"Interruptions" by SGater926

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Feedback: Bring it on! ...but be gentle please.

Author's Note: My first fic ever! I started this a while ago, so it's a little out of date, but I hope it's still okay.

Copyright (c) SGater926, June 2004.

The party was in full swing...

"Hey, Daniel, bring us some more beers!" Janet yelled to Daniel, who was at the bar getting himself a refill on his Coke. Even though Teal'c could always do it, Daniel had been more than happy to volunteer as the designated driver for the night. The others, however, were perfectly happy getting...well...smashed. Daniel looked around the room and spotted Colonel Jack O'Neill sitting on a stool at the other end of the bar.

"Hey, Jack. You okay?" Daniel was concerned for his friend. After all, Sam had just told them she was engaged earlier today and there had been an impromptu party thrown together, which was where they found themselves now. Daniel knew Jack had to be taking it hard, but for some reason Jack seemed to be avoiding the alcohol that Daniel knew he so often turned to when in emotional distress, in favor of...what was that? A Sprite!

Jack looked up when he heard Daniel's voice. Am I okay? How can he ask me that? "What do you think, Danny?" Jack replied wearily and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Well, Jack, um..."

"I'm fine. I'm exhausted though. Think I'll head home and try to get some sleep. Hammond wants me in early tomorrow to brief some of the new kids. Gotta be in top shape to start terrorizing." Jack tried to sound lighthearted.

"At least say goodbye to her, Jack." At that, Jack shot him a look that would make most airmen shake in their boots, but Daniel seemed to have an immunity to this "look".

"Of course I'll say goodbye, Danny. What am I, heartless?" Well, actually...it feels like Carter has just thrown my heart out of the window of her beloved Volvo, turned around and run over it several times, then picked it up and put it in a jar for display. Whoa! Where did that come from! Get a grip, Jack. You haven't even been drinking! ...Maybe that was your mistake.

He found himself standing just to the left of where Sam was sitting with Pete and Janet. "Hey, Carter, I gotta get going, but congratulations, again. Pete." Jack nodded at the man that had stolen his life away from him and even managed a small smile (which, in actuality, was a well-concealed grimace).

"Thank you, sir. Thanks for coming." Sam smiled at him, feeling a little guilty inside. This was her engagement party, but for some reason, she didn't feel quite right. She wasn't completely happy with her life and she didn't know why. Or maybe she just wasn't admitting why to herself.

He bent down, kissed her on the cheek, and turned and left the bar. There was a slight slump in his shoulders as he left the restaurant and once he was out the door he sighed heavily. I never thought I would have to deal with this, he thought to himself, I guess she just got tired of waiting. He climbed into his truck and he had just put his key in the ignition when he heard someone call his name. What now? He opened the door, got out and found himself face to face with Sam.

"Hey Carter, what's up?" he asked, hoping she couldn't hear the pain in his voice.

"Well, sir, I just wanted to thank you again for coming tonight. It really did mean a lot to have you here."

"No problem, Carter." A sad smile tinged his lips.

"Is everything alright, sir?"

He almost laughed out loud but he restrained himself and said, "I'm fine, don't you worry about me. Go enjoy your party, I'll see you."

She could hear a slight hint of bitterness in his voice as he spoke but it was overshadowed by the sorrow she saw in his eyes. A person who didn't know him as well would have thought it was just fatigue, but she knew better. Her heart was screaming, Don't let him walk away like this! but her brain was trying desperately to drown her heart out. What are you supposed to do? Pete told you he loves you! Jack won't break those regs and you know it! You can't wait around your entire life. She couldn't let herself have hope like that. It would ruin her carefully constructed "normal life" with Pete. This, of course, was not a conscious thought. Sam had really tricked herself into believing that she was in love with Pete, or close enough to it that she thought it would come soon, once she stopped thinking about Jack. You can't throw your life away waiting for something that might never come! Her mind finally won the battle and she said, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, sir." He nodded and gave her a brief smile before getting in his truck.

He was trying to be happy for her, he really was. He even came to this little shindig willingly. All that matters is her happiness, he told himself, not for the first time that night, and he meant it. He swore to himself once that he would never stand in the way of her life. Sure she had admitted to caring about him, but that was a long time ago and a lot had changed since then. He didn't deserve her, he knew that much. That, plus the danger it would put her career in, was the main reason he'd never tried to pursue any sort of relationship with her outside of work. He was glad they were friends, but there was a barrier between them that just made certain situations awkward. It wasn't just that they were both attracted to each other, but he was afraid of letting her get too close. His biggest fear is that he would hurt her again like he did after his return from Edora. That had to be one of the worst mistakes of his life. Come to think of it, he'd never really made amends for that, never thanked her properly for bringing him home. Not much I can do about it now, he thought. Then he paused. They were still friends, weren't they? He needed to apologize, he owed her that much at least. Their relationship already had enough strain on it. Maybe this will clear the air a little. He knew it was risky to bring it up, but he was finally willing to take a small chance. If he couldn't be with her, they would at least have a decent friendship. He resolved to talk to her the next day. He couldn't be monopolizing her time at her engagement party. Besides, what needed to be said required privacy and there was no need to water the grapevine with any "questionable" actions...although base gossip about the two of them had considerably lessened since Pete came into the picture. Anyway, no, he really needed to do this. He sucked at conversations about emotions but he needed to do this...especially now, when the chance to be friends...actual friends, without any accusing glances or whispers, was staring them in the face. He needed to do it for himself as much as for her.