Well, here we go! Did a lot of re-write on this one and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks to all of you who have read and/or reviewed Tangled Web, it's been fun for me and I deeply appreciate all your thoughts and encouragement.

As always, feel free to blast me in the reviews (should you feel the need). Usually it's the things that people don't like…that improve my writing. I've had some terrific feedback on this fic and whether or not it changed anything, it gives me pause…a chance to see through another's eyes. I might even respond. It's all about communication, yes? All your opinions are welcome.

RATING: Changed to M. Really don't have a good feel for the rating system. You guys PLEASE let me know if I'm on target or not (will help me in future stories).

WARNING: This chapter contains a love scene and while NOT graphic or explicit, if it bothers you – you should stop here. However, if you want to finish the story, remember the control is your hands. One click of that mouse and I disappear, along with Jack and Sam. Isn't freedom wonderful? I wrote several versions of this final chapter and I'm happy with this one, hope you will be too. If you have final questions, I'll be happy to answer via email.

Special Thanks to all the wonderful creators and writers of Stargate/Stargate SG1 for lending us their wonderful characters to play in our enjoyable but profitless imaginations. I'll be returning them shortly.

Previously -

"So…I…this…makes you happy?"

"Seems to." She grinned broadly, her eyes practically lighting up the entire room as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"Sweet!"

And now the conclusion…

Tangled Web 21 The Promise

Jack didn't know how much time had passed, but she was still lying quietly on his shoulder, her arm draped across his waist and her fingers rubbing slow circles on his side. One of his hands was holding her head gently against him, while the other moved lazily in long, slow strokes on the bare flesh of her thigh, occasionally pulling her closer against him.

They hadn't spoken. They were simply there, together, quietly enjoying each other's presence. His fingers grasped a lock of her hair and slid slowly to the end of the strand, pulling it away from her head and into the air, immediately grasping another as it fell from his fingers and floated back down into place. She was so warm and still against him. For the first time in a long time, he felt no concern, no apprehension…he didn't have to send her off on another mission, at least not today. Today she was safe and free and beside him.

"Jack?" Her voice was a mere whisper against his chest.

"Hmm?" He leaned his head back as she tilted hers upwards so that their eyes met. His hand came up to stroke the soft skin of her cheek and she turned into his touch.

"I…"

His thumb was pressing against her lips, "Shhh…. I know."

And then he was kissing her. Slowly, gently pressing his soft lips against hers, tugging at her tender skin. He felt her nails dig into his back, as she pulled against his flesh attempting to bring him closer. The hand that had been toying with her hair dropped around her shoulder and as he pressed her against his chest he could feel her body responding to him. A low moan escaped him as she rocked her body against his and he pulled her leg higher around him. Slipping his leg between hers, he pressed it hard against her, feeling the dampness already escaping onto the soft cloth that covered her.

Through ragged breaths, he released her lips and kissed the soft area of her neck, pulling the tender skin into his hungry mouth. She groaned and moved gently towards him as his knee pressed into her. "Jack." The word was almost a prayer on her lips and it drew him back to her, kissing her passionately, his tongue forcing her lips apart and tasting the sweet nectar of her mouth. He pulled away from her, staring into her eyes, then kissed her quickly twice more.

She smiled into his eyes, eyes that smoldered and twinkled in the same instant, as his hands grasped the hem of her shirt and lifted it over her head. Without hesitation he looked down at her and placed one hand softly on her breast, kneading it gently and running a roughened thumb across her. She gasped and arched her back below him and a small smile touched his lips. He moved along her neck, leaving a line of sensuous kisses on her alabaster skin until his lips touched the roughened scar on her shoulder. He paused and looked deep into her eyes. 'I almost lost you' and the thought pulled him towards her almost magnetically. He kissed her fully, passionately as if assuring himself that she was really there.

His mouth was hot and wet as it met hers, his tongue almost furious in its' possession of her and she found herself wanting his caress to last forever. She writhed and moaned beneath him, pressing upward, spurring him onward and hearing him gasp each time her body pressed against his.

Suddenly he pulled away and stood beside her. A glimmer of fear and loss crossed her eyes as she watched him. He wasn't smiling. She could see his ragged breath as he stood staring down at her. For a long moment, he stood there letting his eyes devour her hungrily. She began to feel uncomfortable locked in his prolonged gaze and started to turn away. His hand grasped her thigh and squeezed it gently. "You're beautiful, Sam." He smiled as a slow blush crept up her face and she held her arms out to him.

She gasped and jerked at his soft touch, closing her eyes against the pleasure of the warm tightening low in her abdomen. The look in his eyes was amazing, one she'd never before experienced and hoped she'd never forget.

He drew his hands lightly along her thighs and she instinctively lifted her body towards him. Her passion infected him and he fell on her like a starved man, his tongue licking and probing, teasing her towards ecstasy. She threw her head backwards and arched into his caress. His hot mouth moved constantly against her, his rough tongue licking out to brush against her smooth flesh, his chin pressing into her deliciously. The world was beginning to shake and collapse around her as she lost herself in his caress. He groaned against her skin, flicking across it with his tongue, biting gently and showering her with his wet, warm kisses. She bucked against him and moaned his name as her body began to tremble. He stilled his tongue, but kept his hands moving, enjoying the feel of her as he waited for her to calm.

"Oh, God…Jack."

He smiled and lowered his mouth to hers again. This time he was relentless. Stroking, sucking and licking through his passion until she was mindless. Encouraging her body to release its passion until she convulsed beneath him and just as white light flashed against her eyelids she felt them become one. The force of the sensation raised her from the bed and she grasped wildly for him.

She heard the low animalistic groan that escaped him as their passion combined and then exploded. She opened her eyes to see him staring down at her, his mouth open, his face almost a grimace as he savored the overwhelming pleasure. She grasped his hair and pulled him to her mouth, their bodies expressing what words never could.

They fell into an easy rhythm. She clung to him. He kissed her. His body worshiped hers silently as they continued to move together. He could see her ultimate passion blossoming across her face and thought she'd never been more beautiful than now, erupting magnificently beneath him, all thought abandoned, giving herself to him completely.

He felt her body stiffen and she gripped his arms tightly, fighting against the powerful spasms that were threatening to overwhelm her. "Don't fight it, Sam. Let it happen." His voice was rough and shaky but her eyes opened to look into his. He shifted slightly against her and she exploded beneath him, her fingers digging into his flesh, her eyes clenching shut against the wave of release that washed over her. He watched her face as he moved against her, losing his rhythm as her body clenched tightly around him and he surrendered to his own exquisite release.

Her arms came around him as he collapsed onto her, his body spent from their lovemaking. Her hands trailed softly through his hair and down his back while her lips placed kiss after kiss along his neck. She felt complete. An intense, pleasant warmth was spreading through her and she was totally comfortable and relaxed.

Jack rose up on his elbows and placed a hand on each side of her face, staring into her eyes. She was smiling, ever so slightly and her eyes were dark and still smoldering from his fire. He slowly lowered his lips to hers and kissed her as gently as she'd ever been kissed, slow, sensuous and moving. The kind of kiss you never forget.

She wanted to tell him what she was feeling, but she couldn't find the words so she stroked his cheek gently with her hand and he reached to hold it against him. She stared into his eyes and was amazed to see something she'd seen there a thousand times before…desire.

"Jack, I am so completely, wonderfully, amazingly satisfied and you…you look like…like…"

"What?" He whispered.

"Like you're not. I don't know…like you still…desire…"

"Lust?"

"Yeah."

"Both. And I'm thinking that look might not ever go away. God, Sam…satisfied? Totally. Do I want more? Absolutely." He placed a sweet, gentle kiss on her lips and pushed the hair out of eyes. "You are amazing."

She smiled warmly, "And you're…heavy." He laughed and rolled to his side pulling her with him.

"Romantic, too." He teased and kissed her temple as she snuggled against him. "Sleep."

"Umm, yes, sleep. Night, Jack."

"Night, Sam." There was a long silence and then he spoke softly. "It's noon you know."

She giggled against his skin. "I know."

SSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Two hours later Sam was waking up to another new sensation…Jack kissing her. She wrapped herself around him and returned his kisses.

"You wanna tell me what was going on last night?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? Sam, you show up here in the middle of the night, in the snow…crying. Something's going on. Let's not start that arguing thing again. Tell me."

"Just…you know…nightmares."

"Ah! Pete."

"Sort of."

Jack was quiet for a long time, but he finally spoke, his voice detached and a bit sad. "I understand."

"No, you don't, Jack." She sat up beside him. "I don't miss Pete. I'm not proud of it but a big part of me is glad he's dead, even wishes I could have…"

Her voice trailed off before she finished that sentence, but he could guess the rest of it. "I thought…."

"So did I, for a while but I…this whole thing was my fault. I never should have gotten involved with him in the first place. I was looking for...something. I don't think I can explain it any better than that." She looked at him apologetically. " I know I hurt you. I'm so sorry, Jack."

"It doesn't matter now. Can you tell me about these nightmares?"

"I close my eyes and it all comes rushing back…vividreal. He's right there…and I can't stop him. I hear the shots, feel the pain," her hand moved quickly to the scar on her shoulder, "feel you fall beside me." She turned her head towards him, tears sparkling in her eyes.

"But you were unconscious, Sam."

"No. I heard you call me. I thought you were dead, Jack. I woke up in that hospital…and I thought you were dead."

He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed her gently remembering the clench in his chest when he saw her fall limply to the floor. "I'm alive, Sam. We're all alive."

"I just couldn't face it again. I couldn't close my eyes and lose you all over again…the only way I could avoid that nightmare was if I was here with you, next to you."

"Sam…"

"I know! It's stupid!"

"No, but it is just a nightmare and it will go away. It takes time and if you need to be here, with me…then you'll be here." He was sitting up too, now and he pulled her into his embrace, her bare back against his chest, his arms and legs wrapped around her and his chin resting on her shoulder.

"Think General Hammond will approve that?"

Jack placed a soft, wet kiss on her neck, then slid one hand up her naked thigh and laughed when she moaned softly. "A lot quicker than he'll approve this."

She swatted his hand away and laughed. "We're in a lot of trouble, aren't we?"

"Only if we let them separate us."

"But we won't let them."

"Nope."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

And for Jack and Sam it was only the beginning.