Date: 17-8-2002

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Sam walked to the door, the insistent knocking of whomever was on the other side was becoming annoying. She had briefly considered ignoring it, but it was probably Daniel coming to see how she was.

Opening her large door, she was surprised to see her commanding officer on the other side, his hands shoved into the pockets of his fatigues and he was looking almost. . .nervous.

"Sir." She nodded, not bothering to invite him in.

"Carter, can we talk?" He asked and she took a moment to study him.

"I'm kind of busy at the moment sir, can't it wait until tomorrow?" She replied, hoping that he'd leave her alone.

"No Carter, it can't." Sam sighed, and stepped back to allow him entrance, which he accepted gratefully, he didn't want to have this conversation standing on her porch.

Jack followed her into her living room, noticing the vacuum cleaner that was lying on the floor. There was a duster beside it, and Jack had the feeling that she'd been trying to keep herself busy by cleaning. It was something that she did whenever she was upset.

"Sir?" Sam asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"I wanted to apologise." He told her and she looked at him, confused for a moment before she sat down on her sofa. "For what happened on the Encarian's new world. With the Naquadah reactor." He explained, taking the seat next to her.

Sam curled her legs up underneath her body before answering. "You don't have anything to apologise for, sir." She replied.

"Yes, I do. I'm sorry that I had to order you to create the feedback loop that would have destroyed that ship." He told her, and Sam was mildly surprised that he remembered what she had said.

"You were doing what you thought was right." She shrugged, hoping that he'd leave and let her get back to cleaning.

"Yes, but I'm sorry that I put you in that position."

"I didn't have to follow your orders. Even though that's what I'm trained to do, I could have ignored you." She pointed out.

"True, but then you'd be up on an insubordination charge." He replied.

Sam nodded. "Sir, request permission to speak freely?" She asked.

"Don't you do that anyway?" He quipped, failing to make her smile. "Sure go ahead." He told her.

"Are you here to try and make me feel better, or clear you own conscience?"

"A little of both maybe." He admitted. "I know that you are trained to follow all of my orders, which you do, and that's what makes you such a good soldier, but it was wrong of me to ask you to kill an entire civilisation, even if they were trying to wipe out the Encarian people." Sam nodded, accepting what he'd said. Jack rose to his feet and headed towards her door, instinctively knowing that she was following him. "I should go." He shrugged, and she nodded again, unlocking the door and holding it open for him.

Just before he stepped out of her door, Sam put a hand on his arm to stop him. "I appreciate you trying to make me feel better. And you're right, I do follow all of your orders but I don't do it because I have to, I do it because I think you have good judgment, and I trust you." She told him.

"Thanks." He smiled at her, which she didn't return.

Sam stood up on the tip of her toes and kissed his cheek. "I appreciate the apology, Jack." She told him and he nodded, walking out of her house. Jack reached his car and got in, turning back to see Sam standing on her porch, smiling at him.

As much as he hated to admit it, Jack was glad that she wasn't mad at him for ordering her to destroy the alien ship that was going to wipe out the Encharian people. It helped to ease his own mind a little knowing that she trusted him and his judgment and would follow his orders.

He couldn't hold back a grin as he drove down the street.

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The end.

Sarcasm is just one more service we offer.