Summary: Sam realizes she's about to make the biggest mistake of her life, right before she walks down the isle to Pete. What will she do? (Sam x Jack)

Note: No chara's are mine. And I'm sorry if this story closely resembles any other story on don't mean for it too, but this is probably commonly written about…so, it's just another Sam runs away from Pete story…flame it if you want, curse me out if you want, just don't sue me! And please, try and enjoy :D And NO this is NOT the story I was promising, (for those of you who know what I'm talking about) this is a one shot that came to my head today, still working on the other one!

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Promises of Cake

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Sam fingered the envelope in her hand nervously. It was the last invitation she had to hand out, everyone else had already gotten theirs earlier this week. Now, chewing on her lip nervously, she was walking down the hallway to give away the last one. She stopped in front of his open door, and peeked her head in, only to find him fiddling with a pencil on his desk as he read a report.

She knocked on the doorframe, and his head snapped up, a smile creeping across his rugged face at the sight of her. "Carter," he barked, but from him, it was gentle. "What brings you here at this hour?"

Sam checked her watch briefly before answering. 23:00. Wincing, she hadn't realized she'd sat in her lab pondering this decision. "I came to give you this, sir," she said, striding forward with as much bravery as she could muster, and handing over the envelope.

O'Neill took it gently, raising his eyebrows in curiosity. After all his years in working with Carter, he was strangely attuned to her actions, and he could tell that something about this trip to his office was throwing her off. As she bit her lip and looked away from him slightly, rocking up onto the balls of her feet and back, he slid his thumb under the lip of the envelope, tearing the flap open and sliding out the card inside.

Flicking the card open, he looked up at her. "A wedding invitation," he said bluntly, the smile slipping from his face.

He didn't miss the blush that slipped on her face as she said, "Yes, sir." She paused, and he knew she was gauging his reaction. "I uh, I'd really like you there, sir," she said, not quite meeting his gaze.

Jack put the invitation down on his desk, folding his hands overtop of it. "Carter I just don't know if…"

He saw her look back up at him, her eyes frantic and desperate, though she didn't let it show else-wise. She smiled weakly at him, and he saw her silent plea. "There'll be cake."

Jack chuckled softly. Stroking his chin, he looked back at her, "Well, if that's the case," he began, his tone mocking at first, then becoming serious as he continued. "I'll see what I can do."

A genuine smile spread across her angelic face, and O'Neill couldn't help but return it. Sam waved awkwardly as she walked out the door. "Thanks, sir. G'night!"

"Good night, Carter," he said with a sigh. As soon as she was out of sight, he let his head fall into his hands, wondering, what had he just gotten himself into?

xXx

Three weeks later, Samantha Carter sat on a bench in front of a mirror, fretting with her hair nervously.

"It looks fine, Sam," a voice said from behind her.

Looking in the mirror, she smiled at Cassie, her beloved flower girl. "Thanks," she murmured.

"Nervous?"

"A little."

The next few moments passed in silence, and Sam took in a deep breath, trying to steel herself. Its only nerves, her thoughts told her. You'll want to go through with it as soon as you get up on the alter, you'll see.

But what if I don't? another corner of her mind whispered. What if Pete's not the one for me?

He is…I think.

Are you sure?

No.

A knock on the door interrupted her thought process, and she looked into the mirror to see who it was. Her view, however, was obstructed by the position of the door. Cassie smiled at the person, put her hand on Sam's shoulder, gave her a peck on the cheek, and whispered, "I'll be outside."

Sam nodded in confusion, watching as the girl left the room. A figure soon stepped in to take her place, and when Sam saw him in the mirror, she gasped in delight. "Sir!"

He smiled at her weakly, and she could see the hidden emotion behind his eyes. She could almost pin point it as…longing. "Hey there, Carter."

"You made it," she said, trying to force the excitement out of her voice.

"Yeah," he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, striding over to stand next to the bench. "I made it." He paused. "You look nice."

"Thanks," she murmured, looking down into her lap.

"Are you ready?" he asked, after a moments pause.

Sam looked up at him, taking a deep breath. "No," she whispered, the truth escaping her lips before she could stop it. Tears flooding into her eyes shamefully before she could stop them. "I'm not," she sobbed.

Blinking in surprise, Jack took a step forward to her, wrapping his arms around her delicate figure. She gladly accepted the gesture, spinning around in his embrace to clutch at his shirt as she sobbed on his shoulder. He made soothing noises as he stroked her hair, calming her down as much as he could. When she finally pulled away, he looked down at her with worry.

"You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah," she said, wiping a tear away from her cheek. "Sorry."

"Still going through with it?"

"I guess," she whispered, looking downcast. Looking back up at him, she smiled slightly. "I have to go get my flowers," she said, standing up from the stool. "I'll see you out there, sir." She moved for the door, but was stopped by his voice.

"Carter, wait." She turned around dutifully to him, tilting her head in question. "I didn't come to see your wedding," he said, looking down at his hands before he looked back up at her. "I came to say good-bye."

"Sir?" she asked, taking a step back to him.

"I'm retiring, Sam," he said. "You can lose the sir. I stopped by on my way to my cabin, to wish you the best."

Her eyes were wide with disbelief. "You're leaving the SGC? But, Sir…"

"Sam," he said, holding his hands up to stop her. She could see the pain in his eyes, and suddenly she knew why he was leaving. She bit down on her lip to stop the fresh flow of tears. He got up and moved to her slowly, putting his hands on either side of her shoulders. "I wish you the best," he said, and she looked into his pain stricken eyes. With a glint of sadness, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her on top of the forehead.

"Jack," Sam whispered as he pulled away from her making his way down the hallway.

Looking over his shoulder, he gave a grim smile. "You have a wedding to attend, Major," he said. "And that's my final order." And with that, he was gone.

XxX

Pete was finishing readjusting his suit, humming as he did so, when he saw her in the mirror. "Sam?"

"Pete," she began, and he could tell by the sound of her voice that she'd been crying. Suddenly he felt his heart break in two. He was hoping this wouldn't have happened, but somehow he knew it would. He turned around slowly to face her.

"I cant go through with this," she whispered to him, and he could see the fear in her eyes.

He nodded numbly. "It's O'Neill, isn't it?"

She looked down at the ground, and he saw the tears spill down her cheek. Closing the distance between them, he wrapped her up in his arms as she cried. When she calmed down, he bent down and whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry it had to come to this. I hoped maybe I was wrong but…I wasn't."

"Pete…I'm sorry, I…."

He stopped her mid sentence. "I understand," he said, looking her in the eye. "Go," he said. "You have my blessing."

She stopped to plant a kiss on his cheek before she was out the door, without looking back.

XxX

Jack flopped down onto his sofa at his cabin, taking a swig of the beer in his hands, gazing numbly at the wall infront of him. He flicked his wrist to look at his watch, and grimaced. By this time, Carter was standing before Pete, grasping his hands and saying her vows. Lucky guy…he probably didn't even know how lucky.

A knock on his door startled him out of his brooding, and he had half a mind to let the person keep knocking, but something made him move to open the wooden door, the hinges creaking with age as they swung the large piece of wood open. The sight before him startled him, and he almost dropped his beer.

"Carter," he whispered, his breath taken away. She stood on his doorstep, dressed in her wedding dress, her make up on her face marked with streaks from her tears.

"Hi, Jack," she said, her voice equally as quiet. Her hands were folded before her, as she twisted them nervously.

"What are you…"

"I couldn't do it," she said finishing her sentence for him. "I didn't love him."

He shouldn't have been surprised, and he knew it, but somehow, he was. "But why are you…here?"

She looked at him sheepishly, a nervous grin twitching across her face. "Because I love you, Jack," she said softly.

He stood there for a moment, but only a moment. The next thing he knew, he had flung his beer bottle out the door into the bushes, and had taken the two strides to Sam, to wrap his arms around her and to kiss her fiercely on the lips. She returned his kiss passionately, and he wrapped her up in his arms, pulling her into the house and closing the door behind them with his foot.

He took her down the hall and into his bedroom, dumping her onto his bed gracefully. She looked up into his eyes, and he could see, truly, that she did love him after all. "I love you too, Samantha," he whispered, and he bent down and enclosed her lips in his once more, finally knowing that she was his for the taking, and no one else's.

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THE END

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So yeah, this story was inspired by Reba, when Barbara Jean was trying to get Reba to come to the wedding and she gives her the invitation and Reba says "I don't think so" so BJ says "there'll be caaaaake" and I thought…"That's something O'Neill would say!" AND THEN IT HIT ME!

So what did you think?

Love ya all lots,

-Aria