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�Why do you think I�m goin� easy on ya?� John smirked, knowing that the comment would incite a reaction in Sam.
Which it did.
They fought hard for several minutes before mutually pulling back from the intensity of the fight and circling each other, sizing each other up before the next round of attack.
�So rumour has it that there�s a guy,� John said conversationally as he and Sam circled each other. �How�s he feel about you moving to Nevada?�
�Huh. Apparently the gossip mongers around here are a few steps behind,� Sam commented. The rumour mill never would have moved so slow before Doctor Janet Frasier was killed, Sam realized sadly. �The guy is gone,� she said as she executed a series of attacks that pushed John back toward the wall.
John ducked away, moving around behind Sam and moved back to the centre of the room. �Was it serious?� he asked.
Sam rolled her shoulders. �We were planning the wedding,� she said casually.
Arching an eyebrow at that, John�s eyes met Sam�s. �You were engaged?�
�Kinda,� Sam said. John stared at her and Sam threw her hands up in the air in defeat. �Okay, yes, we were. But I broke it off. His picture of me and our future didn�t meet up with reality� and when dad died� I started really thinking about the reasons that I got into the relationship and� well... they were bad reasons, really. I was coming off a pretty intense thing� went back for years� though mostly it was a safety net for me, when it was gone� then Mark introduced me to Pete and� it kept growing.�
�He wasn�t like Hanson, was he?� John asked protectively. He had been there for Sam all through the Jonas Hanson years�had actually been a pretty strong point of contention between Sam and Jonas Hanson because of their close friendship�and John hated Hanson for what he had made Sam think and feel about herself.
�No,� Sam said quickly. �He was just� he didn�t really get that I love my job and I love my life despite the weirdness and the aliens and the evil and the cheesy villains.� She brought her fists up defensively. �We gonna spar, or what?� she asked, effectively closing the subject.
John nodded and assumed a fighting stance. �I just want you to be happy, Samantha.�
Sam attacked John, knocking him down and pressing her knee into his back as his face hit the mat. �I am happy,� she said, applying a little more pressure before getting up and holding out a hand to help John to his feet.
�Good,� John said, because, really, that was all he wanted. �So, I�m supposed to pick your brain about the X-302�s,� he said as he and Sam grabbed their water bottles, taking a mutually agreed upon break from their sparring.
�What about it?� Sam asked as she stretched her arms above her head, unused to the workout her body had just been through.
�General Landry is sending me to learn to fly �em,� John shrugged.
�I doubt you�ll have trouble,� Sam said, �you�ve always been able to fly whatever�s put in front of you.�
John shrugged. �Not worried about learning to fly the things. Landry just suggested that I talk to you about your� experiences, I guess.�
�Okay. Well, I�m sure you�ll get a full briefing when you get to Nellis, but the first thing you need to remember is that the X-302 is hybrid technology. It is, in essence, a fighter jet like any other, expect that it has alien technology including the ability to open stable hyperspace windows,� Sam said.
�Hyperspace windows. Got it,� John nodded.