Previously…….

When they entered and sat General Ryan got straight down to business asking if the test results came back. Lam gave her results to a very subdued audience. No one seemed to be able to make eye contact with either Sam or Jack. They both seemed to be taking it all in stride and accepted it as the price of doing business as the military. The tension evaporated and they fell back into a normal friendly mode, discussing ways and means of handling Pete and the trouble he had caused. Lam excused herself saying she had patents to see, her part complete.

Once they were finished talking Hammond suggested getting some food, which
they all agreed on.

And Now…………

After eating and chatting for a while Sam went off to her quarters on base for some much needed rest. The others returned to the briefing room to discuss Jack and Sam's future. Jack headed off to handle some unfinished business.

"So what are we going to do about this, because we all know they aren't going to go back to the way things were before?" Jacob was the first to pose the question as soon as everyone was seated.

"Yes, but resigning isn't an option either…for either one of them. They're both too valuable to the program to just let them go. The SGC needs them, the country needs them. They're both irreplaceable, they bring a uniqueness we can't get from anyone else. Colonel Carter knows more about the StarGate than anyone else on the planet. And General O'Neill…well, he may play dumb…but he's what keeps this program going We can't afford to loose either one of them." Admiral Louise pointed out.

"What about moving Colonel Carter into a civilian position? She could still be in charge of the labs and even join in on field missions occasionally." Jennings asked.

"No, that would mean breaking up SG-1. Jack would never want her give up her career. She's worked too hard getting where she is, to just walk away from it now." Hammond explained.

They all agreed as silence descended, all trying to think of an option everyone could live with. "What about Jack resigning his commission?" Jacob asked at long last.

"Jacob, we just said that we can't afford to lose him. The Asgard love him and so do most of our other alien allies." Pointed out General Ryan.

"No, I mean allow let him to resign from the Air Force, but leave him to run the base as a civilian. It's been done before and everyone already respects him, military and civilians alike. Beside it would look better having the base under civilian control if or when the StarGate program does goes public.

"You have a point, but will he agree to it? Jack loves the Air Force." Hayes questioned.

"Not as much as he loves Sam." Jacob quietly assured everyone, even through he could see the unease on the faces of the Joint Chiefs as voice was given to what they had all known for sometime.

"I don't know about this. There would still need to be rules and regulations governing relationships and behavior even between civilians and military personnel. O'Connell added.

"Yes, but come on Jack's a soldier, has been all his life. He knows better than to allow his feeling to get in the way of him doing his job. Hell, he's proved it repeatedly over the last eight years. Or have you all forgotten he shoot her twice with a zat…in the line of duty. I doubt anyone here could say for sure he'd be able to do the same if you'd been in his shoes." Jacob had run out of steam, returning to his seat he finished. "Come on, we just accused him of breaking the one rule that has kept them apart all these years. He'd leave us in a heart beat.

They all knew he was right. "Ok, we'll see what he has to say." Hayes finished up for everyone.

Jack stood in front of the door to the holding cell. Inside, the man he'd nearly let take away from him the one thing that meant more to him than anything else in the world.

Shanahan looked up to see who had walked in and smiled. "So, the man who took my fiancé away from me has finally decided to graced me with his presence."

"Did you really think that telling them I got her pregnant would work? You had to know they would give her a test and it would show you were lying." Jack said calmly.

"Not if I'd already gotten her pregnant. But, you won't be able to prove that it wasn't yours until long after your Court Marshal, General." Drawing out Jack's title mockingly as he continued to gloat.

"She's not pregnant at all Shanahan." Jack spelled it out for him slowly. "And especially not by scumbag like you." The calmer Jack remained the angrier Pete became.

"You're lying!" He yelled.

"Nope, Doc got the results about an hour ago, she's not pregnant."

Pete looked angry and ready to kill as his thoughts turned inward. After only a few seconds an evil smile split his face as he twisted the knife trying to hurt Jack more. "Oh well, I still got what I wanted. I still got to fuck her brains out while you sat in your lonely house. God, she was a great fuck, especially when she fought back. Great little fighter she was too, but I could always make her stop fighting by telling her I'd kill you."

Jack was calm on the outside, inside all he wanted to do kill him with his bare hand. Squeeze the life out of him, slowly. To watch him die a slow and painful death for the things he had done to Sam. Through his fog of rage it finally registered what Pete had actually said. "You raped her?" Jack's voice was barely above a whisper and dangerously calm.

"Oh yes I did over and over again and there's nothing you can do about it. If you lay one hand on me I'll press charges. I know people who can make you disappear. You have no idea the amount of trouble I can cause you and your little pet whore if you so much as touch me." Pete taunted and dared.

Jack just smiled. "You really are an idiot, you know that." Jack pointed to the camera amounted from the ceiling in the far corner of the room. "You just admitted to raping and beating a USAF Colonel on camera and threatening to kill a USAF General." Turning to leave Jack turned back to face him. "I cant wait to see what you get for this Shanahan." Jack left Pete to stew and think about everything that had just happen. He was off to Sam's room to check on her. He realized now why she had wanted him to stay the night with her.

When he reached her room he could her noises coming from inside. He quietly opened the door to find her tossing and turning in a nightmare. He moved to her side, placing a hand on her shoulder and gently waking her.

"Sam, Sam wake up baby…it's okay…it's just a dream." You could see the disorientation and fear clearly on her face as she took in her surrounding. She eyes finally came to rest on Jack. She threw her arms around his neck and burying her in his chest and cried for what seemed like hours before she regained some control of her emotions.

"I'm sorry. I…"

"Don't be sorry, not to me please. Answer me one question. Why didn't you tell me last night he raped you?" Sam's head shot up and looked him in the eye for a split second before looking away in shame.

"Because I thought you'd think that since I couldn't stop him from…from….from raping me, that I just gave up trying. Or that I wanted him to do…that to me." She tried to move away from him but he held her close.

"I would never think that Sam. You are one of the strongest, smartest and most beautiful women I've ever met." He looking away when he spoke again, just barely above a whisper. "I know how hard it is to deal with being raped." He confessed to her.

Sam gently placed a hand on his cheek and made him look at her. What she saw in his beautiful brown eyes was understanding…understand born of a shared experience and the same fear she had. She had known he was held prisoner in Iraq. She had just never thought about what that would mean in his day to day life there. Now she thought she understood a little. She gently traced his cheek line with her thumb before he pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her hair.

They were interrupted some time later, still in each other's arms. Jack moved to open the door, joking…"I hope that's not Jake come by to actually break my nose this time. Trying to lighten the mood. It made Sam smile. His job was done.

Sam moved in front of him, opening the door to reveal Walter standing there waiting. "Sorry Ma'am, but you're wanted in the briefing room, as well as the General." Sam smiled again, sending him on, saying they'd be there in a minute. She closed the door and chuckled slightly.

"What?" Jack asked.

"I'll never understand how he seems to know everything including where to find you."