There was a knock at the door, and Cassie jumped up to answer it. She opened the door, shocked to see Pete Shanahan standing there.

"Dad." She said.

"Comin." He replied, heading out of the study. She glanced at him, a strange look on her face.

"Go finish your homework." He said, stepping in her place.

"Can I help you?" He asked. Pete shook his head. "No, I just came by to see Sam, is she here?" He asked.

"Sam." He said, waving the man in. "What, mongrel?" She asked, coming up the steps.

"Pete, hi." She said. His eyes widened slightly. "Hi." He said, with a grin.

Jack leaned down, kissing her. "I've gotta take the Jeep to the shop, the timing belt's goin out." He said.

She nodded. "Can I go?" Cassie asked. "Nope, finish your homework." He said, grabbing his jacket and heading out the door.

"Is he okay?" Pete asked. Sam nodded. "He's always like that with people he doesn't know. He comes off brash, but he means well." She said.

"Oh, ok. Well, enough about him. You look great." He said. "Thank you. I'll be glad when next month rolls around. I'm afraid I'm not very good with this pregnancy thing." She said.

"So, were you blessed with a boy or will he suffer?" He asked.

Sam shook her head. "It's a girl. He's excited, as long as the baby's healthy, we're happy." She said. Cassie came down into the living room, flopping down on the couch. "That's the way it should be." She said. S

am smiled, patting Cassie's hand. "And you're O'Neill's daughter, right?" Pete said. Cassie nodded.

"Yeah, that's me. Vala said she's taking me shopping for Bekkah. Anything you want me to pick out?" She asked.

Sam shook her head. "Nope, not that I can think of." Pete watched the teenager nod, leaning on Sam's shoulder.

"Did you take your Promethazine?" She asked.

Cassie rolled her eyes. "Do I have to? That stuff is so gross." Cassie said.

"You need to take it if you want to get better." Sam said.

"It's a sinus infection, mom, I'm not coughing anymore." Cassie said.

"What would your father say?" She asked.

Cassie sighed. "Fine." She said, shaking her head and getting up.

"Thank you." She said.

"So, you'll have a teenager and a baby, wow. That's dedication." He said. Sam shook her head. "It never gets old; that much I can tell you. So, how've you been?" She asked.

He nodded. "Good, just earned a partner, so we'll see how well that goes. She's a spitfire, hell with a badge." He said.

She smiled. "That's good." She said.

He chuckled. "You know, I still don't know why we broke up." He said, shaking his head. "Pete. Don't." She said. "Sam, why did we?" He asked.

"Because there was too much at once. I wasn't ready. And then when my dad died…you want to know the truth?" She asked.

He nodded. "That might be good." He said. "I was settling, for you. I've loved Jack for eleven years. That's a long time to wait. I don't want to hurt your feelings, but you were a distraction. I was desperate for some normalcy to my life, and you gave that to me. But my feelings for you paled in the light of day compared to how I've always felt about him." She said.

He nodded. "I see." He said. "Oh, I wish you did." She said. "I guess this is my only question. What do you see in him?" He asked.

She smiled, shaking her head. "Everything I'll ever need. He's charming, funny, attractive, and he loves me. He's seen me at my best, been there when I'm at my worst, and he still loves me." She said.

"I wish I could find someone who looked like that when they were talking about me." He said.

She smiled. "I think you will." She said.

"Keep her company, okay kiddo?" He said as Cassie hugged him.

She nodded. "I will, dad." She said.

He smiled. "That's my girl." He replied. Sam hugged him.

"Don't get lost." She said, smiling as he kissed her.

He smiled against her lips. "Don't worry, I won't." He replied.

"Bye Bekkah." He said to her belly as he picked up his bags, heading to the terminal as the attendant called his flight number. They watched until he disappeared, turning around.

"Let's get back home, there's supposed to be a storm coming in." Sam said, leading Cassie back to the entrance.

"Where's Jack?" Daniel asked.

"DC." Sam replied with a sigh.

"Why is he there? Does it have something to do with that little weasel man?" Vala asked.

Sam nodded. "They want to make sure he's not a risk to the population." She said.

"I believe they will find that he is not." Teal'c said. "Well, things better be okay. He told me I couldn't see Dominick until he was back." Cassie said, shaking her head and folding her arms. Daniel smiled.

"He's pretty good with the protective father thing." Daniel said.

"And older brother, and younger brother, and CO, and husband, he takes his role very seriously." Vala said, relaxing into the sofa.

"Well, we better head out to the garage. Jack brought home some paint, so we're gonna get started on the nursery." Daniel said.

Sam smiled. "Okay, don't have too much fun with what's left. Jack's done quite a bit himself." She said. Daniel nodded, waving Teal'c to the garage.

"O'Neill told me to stay, to keep watch over Samantha and Cassandra. He said that Peter Shanahan arrived here yesterday and Samantha was upset after he left." He said.

Daniel scowled, shaking his head as he glanced over the directions for the cradle. "I never did like that guy, he was an asshole." He said.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "I did not have the…opportunity to meet this man. Was he truly as horrible as O'Neill states?" He asked.

Daniel nodded. "Sam never showed it, but he beat her. Things were great at first, but then he decided to knock her around. She finally decided she had to tell someone, and she wanted to pour her heart out to Jack, but he'd already been frozen in stasis by then. I convinced her to talk to me." He said.

Teal'c nodded. "Then that is why she yelled when O'Neill grabbed her that day." He said.

Sam had started wearing long sleeves, keeping her arms covered. She knew she had to break it off with Pete, but she was scared of him, of what he could do. The rest of SG1 stepped in her lab, standing around the desk."Carter?" Colonel O'Neill asked. She stared off into space still. "Carter?" He said louder, grabbing her wrist. "Ow! Hey." She said, pulling her arm back. He looked hurt at that. "Sorry, sir. You startled me." She said as she brushed off the look he was giving her. She knew he didn't trust Pete, he'd made that perfectly clear when they met. Pete had been curious as to why she had talked about him being this great guy; funny and a lot smarter than he let on. He seemed the total opposite.

Daniel nodded. "He hit her one day while I was there, and asked me what I was gonna do about it. So I pulled my gun on him, and threatened that if he ever hit her again he was going to be sorry." He said.

Teal'c shook his head. "There is no just cause to hit a woman, or a child." He said. "That is why I believe that Samantha Carter is far better off with O'Neill. He will protect her." He finished.

Daniel nodded. "I agree." He said.

The rest of the time was spent in silence, the two putting the rest of the nursery together.