Chapter 1
The wind blows softly against the window as a gentle rain begins to fall, making little whispers against the pane. Jack lays awake looking at the ceiling. Of course the sleep he desperately needed refused to come.
‘That’s what happens when you have a 5 am flight,’ he thinks.
He listens as the rain begins to fall harder and closes his eyes, willing sleep to come. Suddenly there is a noise that stands out from the falling rain; a knock on his front door. He sits up quickly, his dog tags jingling against his bare chest as he palms the 9 mil. from his nightstand. He makes his way to the front door and opens it without a thought. His breath catches in his throat when his eyes land on Sam standing on his doorstep, soaked by the rain.
“Carter? What the hell? Get in here,” he says slightly frustrated in more ways than one. He steps aside as she steps in then closes the door behind her.
“You’re soaked, lemme get you a towel. So you gonna tell me why you’re on my doorstep at this hour?” he asks as he heads to retrieve a towel for her.
“I was in my lab and Hammond came to see me. Why didn’t you tell me about your mom?” she asks, taking the towel from him.
He looks into her eyes for a moment before turning toward the kitchen.
“You want some coffee?” he offers, changing the subject.
“Sir, this is a big deal,” she says following him, using the towel to dry her hair.
Jack turns to face her, “Really? You’re pulling out the sirs? You came to my house at 2 in the morning to ask why I didn’t tell you my mom died and now I’m just your commanding officer? Come on Sam.”
She takes a breath, “You know it’s just a habit.”
Jack groans and rubs his hands over his face, “I know. Sorry, I’m just not really myself right now.”
“And that’s why I came over as soon as I found out,” she steps closer and lays her hand on his arm.
“I’m sorry you didn’t hear it from me,” he says after a moment.
“I don’t care who I heard it from, I just want to make sure you are alright.”
After a moment of silence Jack turns and starts making coffee.
“What are you doing?” Sam asks softly.
“Making the coffee I offered you.”
“As you pointed out it 2 am.”
“And my flight I at 5 so I was going to be up in about an hour anyways.”
“Oh, so how long will you...”
“Come with me,” Jack says cutting her off mid-sentence.
Sam looks at him shocked so he continues, “I haven’t seen my family since before Charlie...and the truth is it’s because I was ashamed of having lost my wife and son.”
“But neither of those were your fault Jack.”
“I know, but I still want you to come with me,” he says stepping closer to her. His brown eyes search her blue ones as he waits for her to answer.
She takes a breath, “What time is the flight?”
“5, I was planning on heading out a little before 4.”
“I have a bag in my car ready to go.”
Jack looks at her questioningly and she shakes her head slightly, “When I heard this morning we were getting a few days off I called Mark and was planing on going to see him and the kids. Then after you left Hammond told me why we were getting the time off.”
The smell of freshly brewed coffee fills the room as silence falls between them. Sam shuffles as if she is unsure of the situation.
“You can relax. We just work together and I’ll make sure my family knows that,” Jack says as he pours them each a cup.
He offers her one and then turns and heads into the living room. As he sit on the couch he notices Sam moving to sit next to him. They sit quietly drinking coffee for a few minutes. He turns his head and looks at Sam for a moment before shifting his cup to one hand and motioning for her to move closer.
“Come here,” he says softly.
Sam sets her cup down and moves next to him, laying her head against his chest. His wraps his arm around her and breathes in deeply, her familiar scent washing around him. After a moment Sam turns her face up to his. Slowly he leans down and kisses her gently and deeply. They slowly loose themselves in each other as the rain begins to fall hard on the tin roof of the tool shed. After a moment Jack pulls away slightly and clears his throat.
“If this keeps up I may have to change how I introduce you to my family,” he says.
Sam smiles at him, “If this keeps up our families will be the least of our worries.”
“Unless we don’t tell anyone at all.”
“Is that an option?”
“Would you want it to be?” Jack asks, looking at the woman in his arms as she considers the question.
“I’ve always been good at keeping secrets,” she says after a beat.
“Me too,” Jack says before pulling her closer to him and kissing her again.
