A/N: Hello! Welcome to the final chapter of The Way We Were. Before you read the conclusion to this story, I would like to thank you all for reading and reviewing. This has been the most rewarding experience I have had as a writer, so thank you for being so kind and helpful. I have enjoyed reading your feedback so much, and hope that you will leave me one last review!

It's been a fantastic journey.

Thank you ,

Bekki

Samantha Carter had never been surer of anything in her life.

As a generally confident woman, she was usually quite sure of most things. She was sure of her knowledge of physics, she was convinced in her abilities as a soldier. But she had never been as blindingly assured of any thing in the known universe as she was now.

She was in love with Jack O’Neill.

She knew with something beyond her brain and felt with something far more encompassing than her heart that what she was doing was right. She couldn’t explain it. It was neither a positive nor a negative feeling. It just was.

Right now, regardless of what was going on the world (in the galaxy, even) she was a woman who knew beyond any doubt what she needed. And what she needed was somewhere behind the door she was approaching.

She took in a deep breath. This was it.

She knocked on the door and listened as she heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

She watched as the door knob twisted and a feeling of calm washed over her as she laid eyes upon the house’s sole inhabitant.

“You’re here,” Jack said, after a moment of silence. He sounded as though he thought she’d never come.

“I’m here,” she said and smiled nervously. She may have been supremely confident about her feelings for him, but she was still unsure of how this confrontation would end.

Jack led her awkwardly into his house. She kept her eyes fixed on him as he walked. She could feel butterflies eating their way through her stomach. If breaking up with Pete had been hard, this was near impossible. She wasn’t even sure what she was supposed to say to him.

Jack stopped about two metres into the hall and turned around to look at her again. She drew in a quick breath at his stare. Her confidence was diminishing by the second.

“You ok?” Jack asked, causing her to blush a little.

“I’m fine,” Sam answered, brushing her hair out of her eyes. She was hoping for some small talk at least, before she had to get into the heavy stuff. She looked up into Jack’s eyes and hitched her breath at the intense gaze that was being directed back at her. It seemed Jack was in no mood for small talk; which, in itself was incredibly unusual, and made her even more nervous. “I just went to see Pete.”

“Oh?” Jack asked, with a calmness that irritated Sam.

“Yeah,” Sam said with a nod. “It’s over.”

She looked down uncomfortably and sighed.

“You don’t seem altogether happy about that,” Jack said, coolly.

“No,” she said, surprising herself. A wave of melancholy seeped through her like a dirty needle injection. “I was so close to living happily ever after.”

Now it was Jack’s turn to look uncomfortable. He made a move as though to hold her, but held back, scratching his head to occupy his hands.

“You didn’t have to…” he murmured, stumbling with his words. “I didn’t mean for you to…”

“I didn’t love him,” Sam said. She needed Jack to know that she hadn’t broken off her engagement just because he had mentioned it. He nodded, still looking away from her. The melancholy set in her stomach.

“I never meant for this to happen,” she apologized, not really knowing if she was apologizing for the last week, or for her relationship with Pete.

“It’s ok,” Jack said, a little stale. “Nothing needs to happen…if that’s what you want.”

“No!” Sam said. “I didn’t mean it like that.” Her melancholy was turning into frustration. She had thought he understood everything. “Something needs to happen, Jack. I can’t do this anymore.” She could feel her eyes burning and felt embarrassed on top of everything else. Damn it! She had just been through the week from hell. Surely she could let herself cry if she needed to. She took in a breath and continued. “I don’t want to pretend anymore, and God knows forgetting hasn’t helped!”

She ferociously wiped a tear from her face. She noticed belatedly that she had called him Jack. From the look of the wide eyes staring back at her, she figured that he hadn’t missed it. He looked as though he hadn’t missed much at all.

“So what’s stopping you?” Jack asked. Sam swallowed. Only Jack could possibly recognize that she was still undecided.

“I thought that you didn’t…” She couldn’t finish the sentence. She sounded ridiculous, even in her head.

“What?” Jack asked in disbelief. Sam flushed. He knew exactly what she was saying.

“It’s been eight years,” she defended. “You might have…moved on…” She tapered off.

Jack gave her a hard stare. “Carter, I couldn’t get over you if I tried!”

Sam was floored. She had rarely heard him so forceful, let alone so forceful and loving. “Oh,” was all she could say, and before she knew it, she was being kissed by her boss and the love of her life. The kiss was forceful, yet still the sweetest thing she thought she had ever tasted. She was so surprised that it took her a moment to realize what was happening. Once she had, she closed her eyes and sighed into his embrace. She felt a hand raking through her hair and she pulled him closer. A whole week’s worth of frustration was being squeezed into this one kiss. She felt herself releasing her pent up tension into his mouth, all the while reveling in the feel of his body pressed against hers.

“Ya know, Carter,” Jack said, breaking the contact, “For the world’s smartest scientist, you’re pretty slow on the uptake.” He smiled and wiped away a stray tear from Sam’s face. She laughed quietly and buried her head in Jack’s chest. He laced his hands lazily through her hair.

“Cut me some slack, I did lose my memory you know,” she said, removing his hands from her waist for a second so that she could look at him properly.

She could hardly believe that this was happening. A week ago, she would have been angry if someone had told her she would be in Jack O’Neill’s arms right now. Actually, a week ago, she didn’t know who Jack O’Neill was.

She laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Jack asked.

“I don’t know,” she said. “This is a little…surreal…”

“I know exactly what you mean,” Jack said, and kissed her lightly on the lips. He led her to his couch, pulling two beers out of the fridge on the way.

“Beer?” Sam asked, sitting down and taking a sip.

“Why not? This is a special occasion, isn’t it?”

Sam blushed. “I guess so,” she said.

“Daniel said he might have found the Magoran women,” Jack said conversationally.

“Really?” Sam asked. She wasn’t sure whether she was glad or not. She’d tried to ignore it, but the whole ordeal had been far more painful than she had been willing to admit.

“Hey,” Jack said, “It’s all ok now.”

“I know,” Sam said quietly, and snuggled in close to him. “Thank you, sir…Jack,” She corrected with a smile.

“What for?” Jack asked.

“For being here for me,” she said, closing her eyes against his chest.

“Always,” Jack said and stroked her hair as she felt a relieved wave of tiredness. She snuggled in closer. Jack smiled.

“I love you, Carter,” he whispered. “And don’t you ever forget it again.”

fin