Jack mingled for awhile then sat down on the sofa. He glanced at his watch every few minutes to see if he had stayed an acceptable amount of time before he could tell Sam that he was leaving. Just as he was about to find Sam to tell her good night, she sat down beside him.
"Are you enjoying the party, sir?"
"It's been nice, but I'm rather tired. I think I'll go now." He started to stand but Sam put her hand on his arm.
"Sir, did Pete say something to upset you? I saw you talking with him."
"Pete always upsets me, Carter, but you should know that by now." He started to stand again but Sam grasped his arm.
"What does that mean?"
Jack looked into her eyes. "I don't trust him. I don't think he's the right man for you, but this is your decision."
"And I suppose you think you know who the right man is for me?"
Jack didn't hesitate. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. But if you haven't figured that out by now, then you never will."
They stared at each other for a few moments.
Jack pulled his arm from her grasp, stood up and went to get his jacket as Daniel followed him into the bedroom.
"Jack, are you all right? You look upset."
"Let it go, Daniel."
Jack found his jacket, put it on and just as he got to the front door, Pete stepped in front of him.
"Leaving so soon, General?" he asked with that smirk that Jack hated.
"Get out of my way, Shanahan" he said in a low voice and stared into his eyes.
Sam saw them and quickly came to where they stood as she tried to stop what she suspected could become a bad situation.
Sam smiled at Jack. "Sir, I'm glad you came. Please drive carefully."
Jack stared at Pete. "I will, Carter."
Pete stepped out of the way.
Jack opened the door, walked quickly through the snow, unlocked his truck and got in. He put his hands on the steering wheel and gripped it as hard as he could and tried to breathe slowly. He had practically told Sam that he thought he was the right man for her. Should he regret saying it? Maybe, but maybe not. It would give her something to think about.
He sat there for a few minutes until he felt he was calm enough to drive without being a danger to himself or someone else. He started the truck and slowly pulled out onto the road as the snow came down heavily.
He turned up the volume on the radio and listened to a song he had not heard in a long time; a song about losing someone you love to someone else. He thought how relevant the song was to Sam and himself.
The lights on the highway blurred as tears suddenly filled his eyes and he used the back of his hand to brush away the moisture.
'Get a grip, Jack' he said to himself as he turned off the radio.
ยงยงยง
Back at Sam's house, Sam turned to Pete and frowned. "What happened between you two?"
"Nothing, sweetie" he said with a grin.
"You must have said something to upset him, Pete."
Pete raised his voice. "Hey, I didn't do anything. Why are you taking up for him and blaming me?"
People turned to stare as Teal'c walked up to them. "Is there a problem, Colonel Carter?"
She smiled a tight smile at her friend. "Uh, no, no problem, Teal'c."
Teal'c stood there for a few seconds, then walked away.
Sam folded her arms. "We'll discuss this later."
"There's nothing to discuss."
"Oh, I think there is."
Everyone soon started to leave when they realized that the snow showed no signs of stopping.
After everyone had left, Cassie helped Sam clean up as Pete sat on the sofa and sulked. She ignored him as she carried the last of the dishes into the kitchen and put them in the dishwasher.
Cassie yawned. "Think I'll go to bed. I'll see you in the morning."
Sam gave her a hug. "I'm glad you arrived safely. Sleep well."
Cassie took a few steps, then turned around and walked back to Sam.
"I think we need to talk."
"About what?"
"It can wait until tomorrow."
Sam heard Cassie close the door to the bedroom as Pete came into the kitchen. She finished wiping off the counter and put the paper towel in the trash.
Pete stared at her. "Okay. You wanted to talk."
Sam leaned against the counter. "I want to know what you and General O'Neill were discussing."
"I was just giving him a warning to stay away from you."
Sam's eyes grew big. "Why should he stay away from me?"
Cassie heard them arguing and stepped into the hall to listen.
Pete chuckled and put his hands on his hips. "You really don't get it do you, Sam? The man is in love with you."
She took a step toward him. "He is not, Pete. He's my commanding officer and he's also a very good friend. That's all."
Pete shook his head. "You don't see the way he looks at you when he talks to you? He stares at you when you're not looking. It's written all over his face. I've seen how he acts around you when I've been with him, Teal'c and Daniel."
"No, Pete, you're wrong about that. He's just a good friend."
"No, I'm not wrong. He doesn't like me because he's jealous. I have the one woman he wants and he knows he can't have you."
"Pete, General O'Neill and I are very close, I admit that. We've been through some very horrendous things together over the years. We've saved each other's lives countless times. I admire and respect him. He's a wonderful man."
"Oh, I'll just bet he is. These trips you take through the stargate, when you had to spend the night, are you sure that you didn't shack up together? Maybe that's how you keep getting promoted."
Cassie crept closer to the kitchen and waited for Sam's response.
Sam's eyes grew wide and she clenched her fists as she stared at Pete. "If you think for one second that I got my promotions by sleeping with the General, then you don't know me or trust me at all. This conversation is absurd."
Sam started to walk past him, but Pete grabbed her hand and yanked it to turn her around to face him and he squeezed her wrist.
"You're hurting me! Let me go!"
Pete raised his other hand as if to hit her.
Cassie came around the corner. "Stop it!"
Pete quickly turned to see Cassie and lowered his hand.
Sam pulled her arm away and began to rub her wrist as tears stung her eyes.
Pete glared at Cassie. "And what do you want?"
Cassie glared right back with hatred in her eyes. "You're an idiot!"
Pete smirked. "Since you know O'Neill and Sam so well, you probably already know that they've slept together and you know that he loves her, don't you?" he said snidely.
Cassie was never one to back down from anyone and usually said what she was thinking. She walked up slowly to Pete and stared right into his eyes. "Let me tell you something. Yes, Jack cares about Sam. He admires her intelligence, he respects her as a woman and a soldier, he respects her career, he accepts her the way she is. He doesn't try to mold her into what he wants her to be, like you're trying to do. Jack O'Neill is more of a man than you'll ever be. If he knew that you had just hurt Sam, he would beat the crap out of you, and then, with a little help from his friends, throw you through the stargate to the farthest planet in this galaxy, where no one would ever find you!"
Their faces were now just inches apart. "And I guess you'll just tell him, won't you?"
Cassie put her hands on her hips. "And what are you going to do if I do? Get your gun and shoot me?"
Sam stepped closer to them. "That's enough! Pete, I think you should leave."
Pete stood there for a few moments as if trying to decide what to do, then pointed his finger at Sam. "This isn't over by a long shot." He went into the bedroom to get his coat and came back out.
Cassie and Sam watched as he slammed the door behind him.
Tears pooled in Sam's eyes as Cassie put her arms around her. In a few moments, Cassie stepped back and looked at Sam's hand.
"How's your wrist?"
Sam cradled her arm. "Hurts a little."
"Did he break it?"
"No, just sprained it."
"Sit down."
Cassie went into the bathroom, got a cold wet washcloth, brought it back and sat down beside Sam. She gently wrapped the washcloth around Sam's wrist.
"Maybe the cold will help a little."
Sam stared at her hand. "Thank you."
"Why do you put up with him? Can't you see how controlling he is?"
Sam wiped her eyes. "That's the first time he has ever done anything like that. He's usually such a sweet guy."
"Well, apparently, you're seeing a side of him you haven't seen before. If I hadn't walked in when I did, he might have hit you."
"I know."
"Has he ever raised his hand in anger to you before?"
"Never. That was the first time."
"But it probably won't be the last. Every time you mention anything about Jack, your job, any of your friends, Pete gets mad."
Sam stared at the floor.
"Daniel told me that Pete bought a house."
"Yes."
"And he didn't ask your opinion first?"
"No."
"Sam, he's trying to change you. He bought a house, he's the one that set the wedding date, he wants you to quit the Air Force. How can you let him do all these things when you don't agree with any of them?"
"I'm not leaving the Air Force, Cassie, I've already told him that."
"But he wants you to be home more often. He knows that you don't always know how long you'll be off-world. What's he going to do when that happens? Go to the SGC and demand that Jack send out a team to track you down?"
Sam didn't answer.
"Pete really has a temper. It's going to get to the point that he won't let you talk with any of your friends. He really has a problem with control and he's so jealous."
"Just about the General" Sam whispered.
"Pete is right about one thing."
Sam looked at Cassie. "What's that?"
"That Jack loves you."
"Cassie, we're just good friends."
She put her hands on Sam's shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Sam, Jack IS in love with you. We all know it. Daniel, Teal'c, General Hammond. Mom certainly knew. She and I talked about you and Jack a lot before she was killed."
Sam's eyes grew wide.
"Don't look so surprised. Surely you knew, just a little, that he has feelings for you."
"I guess."
"And you have feelings for him too, if you'd just admit it."
"We can't love each other, you know that. He's my commanding officer."
"Yeah, yeah. Air Force rules and regulations. Dumbest thing the military ever did, in my opinion."
Sam started to say something but Cassie held up her hand to stop her.
"I know, I know. The rules are there for a reason. But if you ask me, it's a dumb reason. What gives the military the right to say who you can and cannot fall in love with? You and Jack would be a great couple, Sam. The SGC needs both of you and neither of you should have to give up your careers to be together. It's stupid!"
"Cassie, whether Jack and I agree with the regulations or not, they're there. We can't ignore them. If we had a romantic relationship while he's my CO, it could lead to court martial for both of us."
Cassie sighed. "Answer one question for me, and think about it before you answer, because I don't want you to lie to me."
"Okay."
"Are you in love with Jack?"
Sam started to open her mouth then closed it and stared at her hand. "I thought I loved Pete."
"That's not what I asked. Be honest."
Sam bit her lip. "It won't do any good if I am, we can't be together."
"Have you never heard the saying 'where there's a will, there's a way?'"
Sam shook her head. "Not when you're in the military."
Cassie flopped back on the sofa and stared at the ceiling as Sam turned to face her.
"I want you to promise me something."
"What?"
"I want you to promise me that you won't tell General O'Neill what Pete did."
Cassie set up and stared at Sam as her eyes got bigger. "I won't promise that! He should know that Pete hurt you!"
"Please. This is something that Pete and I have to work out for ourselves."
Cassie stood up and shook her head. "Sam . . ."
"Please, Cassie."
"Oh, all right. I promise not to say anything to Jack. But what about Pete? Are you going to break your engagement?"
Sam just shook her head. She didn't know the answer to that question.
TBC