A/N: My husband and I put up Holiday lights yesterday. It's always a very interesting experience. After 15 years of marriage, you'd think I'd be used to my husband either totally losing his mind over the tangled web of festiveness or cracking inappropriate innuendos over the male and female ends of a strand of lights while dangling precariously off the roof. Well, it's nice to know he can keep things interesting and still surprise me. I'm sure the adventure will turn into a Jack & Sam holiday story at some point. It even inspired a small change to this story.

Thanks for all the comments! Without further ado...

Chapter 3: Cameron Mitchell

Shit. Shit. Shit. Cam cursed inwardly as he marched toward the conference room, leading the remaining team into the fire. Every part of his being had rebelled against the idea of leaving Sam and Vala behind, even if it was just long enough to regroup. He knew it was the wrong call. He knew he should disobey orders, but his training got the better of him and he'd forced himself to leave them behind and step through the Stargate.

Then he saw General O'Neill staring down at him from the command center. His boss's boss. Leader of Homeworld Command. Sam's husband.

That last title was likely the most significant in this instance. Cam had willfully left General O'Neill's wife behind in a hostile situation while the man watched from afar. It didn't matter that he was following orders. Leaving anyone behind was the worst kind of sin to O'Neill; abandoning the one person the man would burn it all to the ground to protect? Well, Cam might as well start looking for a new line of work — assuming the General allowed him to live that long.

It wouldn't have been so bad, Cam supposed, if he hadn't known about Sam's marriage to the General. Ignorance is bliss sometimes. Of course, he hadn't exactly found out about them in the simplest manner. No, it'd been one of the most awkward situations he'd ever been in.

Cam's Flashback

Sugar Bear's Bar and Grill wasn't the best place to grab a beer, but it was off the beaten path and away from the prying eyes of the SGC. It's not that Cam didn't want to socialize with colleagues, but there were times like today that he needed more personal space.

He'd been serving as the leader of SG-1 for a little over four months and things had not been going well. Dr. Jackson and his new friend Vala had, inadvertently, alerted the Ori to the existence of the Milky Way Galaxy, thus setting off another interstellar war. As if the Goa'uld weren't bad enough, under Cam's watch they'd managed to piss off power-seeking ascended beings hellbent on universal domination. Yep, stellar leadership bucko, he chastised himself.

Unfortunately, his screwups resulted in him badgering Colonel Samantha Carter to rejoin SG-1. She kept turning him down, citing "personal reasons," whatever that meant. Eventually, he was forced into going over her head and asked General Landry to formally request her for a temporary assignment directly from the head of Homeworld Command. Sam obviously had not been thrilled when she'd found out what Cam had done, especially after the numerous times she had politely declined his request. The fact that they had been study buddies during their academy days seemed to prevent her from strangling him, at least for the time being.

Pushing all that aside, Cam shook off the mantle of leadership and walked into Sugar Bear's. The dark lighting and decor fit his mood perfectly. The bar was the only lit area in the place with mirrors lining the front wall reflecting the minimal lighting onto the patrons. The rest of the establishment, however, was lined with high-backed booths surrounding several smaller, round tables. The dark wood either blocked or absorbed the light, casting everything else in shadow.

Grabbing a paper menu from the bar, Cam made his way toward the back of the building. He had no desire to interact with anyone and knew the darkness would help him blend into the background.

"Mitchell?" A deep voice reached his ears as he passed the second to last booth.

Recognizing the voice immediately, Cam jerked to a halt with a, "General O'Neill, sir," and resisted the urge to fidget as the head of Homeworld Security carefully assessed him.

"I thought that was you, Mitchell," Jack nodded a greeting and gestured to the seat across from him. "I didn't expect to see anyone else from the SGC here."

"Neither did I," Cam murmured uncomfortably as he sat down. He wanted nothing more than to ignore the man, but when your boss's boss offered you a seat, you took it.

"Hiding from the mantle already?" Jack asked, taking a sip of his beer.

"Sir?" Cam hedged.

"How do you think I found this place?" Jack chuckled. "Sometimes you just need to go where no one expects you to make a decision."

Cam stared at the man as his words sank in. For the first time, he looked past the chest candy and aura of authority to see the man underneath. Casually dressed, General O'Neill looked tired. No, scratch that: he looked downright exhausted. Cam had failed to recognize the weight of command the man carried around before, but he saw it now. It didn't just mirror his own, it dwarfed it.

While Cam was responsible for the lives of four team members, O'Neill was responsible for the whole of Homeworld Security. Hundreds, if not thousands, of souls were affected by his decisions every single day. Billions, if you considered the man was charged with protecting the entire planet. All. The. Time.

"I never expected to feel so—" Cam searched for the right adjective, but was at a loss. How could he even stand in the shadow of this man?

"Guilty? Overwhelmed? Helpless?" Jack supplied.

"Exactly," Cam nodded.

"Everyone talks about the power, but no one ever mentions the weight of it," Jack continued, taking another sip of his beer.

"With great power comes great responsibility," Cam sighed and swore he saw the General's lips twitch.

"Uncle Ben was a wise man," Jack lifted his glass in a half salute.

Cam chuckled, finally relaxing a bit. It was nice to know there was at least one other person who understood what he was going through.

"Of course," Jack added casually after another sip of beer. "Guys like us come to a place like this for other reasons, too."

"Sir?" Cam didn't want to infer too much into that statement without some sort of clarification.

"Discretion, Mitchell," Jack pinned him with a hard stare. "We come here for discretion."

"Aha," Cam answered, nodding slowly. He'd just been politely dismissed. Standing up, Cam glanced around the room before looking back at the General who was staring at him intently. "If you'll excuse me, sir, I believe I'll just move over to the bar. Better lighting and all," he tacked on due to nervousness.

"Mitchell," Jack called to Cam as he turned to make his way over to the bar. "Just remember. I don't handpick inept leaders to run my flagship teams."

Cam nodded almost woodenly as those words sank in. By the time he made it over to the bar, Cam was fighting back a smile. Conscious of Jack's presence, Cam slipped onto a barstool that kept him partially out of the General's sightline and raised two fingers to indicate his order and sat back to think about what just transpired.

He looked into the mirrors lining the wall behind the bar just in time to see a bombshell blonde open the door and slip inside. She was wearing civvies consisting of a miniskirt, halter top and heels, but Cam still recognized Sam immediately.

His eyes tracked her as she crossed the floor of the bar, taking the same path he had followed. Cam wondered why she'd come to a place like this. Had she found Sugar Bear's during her time as SG-1's leader? But then something General O'Neill had said piqued his brain. Discretion, Mitchell. We come here for discretion.

Cam had thought the General meant for him to keep this place their own little secret, but there was another type of discretion. The type, Cam realized with horror, that could get his teammate thrown into the brig. Or perhaps even worse, court martialed.

Cam wanted to look away, he really did, but his eyes wouldn't obey. Instead of focusing on his own reflection or his hands or any other thing in the bar, they continued tracking Sam as she walked straight into General O'Neill's open arms.

They did serve together for eight years, Cam reminded himself. Maybe they were really good friends. But then he watched the General's hands roam across Sam's bare back as his lips claimed hers in a 'not just friends' type of kiss. He watched as his teammate melted against the man, as her hands buried into his short hair, and when she pulled back, he saw the dreamiest look of happiness he'd ever seen on her face. Damn. Cam really wished he would have looked away.

The bartender set Cam's drink in front of him, finally breaking the trance. After thanking and tipping the man, Cam glanced back into the reflective glass, but saw nothing. Both Sam and General O'Neill had disappeared into the darkness of the establishment.

Cam quickly finished his beer and left, trying to forget what he'd seen. General O'Neill had all but demanded discretion, meaning he was trusting Cam not to rat anyone out. Obviously, Cam would never narc on a teammate, especially one he'd known since the academy. However, he had always felt very protective of Sam. He'd immediately felt drawn to her, not romantically but more of a big brother type of attraction. Or so he'd convinced himself.

Cam had been there when Sam had started dating Jonas Hanson and also there when the bastard had hurt her. Unfortunately, her taste in men slanted toward those who were slightly unhinged and who were also older. More distinguished, she'd always claimed. Which is why what he saw just now was so concerning to him.

Cam tossed and turned all night as he lay trying to sleep. His own troubles forgotten, he kept playing the scene he'd witnessed on a loop in his brain. Sam had come so far in her career and he'd hate to see her throw it away for a tryst with a General. If that affair went south, he knew who would take the brunt of the fallout and it wasn't O'Neill.

After a restless night, his decision was made. He showered and shaved and hopped on his Harley and made his way to the Mountain an hour earlier than normal. It was his responsibility to protect his team. He'd accept whatever decision Sam made, but he needed to know she'd thought her actions through before opting for the discretion General O'Neill expected.

He arrived on base before Sam, something that never happened. As he waited for her to arrive, he avoided the other members of the team, not wanting to explain his current agitated state. It was almost mid-morning when Cam finally found Sam in her lab, leaning over a stack of papers and scribbling notes in the margins. She appeared to be well-rested, not at all tired from the previous night—Cam inwardly cringed at the direction his thoughts were taking. Like a sister, he reminded himself before rapping on the door jam.

"Hey Cam," Sam smiled at him with a wide grin. "I'm glad you're here. There's something I've been meaning to talk with you about."

"It'll have to wait a minute, okay?" Cam stepped into the room and partially closed the door behind him. "I really need to get something off my chest."

"Cam, I think I know—"

"Sam, let me do this before I lose my nerve," he interrupted her, holding up a hand. Before she could disagree with him, he plunged ahead. "I know we've known each other for a long time. And I want you to know that I don't make it a habit of prying into my teammates' private lives."

"Cam—"

"No, let me finish." He took a deep breath. "I was at Sugar Bear's last night and I happened to see you. Now don't worry," he rushed out. "I won't say a word to anyone, but I have to ask… Sam, have you thought this through?"

"Cam, I think—"

"I mean," he rushed on, not listening and not looking at Sam's face because he had to get out his thoughts. "I know General O'Neill is a good man. I mean, I assume he is. He always comes across as a firm but fair leader, albeit sometimes a wisecracking hard-ass. He's really hard to read at times, you know?" He shook his head. "Of course you know, you're sleeping with the man," he cringed at the choice of words. He was digressing and really needed to stay on topic. "What I'm trying to say is, please be careful. You're the smartest person I know and I don't want you to get hurt—personally or professionally. Okay?" He finally looked up at her, surprised by the bemused expression on her face. At least he was until someone cleared their throat from the doorway behind him.

Whirling around, he found General O'Neill glaring at him while holding two cups of coffee. Cam was toast. Goodbye career, hello scrubbing toilets with a toothbrush full-time.

The General arched an eyebrow at him that rivaled Teal'c's signature look before breezing past him to hand Sam one of the cups. He bent forward slightly and gave Sam a quick peck on the cheek before walking back toward the doorway. He stopped as he passed Cam.

"I don't make it a habit of hurting the people I care about. Especially not my wife," General O'Neill said, his lips quirking a minuscule amount as he glanced back toward Sam. "Have a good day, dear," the man rolled his eyes dramatically as Sam worked hard to smother her laughter at Jack's antics and the incredulous expression on Cam's face. With that, General O'Neill exited the lab muttering something about teaching the definition of discretion at the academy.

Cam opened his mouth then closed it. He repeated the action two more times before Sam took pity on him. She put her coffee down on her desk and looked at him fondly.

"I was trying to tell you. When you came in," she walked over and patted him on the shoulder. "Breathe, Cam," she chuckled. "Jack told me he ran into you last night. We keep our marriage on a need-to-know basis."

"Yeah, right, of course," Cam coughed, praying his entire face wasn't as bright red as it felt. "Do Jackson and Teal'c know?" Cam's voice came out as a croak. Get it together, man!

"Daniel was Jack's best man, Teal'c was mine," she said gently. "Hayes married us."

"President Hayes?" Cam felt his eyes go wide.

"Yeah," Sam actually blushed. "It was a quiet ceremony in the Rose Garden. General Hammond was also there, but no one else. You now know a pretty big not-so-secret secret. Are you gonna be okay with this?"

"Of course," Cam finally came out of his stupor. "You're happy, that's what matters. You are happy, right?"

"Deliriously so."

End Cam's Flashback

While Sam never again mentioned her and Jack's relationship, Cam assumed they spent all their off-time together, so he had kept the couple's not-secret secret without a second thought. Right now, he just couldn't believe General Landry had made the call to leave Sam behind—especially with her husband standing right beside him. Cam couldn't have made that call. He wouldn't have made that call.

As they passed Landry in the control room, Cam noticed the man's almost perplexed expression. A sudden realization hit him.

Hank Landry didn't know.

The man didn't realize he'd just left his boss's wife behind to fend for herself. Oh hell, this was way worse than Cam had originally thought. Landry was about to get blindsided in the worst possible way.