Chapter Two: Message Received

A/N: I'm so sorry! I don't know what happened, but this chapter never got uploaded! Most certainly my fault, but here it is! Finally!

Correction: This was originally uploaded with Jack as a Colonel and not as a General. Brain fart on my part, sorry guys! Thank you to ShoeQueen for catching that!

Enjoy!

Sam sat in her lab, laptop open and several reports spread out on her desk. She sighed and looked over at all the papers, each more tedious than the last—but she couldn't bring herself to really mind. She'd noticed herself doing this over the last few months; she would get distracted too easily, take too many snack breaks, type slower than she usually did…and then she'd end up with a mountain of paperwork and no escape.

But she didn't want one. She hadn't really let herself psychoanalyze her behavior, but she knew she was procrastinating on purpose. She barely left the mountain anymore. She told her team that she just had too many projects and too little time. But Sam saw the looks on their faces—they thought she was working too hard, taking on too many things.

But that wasn't it. She was avoiding Pete.

Sam squeezed her eyes closed and took a deep breath. The thought of him made her feel suddenly confined; like she was trapped in a quickly sinking ship. "Sam, we have to pick out colors. Sam we have to pick a cake," She muttered, not realizing she was speaking out loud. She snatched a pile of papers off her desk and shoved it into a manila envelope. "Sam, you have to get a dress, Sam you have to get your flowers, Sam you have to be smothered by me for the rest of your life!"

She slammed another stack of papers into an envelope and made a face. She knew she was behaving unfairly. Pete wasn't actually doing anything wrong…she was. Sam didn't want to pick out a dress or flowers. She didn't want to go to cake tastings. She didn't want to do this.

A soft throat clear from her door startled her and she looked up, for a horrifying second thinking it was the general. But it was Daniel who was leaning against her door frame, arms crossed over his chest, a small envelope dangling from his fingers. "Bad time?"

Sam gave him a tight smile. "Not at all."

Daniel gave her a look and slowly made his way into the room. "Because I can come back. If you want to, you know…finish your argument." He glanced around the room as though to highlight the fact that there was no one else there.

Sam closed her eyes briefly, feeling her cheeks color. "Look, it's not what you think-,"

"I don't think anything." Daniel held up his hand and fixed her with his blue gaze. His expression was unreadable, but Sam thought she saw a glimmer of sadness. 'That doesn't make any sense.' Sam watched her friend watch her, feeling increasingly like she was the suspect in a crime.

Sam glanced at the envelope in his hand and, after two failed attempts, managed to smile. "Whatcha got there?"

Daniel frowned almost imperceptibly, then slid the white paper towards her, his gaze never leaving her face. Sam reached out to take it, but Daniel slid it slightly away, waiting until she looked up at him. "Sam."

"Daniel?" She had the sudden urge to cry. A part of her had been waiting—just waiting—for someone to question her. For someone to ask her why instead of just playing along like she was just supposed to be happy with Pete.

Daniel paused for a long moment, his gaze searching. "I've known you for a long time, Sam. I don't always know what's going on inside your head, but I have a pretty good idea sometimes." He leaned forward and caught Sam's eyes before she could look away. "Why are you here, in your lab, doing paperwork that isn't yours?"

Daniel watched her expression tighten and for a second he thought she was going to tell him to go to hell. Instead she nodded her head minutely and looked down at her desk. "I know. I know." She looked up at Daniel and took the envelope he offered her with shaking hands.

"I'll see you later?" When Sam nodded he turned and quietly made his way from her lab.

Sam looked down at the envelope and frowned. There was nothing written on it, just a blank white slate. She hooked her finger underneath the flap and pulled, the adhesive giving way easily. Taking a deep breath she looked down at the object in her hands and felt her heart drop into her stomach.

It was an old picture, taken a few days after SG-1 had found Ernest. The whole team was standing outside Jack's house where they'd had a 'Welcome Home, Ernest' barbeque. But the picture didn't show that. In fact, she didn't even remember this photo being taken.

The four of them stood together, but only Daniel and Teal'c were smiling at the camera. Sam stood a little off to the side, bent over slightly as she laughed at something the general had whispered to her. Sam unconsciously touched her side, remembering that she had laughed so hard her stomach had been sore for an hour.

But that wasn't what made her heart start to pound. It was the look on the general's face as he smiled down at her that made her breath catch. She had missed his expression in the moment, but she could see it clear as day now. He looked so happy, so proud to have made her laugh. It was an expression she'd only seen glimmers of in the past.

But who had sent it?

Sam turned the picture over, tears threatening to fill her eyes as she read the simple script. I don't think the heart ever grows old. CL.

Catherine.

Sam squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tears to go away. Despite her emotional overload, her brain had gone into overdrive. She had spoken those very words seven years ago when trying to comfort Catherine, who believed Ernest no longer loved her after fifty years of not being able to be together. The heart never grows old…

Sam looked down at the picture again. Was Catherine telling her that she wasn't waiting long enough? A quick count told her that Catherine should have received the invitation to her wedding a couple of days ago. Maybe even yesterday. Was she saying that she hadn't been with Pete long enough to marry him?

No. Sam shook her head. Catherine wasn't old fashioned and this picture would be too out of context if that were the case. 'Stop pretending not to understand.' A small voice nudged at her. 'You know what this is.'

Sam felt her heart start to pound again and she looked up, the open door and hallway beyond it suddenly seemed to gape at her. 'She's telling me that it doesn't matter if it's eight years or fifty. The heart doesn't get tired. The heart doesn't forget.'

Sam stood up so quickly, her stool tipped precariously before righting itself, wobbling back and forth. Her head was spinning and she had to hold on to her desk to keep from sinking to the floor. Was it even possible that it wasn't too late? After everything that had happened-the distance, the coldness, the hurt…

Was there a chance they could fix everything?

"Carter?" His voice so startled her that she nearly fell backwards, the death grip she had on her desk the only thing that kept her upright. He was wearing his civilian clothes and some small part of her mind reminded her that today was his day off. And hers, technically. "You okay?"

"Yes, sir." She tried and failed to sound nonchalant.

"What's going on?" He stepped fully into her lab, concern flitting through his expression. But Sam remembered when he would have looked at her openly, letting her see what was going on in his head. The thought of what they'd lost almost pushed her over the edge.

Instead she laid the picture flat on her desk and pushed it towards her commanding officer. She watched as his eyes traveled slowly down her arm and focused on what her fingers were touching. His expression remained neutral as he reached for the photo, picking it up gingerly with his long fingers.

After a long moment Sam looked up at him, her eyes clear and bright. "Sir."

"Why didn't you tell me that shirt makes me look fat?"

Sam was so taken aback by his words that for a second she forgot that the events of the last year had happened. But she didn't forget how much she missed his jokes and his teasing and the way his eyes crinkled at the corners whenever he made her laugh. After a moment, her laughter subsided and she was able to look at him again without cracking up.

"There's the Carter I've been missing. Feel like I haven't seen you smile in, oh, forever?" But his grin faltered as he looked down at her, evidently remembering that they weren't supposed to be like this anymore.

Sam watched his smile fall and felt like her heart was shattering into a thousand pieces. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. They were never supposed to be strangers.

"Sir?" She saw his hand twitch, but he gave no other indication he'd heard her as he stared back down at the photo. "Jack."

His eyes snapped to hers and she felt like she was in a car going way too fast and heading straight for a cliff. But there was no turning back. "Sam."

"Do you still?" She glanced down at the picture then back up at him, scared that her heart was going to beat right out of her chest.

Jack looked at her for a long moment, letting his eyes rove over her face. Sam met his gaze and held it, knowing that this was it. This was the moment that would change her life no matter what the outcome; but instead of fearing it, she welcomed it. Eight years was a long time to not know.

After what felt like an eternity, Jack smiled ever so slightly and Sam felt her heart skip a beat. "Always."

END

A/N: Just fluff'n'stuff. Hope you liked!

P.S. You guys ready for Ship Day?