1. Torn Ch 1: I'll Never Get Used To This

**Torn **

_by Kiwi4624_

Disclaimer: well … yeah not mine and will never be … tear …

AN : the title of this wont make sense for some time but yeah it will make sense if I keep writing this … ill have the next chapter up sometime tomorrow….

_Jacks POV_

"Daniel find your rocks, Sam dig up your dirt, Teal'c watch their sixes"

_God I will never get used to this…_

"SG-1 you have a go."  
"Yes, sir" Carter said looking up at me only for the briefest moments then turning back to my, damn it, her team. "Let's go guys." And with that I was left alone, well not counting the hundred or so people under my command still in the building.

"Sir!" _damn!_

"Yes Siler?"  
"Nothing sir, you just were standing there for a while and well... never mind sir."

"Oh, sorry Siler." And I'm off to try to finish my paperwork and make a dent in the ever-so-important mountain of memos. Cause the SGC can't wait one freaking day to find out what next years lunch menu is going to be! It's February for Christ's sake!

People always knew that within a couple hours of SG-1 leaving on a mission not to cross paths with Gen. O'Neill unless it was absolutely necessary, but today he seemed to especially 'eerked' (as Jack would put it) more than other days.

_There was a bored as hell man and Jack was him name-O, J, A, C, K, …. "_Damn I cant even make up a song to preoccupy me." He said aloud._ I cant do this!_ And with that thought Jack stood out of his chair, walked out of his office locking the door on his way out, and went and changed into his civvies and was just in the elevator when that chevron guy jumped out at him almost giving him a heart attack.  
"Jesus Christ Sgt. what ARE you trying to do!"  
"Sorry Sir, but Gen. Hammond sent this to you."  
"Well put it on my desk Walter."  
"Its been on your desk for a week now."  
Jack mouthed 'Oh' and took the envelope.  
"See you tomorrow sir."  
"Yeah, see you later." And with that Jack entered the elevator and started to the surface.

_What to do tonight …. Alright its 2000 hours so I got some time before I can even possibly try to fall asleep._ Jack thought as he finished signing out at the last checkpoint, and pulled out of the parking lot. Every time SG-1 was out on a mission Jack never slept right. Even when he tried to drink himself to sleep, the first time SG-1 had an overnight mission, didn't work. But what it did do was make him somewhat hostile to the marines of SG-3 the next morning at their 0700 briefing. He normally doesn't mind SG-3 briefings cause they get to kick ass all the time and never go on scientific excursions, so he at least understands what they are talking about. But boy did he let them have it what they asked him near the end of the briefing when they insisted on screaming (talking to most people who aren't dealing with a hangover) the final reports of their recent training exercises.  
_It just never felt right for them to be out there without me there to protect them. I know that's retarded and somewhat cocky but still its just, God I don't know, Jesus Christ! _Jack just stopped before hitting the minivan in front of him so he decided it would probably be best if he concentrated on the drive home before he got into any heavy thinking.  
He pulled into his drive and practically crawled into the house. Being a General just isn't what everyone cracked it up to be. _Hammond set me up._ He thought as he fetched himself a Guinness and sat down on his couch and turned on the TV, flipping through channels.  
_Simpsons…. Simpsons…. Simpsons…. Simpso AH there we go!_

AN : please review and let me know if I made any mistakes or anything and how you like it… feedback PLEASE lol  …


	2. Torn Ch 2: Unexpected Visitor

AN: this chapters a little short but yeah this was a good place for it to stop… im almost finished with the next chapter… so ill probably have that up sometime on Saturday or something… also thanks to everyone who reviewed… I don't have time to thank everyone personally but thank you very much cause getting reviews makes me write faster nudge nudge hint hint :)…

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"JESUS! IM COMING!" Jack yelled to the insistent banging on his door. "What the fu…" He froze and his words were cut off by the young woman holding a suitcase ... and crying, as soon as Jack noticed her tearstained face he suddenly sprang back into motion. "Cassie! Come in." He said as he ushered her inside. He took her suitcase and set it at the bottom of the steps and then put his arm around her shoulders and led her to the couch.

"Jack…" Her voice cracked and she started to cry. Jack sat down beside her and pulled her into as best of an embrace one can give when both party's are sitting down. He reached for the remote and turned off the TV. _God that hurt._ He thought as his neck cracked and ached from being forced into an uncomfortable sleeping position last night on the couch.

"Shh… Cassie, its okay, whatever it is it'll be okay I promise you…" he kept whispering encouragement into her ear until her sobs subsided and she released the tremendous hold she had on Jack but he kept one arm slung over her shoulders and kept her right next to him.

"I'm sorry to bother you this early but I really had no" her voiced cracked again but she would be damned if she couldn't even apologize without bursting into tears. "Jack I just didn't have anywhere else in town to go. I tried Sam's, and Daniel's but neither were home, and…" Jack cut her off.

"Well I see where I stand on your list." He said sarcastically, feigning hurt and sadness

"No Jack I just…" and with that she broke down again.

_FUCK! _"Come here"he gathered her into his arms again and kept apologizing. That was the last thing he was planning to do, he wanted to make her laugh not cry. But Jack O'Neill was not as emotionless as people believe. He just didn't show his emotional side around many people. And when Cassie felt a tear fall on her forehead she pulled away.

"Jack?" she questioned. "It's not your fault, I'm not upset with you."

"I know Cass." Jack O'Neill could show his emotions but he wasn't about to break down in front of a young woman who to him was like the daughter he never had. "Don't worry about me. Come on, tell me what's wrong."

His eyes were no longer slightly misty, they were the normal color and looked the same as they did any other time. The only thing that betrayed him was the one wet streak that the tear left falling from his left eye.

"Jack, I don't know…"

"Cass, look I know I may not be a woman like Carter, or as good with words as Daniel but I do love you, and I have been known to shell out some good advice if the situation calls for it." He smirked, which brought the reaction he was hoping for out of Cassie, a smile.

"Maybe later, Jack. I just want to hang out, could we maybe play cards like we used to?"

"Exactly how we used to?"

"Please" she begged.

"I don't know if my knees are up to it. I haven't been going in the field for a while so they'll probably argue a little but I can deal." Cassie practically leapt off the couch and grabbed Jacks hand and led him up the stairs.

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AN : all kinds of reviews are welcome … a little constructive criticism never hurt anyone… at least that I know of… so yeah please review if you want to… 


	3. Torn Ch 3: Cassie's Story

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AN: I want to say thanks to everyone who reviewed... this chapter is probably PG-13 and later on in the story it might be labeled under R because im not really sure how much i can do and really keep it under PG-13 ... so anyway on with the story...

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Four hours later they were still in the same position. Both of them sitting Indian style opposite of each other on Jack's king size bed, playing cards. 

"So how's life out of college treating you." He said awkwardly while discarding a card.

"Rum!" Cassie shouted.

"Damn. I didn't know you laid down those 5's"

"Gotta pay attention, old man." She said while grinning and adding the 5 to her others.

"Oh you're gonna pay for that remark Cassandra."

"I'm sure."

"But seriously, how's your job going?"

"It's okay but it gets boring when I think about what could be going on over here." Cassie had decided to become a Doctor like her adopted mother. Although her job wasn't nearly as exciting as having to figure out new off-world cures like the Doctors at the SGC got to do on a regular basis.

"Well, I think they have a name for what you're feeling."

"Really what?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow in a Teal'c like manner.

"Depravation-o-Jack O'Neill- ism" he at least managed to keep a straight face up until she slapped him on the arm.

"You always were an ass Jack." She laughed.

"Mind your tongue woman." He said sternly.

"Oh you can't be serious."

"My house, my rules." He shrugged.

"Hypocrite!" she shouted. To which he just smiled.

"Where are you going?" he asked her retreating form.

"I'm going to use your facilities if its okay with you. And don't look at my cards!" she shot back from behind a closed bathroom down connected to his bedroom.

"Yeah, whatever." He sat his cards down as well.

When she came back out she headed for the other door.

"Now where are you going?"

"I'm gonna get a drink, you want something?"

"Yeah a Guinness, please."

"Alright!" she said from the steps. When she returned with a Guinness for him and drinking her own, she almost spit hers out, laughing at the expression on his face.

"What are you staring at all surprised?"

"Cass, I will never get used to you drinking beer."

"Jack, you guys need to stop treating me like a child." She said bluntly.

"Cass, I didn't mean to insult you, its just I've known you since you were what, 12?"

"I know but still." She joined him back on the bed and returned to their game. Although this time Jack noted she didn't try to start up a conversation or continue ones he tried to start. When they finished that hand he gathered up the cards and leaned back against the headboard and stared at her.

"Cassie, why did you come here? Not that I mind cause believe me today has been fun, although Walter seemed pretty upset when I told him I wasn't coming in today. But more importantly what's wrong, I hate seeing you upset. Hell I hate seeing anyone I love upset, whether it be you, Daniel, Carter, or Teal'c." Suddenly as if he flicked on a switch she lit up.

"See that's love right there!"

"Yeah Cassie, I would never hurt you, and I want to be there," she cut him off.

"No not me you dipshit!" she practically screamed. "You and Sam!"

"Cassie." He warned.

Cassie was always the one to bring up Sam's name to him. When the old gang would go out to eat, SG-1, the Doc and Cassie, she would always be there to pull him aside and say things like 'Doesn't Sam look beautiful tonight', 'Why don't you ask Sam to dance, she looks like she would want to.', 'Maybe _you_ should take Sam home tonight.'.

"No, damn it Jack!" She got off the bed and started to pace around his room, pointing a finger at him. "You two love each other but you're too thick headed to even think of the possibilities that you could be together! I mean for cryin' out loud Jack!"

"Cassie why do I have a feeling you're not upset about me and Carter?" He got up as well and grabbed her shoulder and motioned with his other hand to the edge of the bed. She took the hint and they both sat, slightly facing each other.

"Jack I just don't know what to do." He squeezed her shoulder for encouragement and she continued. "I met this guy, he thought he knew me from somewhere but he couldn't place it. He asked me one day on the subway if he knew me from somewhere and I said no."

"Okay well that hardly seems something to be upset about."

"Jack for once, can you just listen?"

"I'm sorry Cass, continue, please."

"Well he asked me out and we went to see a movie, and he was a complete gentleman the whole time, and then we went to a nice dinner and he paid for everything and he was so polite. At the end of the evening he walked me to my door and…" seeing Jacks discomfort she paused and thought this over, "Jesus I cant believe I'm telling you this, you obviously aren't comfortable." There was no accusation in her voice, it was just stated matter-of-factly.

"No Cassie, its okay, I dont like where this is headed but still."

"Oh God, Jack no!" She laughed. "I'm not about to give you details of my sex life!"

"Okay then carry on. Even though I don't really want to know that you have a sex life right now" He said while joining in on the laughter with a chuckle or two, but she stopped.

"There you go again with treating me like a child. I'm 24 years old and I can fuck whoever I want!"

"Cassandra!" _well that got her attention _"I was joking Jesus Christ! My first time was when I was sixtee…" He mentally slapped himself, he did not want to be telling this to Cassie. "Never mind that but please calm down and continue, I swear ill shut up until you want me to talk." He raised his right hand, and covered his heart with his other.

"Fine now…. Yeah he walked me to my door and I asked him if he would want to come in for coffee or, something." She paused for dramatic purposes only cause well everyone knows how fun it is to see Jack O'Neill squirm. It doesn't happen a lot but when it does, damn is it funny. "But being a perfect gentleman like he was he sweetly declined." Jack let out a small breath he didn't know he had been holding, but luckily for him it went unnoticed by Cassie.

"Okay." He stated simply to let her know that he was listening.

"Well he asked me if he could see me again, and I said sure and I told him to call me cause he already had my phone number. We kissed and then I went inside and he got back into his truck and went home. "

"Um…Cassie?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I say something?" at her nod he continued, "I'm still not picking up on why you're upset."

"I'm not done yet." She smiled a little and then she continued her story. "Well we dated for a while and he was so nice the whole time, always polite and courteous, it was actually starting to get annoying. I mean I love when he's sweet and caring, but I thought he was trying too hard to be a gentleman around me and not being himself. And well I'm a young woman and young women need to have their needs met." At seeing Jack's confused expression, she sighed. "Jack things are a little different now in the dating scene and usually most people don't wait until after the 7th date to… well um…. _do _certain things."

"Oh, um… okay." He swallowed hard.

"Jack I can stop now if you want."

"No I'm okay, I want to be here for you and if that means coming to terms with the younger generations' ways of going about … certain things, then so be it." He smiled to let her know that he meant it and that she shouldn't worry about his reactions to anything. "Nothing you say will change my opinion of you." And this time she truly believed him.

"Well on our 8th date when he walked me to my door, I asked him to come inside, as I have been since our first date, but this time, unlike the previous dates he accepted and followed me inside." This time she saw no change in Jack's face and she was grateful for that. "Well we talked for a while, and then we sat down and watched TV. About 20 minutes after that, I looked at him and noticed that he hadn't been watching the TV at all. We started kissing and well one thing led to another, and well I shouldn't have to spell it out for _you _Jack."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he accused, half-heartedly.

"Come on I've heard about your, well lets say conquests shall we, there was that girl that made you old, that Laura chick or was it Lauren, or Laira or whatever the hell her name was and…" she however was cut off from reciting the rest of her list.

"I do not, I repeat, I do not view any of my sex life, or the people in it as conquests." He said sternly. "Sex is not just an act Cassandra, its showing a person that you love them." She looked into his eyes and saw nothing but sincerity and love. Love for her, and she was sure love for the ones he has loved, and for the one he does love, even if he didn't know it yet.

"I'm sorry, Jack I didn't mean it like that."

"There's nothing to apologize for, I was just stating a fact. Now continue, please." He said the last in a much softer tone.

"Okay, well yeah, we had sex and I realized that he wasn't trying to be loving and caring and sweet, he _was _caring and loving and sweet. He carried me to my bedroom, and laid me on the bed and before he let himself go, he made sure I was," she paused, now herself starting to feel awkward, but was saved from further embarrassment when Jack cut her off.

"Yeah he made sure he made you, uh," he coughed, "yeah I think I get the point you're trying to make."

"Yeah, anyway afterwards I cried, and he asked me if I was a virgin and if he had hurt me. I told him no, I wasn't a virgin and that he didn't hurt me. I was just so touched by the fact he thought he had hurt me and seemed so upset and broken about that possibility that I started to cry more. He held me close and promised me it was okay, whatever it was, it would be okay. I told him it was already okay, and that even though we had only known each other for two and a half months, I told him I loved him and I really meant it Jack, and the thing is, he said it too, and he meant it. I could tell in his eyes that he meant it." She paused to try and judge his reaction.

"Okay, I'm really happy for you Cassie, but why did that get you so upset? It seems to me that, that was a great time."

"I'm not saying it wasn't great I mean it was better then great, it was earth shattering. I mean he knew exactly what to say and do, and oh my god his hands and um... oh my god, I'm sorry Jack I'll stop with the details."

"Thanks, I really don't like to hear anyone's details, so yeah, don't feel offended."

"I'm not."

"Okay so if that was such great sex then why are you all upset." Suddenly Jacks jaw clenched, and he got off the bed, and knelt down in front of her, and places his hands on her knees. "Cass, tell me the truth, did he do anything to you, make you do anything you didn't want to? Cause if he did I swear to whatever god there is I will track him down and…"

"No! God no, Jack I love him and he loves me, at least I thought he did."

"Cass, tell me what happened then." He looked up at her and grabbed her chin and made her look into his eyes, and he saw they had misted over.

"I really don't know what happened. We never really talked about our past life too much. We mostly chatted about things in today's world, and our common interests. We loved so many of the same things it just seemed meant to be. We loved the same movies, music, and he even loved Wormhole X-Treme, how crazy is that? We just kept going out on dates, but he practically lived at my house. So dates were sort of dumb, since we went basically everywhere but work together. But one night after we made love and we were just lying in bed, he said that he felt so retarded, and ashamed. I asked him why and he said because he never asked me my last name. I realized then that I didn't know his either, and I told him not to be ashamed cause we had so much in common and we always had things to talk about we never really asked each other about our last names. I know Jack, I know, how could I sleep with someone who I didn't even know their last name."

"Hey I didn't say anything. But yeah" he paused, cocked his head to the side and squinted, "you never once thought about his last name?"

"No I just knew I loved him, and nothing else really mattered. Well anyway, I told him my last name is Fraiser. He said my name aloud a couple times and said that it was pretty but then it looked as if someone had hit him the face with a bag of bricks. He just bolted upright and started to put on his clothes mumbling about what an asshole he was and how stupid he was for not thinking and stuff like that and like that, he was gone."

"Son of a bitch." He mumbled.

"Jack please," she sighed, but it was a deep throated sigh broken by sobs wanting to get out, "I decided maybe something was wrong apart from me, and that maybe he needed some time away from me. So I didn't call him for 2 weeks, I promised myself that I wouldn't call him that I would wait until he called me. Well I finally ran into him at the grocery store one day and he told me that he couldn't do this anymore, that he couldn't see me anymore. He said it wasn't me that it was him. That he wasn't who I thought he was. I tried to tell him I didn't care that I loved him, and he told me he didn't love me, but the thing is I could see it in his eyes. I could always read his eyes. When he turned me down on our first date I _knew _he wanted to come inside but he wouldn't. He said he didn't love me but in his eyes I only saw love. He ended up walking away and I stood there for a while after just gripping onto the handle of my cart. I didn't even end up buying anything I picked out, I just got in my car, drove home, and I had every intention of just getting the hell out of dodge. I just wanted to get away from this place where no matter where I looked I saw his face, his smile, his eyes. Well my car just drove here."

"You drove all the way from New York to Colorado, just because you had to get out of dodge? Honey you could have got on a plane. How did you make it here so soon?"

"I only slept one time for like 5 hours, I just kept driving."

"God Cassie, I think you take after me, if you're going to do something, do it as fast and best as possible."

"Yeah" she chuckled, which made him smile. "Well so there's my story." She looked down at her lap and her eyes started watering. Tears fell as she said "Thanks for listening, Jack."

"Always, I will always listen. I will always be there for you. Now I think you should get to sleep, you've had a hard couple of days."

"Alright." She got up and stretched, and she headed toward the guest room where they had put her stuff into earlier. "Once again, thanks Jack."

"Think nothing of it. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

_Jesus Christ I was not expecting that, man how did it get this late? 2200 hours, jeesh maybe I should take off tomorrow to…hm…_

With that he got undressed, but instead of going commando tonight, he left his boxers on, I mean come on, he has company people!

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AN: please review... the next chapter will be up soon cause i think im pretty much done with it... 


	4. Torn Ch 4: Show For The Neighbors

AN : I'm so sorry to those of you who might have been waiting for the next chapter... my internet was just flipping out and i couldnt upload anything... anyway yeah here ya go... oh and please review, it makes me feel good and speeds up the writing and criticism is fine as well just dont completely put me down... thanks... R&R ...

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Jack woke to the smell of something burning and immediately jumped out of bed, well um… fell would probably be the better word. He ran downstairs to find Cassie standing over the stove with smoking coming out of the pan of what could only be really burnt bacon.

"Cassie!"

"Jack oh my god I am sooooo sorry I was just trying to make you breakfast for being so nice yesterday and well I got distracted and well…" she stopped.

"Cassie don't worry about it." He said while reaching around her and turning off the stove and moving the pan into the sink.

"So Cass what are you planning on doing today?" he asked while rinsing cold water onto the pan.

"I have no idea, I was thinking maybe going to go check into a hotel or something until I figure out when I'm going back to New York and then call my work and let them know… what?" she asked after Jack held up one finger to silence her.

"First you're not checking into a hotel, second you can go grocery shopping, and third when you're done with that you can come into the SGC and keep me company." He smirked.

"First I need a place to stay, second I'm not going to go grocery shopping for you, and third aren't you a general now shouldn't you have a lot of stuff to do?" she countered.

"First you're going to stay… damn it," hewas confusing himself,"Cass you can live here if you want but if you do you might want to go grocery shopping because you've probably already noticed I don't have a lot to eat here, and you can come keep me company because SG-1's coming back today and im sure they'd love to see you."

"Jack are you sure you want me staying here?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't sure."

"Alright, then I'm going to need some money." She said while holding her hand out.

"How about I go get dressed first since I don't feel like giving a neighbors a show this early in the morning." He chuckled.

"Yeah…" she laughed after noticing his clothing or lack thereof.

Jack headed up the stairs and took a shower. Afterwards he got dressed in the usual khaki pants and blue button down shirt. He went back downstairs after grabbing his wallet and shoving it in his back pocket.

"Hey Cassie, if I give you money, you are going to come back right?" he yelled from the stairs. "Cassie?" he asked after not getting a response. He looked around the kitchen and she wasn't there, then he noticed the door going out to the deck was open. He looked out and saw Cassie talking on her cell phone. He walked out onto the deck to join her.

"Look I gotta go but can you please just give me a call I really need to talk to you, bye."

"Cassie was that him?"

"His answering machine."

"Well Cassie just some words of wisdom, he'll call you when he feels he needs to, and there really isn't anything you can do to make him want to call you, you can only do things that will make him want to not call you." At seeing here confusion he continued, "Okay if he gets a message from you he knows that you're still interested and he wont feel the need to call you so soon because he knows that your still there, but if you don't call him he wont know if you still want him and he will need to call you sooner because he wont want to lose you."

"Jack, how do you know that?" she said almost accusingly

"Because that's the wayall guys operate, until they realize what jackass'swe were being and knew women were too precious to be used like that."

With that she practically threw herself into him, and all he could do was hug her back.

"Jack you are so understanding, and caring." She muffled against his chest.

"What?"

"I said Sam is one lucky woman." He pulled away but held onto her hand and led her back into the living room and sat her on the couch.

"Alright look Cassandra, I know you have been out of the loop for a while now but you still know that Carter and I can be no more than friends, now more than ever." He added the last bit with a touch of bitterness.

"What does that mean?"

"Oh I guess Carter forgot to mention it, yeah she's engaged." He tried to sound happy he actually did but Cassie could see right through it.

"What the hell? To who? That stupid ass she was with?" she questioned.

"It sounds like that same guy but im not sure, it's a cop named Pete Shanahan."

"I cant believe shes going to marry him, I thought she was smarter than that."

"What do you mean smarter?"

"Nothing I cant say anything."

"Cassandra?" he warned.

"No Jack I promised her, but I'm telling you she cannot marry that man."

"Cass why?"

"Nothing, I promise I'll tell you later but right now I have to go shopping and you have to go to work."

"Alright but don't think I'm going to let this slide I want the whole story tonight."

"Okay Jack."

And with that they were putting on jackets and heading outside to go separate ways.

Later that day, Cassie did come into the SGC, and not having any trouble getting through the security checks to her surprise and filled Jack in on what she bought, and returned his credit card. SG-1 came home and was ecstatic to see Cassie. They went through the usual 'Whats been happening in New York' and 'How have you been' after the post mission physicals and their briefing, but Cassie didn't talk much with them, but instead returned to Jack's office.

"Yeah Cass, what's up?"

"Nothing, I'm just not feeling so well can I go back to your house and sleep a little and just chill?"

"Yeah go ahead do you still have your old key?"

"No, I think I left it at your house."

"No biggie, here take my spare." He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a key and handed it to her, "Here, just let me know if you go anywhere else so I don't get worried" He laughed at himself and how parenty he was sounding.

"Okay mom!" her retreating form tossed back from out of his office.

Not much later than that another knock came at his door.

"Yeah Carter come in." She didn't come in however.

"Sir how do you know it's me?" she asked.

"You always knock the same way, now just come in, will ya?"

She came in and shut the door behind her, which automatically made him feel uneasy.

"Sir, what's Cassie really doing here?"

"What do you mean Carter?"

"Well she said she told all of us that she had some time off from work and wanted to visit, but I knew that there was something else. Well, when I asked her about it later when it was just the two of us she brushed me off and didn't even say a word to me and then left."

"Well Carter, I'm not her keeping I don't know."

"Well the thing is Sir, right now apparently you are." She said fiercely, probably a little more than was intended, so he let it slip.

"What are you talking about _Col._" He stressed the last part to make her realize she was definitely treading on thin ice.

"I'm sorry Sir," she sighed, "I let her cool off a little and I checked for her a little while ago but a guard said she had gone home, and I asked him where she was staying and he said that she was staying with you for the next couple days, and well Sir that means she must have not have planned to come down or else she would have stayed in a hotel or something or made plans with you first. And since you didn't say anything about her coming down I just assumed it was a spur of the moment kind of thing."

"Well Carter, never could get anything past you. But seriously if she hasn't told you anything, then why are you so sure there's anything wrong?" He said trying to keep a smile of his face. He would never admit it but the fact that this time Cassie felt like she could confide in him and no one else made him feel useful again, maybe not in the field anymore but still as a person.

"It was just a feeling I got, Sir."

"Well, I don't know what else to tell you Carter, plus I about to head home now, I think I've done enough paperwork for one day." He said while standing up and putting on his BDU jacket. "Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go change into my civvies. See ya later Carter." He threw after leaving his office and heading through the briefing room.

"Pease Sir, do you at least know why she'd bemad at me?" She asked following him out to the briefing room. He turned back to her

"Not a clueCarter." He turned around and Sam could have sworn before she heard him tell Walter to lock him office up for him she heard, "Might have something to do with that ring on your finger" before the door behind him closed.

Sam was left there staring at her finger, complete with an engagement ring that she usually put right after coming back from missions.

The next day was mostly uneventful, no SG teams were due back and only SG-3 were leaving and they left at 900 hours this morning. It was now 1300 hours and O'Neill was walking through the halls looking for his favorite science twins to go have lunch with him.

He entered Carter's lab to find that she had fallen asleep at her computer. He hated to wake her but if he didn't her neck would be screaming at her the rest of the day.

"Carter," he whispered, "come on time to wake up."

"Jack?" she questioned.

"Well yeah, _Samantha_." He laughed.

"Sir?" she questioned more alert now and completely woken up after being called by her full name.

"Nothing, you called me Jack earlier," he trailed off, "nevermind." He cleared his throat. "You up for some lunch Carter?"

"Actually Sir, yeah." She said while rolling her head from side to side.

"Alright lets go get Daniel," he trailed off noticing she winced trying to rise up off the chair. He grabbed her arm and steady her as she almost lost her balance. "Carter you okay."

"Sir?" she asked in a voice he rarely heard from her, a voice with a frightened edge to it. Her legs failed underneath her and he barely caught her. He then noticed she had lost consciousness. With her firmly in his grasped he swung her into his arms and ran to the infirmary.

He didn't care how many strange looks he received from people as he the commander of this base ran carrying in his arms his 2IC, who many have speculated a romantic relationship between himself and her. All he cared about was getting her to the infirmary and finding out what the hell was wrong with her. His brain was in overdrive so much he barely noticed her waking up and wincing every time he took a step and she was juggled.

* * *

AN: please review ... pretty please ...


	5. Torn Ch 5: Jen

**AN : Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing it really motivates me to keep this story a-going… I read through some of the earlier chapters and noticed some typos and such so im probably going to go and fix them too…. Sorry this is kinda short but I just felt I needed to post it… it's a lot of information and not much action but its important so yeah… ill try with the next chapter soon, but I had an epiphany about another little story a one chapter one so look for it soon im almost finished… yeah enough babbling onto the story…**

_The Infirmary_

Sam woke to Jen the new CMO at the SGC sitting next to her. Sam didn't like Jen when she first started heading the infirmary but that was because she kept comparing her to Janet. Jen tried to be friends with Sam, since they were both "leading ladies" here at the SGC she thought she could confide in Sam. It took a while for the two to become friends, but it happened one day. Jen ran into Sam on night as they were both leaving, Jen because she almost passed out on a marine from SG-3 and Sam after being ordered off the base by O'Neill. Sam asked if she wanted to go get some coffee and something quick to eat and Jen accepted. They ended up talking at a diner for a couple of hours. They both liked the same things, and they both were hardcore work-a-holics. Sam helped her understand how much Janet was loved at the SGC and that's why some people haven't really opened up to her yet, especially O'Neill, who pretty much takes a long time to let anyone close to him. At hearing the mention of the General Jen brought up the grapevine gossip about her and General O'Neill and Sam answered with her normal "We're friends who have been working together for a while, of course we're going to care about each other." Although Jen could see right through that she let it go for that night.

They got together more and more and they finally became sort of best friends and finally one drunken night Sam told Jen all about her and O'Neill's relationship, a lot more then she had told anyone else. Jen listened and put her two cents in and just helped Sam through the anger and frustration of the whole situation. Jen told about her fathers drinking problems and her mothers cancer and that's what drove her into the field of medicine. Sam helped her get through her break up with her steady boyfriend Jason a couple months after that first drunken night and created another drunken night. Every weekend that they could they got together and it always included at least one drunken night because they could be free with each other and they knew the other would be there in the morning to help them through the hangover.

But Jen never let their friendship get in the way of Sam's treatment in the infirmary. She was strict and didn't let Sam get away with the "I'll go to bed as soon as I get back to my office" routine and made sure the General knew when she was not taking care of herself.

So when she told Sam this her voice was light and caring, letting her know that right now she was talking to her as a friend. "Sam, you need to tell me what happened."

"Nothing happened. I fell a couple times on the mission."

"Sam, none of these bruises were obvious during your post-mission physical."

"Look, Jen you're a doctor, you know bruises take a while to actually show up."

"But as your doctor you need to tell me exactly how you got them."

"I told you _Doctor_, I fell. And as to why I fainted, I haven't been sleeping well and I just sat up too fast. Now can I go, because the last time I checked you can't hold a patient due to some bruises." She spat out at her friend.

"No I cant, but I will have to report this to the General, but maybe you should tell him, he did seem a little shaken up when he brought you in here."

"Yeah I guess you're right. And Jen I'm sorry about being such a bitch, you know how I get when I'm not sleeping well."

"Yeah, about that, I'm going to prescribe you some sleeping pills. Hold on a second I'll be right back with the prescription." And with that Jen walked into her office. A little while after Sam saw O'Neill poke his head through the infirmary doors.

"Over here, Sir."

"Ah, Carter," he walked casually over to her bed, hands stuffed in pockets, "How's it going? I've been waiting for you to wake up. Dr. Jen told me she would get me when that happened!" he shouted to Jen's open office door where she could be seen shaking her head at him. She hates but loves when he calls her Dr. Jen, hates because either call someone by their name or their salutation not a mixture of the both, and loves because it shows that he was finally letting her become more to him then just his doctor.

Sam had invited her to a couple of the team nights they held. The guys were not really open about it at first but then when the booze was added the mix they opened up to her and they realized she was actually a pretty cool person. The next team night they actually held at her house after she promised O'Neill he could barbeque and she did have a "sufficient" enough grill for him.

"You know General, I could get a lot of more work done here if you would listen to me instead of checking in every ten minutes." She said back as she came out with the prescription. She handed it to Sam.

"Well Doc, it was more like thirty but whatever you say. Whatcha got there Carter?" he said as he snatched the piece of paper away from her. "Sleeping pills, eh? Could have just asked me I got loads left over from the last infirmary visit I had." He said handing back the paper.

"General are you talking about that prescription I gave you after you after the lockdown escapade with Anubis? The ones that should have been finished a month ago?" she asked in a way that made him, the commander of this base, want to go sit in a corner and cower.

"No, not those, the other ones." He tried to explain. She just shook her head and turned her attention back to Sam.

"Now Sam, take the recommended dose every night around 2000 hours. I'll have the General bring you back in tomorrow around 0800."

"Sir?" she questioned.

"Oh, I guess good old Doc here forgot to mention, since Danny boy's apartment is being renovated you're staying with me tonight. Just to be on the safe side. I just sort of assumed you would feel better being out of the infirmary, no offense." He shrugged to Jen.

"No that's okay Sir, I was just taken by surprise. I just have to get changed and get some things from my office and I guess I'll meet you at your house at…"

"No driving for you Sam, you should know that by now, I'll help you get stuff from your office. General meet us topside in about, what 20 minutes?" she looked at Sam.

"Sounds good to me Sir." She affirmed.

"Alrighty then, I'll see you lovely ladies in a bit." And with that he turned on his heels and walked, with a bit a little bounce in his step, out of the infirmary and Sam turned to Jen.

"You are such a bitch." She accused.

"What?" she feigned ignorance.

"I can drive just fine, you just want the General to get a chance to question me." She said as she hopped down off the bed and started putting on her jeans, the doctor placed on the chair next to her bed.

"Why, whatever do you mean?" she said with an accent.

"Once again I refer to my previous statement, you bitch." They laughed.

"Alright you ready to go to your office." Jen asked when Sam finished dressing.

"Yeah lets go."

And with that they walked out of the infirmary to Sam's lab. Sam gathered her purse and her jacket, when she went to her labtop she found a note scrawled in familiar handwriting

_'Sorry Carter, not allowed to bring this to my home, as it is against my religion. If I see its not here in the morning or see its at my house I will have to confiscate it for a short period of time. That is an order Colonel, one I am completely serious about. Now tell Doc for you two to hurry your pretty little asses up here, its cold_

_- The Big G.'_

She chuckled at how he could make her laugh with probably not even trying. But then she caught something else, 'he thinks my ass is cute huh?' she smiled to herself.

"What are you smiling about Sam?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing, riiiiight. Whatever you almost ready?"

She thought about trying to smuggle her labtop into her bags, but she quickly dismissed it, 'if I don't take it I will have to find something else to occupy my time with' she thought as her mind was suddenly filled with images that she _quickly _shoved to the back of her mind. Leaving her labtop she said "Yeah I have everything, lets go topside."

They walked to the Generals assigned parking spot near the entrance and found him sitting on the hood of his truck, about four feet off of the ground.

"Alright Big G. how about helping the Doc here with my bag."

"No problem Carter. Doc?" he asked while going to grab the bag she was carrying.

"Here General, and please remember don't let her do any work, or do any talking about work. I want her well rested on Monday when I when I see her, now…"

"Monday!" Sam gasped, she thought it was just for one night. "I swear you said one night, and that you were going to check on me tomorrow?" she questioned.

"Carter calm down that was just to get you out of the infirmary cause they have cleaning to do, and your condition is fine, and all you need is some R & R. So we just thought we would tell you that."

"Sir that was completely unnecessary, I would have agreed anyway if you would have just informed me about the cleaning going on."

"I know Carter but its fun for me to watch you squirm." He regretted his choice of words as soon as they left his mouth. "I mean you just looked so," he paused trying to find the right word, he seriously thought 'cute' wasn't a good thing to put in there, "funny all flustered and confused. Don't worry were going to stop by your house tomorrow to pick up things for the rest of the week. Look Carter its Tuesday, you'll only be at my house for," he paused and started counting on his fingers.

"Six days, General." Jen helped.

"Thanks Doc. See six days isn't so bad. Now lets get this show on the road." He said while opening the passenger side door to his cab and shoving the bag he was holding into the back then taking the bag Sam was carrying and shoving it back there with it.

"Sir what if I had something fragile in there." She said exasperated.

"That would mean that, A you brought your labtop which I specifically told you not to, B you brought a piece of work home which was just told to me was also something you should not bring to my home or C it was something that if I broke it I'm feel really bad and I'll buy you a new one." He smiled, as he went to his side of the truck and stepped up, "See you later Doc. I'll call you if we have any problems." He said as he got into the cab of the truck and shut his door.

"You better Sir." Jen shouted through Sam's still opened door.

He leaned over leaning his elbow onto the seat and shouted "Now Carter." And with that she said goodbye to Jen and climbed into his truck, shut the door and then they were off.

**AN: please review… you like, you hate, I don't mind criticism as long as its not completely bashing me…. But please review : )**


	6. Torn Ch 6: Home Sweet Home

The ride to his house was pretty uneventful. He took both bags into the house for Sam and showed her where she was staying.

"Sorry it's not very big but Cassie has the bigger guest room. You could stay in my room, yeah you should, here come on." He said while reaching back onto the bed to get the bags he placed there just seconds before.

"No Sir, this is fine."

"We're off-duty Carter, call me Jack."

"Fine Jack, but this is fine for me."

"Well my room would be better. You need to rest and my bed is the most comfortable bed in the house so logically it makes sense."

"Sometimes I worry about your logic Sir."

"Carter are you questioning my deductive reasoning skills?" he decided to let the 'Sir' slip for right now. "Now come on, off to my room with you."

He then led her back down the hallway and opened the door to his room. He walked inside and threw the bags onto the bed.

"Carter, its okay you can come in ya know." He said as he realized she was still just standing in the doorway.

"It's just, this is your room Sir."

"Damn it Carter, please just call me Jack."

"Sorry."

"It's alright." He walked over to a door adjoined to his room, "Now this is the bathroom, its all yours for the next six days. There's one down the hall that Cass and I'll use, so yeah. I guess I'll go start dinner and call Cassie to find out where the hell she's at while you get situated."

"Alright, Jack." _Finally_ Jack thought.

Once he left the room and she heard him fiddling around in the kitchen she finally took a look around. It was exactly how she had pictured it. _Not that I've pictured his bedroom at all_, she thought to herself. It looked like Jack O'Neill, plain and simple with a touch of a rustic tone.

_Maybe he could come over and decorate my house._

She wandered over into the bathroom and look at herself in the mirror.

_Man, I look like crap. I wonder if he's got a comb in here._

She opened the cabinet behind the mirror and looked inside, hoping that she wasn't being as snoop-ish as she felt she was being. In the cabinet she found his shaving cream, his aftershave and a lot of bottles of pills. Not wanting to be found snooping she closed the cabinet and went to her bag to get hers.

She brushed her hair, brushed her teeth and changed into a pair of sweatpants and an air force shirt she wore when she was tired but knew she wasn't going to get off-base for the night.

_I guess I should just leave all my clothes in my bags. Hmm… I wonder what he's doing down there._

On her way downstairs she looked at the clock, _2200 hours, how did it get that late? _

"Jack!" she called from the bottom of the steps.

"In the kitchen." He called back, trying to ignore how great it felt to finally hear his name on her lips.

"Hey, what are you making?" She asked while sitting on a stool at the island in the middle of his kitchen.

"I'm just re-heating some chili I had last night." He looked back over his shoulder at her, "That sound okay?"

"Yeah, just fine." She got up to get herself something to drink from the fridge. Finally deciding to grab of the water bottles she saw there she asked, "So did you get a hold of Cassie?"

"Yeah, hey get me a Guinness would ya?" she grabbed him a bottle and handed it to him.

"So where is she?"  
"Thanks," he said taking the bottle, "Uh, she went to see a movie she said she'd be home in and hour or so." He guessed.

"Oh, did you tell her I was here?"

"Yup."

"And?"

"And what Carter?" realizing what she was all worked up about he added, "Look she's not mad at you she just doesn't want to talk. You can't force her to, so just let it be."

"I know, but I just want to help her."

"Then just let it go Carter. Trust me, it'll be fine."

"If you're sure…"

"I am. Okay, let's eat."

He grabbed the pan off the stove and poured chili into two bowl and sat one in front of her on the island and sat down across from her and dug into his.

"This is pretty good."

His face lit up at the compliment, full blown smile and everything. "Thanks, it's my own recipe." She almost spit out her chili trying to hold back a laugh at his grinning face. He looked like he was a little boy and she just kicked his puppy.

"I thought you said you liked it."

"No," she coughed trying to compose herself, "I was trying not to laugh."

"Oh great, now you're laughing at me." He feigned hurt.

"No, its just you were so proud of yourself, I just couldn't help it I'm sorry Sir."

"Jack."

"Jack."

"Good."

"Thanks."

"Enough with the one syllable words already."

"Kay."

"Colonel." He warned.

"Hm?"

"Stop."

"Why?" she questioned, unconsciously wondering how far he would go to make her stop.

"It's my house."

"So." She said while he started to get out of his seat.

"Do you really think you can win this one Major?" he said walking slowly around to her on the other side of the island.

"Yes." She said rising from her own seat and circling the island, mocking his movements. He was waiting for her to make the first move and she knew it. _Anticipate your enemies next moves, damn him and his special ops training _she thought. _Well here goes nothing. _And with that she made a dash for the living room, making it behind the couch but barely. Seeing her momentarily stop to think of her options Jack saw and opening and leaped over the couch taking her by surprise. Together they fell but Jack made sure he cushioned her fall and not the other way around. He lost his hold on her though, she knew that he would make sure not to hurt her with the fall so she quickly jumped up and ran to behind the table back in the kitchen, laughing the whole time.

"Carter, Carter, Carter." He admonished, rising to his feet in one quick movement. _Well at least his knees aren't bothering him from that fall_ Sam thought. "It looks as if I underestimated you. I won't make the same mistake again." He walked slowly into the kitchen and grabbed his beer off of the island, and took a swig. She laughed out loud at how serious he was trying to be, she could tell he was just barely holding onto his serious façade. He sat his beer back down onto the island. "I'm glad you find this so hilarious." He finally said his laughter getting the better of him.

"Well I'm glad I'm not the only one." She said catching her breath, when she noticed his facial expression change once again and a dangerous glint was in his eyes and when he broke eye contact from her, she followed his gaze down to the island.

"No, Sir, please." She said while silently thinking _Hm, could be interesting._


End file.
