Hi! I'm soo sorry this took this long. As I've said, I haven't forgotten about it, and I intend to end this one this year! (Let's all cross our fingers here, so the muse stays :P)

Enjoy!

M.

PS: I'm sorry. I'm sure this is not quite what you guys were expecting. Trust me. It gets better soon :D

Chapter LV

June 29th,2005

Underground Sanctuary.

10 pm was early compared to their usual nights, but there was nothing much they could do anymore. So, knowing the next day would be early and hectic, Helen had retired to bed early and convinced Will to join her.

Helen sighed as she cuddled next to Will, his hand finding her belly as he sighed happily behind her. Feeling utterly safe cocooned like that, Helen smiled.

"How are you feeling?" Will whispered, placing a soft kiss on her neck.

"Tired," Helen confessed.

"Did you hear that baby-girl?" Will said.

"Baby-girl?" Helen asked. Despite being the big spoon, Will knew for sure she had her eyebrow raised to the sky.

"Honey, not you. Our baby girl! Duh!" Will rolled his eyes and caressed her belly.

"You have been spending too much time with General O'Neill and Ashley watching that awful show," Helen chuckled. "Besides, it's too early even to know whether it is a girl or a boy."

"Oh, trust me, it is a girl," Will grinned and placed a kiss on her shoulder.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Well, first there was Ashley, and then, Sam, and now… now we'll have Mandy!"

"Mandy?" Helen turned around to watch him. There was an undecipherable twinkle in her eyes.

"Don't worry. There's plenty of time to figure out a name. But you got to agree that Mandy Magnus does has a ring to it."

"Well, it certainly works better with Magnus than with Zimmerman, but as you've said, we have plenty of time. He could take your name, you know?"

"She, and I know," he grinned. "The only special thing about being a Zimmerman is having a Magnus. Okay, that sounds lame, I'll shut up now," he smiled. "So, how did it go with Sam?" Helen sighed.

"As good as I expected."

"What happened?"

"Well, after Sam left the Sanctuary…."

June 29th, 2005

Somewhere in Colorado.

(Earlier that day)

If someone had asked Sam how she thought she would spend that afternoon, she would have answered: 'Sitting by my dad's recovering bed. Then, I'll have dinner with my mom and her family.'

Those were her plans when she left work on-time, got home, and asked Ashley to pick her up to and take her to the Sanctuary. It was around 5:30 pm when she arrived, and not even 6 pm when she rushed out of the Sanctuary towards Pete's house.

Sam parked outside his house, with the determination to end all his plans for a future together set firm in her mind. He must have seen her approaching because he was already outside when she got out of her car.

"Hey, Sam," Pete called from his front door, and she could spot his extra-big smile plastered on his face.

He walked towards her, and before she could react, she was between his arms and her car, and he was placing a kiss dangerously close to her mouth. Bile rose to her mouth as the idea of being forced to kiss him reached her mind. At the last second, she turned her face to the side. Sam noticed a hint of anger in his eyes then.

"Pete," she said curtly. "We need to talk."

"Yes! I think so myself. Come," Pete crushed her hand in his and dragged her to his truck.

Sam felt panic rising but convinced herself she was overreacting. It was just Pete, and she could always scream if she needed help. Or kick him using all her training and skills.

Besides, she rationalized, she could call a cab, or Ashley if she needed a ride home from wherever he was taking them. Therefore, against her better judgment, she didn't jump out of his car.

She wondered for a bit if he always talked that much. Or if he knew something was off with her and was trying to distract her from it. Either way, Pete talked non-stop until they stopped in front of the house he bought. By then, all Sam could think about was how much more dangerous her car-ride would be if it were December and oh-so-dark by that time. At least, he had seemed to be paying attention to walkers, and people could easily see them "chatting" inside his car.

"Pete, we need to talk," Sam finally interrupted him. He glared at her for the interruption, turned the engine off, and got out of the car. Not waiting for her, he started walking towards the house. Sam sighed. Still wanting to end things with him, she followed him inside.

"Pete, wait!" Sam called, but he didn't stop.

"I think we should get a nice three-seater couch here, and a 50" TV over there. I have talked with some contractors to paint the kitchen in yellow as you wanted. Also, I believe that one room will be an excellent office for me." Pete almost shouted as he moved around. Every time she was about to get close enough to him, we walked away from her.

"Pete!" Sam shouted, getting his attention for a full second. He grabbed her by the wrist, hurting her.

"There's more," Pete grinned, ignoring her completely. Not letting her go, he dragged her upstairs. "With our wedding so close, I've chosen these four bedrooms for our children. We got time to pick a theme for them before they arrive, right? Well, for their rooms, and then, also for the guest room. My mom will come to stay with us the moment our kids are born. Come, I want to show you something."

He continued pulling her to the last door, the one she knew lead to the master bedroom. What she didn't expect was to find a four-poster king-size bed already inside it. Pete leered at her. All the panic she felt before came back tenfold.

"Pete, I came to talk to you because I realized this isn't going to work. We don't work," Sam said. She attempted to make her statement and leave, but he pushed her inside the room. She fell backward on the floor, and Pete smirked. He looked at her with crazed eyes and closed the door behind him. She crawled back, putting some space between them before she dared to stand up.

"What do you mean with 'not going to work'?" He narrowed his eyes as he stalked towards her. Each step he took forced her to take more steps back.

"We need to end this relationship," Sam said firmly.

"Sam, I know you want me." He smiled at her sweetly. He tried to touch her face, caress it softly, but she got out of his grasp. His face turned red out of angriness. "If you don't marry me… well, then I must send all the evidence I piled up against you and your dearest General O'Neill to the authorities. Yes, I have all your activities recorded. If you leave me, I will destroy your career, and his. Oh, yes. I know everything about you and him, and that warehouse in the middle of nowhere."

"I don't know what you are talking about," Sam lied. She took another step back, and panic finally took over when she felt the end of the bed behind her knees.

"Don't lie to me, Sam!" Pete shouted, cold eyes, and a sickening smile on his face. He pushed her, grinning wildly when she fell on the bed.

"Pete, please, stop it!" She moved backward on the mattress. She hoped to get some space between them, not realizing she was only getting herself in a worse situation. "I mean it, Pete, we need to end this."

"I need to end this, Pete. You are a good friend. We could still be friends." Sam added quickly, trying to get him to see reason.

To her utter horror, she found herself under him. His body tightly pressed against hers. He trailed kisses down her neck as he grabbed her hands and pulled them upwards. Sam felt the metal against her skin before she understood what it was, and then it clicked. When she tried to pull her hands away from his, she felt handcuffs keeping her in place.

Sam couldn't believe this was happening to her, not again. But what was worse, the situation brought back the memories of her last day as Jonas Hanson's fiancée.

"Please. Stop it," Sam pleaded, pulling at the handcuffs. The mix of helplessness, fear, and old memories overruled her mind and abilities. With every pull of the cuffs, she only felt the metal biting her skin. She couldn't even remember she could break those cuffs if she tried.

"I know you want this, Sam," he husked as he straddled her.

"No, please."

"You owe it to me, Sam. I've been very patient." Pete groaned, licking his lips and pressing himself against her hips.

June 29th,2005

Jack's Home

It was around 1820 when an odd feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. Jack was sure as hell this dread-like feeling in his guts wasn't indigestion. He was confident he'd had no food since lunch, and that had been ages ago.

If SG-1 were off-world, that would be a sign that they were in trouble. Jack would have driven back to Cheyenne mountain in a blink of an eye. However, he knew they were off the roster for that week, and the two that could go out had signed out of the SGC by the time he checked himself out of the base.

Jack shook his head. He decided he needed a walk to clear his mind, and hopefully, his worries. It was a beautiful day. There were at least two hours until sunset, and he had to admit he loved the extra hours of sun in his day.

Walking out towards nowhere in particular, he reached a house some blocks away from his and noticed that a bright red 'sold' sticker covered the previously 'on sale' sign. The feeling that he knew the truck parked outside surprised Jack.

"You are seeing things now, O'Neill," he muttered to himself, shaking his head.

He was seconds away from continuing his walk, but something made him check the house. Jack frowned, thinking he saw Sam through what he imagined was the living room window. With his heart set on finding out if it was Carter who he saw, Jack missed the second car parked further away.

Inside it, Ashley was waiting in case she needed to protect her sister. After all that they went through, the youngest Magnus knew her mom's instincts rarely failed. So, when Helen told her to grab a car to follow Sam, Ashley teleported herself to the warehouse and grabbed a car. She quickly reached the location marked on her GPS.

Jack knew he could trust his gut feeling, so he walked to the house. He convinced himself that if the woman wasn't Sam, he could always say he noticed the sold sign, and he stopped to say hi, or something equally friendly to his 'new neighbors.'

The door was wide open; the entrance was devoid of any furniture. The whole lower floor was empty. Jack checked it quickly with the experience of his several stints as a black ops officer. But then he heard it. She…. His Sam, pleading.

"She is engaged, Jack. They might be role-playing or something," he muttered. Jack tried to convince himself not to go up. The risk to see something he didn't want to see was high.

Not even that could stop him from moving stealthily to the top floor, following the voice.

"Please, Pete, stop!"

That was it. Jack knew right then, and there she wasn't playing. That tone he had only heard when they were in peril, and he could detect the fear hidden in her words.

"No, Sammie. I won't stop. You won't leave me. If you try to, I'll make sure to bury you and your precious career. I will show everyone how much of a whore you are and how you are sleeping with your boss to get to the top."

"Please, Pete. I swear nothing has happened!"

"I have evidence, Sam. I will deliver it if you don't stop with this nonsense of leaving me."

"Stop it, Pete. Please!" Sam cried. Suddenly someone growled.

"She said no," Jack hissed dangerously. Pete turned around, surprised by Jack's words. Then, there was the growl again, and Ashley's punch connected with his face. The strength Ashley placed in that punch had Pete flying to the other end of the room.

It wasn't until Ashley's second growl that Jack had noticed her in the room. He didn't give it or the red eyes much of a thought as he moved closer to Sam. Keeping her eyes on Pete, Ashley tried to control her temper by pacing the room.

The moment Jack was close enough to be in her sight, Sam shrieked. Not that surprised by her reaction, he put some space between them. The weird fear-ridden sound coming from her sister caught Ashley's attention and brought her quickly out of her anger.

"I'm a male," Jack mouthed, as he walked towards the wall where Pete was. Ashley nodded in understanding.

"Sam, are you okay?" She asked in the softest voice she could muster.

Sam nodded several times and tried to pull her hands out of the handcuffs. Feeling exposed, she was also trying to get herself into a fetal position so she would be more covered than she was. Only then did Ashley notice how much fear her sister was under. She knew Sam should have been able to pull herself out of those cuffs easily.

"Let me help you," Ashley said softly. She grimaced when Sam flinched when she placed some of her weight on the bed. "Hey, it's only me. The bastard is unconscious and will be for a while. That's Jack, Sam. You know he won't hurt a hair on of your head, right?"

"Right," Sam nodded, but her eyes still reflected fear.

"Talk to me, Sam," Ashley whispered. She hoped that the talk could distract Sam from the fear that seemed to have taken control of her. Softly, Ashley touched Sam's blouse and fastened it, feeling thankful that at least the disgusting little man had taken his time with the buttons.

"I can't," Sam said as the metal sounds told Ashley what exactly she couldn't do.

"I will free you from the headboard, okay? Then you can fix your pants." Ashley moved closer to the headboard, and with a forceful tug, she broke it, freeing the handcuffs from the bed. Sam flinched.

"You can break those," Ashley reassured as Sam looked at the handcuffs as if they were something alien to her.

"I can't," Sam whispered, having issues to find her voice now that she could see her hands trapped in the cuffs.

"Give me," Ashley said with what she hoped was a confident and calm smile as she pointed to one hand. She grabbed the cuff from two different points, forcing it open without much effort.

"What are you doing here?" Sam's brain finally caught up with the fact that her sister was there.

For all Sam knew, Ashley dropped her home and returned to the Sanctuary before she headed out for Pete's. Ashley grinned as she took her hand to break the second cuff.

"Well, mom and Jacob worried about you. Mom's instincts are rarely wrong. I learned that in the worse way." Ashley grimaced. "They wanted me to come after you and make sure everything went okay. So, I was outside in case you decided to throw him out of the window or something."

"But, I…" Sam frowned. "How did you know where we were? Or what he was," Sam swallowed, "about to do to me?"

"Ah, Henry," Ashley grinned. "He tapped into Pete's cellphone," she explained. "I got the location and grabbed a car and followed you here."

"Did they hear it all?" Sam asked in dismay.

"No, I was the only one listening to your conversation. We don't want everyone you know out here trying to kill him," she grinned. "I'm sorry it took me so long to understand what was going on. Huh, you can fix your pants," Ashley added softly.

Sam felt a bit more like herself once she was covered, and her hands were free. Finally, she risked a glance towards Jack, who had his back towards them.

"I…, thank you," she said loud enough to make him turn around, "Jack." His name from her lips send shivers down his spine, and it surprised Jack. Knowing this wasn't time for anything else, he smiled at her reassuringly.

"I was just lucky I happened to be around, Sam. You will be all right," he gave her a half-smile. "We need to find something to tie him with."

"There are cable ties inside the glove compartment in my truck. I left it unlocked," Ashley grinned.

"Okay, then I'll go get some. Once I restrain him, we will need to get our stories straight so I can call the police," Jack said calmly. The truth was that if he didn't leave the room soon, he was going to kill the unconscious guy with his hands, and no excuse of self-defense would save him from the brig.

"Is he?" Sam asked as she moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Alive? Yeah," Ashley scrunched up her nose in disgust.

"Why did you bring him?" Sam asked accusingly.

"Who?" Ashley turned to look at her, confused by the question. "You mean Jack? I didn't bring him. He just showed up while I was waiting outside," she shrugged, sitting beside her sister.

"What was he doing here?"

"It beats me," Ashley said. "I should get mom."

"I don't think that's necessary. I can tell the police he tried to…" Sam waved. "You both can tell what happened then."

"Yeah, and how will we explain the broken headboard and handcuffs?" Ashely asked.

"Oh! I didn't think about that."

"Don't worry. I'll get her when Jack returns. I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone with that idiot, no matter how unconscious he is now."

"Okay," they sat in silence until Jack got back to the room and tied Pete's hands tightly with the cable ties he found in Ashley's SUV.

"Can I come closer?" Jack asked then, concerned by Sam's earlier reaction to him.

"Of course," Sam smiled gratefully, patting the free side of the bed.

"I'm getting my mom. We need a better explanation for these," Ashley grimaced, showing Jack the mess she did with the handcuffs. "Sam, you are in good hands," she said before she teleported herself away to the Sanctuary. Sam took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry I shrieked before…"

"Hey, don't," Jack started, carefully placing his hand over her thigh. He hoped she wouldn't shrink away from his touch. "It's not your fault. I know it was not because it was me, but for my gender. It's normal after an assault."

"Still!" she said, turning to watch him. "Jack, I know you wouldn't hurt me," unable to hold his gaze, she looked at the floor. "I should've..."

"Don't, Sam. Really, I understand," he smiled. "I'm not sure what to say here. I know you will get this out of your system soon." Jack smiled while chastising himself for feeling so at a loss with words.

"Will you be there if I need to talk about this?" Sam asked, sounding more confident than she was feeling.

"Always."

"Samantha!" Helen said as soon as she and Ashley appeared in the room. "Are you all right?"

"I'm … okay. Thanks to them."

"General O'Neill, what are you doing here? Don't tell us yet. Ashley, bring Thomas and his tools," her daughter nodded. In a blink of an eye, she was back with a big purple guy who had a massive toolbox in his hand. "Thomas! We need to disassemble the headboard ASAP. It must look like it was never there. Ashley can take any parts back to the Sanctuary. General, have you called the police yet?"

"We were waiting for you, mom," Ashley answered.

"Good. Henry," Helen said after picking up the radio from her hip. "Tap into the Colorado PD radio and let us know how much time we have once General O'Neill's emergency call goes through. General, I'll recommend going outside to place the call."

"And those things?" Jack asked in disgust, pointing to the handcuffs Ashley was presenting her.

"Dear Lord, Ashley. These are Military-grade," Helen sighed as she inspected the offered items. "Get replacement ones from the weaponry and bring the keys. General, you should place the call. The longer it takes between the event and the call, the more suspicious it becomes."

"Okay."

By the time they saw the police lights getting closer, Pete was still unconscious. They kept him locked up in the room while Ashley had convinced Sam to wait downstairs.

The sisters sat on the only furniture available, the fixated stools beside the island of the empty kitchen. While Jack paced on the front lawn, Helen Magnus and all collaborators involved in cleaning the room were safely back at the Sanctuary.

"Finally!" Jack announced to the officer.

"Sir, are you the one who called?"

"Yes, I'm General O'Neill. They are inside," Jack said.

"I'm Officer Jameson. The house looks empty, sir," the officer said, looking surprised by the lack of furniture.

"I don't have all the details, officer. I suppose she can give those to you," Jack said loud enough to allow the girls to hear him. "Carter, Ashley, this is officer Jameson."

"Sam, right?" Jameson said. "Pete, he talks about you, non-stop." Sam's eyes widened, and she blanched. The last thing she expected was dealing with someone who knew her or Pete. "So, what happened?"

"Pete," Ashley hissed. "He assaulted her."

"Pete Shanahan? That guy couldn't kill a fly," Jameson chuckled.

"Maybe not a fly but definitely tried his hand on assault," Ashley added angrily.

"Come on! Sam's his fiancée. I'm sure it wasn't an assault," Jameson said, and Ashley stood up.

"Listen to me, asshole. He might be your police buddy, but the fact is that he tried to assault my sister! There's not only one, but two witnesses. So, stop behaving like a fanboy and start acting like a cop," Ashley growled.

"Whoa, lady."

"Jameson, what's going on?" A second officer asked as he entered the house.

"Sir, she says Pete Shanahan attempted to assault her," Jameson said, barely hiding the amused smile he had before.

"So? What are you doing here? Where is he?" Officer Stevens asked.

"We locked him up upstairs," Jack provided.

"Go check, Jameson. If he is awake, put him into custody." Stevens ordered.

Once Jameson was out of the room, he turned to Sam with an apologetic smile. "I'm officer Stevens, ma'am. I'm sorry about Jameson's behavior. He was Shanahan's first partner here. Shanahan's talked about you all the time. We've seen plenty of pictures of you so we could recognize you easily. Also, the ambulance is on its way."

"I don't need one," Sam huffed.

"Protocol, ma'am. They will need to check you for any injuries."

"I don't have them. They reached just in time. Only my wrists are sore from where the cuffs chafed my skin," Sam said all her words devoid of emotion.

"Well, there you go! Something for them to check," Stevens smiled. "While we wait, I could take all your statements. However, I know it's not nice to repeat something like this several times. Our protocol dictates that I need to have your written statement, and make a video record as well… I guess we can wait until we are all back at the station to get those done."

"Okay."

"Also, even if you don't want to press charges, ma'am. I still need to list you as a witness and forward this situation to the Major Crimes division so that Internal Affairs can check the story."

After the ambulance left, and the Police officers had taken Pete into custody, Ashley threw her keys to Jack and announced he was driving them to the station.

Once they arrived, several eyes fell on them. It made sense, Pete was now awake and loudly presenting a complaint against Jack O'Neill. Stevens noticed them and moved them quickly to the more private area of the station.

"Let me get help so we can take your statements at once, and y'all can get out of here quickly," Stevens said as they entered one interrogation room.

"Are you okay, Carter?" Jack asked once he left the three of them alone.

"Been better, sir," she grimaced. "Nothing that I can't put to rest once we are out of here."

"Oh, you, military lot, and your compartmentalization skills. You better talk to Will or some other shrink after this, Sam! Hiding it somewhere in your mind is not dealing with it," Ashley shook her head.

"I know," Sam nodded, and then someone opened the door. Stevens entered with two officers in tow.

"These are Officers Miller and Brown. Ma'am, are you okay talking to me, or would you rather speak with Miller?" Stevens asked.

"I don't mind. I just want to deal with this as fast as we can," Sam said. Stevens then nodded to the officers, and they left the room with Jack and Ashley. Soon Sam was alone with Stevens and a recorder.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"Pete was my fiancé," Sam gulped. "I went to his house to end the engagement. He pulled me to his car and drove us to the house he recently bought. Inside, he forced me upstairs. He," she took a deep breath. "Pete said he wouldn't let me leave him and threatened me with ruining my career. I didn't realize I had gotten to the end of the bed until he forced himself on top of me. He got my hands cuffed and when he was about to…" Sam stopped. She tried to remove herself from the situation like she had done several times before.

"He opened my blouse and lowered my pants. When I thought he was going to rape me, someone pulled him away from me and knocked him unconscious. I saw Ashley and General O'Neill at the end of the bed. Ashley remained by my side while General O'Neill went downstairs to find the cable ties that Ashley told him she had in her car. Since Pete was still unconscious, Ashley patted him until she found the keys and got me free. Then we called you."

"I take the other woman is Ashley?"

"Yes."

"You know your two witnesses?"

"Yes."

"But you were alone when you searched for your former fiancé?"

"Yes."

Inside the other room, Miller was questioning Jack.

"What were you doing there, Mr. O'Neill?"

"It's General O'Neill. I live five blocks away from there. I went for a walk. I thought I saw Carter inside the house."

"Carter?"

"Samantha Carter."

"And you know her from?"

"Lt. Colonel Carter and I work together at the Cheyenne mountain complex."

"Go on," Miller said. Jack tried to look impassive, but he knew something wasn't right.

"I thought it was odd she was inside the house that was just sold. I figured I could say hi if it were Carter. Or greet my new neighbors if she wasn't," he answered curtly.

"Then, you broke in?"

"No, the door was open, so I entered. I heard a fight, followed the sounds, and found him assaulting her. I made myself known. When he didn't stop, I pulled him off of her and knocked him out."

"You always go around with cable ties in your back pocket, Mr. O'Neill?"

"General and no. Ashley told me where to find cable ties in her SUV. Ashley found the keys to the cuffs. When I returned, Carter was free of the cuffs. I secured Pete, and the three of us walked out of the room, leaving him inside. I called 911 then."

"Pete Shanahan says that you never liked him. He accused you of stalking him. He says he has evidence against you." That told Jack that his gut was once again right, and he was in trouble.

"I can't say I like him. But I haven't stalked him. I don't have the time to do such a thing. Besides, why would I do that?"

"He says you and his fiancée have an ongoing affair. That you are the reason that she wanted to end things with him, Shanahan says this assault thing is nothing but a bluff."

"That's not true, ma'am."

"He has pressed charges against you, Mr. O'Neill."

"Then, I would like to make a call, and I will not further cooperate until I get a lawyer."

June 29th,2005

Underground Sanctuary

Present time

"I still can't believe Pete had the guts to assault Sam!" Will hissed.

"I knew he wasn't a good guy the first time he set his eyes on me," Helen confessed. "He still was charming enough."

"All psychopaths are, and you know that," he grinned. "Are they still at the station?"

"Yes. Ashley will let me know when they finally get out of there," Helen sighed.

"Are you worried about it?"

"Not about it. I worry about Samantha's mental state, but I know you can step up if she needs you. As for the case, we can supply evidence against Pete if needed. The main question is whether the cops will try to protect him or not."

"I still have faith in humanity," Will whispered.

"So do I," Helen grinned and snuggled closer.

The phone in their room rang then. Will got to it first. He listened for a second, "Henry says someone requested you," he said, passing her the phone.

"Magnus," Helen said as she took the call. For a while, Helen was silent as she listened to the caller, her frown growing with each passing second. "Bloody hell! I'll get someone out to help him. Don't worry, Doctor Fraiser."

"Doctor Fraiser? What happened?" Will asked as soon as Helen hung up the call.

Helen nodded once as an answer. She stood up, walked to the desk where she had left her tablet charging. Absentmindedly, Helen lowered the phone on its cradle as she concentrated on her tablet. She let out an 'aha!' when she found what she was looking for. Will followed her every move, frowning when he noticed her setting up a secure, outgoing call. With a sigh, she finally turned towards Will.

"I need Vanessa Groove," Helen announced as she waited for her call to connect.

"The lawyer?" Will frowned.

"Vanessa Groove. Yes, Helen Bancroft," Helen sighed as she waited again. "Vanessa?"

By listening to Helen's side of the conversation, Will learned that Pete hadn't only dared to assault Sam, but had taken the opportunity to press assault charges against Jack.

"God, the balls of the guy!" Will seethed as Helen ended the call. Looking at him, she crooked her head and smiled sympathetically to him. She knew what he was feeling.

"Well, Vanessa will go there. She will inform us what's going on as soon as she knows more," Helen said. "Depending on her finds, we'll know if we must send teams to Pete's most visited locations."

"Mom, Will," Ashley called, poking her head inside the room. She noticed they were both frowning, but she let it go. "Sam's here. Well, in my room. I thought she could use some company tonight. I told her I was making some tea. Mom, she looks fine, but I don't think she is," Ashley grimaced.

"You should go, maybe have a girls' night," Will said. Helen nodded. She took his hands in hers, gave them a light squeeze, and placed a kiss on his cheek. "If Vanessa calls…" she started.

"I will let you know asap."

"Vanessa?" Ashley frowned.

"Nothing you need to worry about now, Ashley. Go, make that tea, and take your time. I'm sure I could use some extra minutes with your sister," Helen smiled. Ashley nodded.

"I'll walk with you," Will said as he donned his robe over his pajamas, and Ashley disappeared.

"There's no need, William," she smiled. "I'm perfectly capable of walking to Ashley's room by myself."

"I know. Still, I'll walk with you," Will said as she finished tying her robe.

She nodded at him once. They walked to Ashley's room in comfortable silence. Once they were in front of her door, Helen knocked, and as they waited for an answer, Will pecked her lips.

"I'll see you bright and early, good night, darling," he said. "Yes, I'll come searching for you if Vanessa calls," he finished for her with an eye roll as the door opened. "Sam, Helen, have a good night," Will said before he turned around and walked away.

"Oh, honey! Helen muttered once she noticed the disheveled status of her daughter. She opened her arms, and Sam fell into her embrace. Helen walked them a few steps into the room and kicked the door closed behind her.

"I'm sorry, mom. I should know how to defend myself by now and I…." Sam shook her head, feeling tears pooling in her eyes, and a pink tint of shame blossomed on her face. Helen caressed her hair softly.

"Shh, it's okay, Samantha. The situation you were in would be difficult for anyone, even for me." Helen whispered.

She took a step back from Sam and guided her to sit on Ashley's couch. "Now, what I would like to know is when this happened to you before?"

"Not if? When?" Sam asked with a frown.

"Yes," Helen pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. "With all your training and your personality traits, the way you reacted points to two scenarios: you couldn't believe the person was capable of such an act, and that's why you didn't react fast enough. Or, it has happened before."

"How would you know?"

"Experience," Helen said, looking at her in the eyes. "I was John Druitt's fiancée when his killing rampage started. His killing wasn't the only thing that got out of control."

"You mean?" Sam asked, confused.

"You know what I mean, Samantha. Yes, John raped me before I could react. When the second person tried," Helen sighed. "Then, I could only see John's actions. I thought I had overcome the incident. When it happened again, I discovered I had only postponed dealing with it. I placed all of it in a nice little box inside my mind. One that I wouldn't open for anything in the world. Not until it happened again."

"And that's why you think that's what happened to me?" Sam asked in disbelief.

"I'm guessing it was your first fiancé, Hanson. You've said before he tried to force himself on you, and that's why you ended the relationship. I fear the 'he tried to' was a 'he did,'" Helen said with a knowing look. Sam clenched her jaw tightly.

"I'm not judging you, Samantha. That it happened to you doesn't make you weak, even if it makes you feel like it," Helen sighed. "I want you to understand that I know what it is like to be where you are today. You will get over it, but trust me, the worst thing you can do now is lock away the emotions and throw away the key, no matter how wonderful that idea sounds."

"And what? Talk about it with a shrink?" Sam rolled her eyes at the cliché of her advice.

"Sure! I did. But it doesn't have to be a shrink. You can talk to me. You can talk to Ashley or William. Hell, you can talk with General O'Neill about this! The only thing you need to do is face it. You will need to accept that it happened before, and it almost happened now," she said, taking Sam's hands-on hers.

"Trust me. Sweeping it under the rug won't help you now. Once you talk it out, you can move on. It won't be easy. It won't be pretty. However, it's the only way to deal with it so it won't come and bite you in the arse. You have the experience; you know the nightmares will follow. You know it will take a long while before you can trust in any man again. You know you'll start to doubt all the men you know. You can't risk that, Samantha. Not when you need to trust them when you are running around the universe," Helen said, smiling softly. Her eyes showed a deep understanding. Sam sighed.

"Can we not talk about it anymore tonight?"

"Of course. Take your time, but don't let it overpower you. It isn't worth it."

As if summoned, Ashley knocked on the door, and Helen moved to let her inside the room.

"Ah, that's what I call excellent service," Helen joked as Ashley lowered a tray of tea and some cookies on her desk.

June 29th,2005

Colorado Springs Police Station

"General Jack O'Neill," a woman stood up when the police officer pushed Jack inside the questioning room. She waited until the door was closed behind him to continue. "I'm impressed. You have her appreciation." Jack frowned, confused by the woman and her words.

"I'm sorry who…" he started. The woman offered him her hand and an honest smile.

"I'm your new lawyer, Vanessa Groove. May I call you Jack?"

"Sure! Almost everyone does. Nice to meet you, ma'am. Sadly, it isn't under better circumstances," Jack huffed.

Vanessa looked at him. His hair was messy, and his eyes betrayed how tired he was. Then again, it was already almost 11 pm when she had reached the station.

"Please believe me if I tell you these are the best circumstances to know me," she smirked. "You can ask Helen all about my experience once we get you out of here. However, I'm sorry to inform you that such a conversation won't happen tonight. Not even I could get them to move a judge to grant you a bail due to the late hour. I'm sorry, General, you will spend the night in their cells. I can see if I can do anything to improve your accommodations, but seeing who is presenting the charges, I doubt they will allow it." Vanessa grimaced.

"It's okay. I've been in smaller spaces before," Jack said, accepting his fate quickly.

"Ah, yes, you were MIA for a while. I have access to a very blackened out copy of your military file," Vanessa grinned. "Anyhow, I know for sure they won't be moving any mountains to make your life easier. Not like they are doing for Shanahan, as if the bastard deserves it. No worries, I know some judges here. I'll get all the information I can about your case, and I'll be pulling all possible strings to get you out of jail asap."

"You think they will set a bail?" Jack wondered. Considering it was a policeman against a military man, he had his doubts.

"Oh, yeah! They will. They will set it high, though, so you wouldn't want to pay for it or couldn't even afford it if they have a say on it. It's better if we cross that bridge when we get to it. Now, tell me, how did you meet Pete Shanahan? Why does he say you hate him? What do you know about any chances of him getting evidence against you, including fraternization with a junior officer in your same chain of command?" Jack couldn't help but raise his eyebrows at the last question.

"Not that it would be useful in a civilian court. Yet, if we can present evidence against it, then we could use it also in a military court if that comes to happen," she finished looking at him expectantly.

"I met Pete Shanahan years ago. I'm not sure exactly how long ago it was. He dated my 2IC. But I didn't meet him until he followed her to a stakeout and almost compromised a full covert operation. I can't give you more information about that situation. I didn't hear of him until a few months ago. Not until my former 2IC, LT Colonel Samantha Carter, announced her engagement to him."

"Samantha Carter? The woman who was assaulted is your former 2IC? You were a witness to her almost being raped?" Vanessa asked, already knowing this. Jack gulped at her word of choice and clenched his jaw tightly to gain control of his emotions.

"Yeah, Carter was my 2IC for seven years," Jack answered. Vanessa smiled.

"Well, now I know why Helen likes you," she said cryptically. Then, she continued questioning him until she got his side of the story straight. "Thank you, General. I'll do my best to get you out of here soon. Sadly, as I've said, it won't be soon enough."

"Don't worry about it," Jack said, giving her a half-smile.

"I'll see to get you a decent pillow at least, good night, General," she said as she walked out of the room.