Jack walked into his new office for the first time as commander of the SGC and took a seat at the desk he sat on the other side of for years. There was a mountain of paperwork staring back at him, which made him question what the hell he was doing here. Still, he sucked it up and grabbed the first file. A smile came to his face for a moment when he thought about what was waiting for him after work, and that helped to lift his mood.

The past week at the cabin he had been happier than he'd been in many years. Maya was the sweetheart she always was, but as she had grown more comfortable with him over the months, he found that she had quite the mouth on her. That didn't bother him, he rather liked it, but it would probably make for some interesting arguments at some point down the road. He then chuckled at the thought that she called living at the cabin "a life of luxury". He'd survived some damn inhospitable conditions in his life, but 'luxury' wasn't the word that came to mind when he thought about his cabin in the middle of nowhere. Still, to her, it might seem that way. It had been years since she lived in a house. Since he met her, she lived in an underground tunnel and then a burned out warehouse.

Regarding their relationship, because of her past, he was going to let her set the pace. He was just happy she was there, so he had no plans to scare her off by trying something she wasn't ready for, no matter how much he wanted to. Of course, she threw that out the window on the third night in Minnesota when she went downstairs and grabbed Jack by the hand, dragging him from the couch up to bed. He understood it had been a long time for her, almost as long as it had been for him, but she was insatiable, and he certainly had no complaints about that.

He still tried to deny to himself that he loved her, even though he really knew otherwise. But he didn't want to blurt it out and frighten her, and this was too new anyway. She could end up not being able to stand being around him now that he was back home, able to settle back in to his old routine of working too hard and just being an all around prick at times. As much as he tried, though, the denial was difficult. She could read him better than anyone. She really got him. Understood him. He felt a bit bad about that, because it was probably the tragedies she'd suffered that allowed her to relate to him so easily, and he would do anything to take that away from her, even though he knew he couldn't. Apparently, she even shared his dislike of deathbed confessions. When she silenced him when he was dying on the ship, and when she didn't offer any words of her own, she explained that while she didn't know what he was going to say, she didn't need to hear anything or say anything. Jack wholeheartedly agreed. Anyone can say anything to someone when one of them is dying, because they won't be around to see the truth of their words. Words alone never carried much weight with Jack anyway, and that Maya felt the same was only one more thing that endeared her to him.

Oh well, it was time to get work. The Goa'uld didn't go on vacation because Earth was busy with someone else this past year and a half. Opening the file in his hand, he read about a planet with ruins of an old civilization and Ancient text in various places. SG-1 would be perfect. Maybe they would find something useful, and Danny boy would be happier than a pig in shit. It had been rough for him too since the whole mess with the Aelva began, so Jack thought he would give him a treat. He began putting together some missions and getting back into the swing of it, not for one second missing the emptiness that used to accompany him when he would bury himself in his work.

...

Sam walked into the gym to see Teal'c lifting an ungodly amount of weight on the bench press, the bar bending slightly in the middle from the strain of the plates on the ends of it, and talking to Maya in between sets. She just stood there taking in this woman. Her long, wavy brown hair, her sparkling green eyes, her unrestrained smile at Teal'c's subtle humor. Even in BDUs, she looked so feminine. Sam refused to acknowledge why she was so irritated by Maya's presence. If she did indeed spend the week at the cabin with the General, as the rumor mill was saying, well, he deserved to have someone in his life. And apparently Daniel and Teal'c really liked her too, so she was probably a good person. Still, now that things were going to get back to normal, she felt an unexplainable need to put this woman in her place. She stretched out for a few minutes before approaching Maya.

"Good morning, Maya."

"Hi, Sam," Maya answered with guarded eyes.

"Did you find out what you're going to be doing around here yet?"

"Not yet. For now, I'll just fill in if someone is needed to join a team off world. I don't really want to be on a team full time if I don't have to, so Jack is trying to find other options."

"Okay. Well, if you're going to be going off world, you'll want to make sure you keep yourself sharp. I know the General said you can fight, but if you want to spar, I'd be happy to work with you. You know, so you don't get rusty."

Sam watched Maya's shuttered gaze bore into her.

"I appreciate the offer, Sam, but I've been working with Jack for months. I'll be fine."

"Well, if you have to join my team for a mission, I'll want to make sure of that, Maya. I don't want to have any question of your readiness in the field."

Sam cursed herself while facing Maya's silent interrogation again. What was she doing? Just leave the woman alone. She wouldn't be here if the General didn't trust her abilities. She just couldn't help herself. She wanted Maya to know who she was dealing with. Why did she feel this way? She asked the question on the surface and then refused to contemplate the answer.

"Why, do you have something in mind, Sam?" Maya answered with a wicked gleam in her eyes. Sam guessed that Maya was done backing down, which for some reason just stoked her fire even more.

"I came down here to get some work in. I would be happy to spar with you now, since you're here," Sam replied with more of an edge to her voice than she intended.

Maya took off her green BDU jacket, revealing her black, standard issue tank top. The jacket hid how toned her arms were, and exposing them made her look a bit more threatening, which got Sam's adrenaline kicking in. All rational thought was quickly fleeing her mind.

"Sure, let's go," was Maya's answer.

Sam handed Maya a pair of gloves and they took a few steps over to the mat and began grappling. When Maya kept throwing Sam to the ground, she realized that Jack had been training her up quite a bit. No longer underestimating Maya, Sam picked up the pace and it was a more even fight. Still, every time Maya had Sam pinned to the ground or blocked her advances, Sam grew more and more aggravated. Finally, Sam threw a stiff punch and connected with Maya's jaw, staggering her.

The fire Sam saw in Maya's eyes told her that she was through holding back, which invigorated Sam. Now the shots they traded were more like a street fight than a sparring session, spit spraying in the air when a punch landed, one hit from Maya busting Sam's lips open.

Teal'c immediately took notice and sat up on the weight bench, watching the proceedings. Everyone else in the room was standing silently and watching in awe. Daniel walked in the door and saw the punches being thrown and the reaction of everyone in the room. He immediately turned to the door and called out to the airman standing outside.

"Airman, can you have General O'Neill paged down here right away."

"Yes, sir."

A few minutes later, Jack stepped in the doorway to see Maya and Sam lying on the mat, Maya with a choke hold on Sam from behind with her legs wrapped around Sam's waist to keep her from flipping them. After seeing Maya and Sam in tank tops all sweaty and tussled and fired up, he turned over to Daniel.

"Daniel? We could have charged admission for this."

"Jack, look at them."

He walked up to them and looked closer, seeing the blood dripping from Sam's lip and that she was turning blue.

"Maya? Carter? I think we've had enough for today," Jack barked.

Maya released the choke hold and whispered in Sam's ear.

"How is my readiness for the field, Colonel?"

Maya stood up before Sam could reply and walked over to pick up her jacket.

"Ladies, go get cleaned up and meet me in my office in 15," Jack ordered them. After they left, he walked over to Daniel and Teal'c.

"So, what the hell was that all about?"

"I am unaware, O'Neill. I was conversing with Maya Rincon when Colonel Carter entered the room. She appeared to be determined to spar with her today."

"Jack, what are you going to do?"

"About what, Daniel? I'll talk to them and that will be the end of it.

...

And that was the end of it. Jack spoke to them. Neither of them admitted to knowing why the session got so heated, and they both swore that it wouldn't happen again. Jack didn't really care why it happened, as long as he knew it was over and done with. He knew Carter was too good an officer to let it happen again after being warned about it, and he knew Maya well enough to know that she didn't instigate the fight in the first place. Later that evening, Jack was sitting on the armchair in his quarters with Maya on his lap when the topic came up again.

"I'm pretty sure she still has feelings for you and is jealous of me. I'm guessing that's what started the whole thing," Maya told him.

"Feelings for me? No, she doesn't."

"Jack, trust me. I'm a woman. I know."

He let out a sigh.

"Fine, whether or not you're right, it doesn't matter. She'll have to deal with it. I didn't go around attacking guys she was seeing, and I was a lot more invested at the time than she might be now."

"Maybe you should talk to her."

Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's the last thing I want to do. Only if it becomes absolutely necessary. She's a great officer. After today, she won't pull that again."

"I hope not. I don't want to cause problems here."

"You didn't cause anything. And it wasn't a big deal. People get into fights. Besides, with the way you kicked her ass, that will probably keep everyone else from bothering you too."

She snorted and shifted her weight down a bit so she could lay her head on his shoulder.

"I miss the cabin. It was much nicer than this place."

He smiled at her, though she couldn't see it.

"We'll get back there soon."

"Any luck on finding a house yet?"

"The real estate agent found a couple of options. I'm going to look at them tomorrow."

"You mind if I join you?"

"No, not at all."

"It's a date then."

She looked at him and closed the gap between their lips.

...

The next morning, the three members of SG-1 were seated around the table in the briefing room waiting to hear about their next mission. Sam was mortified about her behavior the previous day and wondered how the General would act around her. She looked in the window to his office to see him talking on the red phone, and she just sat there observing him. He looked relaxed. He looked happy. There was life in those dark, captivating eyes. He never looked like that as long as she had known him. And most recently, before he was driven out by the Aelva, she remembered the disconsolate man leading SG-1. He always looked so tired, so alone, so miserable. She didn't let herself notice at the time, but apparently she did deep down, because the image of his face back then was clear in her mind and a stark contrast to what he looked like now. Now he was a year and half older, but he looked ten years younger.

How could she have acted the way she did yesterday? Maya had never done anything to her. And apparently she was doing good by Jack, and he of anyone she knew deserved to be happy. Just because she was a complete idiot when it came to her personal life didn't give her the right to interfere in his. She essentially freed him from any future expectations between them, and this was the risk she took. And that was the point, right? Find a life without him? Well, she certainly managed to do that.

After hanging up the phone, Jack stood and walked in the door. Sam rose to her feet before Jack quickly waved her down.

"Carter, don't tell me I'm going to have to do that every time I walk into a room you're in."

"Sorry, sir," she replied sheepishly.

"Alright campers, today we've got P3D-557. Abandoned civilization. Ancient text. One of the geeks reported on some energy readings. Sounds like a job for SG-1."

As Jack was going over their mission, Sam sat there and watched their interactions. She'd already noticed Jack's liveliness, but now she watched the others too. Teal'c sat there stoically like he always did, but she could even see by the slight tug of his lips on occasion that he was enjoying himself. Daniel's face was lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. She had a feeling that the General gave them this mission just to lift Daniel's spirits.

"Got all of that, Carter?"

"Yes, sir. I'll investigate the energy readings and let Daniel dig up as many rocks as he wants to."

Jack gave her a breathtaking smile that almost broke her, but she couldn't help but answer with one of her own.

"Within reason, Carter. Okay, kids. You ship out at 1300. Dismissed."

"Jack!" Daniel called out to him before he left the room.

"Yes, Daniel?"

"Thank you."

"Think nothing of it, Space Monkey. Just don't get yourself hurt. And don't touch anything Carter tells you not to."

"I'm glad you're back, Jack."

Jack slapped him on the back and patted him once on his cheek. Then with a smile on his face, he replied.

"Me too, Daniel. Me too."