The Relationship: The Affair by John O'Connor Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. Rating: PG-13. After only two more dates, Sam was ready and willing to give herself to Janet. And Janet was more than ready to give herself to Sam. That first night, Janet asked Cassie to spend it at a friend's. "How about going over to Cindy's?" Cassie, being wise beyond her years, knew what a big night it was for these two women and readily agreed. Janet answered the door in a long, red silk slip. It hugged her body in all the right places and took Sam's breath away. "My God, you are beautiful!" Sam told her. Janet just smiled, took her hand and led her into the house. After a light supper with some wine, Janet then led Sam, who kept staring in awe and wonder at this vision with her, up to the bedroom. Janet had her small stereo turned to a smooth jazz station and several lit candles around the room. Sam stood in the center of the room as Janet moved around to make sure everything was just right. Then she glided over to Sam and gently pressed her lips to the tall blonde. Sam accepted the moist kiss and returned it. As they clung tightly to each other, their hands roamed up and down their backs, carressing the skin beneath the clothing they wore. Janet took a step back then reached out to begin to undress her love. Sam also reached out and slid the straps of the red shift off Janet's shoulders so that it pooled on the floor at the brunette's feet. Sam started to assist Janet with her clothes, but Janet stopped her with a soft kiss and a whispered, "Please, let me do it." Willing to do just about anything the young doctor suggested, Sam stood and let Janet peel off her clothes. All the while, Sam memorized the beauty of Janet's nude form. She didn't think she'd ever seen anything so lovely. Once Sam was naked, Janet led her to the bed and they embraced again, their bodies molding together as they had in the locker room shower the week before. They soon became as lost to the rest of the world as they had been in the shower. Janet, who was as inexperienced in making love to a woman as her partner was, took the lead and the two women made love long into the night. As they lay in each other's arms, before sleep claimed them, Sam whispered "Janet, that was wonderful beyond words. You are wonderful." "So are you. You are the best thing that has happened to me in a long, long time." She snuggled deeper into Sam's embrace and whispered, "I never want to let you go." "Please don't." * * * * * * The next several months were typically tumultuous for the SGC and it's personnel. Goa'uld encounters seemed to become more numerous. Newer and stranger alien technology was brought through the Stargate. And alliances with other races were formed. SG-1, the primary exploration team, was often offworld. These excursions were of varying duration. But always on their return, Sam and Janet would spend the following days and nights strengthening their love. While offworld, Sam and Jack would spend much of their quiet time talking. Sam wanted to know all she could about the woman she had fallen for. Jack wanted to do all he could to help his ex-wife and her lover in their relationship. As a result of these talks, Daniel Jackson and Teal'c became aware of the situation and, during one of these expeditions, finally confronted Jack and Sam. "Uh, Jack?" "Yes, Daniel? What's on your mind?" "Well, it's just that Teal'c and I were..." The young archeologist's voice trailed off. "Daniel, you're fading out again. I really hate that!" "Yes, well, we were wondering, and you don't have to tell us if you don't want to, but have you and Sam become, well, um, lovers?" "Lovers? Carter and me?" Jack laughed. Sam took that moment to return to their campsite, "What's so funny?" "Well, about you and Jack, uh, well..." "What DanielJackson is attempting to say is that we were curious if you and O'Neill were lovers." Smiling, Sam shook her head, "No, the colonel and I aren't lovers. Just friends." Her teammates looked unconvinced and Sam decided to let them in on the situation. "You boys have to keep this secret. Top security classification and all that nonsense. Okay?" When they agreed, Sam told them about Janet. She didn't mention her failed marriage to Jack however. And Jack confirmed what Sam said as well as pressing them for their reassurance that they wouldn't tell a soul. "Under pain of death!" he warned. "You have my promise, O'Neill. DanielJackson?" "Uh, yeah, well, sure. It's our little secret," he replied, still looking a little stunned. * * * * * * Unfortunately, this affair couldn't sustain itself through secrecy and deception. Even with the support of their friends, the toll on the two women was too much. As more months passed, their work performances were slipping and they slowly began to argue with increasing frequency and growing ferocity. Finally, one night, after a particularly grueling fight and the ecstasy of making love by way of apology, Sam and Janet lay in bed talking about their problems. "Sam, these arguments are getting nastier and nastier. I can't go on like this. We can't keep fighting. It seems like any little thing will set us off!" Janet blinked back frustrated tears. "What...what are you trying to say, Janet?" Sam whispered, her voice shaky. "I don't think I can do this anymore. I'm sorry, Sam. I really am." Janet was openly crying now. Sam pulled her tight, feeling the small body in her arms being wracked by sobs. She tried to force her own tears back but it was impossible. This special woman in her arms was in such pain and Sam couldn't do anything about it. "Janet, I love you! Doesn't that mean anything?" Red-rimmed eyes looked at Sam, "Yes, but it's not enough. What good is love if we have to hide how we feel and be in such pain? Maybe I...I don't know." Janet buried her face in Sam's bosom, "I just know that the longer we keep this secret, the more it will get to us. We will finally get into a fight that we can never recover from and we'll end up hating each other. And I don't ever want to hate you." Janet took a deep, gulping breath, "And then there's Cassie. How would it be for her to have the two of us hating each other?" "It doesn't have to be like that," Sam protested even as she knew that what Janet said was true. The strain of the secret had been getting to her and she was feeling more irritable than she could remember. The two women held each other and talked and cried far into the night. The end of any relationship is hard but this was particularly painful. Finally, as the sun began to rise in the east, they arose and got cleaned up to go into work. As Sam was getting ready to leave, she said to Janet, "Who knows? Maybe someday we could be honest about ourselves and..." Janet gave her a brave smile, kissed her on the cheek, and said, "Maybe..." And just like that, just over ten months after that first passionate kiss in the shower, the love affair was over. (c) John O'ConnerComments May Be Mailed Here