It's a Wonderful Life
A/N: This is actually chapter 27 of my "Hints to the Powers That Be" series but I thought it could stand alone and that people who haven't been reading TPTB series might enjoy this. Thanks to BookWorm37 and janissima for your reviews and title suggestions!
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Pete Shanahan sat alone in his small apartment, staring into his beer. A football game was playing on the TV, but Pete wasn't watching the game; it was just background noise. Somehow, the crowd noise and announcers voices made him feel like he wasn't alone.
Sam had dumped him. It had been over five months now, but the pain was still with him. He always knew that he was very lucky that Sam even agreed to go out with him in the first place, but as their relationship progressed, Pete always felt that there was someone standing between him and Sam. He hurriedly asked her to marry him at a time when he knew she felt alone and vulnerable, hoping that she would say yes. It took her almost 3 weeks but she finally consented to be his wife.
Pete knew that once he and Sam were married things would be different. She would have to tell him what was going on in that mountain. Of course there would be children so Sam wouldn't be able to go off world anymore. She could get a nice 8 to 4 job teaching at the Air Force Academy.
They would have a quiet, normal life; 2.5 kids, a dog, a pleasant little house in the suburbs (that he picked out of course), his Friday night poker games with the guys, Sam doing the soccer mom thing, yeah, he had it all figured out. Once they were married she belonged to him and even if her heart was with some other guy it wouldn't matter.
All of Pete's buddies were incredulous at Pete's good fortune. They couldn't believe that someone as hot and smart as Samantha Carter would hook up with an ordinary cop like Pete. For his part, Pete enjoyed flaunting his relationship with Sam in front of the guys. He made a point of telling them when he was spending the night at her place. When they would ask him if she was good in bed he always had a ready come back. "With a body like that you think she wouldn't be?" or "Come on guys, she's hot!" or his favorite "Oh, yeah..." and he'd drag out the word "yeah.".
Pete was now entering a new phase of his grieving process, he was no longer sad and feeling sorry for himself, he was angry and ready for some revenge.
Pete polished off the rest of his beer then and went to the refrigerator and pulled out another. It was the 7th bottle he had had that afternoon, but who was counting. After popping the top and taking a long pull on the ice cold beverage, Pete picked up the phone and dialed a number.
"Hello?" said a familiar voice at the other end of the line.
"Hey, Mark!" Pete began cheerfully, "How are you doing?"
"Pete! Hey, how's it going? Have you and my sister set a date yet?"
"Well, um, actually, that's the reason I'm calling." Pete tried to sound concerned.
"What's wrong?" Worry was evident in Mark's voice.
Pete smiled to himself as he felt Mark was about to take the bait.
"Well, your dad's death really hit Sam hard." He began in his most sincere voice.
"Yeah, I know." Mark replied solemnly.
"She called off the wedding the day before your dad died."
"What!" Mark was enraged "I know I didn't see you at the memorial service but I just figured with your police work you couldn't get off. I thought she just put the wedding off for a couple months because of the funeral."
"Yeah, well, I thought Sam needed some space and I figured after she had some time to grieve that we would get back together. I haven't seen or heard from her in over five months. Problem is, Sam is a very proud person and since she called off the wedding I know she would rather live a lonely life than come back to me and ask if we could get back together. I think if we were 'accidentally' put into a situation where we were together..."
Mark finished the thought for him "That the two of you could get back together and Sam could still save face."
"Yeah, exactly." Pete replied. There was a moment of silence before he continued "So, Sam didn't tell you that we had broken up?" Pete was expertly casting his lure into the calm waters.
"No, she didn't say a thing, but Sam was always a lot like Dad and she is so wrapped up in her military career..."
"You know, I met your Dad a short time before he died. I didn't make a very good impression on him and I'm afraid that's part of the reason Sam needed some time away from me."
"Oh, I wouldn't be at all surprised." Replied Mark. After another short silence Mark suddenly said "Hey! I've got an idea! I'm going to call Sam and ask her if she wouldn't mind having my family come out for Christmas. I can go on about how the kids don't get to see snow here in San Diego and how it would be good for us as a family, yadda, yadda, yadda."
"Ok..." Pete said slowly "but how, does that get Sam and I together?"
"She's living in a different house now, so I can call you and invite you over for Christmas dinner or Christmas Eve and you could say you had no idea that Sam was living at that address."
Pete smiled an evil little grin. "You know, it just might work." He said trying to make his voice sound optimistic not conniving.
"Good! It's all settled then. I'll contact Sam and then let you know the details."
"Alright! I'll talk to you later then." Pete hung up feeling quite satisfied with himself.
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A few days later, after Mark had discussed spending Christmas in Colorado Springs with his wife, he made the call to Sam.
When the house phone rang Sam checked the caller ID and was surprised to see that it was her brother.
"Hi, Mark." She said as she picked up the phone.
"You know, I still can't get used to caller ID." He said in response.
"So, how are you?" She asked.
"Good. And you?"
"Good. How are the kids?"
"They're doing fine, but I have a favor to ask you on their behalf."
"What's that?"
"Well, they're starting to talk about Christmas and they want to know if they could come and spend it with their Aunt Sam in Colorado. They want to have snow for Christmas."
"Oh. Well, uh...when would you want to come out and how long do you want to stay?"
"I thought we would fly out on the 23rd and fly back on the 26th. I figured we would rent a car in Denver so you wouldn't have to come and pick us up."
"That sounds good, Mark, but I'll have to check my work schedule and let you know. I'll call you back in a couple days."
"Yeah, your precious military." Mark said sarcastically.
"Mark, please don't start on that. I just don't want you to spend the money on airline tickets to find out that I will be, uh, out of the country or something."
"Yeah, right, ok."
"I'll do everything I can to set up my schedule so that we can spend Christmas together. I'll call you in a couple days."
"Ok, talk to you later, Sam."
"Bye, Mark."
Sam hung up the phone and wondered how Jack would react to the news that her brother and his family suddenly wanted to come and spend Christmas with them. She also wondered how Mark and his family would take the news that Sam was married to General Jack O'Neill. She hadn't even told Mark that she called off the wedding to Pete, so the fact that she was married to someone else probably would not sit well with her brother.
Jack was really busy in Washington and he told Sam he wouldn't be able to come home until the weekend. Sam did not want to discuss something this important over the phone so she figured Mark would just have to wait.
Jack came home late Friday night and on Saturday Sam asked him to go with her for a walk in the park. As they were walking she told Jack about Mark wanting to come out and spend Christmas with them.
Jack didn't say anything for quite awhile and Sam allowed him time to gather his thoughts. Finally he said "Sam, you know I'm not too big on Christmas..."
"Yeah, I know, bah humbug and all that." She replied with a smile. Sam knew the real reason was because of Charlie. After a brief pause she said sincerely "I know it's hard for you, so if you don't want to have kids around and do the Santa thing and all that I understand. It will be easy to convince Mark that I have to be out of the country so we won't be able to do Christmas together."
Jack put his arm around her as they walked and looked down at her. "No, I think maybe we should do this. It would be good for Cassie too, having some little kids around. She would get a big kick out of it."
"Are you sure, Jack?"
"Yeah." He said with a grin.
"Ok, well, do I tell him about us before he gets here or wait until they show up and surprise them?"
Jack gave her a wicked grin and said "I think it would be fun to surprise them when they get here!"
She nudged him in the ribs with her elbow and said "You know that Pete was a friend of my brother's and that Mark introduced us don't you?"
"No, I didn't know that, but that just makes it more fun!"
As Christmas approached Cassie really started to get into the spirit of the season. It was the first time since Janet had died that Cassie was actually looking forward to Christmas. She got out of school on December 9th and when she got back to Colorado Springs she gave Sam and Jack a bad time because they hadn't done any decorating.
Cassie picked out a tree, decorated the house, put up Christmas lights, baked cookies, picked out the gifts that Sam and Jack would give to their niece and nephew, and bought and decorated Santa stockings for everyone.
Cassie insisted that Daniel and Teal'c be invited over for Christmas Eve and even put the name "Murray" on Teal'c's stocking.
Mark and his family flew into Denver on the 23rd, but told Sam they were going to spend the night at a hotel in Denver. They wanted to do some last minute shopping, see some of their friends from school, and take the kids to an old fashioned outdoor skating rink. Mark told Sam that they would be get to her house early in the afternoon on Christmas Eve.
Sam explained to her brother that she was planning to have a get together with a few close friends on Christmas Eve and that Christmas day would be just the family. Mark said that was fine with him and secretly speculated that a Christmas party was the perfect opportunity for Pete to just pop in.
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Christmas Eve dawned cold, crisp and cloudy and by mid morning a gentle snow had begun to fall. Jack built a welcoming fire in the fireplace, Cassie had Christmas carols playing softly on the stereo and the smell of pine from the fresh cut Christmas tree made the house warm and inviting.
Around 2:30 in the afternoon the doorbell rang at the O'Neill's home. Teal'c opened the door to find Pete Shannahan standing there.
"Um, Murray isn't it?" Asked Pete "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask the same of you Pete Shannahan."
"Ah, I was given this address by Mark Carter. He invited me to come over to see him. He's a buddy of mine and he called to say he was going to be in town..." Pete rambled on nervously.
"Who's at the door, Teal'c?" Jack called from the dining room.
"O'Neill, it is Pete Shannahan."
"WHAT?" Jack's head suddenly appeared around the corner to the foyer.
"Ah, General O'Neill, what are you doing here?"
"I live here, Shannahan. What are you doing here?"
"Mark Carter called me about a week ago and told me he was going to be in town. He gave me this address and invited me to come over."
"Ah. I remember now, Carter said that you and her brother were good friends."
"Yeah, we've known each other since high school."
"Well, Mark isn't here yet, but come on in." Jack held the door open for the detective and Teal'c gave Jack a look that said 'Are you sure this is wise, O'Neill?'.
Jack patted the Jaffa's muscular arm and said "It'll be ok, Te...uh, Murray." Then to Pete he said "Can I get you a beer?"
"Yeah, that would be nice." Pete replied feeling the need for some liquid courage.
"Murray, why don't you take Pete to the family room."
Teal'c nodded and indicated that Pete should follow him.
The warm fire was crackling in the fireplace, from somewhere Nat King Cole was softly singing Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire and a beautifully decorated tree filled a corner of the room. .
Pete looked around uneasily.
"Please sit, Pete Shannahan." Teal'c instructed as he indicated the sofa to the man.
"Jack, who was at the door?" Sam asked as he came back into the kitchen.
"Pete Shannahan."
"WHAT?" Exclaimed Sam, Daniel and Cassie simultaneously.
"Apparently your brother invited him."
"Oh, for cryin' out loud!" Sam said as she closed her eyes tightly and rubbed her forehead.
"Oh, this is going to be fun!" Stated Cassie with an evil grin.
"Cassandra Fraiser, you be nice!" Jack admonished. "Daniel, why don't you take him a beer?" Jack asked as he pulled a beer out of the fridge and handed it to the archeologist.
"Why me?" Daniel whined.
"Because he's alone in the family room with Murray right now!" Jack reproved.
Daniel rolled his eyes then took his own beer along with one for Pete and headed to the family room.
"So,... Pete, ...how are you doing?" Daniel asked as he handed the cop a beer.
"Well, I'm a little confused. Mark said this was going to be a Christmas party but he didn't tell me you guys were all going to be here. I guess I should have guessed, him being Sam's brother and all."
"Uh, yeah." Daniel replied as he sat down in the easy chair near the Christmas tree.
"I believe that Samantha requires my assistance." Teal'c bowed and started out of the room.
"Teal'c!" Daniel called after him but the Jaffa was gone.
Daniel and Pete sat in uncomfortable silence for a time before Pete asked "So, how's Sam?"
"She's good."
"Oh, good." He was hoping to hear that she was pining away for him.
More silence. "Is she here?"
"Um, yeah, she's here."
"Could I see her?"
"Ah, well,...I'll go see if she can come and talk to you." Daniel got up quickly and left the room. It was way too uncomfortable for him.
When he got to the kitchen he said "Sam, I think you better go talk to Pete."
Sam looked from Daniel to Jack. Jack nodded slightly to her and she took a deep breath before leaving the kitchen.
"Pete. Hi." She said as she entered the family room.
"Hi, Sam." Pete said as he rose from his seat and came over to give her a kiss on the cheek.
She cringed but did not say anything.
"So, how have you been?" He asked.
"Good. And you?"
"Um, well, busy. You know I moved back to Denver."
"Yeah, I heard."
Just then the doorbell rang and Sam thought 'saved by the bell!' "That's probably Mark and his family. I'll just go check." She could hear someone from the kitchen heading to the front door so she called "I'll get it!"
Pete was about to put plan 'A' into action. He followed Sam out of the family room and was standing right beside her when she opened the door.
"Sam! Pete! Great to see you guys!" Exclaimed Mark as she opened the door.
"Uh, no..." Sam started to say but Pete pushed past her with his hand extended.
"Great to see you, Mark!" Mark took the offered hand and then wrapped his free arm around Pete's shoulder's in a brief, masculine hug.
Pete stepped back and said "Hey, it's cold out there, you guys should come in!"
Mark entered the foyer and gave Sam a brief hug. "So have you and Pete set a date yet?" He asked.
Before Sam could answer her brother's question, Mark's kids started shouting "It's snowing! We knew you would have snow, Aunt Sam! Can we go play in it? Do you have a sled? Are there any hills around here? Can we build a snowman? How 'bout a snowball fight?"
Hearing all the commotion Jack came into the small, crowded foyer followed by Cassie, Teal'c and Daniel.
"So, you folks made it." He said cheerily.
"Uh, General O'Neill isn't it?" Asked Mark "Sam said she was going to have a party for some of her friends from work."
Jack looked at Sam and she shrugged.
"Well, why don't you all come into the family room and get comfortable. Mark would you like a beer?" Jack asked.
Mark looked confused at the offer coming from General O'Neill but replied that a beer would be fine with him.
"Cassie, why don't you take the kids downstairs and watch some Christmas cartoons with them."
Sam suggested.
"Aw, Saaaaam..." Cassie whined. She wanted to stick around and see the fireworks.
"Just for now, Cassie." Sam replied firmly.
As Cassie led the kids to the basement Jack called after her "Hey! Don't mess up my Simpson's DVD's! They're in chronological order you know!"
"Don't worry Dad!" She called back.
Mark looked at Jack and asked "Is Cassie your daughter then?"
"Uh, no, she's the adopted daughter of a close friend who was killed in the line of duty a couple years ago. Sam and I are the closest things to parents she's got."
Mark got a very confused look on his face as he looked at Sam and then back at Jack.
"Daniel Jackson, I believe you and I should go to the kitchen and set out the food that Samantha and Cassandra have prepared." Teal'c indicated that Daniel should follow him to the kitchen.
"Uh, what, Te...um Murray?"
"Did we not tell Samantha that we would help out in the kitchen?"
"Oh, yeah, that!" Daniel replied, finally taking the hint and following Teal'c from the room.
After Mark, his wife April, and Pete were all settled in chairs in the family room Jack said "Ok, a beer for Mark and what would you like?" He asked April. "We have beer, eggnog, mulled wine..."
"The wine would be fine for me" she replied.
"Sam, do you need another beer?" He asked.
"Yes, please."
Once Jack was gone Mark asked again "So, Sam, when are you and Pete getting married?"
Sam looked over at Pete and instead of looking uncomfortable like she did, the man was positively glowing. Sam cocked her head slightly to one side, bit her lower lip, and then looked back at her brother.
"Mark, I know I should have told you this before, but Pete and I broke up."
"WHAT!" He said feigning outrage. Mark looked from Sam to Pete and then back to Sam.
"But you two were so good together."
Pete took a sip of his beer and smiled at Sam.
Sam closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes Mark was still staring at her. "It's very complicated, Mark, but things just weren't working out."
Jack returned with the drinks. He handed Sam a fresh beer, gave April the mulled wine and handed a beer to Mark. After passing out the drinks he stood beside Sam and put his arm around her shoulder.
Sam leaned into Jack's body and wrapped her arm around his waist.
Mark's eye got big as saucers and Pete's mouth dropped open. When Mark had recovered enough to speak he said "So, are you two living together?"
"Uh, you could say that." Jack replied.
"Sam, How could you do that to Pete?" Mark asked angrily.
"Mark, it's really none of our business." April said calmly.
Mark ignored the comment from his wife. He now knew why his sister had broken up with his best friend. He looked back at Jack "Aren't you Sam's commanding officer? I thought there were rules and regulations that forbid a commanding officer from dating one of his subordinates." Mark's voice was icy.
The light bulb finally went on for Pete. He stood up and looked Sam in the eye. "It was always General O'Neill wasn't it? He was always the one standing between us. God, I've been so stupid! I should have figured it out a long time ago." He looked at Jack, "I just now figured something else out too. Sam talked in her sleep once. All she said was one word; it was "Sir". That's you isn't it?" He asked Jack.
Now it was Sam who was at a loss for words. After a moment of silence Jack answered in a soft voice. "Yes. That would be me."
"So what happened to the Air Force's no fraternization rules?" Asked Mark.
"Oh, they're still there." Was Jack's flippant reply.
"We just found a way around them." Sam added helpfully. "Right after Dad died I was transferred to Nellis Air Force Base. We got married in Las Vegas while we weren't in the same chain of command."
"You're married!" Mark bellowed.
Pete visibly paled. "I told you when you broke it off with me that I hoped you would get everything you wanted. It looks like you did." He said bitterly.
April, Mark's wife had been watching the scene in silence and finally decided it was time for her to step in. She walked over to Mark and looked from him to Pete and back, then said "I can't believe you two are acting like this! Mark, you've known for a month that Sam and Pete had broken up. The two of you conspired to put Sam and her friends in this awkward situation and now you're blaming her for the position you put them in."
Now it was Sam's turn to be outraged. "You knew that Pete and I had broken up and you still invited him over here and then kept asking us when we were getting married?"
"I thought that you were making a mistake, Sam. I thought that if you saw Pete again that the two of you would get back together. I didn't know..."
"Wait." Pete said gently. "This is all my fault. Sam, I called Mark around Thanksgiving and asked him to help me...ah, get together with you. I'm sorry, it was a foolish thing to do."
There was an uncomfortable silence while everyone in the room looked at each other. Finally Pete spoke "You know Sam, you and General O'Neill just look right together." he paused briefly, " Kind of like Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock."
Jack squinted and tilted his head slightly to one side before saying "I'm Kirk, right?"
Sam looked at Jack and said "You know, I always thought of us more like Bogie and Bacall."
"I prefer Rhett and Scarlett." Jack said.
"Rhett and Scarlett!" Sam said with indignation.
"Well, I see myself more as a Clark Gable type than a Humphrey Bogart."
"Uh, well, listen, I should be going." Pete stammered. "I'm sorry I messed up your holidays." He said sincerely.
"Pete, you didn't mess up our holidays." Sam said in earnest. "You're welcome to stay and have something to eat with us."
"Thanks, Sam, but I'm feeling pretty sheepish here, and I think it's best if I just go." He looked at Mark "Maybe the two of us can get together before you go back to San Diego."
"Yeah, I'll give you a call." Mark replied.
After Pete left, Mark apologized repeatedly for inviting him over. Sam and Jack accepted some of the blame as well since they hadn't told Mark that they were married.
"Sam I should have never called you and invited my family to your house for Christmas."
Suddenly Mark's two kids came bounding in from outside dragging Cassie with them. All three were covered from head to toe in snow.
Mark Junior shouted "Look, Dad, Cassie taught us how to make snow angels!"
"Well, then the trip was worth while!" Jack proclaimed.
Teal'c and Daniel stepped into the room and Teal'c announced "The meal is ready. You must come and eat before it gets cold."
"Yeah, and then after we eat we're going to watch my favorite Christmas movie!" Daniel enthused.
"Oh, no!" groaned Cassie.
"Daniel Jackson, I did not know that Star Wars was a Christmas movie."
"No! Not Star Wars! It's a Wonderful Life!."
"It is a wonderful life." Jack whispered to Sam.
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