Why I wrote it: Okay, so I think I missed the episode where Sam told Jack she was engaged to Pete, and I had a fleeting idea that shouldn't make this too long, and I know this wasn't how it happened, so yeah. I figured I might as well get the idea out of my head and write it all down. So enjoy. And oh yeah, I forget if Jack was general or not yet, so I'm just gonna go with him being the Colonel because I think Sam and Jack are more interesting together when they're still part of the team.

Spoilers: I think we all know about Sam and Pete by now. If not, I just spoiled it so you can read and not be angry with me. Sound good?

Disclaimer: Okay, this disclaimer isn't even mine, I found it when my friend was reading some fiction but it's funny, so here it goes:

'Roses are red

Violets are blue

I don't own them

So you don't sue.'

Beautiful, ain't it? Alright, on with the story!

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Jack looked in on his 2IC's lab to find exactly what he was expecting: a sleep deprived Carter and a large coffee cup. He stood outside her office, watching her through the window, just for a little while. She didn't know he was there, what harm could it do? He watched her sigh and blow a strand of hair away from her face. Sam dropped the marker she was writing with in frustration into the chalk rail of the dry erase board. As if trying to console her angry mind, she picked up a picture frame on her desk. Jack hadn't seen that one before, then realizing how long it had been since he'd ventured into her office.

"Well, now's a good time as any to alert her to my presence," Jack said to himself as he knocked.

He watched her yell, "Come in, sir, but I'm not leaving until this is finished."

Jack entered and closed the door behind him. "Somehow I expected that."

Carter looked at him as she put the picture face down, the leg of the frame sticking into the air. Jack sat on the corner of her desk and picked it up, eyeing her and watching her expression turn pink. "There must be someone important in this frame to make Samantha Carter go a little rosy. Jack's eyes darkened as he saw a picture of a man with his arms around Sam under a little tree by a house with a green lawn and a little bench and…"Looks like a nice house…Pete buy it for ya?"

She swallowed the rest of her coffee and held the empty cup in her hands. "Yeah. He did."

"For you, or for…?"

"Oh, yeah, as a kind of engagement present," she smiled at him as though the news were commonplace.

Jack raised his eyebrows in Teal'c like fashion. "Engagement present?"

"Sorry, did I forget to tell you?"

"No, Carter, this is the look of a man in the know."

"Jack, please, don't do this."

"Do what? There's nothing 'not to do'. You're happy, why should I not be?"

She looked at him questioningly. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

Jack shrugged sarcastically. "I'm not sure, Carter. Figure it out, you're good at that."

Carter turned back to the board frustrated. "If that's all you came in here for, Jack, then I suggest you leave."

"Jack? No 'sir' attached to that?"

She didn't miss a beat. "Sir."

"Actually, Major, I was wondering what the hell you were doing at 0200 hours."

"Trying to figure out an equation that Daniel deciphered from the artifact SG-3 brought back on their last mission."

"How does the figuring?"

Despite her annoyance with Jack, she couldn't stifle a small giggle at his raw humor. "Not bad, I'm just not the best at base 8 systems, and this one just keeps getting weirder."

"You know that means nothing to me."

"I figured as much."

"Good."

They were silent, Carter finally plopping into her chair next to the board. Jack pulled up another one and sat next to her, his eyes fixated with the ring she wore on her left hand.

"Nice rock."

She looked at it somewhat dismally. "Thanks, I'm very fond of it."

This perked interest in the Colonel. "Really? I've never really known you to be 'fond' of anything."

"Well I'm fond of Pete."

"But not in love with the man you're going to marry."

She looked away, angrily, her eyes focusing on the frame of her and Pete. "I never said that."

"You didn't have to. I can see it when you look at that picture."

This drew her eyes back to his. "Jack what, are you trying to do here?"

"I'm trying to show you that you don't love this man."

"With all due respect, sir, this is entirely none of your business!"

"It's exactly my business, Carter, because I can't stand to see you make this mistake!"

His words hung in the air like water on a humid day. Carter felt her face flush slightly as she tried to hide it from him. Truth be told, Carter had never thought he'd step up to the plate and show that he felt something more for her. He hadn't said anything, but she read him like a book. And she knew he knew that.

"What, Colonel? Do you have an objection to Pete?"

He took her hands and looked at her. "Don't take this the wrong way, Pete's a nice guy and all, but he's not for you. He's police, right? That means upholding the law. Sticking to the regs. You've never liked doing that before, have you?"

Sam knew he was taking a jab at her, but there was nothing she could say to contradict him. Sure, parts of her, lots of her knew that it would never work with Pete, but it wouldn't work with Jack, either. She took her hands back from his, watching the glimmer of hope fade from his eyes. "There's no other choice for me. I shouldn't even be having this conversation with you. Maybe Daniel. Maybe Teal'c, but not you."

Jack was astounded. He stood in anger, not at her, but at the situation. He didn't have anything to follow his rash action, and his posture softened. "Why not with me? We've always been able to talk—"

"No we haven't, Jack. We've always been able to serve and complete the mission. You wanna talk with me? Why don't you start with being honest with me? That's why I love Pete. He's never been afraid to be real with me."

"You don't love Pete."

"Yes, I do!"

"If you marry him, it'll only be because you're proving something."

"When I marry him it'll be because you were too much of a jackass to stop me!"

Sam didn't mean to let that fly, but when on sleep deprivation and a caffeine buzz at the same time, anything seems reasonable. Even sane. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that—"

"Yes you did."

Jack looked at her. It seemed as though he should be angry, but there was no trace of it in his features. He saw tears of angst and frustration threatening to pour over the edges of her eyes. He risked taking one step closer to her, the woman he truly loved. She didn't flinch. He took one more step. Sam stepped back, unknowingly into a corner. The only corner out of the surveillance camera's field of view. Jack stood about six inches away from her, dropping his head to look deep in her eyes. He raised his hand and brushed away a tear, Sam unable to free herself from his stare. "Carter…what if I stopped you now?"

"You can't," she looked to the side, hoping he would get the point, trying to convince herself of the same fact.

Jack changed his tone. "Sam, we both know I can." And that was it. He lowered his head and kissed her.

'God, this shouldn't be happening…' Sam thought to herself. She knew it shouldn't, but she wanted it too so badly. She needed this. Jack kissed her deeper and she brought herself closer, knowing it would only egg him on. That's what she wanted.

Jack felt her come closer and pressed her against the wall, her body melting into his burning form. Jack begged entrance to her mouth with his tongue; somewhat surprised as her own prodded his lips to part. She gripped him closer, not wanting to end it. Jack moved down her neck and to her shoulder, shoving her loose BDUs out of the way. He shivered slightly as he felt her hand steal away into his hair. Her breath grew quicker; raspy. Her eyes leaked for a different reason…Jack was fascinated with the skin below her right ear. Jack was about to stop when she whispered in the shell of his ear, "Jack…I don't want you to stop."

He moved his head from her neck and looked at her. "I'm not going to."

Sam smiled, a real smile that lit his soul on fire with raw want and wanton desire. He smoothed her hair out of her face and watched at she brought her arms between them, resting them on his chest. He looked at her curiously. Sam took off her ring and gave it to him. "I think you stopped me."

"I like to think of it as saving, actually."

She laughed at him and spoke in his ear as his arms enveloped her. "Shut up, Jack."

This time, Sam started this kiss, though at first glance, one wouldn't be able to tell. She could feel him everywhere, from her head to her toes to her chest where Jack was currently unfastening her shirt. Sam knew it was impossible, but she tried to bring herself closer; she rubbed his leg with her own, causing him to break for air. "Jesus, Carter."

"Call me Sam."

She smoothed his shirt off his arms and watched him with delight as he realized she wore a small, ribbed white tank top underneath her BDUs. He ran his fingers down her arm and claimed her mouth once more before he spoke again. "I didn't think you'd let me love you."

Sam hated it, but she knew he was her biggest weakness. "I didn't think we'd get the chance."

Her heart beat faster than it ever had before, much faster than she could ever remember it beating when she was with Pete. Jack picked her up by the thighs and moved the both of them to the ground behind her desk where they could simply be together; she groaned, needing. "Jack, I meant it, don't stop now."

She pressed herself against him as Jack ran his hands along her back, caressing another soft moan out of her. She laughed softly in the shell of his ear at his smirk at her response to his touch. 'I still got it,' Jack thought to himself. Never before had he been so glad for procrastinating his mission reports until now.

Footsteps came down the hall and threatened to wreck their serendipity, not to mention their careers. Jack threw his shirt back on as Sam hid the top to her BDUs in her file cabinet. "Jack, hide."

"Sam, I…God, it's good to call you that," his mouth closed greedily over hers. Sam didn't resist right away, answering his lips for a while until she heard the steps pause at her door. "Just…follow my lead."

"I thought I was the Colonel."

"Jack."

"Alright, fine."

The door opened and Daniel stood in the door. "Hey Sam, your Dad's here. Thought you might want to…" his eyes turned to Jack, who looked a little too interested in Sam's calculations, "Know that. Hey Jack."

"Hey there, Daniel. I was just talking with Sa—Carter. Right, so I'll be leaving now," Jack offered as a hasty explanation (?) and left swiftly. He passed Jacob in the hallway and saluted. "Hey, Jacob. Selmac."

Jacob knew that smirk anywhere. He got to Sam's office and found Daniel and Sam talking.

"You want to explain that, Sam?"

"There's nothing to explain, Daniel."

A pause. "Right, are you sure Sam?"

"Daniel, I'd like to speak with my daughter. Thanks for bringing announcing me."

Daniel gave him his classic "I'm confused" face. "Yeah, anytime. We'll talk later, Sam."

Jacob closed the door as Sam hastily put her picture of Pete to rights on her desk and shoved her ring back on her finger. Jacob looked at it. "You wanna keep that off?"

She glared at him. "Dad, I have no idea what you mean."

"You know, that's not very fair to Pete—"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with us, Sam, we know Jack was here. And we know you weren't 'talking'."

She stood defensively. "We could've been."

"Really? About what?"

Sam turned back to the board, uncapping the marker. "Just…military stuff. You know. Rules of engagement."

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Okay so I know it's really cheesy to put the title of the story in the actual text of the story, but I had to do it! It fit too nicely! So yeah, R&R please! I need feedback!