Are We Really More Than Friends?

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Angst, Romance, Thoughts

Summary: "Carter, what the hell were you thinking!?!"

Song: Not in this chapter

Season: Late season eight

Spoilers: Chimera (Ep. 715), as well as knowledge of Sam's and Jack's supposed promotions in season eight.

Featured Character(s): Samantha Carter, Jack O'Neill

Pairing(s): Sam/Jack (Like there is any other realistic pairing!)

Archive: Only with my permission.

WARNINGS: Mild swearing, but no worse than on the show.

Disclaimer: I don't own 'em. If I did, would I be writing fanfiction? Hmm? So be nice and don't sue me.

A/N: I've changed the season from "sometime in season eight" to "late season eight", because I think it would make more sense later in the season, I've added "angst" as another genre, because this story will probably become quite angsty. This story also assumes that season eight is the last season of the series (sniff). Thoughts are in single quotes ('abc'), thoughts from Jack's and Sam's "inner voices" are in single quotes and underlined ('abc'), and spoken words are in double quotes ("abc"). Oh, yeah, and I broke my ankle about a week ago, so I'll be finishing and posting this chapter and the next one pretty soon. I don't have much to do but hang around the computer all day ;-).

And now, our feature presentation…

Jack

"Carter, what the hell were you thinking!?! I won't even bother to ask if you were thinking, because we both know you think all the time."

"Sir, I-"

"Forget it. Request to resign denied."

"General-"

"Dismissed, Lt. Colonel!"

General Jack O'Neill watched as Sam gave him a withering glare, turned on her heel, and stormed out of his office. Her flashing eyes and the stubborn set of her jaw told him she was livid. At him.

'That went well.'

'It's not my fault Carter's being dense!'

'Dense? She's sharper than you on her bad days!!!'

'I meant "dense for Carter"!'

'Maybe she had a reason for wanting to resign?'

'Oh, no. She moved on with Pete. She doesn't feel that way about me, anymore. I'd be fooling myself if I thought so.'

'I never said that you were her reason.'

'Well, you certainly implied it.'

'You are talking to yourself, here. You implied it.'

Shaking his head to get his aggravating alter ego to shut up, General O'Neill exhaled loudly. "I hate this job," he said out loud.

Sam

The way Sam was walking and the belligerent look on her face caused several SF's to sidestep out of her way as she passed them.

'I told you this might happen, Samantha.'

'I didn't think it would. He has to accept my resignation.'

'You known damn well he doesn't.'

'He's normally not like this. Why did Jack O'Neill decide that the defining moment of my life was the perfect time to be a stubborn ass!?!'

'Because he's Jack O'Neill. He doesn't need a reason.'

As Sam broke out of her thoughts, she realized where she was headed. She had looped around the gate room and was on her way back to the general's office.

"He is not going to get away with being an idiot, this time," she muttered as she gathered her courage, strode up to his door, and knocked.

"Come in," she heard him say.

Jack

'This had better be important,' thought Jack, thoroughly annoyed that someone would have the audacity to bother him while he was in a bad mood.

"Sir..."

General O'Neill glanced up at the sound of Carter's voice. "I thought I said you were dismissed," he said, looking down and pretending to shuffle papers on his desk. She closed the door.

"Sir, I need to explain why I want to resign."

"Carter, as far as I'm concerned, there's nothing to explain," said Jack, making eye contact with her. She stared back at him with a gaze he recognized as the one she used when she was not going to back down. "Oh, fine, Carter. Explain away," he said sarcastically, motioning for her to sit down.

Sam

"Sir," Sam said, taking the proffered seat, "I have come to the realization that a life in the Air Force may not be the best option for me." She paused, sighing heavily. "Sir, the Goa'uld have been defeated. We've allied ourselves with the Ancients. The truth is, I… I've decided that some things are more important than the Air Force. Things like… relationships… having a life."

'…with you,' her mind added.

Jack

Sam, who had been staring down at the general's desk during her last sentence, didn't notice Jack's face fall visibly at the mention of "relationships". 'I guess she really is serious about Pete, after all,' he thought. Suddenly, she straightened up again, snapping back into speech mode. "If I were to resign from the Air Force, I would be willing to accept a position as a civilian scientist at the SGC, reporting directly to the Pentagon. However, my desire to resign does not depend on the availability of this position." She paused again, gazing deep into his eyes. "General, please. This is what I want."

Sam watched General O'Neill as he glanced down at the papers he had been shuffling earlier. "You're sure, Sam?" he said as he looked at her again.

She looked up, surprised that he had called her by her given name. She took a deep breath. "Yes," she said with certainty.

He paused. "Then I'll send your resignation on to the president. I'm sure he'd be quite happy to let you stay here as a civilian scientist, and I'm certain he'll understand why you want to report to the Pentagon instead of to me. That shouldn't be a problem." He chuckled. "God knows I can't understand your reports. You're dismissed."

"Thank you, sir." She smiled, then stood and walked confidently out of his office.

"Good luck with your life," Jack whispered quietly when he was sure she was gone.

-TBC-

A/N: Though I planned to have this chapter be from Jack's POV only, my muse didn't like that idea, so we came to a comprimise and I wrote it from both POV's. It's a little shorter than last time, but I wanted to post what I had, and I thought that that was a good place to leave it. I'll explain more about the Sam/Pete relationship in later chapters. I'm working on the next chapter already, so it might possibly be posted by the end of the week… that is, if you review! C'mon, you know what the little blue button is for! Whether you liked it : )… or not : ( .