Title: Safe Bet
Chapter: Decision Making
Summary: "Tell me I'm not making a huge mistake," she begged.
Spoilers:
Nothing that hasn't already been specified... oh, and Disclosure
Disclaimer: Nope. Not this time, either. Better luck next chapter...
Authors
Note: Um, no-- Pete does not live at Sam's house. Currently, he is
waiting for his transfer to go through, but he was supposed to be
spending some vacation time at her place before he was called back to
work. She just said "home" out of habit... like the same way you
call a family members house "home" when you're staying with them,
I guess.
XXXX
The engine of her bike roared as she pulled into the Cheyenne Mountain Complex security stop. After handing the SF guarding the base checked her clearance he waved her through, a slightly surprised look on his face. She smiled and continued into the parking lot, pulling into the open space between Daniel's CR-V and the general's truck. Shutting off the engine to her class Indian, she let out a heavy sigh. So far it had been a wonderful day and up until that point she had done a fairly good job at not thinking of the situation she was currently in, but now that wasn't likely. She only hoped that she wouldn't run into him while she was down there.
Realizing that sitting in the parking lot would do her no good, she pulled her keys from the ignition, took off her helmet and jacket, then headed into the mountain. Ten minutes and two other security checks later she found herself roaming the halls of sub-level 22, on her way to Daniel's office, where he was undoubtedly working. The man must have been expecting her, because as soon as the metal door to his office slid open with a hiss, he looked up at her. "Now will you tell me what's going on?" he questioned immediately, before she was even halfway into the room.
Sure, why not? "I've decided that I'm going to break up with him," she said, slumping into one of the chairs in his office. "I can't be with him anymore-- not after all that has happened. I don't love him enough and not only is staying in the relationship unfair to him, but to me as well." A sigh escaped her throat as she pulled her legs into the chair and wrapped her arms around them, looking up at her friend with confusion in her eyes. "Tell me I'm not making a huge mistake," she begged.
Daniel just looked at her dumbfounded. "You can't seriously think you are."
She shrugged, "I just..." she cut her sentence short, letting out another, more frustrated sigh. "I need to hear it from somebody, anybody, other than myself, alright? Daniel-- just do this for me, please?"
He walked over to where she was sitting and kneeled down in front of the chair, "Of course you're not making a mistake. You don't love Pete-- so why waste your time and his? But if this is really what you want, to break up with him, you can't come looking to me for reassurance. The decision is up to you and only you. Not me, your father, Cassie, Jack... not anybody but you."
With a nod she looked up at him, reaching out and touching his arm, "Daniel... I need your help with this. I don't think I can do it on my own. I've never been so confused in my life."
And he didn't doubt that, either. Daniel knew how hard things were for Sam, firstly, not being able to tell the only man she ever truly cared for exactly that, and then trying to move on from him and failing miserably. He knew his friends belonged together and he was willing to do anything for that to happen. With a smile he placed a hand atop hers, "Whatever it is you need, Sam-- I'm here for you."
XXXX
They sat in his office for an hour, weighing out the possibilities she had and the different things that she could say to Pete, when he finally made it back to Colorado Springs. Everything from the entire truth to a flat out lie was discussed. Eventually, they had decided on a dumbed down version of what they considered the entire truth, and she was starting to feel confident about what she would have to do.
"My biggest question," she admitted after he had poured her a cup of freshly made coffee (from the machine in his office), "is what happens next?" She shifted in her seat, bringing her legs underneath her and folding her hands over the mug, "After Pete and I are no longer Pete and I where do I go? I can't exactly walk up to him and confess everything, then expect him to drop his entire life to be with me. I won't do that to him. He deserves his position and I'm not going to jeopardize anything for him because I feel alone."
"I honestly don't know," he stated, setting his own cup of coffee down on his desk. "Since neither of you would particularly enjoy giving up your jobs-- even just your titles-- there aren't many options. Short of making a request to the president himself, or keeping everything a secret."
"We could always play the Thor card," she suggested with a devious smile.
"The Thor card?" he questioned, a confused look dancing in his eyes.
Sam nodded, the smile not fading a bit. Daniel briefly thought she looked like the Cheshire cat, and smiled himself because of it. "Well, we all know what happened when Thor insisted that Hammond continue to run the Stargate program in order for our two races to remain allies. The little guy is one of the general's favorite aliens, and I assume that he is one of Thor's favorite humans... so Thor would do pretty much anything for him. We could have him go to the president, or whomever, and say that if we still want help with our ships then the frat regs must be discarded."
While Daniel wondered if she was being serious, or if this was all just some kind of cosmic joke, Sam let out a good-hearted chuckle. "Don't take everything that I say too seriously, Daniel. You look like you're going to have an aneurysm. It was just a joke-- that would never work."
He wasn't so sure about that. "It might..."
"Oh well," she said with a laugh. "I wouldn't even dream of suggesting it to the general. Although, I'm sure he would love the idea."
Jack probably would, Daniel decided. "Well... I don't know, but I'd say the best thing to do would be to have a heart-to-heart with the POTUS and, well... beg."
She sighed, he was probably right. The only thing that they could do would be to talk to the president. That was, of course, depending on the fact that Jack wanted the relationship as much as she did. Who knew, maybe he had succeeded where she had failed. "How do you know that he will even care?"
"Who... the president?"
Sam shook her head, "Jack. What if he finds out that I broke up with Pete and it doesn't phase him one bit? What if... he doesn't feel the same way?"
"You don't even need to think about Sam. That's the last thing that should worry you."
"How can you be so sure about that?"
"Jack is my best friend," he claimed, and Sam knew it was the truth. "I know everything about him-- that he wants people to know, at least, and even most of what he would rather nobody ever find out. He has feelings for you, just as you do for him. You should never, ever, question that." As she opened her mouth to reply the ringing of a cell phone filled the air. Daniel withdrew his from his pocket and frowned, "Not mine, it must be you."
Frowning herself, she pulled the device from her back pocket and then sighed heavily. It was Pete. "I should get this..."
He waved her on, "Go ahead."
Scurrying out of the office and heading towards anywhere remotely private, she pressed the answer button and brought the phone to her ear, "Hello?"
"Sam," he greeted, a sickingly happy tone to his voice. If he only knew. "We caught the guy-- I'm going to be heading back to your place sometime tonight."
A wince formed on her face and she managed a happy voice to match his own, "That's wonderful... do you have a rough estimate at when you'll be here?"
"Sometime around 10, I guess."
"Alright, just call me and let me know the time so I can pick you up from the airport."
"Sure thing, babe." She grimaced at the term of endearment. "I'll call you later then."
"Ok, bye Pete." she hung up before he got the chance to say that he loved her, because, she knew she wouldn't be able to say it back.
XXXX
When she hung up with him she went back into Daniel's office, and the man immediately knew what was up. "It was Pete, wasn't it?"
With only a sound of indifference coming from her throat to go on, he continued. "When is he coming back?"
"Tonight."
"Really?" he questioned. "So soon?"
Sam nodded. Obviously. She wasn't ready for this. She had been hoping for at least another day of preparations before she had to put her plans to action. "Will you be available later?" she questioned, sitting back into the chair she had previously occupied. "If everything goes down and I need somebody to talk with... can I call you?"
He nodded, "I'll have my keys in the ignition and already be on my way."
"Thank you," she sighed. "So much. I wouldn't have been able to do anything without your help."
"I haven't done much." Daniel said modestly.
"You've been there for me, when I needed you the most. That's a lot."
Daniel smiled lightly, not at all sure that he had done so much. "Hey, you want to grab a bite to eat or something? Maybe something other than coffee to drink?"
She nodded, "I'd like that."
"He should still be in his meeting. So, we can go to the commissary with no worries."
Sam smiled, he knew her too well. "Good... then we should get there and back quick-- just in case."
They headed out of the office and towards the elevators together, Sam leaning onto her friend for support. Daniel smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, in a platonic way, of course, knowing that she didn't need physical support, rather emotional. "It's going to be fine, Sam. I promise."
"Yeah," she sighed. "Sure... You betcha."
XXXX
It had only been ten minutes, maybe not even that, and already the worst thing possible had occurred. While Sam and Daniel had been laughing over something that had occurred off-world recently, the door to the commissary opened and General O'Neill and Major Paul Davis walked though, chatting about something work-related. Probably had to do with the briefing they had just come out of.
And, of course, she was supposed to be at home, or anywhere that didn't include the letters S, G, and C, all rolled into one. As he noticed her, he stopped talking, a frown forming on his face. Major Davis followed his eyes towards the table where Sam and Daniel were sitting and the exact opposite happened; he smiled and headed over towards the two, glad to see a familiar face besides the general.
"Colonel," he greeted, looking towards Sam. He then turned to Daniel, "Dr. Jackson. Hello."
"Hey, Davis." Daniel replied with a genuine smile, "You want to join us?"
"That'd be nice," he said. "I'm just going to get some coffee real quick."
The man made his way towards the coffee machines and Jack came over to the table, "Doctor Jackson... how's work?"
"Good, Jack-- what about you?"
"Boring. Say... have you heard from Colonel Carter at all today? How's her downtime turning out?"
"I wasn't planning on coming here, sir," Sam explained. "And I actually did spend most of the day away from the base."
He seemed to ignore her and continued to look at Daniel, "I wonder what she's doing now..."
"Sir," Sam called out. "Come on... it's not like you expected me to listen and stay away. I never do."
Finally looking over at her he frowned, "Yeah... and that worries me. Didn't I tell you to get a life?"
Sure you did. I listened, remember? That didn't turn out to well. Got anymore brilliant advice? "Pete's in Denver."
She must have struck a nerve, because his expression suddenly went schooled. The dark brown eyes that she had fallen in love with the moment she saw them were cold and expressionless, and she knew that he had just used his military training to hide his emotions from her. "Is that so?"
Should she tell him? Would that help any? Probably not... maybe it was best that he not find out until after the breakup was official. "Yes, sir. He's working an emergency case."
"Not transferred to Colorado Springs yet, has he?"
Nope. And now he never will. Good thing those sorts of things take time, eh? "No... it will be a long time before he does." Long as in indefinite.
"Is that so?" he repeated.
"Yes sir, it is."
Davis returned to the table, not only carrying a cup of coffee, but a piece of pie, as well. "I couldn't resist..."
"Yes," Jack sighed, "who can?"
He shrugged and took a seat next to Daniel, leaving the only other one empty next to Sam. Her stomach clenched and she waited to see if he would take the opening, but for awhile he continued to stand there. "I'm going to go get some coffee," he said finally, looking at her with an odd expression. "Save that seat."
Letting out a suppressed breath, she nodded. He nodded slightly, his eyes darkening and returning to their normal sparkle as he walked off.
"What just happened?" Davis asked, a piece of pie sitting on his fork, which was halfway to his mouth, paused only when he noticed the unusual behavior going on around him.
Sam sighed, leaning back in her chair. "I have no idea..."
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A/N: You know what to do (and if you've forgotten... it's called review!)
