Same as before. I don't own Stargate, if I did I'd either be rich or be in debt due to medical insurance for Dan Shea...
Thanks again for the kind reviews

The next morning was spent in the grand tradition that she had created for herself. She had a bath, read the latest Scientific Examiner, marking the mistakes in it with her highlighter, and then ran five miles in a desperate attempt to stay in shape. Making her way around the neighborhood she stopped as she saw the gray haired man sitting on a roof with a telescope. Perfect.

"Hello!"

He looked down at her confused and gave her a half-wave. Friendly little bugger. Noticing that she was not going away, he worked his way down the steps. Realization dawned; she could almost read his mind. Oh, he was thinking, you're that strange lady the cute blonde introduced me to at the airport. Yes, she thought as she smiled back, and I'm going to get to know you better to see what your part in this game is.

"Katarina, right?"

"Yes, fancy seeing you in this neighborhood General."

"Jack."

"Fancy seeing you in this neighborhood General Jack."

For some reason it amused him and he smiled.

"Well I do live here."

How incredibly witty. She stopped herself short of rolling her eyes.

"Sam tells me you are her commanding officer."

"That would be correct." He shifted uncomfortably, not knowing where she was going. Come to think of it, she didn't know where she was going either. Oh, right, interrogation.

"Deep Space Radar Telemetry."

"Yup." He responded dryly, in a tone that clearly indicated he had no intention of elaborating.

"It looks right up your alley."

Confusion struck him again.

"Your telescope?" She motioned to his previous location.

"Oh.. right." He nodded. "Sure do love that.. deep.. space radar stuff."

Sure, you do. She eyed him again when he wasn't looking, hoping to find something that would clue her into Sam's obvious attraction to the man. Nope, she was stumped.

"So Carter tells me you two are old friends."

"We are. Very old, very friendly."

He nodded. He was a wonderful conversationalist too. How ideal. Her friend apparently continued to like very strange men. She was sure this painful situation, supposedly called a conversation was sure to continue onward and downward, but a brunette woman emerged from the house saving her from the fate worse than death.

"Oh, you have a lady friend here."

She smiled looking at the woman's obvious apparel, a man's shirt in his size and a pair of sweats. The woman was obviously embarrassed at her appearance and turned to the gray man for support. He was fresh out it seemed and instead decided to introduce them.

"Kerry, this is Katarina. Katarina, Kerry."

Katarina gladly extended her hand to soothe the poor frightened thing. Perhaps she was a complication she hadn't thought up.

"Nice to meet you Kerry. I'm terribly sorry to have interrupted your rendezvous."

They both attempted shamefully to contradict her, but she gave them no chance, choosing to jog off at the opportune moment.

Sinking back in for her second bath of the day, she pondered her options. As far as she could see there were only two, a man she thoroughly despised and a completely unavailable man who annoyed her more than anyone she had every met. Decisions, decisions. Ah, but was there really any conflict? She had always loved a good challenge and it might take the edge off of an otherwise boring three months.

Looking at a list of the local venues, she found herself practically whimpering. A publicly owned hall, an old church reception area, and a crusty mansion- none of these options sounded like the two people she had talked to. They needed someplace where they could relax and have fun. The list of possible guests was well under a hundred. Hmm, she picked up the business card of the restaurant they had just been to. The mood seemed right. It had pool tables and a bar and decent food. She'd certainly have to buy out the place for the night.

Still in a griping mood, she picked up her cell and dialed a familiar number.

"Phillip? Hello, darling."

The usual pleasantries commenced. His business was doing well and he still thought that he had a chance to date her. Some men just never learned. In the middle of describing his latest triumph in exasperating detail she had had enough.

"Sorry, darling, but I have a bit of a crisis here. You see my dearest friend is getting married and I must have the best cake available for her."

Of course he would make it; of course she would get the reduced rate. He scoffed at the size of the party, but promised to same day air some of his finest confections. After a bit more smoozing, he added a bonus, a miniature version of her favourite cake as a gift. Feeling thoroughly satisfied she hung up her phone, just in time to hear someone knocking on her door. Slipping on a robe, she hurried down and opened the door.

The gray haired man was now standing nervously in front of her. She wondered what the cause of it was, the robe or his guilt. Figuring it to be a combination of the two, she offered him a confused look.

"Hi."

Wow, a full word. "Hello." She tightened the slipping robe. "What can I do for you General?"

"Umm.." He shifted in his place, seemingly unaware of what he was doing there. "Are you seeing Carter today?"

She nodded, taking a bit too much pleasure in this newest revelation. So the lady friend must have been a secret and now he was going to try to convince her not to tell. Good luck.

"Would you like me to tell her anything for you?" She hinted, not so gently.

"No, no." He muttered another nope under his breath.

"Would you like me to not tell her anything for you?"

His face flew up to meet hers. Yes, that's right you silly man, she thought, I've known you for less than two days and I already know. Still it felt bad to bare souls on the porch.

"Would you care to come in?"

He followed her in and looked around at the already full house.

"You move in fast."

She put the kettle on and turned back to look at him. He was already inching his way into the living room. Brushing past him, she picked up her precious memory book and motioned for him to sit. He sat, and she made her exit to get into some truly uncomfortable clothes.

Coming out again, she soothed the creamy fabric and took out two teacups. She paused, glancing out at the man in the room, and put them away. He was not a tea man. Opening the fridge she took out two beers and hoped her assessment was correct. He was sitting uncomfortably on the couch, staring out at the drably cream décor.

"Your husband isn't here?"

She smiled softly, opening the beers and handing him one.

"I should hope not, he's been dead for nearly eight years."

"Oh." His eyes offered her a sincere apology. Sitting across from him, she took a sip of the terrible concoction. So this is what she saw in him. Hmm. Good combination, rare combination. Little boy combined with full-grown man. How interesting. "Sorry."

"Yes, everyone seems to be when they find out."

He nodded, fully fixated on his beer. This was a delicate situation. Technically at this point she should not have his trust, yet he was indebted to her for keeping his little secret. Mmm..

"Jack," she tested the name on her tongue, before deciding she liked it. "You should know I deeply care for Sam." She paused, trying to piece together her strategy "If you have any information that would incline me to believe that she should not marry Pete, I would be truly grateful to you for disclosing it."

He chuckled and put down the beer, looking directly at her.

"Do you always talk like that?"

"Like what?" She tried hard not to take offense.

"The wording. Your syntax is interesting."

This time she did not even try to not roll her eyes. "Is this always the way you try to change the subject?"

He sat up at the accusation. "I'm not trying to change the subject. You're the one that insists on talking in a strange way, I'm just trying to figure out if it is a cultural thing or a society thing."

"Eh.. umm.." She sank back into her chair. She'd never really considered it. Everyone she met at parties spoke in a similar matter. Brian, of course, had always teased her about it. But still that did not mean that he could just get out of a difficult question by arousing her anger. "Both, I suppose."

"Not raised in good old US of A?"

She smiled ruefully. "No."

"Scandinavia mostly?"

"Mostly."

So there was that charming personality she had been looking for. That and he was oddly brilliant. Still he was avoiding her question and being a smart-ass while doing so. A moment of comfortable silence ensued and she almost forgot how annoyed she was with him.

"Jack, if you won't allow me to be wordy, let me be plain." She paused and he gave a slightly defeated nod. "I know that you care for Sam enough to come here and ask a complete strange to not inform her of a secret relationship you are having with a leggy brunette." He nodded again in a self-effacing way. "That really leaves me with little to think. Really I only see two options. Either you love her and know she's in love with you, or you're both in love."

He shifted uncomfortably and then picked up the neglected beer. Here she found herself having a strange reaction, pity. She pitied him and she had no idea which option it was.

"Listen, you are obviously observant. You've been in the marines from what Carter has told me. You know about the chain of command."

She scoffed, disgusted.

"You better be doing some pretty world saving shit in that mountain to make you think it is more important than being with her."

"It is." He said it simply and she fell back against her chair in defeat. Stupid, self-assured man. He obviously didn't understand how rare it was to find someone to love. Most men didn't though.

"So you are perfectly happy to have her run off and marry some man while you shack up with another woman to drown out your sorrows?"

She sat perfectly still after the outburst, realizing that she had gone way too far. She didn't know him, and he certainly didn't deserve that. He finished off the beer and set the empty bottle back on the table. Neither knew what to say.

"I want her to be happy."

She still didn't dare move as he spoke. He stood and began his way to the door. She slowly pried herself from the chair and followed him.

"I know you do."

He smiled slightly and went through the door she opened for him. She walked in a daze back into the living room and downed the beer.

Later in the evening, Sam came to check on the progress. Still feeling like a traitor, she showed her the results of her search. Sam was surprised at her choice of the restaurant, but quickly mentioned that it was a favourite hangout of hers and the guys. The agreement seemed to be made as Sam phoned Pete for the all clear and then had a phone meeting to discuss the date.

Throughout their entire conversation, she sat slicing the vegetables for the wraps, guilt settling in with each slice. She shouldn't have told him she wouldn't tell, shouldn't have even implied it. The conversation had turned to goopy talk as she took the tortillas out and rolled the food together. Placing a garnish on top, she smiled and moved the plates to the set table.

Sam hung up and smiled. "Looks delicious."

She nodded, still feeling like scum and tried to think of something to talk about.

"The cake samples are going to be in on Wednesday." Sam nodded and then reconsidered.

"Oh, I probably won't be able to make it."

She arched a keen eyebrow at her friend.

"They really should be tasted fresh."

Sam nodded. "Oh, I know. Pete will do great picking one out I'm sure."

The eyebrow remained firmly arched. "And you are going to sleep inside the mountain?"

A dopey smile overtook Sam's face. "Yup, I will be inside the mountain."

"Bull." This time she said it out loud. Sam's fork dropped.

"Oh common, you know I can't tell you."

She hated to be in the dark about important things.

"And Pete is perfectly all right with all of this?"

Sam winced in a distinct manner that told her he already knew. She dropped her fork in a dramatic fashion, before exclaiming, "A cop from Denver knows top secret information?"

"It was an accident."

She took another large bite. "Pretty darn clever accident if you ask me."

The rest of the meal was spent in relative silence, a theme she was beginning to hate. Yes, she was definitely going to be bored. Sam left after informing her the date was with in a mere two months and mentioning that Pete's entire family was dying to meet her. She could think of nothing more wonderful.