Inescapable: Chapter 4

AN: Disclaimer and all in Chapter 1.

"Have a good night?"

Sam turned from the light of the open refrigerator to see Jack smiling as he set a plate carefully into the sink.

Nodding she said, "It's not over yet, sir." His eyebrow quirked as she dug her head into the fridge again. "Although I'm afraid the food is." She shut the door, swivelling on her feet and grinning at him. "You guys have eaten me out of house and home."

"We can get more food," Jack suggested. She was already agreeing.

"Daniel's asleep and I don't trust Teal'c's taste buds. I'll get my keys."

"I'll go," Jack reached out and caught her arm. "You sit back and relax, crack open another beer. I'll get some videos…" He winced as something occurred to him.

"What?" She asked worried.

"Well, I've had a few beers…" Her mouth slowly formed an 'oh' shape.

"I can drive you."

Neither had noticed Pete entering the kitchen. Jack idly thought that awkward moments like this were the sort that his drunken-dirt-digger had his gritty little paws involved in. However, Daniel was currently passed out, sprawled half on-half off the couch. He made his very best effort not to make a face at the prospect of him, Pete and close proximity. He glanced to Sam with a plea in his eyes.

Sam swallowed, her eyes dividing short glances between the two men, hopefully not lingering long enough on either for them to notice. This couldn't be a good plan. What was Pete playing at? Or for that matter, did he have any idea there was a game going on at all? Sam frowned, since when had this become a game? There wasn't much she could say, except of course that it wasn't necessary for two people to go. That, however, would look a tad too suspicious. Pete, can you bunk off to the video store so I can be alone with Jack? She cleared her throat quietly.

"I'll get you some money," she said to Jack and before she headed to get it she saw his eyes grow like saucers and his mouth fall ajar.

Oh, Danny is gonna be soooo sorry he missed this, Jack exclaimed thoughtfully.

Sam appeared again, hand outstretched with money for Jack. He took it, staring at her eyes, praying that some emergency would pop up right now and he'd have to rush back to the SGC. Or at the very least if he could disappear for a few minutes to arrange one.

I wonder if Ba'al is busy tonight…

"Get something I'll like for a change, sir!" Sam called as Jack followed Pete ruffling his hair and resisting the urge to pinch himself as he did.

"Nice ride," Jack said.

"Thanks."

Jack watched the man driving a moment, lifted his eyebrows, widening his eyes briefly and tightening the muscles in his cheeks. Pete wasn't much of a talker. More of a stalker. Jack made a gruff noise in the back of his throat and noticed Pete side-glanced at him.

Suddenly they were slowing and Jack watched as Pete shifted gears and braked. The car slid to a more abrupt stop than was necessary. Before Jack's head had bounced back onto the headrest from the motion, Pete was out of the car and all Jack saw was the door slamming. He rolled his eyes as he pawed the money Carter had given him in his pocket, noticing they were outside a grocery store.

Pete was pulling at the door again as Jack fiddled with the radio controls, feeling perturbed by the silence. An advertisement for some fast food filled the car as Pete jumped inside, throwing a grocery bag in the back seat. When they were driving again Jack decided the conversation had to start before he opened his door and jumped out, moving car or not! He took a slow breath and was about to start when a song on the radio made him pause and smile.

'There's still a little bit of your song in my ear,
There's still a little bit of your words I long to hear,
You step a little closer to me,
So close that I can't see what's going on,'

"Carter loves this song." Pete's eyes darted to him and his brow had the slightest furrow in it.

Jack wet his lips and they quirked as the song went on. He remembered having a playful fight with her one day while he was … well annoying her in her lab. He had been sooooo bored that day…

"Please, put that down, sir." He hadn't realised she'd noticed he was playing with one of her doohickeys … it looked like a… like a... hell, he didn't even have a comparison for it. He rolled his eyes and set it back down. Carter was hunched over her laptop, engrossed in whatever she was figuring out that day – another secret of the universe most likely. He frowned at her and shoved his hands in his pockets, if anything to keep them from getting him into trouble. He hated to be living proof that the Devil made work for idle hands.

"Lunch, Carter?"

"I already said I haven't got time." He threw up his eyebrows when she didn't even raise her head.

"No, you said you were busy."

"I am."

"So am I."

She laughed and her eyes lifted to find him a moment and then back down.

"Are not," she countered.

"Am so!"

She was shaking her head with a faint smile and tapping at her keyboard again. He watched her for a precious second, revelling in the way wisps of her blonde hair got finely tangled in her long eyelashes. He took a deep breath; too much of this kind of study could get him into trouble. He walked to the back of her lab, wondering what he could amuse himself with. He found a radio and grinned. Brushing a little dust off it he turned it on. A female voice screaming, 'Leave! Get out!' boomed through the lab making Carter jump in fright.

Oh, the irony, he thought.

"Yipes!" He pulled a face of disgust and changed the frequency. He could hear Carter sighing in exasperation behind him. "Kids these days, Colonel."

"Yes, sir," Carter said evenly. "Kids." He turned his head at her tone with a scowl on his face. She was already ignoring him again. Jack huffed, he was so bored and he wasn't even able to encourage a fight out of her yet! He was loosing his touch. He found another station.

'…laced with my doubt,
It's still a little hard to say what's going on…"

Jack turned the station again and he heard a strange yelping protest behind him. "Put that back – I love that song!"

"What?"

"Sir! Put it back," she demanded.

"Carter…"

"It's my radio."

"I turned it on."

"C'mon…" He damned her and those eyes. He could never say no to them.

And it was because of her that he was here, in a car with a man that he resented more than any person could resent someone. The song brought him back out of his thoughts again.

'Stones taught me to fly
Love, it taught me to lie
Life taught me to die…'

"Didn't know that," Pete said without much of a tone in his voice at all that it sounded… wrong. Jack squinted at him and feeling Jack's eyes, Pete looked towards him. The song filled the air again.

'So come on courage,
Teach me to be shy
'Cause it's not hard to fall
And I don't wanna scare her
It's not hard to fall,
And I don't wanna lose
It's not hard to grow
When you know that you just don't know'

A horrible silence came as adverts buzzed through the speakers and again, Jack found himself speaking.

"Something else you might not know," Jack began, piquing Pete's interest. "Carter likes chick flicks." His companion seemed surprised. "I guess when you bust butt all day and you're a woman you like something a little different in your movies." Pete had gone quiet again and was watching the road a little too intently. Jack was beginning to wonder if the video store was on another planet or if Pete just wanted to drive somewhere very remote to shoot him. "Anyway… she's a sucker for tacky ice-skating movies and the like so we should get-"

"You seem to know a hell of a lot about her, Jack." Jack's only response was a pointedly raised eyebrow. That took longer than expected, Jack thought.

"Look … Pete," Jack grimaced, a foul taste in his mouth already. Jack's eyes couldn't help searching for a gun as the car stopped. He glanced outside and saw a busy enough street. Surely Pete wasn't crazy enough to shoot him somewhere this public? "I know what you're gonna say…"

"You're in love with her."

Jack blinked. He parted his lips and raised his hand with a finger pointing nowhere in particular and with a flick of his wrist he said, "Nope – didn't know you'd say that."

"Don't deny it," Pete said with a sigh. Jack remained silent, stretching his jaw and rustling his fingernails through his stubble. "Anyone would have to be insane not to notice the way you look at her."

"Ah…" Jack screwed his face up, that wasn't something he wanted to hear.

"Just…" Pete reached for the door again, opening it and pausing with his back to Jack and one foot on the footpath. "Let her go."

The door closed with a clang and Jack's heart felt a piercing pain as he realised Pete was right. He'd have to let her go, for real.