11

He didn't know where she had been, but the man he had hired who was following her had seen O'Neill, Jackson and herself go onto the base and not come off. This afternoon she had been spotted, Jackson too, but so far no sign of O'Neill, he hoped that meant that the man was not coming back, hopefully Cassie would go live with Jackson, and Sam would be his exclusively.

He routed the ring out of the bottom of the drawer and left the apartment quietly, the last thing he wanted was to explain where he was going, he had promised he was home for the night and setting off out again would not go down well.

He made it to the America's Bar & Grill a couple of minutes late, his 'friend' was outside parked up and he got the latest, Jackson had gone around to her house before she set off, so he guessed Cassie had moved back in, well it wouldn't take long to persuade her to move out again, at least it looked like the Colonel was out of the picture, Sam wouldn't move her if he was coming back any time soon.

He looked through the window; he could see her sat in the corner, watching folk. He placed the folder he had received with the latest photos in down the back of his jumper, resting inside his waistband and he went inside.

He sat on the opposite side of the table and ordered a beer, she wanted a diet coke, they waited until the drinks arrived and then he started talking.

"I've missed you babe" he said, grabbing her hand "You have no idea how much… and I've been thinking, about us… I'm going to ask for a transfer to Colorado Springs PD, so we can be closer"

"Pete" she stopped him, raising her hand and pulling the other one free "Look, I'm sorry, but… there was an…accident at work, Colonel O'N… the Colonel was hurt, Cassie has moved back in with me and, look it's only fair I tell you to your face, I want to break up"

He heard her, well he heard the noise, but somehow his brain refused to process what she said… he carried on as if she had not spoken.

"I was thinking of getting a bigger house too, if we are going to start a family we will need space" he fumbled in his pocket and pulled out the ring box, Sam looked at it, in his hand as if it was a nuclear bomb. "I know this isn't the best place or time…" he said

"Pete! NO! Didn't you hear me? I want to break up, I don't want to see you again!" she said sharply

"This ring is perfect for you, just let me try it on you, you'll see" he told her, he knew if she wore it, even for a second, then she would stop all this nonsense and say yes. But she pulled her hands away and gripped them together under the table. He frowned, what was she playing at?

"Sam, look just put it on, it's perfect, we don't have to plan the wedding straight away, but if we want to get married before we have kids we should really start arranging things"

"Pete, we are not getting married and I am not going to have your children" she told him. Of course he knew better, maybe he had forgotten to mention it? He better tell her now before she did something they would both regret.

"Sam you could be pregnant already" he told her, he was amused to see her shake her head "yes you could, the last few times we made love… the condoms were… well I made sure they were not as safe as they should be… I want us to have kids as soon as possible" he told her. Hopefully she was already pregnant, but if not, they could keep trying.

"Pete, the condoms weren't for contraception" she told him, he didn't understand "I am on birth control, implants, the condoms were just to make sure we didn't pass anything on, I am not pregnant and can't get pregnant by accident" she told him.

How dare she hide something like that? All his efforts, bursting the condoms and trying to make it look like an accident, looking for ages trying to locate her pills and when he had not found any making plans!

Well, he knew now, he could always get her to remove the implant, so the babies wouldn't arrive within a year, he could wait a while longer. He made a grab for her hand again, trying to put the ring on her finger, she stood up, making sure he could not get it. He didn't want a scene so he allowed her to leave, he could catch up with her this weekend, when he went down to stay.

0o0o0o

She was shaking as she left the pub, she was not sure exactly what had happened, it was as if everything she said had no impact on him, he ignored everything. She just had to hope that he got the message, because she was not going to allow him into the house again and she was going to make sure he couldn't call too.

She got hold of the phone company and barred calls from his phone to both her land line and cell, she also called the SGC/ NORAD switchboard and had his permission revoked, because she had a feeling that if he didn't get hold of her at home he would try at work.

She wished General Hammond was still in charge, she could have explained her problem to him and asked for help, but she didn't know this new woman, and though the scuttlebutt was that she had faced down Kinsey and even kicked him off the base, she didn't know her well enough to go to her with something this personal. So she settled for writing a report, she could explain the breakup and her worries about his mental state and leave the lawyers and doctors to decide if he was a risk to the secrecy of the programme.

WHY HER? Every man who loved her either went mad or died, or in Jonas' case, both! What was it about her that caused it? She should just give up on love and accept that she would grow old alone, at least she could look forward to 'grandkids' when Cassie got a bit older, though maybe the young woman would leave and not look back once she was in the AF full time.

She made her way home and thanked Daniel for looking after Cassie, she made her way to bed, the child was already asleep, and she curled up into a ball, hugging the pillow she had stolen from her COs room when she had collected Cassies things. Maybe there was one man who could love her without dying or going mad, or maybe he had done both and survived, so was immune now? She breathed in his scent, and hoped it would not fade before they got him back.