Title: Safe Bet

Chapter: Changes

Summary: "Do you?" Jacob asked. "Love him? Do you really? Or, do you simply love the fact that he loves you."

Spoilers: Major spoilers for "Grace"

Disclaimer: The show's not mine and neither are the characters. I make no cash profit from writing, only reviews :)

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When they met up in the briefing room nearly ten minutes later Jack was relieved, she didn't look worried any longer and add on to it the fact that as far as he could tell she didn't seem too upset at the fact that her romantic diner with her fiancé was disrupted, and things were good. He had been worried about her not coming, or Pete telling her she couldn't. Jack didn't think Sam would have listened to Pete if he had ordered her to stay, but Jack might have said something to the man if he had tried to tell her what to do, and it wouldn't have been anything particularly nice. That hadn't been the case, however, although Jack had seen a bit of anger in the man's eyes at the fact that she had left so quickly- without any other reason than him asking her to do so.

He sat down in his usual chair at the head of the table and she sat directly next to him, on the right. Jacob sat across from his daughter, to Jack's left. Round one; body guard. Freya looked a bit dismayed at the seating arrangements, but her eyes flashed and Anise took over, taking a seat next to Daniel, a smug smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Jack and Sam exchanged looks, and smiled themselves. It wasn't a secret that Anise was attracted to Daniel- even the archeologist himself knew it, and looked a little uncomfortable at the knowledge.

Teal'c sat down across from Daniel, next to Sam, and looked over at Jack with a nod of his head. They were already to begin the briefing. Jack looked to Jacob, "I assume you're here because the Tok'ra high council got a little impatient and couldn't wait any longer to hear our decision."

Jacob, in turn, nodded. "You are correct in your assumption. Have you decided yet?"

Jack nodded, "But, before I let you know what our decision is, there are a few things that I need to ask you." He glanced at Anise/Freya, whichever one it was, "You, too."

The Tok'ra woman seemed to perk at that statement and Sam found herself holding back an annoyed snort. Don't give your hopes up, sweetie, she thought, surprised by her own jealousness. Jack didn't care for Freya, Sam knew as much, but why was she getting so worked up by the looks that the Tok'ra was giving him? She was engaged to Pete, and the looks would never be received, anyway. Not that such was the point, though. Her involvement with another man was. Right. Pete.

The general looked at Sam and she took it as her cue to take over. Round two; lie detector. "What are the terms of our alliance?"

Both had been expecting the question, so neither was phased by it. "We would share intelligence on any Goa'uld's and there current whereabouts. New Goa'uld technology and machinery, as well as any knowledge you obtain from a captured Goa'uld and vice versa. The same as our agreement before."

Sam nearly rolled her eyes at the woman, then realized that she was behaving like a child. Or, worse, a love-struck teenager. "What about missions? Do we let each other know about when or if we plan on infiltrating a certain Goa'uld's ranks?"

Selmak chose to answer that particular question, "That is one thing that the Tok'ra have been discussing at great lengths. It is no secret that in the past we have kept things hidden from the Tau'ri, and you have kept things hidden from us. What lead us here today is not knowing something that we would have, had we still been allied with you, the Tau'ri. It is something that has been a matter of great concern, in the past. However, we now know enough to trust that those among the Tau'ri warriors can keep our agendas a secret, even if it means their death. So, yes, we would tell each other of our missions."

She glanced over at Jack, they hadn't expected Selmak to do the talking, most of the time Jacob did when they were on earth. Sam wasn't sure how good Selmak would be at lying to her, but she did know that the host and the symbiote shared their feelings, so maybe the guilt would be too much for the Tok'ra as well. "And my father agrees with this?" she questioned. You can never be too careful.

Jacob's eyes flashed and he was once again in control, "Yeah, I do. He's telling you the truth, Sam. We want to share everything. There's no way we can defeat the Goa'uld if we don't trust each other enough to let the other know what we're doing."

That was true enough. Jack and Sam shared another look and the general nodded his head, content that Jacob wouldn't lie to his daughter about something this important. At least, he was hoping that the man wouldn't. They continued on with their questions, asking things that pretty much already knew the answer to, just to gauge the reaction of her father. When they were both satisfied that the answers were the truth Jack gave them their answer.

"The president has agreed that an alliance with the Tok'ra is in the best interest of the Tau'ri." Jack informed the two, after nearly an hour and a half of questions.

Jacob only smiled at the fact that they had been held in the briefing room for 80 minutes to find out what they had, for the most part, already known. "The Tok'ra High Council will be pleased to hear that."

"Do you have to leave right away?" Sam asked. The two still hadn't gotten much of a chance to talk, and there was plenty to talk about.

He shook his head, "We still have a bit of time... you wanna grab a bite to eat?"

Sam looked over at her CO, her gaze questioning. Jack nodded, causing Sam to smile. "Yeah, that sounds great."

After throwing him a thankful look she and her father left the room, headed for the commissary. They got their food quickly and sat down at an empty table, dwelling in the silence for a few moments. Finally, after what seemed like eternity, but was only a few seconds, he spoke up.

"Who's the lucky man?"

She looked down at her ring for a brief moment, "Peter Shannahan. You know, Mark's cop friend from Denver? You met him at Mark's fortieth birthday party a year or so back."

Jacob nodded; he remembered the man. He also remembered that he hadn't really liked the cop from Denver, and that Selmak had absolutely detested him. That was the last thing he was going to say to his daughter, though. She didn't need to know he didn't like her choice of men- even if he thought it was a mistake for her to have even started dating him. "Are you happy?" he questioned. That's what mattered the most, right? Her happiness.

His daughter nodded, smiling lightly, as if she was trying to convince him by a look. "I am, Dad. Pete is wonderful and he loves me."

"Is that why you're marrying him? Because he loves you?"

Sam stared at him blankly for a second, unsure of where this conversation was leading. Not wanting to go where she thought it was. Sighing, she plunged head first into the chaos. "And, because I love him."

"Do you?" Jacob asked. "Love him? Do you really? Or, do you simply love the fact that he loves you."

Well, wasn't this a nice conversation between a father and his daughter after being apart for nearly a year. Oh yeah, she could just tell he missed her. "Of course I do, dad. I wouldn't have said yes otherwise."

"Sure you would have," Jacob chided. "You said yes to Jonas."

"That was different."

"Yeah, Jonas was an ass. But, that's the only difference here, isn't it?"

"No," Sam told him, feeling anger rise in her throat. "It's not."

"He's not right for you Sam." Jacob told her, sensing her change in emotions. "He's not good enough."

"How do you know that?" she said through gritted teeth. "You've barely even met him."

"In case you didn't know it, Sam, you're my daughter," he informed her. "That makes me your father, and trust me, father's know these things. It comes with the job." Her expression softened and he felt her anger melting away, so he reached over the table and took hold of her hand. "I love you, Sam, and I want you to be happy. If this guy, Pete, makes you happy, truly happy, then I'll back down. But, I don't think that he does."

"How can you say that?" she questioned. "You only found out a second ago."

"Like I said, Sam... I'm your father. I know these things."

"Dad, I am happy."

He shook his head, "You deserve to love someone. Not just to be loved. It doesn't work that way. There can't be just one side to a relationship." He sighed, squeezing her hand lightly. "Maybe you've got somebody to call your own, somebody who you know loves and wants to spend their life with you. Your content with you life now because you think that as long as you're not alone things are better than they were. But you are, Sam... you're alone. Coming home to Pete at the end of the day and wearing that ring on your finger isn't going to change that. Until you find somebody that can love you as much as you love them, you'll always be alone."

She shook her head, "How can you say that Pete and I don't have that? That I don't love him as much as he loves me? There's no way you can know."

Jacob sighed and scooted his chair closer to her, taking both of her hands in his. "For as long as she was alive, your mother showed me a world beyond just ambition and career. She gave my life meaning and balance, and it was my honor to love her for the short time that she was with me. And if I were young again, and I met her for the first time, even knowing her fate. I would do it all over again. That is love."

She fought back the tears forming in her eyes, was it just her mind playing tricks on her, or had she heard all of this before? Jacob continued, "Sam, I know you have denied yourself the experience because you think it must inevitably end in pain and loneliness... And it has, every time before. But when it's right, when he is right, you'll know."

"That easy?" she asked, trying to hold back years of built up frustration.

He shook his head, "I didn't say it would be easy."

Sam didn't reply.

"When it all comes down to it, Samantha... Pete is nothing more than a safe bet. As long as you're with him, somebody who you know loves you and will be there for you to fall back on, there's no chance you can get hurt by somebody else. You deserve more than that."

"Dad, I–" Sam didn't get the chance to finish saying what she wanted to, because Anise walked into the commissary, inconspicuously followed by two airmen acting as if they were only coming in to get a drink, and not to watch the Tok'ra, and made her way over to the table. Ignoring the intimate look and feel of their conversation. She probably didn't even realize that it was a father/daughter thing, then again, she probably did; just didn't care.

"The Tok'ra High Council is expecting us any minute, Jacob."

Sam sighed, her chin falling to her chest, and her eyes closing in frustration. She needed him with her, damn it. He was her father, first and foremost. Jacob sensed her unease and tightened the hold on her hands.

"Walk with me?"

She nodded and the two abandoned their table and their food, she could come by to clean it later, and headed out of the commissary, a good distance ahead of Anise. Jacob draped his arm around her shoulder comfortingly and she leaned into his embrace as she walked, needing this assurance from her father. Damn it, that was not the way that conversation was supposed to go. That was not the way that conversation had gone, in her head, at least. Why couldn't he have said all the things that she remembered him saying on the Prometheus? She could have lived with that conversation- anything but what had just happened.

When they entered the 'Gate room she noticed that he was standing behind the glass of the control room, waiting for them to arrive. Anise was still a couple of steps behind so she took the opportunity to say a few things to her father without having anybody around to hear it.

"I'm afraid, Dad," she confessed. "I don't know what to do."

"Sure you do," he said with a reassuring smile, placing his hand over her heart. "In here. Give it some time, it will come to you."

Without notice he hugged her close to him, doing his best to comfort her and let her know that he wasn't trying to be a commanding father, telling her what to do. He just wanted her to be happy. She deserved so much more than what she had. She deserved love.

"So," she asked, still holding tight to him. "What now?"

"Tell him," he whispered, as the embarkation room door slid open again, revealing Anise. Sam pulled away from her father, wiping away a stubborn tear, and smiled lightly. Davis started up the 'Gate and within seconds her father was walking up the ramp. He stopped before he went through, turned to look at her, and gave her a genuine smile, then he stepped through the event horizon and was gone.

With a heavy sigh she left the room and headed for her own office, her conversation with her father buzzing in her mind, still fresh and vivid. God, why did things always have to turn complicated just when she thought she was getting her life back together? Did the universe have something against her? Why could she never be happy?

No. Not happy. Content. Her father had told her that she wasn't truly happy, only satisfied with the way her life was working out. Was that the truth? Was she really only content with her relationship with Pete?

And, tell who? Her father hadn't specified who she should tell, and what she should tell him. Did he mean for her to tell Pete that she couldn't be with him any longer, or for her to tell Jack how she felt? That had been who he was talking about during the whole conversation, right? Jack? Were her feelings for him really that obvious? Hadn't she been hiding them good enough?

Which one was the safe bet- Jack... or Pete?

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A/N: Well, I watched the conversation between Sam and Jacob during Grace like five times, to get a feel for it in order to flip it around and turn it the opposite way. Then I watched the part between Jack and Sam and tied that in here, as well. If you look hard enough you'll find many references to that particular episode in Jacob and Sam's conversation in the commissary. In fact, I took the part about her mother word-for-word, because I thought it was just too beautiful to take apart.

Anyway, let me know what'cha think about it!