Sadly, this is the last chapter for 100 Days of Night. I know, I know… but we can't deny the inevitable. I've re-uploaded it after realizing it really was too short and abrupt and had too many mistakes. Hope you don't mind.

Look out for the sequel, I Walk the Line. Would you like that?

To all those who review, I love it. This is your last chance for this story, so make sure to get your reviews in, so I can fawn over them and find inspiration for the sequel. They truly mean the world to me!

I'm sorry to skip things ahead so much, but I figure the ins and outs of their Edoran life can only be written so many ways…

Please let me know what you think.

In the end, there was little fanfare. It was a bit disappointing really.

Rescue came on the 6th of July, Earth time. Ten months after they were stranded. Two o'clock in the morning, according to his watch. A Tollan came straight to their front door to let them know there was a ship on the outskirts of town. Lord knows how they knew what house was theirs, but they were a little preoccupied to ask. The alien man left it to Sam and Jack to tell the village and get their things.

They didn't meet Sam's expectations. She had predicted they'd come early April at the latest, but apparently whatever business had called the Tollan people to this side of the galaxy took longer than expected. They didn't explain, and neither Sam nor Jack felt it appropriate to ask. Their bags had been half packed in the bedroom for months, waiting for the call. That really said everything.

In the end, even Jack held back tears as the village gathered to farewell them. The commander of the Tollan ship had given them two days to get their affairs in order and say their goodbyes. It was not enough.

Watching the faces of the children, hugging their new friends tightly, Sam could make only one final promise.

"I will find a way to bring your people back to you"

Jack knew she was telling the truth. She always found a way.

They left the people of the planet with only their packs on their back and the promise of one day returning, if not for themselves then to restore the lost population to their rightful home. There was a part of them that wanted desperately to stay. Or perhaps wanted to hold on to what Edora represented.

They'd made a life on Edora since Christmas. They'd developed a routine that involved village dinners, passionate nights and hard work in the fields for both officers. Not to mention countless fishing days and swims in the creek. Though she had tried to do the 'womanly' thing for a while, Sam had finally admitted that she would be no-one's chef. The men came to appreciate her work in the fields, though she always managed to stay far away from Malak and his cronies.

Wearing their uniforms again for the first time in almost ten months, it suddenly became real. They had a duty, and as much as it pained them to admit it, that duty and responsibility far surpassed any personal desire.

As they walked back to the ship Jack had taken her hand, and when he felt it squirm under his, he held it tighter. It was the only way. She needed to understand that no matter how hard the next step was; no matter how many people sought to pull them apart, or how many times they doubted themselves, he'd be there.

By the time they reached the ship her hand was gripping his just as tight.

They stopped at the ramp and turned, looking over the fields that had become home. Before either of them could dwell they proceeded inside. There was no point delaying the inevitable- it was a path they had been prepared for since they first became stuck.

Once on board, the commander informed them it would be another four long weeks before they were again back on earth. General Hammond had been contacted and informed of the impending arrival via sub-space communication and was eagerly awaiting their arrival. Neither of these pieces of news was as comforting as they should have been.

They had retired to shared quarters without a single word. The first night on the Tollan ship they laid awake in the same bed, the few inches between them seeming like a mile. Finally, when it became obvious that even restless sleep would not come, Jack rolled over to face her, ran the back of his finger down the side of her face and whispered the only words he could think of to comfort her.

"I love you"

She turned to face him, raked her eyes over his features and smiled sadly.

"I know"

Desperately she pulled him to her, kissing him with urgency he'd never seen in her, ever. Pulling away he could see her holding back tears, their situation catching up with her.

"I love you. So much" she whispered against his lips, as though it were still a secret they had to keep to themselves.

Maybe it was.

They lay awake in each other's arms that night, watching the blue swirl of hyperspace out their window, too wired for sleep but too emotionally strung out to make love, or even try. Waiting on the ship was ten times worse than waiting on Edora.

When breakfast came they were fast asleep. Their bodies finally accepted the emotional drain of the day and had given in to the need eventually.

Eventually they woke up, got up and got dressed, donning the uniform that would make or break this fragile relationship. They left the jackets off.

All morning- afternoon, maybe- Jack had been meaning to ask her what her intentions were. He was working on the assumption that Hammond would be gracious enough to make a special exception, and with that in mind he figured the topics of marriage and kids would have to come up. He didn't want to talk about mushy feelings, but he didn't want the next few weeks to be silent between them either.

Sam had reassured him that her contraceptive implant was still good after he'd had a freak-out a few days after New Years, and again a few months later. The idea of returning to Earth as expectant parents made them both panic a little. Though they had managed to avoid the topic of parenthood, even during the freak-out, Jack knew it was an issue they would have to face one day. Even if it didn't happen for some time, they would need to discuss if and when they would start wanting marriage, kids, picket fences.

He had to figure out if he wanted to be a father again at all.

There were a lot of wounds that would never heal regarding fatherhood.

He knew Sam well enough to know that deep down she wanted children. He also knew he well enough to know that she would do the right thing and wait until it was good for both her and the baby before even considering motherhood. Right now, their intergalactic war- plus the fact she was foremost expert on almost anything at the SGC- demanded her attention, and for the moment they were more important. He wondered, though, if part of the reason she hadn't brought it up was because she was as scared as him.

Was it weird to say he was more comfortable being partly responsible for the lives on Earth rather than being solely responsible for the one life that would matter the most?

He was broken out of his reverie by a coughing fit from Sam, a piece of lunch going down the wrong way.

"You okay?" he asked, brow furrowing.

"Yeah. Wrong hole" she said through her coughs with a nod.

"Sure?"

"Yeah"

Jack sighed, seeing this as the perfect opportunity to bring up his questions.

"So, do you… wanna get married?" he quietly asked the table.

Sam paused mid-bite, her eyes as wide as they could possibly be, staring at him. He looked up and realized just what that sounded like.

"I mean… not now… just…. Sometime" he stuttered.

Sam sighed in relief, and then realized what that must have looked like.

"Yes" she said.

Jack looked up sharply.

"I mean… not now… but… sometime. Yes"

Jack grinned and looked down again. "Sweet"

Sam rolled her eyes at his blunt acceptance. Typical. Only Jack O'Neill could propose without proposing and somehow not piss her off.

"Jack" she sighed. "I know we need to talk about this… but for now, can we just pretend that we're still the people we were on Edora? Reality…"

"Can wait" he finished. He smiled at her. She grinned back. He was rubbing off on her. First the fishing, then the sarcasm and now the denial of reality. Next she'd be quoting the Simpson's and back-chatting superiors.

Sam nodded with a grateful smile and got up from the table, reaching her hand out to him as she led them to the bed, finally ready to acknowledge that the promises made on another world would not disappear when they finally got home.

Jack was more than happy to oblige.

They didn't have trouble sleeping the rest of the trip.

The End

Preview of I Walk the Line

They've come home. They have no injuries, no illnesses, and no belongings that they didn't leave with. They're in one piece, and if it weren't for her longer hair and his three-day scruff, they'd be unchanged, as though it hasn't been eleven months since they were last in his office. But something is off. Something is different. Something has definitely changed. And he's not sure whether he should jump for joy or break down in tears. Because he's been waiting for years for something like this to come and bite him in the ass.

It finally has.

Oh, what will he tell Jacob?