Disclaimers: The usual apply – not making money off this, don't own them….
AN Thanks for all the wonderful reviews!! Sorry that it has taken me so long to update – I just got stuck for a while and every idea was, well, junk!! So this is it – let me know if you like or not!!
Sighing, Sam pulled the earpiece out of her ear and slipped it back inside her shirt. She turned and ran quickly up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, she paused for a minute and took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, she opened the door and walked down the hallway to the living room. Pete still sat on the sofa in the same place as she had left him, his head in his hands. Hearing her enter the room, he raised his head and looked at her.
"No ice cream?" he said, noting her empty hands.
"What? No, I changed my mind." She sat back down in the chair beside the sofa. "Pete, I…we'll need you to tell us everything you can about Colonel Aimes and any contacts that you may have with the NID. Your life may be in danger now that you have told me about your involvement with them." She looked into his eyes a moment before continuing. "Listen, I appreciate your honesty in telling me about this surveillance business, but I hope that you understand that any relationship that we may have had is over. Please," she held up her hand as he tried to speak, "please, don't make this harder than it already is. I trusted you and you were just reporting to the NID about me." Her voice began to rise slightly as she stood up and looked down at him. "What did you say to them? Did you tell them that I was good in bed? If I like pickles in my tuna fish or drool in my sleep? Pete, those are things that are private. You had no right to do this…to invade my privacy like this. We are so through." Running her hands through her hair in frustration, she took a deep, calming breath and exhaled slowly.
The doorbell rang. "That will be the military police to escort you to a safe house. I'm sure that the NID will be looking for you once they realize that we are on to them. The SGC will send over someone to debrief you." She walked over to the door. Opening it, she recognized one of the MP's from the base. "He's in there, Sergeant," she said gesturing to the living room.
Pete walked out of the living room with the guard. He paused before going out the front door and looked at Sam sadly. "Sam, I am so sorry. You are the best thing that ever happened to me and I managed to muck it up. I hope that one day you can forgive me." Dropping his head, he walked out the front door and down the sidewalk. Sam stood in her doorway, watching him leave. As Sergeant Smith opened the backseat door for him, Pete turned to look at Sam again. "I'm so sorry," he mouthed as he began to climb into the backseat.
Two almost unheard pinging noises broke the stillness of the night, one shattering the windshield before burying itself into the drivers seat, the other finding its target in Pete's chest. It seemed to Sam that everything began to move in slow motion. The MP hit the ground, pulling his weapon while dragging Pete out of the backseat and into the relative protection of the rear passenger side door. "Jack! Man down!" Sam yelled into the microphone still attached to her shirt, before grabbing her own weapon and belly crawling out of her front door and down the walk following the protective line of bushes over to the car. Sergeant Smith was attempting to shield Pete while looking around for other possible attackers. A tire screeching sound was heard going off down the street in the opposite direction as a large truck came racing to a rapid halt in front of the military service car. Jack jumped out of the truck and raced around to the other side of the vehicle.
"Ambulance is on the way. Status report, Major!" he ordered.
"Pete was the only one hit, Sir. There were two shots fired from possibly that hillside over there. We just heard the sound of someone leaving the area fast, just before you showed up." Sam looked down at Pete, who was unconscious. "How is he, Sergeant?"
"He'll be ok, Ma'am. It was a smart idea to put a vest on him before leaving your house. He's unconscious because he hit his head on my briefcase in the back seat when he was hit. He'll have a heck of a bruise, I'd say, along with a nasty headache." Sergeant Smith smiled at Sam and looked at Jack. "What now, Sir?"
"The ambulance should be here soon. We'll take him to the base hospital where he will be pronounced DOA and then spirit him out of the SGC to the safe house. The NID will think he is dead and not concern themselves with him any longer." Jack stepped back as the ambulance arrived to take Pete away.
After the ambulance left, Jack looked over at the Sergeant who was still brushing glass off the drivers seat into a bin. "Don't let the auto shop give you too hard a time about the car," he said. "If they give you a rough time, you can refer them to me. I'll expect your report on my desk in the morning."
"Sir, yes, sir!" Sergeant Smith snapped off a salute, climbed gingerly into the driver's seat and left.
Jack and Sam were left standing in her driveway. "Would you like something to drink, Sir?" Sam said, drawing him towards the house.
"Sure, Carter. There is something else though," he said following her into the house. As he began to shut the door behind them, he could clearly be heard saying, "What's this about pickles in your tuna fish?"
FIN