OK, by popular demand I've written a sequel.
A/N: I've been trying not to make Pete into the bad guy since I never
wanted to hate him in the first place. I can't, however, change the canon
so if from now on Pete becomes the not-so-good-guy, don't blame me. It was
all the writers' fault.
Inside the bar, there was an uncomfortable silence around the table. Three pairs of eyes were all locked on Jack as he squirmed and stared at the floor. Daniel was the first one to speak.
" So ... the music in here's good tonight, isn't it?" Jack thanked the gods for the change of subject.
" Oh, yeah. It's not usually my style but ..."
"... you don't tend to notice the music when you're dancing that close with your beautiful 2IC." Janet remarked with a slight smirk. Jack's head shot up.
"Major." he growled in a warning tone but she smiled innocently.
"What? I was just stating the obvious. Sir." she added as his death glare pointed in her direction. She quickly went back to sipping her drink in silence. Just then, Sam came through the door. Alone. She slowly made her way towards the table and slipped into her seat next to Janet. All eyes turned to her and Jack decided to edge his bets.
"Where's -"
"He's gone. For good."
"Oh. I'm sorry." Sam stared at him.
"No, you're not. But thankyou." She winced as she realised how that must have sounded. "I just mean, I'm not sorry so you shouldn't be." O'Neill was taken aback by that.
" But I thought..."
" Like I told you, it wasn't serious. It's no big deal. Really."
" Even so, I was WAY out of line. I should never have asked you. I'm sorry." Carter stared into his eyes.
" It takes two to tango, Sir." It was a cliché but there it was. "I'm actually getting tired. I think I'm gonna head home."
" Yeah, and I'd better be getting Cassie to bed." Said Janet as she rose from her seat and put on her jacket. " Wanna share a cab, Sam?"
" Sure. See you tomorrow, guys. Sir." With a curt nod both she and Janet left the bar as Jack watched the door swing shut behind them. As soon as they were gone, Jack's head hit the table and he groaned loudly.
" Hey Danny, next time I do anything that stupid please shoot me will ya?" Daniel grinned.
" Oh I don't think that it was stupid at all." He and Teal'c shared a glance which didn't go unnoticed by Jack.
" Hold on a second, what's going on?"
" Nothing, Jack. Nothing at all." Jack's suspicions were aroused now.
" Oh for cryin' out loud, Daniel, what's going on?" Daniel remained silent. "Teal'c? Buddy?"
" We do not believe that Pete Shanahan was a good enough partner for Major Carter." Jack snorted.
" Yeah, sure! You guys are just saying that to make me feel better about screwing up her first serious relationship in years. Well it ain't working! God, I feel like such an ass!" Daniel leaned over the table closer to O'Neill.
" Trust me, he wasn't what he seemed." Jack's eyebrows raised a couple of inches.
" Huh? And just what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Teal'c puffed up his chest slightly and had a smug grin on his face.
" What Daniel Jackson means O'Neill is that Pete Shanahan ran a background check on Major Carter the day after she told us of her involvement with him."
" Yeah, so NOT such a nice guy after all, eh?" O'Neill banged his fist down on the table.
" Son of a bitch!" he yelled a little too loudly and several people in the bar turned to look at him. " Why didn't anyone tell me?"
" Mostly because we knew how you'd react. And because we didn't want Sam to find out." O'Neill looked shocked.
" What? You mean she doesn't know?"
" No she doesn't and she's not going to find out either." Daniel placed his hand firmly on top of Jack's but he yanked his away.
" How DARE you? Carter has a right to know exactly what kind of guy she was dating! I sure as hell would want to know if someone did that to me! I can't believe you two. How could you, you're supposed to be her friends!" Daniel raised his voice slightly.
" That's precisely WHY we didn't tell her, Jack! You saw how much that NID surveillance hurt her, she thought that we all knew and it wounded her to think that someone so close to her could do something like that. We couldn't put her through that again."
" It wouldn't have been us, it was Pete!" Jack spat his name out as if it were a deadly poison. Daniel just shrugged his shoulders and leaned back into his seat.
" Same result. Listen, we knew that it probably wouldn't last very long anyway and we couldn't see any reason to hurt her by telling her the truth. I mean, we'd never lie, if she asked us, we'd tell her but there was no reason to let her know."
" OK, let's just say for a second that I agree with you, which, for the record, I DON'T, but even if I did, how could you know that it wasn't serious? For all you know, she could have planned to marry the guy!" Daniel smiled.
" Well, Jack, I think that was highly unlikely. Firstly, she'd only know him for five minutes, secondly, he lives in Denver. She would never leave the SGC so he'd have to transfer to Colorado Springs and leave everything behind."
" He's a cop, Daniel, it wouldn't have exactly been a problem!"
" Yeah well, that may be but we know she'd never have married the guy anyway."
" Oh, and how would *we* know that?" Daniel and Teal'c shared another look.
" Well, if you can't figure that one out, you're a lot more dense than I thought you were!" Daniel took the last swig of his beer and stood up. " See you tomorrow, Jack. Teal'c, you coming?"
" Indeed. Goodnight O'Neill." he said as he thumped him on the shoulder and headed out the door leaving a very confused Colonel in their wake.
Jack turned back towards the table. How could he be so stupid? As if things hadn't been awkward enough lately without him stirring them up.Tomorrow morning he'd have to face Carter and he had no idea what to do. Of course, he knew she'd act like nothing happened, play the good 2IC, but he could tell she'd be silently blaming him for screwing up her life. Again. She deserved so much more and even though it felt like he'd been stabbed through the heart when she'd told him about Pete, he really did want her to be happy. He just hoped that she realised that.
Inside the bar, there was an uncomfortable silence around the table. Three pairs of eyes were all locked on Jack as he squirmed and stared at the floor. Daniel was the first one to speak.
" So ... the music in here's good tonight, isn't it?" Jack thanked the gods for the change of subject.
" Oh, yeah. It's not usually my style but ..."
"... you don't tend to notice the music when you're dancing that close with your beautiful 2IC." Janet remarked with a slight smirk. Jack's head shot up.
"Major." he growled in a warning tone but she smiled innocently.
"What? I was just stating the obvious. Sir." she added as his death glare pointed in her direction. She quickly went back to sipping her drink in silence. Just then, Sam came through the door. Alone. She slowly made her way towards the table and slipped into her seat next to Janet. All eyes turned to her and Jack decided to edge his bets.
"Where's -"
"He's gone. For good."
"Oh. I'm sorry." Sam stared at him.
"No, you're not. But thankyou." She winced as she realised how that must have sounded. "I just mean, I'm not sorry so you shouldn't be." O'Neill was taken aback by that.
" But I thought..."
" Like I told you, it wasn't serious. It's no big deal. Really."
" Even so, I was WAY out of line. I should never have asked you. I'm sorry." Carter stared into his eyes.
" It takes two to tango, Sir." It was a cliché but there it was. "I'm actually getting tired. I think I'm gonna head home."
" Yeah, and I'd better be getting Cassie to bed." Said Janet as she rose from her seat and put on her jacket. " Wanna share a cab, Sam?"
" Sure. See you tomorrow, guys. Sir." With a curt nod both she and Janet left the bar as Jack watched the door swing shut behind them. As soon as they were gone, Jack's head hit the table and he groaned loudly.
" Hey Danny, next time I do anything that stupid please shoot me will ya?" Daniel grinned.
" Oh I don't think that it was stupid at all." He and Teal'c shared a glance which didn't go unnoticed by Jack.
" Hold on a second, what's going on?"
" Nothing, Jack. Nothing at all." Jack's suspicions were aroused now.
" Oh for cryin' out loud, Daniel, what's going on?" Daniel remained silent. "Teal'c? Buddy?"
" We do not believe that Pete Shanahan was a good enough partner for Major Carter." Jack snorted.
" Yeah, sure! You guys are just saying that to make me feel better about screwing up her first serious relationship in years. Well it ain't working! God, I feel like such an ass!" Daniel leaned over the table closer to O'Neill.
" Trust me, he wasn't what he seemed." Jack's eyebrows raised a couple of inches.
" Huh? And just what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Teal'c puffed up his chest slightly and had a smug grin on his face.
" What Daniel Jackson means O'Neill is that Pete Shanahan ran a background check on Major Carter the day after she told us of her involvement with him."
" Yeah, so NOT such a nice guy after all, eh?" O'Neill banged his fist down on the table.
" Son of a bitch!" he yelled a little too loudly and several people in the bar turned to look at him. " Why didn't anyone tell me?"
" Mostly because we knew how you'd react. And because we didn't want Sam to find out." O'Neill looked shocked.
" What? You mean she doesn't know?"
" No she doesn't and she's not going to find out either." Daniel placed his hand firmly on top of Jack's but he yanked his away.
" How DARE you? Carter has a right to know exactly what kind of guy she was dating! I sure as hell would want to know if someone did that to me! I can't believe you two. How could you, you're supposed to be her friends!" Daniel raised his voice slightly.
" That's precisely WHY we didn't tell her, Jack! You saw how much that NID surveillance hurt her, she thought that we all knew and it wounded her to think that someone so close to her could do something like that. We couldn't put her through that again."
" It wouldn't have been us, it was Pete!" Jack spat his name out as if it were a deadly poison. Daniel just shrugged his shoulders and leaned back into his seat.
" Same result. Listen, we knew that it probably wouldn't last very long anyway and we couldn't see any reason to hurt her by telling her the truth. I mean, we'd never lie, if she asked us, we'd tell her but there was no reason to let her know."
" OK, let's just say for a second that I agree with you, which, for the record, I DON'T, but even if I did, how could you know that it wasn't serious? For all you know, she could have planned to marry the guy!" Daniel smiled.
" Well, Jack, I think that was highly unlikely. Firstly, she'd only know him for five minutes, secondly, he lives in Denver. She would never leave the SGC so he'd have to transfer to Colorado Springs and leave everything behind."
" He's a cop, Daniel, it wouldn't have exactly been a problem!"
" Yeah well, that may be but we know she'd never have married the guy anyway."
" Oh, and how would *we* know that?" Daniel and Teal'c shared another look.
" Well, if you can't figure that one out, you're a lot more dense than I thought you were!" Daniel took the last swig of his beer and stood up. " See you tomorrow, Jack. Teal'c, you coming?"
" Indeed. Goodnight O'Neill." he said as he thumped him on the shoulder and headed out the door leaving a very confused Colonel in their wake.
Jack turned back towards the table. How could he be so stupid? As if things hadn't been awkward enough lately without him stirring them up.Tomorrow morning he'd have to face Carter and he had no idea what to do. Of course, he knew she'd act like nothing happened, play the good 2IC, but he could tell she'd be silently blaming him for screwing up her life. Again. She deserved so much more and even though it felt like he'd been stabbed through the heart when she'd told him about Pete, he really did want her to be happy. He just hoped that she realised that.
