Jack opened the letter and began to read. When he was done, he just let it drop to the ground. He then got up and began to pace across the room, occasionally running his fingers through his now completely gray hair.
"So, I'm guessing that letter was what really upset you?" questioned Jack.
"No, well, yes. It did but it wasn't the only thing. I guess you could say it was the straw that broke the camel's back, you know?" offered up a confused Sam Carter.
The glance that he sent her let her know that she had used a cliché, something that he greatly objected to, but just this once he was going to let it go.
He wanted to concentrate on what he wanted to do to Pete Shanahan, but instead he turned his attention to Sam. "So what are you going to do and how can I help you?"
"I don't know. I mean, everything with Pete just seemed to be going so well. He knew about the Stargate program and everything, not that he found out because we wanted him to know. But he was okay with it, even when there were months that we didn't do anything more than talk on the phone. I broke dates more times than I can count because something came up at work."
"When he proposed," she sighed, "I thought about it for so long and I realized that he was a nice guy, who loved me and was accepting of my job, the hours that it entailed, and that there were times when 'classified' would have to do. But the main thing was that he offered and hadn't died like every other guy that has seemed interested in me. After we got engaged, things really didn't change until it started getting closer to the wedding. That's when I started questioning my choice." Jack sat back down beside her.
"After Pete went and put an offer on that house, I was sure that I was about to make a huge mistake. But when my dad died, Pete went back to being the guy that I had agreed to marry. Then, when you told us that you were being promoted and reassigned to D.C., he suddenly went back to being the demanding boyfriend again. I was actually supposed to meet him for dinner and I was going to tell him that I wanted to put off the wedding a little bit longer…" explained Sam.
"And then Ba'al attacked."
"And then Ba'al attacked and everything we knew changed," repeated Sam.
"No Sam," Jack insistence grabbed her attention. "Not everything has changed. Sure, we're on a different world and we've been working extra hours and extra hard to accomplish some difficult tasks," they both sighed at the past, almost dream, memory of a full night of sleep. "But look at the bright side, we haven't had to do the impossible since we've been here."
That got a small giggle out of Sam. "No, we haven't been asked to do the impossible, only been asked to do an impossible amount of work in a small amount of time."
"Yeah, but that's never bothered you before," Jack smiled. "You're the one who did the impossible every other Tuesday. Where's that girl?"
"That letter kinda took some of it out of me. The fact that Pete thought he could control me, use me even, to his benefit. That's what bothers me the most. No other guy has ever done that. And to think that he found out about the Stargate because he followed us on a stakeout! I don't know why I thought I could trust the guy," Sam hated to admit. "I think I've done some stupid things in my life, but this one takes the cake because I got engaged to the guy, even Jonas wasn't this bad," she threw up her hands and began tracing the route across the room that Jack had previously paced.
Jack just let her have her space and remained silent until she dropped back onto the couch next to him. "So what are you going to do?" questioned Jack.
"I don't know how," she answered, mostly to herself.
"Do you know what you want?" Jack again questioned.
"Yes," answered Sam. 'I want to end things with Pete. I want to get a full night of sleep again. I want to quitt missing my dad so much. I want to have time to spend my family: Jack, Daniel, Teal'c, Cassie, and Mark's family.'
Although Jack waited, Sam didn't continue speaking, so he finally asked "Is there anything that I can do to help?"
Tears again filled her eyes and he gathered her in his arms once more as she said, "Just be there, just like this."
And with Sam Carter in his arms, he said the one word that could convey the depth of his feelings for her "Always, Sam, always."
As they pulled apart, Jack disappeared in a flash of white light.
----
Well, this officially ends the conversation between Jack and Sam and (if you can guess) brings one of Jack's favorite alien friends for a visit...
Thanks for all the great reviews. Expect updates to come at least every other day now, as the story picks up the pace a little bit!