AN: Well friends, here it is. The end of this angst filled little piece. I am sad to be leaving this wonderful playground but, never fear, my muse is already cooking up another piece to torment our favorite pairs. We pick up at the end of Beachhead. There is a reference to the episode when Teal'c was injured and struggled to come back. I cannot for the life of me find right now which episode this is - apologies for that. A huge thank you again to everyone who followed, favorited and reviewed the story over the past several months. Hopefully the ending does not disappoint.

***A huge THANK YOU to the kind soul(s) who nominated this story for the 2015 Sam & Jack Multimedia Awards! I am truly humbled!***

Nodding to Teal'c and Mitchell as they left the small infirmary space, Sam eased herself down on the side of the small bed. "You okay?" she asked, gripping his hand.

A sleepy smile pulled on Daniel's face as he nodded and squeezed her hand. "What about you? You okay?"

Taking in a deep breath, Sam glanced down. "Yeah, I am. Better than I expected anyway." A frown pulled on her forehead as she looked away for a moment before looking back at him. "I'm sorry, Daniel."

"What for?" Daniel asked, his concern for her sudden change of demeanor forcing his fatigue to the background.

"Vala. This," Sam gestured toward the bed, "the intergalactic transference, all of it," she murmured looking down. "For not being there to help you."

"Sam," exasperation laced his tone. "Even if you had been there, there's no guarantee that you could have done anything to prevent it from happening." Tugging on her hand to get her to look at him, he looked at her tenderly. "Jack was right. You really do take the world on your shoulders when you don't have to." Seeing the objection tumbling to her lips, he pinned her with a silent message that she knew he was right. "It's okay. I'm fine," he said softly.

Nodding, she squeezed his hand one more time before she let it go. "I'll let you get some sleep," she said. "Janet will have my head if she finds out I kept you up."

Watching as she moved around the bed, Daniel called to her. "Sam?"

Glancing back, she gave him a sad smile. "I'm okay," she said softly before leaving the room.

Staring out into the white streaks blurring in the black void on the other side of the ship's large observation window, footsteps coming up behind her brought Sam's thoughts back to the here and now. Shifting her gaze, she met Teal'c's eyes in the window. "I never get tired of this," she said softly, providing an explanation for her current activity.

Lowering his head in agreement, the big man stood close to her. "You are troubled," he stated softly after a few moments.

"Yeah," Sam breathed, her shoulders dropping. "I think I need to come back to the SGC and yet," she stopped, wincing in lieu of finishing her confession.

"You do not believe you will be an effective warrior," Teal'c stated.

"I'm just afraid I won't be," Sam replied, her voice low. "That I'll let you, Jack and the others down."

"Because you are, as others have said, human?" Humor laced the man's tone. He ignored the searing look thrown his way in the glass. Swallowing, Teal'c scanned her features before he cocked his head. "Did you think less of me when I returned after being broken?"

Seeing her frown and slight shaking of her head to indicate his statement confused him, he continued. "When I no longer had my symbiote and was severely injured," he clarified.

"Jack said you'd lost you're mojo," she answered softly. "But we knew we could still rely on you like we always had. Junior was only one part of you. Loosing him did not eliminate all that you were."

"I felt it was so. I was wrong. As you are wrong now."

The deep rumbled confession vibrated in Sam's chest. Blinking back the wetness that appeared in her eyes, she drew a shaky breath. "You still trust me to cover your back?"

Teal'c nudged her to turn toward him. Resting a hand to her shoulder, he locked eyes with her. "There is only one other human who I trust more to do so," he said softly. "I would gladly have you stand by my side in the fiercest battle SamanthaCarter."

"Even now?" Sam choked out, a single tear trailing down her cheek.

Softness pulled at Teal'c features as he reached up and caught the stray tear on his finger. "Even now," he vowed.

Running her fingers across the letters on the etched headstone, Sam blinked back the tears that threatened to escape. She had sworn to herself that she would not cry over him again. Instead she would be thankful for the brief moments she had the tiny boy in her life.

Hearing a car come to a halt and the sound of a car doors closing, Sam glanced back. The sight of Jack brought her to her feet. Reading his body language and facial expressions, she knew he was here for her. Waiting until he had stopped in front of her, she gripped his hand. "I'm okay," she murmured.

Scanning her features and reading the truth of her words, Jack let a smile tug on his lips and squeezed her hand. Raising his other hand, he showed her a single white rose. "For him," he confessed, stooping down to lay it across the cold marble.

"Pure love and innocence," she murmured, recognizing the meaning of the rose color. Wrapping her free hand around his arm as he stood, she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Fits him," Jack agreed.

After a few moments of reflection, Jack glanced down at Sam. Seeing only a hint of sadness on her features, he looked closer to see acceptance in her face also. Realizing she was finally coming to peace with everything that had happened, he allowed a slow breath and long held tension to seep from his body.

Feeling the change in him, Sam moved her head and rested her chin on his arm so she could look at his face. "What?"

A smile pulled at his mouth. "You found what you needed out there," he said.

Reflecting for a moment, Sam met his eyes. "Yeah, I guess I did."

Exaggerating a sigh, Jack turned them away from the grave. "Guess we better go talk to Cassie." Seeing her questioning look, he clarified. "See if she wants to move to a smaller place now or stay there until the end of the lease."

Stopping their progress, Sam turned toward him. "I never said I was leaving Nevada." The look she got back had 'not in words' echoing in her head. A raised eyebrow daring her to say she wasn't going to request to go back to the SGC made her look away guiltily. Turning, she started to walk with him again. "How'd you know I was here anyway?"

"I always know where you are Carter." Reading the uncertainty if she should be flattered or freaked by that statement, Jack simply said, "Planes waiting at Peterson for us. Cass said she made reservations for nineteen thirty so we're going to have to hustle if we're going to make it."

A slight creasing of her forehead had him shrugging self-consciously. "Figured we'd either be celebrating or commiserating. Either way, you'd need us."

Spinning, Sam grabbed his lapel and pulled him into a soul-searing kiss. When she finally pulled back, both of them were flushed and panting. Flickering his eyes away from her features toward the car, a smirk pulled at his lips. "I think you just scared that poor Lieutenant out of at least five years," he said. "Right now he's trying to figure out if he needs to report a Lieutenant Colonel and General for making out in a graveyard."

Snorting, Sam glanced back. "If this is the most startling thing he ever sees in his life, he'll be okay." Glancing back again, a frown crossed her forehead when she realized there was only one car remaining. "My bag was in there," nodding to the empty spot where the sedan that had brought her had been.

"Now, it's not," Jack quipped, nodding his head to indicate she should start forward. "No sense two cars going when we're going to the same place."

"Ah," Sam replied, a grin tugging on her lips. "Saving tax payer's money, no doubt."

Setting his sunglasses back on his face, he quipped. "Yep." Tossing her a smirk, he added, "Well, that and there are fewer witnesses when I do this," he added, stopping to brush his lips against hers. Hearing a choked gasp from the nearby car, he grinned. "Let's go explain the facts of life to that airman before we have to perform CPR on him."

the end
July 2015