Two days later Pete met Sam at her front door. He'd pestered her to spend his last evening in the Springs with him at her place and in spite of being exhausted from her job and caring for Jack and making sure he got to his therapy sessions on base she'd agreed.

"Hey babe." He told her cheerfully. Apparently having decided to pretend the last few weeks hadn't happened.

"Hi Pete." She said with a tired smile.

"I ordered us some pizza." He said happily and missed Sam's inward sigh. Pete ordering pizza meant something covered in every possible topping and most likely from a chain even though there was a great mom and pop right between her and Jack's places that the team had been supporting with frequent pizza and salad runs for nearly a decade. Jack had found it during his divorce and he liked the owners.

"That's great Pete. I could open that bottle of Grand Cru to have with it." She suggested.

"Why would we open that stuffy bottle when we have a perfectly good supply of cheap stuff to get drunk on." He told her with a grin.

Sam tapped her fingers against her thigh. The point of French wine wasn't to get drunk. "Ok Pete." She unlocked the door and let them both in. He cares about you Sam she reminded herself. He may not be the classiest guy but he genuinely cares so the least you can do is spend some time with him.

"Great. I'll pour us a couple glasses of wine. You take a seat and find something on TV." He said and pecked her on the cheek before heading into her kitchen.

Sam glanced at her mantle from under her lashes where Jack and her dad smiled at her from the photo General Hammond had taken shortly after dad had ribbed Jack about deep space radar telemetry again at dinner for a friend of her dad's retirement. She let out a slow sigh and plopped onto the couch. There was a National Geographic show about the Amazon that she'd recorded in her DVR so she turned it on and relaxed to the soothing voice of the announcer. She was nearly asleep when Pete came back in with two glasses of wine and a pizza box from a big chain and a pair of plates.

"Soups on babe." He said cheerfully and turned off her DVR.

"I was watching that." She said sleepily.

"Can't be very exciting if it's making you go to sleep before you've even had any wine Sam." He grinned. "There's this great new show everyone is already talking about." Depressing violin music filled her family room and Sam tried to make herself pay attention to the castaways and their plots. She'd turned on the documentary because it was helping her relax. This was a little better than his usual taste in TV but it was a little too much like her job some weeks and Sam came home specifically to not be at work and especially not to watch things that would give her flashbacks so she tried to zone out without looking too much like that was what she was doing.

About three quarters of the way through the show Pete was petting and stroking her, trying to get her into the mood. Normally she found this charming but right now she just wasn't into it so she barely responded to his exploring hands. "What's wrong babe?"

"I'm just really tired Pete. It's been a long week."

"You should have had your friends watch your boss so you could have been home since you didn't leave base for two weeks."

"None of us left the base Pete." She told him; her voice weary.

"Yah but they don't have boyfriends. You do." He said to her, trying to joke.

"I can't see Teal'c with a boyfriend." She said with a chuckle.

"You never know with people these days." The show ended and Pete made a more active effort in trying to turn her on but Sam didn't feel very enthusiastic about the process.

"Pete, I'm really tired." She told him unenthusiastically. And confused about my feelings she thought but didn't express.

"But I've missed you Sam." He told her as his hands roamed her body and he tried to claim her mouth.

"Pete." She sighed with resignation.

"Come on Sam, it's been weeks. I need some attention." He insisted, fondling her.

"I know but do we really need to tonight?"

"I go home tomorrow morning Sam. Please?"

Sam bit her lip and nodded reluctantly.

An hour later she lay on her side pretending to sleep and cursing her traitorous body. He doesn't want to be with you she told her body firmly but her body had refused to cooperate and for the first time in years, Sam had faked an orgasm with her lover so he'd finish and leave her to her regrets. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes because her body wanted a man half a town away that had offered himself not realizing he'd just reject her again in a few weeks when he regained the rest of his memories back.

Pete was sound asleep. He hadn't even noticed she'd faked it as he'd had several glasses of wine while she toyed with hers, not caring for the overly sweet flavor. He'd been a somewhat sloppy lover in general tonight. It didn't help that her body was comparing the two men and Pete came up short in many ways from his skill level to his overall physique. Jack kept himself in better shape and would never have fallen for her faked climax, even drunk.

Jack wouldn't have had to contend with a fake orgasm anyway. Just touching each other was often enough to make her wet and hyper aware of him. He tried to hide it but she knew she sometimes had him as hot and bothered as she was. The few sexual encounters they had together, had been punctuated by both of them finding satisfaction. Pete, on the other hand, had to keep a bottle of lube handy because he just dove in when he was ready. Sam had found it hot, thought it was enthusiasm at first, but she was starting to think possibly he just wasn't a very considerate lover. Not that they had access to it any time they had been together, she'd never needed lube with Jack. He always had made sure she was ready for him physically and often had made her orgasm before he even entered her. It wasn't fair to compare the two men she realized. Her other sexual partners had been on par with Pete and she'd have found him satisfying prior to being Jack's lover.

Sam sighed and got out of bed to go take a shower. She leaned against the cold tiles as the warm water ran over her and bit her lip wondering what was wrong with her when she had an unexpected mental image of Jack's mouth plundering hers while his hands slid between her legs to check if she was ready for him. Not even realizing she did it, Sam touched herself the way he had, finding herself slippery with need and almost slid down the wall when an orgasm crashed over her just remembering what it felt like to be with Jack. She washed herself while tears rolled down her cheeks.

When she came back to bed she looked down at Pete for a long time with regret. She cared about him. She really did. He wanted her even if he wasn't exactly skilled in bed he clearly found her sexually desirable. At first she'd been able to get off with him when they made love. The excitement and his enthusiasm had made up for his unpolished technique. It had become harder, taken longer as time went by and Pete didn't seem to think his lovemaking needed improvement and Sam wasn't so sure this was going to work even had Jack not had this inexplicable change of heart about his feelings. A change she knew wouldn't hold once he regained his memories.

Even if Pete didn't work out, she needed to move on from her feelings for Jack and that was all there was to it. She should talk to Lou. He had single friends and knew her taste in guys. She got back in bed and laid down, willing herself to sleep. Ironically, having gained sexual release thinking about the last person she should be fantasizing about Sam fell asleep in mere minutes.