time that she would never see him again. So much had changed since then.
His fingers trailed down her skin, unbuttoning her pants, which he yanked down before sliding his hand to her core. Jack couldn't suppress a groan as he felt how wet she was, brushing her clit with his fingers as he pushed aside her panties. "I'm forty-six," he groaned, pressing his erection against her. Six years had passed since their first time, but his desire for her was as intense as ever.
Sam worked on his pants, pushing him towards the bedroom. "Sir," she began.
Jack paused, a mischievous smile spreading across his lips before he kissed her slowly. "Keep the sir," he teased as they shed the last of their clothes.
"Sir," she moaned against him as they finally stood naked together. "Tell me something I don't know," she said, repeating the same words she'd spoken years earlier.
"Later," he growled, pushing her onto the bed.
Sam fell back onto the mattress, and he was quick to follow, climbing over her and settling above her. They locked eyes for a moment, lost in each other's gaze, before Jack began trailing slow kisses down her body. He kissed her collarbone, moved down to her breasts, taking his time to kiss and lick each in turn, then continued down to trace the scar on her stomach with his lips. A smile tugged at his mouth as he remembered how fiercely she had fought to keep him—her alpha male. He kept moving, inching lower, until he found himself between her thighs.
Lifting her head, breathless, Sam watched him intently as he flashed her a mischievous smile before his tongue flicked out to taste her. She let her head fall back onto the mattress with a moan of pleasure, her fingers instinctively tangling in the salt-and-pepper strands of his hair. "Jack," she moaned, not sure whether she was encouraging him to continue or begging him to stop as he devoured her.
He looked up, smiling, as he slid two fingers inside her. "Already forgetting the 'Sir'?" he teased, barely stifling a groan at how tight she felt around his fingers.
"Shut the fuck up," Sam gasped, pulling at him to bring him closer.
"Why don't you make me?" he offered, crawling back up her body, a shiver running through him at the sound of her cursing—so unlike her usual self-control.
Sam used her legs to flip them, straddling him in one fluid motion. Wasting no time, she stroked him a few times before aligning him with her and sinking down onto him. "Oh, fuck," she moaned, feeling him finally fill her.
Jack groaned, rolling them over again so he was on top. In their haste, they slid off the bed, but it didn't slow them down. Sam simply wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, pulling him deeper inside her. She arched against him, her nails digging into the skin of his shoulder blades as a deep moan escaped her lips. Rarely had it ever been this wild between them.
Abruptly, he pulled out and shifted back, grabbing her by the hips to turn her over. Without hesitation, she braced her elbows on the mattress and arched her back dramatically until he thrust back into her, drawing simultaneous moans from them both.
"You're mine," he growled against her cheek, sinking his teeth into her shoulder.
"Jack," she moaned, arching her back even more, to the point where she wondered if her position was even humanly possible.
"You're," he repeated, punctuating each word with a powerful thrust of his hips, "mine."
Sam felt the pleasure build and consume her as he bit down on her shoulder again. She suddenly straightened, pressing the back of her head against his shoulder. "Jack," she repeated, unable to say anything else as her orgasm overtook her body and brain.
Jack pulled out and ordered her to get back on the mattress. As much as he was still brimming with desire, his knees no longer had the resilience of his younger years. He climbed on top of her, entering her again as he lifted one of her legs against his chest to change the angle. "Say it," he growled against her lips.
Still catching her breath, Sam opened her eyes and locked them with his. Still riding the waves of her orgasm, she placed a hand on his cheek, gently caressing his skin. "I'm yours," she finally whispered.
That was all Jack needed to finally lose himself completely. He spilled into her in powerful bursts, his release overwhelming him as he captured her lips in a kiss so deep he saw stars from the lack of air. "I love you," he growled against her mouth, feeling tears streaming down their faces but unsure if they were hers or his. "I fucking love you," he repeated, sliding his arms under her to pull her into an embrace so tight it left them both breathless once again.
A few moments later, as they began to catch their breath, Jack pulled a corner of the sheet over them to cover Sam's shivering body and drew her into his arms. He stayed silent for a moment, seeming to gather his thoughts.
"You wanted me to tell you something you don't know?" he finally asked.
Sam slowly lifted her head, resting her chin on his chest with one hand pressed against him. "Mhm?"
"The President felt indebted to Daniel and gave him a chance to ask for anything he wanted, as a favor," Jack began explaining, gently tucking stray blonde strands behind her ear, using the excuse to trace her face lightly with the tip of his fingers.
Sam raised an eyebrow in such a serious manner that if they weren't both naked and still breathless, Jack might have laughed and compared her to Teal'c. "Did he ask for an intergalactic treaty protecting archaeological sites?" she asked, suspicious.
Jack's fingers moved from her hair to trace the outline of her face with his index finger. He outlined her eyebrows, followed the bridge of her nose, brushed her lips softly, and then cupped her cheek with his whole hand. "Space Monkey asked the President of the United States to grant us permission to pursue a personal relationship while remaining in the same chain of command," he finally whispered.
She froze, her breath catching as she processed the enormity of the gift and sacrifice Daniel had just made for them. "That means…" she began.
Jack nodded. "It means you won't have to choose between your career and me. You can have both, Sam."