Author's Notes: sorry this is so late, it being Christmas and New Year and all... been busy. Also had a bit of trouble reaching my beta, so this isn't beta'd. Sorry.

This is the last chapter folk, and I know you will probably think it's rushed and that a lot more could be added to it, but I've tried, and I honestly don't have a clue on how to word things, so for just now, it's finished. I may go back to it later and add another chapter in, but I don't know if you'd all want that. I'm thinking of writing and epilogue, let me know what you think about that.

Thanks to all who have reviewed/read this story and staying with me during my slow updates. I am working on other fics, but want to wait until I have a lot more of them before I start posting.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and thanks once again. Enjoy and PLEASE review. It would mean the world to me.

--

Sam was sat on an infirmary bed with her hands held tightly in her lap. Today she would be meeting a male member of Janet's staff. And she was as nervous as hell. What if she got scared? What if she couldn't deal with him being around her?

She had been scared to be in the same room as General Hammond and Colonel O'Neill the day before and had to stop herself from shaking and crying. But she was a Carter, she was stubborn. She made herself do it.

A young man, in his late twenties, was walking along side Janet. They were obviously making their way across to her. His green eyes looked playful, and his light brown hair gave him a youthful look.

Sam could feel her heart beat faster; she was getting very scared now.

'He wont hurt you Sam, he's a doctor, he's here to help,' Sam mentally scolded herself.

"Sam, this is Doctor Kevin Young. He's going to be helping you get over your fear. If you start to feel uncomfortable, just say, he'll understand. He knows what happened, he was one of the doctors who stabilized you," Janet told her.

"Hi Sam, it's nice to see you up and around," he greeted her kindly, but slightly nervously.

"Hi Kevin," Sam said, her voice small.

"I'm going to be here the whole time Sam, so you don't need to worry. Do you mind if Kevin shakes your hand?" Janet asked.

Sam looked to the young man who had held save her life and fought with herself internally. She really wanted to be able to touch men without having a panic attack. But what if he hurt her like Jonas? No. He wouldn't do that, would he?

'Come on Sam, it's just a handshake. Pull yourself together, you're a soldier damn it,' she admonished herself.

Slowly and nervously, Sam extended her arm so that he could take her hand. Janet smiled at the progress her friend was already making. She watched closely as Kevin extended his own hand and loosely grasped Sam's in his own.

Freezing at the contact, Sam's eye went wide and mouth dropped open. Where Kevin once stood, was Jonas. His lips were curled up in a twisted smile and his eyes were dark with anger.

Seeing Sam's wide eyes full of shock, pain and panic Kevin let go of her hand, letting her own hover in mid air. He saw the small doctor at his side run over to her patient and tried to snap her out of her trance.

"I can't do this," Sam said once out of her trace like state, her voice barely audible.

"Yes, Sam, you can. It's going to take time, you know that," Janet replied softly.

Sam nodded mutely to her friend's assessment. She knew it would take time, but she wanted to be able to do it now. Was that so much to ask? How would she cope with the rest of her life if she was too scared to even shake a mans hand? Especially one who had helped save her life. She at least owed him one simple handshake without scaring him to death with her own fear.

"I want to try again," Sam said confidently, after clearing her throat and sitting up a little straighter.

"Are you sure?" Janet asked nervously.

"Yes," she replied while holding her hand out to Kevin once again. She could tell the young man was unsure about what to do.

Sighing, Kevin held out his own hand, knowing that she would never give up easily. He knew of her reputation of being as stubborn as the Colonel. Grasping her hand loosely once again, her couldn't help but notice that she tightened her grip on his. Looking into her eyes he could see her determination. Her blue eyes sparked with energy.

Sam fought with herself. In Kevin's place once again stood Jonas. This time she wouldn't give in. Concentrating hard she could see Jonas' face change. He was becoming less angry, his dark eyes were turning lighter, as was his hair. The man in front of her was changing, changing into another person. One who was kind and caring, not hating and abusive.

Janet watched the emotions play across Sam's face. She could tell she was fighting to not lose control. She knew that she would see Jonas in Kevin's place, but could tell just by looking into her friend's eyes that she was slowly realising that the hand she was holding was Kevin's. For this she was grateful. It was only her second attempt at being this physically close to a male but she was coming on in leaps and bounds. For once, she was glad her friend was stubborn.

With a smile on her face, Sam looked up at Kevin and let go of his hand. She had beaten Jonas. This time.

--

1 month later

It had taken a long time for Sam to get used to not freezing when Jack touched her. It was only by sheer determination that she had made herself trust him again. If she hadn't been so stubborn then she probably wouldn't be where she was today.

Sliding off the bed, Sam stood on wobbly legs. Her legs were still not used to holding her weight after so long. Jack's arm snaked around her waist and held her up. Looking up she smiled her thanks.

"Ok, let's do this," she said, making herself stand straighter.

She put one foot in front of the other and felt her legs give way slightly. Her hand flew up to Jack's neck as she tried not to fall. Jack's other arm protectively went round her front to keep her up.

"It's ok, you're doing really well," he told her softly.

Clearing her throat she stood up straight and tried again. Only to stumble once again. A frustrated groan escaped her throat. Why couldn't she do this?

"Hey, it's ok. It's going to take time, remember? You have to be patient. You haven't been walking for nearly 3 months."

"I should be able to do this. It's not that hard!" she vented, already getting frustrated with herself.

"You need to take this slowly; you're not going to be able to do it straight away. Even though I know you want to."

Sighing with new determination, she attempted to put one foot in front of the other again. This time she succeeded. But her legs gave way when she took another step. They both fell to the ground in surprise.

"Hey, you could warn a guy when you're gonna take another step! I thought it was one step at a time!" he said, in mock anger.

"It was one step at a time! I just wasn't expecting to fall, you're meant to be holding me up!" she playfully pushed his shoulder.

"Oh well, I'm sorry! You caught me off guard. Guess you're more stubborn than you look!" he said as he playfully pushed her back.

"You should be sorry! I could be seriously hurt and it will be your entire fault!" she pushed him again. "I'm not stubborn! How am I stubborn?"

"Because I say you are," he replied, as he cupped her cheek in his hand. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"No, I'm fine," she replied, looking into his eyes. Why was she feeling like a teenager who was about to have her first real kiss?

"That's good; I don't want to be in trouble. Old Doc Frasier wouldn't be very happy with me if you were," he said softly. Was he getting closer?

"She did spend all that time fixing me up and making sure I was alright."

"Yeah, she'll have done all that hard work for nothing."

She could feel his breath on her face. He was defiantly getting closer. Or was she getting closer to him? Either way, it was a good thing right? Or was it bad? Did she care?

Slowly she let her eyes close as she felt him get even closer, she could tell he was only mere centimetres away. Was he going to kiss her? Or was he going to draw back and shy away?

His lips softly touched hers, he wasn't sure if he was making the right decision. He pulled back slightly, giving her the choice whether to continue or not. He mentally sighed with relief when she lent in closer.

It wasn't a passionate or take-your-breath-away kind of kiss; it was a simple brush of lips. Sam found herself wondering why she hadn't done it a long time ago. If she knew that Colonel Jack O'Neill was such a gentle and passionate person – who apparently cared for her enough to stand by and help, not to mention kiss - and not the bad-ass Black Ops soldier who had no emotions, she would have left her abusive husband a long time ago, along with the Air Force.

Gradually they pulled apart. Sam could feel her cheeks begin to redden. What had she done? Had she ruined everything by kissing him back?

"Sam, I'm not going to lie and say that was a mistake," he said, running a hand through her hair.

"Me either," she confessed, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of pink.

"Good," he breathed, "Sam, I really do care for you. I'm not saying that to make you feel better or to lead you on, I mean it."

"Really?" she asked, smiling the first real Sam Carter smile he had ever seen.

"Ah so that's what your smile looks like!" he beamed. "It's amazing, just like you. And yes, really."

"I feel the same way," she smiled.

Jack enveloped her in a bear hug, holding her close but not too tightly. He was still scared of hurting her.

"I should probably warn you," she said as she pulled back to look him in the eyes, "My dad is an Air Force General."

The smile on Jack's face fell. "What? That's a joke right?"

"Nope. Sorry," she replied, loving the look on his face.

"Oh, God! I know how to pick them!" he sighed, looking down at his lap. "Where do I hide if he doesn't like me? Behind you?" he asked when he looked up at her again.

"I'm sure you'll be fine," she laughed.

"Hey, no giggling," he mock scolded her, which only caused her to laugh even more.

It was then Jack realised, one day, she was going to be alright and that she was going to be happy. He only hoped that one day, it would be with him.