Everything

Rating: PG
Spoilers: Everything up to season9, Major spoilers for Threads.
Ship: Jack and Sam
Summary: Tag to "Threads". After Sam breaks it off with Pete. How did Jack find out?
Distribution: If you want it, let me know.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but this little old angsty fic complete with happy ending. :)

o o o

He opened the door and saw the last person he ever expected. He was angry. He had every right to be. He remembered what it was like to be that angry. It stemmed from pain. But what could the man before him be so angry about. He'd won. He had her.

"What can I do for you Pete?" His eyes flashed. The anger in them raging toward Jack.

"Is she here?" The cop's tone was harsh and left no doubt as to his motives for coming here today.

"No. No she's not." Jack's voice was barely above a whisper. There was no need to ask who, or why. Neither made a move to enter the house, the man remained still, the younger man's eyes bearing into the General. "I had to see for myself." The sound of his voice was almost deafening as it broke through the deadly silence that had fallen between the two men.

"See what?" Jack asked, he wasn't sure if he wanted the answer. All he knew was he wanted this confrontation to be over. Shanahan shook his head.

"I don't know. Whatever it is that you have and I don't." Pete's words would have sounded odd to anyone else but to the powerful General he spoke to, they couldn't be any clearer.

"I don't…" Jack trailed off; he didn't know what to say. What to think. His mind wanted to be solemn and respectful, but his heart... his heart wanted to jump for joy that she'd always held him in hers.

"All I wanted was to get married, have a few kids, a dog and a normal life. But she wouldn't let you go." The pain in Pete's voice made the decision for Jack. He lowered his head and suppressed the sinful joy that sprang from his words. "Do you know what it's like to love someone who will never love you?"

Jack nodded his head recalling all the times he'd watched her at her lab or in the field and wished, and wondered, what if? Pete's stare became fiery.

"You couldn't know. You couldn't possibly. She loves you. She loves you back. She always has." Pete's anger was overwhelming. But his words were angering.

"But she's not mine. She's yours. She comes home to you at night. She shares your bed. She shares your life. All I get is a little mindless banter. She's yours." The words were spat out of Jack's mouth before he had a chance to stop it. Pete lunged forward and gripped the neck of Jack's shirt. He pushed him into the house and held him against the wall. Jack never fought him. He just stared at him.

"She was never mine. She was always yours. No man has ever had a chance since she heard the name O'Neill. I lost her because of some unrequited love for you. Why you? What is so damn special about you?" Pete yelled and the General was forced to ask himself the very same question. Why him? Why did she love him?

"I don't know. But it doesn't matter Pete. She's marrying you." At Jack's words Pete slammed him into the wall harder.

"No she's not. She broke up with me. For you. She handed back the ring because she loves you and I can't for the life of me understand why… She won't tell me what it is about you. I've asked and all she does is get this far away look in her eyes and something about her changes." Pete let go of the grip he had on Jack's shirt and backed away. "As corny as it sounds, she glows… At the mere mention of your name she smiles and her whole being glows. She's never done that with me." He lowered his head and backed further away.

"She hummed." Jack didn't know what possessed him to offer this memory of her. This memory of her that could still cause him so much pain. Pete's head shot up and his eyes pierced through Jack's.

"What?" Jack could hear the hope rise in his voice through the tiny uttered word.

"After she met you. She started humming at work. She'd never done that before. I asked her why and all she said was your name." Jack's eyes were cold and distant, and even Pete couldn't deny the heartbreak in them. "She loves you."

"Not like she loves you… You win. She's always been yours and now she'll never be mine." Pete turned and walked away.

Jack remained in the same position, not moving an inch, as Pete Shanahan walked away for the last time. She'd broken up with him. She hadn't told him.

Jack didn't know how long he'd been standing there, staring off into space. But the door remained open, the sun shining in on him. He was brought out of his daze, when the sun was denied access to his house. His eyes refocused and he saw her. She was standing in the door way, the sun light surrounding her. He wanted to laugh at the symbolism of that moment. She was glowing.

"Jack?" Her voice was barely a whisper, but he heard the question in it. His name on her lips had always been a whisper, and today that whisper seemed so loud.

"When?" Her eyes were questioning so he continued. "When did you call off the wedding?" He saw the surprise in her eyes, saw it register on her face as she did a quick double take. Her eyes widening briefly before she looked away momentarily. It was always the same reaction when he caught her off guard. He always thought it was cute.

"A couple of hours ago. How did you know?" Since Pete had walked away she'd been driving around, her car always finding its way here. She kept on driving though, and still she would end up here. Finally she pulled the car over and walked up the drive. She hadn't expected the door to be open, or Jack to be standing there, waiting.

"Then he must have come straight here." His voice was distant, like his mind was miles away and he was waiting for his body to catch up.

"Who?... Pete?" She knew the answer already. "What happened?" And finally the recognition shined in his eyes. He saw her.

"He came here angry. He told me that you broke it off. Why?" Jack hoped he hid the hope in his voice.

"You know why." Her eyes never left his and although he thought he knew the answer he needed to hear the words. They'd danced around this for so long; it was time to cut the music.

"Tell me."

"Because I can still have everything I want. Because I won't let our jobs stand in the way anymore. Because I've lost some of the most important people in my life, and I don't want to lose you without ever really having you. I won't. Because I'm in love with another man… Because Jack…" She stepped towards him, stopping when they were only a breath apart. "He wasn't you." Her hands came up to rest on his chest. She could feel his heart thumping in his chest through the fabric of his t-shirt.

"What's so special about me?" The pain, the self doubts were evident in his eyes, but they couldn't hide the love he felt for her.

"Everything." Her words whispered across his lips as her mouth descended upon his and it was just as he remembered; just as she imagined.

The End…