Jack offered her his hand and she eagerly took it. He helped her to her feet and their eyes locked. They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity, staring at each other and still holding each other's hand. Jack gently caressed the palm of her hand with his thumb. Neither of them moved, afraid to break the moment. The phone rang and the spell was broken.
"O'Neill."
"Colonel, it's Hammond. Are you doing okay in there?"
"Yes Sir, we're fine. We just..."
"Colonel, what's wrong?"
"It just got dark in here, for crying out loud!"
"Um...we'll try to fix it."
"Thank you, Sir."
Jack hung up and turned around. Sam sat against the opposite wall, knees against her chest, but he couldn't see her. It was too dark.
"You still okay, Carter?"
"I'm fine, Sir. I hate elevator, that's all."
"Um, where are you?"
"Here, Sir."
"Keep talking, Carter, I'll try to find you."
"What do you want me to say? Okay...Um... I'm the smartest person in the US Air Force, I'm the strongest one..."
"You're right about that."
She slightly jumped when she felt him whispering into her ear.
"Sir, you're here."
"Yeah Carter, I'm still here. And there's no place I'd rather be."
She was happy the lights were out, cause she was sure she was turning as red as a tomato. She didn't even know what to reply to that outburst of honesty. It came rather unexpected. Sam didn't know if he really meant it or if he was just kidding.
"Have you gone silent on me, Sam?"
Uh oh, he called her Sam. That was not good. She felt stupid about it, but when he called her that, he left her speechless.
"Sam, are you okay?"
"Yeah... I just..."
"You just what?"
"Never mind, Sir."
Jack turned his head and tried to gauge her reaction, but it was not easy in the dark. Suddenly, the emergency lights switched on and she caught him staring at her.
"Sir?"
"Sam?"
"You're staring."
"Yes I am. But you're worth it."
Sam was surprised by so much honesty and she still wasn't prepared for it, even if she saw that one coming. She felt like being caught in a whirlwind of emotions and feelings. It was too much, too soon, too sudden. Before she knew it, tears were trickling down her face. Her intense feelings had caught her off guard. Years of hiding and repressing how she felt about her CO were literally the last drop. Jack was surprised to see his favourite cry and his heart wrenched at seeing her like that. He did the only thing that came to mind and pulled her against him. But as soon as he touched her, she pulled away.
"Please don't, Sir. I can't take it anymore."
"I'm sorry, Sam, I didn't mean to..."
"I know, but I can't handle it anymore. I can't hide it anymore."
"Sam...I..."
He stared intensely at her beautiful, watery face and laid his hand on her cheek. At first, she stirred a little, but soon she leaned into his touch. He wiped her tears away with his thumb.
"Sam, I know how you feel. I know it's hard. You're feeling miserable and alone. You want something so much, but you can't have it. It seems unfair and cruel and it's slowly killing you inside."
He sighed deeply and looked her straight in the eyes, his heart in his eyes.
"I feel the same, Sam."
The choice was up to her now. She could either make him or break him."
"What did you say, Sir?"
"You heard me, Sam. Not being with you is tearing me apart. I want to be able to hold you; I want to comfort you when you're sad. And mostly, I just want to be with you. I want to talk to you, I want to laugh with you, and I want to cry with you. And as much as I want all that, I can't have it. You're the only person that keeps me sane and it's killing me inside that I can't be with you. I need you, Sam."
Sam stared at him, her mouth wide open. She noticed he was fighting back tears, a battle he could not win. She kept staring at him, before she laid her head on his shoulder. Her turned and moved a little and she felt his arm encircling her waist. His hand came to rest on her stomach. She took his hand in hers and intertwined their fingers.
"This brings back some nice memories, doesn't it?"
"It does, Sir. What are we gonna do now?"
"I don't know, Carter. I really don't know. I can't speak for you, but I feel like I can't go back. And I can't go forward either. I feel like I'm stuck."
"Yes we are. Going in little circles, but not moving on."
"We have to stop this, Sam. It's killing us and we can't go on living like that."
"I know, Sir."
"But first, I'd like it if you'd call me Jack when we're alone or off duty. And secondly, we'll talk to Hammond about it."
Jack paused and looked at Sam.
"I think that's why we have to go and see him anyway. He suspects something."
"But we didn't do anything wrong."
"Makes you wish we did huh, Sam?"
"If you say so, Si..."
Sam was stopped in mid sentence by Jack's finger on her lips.
"The name is Jack. Use it."
"Yes, Sir."
"Please, do it. Or do I have to make it an order?"
"No, Si... Jack."
"I like it much better."
Jack grinned at her and lightly touched her face. He squeezed her hand and pulled her to her feet. He laid his hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes.
"I promise you we'll find a way to be together, Sam. And if not, I can always resign."
"You can't do that. Nothing is worth resigning for."
"Yes Sam, you are more than worth it."
She gave him a sly smile and his forehead came to rest against her, staring intently into her eyes.
SECURITY ROOM, SAME TIME
General Hammond looked at Doctor Fraiser, a huge grin on his face.
"General, I think we can call Operation Blue Lagoon a success."
"Yes, Doctor, we can. Question is, are they gonna act upon their feelings?"
"I don't know, Sir. I guess it all depends on what you're going to say to them. And if they can't be together, it's gonna tear them apart."
"Oh, I exactly know what I'm gonna say to them. I thought it over for quite some time."
"And?"
"I think they're gonna like what I'm gonna say."
"I hope so, Sir. They deserve to be happy. Do you think we can stop our little charade now?"
"Yeah, you can call Sergeant Michaels and tell him to restart the elevator."
"Good General."
Hammond turned around and left the security room, before casting once last glance at the security cameras and smiling to him.
THE ELEVATOR
They were sitting on the floor again, shoulder against shoulder. They were not talking, just sitting in a comfortable silence. Sam had her head on his shoulder, her right hand in his left, their finger intertwined. Both were lost in their own thoughts. Sam was staring into space and Jack had a small smile playing around his lips. They both jumped to their feet when the elevator started shuddering and restarted. They looked at each other and smiled. Once the elevator halted at the infirmary level they got out and went to Doctor Fraisier.
GENERAL HAMMOND'S OFFICE, 30 MINUTES LATER
General Hammond had just hung up the phone when he was startled by a soft knock on the door.
"Come in."
The door opened and Colonel O'Neill, closely followed by Major Samantha Carter came in. Jack looked very confident, but his 2IC on the other hand seemed slightly nervous.
"Take a seat."
"Thank you, Sir."
"How's the shoulder doing, Major?"
"Much better, thank you Sir. Doctor Fraisier gave me a shot against the pain and it helped. I'll be sore for a couple of days though."
"Good. And how's your brain doing, Colonel?"
General Hammond turned his head to look at Jack, who was playing with a pencil. He felt the General's eyes on him and laid the pencil on the desk, throwing a whole pile of files on the floor in the process.
"Colonel, could you please be careful? That's very important information."
"Sorry, General. What did you ask?"
Jack kneeled down and started picking up the files. He kneeled down, out of sight of General Hammond. He continued picking up the files, ignoring the General's annoyed coughs and sighs.
"Colonel, I'm talking to you."
"Sorry, Sir."
Jack got up and his head came hard in contact with the General's desk.
"Ouch, that must hurt."
"Yes it did, Sir. Sorry about that."
"Maybe it'll get you your brains back."
"Excuse me?"
"I assume you both know why you're here?"
"I guess so, Sir."
"I wanna talk to you two about your relationship and they way it seems to have evolved."
"Sir, if you think we're having..."
"At ease, Colonel. I know you didn't do anything wrong. But I also know that there's something going on between you and Major Carter that can't be ignored anymore. And I'm sure you also know that if I'm able to see it, anyone else can."
"Yes, Sir."
"But it is also very clear to me that you won't let your personal feelings get in the way of the job you have to do. I know you would do everything in your possession to keep each other out of danger, but that you would never jeopardize the mission at hand. Which is still the most important thing to me. And seeing that you have saved the world more than anyone has, I'll turn a blind eye on."
"Sir, are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"Yes I am Colonel, but try to be discreet. If anyone finds out about this, we'll all be court martial led."
"So, basically, you're putting yourself in danger for us. Why Sir?"
"Because I like you and it's about darn time you two were happy. Everyone is entitled to happiness and I'm not gonna be the one to stand in the way of the happiness of my two best officers."
"Thank you, Sir."
Sam and Jack looked at each other and smiled. They seemed lost in each other's look until the General coughed.
"You're on downtime until Major Carter's neck is better. Dismissed. Enjoy your time."
They saluted General Hammond, grinned at each other and literally fled the room. Leaving the CO of Cheyenne Mountain with a huge smile on his face.
They were waiting for the elevator to arrive, both hoping it would break down again. The door chimed and they got in, relieved to be alone. The door closed and Jack pulled Sam close to him, enjoying the scent of her hair. His arms encircled her waist and she leaned into him. She sighed when he was trailing a way of butterfly kisses on her neck.
"Sam, I got to say something to you."
She turned around in his embrace and laid her forehead against him. They looked each other in the eyes, sparkling sapphire blue eyes mixing with chocolate brown. He got lost in that pool of blue, barely able to speak.
"Major Carter, I'm in love with you."
"I love you too, Sir. More than I've ever held possible."
He put his hands on both sides of her face, his mouth coming closer and closer. He claimed her lips in a heartbreaking kiss that set them both on fire. They kissed until the elevator came to a halt, putting a safe distance between them. They got out and Sam smiled when she felt his hand at the small on her back. This day turned out to be wonderful, better than either of them had dreamed. And it was only the beginning...
The End. Did ya like it? Hate it? Let me know.