AN: This one comes out of a very recent stressful situation, no details needed because if you have a sibling you will understand! You'll also get it if you've ever had to mediate someone elses family row. Unedited as yet, will get to it in a few days, working pretty hard at the mo.

Summary: It's Sam's birthday and Mark has joined SG-1 to celebrate, but as with most families the brother and sister don't exactly see eye to eye on past events. A family scrap with an unexpected detour at the end. T for language.

FAMILIES, WHO'D HAVE THEM?

Jack had always known that the relationship between Sam and her brother was not good but geez, he never knew it was quite that bad. "Mark's very head strong." she would often have told him. "He's stubborn too."

"Not like anyone else we know." Jack would have joked and Sam would have half laughed, something missing in her smile and behind her eyes.

But now Jack would never make that joke again. Sure Sam and Mark were very similar in a lot of ways, that much was obvious from the very first time he had seen them together but tonight Sam's older brother was beginning to show his true colours and Jack O'Neill did not like what he saw. He stayed silent and watched the sibling exchange that was happening in his own living room.

"It's your fault Sam, none of it would have happened if you hadn't been so insistent on getting your own way."

Sam head was still dropped low, guilt written over her face. "It's not that simple Mark and you know it." she defended, the same line as always.

"Of course you would think that. You always say that, like you're better than me just because I'm not super smart like some little princess I know!"

Carter raised her eyes to his as the familiar jibe dug in deep under her skin. "I was never a princess, you know that. If anything you were the one who got it all...the golden boy, could do know wrong with your football and your car at sixteen!"

Mark laughed, bitter and determined. "Oh please, you know I only got that car because I worked hard for it. You didn't want a car, you wanted to go into the military." His face distorted. "If you hadn't Mom would not have gone up to Aunt Sarah's and would not have been flying home that night...when it happened."

Sam pinched the bridge of her nose, he was pushing her buttons...big time and she would not let him pull a rise out of her. "Mark...we've been through this before." she reasoned. "Mom chose to go stay with Aunt Sarah because she and Dad had a fight. It was-"

"Yeah and what were they fighting about?" he interrupted, staring intently.

Sam looked away for a brief moment, her lips forced tight. "My cadet-ship." she grudgingly admitted.

"Exactly!" Mark's fist hit the table, not hard but with enough force for everyone else in the room to become aware of the familial tension that was rising between them.

Daniel rose from the couch. "Ahh, Sam, is everything okay?"

"Yes it's fine Daniel, just let me talk to my brother would you?"

Doctor Jackson nodded and with a worried look towards Jack drifted away as quickly as he had arrived at the tense table. Jack nodded his head at Daniel. 'I got this.' he silently told him. There was a limit to what he would put up with in his own home. Carefully he allowed his eye to run back to Sam who was now looking over at him.

'Don't interfere.' she told him. 'You'll only make him worse.'

Jack understood. It was clear that Mark was looking for some kind of public showdown and he would not be the one to accelerate his intention.

"...and that's why everything that happened is all your fault...you took Mom away from us and now you've got Dad all to yourself too. He never even gets to come see his grandkids any more. Not even a phone call...nothing!"

"That's not my fault, Mark."

"You get to see him. I know you do." Mark felt anger beginning to rise within him and fought to settle it, if he lost it, it was going to be epic and this really was not the place. Losing with Sam's friend's in the room was clearly not a good idea.

"Not that often Mark, believe me...I don't get to see him very much at all."

"Still more often than we do..." he fumed.

Sam ran her fingers through her hair. "Gee god Mark, only last year you wanted nothing to do with him and now you're once again jealous because we do the same job! That's always been your problem you know. If you had just joined up like Dad wanted you too, none of this would not be an issue now."

"Oh and what, break Mom's heart like you did?" he retorted, his tone equal in the level of frustration his younger sibling was displaying.

"I didn't break Mom's heart. She accepted my decision, you know she did."

Mark shook his head and set his jaw. "No she didn't Sam." he looked off into the distance, no way he would ever accept that as the truth. "She just told you that to make you happy."

"Bullshit Mark. That's total bull and you know it...she would have done the same for you...and if you would just admit it maybe you could start to get past that massive chip you have on your shoulder. You chose not to go into the military and you have always regretted that, you let Dad down and that's why when I stepped up nothing I ever did was good enough to make him happy." He sneered at her and Sam was suddenly on her feet.

Mark rose squaring up to her. "Oh and so I made you decide to sign up, is that what you are saying? So if you die in some god forsaken hole on the other side of the world helping people who don't need or want your help it's all my fault, it that it?"

"No of course not. I wanted to sign up since I was ten years old, you know that. I don't blame you for anything...except maybe for being an ass!"

"Oh I'm the ass!"

"Yes Mark you are."

"That's rich coming from you, you goody-two shoes little bitch."

O'Neill could stay silent no more. "Hey, hey, don't go calling her names!" He was over and beside them in two seconds flat.

Sam's hand that she had raised to smack her brother shot out and rested urgently on Jack's arm. "Please Sir, it's alright, I got this...please." she added in a whispered air of desperation. Then her eyes turned steely. "I've always known how to handle, Mark." she voiced loudly, directing her attention back to her brother, deliberately antagonising him.

"You know how to handle me do you? Well fine, let's go outside and see how you 'handle' me then."

"Fine!" Sam chided, if he wanted a fight he was going to get one. "Let's go." She swiped out at him and he caught her wrist.

"No, no. No-one is going anywhere. Let go of her." Jack intoned calmly as he stepped between the fuming brother and sister.

"Stay out of this, who the fuck do you think you are anyhow?" Mark yelled.

"Don't speak to him like that." Sam spat and reached for her brother's throat, she would beat the shit out of him if she got half the chance. It would not be the first time the kicked the crap out of each other over pretty much nothing, but this time she meant it, no-one spoke to her CO like that.

"Sam, Sam, calm down, you're not thinking straight." Jack ordered, but Sam was not listening. She was wrestling herself out of his grip and now Mark was moving too. "Teal'c." Jack called but the big guy was already there.

"Enough." the Jaffa bawled, momentarily stilling everyone. "This is no manner in which to be behaving upon invite to O'Neill's abode."

"What?" Mark spun his attention to the irritating voice behind him. "Speak English would you?"

Teal'c stared down at the angry young man before him. He was no warrior but neither was he a coward. "I warn you brother of Samantha Carter, do not continue with this course of action."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll take your head off." Sam interjected, "These are my friends you're making a show in front of. You're always the same Mark, unless you are centre of attention you are never happy."

"Oh yeah," Mark lunged for Sam. "Well at least I'm not fucking my CO! What would dear old Dad have to say about that one?"

Sam snorted "Where the hell did you get that idea from?"

"Well it's obvious, you just have to look at you two to know the truth. How many years you been at it...breaking your own precious rules?"

Out of nowhere Daniel appeared fists flying forward. "You take that back, Jack and Sam are not breaking any rules...they are not sleeping together." he yelled, his efforts to smack the asshole abruptly curtailed by Jack's hands on his chest.

"Daniel, back off." Jack warned.

"But what he's saying is a lie. You guys would never do that, you respect each other too much." The young archaeologist had tears in his eyes, he hated this kind of stuff.

"I know that Daniel, and I know you know that, but he's not worth it...come on." He guided Daniel away towards the kitchen but did not leave the room, he still needed to make sure Sam was alright.

Sam shook her head, her shoulders set, this was not how her night was supposed to go. She could no longer look at her brother. "I think maybe it's time you left Mark." She let her disappointment ride out over her anger. "I invited you here tonight, for my birthday, so that you could meet my friends and maybe learn a little more about my life..." she had really hoped to build up some bridges with her brother, despite everything she still loved him dearly.

Mark was still angry and Sam's tone hurt him on a deeper level. "Yeah well, I only came because Anna made me." he lied. "I never wanted to come all the way over here in the first place. What makes you think I'm interested in meeting any of your enlisted buddies?"

"Anna made you? What a load of horse-crap Mark. Since when did you ever listen to a thing your wife says? She's always cowing down to you and I hate that, you never show her any respect. She does nothing but love you and you take advantage of that all the time."

"To 'love honour and obey' Sam...obey...that's probably why no man will ever touch you with a barge pole...you can't even get that bit right...are you sure you're not a dike?"

Sam laughed manically. "Oh please Mark you are just so dumb sometimes, that doesn't even make sense. One minute I'm sleeping with my CO and the next I'm gay...neither of which is true by the way, and what's next? I suppose I'm lying about everything I've ever done and am not even in the military at all is that it?"

"Well I know you're not in deep-space radar telemetry that's for sure."

"Oh really, and how do you know that?"

Mark pulled a confused face. "I just do, you're way to ambitious to be stuck in like a lab-rat. I just know it."

Sam felt herself relenting a little. "My work is classified, Mark."

"Carter." Jack warned from the far side of the room and she shot him a look. 'Say no more.' he told her with a single shake of the head.

Sam nodded and turned back to face her brother, it was only then that she noticed something. "You can let him go Teal'c." he had become completely deflated. She shook her head and bit her lip. "I'm sorry."

"What for." Mark muttered as he turned away a little, shaking himself out. "You and Dad always did have a closer bond, it's not your fault...not really." he offered grudgingly.

"And you and Mom were always close." Sam offered, knowing she was potentially straying back into dangerous territory.

After a beat Mark nodded and sighed. "I should go...I'm still angry and I think I've embarrassed myself enough for tonight." he glanced over at Jack O'Neill who was simply watching everything that was going on, his hand still on Daniel's chest.

When no-one spoke Mark lifted his coat and headed for the door. Once there he turned. "Well, thanks for the invite Sam, Colonel O'Neill." silently he nodded at the other two then tried to explain a little. "I'm sorry things got out of hand. Sam and I, we...well...I don't know." It was his turn to look disappointed. "Night." he whispered.

"Mark wait." Sam took two steps closer to her brother. "I'll get Dad to call...next time I see him that is. I'll even see if I can get him to visit...I know he misses you...all of you." she offered honestly. "It's just that..." she shrugged.

"Yeah, yeah. 'The defence of our Great Nation comes first.' I know...always has..."

'That's what got Mom killed.'

Both siblings thought the words at the same time, though neither allowed the thought to play out on their faces.

"Well, take care Mark and I'll be in touch." Sam found herself saying.

"Sure Sam...and stay safe."

Carter smiled, he always told her that. It let her know that he cared and that was more often than not enough for her. Sure her brother was a pain in the ass but she loved him. "Moron." she muttered as he closed the door.

For a few moments there was utter silence in 'O'Neill's abode' as Teal'c had put it. "Well!" declared Jack. "Nice guy your brother, we should do that more often, don't you think?"

"Ja-ack!" Daniel choked out, now was hardly the time for sarcasm, but Sam was laughing, hard."

"Oh Sir, I am sorry. That never should have happened, not here. It's just that...well..." behind the laughter she was deeply embarrassed and still utterly furious with Mark..and herself if she was honest.

"He's your brother. I get it, believe me, I do!" Jack handed Sam a beer. "My brother is in a whole other country and we still manage to fight the bit out every time we speak to each other."

"You have a brother?" Daniel asked, his eyebrows raised high.

"Two, in fact...and three sisters." The rest of SG-1 blinked at the leader of their group. "What?" Jack asked. "Well it's not like you guys ever asked is it?" he defended.

"No I guess not..." Sam pondered, wondering why none of them had ever asked him about that in four years of being friends.

"Paul is the oldest, me next, then the girls, and the brat last. I'm glad he's in Canada, no better place for him if you ask me." Jack muttered.

Sam nodded in empathy. "I know what you mean Sir, Canada would not be far enough away for Mark though."

"How about P3R-729? We could put them both there and see how they get on with all those mental little furry creatures that made you horny all the time. That might be funny!"

Sam pulled an appalled face. "Ah...maybe for you, but I don't particularly want to think about my brother being horny thank you very much."

"Yes...of course." Jack grimaced, he really should have thought that one through a little more but it seemed to have worked. The last of the tension and anger was visibly flowing out of her, she was relaxing into her old familiar Carter mode. "Come on, lets go hit the roof. I promised you a surprise Carter and it's by the telescope, it'll make your birthday present make sense...lets go." he order and held the door open for his troops.

If he played it carefully he might just be able to stabilise the rest of the night and watch Sam enjoy herself. Sure they would have to talk about what had happened and Jacob Carter was gating home just as soon as contact could be made, he would make sure of it, but for now it was time for fun and he knew Sam (and Daniel) were really going to enjoy the idea of a hot tub on the roof. Teal'c? Not so much but that was what made it all the more fun for him. Quietly he grabbed the bottle of champagne from the fridge and headed up the ladder intent on sitting beside his 2IC in the bikini he had bought her as a cheeky birthday gift. "Family." he muttered to himself. "I much prefer the ones that you choose for yourself, over the real ones any day."

That would make a great first toast in the tub on the roof he decided, SG-1 was the best family he ever had.

END

AN: That was a little weird but there you go...thought's welcome please :)