A/N: This is set after season seven and Jack has already been pulled from his stasis. A deviation from the end of season seven is that General Hammond was not transferred to the Pentagon.
Warning: I use some mildly strong language in this story, I hope you aren't offended.
It had been four months since they had defeated Anubis over Antarctica. With the defeat of Anubis had come the unification of the world as knowledge of the Stargate project spread. The defeat of an entire aircraft carrier fleet in the Pacific hadn't escaped the attention of the media. So the President and the Joint Chiefs made the decision to reveal to the country and the whole world what had been going on, without revealing the site of the SGC, before the media started with their wild speculations that would only spread the panic. When people realized how close they had come to complete annihilation or enslavement by an alien race they forgot their petty squabbles with one another. There was a common enemy out there, where they were all potential victims, and it united the world.
For those at the SGC, life went back to normal as much as possible. Their identities were still classified, no one needed for there to be a rush of media at the mountain interfering with their lives and duties. For the first time, the immediate families of SGC personnel were told what it was they did under the mountain. Remarkably enough, word never reached the media. The families were too proud of their loved ones to put them at risk by distracting them from the important duties they performed under the mountain and, in some cases, across the galaxy.
For Pete Shanahan knowing that the biggest threat to the galaxy had been eliminated, there was a sense of relief. And so today he found himself walking into the mall in Colorado Springs.
Twenty minutes later Pete looked up from the counter he was looking into and noticed Colonel Jack O'Neill walking past the store he was in. He had to get another opinion, and so he raced out of the store after Jack. "Colonel!"
Jack stopped and turned around to face the source of the voice he didn't recognize. He wasn't all that delighted to see Pete, but you couldn't tell from his face. He had made a resolution to be happy for Sam, even if it meant she found comfort in another man's arms. "Pete."
"Hey, can I get your help with something?" Pete asked him as he shook his hand and, holding onto it, started leading him back to the store he had previously occupied.
"Uh, actually I was on…"
"Please, I need your help… It's about Sam," he told him pleadingly as he stopped and looked at him.
Jack's interest was now officially piqued, 'maybe they broke up?' he wishfully thought to himself. 'Wouldn't Sam have told me?'
As Jack continued the discussion in his mind he didn't take note of the store he and Pete were standing in front of. After not getting a response, Pete spoke again, "I want to ask Sam to marry me and I need help picking out the ring!" he quickly blurted out.
Jack's mental monologue ground to a screeching halt as his mouth opened to allow air to enter his shocked body as his eyes went wide. "Wh… You want to marry… Carter?" he finally managed to stumble out hoping that he had misheard the man. Only then did he realize that he was standing in front of a jewelry store.
Oblivious to Jack's reaction, Pete excitedly went on as he dragged Jack into the store, "Yeah! I'm really excited and I want to give her the perfect ring and I'm having a hard time deciding. You've known her for a long time, you ought to know what she likes… So which one do you think?" he asked Jack as he pointed at the three rings that were lying on a soft felt pad in front of the salesman who had been helping him earlier.
Jack's mind was still trying to catch up with what he was hearing as he absently stared down at the three rings.
"So which one do you think she'll like the most? Personally," Pete picked up the ring in the center, "I like this one…"
Jack stared at the ring Pete held in front of him. It was a very intricate and busy setting. In the center was a large round diamond (Jack guessed it was close to two carats) in a white gold setting, surrounded by two slightly smaller sapphires, and then two even smaller diamonds on both sides. He absently looked away and down at the other pair, he then picked up one of the rings. It was a small simple ring with only a small tear-shaped diamond in a yellow gold setting. He admired it as he envisioned slipping it onto Sam's left hand.
Pete looked down at the ring Jack held, "You think she'll like that one?" Pete wasn't sure, it was so small. He wanted to dazzle the woman he loved, how could he do that with a ring that small? "Nah, don't you think she'll like this one better? Look at the size of it!"
As Jack heard Pete's voice he was painfully pulled from his vision. With a blank face he turned and looked at Pete not knowing what to say. Not knowing how to tell this man that he couldn't marry Carter. How to tell him that he loved Carter more than anything in the world, or the galaxy for that matter. 'Wait, do I love her? Hell, does she even love me? Or even care for me a little a bit?' "I… uh… I don't know…"
"Come on, you're her CO, you've worked with her for over seven years!" Pete really needed help with this decision, he wanted to get it just right for Sam.
Jack shook his head, "Sorry, I can't help you… It's not exactly something we talk about… Look, Pete, I gotta go." He didn't wait for a response as he ran from the store.
Pete watched him run away confused. He then looked down at the ring that Jack had picked up and considered it. "I gotta go with my gut feeling, I'll take this one!" he told the salesman as he held out the ring that he had initially chosen.
TBC
A/N: I promise to write and post more to this story as long as you send your comments (positive or negative) my way! Thanks.
