Spoilers: Uh, yeah. Meridian. Revelations. Like you didn't already know. Oh, and Absolute Power.

Disclaimer: Oh, yeah. Definitely not mine.

A/N: Set directly after the end of Season 5. Not exactly a sequel, but it does refer to the events of my earlier story, "Carter Takes A Snow Day." Thanks to Aaron Sorkin for the line (can't help it, West Wing seeps into everything I do. You know you're also a WW junkie if you can spot the line in question :-)

A/A/N: Updated to fix some wonky formatting things.

They were walking. In a forest, Jack noted. That figured. Trees. Lots of trees. His little joke.

The man beside him smiled. "You know, the last time we did this, you were in my dream."

"That wasn't a dream. That was a Harcesis-induced coma thing. And I wasn't actually there."

"So, you think I'm actually here."

"As usual, I have no idea what you're doing." What Jack didn't say was that if he wasn't really there, then he didn't want to know.

"Like candlelight in a mirror, our true actions can only be known when reflected in those around us."

"Oh, for cryin' out loud. Even dead, you're a pain in the ass."

The smile grew into a grin. "I'm not dead, Jack." He tilted his head to one side. "Not in the usual sense, anyway."

"Yeah, well. I still have to break in the new guy – whenever we find one." Jack squinted, looking around, then up and to one side. "Besides," he said, his voice much softer, "Sam and Teal'c miss you."

"I miss them, too." Daniel's voice matched Jack's. "You still mad at me for leaving?"

Jack looked at him sharply. "I wasn't mad at you." When Daniel just stared at him levelly, Jack continued, "Okay, so I was a little mad. You didn't even try; you just left us. I mean, I know why you did and I don't really blame you, but still. You didn't even say goodbye."

"Walking the Great Path, many converge and separate, yet we are all part of the same beginning."

"Daniel." One word, conveying frustration, irritation, impatience.

"Jack." One word, conveying conviction, a plea for understanding, slight exasperation – and a shade of humor.

"You're doing that just to annoy me, aren't you?"

"Yes."

Jack rolled his eyes. "So, did you want something?"

Daniel smiled, recognizing Jack's unconscious echo of his words from their last encounter. "Actually, I was worried about you."

"Me? Oh, please." Jack waved a hand. "I'm fine."

"Yeah, and I'm dead."

Jack opened his mouth to reply, then snapped it shut not being able to think of an appropriate response.

Daniel cocked his head to one side as if listening to something. "I have to go soon."

"Why?"

"Because your alarm clock is about to go off."

"Oh."

"Jack, I don't suppose Sam told you what she said to me in the infirmary."

"No. We haven't really talked about it."

"You should ask her."

"Why?"

"Because I said so."

"I don't think that would be a good idea."

"Yeah, well, it wouldn't be the first time I've had a bad idea."

"Daniel, I can't go there. Not yet."

"And if something happens so that you never get there?"

"You know something I don't?"

Daniel shook his head. "It doesn't work that way, Jack. Just ask her." Around them a soft snow started to fall. "And tell her she was right. I did know."

"Daniel" Jack's ears buzzed, a low ringing which he tried to shake off.

"Time to go, Jack. Tell her."

The buzzing grew stronger and Jack felt himself slipping away. "Dan…

"…iel." His voice rasped, dry after sleep. Jack leaned back into the pillows after slapping angrily at his alarm clock. He wanted to grab the damn thing and throw it across the room. Instead, he rolled out of bed, feeling lost.

Jack stood in the doorway of her lab, hesitating. He'd successfully avoided her most of the day by hiding in his office. At the morning briefing, he'd been unusually quiet – no quips, no sarcastic remarks. She'd given him an odd look as they left the room, almost like she knew what he was thinking. He wasn't even sure at what point in the day he'd given up fighting it. Somewhere in the middle of catching up on paperwork, he realized that his mind was made up. All he had to do was convince her.

He watched her sit down at a lab table, cluttered with microscopes, computer and other scientific objects. Carter things.

She began typing on the computer, and without looking up, said, "You can come in, you know."

"Yeah, well." He hesitantly entered the room. "I thought you might still be ticked at me."

Still not looking at him, her eyes narrowed in question. "Why would I be mad at you, Colonel?"

Oh, this was not going to be easy, Jack thought. "Well, Carter, if I were honest, I could probably pick from a long list of reasons." He almost got a smile at that remark. "However, I have an idea that it has something to do with, well, you know, with…"

"Yeah." Blue eyes hit him. He realized just how good a job she'd done hiding her pain. Jack had thought their informal wake over dinner a few weeks earlier helped. She seemed more at peace after that night, but Jack could see now that she was still hurting. Bad.

He sighed.

"You have plans for the weekend?" He picked up a book, checking out the title on the side.

"I think I'm just going to stay in and read."

"Hmmm. One of those trash novels, I'll bet." He picked up another book, flipped through it, put it down.

She did smile slightly at that. Of course, he wouldn't have forgotten. "Well, it's not quantum mechanics, but then one can't always have fun, right?"

"You need a life, Carter." He peered into the microscope, poking at the slide.

"Sir, not that I mind your visits, but is there something I can do for you?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." Jack wandered around to the other side of the table. "I need to ask you something."

Carter raised her eyebrows, confused. "Okay."

"Well – actually – I need to ask you two things, but I can't ask you the second thing until you agree to the first. But the first thing is not something I'm supposed to ask you, so you see my problem." He rushed the words out, but stopped when he saw her smile. "What?"

The smile grew. "Sorry, sir. It's just that, for a second there, you sounded exactly like Daniel."

He stared at her.

She misread his expression and started to apologize. He held up a hand to stop her and then ran it through his hair. "Carter, I'm not supposed to ask this, and you sure as hell aren't supposed to answer. But I'm going to ask anyway. If you say yes – and that is entirely up to you – I promise you, I'm not asking any more than what I'm actually asking." He shook his head. "Okay, that didn't make any sense."

"I trust you, sir."

"It's possible that's a bad idea." When she didn't say anything, he took a deep breath. "I told you once that I would like to cook dinner for you. Sometime." She nodded once. "I was thinking maybe tonight."

Her eyes unreadable, she didn't stare so much at him as through him. She thought about making an excuse. She thought about pretending that he meant to ask Teal'c as well. She thought about just staring at him until he left.

"I'd like that." She didn't realize she'd spoken until she saw him smile, surprised.

"It's just dinner," he reiterated.

She nodded and softly repeated, "I trust you."

"Okay."

She dropped her head for a moment, then remembered. "What was the second thing?"

"Oh, hmmm, that. I think I'll save that for tonight. 8 o'clock, my place."

"Okay, sir."

His eyes narrowed. "You know, that's so not gonna work. We are definitely going to have to do something about that." He stuck his hands in his pockets and turned to leave.

"Uh, sir, you need me to bring anything?"

The grin he gave her caused her knees to turn to water and a swarm of butterflies to take flight in her stomach. He turned again and left her very glad she was still sitting.

General Hammond sat at his desk, dealing with the mounds of paperwork generated by the SGC each week. Amazing how many records a top secret program required. At the sound of a light knock on his door, he looked up, then waved the man standing there into the room.

"Colonel. Heading out?"

Jack O'Neill took a few steps inside the office. "Yes, sir. The kids are all tucked in, the toys put away, and Teal'c should be with his family by now. I've even caught up on that," he said, referring disdainfully to the paperwork on Hammond's desk.

"Then have a good weekend, Colonel."

"Yes, sir. About that."

"Yes?"

"I wanted to ask… well not really ask you, I guess, more give you fair warning"

Hammond watched as Jack paced the room, then interrupted his incoherent rambling, saying, "Jack, sit down."

O'Neill approached the chair hesitantly, started to take a seat, then changed his mind and moved to stand behind the chair. Hammond, though used to the sometimes eccentric behavior of SG-1, briefly mused that if he didn't know better, he'd think Jack was nervous. "Colonel, is there a problem?"

Jack tapped on the back of the chair with the palm of his hand, then took a deep breath to steel himself and said, "You're my first call."

"What?"

"General, I'm about to break some regs and you're my first call. I wanted to let you know that, come Monday, you'll have something else to add to that not so little file detailing my transgressions."

Hammond sighed and leaned back in his chair. "You're not asking permission, are you?"

"No, sir."

"Then may I ask what your plans are? Understand, Colonel, I'm filling in here for the person whose permission you should be asking."

If Jack was surprised at Hammond's comprehension of his statement, he didn't show it. "Yes, sir, and believe me I'd much rather tell you than him. But with all due respect, General, I have all the permission I need. If it helps, I promise nothing will happen."

"Nothing? Then how will you be breaking regulations?"

"Intent, General. The spirit of the law, if not the letter."

"I see. Jack, if I put something in your file, then I have to put something in her file."

"No, sir. I'm her CO, therefore both our actions are ultimately my responsibility. Besides, she's more important to what goes on around here. The SGC can't lose…" Jack broke off in mid-sentence, unable to finish the thought.

Hammond nodded, understanding the subtext behind O'Neill's words. "Jack, I don't have to tell you how dangerous this course of action could be. I trust you're not thinking of"

"Going public? No, sir. Wouldn't do that to her."

"Then I can't speak to your intent or actions. Just be careful, Jack."

George leaned back in his chair as the Colonel left the room and sighed. Military regulations were there for a reason; however, in his time with the SGC George had learned that reason didn't always apply to his flagship team. They were hurting, and anywhere else in the world their reaction would be accepted, even encouraged. He trusted Jack not to do anything stupid, not where Samantha Carter was involved. For her sake, if not his.

And George trusted both of them to keep their professional lives separate from their personal lives – which was somewhat ironic since they didn't really have personal lives to begin with. It was a hazard of the job, but it was well past time for them to recoup some of their sacrificed lives. The general ran a tired hand across his eyes and over his head. For that matter, it was time for all of them to regain a little – something. Joy, peace, balance. There had been too much loss, too much sadness. He thought for a moment, idly looking over his calendar, an idea germinating in his mind. His finger tapped a date a few days away. Company picnics weren't the norm for ultra-secret government programs that required constant staffing, so he would need some help to pull it off. The bean counters wouldn't be happy, but what was the point of having a classified budget if you couldn't hide a few extra things in it?

For the first time in many weeks, a smile spread across his face.

"It's open." Jack yelled from his kitchen and heard her push open the heavy door. He smiled to himself and waited for her reaction. In a few moments, she appeared, eyes shining and handed him a bottle of wine. "Evening, Sam," he said, fingers brushing hers as he took the bottle.

She inhaled deeply. "Jack, it smells wonderful in here. We should let you do the cooking more often."

"Ah, but then you wouldn't appreciate it as much." He handed her the glass of wine he'd poured when he heard her car drive up. "Pull up a chair. You can entertain me while I finish dinner."

She settled on a nearby bar stool and took a sip of wine. "I like the sign."

"Oh yeah?" He'd been proud of himself for thinking up that little tone-setting idea. As Sam opened the door, she'd seen a sign posted on the opposite wall. Lettered in bold red, it was hard to miss: Air Force Free Zone: Abandon Rank All Ye Who Enter Here.'

"I'm just glad Teal'c isn't here so I don't have to explain the reference to him."

Jack knew her well enough to hear the slight undercurrent of nervousness in the lighthearted remark. He watched her carefully, saying, "I'm just glad Teal'c isn't here."

She returned his gaze. "Yeah, me too." Then she dropped her head. "I mean, not that it would be bad if Teal'c were here and I'm glad he's spending time with his family and if he were here it would be okay"

"Sam." His voice cut through and she raised her head. There was no mistaking the meaning in his eyes. "I'm glad he's not here."

She smiled softly. "Yeah, me too."

He turned back to the stove while he could still look away. "So, entertain me."

"Would you prefer a song and dance number, or impressions of famous physicists?"

"You're kidding, right?"

"Well, about the first one, anyway. You should hear my version of Stephen Hawking."

Jack shook his head. "Too many late nights in the atom smasher at school?"

"Something like that."

"Mm hmm. I always knew you had a wild streak in you."

"That's me." She leaned over, looking around him to see what was in the little silver pan on top of the stove. "So, what's for dinner?"

"Grilled swordfish with a mango salsa, steamed veggies and bread, which," he held up a cautionary finger, "I did not make. I did, however, get it from that little bakery downtown."

"The one on Oak? I love that place."

"Yeah, I know." He glanced back at her and smiled. When she asked, "And for dessert?" Jack raised his eyebrows and the smile turned into an impudent grin. "That, my dear Samantha, is entirely up to you." He waited a beat while he watched her decide how to react, then pointed with a wooden spoon to a box on the counter. "We have cheesecake. And we have chocolate ice cream. Your choice." He turned back just in time for a dishtowel to hit him in the back of the head. He shook the spoon over his shoulder. "Careful."

"You're a pain, you know that?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. It's a talent I've honed over many years." He turned the stove burner off and reached for a small platter. "Dinner is served. Well, almost. Why don't you grab the bread out of the oven, I'll get the fish off the grill and meet you at the table."

"Okay."

A few minutes later, Sam decided that Jack was indeed doing all the cooking from now on. "This is really good. Where did you learn to cook like this?"

"Oh, here and there. Mostly there."

"Well, I'm impressed."

"Thank you."

"So, can I ask"

"Why I invited you over tonight?"

"Um, no. Well, yes, but at the moment I was going to ask where you got that." She pointed to a small figurine sitting on top of a bookcase.

"Ah, now that's a story…"

They swapped stories through dinner and then moved into the living room with dessert and coffee. No work talk, just conversation like any other two normal people in the world.

Jack simply enjoyed having her there. Some part of his mind stored the story she told for later review; right now, he just wanted to watch her. How her hands moved to illustrate a point, how she smiled at some fond memory, how she sat on the couch, legs curled underneath her and arms wrapped around a pillow. It was a delight to see her relaxed, comfortable, and – he was fairly certain – happy. He wanted to memorize this moment, to have it the next time he was trapped in some life-or-death situation. He was well past the whole life flashing past your eyes thing, considering it actually got old after the first five or six times, but with this image in mind he could face whatever the universe threw at him.

She finished her story and cleared her throat, before asking, "Did I lose you somewhere?"

"Oh, no. I'm definitely paying attention." He loved that she was fearless under fire, but pay her a compliment about anything but her work and she ducked her head and blushed.

She raised her head and said, "What was the second thing you wanted to ask me?"

He hesitated a moment, then moved to sit across from her on the couch, within arms reach. "It's about… well, it's about Daniel." Her eyes widened in surprise, and he rushed to continue before she could say anything. "Or about what you said to Daniel before he left. He heard you, you know. And he said that you were right; he did know."

The color drained from her face and he wanted to reach for her, but first, "He told me to ask you what you said."

She closed her eyes and a lone teardrop slid down her cheek, but her voice was steady when she answered. "I asked him why it was we always wait until it's too late to tell people how we feel. I told him I thought he always knew."

"He knew." Jack was reaching to brush a lock of hair away from her face when she opened her eyes. His hand froze a few inches above her head, then slowly dropped to the back of the couch. "He told me." She waited expectantly for him to continue. "This morning, just before I woke up, I had this dream. Except I don't think it was actually a dream."

"You miss him, too. Your mind could be working that out through your dreams."

"Sam, I'm fairly certain even a mind as twisted as mine could never come up with those damn Oma-isms. And how would I know what you told him in the infirmary? He's not gone – he's too stubborn and too annoying to just leave. He believes he has work elsewhere, but he knew he had something left to do here."

"Which is?"

This time he didn't pull his hand away from her hair. Brushing it gently back, he said, "Giving me the chance to tell you how I feel."

Tears welled up in her eyes again as she stared at him. Jack knew she was going to bolt before she actually moved. He let her run out the door onto the deck, figuring he would give her some time alone. He leaned back, running his hand over his eyes and sighed. "Damn it, Daniel."

Sam watched the sliver of new moon sink lower in the west, the Earth's atmosphere shading it dark pink. Knowing the scientific explanation didn't take away the beauty. She used to dream about walking on the moon's surface, long before she knew what the universe held for her. The beauty, the wonder, the sadness. As the moon slipped behind the trees, she felt him standing behind her.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"No, it's okay. I just wasn't expecting that." She leaned over, resting her forehead against the wood railing. "It still hurts, you know."

"Yeah."

"I don't want to believe he's gone. I want to think that he'll show up unexpectedly one day when we need him. Walk into the briefing, late, trying to organize papers and push up his glasses at the same time, with the idea that explains everything and saves us all."

Her voice muffled, Jack could still tell she was still crying. He gently laid a hand on her back, hesitantly rubbing in small circles. "He always thought that was your job, Sam."

She was in his arms before he knew she had moved, head against his chest, still crying. Instinctively, he wrapped one arm around her and stroked her hair with the other hand. They stood like that until her crying slowed. Jack pulled away slightly and reached for something sitting on a table. He produced the tissue with a flourish. Sam laughed, her voice catching on tears. She took it and looked away to blow her nose. When she looked back, Jack was staring intently at her. Sam looked down; Jack raised her chin with his hand, wiping the tears from her face with his thumb, first on one cheek, then the other.

"Feel better?" he asked.

"Yeah, a little."

"You know, when the crying thing doesn't work for me, I find it helps to break things."

She laughed, stronger this time. "You? Cry?"

"Oh, yeah. Just ask Teal'c. He made me watch Steel Magnolias and at the end we both just cried like babies."

"Now that's something I would pay to see."

She sounded better, Jack thought, but there were still shadows in her eyes. He sighed to himself, thinking that he really did know better than this. Really. Damn.

"Damn," he said out loud as he pulled her close again.

"What?" she asked.

Yeah, she was confused. But she didn't pull away. He could definitely get used to this. "Hell," he said.

"That bad?"

"What? Yeah. No. I mean, I know better. This," he said gently tapping her on the back, "could be a bad idea."

"Now who's breaking the rules? No rank, remember."

"That's here. Monday morning, we go back there."

"So? It doesn't change anything."

"Doesn't it?"

She sighed. "It can't. We have jobs to do. And the SGC is more important than any individual."

"Sam, this isn't going to last forever."

"With our luck, that's probably not a good thing."

"Okay, so you may have a point there," Jack conceded with a wry expression.

Sam shook her head. "I know what you mean, though. But how long do we have to wait? How many more times do we get to this line and just stop?" She stepped back, forcing him to drop his arms.

"I don't know, Sam."

"Well, I'm tired of it. I'm tired of close calls and I'm tired of pretending nothing's wrong. I'm sick of doing what I should do, instead of what I want to do. I'm tired of always being under attack. I hate having the world depend on my finding the right answer. And most of all, I'm tired of losing the people I care about."

"You knew what you were signing up for." He watched her frustrated pace and decided to let her vent.

"Yeah, but that doesn't make it any easier. In fact, I think that makes it worse. I know what to expect, so I feel guilty when I can't hold up under the pressure."

"You think I'd let you out there if you were about to crack?"

"I don't know, Jack. Would you? Sometimes I think you just expect us to keep working like we always have, no matter what happens." She turned away from him, but couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice. "You've certainly acted that way in the past few weeks."

"Yeah, I have. We've lost people before. If we can't do our jobs with that possibility hanging over our heads, then it's time to get out."

"This wasn't just anyone. It was Daniel."

All the regret and hurt Jack felt finally bubbled up and out. "I know that! Damn it, Sam, he was my responsibility and I let him go off alone. I was the one who stopped Jacob from healing him."

Silence hung between them, Sam still staring off into the distant sky and Jack watching her. He finally broke the moment by saying, "And you blame yourself for not being able to save him and me for letting it happen." He walked to the other side of the deck and sat down on the wide bench.

Resting his head against the back of the bench and closing his eyes, he listened for footsteps and doors closing, sounds of her leaving. Deciding it would be easier just to sit out here until it was time to go to work on Monday rather than face the echoes of her inside.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Not your fault."

"It wasn't yours either." Her voice was close; he looked up to see her standing over him, arms wrapped around her stomach. "You couldn't have stopped the accident and it was his choice to leave. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

"Yeah, well, next time I see Daniel, I'll let him know we're mad at him instead." He leaned forward. "I should have been there for you, Sam. I should have known."

"That's dangerous territory for us, remember?"

He reached up and took her hand, tugged her down onto the bench. "When was the last time you slept?"

Accepting his seemingly random change of subject, she shrugged. "Janet gave me something to help me sleep, but I only took it once."

"Why?"

"Because when I sleep, I dream, and the dreams are worse than not sleeping."

"Okay, then. This is not dangerous territory. I am simply doing whatever it takes to keep my team in shape." He slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her toward him. Hooking a nearby chair with his foot, he positioned it where he could prop his feet up and then turned slightly to make Sam more comfortable. "Sam, I can't promise you I'll always be there. I can't promise you that this isn't a bad idea. But for a little while, just let me take care of you."

She smiled. "You think I can't take care of myself?"

"See, there's no good answer to that question. The colonel is well aware that the major is a perfectly capable adult. But they aren't here tonight. And eventually I'm going to have to answer to your father for this, so taking care of you is at the top of my list."

"Jack, we can't let Monday morning, we have to"

"Monday morning the major can go back to watching her own six. Hiding in her lab. Saving the world every third Tuesday. All I'm asking is for right now."

"Jack, it can't go anywhere. The rules are there for a reason. We can't break them just because they don't suit us."

"Who, me? Break rules?" She raised her head to give him a look.

"Look, Sam, I'm not going to do anything that would jeopardize you or the SGC. Work is work; we'll do what we have to. We always do. But I'm not just letting this – you – go. Not anymore. I've lost too much to give you up now."

She considered him for a long moment. "I do not hide in my lab." She propped her feet up on the chair, stretching out next to him and laying her head on his chest.

"Yeah, you do." He wrapped his other arm around her.

"Do not," she said through a yawn.

"Go to sleep, Samantha."

He held her as she slept, not wanting to sleep himself, not wanting to lose a moment of this time together. Still, it was too peaceful not to enjoy it

"I always wanted to see the two of you like this."

Jack didn't even open his eyes. "You don't get out much, do you?"

"Nice to see you took my advice for once."

"The least I could do. You made her cry."

"I made her cry?" Daniel sounded amused.

"Hey, they were your words. I'm just the messenger."

"Looks like you said a few words of your own."

"Yeah, well. This isn't going to be easy."

"The good stuff never is, Jack. Just promise me you won't give up."

"Or you'll do what?" He opened one eye.

"Oh, I'll think of something."

"Phenomenal cosmic power, huh?"

"Something like that." He looked at Sam, a small moment of regret passing over his face.

Jack studied his friend. "You know, you could have told her yourself."

"Yeah. I wanted you to do it."

"So come back again. You can do that, can't you?"

Daniel nodded. "Sometime; somehow. I'm not sure it's a good idea just to pop in and say hi, but I'll be here if you need me. In the meantime, tell her I'm sorry. Tell her I miss her."

"She knows." Jack blinked a couple of times, trying to keep from drifting back into sleep. "We all know." Losing the fight with his heavy eyelids, he said, "Want me to tell the others you were here?"

"It's up to you." Daniel's voice sounded far away. "Take care, Jack."

"Yeah, you…"

Daniel watched over his two sleeping friends for another moment, said "Bye, Jack. Bye, Sam," then disappeared in a little breath of wind.

Sam felt the soft breeze across her face and whispered, "Bye, Daniel." Jack's arms tightened around her, and she fell asleep once again.