Disclaimer – MGM/Gekko/Double Secret own them.
Heck, *I'm* not even sure what I think of this one! Set anytime you want after Jonas toodles along. Spoilers for ‘Divide and Conquer'. Once again, Anna is the culprit.
This is it for today. It's a parental birthday...
*
He realises it – of all places – in the commissary, just after she laughs at something he's said.
He's not in love with her anymore.
Certainly he still cares about her the way he cares about any member of his team (except maybe Jonas), but that little tug, the brief tightness he feels in his chest whenever she smiles at him...
Is gone.
And in a way, it's a relief. Now, he can just be Jack (though she'll still call him ‘sir'), and she can just be Sam. Two people who care about each other. No more pretending he doesn't care about her at all, just in – *just* in case – one look, one word, one moment is misconstrued. No more worrying he'll do something that'll completely screw up her career. No more twinge of guilt because, stupidly, he feels like he's let Hammond down. No more pretending the za'tarc thing never happened.
No more pretending. At all.
"Sir?" She asks, breaking his train of thought with her voice, and with her hand.
Which is reaching across the table to touch the back of his. She so rarely does that, now.
His heart suddenly leaps into his throat, and if it had been biologically possible, he's pretty damn sure it'd keep going until it spat out of his mouth and lands in his jello dish.
Ah. One of *those* moments. When the repressing and denying and arguing...works. Not the first, and probably not the last. He'd think he'd learn...but he never has yet. Not when it comes to her.
"I'm fine," He doesn't pull away though he really should, worried that one moment will be misconstrued. "Just thoughtful."
Grinning, she removes the hand.
He understands.
He doesn't do thoughtful a lot.
~FINIS